Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 37

Back at the Upside Down Grocery Shop, luckily, Li Xiaotong and the others arrived safely. Seeing Su Ran and Zhao Feifei’s disheveled state, with shards of glass on them, Li Xiaotong asked worriedly, “She got attacked too?”

“Yes, but it’s fine now.”

“Su Ran, what do we do next?”

“Wait.”

“Wait?”

Zhao Feifei glanced at Sun Li and Little Bean Sprout, feeling like this place had become some sort of shelter.

“Stay here. It’s getting dark soon. Remember, until I come back, no matter who knocks, don’t open the door.”

“Got it.”

Su Ran left again, making Li Xiaotong feel the gravity of the situation.

Night fell quickly, but Su Ran still hadn’t returned.

The streets grew quieter, the night deepened, and the unease inside the shop intensified.

Knock, knock, knock.
The heavy knocks on the door startled everyone inside.

Li Xiaotong and the others stayed silent, but the person outside seemed certain there was someone inside and kept knocking.

Summoning her courage, Li Xiaotong shouted, “Who is it?”

“Xiaotong, it’s me, Lin Xiu.”

Relieved, Li Xiaotong started toward the door, only to be stopped by Zhao Feifei. “No. Su Ran said we can’t open the door until he returns.”

“He’s our friend—mine and Su Ran’s! He’s not a bad guy.”

“No means no.”

“You!” Li Xiaotong glared at Zhao Feifei, wondering how this woman could be so stubborn.

“I agree we shouldn’t open the door. Su Ran told us to wait for him,” Sun Li added, with Little Bean Sprout nodding in agreement.

Li Xiaotong was at a loss.

“Xiaotong, open the door! I’m injured and need to see Su Ran!”

Injured? Li Xiaotong hesitated again, wanting to open the door.

But with Zhao Feifei and Sun Li watching her, she reluctantly called out, “Lin Xiu, Su Ran’s not here. I can’t open the door without him. Can you wait a bit?”

“Are you going to just watch me die?!”

They heard the sound of someone collapsing heavily outside.

“What do we do?” Li Xiaotong was frantic. Lin Xiu might be seriously injured, possibly dying.

Zhao Feifei and the others wavered; leaving an injured person to die felt inhumane.

“Figures you all are unreliable,” Su Ran suddenly appeared inside the shop, glancing at them. “Did you forget the story about the lamb and the big bad wolf when you were kids?”

“Su Ran!” Li Xiaotong almost burst into tears at the sight of him.

With Su Ran back, Zhao Feifei and the others finally exhaled in relief. Any longer, and they wouldn’t have known what to do.

Su Ran called out toward the door, “Lin Xiu, I’m back. Are you seriously injured?”

No response came from outside.

“Su Ran, could he have passed out?”

After all, they’d heard the sound of him falling earlier. What if Lin Xiu’s injuries were critical?

Su Ran opened the door, and sure enough, Lin Xiu was there—but not as an injured man lying on the ground. Instead, he stood there radiating killing intent.

Lin Xiu stood on the street, a faint yellow light from a streetlamp behind him.

Li Xiaotong and the others were puzzled. What was going on? Lin Xiu had just said he was injured.

“Lin Xiu, no dramatic ‘wounded hero’ performance this time? You look perfectly fine, not even close to death.”

Lin Xiu chuckled, “Boss Su, are you trying to ruin your reputation?”

“How so?”

“Sword Spirits belong to Shushan. And now Boss Su wants to claim them as your own? Even for the Upside Down Grocery Shop, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Claim them as my own?” Su Ran laughed. “Not at all. I haven’t tied her up or anything. If she wants to leave, she’s free to go.”

Lin Xiu looked at Little Bean Sprout and shouted, “Come back to Shushan with me now!”

Little Bean Sprout trembled in fear and hid behind Sun Li and Su Ran, too afraid to step forward.

Su Ran gently comforted Little Bean Sprout. “I don’t care about Sword Spirits, and you can take her away. But the crimes you’ve committed here—don’t you think you should answer for them?”

