The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Dropping a Rock on One’s Own Foot

Lu Sangjiu’s words somehow struck a chord with the cold-faced male cultivator. He finally turned his head and gave her a serious look.

She couldn’t help but feel a flicker of joy. ’Finally, a reaction!’ she thought. ’My efforts weren’t for nothing after all!’

Then, under Lu Sangjiu’s expectant gaze, he spoke his first words to her: "The Lingjian Sect knows right from wrong."

Lu Sangjiu: "...?"

Her smile froze. ’What? He wasn’t moved by my righteousness, but was defending the Lingjian Sect’s name?’

’Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. You really live up to your title as the top prodigy of the Lingjian Sect, defending your sect even at a time like this!’

Hmm... that’s right. Lu Sangjiu already knew who this person was.

Just a moment ago, she had recognized the sword in his hand.

"Where gods and ghosts retreat, a phoenix cries long..." One of the four great Immortal Artifacts, the Phoenix Cry Sword.

Lu Sangjiu had once been fortunate enough to see the Phoenix Cry Sword, so she recognized it even though most of its power was now sealed and it remained in its sheath.

A hundred years ago, Lu Sangjiu had personally watched it fall into the hands of the Lingjian Sect disciple, Sword Bu Gui.

Now... knowing the plot as she did, she was well aware that Sword Bu Gui had already gifted this sword to his prized disciple.

In other words, the current top prodigy of the Lingjian Sect, Gu Jue, who was born with a sword heart.

Beyond that, Gu Jue had another identity. Hmm... he was the male lead in Ye Zhiyao’s novel.

He and Ye Zhiyao first met in the Qingyu Secret Realm, went through all sorts of romantic entanglements, and finally ascended to the Immortal World together.

Other than Ye Zhiyao, he was the only person in this world with the fortune to achieve Ascension.

But compared to Ye Zhiyao, the true Child of Fortune, Gu Jue’s strong fortune seemed to be a result of her choosing him.

If Ye Zhiyao was the Heavenly Dao’s favorite daughter, then Gu Jue was merely the son-in-law—an outsider, in the end.

When Ye Zhiyao liked him, everything went smoothly for him.

When she didn’t, he was no different from any other mortal.

Such was the tragedy of a life manipulated by the Heavenly Dao... as if they weren’t living, breathing people, but existed solely to serve Ye Zhiyao.

For this reason, Lu Sangjiu had always seen only Ye Zhiyao as her enemy.

She bore no ill will toward Gu Jue, but she didn’t have the time or inclination to try and change his fate.

After all, she could barely handle the sect full of villains and cannon fodder that was her own, so how could she have the spare energy to worry about anyone else’s life or death?

But since they had happened to cross paths and a perfect opportunity had presented itself, Lu Sangjiu felt she could make a good impression on Gu Jue ahead of time.

Gu Jue had been arrested simply because he wasn’t wearing his Lingjian Sect uniform, and the members of the Law Enforcement Team were too low-ranking to recognize him.

Once his identity was revealed, he would naturally be fine, and he certainly wouldn’t let anything happen to Lu Sangjiu, who had helped him.

Therefore, Lu Sangjiu’s move was a classic case of "catching a wolf with bare hands"—she had nothing to lose and could even make him owe her a favor.

In the future struggles against Ye Zhiyao, there was no telling when Gu Jue might come in handy.

Given his personality, as long as her request wasn’t too outrageous, he would definitely be willing to repay this favor to Lu Sangjiu.

Lu Sangjiu’s little scheme was clicking along perfectly in her head, but she never, ever expected... that Gu Jue would be so difficult to get along with.

At that moment, Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but question Ye Zhiyao’s taste in men.

She didn’t like her master, who was devoted to her to the core, nor did she like her gentle senior brother, who quietly protected her. Why did she have to fall for this taciturn, straight-as-an-arrow guy?

’Is it because he looks cool when he’s not talking?’

Lu Sangjiu mulled over this question all the way until they were locked up in the Sky Curtain City dungeon.

