Plane Supermarket

As the sun rose in the east, a faint trace of cool air lingered from the previous night. On the roadside, the withered grass leaves have few barely visible dewdrops.

The deserted official road, untouched for many years, resounded with the steady sound of hooves as the horses galloped by, kicking up a cloud of yellow sand.

The leader tightened the reins, leaning back, and directed the chestnut horse to turn back.

The double-wheeled carriage came to a slanted stop in the middle of the road, and a wooden window beside the carriage was opened slightly.

The leader approached the carriage and spoke in a rough, low voice, “My Lord, there are refugees ahead.”

A low, hoarse male voice came from inside the carriage, “Go around.”

The leader frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then pursed his lips, “There’s only this road, if we go around, we’ll have to enter the forest.”

The person inside the carriage did not hesitate, “Go around.”

The leader could only nod in agreement, turning to signal his brothers to enter the forest.

Since they were going into the forest, they had to abandon the carriage. They untied the ropes that bound the spirited horses pulling the carriage and helped the man who had been sitting in the carriage onto the horse.

“Zheng Ge, look at his sickly appearance. He probably won’t be able to ride a horse for long,” a man with a scar almost running across his face rode his horse closer to the leader. “Without the carriage, what are we going to do to bypass this stretch of road?”

Zheng Ge looked at the sky, but there were still no clouds approaching. He tightened his grip on the horse’s belly and whispered, “It’s not our concern. They only told us to deliver them, whether it’s delivering them as living or dead, it’s not specified.”

The scarred man said, “If we knew it would be like this on this side, why did we make this trip for just a little silver?”

Throughout their journey, they had seen more corpses than refugees. Skeletons lay by the roadside, and there was no one to collect the bodies.

There were still survivors, but they weren’t much better than the corpses, barely clinging to life.

“We don’t have much left,” the scarred man swallowed his saliva. “I haven’t had much water for two days.”

Zheng Ge replied, “Did I have any either?”

The scarred man gestured towards the back, “That person is doing better than us.”

The scarred man indignantly said, “His life is a life, but ours isn’t? How many brothers did we have when we started? How many are left now? How much water do we have left?”

“He turned out to be a precious person who can’t eat this, can’t eat that.”

“If you ask me, we should just…” he gestured at his neck, “Say he was killed by the refugees. After all, they didn’t specify life or death on that side.”

Zheng Ge lifted the horsewhip and lashed it lightly across, the scarred man didn’t dodge and took the blow.

“They didn’t specify life or death, but bringing back someone alive has a different price,” Zheng Ge frowned. “The deceased brothers all have families, we can’t let them die in vain.”

The scarred man spat on the ground. “That’s right, those lords don’t lack money, they can buy their lives. We, the poor ones with only one life left, have to earn money with our lives!”

When they came, there were over forty brothers, but now, looking around, there were less than ten left.

In order to fill their stomachs, they would slaughter and eat the horses, even though the horses were unharmed and in good condition.

Even so, they didn’t have much left.

Unfortunately, the remaining things had to be taken care of by that sickly young man.

The scarred man made up his mind that if they couldn’t go back, he would kill the sickly young man before his own breath ran out.

He stopped in his tracks, turned his head to look at the young man sitting on the horse, a flash of malice passing through his eyes. Then he bent down, lowered his head, and spurred the horse into the forest.

The forest had long been stripped bare by the refugees, providing them with nothing.

They had been wandering around for four or five days, the remaining water had run out, and they had killed another horse to quench their hunger and drink its blood.

But they still couldn’t find their way out of the forest.

They had gone too deep, without a map or a guiding stream, and for several days they had been going in circles.

They didn’t dare to kill the remaining horses. Even if they managed to get out of the forest, they couldn’t make it back to the south on foot.

Several times, in the depths of the night, the scarred man approached the sickly young man. He wanted to strangle him, suffocate him, or stab him with a clean and swift blow to relieve his pent-up hatred.

