Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 195: Cooking Legs, AirBuds Squad Exposed!

Right below them, Hao exhaled slowly and began gathering solar qi again, his body glowing faint gold.

The four immediately held their breath.

Kurome whispered. ’I think Master already noticed us. He probably had an eye on us the moment we stepped onto the stairs.’

Mo Xixi squinted. ’Mhm… Boss probably knows.’

Tian Lu nodded slowly.

’Employer.’ ’Knows.’ ’Everything.’

Yan Zhi turned pale.

’…We’re doomed.’

All four continued watching anyway.

Meanwhile, Hao – completely unaware of the peanut gallery on the stairs – was way too locked in.

Not from arrogance.

Not from showmanship.

Just pure, undiluted focus.

He had been practicing the same movement for the past fifteen minutes straight. Eat. Burn his palm. Heal. Try again. Burn his heel. Heal. Visualize. Adjust. Repeat.

And finally –

KRAK-THOOM!

A golden burst of solar qi exploded from under his soles as he kicked off the ground, launching him into a short, clean arc across the storage floor.

Not too high. Not too fast. But smooth. Controlled.

He landed with a bit of a skid, one foot dragging slightly behind the other.

“Suiiiiiii!” Hao shouted, voice echoing off the storage walls.

“Damn. That’s what I’m talkin’ about, baby!”

On the stairs, Yan Zhi gasped.

Loudly.

Not through the AirBuds channel.

No.

He actually said it out loud.

His mouth moved before his brain could stop it.

“Huuhh – !”

Everyone froze.

Tian Lu’s head snapped toward him. His body didn’t move much, but his hand flew up with lightning speed and clamped over Yan Zhi’s mouth.

“Mnfh?!”

Tian Lu’s masked face stayed perfectly still.

But his eye? Wide.

That man was caffeinated and panicked.

Even his aura jittered a bit.

Mo Xixi and Kurome slowly turned their heads toward the scene, eyes squinting in judgment.

’Really, Junior?’ Mo Xixi muttered.

They didn’t even have time to process what “suiii” was supposed to be.

Was it a chant? A cultivation cry? Some ancient secret qi ignition call?

They were this close to finding out.

And then Yan Zhi opened his mouth.

Gone.

Mystery lost forever.

Hao blinked and suddenly turned his head toward the stairs.

His spiritual sense stretched out.

Just a pulse.

Not enough to alert or pressure anyone.

And sure enough… he sensed one presence.

Just for a split second.

Then it vanished.

His brow furrowed.

“…Huh?”

He scratched his cheek.

’Wait. Was that Yan Zhi?’

’Did they… seriously just hide Yan Zhi’s presence before I could sense more?’

He squinted suspiciously at the staircase.

’I mean, technically, Yan Zhi’s the weakest among them. Of course I’d catch him first.’

It wasn’t that clean though.

They had clearly moved fast. Too fast.

Well – not perfectly that. The truth was, Mo Xixi, Kurome, and Tian Lu all understood one thing very well.

Their boss could absolutely detect them if he wanted to. That was a fact.

And yet… for some reason, Hao wasn’t fully unleashing that ability.

It felt, at least to them, that he was holding back.

Deliberately.

They weren’t sure why.

But somehow, that let them feel like they could stay hidden on the surface. Not deeply. Just enough to pretend.

So they did it anyway.

They covered Yan Zhi’s presence, even knowing the illusion was paper-thin.

Hao rolled his shoulders and looked down at his heels, which still had a soft aftershock running through them.

The training wasn’t over yet.

But now that he knew he had spectators?

Well.

He might as well show off a little.

Hao gave the floor one more light stomp.

Then paused.

Eh.

This was getting a bit too repetitive.

He’d been doing the first movement over and over for nearly half an hour now.

Time to try the second one.

Something a bit flashier.

A bit more exciting.

Would’ve been even better with a training dummy or maybe… a partner?

He tilted his head toward the staircase.

Smiled.

Raised a single finger, and spoke one word.

“Come.”

It echoed lightly in the room.

Three shadows blinked into motion.

Kurome descended first, calm and graceful.

Mo Xixi followed after with arms crossed, trying to act disinterested but her steps just a bit too fast to be casual.

And right behind them –

Yan Zhi tripped.

“Wah – !”

He nearly crashed face-first down the last few steps.

But before he could hit the ground, a hand gripped the back of his robes firmly and hoisted him up mid-fall.

Tian Lu.

He just set Yan Zhi on his feet again without a word.

“You” “Good?” “Boy?”

“…I-I’m okay! Thank you, Senior Tian!”

Yan Zhi bowed quickly, then straightened.

Both flustered, and grateful.

Tian Lu gave a small nod.

Hao tilted his head, lips curling into a smirk.

“So. You guys enjoy the show?”

The four suddenly stopped moving.

Hao chuckled. “Relax. I’m not mad.”

He waved it off casually.

“If anything, I could use your help.”

He turned back to the center of the room, shook his shoulders loose again.

“I’m about to try the second core movement.”

He dropped his stance.

Solar qi gathered and rotated around his calves.

A sudden twist of his heel. A pulse.

Then his body launched upward in a controlled spiral, twisting mid-air and landing in a crouch several meters away.

“Turnburst Vault.”

He exhaled and looked over his shoulder.

“Thoughts?”

The three geniuses didn’t hesitate.

Mo Xixi tapped her chin.

“Boss, your posture was a little too tight on the left leg. That’s why your arc dipped midair.”

Kurome narrowed her eyes. “Master, your balance was slightly compromised. The curve of your lower spine strayed from ideal alignment.”

“You expended more force than necessary to achieve that height.”

Tian Lu stepped forward slowly.

“Your.” “Qi.””Circulation.”

“Stuttered.” “Between.” “The core.” “And shoulder.”

“That’s.” “Where.” “The spin.”

“Lost.” “Power.” ” Employer.”

Hao blinked.

“Oh.”

That was… a lot.

Then Yan Zhi raised his hand.

“Uh… I think the timing of the spin was good? But… maybe Brother Hao, if you leaned your head a little to the right, your field of vision would stay clearer while rotating?”

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, then added in a bit of a rush. “Not that I know much about it!”

“But – like, during an actual fight, right? If there’s debris or light distortion or, uh, someone throwing daggers at your face, wouldn’t it be better if your eyes stayed locked forward instead of seeing only blur?”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Even Mo Xixi. “…That’s… not bad, Junior!”

Kurome’s tail swished to the side.

“Good catch.”

Tian Lu gave him a single approving nod.

Yan Zhi blinked, then smiled.

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