Chapter 440: Things One Should Not See

The once slightly childish, distorted voice suddenly rose in pitch, becoming sharp and shrill, filled with offended fury.

"How dare you… ask Little Red Riding Hood!"

Its rigid body jolted, the sewn fingers flared open, dark red threads oozing from the tips, writhing like living things.

Tap, tap, tap!

It lunged toward Cheng Shuili with a swift and bizarre posture!

The tattered dance shoes hammered the stone slab, producing a heavy, muffled, urgent clatter; the dark red skirt billowed in the mist like rotting blood.

"Disobedient guest… naughty guest… I will turn you… into a new doll! Preserve your freshness… forever!"

Malicious intent rode the fetid wind, slamming into the face.

Little Red Riding Hood's slender fingers, like ten sharp wooden spikes, jabbed Cheng Shuili's face and throat, moving so fast they left afterimages.

But Cheng Shuili was already prepared.

In the instant it lunged in fury, Cheng Shuili not only did not retreat but stepped half a pace forward, lowering her center, her left hand still steady holding the box of bright red watermelons, while the long sword in her right hand silently unsheathed!

The blade's glint was not dazzling, even somewhat dim.

Yet the very aura of Night Hunt, which severs all, was already captivating enough!

It rose diagonally from below in response to Cheng Shuili's movement.

Cheng Shuili did not choose to block those ten dangerous fingers; instead, with a crystal‑clear aim, she knocked off Little Red Riding Hood's wide straw‑colored brimmed hat.

She noticed the "pseudo" character after the insight‑granting name.

Since Little Red Riding Hood is false when not wearing the hat, what would happen after the hat is removed?

The moment the hat flew away, Little Red Riding Hood's forward lunge seemed paused, suddenly freezing in place. It emitted a very brief "Ho" sound, and its hands slammed over the spot where the hat had rested on its head.

But Cheng Shuili's motion did not cease.

The long sword's sweeping arc paused imperceptibly in mid‑air, then changed direction; the blade struck flat with a heavy, crushing force, slamming into Little Red Riding Hood's unshielded face!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud sent Little Red Riding Hood's cotton‑filled body stumbling backward, nearly falling.

The hand covering its head shifted slightly; Cheng Shuili glimpsed, on the pallid scalp, rough black stitches forming some characters.

Before she could read them, Little Red Riding Hood went fully berserk.

"Hat… my hat!! Give it back!"

Its voice shed the childlike disguise entirely, turning into a sharp, venomous screech.

The fog churned violently, roiling with its emotion.

It ceased attacking Cheng Shuili, and, like a mad creature, flung its limbs to the ground, lunging at the straw‑colored hat that lay on the moss.

Now!

A cold glint flashed in Cheng Shuili's eyes; the watermelon box in her left hand vanished instantly, replaced by a heavy water bucket.

It is what she usually uses in her domain to wash fruit, and the Abyssal Ring stores plenty of them.

At the instant Little Red Riding Hood's fingers were about to touch the brim, Cheng Shuili raised her hand and splashed an entire bucket of clear water, dousing the cotton‑filled body headfirst!

"Sizzle!"

A harsh corrosive sound burst forth with a sudden explosion of copious white steam!

The sound was like a red‑hot branding iron plunged into ice water.

"Aaaah!!!"

The scream Little Red Riding Hood emitted was indescribable; its forward lunge twisted grotesquely, the whole body seized by an invisible giant hand, convulsing uncontrollably, rolling violently on the moss‑covered stone slab.

The clear water soaked its dark‑red tattered skirt, quickly seeping into the coarse internal stuffing.

The once fluffy cotton hardened at a visible speed, the rough stitches beginning to snap, emitting faint crackling sounds.

Chunks of water‑sodden, heavy, filthy stuffing fell from the cracks, striking the slick moss with little sound, then quickly dissolving into pools of viscous black water that merged with the ground's dampness.

Yet after only two or three seconds, the Juchang puppet that had been venomously ferocious and claw‑waving lay limp on the ground, reduced to a heap of wet, broken debris.