On this night, he finally made up his mind—since it seemed they couldn’t go back, there was no need to continue serving this wealthy young master.

This man didn’t have more eyes or ears than them, and his life wasn’t necessarily more valuable.

Killing him would be a revenge for their fallen brothers!

The pale-faced man leaned against a tree. He wore a white coarse shirt, a Xue belt around his waist, a crown on his head, and on his feet were a pair of flying cloud-patterned shoes. Even on the road of escape, he still maintained his composure, without a trace of panic.

The scarred man looked at him, filled with resentment.

Such people were born to step on them, generation after generation.

Even in the midst of this wilderness, the man still carried himself with the air of an aristocrat.

The scarred man pulled out his dagger.

His brothers were all fast asleep, not because they were careless, but to conserve food.

Only in their dreams would they not feel hunger.

Kill him!

The scarred man approached the sickly young man. He didn’t know the man’s surname, let alone his name. When they received this “business,” they only knew that he was a nobleman.

How noble was he?

Now he was on the verge of death, just like them.

Just as the knife in his hand was about to strike, an unexpected event occurred!

A beam of light shone towards them—

The light illuminated the surroundings as bright as day, exposing his sinister expression.

The scarred face stood frozen in place, the knife in his hand fell to the ground, piercing the earth at an angle.

“An immortal…” the scarred face murmured, “An immortal has arrived…”

The light was dazzlingly white, not the glow of a torch or the sunlight, but a pure and blinding white.

The scarred face knelt in the direction of the radiant light. He had heard many legends, and those in his line of work often dealt with life and death. They couldn’t help but believe in deities and gods. He had heard stories of an old man who received the assistance of an immortal when he was in dire straits, and from then on, he became prosperous, with his descendants enjoying blessings and prosperity for generations.

This light must be divine light!

Such light that could illuminate the darkness was beyond the capability of ordinary mortals.

“What’s happening?!” The brothers finally woke up.

Their expressions went through various changes, from confusion to fear, and then to reverence.

They all believed in gods, always paying respects to them before embarking on any mission. In years of good harvest, they would even make a special trip to the temple at the end of the year to offer the first incense.

The scarred face knelt on the ground, touching his forehead to the earth.

He didn’t seek personal glory or wealth, he only wished for the divine intervention to help them leave the forest and return safely to the south.

Even Zheng Ge knelt down on the ground.

Only the ailing young man remained motionless, leaning against the tree without standing up.

But at this moment, no one paid attention to him.

Everyone was on their knees, touching their foreheads to the ground, waiting for the deity to show them a way out.

“Raise your heads.”

A clear and melodious male voice resounded, seemingly coming from all directions at once, making it difficult to discern the source. Despite not shouting, the voice could be heard by everyone with perfect clarity.

The voice was like the clash of gold and jade, giving the impression that the speaker must possess a broad and magnanimous heart, like a noble gentleman in a refreshing breeze and moonlit night.

The crowd lifted their heads one after another.

But…

Walking out of the light was an elderly woman dressed in strange attire.

She wore a strange long skirt that bore no resemblance to any garment they had seen before. However, it was adorned with intricate and complex patterns, seemingly embroidered with flowers. The colors were vibrant and diverse, giving the impression of real blossoms from afar.

At this moment, Ye Zhou, hiding behind the grass, had no idea what they were thinking. Otherwise, he would surely be astounded.

On the other hand, Cao’er Niang was wearing a beach skirt purchased by a catty from the supermarket.

It was inexpensive and adorned with somewhat garish prints, featuring large clusters of peonies.

At first, Ye Zhou hadn’t planned to approach them, but the prices were just too cheap. It felt like a loss if he didn’t buy anything.

Wearing the beach skirt also seemed a bit peculiar on Cao’er Niang. Perhaps it was a matter of temperament, but when Cao’er Niang wore the beach skirt, she looked like someone from ancient times, giving off a strange sense of discord.

