When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 79

Cheng Ruyi points at himself blankly. “Young Island Master, are you talking to me?”

The other two people standing on the same stone peak also look at Yun Zhuoran in confusion. At the same time, they subtly distance themselves from Cheng Ruyi.

Ji Ruo glances at Cheng Ruyi, then looks at Yun Zhuoran. “Yun Zhuoran, did you just call that Zhuyin Sect demon cultivator the Floating City Lord?”

Yun Zhuoran looks meaningfully at Cheng Ruyi on the opposite side. “This chess game has stopped moving.”

Young Master Yin suddenly turns to look.

The small volcanoes that have been chasing them all this way really have come to a halt. The dice, which just landed on the invisible magma barrier, shows a three—but it doesn’t rise into the air in a beam of light like before. As Yun Zhuoran says, the chess game really has stopped.

Or perhaps it stops the moment Cheng Ruyi is accused of being the Floating City Lord.

Under the scrutinizing gazes of Master Yin and the others, Cheng Ruyi reveals a helpless expression.

“If I really were the Floating City Lord, why would I be here playing this dangerous game with you? I almost died several times just now! And Young Island Master, we’ve been together since the Guanyue Tower—did you forget?” Cheng Ruyi spreads his hands and looks at Yun Zhuoran with a wronged expression. “Young Island Master, are you just too nervous and overthinking things?”

Ever since Yun Zhuoran passed the Guanyue Tower, the Floating City’s map has been activated, along with a series of tasks to light it up. It is known—anyone who enters the Floating City hears of the Guanyue Tower.

Still, everyone is inclined to believe Yun Zhuoran’s judgment. Perhaps it’s because he rises from a mere disciple under Tiandao Sect’s supervision to the Young Master of Penglai Island. Still, no one knows how he figures it out.

Cheng Ruyi can clearly see the shift in their attitudes. He gives a bitter smile. “Master Yin, my master is close to you. I’ve followed him for many years—you must’ve seen me before, right?”

Master Yin smiles vaguely. “I have seen Cheng Ruyi, but I’ve never seen the Floating City Lord. So I don’t know what he looks like.”

In other words, no one knows if the Floating City Lord is even human.

“Oh right! What if you’re just the Floating City Lord in disguise?” The heart demon suddenly has a flash of inspiration and grabs Yun Zhuoran’s arm tightly. Naturally, he trusts Yun Zhuoran unconditionally — whatever his big brother says must be right.

Yes, he will protect his big brother!

Ji Ruo can’t help piling on. “Exactly! Tell the truth—were you pretending to be our companion just to push us into the magma and kill us?”

Cheng Ruyi is stunned by the accusation. He turns to look at Shen Lingshu, who still hasn’t said a word.

efore he is exposed, Shen Lingshu still debates whether to jump. Now, with everyone targeting Cheng Ruyi, there’s no need. He lets out a quiet breath of relief and quietly steps back, clearly not planning to get involved.

His current cultivation is too low—even the weakest among them, Ji Ruo, can defeat him.

Cheng Ruyi hesitates to speak, as if burdened with grievances and unsure where to begin.

“What do you need me to do, Young Island Master, to prove I really am Cheng Ruyi?”

Yun Zhuoran shakes his head. His voice is calm. “I never believed you from the beginning.”

Cheng Ruyi’s eyes widen in disbelief. “Then why did you take me with you?”

Yun Zhuoran smiles silently.

He has been searching for someone for so long—how could he possibly let them go once he finds them?

Cheng Ruyi quickly realizes that reasoning is pointless. To those who don’t know the Floating City Lord’s identity, they are all trapped inside the city now — if the Lord really does show up, no matter what form he takes, most people wouldn’t choose to alert him. They’d wait for him to reveal his tail.

So he changes tactics. “Then tell me, Young Island Master, how did you figure it out?”

Yun Zhuoran replies, “I use my eyes.”

This leaves the others, who expect him to pull out some profound mystical artifact, completely speechless. What? Use his eyes? Even Shen Lingshu and the others think Yun Zhuoran is joking.

But Yun Zhuoran, always serious and rigid, doesn’t seem like the type to joke.

Only the heart demon doesn’t question it. He believes every word Yun Zhuoran says.

Seeing Cheng Ruyi’s frustrated expression as if being toyed with, Yun Zhuoran adds slowly,
“Perhaps the Floating City Lord doesn’t realize that what I see with my eyes… is different from what others see.”

