Chapter 479: Here Come the Teammates?

Pleading expressions filled their faces, making them look utterly pitiful.

But Lu Sangjiu refused decisively, "Sorry, it’s not convenient."

Regardless of whether they were good people, one thing was certain: they were both very weak.

Teaming up with people like that would only drag her down, and Lu Sangjiu was in no position to be playing charity right now.

Besides, you can never know what’s in a person’s heart. Who knew if they were just putting on an act to lower her guard and then plot against her?

She didn’t have the luxury of casually trusting others at the moment. So, whether for her own survival or for Xie Ningyuan’s sake, she had to maintain a certain level of detachment.

As soon as she refused, the man and woman’s expressions soured. But they only exchanged a look and, in the end, didn’t plead any further.

"We were too forward... We apologize for the disturbance. We’ll be on our way."

With that, the two supported each other as they turned and disappeared into the forest’s darkness.

If they had relentlessly kept begging her, Lu Sangjiu might have been more resolute in her decision to avoid trouble.

But the fact that they left so readily made her start to waver.

’Maybe... they really aren’t bad people with ulterior motives?’

For them to take the risk of asking her for help, they must have been severely injured.

As she was pondering this, Lu Sangjiu suddenly heard the faint sounds of a fight coming from the direction the pair had gone.

Now she really couldn’t sit still.

’Forget it... I’ll just go take a look. If I can help, I’ll lend a hand and consider it a good deed.’

’If I can’t help, I’ll just take a peek and leave. Anyway, with Thousand Faces of Life, my presence will be completely concealed.’

With that thought, she felt unburdened and stealthily made her way over.

As she got closer, she saw that it was indeed the two Cultivators from just before, and they were in a fight.

However, their opponents weren’t demon beasts, but two other male cultivators.

Lu Sangjiu took a closer look and realized one of them was an acquaintance... Good grief, wasn’t that Lie Rufeng???

They had fought together before, and between Lie Rufeng’s appearance and his attack style, there was absolutely no doubt it was him.

The other male cultivator seemed quite familiar with Lie Rufeng, and the few Basic Magic Spells he used were similar to Lie Rufeng’s, indicating they were clearly from the same sect.

At this moment, the two were showing no mercy to the male and female Cultivators, each of their moves aimed to kill.

If she hadn’t known Lie Rufeng, Lu Sangjiu might have been a bit worried for the male and female Cultivators and considered whether to step in and help.

But... based on Lu Sangjiu’s understanding of Lie Rufeng, he wasn’t the type to attack others without reason.

In other words, there was probably something wrong with that pair.

For a moment, Lu Sangjiu felt a wave of complicated emotions.

It turned out that sending them away had been the right choice. But to discover they were indeed trouble *after* she had followed them... it just felt... weirdly awkward.

’So, as I thought, I can’t afford any unnecessary kindness!’

’Whether other people live or die is their own responsibility. Why am I getting involved?’

’I must have spent too much time with Xie Ningyuan. His useless kindness must be contagious!’

Although she felt a little betrayed by her own soft-heartedness, coming here wasn’t a total loss.

She had just been worrying about not having a trustworthy teammate, and hadn’t Lie Rufeng just delivered himself to her doorstep?

So, Lu Sangjiu immediately pretended she had just arrived and called out, "Killing for treasure might be common in a Secret Realm, but attacking two Cultivators who are already so heavily injured is a bit dishonorable, isn’t it?"

As she spoke, Lu Sangjiu made a grand entrance in her guise as Lin Qiu.

Say what you will, but even though that guy was a real piece of work, his look—the flowing white robes and benevolent expression—was quite intimidating at a time like this.

The four people in the middle of the fight, unsure of the situation, instinctively broke apart and looked over at Lu Sangjiu warily.

After getting a clear look at her, surprise was evident on the faces of the man and woman. "It’s you?"

After a moment’s pause, realization dawned, and they were overjoyed. "Fellow cultivator, I knew you were a good person!"

"These two have malicious hearts and have been chasing us this whole time! Please, fellow cultivator, lend us your aid! We will be eternally grateful!"

Lu Sangjiu stated calmly, "After I refused to let you stay, I felt a little uneasy. When I heard a commotion over here, I couldn’t help but follow to see what was happening. I didn’t expect to find these two attacking you so viciously."

Lu Sangjiu said this deliberately, laying out the sequence of events for Lie Rufeng and his companion so they wouldn’t mistake her for being in league with the pair. If they did, she’d be in real trouble.

Sure enough, the two who had been looking at her with wariness and hostility relaxed a bit after hearing her explanation.

Lie Rufeng’s companion spoke up. "Fellow cultivator, have you been deceived by them?"

"These two are the real killers who steal treasure. They’ve committed every evil imaginable."

"They killed one of our fellow disciples earlier, and we’ve been hunting them down for revenge ever since."

As he spoke, he took out a token and said, "If you don’t believe me, you can look at this. We are from the Qiyue Sect. We would never do something as despicable as killing for treasure!"

Lu Sangjiu feigned a look of surprise. "Is that so?"

She looked at the pair. "They looked so kind and were so heavily injured, I thought they were good people... I was almost fooled!"

Lu Sangjiu thought that would be the end of it, but unexpectedly, the man and woman were unwilling to let the hope that had just been ignited be extinguished so easily.

So, the Female Cultivator spoke, her face a mask of grief and indignation. "Fellow cultivator, don’t be fooled by them!"

"It’s true they’re from the Qiyue Sect, but they are the scum of their sect! They saw us pick two stalks of high-quality Brahma Sound Grass, which is why they developed malicious intentions and have been hunting us!"

"Look, if you don’t believe me!"

As she spoke, the Female Cultivator actually took out two stalks of Brahma Sound Grass, perfectly preserved in a Jade Box, from her storage ring. She declared, "Fellow cultivator, we’ve been forced into a dead end. As long as you can save us, we will give you these two stalks of Brahma Sound Grass as a thank-you gift!"

Lu Sangjiu: ’!!! There’s a deal this good?’

She wasn’t exactly sure what Brahma Sound Grass was, but from the faint aura it exuded, she knew it had to be something extraordinary!

’If I could get my hands on that, it would sell for a lot of money, right?’

Her gaze shamelessly fixated on them, her eyes practically screaming two words: "I want!"

Seeing this, the Female Cultivator’s lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile. She then quickly put the Brahma Sound Grass away and said urgently, "Help us, fellow cultivator!"

When Lie Rufeng and his companion saw this, they both frowned. They figured that since Lu Sangjiu was already captivated by the Brahma Sound Grass, anything more they said—regardless of the truth—probably wouldn’t matter anymore.

So, they stopped trying to explain and, anxious to finish the pair off before Lu Sangjiu could intervene, attacked them directly!