Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 99

Sarah pulls out some hemostatic powder and casually sprinkles it on top of Zhang Rong’s head. Whether the bleeding stops completely or not, she doesn’t care in the slightest.

It takes quite a while before the medicine begins to take effect.

Zhang Rong rolls over and lies face down on the ground, lifting his head to look up at Sara, who is leaning over him.

At last, he sees her face clearly—pale skin, crimson eyes, fingertips drenched in blood, and long, sharp nails. Everything about her screams: not human.

Sarah raises her eyebrows at him. “Go give the order.”

Zhang Rong doesn’t want to die. He still wants to live and enjoy life. He shouts hoarsely, “Open the city gate! Open the gate!”

The two personal guards don’t even think about saving their general. Terrified, they stumble and scramble out.

Sarah squats beside Zhang Rong and pats his head. Her hands are smeared with a mixture of blood and powder. She wipes them on Zhang Rong with distaste. After wiping them clean, she says coldly, “Once they’re safely inside the city, I won’t bother with you anymore.”

Zhang Rong pants for breath, not daring to speak. Who knows if this female monster will suddenly lash out at him for no reason?

Sarah looks at him curiously. “Do you want to be king yourself?”

Zhang Rong is startled. He has indeed hoped for some benefits, but he has never intended to take the throne. He quickly denies it, “I—I may have acted foolishly before, but I truly have no intention of usurping the throne. Besides, if I did, the other states would have an excuse to attack Chen.”

Although the Warring States Period is rife with war, every nation still claims to be fighting for justice and always needs a justification to send troops. If ministers throw the court into chaos, the other states will see it as their chance to invade. Hasn’t Zuotu only dared to support the new king? No one wants to ascend the throne of a ruined kingdom.

Besides, as long as he holds real power, even without a crown, it’s the same as wearing one.

Sarah sneers, “So you have no ambition. In the end, all you want is to change masters. A dog is still a dog, no matter who owns it.”

Zhang Rong is thoroughly humiliated but dares not argue. He can only nod and say, “Yes, yes, the king is right.”

Sarah frowns. “King? That sounds awful. I’m not some bandit.”

She recalls how the bandits of the Daliang Dynasty are called “bandit kings” by their lackeys.

Zhang Rong dares not speak further.

Sarah sits down on the threshold, glances behind her, and sees the group of guest retainers huddled in the hall like a bunch of quails. “You’re the ones who gave him those terrible ideas, aren’t you? None of you even tried to flee. When your king returns, he’ll deal with you himself.”

She yawns and leans against the doorframe. “Just wait.”

—

“Sarah’s been in there for almost an hour,” Ye Zhou says anxiously. He turns to Zou Ming. “Do you think she’s okay?”

Zou Ming replies, “She’s not human. She recovers quickly. As long as she doesn’t decide to kill everyone inside, it should be okay.”

Even so, Ye Zhou is uneasy. Sarah isn’t under his watch, and he doesn’t like not knowing what’s happening.

Chen Hou overhears their conversation and approaches cautiously. “Immortal, who exactly is that girl? She’s not human?”

Ye Zhou replies, “She’s a spirit creature. Normally harmless.”

Chen Hou is astonished. “So spirits really exist… I’ve heard stories about them, but this is the first time I’ve seen one.” He looks ashamed. “Shows how little I know.”

Ye Zhou: “…”

You’re not alone. I’ve never seen a vampire before either.

Just then, a noise comes from the city gate. Dozens of people are pushing together, and only then does the massive door begin to crack open.

Chen Yan immediately leads a team over to help.

After more than ten minutes of effort, the gate finally opens.

Chen Hou lets out a long sigh. “We’re finally back.” He turns to Ye Zhou. “Lord Immortal, the soldiers have traveled far. Why don’t we rest here for the night?”

Ye Zhou is surprised. “They didn’t let you into the city before. Aren’t you afraid they’ll try to kill you during the night?”

Chen Hou smiles. “I have two thousand soldiers, and there are barely over a thousand soldiers inside now—if that. Once I’m inside, if Zhang Rong tries anything again, it’ll be regicide. He doesn’t have that kind of courage.”

Ye Zhou asks, “But if he killed you outside the city, that wouldn’t be regicide?”

Lord Chen replies, “Outside the city, he can claim I was a bandit or a barbarian. But once I’m inside, that lie won’t hold.”

