Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 14

Su Ran landed perfectly, checking his shredded shirt to reveal a silver white undershirt. “Good thing I wore an extra layer; otherwise, I’d be full of holes by now,” he muttered, glancing at the two big bears closing in on him. “Toodaloo!” 

In the next moment, a smoke bomb exploded, and Su Ran had already disappeared.

The black bear might not fear Su Ran, but if Su Ran wanted to escape, even it couldn’t stop him—hardly anyone could.

“Where’s that girl?”

A beautiful woman in an animal trainer’s outfit approached, looking tall and alluring as she waved off the grizzly. “Caught her.”

“She came with Su Ran?”

“Yes,” the woman nodded, “and it seems she knows our secret. Not sure if Su Ran told her or if she figured something out herself.”

A chilling look flashed in the black bear’s eyes, radiating killing intent. “Such people can’t be left alive!”

The woman hesitated. “But…she’s a police officer. Couldn’t that bring trouble?”

“Trouble, so what?” The black bear shrank down, unconcerned. “We’ve captured enough people this time, and there’s plenty of fresh life force. I’ll be recharged and reborn soon, so who can stop me then?”

The woman nodded but still seemed troubled. “What about Su Ran?”

“He’s a real thorn in the side! Damn it—hard to like, harder to get rid of, and it’s so annoying to have someone like him chasing after you.”

The woman went silent. Originally, Su Ran was the last person they’d worry about, but now he’d become their biggest stumbling block.

“How long will it take to absorb all their life force?”

The woman thought it over. “With the current people and the extra life force we’ve gathered from our little gifts before, it’ll take at least three days to complete.”

Three days? A bit long.

But as long as they could hold on for three days, success would be theirs!

“Alright, spread the word: no matter what, hold out for those three days. If they have to fight to the death, so be it!”

“Understood!” The woman shot a glance at the black bear before leaving.

The black bear took a deep breath, almost looking worried.

“Trapped in this beast’s body… it’s worse than death. But soon… very soon, it’ll be over.”

—

Su Ran had set off with three people, but now he returned alone.

“What a miscalculation; turns out the black bear had a human soul. My blade was useless.”

He rummaged around his shop. He distinctly remembered leaving something here to gather dust. Could it have gotten stolen by a mouse for nesting?

After a while, he lit up, spotting a long blade covered in layers of dust. He chuckled, blowing on it, only to cough in a cloud of dust. 

“Cough, cough—” He tried drawing the blade, but it didn’t budge. “Maybe it’s rusted over.”

He stomped on it, finally yanking the blade free. The rusted weapon made him grin sheepishly. “Not the cleanest, but it’ll do after a bit of sharpening.”

After some effort, he finally found a bl00d-red whetstone. “Good thing this is still here. Selling it would’ve been a huge loss.”

Finally, after nearly exhausting himself, he managed to get a faint shine on the blade. “This’ll do. Any more, and I’d probably pass out before I even got to the bear.”

Weapon ready, snacks packed, Su Ran stood at the door, noticing faint white ribbons drifting toward the circus.

“So, a last-ditch effort, huh?” Su Ran smirked, laced with irony. “Snatching human souls at will? Even if I wanted to let you go now, it’d be too late.”

Suddenly, an ancient rotary phone in the shop began ringing—a stubborn relic that wouldn’t stop until answered.

Su Ran sighed, picking it up. “Hello, who is it?”

“It’s me, Lao Liu.”

Su Ran’s expression shifted as a sharp female voice echoed, “Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. Sorry—”

“Sorry, my foot! If you don’t cut it out, I’ll make YOU sorry!” The voice boomed, nearly deafening him.

“Hehe,” Su Ran chuckled dryly. “No need to get upset. So, what’s Lao Liu calling about at this hour? If it’s dinner, I might have to pass.”

“Su Ran, quit with the jokes. I’m just telling you that actions against the Bear-taming Clan are on hold. Wait for further instructions.”

Su Ran’s face darkened, his tone growing colder. “And why is that?”

“This matter is beyond your authority. You’ve broken too many rules—don’t act out of line anymore!”

“And if I refuse?”

“Refuse, and I’ll shut down your shop myself!”

Click. The line went dead.

Su Ran smashed the phone, stomping it into powder. “Always threatening to close my shop! Do they think I scare easily? I’m seeing this through; that girl Xiao Ling is still in there.”

Sword strapped, Su Ran set out as night fell.

—

Jiangnan Villa.

Lao Liu put down the phone, chuckling. “Didn’t I say? Su Ran dared to hang up on me this time. Looks like he’s dead set on this.”

“You sure know how to handle him. If we hadn’t pushed him like this, he might’ve given up halfway.”

“Su Ran’s quite the talent, but he’s got a lazy streak. Giving him the shop hasn’t been a problem so far, but he’s made little progress. Perhaps this can shape him up a bit.”

“He wasn’t always like this, you know.”

“Sigh. If we don’t do something soon, he’ll end up wasted.”

“And those Bear-taming Clan fools—daring to cause trouble again after their last wipeout. If you all weren’t holding me back, I’d have swatted them ages ago.”

“The Bear-taming Clan is just the spark. Maybe Su Ran sees more clearly than us this time; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stepped in so quickly.”

“Not simple at all. Let’s let him handle it.”

“We’ll wait and enjoy some tea in the meantime.”

—

Su Ran returned to the circus, but this time, he didn’t dare go in.

The circus looked perfectly normal, with its booming, cheerful music, bustling crowd, and clowns selling balloons and drinks. But something was off.

No one was leaving.

Drinks finished, they bought more. The show done, they watched again. Balloons burst, they blew up more. Phones ran out of storage, they deleted photos to keep snapping. And even though they’d been laughing long enough for their faces to cramp, they just kept laughing!

“A fine trick from the Bear-taming Clan,” Su Ran thought, keeping his composure, though his heart was racing. Xiao Ling was captured. Though they probably wouldn’t harm her yet, just losing a few threads of her soul would leave her severely ill.

Su Ran knew that if he took even a single step into the circus, every person here would transform into a bloodthirsty beast, ready to tear him apart to the last bone.

One last look, and he turned to leave, planning his next move.