Chapter 38 Tang Hui Returns to the Outer Sect as a Minor Celebrity

Returning from Moonheart Peak should have been simple.

Tang Hui underestimated cultivator gossip again.

By sunrise the next morning, half the outer sect apparently knew:

* she attended the inner peak gathering,
* Elder Shen personally spoke with her,
* multiple inner sect disciples escorted her during the festival,
* and somehow, inexplicably, someone started a rumor claiming she rejected three formal invitations from prestigious cultivation families overnight.

Tang Hui stopped outside the pavilion entrance and stared at the gathered disciples in disbelief.

“…Where do these stories even come from?”

A nearby disciple answered honestly.

“Mostly speculation.”

“That should not sound so proud.”

The outer market buzzed louder than usual beneath the bright morning sunlight. Festival decorations still hung between the stalls while disciples crowded around breakfast vendors exchanging dramatic retellings of last night’s events.

And somehow—

Tang Hui herself had become part of the entertainment.

Old Chen leaned against his artifact shelves looking deeply satisfied by the chaos.

“You walked onto Moonheart Peak as an outer disciple,” he said. “Naturally everyone lost their minds.”

“I returned alive. That should have ended the discussion.”

“Incorrect. Surviving important social situations only increases your legend.”

Tang Hui hated that sentence immediately.

Inside the pavilion, things somehow worsened.

The moment she stepped through the doorway, several waiting disciples straightened with visible excitement.

“Senior Sister Tang!”

“Is it true an elder praised your matchmaking abilities personally?”

“Did inner sect disciples really compete to walk beside you?”

Tang Hui physically set down her tea before answering.

“One: stop phrasing things dramatically.”

Several disciples ignored her completely.

“And two,” Tang Hui continued, “Moonheart Peak was just a festival gathering, not a political battlefield.”

A pause.

Then one disciple asked cautiously:

“…Are you certain?”

Tang Hui opened her mouth—

then slowly closed it again.

Actually…

cultivators probably could turn lantern festivals into political battlefields if sufficiently motivated.

Disturbing realization.

Before the pavilion could spiral further into rumors, Lin Qingyue entered carrying fresh tea leaves and consultation records.

The atmosphere softened almost immediately.

Not because of status.

Because Lin Qingyue naturally carried calmness with her wherever she went.

Tang Hui noticed several disciples visibly relax just from her arrival.

Honestly impressive ability.

Lin Qingyue smiled warmly toward Tang Hui.

“How was your morning so far?”

Tang Hui pointed toward the crowd dramatically.

“I’m being mythologized against my will.”

Several disciples looked embarrassed.

None looked repentant.

Lin Qingyue hid a laugh behind her sleeve before setting the tea supplies down carefully.

“You expected the sect to stay calm after Moonheart Peak?”

“Yes.”

“…That was optimistic.”

Fair.

Tang Hui slumped briefly against the consultation desk before catching herself.

No repetitive tired reactions.

Adapt.

She straightened again immediately.

“Fine,” she declared. “If everyone insists on turning me into a terrifying social figure, then I’ll at least profit properly from it.”

The disciples looked alarmed.

Correct response.

Tang Hui pulled out a fresh wooden board and began writing quickly.

[ NEW PAVILION RULES ]

[ No fabricated rumors. ]
[ No asking about private consultations. ]
[ No assuming Senior Sister Tang controls fate. ]
[ Double fees for unnecessary dramatics. ]

The crowd stared at the final line.

One disciple raised a hand carefully.

“…How do we determine unnecessary dramatics?”

Tang Hui looked him directly in the eye.

“You’ll know.”

Old Chen nearly collapsed laughing outside.

Business resumed shortly afterward, though the atmosphere remained livelier than usual. Disciples kept sneaking curious glances toward Tang Hui now as though expecting hidden immortal wisdom to reveal itself spontaneously.

Deeply concerning behavior.

The consultations themselves, however, remained painfully ordinary.

One disciple accidentally insulted the girl he liked by comparing her sword stance to his aunt’s.

Another spent two weeks misunderstanding a perfectly obvious confession.

And one deeply troubled talisman cultivator confessed he started learning music solely because someone once mentioned enjoying flute performances casually.

Tang Hui listened quietly before asking:

“Do you actually enjoy music yourself?”

The disciple froze.

“…I don’t know.”

Ah.

There it was again.

People reshaping themselves around affection before understanding what they genuinely wanted personally.

Tang Hui leaned back thoughtfully.

“Liking someone shouldn’t erase your own personality,” she said calmly.

The pavilion grew quieter around her.

Even nearby disciples waiting for consultations listened more carefully now.

Tang Hui continued after a moment.

“If someone only likes a version of you built entirely around pleasing them, that relationship becomes exhausting eventually.”

The talisman disciple looked startled.

Then slowly thoughtful.

Lin Qingyue glanced toward Tang Hui briefly from across the pavilion.

Not surprised.

More… impressed.

Tang Hui immediately became suspicious.

Before she could investigate further, movement outside the pavilion entrance interrupted again.

A familiar figure approached through the crowded market street.

Gu Beichen.

Naturally.

The surrounding disciples immediately began whispering.

Tang Hui noticed something else instantly though—

he carried food containers.

Several of them.

Ah.

Dangerous.

Gu Beichen stepped into the pavilion calmly despite the growing attention around him.

“I brought lunch.”

The entire room went silent.

Tang Hui stared blankly.

“…For who?”

“You.”

Dead silence.

Somewhere outside, someone dropped an entire tray of spirit pears.

Tang Hui looked around the pavilion slowly.

Every disciple present now resembled people witnessing spiritual revelation.

Lin Qingyue herself looked caught between embarrassment and helpless affection.

Tang Hui finally pointed carefully toward herself.

“You brought me lunch.”

“Yes.”

“…Why?”

Gu Beichen answered with complete sincerity.

“You forget meals frequently while working.”

The silence somehow deepened.

Tang Hui physically leaned back in her chair.

Because honestly—

that was exactly the sort of thoughtful behavior she constantly told disciples indicated affection.

Which meant—

No.

Absolutely not.

Tang Hui immediately rejected the entire direction of that thought.

Impossible.

Ridiculous.

Emotionally irresponsible.

Unfortunately, the disciples around her looked ready to explode from suppressed reactions already.

And worse—

near the pavilion entrance, Luo Ming had just arrived.

The man took one look at the situation unfolding inside—

then smiled slowly.

Terrible sign.