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The shadow of that slap still loomed over his head, so much so that when Xiao Yan forced himself to step forward, his legs were still trembling. But the Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear merely gave him a passing glance, holding the milk tea steady on its sharp claw tips. It waited for Xiao Yan to shakily take the drink before turning its gaze to the next customer.
"Is this the pet of one of the inner court seniors?"
Xiao Yan was stunned by the Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear's calm demeanor.
"Or perhaps… a tamed beast?"
A bold guess surfaced in his mind.
No wonder the academy would place such a "ferocious beast" in the assessment area. It turned out to be a tamed beast, or perhaps an External Martial Soul—an entity that could be firmly controlled by its master.
"Shrek is truly full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. To think an inner court senior can control such a being." A look of longing rose in Xiao Yan's eyes.
He took a long sip through the straw.
His eyes instantly lit up. "Huh???"
"Three more cups!"
Hearing him, Xiao Jin looked over, flipped a sign hanging around its neck, and pointed a sharp claw at the words with a deadpan expression.
"Purchase limited to one cup per person?!!" Xiao Yan was left utterly speechless.
They closed the shop in the early hours of the morning.
It wasn't because Shrek City had a curfew—the streets outside were still brightly lit, and the grand buildings along the commercial street were adorned with luminous signs that shone brilliantly even at night.
It was because Su Wen's supplies… had sold out.
After apologetically turning away a crowd of customers who had queued all day only to leave grumbling and empty-handed, the group finally collapsed onto the floor.
After a simple farewell, the inner court seniors left, loaded with dozens of cups of milk tea.
Ma Xiaotao handed the account book to Su Wen. Looking exhausted, she demanded another kiss, which seemed to restore some of her energy before she left, satisfied.
Clack clack clack~
Gale's abacus moved at lightning speed. Like a seasoned bookkeeper, his ten nimble fingers flew up and down, and the accounts were sorted in just a few dozen minutes.
"Roar~"
He turned and let out a low growl at Su Wen.
"A total income of 5,009,273 gold soul coins?" Su Wen was stunned. How could it be so much?
He knew exactly how many cups of milk tea the ingredients in the kitchen could make, based on the number of cups they had. At one gold soul coin per cup, the most they could have made was just over nine thousand gold soul coins. So where did the other five million come from?
"Roar~" Gale shrugged.
He didn't know.
Wait, Ma Xiaotao?
Su Wen paused for a moment, and then his furrowed brow relaxed. The money had all passed through Ma Xiaotao's hands. She couldn't possibly be unaware of the extra five million…
"Roar~"
Suddenly, Gale grunted and handed a slip of paper to Su Wen.
It was Ma Xiaotao's handwriting, as bold and carefree as she was: "Zhang Yi and the others pitched in. We know you're short on cash, so take it and use it. Zhang Yi was complaining that his marriage fund is in there, haha…"
The corner of Su Wen's mouth twitched.
It seemed that everyone knew he was short on money.
Five million gold soul coins was no small sum. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Ma Xiaotao and the inner court seniors had emptied their personal savings.
A smile lifted Su Wen's lips.
It felt good to be cared for. He had been on this continent for over four years and had built his own circle of friends.
"Transfer this money to the Black Gold Card," Su Wen said, handing Gale the storage soul ring containing the gold coins and a Black Gold Card. "There's a Soul Coin Bank on the next street. Just go there."
"Roar~" Gale nodded, took the items, opened the third-floor window, and leaped out.
The people there were Elder Lin's. They would know what to do.
Gale was already registered within the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's network.
"Over nine thousand gold soul coins a day, that's more than two hundred thousand a month…" Su Wen mused.
Two hundred thousand wasn't an overwhelming amount, but it wasn't insignificant either.
It was enough for his three soul beasts to live a relatively "prosperous" life. Combined with the five million from Sister Xiaotao and her friends, the initial expenses for his soul beasts were basically covered.
But this was just the beginning. The first day was the peak of their revenue, boosted by the herd mentality that brought a lot of foot traffic. As time went on and the novelty faded, the income would gradually shrink, and the momentum would weaken.
Still, opening branch stores was a good option.
Su Wen nodded slightly.
The reason a certain Snow King dominated in his previous life was not just its novel taste, but also its affordable prices.
In the early stages, he could rely on the advantage of being a unique innovation. Later, the price could be lowered. One silver soul coin, or even one copper soul coin—it didn't matter. After all, the cost of the ingredients was less than a tenth of a copper soul coin. How much could eggs and sugar possibly cost?
Once things stabilized, he could hand the operation over to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. He would just need to sit back and collect the profits. He trusted that Elder Lin would not treat him unfairly.
However, the most pressing issue was labor!
Su Wen glanced at Xiao Jin, who was collapsed on the floor like a mountain of flesh, and then at Bing Huang, who was lying on its back, waving its tongs and foaming at the mouth as it played dead. The two little guys were utterly exhausted.
"I need to post a notice and hire people."
Just as Su Wen was planning for the future, a dark figure slipped through the third-floor window. A person in a black robe and high heels appeared before him. As the curtains billowed in the wind, Su Wen looked up in surprise. "Sister Lexuan?"
From the looks of it, she was travel-worn and had probably just returned to the academy after completing a mission.
"Mhm."
A soft female voice came from under the black robe.
A slender, delicate hand lifted the hood, revealing a fair, beautiful face that smiled gently at Su Wen. "You've grown taller, and even more handsome."
Ding~
A communication soul tool on her waist lit up with a red light.
The beauty fondly caressed Su Wen's cheek. "Sorry, Xiao Wen, I'm about to graduate, and there's a pile of missions waiting for me." She handed him a soul tool storage ring. "There are four million gold soul coins inside. It's a birthday present from your sister. I'm sorry I missed your birthday this year. It won't happen next year."
After speaking, she leaned close to Su Wen's ear. He thought she was about to whisper instructions and leaned in closer, but he was quickly met with a warm, soft touch on his cheek. A fragrant breeze washed over him, and her soft lips were like a dragonfly skimming the water's surface, leaving Su Wen stunned.
"You're so old now, why are you still blushing…"
Zhang Lexuan's bell-like laughter echoed in his ear.
"I'm off~"
The black shadow disappeared with a gust of wind.
Su Wen slowly recovered, his mouth twitching. She really… comes and goes without a trace.
Sister Lexuan had been gone from the inner court for almost a year. It seemed she had been running all over the continent on missions. The inner court had numerous assessments, and except for those with cheat-like abilities, every other genius had to give their all to graduate.
"Phew…"
Holding the ring, he felt its considerable weight.
It wasn't easy for Sister Lexuan to earn this much money…
Although inner court disciples received a fixed monthly allowance of gold soul coins, the academy would only reimburse them for urgent necessities, like a much-needed herb or soul tool from an auction. In terms of actual cash, these disciples didn't have much in their pockets…
(End of Chapter