The Cannon Fodder Also Has a Will to Survive [Rebirth] - Chapter 6

After An Jiu’s spineless plea for mercy that day, the other two remained silent for a long time.

The An Jiu of the past would never have said such things. Swordsmen cared most about “backbone” and character; to fit in, An Jiu used to act aloof and tough, even if it was just a facade.

But after suffering so much, An Jiu didn’t want to pretend anymore. Those who could endure hardship only ended up enduring more hardship. Whoever wanted to suffer could go right ahead, he didn’t want even a sliver of it ever again!

Si Xuanye was the one most affected by this change. Only two days ago, when his crimes were exposed with irrefutable evidence, An Jiu had stubbornly refused to admit fault, acting like a martyr who would rather die than submit. The gap between that and his current behavior begging for food and dodging punishment, was so vast it felt disjointed.

Si Xuanye had even wondered: Is this truly An Jiu? Could he have been possessed?

While he found An Jiu strange, Si Xuanye didn’t delve deeper into the matter. To him, the boy was ultimately just a stalk of medicinal herb; as long as the medicinal properties remained intact, nothing else mattered.

Not only that, but he granted An Jiu’s wish and didn’t punish him. Instead, he simply tightened the circle of house arrest: from the entirety of the Dongqi Peak summit to just that one single room. An Jiu’s plan to scout an escape route was utterly crushed.

For the next three days, the Wanyan Sword Sect held the final matches of the Sword Trial Assembly. Anyone under a hundred years old, with a cultivation between the Qi Condensation and Golden Core stages, could participate.

In the Longtian Continent, Golden Core cultivators under a hundred were rare; breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage before a hundred was already enough to make one a “dragon among men.” An Jiu was only sixteen and was already one step away from Foundation Establishment and that was with only four years of training. Such was the heaven-defying nature of the Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Originally, An Jiu was supposed to participate. If he placed high enough, he could have gone to the Sword Casting Peak to request his own sword. Even if it were just a transitional weapon for his early years, owning a soul-bound sword is a milestone every swordsman looks forward to.

Back then, An Jiu had coveted the rare ore awarded to the top three winners. But no matter how he calculated it, he felt he couldn’t beat the top seeds. Many of the favorites were closely linked to An Yunge. Xue Nian went without saying, and Fang Yuhe seemed quite fond of him as well. Additionally, a senior brother from Fengyuan Peak was at the peak of Foundation Establishment at ninety years old and was very close to An Yunge. If they won the ore, they would surely give it to An Yunge.

Driven by this anxiety, An Jiu had frantically sabotaged An Yunge, leaving him in the Demon Abyss Forest. Better he dies there, An Jiu had thought, or at least he’ll be delayed long enough that he won’t achieve his goals so easily.

Looking back now, An Jiu realized he truly possessed the “Vile Cannon Fodder” style  stupid and lacking real lethality.

What An Jiu didn’t realize was that he was heavily brainwashed by that “novel” dream. In reality, the idea that rewards should be “granted” by others is not a healthy outlook. By contrast, at least An Jiu had always thought about earning things for himself; his resentment only stemmed from the unfairness of An Yunge “picking up a bargain.”

Now, An Jiu no longer wanted things that weren’t destined for him. He didn’t even have the energy to feel jealous. Since it all belongs to the Protagonist Shou, let him have it all. I just want to stay alive.

While the Sword Trial finals lasted three days, An Jiu spent those three days alone in his room.

He didn’t dare eat much of the Bigu pills Fang Yuhe refined for him. Only when his mouth salivated with a phantom craving would he take one out to suck on. But his hunger was psychological; the pills were useless against it.

He felt so hungry that he almost tried to eat the potted “Guest-Greeting Pine” on Si Xuanye’s desk. Si Xuanye had forbidden him from eating anything else, saying it would accumulate impurities in his body… Honestly, if he weren’t afraid of being beaten, An Jiu would rather be full of impurities than contribute his flesh and blood to An Yunge.

By the third day, An Jiu was sitting at the desk, his eyes turning green with hunger as he made a wish to the pine tree. “I want to go out so badly. If only this broken barrier couldn’t hold me.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a warmth at the nape of his neck. Before he could react, he heard a light chuckle from outside the window. An Jiu looked out warily and saw a tall man entirely shrouded in black robes stepping out from behind a tree.

At this point, An Jiu didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. After all, he was inside a barrier, so he spoke quite boldly: “What petty thief dares to skulk around Dongqi Peak?”

The man laughed. “I wondered what treasure that old fossil Si Xuanye was hiding on his own turf with layers of barriers. It turns out to be you the little thing who bites the hand that feeds him.”

An Jiu: “?”

