The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

"What requires a private audience?" one of the Golden Core Cultivators demanded, his expression hostile. "Say what you need to say right here. Otherwise, who’s to blame if he escapes?"

These men didn’t take Lu Sangjiu seriously, so they naturally paid her words no mind and flatly refused her request.

Lu Sangjiu’s gaze darkened, and her hands began to itch. ’I should just kill them and be done with it.’

But on second thought, she realized that while she might be able to get Gu Jue out of here if she acted now, her plan to wipe out the entire Qilin Sect would be impossible. And she’d likely never recover Gu Jue’s Phoenix Cry Sword.

With that in mind, she suppressed her killing intent and forced a good-natured smile. "You’re right, my good sirs. I’ll just ask him here."

With that, she turned and walked toward Gu Jue.

Gu Jue’s eyes were cold and clear as he sat upright in the cage, silently watching her approach.

"I’ve said it before. It’s impossible to use me to lure out Lu Sangjiu. You might as well just kill me."

Lu Sangjiu was speechless.

’Are all of you from the Lingjian Sect this eager to die? What’s wrong with living a little longer?’

Still, she knew Gu Jue was saying this because he was afraid of implicating her, and she couldn’t help but feel a little touched.

Of course, Lu Sangjiu had no intention of killing him. She merely put on an act, asking, "How did you find this place?"

Gu Jue closed his eyes. "No comment."

Lu Sangjiu feigned exasperation. "Still playing tough, are you? Refusing to talk? Fine! I’ll give you a little something extra. Let’s see if you’ll talk then!"

As she spoke, she raised a hand, telekinetically seizing Gu Jue by the neck and dragging him in front of her.

With his Spiritual Power completely sealed, Gu Jue couldn’t struggle in the slightest. Even in pain, he endured it silently, his cold eyes fixed on Lu Sangjiu.

Lu Sangjiu roughly took out an Elixir Pill and shoved it into his mouth, a sinister grin on her face.

"Swallow this. In three breaths, you’ll feel an agony as if your entire body is on fire. That pain will last for a full hour. Let’s see if you’ll confess then!"

With that, she let go of Gu Jue with a cold snort and turned to the other men with a smile. "Let him suffer a bit first. I’ll be back to question him in an hour."

The men saw nothing amiss and simply waved her away.

Lu Sangjiu returned to the wooden hut and began to ponder her next move.

Plans never keep up with reality. She hadn’t even figured out how to rescue Liu Xi, and now she had to save Gu Jue and retrieve the Phoenix Cry Sword as well. It was a real headache.

To make matters worse, the mountain was sealed by a thick fog, preventing even Communication Talismans from being sent out. She couldn’t even contact Feng Lin and the others to tell them not to act rashly.

All she could do now was hope they were smart enough not to come back and get themselves killed. The best course of action in this situation was obviously to notify Sword Bu Gui to come and rescue them.

Others might not be trustworthy, but Sword Bu Gui should be fine.

’With Liu Xi there, contacting Sword Bu Gui shouldn’t be a problem, right?’

In the courtyard, after being fed the pill, Gu Jue waited for its effects to kick in.

But after three breaths, he didn’t feel the agony of being burned by fire. Instead... a medicinal power was spreading from his Dantian, mending his injured body?

Gu Jue was taken aback. ’Did that demoness grab the wrong pill?’

’Or... was she helping him on purpose?’

As he hesitated, one of the Golden Core Cultivators looked over, seemingly wondering why he wasn’t reacting yet.

Gu Jue immediately cast all other thoughts aside. Regardless of the reason, he couldn’t let them find out!

So, he forced himself to put on a pained yet silently enduring expression, which finally managed to fool the men.

An hour later, Lu Sangjiu walked out of the room again.

Their eyes met, and they both saw a hint of understanding in each other’s gazes.

Lu Sangjiu smiled faintly. ’Gu Jue is as sharp as ever,’ she thought. ’Give him a little hint, and he knows how to play along.’

’I just wonder if he’s figured out who I am.’

It was a pity his Spiritual Power was sealed; she couldn’t use her Divine Sense to communicate with him, which would have made things much simpler.

"So, had a taste of what I can do? Are you still going to resist?"

Gu Jue looked at her "weakly." "...Just give me a quick death."

"I can’t do that. If you don’t want to suffer, you’ll obediently answer my questions."

Looking every bit the villain, Lu Sangjiu continued, "Lu Sangjiu just arrived here, and you followed right after. Are you two together? Or have you been in contact privately?"

Gu Jue stared at her and said slowly, "We’re not. We haven’t."

"You’re saying it’s just a coincidence? Do you think I’d believe that?"

"You must have a way of contacting each other privately, right? Tell me honestly, and you might suffer a little less."

Gu Jue pondered for a moment. "...I have signal fireworks in my storage bag. If she sees them, she’ll know I’m in trouble."

Lu Sangjiu thought, ’Well now, how come I’m the one person who didn’t know about this?’

But it also confirmed that Gu Jue had caught on.

She didn’t know if he had guessed her identity, but at least he believed she was an ally and was willing to cooperate.

Lu Sangjiu nodded in satisfaction. "If you’d just said so earlier, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much, would you?"

Gu Jue’s storage bag had been confiscated along with his Phoenix Cry Sword. Now, with Gu Jue’s words, Lu Sangjiu had an excuse to see the Sect Leader. She immediately turned and walked out of the courtyard.

"Keep a close watch on him. I’ll be back shortly."

By now, it was almost dawn, so it wouldn’t be too much of a disturbance for Lu Sangjiu to go looking for him.

However, before she could request an audience with the Sect Leader, she first had to see the Second Elder.

After she stated her purpose, the Second Elder showed no intention of letting her see the Sect Leader. "You wait here," he said. "I will go retrieve the items."

Lu Sangjiu said quickly, "Elder, might I be allowed to see the Sect Leader in person? I also have further details to report on how to capture Lu Sangjiu."

Displeasure crossed the Second Elder’s face. "The Sect Leader is not someone you can see just because you ask. We give you an inch, and you take a mile, is that it?"

At that moment, however, the Sect Leader’s voice came from the back courtyard. "Let her in."

The Second Elder paused, turned toward the back courtyard, and bowed respectfully. Yet, his tone was still hesitant. "But, Sect Leader, she’s only at the Foundation Establishment Stage."

His words were pointed, as if he were trying to remind the Sect Leader of something.

But the Sect Leader only said coolly, "It’s fine."

The Second Elder looked like he wanted to say more but held his tongue. In the end, he didn’t dare to object again and simply bowed. "Yes, Sect Leader."

After speaking, he turned and gave Lu Sangjiu a look. "Go on. Remember not to look or speak out of turn. Don’t cause trouble for yourself."

Lu Sangjiu had a faint feeling. ’Is there some kind of secret in that back courtyard?’

She felt a mix of apprehension and excitement. In her few days here, she had managed to overhear many things, but she had never heard anyone privately discuss what was most important.

Perhaps the back courtyard held the very answer she was looking for...

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