Perhaps it’s a gift from heaven—Yun Zhuoran can see people’s fortune and death aura.

“The real Cheng Ruyi should still be in the Guanyue Tower. The version of Cheng Ruyi who leaves the tower is very different in my eyes.”

From the first time he saw this Cheng Ruyi outside the tower, he knew something was off.

The Cheng Ruyi inside the tower, though battered and injured by ghosts and monsters, had a faint trace of purple energy around him. Based on Yun Zhuoran’s experience, this meant Cheng Ruyi was about to experience good fortune.

But the Cheng Ruyi who walked out of the tower was surrounded by such dense black aura that Yun Zhuoran could barely see his face. This ominous aura, which he temporarily identified as death energy, was even thicker than what one might find on an actual corpse. What about a resurrected person, brought back by some strange formation like Gu Shenshu?

Back then, Yun Zhuoran wasn’t sure. He thought maybe something had happened to Cheng Ruyi in the tower that caused the death energy to spike.

But even after they passed the perilous Xinglan Bridge, Cheng Ruyi remained alive.

Despite carrying such heavy death energy, he had survived…

Yun Zhuoran stared at his face, still full of innocence and grievance.

“When you came out of the Guanyue Tower, I was already sure you weren’t Cheng Ruyi. That you were the Floating City Lord—I begin to suspect that after you walk out from under the Xinglan Bridge.”

Cheng Ruyi stops at Stage Six, and when Yun Zhuoran proceeds alone to Stage Seven, Gu Shenshu suddenly appears. Then, right after Gu Shenshu vanishes—Cheng Ruyi walks out from beneath the Xinglan Bridge.

It’s worth mentioning that the death aura surrounding Gu Shenshu is just as strong as the one on Cheng Ruyi.

Could that really be a coincidence?

After that, Cheng Ruyi follows Yun Zhuoran to Shuanglu Pavilion without hesitation, ostensibly to find the heart demon.

But back then, Cheng Ruyi had clearly stated that his goal was to search for his young master. At the time, however, Young Master Yu of the Zhuyin Sect was located in the east of the city—exactly the opposite direction from where they were headed.

By that point, Cheng Ruyi had already been exposed.

Yun Zhuoran didn’t bring up Gu Shenshu’s appearance at the Xinglan Bridge in front of everyone. Instead, he looks at the burning volcanoes behind them and says, “From the moment we entered Shuanglu Zhai, you were dragged into a supposedly completed but suddenly upgraded hard-mode dungeon. From the very start of the chessboard, your luck was abysmal—yet somehow, you manage to make it to the end. Maybe you’ll come up with all sorts of excuses to explain this,” Yun Zhuoran continues calmly. “But what I see with my own eyes is the truth. The fox and tiger demons say this chess game is laid by the Lord of the Floating City. They have no power to control it. Now that their cultivation has fallen and their vitality is severely damaged, they’re even less likely to manipulate the board. But this game is a contest between two sides. That means the other side must be controlled by someone—and that person can only be the Floating City Lord.”

Yun Zhuoran looks straight at Cheng Ruyi. “If the Floating City Lord is here in Shuanglu Pavilion, then why wouldn’t I suspect you?”

“…It certainly doesn’t sound unreasonable,” Cheng Ruyi chuckles meaningfully, then turns to the other three people aside from Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon with an innocent expression. “You don’t actually believe everything the Young Island Master just said, do you?”

Ji Ruo snaps, “I believe Yun Zhuoran! I don’t believe you!”

Yun Zhuoran glances at Ji Ruo, clearly aware that he isn’t helping the situation at all.

Shen Lingshu remains silent and still—his lack of comment makes his stance clear.

Master Yin watches Yun Zhuoran for a moment, then waves his iron fan lightly and smiles. “Indeed, this chess game is no longer moving.”

That confirms it—Cheng Ruyi has been exposed.

Cheng Ruyi sweeps his gaze across the five people standing on the two stone peaks. Then he claps his hands and laughs.

“Yes, I am the Floating City Lord.”

The moment Cheng Ruyi admits it, the demonic energy he has long suppressed surges out of him. Black mist swirls around his body as he transforms from Cheng Ruyi into a tall, black-hooded demon cultivator.

Yun Zhuoran’s gaze locks on the face under the hood—it is Gu Shenshu.

At the same time, Shen Lingshu, who also clearly sees the face, is completely stunned.

“Master!”

