The Cannon Fodder Also Has a Will to Survive [Rebirth] - Chapter 22

An Jiu was, after all, young. He had only been a cultivator for a little over four years and lacked real-world experience, making him an easy target for such tricks.

Currently, he felt as if he were stumbling drunk. In his hazy, muddled state, he could only hear the commands of the Yao woman; when she told him to follow, he stayed glued to her heels without a second thought.

“Such a good boy.” The Yao woman laughed and pinched An Jiu’s cheek. “Up close, he’s even prettier. Once he fully matures, he probably won’t be any less stunning than our sisters in the Fox Tribe.”

During the festival in Demon-Spirit City, truly malicious crimes were rare, but the Yao were naturally hedonistic. To them, “abducting” a pleasing youth off the street for a night of pleasure wasn’t considered a heinous act it was just part of the festivities.

“Hmph, don’t mention them those Fox-tribe hussies. Just because they have a powerful Ancestor, they walk around with their noses in the air, looking down on everyone. It’s absolutely revolting.”

“Speaking of which, has anyone actually seen that Fox Ancestor? Do you think he’s already fallen, and those vixens are just blowing smoke?”

“Surely not? His life-tablet is still intact.”

“Have you seen it? Has anyone seen it?”

An Jiu remained in a fog. He understood every word they said, yet the meaning failed to register in his mind. Passersby saw him following the women willingly and noticed nothing amiss, assuming they were part of the same group.

A Buffalo Yao from the Enforcement Squad walked past. Seeing An Jiu swaying as he followed the group of Butterfly Spirits, the officer performed a dutiful check. “Ladies, you are being trailed by a drunkard. Do you require assistance?”

The women, who had been chatting happily, fell silent for a moment.

Eventually, the leader smiled and waved him off. “Thank you, brother, but we know this little brother. We’re just taking him home now.”

“Oh, I see. Pardon the interruption.” The Buffalo Yao stepped aside. Watching the butterfly women depart with their swaying, seductive gaits, he let out an envious mutter: “Damn, women these days only like pretty-faced boys.”

The Buffalo Yao turned to head back on his patrol. Before long, he encountered a man dressed in an azure robe, his long hair half-secured by a jasper hairpin.

In Demon-Spirit City, most Yao cultivators were only partially transformed—either because their cultivation was insufficient, or because they preferred certain animal traits for aesthetic reasons. It was usually quite easy to tell what their original forms were. But the man before him had no visible animal features; his transformation was so perfect he looked like a genuine human cultivator. However, the aura of a Great Yao emanating from him was terrifying.

“Greetings, Great One,” the buffalo said, bowing respectfully.

“Mhm,” Han Zhong replied coldly. He had been searching Baifu Street himself, and being stopped by the buffalo reminded him to ask: “Have you seen a human youth, about this high, dressed in black, with a very striking appearance?”

“Huh? A human youth? I did see one, actually.” During a city-wide lockdown, it was rare for humans to be present. Even if a Yao had a human partner, they usually avoided bringing them into the city during the festival. Human sightings were extremely rare this very evening, the officer had only seen two, and only one was a youth.

“I saw a youth fitting your description, but he left with the Butterfly Spirits. They said he was their brother,” the buffalo answered honestly.

The faint smile remained on Han Zhong’s face, but the pressure of his Great Yao aura grew stifling. “Which way did they go?”

His legs trembling, the buffalo pointed in the direction the women had taken. In the next heartbeat, the azure-clad Yao vanished without a trace.

An Jiu remained dazed for a long while. By the time his senses returned, he found himself in a garden. Before him stood a pavilion draped in countless layers of pink gossamer that billowed in the night breeze, lending the scene a hazy, suggestive atmosphere.

There seemed to be someone inside the pavilion.

An Jiu couldn’t see clearly. He rubbed his eyes and prepared to walk forward when a small fox with fiery red fur suddenly darted out from a flower bed. With a sharp “Awooo!”, it lunged forward and clamped its teeth onto An Jiu’s hem. The little fox tugged at his robe, its four legs digging into the dirt as it tried desperately to pull An Jiu backward.

An Jiu leaned down, scooped up the little fox, and continued toward the pavilion without fear. He didn’t know where he was and needed to ask for directions; if he didn’t get back soon, his Junior Uncle would surely lose his temper.

The fox in his arms rolled its eyes in exasperation.

As the wind lifted the gossamer curtains, An Jiu stepped closer and finally saw a woman reclining on the floor. She was elegantly posed, her skin as fair as congealed fat. She beckoned to him repeatedly, silently urging him to come forward and enjoy her charms.

An Jiu quickened his pace, set the fox down by his feet, and reached out to take the woman’s hand. A glint of triumph flashed in her eyes, her smile turning soft as water. “Young Master.”

Before she could finish, An Jiu hoisted her up, forcing her to stand perfectly straight. “The night is deep and the dew is heavy how could you lie on the ground with so little clothing? You’ll catch a cold, and that would be trouble. You’d have to drink very bitter medicine.”

An Jiu’s greatest fear was falling ill and having no medicine to drink, forced to endure the suffering without relief just like his short-lived mother who had suffered from a strange ailment. He was exceptionally patient with the woman; fearing she would freeze, he even took off his own outer robe and draped it over her shoulders.

