The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Lu Sangjiu had also swiped the checkpoint layout map of Yuelin City from the City Lord’s secret room earlier. Now, she spread it flat on the table.

"Alright, everyone pick a spot you like."

Luo Linlang was the first to choose. Since it was all a matter of luck anyway, there was nothing to agonize over.

Li Qiancheng went next. The others were a bit more hesitant, afraid of making the wrong choice. They mulled it over for a long time before carefully making their selections.

When it was Ah Ming’s turn, Lu Sangjiu expressed some very feigned concern. "Ah Ming, will it be too dangerous for you to go alone? Why don’t you stick with me instead?"

Ah Ming was dead set on exposing the mastermind, so he immediately shook his head. "But then there’d be one more checkpoint left unguarded."

"Don’t worry, Ms. Ajiu. I’ll be careful and can protect myself! The more people we have, the more hope there is."

Lu Sangjiu went along with it and nodded. "Alright then. You have to be extremely careful."

"I will!"

Ah Ming had no idea that Lu Sangjiu had already seen through his secret, thinking he had successfully concealed it once again.

Only after everyone else had chosen did Lu Sangjiu pick one of the remaining spots at random.

Seeing this, Feng Lin asked with some confusion, "Mr. Lu, isn’t your choice a bit unlikely?"

She pointed to the checkpoint’s location on the map and reminded her, "This is the West City Gate of Yuelin City. No matter how arrogant they are, they wouldn’t just waltz into the city like this, would they?"

Even if they had an arrangement with the City Lord and he told his subordinates to turn a blind eye, they would surely do it somewhere with fewer people.

There are too many prying eyes in the city. Doing something like this is far too conspicuous and dangerous.

But Lu Sangjiu said, "The most dangerous place is the safest place, right? What if they decide to take the road less traveled?"

She pointed to the other checkpoints on the map. "The rest are all in remote areas and require passing through forests occupied by demon beasts. With only two Golden Core Stage cultivators as escorts, it’s highly unlikely they’d choose those routes. It’s better to gamble on the city."

Seeing that Lu Sangjiu’s reasoning was sound, Feng Lin could only nod. "...Alright then. If you think it’s possible, give it a try."

The subtext was that she still wasn’t optimistic but didn’t want to be bossy and force the issue, so she chose to compromise.

It was ultimately a matter of luck, and Lu Sangjiu herself couldn’t offer a more convincing argument.

So she just changed the subject. "Ah Ming, take out your Demon-Attracting Incense and give some to everyone. If we can’t confirm whether they’re Demon Cultivators, we can use it to test them."

Ah Ming obediently did as he was told.

Lu Sangjiu added a final warning, "Although they only had two Golden Core Stage cultivators with them when Ah Ming encountered them, things might be different now that he has escaped."

"So, everyone be careful. If you encounter them, do not, under any circumstances, alert the enemy. Use a Communication Talisman to notify everyone else immediately. Don’t make any rash moves before the others arrive. Just make sure you don’t lose them."

Although everyone’s cultivation, aside from Li Qiancheng’s, was only at the Golden Core Stage, they were all capable in their own right, so Lu Sangjiu was relatively at ease. After a few more words of caution, the group split up.

Before heading out, Lu Sangjiu deliberately used Thousand Faces of Life to disguise herself. After all, she had spent a few days at the Joyful Union Sect, and it would be bad if someone recognized her.

If they were a step too late and the New City Lord was already in cahoots with those people, her being discovered guarding the city gate might alert them.

The checkpoints the others went to were all in the wilderness, surrounded by dense forests, making it easier to hide. There was no need to worry about them.

She transformed into the refined-looking young man she had impersonated before and booked a private room on the second floor of the tavern closest to the West City Gate.

Although she couldn’t keep a constant eye on the movements outside from inside the tavern, her Divine Sense was powerful enough.

She sat in the tavern, but her Divine Sense remained extended, monitoring the activity at the city gate.

Unfortunately, she sat in the tavern until nightfall without spotting anyone suspicious. She contacted the others via Communication Talisman, but they had no luck either.

The others were out in the wild. Even at night, there were still passersby, so they couldn’t rest.

Lu Sangjiu figured... ’As the one who initiated this, I should share in their hardship.’

So, even though the city gate was closed for the night, she didn’t leave. Instead, she sat on the tavern roof all night long.

For a Cultivator, going a few days without sleep was nothing, so everyone kept watch around the clock without rest.

By the third day, everyone still had nothing to show for their efforts.

Lu Sangjiu was about to declare the operation a total failure and was starting to think about how to pry open the City Lord’s mouth when a breakthrough came that night.

Seeing the already closed city gate suddenly swing open, Lu Sangjiu was instantly on high alert.

It was late at night, and the streets were mostly deserted and eerily quiet.

But the tightly shut city gate opened without warning, and two large carriages slowly rolled into the city.

As they entered, the city guards made no move to inspect them. Instead, they respectfully stepped aside and let the carriages pass.

Lu Sangjiu extended her Divine Sense and discovered that the two drivers were ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivators.

Both carriages were protected by wards that blocked Divine Sense, but they were no match for Lu Sangjiu’s Divinity Transformation Stage Divine Sense.

She easily probed inside and found sixteen people crammed into the first carriage. She couldn’t feel any fluctuations of Spiritual Energy or Demonic Qi from them; they were either ordinary mortals or had their meridians sealed.

The second carriage, however, held only one person, and their cultivation was at the Late-stage Nascent Soul!

’This is a Cultivator even more powerful than the former City Lord. If these are the people trafficking Demon Cultivators, then judging by the scale of this operation, their background must be significant.’

’After all, for a small sect, a Late-stage Nascent Soul expert is basically at the Sect Leader Level. Why would someone like that be doing escort duty?’

After a moment’s thought, Lu Sangjiu took out the Demon-Attracting Incense and lit it, keeping her Divine Sense focused on the movements inside the carriages.

Soon, she saw the previously listless people grow agitated. They all looked around, shocked and uncertain, as if searching for something.

Someone couldn’t help but whisper to the person next to them, "Do you smell that...?"

They trailed off, as if wary of something.

But the others clearly understood what they meant and nodded excitedly.

Though they didn’t dare say more, it was clear they thought someone might have come to rescue them.

At this point, Lu Sangjiu had completely confirmed their identities.

She immediately sent a Communication Talisman to everyone else, telling them to go directly to the East City Gate and wait for her to rendezvous with them.

Meanwhile, she herself would follow them stealthily, preparing to slip out of the city with them when they left.

’Anyway, with Thousand Faces of Life, as long as I’m careful, they shouldn’t be able to discover me.’

As for Xie Ningyuan, Lu Sangjiu had entrusted him with another important task.

"You must find a way to pry open the City Lord’s mouth, but don’t kill him. When you’re done, erase this memory to avoid alerting the enemy."

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