The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

"Gu Jue?"

Lu Sangjiu, who had already entered the kitchen, came out upon hearing the noise outside and saw Gu Jue standing before the painting in a daze.

Her voice seemed to snap Gu Jue back to his senses.

He subconsciously turned to Lu Sangjiu, his eyes betraying a hint of confusion. "Lu Sangjiu, what is it?"

Lu Sangjiu furrowed her brow. "I should be asking you that. Is there something wrong with this painting? Why were you just staring at it?"

Gu Jue froze. He subconsciously felt there was a problem with the painting, but when he opened his mouth to say something, his mind went blank.

After a moment’s hesitation, he shook his head. "It’s nothing. I just thought it was a rather beautiful painting."

Lu Sangjiu was speechless.

’How strange,’ she thought. ’But Gu Jue has no reason to lie to me.’

So Lu Sangjiu didn’t get too suspicious. After a moment of thought, she lowered her voice and said to Gu Jue, "I think there might be something behind this painting, but I don’t want Ye Zhiyao to find out. Let’s wait for her to leave before we take a look."

Gu Jue nodded at once. "Then let’s check the other areas first."

After a thorough search, they confirmed there was nothing else out of the ordinary in the cabin.

Ye Zhiyao, however, moved faster than them. Finding nothing, she left the wooden cabin in disappointment to go search the surrounding area.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Sangjiu hurriedly called Xie Ningyuan and Gu Jue over to the painting.

Lu Sangjiu carefully lifted the painting off the wall and set it aside to avoid damaging it.

’After all, this was left behind by the master of this minor world. It has no Spiritual Energy, but it might hold great significance for its owner. It’s best not to break it if we can avoid it.’

After setting the painting down, Lu Sangjiu asked the two men beside her, "Does this section of the wall seem any different to you?"

Xie Ningyuan considered this for a moment before placing his hand flat against the wall. Instantly, Spiritual Power surged, and a Rune Array manifested on its surface.

In the next instant, Lu Sangjiu watched as the section of the wall Xie Ningyuan touched seemed to dissolve. As the wall melted away, he reached his hand inside. When he withdrew it, he held a brocade box.

At the sight of it, Lu Sangjiu’s eyes lit up. "Open it and see what’s inside!"

’This was never mentioned in the story. Now that we’ve triggered it, I’m so curious.’

Just then, however, a tremendous crash echoed from outside.

The three of them instinctively glanced in the direction of the sound.

Of course, they couldn’t see anything from inside the cabin.

But given the direction it came from, Lu Sangjiu’s expression changed instantly. "Oh no!"

The sound came from the direction of the lake. Factoring in that Ye Zhiyao was out there, it was obvious she had most likely discovered the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword at the bottom of the lake and was trying to attack the seal.

’Known fact: The moment the seal is broken, this minor world will collapse. Ye Zhiyao is protected by her protagonist’s luck and won’t die, but the rest of us aren’t so certain.’

So how could Lu Sangjiu possibly spare a thought for the box? She spun around and bolted outside.

"Ye Zhiyao, stop this instant!"

Lu Sangjiu bellowed, but Ye Zhiyao didn’t stop. Instead, she moved even faster, launching another attack at the seal!

It was obvious from this strike that she was acting recklessly, unleashing power far beyond the range they had all agreed to maintain.

Lu Sangjiu’s eyes turned cold, and killing intent flared within her.

’If Ye Zhiyao actually causes this minor world to collapse, I will attack her again, no holds barred.’

’Even if I can’t kill her, I can’t let her off easy. If I really die here without getting even a little payback, what a total waste that would be!’

Numerous thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. In the next moment, however, she saw the box in Xie Ningyuan’s hands fly open on its own. A brilliant golden Light shot out, heading straight for the surface of the lake!

The golden Light moved with incredible speed, intercepting and dispersing Ye Zhiyao’s attack just before it struck the seal!

But it didn’t stop there. It continued onward until it had enveloped both the seal and the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword.

In the next instant, the seal dissolved. Freed, the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword shot up from the lakebed, and for a moment, the cry of a phoenix seemed to echo across the heavens.

At the same time, the Phoenix Cry Sword in Gu Jue’s hand seemed to answer a call. With a WHOOSH, it flew from his grasp and soared into the sky.

The Phoenix Cry Sword and its sword scabbard danced in the air for a moment, as if sharing their joy at being reunited.

After a moment, the Phoenix Cry Sword slid into the sword scabbard, and the entire weapon radiated a dazzling Light.

Words were unnecessary. Everyone who witnessed this could clearly sense that, from this moment on, the Phoenix Cry Sword was finally a complete Immortal Artifact!

The group was captivated by the stunning sight, all staring up at the sky in a trance.

Only when the Phoenix Cry Sword flew back into Gu Jue’s hand did they all seem to wake from a dream.

Ye Zhiyao’s expression instantly turned foul.

She had sensed that the object at the bottom of the lake was an Immortal Artifact, which was why she had been so frenzied.

She never imagined that while it was indeed related to an Immortal Artifact, it wasn’t a complete one. It was the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword!

Forget the fact that Gu Jue now had the sword scabbard. Even if he hadn’t, even if she had managed to snatch it, what use was a sword scabbard to her on its own?

It was too small to even be used as a shield!

The stark contrast between her expectations and reality was more than Ye Zhiyao could bear.

So she couldn’t stop herself from lashing out at Lu Sangjiu and her companions. "I saw that first! How can you just forcibly snatch it away? Have you forgotten our agreement to work together?"

Having successfully secured the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword for Gu Jue, Lu Sangjiu was in high spirits. She simply beamed at Ye Zhiyao and replied, "Of course we haven’t forgotten."

"Didn’t we agree that if we only found one or two things, we’d decide who gets them based on compatibility?"

"You see, the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword is naturally the most compatible with Gu Jue. Is there anything wrong with it going to him?"

Ye Zhiyao was speechless.

She was at a loss for words for a moment, but then it dawned on her. "You knew all along, didn’t you?!"

When the sword scabbard appeared, Gu Jue and Xie Ningyuan were both visibly surprised. Only Lu Sangjiu seemed to take it in stride.

Coupled with the distribution rule she had proposed earlier, Ye Zhiyao was suddenly convinced that Lu Sangjiu had known from the start and had deliberately targeted her!

Of course, this accusation was pure speculation. If Lu Sangjiu denied it, Ye Zhiyao had no proof and would only come off as throwing an unreasonable tantrum in front of the others.

She was about to argue back, but suddenly the entire minor world began to tremble violently!

Lu Sangjiu’s expression changed in an instant. "Not good, this place is about to collapse!"

’I originally thought the minor world in the book collapsed because Ye Zhiyao forcefully used too much power to break the seal.’

’But since we just found a peaceful way to undo the seal, I just assumed everything would be fine.’

’But looking at things now, maybe the seal or the sword scabbard for the Phoenix Cry Sword was what kept this place stable all along?’

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