Ch 20: My Multiverse Supermarket

The bandit leader was dead.

The remaining bandits were tied up by the refugees, but in the wake of the chaos, no one knew what to do next.

Should they kill the bandits?

If not, keeping them alive would only waste food they could barely spare.

But the idea of killing terrified them too.

After some discussion, Xian Sanniang and Old Chen decided to wait until the other merchants returned before making a decision.

As for the two Chu men killed by the bandits—their families had already avenged them.

Qiao Sinang even compensated the families with money.

They accepted it and no longer blamed her.

When Qiao Sinang had hired them, she’d warned them about the risks.

And if they hadn’t been so eager to betray the goddess, they wouldn’t have died.

Everyone who traveled with her could testify to that.

Besides, Qiao Sinang had already suffered heavy losses from this trip.

Though most of her goods were recovered from the bandits, some of the grain had been ruined.

The bandits didn’t recognize pumpkins or sweet potatoes as food—thinking they were strange vegetables fit for horses, they fed them to their mounts.

When Dou Niang came to see Qiao Sinang, Qiao Sinang said quietly, “I’ll make it up to you for the losses.”

Dou Niang asked, “Are you planning to give up?”

Qiao Sinang fell silent.

Truthfully, this incident had shaken her deeply.

The world was far more dangerous than she had imagined.

But she couldn’t bring herself to accept defeat.

Still, what could stubbornness change?

She couldn’t survive another blow like this one.

Dou Niang said nothing more.

That night, Yin Jiao secretly pulled Qiao Sinang aside.

“Auntie, what’s wrong?” Qiao Sinang asked.

Yin Jiao pressed a membership card into her hand. “I still have some money left. Take it. Go to the goddess again—buy more goods and take them to Guiyang Commandery to sell.”

Qiao Sinang quickly refused. “Auntie, I can’t.”

“Listen to me,” Yin Jiao said earnestly. “We’ve taken the first step. If we retreat now, it’s all over. We only lost some goods this time—it’s not a huge loss.”

When the bandits were captured, all the money they had looted from her was recovered.

And part of her savings, which she had buried in the woods while escaping, could still be retrieved.

What she truly feared was another robbery on the road.

Seeing her hesitation, Yin Jiao said, “Then how about this—transfer your distribution rights to me. I’ll go myself.”

Qiao Sinang stared at her in surprise.

Yin Jiao said, “What are you afraid of? The bandits have already been caught. That stretch of road will be safe, at least for a while.”

She said it partly to encourage herself—to harden her own resolve.

Moved by Yin Jiao’s determination, Qiao Sinang was silent for a long moment. When she finally looked up again, her gaze had regained its strength.

*

Meanwhile, Dou Dalang and the others trading in Yizhang County were unaware of what had happened back at the settlement.

He was unloading the belongings that belonged to Zhao Changyan from the cart.

“From here, you can take a small boat to the river mouth and enter the Wu River. At the ferry, there are often merchant ships. You can board one for Shaozhou, then follow the Bei River downstream to Prince Xing Prefecture.”

Zhao Changyan nodded. “Thank you.”

“You helped us first—we’re just returning the favor,” Dou Dalang said.

Zhao Changyan said nothing more. She gripped the handle of her folding cart and headed toward the Yizhang River, where small boats were moored.

Though this had once been her titular fief, she felt no attachment to it.

After bargaining with the boatman, the small vessel drifted slowly down the river.

As it rocked gently, Zhao Changyan sat on board.

It was breakfast time, so she took out some dry rations and ate. Under the boatman’s wary stare, she began sharpening her axe.

When she practiced chopping through the air, the boatman’s paddling grew visibly faster.

Once she finished, she handed him a honey bun. “Eat something. Better to row on a full stomach.”

“N-no need!” the boatman stammered, rowing even harder.

Zhao Changyan: …

The forty-li journey that should have taken half a day was finished in only four hours thanks to his frantic paddling.

By evening, the river glittered under the red-orange glow of sunset.

At the ferry, Zhao Changyan looked at the desolate surroundings and asked, “When will another merchant ship pass through?”

