Not because Hao was her boss.
Not because she felt obligated to accept it.
Something inside her just… didn’t mind. It was oddly comfortable.
’Hmph. This isn’t bad at all… I guess.’
She let out a small sigh, acting as if she were merely tolerating it.
“Boss, are you treating me like a kid?”
Hao smirked. “Aren’t you one?”
Mo Xixi clicked her tongue and crossed her arms.
“I’m already thirteen.”
“Exactly.” Hao ruffled her hair a little more before stepping back.
“Still a kid.”
Mo Xixi huffed, fixing her hair with a pout. But if one looked closely, her ears had turned just a bit red.
Lin Yijun’s group was busy eating, paying no attention to their surroundings. Except for Yue Xueyan.
Her eyes landed on Mo Xixi, who stood beside Hao, wearing the same uniform as him.
’A new attendant?’
The thought surfaced but did not linger. Yet, for some reason, that girl’s face felt familiar. Yue Xueyan frowned slightly. She had seen her somewhere before, but her memory was unclear.
Meanwhile, Lin Yijun, noticing Yue Xueyan’s gaze, followed her line of sight.
The moment he saw Mo Xixi, his chopsticks nearly slipped from his fingers. His body froze.
Wait…
He knew that face. He had seen it before, though never in person. It was from an illustration his master had shown him.
And then it hit him.
That wasn’t just any child. That was Mo Xixi, the prodigious heir of the Ashen Curse Cult!
Lin Yijun’s back stiffened. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
The Ashen Curse Cult was no ordinary sect. It was a feared demonic cult known for its mastery of curses, hexes, and forbidden arts.
Their techniques were horrifying, capable of bringing slow, agonizing deaths or reducing cultivators to mindless husks. At their peak, even top righteous sects did not dare provoke them.
And Mo Xixi…
She wasn’t just part of that cult. She was its heir.
A monstrous genius who had inherited the cult’s deadliest techniques at a terrifyingly young age.
But, here she was. Wearing a store uniform. Getting her hair ruffled like a child.
Lin Yijun sent a mental transmission to Yue Xueyan.
’Senior Yue, isn’t that kid… Mo Xixi of the Ashen Curse Cult?’
Yue Xueyan’s gaze returned to Mo Xixi after hearing Lin Yijun’s words.
That face… Now she remembered.
Yes. That child was Mo Xixi.
The heir of a fallen yet once-dreaded cult. A terrifying prodigy whose mere existence had sent waves through the Azure Sky Continent.
An illustration of her had been shown once in a core disciple meeting at Snow Petal Sect. As the heir of the Ashen Curse Cult, she was someone to be avoided or captured at all costs.
Even though the cult had fallen, Mo Xixi was still a dangerous figure in the eyes of many.
Yue Xueyan knew from the reports that Mo Xixi was young, but seeing her now, she had not expected her to be such a small child.
’I’m not sure.’
’Was she this young?’
’Senior Yue, you know my memory is sharp. She’s really the heir of the Ashen Curse Cult… I think.’
He swallowed. ’Unless my master showed me a fake illustration, then that child is definitely her.’
Yue Xueyan’s face remained unreadable.
’Stay quiet for now.’
Just as they were about to avert their eyes from Mo Xixi, an invisible force pressed down on them. Their bodies stopped in place.
They could move… but something told them that if they did, death would be instant.
Their eyes met Mo Xixi’s.
Lin Yijun’s heart jumped.
’Shit.’
Did they just screw up?
Mo Xixi narrowed her eyes.
’Do they know me?’
Her fingers twitched slightly. Were they here to hunt her down?
No, that didn’t seem likely. When she entered the store, they had been eating like normal.
In that moment, Hao finally noticed something strange. Lin Yijun and Yue Xueyan were staring in their direction, their expressions stiff.
His brows twitched.
’Wait. Do they know Mo Xixi?’
’That… wasn’t good, right?’
Before things could get weirder, Hao clapped his hands together and spoke up.
“Oh, you guys don’t know this kid yet, right?”
The sudden voice snapped even Hua Feixue and Xiao Lianfeng out of their deep focus on instant noodles. They turned their heads, blinking in confusion.
Lin Yijun and Yue Xueyan felt the pressure on them vanish like it had never been there in the first place.
Hao gave a casual wave toward Mo Xixi.
“This is Little Xixi. The first crew member of the Dimensional Convenience Store.”
He smiled. “Make sure to respect her as much as you respect me.”
“She’s the one in charge here when I’m out, so keep that in mind.”
Hua Feixue, still focused on her noodles, perked up. She slurped loudly before grinning at Mo Xixi.
“Oh – slurp – hello, Little Xixi!”
“You’re cute!” She took another loud slurp.
“Boss, you didn’t kidnap her or something, right?”
Lin Yijun almost jumped out of his seat. Did Hua Feixue just copy the boss and call her ’Little Xixi’?
Was she not afraid of being turned into a cursed corpse on the spot?
He straightened his posture and quickly followed up. “Ahem.”
“Greetings, Lady Xixi. Don’t mind us.”
“We’re just customers who happened to stumble upon the store’s incredible products…”
“Right, Boss Hao?”
’Lady Xixi?’ Hao chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s Yijun, Little Xixi. He’s the first actual customer of our store.”
“And the loud one over there is Feixue.”
Yue Xueyan gave a small nod. “Greetings, Senior Xixi.”
“I’m Yue Xueyan of Snow Petal Sect.”
She shot a brief glance at Hua Feixue. “Pay no mind to my Junior Sister. She tends to speak before thinking.”
“If we have overstepped, it was not our intent.”
Lin Yijun and Yue Xueyan didn’t need to exchange words to understand what had to be done.
They had to treat Mo Xixi with the utmost respect!
Not simply because she was stronger than them. Not simply because she was the heir of the fallen Ashen Curse Cult.
But because Hao had declared it so.
By claiming Mo Xixi as an official member of the store, it was the same as saying that anyone who dared to lay a hand on her would be offending Senior Hao himself.
And who was Hao?
An unfathomable existence that was selling noodles that could grant enlightenment!