When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 41

Before Yun Zhuoran’s patience runs out, Ji Ruo, feeling embarrassed, stops crying. Perhaps he has cried too much, and his ears turn red.

Yun Zhuoran slowly approaches and asks, “Who is your cousin, Yun?”

Ji Ruo, still very afraid of Yun Zhuoran, curls his legs up and backs away helplessly until his back presses against the tree trunk, with no escape left. Sniffling, he says in a nasal voice, “W-what do you want to do? I know you’re very powerful. Do you want to kill me? If you want to, go ahead. If I, Ji Ruo, blink even once, I won’t be worthy of being the Young Master of the Demon Palace!”

The clear voice of the young man is filled with a strong crying tone, becoming softer as it speaks. Even though he says the most decisive words, it’s hard not to laugh at his uneasy and timid appearance.

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t like crying children, so he simply takes out his spirit sword and places it on Ji Ruo’s neck. Ji Ruo’s back stiffens, and he dares not move.

“Who is this cousin Yun?”

Ji Ruo’s eyes are red and wet, and even his mask can’t hide his grievance and panic.

“Why are you asking about him? Even if I tell you, you can’t do anything…”

“Speak.”

The sword tip moves forward slightly, just three points, coming dangerously close to Ji Ruo’s slender, white neck, cold and sharp. Even though it’s just an ordinary middle-grade spirit sword, in Yun Zhuoran’s hand, it carries his power.

Ji Ruo, still afraid of dying, closes his eyes and shouts, “His name is Yun Shaowei. He’s in Yun City!”

Yun City? Isn’t that part of the Demon Realm?

However, Yun Zhuoran has been in the Tiandao Sect for a long time and rarely hears rumors about the Demon Realm. He knows little about Yuncheng. The most vivid impression he has is from the book The Emotionless Daoist—in the story, after killing his original Daoist partner, the third person, Shen Lingshu, brings the young master of Yuncheng, Yun Shaowei, into the backyard.

Yun Shaowei has been deeply loved by Shen Lingshu since his arrival at Tiandao Sect. The love he receives from Shen Lingshu surpasses even the combined affection given to Gu Qiuming and Ji Ruo. Ji Ruo couldn’t compete, not because he didn’t try, but because he never actually tried to compete. The story mentions that Ji Ruo and Yun Shaowei knew each other before, calling each other brothers when they met.

Only now does Yun Zhuoran realize that Yun Shaowei really exists and is Ji Ruo’s cousin.

Ji Ruo doesn’t want to betray his cousin. After thinking for a moment, he hastily adds, “He is the young master of Yuncheng! I tell you, if you kill me, my father will definitely settle accounts with you, and cousin Yun will also…”

“He’s your real cousin?”

Ji Ruo is stunned for a moment, then answers stupidly, “Yes, my mother is his aunt…” He doesn’t realize until he finishes speaking that he’s answered honestly! In a panic, he says, “So what if he is! I warn you, if you kill me, the Demon Palace and Yuncheng won’t let you go!”

Yun Zhuoran simply asks, “What about Ji Wuwang?”

Ji Ruo’s eyes are filled with suspicion. “Cousin… Why are you asking about him? Have you met him?”

At the end of his sentence, there is still a trace of hope in his eyes.

Yun Zhuoran puts away his sword without answering.

He has met Ji Wuwang the previous night and confirmed there is no blood relation between him and Ji Wuwang, which is why he hadn’t expected Ji Wuwang to be Ji Ruo’s brother. Since Ji Ruo shares a purple line with him, but he has none with Ji Wuwang, it suggests that perhaps Ji Ruo’s mother’s side has a blood connection. This makes Yun Shaowei and Yun City particularly important to him.

Yun Zhuoran feels somewhat lost. Since he can remember, he has been wandering the cultivation world with his older brother, Yun Peiran. Yun Peiran claims that he has gotten into trouble and dragged Yun Zhuoran into it, causing him to lose the memories of his life before the age of seven. He never explains exactly what happened, but due to that, he is soon taken back to the Tianqing Sect by disciples of the Tianqing Sect and locked under the pagoda to repent.

At that time, no one believed Yun Peiran was innocent, and Yun Peiran himself admitted it. However, he didn’t want Yun Zhuoran to stay with him in the Tianqing Sect. By chance, Gu Shenshu appeared and hit it off with Yun Peiran, agreeing to take Yun Zhuoran to Tiandao Sect to look after him. Yun Peiran’s hardship lasted for two years.

