When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 84

After Yun Zhuoran confiscates the fire avoidance map, he meets the trusting gaze of the heart demon and feels a bit uneasy in his heart. He brushes his sleeve and stands up.

“It’s getting dark. Let’s go downstairs.” After saying that, Yun Zhuoran leaves the room. The heart demon behind him is left stunned.

Is Brother not waiting for me?

The heart demon quickly scrambles out of bed and runs to catch up, feeling uneasy. He just realizes how strange the yellow book is—like something children from good families shouldn’t be reading. His face flushes red with embarrassment, and as he hurries downstairs, he thinks to himself, the fox demon lied to me, this is definitely not a good thing!

When he flips to the later pages, the book has notes about things that couples or Dao companions do…

And the little book is filled with all kinds of bizarre images, which are quite frightening!

It’s even worse than the scenes in The Emotionless Daoist with Shen Lingshu, where the protagonist and his three future Dao companions practice together—scenes Brother won’t let him read!

He doesn’t think that just because he’s just turned into a human, he can be easily fooled. The heart demon has an instinctive feeling that Brother would get angry if he saw the book, so he hides it away. But when his Brother asks him, his tone seems a little wronged, so the heart demon changes his mind and pretends not to understand, handing over the yellow book.

But based on Big Brother’s tone just now, it seems like he really doesn’t understand? The heart demon is a little confused—how could Big Brother be dumber than him?

The truth is, Yun Zhuoran just doesn’t want the heart demon to learn the meaning behind the fire avoidance map. The heart demon is still so innocent, and Yun Zhuoran doesn’t want to taint that. But he has deceived the heart demon and now feels a sense of unease. He realizes his actions are a bit strange. He has lied, but it is for the heart demon’s own good. Thinking this, he slows his pace, waiting for the heart demon to catch up.

When the heart demon does catch up, they are already on the second floor. He wraps his arm around Yun Zhuoran’s and whispers, “Brother, why didn’t you wait for me?”

Yun Zhuoran looks away, his gaze evasive, and mutters, “I forgot. Let’s go downstairs first.”

The heart demon scratches his head, still confused. What has Yun Zhuoran forgotten?

Since Yun Zhuoran is a bit cold in his tone, the heart demon doesn’t press further. He follows him down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. “Brother, how long have I been asleep?”

“One night.” Yun Zhuoran’s tone softens, and when he sees the heart demon’s red eyes from rubbing, he can’t help but ask, “Doesn’t it hurt?”

The heart demon notices the change in Yun Zhuoran’s tone and smiles brightly. “It doesn’t hurt.”

When they reach the lobby downstairs, it is already sunset, with candles lit around the room. Young Master Yin, Shen Lingshu, and Gu Jinping are quietly waiting, but Li Jianming and the others are absent.

Young Master Yin greets them, “Young Island Master and Little Island Master have arrived.”

Yun Zhuoran glances at him, confused.

Young Master Yin smiles, “I was worried that Young Master would only bring Little Young Master to pass the test and leave us irrelevant people to fend for ourselves. If I didn’t see you, I would’ve felt uneasy.”

It sounds like a joke, but it’s clear that Young Master Yin has definitely thought this way.

Yun Zhuoran’s face remains indifferent. “Yin Shaozhu, thank you for reminding me. I didn’t realize that could be done.”

Young Master Yin laughs awkwardly, trying to cover his intentions. “Young Island Master is joking.”

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t respond. His gaze turns toward the upstairs area.

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t pay him any further attention. He raises his eyes to look at the second floor. He remembers that Li Jianming hasn’t returned to his room, and since he goes upstairs and comes back down, he hasn’t heard any noise from Li Jianming’s room.

Since Li Jianming isn’t upstairs or in the lobby, he must have gone to find Jiang Zhibai.

Yun Zhuoran isn’t in a hurry to find anyone, so he sits down next to Young Master Yin with the heart demon.

Chen Lingshu and Gu Jinping are still sitting calmly in the lobby. If anything had happened at the inn, Yun Zhuoran would have heard something, and surely Shen Lingshu and Gu Jinping wouldn’t be so composed.

Before long, Li Jianming appears at the side door leading to the backyard.

“Yun Zhuoran, come quickly!” Li Jianming looks anxious. When he sees Yun Zhuoran, he waves for him to hurry. If nothing is wrong, he wouldn’t be acting so hastily.

