Reborn As A Villainous Cannon Fodder-Chapter 459: Ch - Want to Hear Xumo’s Story?

2/17

"Junior Sister Yuebai..." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Tell me what I did wrong! I just saw my master’s bed was messy and asked a couple questions out of concern, then she suddenly exploded and started yelling at me for no reason!"

"And think about it, Yino’s not a kid anymore, right? He’s a grown man whose body has completely recovered, but my master still invited him into her room. A man and woman spending the entire night alone together!"

"And my master claims they were just talking?"

"Are you kidding me? Yino’s just some Nascent Soul outer sect disciple, what could he and my master possibly have to discuss that would keep them talking under the same roof all night?"

"It’s complete bullshit! When I’m with my master, she never talks to me for more than three sentences!"

In a secluded cabin behind Liuli Sect’s mountain, Huai slammed his fist on the table as he vented his frustrations.

Across from him, the petite white-haired loli in loose robes looked absolutely dead inside.

Yuebai was about to lose her damn mind.

She was just a fox who used to laze around in a spirit ring. She’d only officially joined Liuli Sect as a junior sister six months ago, how was she supposed to understand the twisted relationship between Chaerin and Huai?

I’m so done with this...

If she’d known, she never would’ve bothered with Huai that snowy night when he was kneeling outside Chaerin’s door.

Just because Yuebai had shown him kindness once, now Huai treated her like some kind of safe harbor. Every time he had issues with Chaerin, he came running to dump his problems on her...

At first, Yuebai didn’t mind. She’d listened to his complaints out of goodwill.

But after Huai found warmth here, his dependency spiraled completely out of control.

"Ahaha... is that so..."

"That is pretty weird. What could Yino and your master possibly talk about all night?"

Yuebai propped her chin on her hand, her voice dripping with fake interest as her gaze wandered toward the window, searching for something.

To Yuebai, everything Huai was saying was laughably ridiculous. She knew exactly who Yino was, even if he spent the night discussing Ruoning and Liuli Sect’s future with Chaerin, she wouldn’t be remotely surprised.

After all...

Yino actually understood these things.

What really bothered Yuebai right now was that she’d brought Yino to Liuli Sect yesterday, hoping to spend some alone time with him while Ruoning was away. She wanted to take him somewhere secluded and romantic, where they could be alone together under the pretense of enjoying the scenery.

But now...

Yino had been at Jinglan Peak all night with no sign of coming down.

Yuebai wanted to find him, but this chattering waste of space kept dragging her into his drama.

"Ah-! It’s Yino!"

For a split second, Yuebai spotted a familiar face in white robes beneath the peach tree outside.

Finally! Her master had come looking for her. Yuebai’s bored expression instantly lit up with excitement.

She couldn’t be bothered listening to more of Huai’s whining. Jumping to her feet, she rushed to the full-length mirror to check her makeup and outfit.

"Ah! Sorry, Senior, I have plans! We’ll talk some other time!"

Without even looking back or waiting for Huai’s reaction, Yuebai shot out the door like a cannonball.

"...?"

Huai sat frozen at the table, unable to process what just happened.

He turned toward the window where Yuebai had been staring, watching the usually lazy-faced white-haired girl practically skip outside, beaming as she threw herself into Yino’s arms.

"Yi..no..."

For a moment, Huai was speechless.

In a single day, he’d felt jealousy and humiliation twice because of the same man.

This morning, he’d heard Yino and Chaerin chatting happily together.

Now he’d come to pour his heart out to Yuebai, only to watch her abandon him for Yino too...

"Damn it... why did it turn out like this..."

Watching Yuebai take Yino’s hand as they walked away together, Huai finally snapped. His fist crashed into the table.

He just wanted a little care and understanding.

He was so afraid of being disliked that he’d never dared express his real feelings...

But even being that careful, he still couldn’t measure up to a single hair on that outsider’s head.

What truly terrified Huai wasn’t the fear of his own unrequited feelings, it was watching someone else effortlessly achieve in hours what he’d been unable to imagine in years.

The implications were obvious.

"Where... where did I go wrong..."

"Fine, Yuebai knew him before, so I can’t compete there. But I’m my master’s direct disciple! Why does she treat Yino with the same favoritism and gentleness as Yuebai does?"

The tighter his chest felt, the more familiar the mental spiral became.

He collapsed on the table, clutching his hair in agony, when suddenly a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Even after falling this low, Brother Ye is still trying to find fault with himself instead of questioning what’s so strange about this young man named Yino?"

"Wo... who are you...?"

The silky, amused voice made Huai’s scalp crawl just from hearing it.

He turned around. Sure enough, standing behind him was an androgynously beautiful man with heavy makeup and long hair tied in a ponytail streaked with crimson.

"Crimson Prince... what do you mean by that?"

"Now, now, Brother Ye, don’t be so formal. We’re both disciples of Liuli Sect. I have no reason to harm you in front of outsiders, right?"

The beautiful man continued his smirking small talk.

Huai shrugged off his hand, his mind flashing back to his master’s childhood warnings:

[Huai, remember what I’m telling you, never get involved with the Crimson Prince]

Despite his curiosity being piqued, Huai took a deep breath and replied coldly:

"Cut the act. Say what you came to say!"

"Aw... even after all these years, Brother Ye still doesn’t trust me at all."

The red-haired sissy man pouted dramatically, then turned toward the window with a meaningful smile. "Speaking of which... aren’t you curious what really happened to Xumo in Azure Forest back then? What caused things between him and Junior Yuebai to turn so ugly?"

"You’re talking about... Xumo?"

"That’s right. Didn’t you beat up Xumo before because of Yuebai? Aren’t you curious how Yuebai and Xumo had their falling out? And what role Yino played in all of it?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Relax. Sit down and let me tell you a story. After you hear it, you’ll understand why Ye Chaerin favors Yino while giving you the cold shoulder"

The Crimson Prince smiled that sly smile, casually pulling up a chair to sit beside Huai.

He propped his chin on his hand, recalling Xumo kneeling in Crimson Hall, desperately confessing the truth he’d witnessed in Azure Forest. His lips curved upward as he began retelling the story to Huai.

"Actually, at the beginning of this tale, Xumo was very much like you. He was also an orphaned child, adopted by a white fox girl who happened to pass by....."