Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 551: The Paladin’s Confusion
Back in the Divine Convenience Store, Wu Meiyu continued monitoring the store’s operations from the high vantage point of the second-floor balcony.
Her gaze, which was sharpened by years of navigating the treacherous currents of the royal court, swept over the bustling floor below.
To an outsider, it would probably feel like it was a chaotic sea of cultivators, merchants, and mortals, racing each other to grab the product they want from their shelves. To her, it was a complex, living organism of supply and demand, a flow of resources that she was now responsible for orchestrating.
"Pan Ruo, how is it going?" She whispered, her voice being delivered to the young woman at the counter through the store’s internal communication array. She didn’t need to shout anymore thanks to this convenient little feature added along with the Celestial Hot Spring facility and the arcade. It allowed the store’s staff to communicate with each other easily.
At the moment, only Lin Mo, Liu Xiaoyu, and Wu Meiyu could use it freely. The other staff could only reply to them.
Pan Ruo tapped a jade slip at her corner, which was continuously being updated with the data she was collecting through her eyes.
"Traffic is holding steady at 95% capacity, Sister Meiyu. The [Stardust Repeaters] have long been sold out and many are still asking for them. The Arcade remained occupied, with a waiting list of forty-three patrons. Tensions are rising near Cabinet #7 due to a disputed win streak, but Xiao Ya is de-escalating it excellently. She learned a great deal from Sister Xiaoyu to hang the threat of being banned from the store. Now they’re behaving properly."
"Good. And the VIPs?"
"Guild Master Jin Cheng has asked for your presence. He mentioned the ’distribution’ Shopkeeper promised him. At the moment, he is currently at one of the [Divine Barter & Appraisal Terminal]. He is attempting to negotiate a bulk exchange rate for his carts full of Western ’Sun-Dried Spirit Fruits’. He’s negotiating with the machine for a higher rate of conversion. He appears frustrated but will possibly still proceed with the transaction."
Wu Meiyu allowed a small smile to grace her lips. "He is testing our system’s flexibility. He needs to understand that the Divine Convenience Store may provide universal convenience but it won’t bend to anyone, not even a Golden Patron. Send someone to tell him it’ll be in his best interest to sell it to the Harvester’s Guild instead of the store proper. It is where he can set his own price and let the market dictate the value, rather than the algorithm of our appraisal unit."
"Understood, Sister Meiyu. Dispatching Li Li now," Pan Ruo replied, her tone crisp. "She is currently free from the Hot Spring duty as the morning rush there has stabilized."
Wu Meiyu nodded, cutting the connection. She leaned against the railing as her gaze shifted to the designated area of the [Divine Barter & Appraisal Terminal].
There, Jin Cheng was red-faced, arguing with the glowing blue screen of the kiosk as if it were a stubborn subordinate.
"What do you mean by ’Market Saturation Adjustment’?" The Guild Master snarled as he tapped the screen aggressively. "These are Sun-Dried Spirit Fruits! Delicacies from the Western Oasis! You cannot value them the same as a common apple!"
The machine, naturally, did not respond with empathy. It simply blinked a neutral message: [Current exchange rate fixed based on caloric and spiritual density. Take it or leave it.]
Jin Cheng looked ready to summon his Nascent Soul aura and smash the insolent artifact when a small, timid hand tugged at his opulent sleeve.
"Excuse me, honored guest," Li Li said, bowing deeply. Despite her lack of cultivation, her uniform gave her a strange sort of armor against the pressure of the high-level cultivator. "The Chief Operations Officer suggests that for specialty goods such as yours, the ’Harvester’s Guild’ listing on the Bulletin Board would be more... profitable. The terminal is for quick liquidation and is set up for mortals who lack the means to produce their own spirit stones. The Guild is for finding the right buyer."
Jin Cheng paused as he retracted his hand. He looked at the mortal girl, then back at the screen. The anger drained from his face, replaced by the calculating gleam of a merchant who had just realized he was trying to sell diamonds to a pawnbroker.
"The Harvester’s Guild..." He muttered, stroking his beard. "Of course. Direct to consumer. Or direct to alchemist. I can set the price. I can also create a bidding war." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
He straightened his robes, his dignity instantly restored. "Very well. The Shopkeeper’s subordinates are as sharp as ever. Tell your superior I appreciate the... reminder."
