Chapter 18

Duolun, flanked by his large entourage of servants, arrived at Keke Shop.

Seeing the exquisite storefront with its large glass panels, greed flickered in his eyes.

"Not bad. Let's head inside and take a look." He lifted his chin high and strode in with an air of arrogance.

As soon as Duolun stepped through the door with his servants, he drew the attention of many. Whispers broke out immediately.

"That manner of his—he must be a noble from the imperial capital."

Someone who recognized him sneered, "Don't mention it. He's a baron who got his title by being a watchdog for the Kaya Trading Company..."

"Exactly. His methods are dirty..."

The beastmen couldn't help but roll their eyes at the sight of him. The human nobles were all essentially the same.

"How can there be lowly creatures like beastmen in here?!" Duolun sneered, eyeing an orange cat beastman with a child nearby.

"What did you say?! You looking for a fight?" A tiger beastman, muscles rippling, cracked his knuckles and glared at Duolun with fierce eyes.

Startled, Duolun hid behind two servants, muttering, "Stupid and lowly, yet they won't admit it. Just violent, single-minded creatures."

"Hey, you stinking old man dripping with sweat, how many days has it been since you last brushed your teeth? Your breath is rank." A white fox beastman pinched his nose. "No manners at all?"

The fox's taunt drew a burst of laughter from the crowd, especially from the tiger beastman, who laughed loudly and nodded in agreement.

Duolun's face cycled through pale, red, and purple like a palette, but he dared not approach, well aware of his own limits.

"Shopkeeper?! Shopkeeper?! Hurry up and kick out these beastmen who snuck in, arrest them!!" Duolun shouted, his face green, hiding in the middle of his servants.

The human guests nearby, seeing the beastmen's contemptuous smirks, felt deeply embarrassed and couldn't help but distance themselves from him.

The servants surrounding him all blushed and silently lowered their heads.

Amid Duolun's shouting, Baitang hurried over. Among all the robots, Rao Ke had promoted Baitang and Heitang to managers.

"Sir, may I help you? Please refrain from shouting—you're disturbing the other guests," Baitang said politely.

Duolun's eyes lit up at the sight of Baitang. He hadn't expected this shop to have a golem; presenting it to Lord Peter would surely please him greatly.

He pointed arrogantly at the beastmen and ordered Baitang, "Hurry up and throw out these lowly, vulgar beastmen! Sharing air with them pollutes my breathing!"

Baitang's smile didn't change as he refused flatly, "Sorry, sir, but Keke Shop welcomes guests of all races. Please show respect to other patrons and refrain from shouting."

Duolun's face darkened further. "I'm a baron. I command you—"

"If you continue to disturb other customers, I will add you to our blacklist," Baitang said, his small dot eyes turning red, ready to switch to combat mode.

Duolun was about to retort when he saw Mo Duoya walk in with Ai Huike. He immediately clamped his mouth shut and scurried away like a whipped dog.

The beastmen watched his retreating back and snorted, "What a nuisance!"

Mo Duoya looked at Duolun's back. "What stupid stunt did that fool pull now?"

Laiensi passed by, holding a small cup of grilled cold noodles. "He wanted Baitang to throw out all the beastmen and throw his weight around as a baron. If you hadn't shown up, he'd probably still be arguing."

"What a disgrace. Laiensi, keep an eye on him and notify me if anything happens." Mo Duoya's disgust was barely concealed.

"Got it!" Laiensi, tasked with the job, ran off with his grilled cold noodles to find Duolun. Before leaving, he greeted Ai Huike and invited him over that evening, enthusiastically recommending the grilled noodles. Ai Huike nodded with a smile.

Duolun wandered the shop with a dark expression. Everyone had learned who he was after the earlier scene. Human customers, afraid of offending him, whispered quietly among themselves, while beastmen openly showed their disdain, occasionally letting out loud snorts.

Duolun, however, was soon distracted by the novel goods in the shop, rushing to the counter, momentarily forgetting his embarrassment. His heart swelled with greed and delight—if he could offer this shop to Lord Peter, he'd surely be richly rewarded.

Blinded by his fantasies, Duolun never considered the shop owner's wishes. After all, for decades, he had climbed the ranks by such means; no matter how powerful the owner of a treasure, they couldn't rival the emperor's favorite duke.

Already treating everything as his own, Duolun ordered his servants to gather the items.

Laiensi, watching Duolun's foolish antics, immediately messaged Mo Duoya. Not far away, Mo Duoya received the message and couldn't believe anyone could be so stupid.