Yun Zhuoran thinks for a moment, then stands up and follows. “Weiran, let’s go.”

The heart demon, who has just taken out a demon core to eat, nods and gets up. He takes a bite, then begins to follow, but suddenly Shen Lingshu speaks from behind him.

“I think Junior Brother Gu’s injury has worsened again.”

Shen Lingshu’s voice isn’t loud, but Yun Zhuoran is walking fast and doesn’t hear it.

The heart demon stops and looks back, noticing Shen Lingshu staring at him.

Shen Lingshu speaks in a dark, cryptic tone, “I never knew that Junior Brother Yun had a younger brother.”

The heart demon points at himself, “Who’s your junior brother? And are you talking to me?”

Young Master Yin and Gu Jinping exchange glances then both turn to look at Shen Lingshu. Since entering the Floating City, Shen Lingshu has been quiet and rarely speaks, so for him to address Little Island Master with a somewhat provocative tone catches their attention. For Shen Lingshu, this is intriguing.

Shen Lingshu doesn’t seem to care about the others’ attention. He looks the heart demon up and down, then asks, “Who are you? Are you a demon?”

Since entering Floating City, the heart demon has been thinking about Shen Lingshu, wondering if this time he is so obedient because he has suffered a setback and finally learned how to behave. But now the heart demon realizes Shen Lingshu hasn’t found a chance to act earlier. It seems Shen Lingshu is afraid of Yun Zhuoran and has turned to provoke him instead.

“What does it matter to you?” The heart demon takes a big bite of the demon core, trying to hide his excitement. If Shen Lingshu doesn’t ask for trouble, he won’t kill him in front of Big Brother, but this time, Shen Lingshu has come to him.

The heart demon feels a surge of excitement. Come on, Shen, do something! He’s not like Jue Fei, who leaves some kindness after breaking someone’s spiritual veins.

But this time, the heart demon is disappointed because Shen Lingshu doesn’t intend to make a move. He looked at the heart demon and suddenly smiled meaningfully.

Shen Lingshu suddenly laughs, a bitter smile twisting his face. “It doesn’t matter to me. But I’m afraid Little Island Master doesn’t know what kind of cultivation path Junior Brother Yun practices. His way of cultivation is ruthless, and so is he. Even though he’s been nice to you now, there will come a day when you…” Shen Lingshu trails off, his face darkening as he remembers how Yun Zhuoran severed ties with him decisively.

The heart demon quickly guesses the implication—Shen Lingshu is hinting that Yun Zhuoran practices the Emotionless Dao left by Gu Shenshu of the Tiandao Sect, and that sooner or later, Yun Zhuoran will abandon him too.

What a joke.

Yun Zhuoran has already walked far away. Since Shen Lingshu is just speaking out of madness, the heart demon can’t be bothered to waste any more time with him. With a sneer, he turns and leaves.

“Just mind your own business and stop meddling.” After saying those words, the heart demon happily runs toward the backyard.

Master Yin watches as Shen Lingshu’s expression turns dark with anger. He secretly smirks, thinking to himself that this Little Island Master isn’t as obedient as when Yun Zhuoran is around. It might not be so easy for Shen Lingshu to provoke him.

From this, it seems there is some grudge between Shen Lingshu and Yun Zhuoran. Young Master Yin is indeed quite interested in the matter, particularly where Yun Zhuoran is involved.

Gu Jinping is confused. She knows that the Little Island Master’s words have made Shen Lingshu very unhappy, so she takes the opportunity to gently persuade him. “Brother Shen, don’t be angry. This Little Island Master is so arrogant and rude. It’s good that Yun Zhuoran is protecting him now. But one day, if there’s no one to protect him, who knows how miserable his end will be?”

Shen Lingshu is not comforted. He looks up at Gu Jinping with a cold, sharp gaze that makes her smile falter. He speaks in a voice that only the two of them can hear, his tone icy. “It’s not your place to speak about him or Yun Zhuoran. Gu Jinping, I’ll say it one last time—stay away from me!”

Having known Shen Lingshu for at least thirty years, Gu Jinping has never seen him wear such a cold, ruthless expression. For a moment, she feels a chilling killing intent emanating from him. Terrified, she steps back and almost trips over the bench. She manages to steady herself by grabbing the table, but once she regains her composure, she rushes to explain herself. However, she meets the gaze of Master Yin, who is watching the scene with interest.