He had been observing this group of people for several days. The forest extended across several mountain ranges, with no established paths. All the trails were formed by wild beasts over many years. That’s why Ye Zhou had been cautious when exploring the surroundings.

The reason he was able to spot this group of people was that his location was elevated, and he carried a telescope with him every day, hoping to spot potential customers.

However, initially, he didn’t dare to make contact with these people.

It was only after they had been hungry for a while and posed no significant threat that he dared to bring Cao’er Niang over.

He had to maintain his character, so he couldn’t personally interact with these people.

Fortunately, Cao’er Niang had a natural talent for such matters—she was simply a genius! In the modern world, she would definitely be the boss’s favorite and the most disliked management talent among the employees.

Even without Ye Zhou’s instructions, she could independently guide and instruct the new employees.

As a result, the new employees now bowed when they saw him. This was what Ye Zhou requested—he could accept a bow, but not kneeling.

Ye Zhou set down the loudspeaker and powerful flashlight, carefully listening to the sounds coming from nearby.

Cao’er Niang remained calm, but a smile graced her face as she looked at the group of middle-aged men with kind eyes. Her voice was steady as she said, “The immortal learned that someone was in distress and sent me to investigate.”

Cao’er Niang didn’t feel like she was deceiving anyone. She felt righteous and believed that she was truly assigned by the immortal.

The people were greatly astonished, but no one dared to speak. It was the leader, Zheng Ge, who gathered himself and stiffly bowed to Cao’er Niang, saying, “May I ask, Immortal Lady…”

The smile on Cao’er Niang’s face became even more amiable.

Oh my, now she was an Immortal Lady.

However, she remembered that she was currently following an immortal and couldn’t deceive others. So she waved her hand and said, “I am not any immortal. I was also fleeing the famine before. It was the immortal who used his magical powers to save my life and provide me with food and clothing.”

Zheng Ge’s face flushed with excitement. “Is the immortal present here?”

Cao’er Niang smiled faintly. “The immortal is omnipresent and all-knowing.”

Cao’er Niang slightly turned her body. “The immortal has a cave dwelling. Follow me.”

After saying that, she no longer engaged in conversation with the people and turned towards the forest. Light emanated from her hand, but it wasn’t as bright as before.

No one in Zheng Ge’s group dared to doubt her.

At this moment, they were trapped here with no way forward or backward. Their water and dry rations were depleted. With the heavenly nectar descending, even those who didn’t believe in gods had to believe.

“Hurry! Hurry! Keep up!” The scar-faced man ran too quickly and fell face down on the ground. But he paid no mind to it and used his hands and feet to stand up, limping to catch up. He even forgot about his own horse.

Zheng Ge was also excited, but he still remembered the horses and the esteemed person with the illness.

“Horses!” Zheng Ge shouted loudly, his urgency even causing him to use coarse language. “You all forgot about the horses, damn it!”

He turned his head to look at the sickly person still leaning against the tree trunk, making an effort to not appear too disdainful. He approached and bent down, asking, “Esteemed person, may I carry you onto the horse?”

The sickly person coughed twice and spoke softly, “Thank you for your trouble.”

Zheng Ge was somewhat puzzled. “Why didn’t the esteemed person kneel just now? When encountering an immortal, not kneeling shows a lack of sincerity.”

The sickly person gasped for breath and said, “It’s not that I didn’t want to kneel, but I don’t have the strength. Zheng Ge, I can’t stand up.”

Zheng Ge: “…”

It seemed like the sickly person was really about to die.

Zheng Ge thought of the silver and gritted his teeth. Turning his back to the sickly person, he squatted down. “Don’t say more. Come up, I’ll carry you over.”

“If the immortal shows mercy and is willing to save your life, it is also your good fortune.”

Ye Zhou, who was eavesdropping nearby, muttered, “…”

How could he save him? He had never saved a sick person before. The people he saved didn’t need medicine.

It was all “food cures all ailments.”