The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Chi Yan spoke a bit sheepishly. "I received a message from my senior brother two days ago. There are some matters in the sect that I need to hurry back for. I’ve already overstayed by a few days, so I really can’t delay any longer."

Feng Lin also said regretfully, "I had a breakthrough in my mental state last night, and my cultivation is showing signs of advancing. I need to seize this opportunity and go into seclusion to improve it."

Otherwise, she would have loved to continue traveling with Lu Sangjiu and the rest.

They were all kindred spirits, and being together was easy and fun. Plus, they always ran into exciting, dangerous situations. It was all so interesting.

But an opportunity to advance her mental state was fleeting, and she didn’t dare let it slip by.

Lu Sangjiu understood. She nodded and turned to Gu Jue. "And you, Mr. Gu?"

Gu Jue remained calm, already accustomed to Lu Sangjiu’s habit of calling him "Gu Jue" when she needed something and "Mr. Gu" when she didn’t.

"Miss Lu helped me find my junior sister. Naturally, I intend to repay that kindness."

He looked at Lu Sangjiu with sincere eyes. "As long as it isn’t something evil, I’ll help you with anything."

Xie Ningyuan, standing to the side, couldn’t resist chiming in with a snide remark. "Help with *anything*? If she wants to get married, are you going to marry the groom for her?"

Everyone could see that Xie Ningyuan and Gu Jue didn’t get along, so they knew he was just trying to pick a fight.

They expected Gu Jue to get angry, but he just replied calmly, "I cannot marry in her stead. However, if Miss Lu is being forced to marry someone she doesn’t like, I can help her run away."

"And if she does like him... I can help her prepare for the wedding as a friend."

"Helping isn’t just about taking her place. As long as you have the will to help, you can always find a way to contribute, no matter what it is."

Gu Jue’s words left everyone present completely stunned.

Lu Sangjiu was moved... She could tell Gu Jue wasn’t just saying that to spite Xie Ningyuan. He truly meant it, from the bottom of his heart.

’...What an incredible person!’ Lu Sangjiu was so moved she could have cried.

As for the other three, their thoughts were perfectly aligned: ’Holy crap, aren’t you in love with her? How can you love her and still calmly offer to help plan her wedding? That level of self-awareness... not just anyone could manage that!’

In that moment, even Xie Ningyuan felt a sliver of admiration for Gu Jue... The man was indeed a rare, pure soul.

He couldn’t help glancing at Lu Sangjiu, and he certainly didn’t miss the touched expression on her face.

’I should send her a telepathic message, tell her to snap out of it,’ he thought, but the words died on his lips.

’Gu Jue... really was a good person.’

The wave of emotion passed as Lu Sangjiu remembered her mission. Her reason returned, and she refused him decisively. "Thank you for the kind offer, Mr. Gu!"

"But... but for this particular task, it might not be convenient for you to help."

Gu Jue froze, then asked hesitantly, "Is it... that you don’t trust me?"

Feng Lin and Chi Yan immediately shot Lu Sangjiu an accusatory glare. Their eyes seemed to say, ’Mr. Gu has been so sincere, and you still don’t trust him? Do you even have a heart?’

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

The corner of her mouth twitched as she forced a smile. "It’s not a matter of trust, it’s just that..."

Before she could finish, Gu Jue suddenly turned to Xie Ningyuan. "But you’ll let *him* help, won’t you?"

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

This time, she was truly speechless. Because he was right—she *was* going to ask Xie Ningyuan for help.

’But it’s not about who I’m closer to! It’s because my mission is to find the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword! The entrance to that small world is in Qingyun State, and it’s not far from here. Now that I’m at the Golden Core Stage, I figured I’d take care of it while I’m in the area. Given what I know about the original story, I really don’t dare bring Gu Jue in with me. If the original heroine isn’t there and *I* end up in a romantic plotline with Gu Jue, wouldn’t that be a disaster? I wasn’t even planning to let Xie Ningyuan enter the small world with me. I’m enough on my own inside there. Xie Ningyuan can just stand guard outside!’

Lu Sangjiu felt her reasoning was perfectly sound. But now, with Gu Jue watching her so quietly, waiting for an answer, she just couldn’t bring herself to say it.

’Maybe... I should just bring him along? I could have him and Xie Ningyuan stand guard outside the small world together?’

Once that line of thought began to waver, Lu Sangjiu lost all resolve to refuse him.

Finally, under everyone’s watchful eyes, she cleared her throat and said, steeling herself, "...I’ve given it some thought, and I’ve suddenly realized that having Mr. Gu along might actually be helpful after all."

"So... Mr. Xie, Mr. Gu, if you two don’t mind, shall the three of us go as a group?"

Xie Ningyuan’s face visibly darkened, but he didn’t refuse. He just snorted and turned his head away, making his annoyance clear.

Xie Ningyuan might have been unhappy, but Gu Jue was delighted.

Gu Jue gave Lu Sangjiu a faint smile. "Alright. I promise I won’t hold you back."

Feng Lin looked at Lu Sangjiu, on the verge of speaking, but held her tongue. In the end, she didn’t say anything more, just shot her a look that clearly meant, ’Good luck, you’ll need it.’

’Tsk tsk. A party of three. Now that’s a ’blessing’ not everyone can handle. Especially since it was obvious that both Xie Ningyuan and Gu Jue were quite the handful!’

After breakfast, Chi Yan and Feng Lin didn’t stay any longer and left together.

Lu Sangjiu’s injuries hadn’t fully healed yet, and since their task wasn’t urgent, the three of them stayed at the inn for a few more days.

Knowing the two men didn’t get along, Lu Sangjiu decided ’out of sight, out of mind’ was the best approach. She spent most of her time in her room, using "healing" as an excuse.

As a result, the two men naturally didn’t spend any time together either.

The three of them managed to pass the next few days in relative peace and harmony. That is, until Lu Sangjiu was fully recovered and ready to set out.

Xie Ningyuan had been stewing for days, barely seeing her at all. He was already frustrated, so the moment he finally saw her, he couldn’t help but make a snide comment.

"Took you long enough. If I’d fed my best Elixir Pills to a dead donkey, it would be alive and kicking by now."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’No one would think you were a mute if you just kept your mouth shut.’

But Gu Jue spoke with genuine concern. "The most important thing is that you’ve recovered. It really wouldn’t have mattered if we had to wait a few more days."

Lu Sangjiu thought: ’Now there’s a gentleman!’

’Xie Ningyuan’s mouth was so foul, he actually managed to make Gu Jue, the most hopelessly dense man alive, look charming and considerate by comparison. I used to think he was too quiet and stubborn, but now I see it differently. When a quiet person occasionally says something considerate, it’s all the more heartwarming!’

She turned to Gu Jue with a smile so warm it could almost be called benevolent. "Don’t you worry, Mr. Gu, I’m all better now!"

"You don’t need to worry about me. Let’s get going!"

The completely ignored Xie Ningyuan: "..."

His expression went blank as he snapped the chopsticks in his hand. *Heh.* ’I take back what I thought about Gu Jue being a good person. The guy is clearly just as black-hearted and shameless as they come!’

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