Chapter 134: The Hut in the Darkness

The calmed-down squirrel began telling Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood about what had happened in the Black Forest.

"She came in a few hours ago. At first, I didn't even notice her—she wasn't crying, wasn't making a scene, quite different from other children who just arrived," the squirrel said, standing on Yu Sheng's shoulder and sighing as it spoke. "This might be her first 'real' entry into the Black Forest, but before today, she had probably been having nightmares related to the Black Forest for a very long time..."

"Which direction did she go?" Little Red Riding Hood interrupted the squirrel's rambling from the side. "Take us there."

"This way," the squirrel raised a paw and pointed in a certain direction, but immediately shook its head. "I think it's pointless for you to chase after her. It's too deep over there, and there are no paths or lights from the huts. Without shelter in the darkness, you'll just be swallowed by wolves for nothing..."

Little Red Riding Hood paid no attention to the second half of the squirrel's sentence and had already stepped forward: "We'll judge for ourselves."

"Hey, hey, you..." the squirrel suddenly cried out, hopping on Yu Sheng's shoulder, then immediately lowered its voice. "You don't happen to not know your own situation, do you?"

Little Red Riding Hood stopped, turned her head to look: "I know."

Yu Sheng followed Little Red Riding Hood, walking deeper into the Black Forest, while that squirrel kept rambling nonstop the whole way—it jumped from Yu Sheng's shoulder to Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder, looking nervous and impatient: "You're taking a risk! Walking deliberately toward places with no lights will surely make you run into wolf packs! Even that great evil wolf will come after you quickly!

"At least rest for a few minutes on the path or in a hut, get your state adjusted, especially Little Red Riding Hood, you need to regain stability now...

"That my lord over there, aren't you her friend? You should try to persuade her..."

"I think you're just making things difficult for me, a little squirrel! Nobody cares about a squirrel's opinion at all!

"Why is this world so cruel to squirrels—to a squirrel as cute as I am, to the point of bubbling over!"

The squirrel raised its paws high and screamed, but just before it continued going mad, Little Red Riding Hood suddenly reached out and grabbed the somewhat noisy rodent: "You're too noisy. If you keep this up, I'll throw you into the bushes—the thorny kind."

The squirrel immediately fell silent, and only after a few seconds reluctantly spoke up: "You can't go down the path of giving up on yourself."

"I'm not giving up on myself," Little Red Riding Hood pressed her lips together, her tone suddenly very serious. "I'm serious—I'm calmer now than at any time before... at least calmer than during every 'dream entry' recently."

The squirrel stared blankly at Little Red Riding Hood, then looked up at Yu Sheng walking beside her with some confusion, as if wanting to ask something, but remained silent for a long time due to a somewhat muddled mind.

Yu Sheng hardly spoke the whole way; he just quietly followed beside Little Red Riding Hood, yet his spirit remained fully focused.

He was trying to perceive—perceive the rustling of wind and grass around him, perceive those possible connections originating from blood, perceive the movements of the wolf packs, perceive... that largest and most vicious evil wolf.

Faint howls of wolves came from the dark depths of the forest, rising and falling, everywhere.

The remaining dim yellow light of the sky had vanished at some unknown time; night began to shroud the forest, yet this night was not completely pitch black—a more eerie dimness filled the trees, with cold lurking mixed within the darkness.

"The wolves have noticed us, the wolves have noticed us..." the squirrel immediately began muttering frantically and nervously, while somehow producing a dry, hard pine needle. "It's crazy, we're going to be eaten by wolves in a place with absolutely no lights! This is terrible, so terrible."

Yu Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, perceiving certain subtle... "flows" amidst the rising and falling wolf howls.

A gaze was sweeping over the vicinity; at one moment, he could even see his own figure within that gaze.

But the owner of the gaze had not yet appeared; the evil wolf was hidden in the forest, seemingly still waiting for something.

Yu Sheng maintained his attention on that gaze, then suddenly noticed that Little Red Riding Hood's steps beside him had slowed somewhat.

The girl's body seemed to be trembling involuntarily.

"Are you okay?" Yu Sheng asked immediately.

"I'm fine," Little Red Riding Hood's tone remained calm, even her expression and eyes seemed unchanged. "It's just that one needs to be vigilant when walking deep into the forest."

Yu Sheng looked at Little Red Riding Hood, whose expression was normal.

That gaze cast from the depths of the forest was also looking at Little Red Riding Hood.

Sweet fear, rooted deep in childhood, growing in the darkness, amplified by memory, spreading through the forest.

Yu Sheng suddenly stepped forward and took Little Red Riding Hood's hand.

The latter was startled: "What..."

"Don't be afraid."

