The Cannon Fodder Also Has a Will to Survive [Rebirth] - Chapter 10

For the next two days, Lin Jingyuan did not summon him. Ah Hua remained terrified of the Emperor and continued to avoid him, yet every night, the dog would still sneak into the room and sleep faithfully at An Jiu’s feet.

Meanwhile, the secret guard visited An Jiu for two consecutive days, bringing various daily necessities. After all, An Jiu was now a mere mortal, making his needs far more cumbersome than those of a cultivator.

This isn’t such a bad way to live, An Jiu thought, his mind whirring. He decided he must build a good rapport with this secret guard. Perhaps once Lin Jingyuan eventually forgot about him, he could convince the guard to help him escape to the mortal realm.

Thus, when Lin Jingyuan visited again in his hidden identity, An Jiu greeted him with newfound enthusiasm.

On the surface, Lin Jingyuan remained impassive, but inwardly he was filled with disdain for An Jiu’s behavior. He assumed the boy was simply trying to seduce him to gain favors. Just as Lin Jingyuan was debating whether or not to play along with this “seduction,” An Jiu spoke.

“Thank you for taking such good care of me. Does this mean we’re friends now?”

“Mhm.” Lin Jingyuan paused. Starting with friendship? It seems the little idiot has a brain after all—he knows how to take things one step at a time.

“Then, can you tell me your name?”

“Lin…” Lin Jingyuan hesitated for a fraction of a second. “Just one word: Lin, as in ‘to descend’.”

“Then Lin and An Jiu are friends from now on.” An Jiu offered him a harmless, radiant smile.

“Mhm,” Lin Jingyuan replied coldly. An Jiu didn’t mind the indifference.

Friends? Lin Jingyuan savored the word in his mind. Friends are merely tools meant for betrayal.

Two days later, Lin Jingyuan needed to leave the Demonic Palace. Before his departure, he found himself unexpectedly worried about that “little idiot.” It wasn’t that he feared for the boy’s safety, but rather that he worried An Jiu might become suspicious if neither the Emperor nor the guard appeared for a long period.

Consequently, before leaving, Lin Jingyuan visited An Jiu one last time in his guise as ‘Lin’ to bid him farewell.

“The Emperor is leaving for a while, and I must accompany him. Take care of yourself.”

An Jiu’s eyes sparkled. Whatever scheme he was plotting was written clearly on his face. “Go, go! You’re the Emperor’s secret guard, so it’s only right that you stay by his side.”

Lin Jingyuan remained silent for a moment. “Do not wander off. The Demonic Palace is dangerous.”

An Jiu nodded obediently. Lin Jingyuan found himself thinking that keeping such a small pet wasn’t a bad idea after all.

Once Lin Jingyuan was gone, An Jiu stayed well-behaved for two days before curiosity got the better of him. He decided to scout the surrounding area to learn the layout of the palace.

Using the excuse of walking the dog, An Jiu familiarized himself with the architecture. He soon discovered that Lin Jingyuan had a penchant for collecting pets. He kept all sorts of strange creatures; the lowest-ranked was the mortal dog Ah Hua, while the most formidable was a massive Demonic Peregrine Falcon. It looked incredibly imposing.

An Jiu didn’t dare get too close, fearing Ah Hua might be startled, though the dog had remained surprisingly calm despite the many creatures they had encountered over the last two days.

The person tending to the falcon was the demoness An Jiu had met on his first day. Seeing such a large bird perched on her slender arm created a striking, staggering contrast. Noticing An Jiu in the distance, the demoness raised her arm, and the falcon took flight with gallant grace, leaving An Jiu in awe.

“Young Master, I trust you have been well?” the demoness said, walking over with a smile.

An Jiu thought this “Sister” was quite refined compared to other demons. “Very well, thank you.”

He wasn’t lying. Since arriving at the palace, aside from a brief moment of physical pain when Lin had throttled him, his life had been quite relaxed certainly more pleasant than his days back at Dongqi Peak. Plus, he basically had a demonic zoo to tour.

The demoness noted the Emperor’s Mark on him. She knew no demon would be foolish enough to provoke him. In fact, she noticed that even the bloodthirsty demonic pets didn’t dare bark loudly in his presence.

“Come find me when you’re free,” she nodded. “I can take you anywhere in the palace, except for the Forbidden Palace.”

An Jiu’s eyes crinkled into a smile. However, he remembered his status as a prisoner. “I should probably ask for His Majesty’s permission when he returns.”

The demoness smiled but said nothing. The Emperor had marked this human, such possessiveness was a sign of genuine interest. If the boy made a reasonable request, he would likely not be refused.