The straw‑colored wide‑brimmed hat still lay alone a few steps away, starkly out of place in the fog.

Cheng Shuili did not immediately lower her guard.

She stood holding her sword, her gaze sharp as she scanned the wreckage and the surging fog around.

The dense fog seemed stirred by the recent clash, more active than before, drifting slowly as if countless unseen eyes peered from its depths.

Within the sweet, cloying fragrance, a new unpleasant burnt odor mingled.

After waiting about half a minute, the debris remained still, and the fog gradually returned to its slow, flowing state.

Only then did Cheng Shuili step forward, cautiously prodding the heap of wreckage with the tip of her sword.

The spot that had been the scalp was sewn with a line of tiny characters in black thread:

【Direction and fragrance run opposite.】

The fragrance… must refer to the scent that has been present since entering the maze.

Direction and fragrance run opposite, meaning she must advance toward the direction where the scent is thinnest.

Cheng Shuili paused thoughtfully, gently closed her eyes, temporarily blocking visual distraction, focusing all attention on her sense of smell, carefully discerning the subtle concentration shifts of the rich fragrance within the fog.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, directing her gaze toward one side of the corridor.

The scent there seemed… slightly fainter by a thread; without sufficiently high attribute points, she might not have discerned it at all.

Without hesitation, she turned and stepped toward the direction where the fragrance was comparatively thin.

Just after taking a step, Cheng Shuili suddenly turned, lifted the solitary straw‑colored wide‑brimmed hat from the ground with the tip of her sword, and casually tossed it onto the heap of slowly dissolving, black‑water‑seeping broken puppet debris.

The brim covered the line of characters, soon soaked through by the filthy black water.

Cheng Shuili no longer looked at it, proceeding cautiously and steadily along the chosen direction.

The ashen‑white fog remained thick, limiting visibility.

The stone walls and moss-covered ground looked lifeless and stagnant in the mist.

The surroundings were absolutely silent, only her faint footsteps echoing in the corridor, quickly absorbed by the thick mist.

After walking about ten minutes, the mist ahead seemed to flow more violently.

Cheng Shuili stopped and listened intently.

Besides her own breathing and heartbeat, there seemed to be… an extremely intermittent dripping sound.

She immediately recalled the second rule.

Cheng Shuili became alert, her gaze sweeping the stone walls on either side.

On the right wall, near the ground, a dark water stain was slowly expanding; several drops of viscous black water seeped out from the stone cracks, stretched, then fell with a plop onto the moss, the sound amplified many times in the silence.

Not just one spot.

Not far ahead, on the upper left wall, a similar water stain and dripping droplets appeared.

All around, dripping sounds began sporadically, like an ominous timer.

Cheng Shuili hesitated not, immediately carrying out the rule.

The dripping grew louder, like rain, pattering.

Cheng Shuili's body tensed, waiting for the sound to end.

At that moment, something cold and viscous lightly brushed her ankle.

It wasn't a water droplet.

More like… wet hair?

Or perhaps the tentacle of some soft-bodied creature?

Cheng Shuili suppressed the urge to jump back, slowly lowered her head, and the instant she clearly saw what it was, she used Insight.

【Insight successful!】

【Name: Unseeable Thing】

【Description: One of the maintainers of the Misty Corridor, it despises any source of noise. Its form is indistinct, often appearing as water flow, hair, or viscous tentacles. When the walls begin to seep water, it means they are cleansing the corridor of irregular presences. Having one's back to the wall is the only way to avoid it; being touched by it poses no danger, provided you can remain silent and accept the mark it leaves. Violating the principle of silence will provoke its true attack.】

【Weakness: Afraid of being seen.】

Never mind the strange name; this weakness is pretty bizarre too.

And… a mark?

Sounds like nothing good.

Cheng Shuili pondered briefly, then lightly gripped her long blade, the tip hovering lightly over the thing wrapped around her ankle.

Cheng Shuili clearly saw a pair of eyes emerge on that viscous, tentacle-like thing; the instant they locked onto hers, it shrank back as if startled.

