Speedrun Auction

Su Luo hadn't walked far before she could feel Li Siyi chasing after her.

Of course, it might have been her imagination. Perhaps Li Siyi was just heading home and not looking for her.

But whatever the case, avoiding her outside of the plot was the right move.

However, Li Siyi didn’t give Su Luo a chance to escape.

“Why do I feel like you’re avoiding me?”

“No, of course not. I’d love to see you more often.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Siyi, why do I feel like you’ve been so nice to me lately? It’s making me a little uncomfortable.”

“You’re imagining things. I just happened to be heading home and saw you all alone, so I thought I’d walk with you.”

“I’m so touched I could cry.”

“Stop it, you’re being so fake.”

Su Luo knew she was being fake, but Li Siyi seemed even faker. Shouldn’t she be leaving now?

In the original plot, Li Siyi was supposed to be fawning over Lin Xuan like a lovesick fool.

After a few casual exchanges, Li Siyi suddenly said, “Let me ask you a serious question. Are you happy today?”

Of course, she was happy. Every time she completed a plot point, she was one step closer to returning to reality.

But she couldn’t say that.

“I’m so furious! That jerk Lin Xuan stole all the spotlight. It’s driving me crazy...”

“Really? That makes me feel better.”

Although Su Luo sounded genuinely angry, Li Siyi knew from the diary that Su Luo didn’t actually care about such things.

The more Su Luo acted angry, the more likely it was that a little part of her was celebrating inside.

“Feel better?”

“Yes, you’re still the Su Luo I know.”

“Of course, I’ll always be the Su Luo you know, and you’ll always be the Siyi I know.”

“Naturally.”

After they parted ways, both Su Luo and Li Siyi thought to themselves: We’re both liars. You’re not the person I know at all.

......

When Su Luo returned home, she planned to rest properly. She had no other interests—she just wanted to lie down.

Since she didn’t need to cultivate, she had plenty of time with nothing to do.

Suddenly, a little girl passed by.

She looked unfamiliar, probably new to the area.

Su Luo didn’t pay much attention and continued heading to her room.

But then, her sleeve was tugged.

“What’s up? Do you need something?”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“Saving you? When?”

“In the forest.”

Su Luo took a closer look. The girl had fair skin, bright eyes, and a youthful face.

She looked completely different from the near-death state she was in back in the forest, so it was no wonder Su Luo didn’t recognize her.

“Oh, it’s you. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you.”

“Thank you,” the little girl said sincerely once more.

“It’s nothing big. Now that you’re healed, you should head back before someone accuses me of kidnapping you.”

“Okay.”

But in truth, Little Yu was an orphan, and there was no one waiting for her to return.

Still, she didn’t want to trouble Su Luo too much, so she didn’t say anything. The only reason she stayed was to thank Su Luo in person.

After all, she had nothing of value to give—only her gratitude.

Su Luo couldn’t handle such sincere thanks. It made her feel awkward because, as a villain, she wasn’t used to this kind of treatment.

“Wait.” Su Luo went back to her room and fetched a book.

“Here, take this. It’s for cultivation. Try it out so you don’t end up dying somewhere again.”

Little Yu quickly refused, “No, it’s too valuable.”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a basic cultivation manual. It’s nothing special.”

That was true. Su Luo wouldn’t casually give away her family’s techniques or any advanced cultivation methods. But since she had already saved Little Yu, giving her a basic cultivation book didn’t seem like a big deal.

Little Yu held the book as if it were a treasure. “Thank you, thank you...”

She had nothing else to offer but her endless gratitude.

“Alright, don’t make your family worry. Go home.”

“Okay.”

Little Yu took one last good look at Su Luo, etching her face into her memory.

Only then did she leave.

Su Luo didn’t think much of it. She had just saved her on a whim.

Though the girl was quite pretty, she’d probably grow up to be a beauty.

But Su Luo wasn’t interested in that. She had seen it all before.

Besides, the girl was much younger, probably only twelve or thirteen.

Su Luo didn’t want to invite trouble. Those who understood, understood.

......

The next day, Su Luo woke up early and started writing in her diary.

【Another good day. The plot has been a little off recently, but not by much. This is exactly what I wanted to see.】

【The trial is over. The next big event is the entrance exam for the Seven Stars Sword Sect.】

【But there’s still some time before that. There will be a couple of slice-of-life scenes in between.】

【Lin Xuan is consolidating his foundation at the late Qi Refining stage, steadily improving step by step.】

【In a couple of days, there’s an auction scene. I don’t have a role in it—Wang Mo will play the villain.】

【Wang Mo’s previous scheme against the Li Family was exposed. Although everyone is still smiling on the surface, they’re secretly at each other’s throats.】

【This auction will be the stage for the Li Family’s counterattack. Of course, the Li Family won’t show their hand directly, so Lin Xuan will act as their representative.】

【During the auction, whatever Wang Mo bids on, Lin Xuan will follow. Once the price reaches a certain point, Lin Xuan will drop out, leaving Wang Mo to waste a fortune.】

【When Lin Xuan bids on something, Wang Mo will do the same. But Lin Xuan doesn’t actually want the item, so once the price gets too high, he’ll back out.】

【Wang Mo is played like a fool. Normally quite clever, he becomes utterly clueless when facing the protagonist.】

【But that’s not the main point. Auctions are where protagonists find hidden treasures. This time, Lin Xuan gets a rusty sword.】

【When Lin Xuan bids on the rusty sword, everyone mocks him. Though he’s a hero, he’s still young and lacks discernment.】

【But when Lin Xuan wins the bid, he can’t stop grinning.】

【Elder Yan tells him it’s a rare ancient immortal sword. Once he gathers the right materials to remove the rust, it will reveal its true power.】

【So no matter how much others laugh, Lin Xuan remains unfazed. In fact, he even chuckles to himself.】

【Others laugh at my madness, but I laugh at their blindness.】

When there’s no plot to follow, Su Luo is as idle as a salted fish.

After collecting her diary rewards, there’s nothing else to do.

But she still keeps an eye on the news.

Two days later, her subordinate reports back about the auction.

Lin Xuan bought a rusty sword.

Su Luo nods. That’s how it should be. The plot is on track. Good.

With her mind at ease, she goes back to lying down, making it her mission to stay indoors.

Meanwhile, in Li Siyi’s room, she swings a rusty sword around.

That’s right—she intercepted the ancient immortal sword.

The moment she read the diary, Li Siyi rushed to the auction and bought the sword herself.

As the young lady of the Li Family, she only had to pay a small price to acquire what seemed like a worthless rusty sword.

Then, to keep Su Luo’s plot intact, Li Siyi made some arrangements.

She found another rusty sword to put up for auction.

Of course, Lin Xuan wouldn’t be interested in a rusty sword.

But Li Siyi sent one of her subordinates to bid on it, pretending to represent Lin Xuan.

So the news Su Luo received was still that Lin Xuan had bought a rusty sword.

The plot was proceeding smoothly.