She wasn’t the only one who thought so; everyone who had seen An Jiu shared the sentiment. But they didn’t know that the mark only ensured his safety within a specific range. If he tried to escape, he would discover exactly how cruel Lin Jingyuan could be.

Fortunately, An Jiu was a coward. Although he was looking for a backway out, he hadn’t seriously considered leaving yet. What would be the point? The Demonic Realm was vast; a mortal couldn’t possibly survive the trek out. He would wait until his bond with Lin grew stronger, then ask Lin to escort him out personally.

Half a month later, Lin Jingyuan returned. However, he did not summon An Jiu. An Jiu initially hoped the Emperor had forgotten him so he could begin his escape plans. But to his dismay, while the Emperor ignored him, ‘Lin’ also stopped visiting.

Had his best friend forgotten him too? Was his plan failing before it even started?

An Jiu felt restless. Even petting the dog felt unsatisfying. He spent his days obsessively combing Ah Hua with a fine-toothed comb until the dog was nearly bald. Fortunately, the dog didn’t suffer from hair-loss anxiety and continued to grin at An Jiu with its tongue lolling out.

The demon servant who originally cared for Ah Hua couldn’t help but mock him. “Still have the heart to play with a dog? The Emperor will kick you out soon. Enjoy your final days of leisure.”

An Jiu was used to the man’s snide remarks, but one detail caught his attention. “You know the Emperor is going to kick me out?”

The servant preened. “Of course. His Majesty went out specifically to rescue his Daoist Companion. Now that he’s brought the person back, do you think he has time for the likes of you?”

A Daoist Companion?! An Jiu’s first thought was An Yunge.

Had Lin Jingyuan brought An Yunge to the palace? Would the Emperor now use An Jiu as “medicine” to repair An Yunge’s spiritual roots, just as his Master had planned? An Jiu had traded his unique constitution for survival; he knew that once An Yunge appeared, his “value” as a living sacrifice would be called upon.

An Jiu tried to investigate, but was told Lin Jingyuan had entered meditative seclusion. No one would tell him why.

Recalling the web novel he had once read, An Jiu’s heart sank. It seemed Lin Jingyuan really had brought An Yunge back. He thought that by being kidnapped early, he had avoided the plot where his spiritual marrow was extracted. He hadn’t expected the story to correct itself—An Yunge was still rescued by the Emperor, brought to the palace, and the two were destined to fall in love while recovering.

An Jiu’s face soured. Even three bowls of rice couldn’t cheer him up. He tried to recall the novel’s plot, but details from a dream were hazy at best.

In the original book, An Yunge had taken An Jiu’s spiritual roots to repair his own, then became the disciple of Sword Venerable Weiyue. But Si Xuanye wasn’t satisfied; he knew “Heavenly Roots” could trigger further mutations. To help An Yunge evolve, Si Xuanye went to the Minchuan Secret Realm to find rare herbs, where he eventually went missing.

An Yunge, despite his low cultivation, had many life-saving treasures. Thanks to An Jiu, he had met Lin Jingyuan, who had given him a protective talisman out of admiration. When An Yunge got separated from his companions in Minchuan and faced certain death, he used that talisman. He survived, but was gravely injured.

Lin Jingyuan’s talisman was of his own design; upon activation, it transmitted the surroundings to the creator. Seeing An Yunge in peril, Lin Jingyuan rushed to the rescue without hesitation. He fought his way through the Wan-Yan Sword Sect disciples, who thought he was kidnapping their fellow student—and brought the unconscious An Yunge back to the Demonic Realm.

An Jiu felt a wave of despair. Even without the initial catalyst, the plot had forced its way back onto the tracks. How can an ant shake a giant tree?

He decided he needed to confirm if the person was indeed An Yunge. He overheard servants mentioning that Lin Jingyuan was in the Forbidden Palace, while the rescued guest was staying in the hall where An Jiu had first been kept.

He remembered the demoness’s warning: The Forbidden Palace is a death trap. Luckily, he didn’t plan to go there. He just wanted to see if it was An Yunge. If it was, he would have to run away while Lin Jingyuan was still in seclusion.

That night, An Jiu crept toward the old palace. Thanks to Lin Jingyuan’s eccentricities, security in the heart of the palace wasn’t strict, allowing a mortal like An Jiu to wander.

As he reached the palace, he saw someone crack open the heavy doors just wide enough to slip through.

The figure was unmistakable. It was An Yunge.

Having lived with him for over a decade, An Jiu could never be mistaken. However, the shock of seeing him and seeing him acting even more suspiciously than himself caused An Jiu to stumble. His presence was exposed, and the dark shadow in the doorway snapped its head around to stare directly at him.