Little Red Riding Hood's expression was somewhat awkward: "... I'm not afraid."

"Pretending to be calm won't fool that wolf; it can see your fear directly," Yu Sheng merely gazed calmly into her eyes. "It's staring at you."

Little Red Riding Hood widened her eyes slightly; she was puzzled for a moment and couldn't help but speak: "How do you know?"

The fear emanating from her subsided slightly; the evil wolf continued waiting cautiously.

Yu Sheng blinked; he knew that wolf was still staring this way, but he was staring at it too.

"That wolf is stained with my blood," he said to Little Red Riding Hood; on this matter, he was always straightforward. "Now you don't need to be afraid. It will sooner or later become my prey."

Little Red Riding Hood said nothing, just looking at Yu Sheng with some dazedness.

She was somewhat doubtful, somewhat hesitant; she couldn't fully understand and believe what Yu Sheng said—but the fear was indeed further subsiding from her.

That was enough.

Yu Sheng let go of her hand.

He knew he couldn't blame Little Red Riding Hood's "fear"—because this "fear" had long surpassed reason; in this Black Forest, for Little Red Riding Hood, it had become not merely an "emotional response."

As a seasoned Spirit World detective, she might be able to delve into foreign realms without changing her expression, might be able to stand up and fight those bizarre and ugly entities, and could even face her own life and death, but the fear of the "evil wolf" had taken root in her mind many years ago, even becoming part of her childhood. That thing grew with her like a poison attached to the bone until today—that evil wolf, larger than a house, was the reflection of this fear.

No wonder the children of "fairy tales" could never escape the curse it brought.

The squirrel stood on Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder, its round eyes darting back and forth between the two, wondering what it was thinking; it suddenly broke the silence: "She ran into the depths of the forest before too... Most Little Red Riding Hoods have such an experience or two... in the beginning. Most of the initial fear also stems from that."

"Don't say unnecessary words," Little Red Riding Hood spoke somewhat gloomily.

"Is it because of those 'temptations' outside the path?" Yu Sheng couldn't help but ask curiously.

Little Red Riding Hood lowered her head and walked forward silently.

"What else could it be?" the squirrel sighed in a very human-like manner. "The small flowers and mushrooms by the roadside—and some shiny things. Those things are always so tempting, but in the end, they are the teeth and claws of the evil wolf..."

Little Red Riding Hood looked fiercely at the squirrel: "I really will throw you into the bushes."

"... I also encountered 'temptations'; there's nothing shameful about that," Yu Sheng thought for a moment and said to Little Red Riding Hood. "You see, I'm an adult; last time I came in, I actually almost couldn't control myself. If not for the squirrel reminding me, maybe I would have walked into the darkness too."

Little Red Riding Hood looked at Yu Sheng with some surprise.

"... You were also 'tempted' by the sights outside the path?" she spoke hesitantly. "Is there anything that can tempt you?"

Her tone when saying this was quite incredulous.

Just as incredulous as when she first learned that Yu Sheng also ate human food.

Yu Sheng always felt that the red-clothed girl before him was thinking of something rather impolite, but he had no evidence.

"It's normal; everyone has moments of being tempted," he waved his hand, saying it very casually, then asked inadvertently, "What about you? What tempted you to walk into the depths of the forest back then?"

He had no other intention, merely hoping to divert the other's attention while learning a bit more about Little Red Riding Hood's past experiences—this might help him free her from the influence of this Black Forest.

However, Little Red Riding Hood simply pressed her lips tightly together, seeming unwilling to answer the question.

Even the squirrel on her shoulder, which had been chattering nonstop despite the warnings, fell silent this time.

"Alright," Yu Sheng sighed, not pressing further, "If you don't want to say it, then don't. Let's..."

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Little Red Riding Hood also halted her steps instantly.

Deep within the dense forest ahead, a hazy outline came into view for both of them.

It was not the "lost" child, but a small wooden cabin.

"Don't get close yet!" the squirrel immediately grew tense, its large tail trembling slightly, "Something's wrong, the squirrel feels something is off..."

"That looks a lot like the cabin I saw last time," Yu Sheng muttered quietly, "The shape seems exactly the same."

"The shape is similar, but it's not!" the squirrel spoke rapidly, pine needles clutched tightly in its paws, "Do you see? No light! This cabin has no light on! No light lit, deep in the dark forest, yet not swallowed by the darkness! Strange, it's getting strange... After the light goes out, the cabin should disintegrate and vanish... Is Grandma inside? No, no, the cabin where Grandma is also has the light on..."

Hearing the squirrel's nervous and anxious rambling, Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood exchanged a glance without prior agreement.

Then they cautiously took steps toward the cabin standing silently in the darkness.

(End of this chapter)