The overwhelming demonic energy makes the other two people on the same stone peak feel faint, and even those standing on the opposite peak feel its oppressive weight. Gu Shenshu doesn’t even release any spiritual pressure, but his cultivation level alone is enough to crush everyone present—except the heart demon.

The heart demon, in fact, looks energized by the demonic energy.

Yun Zhuoran grabs his arm. “Be good.”

The heart demon instantly calms down, but he continues to stare at Gu Shenshu with barely concealed longing.

Such rich demonic energy—it could feed him for days. What a shame he couldn’t just gobble it up…

“Are you… are you really my Master?” Shen Lingshu staggers toward Gu Shenshu despite the discomfort coursing through his body. Even though the aura clearly indicates this man is a demon, Shen Lingshu is too familiar with that face—just one look is enough to make him tremble.

That face belongs to the Gu Shenshu who brings him from the Shen family to the Tiandao Sect when he is a child.

Under the suffocating pressure, Shen Lingshu slowly collapses to the ground. Still supporting himself with both hands, he raises his head stubbornly and keeps staring.

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t expect Gu Shenshu to show his real face. Isn’t he worried Shen Lingshu would recognize him? But when he sees the indifference in Gu Shenshu’s blood-red eyes as he looks down at Shen Lingshu, Yun Zhuoran understands—Gu Shenshu truly doesn’t care.

And as for Master Yin and Ji Ruo, who don’t recognize Gu Shenshu, they are too overwhelmed by the demonic energy to focus on anything else.

At this point, only Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon—who can ignore most barriers and seem completely immune to pressure—remain standing.

Gu Shenshu’s blood-red eyes linger on the two identical faces across from him. He asks thoughtfully, “What do your eyes see?”

Yun Zhuoran calmly shields the heart demon behind him. “I’ve found you.”

Gu Shenshu pauses. “That doesn’t count. This is just an incarnation of my demonic energy.”

Yun Zhuoran knows he is bluffing. Even if this is only a partial manifestation, it must consume a tremendous amount of demonic power—no mere illusion can be this strong.

And more importantly, he is cheating.

Yun Zhuoran exhales and says slowly, “You never said it wouldn’t count.”

“Well, I’m saying it now. You’ll only truly find me if you make it to the City Lord’s Mansion.” The resurrected Gu Shenshu is nothing like the man who once stood just beneath the heavens. He is shameless, manipulative—and utterly unbothered. Staring at Yun Zhuoran’s livid face, he smiles gently. “So? Want to keep playing?”

Shen Lingshu, Master Yin, and Ji Ruo are all being crushed under the oppressive aura. They probably won’t even remain conscious if Gu Shenshu stays much longer, let alone continue the game.

On the suspended platform in the distance, the tiger and fox demons lie motionless. From the moment Gu Shenshu appears, they haven’t uttered a single word—completely overwhelmed by the demonic energy.

“I’m really surprised that you guessed it’s me,” Gu Shenshu says after a brief pause, his fingertips twitching slightly. A point of fire falls from the air, hanging just within reach of Yun Zhuoran with a simple raise of his hand.

It is a die.

It is blue, belonging to the blue team.

Gu Shenshu speaks again, “After all, we’ve come this far, so it doesn’t matter if we finish the game. You’ve already seen that it’s just a little game of luck. Do you want to gamble on the last roll?”

Yun Zhuoran asks, “How do we gamble?”

Gu Shenshu glances at the opposite shore, not far away.

That is the blue team’s destination. Only by successfully reaching the shore can they win and revive their blue teammate, who has fallen into the sea of fire and is waiting.

“You have five squares left to the end. It’s your turn next. At this point, it doesn’t matter whether they jump or not, I’ll have to rescue them after the game anyway,” Gu Shenshu says. He then spares Master Yin and Shen Lingshu from the punishment of falling into the sea of fire. He raises his chin and points to the blue die. “Let’s make a bet. If you roll a 5 or higher, you win. If not, you all lose.”

The moment Gu Shenshu’s words fall, Master Yin and the others turn to look at Yun Zhuoran. Nervousness fills the air, none of them knowing what awaits them if they lose.

Yun Zhuoran asks, “What happens if we lose?”

Gu Shenshu chuckles, “I can’t kill you, so of course, I’ll kick you out of the city.”

Master Yin and the others breathe a sigh of relief. But then, Gu Shenshu’s eyes gleam blood-red, and he smiles faintly, adding, “Of course, you’ll leave alive, but you might face some punishments. Sometimes living is more painful than dying.”

Young Master Yin and Ji Ruo grow visibly fearful.