When young Yun Zhuoran first entered the Tiandao Sect, due to his unknown origins and withdrawn personality, no one wanted to associate with him, not even Jiang Zhibai. Only Shen Lingshu, who was two years older, would bring him food and drink every day, following Gu Shenshu’s instructions. Even though Yun Zhuoran didn’t want to pay attention to him, Shen Lingshu would still visit him after class every day, bringing books to read to him, repeating what the master had taught.

At that time, Shen Yu was not yet called Shen Lingshu.

Two years later, after accidentally entering the Asura Path and experiencing a dramatic rise in cultivation that far surpassed the Buddhist Son Tong Ye, Yun Peiran was released. He took Yun Zhuoran and they later settled in Penglai.

In Yun Zhuoran’s memory, Yun Peiran never mentions any other relatives, nor does he speak of their home. To Yun Zhuoran, he has no parents—only his older brother as family.

He never imagined that many years later, after meeting Ji Ruo and learning about Yun City, perhaps there are relatives from their side of the family there.

Yun Peiran’s sudden disappearance back then had been strange, and no one knew where he went. He has no ties except for his younger brother.

If Gu Shenxu runs off again this time, it seems Yun Zhuoran will need to visit Yun City.

When Yun Zhuoran puts away his sword, Ji Ruo is stunned. “Aren’t you going to kill me?”

It is then that Yun Zhuoran realizes Ji Ruo thinks he might kill him. Judging from the familial connection, Yun Zhuoran would not personally harm Ji Ruo. Ji Ruo is scared because of his own actions; Yun Zhuoran only wanted to amuse himself and scare him a little. However, until he has more information about Yun City, Yun Zhuoran doesn’t plan on helping him.

“You take care of yourself.”

Perhaps he will need Ji Ruo in the future when he goes to Yuncheng, so Yun Zhuoran lets him go.

“Are you really not going to kill me? Aren’t you afraid that I will tell others about what happened today?” Ji Ruo stands up with the help of the tree trunk, disbelief clear on his face.

He sees Yun Zhuoran pause in his steps. Looking back, Yun Zhuoran’s cold eyes frighten Ji Ruo so much that his heart skips a beat, and he quickly shrinks behind the thick tree trunk.

Yun Zhuoran chuckles and turns away.

Once Yun Zhuoran walks away, Ji Ruo slowly steps out from behind the tree trunk, exhaling a long breath of relief, though his eyes remain dull.

“He really won’t kill me.”

Yun Zhuoran has no idea how much psychological trauma he has left on Ji Ruo, the young master of the Demon Palace.

After walking out of the forest, he tries to contact the spiritual consciousness of the puppet doll, but finds that he can’t sense it. It seems something is wrong with the puppet. Yun Zhuoran feels a bit frustrated that he hasn’t questioned Ji Ruo more thoroughly earlier.

Ji Ruo probably escapes from Shen Lingshu and should know their whereabouts. Yun Zhuoran just hopes that Shen Lingshu and the others don’t realize the puppet is Yun Zhuoran. If they do, he will have to spend time explaining.

But as soon as Yun Zhuoran leaves the forest, he is attacked by a restless pack of demonic beasts.

His earlier prediction proves correct—the beast wave from the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest has come earlier than expected. Even though the forest has been sealed off, the barriers between the outer and central areas have already broken, and Yun Zhuoran has only walked a few miles when he encounters several high-level beasts, the strongest being almost level 7—comparable to the power of cultivators in the Deity Transformation Stage to the Integration Stage. Taking them down drains quite a bit of his energy.

The demon core from the level-7 beast is destined to fall into Yun Zhuoran’s hands. Many demon beast corpses are scattered throughout the forest, most of them having killed each other due to the agitation of spiritual energy, with the remainder being the result of Yun Zhuoran’s actions.

The purple demon core, the size of an infant’s fist, lands in his palm. It seems like some sound comes from the trees, and Yun Zhuoran weighs the demon core in his hand before casually tossing it away. The Heart Demon, who has been eyeing it for some time, lets out a small exclamation. Soon, a sharp scream echoes through the forest.

