The Cannon Fodder Also Has a Will to Survive [Rebirth] - Chapter 19

Han Zhong led the group of Wan-Yan disciples out of the Demonic Realm. He believed the mission had been a resounding success; not only had they rescued Junior Brother An Yunge, but they had also recovered An Jiu. All that remained was to return to the sect and report their success.

However, as they were leaving the borders of the Demonic Realm, the party realized they were being followed.

“Are those people from the Demonic Realm? Is that bastard Lin Jingyuan going back on his word?” Upon noticing the suspicious figures lurking in the shadows, one of the sword cultivators immediately voiced his suspicion of the Emperor. After all, their departure had been far too smooth they had achieved their goal without losing a single man.

Another Wan-Yan disciple shot a glance at An Jiu and remarked snidely, “Perhaps they saw how ruthless An Jiu’s methods are and recognized a kindred spirit of the Demonic Path. No wonder they’re so reluctant to let him go.”

An Jiu, who had been bored out of his mind and was busy drawing patterns on the table with tea water, felt like he’d just been shot while lying down. This guy is definitely one of An Yunge’s fanatical supporters, he thought. The man wasn’t actually interested in the identity of the stalkers; he just wanted to seize any opportunity to insult An Jiu.

It seemed his Master, Si Xuanye, had already made his “crimes” of harming his fellow disciples public. Si Xuanye… a man truly cold and selfless to a fault.

Inevitably, the thought of his Master wanting him dead resurfaced. An Jiu’s mindset shifted, he decided to simply stop caring and lean into the villainous role. He stared at the sword cultivator and whispered in a deliberately eerie, grim tone:

“That’s right. They’re my accomplices. As soon as I find a chance, I’m going to have you all ‘bean-sanded’!”

To achieve a bone-chilling effect, he had tried to lower his voice. However, he wasn’t paying attention, and his words came out with a heavy, clumsy accent.

“Pfft… Hahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!”

Instead of being terrified, the people around him nearly collapsed from laughter at his “bean-sanded” (slurred version of “killed/crushed”) comment. The laughter only grew louder and more raucous.

An Jiu: “…”

They insulted me, and now they’re mocking me. He might be a cannon fodder, but his label was “vile cannon fodder”! These people showed no respect for his profession. An Jiu pouted, his large eyes growing misty with a layer of moisture. Damn this “tear-incontinence” constitution.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all!” He trembled with rage. Although he corrected his pronunciation, the original slip had left such a deep impression that everyone still “heard” the bean-sand version in their heads. They couldn’t snap out of it.

The sight of a boy with such exquisite features, eyes brimming with tears, swearing to “kill them all” was already hilarious enough not to mention his “vicious” threats were delivered with a slight lisp.

Han Zhong watched from the side, his eyes narrowed. He didn’t laugh out loud like the others, but if he were to move the teacup away from his lips, one would see the corners of his mouth hooked in a smirk. He finally understood why Lin Jingyuan was so reluctant to let this little thing go, he was indeed quite endearing.

“Stop teasing him,” Han Zhong commanded.

As the leader and an elder of Wan-Yan, he held significant authority. Once he spoke, the other disciples stopped laughing, though many were still visibly struggling to keep a straight face.

An Jiu sniffled and cast a grateful glance toward Han Zhong. Although he disliked and feared his Junior Uncle, An Jiu was fair; at this moment, Han Zhong had indeed bailed him out.

The very next second, Han Zhong asked with a smile, “Do you want to eat some bean-paste buns?”

“Pfft-cough cough” Several disciples nearly choked on their own breath.

“I’ll eat them.” An Jiu struggled with his dignity for a long time before nodding spinelessly.

What began as a meeting to discuss their pursuers ended with a group of sword cultivators watching An Jiu eats pastries and buns. Even the disciple who had spoken cruelly to him earlier asked, “Are the bean-paste buns good? Give me a taste.”

The man didn’t actually want mortal food; he just couldn’t help himself from wanting to poke at the boy. His original intent wasn’t to ask for a taste, but to say something nasty like “this is the only food you’re fit to eat,” but seeing the boy’s fair, tender cheeks bulging as he ate, the cruel words died in his throat.

An Jiu glared at him fiercely and pulled the entire steamer of buns away. He was protective of his food and petty to the core.

