Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 29

At that moment, a flying sword suddenly struck, silent and swift, piercing through Bai Yi’s forehead before vanishing without a trace.

Bai Yi was dead. Her flying sword dropped to her side, lifeless and dull.

Su Ran took a deep breath as he stared at the disappearing sword and then at Bai Yi’s lifeless body. Once again, no answers—only death.

Li Xiaotong glanced at Bai Yi’s corpse, recalling Chi Mei’s death from before. They had both sought out Su Ran, yet both ended up consumed by rage, attacking him in the end. What exactly was going on?

Su Ran picked up the dull, lifeless flying sword beside Bai Yi. It seemed like nothing more than scrap metal now. Not long after, Bai Yi’s body disintegrated into specks of light, scattering into the air.

“Su Ran, she…”

Su Ran pondered for a moment, then handed the flying sword to Li Xiaotong. “Keep this. Don’t give it to anyone. Even if I ask you for it later, you’re not to hand it over.”

Li Xiaotong was dumbfounded. What was going on? Why was he giving her this flying sword out of nowhere? The sword felt like a hot potato in her hands, especially after witnessing the one who had killed Bai Yi.

If she carried this flying sword around, wasn’t she just courting death?

“Su Ran, are you trying to get me killed?”

Su Ran chuckled. “Weren’t you always dreaming of becoming an immortal? Didn’t you want a flying sword? Well, here you go. Your wish is granted.”

“Go to hell! You still have the nerve to laugh?” Li Xiaotong shouted, eyeing the surroundings warily. “Carrying this sword, who knows? I might drop dead in the next second!”

“What’s wrong? Chicken now?”

“I—I…” Li Xiaotong didn’t want to admit she was scared, but recalling what happened to Bai Yi and Chi Mei, she couldn’t deny it.

“Fine! I admit it! I’m scared, okay? I’m just a girl. Being scared isn’t shameful. Acting tough and getting yourself killed—that’s the real disgrace.”

Su Ran smiled approvingly. “Not bad. At least you’re self-aware.”

“Li Xiaotong, how about we strike a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“Carry this flying sword with you for seven days, and I’ll give you a candle.”

“A candle?” Li Xiaotong blinked. “You mean one of those candles?”

“Exactly.”

“This…”

That was tempting. Li Xiaotong stared at the flying sword in her hands, torn.

Those candles were magical. With one, maybe she could see Qianqian again, or her boyfriend—or even the big guy—and finally learn what had happened to them.

But seven days? She wasn’t even sure she’d survive seven hours without dying a horrible death.

Su Ran didn’t rush her. “It’s a one-time opportunity. I’ll give you some time to think about it, but no more than a day.”

At least she had some time to decide. That was considerate.

Su Ran waved his hand, and the mist that had spread earlier dissipated. The surroundings returned to a calm night, empty and quiet.

Li Xiaotong clutched the flying sword, her thoughts drifting to a saying: Chasing your dreams one step at a time. Only now, her version felt more like: Walking on eggshells while carrying a ticking time bomb.

Back at the Upside Down Grocery Shop, Lin Xiu was awake but still frail. When he saw Su Ran and Li Xiaotong return, he greeted them weakly, “Thank you for the trouble, Boss Su.”

“It was a big trouble indeed. You almost died right at my doorstep. I nearly ended up at the police station for questioning.”

Li Xiaotong couldn’t help but laugh. Su Ran’s mouth was always sharp, but his heart was soft. “Lin Xiu, are you feeling better? Su Ran really went all out to save you.”

Lin Xiu looked apologetic. “I owe Boss Su my life. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. At my shop, everything comes with a price. That’ll be 3,583 yuan—no discounts.”

“Alright, I’ll pay. Do you take cards?”

“Well, well, looks like people from Shushan are quite modern. You even have a bank card? I thought you wouldn’t even have an ID card.”

