Reborn As A Villainous Cannon Fodder

Xinyao was in an absolutely terrible mood today.

When the Demon Abyss wave first hit, she’d prepared herself to sit on the tower and observe the situation. She knew Yino would go, but she wasn’t worried – Yino was strong, and as long as he stayed in the Western Region battlefield, She could always swoop in to back him up.

But what Xinyao never expected was that barely half an hour into the battle, Yino had fucking vanished into thin air.

That’s right. Gone. Physically disappeared.

When her subordinates reported this, Xinyao couldn’t believe her ears.

What the hell? Where’s my nephew?

Xinyao panicked immediately. She sent people searching everywhere, only to finally learn that Yino had apparently been swept away by the Demon Abyss wave.

Fortunately, the spiritual energy Xinyao had left in Yino’s body still let her sense his life force. She could feel that Yino wasn’t dead yet and hadn’t encountered any real danger. Based on her experience, if Yino could vanish from the mortal realm like that, he’d most likely been dragged down into the Demon Abyss.

So Xinyao decided to rush back to the Hundred Spirits Pavilion branch in Demon Abyss City overnight to investigate. All this back-and-forth had her running around for hours.

Later, when Xinyao finally tracked down Yino’s trail in Demon Abyss City, she arrived at the scene only to find the entire northern mining district sealed off, with countless Condemnation Cult member and Executors gathered to hunt down the culprit…

After asking around, Xinyao discovered this was a pretty big deal – apparently someone had pulled a heist while the Executors were away.

The Condemnation Cult worshipped the Pain Mother Goddess. Deep beneath the Mother Goddess’s abyss lay three different organs, each representing different aspects of the goddess’s true form.

Now, the Pain Mother Goddess’s heart had been stolen…

If Xinyao’s intel was correct, Yino should have arrived at this mining area about an hour ago. But… that Mother Goddess heart was massive, with a cultivation level so high it was off the charts. How could Yino possibly steal it by himself?

Was he some kind of immortal?

Wait… if he really had True Phoenix bloodline, then theoretically speaking, he might actually be capable of it.

This thought made an even more ridiculous possibility pop into Xinyao’s head.

But just then, Xinyao received another message from Western Province City….

[Pavilion Master! Young Lord has appeared at the Western Province City border!]

[Wait!]

[At the border, several elders want to detain Young Lord to examine his Demon Abyss aura!]

[Wait!]

[Pavilion Master! Young Lord just broke through the checkpoint and flew away over Western Province City!]

[Wait!]

[Now Young Lord is flying east, with several elders and patrol guards from Western Province City in pursuit!]

Three consecutive “waits” were driving Xinyao absolutely crazy. She’d traveled all the way from Western Province City to Demon Abyss City, and now that she’d finally reached Demon Abyss City, Jin Jie was telling her Yino had run back to Western Province City!

Damn it, how is this brat even more troublesome than his mother!

Xinyao was so pissed she smashed her communication talisman and kicked a magic crystal ore beside the mining area. The crystal shattered, but her foot also swelled up red.

She hopped around silently, clutching her foot in pain.

No choice. With Yino about to be caught by the Western Province City elders, Xinyao could only rush back to Western Province City while having Jinyu send an urgent message to the Jin City elders.

Two tigers can’t share one mountain – Xinyao had always had bad relations with those old geezers in Western Province City over the years. Under the same roof, the Western Province City bigshots naturally didn’t want this “outsider” taking over their territory.

Conversely, the Jin City elders had no such concerns. Due to years of mutual business interests, the Jin City elders actually had excellent relations with Xinyao. After all, with Xinyao in Western Province City and them in Jin City, they stayed out of each other’s way, making their business dealings more straightforward without all the scheming.

Xinyao figured those old bastards in Western Province City were chasing Yino just to get back at her. So she was really anxious.

If Yino got detained, with his Phoenix bloodline and the fresh Demon Abyss aura from stealing the Pain Mother Goddess’s heart, he’d definitely be imprisoned on charges of colluding with evil cults. They wouldn’t dare actually harm Yino, but with leverage in enemy hands, if Xinyao wanted to bail him out later, she’d have to give up a lot of interests and connections in Western Province City.

For Xinyao, that would be losing both her nephew and her assets.

Now, after all these ups and downs, Xinyao finally made it back to Jin City. She immediately rushed to the City Lord’s mansion, kicking down the door to aggressively confront Li Yu.

Xinyao had no idea what kind of bad luck she’d run into today. She’d just confirmed Yino was safe, only to learn he’d been taken to a dungeon for interrogation by some mysterious big shot.

What made Xinyao’s hair stand on end was that this person was apparently a young woman!

If Yino had gone to steal from the Condemnation Cult’s Mother Abyss, then for Xinyao, the current situation meant she’d been lured away while someone else stole her home!

She was frantic. She grabbed Li Yu by the collar, demanding to know this person’s identity. But he looked extremely uncomfortable, as if there were some secret he absolutely couldn’t reveal, only able to give Xinyao hints through gestures and facial expressions.

