Reborn As A Villainous Cannon Fodder

Yuyan stood in the corner of the crimson palace looking like some side character.

She'd actually taken forever to figure out what the hell was happening.

First, Liuli had backstabbed Mei, driving something straight through her heart.

Second, Mei had gone berserk in her dying moments and exploded into a giant blooming plum blossom right there on the spot.

Finally, since the plum blossom explosion had damaged the palace's core heart, Mei naturally drew all the aggro from both the crimson nun and the core itself.

So... The situation now was that Yuyan and Liuli were both standing on the sidelines watching the show.

Meanwhile, Mei was fighting solo in the center of the hall, going three hundred rounds with that crimson nun.

In terms of cultivation, when Mei was at her peak, they both had maxed-out Divine Transformation stage power.

In terms of consciousness, the crimson nun looked like some kind of walking corpse, while Mei after going berserk seemed to have lost all rational thought too - she was basically laughing maniacally and attacking anyone in sight.

Two monsters with maxed-out combat power but zero intelligence going at each other.

Now Yuyan finally understood why Yino had stopped her from jumping in earlier.

In this kind of situation, if she helped Mei attack the core heart, she'd definitely draw aggro and become the crimson nun's target.

But if she helped the nun kill Mei, then Mei would obviously go down fast.

The thing was...

If Mei died, then Yuyan's side would have to step up and become the crimson nun's next target.

What was the point of that?

Rather than asking for trouble, it was better to just sit back and let Mei and the crimson nun wear each other down.

That way, once they'd beaten each other bloody, Yuyan and Yino could swoop in together and clean up!

"Yino..."

"Just how many secrets are you still hiding from me?"

Standing in a corner of the palace with nothing to do for the moment, Yuyan finally caught her breath and struck up conversation with the white-robed young man beside her.

Yino had been focused intently on the battlefield, but hearing his senior sister's question, he blinked and looked back at her.

"I've got plenty of secrets. Does Senior really want to know?"

"Of course."

Yuyan stared at him.

This was the boy she'd lived with day and night on Ranmo Peak, the most familiar person to her. But now, even though he was standing right in front of her just like always, she felt very distant from him - and an indescribable sense of powerful pressure.

Just like the standards Yuyan had once told Yino about, any man she'd consider had to be stronger than her.

Back at the Holy Cathedral in Western Province City, Yino had already shown his true sword skills.

He'd beaten Yuyan publicly with pure technique.

But that was just skill. In terms of cultivation, she could still crush him.

Today though, what Yino was showing wasn't just technique, but also the mature charisma of a man that he'd been hiding all this time - the most attractive quality a guy could have.

His left hand had tamed the Holy Cathedral's evil sword, his right hand had the Full Moon Sect's holy maiden calling him master obediently...

Even that former unremarkable junior from Wuji Sect was now openly radiating powerful fox demon aura down in the demon abyss.

No doubt about it...

None of the women around him were easy to mess with.

And Yuyan, who should have been dominating the scene as the senior, now felt more like his supporting character standing beside him.

After all... Ever since entering this crimson palace, she'd been obediently following his orders.

He might not have the highest cultivation, but he was definitely the one calling the shots here.

With that realization, the young man Infront of her suddenly took on a completely different appeal in her eyes.

He wasn't so gentle and refined anymore.

His gaze had become much sharper, his aura tinged with three parts wicked and seven parts mature, even the cold smile between his brows carried more ruthlessness and edge than before...

If Yuyan was cold on the outside but warm inside, then Yino was definitely warm on the outside but cold inside.

In a way, she understood his preferences now.

No wonder he'd gotten so excited when I played up that contrast in bed before...

Looking at it now, she actually liked this cold, aloof side of Yino today.

No - she liked it even more.

"I can't tell Senior Sister my secrets just yet."

Yino kept his eyes glued to the battle while giving a casual smile without looking back.

He was being deliberately mysterious, but that slightly roguish smirk just made Yuyan stare even more.

She felt uneasy, afraid that these past six months of feelings between them had all been an act.

But she was also genuinely intrigued and hopeful, because here in the demon abyss, Yino was the only light of hope to her.

She actually wanted him to save her... Just like when she'd fallen into the depths, her life flashing before her eyes had shown his face.

"Why...?"

Yuyan asked anxiously.

This time, Yino glanced back at her and smiled warmly. "Because Senior Sister isn't family yet. Clans have clan laws, families have family rules. My father repeatedly warned me that when I'm away from home, I absolutely cannot tell outsiders the Grand Tutor's Mansion secrets."

Yino started spouting complete nonsense with a straight face.

Beside him, Jinyue had caught on to something fishy.

She remembered all the heart-to-heart talks she'd had with Yino, how he'd always shrugged helplessly about his own background, that scene at Phoenix Pavilion where the Hundred Spirits Pavilion master had completely fooled him...

This guy can't even figure out his own bloodline. He's obviously just as clueless as everyone else about what the Grand Tutor's Mansion is hiding!

Jinyue rolled her eyes. The more she looked at Yino, the more she thought this bastard was born to scam people.

After all... He could lie to his senior so smoothly.

Just imagine how many times Jinyue had been fooled by him over the past six months without even realizing it.

Forget wild guessing - just the stuff Jinyue could remember from the mountain temple and snow village was plenty. Add in all his lies to the nine-colored deer and tree spirit, and she couldn't count them all on one hand!

Damn it, this kind of scumbag totally deserves all his romantic luck...

Thinking about this, Jinyue couldn't help but secretly pinch Yino's butt from behind.

Yino straightened up instantly from the pinch, but kept smiling as he continued chatting with Yuyan.

"You... you're right..."

Obviously, Yuyan didn't have Jinyue's extensive experience of getting screwed over by Yino. Hearing his words, she nodded with complete conviction.

Everyone had their own upbringing after all.

For someone like Yuyan, phrases like clan laws and family rules were things she'd heard since childhood.

She knew Yino was the seventh young master of the Grand Tutor's Mansion. His secrets definitely involved the will of some Grand Elder there.

And what about her?

To put it nicely, she was Yino's close senior sister.

To put it bluntly, no matter how close a senior sister was, she was still an outsider from another clan and family.

But...

What really got to Yuyan was that phrase "isn't family yet."

He'd said yet, which implied...

"Maybe someday Senior Sister could marry into the Grand Tutor's Mansion. Then I could share all the secrets I've been carrying with you."