After Rebirth, the Love-Struck Cannon Fodder Woke Up - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Rebirth

◎ Tragic Death, Return to Youth ◎

Late at night.

Intermittent coughing sounds came from an inconspicuous hut on a desolate mountain.

The oil lamp flickered. Dimly visible on the worn wooden bed was a pale, gaunt girl.

Du Lianxin stared with lifeless eyes, her body emitting a profound aura of death.

She was just an ordinary outer-sect cultivator of the Qinghe Sect. With a four-element Spirit Root aptitude, the day she entered the sect, the supervisor asserted that she would never achieve greatness in this life.

Two years ago, she was ambushed by a group of demonic beasts while performing a sect mission. Overpowered in the fight, she was severely wounded and near death.

Just as she was sinking into despair, a streak of escape light descended from the sky, instantly slaying the ferocious beasts.

The person who arrived, clad in a pale purple dress and wielding the Chongyun Sword, was the highly renowned Shen Anlan of the Qinghe Sect—a genius cultivator with an innate Dao Bone and peerless beauty, rarely seen in a thousand years.

After eliminating the beasts, Shen Anlan fed Du Lianxin a superior healing pill, saving her life.

Du Lianxin was keenly aware of the difference in their status, yet she fell uncontrollably in love with this favored daughter of heaven.

Initially, she just followed the other person from afar, but as time went on, she became dissatisfied with the status quo and began to actively approach her.

However, no matter what she did, she received not the slightest response.

Later, Shen Anlan was harmed by the Demonic Sect. Her cultivation was destroyed, her Dantian ruined, and her eyes were blinded.

Upon learning the truth, Du Lianxin rushed to her side immediately, caring for her tirelessly. Half a month later, she coincidentally learned of a forbidden art. She unhesitatingly sacrificed her own core and meridians, scattering her cultivation to heal Shen Anlan. In the end, all she received was a cold, indifferent “thank you.”

With her foundation destroyed due to the forbidden art, Du Lianxin became a mortal. The outer-sect supervisor forced her to leave the Qinghe Sect on the grounds that she could no longer cultivate.

Du Lianxin’s relatives had long passed away, and her hometown was destroyed in a landslide during her childhood.

Being expelled from the sect, coupled with Shen Anlan’s cold attitude, left her completely disheartened. She declined the kind offers of former fellow disciples, wandering until she eventually arrived at this desolate mountain and built a wooden hut.

Before long, the backlash from the forbidden art arrived, and her body quickly withered away.

It was currently winter. Du Lianxin lay on the broken wooden bed, her limbs gradually freezing and losing sensation.

As her consciousness blurred, a sudden influx of information appeared in her mind.

It turned out she was living in the world of a novel.

The novel had two female protagonists: one was Shen Anlan, the person she had been obsessively in love with, and the other was Feng Ruo, the Saintess of the Demonic Sect.

As for her, Du Lianxin, she was merely an unremarkable, love-obsessed little cannon fodder, summarily mentioned, whose purpose was to sacrifice herself for Shen Anlan.

Upon learning all of this, Du Lianxin suddenly felt profound sorrow. Reflecting on her life, all her past seemed like a joke.

Did she truly love Shen Anlan? Or was her obsession merely influenced by the so-called plot of the book?

Before her consciousness faded, she had only one thought:

If she could be reborn, she must stay far away from Shen Anlan and cultivate diligently.

When Du Lianxin woke up again, she heard bursts of beast roaring near her ear.

She opened her eyes in confusion, but the next moment, she saw the familiar figure descending from the sky.

It’s Shen Anlan?

The scene before her had played out countless times in her memory.

Was she… reborn?

Or… was this just a memory before her death?

A sharp pain suddenly shot through her left shoulder. Du Lianxin came to her senses, looked down, and saw her clothes stained with bl00d, with several clear claw marks visible.

Such intense pain didn’t feel like a memory.

So… she was truly reborn!

Realizing this, Du Lianxin cried and laughed simultaneously. Tears streamed down her face, but her eyes were full of relief.

Heaven had pity on her. Since she was granted rebirth, she would definitely not repeat her past mistakes!

After slaying the demonic beasts, Shen Anlan saw the heavily injured girl sitting on the ground, crying and laughing, and felt quite perplexed.

Just as she was about to ask, the girl suddenly let out a “wah” and spat out a mouthful of bl00d.

Observing her, the girl’s face was extremely pale, but her lips were bl00d-red, giving her a fragile, sickly beauty.

Shen Anlan was knowledgeable in medicine and understood that if the girl’s injuries weren’t treated immediately, it would be too late. She flicked her sleeve, took out a premium healing pill, and handed it over from a distance, speaking softly: “This is the Bl00d-Coagulating Spirit Restoration Pill. Take it, and your life will be safe.”

Du Lianxin heard the words, which were identical to those in her previous life, and slightly twitched her lips.

It was a pity the timing of the rebirth wasn’t right. She was still indebted to Shen Anlan for saving her life.

She knew her own condition all too well. Without this pill, she wouldn’t survive the day.

“Thank you, Immortal Shen.”

The rules of the Qinghe Sect were strict. Outer-sect cultivators could only use standard respectful titles when addressing Inner-sect or Core disciples and were forbidden from carelessly claiming seniority or relationships.

After thanking her, Du Lianxin accepted the pill and put it in her mouth.

It was said that good medicine tastes bitter, and the Bl00d-Coagulating Spirit Restoration Pill was the bitterest of them all.

In her previous life, she had frowned deeply when taking the pill. Now, however, her expression remained unchanged.

Compared to the experiences of her past life, a little bitterness from a pill was nothing.

Shen Anlan was slightly surprised by the girl’s demeanor.

