When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 88

A night in the Yuelai Inn lasts only half an hour, and midnight passes in a fleeting moment. Since the petal-formed words appear on the ground, no new ones have shown up.

A sudden gust of wind blows in from nowhere, scattering the petals across the ground, as if reminding everyone that a delay might mean missing the message transmitted from another space. In the end, only the characters spelling “brother,” pieced together by the heart demon, remain intact on the ground. The heart demon begins to laugh again.

“Brother, come!”

He still doesn’t forget his grand mission and pulls Yun Zhuoran down to squat and keep playing.

As expected, Yun Zhuoran obediently goes along with the heart demon.

The scene renders everyone speechless.

Li Jianming wears a face full of frustration, as if Yun Zhuoran is hopeless, and crouches down beside them, chattering nonstop as he questions him, “Yun Zhuoran, what is wrong with you? You’re still playing? You’re a grown man. You weren’t even this playful when you were a child… Fine, fine, we all know you spoil the little island master, but what did those words mean just now? You’re really saying it wasn’t your doing?”

Ever since the little island master appears, Li Jianming suspects Yun Zhuoran is possessed. How else could he suddenly become so gentle? He spoils the little island master to such an extent, even dropping his usual cold demeanor just to play with him. And yet, Yun Zhuoran remains cold toward everyone else…

It truly makes others envious.

But what can Li Jianming do? Yun Zhuoran has talent, strength, and beauty…

When Yun Zhuoran glances at him coldly, he quickly rephrases his thoughts.

Who asks Yun Zhuoran to be so good-looking? He’s also the Taoist friend he admires most. He really gets away with everything on his looks alone.

Yun Zhuoran looks at him oddly, then lowers his head and begins arranging petals according to the heart demon’s instructions. While doing so, he says, “It’s still one day until the next midnight.”

Li Jianming chuckles. “I know we still have a day. But are we really going to believe it?”

Yun Zhuoran neither confirms nor denies, instead asking, “Do you have any other ideas?”

Li Jianming nods. “In that case, we believe it.”

With that settled, he calms down and looks at the others around them. He can’t control what Ji Ruo, Shen Lingshu, or the others think, so he simply asks his friends, Jiang Zhibai and Gu Qiuming, “Go back and rest?”

Jiang Zhibai slowly nods. “Okay.”

For Gu Qiuming, who is injured, being indoors and outdoors makes a big difference. His injuries ease more while in his room—this is true for all the injured. Since they now know the monster won’t appear after midnight and there is no danger, they naturally choose to return to rest and recover.

So, Li Jianming and Jiang Zhibai help Gu Qiuming back to his room. As they pass Shen Lingshu, none of the three speak to him. Shen Lingshu is present when Gu Qiuming’s condition worsens the day before, but he ignores it and walks away. That deeply disappoints Jiang Zhibai, who once holds hope for him.

Jiang Zhibai can’t believe someone like Shen Lingshu, the future sect leader, would really do something as petty as inciting Ji Chen to target Yun Zhuoran. But because of his closeness to Yun Zhuoran, Jiang Zhibai begins to waver. This time, upon seeing Shen Lingshu again, he seems completely changed. Maybe it’s because his spiritual veins have been destroyed—he has grown gloomier and more withdrawn—or maybe this is his true nature all along.

Whatever the reason, even Jiang Zhibai subconsciously distances himself. Other than Gu Jinping, Shen Lingshu truly has no one left at the inn. But he doesn’t care and continues to do his own thing.

After the three leave, Shen Lingshu and Gu Jinping also depart, leaving behind only Ji Ruo, who stands beneath the tree, head lowered, staring at the petals.

Following the heart demon’s instructions, Yun Zhuoran slowly spells out the heart demon’s name. Once it is complete, the heart demon beams with happiness and carefully redraws the heart shape that was blown away earlier.

Ji Ruo is startled awake by his laughter and quickly leaves.

Watching Ji Ruo’s slightly flustered retreating back, a trace of contemplation flashes in Yun Zhuoran’s eyes.

“…Trouble.”

The heart demon looks up. “What?”

Yun Zhuoran shakes his head and turns to Young Master Yin, who still sits silently in the Golden Light spell, regulating his breath.

The person trapped in the array seems to sense something—his ears twitch slightly.

