The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Gu Jue’s voice held a note of worry. ”It’s already dark. It must have been three hours since we fell unconscious. If Mr. Lu doesn’t wake up soon, I’m afraid...”

He trailed off, but everyone knew it would surely be a bad outcome.

Chi Yan couldn’t help but speak up. ”Mr. Xie, Gu Jue said before that we shouldn’t move someone trapped in the Dream Ruins. You woke up and moved away from her—won’t that have a negative effect?”

”Why don’t you put your forehead back against hers and hold on for a little longer?”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’Chi Yan, thank you so much for being so considerate of me!’

’But... so it was Xie Ningyuan’s forehead mine was pressed against just now?’

Naturally, Xie Ningyuan did not do as Chi Yan said and put his forehead back. He didn’t even acknowledge Chi Yan.

He only said lightly, ”Let’s wait a bit longer. If she still doesn’t wake up, I’ll find a way to enter her Illusion Realm and wake her.”

Hearing this, Lu Sangjiu was startled. ’He has that kind of ability?’

’I’d better wake up in fifteen minutes, then, lest I overdo this act and get found out.’

After that, no one spoke again, and Lu Sangjiu took the opportunity to sort through her emotions.

After what she had just experienced in the Dream Ruins, Lu Sangjiu’s feelings were complicated.

Before, seeing him had just felt like seeing an old acquaintance. More than anything, it stirred up memories and brought with them a wave of complex emotions.

But when it came down to it, she didn’t really have any strong feelings about Xie Ningyuan himself.

She would probably feel just as conflicted if she ran into a puppy she used to know.

But now... her feelings toward Xie Ningyuan as a person had become complicated.

She had originally thought that Xie Ningyuan owed her, but now she knew that she was the one who owed him more.

Whether it was him taking her to the Mountain of Ten Thousand Poisons to beg the Poison Master to save her, or him giving her that Bodhi Bracelet which gave her a chance at a new life, she should be grateful.

But she couldn’t risk revealing her secret to him now.

Even if he hadn’t held any malicious intent toward her back then, she had indeed killed many people during the century-long war between Immortals and Demons that followed.

Among them were villains, and of course, good people too.

She wasn’t confident that Xie Ningyuan would help her keep her secret.

This gratitude was destined to remain unspoken.

’But... oh well. Since I owe him, I’ll just have to repay him if I get the chance later.’

The myriad thoughts in her mind gradually settled. Then, feeling that enough time had passed, Lu Sangjiu finally opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was a hand held just before her forehead.

She raised her hand and gently brushed it aside, then, feigning the appearance of someone who had just woken up, she let out a long sigh and said, ”This is reality, right?”

Hearing her voice, the others immediately gathered around.

”Immortal, you’re finally awake! This is reality. We’ve been waiting for you for ages!”

The first to speak was Chi Yan.

Because Lu Sangjiu had fallen off the cliff in the first place to save him, which had triggered this whole series of events, he felt the most guilt and worry for her.

Next, Liu Xi snorted coldly. ”And here I thought you were so tough. In the end, a mere Dream Ruins trapped you for this long... How stupid!”

’Yup... her words are as harsh as ever.’

Everyone showed their concern for Lu Sangjiu, but no one asked about what happened inside the Dream Ruins Illusion Realm.

After all, they were just a temporary team and weren’t close enough to pry into such private matters.

Lu Sangjiu exchanged a few pleasantries with the group before turning to Xie Ningyuan. ”Mr. Xie... can we talk alone?”

Everyone’s gazes immediately turned a bit peculiar... After all, they were truly curious. What was the secret between these two?

Xie Ningyuan looked at Lu Sangjiu, silent for a moment before nodding. ”Very well.”

’There were some things I didn’t want to say right now, but... I’m more or less certain now.’

Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan walked a short distance away. Xie Ningyuan even went out of his way to set up a sound-proof Barrier to prevent their conversation from being overheard.

Seeing this, Lu Sangjiu suddenly felt a little nervous... ’I was the one who wanted to talk to him, so why does it seem like he has more to ask me? Could he have discovered something?’

At this thought, Lu Sangjiu quietly took a small step back, ready to run the moment something felt off.

’In any case, everyone has Foundation Establishment Cultivation right now. I’m not necessarily weaker than him.’

”Ahem.” As the one who had asked Xie Ningyuan over, Lu Sangjiu spoke first.

”Mr. Xie, you saved me before, and I’m very grateful. But I also have some doubts in my heart that I just have to get off my chest.”

”We may have met once before at Luoya Mountain, but our relationship isn’t so good that you’d be willing to risk your life for me, is it?”

”You jumped off a cliff to save me once, and then you even threw yourself in front of me to block an attack. Why?”

Xie Ningyuan smiled faintly. ”I did indeed save you twice, but you’re exaggerating a bit.”

”...What?” Lu Sangjiu was a little confused.

”I mean, I didn’t risk my life.”

He explained, ”Whether it was jumping off the cliff or taking that hit for you, I only did it because I was certain I wouldn’t be harmed. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have saved you.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’I guess that’s true. He’s the Buddha Son of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect. Hundreds of years have passed; I wouldn’t even be surprised if his cultivation is now at the Body Integration Realm.’

’Even though everyone’s cultivation is suppressed here, our physical strength hasn’t changed. He’s a Cultivator who’s at least at the Divinity Transformation realm, so his body is naturally much tougher than my Foundation Establishment Stage body.’

’He took the full force of that demon beast’s self-destruction for me and didn’t even seem injured.’

”Fine, even if that’s the case, but...” Lu Sangjiu wasn’t going to let him brush her off so easily and pressed on, ”Even if you weren’t risking your life, you still have to explain why you only saved me.”

”Let’s not even talk about the cliff. When the demon beast self-destructed, there was a whole group of us around. If it was your compassion as a Buddhist Practitioner acting up, shouldn’t you have saved everyone?”

Lu Sangjiu had a vague feeling that Xie Ningyuan was hiding a secret, one most likely related to her. She wouldn’t be able to rest easy until she got a clear answer.

Xie Ningyuan smiled. ”Don’t be hasty. Why don’t you listen to my question first? Perhaps then you’ll find the answer to your own.”

”...Hm?”

As Lu Sangjiu looked on in confusion, the smile on Xie Ningyuan’s face gradually faded into indifference.

His dark eyes gazed hauntingly at her as he slowly asked, ”Where is she?”

”Who?” Lu Sangjiu was completely baffled. ”...What do you mean, ’where is she’? Be more specific.”

”Stop playing dumb. You know who I’m asking about... the Palace Master of the Moon Palace from a hundred years ago, Gu Huang.”

Hearing Xie Ningyuan state this so clearly, Lu Sangjiu’s heart clenched. ’Damn it... Has he found out?’

But she quickly realized that the fact he was asking this way meant he didn’t know she was Gu Huang at all!

So she continued to play dumb, saying with a bewildered expression, ”Mr. Xie, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

”The Palace Master of the Moon Palace... Gu Huang? I think I’ve heard my senior brother mention her, but didn’t they say she died a long time ago? Otherwise, the Moon Palace wouldn’t have fallen into civil strife and split in two, right?”