About time, Xun Ji thought. He couldn’t keep the man hanging too long; it was time for a formal meeting.
[Host, your current face somewhat resembles Jiyang Zhenren’s. What if the protagonist recognizes you?] The System worried.
“Jiyang Zhenren has a full head of white hair and looks icy cold. I’m so sunny—how do I resemble him?” Xun Ji touched his face. “This is my original face; Lu Yun Ting won’t recognize it. Relax.”
He picked up a folding fan from the table, lifted his robe, and stood. “Let’s go—time for storytelling!”
Liu’s Tea House had been booming lately, packed to capacity, and today was no exception.
As Xun Ji walked from the inner hall to the front, an eagle-eyed tea guest spotted him and shouted, “The young master’s here!”
Xun Ji had changed into a water-blue long robe today. His ink-black hair was half pinned up with a white jade hairpin, half draped over his shoulders. He held an ebony folding fan in hand—truly elegant and suave.
“The young master is finally here! Hurry and continue Xiao Shuai’s story for us!” The tea guests were wildly enthusiastic, crowding around him.
“Alright, today we’ll pick up Xiao Shuai’s story.” Xun Ji agreed with a smile.
Instead of going to the central storyteller’s table, he smoothly made his way to a tea table and gracefully saluted the guest sitting there. “Young sir, may I borrow the empty seat?”
The guest wore black coarse short cloth garments, his long hair neatly tied up, his features sharp and handsome, his demeanor reserved. Seeing Xun Ji approach, he returned the salute properly. “Please, young master, have a seat.”
Xun Ji sat at the table’s edge and saw that the man had only ordered a pot of plain tea. He beckoned a waiter. “Bring a pot of good tea.”
The waiter soon brewed the tea house’s finest tea and poured a cup for Xun Ji.
“And the snacks?” Xun Ji tapped the table.
The waiter hurriedly agreed and went to prepare snacks.
Seeing Xun Ji dawdle, the guest couldn’t help reminding him, “Young master, why not tell the story while waiting?”
Xun Ji raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is the young sir in a hurry?”
A flash of embarrassment passed through the guest’s eyes. “I just want to know what choice Xiao Shuai makes.”
Xun Ji tsked twice. “Who would have thought a steady and honest-looking young sir like you enjoys these romantic tales.”
The guest’s expression grew even more unnatural. He gulped down a mouthful of cold tea and said gravely, “Young master needn’t call me young sir. I’m an apprentice from the Li Family Blacksmith Shop across the way. My name is Yun Ting.”
Xun Ji smiled charmingly. “A neighbor, then. Yun Ting brother needn’t call me young master either. My name is Liu Xun; just call me A Xun.”
“Young master, are you going to tell it or not?!” The surrounding tea guests lost patience and urged him on.
“No rush, everyone. Here we go.” Xun Ji cleared his throat. With a whoosh*, he opened the folding fan in his hand. “Picking up from last time, our protagonist Xiao Shuai had just proposed to the wealthy young lady Xiao Mei, with whom he shared life and death, when he received grace from Pretty Widow Xiao Cui. Responsibilities and affections weighed heavily on his heart, leaving him immensely conflicted and deeply mired in the swamp of love. What puzzled Xiao Shuai even more was that after Xiao Cui helped him dispel the drug’s effects that night, she vanished like rain into the ocean.”
“Isn’t that perfect? Xiao Shuai doesn’t need to choose and can live happily with Xiao Mei,” one tea guest said.
Another disagreed loudly, “Perfect? Emotional debts are hard to repay. He hasn’t settled with Xiao Cui yet—what right does he have to delay Xiao Mei! Right, young master?”
Xun Ji smiled without answering and instead asked the black-clothed youth at his table, “What do you think, Yun Ting brother?”
Yun Ting’s brows furrowed tightly as he hesitated. “Since Xiao Shuai is entangled with both, he naturally must take responsibility for both. Though Xiao Cui vanished, he should try his utmost to find her and seek a way that satisfies all three.”
Jeers rose around them. One tea guest said, “Kid, you clearly aren’t married. Where in this world is a method that satisfies three people? Unless immortals fly down from the heavens and cast a spell to merge the two women into one!”
The crowd roared with laughter, teasing the youth named Yun Ting for his wishful thinking.
Yun Ting’s ears turned red. He wanted to retort but couldn’t find the words.
Xun Ji smiled and asked, “Has Yun Ting brother ever considered why Xiao Cui helped him without seeking reward and then vanished?”
Yun Ting paused.
“If Xiao Cui sought to leverage the favor or was smitten with Xiao Shuai, she certainly wouldn’t have disappeared so easily,” Xun Ji said slowly. “She left because she wanted to.”
“Right! Xiao Cui didn’t want to marry Xiao Shuai at all?” The tea guests realized. “Even as the county magistrate’s son, tall and handsome, he’s not money— not everyone likes him! Xiao Cui probably fled because she feared he’d feel obligated to her!”
Xun Ji shot over an approving glance. “Well said. Not only did Xiao Cui not wish to marry, Xiao Mei didn’t either. The bandit robbery and mutual aid in escape were forced by circumstances—how could they mind male-female proprieties? The bond of shared life and death might be real, but not romantic love. Even if Xiao Shuai proposed, Xiao Mei wouldn’t accept.”
“So that’s how it is.” The tea guests savored this reasoning, finding it both unexpected and reasonable. “So neither likes Xiao Shuai, and he doesn’t need to take responsibility!”
Shock filled Yun Ting’s eyes as he murmured repeatedly, “Doesn’t like Xiao Shuai… doesn’t need Xiao Shuai to take responsibility…”
With the fan shielding his face, Xun Ji struggled not to grin too smugly.
It was worth the elaborate setup to lure him in. This time, he could surely straighten out Lu Yun Ting’s blockhead notion of kissing-and-responsible. Sometimes, excessive sense of responsibility was a real hassle.
Once Lu Yun Ting fully understood, abandoned his pursuit of Su Yanran, and forgot the restriction backlash on the Passing Immortal Bridge, his disguise would stay secure. And as Liu Xun, the one who untied Lu Yun Ting’s heart knot, he could become sworn brothers, filling the missing friendship line. With his mindset cleared, Lu Yun Ting’s stalled cultivation would naturally progress—three birds with one stone!
Xun Ji was smugly self-satisfied when suddenly his sleeve was tugged.
The black-clothed youth sitting with him had a cold, stern face, tightly furrowed brows, and sternly demanded, “You’re lying!”
Xun Ji: “?”
“If they felt nothing for him, why help him regardless of their reputations, give their all selflessly without reward?” Lu Yun Ting’s dark eyes lit up as he declared firmly, “They must like him!”
![No Redemption for Dark Protagonists [Quick Transmigration]](https://i0.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/quickkk.jpg?resize=151,215 "No Redemption for Dark Protagonists [Quick Transmigration]")
