Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 174: Thugs Got Yeeted So Hard, They Forgot How to Exist

The remaining three had thick limbs and clenched fists. Kurome could smell blood and ointment from their bodies even from here.

One at the 7th stage of Marrow Awakening Realm.

Another at the 9th.

And the leader… 2nd stage of Viscera Refining Realm.

Compared to them, that boy was like a fish thrown into a pit of wolves. Barely at the 1st stage of Viscera Refining Realm.

His aura was unstable, a clear sign of someone who had just stepped into a new realm through sheer desperation.

His body wasn’t even used to his recent breakthrough yet, and he was already riddled with injuries. Worse, he was carrying his sister, who couldn’t even stand on her own.

Even though only one among the pursuers stood at a higher realm, it didn’t matter.

This was overkill.

A group like that wasn’t needed for two barely breathing targets.

They came prepared for a clean snatch.

No room for escape.

No room for struggle.

Kurome’s tail flicked again.

Then why hadn’t they caught the boy yet?

With that level of strength, they should’ve overwhelmed him within a few breaths.

She squinted slightly.

Maybe they were being cautious.

The boy was bleeding and dragging dead weight. No way he outran them without help.

So why?

Was it because they didn’t want to draw too much attention?

This was still Soul Scorching City after all. Even rogues had to watch their steps around certain powers.

Or maybe… they were tracking them from a distance on purpose.

Letting the boy tire himself out. Run until he collapsed.

Then pick up the pieces with no mess.

She raised a paw to scratch behind her ear.

These kinds of cultivators weren’t rare.

But they stank worse than the outhouse.

Kurome’s tail flicked again.

What a group of absolute idiots.

Loud voices, stomping boots, weapon unsheathed in the dead of night… Their appearance alone was an eye magnet, and now they were shouting like wild pigs in heat.

Drawing eyes. Drawing ears.

For a group that supposedly wanted silence, they were putting on a damn parade.

Kurome blinked lazily.

“This was your idea!” one of them barked, jabbing a finger at his companion.

“You said we should take our time. Said the brat wouldn’t get far dragging that sack of bones!”

The other sneered. “And he didn’t! He’s just crawlin’ around somewhere.”

“If we went loud early, someone else might’ve snatched the info”

“Oh yeah? And now the whole street knows we’re tailin’ someone!”

“You said not to kill anyone till we’re outta the city!”

“Shut it.” the fifth man finally spoke, voice flat and cold.

He raised a hand. The others went still.

Then he stepped forward.

Boots crunching on the dusty stone.

He crouched.

Ran his fingers along a faint smear of blood on the ground… then followed the trail with his eyes.

His gaze narrowed.

The blood stopped.

Right in front of the outhouse.

“…There.”

All four turned their heads.

The group approached, following the faint stains. One by one, they slowed as the last trace led them around the corner.

And sure enough –

The smears vanished right beside a black cat lounging by the wall, tail lazily thumping.

The saber-wielder clicked his tongue.

“Where the fuck did that brat crawl off to…”

Ptoo!

He spat on the ground.

Then, noticing the black cat staring right at them, he got the absurd feeling it was sneering.

“The hell you lookin’ at?”

He stepped forward, lifted his foot, and swung a kick straight for her small torso.

It never landed.

His body froze mid-motion.

Arms, legs, face – everything locked in place like someone hit pause on reality.

He was paralyzed.

Not injured. Not unconscious.

Just… stuck.

A statue in the shape of a smug idiot.

He stood there, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted.

One of the others blinked.

“…Oi, what’s wrong with him?”

Another snorted. “Pfft – don’t tell me he cramped up from kickin’ a cat?”

“Hah! Must’ve pulled a spine or somethin’. Dumbass.”

They laughed.

A bulkier man among them, the one with brass knuckles, cracked his neck.

“Tch. Move aside. Let me show you how to kick a damn cat.”

He strutted forward, winding his leg back with exaggerated flair.

Meanwhile, the shorter one knelt beside the paralyzed saber-wielder.

“Oi… what the hell’s wrong with you?”

No response. Eyes wide, breathing shallow. Limbs locked like stone.

The leader didn’t move.

Just stood there. Silent, watching.

When the brass-knuckle guy raised his foot –

He stopped.

Mid-swing. Frozen.

The leader’s eyes sharpened.

“Back off.”

He stepped forward and grabbed the frozen man by the collar, yanking him back in one rough pull – then immediately dashed dozens of steps back, widening the distance between himself and the cat.

But the kneeling one didn’t move either.

His fingers trembled, stuck just before touching the saber-wielder’s shoulder.

The leader’s gaze dropped to the ground.

To the cat’s shadow.

It hadn’t moved.

But something was wrong.

Wrong in a way that made his scalp tighten and cold sweat bead down his spine.

His grip loosened. Instinct screamed.

His spiritual sense expanded in a wide circle.

Nothing.

No cultivator. No traps. No illusion arrays.

Just the cat.

Kurome raised one paw.

And tapped the ground.

‘Swallow.’

A ripple spread from her paw like ink in water.

The shadows stretched. Slid. Merged.

From the cat’s tiny form, dark tendrils slithered toward the three motionless men. Slipping under their feet. Curling into their outlines.

Then –

CRACK.

A pit of blackness opened beneath them. Silent. Gaping.

The three dropped without a sound.

No time to scream.

Only muffled crunches.

Wet pops.

The shadow swallowed the noise, the light, the blood – everything.

It writhed once.

Then shrank.

Tightened.

Vanished beneath Kurome’s paw with a soft “shfft.”

Gone.

The leader stood rooted in place, breath caught in his throat.

What… what the hell was that?

His eyes darted left, right. Still expanding his sense. Still searching.

Was that really the cat?

Or was there a demonic cultivator hiding somewhere?

But no one was there.

No one watching.

No one… except the black cat.

The leader’s face paled.

He tried spreading his spiritual sense again – wide and desperate.

Nothing.

No qi from the three. No trace of their presence.

Even their bodies were no longer there.

Vanished, like they’d never existed in the first place.

Dead!

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