Seeing that the Law Enforcement Team members who had escorted them were gone, Lu Sangjiu finally couldn’t resist looking at Gu Jue, who was locked in the same cell as her.

’There’s no one else here. Isn’t he going to reveal his identity and scare them to death?’

"Fellow Daoist..." Lu Sangjiu walked over to Gu Jue and reminded him tactfully in a low voice, "The Secret Realm is about to open. I’m afraid we’ll miss it if we waste time here."

"I can see you have an extraordinary air about you, and you weren’t the least bit afraid when facing the Law Enforcement Team. You must come from a major sect. So... why don’t you think of something?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Gu Jue frowned slightly and said to her with great seriousness, "One who does wrong should be punished. Trying to find a clever way out is not the behavior of a gentleman."

Lu Sangjiu: ???

She was instantly dumbfounded. ’What does he mean? Is he planning to just obediently accept his punishment here?’

’Even if it means missing the opening of the Qingyu Secret Realm? Is your brain filled with water???’

A series of question marks popped up in her head. Lu Sangjiu couldn’t comprehend Gu Jue’s thought process.

’So all that posturing before wasn’t because he was confident he had a way out, but because he was prepared to obediently serve his time in jail from the very beginning?’

Lu Sangjiu’s expression was indescribable. Looking at Gu Jue’s stern, earnest face, she almost couldn’t stop herself from walking up and giving him a good PUNCH PUNCH.

’If you were just going to sit in jail quietly, you should have said so earlier! I wouldn’t have bothered playing along with this charade!’

He might not care about missing the Secret Realm, but she did.

Otherwise, not only would Ye Zhiyao obtain the inheritance as planned, but Li Qiancheng would also likely die inside the Secret Realm.

At this thought, she could no longer remain calm. She directly took out a Communication Talisman, preparing to call the Sect Leader to come and bail them out.

This wasn’t a small matter, after all. Li Qiancheng and the others probably didn’t have enough clout, so she had to swallow her pride and ask the Sect Leader for help.

But to her utter surprise, just as she had steeled herself to lose face, the Communication Talisman didn’t even work!

Staring at the unresponsive Communication Talisman, Lu Sangjiu was completely baffled. Unwilling to give up, she tried again.

Gu Jue, who had been meditating to the side, opened his eyes at some point. "It’s useless. There’s an Array set up in the dungeon. All Communication Talismans are rendered ineffective."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

She asked in disbelief, "Why?"

Gu Jue: "The Lingjian Sect despises those who use back-door connections. But sometimes, when other sects come knocking, it’s difficult to enforce the law impartially due to social obligations."

"Therefore, they specifically set up an Array here. Regardless of one’s identity, once you’re in the dungeon, you lose any chance to send for help. Everyone is treated equally."

Lu Sangjiu: !!!

’Is this something a normal person would come up with? It’s completely insane!’

She was cursing up a storm in her head, but Lu Sangjiu still did her best to maintain her image in front of Gu Jue.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Then... how long do we have to stay here?"

Gu Jue: "I injured someone, so at least half a month. You obstructed law enforcement, which is an equivalent crime, so half a month for you as well."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

She was starting to lose it. Now she didn’t just want to curse someone out, she wanted to hit someone!

’He’s a perfectly fine person, so why is his brain so inflexible?’

She had also shot herself in the foot. But who would have thought that Gu Jue would be so overly righteous, so rigid at such a young age?

Lu Sangjiu’s heart sank. She then considered the possibility of breaking out of jail with her current cultivation, as well as the possibility of being released if she exposed Gu Jue’s identity now.

In the end... she felt that neither possibility was very likely.

Given Gu Jue’s personality, even if she revealed his identity and others wanted to let him go, he would "righteously" insist on serving his full sentence with her.

’Male leads... they really aren’t for everyone!’

That left only one final option. Lu Sangjiu’s gaze fell upon Gu Jue, a mysterious glint in her eyes...