The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Qin Yu spotted Ye Zhiyao standing before the Stone Gate with her back to them. A flash of joy crossed his face, and he immediately dashed toward her.

But he didn’t notice that the two people behind him hadn’t moved an inch.

”What are you looking at?” Qin Yu asked as he ran up beside Ye Zhiyao. He unconsciously followed her gaze, looking up at the Stone Gate.

And just like that, he stood there, head tilted up at the Stone Gate, completely still.

Xie Ningyuan and Lu Sangjiu turned to look at each other at almost the exact same time, both asking, ”Aren’t you going to take a look?”

Then, both of them fell silent.

Lu Sangjiu discreetly shuffled to the side and forced a smile at Xie Ningyuan. ”Um... I’m not that close with Senior Brother Qin and the others, so I’d better not get in the way.”

Xie Ningyuan nodded calmly. ”Mm, my relationship with Mr. Qin is also quite ordinary. Besides, I don’t know the other two at all. There’s no need to go over.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’He’s definitely figured something out,’ she thought, now certain.

’And it seems we both had the same idea just now: hoping everyone but ourselves would get trapped in the Heart Inquiry Formation before the Stone Gate.’

’But... what is Xie Ningyuan’s goal?’

In the silence, the two of them just stood there, neither making a move.

Meanwhile, the other three remained standing before the Stone Gate, heads tilted back like statues.

But Lu Sangjiu knew the Heart Inquiry Formation couldn’t hold Ye Zhiyao for long; otherwise, she would never have obtained this opportunity in the first place.

It was only a matter of time before Ye Zhiyao woke up, which meant Lu Sangjiu couldn’t afford to waste any more time dawdling here with Xie Ningyuan.

After a moment of thought, Lu Sangjiu took the initiative. ”Mr. Xie, this Stone Gate seems to be a problem. Why don’t we look for another way in?”

”Alright,” Xie Ningyuan agreed without hesitation, his good-tempered smile still in place.

Lu Sangjiu breathed a sigh of relief. She then pretended to search the area, groping around the nearby walls, but kept her Divine Sense locked on Xie Ningyuan’s every move.

Of course she knew how to get in effortlessly. After all, this was her cave dwelling, not some legacy ground she’d left behind for others. For her own convenience, she had naturally left herself a back door.

The problem was that Xie Ningyuan hadn’t fallen into the Heart Inquiry Formation and was still clear-headed. Any little trick she tried right under his nose would be easily discovered.

As far as Lu Sangjiu was concerned, as long as the opportunity didn’t go to Ye Zhiyao, she didn’t much care if someone else snatched it up.

But Xie Ningyuan seemed far too calculating, not nearly as easy to fool as Qin Yu. She was afraid of arousing his suspicion.

Besides, she didn’t know if he was friend or foe. It would be disastrous if he ended up being a threat to her.

As she weighed her options, she suddenly realized... Xie Ningyuan hadn’t moved from his spot at all.

She couldn’t help but turn back. ”Aren’t you going to help look, Mr. Xie?”

Xie Ningyuan replied, ”I’m clumsy by nature and not very good at finding mechanisms. It’s better if you do it, Mr. Lu. I’ll stand guard for you.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’There’s clearly no danger here. What is there to guard against?’

She had reason to suspect that Xie Ningyuan was just imitating what she’d done earlier.

Speechless for a moment, she replied with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, ”Oh... then I’ll have to trouble you to protect me, Mr. Xie.”

She ignored Xie Ningyuan and began carefully searching the nearby walls, making sure to avoid the Stone Gate.

After deliberately taking her time, she discreetly made her way to the location of the mechanism.

She had placed a hidden Blinding Technique over this spot. It looked like an ordinary wall, but in reality, anyone who touched it would be sucked straight through.

Furthermore, after someone passed through, the passage would temporarily seal itself and only reopen after one hour.

Besides this simple entrance, the Stone Gate could also be opened after breaking the Heart Inquiry Formation.

But the Heart Inquiry Formation would trap them for a little while longer at least, which was more than enough time for her to go in first and take what she came for.

Standing before the mechanism, Lu Sangjiu noted Xie Ningyuan’s position. Figuring he wouldn’t be able to stop her in time, she reached out and touched the wall.

”Huh, this place seems...”

She feigned discovering something amiss, reached out to touch it, and then, with a stumble, let out a cry as she was pulled into the wall.

’Yes, just like that! A perfectly logical disappearance right under Xie Ningyuan’s nose!’

However, just as Lu Sangjiu was about to succeed, Xie Ningyuan reacted with incredible speed. With more than half of her body already through, he managed to grab her hand at the last second, forcefully stopping her!

Lu Sangjiu: ??? ’This isn’t how it was supposed to go!’

Snapping back to her senses, she cried out in alarm, ”Ah, it hurts... Mr. Xie, the pull is too strong! I’m going to be torn apart... Maybe you should just let go?”

’Let go of me, you bastard!’

But Xie Ningyuan had no intention of letting go. He only said in a low voice, ”Hold on.”

Lu Sangjiu: ???

’Don’t think I won’t get mad just because you have a nice voice!’

She was about to say more, but Xie Ningyuan increased his strength and actually managed to pull her partway back out.

Lu Sangjiu instantly panicked. ’No! The mechanism has already been activated. If I get pulled out now, I’ll have to wait a whole hour before it opens again!’

’Ye Zhiyao will definitely be awake by then. How am I supposed to get a head start?’

’No way. I refuse to give up!’

Immediately, Lu Sangjiu’s hand inside the wall clung desperately to the wall’s edge, starting a real tug-of-war with Xie Ningyuan.

Xie Ningyuan had just pulled her head back outside, and only one of her hands was still desperately clinging to the wall.

She couldn’t help but turn her head, her face a mask of pain and weakness. ”Mr. Xie... it really hurts so much!”

As she spoke, the strain from the pulling aggravated her old injuries, and a trickle of fresh blood seeped from the corner of her lips.

Seeing this, Xie Ningyuan was visibly shocked. The strength in his hand slackened instinctively.

As a result, Lu Sangjiu’s body was once again pulled most of the way into the wall.

Xie Ningyuan’s brow furrowed slightly. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally stopped pulling on Lu Sangjiu’s hand.

Lu Sangjiu felt her body lighten, and she was completely sucked through to the other side of the wall.

However, before she could even feel happy, she tumbled to the ground from the momentum. At the same time, she felt a heavy weight land on top of her...

”COUGH, COUGH...” Pinned down with such force, Lu Sangjiu coughed and spat out another mouthful of blood.

Then, in a voice as faint as a thread, she said, ”Xie... Xie Ningyuan... Get off of me already!”

Although she was lying face down and couldn’t see who was on top of her, she didn’t need to look to know it was definitely Xie Ningyuan.

He had lessened his grip but hadn’t let go of her hand, so he’d been pulled in along with her!

Lu Sangjiu cursed her bad luck inwardly. ’Everything was going so well, and then Xie Ningyuan had to stick his nose in it!’

”Hiss... Mr. Lu, my deepest apologies.” Xie Ningyuan rolled off her and stood up, then offered her a hand with an apologetic look on his face.

Lu Sangjiu didn’t stand on ceremony and let him pull her to her feet.

Xie Ningyuan looked at the still-wet blood on her lips and offered her an Elixir Pill. ”A Third-rank White Dew Pill. Its healing effects are much better than that First-grade Grass Returning Pill of yours.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”