Under these circumstances, there’s not much need to speculate about who spells Ji Ruo’s name. Anyone familiar with him already has the answer in mind—Ji Wuwang.

Tongye is at the inn. Ji Wuwang is also at the inn. For Yun Zhuoran, that is a problem.

The heart demon draws a barrier around the ground to prevent anyone from disturbing the name he and his “brother” have painstakingly created. After Yun Zhuoran reminds him to use a photo stone to record it, he reluctantly follows Yun Zhuoran back to their room. By then, the courtyard is empty, leaving only Young Master Yin trapped in the cold.

But there’s nothing he can do. Yun Zhuoran has sealed him in, and he can’t escape. Just resisting the piercing cold of the Golden Light Spell takes all his concentration. He can only blame Gu Shenshu for discarding him after using him—abandoning him here for a full night without once returning to help.

Young Master Yin now knows clearly: he has been discarded.

A chess piece that has lost its value. If it were him, he wouldn’t care about such a piece anymore either.

Young Master Yin laughs bitterly in his heart. All of Yun Zhuoran’s effort to use him as bait is ultimately pointless.

Half an hour passes, and the faint light of dawn begins to break.

The heart demon yawns and falls asleep beside Yun Zhuoran. The little blue sparrow, having been tormented for quite some time, finally wriggles free from between his fingers, looking aggrieved. Just as it’s about to run away, the red-clothed man meditating with his eyes closed suddenly opens them.

The little blue sparrow immediately crouches in place and hugs its head.

But Yun Zhuoran has no intention of hurting it. He simply flicks his fingers to form a barrier in the room, ensuring the little blue sparrow can’t escape easily. Then he closes his eyes again and continues meditating beside the heart demon.

From last night until now, the short one-hour rest is far from enough for the injured Gu Qiuming and Ji Ruo. But at dusk, the two of them still insist on going out. When Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon arrive with the demon core, everyone else is already waiting in the courtyard.

Young Master Yin has been frozen into an ice block by the Golden Light Spell. Even though he keeps circulating his true energy, it can’t dispel the chill. All he can do is barely protect his heart. Ji Ruo has always disliked him, and though he’s also a mess after nightfall, he can’t help but kick the man while he’s down when he sees someone doing worse than him.

If Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon don’t arrive, Ji Ruo might mock him a few more times.

“Ah, frozen into an ice cube.” The heart demon glances at Young Master Yin’s miserable state and bounces over excitedly, hugging the demon core. “You look so refreshingly cool.”

Who the hell wants to be that cool? Upon hearing this, Young Master Yin’s eyelashes tremble violently, and he nearly chokes in rage. He barely manages to steady his breath.

Yun Zhuoran waves for the heart demon to return, not expecting Ji Ruo to run over along with him. His face is still pale, but his eyes are bright.

“Yun Zhuoran, when are you going to break the formation?”

Yun Zhuoran looks up at the sky.

There is no sun or moon in Yuelai Inn—only darkness. It’s hard to judge the time, so everyone can only rely on their own internal sense.

“It’s getting late!”

Ji Ruo seems to grasp his meaning and blurts it out, then quickly realizes he’s being too hasty. He slows down and asks again, “How do we break the formation?”

Yun Zhuoran’s calm gaze passes over Ji Ruo’s expectant face. He reaches out and picks off a small crystal fragment of the demon core from the heart demon’s lapel and says, “Maybe by attacking the center of the formation. It doesn’t have to be me.”

His meaning is clear—he probably won’t be taking action at midnight.

Everyone is a little surprised.

“You’re not going to act? How could that be! If we can’t break the formation tonight, who’s going to take responsibility?”

Everyone is thinking the same thing, but the one who voices it is Gu Jinping—and her tone is terrible, as if Yun Zhuoran must be responsible.

Most of the others don’t mean to pressure him, but once Gu Jinping speaks, the atmosphere immediately shifts.

Li Jianming quickly pulls Jiang Zhibai and Gu Qiuming aside, saying, “Please don’t! No one is responsible for you! We said it before entering the teleportation formation: no one forced you—you chose to come.”

