Chapter 780: The Villain Prevails, Unrestrained Arrogance

Ye Xiu wasn’t angry; after all, he was covered in grime. Jiaojiao was also dirty since she hadn’t washed her face or hands after eating. It was understandable that the saleslady mistook them for beggars.

"We’re here to buy clothes, not beg," Ye Xiu explained.

The saleslady scoffed. "You say you’re not beggars? Who’d believe that? Look at you—dirty and smelly. Get out of here! You’re standing in the doorway and scaring off other customers with your stench."

Ye Xiu didn’t bother arguing. He took out his wallet, pulled out all the cash inside—2,000 gold—and said, "Now do you believe we’re here to buy clothes?"

"My, my. Begging on Biluo Island must be easy work," the saleslady sneered, still blocking the entrance with no intention of letting Ye Xiu and Jiaojiao inside. "Even a beggar can just pull out this much gold."

Ye Xiu’s brows furrowed. "I can’t come in even though I have money?"

"Nope!" the saleslady shrugged, her tone mocking. "This is a high-end boutique that only serves high-end clients. A rich beggar is still a beggar. You aren’t qualified to set foot in our store."

Ye Xiu was furious. He could have understood being mistaken for beggars and refused entry because of their appearance. But for the saleslady to continue barring their way and hurl insults even after he’d explained and shown her the money... that was going too far!

"Master... l-let’s just go," Jiaojiao whispered weakly in his arms, just as Ye Xiu was about to vent his anger. "I have clothes to wear. We don’t need to buy any."

The undisguised hurt in the little girl’s self-conscious tone broke Ye Xiu’s heart. He consoled her, "Alright. We’ll go to another store."

Just as he turned to leave, the saleslady stepped in their way. "You two have disrupted our business," she said haughtily. "Your stench has polluted the air in our store and soiled the merchandise. You’ll have to pay for the damages before you can go."

Ye Xiu’s gaze turned sharp, and his voice dropped. "I’m already very angry. If you don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for what happens next."

"Ooh, scary," the saleslady jeered, her tone one of exaggerated disdain. "Even beggars have a temper these days? Go on, then. I dare you to try something."

Courting death! A flash of killing intent appeared in Ye Xiu’s eyes.

Just then, the store manager walked over. "What’s going on here?"

The saleslady flinched and didn’t dare to answer.

Ye Xiu took a deep breath, fighting the urge to strangle the saleslady. He explained, "I want to buy clothes, but this woman mistook us for beggars. I showed her my money, but she still refused to let us in. When we tried to leave, she stopped us and demanded compensation."

He was doing this for Jiaojiao’s sake. As her master, he had to lead by example and show her that one shouldn’t immediately resort to violence. Force was a last resort, to be used only when all other options had failed!

"My employee did nothing wrong!" the manager declared, looking down her nose at Ye Xiu. "Take a look at yourselves. Do you really think people like you are allowed inside a high-end boutique like this?"

Seeing the manager take her side, the saleslady was emboldened. She goaded, "Manager, these two beggars have disrupted our business and polluted the air in the shop. They must compensate us."

"That makes sense!" The manager nodded, holding her hand out to Ye Xiu. "Pay up. You two aren’t leaving today until you’ve compensated the store for its losses."

Ye Xiu ignored her and asked his apprentice, "Jiaojiao, what do you think we should do now?"

Jiaojiao glanced nervously at the manager and the saleslady before burying her face in Ye Xiu’s chest. "Master," she whispered, "l-let’s just go."

"No!" Ye Xiu shook his head. "In a situation like this, when they refuse to be reasonable, we have to use force to solve it."

With that, he lifted a hand and struck the open glass door. A perfect, palm-shaped hole appeared in the glass.

"This is a robbery!" Ye Xiu snarled, his voice full of menace as he glared coldly at the manager and saleslady.

"A... a Martial Artist?" The manager and the saleslady’s faces went pale. My god, we’ve really messed up now! These two beggars are actually Martial Artists!

"A misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!" the manager babbled, bowing and scraping. "I’m so sorry, Mr. Martial Artist, it’s all our fault. Please, take any clothes in the store you like, free of charge. Consider it my apology to you both."

Too late to apologize now! Ye Xiu said coldly, "Are you deaf? I said this is a robbery. Hand over all your money. From now on, this shop and everything in it is mine. Do it, or I’ll kill you both!"

Jiaojiao watched with wide, expressive eyes. Seeing Ye Xiu’s ferocious, bandit-like demeanor, she was suddenly filled with a sense of security she had never known.

The store manager, however, grew furious. "Mr. Martial Artist, don’t take it too far! This shop has powerful backing!"

Ye Xiu ignored her. He carried Jiaojiao into the store and said, "Jiaojiao, all the clothes here are yours now. There are big and small sizes, so go pick out whatever you like."

He then set Jiaojiao down on her feet. She glanced at the manager and saleslady, then froze in place, not daring to move.

"Go on, pick whatever you want," Ye Xiu encouraged her. "There’s no one in this world your master can’t handle."

Jiaojiao looked around the shop. She was, after all, just a child and couldn’t resist the temptation of pretty clothes, especially with her master’s encouragement. She finally worked up the courage to start looking.

"Mr. Martial Artist, do you really want to escalate this situation?" the store manager demanded through gritted teeth.

Ye Xiu couldn’t be bothered to waste words on her. "If your backer isn’t here by the time my apprentice finishes picking out her clothes," he said flatly, "I’ll kill you both."

The store manager, infuriated, took out her phone to call for help when she suddenly saw An Dongye patrolling the street with a group of people. She rushed over to her, bowing obsequiously. "Night God! Someone is causing trouble in my clothing store..."

Before she could finish, An Dongye’s fiery temper flared. "Who the hell has the guts to cause trouble on territory I protect?" she swaggered, heading toward the clothing store with her people.

The store manager was thrilled. She had only planned to call the subordinate who managed this area for An Dongye, but she’d run into the woman herself! Those two beggars are doomed now! She scurried back into the shop and crowed, "Hey, you two beggars! My backer is here! You’re dead meat!"

Her gloating, sycophantic display was utterly ridiculous.

Ye Xiu turned toward the entrance just as An Dongye swaggered in with a cigar dangling from her mouth.

"An Dongye?"

"Little Bro?"

Both of them froze, stunned.

The manager and saleslady, who had been smugly waiting to see Ye Xiu get put in his place, suddenly panicked. The beggar Martial Artist actually knew the Night God, and from the looks of it, knew her well.