The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

The only reason Lu Sangjiu knew the name Qin Miao was because she had learned it from Mo Long’s remnant soul.

At the time, she’d suspected this person was likely the same Evil Cultivator who had ambushed her with a puppet and cast a Spell on her.

She had told Xie Ningyuan about this, so when she mentioned it now, he immediately understood what was going on.

Gu Jue, on the other hand, knew nothing about Qin Miao or the ambush.

After all, he had been injured at the time, and when Lu Sangjiu ran into trouble, his master had hidden the matter from him.

So now he looked utterly lost. ”Who is Qin Miao? And what’s this about a puppet ambush?”

”Er...” Lu Sangjiu was at a loss for words, unsure where to even begin her explanation.

Xie Ningyuan, however, answered him concisely. ”Qin Miao is the disciple of that Divinity Transformation Stage Evil Cultivator from Menghua Forest. She wasn’t in Menghua Forest at the time; we heard her name from others.”

”As for the ambush, it happened while you were injured during the Sword Seizing Conference. A Divinity Transformation Stage Evil Cultivator used a Foundation Establishment Stage puppet to fight her in the arena. When the puppet lost, the cultivator launched a sneak attack and severely injured her.”

”Although we had no concrete proof before, we suspected these two individuals were one and the same.”

After a pause, Xie Ningyuan looked at Lu Sangjiu. ”You seem so certain now. Did you discover something?”

Lu Sangjiu nodded. ”She used... *that* on me, so my perception of her Spiritual Power is stronger than most people’s.”

The matter of the Spell was difficult to explain, so in front of Gu Jue, she could only speak in code with Xie Ningyuan.

Xie Ningyuan naturally understood. Gu Jue paused for a moment but didn’t ask any further questions, simply listening quietly as Lu Sangjiu continued.

”Just now, when Qin Miao struck the Hundred Flowers Stone Tablet with her Spiritual Power, I recognized her as the very same Evil Cultivator who ambushed me. Plus, it’s too much of a coincidence that her name happens to be Qin Miao, so I’m sure she’s the one.”

”Of course, there’s another reason. Back in Menghua Forest, I pieced together from scraps of conversation that they must have a mole inside the Joyful Union Sect, and one with a fairly high status at that.”

”Thinking about it this way, if Miao Miaomiao is suspicious, then I’m afraid her master, True Monarch Liu Feng, isn’t clean either.”

Everything was starting to connect. It was highly unlikely to be just a coincidence.

After listening to Lu Sangjiu, Xie Ningyuan and Gu Jue both felt that she made a lot of sense.

Gu Jue asked, ”So, do we go out and expose her now?”

Before Lu Sangjiu could even speak, Xie Ningyuan shot him down.

”Are you an idiot? She was just chosen as the new Holy Daughter. If you announce in front of everyone that she’s an Evil Cultivator, are you trying to make the Joyful Union Sect lose all face?”

”The Joyful Union Sect might investigate thoroughly afterward, but we would have also completely and utterly offended them.”

But Gu Jue disagreed. ”Faced with something this major, would the Joyful Union Sect really prioritize saving face?”

”Besides, we’d be helping them expose Qin Miao’s true colors. They should be thanking us. Why would they get angry at us instead?”

Xie Ningyuan was speechless.

He couldn’t help but glance at Lu Sangjiu. ”He really is an idiot.”

Lu Sangjiu felt a bit helpless, but she knew this was the kind of environment Gu Jue had grown up in at the Lingjian Sect. It was natural that he wouldn’t think about such social intricacies.

She had experienced Gu Jue’s personality firsthand long ago.

’There’s nothing really wrong with it, though,’ so she had no intention of correcting him.

Instead, she tried to persuade Gu Jue from another angle. ”Putting all that aside, just think about it. If we tip them off now, it will take them some time to investigate. Wouldn’t that just be giving Qin Miao a clear chance to escape?”

