Ch 89: My Multiverse Supermarket

Zhao Changyan could tell at a glance that the new divine envoy was no ordinary person.

First of all, her clothing resembled that of the small shopkeeper.

That alone proved she wasn’t from Dayue or the Chu Kingdom.

—If a woman from their lands wore such short-sleeved, bare-legged garments, with her hair loose like that, she’d feel unbearably self-conscious. But this “new envoy” looked perfectly natural and calm, as though she’d always dressed that way.

Second, when the new envoy looked at them, her gaze was full of curiosity—yet everything she did centered around the small shopkeeper’s lead.

And finally, everyone saw with their own eyes—the moment the envoy stomped her foot, the ground trembled.

If that wasn’t divine power, what was?

The crowd was so terrified that they all dropped to their knees in worship.

…

An Fengxuan: …

All she’d done was use her ability a little to keep order—just to scare them into quieting down.

How did it escalate into everyone kneeling?!

Zhou Li nearly burst out laughing.

She didn’t let it show in front of the crowd, though. Instead, she beckoned An Fengxuan inside and said, “They can’t understand what you’re saying.”

An Fengxuan was dumbfounded.

She asked, “Boss, but you can?”

Zhou Li replied, “I know a bit of the common tongue.”

The official language of the Ancient World was Zhongyuan Court Speech, so Zhou Li could understand that—but not the local dialects.

In the Interstellar World, the official tongues were Li language (of the Lirian people), the Federal language spoken in the Kepler language of the Kepler territories—so anything outside those three she couldn’t follow.

In the Infinite World, the region she’d appeared in mostly spoke Mandarin, so she could manage without the system’s translator.

However, for An Fengxuan—who came from yet another world—communication was a real problem.

The system didn’t automatically equip employees with real-time translation; Zhou Li would have to spend extra energy to unlock that feature.

Zhou Li refused flatly. “I don’t even have the energy to unlock minor language packs. You think I’m giving my staff translation privileges?”

Anyway, An Fengxuan’s job was security. She didn’t need to chat with the locals.

Zhou Li said, “Usually no one dares make trouble here, so just ease off a bit—don’t hurt anyone.”

“Understood.” An Fengxuan stood guard at the door like a temple guardian.

The villagers she’d startled were still whispering among themselves, unsure what the goddess meant by her silence.

Zhao Changyan was the first to step inside the supermarket.

Seeing the new envoy didn’t stop her, the others gradually rose from their knees and went about their own business.

After some time apart, Zhao Changyan was even more respectful toward Zhou Li than before. “I greet you, Boss.”

Zhou Li asked, “And where is that Gong Qiongxian?”

“Attendant Gong has returned to the capital. She sent me to transport the goods back,” said Zhao Changyan, producing the official Dayue court membership card and the related documents.

Orders of this scale didn’t require the representative herself to inspect and collect the goods, so once Zhou Li confirmed the paperwork, she told the system to “spit out” the items.

The spatial folding storage technology was applied to the vending machine, so Zhao Changyan had to assign workers to unload and stack the heavy rice bags, then check them one by one.

Since the vending machine area was occupied, the rest of the customers had to enter the store for manual shopping.

Watching them, An Fengxuan couldn’t help frowning—their efficiency was painfully low.

She said to Zhou Li, “Boss, they’re moving so slowly. Why don’t I help them, so they don’t all have to crowd inside to shop?”

Zhou Li asked, “And how would you help?”

An Fengxuan patted her “Elementary School backpack.” “I could load things into this, run them to the drop-off point, then unload.”

Zhou Li replied, “That backpack’s tiny. How many trips would you have to make?”

An Fengxuan was speechless.

Zhou Li added, “A single person’s strength is limited.”

An Fengxuan fell silent, thoughtful.

Then she remembered Zhou Li’s guiding principle—Zhou Li never took sides. In dungeons, she never helped players simply because they were human, nor opposed monsters for moral reasons.

Likewise, she didn’t favor the Blue Owl Guild just because of An Yixiao, nor did she bar other guilds from shopping.

Even now, watching soldiers haul 100-jin rice sacks, panting and sweating, Zhou Li didn’t offer them any easier method.

