Chapter 21 Tang Hui Gets Dragged Into Sect Politics

Tang Hui spent the next several seconds staring at Qin Yue as though the woman had personally announced the heavens were collapsing.

“My name,” she repeated carefully, “was mentioned by sect elders?”

Qin Yue nodded once.

The surrounding disciples looked thrilled beyond reason.

Tang Hui, meanwhile, felt the exact opposite.

This was bad.

Not catastrophic yet.

But definitely approaching catastrophic.

Tang Hui had opened a matchmaking stall for three very simple reasons:

* she lacked cultivation talent,
* she wanted spirit stones,
* and cultivators were entertainingly terrible at romance.

At no point had she intended to become involved in actual sect matters.

Unfortunately, reality continued ignoring her preferences.

Luo Ming finally spoke from beside the stall.

“The proposal itself is harmless,” he said casually. “The problem is that the elders disagree on how the pairings should be decided.”

Tang Hui looked at him immediately. “And somehow this became my problem?”

“Apparently.”

Wonderful.

Just wonderful.

Qin Yue remained calm amid the surrounding chaos.

“One elder suggested that since Junior Sister Tang already advises disciples on compatibility, you might assist in organizing the pairings.”

Tang Hui almost developed spiritual deviation.

“No.”

The answer came instantly.

Several disciples looked disappointed.

Tang Hui pointed at herself firmly.

“I run a market stall.”

“Yes.”

“I am an outer disciple.”

“Yes.”

“I barely passed spiritual herb studies.”

Luo Ming nodded thoughtfully. “I heard you failed beast anatomy twice as well.”

Tang Hui glared at him. “Why do you know that?”

“People gossip around me constantly.”

Reasonable.

Annoying, but reasonable.

Tang Hui turned back toward Qin Yue. “Surely the elders understand this is absurd.”

Qin Yue’s expression remained unreadable.

“Some do.”

Ah.

There it was again.

Cultivation sects truly could not survive peacefully for even one month.

Tang Hui leaned back slowly while trying to think through the situation properly.

The Lantern Reflection Festival was important within Qingyun Sect.

Not officially, perhaps.

But socially?

Absolutely.

Inner disciples formed alliances during it. Relationships deepened. Rivalries occasionally exploded. Entire gossip networks survived off festival incidents for years afterward.

If elders were arguing over pairing arrangements, then the issue was not romance.

It was influence.

Tang Hui suddenly understood why Qin Yue approached her personally instead of sending a message through another disciple.

This wasn’t a matchmaking consultation.

This was evaluation.

Again.

Only now Tang Hui could finally see the shape of it clearly.

Qin Yue watched her quietly. “You understand the concern.”

Not a question this time.

Tang Hui exhaled softly.

“Yes.”

Nearby disciples looked increasingly confused now, clearly struggling to follow the conversation.

Good.

Let them remain confused.

Tang Hui rubbed one finger absently against the wooden table.

“The moment pairings become official,” she said slowly, “people will start interpreting them politically.”

Qin Yue’s eyes sharpened slightly in approval.

Exactly.

A pairing between disciples from different peaks could strengthen relationships between factions.

A pairing rejection could create offense.

One decision made for romance could easily become entangled with sect status and influence.

Tang Hui suddenly wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of this.

Luo Ming looked amused by her expression.

“You look like you regret becoming famous.”

“I regret many things daily.”

“That sounds healthier than cultivation.”

Fair.

Tang Hui ignored him and focused on the real issue instead.

“Why tell me this now?”

Qin Yue glanced briefly toward the festival banners hanging above the market.

“Because discussions are still ongoing. Nothing has been finalized yet.”

“Yet,” Tang Hui repeated darkly.

Qin Yue did not deny it.

The market breeze stirred lightly through the street, carrying distant laughter from disciples farther below the mountain pathways. Around Tang Hui’s stall, spectators remained unusually quiet now, sensing the conversation had moved beyond ordinary gossip.

Tang Hui disliked that feeling immensely.

Until now, her matchmaking pavilion had existed in a strangely safe space.

Ridiculous enough to avoid serious scrutiny.

Useful enough to remain popular.

But the moment sect elders became involved—

everything changed.

Tang Hui suddenly realized something uncomfortable.

Influence did not care whether you wanted it.

Once enough people listened to you, it appeared anyway.

Troubling thought.

No.

Not troubling.

Dangerous.

Much more accurate.

Qin Yue broke the silence first.

“For what it’s worth,” she said calmly, “I opposed involving you.”

Tang Hui blinked in surprise.

“You did?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Qin Yue looked directly at her.

“Because sect politics ruins useful things.”

The answer came so simply that Tang Hui paused.

Nearby, Luo Ming gave a quiet snort of laughter.

“That may be the most sincere thing I’ve heard you say all month.”

Qin Yue ignored him entirely.

Tang Hui studied the woman more carefully now.

Earlier, she had assumed Qin Yue disliked the pavilion itself.

But perhaps that was incorrect.

No—

not incorrect.

Just incomplete.

Qin Yue wasn’t hostile toward matchmaking.

She was wary of instability.

And from her perspective, Tang Hui probably looked extremely unstable.

An outer disciple with no backing suddenly gaining influence across multiple peaks through personal relationships?

Honestly, it sounded suspicious even to Tang Hui now.

The thought almost made her laugh.

A month ago she had been arguing with chickens behind her leaking courtyard.

Now inner sect elites were discussing her during elder meetings.

Life truly lacked consistency.

Before Tang Hui could speak again, movement stirred near the crowd surrounding the stall.

A familiar medicine hall disciple hurried through the marketplace, looking visibly flustered.

Tang Hui recognized her immediately.

One of Lin Qingyue’s junior sisters.

The girl stopped abruptly near the stall before bowing quickly toward Qin Yue and Luo Ming.

Then she turned toward Tang Hui.

“Junior Sister Tang,” she said breathlessly, “Senior Sister Lin sent me to find you.”

Tang Hui straightened instinctively.

“What happened?”

The disciple hesitated.

And for the first time since arriving—

she looked genuinely alarmed.

“One of the disciples participating in the lantern formations was injured during rehearsal.”

The surrounding market stirred uneasily.

Tang Hui frowned slightly. “Injured how?”

The medicine hall disciple swallowed once.

“…Because two inner sect disciples started fighting over partner assignments.”