The Darling of Heaven Owns a Rip-off Shop

”Should’ve done this ages ago. You’re already so old, what are you doing still running a stall?”

”Exactly, exactly, you should’ve been enjoying an easy life long ago. It’s not like your son can’t afford to keep you.”

The people from the surrounding shops all chatted with him cheerfully, all supporting his decision to stop setting up his stall and go home to enjoy his retirement.

”Since you won’t be running the stall anymore, just bring me some peanuts every day. Here, take this money in advance.” Tianmiao smiled as she stuffed a piece of Silver into the old man’s hand.

”That’s too much, too much.” The old man waved his hand.

”It’s not too much, not too much. Have your daughter-in-law make some every day, then you bring them over. I have guests who like to eat them.” Tianmiao insisted.

Guests?

The old man thought about it. Actually, yes. Recently, Boss Tian’s shop finally had guests. And it seemed those three guests had been staying here all this time. That was wonderful; Boss finally had business coming in.

Over the next few days, the old man delivered things twice a day, morning and evening. Sometimes it was oil-fried peanuts, sometimes boiled peanuts, sometimes stir-fried peanuts, and sometimes peanut paste. His daughter-in-law seemed to have a special fondness for peanuts and kept experimenting with them. But all the things she made turned out to taste pretty good.

Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu spent their days in the tavern, eating and drinking. That was the surface, of course. Secretly, they had to protect the old man, and most importantly, staying and eating at the tavern meant they had to pay.

The little Prince, however, was practically so happy he forgot his mission; he didn’t even bring up catching the murderer anymore and spent all day circling around Dong Xiao. Because he discovered that Dong Xiao seemed to be a deeply hidden master. That day, Kong Hou bought a few fish, but there was no water jar at home to keep them in, so Dong Xiao carved a pool out of the giant boulder in the courtyard—he hollowed out the center of the rock, and the four walls of the finished pool were smooth as can be.

How did he even do that?

The little Prince picked up the axe Dong Xiao had tossed aside after chiseling the rock and examined it for a long time. Then he tried splitting the rock himself. Good grief—one strike and the axe blade was nicked.

Kong Hou happened to walk by, glanced at him, tossed out two chilly words—”Pay up”—and then turned and left.

The little Prince stared blankly at the chipped axe in his hand for a long time. He wasn’t some top-tier master, but his skills weren’t exactly weak either, right? So why was the result so dramatically different when they both used an axe to chop stone? Once he snapped out of it, he dragged Xu Lang out with him, went to buy a few axes, and used them to compensate Dong Xiao.

From then on, no matter what Dong Xiao was doing, the little Prince squatted off to the side watching. Whether Dong Xiao was chopping firewood, cooking, or grocery shopping, he followed. Every move Dong Xiao made was watched with admiration. Observing a hidden master among the common folk at such close range gave him this giddy, ”I alone have discovered this treasure and no one else knows” sort of secret joy.

Later still, the little Prince discovered that Kong Hou was also a master. A maid working for a small tavern’s Boss—actually a master too.

How did he find out?

In the little Prince’s mind, first-class masters Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu—two people capable of competing for the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch position—were accidentally tossed out into the courtyard by Kong Hou. Then she realized after the fact what she had done and hurriedly scooped the two of them back up before they even hit the ground.

Huh??

Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu were completely dumbfounded. What just happened? They’d been reclining under the eaves with their eyes closed, resting, when Kong Hou wanted to sweep the floor and simply lifted the recliner forward—and the two of them flew out. But very quickly, they were fished back and gently set down on the chairs again.

The little Prince watched, dumbstruck.

This was what a true master looked like.

So then, their Boss, Boss Tian—was she a master among masters?

The little Prince once again refreshed his impression of Boss Tian.

From Black Lotus who runs a black shop → beautiful Boss → beautiful Boss whose martial skills are who-knows-how high.