The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

In the dense fog, Zhao Fengnian released a black butterfly. The butterfly glowed with a faint luminescence, guiding them forward.

Lu Sangjiu walked at the very back, intending to keep her distance from them to avoid having her disguise exposed.

But they hadn’t gone far when Zhao Fengnian suddenly turned and looked back at her. ”Alan, why are you so far away from me? Are you still angry?”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’Right,’ she thought. ’I almost forgot. It seems these two are a couple.’

They had tried to hide it, but Lu Sangjiu had noticed the signs after careful observation. That was why she had deliberately provoked Lan Yu earlier.

With Lan Yu so angry she refused to even look at her, Lu Sangjiu had found the opportunity to swap herself out for a puppet.

After all, at her current cultivation, she couldn’t maintain the Puppetry Technique for very long. Her only chance to make the switch was when they entered the woods today.

She just hadn’t expected that when she made a noise later to lure someone over, it would be Lan Yu who came.

Lan Yu’s relationship with Zhao Fengnian made things a bit more difficult for her.

Just then, the other two men turned to look at Lu Sangjiu as if watching a play, snickering. ”Zhao was just putting on an act. You can’t really be angry, Alan!”

As he spoke, Zhao Fengnian walked right up to her, reaching out to embrace her. ”Alright, Alan. I apologize. Don’t be...”

But before his hand could touch Lu Sangjiu, she violently slapped it aside.

Her face was cold as she said, ”Who’s joking around with you?”

”Putting on an act? I think you were pretty convincing. Did you see a pretty face and get some ideas?”

Zhao Fengnian was taken aback, then he frowned. ”Alan, do you really have to make a scene right now?”

Lu Sangjiu snorted. ”Who wants to make a scene with you right now? I was walking along just fine. You’re the one who had to come over and talk to me.”

”We’ll settle our score later. Right now, let’s focus on the important business.”

Zhao Fengnian: ”...”

He was left completely speechless. Then he frowned and muttered, ”Acting crazy all day long. I don’t know what’s gotten into you.”

He seemed to find it a bit strange but didn’t overthink it. And since Lu Sangjiu hadn’t given him any face, he didn’t say anything more and turned to walk back to the front of the group.

Lu Sangjiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. ’I’ve managed to fool them for now,’ she thought.

Seeing Lu Sangjiu was in a bad mood, the others didn’t dare provoke her. She followed them peacefully until they reached a hidden cave.

An Array and a mechanism were set up here. Zhao Fengnian fumbled with something on a tree to the right, and the plants blocking the cave entrance slid to the sides, revealing a dark, imposing opening.

Lu Sangjiu observed impassively, memorizing these details while extending her Divine Sense into the surroundings.

She soon detected five or six hidden auras nearby, all at the Foundation Establishment Stage of cultivation, likely standing guard at the cave entrance.

After entering the cave and passing through a long, narrow path, the view suddenly opened up.

Lu Sangjiu saw a fully constructed base, as if built inside a deep pit. Although dense fog shrouded the area above, sunlight still managed to filter through.

It could be said they were living quite comfortably here, with none of the hardship and hiding one might imagine.

Lu Sangjiu figured a place like this couldn’t have been built on short notice. It was probably a secondary base prepared long ago. After the incident in the Qingyu Secret Realm, they had all relocated here.

Along the way, she saw many Cultivators. Most were at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but she also encountered a few at the Golden Core Stage.

She carefully spread her Divine Sense and discovered the aura of someone at the Initial Stage of Divinity Transformation, as well as several at the Nascent Soul Stage.

’Tsk, there’s strength in numbers, and with a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator in charge, it won’t be easy to make a move.’

Just as she was thinking this, she and the group arrived in front of the main hall.

Zhao Fengnian stepped forward to report, ”Zhao Fengnian requests an audience with the Second Elder! We have successfully brought back Lu Sangjiu!”

The door swung open abruptly, and a middle-aged man’s voice called out, ”Come in.”

A look of delight appeared on Zhao Fengnian’s face as he hurried into the hall.

The hall was cold and empty, with only a middle-aged man seated on the main throne.

Lu Sangjiu had already sensed it. This Second Elder was only at the Nascent Soul Stage; the Divinity Transformation cultivator was in the courtyard behind this very hall.

’Perhaps... it’s the Sect Leader of the Qilin Sect?’

Just as she was pondering this, the Second Elder looked over, his expression immediately darkening. ”This is the Lu Sangjiu you brought back?”

Zhao Fengnian hadn’t sensed anything was wrong. Instead, he spoke proudly, ”That’s right. We brought her back with a simple little trick. Her awareness is far too weak.”

However, the praise he expected never came. Zhao Fengnian saw a blur, and then his entire body was sent flying, slamming directly into the door!

The others were all startled, not knowing how they had angered the Second Elder. Fearing they would be beaten as well, they quickly knelt, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Lu Sangjiu followed the group’s lead, putting on a terrified expression and saying along with the others, ”Second Elder, please forgive us!”

The Second Elder’s face was grim. Seeing they still didn’t understand, especially the dazed look on Zhao Fengnian’s face as he climbed up, he found them utterly stupid.

He snorted coldly. ”You still haven’t noticed? You’ve been tricked!”

With another wave of his hand, the bound ”Lu Sangjiu” lost all signs of life and transformed into a small doll, falling to the ground.

Zhao Fengnian froze, crawling forward in disbelief to snatch the doll. ”This is impossible! This... How could this be?!”

In that moment, all his earlier pride and satisfaction turned into a harsh slap across the face, one that made him question his very existence.

The Second Elder had no patience to watch him act like a fool. He said gravely, ”With her abilities, she can’t be too far away when using the Puppetry Technique. She must have followed you to the camp and is likely nearby right now.”

”Are you going to continue being idiots in front of me? Hurry up and take some men to find her!”

Zhao Fengnian finally snapped out of it, as if waking from a dream. His disbelief turned into a rage at being fooled.

He gritted his teeth. ”Lu Sangjiu... Just you wait!”

He still hadn’t figured out where things had gone wrong. A faint regret began to creep in; he had been greedy for merit and acted before bringing her closer to the camp, unintentionally giving her a chance to escape.

Now he had infuriated the Second Elder. He had to make up for his mistake, or he would never get a chance to get ahead again!

Zhao Fengnian stormed out furiously, and Lu Sangjiu naturally followed close behind with the others.

Besides the five of them, everyone in the camp had now received the order. They all mobilized and began searching for her in the woods outside.

Lu Sangjiu stuck close to Zhao Fengnian’s group to quickly familiarize herself with the terrain, lest she give herself away by not knowing the way.

However, once they left the camp and were outside, it was clearly inconvenient for all five to move together. So Zhao Fengnian stopped and shouted, ”Alan, you’re with me. The rest of you form another group. Let’s split up and search. We must be the first to find a trace of her!”