Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 23

“Why are you saying this?”

“You took fifty bucks from me.”

“Sigh, they say greed harms people, and it’s really true.”

“So you’re admitting it now? Do you even know that Qianqian is dead?”

Su Ran replied in a calm, indifferent voice, “I know.”

“That’s it?”

Li Xiaotong stared at Su Ran, who looked as calm as a gentle breeze and responded with a detached, “I know.” Her anger surged into a roar within her, “She’s dead! Dead!”

Though she knew Qianqian’s death was caused by a traffic accident—an unpreventable tragedy—Li Xiaotong still had an inexplicable urge to tell Su Ran.

Maybe it was the pent-up sadness and grief she’d been carrying all this time.

Su Ran glanced at the setting sun and asked, “Li Xiaotong, I’ll ask you just this once—do you want to see Qianqian again?”

“What?” Li Xiaotong was caught off guard, unsure of what Su Ran meant.

“Time is running out. Listen carefully—this is your one and only chance,” Su Ran said. “If you miss it, you’ll forget everything.”

“I want to!” Li Xiaotong didn’t hesitate. She didn’t understand what Su Ran was saying or how he planned to do it. But she knew one thing—she desperately wanted to see Qianqian. She hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye.

That regret was eating her alive.

“Alright, everything will happen after midnight,” Su Ran said with a glance.

Sunset meant the shop would close—rules were rules.

Inside the small general store, it was just the two of them. Truthfully, Li Xiaotong was nervous—not because of Su Ran himself. Although they hadn’t interacted much, she trusted Su Ran. She knew he wouldn’t harm her.

What truly scared her was the unknown. Su Ran had said she could see Qianqian again, but what did that mean?

Su Ran looked at her and asked, “Are you scared?”

Li Xiaotong wanted to deny it and act tough, but her expression and posture betrayed her. There was no fooling Su Ran. “A little,” she admitted.

“If you regret it, there’s still time. I can send you home.”

“No!”

So stubborn. Su Ran pressed further, “Tell me everything that happened after you left here. Every strange thing Qianqian did, every person you met, every word you heard—tell me in detail.”

“But can’t you read minds? You should already know everything.”

Su Ran chuckled. “Talking helps ease your nerves. Besides, I can only know your inner thoughts—not your analysis or conclusions.”

So, Li Xiaotong recounted everything she had experienced after leaving the shop, even the two hazy figures she glimpsed while unconscious. Her recounting was factual, with minimal personal interpretation.

When she mentioned the questions Xiao Ling had asked her, Su Ran’s gaze flickered for a moment.

Time crawled forward, every second feeling like an eternity. For Li Xiaotong, the wait was torture. Time loomed like a tidal wave, like a wild beast, threatening to swallow her whole in the dark night. The small general store felt like the entrance to the underworld.

“There are still four hours to go. If you’re tired, you can sleep for a bit. I’ll wake you when the time comes,” Su Ran said, noticing that Li Xiaotong’s nerves were stretched thin.

“I’m fine,” Li Xiaotong took a deep breath. “Su Ran, tell me—what exactly happened that night with the other Su Ran?”

She had initially believed the female Su Ran was killed by Lin Xiu. In her mind, both Su Ran and Lin Xiu were murderers.

But after witnessing the mysterious disappearance of the store, she no longer trusted her own eyes. She couldn’t even tell if the female Su Ran was human or something else entirely.

“You need to think carefully,” Su Ran warned. “Once you learn certain things, you can’t walk away. The consequences of knowing… no one can predict.”

“Like Qianqian?”

Li Xiaotong didn’t know why she blurted that out. It felt like a voice from deep within her was prompting her.

Qianqian’s “accident” didn’t seem so accidental after all.

Su Ran fell silent.

His silence felt like confirmation, and it made Li Xiaotong’s heart sink. At that moment, she realized what had been suffocating her all this time.

Fear.

A deep, consuming fear.

An inexplicable, formless terror.

“I’m not afraid,” Li Xiaotong said firmly. “Even if it’s for Qianqian, I can’t let fear win.”

Su Ran gave her a long look. “Alright then. I’ll tell you what I know. That night, the female Su Ran… she wasn’t human.”

Not human? Was he insulting her or implying she got what she deserved?

“No, I’m not insulting her,” Su Ran clarified. “The female Su Ran wasn’t a real person.”

“Do you remember Lin Xiu? He came from Shushan, a place where swordsmanship reigns supreme. They specialize in forging and wielding swords, using their blades to protect vast territories.”

“Sounds like something out of a xianxia novel,” Li Xiaotong scoffed.

“This world isn’t as simple or small as you think,” Su Ran continued. “Take parallel worlds, for example. You’ve heard of those, right?”

“I have.”

Though in truth, Li Xiaotong didn’t fully understand the concept.

“It’s possible that outside our world, there’s another parallel world. In that world, there might be another Su Ran, another grocery store, and another Li Xiaotong.”

Li Xiaotong nodded. It was a stretch, but still within the bounds of believability.

“In Shushan, after centuries of sword forging, they discovered a method to imbue their swords with even more spirit.”

“What method?”

The things Su Ran was saying seemed straight out of a novel.

He hesitated, realizing some truths were too cruel to share. “It’s… a very cold method,” he said vaguely.

That “cold” was open to interpretation—how she understood it was up to her.

“Once a sword spirit is formed, it can grow over time, just like a real person, and even develop unique abilities.”

Li Xiaotong felt her head spin. This was hard to wrap her mind around.

“Su Ran, it feels like you’re making this up from a random novel. Everything you’re saying sounds exactly like a story.”

Su Ran smiled but didn’t respond.

If not for the fact that I’ve become the owner of this shop, I wouldn’t believe it either!

“Forging a sword spirit is an extremely difficult process. The cost is unimaginable, which is why they’re incredibly rare in Shushan.”

The more Su Ran explained, the more ridiculous he felt. The truth sounded just like a fantasy novel. Could it be any more clichéd?

“So, you’re saying the female Su Ran was a sword spirit.”

“Exactly. Technically, we didn’t kill a human being.”

Li Xiaotong fell silent. “But she’s still dead. Whether she was human or a sword spirit, she’s dead. Just like Qianqian. She’ll never come back to life.”

Su Ran didn’t know how to respond.

Both of them grew quiet. Su Ran was waiting for time to pass, and he didn’t feel the need to say more unless Li Xiaotong asked.

Li Xiaotong sat in silence, lost in thought—whether about Qianqian or something else.

“Alright, it’s almost time. Get ready.”

Su Ran stood up and handed her a black umbrella. “Remember, what you’re about to see and hear is top secret. You must never tell anyone.”

Li Xiaotong took the umbrella, puzzled about why she needed it.

“So mysterious, like a bad ghost story,” she muttered, trying to calm her nerves by talking.

Su Ran pulled out a small white candle, no bigger than a finger.

“A candle?” Li Xiaotong asked, confused. “What kind of candle is this?”

“This candle is extremely rare and expensive. Consider yourself lucky this time. Stick close to me and don’t wander off—understood?”

As the clock’s hands struck midnight, Su Ran lit the candle.

A golden flame flickered to life.

Then, mist began to rise around them.