Chapter 191: Blood Granting

The reason Yu Sheng gave was, of course, a joke.

Little Red Riding Hood still called the "parents" from the orphanage into the room, but she didn't use the excuse of "ordering takeout"; she only said there was something important to discuss, and a moment later, a group of people entered.

Yu Sheng stood up and looked around; naturally, he didn't recognize most of them, so he turned to Little Red Riding Hood to confirm: "Is everyone here?"

"A few people need to stay in the dormitory area to look after the younger brothers and sisters," Little Red Riding Hood said. "Let's take turns; it's safer that way."

"Oh, that works too," Yu Sheng nodded, then immediately, his peripheral vision caught something behind the crowd, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "... Why is there a cat here?"

He suddenly saw a tabby cat squatting openly on the windowsill not far away, even looking as if it were there to attend the meeting, with an attitude so arrogant it was ridiculous, causing him to be greatly surprised.

As soon as Yu Sheng finished speaking, he saw that cat lift its paw, lick it, and lazily remark: "Why can't I come?"

Yu Sheng: "...?!"

Right then, not to mention Yu Sheng, even Erin and Hu Li were shocked; the three of them stared dumbfounded at the tabby cat that spoke human language with a voice as deep and magnetic as a documentary narrator, and after a long while, they spoke in unison: "It spoke!!"

"It is 'The King'," Little Red Riding Hood finally stood up and introduced it to Yu Sheng with a half-smiling expression, seemingly very pleased that she had managed to surprise Yu Sheng like this, "and it is also a member of our 'Fairy Tale' organization, and a senior one at that—by the way, its strength is very high, second only to 'Bai Xue', the most formidable fighter of our generation."

A petite girl with ear-length straight hair in the crowd raised her hand: "By the way, I am 'Bai Xue'."

Yu Sheng listened, stunned, his expression as stiff as if he had been struck by lightning for two hours; only after at least half a minute did he "wake up," his gaze shifting several times between the arrogant tabby cat and Little Red Riding Hood, before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "... Why?"

He didn't even know why he was asking why—right now, only two words were in his mind: Why?

"Oh, that's a very long story," the tabby cat squatting on the windowsill spoke up, still with that documentary-narrator-like magnetic voice, "When I was still a kitten, I wandered the streets; a passing child gave me a steamed bun—I followed him home. That night, he had a dream, and I fell into his dream. When I woke up again, I had learned to think like a human..."

Yu Sheng listened to this story with his mouth agape, a strange and abstract feeling arising within him. Although he had already witnessed a huge pile of abstract things in this place, the situation before him was still absurdly outlandish to him. However, just as Yu Sheng was trying to figure out whether the story this cat told made sense in the Borderlands, his peripheral vision suddenly noticed Little Red Riding Hood winking at him secretly.

"Don't believe it," Little Red Riding Hood whispered. "One version per time."

Yu Sheng hesitated: "Then..."

"No one knows what happened; it doesn't know itself either," Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. "When it first ran into the orphanage, we thought it was a stray cat from outside, until it suddenly summoned a team of adventurers and knocked down several people."

The tabby cat on the windowsill waved its paw at Little Red Riding Hood: "I'm listening!"

Little Red Riding Hood spread her hands and looked at Yu Sheng: "Anyway, that's how it is. Although the principle is unknown, we later confirmed it was indeed influenced by 'Fairy Tale', so we recruited it as an official member. This time, we also wanted to try it on you to see if your plan has any effect on special individuals like 'The King'."

Yu Sheng didn't know how to react for a moment and could only sigh that he had seen too little here. Then he turned to look at Erin again, but the small doll turned her head away: "Don't look at me; I haven't seen it either."

Yu Sheng turned to look at Hu Li again.

Hu Li stared straight at that cat for a while, then suddenly his eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands: "Oh! It's a primordial strange beast sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!"

"... Damn, I really envy that stupid fox," Erin sighed, covering her head. "That way of living is truly simple and happy..."

"Sister Red Hood," Bai Xue suddenly spoke up at this moment, "let's talk about the main matter. You suddenly called us here for a meeting; what do you want to do?"

Little Red Riding Hood immediately turned to look at Yu Sheng.

"Ahem, then let me explain," Yu Sheng coughed dryly, stood up from the sofa, and at the same time looked around—more than half the people here he didn't know, but he knew these people should have heard about his affairs from Little Red Riding Hood to some extent. "Simply put, I have a 'defense' plan..."

