Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 552: A Small Disturbance

"The light that nurtures..." Aurelia whispered as she soaked into the spring's warmth, recalling the Pope's words.

This wasn't the burning and purifying light of the Sun. This was a different light. It feels softer and more pervasive.

She closed her eyes and attempted to meditate. To analyze the nature of this energy. But her focus was interrupted by a splash.

A wooden tray bobbed against her shoulder. On it was a menu and a glowing button.

Curiosity warring with her discipline, she tapped the menu.

[Recommended for First-Time Guests: Chilled Spirit-Lime Juice. Cleanses the palate and cools the internal heat.]

"A drink... in the bath?"

It felt decadent. And a little… sinful.

Yet, she found herself reaching for the button.

As soon as she pressed it, a small hatch in the rock wall opened silently, and a mechanical arm extended, placing a frosted can on her tray.

She watched the other patrons with a similar can on the tray next to them and pulled on the tab.

She marveled at the fizz followed by the enticing aroma of the carbonated juice.

After only a second of hesitation, she took a sip.

The icy sweetness sent a shiver of delight down her spine. The spiritual energy within the juice harmonized with the water, creating a cycle of hot and cold that tempered her body.

"Convenience," She murmured, testing the word. "Is this what it means? To have one's needs met before one even speaks them?"

She was beginning to understand why the Eastern Abyssal Domain cultivators were so fanatical. What they offered isn't simply comfort. They have a system designed to keep a cultivator at peak performance, physically and mentally, in the name of convenience.

Just as she was beginning to relax, a commotion broke out near the entrance of the bath.

"I said move! That spot is mine!"

A shrill voice cut through the serene atmosphere. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Aurelia opened her eyes.

A young woman in the opulent robes of a wealthy merchant clan was standing over a smaller, timid-looking rogue cultivator.

The merchant girl was pointing domineeringly at a prime spot near the water inlet, where the spiritual energy was densest.

"Do you know who my father is? He is a Golden Patron! I demand you vacate that spot immediately!"

The rogue cultivator shrank back, clutching her towel. "B-but... I was here first... The rules say..."

"Rules are for commoners!" The merchant girl scoffed. She raised her hand and spiritual energy gathered in her palm. It was a weak and unrefined gathering of qi, barely the 3rd Level of Spirit Gathering. However, she intended to use it to shove the other girl aside.

Aurelia's eyes narrowed. The peace was broken. The strong and rich are once again oppressing the weak and poor.

This, she understood. This was the world she knew.

She prepared to rise and intervene in the store's stead. Her sword was in the locker, but she didn't need a blade to deal with a spoiled child who barely started cultivating.

However, before she could stand, the water around the merchant girl suddenly surged.

WHOOSH!

A wall of water rose. One controlled by a formation. It slapped the merchant girl in the face, dousing her spiritual flame and knocking her back onto the tiled floor.

"Aack! My hair!" The girl wailed.

A calm, synthesized voice echoed from the walls, authoritative and absolute.

[Warning: Aggression detected. Please remain calm. Or the Spirit-Dispersing Beacon will be deployed to quell the conflict.]

The merchant girl scrambled up, furious. "Who did that?! I will have you fired! I will buy this place and burn it down!"

She raised both hands and channeled all her meager power into a fireball.

Many other patrons looked at her with pity. Some were even whispering, "What an ignorant child," or "Her father gave birth to a spoiled brat who'd learn reality soon. This is his failure."

"Enough."

Suddenly, a soft voice echoed, carrying a weight that slammed into the room like a physical blow.

Wu Meiyu stepped inside the bath area. She was still in her store uniform but her lush hair was pinned up. Ye, she walked with the bearing of an empress entering her throne room.

She didn't use spiritual pressure. She simply stood between the merchant girl and the rogue cultivator with a gaze that was both cool and dissecting.

"You..." The merchant girl faltered, sensing the shift in the room's atmosphere. "Who are you?"

"I am the manager of this facility," Wu Meiyu stated calmly. "And you, dear customer… are being an inconvenience."

"Manager? Hah! My father is a Golden Patron! He spends thousands of spirit stones here!"

