The Cannon Fodder Also Has a Will to Survive [Rebirth] - Chapter 3

Xue Nian held An Jiu’s hand and led him to a spring. He personally washed the boy’s hands and face, his manner much like a guardian tending to a small, helpless child who didn’t know any better.

In truth, An Jiu was indeed still a child. At only sixteen years old, he had taken An Yunge’s identity to join the Wanyan Sword Sect; his actual age was two years younger than An Yunge’s.

An Jiu remained quiet throughout the walk. He couldn’t fathom what had gotten into Xue Nian, but his small mind couldn’t come up with a plan, so he followed in a daze and watched the man wash his hands. Aside from his mother, no one had ever held his hand and cleaned him like this.

An Jiu tilted his head. “Senior Brother, I am not An Yunge.”

The moment the words left his mouth, An Jiu wanted to slap himself. What a clever little fool I am, he thought, bringing up exactly what shouldn’t be mentioned. Wasn’t this just a roundabout way of reminding Xue Nian of all the bad things he had done to An Yunge?

Xue Nian’s movements paused. After a long while, he spoke calmly, “I know. You are you. You are not a substitute for anyone else.”

That person was right: compared to the junior brother he had lived with for four years, An Yunge was but a chance acquaintance. In hindsight, the so-called “life-saving debt” was likely just a small favor from the Eldest Young Master An; even if Xue Nian hadn’t been discovered then, his life wouldn’t have been in danger.

However, since the “favor” existed, he had felt compelled to repay the karmic debt. That was why he gave An Yunge the token, and why he later took An Jiu’s blood when An Yunge’s spiritual roots were damaged.

As that person later questioned him: “Bringing him into the Dao was repayment enough. Your subsequent actions were a debt owed to another.”

“You are An Jiu. You are yourself,” Xue Nian said firmly.

He brought An Jiu back to the disciple quarters, feigning ignorance of certain marks on the boy’s body. After getting him settled, he even asked if the boy had any other needs.

Everything happening after his rebirth was different from what An Jiu had previously experienced, but this didn’t lower his guard. Instead, it made him more vigilant. The pressure from that dream was too great, leaving him with no desire to resist; he felt deep down that the dream was destiny a fate that could not be defied.

An Jiu gave a cautious shake of his head in response to Xue Nian’s concern. Xue Nian was generally a good person, gentle toward everyone, so despite the strangeness of his attitude, An Jiu didn’t harbor too many suspicions.

The arrival of the next person to barge into his room only confirmed An Jiu’s suspicion that something was “wrong” with Xue Nian or perhaps the man was just in a good mood today.

Fang Yuhe kicked open An Jiu’s door. Before the man even reached him, his punchable voice arrived first: “Master sent a transmission for me to check on you. What’s the matter? What trouble have you caused now?”

An Jiu flinched, remembering that he had indeed caused trouble. Then he recalled that in this life, Master hadn’t ordered any punishment, so Fang Yuhe couldn’t torture him, could he?

The young man who burst in also wore moon-white robes, but unlike Xue Nian’s neat appearance, Fang Yuhe wore his with a reckless, disheveled flair. His collar was wide open, revealing a firm chest, and his belt was tied loosely, making the robes look ill-fitting and sloppy. Yet, there was a rugged rogue-ish charm to him; even in the disciplined disciple uniform, he looked tall, handsome, and unrestrained.

Fang Yuhe entered the inner chamber and froze momentarily upon seeing Xue Nian. Then, he flashed An Jiu a mocking grin. “You’ve really outdone yourself, you little brat.”

Fang Yuhe reached out and pinched An Jiu’s cheek. The boy still had some baby fat, and the skin felt quite nice to the touch. An Jiu glared at him angrily; he hated it when this man called him a “brat” or worse.

However, when one is weak, even anger looks adorable.

“So cute, I could squeeze you to death,” Fang Yuhe said with a malicious grin.

Xue Nian frowned and brushed Fang Yuhe’s hand away. An Jiu seized the chance to bury his face in Xue Nian’s chest. Xue Nian’s body stiffened for a second, a flash of helplessness appearing in his eyes before he raised his hand and gently patted An Jiu’s back.

Embraced by Xue Nian’s clean, refreshing scent, An Jiu felt a bit safer. He even thought triumphantly: Now that bad man can’t pinch my face.

“Senior Brother, stop teasing Xiao Jiu,” Xue Nian said, his voice holding a hint of displeasure.

“Xiao Jiu?” Fang Yuhe seemed to roll the name over his tongue, his tone thick with amusement. “Calling him so intimately since when did your relationship become so harmonious?”

“Four years of living together without conflict of course it’s harmonious,” Xue Nian replied with his usual indifferent expression, as if stating a universal truth.

“Tch.” Fang Yuhe clearly didn’t believe him. He let out a scoff and reached out again, pulling An Jiu’s hair to drag his buried face out. “Speak. Why did you call for me?”

