The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Xie Kun drove Xiao Yuan to his home.

Actually, this house was where Xie Kun lived alone; it was a coming-of-age gift from his family. Whenever he wanted some peace and quiet, he would come and stay for a few days.

Although he didn’t live there often, the house was regularly cleaned by someone, and everything was in place and spotlessly clean.

Xie Kun and Xiao Yuan were similar in size, so Xiao Yuan could wear some casual clothes and pajamas that Xie Kun had left there unused, saving the need to buy new ones.

Once inside, Xie Kun led Xiao Yuan to the guest room: "Bro, you’ll stay here tonight. I’ll get you some change of clothes."

"Alright."

Xiao Yuan put down his bag: "Is there any water? I would like a drink."

Xie Kun hurried to get Xiao Yuan some water and then went to the wardrobe to fetch a few unused outfits: "Bro, if you want to take a shower, the bathroom is over there. Everything is complete inside, just use whatever you need, and..."

Xie Kun explained a few more things: "Bro, take a rest. I have to go back home to check things out."

Xiao Yuan stood up: "Sure, you go ahead. Be careful on the way."

Xie Kun smiled, pulling out the peace charm hanging around his neck: "I have this, nothing to worry about."

Xiao Yuan laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Go on."

Xie Kun picked up his car keys and walked out.

After he left, Xiao Yuan went into the kitchen and found that all the pots and pans were brand new, never used.

He opened the fridge, which held some ingredients—eggs, a few green peppers, and some tomatoes, though who knew how long they’d been in there.

Xiao Yuan cracked an egg to take a look and found it was almost rotten. Checking the vegetables, he saw one tomato was half-rotten.

Xiao Yuan shook his head and cleaned out the fridge. Without changing clothes, he took the trash downstairs.

After throwing away the garbage, Xiao Yuan took a walk around a nearby small supermarket and came back with quite a few things.

He entered the house, put the unopened noodles in the kitchen drawer, and placed the vegetables, eggs, and meat in the fridge.

After organizing everything, Xiao Yuan grabbed some pajamas and took a shower.

After his shower, Xiao Yuan felt much lighter.

He lay on the large bed in the guest room and made a video call to Anning.

Anning was tutoring the kids, but when she saw the call, she told them: "You guys do your homework first, I need to take a call."

She stepped into the bedroom with her phone before pressing the answer button.

Once connected, Anning saw Xiao Yuan’s magnified face.

"All settled?"

Anning asked.

Xiao Yuan responded with a hum.

"Why do you seem a bit upset?" Anning was particularly sensitive to Xiao Yuan’s mood; even from afar, just a look at the video, and she could tell something wasn’t right.

"Sun Hong ran away."

Xiao Yuan said softly.

"Ran away?" Anning hadn’t expected Sun Hong to flee without facing Xiao Yuan: "Is he really such a coward? How did he even dare..."

"Exactly, I can’t figure it out either." Xiao Yuan sighed: "You say, if he’s timid, then how did he dare to plot against us, and curse the Xie Family? But if he’s bold, I had just arrived in the Capital and hadn’t even seen him, yet he vanished without a trace. I was all prepared to do something big and slap him in the face, but in the end, he never showed up, and all the preparation was for nothing. It’s really frustrating."

Anning just laughed, and after a while, she comforted Xiao Yuan: "It’s fine, it’s fine. If he has truly run away, he won’t dare to show up for some time. Meanwhile, we can focus on cultivating and teaching LuLu well. When LuLu’s cultivation is strong enough, she can deal with Sun Hong."

"That’s all we can do."

Xiao Yuan leaned against the headboard, opened the bottle, and took a sip: "Breaking the curse on the Xie Family this time used a bit of LuLu’s blood. I did this on purpose to make the Xie Family indebted to LuLu, also to expand her network. Since LuLu is the main character, she needs the Qi Fortune of one. In the future, I will gradually help her regain her Qi Fortune."

"I know." Anning smiled: "When the Xie Family sent someone to ask for items, I knew what was going on. This works well; the more Qi Fortune LuLu has, the easier it will be to deal with Sun Hong. Once her Qi Fortune is strong, someone like Sun Hong will be nothing."

"It’s just..."

