The Sect Leader System-Chapter 327: An Unmitigated Disaster

Sun Hua really didn’t want to go to the tea shop. Trying to discern a scheme being foisted upon her by a member of an enemy sect was already well outside her comfort zone, and Yang Xiu’s teasing only made things worse.

Senior Sister had much different view of boys and courting. On one hand, she could have had her pick of suitors from any of the young men in the sect. On the other, she’d had a really bad experience with a creep who admired her, and that situation had made her wary of such attention. It felt like she enjoyed living vicariously through her girlfriends romantic lives.

Which was quite problematic for Sun Hua. She didn’t know how to explain to that she wasn’t nearly as objectively attractive nor was she outgoing. Boys did not pursue her. They didn’t even notice her existence. And at twenty-two, well past the prime age for marriage, it wasn’t a situation that had any possibility of changing.

Her experience meant that she was absolutely positive that Wu You had not intended their meeting to be a date because no man had ever asked her on a date, and frankly, Yang Xiu’s insistence regarding the subject was more than a little upsetting.

Sun Hua gave herself a look in the mirror and sighed. Ordinary. Plain. Mousy. Those were the most complimentary words used to describe her. She wished she had straight, shiny black hair like Senior Sister’s instead of a dark brown jumble that degenerated into a complete mess once exposed to the slightest breeze.

Definitely a scheme.

Enough dallying, though. Yang Xiu had arranged to meet Sun Hua at the front entrance of the compound, and it wouldn’t do to be late. She arrived, of course, nearly ten minutes early, and when Yang Xiu arrived exactly on time, there was a surprise inclusion—Kang Lin.

Sun Hua cupped her hands. “Senior Sister. Esteemed Cultivatior Kang Lin.”

Her words were a simple greeting but her tone carried the question of why the Poison Claw Sect member was present.

“She’s been avoiding me ever since we got here, so I dragged her along,” Yang Xiu said.

“I have not been avoiding you.” Kang Lin sighed. “You realize, right, that I was away from my sect for over half a year? There was a lot I needed to do.”

Yang Xiu rolled her eyes.

Kang Lin turned to Sun Hua. “I have more knowledge of and experience with the Swift Blizzard Sect than most in your sect. If there is a scheme afoot, your Senior Sister believed I’d be more likely to determine its nature than anyone else who is available.”

“This assistant expresses much gratitude for your help, Esteemed Cultivator.”

The three walked from the compound to the tea shop. While Kang Lin and Senior Sister chatted, Sun Hua counted her blessings that she wasn’t required to have guards escorting her.

Well, really she did have guards. Either Senior Sister or Kang Lin could outfight an entire squad of Huang Yimun’s finest. Still, though, it didn’t look like Sun Hua was some very important person who needed guards to go to a tea shop. Instead, she simply appeared to be accompanying her much more powerful and important ... friends? More like associates. Yeah, associates.

Tagging along after the two girls was much less embarrassing. She could simply shrink back, unnoticed, as the other two drew all the attention.

Perfect.

Her only regret was that they walked so fast, making them arrive at the tea shop way too quickly. Actually, ending up there at all was terrible in and of itself not even accounting for how soon. She was an administrative professional, the sect leader’s assistant. She was not a spy or a fighter. Dealing with a rival sect should only come in the form of discussing logistics. Period.

Maybe things would go her way and the man wouldn’t show up. Yeah. That would be truly perfect.

Ahead of her, Yang Xiu giggled as she entered the tea shop. Sun Hua suspected she knew why. When she went through the doorway, she discovered she was right. Wu You was seated at a small table in the corner just big enough for two people. The lights in the area surrounding him were low, and there was a candle on the table.

Sun Hua groaned.

Not only was the guy obviously setting her up for some nefarious scam, but he’d decided to go the faux seduction route. And she had to suffer through that particular humiliation while Senior Sister would be listening in, giving her plenty of material for future teasing.

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Compared to Ye Zan giving his life for the sect, Sun Hua’s sacrifice was sure to be trivial, but the words sounded hollow in her head. If there was one thing she was sensitive about, it was her lack of a husband, and to have an enemy use that weakness against her went beyond the pale.

She should stop right there and tell Senior Sister to kill the guy. Yes. That would be an appropriate response.

Only it wouldn’t.

For one thing, Senior Sister was likely to actually do that if requested, and that act might draw the Rising Tide Sect into a war immediately. The sect leader clearly believed that he could end things by himself once the ambush was triggered, leading to no losses among the members. What if Sun Hua’s reluctance to suffer through a single conversation led to someone in the sect being killed?

An even more important consideration was that she wasn’t a fighter. She’d never killed anyone or caused anyone to be killed or even hurt. Something like that was not something she wanted weighing on her conscience, even if the victim were completely deserving of it.

