The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

A flicker of unease crossed Gu Jue’s face. He grunted in affirmation. ”I suddenly feel like going again.”

Liu Xi’s imagination immediately ran wild. She blushed and said coyly, ”Could it be, Senior Brother... because I’m going...”

”...You’re overthinking it.”

Gu Jue cut her off, telling her clearly for the umpteenth time, ”I’ve told you before, I don’t have romantic feelings for you.”

Liu Xi pouted, her lip jutting out. She huffed irritably, ”Master said we’re leaving tomorrow morning. If you want to go, tell him yourself!”

With that, she turned and left, no longer caring why Gu Jue had suddenly changed his mind.

Gu Jue was left alone. He lowered his gaze slightly, glancing at the Communication Talisman in his hand.

After a long moment, he finally stood up and walked toward Sword Bu Gui’s room.

Lu Sangjiu and Luo Linlang rested at the inn for a night, then went to the registration point for the Sword Seizing Conference early the next morning.

A long line stretched out before them, with no end in sight.

The sun was scorching hot, so Luo Linlang said, ”There are so many people. Why don’t we come back another day?”

There were still eighteen days until the competition officially began, so they were indeed in no hurry.

Lu Sangjiu was about to nod in agreement when she suddenly heard an enthusiastic voice, ”Fairy Luo, Lu Fairy, we meet again!”

Turning around, Lu Sangjiu saw Xiang Qian walking toward them with a zealous expression.

’Hmm... based on my limited understanding of Xiang Qian, the more enthusiastically he smiles, the bigger the trap he’s setting for us.’

Lu Sangjiu had wised up by now and wasn’t about to fall for it. Before he could even speak, she said with a deadpan expression, ”Not buying anything, don’t need any services, and definitely not signing up for a membership.”

Xiang Qian’s words caught in his throat, and his smile froze.

He then put on an aggrieved expression. ”Lu Fairy, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about me? I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Luo Linlang sneered, ”A misunderstanding? Don’t you have a single shred of self-awareness?”

Xiang Qian: ”...”

After being shot down twice, most people would have felt too embarrassed and walked away, but not Xiang Qian.

’Who needs face? Isn’t money more important?’

So, pretending not to have heard Luo Linlang, he put on a standard smile again. ”I just saw that you arrived late. If you wait in line, it’ll take a very long time, right? That’s not a good deal.”

Luo Linlang let out a dry laugh. ”So, are you going to show us a shortcut? How much are you planning to scam us for this time?”

”Do you think we’re still as naive and easy to fool as we were at the beginning? Go find some other suckers to swindle. We’re not falling for your tricks again!”

This time, the smile completely vanished from Xiang Qian’s face. He looked at Luo Linlang with a mournful gaze and said, heartbroken, ”Fairy Luo, you’ve changed!”

Luo Linlang didn’t fall for his act. She rolled her eyes and linked arms with Lu Sangjiu. ”Let’s go!”

Seeing them about to leave, Xiang Qian quickly called out, ”Wait!”

Luo Linlang was getting impatient. ”You’re so annoying! Watch it, or I’ll smack you!”

Xiang Qian said hurriedly, ”Don’t be so aggressive, Fairy Luo. It won’t be too late to decide after you hear me out.”

As he spoke, he mysteriously pulled the two of them aside and lowered his voice. ”I’m really not trying to scam you this time. Are you two thinking that since there are too many people these couple of days, you’ll just come back later when it’s less crowded?”

Lu Sangjiu nodded. ”Is there a problem with that?”

”Of course there is!” Xiang Qian immediately explained. ”You two probably don’t know this, but the later you register, the more expensive the fee gets!”

”Huh? What do you mean?”

Lu Sangjiu was very surprised. She had anticipated a registration fee—after all, how could the Gold and Silver Gate pass up a chance to fleece people?

But she couldn’t understand why the fee would get more expensive over time.

Seeing that Lu Sangjiu was finally interested, Xiang Qian relaxed and slowed his pace to explain.

”That’s because the number of slots for the Sword Seizing Conference is limited, of course. For each conference, there are only one thousand slots for Foundation Establishment cultivators and five hundred for Golden Core cultivators.”

Lu Sangjiu immediately grasped the key point and said tentatively, ”So... once the slots are filled, anyone who still wants to register has to pay extra?”

Xiang Qian clapped his hands. ”See? This is why I say you’re a smart one, Fairy!”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

She was once again shocked by the Gold and Silver Gate’s shamelessness.

’Limited slots? This is clearly just a tactic to squeeze more money out of people!’

She rubbed her temples, a headache coming on. ”Why wasn’t any of this mentioned in the Jade Scroll you gave me?”

Xiang Qian coughed, looking a bit guilty, and mumbled, ”Well, everyone gets a little careless sometimes. I forgot to write it down.”

’As if I’d believe that nonsense! He obviously did it on purpose. Since we didn’t know anything, we would have waited until the slots were gone, and then we’d have no choice but to pay extra, right?’

Xiang Qian grew even more flustered under Lu Sangjiu’s gaze and quickly explained, ”But look, aren’t I trying to make up for my mistake right now?”

”To be honest, the slots are almost full now. Even if you get in line, you probably won’t make it in time.”

”The normal registration fee is just one Mid-grade Spirit Stone for Foundation Establishment and ten for Golden Core. But after the slots are filled, the first five hundred people have to pay ten times that amount, and anyone after them has to pay twenty times!”

”Just think about it! For the two of you, that would be at least one hundred and ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones. What a huge loss!”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

She truly, even now, found the Gold and Silver Gate to be utterly ridiculous.

She finally understood. The so-called lower registration fee for the initial slots wasn’t a benefit at all; it was a psychological trick.

It made everyone feel that if they were just a bit faster, they could get away with paying only one or ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones. So, when people arrived, they wouldn’t stop to consider whether paying ten, a hundred, or even twenty or two hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones was a ripoff.

After arriving, if there were no slots left, they would have traveled thousands of miles and wouldn’t be willing to have come for nothing. They’d have to hold their noses and pay the exorbitant registration fee.

Moreover, besides the top three winners of the competition, the Gold and Silver Gate would also draw three lucky prize winners from the other participants, who would also gain the right to enter the Sword Tomb.

This lucky prize, in particular, made even those who weren’t confident in their own strength want to try their luck, which was why so many people participated every year.

’Swindlers. They’re absolute, out-and-out swindlers. They’ve figured out human psychology completely!’

Lu Sangjiu was impressed, but also exasperated... Things had come to this point. What else could she do?

Sighing, she said to Xiang Qian, ”Alright, tell us about your ’less of a loss’ method.”

Xiang Qian chuckled and gave Lu Sangjiu a thumbs-up. ”Lu Fairy is as sharp as ever!”

He lowered his voice. ”I’m only telling you this because we’re acquaintances. Other people don’t get this kind of treatment!”

Luo Linlang had long been shocked speechless by the Gold and Silver Gate’s shamelessness. She urged him on, mentally exhausted, ”We know, just hurry up and say it!”

”Ahem, if you two Fairies take my shortcut, I can get you registered. And for the two of you, it will only cost a total of eighty Mid-grade Spirit Stones, plus you won’t have to wait in line. Isn’t that a great deal?”