The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

’My Senior Sister is really something else,’ Lu Sangjiu thought. ’Anyone who didn’t know better would assume she came from a family of bandits. Take down the entire City Lord Mansion? Seriously?’

’Besides, Senior Sister, have you even considered this? The City Lord is a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, and we’re all just Golden Core. Where on earth are we getting the confidence to take him down?’

As she stood there speechless, Luo Linlang only grew more enthusiastic.

Lu Sangjiu zoned out for a moment, and by the time she tuned back in, she heard Luo Linlang saying, ”...I think taking down the City Lord Mansion should be done sooner rather than later. Why don’t we make our move tonight? We’ll catch them completely off guard!”

Startled, Lu Sangjiu quickly tried to dissuade her. ”Senior Sister, don’t get so worked up! Yuelin City is affiliated with the Joyful Union Sect, after all. Even if we were to make a move, we’d need their approval first.”

”Otherwise, the moment we take down the City Lord Mansion, we’ll have the Joyful Union Sect hunting us down!”

Her warning seemed to work. Luo Linlang pouted, disgruntled. ”Then what should we do?”

”Everyone, go back to your rooms for now. Then, without alerting the attendants, find a way to gather in my room.”

Most Cultivators liked to set up arrays in their rooms to block sound and Divine Sense, so no one would notice if they weren’t there.

The only concern was how to evade the eyes and ears of the City Lord Mansion’s servants. Although it seemed like there was only a maid at the entrance, Lu Sangjiu was certain more than one pair of eyes were watching them.

After briefing Luo Linlang, Lu Sangjiu relayed the plan to the others via voice transmission, and everyone headed back to their guest rooms.

After returning to her room, Lu Sangjiu set up an array and deliberately opened one of the outer windows.

Finally, she used a small Blinding Technique, so when people outside looked over, they would only see a pitch-black room, making it seem like she had already gone to sleep.

That way, when the others arrived, there would be no risk of telltale signs like shadows giving them away.

Once everything was in place, she quietly waited for the others to arrive.

A moment later, Lu Sangjiu heard a faint sound. She looked up to find Xie Ningyuan already seated across from her, unceremoniously pouring himself some tea. ”Am I the first?”

His tone was casual, but it was laced with a hint of smugness.

Lu Sangjiu was unimpressed and shot back without mercy, ”You’re hundreds of years old and you’re secretly competing over something like this? How childish can you be?”

Xie Ningyuan: ”...”

He stiffened slightly, as if the phrase ”hundreds of years old” had hit a sore spot.

He tried to hold it in, but finally couldn’t resist retorting, ”...What’s wrong with being hundreds of years old? In a few hundred years, you’ll be hundreds of years old too!”

Lu Sangjiu didn’t get angry at all. In fact, she just smiled brightly at him. ”I don’t mind. By then, you’ll be nearly a thousand, and I can still make fun of you.”

’Yep, as long as he hasn’t discovered my identity, I can freely mock him for being an old man!’

And so, when the second person, Luo Linlang, climbed in through the window, she was greeted by the sight of Xie Ningyuan sitting expressionlessly in a corner while the two of them sat in complete silence, not having exchanged a single word.

Luo Linlang had been eager to brag about how she’d evaded the lookouts, but before she could even speak, she sensed that the atmosphere was off.

A gossipy glint in her eyes, she looked back and forth between Xie Ningyuan and Lu Sangjiu, then grinned. ”Hehe, had a lovers’ quarrel?”

Lu Sangjiu feigned innocence. ”Of course not.”

’We didn’t fight,’ she thought. ’He’s just mad at me, and it’s completely one-sided.’

But Luo Linlang clearly didn’t believe her. She sat down next to Lu Sangjiu, grabbed her hand, and spoke with great earnestness.

”A fight is a good thing! I’ve been saying you two should keep your distance!”

’Hmm... She knew Xie Ningyuan had saved Lu Sangjiu at the Gold and Silver Gate, and she was grateful for it. Her opinion of him had even improved.’

’But no matter how good he was, it couldn’t change the fact that he was a Buddhist Practitioner!’

’A romance with a Buddhist Practitioner is doomed from the start. I can’t let my Little Junior Sister leap into that fire pit!’

Luo Linlang spoke so brazenly that Xie Ningyuan choked, unable to stop himself from retorting, ”Senior Sister Luo, couldn’t you at least wait until I’m not here to say things like that?”

Luo Linlang replied defiantly, ”I meant for you to hear it. Can’t you take a hint?”

She paused, then a look of realization crossed her face. Her eyes widened. ”Who are you calling Senior Sister? I’m Little Junior Sister’s senior sister, not yours. Don’t try to get familiar!”

”Besides, you’re hundreds of years old. You have the nerve to call me Senior Sister? Have you no shame!”

Xie Ningyuan: ”...”

’This is why,’ he thought, ’I really hate hanging out with these young people who have no respect for their elders!’

Fortunately, at that moment, Yan Zui and Gu Jue arrived one after another, saving Xie Ningyuan from further personal attacks.

The group exchanged a few pleasantries, then Luo Linlang asked, a little puzzled, ”Where’s Third Junior Brother? Why isn’t he here yet?”

Lu Sangjiu was also wondering. She was about to use a Communication Talisman to ask when she heard Shen Yuzhao’s voice. ”I... I’m almost there!”

The voice was muffled, a bit strange, and not very clear. It rang out suddenly in the room, startling everyone.

Lu Sangjiu looked around, asking uncertainly, ”Third Senior Brother? Where are you?”

”H-here!”

This time, Lu Sangjiu heard it clearly. She looked down at the floor in astonishment, asking hesitantly, ”Third Senior Brother? Is... is that you?”

Everyone followed her gaze to the floor, and this time they all heard Shen Yuzhao’s voice clearly.

”It’s me! I’m about to dig my way out, just a moment!”

Everyone: ”...”

An awkward silence descended upon the guest room.

After a long moment, Xie Ningyuan looked up at Lu Sangjiu and said with great sincerity, ”The people from your sect... it seems you all share the same brand of peculiar genius.”

Regardless of whether they used an Invisibility Technique or a Blinding Technique, everyone else at least came in through the window.

’But Shen Yuzhao... he’s in a league of his own. He actually dug a tunnel to get here???’

As everyone watched with expressions that defied description, Shen Yuzhao finally, carefully, poked his head up, balancing a floorboard on it.

Lu Sangjiu instinctively reached out to help him, but he stopped her. ”Don’t! I have to put this back exactly as it was. Don’t damage it. I can manage on my own!”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’Alright, Third Senior Brother. Whatever makes you happy.’

Despite the small hiccup, the six-person squad was finally assembled in Lu Sangjiu’s room.

”Alright, let’s not waste time. Let’s share our thoughts on this matter!”

Lu Sangjiu took the initiative. ”I’ll go first.”

”First, there’s definitely something wrong with the City Lord. I don’t trust him. From now on, all our actions should avoid his eyes and ears as much as possible. We’ll also need to cover for each other when necessary.”

”Based on that, I suggest we split into pairs. That way, we can watch each other’s backs.”

The moment she heard about splitting up, Luo Linlang was about to declare she would team up with Lu Sangjiu.

But just as she opened her mouth, Xie Ningyuan beat her to it. ”Alright, I’ll team up with you.”

Luo Linlang grew anxious, but before she could say anything, she saw Lu Sangjiu nod and agree. ”Okay, we’ll be a team.”

”As for the rest of you, Second Senior Sister and Third Senior Brother will be one team, and Ms. Yan Zui and Gu Jue will be the other. Is that alright?”