The Sect Leader System-Chapter 339: Contingency Plan

Sun Hua sipped her tea, trying to still her trembling hands. When Senior Sister had invited her, the expectation had been that they were simply escorting Senior Brother, providing him moral support for his date. But, when they’d actually met up with him, she’d indicated that there was something important for she and Sun Hua to discuss.

What could that be? Had she done something wrong? Was Senior Sister mad?

Sun Hua’s attack of the nerves lasted until after they’d ordered and begun drinking the first cup of tea.

It was after a sip that Senior Sister said, “You’ve been moping for weeks now.”

Sun Hua hadn’t known what accusation would be lobbed at her, but that one was not it. “This Assistant has not been moping.”

“Really? You’ve been quiet even for you. Instead of your normally perfect posture, you’ve been slouching. I keep hearing you sigh. And you don’t leave your room unless someone forces you. How would you describe your behavior if not moping?”

Sun Hua’s first instinct was to defend herself, but the truth was that she had been feeling down ever since learning that Wu You had most probably been sincere in his desire to date her.

“Maybe I deserve to mope for a while. I messed up my chance.”

Yang Xiu sighed. “You really haven’t embraced the whole cultivator philosophy of challenging the heavens, have you? Your motto is more, ‘succumb to circumstances.’ If you hit an obstacle, give up. Is that it?”

“I’m not like you, Senior Sister. If, when you were still a mortal, you came across a tiger in the woods, you would have tried to strangle it with your bare hands. I would have fainted from fright and been eaten.”

“You’d be surprised at the things I did—or rather didn’t do—as a mortal, but I get your point. But I’m not asking you to strangle a tiger or even put yourself at risk. You simply need to get to know your young gentlemen caller better.”

“Like it’s that easy!”

“It is that easy,” Yang Xiu said.

“He was so disgusted with me that he stormed out of the tea house.”

“No, he encountered a small obstacle and gave up. You and he apparently have more in common than a love of paperwork.”

Sun Hua glared at Yang Xiu.

“What?” Yang Xiu said. “It’s true.”

“If he were ever truly interested in me, he no longer is.”

“How do you know that?”

“He stormed out of the tea shop!”

Yang Xiu huffed. “We appear to be going in circles.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go back to the beginning. The fundamental question is—are you interested in him, or do you want to give up?”

Sun Hua’s first impulse was to blurt out another quick response expressing her frustration with the entire situation. Honestly, the way Senior Sister treated the situation trivialized it. To Sun Hua, moving forward was both difficult and emotionally fraught.

But…

She had no way of salvaging the situation. If it were up solely to her, she and Wu You would end up going their separate ways, never to see each other again. Senior Sister was at least trying to help. Even if that help was problematic, it offered a slim chance, which was better than nothing. Probably.

“I’m … interested,” Sun Hua said after a long pause.

“Are you willing to make some effort?”

“I’m scared, Senior Sister, and I don’t understand why he’d want me after what happened.” Sun Hua still couldn’t accept that he would have wanted her in the first place. After the way she’d acted in the tea house, there was no way he could possibly see anything in her.

“The girls in his sect don’t respect him because he doesn’t possess martial talent. He hopes you will respect him because he’s competent at logistics just like you are. His interest is understandable, and none of the underlying conditions have changed. When he walked out, he wasn’t saying, ‘I never want to see you again.’ From his perspective, he reached out and was firmly rebuked. Walking out was his way of telling you that, if you’re interested, the onus to act is on you.”

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Senior Sister had a way of making the most crazy things seem plausible, and Sun Hua desperately wanted to believe her.

“What do you have to lose?” Yang Xiu said.

Sun Hua winced. Pride. Dignity. Her heart exploding. Tears. “N-nothing.”

“Great. You’re willing to proceed?”

Sun Hua hesitantly nodded. “I don’t understand why I need to get to know him first, though.”

“Because the end goal is for the two of you to get married?”

“But my mother will arrange the marriage, right?”

Yes, that sounded a lot better. Mother would be happy, and Sun Hua wouldn’t have to deal with any of the awkwardness involved in trying to get things to that point.

“We should message him and tell him that his parents should contact my mother,” Sun Hua said. “If he’s still interested, he’ll have them do so. If not… Well, we tried, right?”

Yang Xiu took a deep breath. “I understand where you got that idea. Where I grew up, the elders decided who married whom. I mean, there was some choice, but rejecting the one the elders chose was very much frowned upon. On the other hand, I knew everyone likely to be chosen for me, and the elders, my parents, and the young man’s parents would take our personalities into account when choosing. The situation here is a bit different. There is no one who knows if the two of you are fundamentally compatible or not.”

