The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

The City Lord was furious. ’My wife is the kindest and most gentle woman in the world. How could she do something like this?’

’I’m the one whose hands are stained with blood! This was all my doing. They must be lying!’

But Shen Yuzhao shook his head sincerely. "I’m not lying to you. That’s really what they said."

"But when we tried to question them further, they refused to say more. We did, however, get a clear look at the Cultivation Techniques they used—they were all arts employed by Evil Cultivators."

"So..." Shen Yuzhao looked at Ji Heng. "Are you an Evil Cultivator, too, my lady?"

Ji Heng’s expression darkened, but she remained stubborn. "I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

Lu Sangjiu chuckled. "You really don’t know?"

"To be honest, I thought you were innocent at first, too. But... that guard’s confession today was just a little too smooth."

"Even though I removed the restriction on him," she said, "it’s not like he would’ve been so cooperative as to spill his guts before I’d even asked anything, is it?"

"On top of that, he made a point of emphasizing that the City Lord was behind everything, and that his wife knew nothing."

"That’s what’s so strange. He was controlled by the City Lord and had done plenty of evil deeds himself. It makes no sense for him to suddenly grow a conscience at a time like this, does it? Let alone go out of his way to protect the City Lord’s Wife?"

That was actually the moment Lu Sangjiu began to suspect Ji Heng.

Later, after she charged into the courtyard, she also received a sound transmission from Shen Yuzhao. That, coupled with Ji Heng’s persistent act as an innocent victim and the sense of other people lurking around the City Lord Mansion.

When all these factors were combined, Lu Sangjiu became mostly convinced that something was truly wrong with Ji Heng.

Of course, it was still just a suspicion. Although she kept threatening to kill them all, she was still acting under the name of the Seven Emotions Sect and couldn’t just go around causing mayhem.

That was why she had been deliberately threatening them—she wanted to force Ji Heng into a corner and make her expose herself.

Between what Shen Yuzhao had said and Lu Sangjiu’s additions, the City Lord’s resolve finally began to waver. "No, that’s impossible... How could my wife..."

He trailed off, as if suddenly remembering something. He turned his head stiffly toward Ji Heng. "I remember..."

"The method for refining Human Pills... the person you rescued was the one who told me... Don’t tell me...?"

Disbelief was written all over his face, but in his heart, he was already mostly convinced.

Ji Heng fell silent for a moment before suddenly dropping her entire facade. The weak, frightened expression vanished from her face. Instead, she raised an eyebrow, looked at the City Lord, and let out a soft laugh.

"Oh, my dear husband. Wouldn’t it have been better to die in blissful ignorance? Why did you have to listen to them?"

"But then again..." She rose to her feet, patting the City Lord’s cheek. "You couldn’t even manage to self-detonate. For a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator... you really are useless, aren’t you."

Staring at this woman, so completely different from the wife he remembered, the City Lord looked as though he had suffered a massive blow. He was utterly dumbfounded.

Ji Heng paid him no more mind, turning to Lu Sangjiu instead. "Little girl, I gave you a clean way out of this. I even found you a scapegoat. Why did you have to make things so difficult for me?

"You’re really... digging your own grave."

Shen Yuzhao gave her a puzzled look. "You can’t even beat me. Where do you get the nerve to talk to my Little Junior Sister like that?"

Ji Heng: "..."

She snapped, "Shut your mouth! You really think I’m no match for you? I just didn’t want to reveal my trump card so early!"

Lu Sangjiu chuckled. "No need to get so worked up. Your so-called trump card isn’t your own power, is it?"

She could see it clearly. Ji Heng’s cultivation was only at the Golden Core Stage, and it had most likely been forcibly raised with some Evil Technique, making it highly unstable. Shen Yuzhao could have easily defeated her without even using his Abnormal Fire.

Ji Heng was clearly very sensitive about her inferior cultivation. Lu Sangjiu’s words made her expression turn utterly grim.

"What’s so great about you? You just have slightly better talent and managed to get into a major Sect! If I were you, I could do a thousand, no, ten thousand times better!"

Lu Sangjiu went, "Oh. What a shame you’re not me."

Ji Heng: "..."

The light, dismissive remark sent Ji Heng into a seething rage.

"You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Too bad. Today, you’ll all die here and become nourishment for the purification of my Spirit Root!"

Ji Heng’s face was now a ferocious mask, her eyes alight with madness.

Her words made Shen Yuzhao’s expression change. He nervously tugged on Lu Sangjiu’s sleeve. "Little Junior Sister, I think she’s plotting something..."

Lu Sangjiu smiled. "Of course she is. Why else would a weakling like her suddenly find the courage for a showdown with us? She must think the time is right to wipe us all out in one go."

Shen Yuzhao’s eyes widened. "What? Then we’re..."

He was cut off by Ji Heng’s wild laughter. "HAHAHA! You’re a clever one, aren’t you? Too bad it’s too late!"

"Blood Tide Array, activate!"

The moment her voice fell, a bloody light shot into the sky from the guesthouse courtyard. Blood-red patterns materialized on the ground, and in an instant, Shen Yuzhao found himself completely paralyzed.

Just before shouting the command, however, Ji Heng had already retreated at high speed, avoiding being caught in the Array.

Gazing at the group of people trapped and immobilized inside, Ji Heng was immensely pleased with herself. "HAHAHA! One Nascent Soul and a group of top-tier Golden Cores... Today, my Blood Tide Array will surely help me purify my Spirit Root and grant me unparalleled talent!"

She had started with only Three Spirit Roots. With this opportunity, she could become a genius with a Single Spiritual Root! Then, she would no longer be held back by her deficient Spirit Root, unable to catch up to others no matter how hard she tried!

A glimmer of excitement shone in Ji Heng’s eyes. After a moment, however, she realized that while the Great Array had trapped them, it hadn’t actually harmed them at all.

The triumphant excitement in her eyes slowly gave way to confusion. "How can this be...?"

Lu Sangjiu gave a faint smile. "Didn’t you notice we’re missing someone?"

Ji Heng’s face fell. "...The Buddhist Practitioner!"

Xie Ningyuan’s voice rang out. "Right on time, wouldn’t you say?"

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice to see Xie Ningyuan standing on the rooftop, looking down at them.

The corners of Lu Sangjiu’s lips curled up. "Perfect timing."

The next moment, Xie Ningyuan struck down with his palm. The entire blood-red Great Array shattered to pieces, and everyone inside was freed.

Suffering from the backlash, Ji Heng violently spat out a mouthful of blood. But she paid no mind to her pain, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Impossible... How could you break the Blood Tide Array so easily?!"

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