Chapter 52: Du Xian Sect 10 Part 1

Master Liu immediately beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly. “Right, right, Xun’er is absolutely right.”

A tea guest asked in surprise, “Master Liu, how come we didn’t know you had a son, and one so handsome and upright-looking, not resembling you at all!”

“How dare you speak like that!” Master Liu pulled a stern face. “There are plenty of things you don’t know!”

He circled in front of the crowd and pointed at Xun Ji as he introduced, “This is my son, Liu Xun. He was doing business outside these past few years, earned some money, and came back to show filial piety to me. From now on, he’s the young master of this tea house.”

Though the crowd harbored some doubts, Master Liu had excellent relations with everyone in the area, so they gave him plenty of face and all paid their respects to Xun Ji one after another.

Xun Ji curved his lips in a smile and returned the courtesies one by one. He beckoned to a tea house waiter. “I’ll cover today’s tea money. Serve more tea and snacks to everyone.”

The surrounding flattery immediately became a bit more sincere.

After the greetings, the tea guests remembered the story from earlier and urged Master Liu to continue.

Xun Ji, however, said, “Father should rest today. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

The crowd felt greatly disappointed and was about to complain when Xun Ji added, “But I’ve recently been learning storytelling from Father. If everyone doesn’t mind, how about I tell a segment instead?”

How could the crowd refuse? They all cheered and applauded enthusiastically.

Xun Ji cleared his throat, strolled gracefully to Master Liu’s position, sat down, and began to narrate.

“This is a story about a man who fell in love with two women at the same time.”

He had only spoken the first sentence when the audience below perked up instantly. This was far more exciting than the stale old tale of Treasure Pearl County’s origins!

Xun Ji slapped the storyteller’s gavel and called out loudly, “Listen carefully! This man was named Xiao Shuai, the son of the county magistrate.”

“The county magistrate’s son is named De Fa, not Xiao Shuai,” a tea guest said doubtfully.

Xun Ji choked for a moment. “Er, this is fictional—that is, something that happened in another county.”

The crowd understood and cracked their melon seeds with crisp snaps.

“Xiao Shuai was tall and handsome, smart, upright, and strong in responsibility. He was very popular in the county.

One time, the county magistrate sent Xiao Shuai to procure goods out of town. Halfway there, they suddenly encountered mountain bandits who robbed them and intended to kill to silence them! Xiao Shuai resisted desperately. He joined forces with Xiao Mei, the wealthy young lady from another carriage that had been robbed, helping each other through life and death until they finally escaped together.

During their flight, they couldn’t mind the proprieties between men and women. They touched skin to skin multiple times. To preserve the young lady’s chastity and out of gratitude for her companionship along the way, Xiao Shuai decided to propose marriage at her home.”

“The two escaped from the bandits’ clutches, which shows their fate was destined by heaven, a match made in heaven!” a tea guest sighed.

“Well said.” Xun Ji smiled. “Unfortunately, misfortune never comes alone. Xiao Shuai soon faced another trial.”

“As the saying goes, the tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind. Someone grew jealous of Xiao Shuai and was determined to ruin him! Right on the road to propose to Xiao Mei, he was suddenly kidnapped by a group of black-clothed men, force-fed an aphrodisiac, and thrown into Pretty Widow Xiao Cui’s room!”

“Ah?!” The crowd was shocked. “Something this good exists?!”

Xun Ji said gravely, “Xiao Cui saw Xiao Shuai tormented by the drug’s effects, looking pitiful, and couldn’t bear it, so she helped him out. Only then did he manage to endure through the ordeal.”

“Tell us in detail how she helped!” The crowd disliked his brevity. Melon seed shells flew from their mouths as they shouted demands.

Xun Ji said seriously, “This is a proper tea house; we can’t go into details. In any case, our protagonist Xiao Shuai now found himself in a dilemma. On one side was Xiao Mei, with whom he had shared life and death; on the other was Xiao Cui, who had selflessly given of herself. Two women, two affections, two responsibilities—he couldn’t choose!”

The crowd erupted in discussion. Some said to choose Xiao Mei, some Xiao Cui, others that an adult wouldn’t choose and should take both. Of course, there were also those who cursed Xiao Shuai as a scumbag and suggested beating him and sending him to the palace to serve the emperor.

Besides Xun Ji, no one noticed that in a concealed corner of the tea house, a youth dressed in coarse short cloth garments with an upright figure was staring at him with a pair of dark eyes filled with shock and conflict.

Xun Ji’s lips curved imperceptibly. The fish had taken the bait.

“Young master, hurry and continue! What choice did Xiao Shuai make?” The tea guests urged impatiently.

Xun Ji lightly shook his feather fan, rose gracefully, and left, leaving only an echoing sentence in the tea house hall.

“To know what happens next, listen to the next installment.”