The Bl00d-Coagulating Spirit Restoration Pill melted instantly in the mouth, and the bitterness it contained could not be immediately dispelled.

In the past, she had taken this pill herself and afterward had to drink an entire jar of spiritual honey to suppress the bitterness.

Apart from the observant Du Lianxin, no one knew that Shen Anlan was terrified of bitterness and strongly resisted all bitter-tasting pills, only taking them in dire necessity.

In her previous life, when Shen Anlan’s Dantian was destroyed and she was crippled, Du Lianxin always prepared a sufficient amount of spiritual honey before feeding her medicine.

Not only that, she also tried many methods to dispel the bitterness contained in the pills.

Though not completely successful, she achieved some results, managing to remove most of the bitterness without affecting the medicinal properties.

Recalling this, Du Lianxin suppressed the swirling emotions in her heart and struggled to her feet.

She had come out on a sect mission to gather Seven-Star Grass for refining talismans. Since the mission was not yet complete, it would be difficult to report back.

She turned to leave, intending to continue toward the mission location, but Shen Anlan unexpectedly called out to her.

“The Bl00d-Coagulating Spirit Restoration Pill can only ensure your life is safe. Your injuries are still unhealed. It’s better to return to the sect first and recuperate for a while.”

There were tens of thousands of outer-sect cultivators in the Qinghe Sect. At this time, Shen Anlan did not recognize Du Lianxin. She only confirmed her identity by the wooden token of the outer-sect cultivator hanging at her waist.

Du Lianxin’s body stiffened upon hearing Shen Anlan’s words.

In her previous life, Shen Anlan left immediately after seeing her take the pill, without a moment’s hesitation.

Why would she offer this suggestion in this life?

Du Lianxin lowered her eyes, suppressing the doubt in her heart, and responded calmly: “Thank you for your kindness, Immortal Shen.”

She turned and continued walking toward the mission area. Unexpectedly, just two steps later, someone grabbed her right arm.

Shen Anlan was rarely visibly angry.

“Twenty li ahead is the Soul Mist Swamp. You are injured. Once you get there and inhale the miasma, it will be poison on top of your injury. I gave you a pill to save your life, not to let you continue seeking death!”

In the memories of her previous life, Shen Anlan rarely showed anger.

Even when she knew Du Lianxin was deliberately getting close, most of the time she was merely expressionless, like a god without emotions.

Her current behavior shattered Du Lianxin’s rigid impression of her.

She steadied herself, still not turning around, and replied calmly: “Immortal Shen misunderstood. I cherish my life very much now. I am only going to the outer layer of the Soul Mist Swamp to pick Seven-Star Grass. There is not much miasma there. As long as I hold my breath, there will be no major harm. Immortal must know that the punishment for outer-sect cultivators failing a mission is extremely severe.”

Shen Anlan frowned. The pressure in her hand lessened, and she released the girl who was still turned away from her.

She was gradually realizing her own abnormality.

With her usual temperament, upon seeing a fellow disciple in mortal danger, she would casually save them and then not bother further.

Today, not only did she say more than necessary, but she was even angered by the other person’s persistence in going to a dangerous place?

This person is a complete stranger. Why does she so easily incite my emotions?

Shen Anlan couldn’t figure it out. She took a deep look at the girl. The next moment, a streak of escape light rose up, and she swiftly left the area.

Sensing that the person behind her had left, Du Lianxin’s taut mind finally relaxed.

She didn’t know the reason for Shen Anlan’s abnormality, and she didn’t want to dwell on it.

Continuing forward, after about two hours, Du Lianxin gradually approached the Soul Mist Swamp.

In her previous life, her heart was preoccupied with the memory of Shen Anlan descending from the sky to save her, and she paid no attention to the immediate environment.

Because of this, she failed to hold her breath in time, inhaled a small amount of miasma, and spent a long time recuperating after returning to the sect.

In this life, Du Lianxin’s mind was clear, and she was well-prepared, not making the same mistake again.

The mission to gather Seven-Star Grass had an upper limit of five hundred stalks, for which she would receive twenty Sect Contribution Points, and a lower limit of one hundred stalks, for four Contribution Points.

There was a significant amount of Seven-Star Grass on the outskirts of the Soul Mist Swamp, and the difficulty of gathering them was low for Du Lianxin.

Outer-sect cultivators were mandatory to accept one mission per month and had to complete it.

If a mission failed, their cultivation resources would be withheld for three months, and half of their existing Contribution Points would be cleared.

Such a punishment was indeed severe.

In the Qinghe Sect, the number of cultivators who died during missions each year was considerable.

This law of survival of the fittest also applied to the entire cultivation world.

Du Lianxin efficiently gathered five hundred stalks of Seven-Star Grass and swiftly left the Soul Mist Swamp.

On her way back to the sect, she encountered Ye Qiuwan, who had joined the sect in the same year as her. Ye Qiuwan wore an orange-yellow ruqun (traditional Chinese dress) and had her hair styled in a spirit-snake bun.

Ye Qiuwan was known for having a sharp tongue but a kind heart.

In her previous life, Du Lianxin was obsessively in love with Shen Anlan and neglected her cultivation, which earned her ridicule from this fellow disciple more than once.

However, when she became a mortal and was forced to leave the Qinghe Sect by the supervisor, it was also Ye Qiuwan who offered her help, inviting her to stay permanently at her residence outside the sect.

But at that time, Du Lianxin was completely disillusioned and declined her offer, leaving alone.

Before she left, Ye Qiuwan had asked her a question.

She asked: Is it really worth it to be so humble for someone who doesn’t love you, even sacrificing your cultivation path and your life?

At that time, Du Lianxin didn’t answer, only leaving in silence.

Now, knowing the truth of the world she lives in, she already has an answer in her heart…