The boatman said, “Hard to say. Sometimes two a day, sometimes none for several days.”

Zhao Changyan frowned.

If small boats weren’t so prone to capsizing in the rapid stretches of the river, she would have just had him take her all the way south.

Fortunately, luck favored her—a large merchant ship arrived at the ferry that very evening.

Ships of that size rarely traveled by night; if the hull struck a rock, the damage and loss of cargo would be disastrous.

They preferred to wait at the dock until morning rather than risk it.

Zhao Changyan paid for her passage with a bag of old-fashioned rock sugar and boarded smoothly.

Rock sugar wasn’t rare in Chu-Yue territory, but the merchant had never seen any so clear and well-formed. Curious, he asked where it came from.

Zhao Changyan replied, “I bought it in Yizhang County. There’s a caravan there that trades in various goods—the sugar came from them.”

She didn’t reveal anything about Zhou Li or the supermarket.

Even if they believed her, it could disrupt her plans.

If they truly wanted that sugar, Dou Dalang was the one they should seek out.

Zhao Changyan then asked, “And where is your ship bound?”

“Prince Xing Prefecture,” the merchant said proudly, showing her his cargo—several iron cages containing jackals, and one holding a tiger.

“I heard the Prince Wei loves fierce beasts, so I caught and trained these specially. When he sees how savage they are, he’ll surely be pleased.”

Zhao Changyan was silent.

Prince Wei was the Great Yue Emperor’s eldest son, only seventeen years old.

But his reputation was terrible.

His father was a depraved tyrant—and he was nothing but a spoiled, arrogant prince.

If not for her desire for revenge, Zhao Changyan would never have chosen to serve such men.

Using what she’d learned from Dou Dalang about Great Yue’s customs, she crafted a false identity—a woman seeking maritime trade opportunities, eager to learn from seafarers.

Seeing that she was traveling alone, the crew figured she must have ways to protect herself and didn’t bother her further.

The merchant ship departed in the morning and moored each night at nearby docks.

When rain came, the river current swelled and pushed them faster downstream.

After only three days, Zhao Changyan arrived at Prince Xing Prefecture.

She went straight to the Celestial Masters Institute.

This was the residence of the royal witches—and one of Great Yue’s official institutions.

The witches enjoyed the emperor’s complete trust and managed state affairs on his behalf, so the institute was always bustling with nobles and opportunists hoping for favors.

Zhao Changyan saw many foreign faces—people in silk clothing, speaking languages she couldn’t understand.

After waiting in line for a long time, it was finally her turn.

She handed the guard an old-style kerosene lamp and said, “By the goddess’s command, I have brought the Celestial Lamp for the Celestial Master.”

The guard blinked and looked her up and down.

Everyone in Great Yue knew that the emperor was obsessed with mysticism and favored the witches.

But no one dared to claim they came “by the goddess’s command.”

That was self-elevation—if she truly served the goddess, she must be one of the goddess’s attendants, perhaps even a celestial child.

To declare oneself such was unheard of.

The guard was momentarily at a loss.

If she’d been a merchant, he would have extorted her.

If she were one of those self-proclaimed mystics, he would have accused her of impersonating the Celestial Masters.

But this woman, saying only that she was here to “deliver the Celestial Lamp”—who could tell what she really was?

“Which goddess? What lamp?” he asked.

Zhao Changyan replied, “Simply tell them—the goddess resides in Yongcheng.”

The guard stiffened.

Everyone in the institute had heard of Yongcheng—the mythical palace of the Queen Mother of the West, where 109 female immortals were said to dwell.

The witches claimed to channel the Jade Emperor himself; they couldn’t possibly ignore someone claiming ties to Yongcheng.

And the lamp she carried—its form was like nothing he had ever seen.

Just for that, he decided it was worth reporting.

He hurried inside to make his report.

Moments later, he returned and bowed deeply. “The Celestial Master invites the Celestial Child to enter.”

[Author’s Note]

Zhao Changyan: When traveling abroad, your identity is whatever you make it.

☢️☢️☢️