Chapter 50 Tang Hui Stops Being Able to Pretend

Tang Hui should not have noticed Gu Beichen relaxing.

Unfortunately—

she noticed immediately.

The shift itself was subtle.
Tiny, even.

Most people would have missed it entirely.

But Tang Hui spent months studying emotional reactions professionally, and by now she understood Gu Beichen’s expressions better than anyone else in Qingyun Sect probably should.

The slight easing around his shoulders.
The way his fingers loosened around the tea cup afterward.
The quiet stillness turning calmer instead of tense.

All because she said:

*I wasn’t interested.*

Ah.

Spiritually catastrophic.

Tang Hui immediately looked away toward the banquet terraces before her own expression betrayed something dangerous.

Around them, the inter-sect gathering continued beneath drifting lantern light and silver cloud mist. Music echoed softly through the eastern gardens while disciples from different sects mingled around the long jade tables exchanging cultivation stories and competitive gossip.

Beautiful atmosphere.

Emotionally hostile environment.

Su Yan, meanwhile, noticed everything.

Of course he did.

The man leaned back lazily in his chair while amusement sharpened visibly in his eyes.

“You know,” he mused lightly, “Beichen used to be much harder to read.”

Tang Hui immediately distrusted this conversation.

Gu Beichen’s expression flattened beside her.

“Su Yan.”

“That’s not criticism.” Su Yan smiled pleasantly. “Honestly, this version is healthier.”

The surrounding disciples looked deeply invested now.

Traitors.

Tang Hui reached for tea again out of pure survival instinct.

Unfortunately, before she could drink, Su Yan continued speaking casually:

“I was beginning to think you’d eventually marry your sword.”

Several Northern Sword Sect disciples immediately coughed into their cups.

Apparently this joke existed historically.

Tang Hui glanced sideways automatically.

Gu Beichen looked entirely unimpressed.

“I still could.”

Su Yan laughed outright.

“There’s the Beichen I remember.”

Tang Hui nearly smiled before catching herself.

Dangerous.

Too natural.

Across the banquet table, Luo Ming observed the entire exchange with open fascination now.

“This is entertaining,” he informed Qin Yue quietly.

“It’s exhausting,” Qin Yue corrected.

Both accurate.

Tang Hui finally set her tea down carefully.

“Senior Brother Su,” she said calmly, “do you provoke everyone professionally, or only people you consider friends?”

The table quieted instantly.

Su Yan blinked once.

Then unexpectedly laughed softer this time.

“Ah,” he said. “You noticed that quickly.”

Tang Hui folded her arms.

“You insult people too comfortably for genuine hostility.”

A pause followed.

Then one of the Northern Sword Sect disciples muttered under his breath:

“…That’s exactly what we keep telling him.”

Interesting.

No—
wrong word again.

Revealing.

Su Yan shook his head lightly while looking toward Tang Hui with renewed amusement.

“You really are dangerous.”

Tang Hui pointed immediately.

“No one is allowed to describe me like a mysterious sect artifact.”

Too late.

Several disciples already looked convinced again.

The banquet continued after that with slightly less emotional warfare, though Tang Hui noticed something important gradually:

Gu Beichen stopped reacting visibly once he realized Tang Hui herself remained unaffected by Su Yan’s provocations.

Not distant.

Not withdrawn.

Just steadier again.

As though reassurance settled naturally inside him now.

The realization made Tang Hui’s chest feel strangely warm.

Because for all his emotional intensity—

Gu Beichen never tried controlling her interactions.

Never interrupted conversations possessively.
Never demanded attention.

He simply…
cared.

Quietly.
Honestly.
Completely.

Ah.

This was becoming impossible to ignore safely.

As the evening deepened, the banquet eventually shifted toward informal terrace gatherings. Disciples spread through the eastern gardens beneath floating lantern arrays while music cultivators performed near the cloud bridges overlooking the mountains below.

Tang Hui escaped the main banquet table immediately.

Fresh air required.

Preferably emotional air.

The upper eastern terrace remained quieter than the main gathering areas. Lantern light drifted softly through the night breeze while distant sect music echoed below the cliffs.

Tang Hui leaned lightly against the stone railing and exhaled slowly.

The mountains stretched endlessly beneath the night sky.

Peaceful.

Finally.

“…Running away?”

Tang Hui did not turn around immediately.

“Taking tactical recovery time.”

Footsteps approached beside her.

Not hard to recognize anymore.

Gu Beichen stopped near the railing without speaking further.

Comfortable silence settled naturally between them.

That was the problem too.

Silence with Gu Beichen never felt awkward anymore.

Just… familiar.

Tang Hui stared out toward the drifting clouds below the mountain peaks.

Then finally asked quietly:

“Was Su Yan telling the truth earlier?”

“About what?”

“Your sword.”

Gu Beichen glanced sideways toward her.

“He exaggerated.”

“But not completely.”

A faint pause.

Then:

“…Not completely.”

Tang Hui smiled despite herself.

“I can actually imagine it.”

“Cruel.”

“You were emotionally terrifying when we first met.”

“That’s fair.”

The easy agreement startled a laugh out of her before she could stop it.

And immediately—

Gu Beichen looked at her.

Not casually.

Fully.

Ah.

Dangerous.

The lantern light softened the usually sharp lines of his expression tonight. Without the constant distance he maintained around others, he looked warmer lately somehow.

More human.

Tang Hui suddenly remembered Lin Qingyue saying:

*He laughs more now.*

Spiritually unfair realization.

“You’ve changed too,” Gu Beichen said quietly.

Tang Hui blinked.

“…Me?”

“You stopped trying to leave.”

The words landed gently.

But heavily.

Tang Hui looked away toward the mountains again.

Because unfortunately—

he was right.

When she first opened the pavilion, she still treated Qingyun Sect like somewhere temporary.
Somewhere she failed.

Now?

Now she planned renovations.
Future events.
Expansion schedules.

She worried about pavilion lantern placement.

About disciple conflicts.

About whether everyone ate properly during busy festival days.

Somewhere along the way—

this place became home before she noticed.

And somehow—

Gu Beichen became part of that feeling too.

Tang Hui’s fingers tightened slightly against the stone railing.

Dangerous conversation territory approaching.

Before she could retreat safely, Gu Beichen spoke again.

“Su Yan was wrong about one thing.”

Tang Hui glanced toward him carefully.

“What thing?”

The night wind moved softly through the terrace lanterns around them.

Then quietly—
calmly—
with that same terrifying sincerity that always destroyed her defenses—

Gu Beichen said:

“I don’t want to marry my sword anymore.”

Silence.

Complete devastating silence.

Tang Hui’s heartbeat stopped functioning normally immediately.

Because this man—

this terrifyingly straightforward man—

was looking directly at her while saying it.