Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 185: He Once Took Lives, Now He Takes Deep Breaths

Tian Lu blinked.

The girls blinked.

Everyone blinked.

“Squirrel?” Mo Xixi muttered.

“…What’s that?” Yan Shu’er’s gaze sharpened. “That sounds insulting.”

Even Tian Lu tilted his head slightly, curious. “Beast?”

“Dangerous?” Yan Shu’er asked.

Mo Xixi scoffed. “Pfft. Can’t be. Probably just some harmless weak creature.”

“Maybe it’s dumb-looking.”

“Definitely twitchy.”

“Skittish.”

“Loud.”

“Small.”

“Overreacts.”

“…Annoying.”

They paused.

A long silence.

Then simultaneously pointed at each other.

“You’re the squirrel!”

“No, you are!”

“You literally just described yourself!”

“You snort like one!”

“You scream like one!”

“You threw a pillow!”

“You threw it back!”

“No, you started it with that spin!”

…

Hao stared at the two of them. “…”

A muscle on his face twitched. He clutched his forehead.

Tian Lu didn’t say a word. Just stood there. Holding them both up. His soul visibly giving up.

Hao slowly exhaled.

So this was it.

Double trouble.

Worse than Yoru and Tsuki when they got their midnight zoomies and knocked over five cups of instant noodles and almost bit a hole in a bag of potato chips.

At least those two were fluffy.

These two were loud.

“You two are the squirrels… why am I even explaining this?” Hao muttered, rubbing his temples.

Neither girl heard him.

Still dangling.

Still kicking.

Hao sighed.

Alright. Time to go physical.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, the voice of a seasoned Asian parent echoed:

“If words don’t work, hands will talk – gently.”

He stepped forward.

He raised both arms.

Then flicked them on the forehead with his middle fingers.

Pak! Pak!

A pair of bright red marks instantly bloomed.

Both girls froze.

Blinking. Staring. Processing.

But before either of them could recover.

Hao struck again.

It was swift.

Lethal.

Efficient.

He didn’t even need to draw the Legendary +12 Celestial Bamboo Slipper of Doom…

Or the SSS-Rank Ancient Cloth Hanger of Domestic Judgment.

He just unsheathed… his tongue.

Wait. Hold up. That sounded way worse than it should’ve.

Back off. You’re going to jail, buddy.

Too late. The verbal beatdown had already been unleashed.

“Little Xixi.”

“You’re not even being a brat right now. You’ve gone full toddler mode.”

Hao smiled, voice soft and sweet.

“Do you want a pacifier too? Or should I fetch your nap blanket?”

Mo Xixi’s face twitched. Her mouth opened. Closed.

Steam almost came out of her ears. She nearly combusted on the spot.

But Hao wasn’t done.

He turned.

Locked eyes on Yan Shu’er.

Did he know her well? No.

Did that matter? Also no.

“You’re surprisingly energetic for someone who was, what, two breaths away from joining her ancestors just a few hours ago.”

He even held up two fingers.

“Didn’t they already start preparing your welcome buffet?”

Yan Shu’er blinked. Her mouth opened in a shocked gasp.

Hao didn’t stop.

He leaned his head toward Yan Zhi.

But his words were clearly aimed elsewhere.

“Aren’t you embarrassing your older brother right now, Shu’er?”

Hao said it slowly. Which made it land ten times harder.

It was a critical hit.

Yan Zhi staggered back half a step.

His soul left his body.

Ascended.

Did a flip midair.

And started filing for early reincarnation.

He had endured shattered bones, torn muscles, and the kind of pain that made the heavens blur.

But nothing prepared him for this.

Yan Shu’er twitched.

She opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

She looked like she wanted to shout “bastard” and yeet something at Hao’s face – but nothing came out.

Her eyes darted to her brother. Then to Hao. Then away.

Her whole face had turned a shade of red that could melt through stone.

That usual bratty confidence?

Gone.

Dismantled.

Crushed by embarrassment.

Hao casually waved a hand in front of Yan Zhi’s unblinking face.

“You there, Zhi?”

No response.

Still buffering.

Did bro get disconnected?

Hao tapped the poor guy’s shoulder with sympathy.

“It’s alright, kid. I understand you.”

Like he, too, had once known the pain of being related to a walking disaster.

Finally, Yan Zhi’s soul reloaded.

“Brother Hao!” he bowed so fast he almost headbutted the floor.

“I deeply apologize for my little sister’s behavior!”

He straightened, turned to Mo Xixi, and added quickly.

“Lady Mo, I’m very sorry for the trouble!”

Mo Xixi flicked her hair with dramatic flair.

“Hmph. Naturally.”

Then Hao raised an eyebrow at Mo Xixi.

Just one.

Her legs stiffened.

She slowly turned her head down.