He turned on his heel, pulling out his Viewing Jade with renewed vigor as he marched towards the seating area to draft a listing. The thought of the ’distribution’ contract is set aside for now.
Wu Meiyu watched the de-escalation with satisfaction. "Order maintained."
Her attention was then drawn to the entrance of the Celestial Hot Spring. The vagrant cultivator ’Lia’ should’ve been inside the women’s section already. She couldn’t help but wonder how a rigid sword from the West would react to being submerged in their celestial spring waters.
—
Inside the Celestial Hot Spring’s Women’s Changing Room.
Aurelia stood before the wall of wooden lockers, her hand clutched the numbered wristband.
She watched as a female cultivator from the Azure Gale Sect tapped her wristband against a locker.
The wood shimmered and let out a soothing chime before the door clicked open.
The cultivator casually stripped off her robes, tossing them inside where they were enveloped in a soft, cleansing light, before donning a fluffy white bathrobe that materialized from a shelf within.
It was efficient and magical. And to Aurelia, it was profoundly exposing.
In the Supreme Sun Church, a Paladin’s armor was their second skin. To remove it was to be vulnerable. To be less than a warrior.
And to do so in a public space, surrounded by strangers, some of whom radiated the chaotic auras of unorthodox sects, went against every doctrine of vigilance she had been taught.
"This... this is a test from the Supreme Sun Himself," She muttered to herself. "To understand the light, one must be willing to be bathed in it."
With stiff, reluctant movements, she tapped her locker.
She removed her traveler’s cloak, revealing the simple, sturdy tunic and trousers she wore beneath. She hesitated over her sword. It was a high earth-grade artifact, blessed by the Pope himself.
[Notice: Weapons are not permitted within the bath area. Storage is secure. Divine Convenience protocols are active.]
A small, polite inscription flashed on the locker’s interior, clearly reminding her not to worry about her traffic. After all, there were more precious treasures in the store than her sword.
Aurelia gritted her teeth. She unbuckled her sword belt and placed it inside. Despite feeling naked and defenseless, she stripped down before wrapping herself tightly in the provided bathrobe.
The fabric was unnervingly soft, fluffy, warm, and smelled of sunshine.
Following the other women who also changed into their bathrobes, she stepped through the sliding doors into the bath area proper.
As soon as the door opened, steam billowed around her, carrying the scent of cedar and spirit herbs.
The sound of gently splashing water and low, relaxed conversation filled the air.
It was a paradise carved from stone and magic. The main pool was vast, lined with smooth white marble. Cherry blossom trees, maintained by the formation, dropped petals onto the water’s surface.
But what caught Aurelia’s eye wasn’t the decor. It was the patrons.
To her left, a group of female disciples from the major sects of the Eastern Abyssal Domain were soaking. They were laughing and chatting animatedly with a woman whose skin was pale and whose aura felt faintly poisonous.
Aurelia stiffened at that sight.
That pale woman. She wore the insignia of the Poison Demon Cult on the towel wrapped around her hair.
A righteous body cultivator and a poison user, sharing the same water?
"The toxins... they seep out," The cultist was saying, pointing to her skin. "The water neutralizes the backlash of the [Five-Venom Art]. It’s incredible. I can cultivate twice as fast now."
"We use it to soothe the muscle tears from the Blood-Forging," A Crimson Vale disciple replied, splashing water over her shoulder. "Shopkeeper really thought of everything. Hey, pass me that milk?"
The cultist reached for a floating wooden tray and handed over a bottle of [Heavengrass Cow Milk].
Aurelia watched all of this with her mind reeling in confusion.
In the West, the meeting of orthodox and unorthodox ways would be a battlefield. Here, it became a social club. The concept of ’enemy’ seemed to dissolve in the steam. Nothing matters except the label of ’patrons’ of the Divine Convenience Store.
Calming herself down, Aurelia slowly lowered herself into the water, choosing a secluded corner.
The moment her skin touched the liquid, she gasped.
It wasn’t just hot water. It was liquid energy. It rushed into her pores, hunting down the fatigue accumulated from her long journey, the hidden strains in her meridians from years of rigid, intense training, and the mental stress of her undercover mission.
A groan of involuntary relief escaped her lips. The tension she had carried for years seemed to melt away, siphoned off by the formation and replaced by a gentle, nurturing warmth.