Gu Jinping, always concerned about her image, feels her pride wounded by Shen Lingshu’s repeated disregard for her, especially in front of others.

She bites her lower lip, ultimately retreating from Shen Lingshu with a troubled expression.

Of course, she isn’t angry with him—she’s more resentful of the person who has made him so angry.

Meanwhile, after Yun Zhuoran and Li Jianming enter the small side door, they notice that the heart demon hasn’t followed them. Just as they are about to go back to look for him, the heart demon comes running over, holding a small piece of the demon core in his hand. He tosses the last bite into his mouth, chews it happily, and runs up to Yun Zhuoran with a smile.

“Brother!”

Yun Zhuoran nods and then glances around the dimly lit room. This is a large common room downstairs, where a person sits on the broad kang—a mattress in the center of the room. It’s Gu Qiuming, and Jiang Zhibai is currently helping him heal his injuries. In less than half an hour, Gu Qiuming’s condition has worsened significantly. His face is ashen, and there’s someone lying on the small square table opposite him—Ji Ruo, while Li Jianming stands nearby.

“Yun Zhuoran, come here quickly!”

Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon walk over to find Ji Ruo unconscious, his face tinged with an unnatural purple hue. The cloth on his arm is soaked with blood, and the gauze is still seeping black and red blood.

Yun Zhuoran immediately has many doubts as he observes Ji Ruo in this state.

Weiran also senses something is off. “Why is he here? Did you two fight?”

In the large bunk bed where Jiang Zhibai, Gu Qiuming, and Shen Lingshu have stayed, both Ji Ruo and Gu Qiuming’s injuries have worsened. Li Jianming is also present, so it’s hard not to suspect that the four of them have been involved in a fight.

Li Jianming looks aggrieved. “I didn’t fight with him! I didn’t hurt him! Junior Brother Gu has internal injuries, and I haven’t been upstairs since dawn. Bai Bai and I took turns to help him heal. He was almost better, but when it was nearing dusk, his injuries suddenly relapsed. That’s when Master Ji came and knocked on the door…” He steps aside to reveal Ji Ruo and continues, “He was already like this when I found him. It seemed like he wanted to beg for help, but he didn’t dare go to Master Yin or you, so he came down here. Look at his hand—it looks like he’s been poisoned by something strange!”

Yun Zhuoran replies, “So you called me?”

As Li Jianming says, Ji Ruo has avoided Master Yin, but when seeking help, he ends up encountering Shen Lingshu, who has been in the lobby earlier. This shows that Shen Lingshu knows everything but chooses not to care.

From the time Ji Ruo comes to him until now, Li Jianming is confused. He honestly doesn’t want to get involved with Ji Ruo. “Forget about Ji Ruo—what about Junior Brother Gu? Our cultivation levels are too low, and we don’t have any proper medical practitioners. We can only ask you to check and see if there’s any way to help.”

Gu Qiuming’s injury is internal and can be treated with spiritual power transfer. But Ji Ruo’s condition is more pressing. Looking at the increasingly pronounced black and purple spiderweb veins spreading across his face, Yun Zhuoran knows that delaying treatment could be disastrous.

But doesn’t Gu Shenshu say that the floating city won’t kill people?

Yun Zhuoran gently brushes his fingertips over Ji Ruo’s right arm, his spiritual power cutting through the blood-soaked gauze to reveal the wound beneath.

“You really care about him…” Li Jianming mutters. Then he suddenly cries out, “What’s in his hand?!”

A black and purple vine seems to sprout from Ji Ruo’s flesh, splitting into countless veins that root deeply under his skin, creating the spiderweb patterns across his body. At the roots, the flesh is nearly rotting, and dark demonic energy can be seen.

The heart demon suddenly feels that the demon core he’s chewing no longer tastes as good.

Yun Zhuoran hears the faint sound of slurping in his ear and helplessly turns to glare at the heart demon, signaling him to stop even thinking about it. He then answers Li Jianming, “It’s the seed of the blood demon vine.”

Li Jianming still doesn’t understand.

Yun Zhuoran briefly explains, “It’s a type of monster that feeds on human flesh and blood. After consuming the blood and essence from Ji Ruo, it transforms into a seed again and transfers to a second victim. Once it attaches to a wound, in less than an hour, the person ends up like Ji Ruo.”