An Yunge tapped the table and said with a sigh, “Aren’t you all being a bit childish?”

With those words, everyone was reminded of An Jiu’s awkward status as a criminal of the sect. Silence fell over the group as they sat and watched An Jiu finish his buns in total stillness. An Yunge lowered his head to sip his tea, concealing the curl of his lips.

I hate it when these irrelevant people try to get close to An Jiu, An Yunge thought. A ‘bad seed’ like An Jiu shouldn’t receive anyone’s attention.

Once An Jiu was full, the group headed toward the Teleportation Array. Han Zhong was a cultivator at the Void Refinement Stage; with his Yao constitution, he could challenge those an entire rank above him. Even a Body Integration Stage cultivator wouldn’t hold a significant advantage over him, save for someone like Si Xuanye at the Great Ascension Stage.

Seeing their Junior Uncle so confident, the other disciples stopped worrying about their pursuers. Once the array’s cooldown period ended, they headed straight for the platform.

Han Zhong needed to ensure the safety of the disciples, so he took the rear, sending them through in batches. The teleportation route back to the Qingyuan Continent (where the Wan-Yan Sword Sect was located) opened only once every ten days, synchronized with the schedule of Demon-Spirit City. This was because the two locations were at the extreme east and west of this small border town.

The town was desolate and sat adjacent to the Demonic Realm. Few cultivators ever traveled here, so the array was ancient. Once activated, it could only transport ten people at a time! This meant An Jiu’s group had to be split into six separate batches.

An Jiu, being under Han Zhong’s personal custody, had to stand at the back and wait for the others to go first. Finally, only he, Han Zhong, and An Yunge remained. At that moment, the pursuers in the shadows realized it was their last chance. A crowd of nearly a hundred people suddenly swarmed out from hiding.

Leading them was a man nearly two meters tall. He pointed at An Yunge and shouted with an incredibly loud voice, “That’s him! He’s the one who was taken out of Minchuan by the Demonic Emperor with the Stellar Sands! I’ve been squatting here for half a month, I’ve finally caught this kid!”

Another man chimed in greedily, “That’s right! I heard on the grapevine that he also has Strange Crystal Ore! Why should a mere Qi Refining cultivator monopolize two such rare treasures?”

Hearing this, An Jiu realized they were talking about the ore from the Sword Trial Assembly. It seemed An Yunge had also obtained Stellar Sands; either of those items would be enough to trigger a bloodbath among those looking to forge powerful weapons. No wonder so many people were coveting him.

An Jiu felt a bit salty, but he quietly slipped behind Han Zhong’s back. Anyway, their target is An Yunge, and Han Zhong is the strongest. I definitely won’t pick the wrong thigh to cling to this time!

And then

Han Zhong said, “Yunge, you go first. I’ll hold them off.”

Han Zhong pushed An Yunge into the array and drew his sword to face the rabble. An Jiu was stunned. He didn’t know whether to follow An Yunge or stay with Han Zhong. If he went with An Yunge, there might be a crowd of looters waiting at the other end of the array, which wasn’t much better than the current situation.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow neither!

Isn’t this the perfect chance to run away?

An Jiu saw An Yunge’s teleportation begin. Han Zhong was already surrounded by the mob. An Jiu crept toward the edge of the platform, reaching for the array to move the spirit stones and change the destination coordinates.

As the array began to glow, An Jiu’s eyes brightened with hope only for Han Zhong to notice his movements at the last second.

“Trying to run? Do you have a death wish?” Han Zhong was almost amused by the boy’s audacity. Does he really not want to live?

With a sweep of his sword, Han Zhong cleared a path through the cultivators and moved toward An Jiu in a flash, reaching out to grab him. An Jiu dug his heels into the ground like a stubborn mule. “I’m not going back! Let me go!”

Han Zhong wanted to laugh again. He was about to yank the boy out of the array when someone launched a sneak attack from behind. Guided by his sharp instincts, Han Zhong dodged the spell, but he lost his balance due to the “stubborn mule” pulling him. He tumbled directly into the teleportation array with An Jiu.

The next second, the spiritual light flared, the array activated, and the two figures vanished without a trace.

An Jiu and Han Zhong have been teleported to an unknown location. Since An Jiu changed the coordinates, where have they ended up, and how will Han Zhong react to being “kidnapped” by his own prisoner?