Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 21

The three of them returned empty-handed. Li Xiaotong glanced at Su Ran, confused about why he didn’t expose that suspicious lady boss.

Su Ran held an umbrella, walking briskly ahead, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, as if he had completely forgotten Li Xiaotong and Lin Xiu were there.

“Hey, scammer! Wait up for us!” Li Xiaotong called out, struggling to keep up with his pace.

Su Ran paused and gave a sheepish smile. “Haha, got lost in thought.”

The next moment, his expression shifted, eyes darkening as he looked at Li Xiaotong and Lin Xiu with a stern face.

This sudden change caught them off guard. They exchanged uneasy glances. What had happened? Just a moment ago, he’d been fine.

Lin Xiu sensed something was off and turned around.

Li Xiaotong felt it too. Su Ran’s gaze was fixed on something behind them.

Turning to look, they saw that, at some point, the lady Su Ran had followed them, clutching a small flaming sword that blazed brightly in the night.

She was clearly following them with ill intent, yet she just stood there, not making a move.

Su Ran narrowed his eyes. “She can’t see us. Lin Xiu, protect Xiaotong.”

“Got it. Be careful.”

Can’t see us? What does that mean?

Su Ran closed the black umbrella, and instantly, female Su Ran’s gaze locked onto him, her expression hostile, and her fiery sword wavered in her hand.

“Are you Su Ran from the Upside Down Grocery Shop?” she demanded, her tone dripping with accusation.

“Yes.”

Female Su Ran’s face darkened. “Birds of a feather!”

With that, her sword shot toward him in a blaze of blinding light and searing flames. Judging by her fury, she really meant to kill him.

Su Ran was puzzled. Where did this woman’s hatred come from? But as the sword neared, he reached out.

The sword froze in midair, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t control it.

“Birds of a feather?” Su Ran found the phrase rather intriguing.

“Don’t play dumb.”

Su Ran looked at her calmly. “Come with me. Let’s go back and talk things out. How about that?”

“I’d rather die than go with you!”

Su Ran figured there was more to her story and wanted to get to the bottom of it. But given the situation, having a peaceful conversation was out of the question.

He’d have to find another chance.

Su Ran released her sword, letting it fly back to her. “I’ll let you go for now. If you’ve got something to say, come find me at the Upside Down Grocery Shop.”

Female Su Ran fell silent, no longer making a move.

Su Ran turned to leave.

But suddenly, her sword came charging again, aimed right at his back.

“Watch out!” Lin Xiu shouted. In an instant, he drew his own sword, blocking her attack. A flash of light cut through, piercing female Su Ran.

She looked at Su Ran with the same look of hatred, then collapsed.

A small, lifeless red sword lay by her side.

Su Ran frowned, glancing at Lin Xiu without saying a word.

“You!” Li Xiaotong gasped, seeing female Su Ran on the ground, and was about to shout, but Su Ran knocked her out cold.

“Boss Su, you should go back. I’ll handle this,” Lin Xiu said, his face apologetic. “Sorry, I acted too impulsively.”

Su Ran nodded. “I’ll be at the shop waiting for you.”

He looked down at the unconscious Li Xiaotong, his gaze drifting, as though deep in thought.

Lin Xiu returned. “It’s taken care of.”

Su Ran looked at him. “She was a Sword Soul, right?” Lin Xiu was stunned, surprised Su Ran had seen through female Su Ran’s true form so easily. As far as he knew, only people from Shu Shan would recognize a Sword Soul, but Su Ran had identified her in an instant. This was not something you could know just from reading about it—Su Ran had clearly encountered Sword Souls before.

“Yes, she was a Sword Soul.”

“For a Sword Soul to be roaming around, this isn’t a ‘small issue’ anymore.”

Lin Xiu fell silent, unsure of what to say.

“Enough. It’s been a long day. You can go now,” Su Ran said, signaling it was time for Lin Xiu to leave.

Lin Xiu wanted to say something but, seeing Su Ran in a pensive mood, decided against it and left.

Su Ran waved his hand, and Li Xiaotong slowly regained consciousness. The moment she saw Su Ran, she looked horrified. “You! You guys! You killed someone!”

“Killed someone? Miss, are you dreaming?” Su Ran’s face was full of feigned innocence.

“You fainted outside my shop last night, and I only noticed you there this morning when I opened up.”

Li Xiaotong froze. Fainted? Dreaming?

Impossible!

Su Ran pointed outside. The sun was starting to rise. “Miss, you spent the night at my doorstep. I don’t know what strange dream you had, but it’s time for you to go.”

“No way!” Li Xiaotong cried. “You’re saying I was dreaming? That’s impossible. I remember this is the Upside Down Grocery Shop, I remember your name is Su Ran, and there’s a Lin Xiu from Shu Shan too!”

“That’s right. My shop is indeed the Upside Down Grocery Shop, everyone knows that. As for my name,” Su Ran pointed to a sign on the wall, which read clearly: Shop Owner, Su Ran.

Li Xiaotong was getting more and more confused. Could it really have been a strange dream?

She glanced toward the doorway. There was only a drink display, no black umbrella anywhere.

“Su Ran, we went to another Upside Down Grocery Shop last night, didn’t we? Was that all fake too?”

Su Ran chuckled. “Miss, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Li Xiaotong stared at him, feeling even more bewildered. Was it possible she’d really had a weird dream?

Had she mistaken a dream for reality?

No, I need to go check!

“Thank you, boss. I’ll take my leave now.” Li Xiaotong ran out, determined to find that other Upside Down Grocery Shop, to see if it was real or not.

Su Ran stood there, watching her without a word.

But as she reached the spot, she saw only a fruit store, and her head began to throb. How could that be? Just last night, this was the Upside Down Grocery Shop, with that lady Su Ran, and that hilarious dark-skinned guy. How had it turned into a fruit shop overnight?

“Little girl, looking for something? I’ve got everything here.” A cheerful auntie greeted her warmly.

“Auntie, how long have you had this shop?”

“Years now, I don’t even remember exactly. Why do you ask?”

Li Xiaotong shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Walking along the street, Li Xiaotong felt like nothing was real. The people around her started to blur, and even the buildings seemed to twist and stretch. She patted her head. “Must be my low blood sugar acting up again, making me have weird dreams and hallucinations.”

“Xiaotong!”

She turned and nearly jumped out of her skin. “Qian Qian?”

Qian Qian walked up, looking at her pale, scared face. “What’s wrong with you? You’re scaring me! What happened?”

“Qian Qian, is it really you?” Li Xiaotong couldn’t believe it; she’d seen such a terrifying version of Qian Qian in her dream, way too vivid and scary.

“Of course, it’s me! Who else would it be? You’re the one acting weird! Do you know your phone’s been off all night, and all six of us in the dorm were out looking for you!”

Li Xiaotong pulled out her phone, which was indeed off. Shaking her head, she said, “No big deal. My blood sugar probably dropped, so I passed out and ended up sleeping on the roadside all night.”

“Only you would do something like that! Good thing it’s safe around here, or a beauty like you could’ve ended up anywhere.”

“Hehe, it wasn’t that dangerous,” Li Xiaotong said, thinking back on last night’s events. Maybe it really had just been a dream. “Qian Qian, where’s your flying sword?”

“Flying sword?” Qian Qian gave her a weird look. “Do I look like an immortal? How many times have I told you to cut back on those cultivation novels, but you never listen! Now you’re even hallucinating.”

Li Xiaotong grinned. “Hehe, that’s good. As long as you don’t have one, that’s good.”