“If you want to curse my Master, go ahead. But why curse me? Are we close?” The man’s voice was raspy and unpleasant. If An Jiu had heard it before, he would have remembered it. Therefore, he concluded he didn’t know this man at all!

Just as An Jiu finished his indignant retort, his expression froze.

Wait. This man called him “one who bites the hand that feeds him.” He had only ever done such a thing to An Yunge. Could it be, was this the man who made the entire cultivation world tremble in fear, Demon Emperor Lin Jingyuan?

“You… you… you…” An Jiu was so scared he hugged the potted pine tree tightly.

Seeing that he had been recognized, the man in black laughed again. “It seems you remember. Well, we’re old acquaintances, so come with me to the Demon Palace as a guest.”

With that, Lin Jingyuan prepared to dismantle the barrier. But the moment he raised his hand, he realized something was wrong the energy fluctuations were there, yet the barrier was like a phantom that didn’t exist.

Is this a trap by Si Xuanye? But why would he do this?

Lin Jingyuan couldn’t figure it out, but he wasn’t afraid of Si Xuanye. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have deliberately raided his home base to cause trouble. Whatever Si Xuanye was planning, he could handle it.

Abandoning his concerns, Lin Jingyuan pushed open the door and strode in.

An Jiu didn’t expect the demon to actually get in. What about the barrier?!

“Ahhhh! Stay away!” An Jiu scrambled around, throwing the pine tree at him. Lin Jingyuan dodged, and a terrifying spiritual pressure exploded within the small room.

An Jiu instantly spat out blood and felt the air being squeezed out of his lungs. As the target of a high-level cultivator’s pressure, his reaction was extreme; he couldn’t even twitch.

A pale hand emerged from the black robes. It was a well-shaped hand, but to An Jiu, it looked like a skeletal claw. Although the “novel” described Lin Jingyuan as handsome with silver hair and heterochromatic eyes a cold, ethereal beauty those were just words. An Jiu’s primary impression of the Demon Emperor came from the terrifying legends he’d heard since entering the sect.

The hand struck An Jiu’s shoulder heavily. Before he lost consciousness, his mind was filled with those horror stories.

No one knew the true origin of Demon Emperor Lin Jingyuan; it was said he killed everyone who knew of his birth. Rumors claimed he loved to skin and de-bone people, or cut off their limbs and gouge out their eyes to make them “Human Swine” (Ren Zhi), keeping them in his latrine for entertainment.

Perverted and spine-chilling!

An Jiu woke up from his slumber but didn’t dare open his eyes. He heard Lin Jingyuan’s voice and knew he was nearby. He didn’t dare face such a monster.

But the more he faked sleep, the more his mind raced. He recalled every horror story about Lin Jingyuan before thinking about the novel’s plot: this demon fell in love with An Yunge at first sight and later suppressed his nature to pursue him.

An Jiu hit a breaking point. I’ve already offended An Yunge to death. If Lin Jingyuan kidnapped me, is he going to turn me into a ‘Human Swine’ to vent An Yunge’s anger?

The (immersion) was too strong. He felt as if his eyes, ears, and limbs were already hurting! Is this my end? Is this even worse than my past life?

The more he thought, the more terrified he became. He just wanted to escape. When he heard footsteps approaching, he resolved to “play dead” to the very end.

“Stop faking. I know you’re awake.” It was indeed Lin Jingyuan.

His voice was still raspy. Combined with the horror stories, An Jiu couldn’t believe the “beauty” described in the book. He could only imagine a gaunt, dark, evil figure.

An Jiu panicked when he was caught, but he remained as still as a mountain.

In the next second, warm breath fanned against his ear. Lin Jingyuan leaned down, whispering sinisterly: “If you don’t open your eyes now, I’ll gouge them out. Then you’ll never have to worry about opening them again.”

Wuwu, here it comes! This demon really does have an eye-gouging fetish!

Plus, in his past life, it was this very man who had broken his limbs and scarred his face. It was impossible not to be afraid.

An Jiu couldn’t control himself; his lashes fluttered. Realizing the jig was up, he opened his eyes and looked at the demon with a pleading gaze. “Don’t gouge my eyes. Eyes are very useful.”

Lin Jingyuan was still hovering over him, like a ghost pressing down on his bed. “Oh? And what use do your eyes have?” His tone was cold and unreadable.

An Jiu felt like the man might strike at any moment. His eyes trembled, and his lips quivered. “To..to admire the majestic countenance of His Majesty, the Demon Emperor.”

Lin Jingyuan leaned in even closer. An Jiu pulled his neck back as far as it would go, like a cat resisting a hug.

“You want to see my face?” Lin Jingyuan’s voice grew even raspier.

Not particularly.

But he was backed into a corner. An Jiu could only nod with great difficulty. “Yes.”