Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 184: Tian Lu Needs a Raise After This

Meanwhile, Yan Shu’er pointed an accusatory finger at Mo Xixi again, scowling.

“Who you calling brat, you red-headed little carrot stick?!”

Mo Xixi’s eye twitched.

Her cheeks puffed up.

She blew out hard, waving her drink hand as if Shu’er’s words physically offended her soul.

“Shut your face, you frail moldy dumpling – !”

Kurome choked on her Peach Oolong Tea.

Tian Lu calmly pulled the can away from her before she spilled it on the table.

“Kids.”

“Stop.”

This was not part of the store handbook.

However, before Tian Lu could even say more.

Two heads snapped toward him in perfect sync.

Mo Xixi and Yan Shu’er both shouted:

“Who are you calling a kid?!”

“Old man!”

“Tian!”

Tian Lu froze.

For a split second, the air around him felt colder. He closed his eyes.

He could handle sword slashes, forbidden formations, assassination attempts.

But this?

This was true suffering.

He swore he aged another decade just sitting here.

A deadly mission in a demonic beast nest sounded preferable to this mess.

And then –

“You’re copying me!” Mo Xixi hissed, squinting at Yan Shu’er.

Yan Shu’er pointed back. “That’s exactly what I was gonna say to you!”

A pause.

They stared.

A flicker of mutual understanding sparked between them.

They both backed up.

No glowing auras. No curses. No flying swords. No spiritual qi.

Just two girls.

And then – bam.

Shu’er launched forward with a palm strike aimed at Mo Xixi’s ribs. Mo Xixi ducked and retaliated with a low spin kick, which Shu’er barely blocked with her forearm. T

he two exchanged a flurry of kicks and swipes, jumping on sofa, circling at the table, and crashing into a pillow fort Kurome had set up for her kittens.

Mo Xixi was holding back.

A lot.

But when she matched the girl in pure speed and strength –

Shu’er kept up.

That was the surprising part.

Mo Xixi could tell. This wasn’t just flailing. The girl knew how to fight.

Even with her tiny frame, Shu’er moved like someone who’d trained on cliffs, dirt roads, and desperation.

She blocked a sweep, rolled under, landed a hit on Mo Xixi’s shoulder.

Mo Xixi blinked.

Not bad.

This brat might actually be a genius.

Shu’er, meanwhile, was starting to get something.

Her ribs didn’t hurt anymore.

All of her injuries were gone.

And her spiritual qi – it was back. Fully. Smoothly flowing.

Wait –

Wait wait wait.

Did they get rescued?

Were these people actually the ones who saved them?

Oh.

Oh no.

She might’ve really messed up.

But it was too late now, right?

She was already in the middle of a fight. Stopping now would be super embarassing.

Besides.

That redhead had the nerve to call her a brat.

Wasn’t she a kid too?!

Unforgivable.

Mo Xixi grinned as she blocked another strike, then danced a step back with ease.

“Oh? You’re getting slow, small frail brat.”

She could end this any time she wanted. But she didn’t.

Because finally, finally, someone her size.

Well, not “exactly” her size.

She was taller. That’s given.

By almost two centimeters.

And yes, that counted. Completely.

Mo Xixi puffed her chest slightly as she parried another blow, as if the heavens themselves had granted her superior height.

Yan Shu’er’s eyes narrowed. “Small? Really? You think being taller makes you special?”

“You flea-sized carrot!”

Mo Xixi’s eyebrow twitched. “Shut your filthy mouth, walking featherduster!”

Their fists clashed again.

Yan Shu’er twisted low, swept her leg to trip Mo Xixi, but the Mo Xixi flipped midair and landed in a crouch. Mo Xixi countered with a spinning palm strike, pushing Yan Shu’er back three steps.

Yan Shu’er didn’t even pause. She came forward again, fists fast, movements sharper than before. Her footwork had grown more stable mid-fight.

Mo Xixi grinned wider.

She was enjoying this.

Each blow exchanged felt satisfying. A perfect balance of strength and stubbornness.

On the table, Kurome sat in her perfectly loafed position. She had no plans to stop them.

In the wild, young beasts fought to learn. To challenge. To bond.

Stopping them now would be like stopping cubs from growing fangs.

This was how young ones tested their limits.

And if they had energy to fight, they had energy to live.

Kurome stretched out and watched silently.

Meanwhile, Tian Lu sat at the table, hands resting on his lap.

He was trying to cultivate.

Eye open.

But inside, he was starting to question everything.

He couldn’t just go to his room. Would his employer think he was slacking off?

He couldn’t jump in either. These two girls clearly had too much pride.

Interrupting now would just put him in the middle of a hurricane.

He inhaled deeply.

And exhaled even slower.

Mo Xixi shouted mid-spin, “Still standing? Not bad for a loudmouthed twig!”

Yan Shu’er growled. “Was about to say the same, you arrogant chicken!”

The fight raged on until the enlightenment state finally ended for Hao, Yan Zhi, and the kittens.

Yan Zhi blinked slowly, still dazed from what he just went through.

But the moment he spotted his sister wide awake and wildly swinging a pillow, everything else faded from his mind.

“Shu’er?!”

Hao blinked, turning toward the chaos.

“Little Xixi?”

At that exact moment, both girls – mid-turn, mid-shout – got smacked square in the face by the same pillows they had picked up earlier.

Fwump!

Hao turned his head.

Stared at Tian Lu.

Then at Kurome. “…?”

Then back at Tian Lu, raising an eyebrow that basically said, “Really?”

Tian Lu was still pretending to be locked in cultivation.

Just as Hao gave him a dry stare, Tian Lu vanished from his chair with a small whoosh of displaced air.

The next second –

“Eh?!”

“Let me go you wrinkled log – !”

Tian Lu reappeared by the chaos, effortlessly holding both Yan Shu’er and Mo Xixi up by the back of their collars like scruffy little cats. Their legs kicked the air, arms flailing, both girls suspended and looking as shocked as they were indignant.

They weren’t even touching the ground.

“Put me down, you overgrown scarecrow!”

“I’ll suplex you, Tian!”

“Kids.”

“Cease.”

Their squirming continued.

Hao walked up with a cough.

“Alright alright, drop the angry squirrels.”