Chapter 19

By the time Ke Enli arrived at Keke Shop, Rao Ke was already waiting for him at the entrance.

As soon as he arrived, Rao Ke led him to the villa beside the shop for a detailed discussion, and they went straight to the living room on the first floor to sit down.

Rao Ke had prepared some Chinese-style pastries and flower tea in advance.

"Thank you." Ke Enli smiled and took a sip of the flower tea.

"You said you wanted to discuss a big business deal with me?" Rao Ke looked at Ke Enli.

Ke Enli smiled. "Yes, I'm heading back to the royal capital tomorrow, so I wanted to buy a batch of goods from you."

"Of course." Rao Ke didn't ask further questions; the most important thing in business was respecting the customer's privacy.

Ke Enli thought for a moment. "Oh, by the way, I heard your shop launched a membership card promotion?"

At the mention of the membership card promotion, Rao Ke remembered that not long after she had received Ke Enli's message, the quest panel, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly refreshed with a new upgrade quest.

Ever since the upgrade quest from Lv1 to Lv2 had been completed, the upgrade quest from Lv2 to Lv3 still hadn't been unlocked.

Rao Ke had initially thought the system was glitching again, but when she asked Sesame Paste, Sesame Paste didn't know either.

"How about this: I'll take 500 premium silver cards and 2 top-tier gold cards." Ke Enli took out a Space Ring and handed it to Rao Ke.

Rao Ke took a casual look and found it was filled to the brim with densely packed gold coins, along with various potions and magical artifacts filling the entire space.

Seeing how generous Ke Enli was, Rao Ke's smile became much more sincere.

She called over Baitang, handed it the Space Ring, and had it help Ke Enli process the cards.

"By the way, do you want to come to the royal capital with me and look around?" Ke Enli smiled and extended the invitation.

Rao Ke was a bit puzzled. "Me?"

"Yeah, it'll be a good chance to expand your market. We beastmen are much easier to get along with than those humans next door." Ke Enli chuckled, taking a jab at the neighboring humans. "I heard a human viscount came to your shop to cause trouble today~"

Rao Ke was actually curious. Since arriving on this otherworldly continent, she had basically stayed near the Adventure Forest and never ventured farther out.

In fact, Rao Ke had been wanting to find some time to travel around the Kaqisha Continent and witness its local customs and culture.

"Let me think about it." Rao Ke hadn't made up her mind yet.

Ke Enli didn't press further. "I'm leaving at 10 a.m. tomorrow. If you agree, you can message me anytime."

Ke Enli took out his shopping list and handed it to Rao Ke.

Rao Ke said she would bring it to him tomorrow—even if she wasn't going, she would at least see him off as a friend.

Ke Enli smiled and agreed.

Soon, Baitang came back with a basket full of membership cards and a Space Ring.

Ke Enli took the cards, then produced another Space Ring, leaving both rings with Rao Ke.

He explained that the remaining money in the original Space Ring could cover the cost of the goods, and she could just put all the supplies into the ring. The new Space Ring was meant as a gift for Rao Ke.

But Rao Ke absolutely refused to accept it. Left with no choice, Ke Enli could only take it back. Finally, seeing that it was getting late, he took his leave.

That Space Ring, originally packed full of gold coins, still had quite a few magical artifacts and coins left over—more than enough to purchase those supplies.

Chrisley, who had been concealed nearby, revealed herself. "That young man is the fifth prince of the Beastman Empire."

Rao Ke was somewhat surprised. She'd thought his identity was unusual, but not this unusual.

"Also, that little girl you introduced to me at noon—she's the seventh daughter of the Human Empire's late emperor." Chrisley also revealed Mo Duoya's identity.

Rao Ke hadn't expected that either. Wasn't this supposed to be a fringe area?

How were there so many princes and princesses around? Rao Ke was starting to feel overwhelmed. No wonder Mo Duoya had casually purchased a gold card as well.

Currently, Keke Shop had only sold three gold cards—two bought by Ke Enli and one by Mo Duoya.

"Agree to that young man's invitation. I'll take you to meet a friend of mine; she'll be delighted to see you too." Chrisley smiled, curling her lips.

Since Chrisley had said so, and Rao Ke did genuinely want to go out and see the world beyond...

"By the way, that kid was going to give you a Space Ring, wasn't he?" Chrisley casually took out a golden bracelet embedded with five space stones, finely carved with elegant patterns. "This is your teacher's gift for taking you as a disciple. You did the right thing—don't casually accept things men give you." Chrisley gave a faint smile.

"Teacher~" Rao Ke was a little moved.

"You're my only student. Take it. What others have, you should have too—and only the best." Chrisley said proudly.

"Mm!"

Rao Ke looked at Xue Jiali, who had just returned to the villa from work, her face full of smiles. "Xue Jiali, you've worked hard~"

Xue Jiali looked at Rao Ke and couldn't help but curl her lips. "What do you want?"

"My teacher and I are planning to go to the royal capital to visit an old friend and promote the shop, so I'll have to trouble you to stay here and mind the store." Rao Ke said with a smile.

Xue Jiali stared at Rao Ke for a moment, then lowered her gaze. "Fine, but what about restocking the goods?"

