The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Ms. Hu intentionally went to thank Xiao Yuan and Anning.

If it weren’t for Xiao Yuan and Anning’s righteous intervention just now, she might have been killed by Mao Xiaoxiao long ago, and it’s possible Mao Xiaoxiao might have dug out her inner core to refine elixirs, capturing her divine soul to make a puppet.

Anyway, the thought of it terrified Ms. Hu.

As she entered, she knelt down before Xiao Yuan and kowtowed: ”Thank you, teacher, for your life-saving grace.”

Anning stepped forward to support Ms. Hu: ”Please get up quickly. We saved you because we thought you were decent, and besides, my husband has some grudges with the Maoshan Sect; actually, there’s no need for such a grand gesture.”

Ms. Hu said solemnly: ”Regardless of the reason, Mr. Xiao and Ms. Luo genuinely saved my life, and I should be grateful.”

Anning smiled: ”If you truly want to thank us, when you find any good medicinal materials or peculiar items in the mountains someday, you can just send some to us.”

Ms. Hu agreed.

Anning saw her out: ”Now that you’ve settled matters with the Sun Family, you should return to the mountains soon. That Mao Xiaoxiao is nowhere to be found now; if he tries to take your life when we’re not around, it would be a grievance.”

Ms. Hu thought it was true, and after bidding farewell to Anning, she didn’t linger long and quickly returned deep into the mountains with her fellow clan members to continue cultivating.

Days later, Hu Sanniang made another trip down the mountain, bringing ginseng and ganoderma growing deep in the mountains, along with several particularly curious stones to give to Xiao Yuan and Anning.

She arrived just after Anning had finished breakfast. Upon hearing from Yue Niang that Hu Sanniang had come, she promptly had a maid invite her in.

Anning rose to greet: ”How come you’re free today, sister? I thought it would be years before you came down from the mountains.”

Hu Sanniang chuckled and handed over what she brought to Anning: ”I haven’t cultivated for a few years, and I’m not quite used to it after returning; I need to gradually adapt. Just recently, while wandering in the mountains, I saw a lot of medicinal materials, so I picked some to bring for you. Besides, I found some stones in a cave; I felt they were odd but don’t know what they are, so I brought them for you and Mr. Xiao to admire.”

”Thank you for thinking of us, sister.”

Anning collected the items and, learning that Hu Sanniang hadn’t had breakfast, had some pastries brought over for Hu Sanniang to snack on.

While eating, Anning spoke of the Sun Family affairs.

”After sister Hu left, Mrs. Sun arranged a match for Sun Ling, but with few family members and Sun Ling’s not-so-good reputation, none of the eligible families’ daughters wanted to marry him. Later, a matchmaker arranged a concubine from Landlord Wang’s house in the west of town for Sun Ling. This concubine’s mother passed away early, and she lived under the care of her legitimate mother, having a tough life. The Sun family was willing to pay more dowry, and her legitimate mother, lured by money, settled the marriage.”

Hu Sanniang laughed: ”If Miss Wang is formidable, she might live well with the Sun family; however, if she’s weak, she might not fare well.”

Anning nodded: ”It all depends on her fate.”

Later, Hu Sanniang talked about the affairs of the fox clan in the mountains and discussed some cultivation techniques with Anning, who offered her some pointers.

Hu Sanniang had long realized that Anning possessed cultivation and knew spells, but couldn’t openly showcase her abilities due to her identity, thus relying on Xiao Yuan’s reputation to act.

Now, hearing Anning speak knowledgeably about cultivation techniques, Hu Sanniang became even more certain of Anning’s profound cultivation and resolved to maintain good relations with Anning and Xiao Yuan.

She conversed with Anning about various topics and learned some small spells; after luncheon, Hu Sanniang bid farewell and left.

Hu Sanniang returned to the fox clan territory, and as soon as she entered the barrier, several little fox fairies greeted her: ”Third sister, you’re back.”

Hu Sanniang smiled and distributed the food she brought from the mountain to these little fox fairies.

Afterward, she went to find the elder.

The Great Elder had been waiting for Hu Sanniang.

Seeing her return safely, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

”How did it go? What did Ms. Luo say?”

The Great Elder urgently asked Hu Sanniang.

Hu Sanniang laughed and sat down: ”She spoke to me about the Sun Family affairs and guided me on some problems encountered during cultivation, even teaching me some life-saving spells, but didn’t mention much else.”

The Great Elder stroked his beard: ”Those strange treasures we sent?”

Hu Sanniang shook her head: ”Ms. Luo accepted them but didn’t say anything; however, I think she should know what they are, just hasn’t mentioned it.”

The Great Elder sighed: ”These strange treasures have been passed down in our fox clan for thousands of years, but none have ever been able to decipher their secrets. Now, trying to build a good relationship with Mr. Xiao, we spare no effort; hopefully, these strange treasures will be useful to Mr. Xiao, earning his gratitude.”

Hu Sanniang nodded, then recounted to the Great Elder the cultivation techniques Anning taught her and how Anning guided her, leaving the Great Elder feeling greatly benefited: ”Good, good, in future, besides cultivating, go down to the Xiao Family more often. Our fox clan is becoming increasingly difficult, and having a good relationship with Mr. Xiao could provide some protection.”

The Great Elder stroked his beard as he conversed with Hu Sanniang: ”You’re young and unaware of many things, but I heard of the East God Sect’s great reputation in my youth. The East God Sect is rumoured to inherit from the Emperor of the ninth heaven; their cultivation techniques differ from other sects, and their recruitment standards are exceedingly strict, only passing on to one person per generation. Thus, over time, compared with those large sects, they’re not very prominent, but regarding the completeness of inheritance and profound cultivation, I fear no sect can match the East God Sect.”

Hu Sanniang listened attentively, after a while saying: ”When Mr. Xiao saved me, I heard him mention having a grudge with the Maoshan Sect, saying the Maoshan Sect killed his master.”

The Great Elder rejoiced: ”If that’s true, we truly needn’t fear the Maoshan Sect.”

Setting aside mountain affairs, Anning received the items Hu Sanniang brought and stored them.

When Xiao Yuan returned, she took them out for him to see.

Hu Sanniang had brought ginseng, all five hundred-year-old roots, and Lingzhi, purple ganoderma growing for hundreds of years in the mountains; these medicines are life-saving in the mortal world.

But Anning wasn’t surprised by these medicines; what fascinated her were those few stones.

She and Xiao Yuan studied those stones: ”Do you think, what secrets are hidden within this fox clan secret treasure?”

Xiao Yuan also held a colorful stone against the light: ”Actually, nothing special, just inheritance, or magic treasures, do you fancy them?”

Anning smiled, then closed her eyes and used divine sense to probe. After a while, her expression turned serious.

”What happened?”

Xiao Yuan asked.

Anning collected all the stones: ”This is the Stone Girl’s body.”

Uh?

Xiao Yuan looked at Anning with curiosity.

Anning sighed: ”This world is unfamiliar to us, yet resembles a world we’ve visited before. Didn’t I play a Nine-tailed Fox back then? I even had two sworn sisters at the time, one was a pheasant spirit, and the other was a Jade Pipa Spirit. In this world, during Ancient Times, there also appeared the Xuanyuan Three Demons; these stones are fragments from the body of the Jade Pipa Spirit among the Three Demons.”

Anning gingerly pieced the stones together, carefully safeguarding them: ”Presumably, within Hu Sanniang’s clan, there should be a bloodline inheritance of the Nine-tailed Fox, which is why they possess fragments of the Stone Girl’s body.”