Ye Zhou can’t understand the logic. If it were him, the first thing he’d do after entering the city would be to execute the general who dared defy him. He’d promote some soldier with a grudge against that general to stabilize things, then go find a village a few miles away to rest.

But Chen Hou is the local ruler, and Ye Zhou and his team have more than enough combat strength, so he doesn’t object.

Chen Yan rides over and cups his fists toward both Chen Hou and Ye Zhou. “My lord, Lord Immortal, let us enter.” Through clenched teeth, he adds, “Once I see Zhang Rong, I will tear him apart! How dare he endanger our king—I’ll slaughter his entire clan!”

Chen Hou raises a hand. “No. Zhang Rong isn’t that bold. Someone must have instructed him to stop me from entering. That person must hold high authority—likely someone who already controls Linzi. We must not alert them. Until we return to Linzi, news of my return must not leak.”

In modern times, the news would’ve been posted online the second they crossed the gate. But in this backward place, where the roads are barely passable, delivering a message in time isn’t easy.

Chen Yan suppresses his rage, though his expression still brims with fury. “Understood.”

Chen Hou bows slightly to Ye Zhou. “Please, Lord Immortal.”

Ye Zhou doesn’t stand on ceremony. He spurs his horse and is the first to ride into the city.

Zou Ming follows closely behind, and the two enter the city side by side.

As soon as he enters, Ye Zhou is stunned by the sight.

He has thought that, however bad this place is, it couldn’t be worse than the Daliang Dynasty during the famine, when bandits live in caves.

But looking at the sand-covered roads and the dilapidated mud houses lining both sides, Ye Zhou feels that any more damage and this would be indistinguishable from a primitive society.

He takes a deep breath and tries to comfort himself: this is the border, after all. There are no civilians or merchants here—only soldiers. It’s not easy to carry out construction. Maybe Linzi still retains the grandeur of a royal city.

“Longxiong Pass is the most important pass in Chen. What does the Lord Immortal think?” Marquis Chen asks with some pride after catching up.

Ye Zhou pauses a moment. “Simple and natural. Very nice.”

Chen Hou smiles. “That building is the general’s residence. We’ll rest there tonight.”

Ye Zhou looks in the direction Chen Hou points and sighs in relief. At least it’s a wooden house with a tiled roof. It probably won’t leak wind in the middle of the night.

Still, he thinks it might be better to set up a tent just in case.

The soldiers follow them into the pass. Chen Yan doesn’t let them go directly to the barracks—he keeps his guard up against everyone here. The way he looks at the garrison soldiers isn’t like looking at comrades, but enemies.

Han Ran and Chen Yan stay close on either side of Chen Hou, alert for any sudden arrow from the shadows.

The border guards see them but dare not step forward or ask questions.

Except for Zhang Rong, no one has ever seen Chen Hou before and doesn’t know what he looks like. But Zhang Rong has given the order to open the gate, and they can only watch as nearly two thousand soldiers enter without understanding what’s happening.

One border soldier whispers to another, “They’re wearing our Chen State uniforms, and they look the part—but they don’t look like Chen people.”

Chen State is a poor country. The people barely have enough to eat. Ordinary soldiers don’t fare much better. Adult men rarely get fat, eat little meat, and train daily—over time, they look like walking skeletons.

But these men in Chen uniforms—all of them are sturdy and muscular. Even through their clothes, you can see bulging muscles beneath.

Such soldiers would be a formidable force no matter which country they come from.

“They must be Chen soldiers, right? If they were from another country, just showing up here would start a war, and the general wouldn’t have let them in.”

“Wait—I think I saw General Yan!”

“General Yan? I thought he’d died? Wasn’t he with the king!”

“That’s definitely General Yan! I once served under him—there’s no way I’d mistake him!”

“If that’s really General Yan, then the man beside him must be…”

No one dares finish the sentence…because if they do, it means that the person they’ve just refused entry was no ordinary merchant from Chen, but the king himself.

If blame is assigned later, their heads will roll.

“General Zhang… has doomed us all…” one soldier whispers bitterly.

—

Ye Zhou dismounts at the general’s residence. After getting off his horse, he turns to Chen Hou. “How do you plan to deal with the general who guards this pass?”

Chen Hou replies, “We can’t touch him yet. If we do, it must be a public execution before the royal nobles.”

Ye Zhou nods.

He’s been worried that Chen Hou is soft, but the man knows exactly what he’s doing.

Still, it seems they’ll encounter many obstacles on the road to Linzi.

It might be a good chance for his employees to practice their marksmanship. The time for real combat has come.