From the start, Zhou Li’s supermarket had always been a place that sold goods—nothing more. Officially, it didn’t intervene in anyone’s affairs.

Something in An Fengxuan’s restless, wide-eyed heart finally settled.

…

Even without An Fengxuan’s help, Zhao Changyan efficiently completed the handover.

Once she confirmed the goods were all in order, she oversaw the transport down the mountain.

This time, she didn’t rely on manpower alone.

When Gong Qiongxian had assigned her the task, she’d already arranged to build a pulley line using the slope difference between the mountain top and the foot of the hill.

Workers could control descent speed with gears and levers.

It was a crude setup, but since it only carried cargo—not people—even a snapped rope wouldn’t cause disaster.

Bag by bag, Zhao Changyan sent the rice down the mountain, where carriages and ox carts awaited.

Meanwhile, back in the capital, Gong Qiongxian received commendation from Emperor Feng Sheng.

Prince Wei, Feng Zhang, had already confirmed that the goddess truly existed. Since Gong Qiongxian had established contact with her, she was naturally valued all the more.

Gong Qiongxian declined the emperor’s rewards, admitting guilt for acting without explicit imperial approval—ordering ten thousand shi of rice and a thousand sacks of salt on her own.

But how could Feng Sheng possibly blame her?

He himself had approved her dealings with the goddess in principle, and besides, buying refined rice and salt was laudable enough.

What Gong Qiongxian didn’t mention was that the supplies weren’t for luxury feasts, but for disaster relief and pacifying the people.

While the emperor was in good spirits, opposition in court quieted down. Seizing the moment, Gong Qiongxian praised Zhao Changyan’s contributions.

The goddess, she explained, avoided interfering in worldly affairs to remain free of karmic ties—but she pitied humankind and thus sent a divine envoy—Zhao Changyan—to walk among mortals and handle worldly matters on her behalf.

“Why shouldn’t Dayue make good use of her?” Gong Qiongxian concluded.

Feng Sheng asked, “What is Zhao Changyan’s talent?”

“She’s skilled in military command,” said Gong Qiongxian.

At once, the eunuch Shao Chenshu objected. After all, Zhao Changyan was a woman—when had a woman ever led troops?

Gong Qiongxian silenced him with the example of Lady Xian, a legendary female general.

So Shao Chenshu went to Prince Wei, Feng Zhang, hoping the cunning eldest prince would side with him.

But Feng Zhang, recalling Zhao Changyan’s temperament, said, “The one commanding hundreds of thousands of Dayue troops now is Eunuch Wu Huaien.”

Wu Huaien was also a eunuch.

To Feng Zhang, eunuchs and women were alike—they posed no threat to imperial power.

Thus, he had no objection to Zhao Changyan commanding troops.

Shao Chenshu hadn’t expected that one brief trip to the immortal village would turn both Feng Zhang and Gong Qiongxian against him.

And what of Fan Yuxian—

“Wait,” said Shao Chenshu suddenly. “Where is Envoy Fan?”

Feng Zhang snorted. “Her? That fraud? How could she dare show her face again!”

Shao Chenshu blanched, cold sweat beading down his back.

Fan Yuxian was his protégé—the one he had personally helped rise in favor.

Both emperor and prince had once trusted her completely—how had she been exposed?

Feng Zhang recounted everything he’d witnessed: how the goddess had fought Fan Yuxian and utterly humiliated her.

Enraged, Emperor Feng Sheng ordered her arrest.

But Fan Yuxian had already fled—slipping away while Feng Zhang returned to the capital and Gong Qiongxian and Zhao Changyan were busy with official matters.

She escaped deep into the mountains and forests, where no one could find her for the time being.

Emperor Feng Sheng stripped her of office, then, citing Zhao Changyan’s merits, appointed her as Palace Envoy of the immortal village and Captain of the Palace Guard.

A captain was a mid-to-lower military rank in the central imperial guard, commanding about three hundred men.

Without a doubt, Zhao Changyan had replaced Fan Yuxian, earning the trust of both emperor and heir apparent.

The old power balance—where eunuchs and witch officials allied against the civil officials—shifted overnight into a new triad: female officials, eunuchs, and scholars—three powers now standing in equilibrium.

☢️☢️☢️