“What will happen to Ji Ruo?”

Yun Zhuoran looks over and sees that Jiang Zhibai, who asks the question, has temporarily stabilized Gu Qiuming’s injury and is sitting at the edge of the bed, relaxing his breath. It’s clear that Gu Qiuming’s injury is much lighter than Ji Ruo’s.

“Drain the brain and turn it into a rotten corpse.”

As soon as Yun Zhuoran finishes speaking, the magic bead hanging from Ji Ruo’s neck suddenly flashes.

The plague demon raised by Ji Ruo reacts to it.

Upon hearing this, Li Jianming is struck with dread. “I brought Ji Ruo in!”

Yun Zhuoran replies coolly, “The demon seed isn’t mature yet and can’t be transferred.”

At this, both Li Jianming and Jiang Zhibai breathe a sigh of relief, though they’re still left feeling puzzled.

“What about Ji Ruo?”

Yun Zhuoran silently removes the magic bead from Ji Ruo’s neck and casually places it into his storage ring. Li Jianming notices and tactfully tries to intervene, “He’s not dead yet. It might not be right for us to take his relics.”

Yun Zhuoran shoots him a glance. “Is there something wrong with collecting rewards?”

Li Jianming blinks, confused. “What rewards?”

Yun Zhuoran gestures for him to step aside and, with a flick of his fingers, gathers a small ball of spiritual light. He carefully moves it down Ji Ruo’s arm, inch by inch, closing in on the blood demon vine seed. Ji Ruo, still unconscious, suddenly lets out a cry of pain, as if the blood demon vine inside him is reacting. However, Yun Zhuoran’s expression remains unchanged as he focuses on forcing the seed out.

The blood demon vine hasn’t fully taken root in Ji Ruo’s body yet. Perhaps Ji Ruo has managed to delay it before, which gives him more time. Now, applying force is the best approach.

Under the pressure of Yun Zhuoran’s spiritual power, the blood demon vine, which has been creeping up Ji Ruo’s hand, recoils like a flame. As it squirms to retreat back into Ji Ruo’s body, Yun Zhuoran uproots it with ease, dragging a tangle of thick blood-colored roots into the air. The vine seems to panic, its roots opening and closing wildly, writhing like claws.

For a moment, the smell of blood floods the room, and everyone sees the hideous form of the blood demon vine. Their faces twist in disgust.

Yun Zhuoran flicks his fingers again, and a light golden flame appears, landing on the blood demon vine. With a hiss, the fire ignites brightly, instantly burning the vine to ash.

The black and purple lines on Ji Ruo’s face and arms gradually fade, leaving only a swollen red needle wound on his skin. His breath eases somewhat, and though he still looks pale and exhausted, it’s as though he has simply fallen asleep. Beneath the surface, though, the internal damage left by the blood demon vine is severe.

Once the blood demon vine is dealt with, Yun Zhuoran turns back and catches the heart demon’s regretful expression.

The heart demon, caught red-handed, hastily stuffs the demon core into his mouth, chewing innocently as though he hasn’t been thinking about anything.

“Is it done?” Li Jianming asks, leaning in curiously.

At that moment, Ji Ruo suddenly opens his eyes, causing Li Jianming to jump back in shock.

“Good grief, don’t scare me like that! It was Yun Zhuoran who saved you!” he exclaims, his voice filled with relief. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier that the blood demon vine seed was planted in you? Your brain was almost sucked out!”

The most important thing, of course, is that they, the innocent bystanders, have nearly been dragged into this mess.

Ji Ruo, still disoriented, supports his arm with a wince. He bites his lip, not saying a word. After a long while, he raises his head and meets Li Jianming’s eyes with a pair of dim, bright eyes—rarely so quiet.

Yun Zhuoran, seeing that Ji Ruo is awake, asks directly, “Was the demon seed planted last night?”

Li Jianming quickly adds, “Was it that strange person?”

Ji Ruo stares at Yun Zhuoran for a long time, then nods slowly.

“I understand.” Yun Zhuoran nods in response and pulls out a bottle of elixir, tossing it to Jiang Zhibai. He glances over at Gu Qiuming and adds, “The internal injury isn’t too severe, but it might return to its original state by nightfall.”

