Plane Supermarket Plane 1: Da Liang Dynasty C30
If someone had ever told Ye Zhou, “One day in the future, you will raise a gun at a stranger and demand their life,” Ye Zhou would have rolled his eyes for sure.
But now, as he faced this man he had never seen before, the hand holding the gun didn’t tremble even a bit.
The other person appeared no different from any ordinary person, perhaps just a bit on the plump side, but this plumpness, when compared to the locals, could even be considered standard in the modern world.
He had thick eyebrows, his square face had thick lips, and his appearance was unusually handsome. Just looking at his face would make people think he was an upstanding person, someone with a heart that upheld justice and protected the weak. He wore the disguise of a good person, but beneath that facade, he had long been hollowed out by worms.
Zhao Changsheng’s gaze couldn’t match Ye Zhou’s. He could only make out a young man standing on the hillside in strange clothing. He couldn’t see Ye Zhou’s face clearly, nor could he discern what Ye Zhou held in his hand.
“What do you want?!” Zhao Changsheng shouted at Ye Zhou. “We don’t mix our well water with river water! If you kill my brother, are you not afraid of divine retribution? Are you not afraid of descending into the eighteen layers of hell after death?! If you stop your actions, we can pretend this never happened!”
Ye Zhou calmly retorted, “When you treat defenseless refugees as a source of food, have you ever considered the eighteen layers of hell? Since you don’t believe in it yourself, why use gods and Buddhas as talismans? If the heavens, gods and Buddhas were aware of your actions, could you still stand here?”
Zhao Changsheng forced a bitter smile.
He knew that this young man had no intention of letting him off the hook.
The bandits behind, their breath still hanging on a thread, cried out, “Dawang! Let’s fight him together!”
“Dawang, kill him!”
“Dawang…”
Zhao Changsheng turned deaf ear to the shouts behind him. He spat blood onto the ground and said, “What gods and Buddhas are there in this world?”
“You’re the leader, aren’t you brave enough to come down?” Zhao Changsheng looked up at Ye Zhou. “If you don’t dare to fight yourself, what kind of hero are you?!”
Ye Zhou knew he was trying to provoke him. In close combat, Ye Zou, despite his leadership, was no match for a seasoned battlefield veteran.
But Ye Zhou still leaped down.
He needed to test himself.
Standing here, looking down on the opponent, he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
At that moment as Ye Zhou leaped down and landed firmly –
“Ah!!—” Zhao Changsheng raised his spear and charged at Ye Zhou.
Kill him! In this face-off between two armies, capturing the enemy’s commander would secure their victory without a doubt!
Compared to Zhao Changsheng, Ye Zhou was undeniably slender. He was in the final stage of male body fat, with very little fat on his body. Just in terms of physique, Zhao Changsheng was twice as wide as him, not to mention Zhao Changsheng’s advantageous square face.
The bandits craned their necks, eager to witness their leader deliver the final blow and save them from their predicament.
All eyes were fixed on the scene, and not a single person blinked.
Just as Zhao Changsheng lunged at Ye Zhou, a grin of surviving a near-death experience spread across the faces of the bandits.
Their king had also suffered crushing defeats before, leading his troops to break through enemy lines and thrusting a sharp spear into the enemy’s heart. As long as they reached their target, their king would never lose!
But the anticipated scene did not come.
With just a “bang” —
Zhao Changsheng felt a chilling sensation in his chest. He lowered his head in bewilderment, only to see blood continuously oozing from his chest. He reached out with his hand, trying to cover the invisible wound, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the bleeding.
Under the watchful gaze of countless eyes, Zhao Changsheng knelt before Ye Zhou.
His legs could no longer support him. He used the spear as a makeshift crutch, half-kneeling on the ground, struggling to hold his body upright.
Ye Zhou stared blankly at the gun in his hand.
Just moments ago, he had pulled the trigger at the person charging towards him with a spear.
If he hadn’t dared to act, Zou Ming, who was behind him, would have been ready to protect his safety with the gun.
Ye Zhou felt like he was treading on cottony clouds, as if he had fallen into some surreal, otherworldly dream. Just a moment ago, he had been a law-abiding, upstanding citizen in modern society. The next moment, he’s holding a gun, taking someone’s life.
“You, you’re a demon…” Zhao Changsheng could no longer support himself and slumped to the ground. His gaze fixed on the sky, not even the scorching sun could make him close his eyes. He murmured, “I Zhao Changsheng… didn’t lose to a human…”
Ye Zhou moved closer to him and spoke in a voice only they could hear, “I’m not a demon, just a mortal.”
“If there really are gods and Buddhas above, and you can truly reincarnate, then remember this. In the next life, don’t cross paths with me.”
Zhao Changsheng reached out to grab him, his arms flailing wildly, but his eyes had already lost their luster. He couldn’t see anything anymore.
His lips gaped, emitting a faint “huh huh” sound.
Ye Zhou just watched him struggle.
Ye Zhou ordered himself not to avert his gaze. He wanted to witness Zhao Changsheng’s last breath with his own eyes, to ensure he would forever remember this man whose life he had taken with his own hands.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhao Changsheng stopped struggling. His hands fell limp at his sides, and his wide-open eyes remained unblinking in death.
Ye Zhou rose to his feet, turning slowly without casting another glance at the bandits behind him.
He proceeded down the hillside with measured steps. On the other side, Zou Ming and Sarah emerged from behind the hill.
Ye Zhou brushed past them, his gentle face devoid of any expression, making it impossible for anyone to discern his current thoughts.
