Reborn As A Villainous Cannon Fodder

Sorry for the delays.

I’ve noticed that many people are going to other websites to read the chapters.As I mentioned before, this ruins the daily release schedule and slows down the uploads.

From now on, we won’t be changing chapters after uploading them—we’ll just publish directly.

So please support us by only reading on and not on any other sites.

Thank you again, and enjoy the mass release!

———–

When Ruoning opened her eyes from that warm embrace, the first thing she saw was the young man’s face, the same face she’d gazed at countless times in her dreams.

Reality crashed into fantasy.

She thought this might be another layer of some endless dream, so she stared at his face, completely mesmerized.

Crack…

Crackle…

Drip…

Time ticked by. The sound of burning branches mixed with rain pattering outside the cave gradually pulled Ruoning’s consciousness back from that hazy fog.

She tried to lift her hand to rub her eyes. The young man in her vision looked down, and only then did Ruoning realize she’d been lying in Yino’s arms this whole time. That incredible warmth she’d felt came from the roaring campfire blazing beside them.

“You’re awake. Want some grilled fish?”

Yino spoke casually, holding up a skewer.

The girl pushed herself upright, first scanning the four girls sitting around the campfire, then thoughtfully accepted the fish from Yino’s hands.

She looked at the white-haired demon woman sitting across from her. Instinctive fear crawled up her spine as memories from before she’d lost consciousness came flooding back.

“Wait, Yino… what happened after I passed out?!”

Ruoning vaguely remembered seeing Mei save her first, then rescue Yino, only to suddenly flip and threaten to kill him.

Then Ruoning tried to talk her down, and Mei had slapped her unconscious.

That was the Full Moon Sect’s Holy Maiden at peak half-step Emptiness Refining stage, three whole major realms above her. In a way, she should thank Mei for still holding back during that emotional rampage. She could’ve easily killed her.

“Nothing much. After you passed out, I gave that rebellious puppy a thorough lesson.”

Yino smiled and offered no details.

He directed Ruoning’s gaze toward the flower demon on the other side of the campfire. Mei found herself under the blue-haired girl’s incredulous stare and pouted with obvious resentment.

Since Yino was the one telling the story, and the evil markings currently suppressed her, Mei couldn’t argue back. She could only look away like a wronged wife, furious but unable to speak.

“You’re definitely hiding something from me, aren’t you?” Official source is noᴠelfire.net

Ruoning wasn’t as sharp as Yino, but she could sense the weird atmosphere between the man and woman.

Besides, she remembered clearly, Mei had been absolutely murderous back then. Those eyes held zero playfulness.

Ruoning looked around at the others for answers.

The little deer was roughhousing with the foxgirl…

Only the gentle Lily tilted her head slightly, shrugging with an awkward smile.

“Sister Mei, you should eat some grilled fish…”

Lily was a kind little girl who couldn’t handle Ruoning’s scrutiny. She quickly grabbed a fish skewer and tried making conversation with Mei.

But Mei obviously wasn’t polite to everyone.

She snorted and closed her eyes, completely ignoring the fish in Lily’s hands.

Seeing this, Yino raised an eyebrow and chuckled coldly. “Lily, don’t worry about her. She just had some cream puffs earlier, so her belly’s probably all warm and satisfied.”

“Cream puffs…? What’s that?”

Lily blinked, the sprout on her head curving into a question mark.

For some reason, Mei who’d been playing aloof with her eyes closed suddenly flushed bright red.

“See, that’s just how our Mei is. Put the fish down, Lily. Tonight, I’ll water her a few more times and she’ll behave.”

Yino waved dismissively then let out a smile.

Mei had a bratty, stubborn personality. With Ruoning just waking up, Yino couldn’t be bothered by dealing with her attitude.

“Your relationship is… really complicated…”

Ruoning watched the blush creep across Mei’s face and Yino’s expression changes, murmuring nervously under her breath.

“I’m not lying to you. She was just throwing a tantrum. All abyss-type demons have that problem. My cute fox acts up sometimes too.”

As he spoke, Yino rubbed the little fox’s head affectionately.

“So you really defeated her who could make Emptiness Refining elders retreat?!”

Ruoning stared in fascination. She felt like more and more strange girls gathering around Yino.

“I’m your fiancé. Don’t you trust my strength?”

Yino’s expression didn’t change as he smiled calmly.

Seeing Ruoning take a deep breath to ask more questions, Yino quickly pulled out a small packet from his robes to change the subject. “Try this, my secret seasoning. It’s unbeatable with grilled fish.”

“What is this…?”

“Spices I imported from Western Province City, a secret recipe from my homeland.”

Yino spoke casually while sprinkling the seasoning on Ruoning’s fish.

The girl blew on it first, then tucked her hair behind one ear and took a delicate bite from the fish’s belly.

Being a proper young lady from the Liu mansion, unlike Yino who’d grown up wild and free, Ruoning ate her skewer as elegantly as a kitten.

