Host, You're the Number One Wicked Supporting Female Character

In the alchemy room, Ping Qingyun was guiding Ling Xian through refining pills.

"Just my rotten luck," Su Ying muttered.

"Senior Sister, what are you saying?" Chu Yu had heard her clearly, and a sly glint flashed through his violet eyes.

Ping Qingyun and Ling Xian both looked their way.

"You're here to refine pills too?" Ping Qingyun asked.

As though she hadn't heard him, Su Ying walked up to an Alchemy Furnace and asked, "Junior Brother, do you think this Alchemy Furnace will do?"

"Yes, Senior Sister. What should I do?" Chu Yu nodded obediently, then asked.

Su Ying took some pill-refining ingredients out of her Spatial Ring.

Ping Qingyun snorted. "You're going to make our junior brother refine pills? Absurd! He hasn't learned alchemy yet. If you force him to refine pills, at best, he'll destroy the Pill Furnace; at worst, he'll suffer cultivation deviation! Su Ying, our junior brother has never wronged you. What are you plotting?"

Su Ying hadn't wanted to engage with him. That would also help reduce Chu Yu's contact with Ling Xian.

But she couldn't stand the provocation in Ping Qingyun's eyes.

[System, when does this eldest senior brother kick the bucket?] Su Ying couldn't help asking inwardly.

[Host, you haven't been reading the plot properly again.]

The system was speechless.

[Why would I bother remembering cannon fodder like him? Cut the crap. When exactly does he kick the bucket?] Right now, Su Ying just wanted Ping Qingyun to disappear from her sight as soon as possible.

He had truly elevated being a bootlicker into an art form.

[Host, he doesn't die, even by the end of the story...]

the system said.

[What the fuck? That's so unfair! Why does my character have to kick the bucket while cannon fodder like him gets off scot-free? If this world keeps going after the ending, wouldn't he live to a ripe old age-or even attain immortality if he gets lucky?] Su Ying felt cheated.

[Host, you're the number one wicked supporting female character, whereas he's unimportant Male Supporting Character number N. He doesn't go around sabotaging things, either.]

the system reminded her.

In a novel's plot, being wicked was a sin.

Wicked people all had to kick the bucket in the end-except, of course, Feng Moyuan, who turned over a new leaf.

Chu Yu's brows furrowed slightly as he pondered what the system meant by "[Mm]."

Ling Xian's gaze had remained on Chu Yu. When she saw him frown, she thought he was in a difficult position.

After all, Chu Yu hadn't learned alchemy yet, so it was only natural for him to feel worried and afraid. As she fed spiritual energy into the Pill Furnace to maintain its flames, she said, "Senior Sister, our junior brother hasn't learned alchemy yet. Don't make things difficult for him. What if he gets hurt?"

[You're the one who'll get hurt! Your whole family will get hurt!] Su Ying groused inwardly. If she'd known these two were here, she would never have come.

It wasn't as though she didn't have a Pill Furnace in her Spatial Ring.

Su Ying loved treasures, too. She had long since seized the opportunity to copy those elders' precious possessions.

Among them was the treasure the Fifth Elder held closest to his heart-the Pinduoduo-Brand Alchemy Furnace.

"With me watching over him, our junior brother won't be in any danger," Su Ying said evenly, not wanting to argue with them.

"Nonsense!" Ping Qingyun frowned and rebuked her. "If you insist on being this willful, I'll tell Master."

"..." Su Ying was thoroughly fed up. She looked at Chu Yu. "Junior Brother, do you trust me?"

"I trust you, Senior Sister." Chu Yu nodded obediently.

Ling Xian's face paled. His declaration of trust in Su Ying was as good as a slap in her face.

She had just been speaking up for him!

Ling Xian looked awful. To be honest, Su Ying rather enjoyed the sight. Perhaps playing this supporting female character over her previous four attempts, carrying out boring, meaningless tasks over and over again, had already left her with a great deal of pent-up resentment.

If it weren't for Ling Xian, that white-lotus Female Lead, she wouldn't have had to swallow so much anger!

Su Ying said, "Did you hear that? He trusts me. Eldest Senior Brother, don't forget Junior Brother Chu Yu's spiritual root grade."

At her mention of Chu Yu's spiritual root, Ping Qingyun's expression soured.

Compared to people with ordinary spiritual roots like them, Chu Yu was a young prodigy!

"So what? Even a young prodigy needs to learn. Messing around before he's learned anything-isn't that sheer nonsense?"

"Then why don't we make a bet?" Su Ying challenged him outright.

A "ding" rang out at once. A quest had arrived.

[Host, a side quest has arrived. Defeat Ping Qingyun in an alchemy competition. Quest reward: fifty points.]

the system announced.

Su Ying frowned.

This quest...

She looked at Chu Yu. Could he do it?

[Does the system specify who has to compete against whom?] Su Ying asked cautiously. If possible, she would compete herself.

After what had happened last time, she had realized just how important these points were.

To make the main quest easier later, she needed to earn more points through side quests while she could.

[The quest specifies that young fellow cultivator Chu Yu must compete against Ping Qingyun.]

The system had barely finished speaking when a bang rang out.

Su Ying had been concentrating on communicating with the system, and the sudden noise startled her.

She looked toward the sound. It turned out Ling Xian had blown up her furnace...

Ash from the Alchemy Furnace sprayed all over Ling Xian's face, instantly turning her fair, smooth skin coal-black.

Su Ying felt a little gleeful at her misfortune and was about to say something when she remembered her side quest.

She could only steel herself and say to Ping Qingyun, "Eldest Senior Brother, I have great confidence in our junior brother. Why don't we compete?"

"Sure. In what?" Ignoring the disheveled Ling Xian beside him, Ping Qingyun accepted her challenge.

"Alchemy. If our junior brother refines a higher-grade pill than you do, we win. How's that?" Su Ying said, forcing herself to press on.

She knew perfectly well that if she competed herself, she had a chance of winning.

But with Chu Yu, their chances were slim.

Still, Su Ying had to give it a shot. At a time like this, saving face didn't matter. Points mattered most.

"Fine, it's a deal. Don't say I'm bullying you two. You can help him from the sidelines," Ping Qingyun said, then began gathering his ingredients.

"Senior Sister..." Knowing about her side quest, Chu Yu was considering a question.

Should he help her win this one or not?

"Don't be afraid, Junior Brother. I'm here." Su Ying could only soldier on. Looking at the very low-grade Alchemy Furnace before her, she thought for a moment, then took out her copied Pinduoduo-Brand Alchemy Furnace.

"Senior Brother, that thing Senior Sister is holding..." Ling Xian's eyes widened. She still hadn't wiped all the ash off her face, and her widened eyes exposed more of their whites. The mixture of black, white, and gray made quite a comical sight.

"Su Ying, did you steal the Fifth Elder's Alchemy Furnace?" Ping Qingyun recognized it at a glance.

"No." Su Ying set the Alchemy Furnace on the table. "This one's mine. The Fifth Elder's is still in his treasure chest."

"Impossible!" Ping Qingyun pointed at her. "You must have stolen it."

"Oh, please. It's Pinduoduo-brand. There are loads of them. If you don't believe me, go ask the Fifth Elder after the competition. If his Pill Furnace is missing, you can expose me however you like." Su Ying folded her arms across her chest. Though she would probably lose, she refused to lose the battle of wills. "Are we competing or not?"