"I'll send you a shop link on the Astrolabe in a bit; you can just download it."

Rao Ke planned to give the current shop employees a copied version of the shop panel. The employees could purchase items on it, but after submitting the order, Rao Ke would still need to review and approve it.

"Alright." After agreeing, Xue Jiali turned and headed upstairs.

"Oh, and let's have hotpot tonight!" Rao Ke called out.

"Okay." Xue Jiali, who was already on the stairs, paused for a moment.

Everyone in the villa usually cooked for themselves, but occasionally they'd gather for a shared meal.

The organizer and leader was, of course, Rao Ke.

Ke Enli was delighted when he received Rao Ke's message.

Duo Weituo, seeing his happy expression, asked, "Did the shop owner agree?"

"Yeah."

"You're leaving tomorrow, and Peilin said we should have a dinner together. Come on, they're all waiting." Duo Weituo stood up.

Late into the night, everyone played and chatted late into the evening to send off their departing friend.

The next morning, Rao Ke, sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes, found herself face to face with Ke Enli, who had equally dark circles.

She handed the Space Ring to Ke Enli, curious about how they would reach the royal capital.

As it turned out, Ke Enli directly took out a teleportation talisman, and the next second, Rao Ke and the others appeared before an extremely luxurious manor.

"Since I stayed too long in Daylight Town and ran out of time, I just used a teleportation talisman to come back directly." Ke Enli said with a smile.

"No problem, this is actually more convenient..." Though her head was still a bit dizzy.

An elegantly dressed butler in black stood nearby with a smile. "Welcome back, Your Highness."

"Kutch, take this lady to her room to settle her luggage." Ke Enli instructed.

"Very well, Your Highness. His Majesty has ordered that you report to the palace as soon as you arrive." Kutch spoke with respect.

Ke Enli nodded, then looked at Rao Ke. "I have some business to attend to. If you want to go out and look around, you can have Kutch accompany you, or you can wait until I come back."

Rao Ke nodded, then followed Kutch away.

Ke Enli changed into more formal attire before heading to the palace to meet the Beast Emperor.

The Beast Emperor of the Beastman Empire had risen to power through rebellion. The previous Beast Emperor had been obsessed with pleasure and war, suffering repeated defeats in campaigns against the Human Empire, and had been cruel and tyrannical—so much so that the Beastman Empire nearly fell to the Human Empire. It was then that the current Beast Emperor overthrew him.

After ascending the throne, the current Beast Emperor implemented reforms that stabilized the empire, leading to the peace and prosperity of today, a state strong enough to rival the Human Empire.

The Beast Emperor was now well over a hundred years old, but for a beastman, that was still the prime of life. Thanks to his powerful magic, he maintained the appearance of a man in his twenties.

His features were handsome and refined, his bearing tall and upright like bamboo, yet he carried an innate aura of authority.

"So you finally remembered to come back?" The Beast Emperor looked at Ke Enli with a strange hint of reproach in his eyes.

Ke Enli smiled and scratched his head, playing dumb. "Oh, I've just been so busy! You know, Father, it's not easy managing a border town."

The Beast Emperor snorted coldly. "I've asked around—from what I hear, you seem to have plenty of free time every day."

"Haha, really?" Ke Enli continued to play ignorant. "But I feel like I'm busy every day."

The Beast Emperor sighed. When they were little, they'd all been so adorable. Now none of them were willing to come chat with their old father—only Little Ten was still good.

"Enough. What did Duo Weituo ask you to tell me?" The Beast Emperor cut off his reminiscing and got down to business.

"The calamity seems to be escalating." Ke Enli turned serious as he brought up the matter, handing the documents in his hand to the Beast Emperor.

The Beast Emperor frowned. An escalation of the calamity was an extremely grave matter for the entire Kaqisha Continent.

"Bring this up at tomorrow's morning court. Is there anything else?"

"Besides the escalating calamity, there's something else very important." Ke Enli took out one of each item from the Space Ring. "A shop called Keke Shop has appeared at the edge of the Adventure Forest, selling goods never seen before, and the shop owner is a witch."

"The Witch Clan has been in seclusion for a hundred years, and now they appear again... Could that prophecy actually come true..." The Beast Emperor muttered, lost in thought.

Ke Enli couldn't quite make out what his father was saying.

"Alright, leave the things here. By the way, there's going to be a banquet at the palace in three days. Invite that witch." The Beast Emperor lightly rubbed his temples.

"Sure." Ke Enli agreed, then added a caveat. "But whether she's willing to come is up to her."

"I know!" The Beast Emperor shot Ke Enli a glare. "Your mother has been waiting for you for a long time. Stay for dinner with her tonight before you leave."

At the mention of his mother, Ke Enli's expression softened considerably, and he nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Father, this is the top-tier gold card from Keke Shop. Limited to 100 cards." Ke Enli took out a gold card and offered it to the Beast Emperor.

The Beast Emperor's expression eased, and he smiled warmly. "You're such a thoughtful child."

At that moment, after freshening up in her room, Rao Ke took out her tablet and contacted Chrisley.

Chrisley had already gone ahead to the capital earlier that morning to visit her old friend.