Reborn As A Villainous Cannon Fodder
Chapter 321 - 321: Ch 321 - Yino, You Just Wait!!! II

"Yes, the Abyss Sigil. So I'm... a cursed being."

Jinyue shrugged, averting her gaze with a bored expression.

"Normal cultivation methods don't work on me. If I want to grow stronger, I have to refine the sigil in this eye. But the more I refine it, the deeper the curse takes hold... You've already guessed the price of my trump card, haven't you?"

At this, Jinyue pursed her lips, her profile suddenly looking lonely and helpless.

Yeah. She had once dreamed of being an ordinary fox demon...

But her homeland had been destroyed. She had crawled out of the Cataclysm of the Demon Abyss. Her body was tainted by its curse, and even her fate had been calculated and controlled by that white-haired, golden-eyed woman who called herself the Celestial Master.

At this point, not cultivating was Jinyue's way of defying destiny.

If she cultivated further, sinking deeper into the Abyss's curse, it would only mean she was walking the path the Celestial Master had foreseen.

"So that's how it is..."

Yino nodded silently, an inexplicable sense of loss weighing on his heart.

Meanwhile, Jinyue seemed to pick up on the somber mood. She pinched Yino's cheek playfully, forcing a carefree smile.

"Haha... are you feeling sorry for me?"

"But what's so bad about Foundation Establishment?"

"Look, even now, when I'm so well-behaved, you're still wary of me, always on guard against my charming magic... If one day I really break through to Core Formation, Nascent Soul, or even Divine Transformation... by then, you'd never have such a sweet, obedient fox again!"

As she finished, Jinyue flashed him a smile while her tails swaying behind her.

Bathed in the slanting sunlight at the alley's mouth, Yino suddenly felt the foxgirl in his arms seemed unreal—the scene before him flickering like a monochrome filter, contrasting sharply with the game's deranged witch.

A brief silence fell.

Jinyue seemed to notice Yino's thoughts, but she didn't want to dwell on her left eye. Instead, she changed the subject.

"Don't just think about me! I've lived like this for years—I know my own situation. Right now, you're the one in real danger!"

"..."

"Yuyan has already recognized you. What are you going to do now?"

"Ignore her. Stick to the original plan." Yino waved a hand dismissively.

"But once the Demon Abyss crisis in Western Province City is over, and you return to Ranmo Peak, Yuyan will definitely expose your true cultivation level..."

Jinyue spoke softly. Though one eye was covered, the other—marked with the black sigil—gazed at Yino with concern.

"Once word spreads, you might be in danger... like when Luli and Yuebai hunted you last time."

"That's not a problem."

Seeing the game's yandere witch now acting so sweet and worried for him, Yino couldn't help but laugh wryly.

This topic made him feel as if he and Jinyue were kindred spirits in a doomed world.

He was a reincarnator who didn't belong here, walking a path of defiance against fate that had marked him for death.

And Jinyue...

She was the same, rebelling against her ordained destiny.

"Once the Demon Abyss is dealt with, there aren't any major opportunities in the Western Region for a while. Why would I waste time staying in the Limitless Sect?"

Yino's tone was indifferent.

"You... you mean...?" Jinyue's eyes sparkled as if she had realized something.

"If that Celestial Master really wants to hunt me down, I'll just return to my home and inherit my family's legacy. No matter how powerful she is, she can't kill me inside my home, can she?"

Yino said this lightly, but the red fox girl beside him seemed troubled. She turned her face away, pouting.

"Y-yeah, I guess..."

She nodded quietly.

Yino studied her expression. "What, you'll miss me?"

"I... I might have to stay at the Wuji Sect a while longer..."

"Why?"

"Even if you leave, I still have other missions..."

Jinyue spoke seriously, but under Yino's gaze, he sensed something else hidden beneath her words.

Narrowing his eyes, he suddenly asked:

"You've already betrayed them. Why stay? Why not just elope with me?"

"..."

These words stunned Jinyue.

She looked up at Yino, her peach-blossom eyes widening. But just as she was about to break into a delighted smile—

She saw something terrifying behind him.

"?"

Noticing the sudden fear on the foxgirl's face, Yino raised an eyebrow and turned around.

In an instant, his eyes met those of the black-robed girl standing at the alley's entrance.

But this time, she wasn't hiding her cultivation or pretending to be harmless.

An overwhelming pressure—far beyond Divine Transformation—crushed down upon them.

"YINO—!"

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THIS TIME!!!"

….

Ever since Yino had swindled her out of the Pureblood Phoenix Crystal the day before, Nian had been so furious she couldn't eat or sleep. Even in her dreams, that scheming bastard haunted her.

Scammed by Yino during the day, tormented by Yino at night—Nian felt like she was losing her mind.

When Yino had excused himself at lunch yesterday, taking the stone with him, Nian had sensed something was off. From the second-floor window, she had seen him fleeing down the alley.

Then, she remembered the crimson glow when he had opened the stone.

"Wait—!"

"That was a Pureblood Phoenix Crystal, wasn't it?!"

Nian slammed the table and stood up, ignoring the two girls still stuffing their faces beside her. She vaulted over the restaurant's railing like a track star.

What followed was a chase through the streets.

She had pursued him across eight blocks, yet somehow, Yino had still managed to escape!

This defied all logic!

Though Nian couldn't reveal her White Dragon bloodline in the mortal realm, even her sealed Nascent Soul cultivation should have been enough to track a mere Core Formation human boy.

Yet reality was stranger than fiction.

No matter how hard she chased, Yino's presence had simply... vanished.

Unwilling to give up, Nian had scoured the entire city, but found nothing.

Defeated, she had returned to her inn at nightfall.