Jiang Zhibai catches the elixir smoothly, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he asks, “How could that be?”

Yun Zhuoran shakes his head. “It’s getting dark. Let’s step outside for now.” After a brief pause, he adds, “The inn has a warning—it’s probably safest to stay in the room after nightfall.”

Jiang Zhibai nods, lost in thought.

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t linger, leading the heart demon out of the room. Ji Ruo is already awake. As a rightful young master of the Demon Palace, he can survive without the blood demon vine, and Yun Zhuoran’s help isn’t for the plague demon in the magic pearl, which even the heart demon refuses to consume. In any case, saving one young master from Yuncheng is no big deal. Saving another, Ji Ruo, who is also raised in Yuncheng, doesn’t make much of a difference. Ji Ruo, unlike Yin Shao, has a lot of bad intentions but isn’t thoroughly corrupted.

The removed magic pearl is treated as a token, something Ji Ruo will inevitably come for once he recovers.

Yun Zhuoran has a premonition that Yuncheng holds significant connections with him and Yun Peiran. After finding Gu Shenshu and inquiring about the past, if no answers come from Yun Peiran, he will certainly head to Yuncheng.

Instead of returning to the lobby, Yun Zhuoran goes to the patio. The cherry tree, which takes up half the space, continues to drop petals. He and the heart demon stand beneath its shade, quietly catching a few petals in their hands.

The heart demon finishes the last demon core, chewing it thoughtfully before asking, “Brother, what are we doing?”

Yun Zhuoran seems to be in thought. “Last night, they encountered the strange person under the tree, and both Gu Qiuming and Ji Ruo were injured. The blood demon vine seed on Ji Ruo—only the Zhuyin Sect has it now.”

The heart demon rolls his eyes. “Did the strange person’s demon seeds come from the Zhuyin Sect?”

Yun Zhuoran turns the question back on him. “What do you think, Weiran? Could the strange person be a person?”

The heart demon shrugs. “I don’t know.”

Yun Zhuoran turns his palm over, watching as the petals on his hand drift away, falling into the mud below.

The heart demon also grabs a petal and says with a smile, “There’s not even any wild grass here, and the water in the well is stagnant. There’s nothing to eat or drink. Only nine of us are staying in the whole inn. Brother, we must look strange living here.”

Yun Zhuoran pauses, and for a moment, it seems as if thousands of stars gather in his dark eyes.

“Weiran, say that again?”

“Ah?” The heart demon spreads the petals in his hand, turns to face Yun Zhuoran, and repeats, recalling, “No food or drink?”

Yun Zhuoran holds the heart demon’s hand down, counting thoughtfully, and laughs. “I understand now.”

The heart demon tilts his head and looks up at him. “Brother, what did you understand? Is there food now?”

Yun Zhuoran shakes his head gently, his body and mind relaxing. He remembers the topic that had been interrupted last time and takes out the gift he originally plans to give to the heart demon.

“This is a souvenir I got from Guanyue Tower.”

It is the most beautiful tail feather from the owner of Guanyue Tower, and the so-called ‘pass key’.

No matter what the gift is, the heart demon’s eyes light up as he takes the tail feather. “This suits you, brother!”

Yun Zhuoran raises an eyebrow. “What?”

The heart demon replies matter-of-factly, “It looks good!”

In the heart demon’s eyes, beautiful things should always belong to Yun Zhuoran. In contrast, the jade-carved little blue bird leaves the heart demon confused.

“Is this a bird?”

Yun Zhuoran is speechless. “…This is the so-called pass key.”

No matter how naive the heart demon is, he can’t believe that this jade carving is the pass key—especially since Yun Zhuoran’s tone clearly has a teasing edge.

The heart demon laughs awkwardly, wondering how to show his support this time, when he suddenly notices a man in white walking from under the eaves. It is clearly Shen Lingshu. The heart demon rolls his eyes and hugs Yun Zhuoran tightly.

“Brother gave me the pass key. You like me the most, right?”

Without waiting for Yun Zhuoran to reply, the heart demon kisses him on the cheek.

“Brother, I like you too!”

Under the opposite eaves, Shen Lingshu stops, standing still with a gloomy expression, watching the two under the tree.

Seeing this, the heart demon’s smile grows wider. Behind Yun Zhuoran’s back, he gives Shen Lingshu a small pinky gesture, filled with a provocative meaning.