Gu Jinping has already been subtly excluded by everyone for a while. She isn’t so dense that she doesn’t notice. She speaks on impulse and now has to backpedal under pressure. “I didn’t mean it like that…”

Shen Lingshu suddenly snaps coldly, “Miss Gu, you’d better watch yourself.”

Gu Jinping looks stunned, and so do the others.

They watch as Shen Lingshu turns toward Yun Zhuoran, a trace of apology in his expression. “I don’t know what others are thinking, but I believe the Young Island Master’s method of breaking the formation must be the correct one.”

It’s the first time Shen Lingshu has taken the initiative to speak to Yun Zhuoran in public since they entered the floating city, and his words sound oddly like flattery.

“I don’t know what everyone else thinks, but I trust the young island master’s method for breaking the formation.”

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t buy it. He nods perfunctorily and walks toward Young Master Yin.

Behind him, Gu Jinping grinds her teeth in frustration. She isn’t stupid—she knows Shen Lingshu is stepping on her to curry favor with Yun Zhuoran… Yun Zhuoran again! Always Yun Zhuoran! Gu Jinping clenches her fists, but in the end, just turns and sulks in the corner.

Every time she confronts Yun Zhuoran or the little island master, she loses. Every time she acts, she ends up frustrated…

The heart demon notices, and a flash of blood crosses his eyes. He checks the warding marks he carved on the ground, sees that no one dares touch them, and then runs over to Young Master Yin.

At that moment, Yun Zhuoran also examines the Golden Light Spell and finds that, after an entire day and night, Young Master Yin is still alone—Gu Shenshu has not returned.

He has truly been abandoned.

Yun Zhuoran expects this, but still doesn’t release him.

The little blue sparrow that follows them squats quietly on the well’s edge, silently observing the crowd.

Li Jianming takes the initiative to confer with Shen Lingshu, Ji Ruo, and the others. Meanwhile, Yun Zhuoran sits off to the side with a bamboo slip in hand, patiently and gently teaching the heart demon to read. No one knows why Yun Zhuoran refuses to take action, but since he’s already said so, they don’t disturb him. Except for Gu Qiuming, who is too weak, and Gu Jinping, who has been excluded, the remaining four—Ji Ruo included—stand at the four corners under the trees, ready to act.

When midnight finally arrives, the four strike at once, their attacks landing on the roots of the tree. Spiritual energy and demonic aura intertwine, bursting into a brilliant, blinding light.

At that moment, Yun Zhuoran slowly puts away the bamboo slip, ending the heart demon’s literacy lesson for the day.

The heart demon pats his chest dramatically, wearing the expression of someone who has just survived a disaster. He hadn’t expected that after entering the floating city, he’d be forced to learn how to read…

He sighs.

Yun Zhuoran hears the sigh beside his ear and secretly shakes his head. He is about to speak when his eyes suddenly sharpen. He pulls the heart demon back and quickly draws a golden light barrier to shield them both.

At the same time, a heavy spiritual pressure surges from the root of the tree where the four attack. A white arc of light rapidly expands, then explodes with a loud bang. The four attackers are blasted back by the terrifying force!

That immense spiritual pressure continues to spread, quickly engulfing the entire inn.

When the sudden influx of spiritual energy finally dissipates, something seems to shift. The space around the inn changes, and the previously dulled five senses seem to recover their clarity. The moment Yun Zhuoran removes the barrier, numerous figures suddenly appear in the courtyard.

They have all been there the whole time—yet now, more people have emerged within the inn.

When Ji Wuwang and Tongye finally see each other, the more than twenty people crowded in the courtyard are all visibly relieved. This can only mean that the space array has finally been broken.

Ji Wuwang quickly helps Ji Ruo, who is standing nearby, to his feet. Seeing Ji Ruo’s pale face and his hand clutching his chest, Ji Wuwang smiles and says, “It seems I used a little more strength than I intended.”

Ji Ruo glares at him in annoyance but still holds onto his arm tightly. He is relieved that Ji Wuwang has come; without him, it would have been difficult to survive in the floating city. While many people find Ji Wuwang troublesome, Ji Ruo has to admit, especially in times of danger, that Ji Wuwang is a strong and reliable ally.

Ji Wuwang’s hand brushes Ji Ruo’s wrist before raising an eyebrow in surprise.

“Young Master is injured? Who did this to him?”

