The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

At first, everyone had been quite skeptical about the truth of Xie Ningyuan’s words, but after hearing Gu Jue’s statement, they couldn’t help but believe it a little more.

After all, as Righteous Cultivators, even though Demon Cultivators had now retreated to the Western Demon Realm and lost their influence, everyone still loathed them with a passion whenever they were mentioned.

This was especially true for the elders who had lived through the Immortal Demon War. Which of them didn’t grit their teeth and curse a few times at the mention of Demon Cultivators, or that source of all evil, Gu Huang?

But for Gu Jue to claim he had never heard his master say anything negative about Gu Huang—that was just bizarre! It really made one’s mind wander...

The three people, their worldviews shattered, remained silent, their eyes staring blankly into space.

’If what Xie Ningyuan said is true, then maybe the Great Demon they had been cursing for so long wasn’t as wicked and depraved as the legends claimed?’

’Even... possibly a good person?’

Everyone was lost in thought. The tidbits about Sword Bu Gui and Hua Jianzhi that had initially captivated them were now completely ignored.

Lu Sangjiu felt like she had been eagerly anticipating this gossip for nothing. They had just gotten to the most crucial part, and it turned out Xie Ningyuan didn’t know what happened next!

And now, no one else even cared. Only she, the one who knew the truth, was left feeling utterly frustrated and stuck.

Seeing everyone else in a daze, she couldn’t resist sending a voice transmission to Xie Ningyuan.

”Mr. Xie, you...”

She hesitated, but Xie Ningyuan was perfectly calm. ”There’s no need to thank me. I was merely taking advantage of the situation.”

Lu Sangjiu froze. ”Huh? I wasn’t going to thank you.”

Xie Ningyuan: ???

She put on a sincere expression. ”Ah, of course, I should thank you.”

”But we can talk about that later. What I really want to ask is, do you want to know what happened next with Hua Jianzhi and Sword Bu Gui?”

Xie Ningyuan: ”...”

’Just great. He’d laid all this groundwork for her, and it turned out all she cared about was gossip?’

’Some things never change!’

It took him a long moment of fuming before he managed to squeeze out, ”I don’t know what happened next either!”

Lu Sangjiu nodded repeatedly. ”Mhm, mhm, but I do! That’s why I’m asking if you want to know.”

Xie Ningyuan: ...?

He looked at her suspiciously. ”You know? How would you know?”

Lu Sangjiu shot him a meaningful look. ”I heard it from *that* person, you know!”

After a pause, she added, ”Friendly tip: the next part is even juicier!”

Xie Ningyuan: ”...”

He was silent for a moment before he finally gave in to the temptation of gossip.

”Well... tell me then?”

Lu Sangjiu instantly perked up. ’Hmm... She couldn’t share this with the others, but having Xie Ningyuan was good enough!’

”What happened next was...”

At the time, Lu Sangjiu had turned and left, but... she could only blame her Transcendance Tribulation Stage Divine Sense for being too powerful!

So even though she had walked quite a distance away, she could still perceive what happened next with Sword Bu Gui and Hua Jianzhi.

After she left, the two heavily injured individuals couldn’t get far, so Hua Jianzhi had Sword Bu Gui help her into a nearby cave.

”What’s your name?”

The weakened Hua Jianzhi only now remembered to ask for Sword Bu Gui’s name.

Sword Bu Gui gave his name, then said, slightly flustered, ”My cultivation is still shallow, so Elder Hua has probably never noticed me before, but I’ve always held you in the highest admiration!”

”Saving you this time was a fortunate coincidence, and it is my honor. Elder Hua... you really don’t need to trouble yourself over it!”

Hua Jianzhi patiently listened to him finish his nonsense, then forced a smile. ”Yes, I can see you’re a good kid.”

Perhaps it was her choice of words, but the two words ”good kid” clearly wounded Sword Bu Gui’s pride. His smile froze on his face.

Hua Jianzhi didn’t notice. She began to coax him, her voice full of seduction. ”Although we’re safe for now, those people could come back at any moment. We need to heal our injuries as quickly as possible.”

”But... we gave all our things to that senior Demon Cultivator. We have no medicine to help us heal.”

Sword Bu Gui’s eyes were filled with confusion. ”Then... does Elder Hua wish to perform Alchemy yourself? What medicinal ingredients do you need? I can go look for some nearby!”

His words almost made Hua Jianzhi choke. Her lips twitched a couple of times before she composed herself and said, ”...It doesn’t have to be that troublesome.”

”I have another method that can heal us quickly, but... I don’t know if you would be willing to help me?”

Hua Jianzhi was devastatingly beautiful, and now she looked utterly pitiful. The sight made Sword Bu Gui blush and stammer, ”O-Of course I’m willing.”

”As long as it can save Elder Hua, I’ll do anything!”

Having received a satisfactory answer, a smile finally touched Hua Jianzhi’s lips. ”You’re the one who said that...”

As she spoke, she blew a light breath toward Sword Bu Gui, and he was instantly immobilized.

Then, Hua Jianzhi leaned her entire body over him and began to strip off his clothes...

Yes, an Innate Sword Body, and a virgin at that. At a time like this, he was truly the best ”tonic” one could ask for.

And then... *cough*, what followed was a scene not suitable for younger audiences. Lu Sangjiu wasn’t so shameless as to keep watching.

Reaching this point in her story, Lu Sangjiu smacked her lips, a little disappointed it was over. ”Unfortunately, I don’t know what happened after that... but something *definitely* happened between them!”

Xie Ningyuan stroked his chin. ”No wonder... The Joyful Union Sect’s Dual Cultivation Technique isn’t about Yang Gathering and Yin Supplementing. Instead, both parties benefit.”

”Especially since Sword Bu Gui’s cultivation was so much lower than Hua Jianzhi’s, he would have gained more... If she’d had any other choice at the time, Hua Jianzhi probably wouldn’t have picked him.”

”Not long after that incident, Sword Bu Gui broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage. I imagine that was the reason why.”

Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but exclaim, ”Mr. Xie, you really are a Buddhist Practitioner through and through. Completely unromantic!”

Xie Ningyuan was taken aback. ”How so?”

”How could you not consider that maybe Hua Jianzhi was only willing to use the Dual Cultivation Method to heal *because* it was Sword Bu Gui?”

After a pause, Lu Sangjiu added, ”Back then, it wasn’t just Sword Bu Gui who was a virgin—Hua Jianzhi was one, too!”

Upon hearing this, Xie Ningyuan’s eyes widened in surprise. ”Isn’t the Joyful Union Sect’s entire foundation based on the Dual Cultivation Method? How could Hua Jianzhi have reached the Divinity Transformation Stage as a virgin?”

”Everyone has their own path. Can’t you allow for an exception?”

”The Seven Emotions Sect’s foundation is the Seven Emotions Technique, isn’t it? I never cultivated the Seven Emotions Technique, and I still reached the Golden Core Stage, didn’t I?”

Xie Ningyuan was left speechless. After a long moment, he finally said, ”Now that you put it that way, I’m suddenly very interested in what happened to them next...”

”It sounds like the beginning of a beautiful love story. I wonder what happened later that they didn’t end up together.”

Lu Sangjiu suddenly fell silent. After a long moment, she said softly, ”Not every love story gets a happy ending, I suppose... Perhaps parting is the norm.”