"Let's go!" Mo Duoya thought of her foolish brother, the emperor, who had spoiled that old man Peter rotten. Over the years, he had secretly amassed who knows how much, and even his subordinates were both stupid and greedy.

Just as Duolun was about to leave with his haul, the main door suddenly slammed shut and alarms blared.

Upstairs, Xue Jiali, at the dessert stand, rose and headed downstairs.

In her room, Rao Ke received the alert on her communicator while studying magic and rushed to the shop, with Chrisley following.

"Please pay for your items first!" Baitang, now in combat mode, summoned other robots to surround Duolun.

Duolun had already stashed everything into his Space Ring, sneering arrogantly, "Tell your owner that Duke Peter has taken a liking to this shop. I'm just taking a portion of the goods first!"

"Pay up! This is your final warning!"

Xue Jiali came downstairs just in time to hear Duolun's self-important words, frowning. With a casual wave, Duolun was sent crashing outside, where acid rain drenched him, burning and making him scream.

Scrambling to his feet, he hastily erected a protective barrier.

"Are you trying to offend Duke Peter?!"

Xue Jiali couldn't be bothered with Duolun's nonsense. Looking at the Space Ring on his finger, she squeezed, and it shattered, spilling everything out. She picked out Duolun's own belongings and tossed them aside, then added Duolun and all his servants to the shop's blacklist.

Enraged, Duolun tried to storm back in, but found the protective barrier that had once shielded against the acid rain now blocked his path. No matter how he attacked, the barrier remained intact.

Inside the barrier, the customers pointed and laughed at Duolun as if he were a clown. People passed through the barrier freely, making Duolun stand out awkwardly.

Duolun's eyes were bloodshot, and in his irrational rage, he was about to use a powerful blast talisman that Duke Peter had given him.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble?!" Mo Duoya glared at Duolun, her face cold.

"Lady Mo Duoya, the shop owner was the one being ungrateful..." Duolun's excuse was cut short by Mo Duoya's interruption.

Mo Duoya sneered, "Do you know the owner of this shop is a witch? If Peter finds out you've been using his name to offend a witch, what do you think your fate will be?~" Her tone was light, but each word struck Duolun like bullets, shattering his composure.

Duolun's face turned ashen. When he saw two black-haired, green-eyed witches walk into the shop, he knew Mo Duoya spoke the truth. He scrambled to his feet and fled.

Chrisley watched Duolun's retreating figure, snorted coldly, and with a flick of her finger, sent a wisp of black energy drifting into his heart.

Mo Duoya walked over to Rao Ke. "Sorry, Keke."

Rao Ke waved her hand. "It's not your fault. Why apologize?" She then introduced Xue Jiali and Chrisley to Mo Duoya. "This is Xue Jiali, my new employee, and this is Chrisley, my teacher."

"Hello, I'm Mo Duoya, the town leader of No. 7 Wandering Town," Mo Duoya said with a smile.

Chrisley and Xue Jiali both gave a slight nod. After exchanging pleasantries, Xue Jiali returned to the dessert stand upstairs.

"Come on, Keke, let's continue the lesson. We just got to the key part," Chrisley said, turning to head back to the room.

Mo Duoya stood rooted to the spot, her heart shaking. She had seen Chrisley in the legendary historical figures compendium; she had been in seclusion for centuries, yet here she was, and she was Rao Ke's teacher. Compared to that, the fact that Keke Shop had an elf employee seemed mundane.

Mo Duoya felt fortunate she had chosen to befriend Rao Ke.

Meanwhile, Duolun, back at the inn, was trembling in fright, oblivious to the fact that his most trusted servant had already reported the incident to his rival.

"...Yes, that's how it went, Lady Kalisa." The servant respectfully delivered the news to the woman on the other side of the communicator.

The woman on the other end covered her mouth and laughed. "Well done. You'll be rewarded handsomely."

"Yes."

"That fool Duolun really stepped in it this time. The watchdog's about to become a stray dog." The woman made no effort to hide her schadenfreude.

Meanwhile, in the beastman town, Ke Enli looked at the packed luggage and stored it all in his Space Ring. "Hmm, I should drop by Keke Shop to buy something for the capital. Almost forgot about that~" He happily decided on one last important stop before leaving.

Rather than rushing off, Ke Enli contacted Rao Ke, saying he wanted to discuss a big order, then headed for Keke Shop.

[Upgrade Mission: Own 5000 premium silver card members and 50 top-tier gold card members.

Silver Card (53/5000)

Gold Card (0/50)

Reward: Unlock Clothing & Accessories + Daily Necessities Section]