Ji Ruo feels as if Ji Wuwang is gloating, but he knows he has no choice but to rely on him. Resisting the urge to snap, he glances off into the distance.

Ji Wuwang follows his gaze.

In a corner of the courtyard, the cold and aloof young man in red and the enchanting yet innocent young man in white stand side by side. They appear to be outsiders, observing the gathered monks with the same indifferent black eyes.

Perhaps noticing that others are watching them, the young man in red turns his head. His face is elegant and delicate, ethereal like a banished immortal. But his cold gaze, capable of chilling anyone who meets it, overshadows his beauty.

Ji Wuwang isn’t intimidated. He is about to return a friendly smile, but the other man’s gaze sweeps over him with barely a glance before focusing directly behind him. Turning around, Ji Wuwang sees that the young man in white is none other than Tongye.

Ji Ruo notices Ji Wuwang glancing around, and that he’s looked toward the righteous sect’s Buddhist disciple. He quickly says, “I don’t know who it was, but they used a Blood Demon Vine seed.”

Ji Wuwang gives a light “Oh,” then smiles and looks toward the young master of the Candle Yin Sect on the opposite side.

“Then I know who it is.”

After the space array is cracked, twelve cultivators are visible to Yun Zhuoran and the others. Tongye and Ji Wuwang clearly know them. Along with them is Qin Zheng. The two girls from the Shen family immediately run over to Shen Lingshu, while Lu Qi and Young Master Yu of the Zhuyin Sect stand next to Tongye.

Clearly, the cultivators trapped in the formation aren’t just from three groups.

Yun Zhuoran watches these cultivators coldly as they find their companions and begin to form a new formation.

At that moment, Song Shao and Song Yun run over from behind Ji Wuwang. They’ve endured much and only dare approach Yun Zhuoran after seeing him.

“Young Island Master! Little Island Master!” Song Shao calls out, rushing forward. He quickly recovers and bows respectfully with his junior brother. Both Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon acknowledge them with a nod.

The heart demon’s response is more enthusiastic. “Why are you here too?”

Though both Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon seem indifferent, Song Shao feels immense relief seeing them. He doesn’t dare complain about their attitudes.

Song Shao eagerly recounts the journey he and Song Yun have taken. They’ve been together from the start, meeting a disciple named Ji Chen from the Tiandao Sect. During the third round, they encounter Ji Wuwang, who seems intent on causing trouble.

“Ji Wuwang acts strangely,” Song Shao says, shaking his head. “He’s not interested in clearing the levels and keeps targeting us. When the level becomes difficult, he clears it, but refuses to leave, provoking the gatekeeper. To get him to leave, the gatekeeper gives him a special reward: the teleportation array. That’s how we all end up here.”

Song Shao is frustrated and wants to vent to the island masters, but knowing they don’t like unnecessary talk, he keeps it brief and skips the part where Ji Wuwang forcibly sends them into the teleportation array.

They’ve followed Ji Wuwang all the way here and gained plenty of rewards from the gatekeepers—heavenly-grade spiritual treasures, magical items, and immortal pills.

If the heart demon hears this, he would be furious. After all, Yun Zhuoran and he haven’t received anything of the sort, yet others are getting far better rewards!

After hearing all this, the two disciples of Penglai Immortal Palace glance at their island masters with newfound appreciation. Though Yun Zhuoran and the heart demon are usually cold, in that moment, they seem like the most kind and reliable figures in the room.

Finally, Song Shao’s expression shifts, and he looks at the cultivators from the Tiandao Sect, lowering his voice. “Young Island Master, there’s a Tiandao Sect disciple named Ji Chen traveling with us. He’s been asking about you the whole time.”

The heart demon notices the Tiandao Sect cultivator sneaking a look from behind the crowd. “It’s him.”

Song Shao asks, “Do you know him too?”

The heart demon thinks for a moment, then frowns. “A very unlucky person.”

How unlucky must someone be to earn such a judgment from Yun Zhuoran?

Song Shao doesn’t fully understand. He notices Qin Zheng from Tiandao Sect staring at the island masters from a distance, and his worry increases. “Young Island Master, from what I saw, Qin Feng from Tiandao Sect—”

“No need to worry.” Yun Zhuoran calmly interrupts, “The formation is broken, but we haven’t passed yet.”