Plane Supermarket Plane 1: Da Liang Dynasty C25.2
Cao Er shrank her neck, unable to suppress her fear. But she also felt that since they had already sworn sister, she shouldn’t be afraid of Sarah.
How could she hurt Sarah’s feelings like this!
Cao Er whispered, “Sister, please retract your nails.”
Sarah looked at her sharp, glinting nails and smiled, saying, “I forgot just now. See, it’s back to normal now.”
Sarah sighed and said, “Wu Yan and his group are not ready yet. They need to experience more before they can stand on their own.”
“When I was their age…”
Cao Er: “…”
Big Sister Sarah is just like a mother. Her mother used to say, “When I was their age…”
·
Ye Zhou had considered that Wu Yan and his group might bring back something or someone with them. After all, he told them before they left that if they encountered good people on the way, they could be saved.
But he never expected that they didn’t bring him anything, nor did they bring back any “good people.”
Instead, it was the “local specialty” of this era – bandits.
The bandit’s name was Sun Hao, born with a sly and cunning look. While shorter than Ye Zhou and Zou Ming, he still appeared quite tall compared to Wu Yan’s group. Ye Zhou estimated his height to be around 1.74 meters.
Compared to Wu Yan and his group, who were all under 1.7 meters in height, Sun Hao could at least be described as a “strong man.”
And even despite the long period of famine and hardships, Sun Hao hadn’t turned into skin and bones. His exposed arms displayed well-defined muscles, indicating that he had been engaged in high-intensity training for many years.
Even those who engaged in farming wouldn’t have very pronounced muscle contours.
Moreover, it was difficult for farmers to consume animal proteins. They mainly relied on grains to satisfy their hunger. Having oil was considered a sign of a good life, and it was practically impossible for them to enjoy meat regularly.
Sun Hao was so terrified during his journey to Ye Zhou’s place that before Ye Zhou could even “display his divine power,” Sun Hao had already taken the flashlight as his god.
The moment Sun Hao saw Ye Zhou, without even getting a clear look at Ye Zhou’s face, he immediately knelt to the ground with a “thud,” clasping his hands and bowing to Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou signaled to Cao Er Niang. Seeing that the bandit had a bloody forehead from all the bowing, she called out to him, “Stop bowing.”
When it came to conveying messages, Ye Zhou preferred Cao Er Niang. She had a knack for reading people’s expressions. Even though they weren’t particularly close, Ye Zhou rarely spoke to her. Yet, she could accurately guess his thoughts.
Ye Zhou even thought that Cao Er Niang might be his golden finger.
Otherwise, as a supposed “immortal,” he’d have to explain everything himself. By the time he summoned bodyguards, his secrets would have already been exposed.
Although after this period of time, he believed that Wu Yan wasn’t a bad person, sometimes the concepts of good and evil were quite complex.
Good people don’t necessarily avoid doing bad things.
Everyone has weaknesses and desires, and these things can’t be used to judge a person’s character.
Wu Yan helped Sun Hao to his feet and lowered his head to say, “Immortal, he was a soldier!”
Even if the immortal knew everything, Wu Yan still wanted to show that he had a brain.
“You take Sarah and Cao Er in first,” Ye Zhou said, turning to Zou Ming. “Let them take a bath, freshen up, and Wu Yan and the others can handle the rest.”
But Zou Ming suddenly said, “He’s an archer. His thumb has calluses.”
Ye Zhou was a bit puzzled. “Doesn’t look like it.”
In Ye Zhou’s memory, archers in movies and TV shows were typically slender. Sun Hao wasn’t slender. Although he wasn’t as sturdy as Zou Ming, he was still considered a strong man among the natives.
Zou Ming said, “In this era, using a bow and arrow requires a lot of strength to draw. Without enough strength, even if an arrow is shot, it will be difficult to cause any damage to the enemy. That’s why archers are usually strong men, even stronger than regular soldiers.”
Ye Zhou whispered, “Thank you, I’ve learned something new again.”
He had watched Three Kingdoms and Water Margin and had a special fondness for the Three Kingdoms period. But he still didn’t know as much as Zou Ming, who was from this wasteland era. It was somewhat embarrassing.
Zou Ming asked, “Should I go and ask him?”
Ye Zhou thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let Zou Ming do some work to better integrate into the group. Who knows, maybe Zou Ming could get along well with Wu Yan?
“Alright. You go,” Ye Zhou nodded at Zou Ming.
Zou Ming descended the steps. He stood nearly 1.9 meters tall, and with his exposed muscular arms, even without saying a word, his mere presence exuded an imposing aura.
He approached Sun Hao, towering over him as he spoke, “You’re an archer. You’re useless outside of the military camp.”
“It takes several years to train an archer.”
Zou Ming continued, “Your camp is still there.”
Sun Hao was bewildered and hastily explained, “No, no, I’m no longer a soldier! When the disaster hit, the centurion wanted to take us to the pass, but he fell ill and passed away. Some wanted to go to the pass, while others didn’t. So we dispersed…”
Zou Ming’s expression remained unchanged. “Are you sure you want to keep lying?”
Sun Hao clenched his teeth, raising his head and locking onto Zou Ming’s eyes. “I haven’t lied!”
Just when Ye Zhou thought Zou Ming was still trying to convince Sun Hao and extract information through persuasion and diplomacy, Zou Ming suddenly lifted his leg and kicked Sun Hao out of the house.
Ye Zhou: “…”
Did he see that right?
A person as big as Sun Hao, and he was just kicked out of the house?
Wasn’t that a bit unbelievable?
Sun Hao landed not far away. His legs knelt on the ground and his bound hands supported on the ground. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
A shadow cast over Sun Hao’s head.
Sun Hao’s heart was filled with dread. On his way here, he feared Sarah, knowing she was a female demon.