Yu Sheng explained his plan in as concise and clear a manner as possible, while also explaining the causes and consequences of the matter, including the current situations already existing in Little Red Riding Hood and Xiao Xiao. He also briefly introduced his own "special" nature—although omitting many details, at least regarding the relationship between "Blood" and "Wasteland", he felt he had explained it very clearly.

And as expected, after he finally finished speaking, the room fell into a long silence.

The teenagers, sixteen or seventeen years old, looked at each other; no one spoke for a moment, and only doubt floated on almost everyone's face.

This news was somewhat sudden, this plan was somewhat absurd, and if it weren't for Little Red Riding Hood's "strong guarantee", Yu Sheng even felt that he himself would be "suspicious" in this place.

"It's normal for everyone to have concerns, so this gathering is mainly to discuss first," Little Red Riding Hood finally broke the silence. "First, regarding what Yu Sheng said, I can prove it is indeed true. Xiao Xiao and I have both been to that 'Wasteland', and we did not produce any 'aftereffects' from contacting his blood. But what is uncertain is how effective this 'protection mechanism' really is. After all, so far, Xiao Xiao and I have only triggered the process of 'jumping' from the Black Forest to the Wasteland once. Additionally... whether everyone is willing to establish this kind of 'blood contract' connection with a third party." Clearly, the last sentence mentioned by Little Red Riding Hood was the main concern of everyone present.

"Blood contract" is always a sensitive topic in the field of mysticism. Establishing a blood contract with a strange existence has always been a highly risky matter. This is not rejection or resistance to Yu Sheng personally, but the necessary cautious attitude of these "big children" who are already acting as "parents" and have even been Spirit World Detectives for several years.

Although Yu Sheng himself was not even sure if his plan counted as a "blood contract".

"Oh, you guys just stop hesitating," Erin, who had no patience, seeing that everyone was still hesitating, and even that cat was hesitating, finally couldn't help but stand up from the sofa (although standing up still gave her no presence). "Now the Angel cultists are already watching you; you yourselves are in such a precarious state. You should seize the opportunity as soon as you get it..."

Little Red Riding Hood shook her head: "Precisely because we could die at any time, we are extra cautious while we are alive."

Erin was suddenly speechless.

Then Little Red Riding Hood clapped her hands and turned to the people in the room: "Everyone, go to the next room to discuss first. There's no rush."

Obviously, Little Red Riding Hood, who was about to become an adult soon, was like an older sister to everyone here, and her words carried high authority (except for that cat, which had always been very arrogant). After she finished speaking, the people in the room quickly walked out; no one had any questions.

That cat walked last. When leaving the room, it turned its head to look at Yu Sheng, its gaze looking very serious.

"I'll go over there to watch too," Little Red Riding Hood said to Yu Sheng, nodding.

Yu Sheng didn't speak, just waved his hand.

After looking at everyone one by one...

Little Red Riding Hood left, and the room fell into silence for a moment.

Hu Li dug into his tail, pulled out two chicken legs, and handed one to Yu Sheng: "Benefactor, eat the chicken leg."

Yu Sheng casually patted Hu Li's tail: "You eat it; I'm not hungry."

Thus, in the quiet room, the sound of Hu Li gnawing on two chicken legs in one breath rang out.

Yu Sheng continued to wait patiently, looking not at all panicked.

After an unknown amount of time passed, he heard footsteps at the door.

The door opened, and Little Red Riding Hood walked in, followed by a petite and frail figure—the girl with the codename "Bai Xue".

Seeing this, Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "Looks like the first tester has been chosen."

Little Red Riding Hood nodded: "Mm, we discussed and decided to send one person to try first."

"Why her?" Yu Sheng asked curiously, then immediately added, "Uh, just curious, asking randomly."

"There's nothing that can't be answered. Except for me, Bai Xue is the most unstable," Little Red Riding Hood said calmly. "She is the one with the strongest destructive power among us, but because her power is released too quickly, her erosion level is very high—sixteen years old, and her state is already about the same as mine. Now she is dragged into nightmares basically every day, which is perfectly suitable to verify whether your 'protection' mechanism can actually take effect."

The petite girl with the codename "Bai Xue" slowly came to the front of Yu Sheng, looking at this side with unblinking eyes.

"What do I need to do?" she asked curiously. "Do I need to perform a ritual similar to spiritual summoning or contract binding?"

"No need to make it so complicated," Yu Sheng smiled, took out a small knife, and sliced his own hand back. "Suck."

Bai Xue, who had a serious face just a second ago, instantly froze: "... Huh?"

Seeing this situation, Yu Sheng also felt that this might be a bit shocking for someone not very familiar, so he thought for a moment: "How about I find you a straw?"

Bai Xue again: "... Huh?"

(Chapter End)