The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

At first, Liu Xi and A Zhi were clearly unwilling to give Lu Sangjiu the time of day, but their expressions noticeably softened when she said she could give them the antidote.

After a moment’s hesitation, they both blinked at almost the same time.

Lu Sangjiu said with a smile, ”Alright, I’ll give it to you first.”

She fed the antidote to A Zhi.

Soon after taking it, A Zhi felt her strength returning. She gripped the corner of Liu Xi’s robe with one hand, then looked timidly at Lu Sangjiu and said, ”We... we didn’t know each other before.”

She said, ”I was injured when I was captured. Miss Liu is very kind, so she looked after me.”

”Is that so...” Lu Sangjiu glanced at Liu Xi. ”I wouldn’t have guessed. For someone with such a fiery temper, you’re actually a decent person.”

Liu Xi, her face cold, ignored her.

She fed a dose of the antidote to Liu Xi as well. ”I’m curious. You nearly died for someone you just met. What for?”

As strength returned to her body, Liu Xi snorted. ”It’s about having reverence for life, something you inhumane Evil Cultivators would obviously never understand.”

Lu Sangjiu clicked her tongue. ”With a temper that foul, it’s no wonder they wanted to kill you.”

Liu Xi turned her head away. ”And you wouldn’t kill me if I had a good temper? It’s only a matter of time, either way.”

”If you’d lived a few more days, you might have been able to hold out for your rescuers, no?”

At Lu Sangjiu’s words, the light in Liu Xi’s eyes suddenly dimmed. Her lips thinned. ”...No one is coming to save me.”

’I ran off on my own whim. There’s no way my master and senior brother can find me.’

’So... if I die here, I suppose it’s what I deserve.’

A storm of emotions churned within her, and the hard expression on her face finally softened. A Zhi couldn’t help but squeeze her hand. ”Miss Liu... We’ll be okay.”

Lu Sangjiu rested her chin in her hand, observing them. She didn’t say anything more to provoke them.

’In any case, I have no intention of revealing my identity to Liu Xi. For one, our last encounter wasn’t exactly pleasant. If I told her who I was, she’d probably throw a fit and insist she didn’t need my help.’

’For another, if I told her and her acting skills weren’t up to snuff, she might blow my cover, which would be a huge hassle for me.’

’Anyway, they’re with me now, so their lives aren’t in immediate danger. I’ll just keep them here like this for the time being.’

’When I’m ready to leave, I’ll take them with me.’

To prevent the two from trying to escape and causing more trouble, Lu Sangjiu herded them into the cage in the courtyard and gave them a few Fasting Pills.

”Just stay in here quietly. Don’t go running off, okay?”

With that said, Lu Sangjiu lost interest in them and began to wander around the courtyard on her own.

A Zhi waited for a while. Seeing that Lu Sangjiu was truly ignoring them, she grew more and more anxious. ”You... didn’t you bring us back to test poisons on?”

Lu Sangjiu raised an eyebrow. ”What, getting impatient?”

A Zhi bit her lip. ”I just wanted to ask, can you test the poison on me first?”

Liu Xi immediately snapped at her, ”A Zhi, I don’t need you protecting me like this!”

A Zhi glanced timidly at Liu Xi and forced a smile. ”Miss Liu has always been the one protecting me. I... I want to protect Miss Liu, just this once.”

With that, she turned back to Lu Sangjiu and pleaded, ”I’m begging you!”

Lu Sangjiu hadn’t expected this. ’A Zhi looks so fragile, yet she’s willing to sacrifice herself for Liu Xi.’

’The bond they’ve formed through this shared hardship is actually quite moving.’

So she took out a pill. ”Fine. I’ll grant your wish.”

Ignoring Liu Xi’s horrified cry, she shoved the pill directly into A Zhi’s mouth.

Liu Xi watched A Zhi swallow the pill and became absolutely livid. Gripping the bars of the cage with both hands, she screamed, ”You demoness! If you’ve got the guts, come after me!”

Lu Sangjiu gave her a small, vicious smile. ”Don’t worry, you’re not getting away either. Once she’s dead from the poison, it’ll be your turn.”

With that, she yawned, turned, and went back to her room to sleep.

’As for how anxious and worried Liu Xi and A Zhi would be over what was actually just a simple health-boosting pill I’d grabbed at random... well, that wasn’t my problem.’

’After all, since I don’t plan on revealing my identity, I have to play the part of a villain, lest they get suspicious.’

After a full day of failing to find Lu Sangjiu and losing quite a few of their people in the process, the Qilin Sect finally learned their lesson. They no longer dared to send search parties randomly into the forest.

The Second Elder had his men shout around the camp, ”Lu Sangjiu, your time is running out! If you don’t want to die from the curse, you’d best show yourself and negotiate with us!”

”Continuing like this and killing more of our people won’t do you any good! No one can break your curse but us! You’d better wise up!”

Lu Sangjiu, who happened to be walking by: ’...’

’What a shame. I’m right here in front of you, but you can’t even recognize me.’

The fact that they were now afraid to venture out gave her an opportunity. By casually strolling around the camp, she could pick up a lot of useful information from their conversations.

For example, news about what was happening in Jinglin Town.

She heard that the investigators sent by the Joyful Union Sect had arrived, so they had to keep a low profile and couldn’t just go out and capture people anymore.

However, they didn’t seem too worried about it.

”They’re just going through the motions. They’ll offer up a few scapegoats, and the whole thing will blow over.”

”But I heard that Gu Jue from the Lingjian Sect is also over there, looking for his Little Junior Sister. If he doesn’t find her, I doubt he’ll give up so easily, will he?”

”What’s there to be afraid of? At worst, we toss out the Female Cultivator’s body, offer up a scapegoat, and there’s nothing he can do, no matter how much he dislikes it. After all, this is the Joyful Union Sect’s territory, not his Lingjian Sect’s.”

”That’s true... Oh, Miss Lan, perfect timing. We heard you took that Liu Xi back with you to test poisons on?”

Lu Sangjiu nodded. ”She is with me.”

The men chuckled. ”How many more days does she have? We need to be ready to toss out her body as soon as possible.”

Lu Sangjiu felt a headache coming on. ’I thought I could finally breathe easy, but I didn’t expect them to start pressuring me to kill Liu Xi so soon.’

She could only deflect. ”Just give me two more days. I’ll be more or less done with her by then. Don’t rush me.”

Two days wasn’t a long time to them, so they didn’t press her further. ”Fine, but make it quick. That Gu Jue is no joke. It’ll be even more trouble for us if he finds his way here.”

Lu Sangjiu agreed and turned to leave.

’How am I supposed to release them without anyone noticing,’ she wondered, ’and without getting myself implicated? Ugh, what a pain.’

She hadn’t even come up with a viable plan when, to her surprise, Gu Jue and his group found their way to her that very night.

It was a good thing Lu Sangjiu’s Divine Sense was so powerful, and that she never dared to sleep too soundly at night. Otherwise, she likely wouldn’t have even noticed them sneaking into her courtyard.

Upon sensing several new, yet incredibly familiar, auras in her courtyard, Lu Sangjiu knew this was bad. She hurriedly pushed the door open, intending to tell them to leave at once.

But the moment she appeared, before she could even speak, Gu Jue’s sword came lunging at her!