But now, he felt that the man before him was even more terrifying than the female demon.
The female demon might kill him, but she wouldn’t torment him.
But this man would undoubtedly torture him.
Zou Ming furrowed his brow slightly. “I don’t have time for riddles, and I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense. I’ll give you one chance now to tell me everything you know. Otherwise… I’m sure you wouldn’t want to know what ‘otherwise’ means.”
In the base, Zou Ming asked questions the same way.
To survive, to control his own destiny, he had to be stronger and more ruthless than everyone else.
He didn’t believe his actions were wrong in any way, nor would he show pity just because the other person was currently a captive.
Sun Hao continued coughing while on the ground. Suddenly, he looked towards Sarah, who was not far away.
Cao Er Niang, who had already rushed over, leaned closer and sang in a calm tone, “As long as you’re honest and repent, the immortal can spare your life. The immortal has a compassionate heart for helping the needy, even willing to take in creatures like you. So, are you willing to go back to being a bandit, continuing to struggle in the mud with your group of brothers, or will you enter the world of immortals from now on, seeking immortality?”
Zou Ming appeared numb.
Cao Er Niang seemed to be getting better at telling lies with her eyes open.
Sun Hao seemed moved by Cao Er Niang’s appeal. He cast fear and hope towards Zou Ming, finally opening his mouth and saying, “We… We said there were a thousand of us, but because of fighting bandits, hundreds of our brothers died, and less than four hundred survived.”
“The Centurion wanted to lead us through the mountain pass, but the pass was already plagued. Going through there would be suicide.”
“Then, someone killed the Centurion and led us into the wilderness,” Sun Hao said, coughing up more blood.
Cao Er Niang was about to speak when Zou Ming suddenly asked, “What did you eat?”
Sun Hao cautiously replied, “We ate whatever was available. We even slaughtered the horses in the camp.”
Wu Yan who had been listening on the side sighed, saying, “It wasn’t easy…”
But Zou Ming said, “You ate people.”
This time, even Ye Zhou couldn’t help but shudder. Fortunately, no one paid attention to him.
Zou Ming continued, “With your physique, you can’t achieve it just by eating vegetables. How many horses can there be in a military camp? Is it enough for a few people to eat? How many meals can you get out of them?”
Zou Ming raised an eyebrow. “Apart from the meat on a person’s body, the refugees have nothing else for you to eat.”
Zou Ming looked at Ye Zhou.
His dark eyes locked onto Ye Zhou. In an instant, Ye Zhou understood his meaning.
This person couldn’t be allowed to stay.
Sending him away would be like releasing a tiger into the mountains, while keeping him around would be like having a time bomb.
Can someone who has resorted to cannibalism still be considered human?
Sun Hao realized he couldn’t keep up the charade any longer and shouted towards Ye Zhou’s direction, “Immortal! Immortal! I had no choice, Immortal!”
“I want to live, Immortal! I’ll starve if I don’t eat!”
“You’re spouting nonsense!!” The man who had nearly been eaten by the child suddenly rushed to Sun Hao, punching and kicking him. He screamed hoarsely, “You cannibal monsters! How can you not survive?! How can you not survive?! With so many of you, how could you possibly starve to death?! How could you?!”
Wu Yan quickly restrained the man along with others.
Sun Hao, battered and bruised, still looked hopefully towards Ye Zhou, “Immortal! Immortal! I admit my mistake! I was wrong!”
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, “Please forgive me, spare me!”
“From now on, I will turn to the right path. I promise to be a good person!”
“Not to mention anything about ‘lay down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha’? I’m laying it down, I’m putting it down!”
Sun Hao forced a flattering smile and said, “Immortal, I’ll guide you, I’ll lead you to find that gang of bandits!”
“Tell them to lay down their butcher’s knives too.”
“In this way, will I have atoned for my sins?” he asked hopefully.
He looked at Ye Zhou with great anticipation, but Ye Zhou didn’t even glance at him.
“Lock him up in the storeroom,” Ye Zhou instructed Wu Yan.
Wu Yan clenched his fists and said, “Understood.”
Without paying further attention to the others, Ye Zhou turned to Zou Ming and said, “Zou Ming, come with me.”
Zou Ming followed along.
After returning to the resting room, Ye Zhou finally said, “I know we can’t just let this man go, but I can’t make the decision to kill in front of Wu Yan and the others. To be honest, I’ve never killed anyone, and I’ve never let someone else kill another. I’m afraid I can’t make this decision.”
Ye Zhou sighed bitterly, “I thought I could easily give the order to kill in such a situation. I once fantasized about being a martial arts master, killing a man with every ten steps and leaving no trace over a thousand miles.”
“It’s normal. You’ll get used to it after a few times,” Zou Ming reassured Ye Zhou, without mocking him. “I didn’t dare to kill on my first try either. You’ll get used to it.”
Ye Zhou let out a long sigh, “How can one get used to something like this?”
“The camp he mentioned…” Ye Zhou leaned back on the couch, shielding his eyes with his hand. “I need to think about it carefully.”
How to maximize the usefulness of Sun Hao?
Even if he’s to be killed, it cannot be by Ye Zhou’s command.
An immortal committing murder is not a desirable outcome for the current stability of the supermarket community.
It’s best if the employees believe that Sun Hao met a ‘retribution from doing evil.‘
Ideally, it would be for the evildoer to be “punished” by an immortal, fitting the established perception of a divine being.
But Ye Zhou is reluctant to “punish” a cannibalistic monster.
While refugees resorting to corpse-eating is emotionally difficult to accept, Ye Zhou can understand it.
But killing people to eat their flesh… Regardless of emotional or rational considerations, it is something Ye Zhou cannot accept or understand.
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