The deceased Zhao Changsheng was no longer a king but merely a lifeless body lying on the ground, no different from any other corpse.
After death, social status, abilities, and positions all turned to dust and smoke.
Ye Zhou sat on the hillside. He looked at Zou Ming, Sarah, and the others as they systematically dispatched the bandits one by one. He felt neither fear nor regret.
He didn’t even experience the true weight of having taken a life.
It was as if nothing had happened just now, as if he hadn’t been the one to commit the act of killing.
“Immortal, have some water.” Cao Er Niang had somehow appeared on the hill. She witnessed Ye Zhou’s act of killing but she didn’t show any fear. In fact, she approached with a water cup in hand. Ye Zhou accepted the cup, took a few sips, and then asked, “Ling Shi1, have you ever killed someone?”
Cao Er Niang whispered, “During the escape, I abandoned my youngest daughter.”
She didn’t cry. Her expression just grew as numb as Ye Zhou’s. “She was so young. She can’t travel far or run fast. Carrying her was a burden, and we couldn’t even sell her.”
“I couldn’t bring myself to kill her. My daughter conceived in October. She was so little, so well-behaved, and charming from the moment she started talking. She never caused any trouble. When I left her behind and told her to wait for me in a safe place, she didn’t even ask any questions.”
“I didn’t kill her, but she still died because of me…”
“Immortal… for people like us, just trying to survive is already very difficult…”
Ye Zhou remained silent. But at this moment, he strangely understood Cao Er Niang’s state of mind.
For Cao Er Niang, her daughter was the sole driving force that kept her going.
·
Zou Ming didn’t use a gun. Although bullets were cheap, they still cost money. He picked up a long knife from the ground and, upon spotting a living person, he rushed forward. He was capable of ending a life with a single stroke.
“I thought you’d be well-off for sure,” Sarah hopped onto a bandit’s shoulder, swiftly snapping his neck. She called out to Zou Ming, raising an eyebrow, “What’s the matter, so broke you have to resort to cold steel just to get by?”
Zou Ming knew what she had said, but he didn’t respond. Expressionless, he swung the knife at the person rushing towards him.
Only after the person fell did he say, “The daughter of a duchess can’t even have a proper meal and hasn’t improved at all even though she’s already four hundred years old.”
Sarah wasn’t angry either. Her nails pierced the chest of a fleeing bandit. When she pulled them out, she had even took out his heart.
“The boss didn’t look too good just now. It was his first kill. Will he have nightmares tonight?”
“He’ll get used to it,” Zou Ming replied as he continued to walk.
Sarah followed along with her short legs, adding, “He won’t get used to it. It’s just that you think he doesn’t care about killing.”
Zou Ming’s brows furrowed, and his voice rose a bit. “He’s stronger than anyone else.”
Sarah asked, “Does being strong mean not caring about killing?” Then she smiled, “I won’t argue with you about this.”
She leaped ahead.
On the other hand, Zou Ming stopped and waited for Wu Yan and the others to enter the cave.
Inside the cave, there were still many bandits who had been too afraid to go outside. None of them had been hit by arrows. At this moment, they were still hiding inside the cave, waiting for the right moment to dash out.
Zou Ming and Sarah led the way, while Wu Yan and the others dealt the final blow to the fishes that slipped through the net.
“Zou Ge!” Wu Yan panted. His knife was already stained with blood. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “There were too many people!”
Finishing off the survivors was no easy task. People had skin, bones, blood, and flesh. Even the most seasoned executioner couldn’t guarantee that every swing of the blade would result in death.
With each swing, they had to exert their full strength, or else they would not only torment their opponents but also themselves.
After several rounds, their stamina began to wane as they felt exhausted.
They had to rely on people like Cao Er Niang, who charged forward with repeating crossbows.
Zou Ming nodded at Wu Yan and said, “No need to rush.”
Wu Yan sighed, “It’s a shame the Immortal’s fire-lance didn’t come in handy.”
Zou Ming replied, “We can use it inside the cave.”
Wu Yan said, “Zou Ge, why did these people, all in their prime, choose to stay in this remote and impoverished region, proclaiming themselves mountain kings, instead of heading south?”
“Taking advantage of the weak and fearing the strong,” Zou Ming replied indifferently. “It’s their nature.”
Wu Yan watched Zou Ming enter the cave and then glanced in the direction where Ye Zhou was stationed.
He couldn’t see Ye Zhou, but he was sure the Immortal was waiting for them.
People like them had lives as cheap as dust. Not to mention the nobles, even these bandits could easily strip their skin and trample them underfoot. They had nothing to rely on except for their hopes in gods and Buddhas.
Wu Yan tightened his grip on the knife in his hand.
He was just an ordinary mortal, but now he had the chance to follow an Immortal.
This was his good fortune, and he had to firmly grasp it.
The Immortal was gentle and kind to them, like an older brother or father figure, but when facing the wicked who harmed their fellow men and took lives, he could also be filled with righteous wrath.
When the emperor is angry, corpses float for thousands of miles.
When the Immortal is angry, there’s no difference between him and the emperor.
Wu Yan followed Zou Ming’s footsteps, panting for breath as he charged toward the bandits who were still trying to flee and hide.
·
The sun descended towards the horizon.
Upon the desolate mountain, not a single one of the four remaining bandits survived.
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16
- 夌 Líng: to dawdle ; 氏 shì: clan name / maiden name.
Side Note: They never said Cao Er Niang names. But in some chapters they will call her Ling Shi. So, Caor Er Niang has a name! Remember, Cao Er Niang literally means Mother of Cao Er [↩]