Amidst the rustling noise, Ji Ruo scrambles out, rolling and crawling, with the purple demon core following closely behind. Ji Ruo hurriedly shouts, “Wait, it’s me!”

Yun Zhuoran raises his hand, and the demon core flies back to his palm. He glances at the embarrassed boy sitting on the ground, thinking that it is convenient. Ji Ruo has found it himself, so there is no need for Yun Zhuoran to go looking for it.

Ji Ruo sighs in relief, brushes off his sleeves, and stands up. From a distance, he calls out to Yun Zhuoran, “This young master is magnanimous, so I won’t make a fuss about it.” Fearing Yun Zhuoran’s anger, Ji Ruo quickly adds, “I’m here to make a trade with you!”

Yun Zhuoran asks indifferently, “Where is Shen Lingshu?”

“Last night, the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest is sealed off, and the beast wave quickly follows. When they attack me with the demon beasts, I take the chance to escape, but in my hurry, I forget to check the direction, and the teleportation talisman brings me here. I probably travel… almost a thousand miles, right?” Ji Ruo answers honestly this time, then asks Yun Zhuoran, “That demon beast earlier is powerful, but you’re stronger than it. Your cultivation must be beyond the Golden Core stage. Take me to find Ji Wuwang.”

When Yun Zhuoran asks about Ji Wuwang, Ji Ruo guesses they have met before.

Now, within the blocked Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, Ji Ruo dares not summon the ghost baby again, and the plague monster is too weak. With the forest swarming with frenzied monsters and righteous cultivators, his only option is to find Ji Wuwang.

Yun Zhuoran simply asks, “Are they alright?”

“I don’t know…” Ji Ruo hesitates before looking at Yun Zhuoran. “Weren’t you unconscious at the time? You were still sleeping in the cave when I left…”

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t explain further. Ji Ruo has given too few clues. He shakes his head and turns to leave, but Ji Ruo hurries over to stop him.

“Take me with you!”

Yun Zhuoran notices that Ji Ruo seems to be slipping back into his old ways, so he reminds him, “Aren’t you afraid of death?”

Ji Ruo shudders, hesitating before taking off the pendant around his neck. “Your black ball seems to want to eat the ghost baby. As long as you take me to find Ji Wuwang, I’ll give you the ghost baby… but I want to keep the plague monster.”

It isn’t that Ji Ruo is being stingy—the Plague Demon is too weak, and the Heart Demon has already shown disdain for it. Ji Ruo figures it won’t want it. He intends to keep it with him in the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest for protection.

The Heart Demon, known as the black ball, isn’t pleased. It opens its large, black mouth with a growl.

Ji Ruo is startled and jumps back.

Yun Zhuoran glances at it, and the corner of his mouth curls into a faint smile, though it quickly disappears.

Ji Ruo quickly says, “I won’t go back on my word. It’s fine to give it to you now!”

The Heart Demon snorts and whispers something in Yun Zhuoran’s ear, suggesting that it could find a hundred ways to get the ghost baby, suggesting that Yun Zhuoran doesn’t have to agree to Ji Ruo’s offer.

Yun Zhuoran raises an eyebrow and looks at Ji Ruo. Ji Ruo tenses, anxiously waiting. After a long pause, Yun Zhuoran slowly nods.

“Okay.”

The Heart Demon is a little surprised and asks Yun Zhuoran why. Yun Zhuoran isn’t sure either—maybe it is simply because it amuses him to tease Ji Ruo.

Ji Ruo lets out a secret sigh of relief and removes the magic bead, handing it to Yun Zhuoran.

After taking it, Yun Zhuoran doesn’t give it to the Heart Demon but instead places it in his storage ring, saying casually, “If you want to follow me, the ghost baby is not enough.”

The Heart Demon floats toward the storage ring and sniffs at the residual magic energy, not letting go of even the faintest trace.

Ji Ruo’s heart sinks. “But…”

The ghost baby is already given!

Before he can finish, Yun Zhuoran’s cold gaze sweeps over the many demon beasts scattered throughout the forest, most of which are his spoils of battle. He says, “Collect these demon cores, and then we can leave.”

Ji Ruo belatedly realizes that Yun Zhuoran hasn’t refused; he just wants him to do the work.

He is shocked and subconsciously reluctant. After all, he is the esteemed Young Master of the Demon Palace—there’s no way he will do manual labor for someone else!