Master had only told him to check on An Jiu and see if he needed anything. As long as the requests weren’t outrageous, any material needs were to be met. This was a first that their “ice-block” Master would actually care about the daily trivialities of his disciples.

An Jiu let out a muffled groan, his eyes filling with a layer of moisture. However, he didn’t dare to cry; he remembered this stinking man saying he loved seeing him shed tears.

What An Jiu didn’t understand was that this “almost-crying” look was exactly what triggered a pervert’s desire to bully. Fang Yuhe’s back teeth itched as he looked at the pitiful boy, he wanted to take a bite.

Initially, when this junior brother joined the Main Peak, Fang Yuhe hadn’t harbored such malice. The boy was quiet, talented, and beautiful. Although he was a bit two-faced, it wasn’t enough to make him loathe him.

Later, he realized that around other swordsmen, the boy always acted gentle, bright, and kind, which Fang Yuhe found repulsive. Gradually, he grew to dislike the child thinking his attempts to win people over were stupid and small-minded.

Then he discovered the boy was targeting a new inner-disciple on Fengyuan Peak. When he looked closer at this “An Yunge,” he realized he looked remarkably like An Jiu. Upon further investigation, Fang Yuhe discovered that An Yunge was the one who was supposed to be his junior brother. Master was clearly more satisfied with An Yunge’s talent and had even fought over him with a Martial Uncle.

It was disgusting. Someone like An Jiu had actually tried to steal someone else’s life! This behavior touched upon the filthiest parts of Fang Yuhe’s own memories.

Looking at the beautiful youth now, Fang Yuhe’s eyes were full of malice. The brat’s crimes are exposed; Master will abandon him sooner or later. When that time comes, I’ll make sure to settle the score and teach him never to crave what belongs to others.

An Jiu trembled at the emotion in the man’s eyes. He knew that look all too well. In his past life, every time Fang Yuhe thought of a new way to torment him, he had that exact look, he wanted to torture him.

Haunted by those painful memories, An Jiu began to stutter. “No, it’s nothing. I. I’m hungry. I need to eat.”

He didn’t dare bring up the pill-refining. But by saying “eat,” the other man should understand he meant Bigu pills, right? An Jiu peeked at him cautiously and shrank further into Xue Nian’s arms. Currently, Xue Nian was his only source of security.

Fang Yuhe felt a surge of annoyance at the boy’s actions. Did the little thing think Xue Nian was his backing? The very person he was clinging to was the one who had suggested to the Master that they use An Jiu’s roots to heal An Yunge.

However, this reaction was much cuter than his usual fake persona. He was like a sensitive little animal skilled at avoiding danger. Fang Yuhe deliberately pretended not to understand his hidden meaning, wanting to see more of his genuine, vivid reactions. “Fine. You want to eat? You stay right here and wait for me.”

An Jiu looked dazed, a stray lock of hair sticking up on his head. “Oh okay.”

Then it hit him: he had accidentally succeeded in his “eating” plan! He swallowed his saliva secretly. I wonder if it’s too late to ask for two meat dishes.

Fang Yuhe strode out the door. Xue Nian looked down, thought for a moment, and asked, “You went to the garden… did you want to eat the Brocade-feathered Birds?”

An Jiu’s eyes darted around a silent admission.

Xue Nian sighed and patted An Jiu’s head gently. “They don’t taste good. The meat is very dry.”

An Jiu thought: I just want to eat meat. Do you think I care if it’s dry? I’m currently chewing tasteless Bigu pills like they’re candy!

But he didn’t dare say he wanted to eat his host’s pets to his face. He feared being beaten. Don’t let Xue Nian’s gentlemanly appearance fool you; once, when someone tried to steal herbs from his garden, Xue Nian had whipped them with his scabbard until they couldn’t walk for half a month. An Jiu fiddled with his fingers, pretending he hadn’t heard a word.

Seeing that the boy didn’t want to talk to him, Xue Nian stayed a moment longer before getting up to leave. Xiao Jiu is such a brat, he thought. When he needs me, he clings to my chest; once he’s done with me, he won’t even spare a word.

Once Xue Nian left, An Jiu collapsed onto the bed like he had lost all his strength.

It had been more than half a day since he woke up. Seeing Si Xuanye and then bumping into Xue Nian had left him with no time to think about his future.

In any case, he absolutely could not die as miserably as he did in his past life. As for the senior brothers’ care, the Master’s love, or the respect of others he no longer wanted any of it. Those people could go entwine themselves with An Yunge all they wanted; he would never cross the Protagonist Shou again.

He just didn’t know how long the “plot” would last. Would he ever truly be free of it?

An Jiu stared blankly at his bedcurtains, and then he felt his stomach churn violently again. His face turned pale. He pressed his hand against his abdomen with some force.

No, no. I can’t just lie here. I have to struggle a bit even if I’m just “lingering,” I have to survive until the end of the plot!