Anning tried hard to guess: "Why did Sun Hong run? He must have known you were in the Capital, and knew you broke the curse on the Xie Family... so, is he afraid of you?"

Xiao Yuan also began to think seriously: "The timing of his disappearance was exactly when I broke the curse on the Xie Family, so yes, he must be afraid of me, or rather, afraid of the Xiao Family."

"Why is he afraid of the Xiao Family? Could it be he took something from the Xiao Family, or..."

Anning suddenly slapped her forehead: "A Yuan, think carefully, was the original really just a swindler? Why did he become a swindler? Did his family have any Heavenly Masters or something?"

"Let me think."

Xiao Yuan focused on remembering, and after a long time, he finally dug out an incident from the original’s memory.

This incident was hidden deep within the original’s memory, greatly affecting him, but something he didn’t really want to recall.

Since he remembered, Xiao Yuan detailed the story to Anning.

When the original was little, he grew up with his grandfather, who used to tell him stories about the Xiao Family’s ancestors.

He often told a story about a strange ancestor of the Xiao Family, a particularly lazy strange man who frequently stayed in his room. Sometimes he wouldn’t go out for a month, yet every time they saw him, he was living well, appearing rosy-cheeked and well-dressed.

The original’s grandfather had seen this strange man when he was young.

At that time, the strange man was already very old. No one could say how old he was, with white hair but no wrinkles on his face, looking very healthy.

As a child, the original’s grandfather was mischievous. Once, he barged into the strange man’s place. Seeing the youngster, the strange man smiled, waved at the grandfather, and spoke to him, saying many things.

The original’s grandfather curiously asked the strange man: "You always hide in your room and never go out, and no one brings you food. What do you eat? If I don’t eat for two days, I’d surely starve to death. Aren’t you hungry?"

The strange man laughed, patting the grandfather’s head: "No worries, I can communicate with all of heaven and earth. Even if I don’t go out, food comes to me. What I consume are immortal peaches and fruits, and I drink Jadescent Nectar."

The original’s grandfather didn’t believe him: "You’re lying."

The strange man was a bit temperamental: "Why would I deceive a child? Here’s what we’ll do—see, there’s nothing in my room, and I won’t leave for a few days. Come back in five days, and I’ll let you taste immortal peaches and fruits."

"I’ll have a good look." The original’s grandfather searched the strange man’s room, finding no food whatsoever.

Then he went home, gathered some little friends, bribing them with candies to keep an eye on the strange man’s place. As it turned out, the strange man didn’t step out for five days.

On the fifth day, the original’s grandfather returned to the strange man’s place. As soon as he entered, he smelled a peculiar fragrance and saw a plate of big peaches on the kang.

It was winter at that time, not the season for ripe peaches, yet they were fresh as if freshly picked.

The original’s grandfather climbed onto the kang, wanting to eat, but the strange man wouldn’t let him have much, only giving him a small piece.

The original’s grandfather was quite upset: "You’re so stingy."

The strange man laughed: "Your body is mortal and can’t handle much. Just this bit is plenty for you to enjoy."

After eating the peach, the original’s grandfather had an upset stomach for several days, but his health improved significantly thereafter. From what Xiao Yuan recalled, his grandfather never seemed to fall ill and passed away peacefully without disease.

Xiao Yuan recounted this memory to Anning: "The original was influenced by this and his grandfather’s stories. He believed the Xiao Family’s ancestors were immortals and wished to cultivate and achieve results. Unfortunately, without a Daoist Book or cultivation technique, he could only fumble around. Yet, he wasn’t entirely unsuccessful—he had accumulated Spiritual Energy within him, and his body was strong, but he didn’t know how to utilize the Spiritual Energy or observe Qi, so he could only resort to conning people as a swindler."

Upon hearing, Anning sat upright, seriously speaking to Xiao Yuan: "I’ve figured it out."

Xiao Yuan seemed to have realized something as well: "Go ahead."

"I reckon your ancestors did indeed have immortal fates. The story of the strange man should be real. This strange man likely left some things behind, which were later found by Xiao Lu. Because of this, Xiao Lu embarked on the path of cultivation, eventually becoming a genuine and formidable Heavenly Master. Currently... the possessions were taken by Sun Hong, and I suspect that Sun Hong is a reincarnator or a Book Transmigrator."

If that’s the case, it all makes sense.