Gu Jue paused, then finally nodded. ”Ms. Lu has a point.”

Xie Ningyuan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. ”*Now* she has a point?”

He paused, then shot another glance at Lu Sangjiu. ”You’re spoiling him!”

Lu Sangjiu was speechless.

’For some reason, this suddenly feels like a couple disagreeing on how to raise their son.’

’Ahem, of course, I absolutely don’t mean to say Gu Jue is like my son.’

’...And I definitely don’t mean I want to be a couple with Xie Ningyuan!’

Shaking off these ridiculous thoughts, Lu Sangjiu said quickly, ”Anyway, now isn’t the right time to talk.”

She looked at Gu Jue, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. ”But what a coincidence... Your master just so happens to have a rather *deep* relationship with Elder Hua. He can introduce us to her, right?”

Gu Jue was speechless.

’So, I have to let my master know that I was here the whole time, witnessing his grand public display of flirtation with Hua Jianzhi?’

Although it was a bit awkward, seeing Lu Sangjiu’s expectant gaze, Gu Jue gritted his teeth and nodded. ”I... understand!”

As the Holy Daughter selection concluded, Hua Jianzhi and Sword Bu Gui left together. Lu Sangjiu and the other two quietly followed them.

At the same time, Gu Jue contacted Sword Bu Gui with a Communication Talisman.

”Master, I have something urgent to discuss with you. The three of us are following behind you right now. Please find a deserted place and wait for us.”

Sword Bu Gui, after reading the message: ”...”

’So, they were here just now?’

Sword Bu Gui smiled and looked up at the sky... ’Just destroy it all, this hopeless world!’

”What’s wrong?”

Hua Jianzhi suddenly turned to look at him.

Sword Bu Gui immediately snapped back to reality. ’Wait... hmm, actually, destroying the world can wait a bit.’

He cleared his throat and explained, ”My disciple says he wants to see me... They’re right behind us.”

Hua Jianzhi let out an ”Oh.” ”I was wondering which little brats dared to follow me. So it was your disciple.”

She turned around and said, ”Have them come directly to my palace.”

”Alright... Thank you, then!”

Without looking back, Hua Jianzhi said, ”If you really want to thank me, then perform well tonight.”

Sword Bu Gui was speechless.

’My disciple couldn’t have heard that, right?’

Just then, Xie Ningyuan, who was actually at the Body Integration Realm, retracted his Divine Sense, turned to Gu Jue, and said, ”Hua Jianzhi told your master to perform well tonight.”

Gu Jue was speechless.

The corner of his mouth twitched violently as he forced out, word by word, ”...You didn’t have to tell me that.”

Lu Sangjiu, however, was thoroughly enjoying this. ”Tsk, tsk, looks like Sword Master Bu Gui is completely wrapped around Elder Hua’s finger.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Jue received Sword Bu Gui’s reply.

”Come directly to Elder Hua’s palace.”

Gu Jue listened to his master’s voice, which was as dignified as ever, but his expression was complicated... It seemed he could no longer look at the master who was once an unparalleled, imposing figure in his mind in the same way.

With a heavy heart, Gu Jue followed Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan into Hua Jianzhi’s palace.

Of course, since they didn’t want to leak any information prematurely, they had used Thousand Faces of Life to conceal their figures and auras the entire way.

It wasn’t until they entered the main hall, closed the doors, and saw Sword Bu Gui waiting there that the three of them finally revealed themselves.

By now, Sword Bu Gui had already adjusted his mentality. ’As long as I resolutely refuse to mention what just happened, they definitely won’t dare to bring it up. Then I can just pretend nothing ever happened!’

He maintained the dignified air of a Divinity Transformation senior. ”You said you had something urgent to discuss with me. What is it?”

Lu Sangjiu beamed. ”Actually, we were hoping to see Elder Hua. We were wondering if Sword Master Bu Gui would trouble himself to make an introduction for us?”