“I won’t leave the Floating City,” Yun Zhuoran responds, not missing the malice in Gu Shenshu’s eyes. He turns to the heart demon and nods.

Weiran, who has been waiting, immediately beams and reaches out for the die. Dice games are his specialty!

Gu Shenshu suddenly speaks, “I can only play with you, not this little thing.”

The heart demon pouts, “Why not? You’re the little thing!”

Gu Shenshu raises an eyebrow and looks toward Yun Zhuoran, clearly expecting him to keep Weiran in check.

“The die is in your hand. How many points you roll is up to luck. I won’t interfere,” he says.

For a moment, Yun Zhuoran gets the vague sense that Gu Shenshu is implying: if the die ends up in Xinmo’s hands, he might just interfere and rig the outcome.

The heart demon huffs, “If you don’t want to play, then don’t! Who wants to play with you anyway?!”

While speaking, the heart demon stuffs the die into Yun Zhuoran’s palm, his face full of mock indignation, “Brother must win and slap this black-hooded monster in the face!”

Yun Zhuoran sighs, “Okay.”

The ‘black-hooded monster,’ Gu Shenshu, tilts his head, his red eyes narrowing as he looks at the boy in red.

“Was that an insult?”

Yun Zhuoran calmly reminds him, “Let’s begin.”

At that, Gu Shenshu and the heart demon both quiet down and focus intently on the die in Yun Zhuoran’s hand.

This is the first time Yun Zhuoran has held the die since starting the game. Unlike the others, he shows no signs of nervousness. His face remains calm, his fingers lightly grip the die, and with a casual flick, he tosses it into the air—

The blue die arcs through the air, growing larger before descending again.

The heart demon grabs Yun Zhuoran’s sleeve, his gaze fixed on the die soaring above the sea of fire. He swallows nervously, more anxious than when he throws the die himself.

Yun Zhuoran’s expression remains unchanged, unbothered by the outcome.

The blue die spins through the air as though walking on flat ground, spinning faster and faster until it finally slows. The upward-facing point settles on a 3.

Gu Shenshu smiles, “It seems your luck isn’t very good.”

Yun Zhuoran shakes his head but says nothing.

Seeing the die settle at 3, the heart demon bites his lip.

“Brother…”

“Don’t worry,” Yun Zhuoran says, patting the back of the heart demon’s hand, his dark eyes calm.

The heart demon is desperate. He imagines the scene of himself and his brother being kicked out of the Floating City by the wicked Gu Shenshu.

… So pitiful!

But the blue die hasn’t fully stopped spinning, and Gu Shenshu has already convinced himself of victory.

The last few seconds feel agonizing for the blue team, as it seems the die is destined to land on 3!

Finally, with a soft click, the die comes to a halt.

Gu Shenshu eagerly awaits the look of defeat on Yun Zhuoran’s face, but instead, he hears the heart demon shout in triumph—

“Ah, Brother, you’re amazing!”

Both Shen Lingshu and Ji Ruo look at the die in disbelief.

Gu Shenshu narrows his eyes, turning to see what has happened. His gaze widens slightly.

It isn’t 3, but 6.

Which means—

Gu Shenshu slowly turns his gaze to Yun Zhuoran, who is smiling at him.

“When I was a kid, I could always roll 6 with dice. Yun Peiran wouldn’t let me play, especially in front of you. He was afraid I’d scare you,” Yun Zhuoran says with a smirk. “I win.”

Gu Shenshu’s pale face grows even darker, and he slowly forces a fake smile. “I was wrong. You’re very lucky. You win.”

The heart demon nearly bursts into uncontrollable laughter, burying his head in Yun Zhuoran’s arms. “Hahaha, we won!”

Yun Zhuoran gently presses the heart demon’s head, which is rubbing against him. “It’s no big deal. It’d be strange if we didn’t roll a 6,” he says meaningfully. “Thanks to the Floating City Lord for giving us this opportunity.”

The heart demon raises his head, his messy hair falling in all directions, still laughing. “Yeah, if it were me, I might not have rolled a 6. Thanks to the Floating City Lord for letting my brother play!”

As they exchange taunts, secretly mocking Gu Shenshu for shooting himself in the foot, Gu Shenshu can’t laugh. His gaze turns cold, and he glares at them.

Amid the heart demon’s arrogant laughter, thick black fog explodes where Gu Shenshu stands. The demonic energy that has suppressed everyone fades away, and Gu Shenshu’s cold voice echoes distantly.