With a sigh, she trudged toward the table. He stood when she neared, probably to pull out her seat. She reached it first and rudely pulled it out for herself. Just because she agreed to attend the farcical meeting didn’t mean she had to act like she wanted to be there.

“May this one dispense with honorifics, Esteemed Assistant?” he said after they’d both sat. “Informality seems to fit the occasion.”

She glanced back and to the right. Yang Xiu and Kang Lin had taken a table several rows back. With their enhanced Foundation Establishment senses, they’d have no trouble hearing every word.

“Sure,” Sun Hua said.

If nothing else, fewer words meant they would spend a shorter amount of time talking.

“I’ve taken the liberty of ordering you my favorite blend of tea,” he said. “I tried to determine your favorite instead, but your fellow sect members were not very forthcoming about your preferences.”

Sun Hua doubted many knew what tea she liked or much else about her, either.

“Gratitude,” she said in the flattest tone she could manage.

He sighed. “This is not going to go well, is it?”

“Did you truly believe any other outcome was possible?”

“I can be naïve sometimes.” He shrugged. “But can I ask—is it something personal about me or is it simply the rivalry thing?”

“I do not consider using a derivation of the word ‘simple’ or ‘rivalry’ an accurate assessment of the current situation. Do you somehow feel otherwise?”

“Honestly,” he said, “most of the animosity stems from the branch sect leader, and I’m from the main sect, brought in to help manage the tournament. Swift Blizzard Sect members from outside Sixth Flawless Flowing City don’t put the Rising Tide Sect in their eyes.”

That information was interesting, if he were telling the truth. Which was unlikely. Still, it was something that should be reported to the sect leader.

“Regardless, none of that tells me why you have invited me here today,” she said.

“Oh. I … uh, thought it was obvious.”

She gave him a blank look.

“I … intended it to be a date?” he said awkwardly.

As was proper when seated at a table and not actively eating or drinking, she kept her hands in her lap, which meant they were out of his view due to the table. That he couldn’t see them was good because she would have otherwise felt uneasy when she clenched them into fists.

Beyond the pale. Beyond.

Sun Hua was tempted to leave right then and there. The trap had become obvious—exploit her vulnerability as an unmarried woman well past her prime to lure her into betraying her sect.

Now that she knew, however, the proper move would be to go along with it so Senior Sister could set up some kind of reverse maneuver or something. Sun Hua didn’t know exactly what such would entail, but she was sure that was exactly what was called for. She should … flirt with him somehow? Which wasn’t a strong point of hers.

When she opened her mouth, though, what came out was, “You disgust me! That you would attempt such an underhanded tactic brings disgrace to cultivators everywhere. You have dishonored your sect here today.”

She tensed as she realized what she had said. There weren’t many words worse than those to rise the ire of a cultivator. They lived to bring honor to their sect.

Instead of angry, though, the man appeared devastated. Despite feeling that he was probably just manipulating her, she hung her head.

“You have to see how this appears to me,” she said.

“In retrospect, I do. Like I said, I can be naïve at times. This lowly one apologizes for the misunderstanding.”

“There is no misunderstanding. Why don’t you just tell me what you’re trying to accomplish. That way Senior Sister and Esteemed Cultivator Kang Lin don’t have to beat you up.”

“There is no ulterior motive,” he said. “I simply wanted to get to know you better in a social setting.”

“You keep saying that you’re naïve, but really, you must think that I am to believe such a thing.”

He ran a hand across his face. “This is a disaster, an unmitigated disaster. My wife would have laughed at me so hard right now.”

His sect hadn’t even sent someone competent to seduce her. They were barely into the conversation, and he’d already accidentally admitted to being married.

“Your wife would laugh at you trying to get to know another woman in a social setting? She must be mighty tolerant.”

“She’s dead.”

Oh. Sun Hua didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Three years ago,” he said. “Childbirth. Neither she nor my daughter survived.”

It was well known that, for cultivators, conceiving was difficult and bearing a child was dangerous. Sun Hua had gained many benefits from joining the sect and becoming the sect leader’s assitant, but giving up the possibility, as slim as it had been, of having children was definitely a huge negative.

“I think what I miss most is simply having someone to share my day with when I come home, you know?” he said. “Someone to share funny stories with or frustrations about the leaders set above me. Someone who cares

“When I heard about a young woman from the Rising Tide Sect who was renowned for the same kind of work that I do, I tried to find out more about her. I discovered that she was quiet and hard working and extremely competent, all qualities I respect and admire. I thought, ‘Now that is a young woman worth taking a chance to get to know.’ But I guess I was wrong.”

Wu You cupped his hands. “Gratitude for agreeing to see me. Apologies for wasting your time.”

He stood and exited the establishment without another word.