He saw Bei Bei and Tang Ya arrive.
The waiter, who had already been scared out of his wits, ran over as if grabbing a life-saving straw, scrambling to hide behind Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
Bei Bei's gaze swept over Seele, Wang Dong'er, and the other two girls, his brow furrowing slightly.
He looked for a long while but did not recognize who these four girls were.
Although Bei Bei had indeed seen Wang Dong'er when he went to that Sky Shrek Academy back then.
However, at that time, Wang Dong'er had always appeared in men's clothing, whereas now she had returned to her female attire, with her long pinkish-blue hair flowing down; her temperament had undergone an earth-shattering change and was completely different.
Furthermore, Bei Bei had never seen the custom academy uniform of that Sky Shrek Academy, so he naturally had no way to directly link their identities.
At this moment, the waiter hiding behind Bei Bei was trembling all over, not daring to say another word.
Under normal circumstances, he would have definitely made a false counter-charge, relying on the power of Shrek Academy to frame Seele and the others for dining and dashing, or even claim they had attacked the restaurant's security guards.
But now, he didn't dare.
With so many onlookers present, every pair of eyes had clearly seen everything that had just happened.
Moreover, their restaurant's recent business strategy of overcharging customers had indeed already incited public anger and triggered strong dissatisfaction in many people.
If he still dared to make a false counter-charge in public, once the crowd's indignation was provoked, his fate would likely be even worse; he might even be torn to pieces on the spot by the angry diners, and Shrek Academy might not even protect him, instead casting him out as a sacrificial pawn.
If the matter hadn't blown up on a normal day, Shrek Academy would naturally protect him, but now, it had clearly escalated.
Bei Bei looked at the tense atmosphere in the hall and the ground littered with severely injured, unconscious Spirit Ancestor thugs, then turned his gaze toward Seele, who was holding a scythe, and Wang Dong'er, who stood at the front, and spoke once more.
"Ladies, what exactly happened?"
Wang Dong'er gave a cold laugh, setting aside her thoughts of just watching the show, and stepped forward to directly explain the whole story of buying a pot of century-old Spirit Beast meat for five hundred thousand gold coins.
After hearing Wang Dong'er's words, Bei Bei was stunned on the spot.
Five hundred thousand gold coins?! For one portion of century-old Spirit Beast meat?!
He had no idea that such a thing was happening within Shrek City; such a price was simply a fantasy!
Bei Bei immediately turned his head and looked at the waiter hiding behind him with a gaze full of doubt and severity.
Meeting Bei Bei's gaze, the waiter broke into a cold sweat and stammered, unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time, his eyes darting around, not daring to look Bei Bei in the eye at all.
Seeing the waiter's guilty appearance, Bei Bei's heart skipped a beat, but he still found it somewhat hard to believe.
Bei Bei took a deep breath and turned to speak to Wang Dong'er and the others.
"Ladies, could there be some misunderstanding here?"
"I have also eaten this signature dish of century-old Spirit Beast meat at this restaurant before."
Bei Bei explained.
"The price was only fifty gold coins. Although fifty gold coins is indeed quite expensive for ordinary people, it's definitely not as much as five hundred thousand gold coins! This is simply impossible; how could a portion of century-old Spirit Beast meat be sold for five hundred thousand gold coins?"
Hearing Bei Bei say this.
From the crowd of onlookers nearby, the young Spirit Master who had been the first to stand up and denounce them rushed forward with bloodshot eyes.
"Misunderstanding? There is no misunderstanding at all!"
That person pulled a parchment IOU with a blood-red thumbprint from his bosom, unfurled it, and showed the evidence he had signed to Bei Bei.
"Sir from Shrek Academy, see for yourself! It clearly states five hundred thousand gold coins on it!"
Bei Bei looked down, and seeing the shocking number on the IOU along with the overbearing clause forbidding him from leaving Shrek City, his hands trembled slightly.
The man looked at Bei Bei and said with a Face full of anticipation and pleading.
"Please, uphold justice for us! I believe that since Shrek Academy has stood on the continent for ten thousand years, there must be righteous people within it; surely not everyone is in league with these unscrupulous merchants, right?!"
Upon hearing these words, Bei Bei felt as if he had been struck by lightning and was completely dazed.
He had always believed that Shrek City was the most peaceful and just place on the continent, a Holy Land that all Spirit Masters yearned for.
He never expected that under the very nose of Shrek Academy, such appalling and dark dealings were hidden!
Seeing Bei Bei's devastated appearance, as if his worldview had been shattered.
Xu Xiaoyan, standing beside Wang Dong'er, curled her lip and spoke with a tone that carried a few hints of undisguised mockery.
"Oh, based on what you just said, could it be that these shops in Shrek City are also running some kind of Yin and Yang pricing?"
Xu Xiaoyan crossed her arms and sneered.
"When selling to other Spirit Masters and commoners from outside, it's hidden terms and a sky-high price of five hundred thousand gold coins! But when selling to people from your Counterfeit Shrek Academy, it's a cost price of fifty gold coins?"
Xu Xiaoyan's words were like a needle, ruthlessly stabbing into the Face of the old Shrek Academy.
However, after hearing these words, Bei Bei suddenly looked up, his attention instantly shifting away from the IOU as his brain worked rapidly.
He quickly caught a key term in Xu Xiaoyan's words!
Counterfeit Shrek Academy!
Bei Bei's pupils contracted slightly.
He had only ever heard his Shrek Academy being prefixed with 'pirated' from that Shrek Academy suspended thousands of meters in the sky!
Bei Bei's gaze once again swept over the sophisticated, uniform academy uniforms on Wang Dong'er and the other three, and a stormy wave instantly surged in his heart.
Could it be... that the four young girls before him also came from that Sky Shrek Academy?!
Just as Bei Bei was filled with doubt and uncertainty.
Wang Dong'er stepped forward at this time and spoke to the crowd.
"We also come from Shrek Academy, it's just that... our academy would never engage in such filthy dealings. Now that we have encountered something that damages the reputation of Shrek Academy—even though it isn't our academy that is being harmed—we share the same name after all, and we will not allow you to continue your evildoings!"
Hearing Wang Dong'er's resounding words, Bei Bei was stunned again, standing there with his brain completely blank.
turning the world upside down!
Bei Bei looked at Wang Dong'er with a Face full of bewilderment.
This was the Shrek City on the ground! It was the base of their Shrek Academy, which had existed for over ten thousand years!
Yet now, these few young girls had not only swaggered into Shrek City but were even pointing at their noses and calling them the pirated ones right in front of him, a representative of Shrek Academy?!
Coming to Shrek City to say their own academy is the pirated one—this was a direct challenge at their doorstep?!
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.