“You win today. I hope your luck holds when you reach the City Lord’s Mansion.”

As his voice falls, the sea of fire begins to transform, burning from the outside inward.

But these flames are not as hot as before. Instead, they carry a chilling air.

In an instant, the sea of fire and the entire chess game vanish, returning to the lobby of Shuanglu Pavilion.

Everyone remains in their original positions before entering the game. The two demons lie motionless on the floor, and Gu Qiuming, along with the others who have fallen into the fire earlier, also return.

It seems the whole chess game has been an incredibly realistic illusion.

The demonic energy rapidly disappears, leaving no trace behind. Yun Zhuoran confirms that Gu Shenshu has left. He doesn’t rule out the possibility that Gu Shenshu can’t bring himself to leave after his defeat. As Li Jianming and the others safely return, Yun Zhuoran secretly breathes a sigh of relief.

When Li Jianming and the others return to Shuanglu Pavilion, they are stunned for a long time, unable to react.

Jiang Zhibai asks blankly, “Did we win?”

The heart demon nods enthusiastically, straightening his back proudly as he boasts, “My brother won!”

Yun Zhuoran expects Li Jianming to share his excitement, but instead, Li Jianming glances at Jiang Zhibai and Gu Qiuming. The three of them slump to the ground, panting, as if they have narrowly escaped disaster.

“Finally won!” Li Jianming’s voice cracks, as though he is about to cry. Yun Zhuoran can’t help but ask, “What did you encounter after you jumped down?”

Li Jianming, still panting from fear, waves his hand, signaling that he doesn’t want to talk about it. Jiang Zhibai has a bitter look on his face, while Gu Qiuming blushes and explains, “Actually, there were still more chess games down there.”

“Except that it was so hot when I jumped in, it felt like a hot spring bath once I went down.” Li Jianming stresses the word “comfortable,” his eyes brimming with tears. “But it was a strange game. We didn’t have any say in it. I don’t know where those two little monsters came from, but we were separated, passing by volcanoes and glaciers, all while having to fend off monster attacks…”

The heart demon’s eyes gleam with excitement. “That sounds so fun!”

It seems you can advance and play games while eating monsters to fill your stomach!

Jiang Zhibai shakes his head quickly. “Forget it! It’s too tiring. There were no life-threatening situations, but we didn’t get a moment to rest. We’re almost completely exhausted.”

No wonder the three of them look so worn out.

Yun Zhuoran has a nagging feeling that something is missing. After talking with them, he notices Gu Jinping hiding behind Shen Lingshu. That is the person he has been missing.

But that person isn’t important right now.

The fox demon and the tiger demon have been drained of their demonic energy by the heart demon, and they still haven’t recovered. They are too weak to move, unable to escape.

When they see Yun Zhuoran approaching, the two demons huddle together, trembling.

Li Jianming, remembering the two hateful demons, stands up and asks, “Did you get any rewards for winning? Where’s the teleportation array these two guys were hiding?”

The heart demon replies, “I haven’t gotten it yet.”

This is his reminder to himself. He squats down and grabs the fox’s tail.

“Where’s the teleportation array?”

The fox, who has been gloating over their suffering not long ago, doesn’t dare speak out now. But as his tail is caught, he collapses, “Can’t you let go of my tail?!”

“Oh, fine.”

The heart demon thinks about it and realizes he has taken three of the fox demon’s tails. The last one isn’t as pretty as the others, and though its texture is nice, it isn’t as beautiful. So, he simply lets it go.

The fox doesn’t expect the little island master to be so easygoing this time. He freezes for a moment, but then sees the beautiful young man in red standing behind him. The cold, piercing gaze sends a chill down his spine, freezing him in place.

Yun Zhuoran casually withdraws his gaze and speaks softly to Weiran, “Do you like this tail? We can take it. Though the fur color is a bit dull, we can turn it into a small toy for you.”

“But I already have three,” Weiran replies, standing up and pulling the three soft fox tails from his storage bracelet, stuffing them all into Yun Zhuoran’s arms.

The light beige fur of the fox tails contrasts against Yun Zhuoran’s bright red clothes, creating a strange but intriguing effect.

Weiran’s eyes sparkle as he smiles in satisfaction. “These are all for my brother to play with!”

Yun Zhuoran stands still for a moment, his dark eyes blinking slowly as he comes back to his senses. After a long while, a faint smile appears on the corner of his mouth as he looks at the last fox tail.

“Alright, give me all these tails. The last one will be your toy.”