‘Expel that rebellious disciple from the sect?!’ Lin Jiu once again had the sudden urge to grab Wei Liang’s lapel and shake some sense into this handsome but clueless male lead. ‘Wake up, Male Lead! That ‘rebellious disciple’ is your female lead! Your, female, lead!!’
In the presence of Wei Liang’s meaningful smile, Lin Jiu conscientiously retracted her hands from the brink of disaster. “There’s no need,” she said firmly. “Xiong Yulian acted on her own; Liu Qingyin never gave her any orders. At most, you can blame her for failing to discipline her disciple properly. If you expel her from the sect over this, people will just start cursing me instead.”
Wei Liang’s lips curved slightly as he looked at her. “Curse you for what?”
“Don’t you know? They’ll definitely start calling me a temptress who seduced the Sword Monarch and drove a wedge between you and your disciple,” Lin Jiu shrugged. Her survival instincts were strong. A seasoned reader like her knew very well that any suffering inflicted on the female lead would eventually come back a thousandfold. It’s best to leave the task of breaking the female lead’s heart to the male lead—outsiders, especially a side character like her, should never get involved!
Besides, it was true that Liu Qingyin hadn’t been involved in this incident from beginning to end. At most, she had simply turned a blind eye to Xiong Yulian’s actions, which could easily be dismissed as mere ‘oversight.’ If the female lead were truly expelled, a flood of people would be pleading for her within a day. That would put Wei Liang in a difficult position, and she, much like the villainous side character Lin Qiu in the original novel, would end up as the public enemy.
If things turned out that way, public opinion would only rally around Liu Qingyin, making it even less likely for anyone to scrutinize her actual role in the matter. Instead of obtaining justice, the female lead would be handed an easy way out.
To hit the snake, you must strike at its vital spot—do not act rashly unless you can kill it in one blow. Being in the weaker position, the worst mistake one could possibly make was to raise the enemy’s vigilance.
With this in mind, Lin Jiu smiled gently at Wei Liang, like a holy mother. “This has nothing to do with Liu Qingyin; you mustn’t blame her.”
Wei Liang’s lips twitched slightly, letting out a single chuckle. “You’re so naïve. If not for my protection, you wouldn’t survive long.”
Lin Jiu nearly burst into frustrated laughter—‘Male lead! You’ve got your lines all mixed up! Aren’t you supposed to say, ‘You’re so wicked; even if you succeed for now, karma will catch up with you eventually!’ when addressing a villainous side character?’
“If you say so,” Lin Jiu responded, deliberately giving him an aggrieved look. “Then you must protect me well.”
Wei Liang chuckled softly, wrapping his arm around her waist as they took off with his sword. He found his little wife becoming more and more amusing, especially when she was putting on an act.
“Eh?!” Lin Jiu yelped as the fierce wind knocked her backward. Without thinking, she tightly clung to Wei Liang’s robes.
As if responding, the man playfully pinched her slender waist and spoke in a soft, seductive tone, “Then let’s see how you, a temptress, manage to seduce this monarch.”
Lin Jiu: “…”
‘Is the purpose of the male lead to entice her into committing the forbidden sin?’
‘I’m just an ordinary side character, a side character!! All I want is to turn over a new leaf and walk on the right path!’
‘I absolutely had no desire to steal the male lead from the female lead, okay?’
If the man beside her was some grand villain or the devoted secondary man instead of the male lead, she might have gladly considered exploring a relationship with him. But this was the male lead, and no matter how far he strayed at first, he would inevitably return to the female lead’s arms. Any side character foolish enough to get close to him during that time was ultimately destined to be torn apart to satisfy the plot!!!
A series of helpless roars echoed in Lin Jiu’s mind. With a look of utter despair, she pried Wei Liang’s misbehaving hand off her waist.
By now, the sword had already swept above the clouds. Wei Liang deliberately loosened his grip, nearly sending Lin Jiu flying off like a kite. Her strong survival instincts kicked in, and she hurriedly latched onto his hair.
Wei Liang burst into laughter, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back into his embrace. Lin Jiu clung to him like an octopus, her slender arms wrapping tightly around his waist. Finally content, Wei Liang leaned slightly to shield her better and spoke in a calm tone, “The Aura Conduit Stalk that the Wang family has carefully guarded for years is actually an exceptionally rare yin plant.1 If consumed, it can enhance your cultivation by four hundred years.”
Here he paused, then continued shortly after, “But giving it directly to you would be a bit of a waste.”
Annoyed, Lin Jiu muttered, “…I know my aptitude is poor; you don’t need to keep reminding me.”
“That’s not the issue. Since we have a yin plant, we must also find a matching yang plant. Consuming both together will enhance your cultivation by a thousand years, and you won’t have to endure the bitter cold that comes with consuming only the yin plant.”
He asked, “Do you know what a thousand years of cultivation means?”
Lin Jiu shook her head honestly.
“It’s enough for someone of average aptitude to ascend from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Nascent Soul stage,” Wei Liang explained with a light chuckle. “As for you, it might just be enough to successfully form a Golden Core.”
“Since your aptitude is so poor that even the Stalactite Spiritual Essence couldn’t improve it,” he casually added.
“…” Lin Jiu exercised her right to remain silent. She knew he was doing this on purpose. Yesterday, he said a normal Aura Conduit Stalk, which could increase one’s cultivation by two hundred years, was enough for her to form a Golden Core. And now it suddenly turned into a thousand years? Even real estate prices don’t inflate this fast!
‘Hmph! Men, they are all liars!’
“Where are we going?” She decisively changed the topic.
“Qianqi Pass,” the guy replied.
Lin Jiu froze. When she read the novel, she could never remember the complex place names, but she did have some impression of the Qianqi Pass because Wei Liang had just mentioned it yesterday.
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