Path of the Sect Leader

Chapter 90: The Tragedy of Human Nature

Qi Xiu found himself barreling toward marriage without a single say in the matter.

The Wei family’s wedding party rolled in soon after, as if failure had never crossed their minds.

Dates picked. Rites set. The whole affair nailed down in a blur. Chu Qin Sect barely got a word in edgewise.

“Marrying off a daughter, or dumping one?”

Bai Muhan muttered it under her breath during the sect meeting, lips pursed. Zhan Yuan tugged her sleeve sharp—hush.

Qi Xiu heard and felt the same helpless twist in his gut. Right now he was a puppet on Wei strings. A man’s wedding—his own life’s milestone—stolen from him. The bitterness of it drove him straight into seclusion. No visitors. No thoughts. Just the push toward sixth layer Qi Refining.

Most wedding chores fell to others anyway. He couldn’t show his face in half of them. Yu Denou handled their side’s formalities. Zhang Shishi and Zhan Yuan managed the rest. All Qi Xiu had to do was appear on the day.

The Weis rushed the calendar. The date crept closer, and Chu Qin couldn’t scrape together a respectable betrothal gift.

“What do we do about the gifts?” Zhan Yuan groaned in the main hall, face long. “We’re flat broke—top to bottom.”

Eyes drifted to the empty head seat. Qi Xiu was still shut away. The room sagged into silence, worry etched on every face.

“Sect Leader’s big day,” Zhang Shishi said, raking fingers through his hair. “We can’t lose face. Weis already steamrolling us—can’t hand them more ammunition. But where’s the money coming from?”

Shen Chang ventured, “The scripture stash…?”

Zhan Yuan cut him off. “Out of the question. Those books are for the pavilion. Sect Leader bled years for them. You want to torch his life’s work?”

“What about the Black River Market holdings?” Zhang Shishi pressed—his prepared salvo.

Zhan Yuan’s face darkened. That property was his sacred ground. “No chance.”

Sparks flew. Zhang Shishi came loaded; Zhan Yuan had allies. Voices rose, old grudges resurfacing. The meeting teetered toward ugly breakup when Yu Jing burst in.

“Sect Leader’s out of seclusion!”

Bows rippled. Yu Denou’s eyes widened first.

“Congratulations! Second Qi Refining barrier broken. At your pace, eighth layer’s just around the corner.”

The rest caught up—sixth layer already. Another round of bows and cheers.

Qi Xiu waved them up, settled into the head seat. Breakthrough buoyancy lifted his mood. He even managed a smile.

“Luck, mostly. What’s the shouting about? Heard it from the back ridge.”

Zhang Shishi stepped forward. “The betrothal gifts. I say offer the Black River Market property. Barely earns anything anyway. Good gesture.”

The real calculus ran deeper. Zhan Yuan’s side had grown—wife, loyal friend in Yu Denou, Shen Chang and Pan Rong as staunch backers, three hundred Bai kin as ballast. Zhang Shishi’s faction held only formal seniority. Momentum slipping. Cripple the man’s foothold; break an arm.

Zhan Yuan fired back. “That property was Sect Leader’s brainchild. We made real money once. Chu Youmin poked the Guanghui bear—not our fault. Business isn’t overnight riches. Thirty years the river shifts. Keep the foothold, keep hope. Lose it, we’re mute in Black River Market. We’re landlords there!”

He knew Zhang Shishi’s game. But marriage and allies had swollen his own numbers. Time favored him. No way he’d yield ground.

Both turned to Qi Xiu.

His face had drained corpse-pale. Sweat beaded and rolled. Eyes vacant. Body trembling—classic deviation signs.

“Bad!” Yu Denou reacted first, slapping a [Heart Clearing Talisman] on him. No effect. Another emergency seal. Bai Muhan tried too. Nothing.

Panic erupted.

“Get help—Weis! Send for the Weis!”

Zhang Shishi barked orders at Yu Jing.

“I’ll fly!” Yu Denou summoned his sword, already turning.

“No need!”

Qi Xiu’s roar stopped them cold.

The color flooded back—unnatural crimson. Bloodshot eyes. Teetering on madness.

“Hysteria?” Yu Denou whispered, uncertain.

“No.”

Qi Xiu rose shaky, dragged his feet toward his hut. “Just tired. Handle things. Gifts—let Muhan manage. Simple silks and brocade. Nothing extravagant.”

They watched him stagger out of sight, jaws slack.

Inside the hut, Qi Xiu collapsed onto the mat.

Chaos churned behind his eyes.

The breakthrough had cracked the third aperture of the [Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart]. New natal gift: [Insight into Human Nature].

Joy at first.

Then Zhang Shishi and Zhan Yuan’s argument.

He’d heard every unspoken thought—clear as spoken words.

The gift’s first cruel revelation gutted him. Pain so sharp his body rebelled. Only [Understand One’s Own Heart] yanked him back from the brink.

Insight into human nature…

He sank lower.

Years side by side—Zhang Shishi, Zhan Yuan—building from Chu Qin Mountain ashes, scraping in Black River muck. He’d seen honest friction, nothing more. Trusted them. Believed the best.

All while they schemed under his nose.

Elder Qin’s betrayal flashed vivid—outsiders storming the old mountain.

Infighting. Again.

Exhaustion crashed over him like black tide.

Where had it gone wrong?

Faces knowable, hearts unknowable.

The murmurs faded. Darkness took him.