Hao didn’t sleep that night. He spent it cultivating - slow, steady, the long way.
Sure, a single cup of instant noodles could’ve launched him into enlightennt with zero effort... but lately, that didn’t sit right with him.
It just felt wrong. Like skipping the story just to read the ending.
Maybe that’s why, over ti, he began to notice sothing strange.
Sotis, the older custors would drop by. They’d walk in, greet him, chat, and browse the shelves... buy other products, but never once reach for a single cup of instant noodles.
At first, Hao paid it no mind.
But the more it happened, the more it lingered in his head.
Weren’t they the ones always chasing faster breakthroughs? A path to immortality? A way to ascend to higher realms?
So why skip the most effective product in the store?
He had two theories.
One - just like him, maybe they didn’t want the shortcut anymore. Maybe they too felt that enlightennt without effort was empty.
No growth, no lessons. Just skipping to the end without really living through the middle.
And two...
He narrowed his eyes.
They were stalling their ascension.
Why?
Because once they ascended to the upper realms... they might not be able to co back down.
Which ant no more Dinsional Convenience Store.
No more Cola. No more Peach Oolong Tea. No more ice cream. No more crispy potato chips.
It was absurd.
Completely irrational.
And entirely believable!
Because Hao knew how ridiculous cultivators could be when they wanted sothing.
To willingly hold back one’s cultivation just to continue tasting the store’s products?
Yeah.
That checked out. Cultivator priorities be wild.
Hao checked the clock.
Ti for a new day!
He headed downstairs straight to the storefront, not even glancing around the hallway or storage area on the way. There was nothing new he was waiting on anyway.
But the mont he stepped into the storefront -
What he saw first wasn’t what he expected.
"..."
"Shu’er?"
Hao blinked.
Right there, in the middle of the room, was Yan Zhi’s little sister, standing like a statue - face frozen in shock, eyes wide, mouth slightly open.
She was staring at sothing.
The girl flinched at the sound of his voice, then spun around so fast her hair slapped her cheek.
"B-Boss?!"
She stiffened as if caught stealing, then imdiately puffed up, bristling the way a cat about to hiss would.
"I-I wasn’t breaking anything, alright?! Stop looking at like that, boss!"
"You think I can even reach the top shelf? Hah! In your dreams!"
She scoffed with full offense.
Ah.
She was back at it again.
That sharp tongue. That defensive bark. It reminded him a little too much of Mo Xixi - that sa tough outer shell shielding sothing softer underneath.
But while Mo Xixi wore hers like armor, Yan Shu’er’s shell was rougher, harder, and stitched tightly together.
She probably didn’t an to snap.
Not after how she broke down the night before, curled up against her brother, apologizing for everything she’d done.
"...Good morning to you too." Hao said dryly, raising an eyebrow.
Shu’er’s face burned red as she crossed her arms and glared harder to compensate.
Hao took a step closer, then asked casually. "You’re up early. Couldn’t sleep"
" Or... is there a reason you’re -?"
As if right on cue.
Growwwl.
Her stomach let out a dramatic, almost codic rumble that echoed slightly in the quiet room.
Yan Shu’er’s expression cracked. The corner of her eye twitched.
"Tch! Don’t look at like that, boss! I could go a whole week without eating if I wanted to!"
Hao coughed into his sleeve, trying not to laugh.
Well, that explains it.
With her lower cultivation, she probably needed food far more regularly than she let on.
"Uhmm..." Yan Shu’er mumbled, clearly skipping past the whole ’why she was up’ thing like it never existed.
Instead, she jabbed a finger toward the far end of the room.
"That! That room!"
She pointed at the open doorway - no door, just a wide, clean archway that hadn’t been there yesterday. Through it, faint glimrs of polished wood, green felt, and glossy balls on a table could be seen.
Yan Shu’er squinted, then looked back at Hao suspiciously.
"That wasn’t there before, right?"
"Why is there now a new room to this?!"
"Ahh." Hao nodded, glancing toward the space beyond the arch.
Right. That must be the room for the new billiards table. A recent addition - he hadn’t even checked it out yet.
"Let’s just say... I magic it."
"..."
Yan Shu’er tilted her head slightly, face scrunching.
"...You what, boss?"
"I magic it." Hao repeated calmly, hands in his pockets.
Yan Shu’er stared at Hao as if he just recited the Dao in frog language.
"What’s ’magic,’ boss?"
Hao shrugged. "It’s... uh... when you use invisible rabbits to bend reality or sothing."
"Doesn’t matter."
He waved it off casually, already halfway toward the shelves.
But behind him -
"...Invisible rabbits...?" Yan Shu’er muttered, eyes narrowing with deep suspicion.
Her arms crossed. Her face got serious.
"So that’s why the room wasn’t there before. A spatial rabbit technique...?"
"But wait. What does a small animal have to do with space?"
Her voice dropped. "Unless... rabbits are naturally aligned with spatial Dao... because they burrow..."
She gasped quietly.
Hao, who had heard every word, felt a laugh shoot up his throat.
His shoulders twitched. He was halfway to letting it out, but he stopped himself mid-animation.
The laugh died instantly.
What ca out instead was a weird, single "Hff" noise.
It echoed awkwardly.
’Is she becoming a conspiracy theorist shi or sothing? And it’s my fault too?
"...?" Yan Shu’er glanced over.
Before she could say anything else, sothing flew through the air toward her.
An object, small and round, sent her way with perfect aim - tossed by Hao.
She didn’t even have ti to process what it was. Her body moved on instinct.
Both hands reached out and caught it cleanly. She looked down.
Her eyes marbled out, sparkling with pure hunger.
A thin line of drool threatened to slide out of the corner of her mouth.
Noodles!
Yeah.
She was really that hungry.
Then - realization hit. Her expression snapped back instantly.
"Eh. I don’t need this, boss." Yan Shu’er said, nose in the air.
Five seconds passed.
Hao didn’t say a word.
Just stared at her with a blank expression.
"...I’ll pay for it, Boss." Yan Shu’er added weakly, barely above a whisper.
"I... I do want it."
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