“He’s very similar to me. I’m sure we’d be well-suited for each other.”

“You’ve met twice. I bet you haven’t even said a hundred words to each other.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Not by much!” Yang Xiu said. “Besides, I don’t think Master will let your mother make this decision for you. He’ll want to know that you approve. Are you ready to walk into his office and convince him to let you marry that guy?”

When put that way, no. No, Sun Hua wasn’t.

“You really think Master will…” Sun Hua stopped to think about it for a moment. “He will, won’t he? Unless I can convince him that I’ve thought it through and it will make me happy, there’s no way he’ll let me do it.” She sighed. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

“Excellent. Next step, we’ll send him a message.” Yang Xiu pulled out a talisman and ripped it in half, summoning a message paper. “Let’s see, ‘My Dearest Wu You, My heart has ached to see you again. Every second since our last meeting has inflicted me with the pain of a thousand cuts.’”

“No! You can’t say that!”

“Loins,” Yang Xiu said.

“What?”

“A message like this has to contain the phrase, ‘burning loins.’ It’s a must.”

Sun Hua buried her face in her hands. Just what exactly had she agreed to?

Zou Tian enjoyed pretending to be a regular commoner, one rich enough to buy tickets to watch the tournament from the bleachers. Sometimes, he pretended to be a young master, using the funds Master had given him to secure the use of a luxury box complete with meals, cushioned seats, and shade. On other days, he dressed in rough clothes and blended in with the crowds in one of the standing room only sections.

As the contests went on, the Jade Chameleons cheered more and more for the Swift Blizzards. The Swift Blizzard cheered more and more for the Jade Chameleons. The Poison Claws cheered more and more for the Rising Tides. And the Rising Tides cheered more and more for the Poison Claws.

Conflict was in the air. The sides were tangibly forming. Even if there wasn’t an ambush planned, things would eventually erupt.

The commoners, though, were muted in their spectating. They’d shout praise for a big hit or a particularly good show of martial expertise or technique mastery, but they made sure to never pick one sect over another.

Which made a lot of sense to Zou Tian. As a street rat, he’d never have dared to voice a preference for one side or the other in a conflict. Such would just lead to the other side targeting you.

He wondered if the commoners were simply exercising normal caution or if they, too, sensed the undercurrent of tension between the sects. Or perhaps their neutrality signaled a preference for the City Lord’s faction.

His most important takeaway from their actions was that, if the upcoming conflict were known, the commoners weren’t confident enough in the strength of the Jade Chameleons and Swift Blizzards to side with them. All things considered, that would mean great face was being given to the Rising Tide Sect—or, more accurately, to Master.

Attending the tournament wasn’t just about Zou Tian performing his job as a spy, though. He found that he enjoyed it. The atmosphere. The fights. The entertainment. It was an event he couldn’t have gotten within a mile of as a street rat, and one for which he would have envied those who could.

Each experience—regular commoner or rich young master or poorest of the poor—was enjoyable in different ways. Sitting with others mimicking the habits of their betters amused him. The comradery and uninhibited fun of the rabble was energizing. The luxury of the box allowed him to experience a life he’d never dreamed of.

As he attending the matches daily, the important thing was, though, that no one in any of the sections would recognize him as he always wore different clothes and a different face, and there was absolutely no reason for anyone to guess his association with the Rising Tide Sect.

The fourth and fifth rounds of the low Foundation Establishment division passed in an expected manner. Since the Swift Blizzard Sect had anticipated that their manipulations would succeed, they’d selected easy opponents for the next couple of matches. Thus, Kang Lin, Senior Sister, and Senior Brother breezed through their competition, all advancing to the sixth round.

As the Rising Tide Sect exited the area, Zou Tian had one more mission—passing another message. Master had delivered the beacon, anti-interference pylons, and the new talismans through Elder Kang, and with those, Zou Tian could start putting together his contingency plan.

Not that he didn’t have faith in Master. Zou Tian believed that no number of ambushing Nascent Souls would have even a chance of defeating Master. But the manuals said that, if a spy doesn’t have at least three contingency plans for every situation, he was not doing his job.

Zou Tian didn’t know how to put together three plans, but he had one in mind. It seemed unlikely to be of much worth, but if all went wrong, it might be just what was needed to save the day. He just had to lay the groundwork with Senior Brother and Senior Sister, so that, when the time came to present the idea, they’d be ready to accept it.

Zou Tian let out a long breath and stalked toward Wan Ai.