With so many powerful beauties in the Great Dragon Dynasty, how could Xinyao possibly guess?

No choice. Xinyao’s patience was limited. If Li Yu wouldn’t speak the name, she’d just force her way in.

Li Yu naturally tried to stop her, but Xinyao came in like a storm – nothing could hold her back. In the end, she still kicked down the dungeon door with a mighty blow.

“You bitch, let go of my Yino!”

After breaking in, she stood with hands on her hips, chin raised arrogantly, her eyes cold and murderous with intimidating presence. After all the chaos in Western Province City and Demon Abyss City, Xinyao’s patience had long since run out.

She didn’t care who this person was anymore. In the Great Dragon Dynasty, with the Grand Tutor’s Mansion on her left and demon clan connections on her right, besides those few royal princes and nobles, who else did Xinyao need to fear?

“You are…?”

“White Dragon…”

“Prin… Princess, no wait, Your Majesty?!”

The moment the white dragon girl frowned and turned around, Xinyao practically turned to stone at the doorway. Her expression was incredibly awkward.

First, obviously because of the other party’s identity. Second, because of the position she was in – crouched in the dungeon with both hands on Yino’s body.

Either factor alone was enough to make Xinyao feel like she was in some ridiculous drama.

What kind of insane plot development was this? Xinyao was completely baffled. She knew this brat had always been smooth-talking and good at charming girls since childhood. But she never imagined that after just half a year of letting him roam free, Yino had first gotten himself a nine-colored deer, then a succubus following him around, and now after one trip to Demon Abyss City, he’d even hooked up with the Empress!

Seriously!!!?

Xinyao’s inner state was like that shrimp-headed guy at the computer meme.

But no matter how much she complained internally, the urgent matter was that Xinyao quickly reacted and immediately dropped to one knee.

“Xinyao greets Your Majesty.”

Xinyao lowered her eyes slightly. Though outwardly respectful, remembering what she’d just said, she was panicking inside.

Meanwhile, Nina was also startled by this somewhat familiar visitor. She seemed to realize the compromising position she and Yino were in, quickly standing up from Yino and grabbing a nearby shirt to cover his bare chest.

“Cough, ahem…”

Nina coughed awkwardly twice. Though she did find the red-dressed girl somewhat familiar, Nina met so many ministers daily in the Dragon Palace – how could she possibly remember everyone’s name?

“Your Majesty, I am Xinyao, a relative of the He family and Yino’s aunt.”

Seeing Nina’s embarrassed expression, Xinyao tactfully introduced herself. Actually, over the years, whenever the Grand Tutor’s Mansion attended court meetings, Xinyao would quietly listen from the corners. This was Xinyao’s source of intelligence and the Grand Tutor’s Mansion’s way of showing sincerity to their Phoenix Clan envoy.

Because of this, Xinyao had connections both in official circles and the black market. The Hundred Spirits Pavilion she founded had become the most famous information broker in the entire Western Region of the Great Dragon Dynasty within just a few decades.

However… no matter how powerful Xinyao was in the Western Region, she really didn’t have the guts to offend the current empress. She still hoped to make money from court policies – how could she bite the hand that fed her?

“Oh, so you’re his aunt…”

Nina observed this respectful blonde girl, glancing back at Yino. After getting confirmation of her identity from him, Nina nodded thoughtfully in acknowledgment.

Nina’s hostility and wariness lessened somewhat. She wanted to poach this SSR talent Yino, so considering future connections, Nina naturally became more tolerant toward Xinyao as employee family.

“Your Majesty… I wonder what crime my Yino has committed that requires such interrogation…”

Xinyao kept her eyes lowered, though respectful in attitude, her phoenix eyes glinted with suspicion as she questioned: “Forgive me… what I mean is, what kind of interrogation requires stripping off Yino’s clothes and touching his body?”

?!!

“This, this this this… this is… well…”

At these words, Nina’s face naturally flushed red. She tried to explain, but Nina had always been the most tongue-tied among her sisters. When nervous, she easily stuttered, and with such an insane complicated situation, Nina found herself flustered under Xinyao’s direct, suspicious gaze.

“Your Majesty? Your face seems very red?”

Xinyao became more suspicious, shifting from respectful to somewhat accusatory. Though she thought it impossible, the current scene really made her imagination run wild.

It couldn’t be… this brat had actually managed to seduce even the empress!!!

“Aunty, actually Her Majesty suspected my bloodline and cultivation, so she had me remove my clothes for a personal physical examination.”

At the crucial moment, Yino, leaning against the wall, spoke up while slowly retying his shirt.

But somehow, this scene of the girl blushing while Yino dressed and explained for her made Xinyao feel even more like she’d been robbed.

“You two…”

“Really were just examining?!”

…

“Achoo!”

In the upper level of the dungeon, Yuyan sat alone on a luxurious bed in her suite, inexplicably feeling a chill down her back as she sneezed.

“Hasn’t Yino’s interrogation finished yet?”