Junior Sister, I have a plan" "Approved

Su Jiu didn’t hesitate and firmly refused.

"No!"

Her voice was crisp, carrying an air of finality.

Su Ji froze on the spot.

What was going on?

Weren’t her favorability points supposed to have increased?

After all that heart-demon ordeal and the mind-body unity.

The special plot had even progressed that far.

Why wasn’t she as accommodating as before?

Seeing Su Ji’s stunned expression, Su Jiu felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

The reason for her refusal was simple.

Su Ji had been pushing his luck too much lately.

If she didn’t put a stop to it now, who knew what even more outrageous demands he’d make in the future?

She had to make him understand—she had her limits too.

Noticing her resolute attitude, Su Ji didn’t panic. Instead, he shamelessly leaned in closer.

"Junior Sister, to be honest..."

Su Jiu cut him off without even sparing him a glance. "Then Senior Brother should keep it to himself for now."

Su Ji’s words caught in his throat, nearly choking him.

Deciding to ignore her dismissal, he pressed on.

"Just now, I caught another glimpse of the future."

This made Su Jiu pause mid-step.

She had already guessed as much.

For Su Ji’s expression to darken so abruptly while walking, he must have foreseen something perilous again.

But still...

Couldn’t this guy handle problems in a slightly more normal way?

No wonder it was said many sect leaders, when seeking counsel, preferred the middle strategy over the best one.

When Su Jiu remained silent, Su Ji continued, his voice unusually grave.

"I saw the Love-Longing Sect’s sect master personally waiting at the mountain gate, specifically to intercept us on our return."

His voice dropped even lower.

"She’ll kill me."

Su Jiu’s heart sank.

The Love-Longing Sect wouldn’t activate its protective formation without reason.

Something must have happened within the sect.

Slowly, Su Jiu turned around. The earlier trace of girlish irritation in her clear fox-like eyes faded, replaced by a chilling coldness.

"Why would she kill you?"

Su Ji shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. "I don’t know. She only said the sect is in troubled times and that a ‘little thief with something extra’ had snuck in—that I couldn’t be allowed to stay."

Su Jiu’s fingers unconsciously clenched.

You knew this.

The current cultivation limit in Great Xia was the Golden Core Great Perfection.

At this stage, there was no further progress to be made.

The remaining centuries of life had to be spent honing skills or delving into unorthodox methods.

If you didn’t?

Well, others would. And when two Golden Core Great Perfection cultivators clashed, the one with more tricks up their sleeve would prevail.

Did you want to end up as roadkill, kicked aside like a stray dog?

So you had no choice but to specialize.

And now, with the Love-Longing Sect’s master—a five-hundred-year-old Golden Core veteran—personally making a move...

Given Su Jiu’s newly attained Golden Core cultivation, she wasn’t entirely confident she could protect Su Ji.

Worse, if Su Ji’s spiritual root was exposed, deceiving the sect was a grave crime.

As his "accomplice," she wouldn’t escape punishment either.

Su Jiu analyzed calmly, "Returning now would be walking straight into a trap."

"Then why don’t we just find a place to rest for a few days?"

"Hide?" Su Ji laughed.

"Junior Sister, do you really think we can hide?"

He took two steps forward, his back to her, and spoke clearly.

"Guess why the sect master appeared at the mountain gate in the first place?"

"My theory? Your little stunt of climbing high to survey the area alerted her!"

"Think about it. With the protective formation active and the sect on high alert, suddenly a Golden Core cultivator appears watching from afar."

"If you were the sect master, what would you think?"

Su Jiu’s breath hitched.

She hadn’t considered that.

She’d only wanted to assess the sect’s situation but overlooked how such behavior would arouse suspicion.

Su Ji’s reasoning was sound.

Almost too convincing.

"So, not only can we not leave, we have to return openly."

Su Ji turned back, his face the picture of calm confidence.

"That way, we appear above suspicion."

"Junior Sister, don’t you have reasons to stay in the Love-Longing Sect?"

"If the sect master marks you as suspicious, then..."

He trailed off deliberately, leaving the rest to Su Jiu’s imagination.

Sure enough, her delicate brows furrowed.

"Senior Brother makes a fair point. Leaving now would seem like an admission of guilt."

Seizing the moment, Su Ji stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"Junior Sister, I have a plan."

"Listen carefully. Remember every word I’m about to say."

He pulled the hesitant Su Jiu into a dense thicket by the roadside and laid out his scheme in detail.

As she listened, Su Jiu’s clear fox eyes widened.

Her expression shifted from shock to disbelief, then finally settled into a deep blush that burned all the way to her ears.

"...Th-this is impossible!"

The moment he finished, her first reaction was outright refusal.

This was... utterly absurd!

Not quite as outrageous as their heart-demon act in the molten cave, but close.

"Why impossible?" Su Ji began his trademark persuasion.

"Think about it. Why does the sect master want me dead? Because I’m a ‘little thief with something extra,’ violating sect rules."

"But what if I’m not?"

"Then the threat disappears. What reason would she have to kill me?"

Su Jiu’s head spun from his twisted logic.

She opened her mouth to argue but found no holes in his reasoning.

On second thought... it almost made sense.

Except...

The method was just too...

Seeing her waver, Su Ji knew it was time for his trump card.

His face turned solemn.

"Junior Sister, if it’s too much, forget it."

"Here’s another plan."

His voice trembled as if weighed down by despair.

"You return to the sect alone."

"After all, the conflict stems from me."

"If we can’t solve the problem, we’ll eliminate the problem-maker."

"I’ll be fine as a rogue cultivator."

"The Love-Longing Sect isn’t the only path for me."

"Being at the Foundation Establishment stage isn’t bad."

"I won’t be bullied out here."

"So be it."

"The immortal road is long. Farewell."

These words struck Su Jiu’s heart like a hammer.

Her chest tightened painfully.

Staring at Su Ji’s face—so full of "sincerity" and "tragic resolve"—she couldn’t help but recall all the times he’d stood up for her.

In the Nascent Soul cave dwelling, he’d slain the remnant soul to save her from possession.

At the Dragon-Locking Abyss, he’d killed that Joyful Union Sect temptress without hesitation to clear her doubts.

And his bold declaration just now—"I am the strong one"...

His ability to glimpse the workings of fate had never once been wrong.

If he said the sect leader would kill him, then it would surely happen.

Should Su Ji be forced to become a rogue cultivator?

No.

Absolutely not.

All shame, all absurdity—in this moment, they were utterly crushed beneath the weight of a fear called loneliness.

She had carried so much on her shoulders, and only now had she found someone to confide in.

Mm...

She simply wanted a friend to share her burdens with.

Su Jiu bit her lower lip, hard enough to nearly draw blood.

It was as if she had steeled herself for an unbearably difficult decision.

Her lashes lowered, trembling faintly, until at last, she gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Fine."

Su Ji's face immediately lit up with a radiant smile, all traces of his earlier solemnity and sorrow vanishing in an instant.

"Then what are we waiting for?"