The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: We Are Even

Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but touch her face. "I know I’m pretty, but for a Buddhist Practitioner to fall for me in just a few hours... is that even possible?"

Lu Sangjiu decided it was impossible. ’Xie Ningyuan must have some other motive.’

At this thought, her initial joyful surprise faded. She stared at the Ten Thousand Yang Pill with a grave expression.

’He didn’t poison it, did he?’

Lu Sangjiu inspected the Elixir Pill with great care but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Her Divine Sense was on par with the Divinity Transformation realm. Unless Xie Ningyuan’s cultivation was higher than that, if she couldn’t find a problem, then there likely wasn’t one.

Still, after some thought, she felt there were too many strange things about Xie Ningyuan. It was better to be cautious.

So, she didn’t take the Ten Thousand Yang Pill. Instead, she placed it back in its porcelain vial and stored it away.

In any case, the fact that the Ten Thousand Yang Pill hadn’t ended up in Ye Zhiyao’s hands was already her biggest victory.

As for herself, it didn’t really matter whether she used Elixir Pills to advance her cultivation.

After all, she had once been a Transcendance Tribulation Stage Cultivator. Even if Cultivating Demon and Cultivating Immortality were different, all paths ultimately led to the same destination.

Now that she had switched to Cultivating Immortality, it had taken her a year to reach Foundation Establishment only because she wasn’t used to it at first.

But she had adapted now, and her cultivation speed would be anything but slow from here on out.

’Luoya Mountain is dealt with. Let’s see... Ye Zhiyao’s next opportunity is...’

Lu Sangjiu looked at the notes she had compiled, her finger landing on one entry. ’...The Qingyu Secret Realm.’

Lu Sangjiu and her team had completed the Luoya Mountain mission well, and the Sect Leader was very pleased.

Moreover, they had discovered the cave abode of a Demon Cultivator Great Power. For the Cultivation Sects, where the mere mention of demons now struck fear, this was a major event. freeweɓnovel.cøm

So, even though they had been told the mission was to atone for past mistakes, the Sect Leader still sent a reward for each of them: one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Lu Sangjiu accepted it without the slightest hesitation. After all, the Sect Leader had already personally led a team to Luoya Mountain to deal with the aftermath.

The cave was full of traps, and the components used to build them were valuable in their own right—like the Devouring Spirit Sand and Spirit-killing Water she had obtained.

The sect’s gains from this venture would surely be immense. Compared to that, the few hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones they had given out were nothing. It was pure profit.

What surprised Lu Sangjiu, however, was that the Sect Leader had also taken Duan Xingyun along.

She heard the news from Li Qiancheng when she went to visit him.

Lu Sangjiu stopped mid-crunch on her Spirit Fruit, looking at Li Qiancheng with a peculiar expression. "The Sect Leader took Master with him... Are you sure that’s a good idea?"

Li Qiancheng hadn’t given it much thought, but now that Lu Sangjiu mentioned it, he wasn’t so sure either. "It should... be fine, right?"

Then, they both fell silent.

The reason for their concern wasn’t that they doubted their master’s abilities.

It was because... Duan Xingyun had amnesia.

How bad was it?

Let’s just say that after Duan Xingyun first took Lu Sangjiu as his disciple, there was a time he completely forgot he even had a new disciple.

When he finally did remember her, he would repeatedly forget her name.

But you couldn’t really blame Duan Xingyun for being this way.

It was a lingering side effect from a mishap during his cultivation.

He had seen a Medical Cultivator about it, but was told a cure would require an Eighth Rank Life Crossing Pill.

Never mind that an Eighth Rank Elixir Pill was incredibly difficult to refine; the required ingredients alone were exceedingly rare and exotic herbs.

Duan Xingyun had decided at the time that it was just forgetfulness and not a major issue.

’With that many Spirit Stones, wouldn’t it be better to buy an Elixir Pill to boost my cultivation and break through to the Body Integration Realm?’

And so, decades passed, and Duan Xingyun’s condition was never treated.

Because of this affliction, Duan Xingyun rarely left the sect unless it was absolutely necessary.

Even when he did go out, he would almost always take a disciple with him to help remind him of things.

But this time, Lu Sangjiu’s second senior sister and third senior brother weren’t in the sect, and both she and Li Qiancheng were injured. There was truly no one available to go with him.

The two of them exchanged a glance, each seeing the worry in the other’s eyes.

"Forget it. Master’s already gone, so there’s no use in us worrying. Besides, the Sect Leader is with him. Nothing should go wrong."

After offering a few words of comfort to Li Qiancheng, Lu Sangjiu prepared to leave.

But before she could stand, a familiar voice called from outside.

"Li Qiancheng, open up."

Lu Sangjiu glanced at Li Qiancheng. "Uh... sounds like Qin Yu."

Li Qiancheng frowned. "What’s he doing here?"

’My injuries haven’t fully healed yet,’ he thought. ’If we were to fight now, I might not be a match for Qin Yu.’

But the man was already at his door. Not opening it would make it seem like he was afraid of him.

So, reluctantly, Li Qiancheng undid the ward and allowed Qin Yu to enter.

Qin Yu froze for a second when he entered and saw Lu Sangjiu, instinctively asking, "What are you doing here?"

Lu Sangjiu ignored him, turning instead to Li Qiancheng with a woeful expression. "Eldest Senior Brother, am I bothering you? Senior Brother Qin doesn’t seem very happy to see me. Maybe I should just leave?"

Li Qiancheng was instantly displeased. "He’s the one who’s not welcome here. Why should you be the one to leave?"

He then glared at Qin Yu and snapped, "You come to my place and give my Little Junior Sister a hard time? Are you asking for a beating? Spit it out and get lost. Don’t be an eyesore!"

Qin Yu was speechless.

’All I did was ask Lu Sangjiu what she was doing here—and just out of surprise! How did that make Li Qiancheng go off on me like that???’

He stared at Li Qiancheng in disbelief. "Can’t you see she’s trying to provoke you? I never told her to leave, so why are you giving me attitude?"

Li Qiancheng retorted, "Who are you calling a provocateur? My Little Junior Sister is pure and simple-minded, and you people are always bullying her. Now you’re going to slander her right in front of me?"

"So what if I’m giving you attitude? If I weren’t injured right now, I’d get up and thrash you!"

Qin Yu was speechless.

He glanced at Lu Sangjiu, who sat off to the side looking innocent, though her eyes couldn’t hide her gloating. He was so angry he could feel his insides twist. ’Pure and simple-minded my ass!’

’Is Li Qiancheng blind?’

Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu decided not to argue with the blind idiot.

With a cold expression, he tossed a vial of Elixir Pills to Li Qiancheng.

"I don’t like being indebted to people. Our master already sent a gift, but I felt I should come in person."

"It’s true you saved my junior sister and me, but don’t expect any gratitude... especially from me to Lu Sangjiu. I know the only reason you cared whether we lived or died was because you were afraid of being implicated if we didn’t make it."

"So take these gifts from my master and me as repayment for that debt. From now on, we’re even. The next time we have to fight, I won’t hold back. Understand?"