Lin Xiu smiled, looking much livelier. “Though we’re from Shushan, we live as regular people when we’re out in the world, with legitimate identities and everything.”

“I woke up earlier and noticed you weren’t in the shop. Where did you two go?”

“We went flying-sword hunting,” Su Ran said casually. “The sword was as crazy as you said—tried to kill Li Xiaotong. If this girl weren’t a bit clever, she’d be dead by now.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiu’s face darkened with guilt. “That’s Shushan’s fault. We failed to manage the situation, letting the flying sword escape and causing so much harm.”

“Lin Xiu, it’s time you explained everything. What’s really going on?”

Lin Xiu hesitated before sighing deeply. “Alright. At this point, I suppose I can’t hide it any longer. The truth is…” He paused, his expression heavy. “It’s not a matter of negligence. The sword spirits of Shushan have rebelled.”

“Rebelled?” Li Xiaotong was stunned. That word alone hinted at a massive story.

Su Ran frowned. Things were getting serious.

“Creating sword spirits is not easy. In Shushan, they’re tightly controlled. For thousands of years, there have been no incidents. Perhaps we grew complacent, losing our vigilance.”

“So when the sword spirits rebelled, we were completely unprepared and could do nothing but watch them escape.”

“Why did they rebel?” Su Ran asked, zeroing in on the key point.

“They want to become human.”

Li Xiaotong gasped. Become human? What did that even mean? Could a sword spirit really transform into a person?

Su Ran, however, remained unfazed. Things started to make sense now.

Lin Xiu glanced at Su Ran. “I suspect Boss Su already knows about this.”

Li Xiaotong looked at Su Ran questioningly.

Su Ran nodded. “At the Upside Down Grocery Shop, there is indeed an item capable of separating a sword spirit from its sword, allowing it to reincarnate as a human. But it’s just reincarnation—starting over from scratch. It doesn’t preserve who they are now.”

“There’s really such a thing?” Li Xiaotong was astonished. “No wonder those sword spirits are all targeting you, Su Ran! They need what you have—it all makes sense now.”

Lin Xiu sighed. “Actually, aside from Boss Su’s method, there’s another way they can achieve their goal—one that doesn’t involve reincarnation.”

Su Ran narrowed his eyes at Lin Xiu. “You left a backdoor when forging the swords, didn’t you?”

Lin Xiu looked ashamed. “Yes. Originally, it was meant to ease their suffering, to prevent them from enduring endless loneliness through the ages. But it’s become the root of today’s disaster.”

Although Li Xiaotong didn’t fully understand their conversation, she got the gist of it: Shushan messed up when creating these swords, and now the sword spirits were taking advantage of the flaw to escape.

“What’s the other method?” Li Xiaotong asked curiously.

“Killing humans,” Lin Xiu explained grimly. “By taking their blood essence and souls, then combining it with what Boss Su has, they can bypass reincarnation and retain their current form as they become human.”

Li Xiaotong was horrified. This was no different from the man-eating ghosts in TV dramas.

Su Ran fell silent, lost in thought. After a moment, he retrieved a piece of the Duanlong Stone. “Here’s the Duanlong Stone you wanted. How long will you need?”

Lin Xiu hesitated, guilt flickering in his eyes. “If I work as hard as I can, ten days.”

“Fine. I’ll give you fifteen days. If you can’t handle it by then, I’ll take care of it myself.”

Lin Xiu looked at Su Ran with a conflicted expression. He knew what Su Ran meant by “taking care of it.” It wasn’t just about capturing the flying swords—it meant destroying them.

Those swords represented Shushan’s legacy. Destroying them would be an unimaginable loss.

Gripping the Duanlong Stone tightly, Lin Xiu said, “Understood. Ten days—I’ll do my best.”

With that, he left, taking the stone with him. Su Ran didn’t stop him.

Li Xiaotong watched Lin Xiu’s frail figure leave, wanting to say something but holding back. After all, this was Su Ran’s store. As an outsider, what could she really say?