Eyes locked onto the floor like they were the most interesting thing she’d ever seen.

“…Sorry.” Mo Xixi muttered.

Very, very quietly.

Tian Lu hadn’t moved an inch. Still holding both girls up.

Normally, a man like him could hold a boulder for three days and not flinch. Patience forged in the wilderness. A beast hunter’s stillness.

But right now?

This wasn’t patience.

This was eternity!

Tian Lu once took more than a hundred lives. Now he takes deep breaths, instead.

“…Drop?” Tian Lu asked at last.

“Employer.”

“Yes, Lu.” Hao pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Go ahead.”

Tian Lu didn’t just drop them.

He lowered them. Slowly. Gently.

As though one wrong move would trigger another explosion.

Both girls touched the floor at the exact same time.

And immediately shuffled two steps away from each other.

Then looked away.

At opposite walls.

“…Go?” Tian Lu asked again.

“No, stay.” Hao replied, smiling.

He had no intention of letting Tian Lu escape. ‘You’re part of this, Lu.’

This man was his anchor. His buffer. His emergency meat shield for social chaos.

We’re all in this together, Lu.

Your sacrifice will always be remembered.

Salute!

Also, please don’t leave me. I’m one idiot away from talking to the ceiling.

Hao clapped once. Just one.

“Alright. So. Are we done committing spiritual war crimes against each other’s dignity?”

The girls muttered something.

Probably yes.

Could’ve been a threat.

He’d take it as a yes either way.

“…Good. Group peace treaty. I want nods.”

Mo Xixi nodded first, cheeks still puffed out in embarrassment.

Yan Shu’er followed a second later, barely.

Tian Lu blinked.

Then nodded too.

Just in case.

Hao gave a long sigh.

“…Finally.”

Peace.

For now.

Hao stretched and glanced to the side.

“Little Xixi, grab bags of potato chips. Might as well snack while we talk.”

Mo Xixi nodded obediently and headed downstairs.

Hao returned his attention to the siblings.

Yan Zhi, on the other hand, seemed ready to vanish entirely and crawl straight into the underworld. Unfortunately, he had no such ability.

So, with a stiff back and haunted eyes, he pressed on.

He formally introduced his little sister to Hao, as was proper.

Then, like a dutiful older brother clinging to the last tatters of dignity, he calmly explained to Yan Shu’er what had happened.

From the moment she passed out.

Everything.

And as the story unraveled, Yan Shu’er’s face transformed minute by minute. From fiery outrage to dawning horror.

She was deeply, deeply mortified.

Not just for the scene she made.

But because, deep down, she knew – she knew – that everything she’d assumed at the start was dead wrong.

And her saviors… had been nothing but kind.

Her small fists gripped her knees tightly.

Her face flushed red up to the ears.

Meanwhile, her brother went on to recount Hao’s earlier invitation.

An unthinkably generous one.

And yet, instead of leaping on it like anyone else would, Yan Zhi had hesitated.

Why?

Because even then, he was thinking of her.

Of what she’d want.

Of what future she might accept.

Even if the chance given to him was greater than anything he’d ever known.

Yan Shu’er stared at him.

Tears welled in her eyes before she could even curse.

“…Stupid Zhi.”

“You better say yes, bastard. You think I wanna watch you throw your spine away just for me?”

“I ain’t that pathetic, alright?!”

Her lip trembled.

She sniffled once.

Then –

She dove into his arms.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I was dumb! You’re always… you’re always like this! And I just – !”

The rest came out in sobs.

Ugly, shaking sobs as she buried her face into Yan Zhi’s chest and clung to him.

No more biting words.

No more swagger.

Just a little sister who finally let her walls fall.

‘Still a kid.’ Hao thought.

He didn’t mean it in a bad way.

Just a simple truth.

No matter how sharp her tongue or how loud her temper, she was still just a little sister who didn’t want to lose the one person she trusted most.

Hao swept his eyes toward the second floor.

Paused.

His eyebrows twitched.

Something felt… incomplete

Indeed, someone was missing.

Tian Lu!

He hadn’t merely slipped away.

He had fully fled to his personal room!

And it wasn’t a casual retreat either. No.

Tian Lu erased every sign of his existence – his spiritual qi, his intent signature, and even the softest sound of his footsteps. If he could have teleported to his room, he absolutely would have.

Sleep wasn’t a physical requirement for him anymore.

But right now?

It was the only thing that made sense.

Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.

It was too much.

So he curled up on his bed, pulling a blanket over his head and pretending he was already dreaming.

The only one who noticed Tian Lu’s mission impossible was Kurome.

She was utterly baffled by his behavior, head tilted at an angle only cats could manage without breaking something vital.

He was moving like his life depended on it.

‘Humans really did have a strange side to them’

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