Lin Xiu’s heart tightened, though his expression remained calm. “What crimes have I committed?”

“Qianqian and her boyfriend, the big guy, Wang Xiaoqin—four lives. Don’t you think, Lin Xiu, you owe an explanation for that?”

Li Xiaotong was stunned. “Su Ran, are you saying Lin Xiu killed Qianqian and the others?”

Lin Xiu sneered, “Boss Su, even if this is your turf, you can’t just slander me with baseless accusations.”

“Slander? Ha!” Su Ran laughed heartily. “Lin Xiu, Lin Xiu, you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin, huh?”

Lin Xiu said nothing.

“Shall I start from the beginning?”

Without waiting for Lin Xiu’s consent, Su Ran began speaking.

“The story starts with Qianqian. A Sword Spirit chose her. When you found out, during your attempts to retrieve the Sword Spirit, you encountered someone who made you change your plan to kill Qianqian immediately.”

Lin Xiu smirked, “Boss Su, is this a bedtime story? Alright, I’ll play along. Who did I supposedly see that made me change my plan?”

“Li Xiaotong.”

Li Xiaotong froze. What did this have to do with her?

“I don’t know him!”

“You don’t know Lin Xiu, and he doesn’t know you either. But when he saw you, he had a thought.”

“What thought?” Li Xiaotong felt like she was sinking deeper into a mire.

“To forge you into a Sword Spirits.”

Li Xiaotong’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

Little Bean Sprout’s face turned pale as well. As a Sword Spirit herself, she understood the suffering involved.

“After that, you deliberately got close to Qianqian and influenced her, telling her to visit me. You knew that once Sword Spirits escaped Shushan, they would seek me out. So, Li Xiaotong became your stepping stone, a way to gauge my stance.”

“Later, you manipulated Qianqian into lying in wait on Xiaotong’s way back. You staged a heroic rescue to gain entry into my general store and acted like you couldn’t say anything, arousing my curiosity.”

“You used Xiaotong to lead us to Lady Su Ran—that counterfeit shopkeeper who was actually Chimei.”

“You stayed close to me on purpose, making Chimei think I was in cahoots with you. That’s why she angrily called me your accomplice and eventually, under the guise of protecting me, you killed her and obtained her Sword Spirits.”

“Quite the plan, Lin Xiu. You’ve got a brilliant mind.”

Lin Xiu remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.

“You killed Qianqian’s boyfriend for the same reason you killed the big guy—because they knew too much.”

“Three lives snuffed out like weeds, just like that.”

“Su Ran, so what if you’re good at talking? You have no proof.”

“I don’t.”

Lin Xiu burst into laughter. “Su Ran, you’ve slapped yourself in the face this time.”

Su Ran’s expression didn’t falter. “I may not have hard evidence for Qianqian’s death, but something unexpected happened after you killed her.”

“What unexpected thing?”

“You couldn’t find the Sword Spirits on her anymore.”

Lin Xiu remained silent, his default response.

“And to track it down, you turned to those close to her—first Li Xiaotong, and when she didn’t have it, her boyfriend.”

“You got what you wanted from him but couldn’t let him live because he knew too much about the Sword Spirits.”

Li Xiaotong glared at Lin Xiu, burning with fury. “You’re ruthless!”

Lin Xiu smirked, watching Su Ran as if entertained by a monkey’s performance.

“To you, their lives meant nothing more than a few weeds to pull out of the ground.”

“Su Ran, what’s the point of all this talk?”

Lin Xiu had stopped pretending altogether, showing his true face.

“You think I didn’t notice the little traps you set, Lin Xiu?”

“You thought the mist I released back then was just for show?” Su Ran’s voice turned colder.

“I knew someone was going to harm Bai Yi and I wanted to get some lead from her, Hence when I talked about Chimei, I mentioned your name on purpose.”

“As I expected, when Bai Yi knew I was with you, she happened to be like Chimei, trying to kill me.”

“Until then, I knew it was you.”