This woman was the Butterfly Spirit from earlier. From the moment An Jiu had yanked her off the ground, her seductive expression had begun to crumble. By now, it had faded into a look of total numbness. Her goal was to entice the young master into undressing himself; while he had technically taken off his clothes, the execution had deviated quite significantly from the plan.

Yet, for reasons she couldn’t name, the butterfly woman didn’t push him away. She simply watched as the boy dressed her in his robe and even tied a bow around her waist.

Looking at the bow, she finally couldn’t help but laugh. She pinched An Jiu’s cheek. “You’re so cute. I really like you.” She liked him enough that she wasn’t just interested in a “one-night stand”; she felt that spending a longer time with such a pure-hearted, adorable boy wouldn’t be nauseating at all.

An Jiu simply stared at her, bewildered.

Just as the woman was about to say more, the fiery red fox darted from the shadows. Seeing her getting “handsy,” the fox couldn’t sit still and bit the woman’s shin.

“Ah—!” She looked down and saw a fox. Already disliking the Fox Tribe, she kicked the animal away. “Where did this fox come from!”

“Don’t!” An Jiu shouted, but he was too late. He prepared to run toward the spot where the little fox had been tossed.

The butterfly woman seized the opportunity to collapse against him, let out a series of pained moans. “Young Master… I’ve been bitten. I can’t stand…”

An Jiu was caught off guard; the impact of the woman’s weight combined with his forward momentum sent him toppling over. Fortunately, the floor was carpeted, so he wasn’t hurt, but their current posture was now quite improper.

“You, you get up first.” An Jiu flailed his limbs, only to discover with dismay that he was not as strong as a Yao woman.

The butterfly woman continued to cry in “pain.” Taking advantage of his inability to resist, she straddled his waist, nearly sitting on him. “Young Master, show some pity for this humble”

Her words were cut short as she was blasted away by a spell.

This time, there wasn’t even a scream. Sensing the overwhelming pressure of a high-ranking Yao, she didn’t even attempt to struggle. Mid-air, she dissolved her human form into a swarm of butterflies and scattered into the night.

An Jiu felt the weight suddenly vanish. Before he could process what had happened, he heard movement nearby. He was still lying on the floor, his head hanging off the edge of the steps. Upside down, he saw his Junior Uncle standing over him, looking down with his usual smile. Yet, for some reason, the more An Jiu looked at that smile, the more terrified he became.

An Jiu scrambled up from the floor, a “customer service” smile plastered on his face. “Junior Uncle! Hello there.”

“Not as ‘well’ as you,” Han Zhong replied instantly.

An Jiu stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. Han Zhong glanced at him again. Seeing the boy in only his inner tunic without his outer robe, he asked coolly, “Was its ‘refreshing’?”

An Jiu: “?”

“Wh-what?” An Jiu wondered if his Junior Uncle had forgotten that he didn’t like women.

Han Zhong stared at him for a while, then suddenly let out a soft chuckle. “Was it fun, the street parade?”

An Jiu lowered his head, looking deeply guilty. “I don’t know”

“I didn’t even get to play. I didn’t get to eat anything, and then I ended up here for some reason.” Speaking of this, An Jiu felt quite wronged. He was promised free food, yet he hadn’t tasted a single thing.

Han Zhong took a deep breath. “You’re the one feeling wronged? Did I or did I not tell you not to wander off? Demon-Spirit City is full of Yao, do you truly think the residents here are all vegetarians?”

“Junior Uncle, I was wrong. Please stop scolding me.” Any more scolding and I’ll turn even stupider. An Jiu looked pitiful.

Seeing him like this, half of Han Zhong’s anger dissipated. “Fine. Let’s go back.” He grabbed the boy’s arm to lead him away.

These insect-derived Yao had a powerful ability to weave spatial pockets, supplemented by formations and hallucinogenic drugs. Even he would have been trapped for a moment if caught unawares. However, during the festival, it was unwise to use excessive force. He didn’t want to kill the butterfly woman by shattering the space, so they had to find the exit properly.

Spatial pockets were “easy to enter, hard to leave.” The path he used to get in would no longer work.

“Wait a second.” An Jiu suddenly pulled his arm away and ran toward a patch of grass. He rummaged through the greenery for a moment before pulling out a smallish, red-furred fox. “There’s also a little fox!”

An Jiu held the fox up for Han Zhong to see.

Han Zhong narrowed his eyes. The fox looked small, but its bone-age was at least three hundred years. A three-hundred-year-old fox that hasn’t even transformed? What a waste.

But he didn’t plan to tell An Jiu that. Instead, he said, “That fox is older than your ancestors. You call him a ‘little’ fox?”

An Jiu: “?”

He looked at the cute fox in his hands, then peeked at his Junior Uncle. “Junior Uncle, are you saying… I’m holding someone’s ancestor?”

That did seem a bit impolite, but the fox seemed injured. What else was he supposed to do if he didn’t hold it?

“…” Han Zhong took another deep breath. “You idiot! Can your ancestors even be compared to the ancestors of the Yao?”

“An ‘Ancestor’ of the Yao race is at least several thousand years old!”

An Jiu let out an “Ah,” and whispered softly, “So old”

The fox in his hands stiffened involuntarily.