After savoring it for a long moment, Ruoning suddenly looked up with shining eyes:

“Wow! This is delicious!”

“Right? I bet our rich girl has never had this kind of common food before.”

Yino snorted, thinking this silly girl’s attention really did shift fast.

“That’s not true! I ate plenty of red bean buns with you on the streets when we were kids!”

“Those were just street snacks. I grilled this fish myself, plus added my homeland’s special barbecue seasoning.”

“Ohhoo~~”

The girl tilted her face up, drawing out a long, coquettish “oh,” then went back to devouring her fish.

Yino had already eaten and continued chatting. “Ruoning, we’ll reach the Liuli Sect tomorrow.”

“After tonight, you’ll be temporarily free from family constraints. I’ll take you out to see the world and change your mood, help you break through directly to Nascent Soul stage. After that’s done…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take full responsibility. I’ll come back to the Liu mansion with you to properly discuss marriage with your parents.”

As he spoke, Yino leaned back against the stone wall, looking up at the starry sky outside the cave.

Hearing this, Ruoning finally processed what they’d experienced last night.

Yino had gone home with her, officially announced their relationship to her family, publicly humiliated the Lin mansion’s young master in a one-on-one fight, and finally ignored multiple elders’ objections to forcibly elope with her!

For Ruoning, who’d grown up as a sheltered daughter of a noble family, her heart raced with excitement while worry gnawed at her.

After all… The Liu and Lin mansions weren’t some small local powers.

Even if they escaped tonight, a single gesture from either mansion would lock down the entire Jiangnan region within half a day. Wanted posters for Yino and Ruoning would plaster every street and alley.

“But last night we…”

“Relax. The Grand Tutor’s mansion are all thousand-year-old foxes. Lin Ze from the Lin mansion is already crippled. As long as I can offer a higher price and sincerity, last night’s incident is just a minor drama that can be big or small to the Liu mansion elders.”

“But what about right now? Maybe tomorrow our wanted posters will reach the Liuli Sect.”

“But the Liuli Sect won’t hand you over.”

Yino naturally saw through the girl’s worries and smiled faintly, recalling the game’s plot.

He remembered clearly, in the game, Ruoning had also fought with her family at the banquet. Afterward, she’d run to the Liuli Sect overnight to cry to her master.

Later, when Ruoning’s mother came demanding her daughter back, Ruoning’s master from the Liuli Sect had opposed everyone else, using the excuse that Ruoning had entered secret realm seclusion to drive away the Liu family representatives.

Now reborn, Yino figured that master would definitely still protect Ruoning.

And even if she wouldn’t take Ruoning in, Yino had other ways to use Yuebai’s connections to hide their identities and infiltrate the Liuli Sect.

“How do you know the Liuli Sect will definitely shelter us…?”

“Because I know the Liuli Sect’s leader.”

The rich girl tilted up her innocent face, pointing at the stars and moon like when they were children, asking question after question with naive wonder. And Yino answered just like in childhood, straight-faced as he spun those mythical stories from his past life.

“You… you even know the Liuli Sect’s leader…”

Ten years later, Ruoning still believed every tall tale Yino casually made up.

But this time, as Ruoning nodded thoughtfully, she suddenly spotted a plot hole: “Wait, didn’t the Liuli Sect’s leader disappear a hundred years ago?!”

“He did disappear, but we might see him very soon.”

Under the firelight, Yino smiled.

“Huh? You know where the leader went?”

“I know, but I can’t tell you. Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”

By the fire, Yino pressed a finger to the girl’s lips, smiling faintly.

“Alright, it’s getting late. Time to rest after eating.”

He waved his hand, changing the subject again.

On the other side, Ruoning seemed long accustomed to his habit of constantly switching topics.

She knew asking more questions wouldn’t get answers from Yino, so she simply pouted and went along with his topic change: “Yino, my feet feel a bit cold…”

“Cold?”

“Mm-hmm… probably from the rain. They got damp and feel all chilly…”

Ruoning puffed out her cheeks, crouched on the stone platform, then started taking off her shoes and socks.

She hung her damp cotton floral socks on the stone platform beside her, then perched her bare feet on the stone and waited. When Yino didn’t react, Ruoning carefully extended her feet toward the campfire for warmth.

For some reason, this scene felt familiar to Yino.

When did Ruoning learn this trick from aunty?

“Yino…”

“My legs are sore, like they’re cramping from the cold…”

Seeing Yino still wasn’t taking the bait, Ruoning continued playing pitifully, rubbing her ankles while acting spoiled.

But before Yino could react, a certain fox girl sitting nearby took the familiar route. Without asking, she directly shoved her feet wrapped in creamy white ankle socks into Yino’s lap.

“—???”

Ruoning’s eyes went wide, this direct approach was completely beyond what the sheltered young lady could imagine.

The fox girl glanced at her, raising an eyebrow with a coy smile that radiated pure seduction: “My feet are cold too, Master. Help me warm them up~”