"And he will be very disappointed to learn that his daughter will be earning a ban because of her behavior," Wu Meiyu replied. She raised a hand, displaying a small, glowing token. "The system records everything. Your aggression. Your attempt to harm another patron. Your disregard for the rules."

"Rules? I have money!"

"In the Divine Convenience Store, money buys goods. However, it does not buy the right to be a tyrant. You, a mere daughter of a single Golden Patron dares to act like this? You haven't been disciplined in your home, have you?" Wu Meiyu said, her voice turning icy. "You have two choices. Apologize to this young lady, finish your bath in silence, and leave. Or be escorted out by our staff. You will have your wristband revoked, and your family's account flagged for 'Disruptive Behavior'."

"And that includes your Golden Patron father. Our establishment does not condone troublemakers."

The merchant girl paled. Flagged? If her father lost his Golden Patron status because of her...

She looked around, seeking support from other patrons, but to her horror, she found none. The other patrons, including the Poison Demon Cultist and the Crimson Vale disciples, were looking at her with open disdain.

She had broken the unspoken contract. She had disrupted the peace.

"I... I apologize," She mumbled as her face burned with shame.

"Not to me. To her," Wu Meiyu pointed at the rogue cultivator.

"I apologize to you," The girl gritted out, bowing stiffly.

"A-apology accepted," The rogue cultivator squeaked, looking more terrified of Wu Meiyu than the merchant girl.

"Good. Now, enjoy your soak. And remember... the water cleanses the body, but only humility cleanses the spirit. Whoever you are outside, everyone has the same status in our establishment. A patron."

With a final, sharp nod, Wu Meiyu turned and walked away. But then, she stopped and turned her gaze towards Aurelia.

Aurelia reflexively clasped her hand into a fist as she thought she had been exposed.

But Wu Meiyu simply smiled and walked towards her, before saying, "I hope what happened did not disturb your relaxation, dear customer."

Aurelia's muscles, which had just begun to loosen in the medicinal water, seized up slightly. She forced herself to remain seated, to keep her breathing steady and not to reach for the sword that wasn't there.

She turned her head slowly, meeting Wu Meiyu's gaze. The Chief Operations Officer's eyes were calm but the dark pools of her pupils seemed to hold the weight of a kingdom's secrets. There was no hostility in them, only a sharp, unavoidable intelligence.

"Not at all, Manager," Aurelia replied, adopting the persona of the weary traveler she claimed to be. "In fact, it was… educational. To see order restored so swiftly, without bloodshed. It is a rare sight in the lands I hail from."

"Is it?" Wu Meiyu tilted her head slightly, a graceful movement that couldn't hide her origins. "I was under the impression that the Western Sacred Lands prided themselves on absolute order. On the rigidity of law and the purging of chaos."

Aurelia froze. She knows. Or at least, she suspects enough to fish for a reaction.

"I have traveled many roads," Aurelia deflected, picking up the can of juice from her tray to mask her tension. "The West, the North… chaos exists everywhere. It is only the method of containment that differs."

"Indeed. Containment versus management," Wu Meiyu murmured, stepping further into the water, though she did not submerge herself. She stood by the edge, a sentinel in a bathrobe. "Here, we prefer to manage and guide. The young miss from the merchant clan. She was not evil. merely misguided. Entitled, if you will. To crush her would be easy, but inconvenient. It would breed resentment and a loss of a customer. To correct her, to bring her into compliance… builds a better patron. That is the Shopkeeper's way."

She looked down at Aurelia, her gaze piercing through the steam.

"You have a strong foundation, dear customer. Your muscles are knit with the density of one who has worn heavy armor for years. Your spiritual energy is… radiant. Warm. Like the sun at its zenith."

Aurelia's grip on the can tightened, denting the metal slightly. "I have trained. The road is dangerous."

"It is," Wu Meiyu agreed pleasantly. "And we welcome all who walk it. But remember, the Divine Convenience Store is a place of transaction. We trade in goods, in services, and in trust. We do not trade in secrets that harm us. Enjoy your bath. The [Spirit-Cleansing Steam Room] is particularly good for melting away… layers of disguise."

With a final, enigmatic smile, Wu Meiyu turned and walked away, checking on a pair of giggling disciples near the sauna.

Aurelia let out a breath she had been holding. "... Should I just stop disguising myself?"