Those eyes, suddenly opened and widened from the viscous tissue, were filled with indescribable shock.

It didn't even have time to convey any malice or attack intent; at the moment its gaze met Cheng Shuili's calm stare, it let out a silent scream.

At least, from its momentary stiffening then frantic retreat, Cheng Shuili read that meaning.

That strand of hair or tentacle retracted into the wall's water stain at ten times the speed it had extended, as if it had never been there.

All that remained was a faint cold, slick sensation on Cheng Shuili's ankle, and the round edge of the wall's water stain seemed to retain a hint of indignant frustration, like embarrassed anger.

Cheng Shuili withdrew her gaze; no matter what, this crisis should be over.

Moreover… she hadn't been marked.

Although she didn't know the difference between being marked and not, since following the rules would get her marked, and given this instance's inherent hostility toward players,

Cheng Shuili felt it was better not to be marked.

She closed her eyes and smelled the fragrance again.

Only after confirming she hadn't taken the wrong direction did she continue forward.

The dripping sound rang out several more times on the way, and Cheng Shuili used the same method to scare off several more Unseeable Things.

Besides these monsters, nothing else happened along the way.

Until she reached the end of the corridor.

Cheng Shuili lifted her gaze; before her loomed a large wooden door, the most conspicuous feature being the unusually large iron lock hanging on it.

She stared at the lock, took a few steps forward, confirmed it was truly locked, then stood before the door.

What does this mean?

Do I need to find a key?

Cheng Shuili seriously recalled that, aside from a Little Red Riding Hood and an Unseeable Thing, she had encountered no other NPCs on the way.

As for having space to place a key… that's outright nonsense.

Now that we're here, going back to look for a key is impossible.

Cheng Shuili shook her head, bored, and produced the treasured universal key from the Abyssal Ring.

Just as she inserted the key into the lock, a rhythmic 'ta-ta' sounded behind her.

Cheng Shuili lifted her head, suddenly realizing what was going on.

The key for this door isn't obtained along the way; rather, one must stand before the door, wait for an NPC or perhaps a monster to approach, then obtain the key after speaking with or defeating it.

Cheng Shuili thought this, but her hand didn't stop moving.

The lock interior emitted a soft 'click', the crisp sound of the bolt springing open unusually clear in the silent corridor's end.

The rhythmic 'ta-ta' behind her abruptly paused for a moment.

Cheng Shuili didn't look back; she snapped her wrist and shoved the heavy wooden door open.

"Squeak—creak—"

The grating, teeth-grating screech split the mist; beyond the door, unknown where, Cheng Shuili could only see a black cloth hanging down, blocking off everything inside the room completely.

"You…!"

Cheng Shuili hadn't yet had time to look closely, when a hoarse, dry voice full of unbelievable anger sounded from a few steps behind her.

Cheng Shuili pretended not to hear, lifting her foot to step into the room.

But just as she lifted her leg, a long sword flew sideways and lodged right in front of her, blocking her path.

Only then did Cheng Shuili turn her body sideways, glancing with her peripheral vision.

In the mist, a thin, tall, hunched figure stood there.

It wore a tattered, faded gray wolf pelt, and held a lantern with dim yellow light, its glass cover smeared with oil.

Its face was hidden beneath an oversized gray wolf hood, only the lower half visible.

On a face exactly like Xiao Hongmao's, there were also crooked, roughly stitched black lines resembling a zipper.

Its other hand gripped a large brass key.

Obviously, this is the one who brought the key. Moreover, Cheng Shuili could tell even without using her insight that the figure before her was the big gray wolf that wanted to eat Xiao Hongmao.

"How dare you… how could you open it yourself!" the big gray wolf's voice trembled with shock and anger, the lantern's light flickering as well, "This is… against the rules! It's cheating!"

"Cheating?" Cheng Shuili spread her hands, "Being able to open it is my talent; I achieved it through my own ability—why would that be cheating?"

Her tone was matter-of-fact, carrying the implication of "don't mess around."

The big gray wolf was left speechless, opening and closing its mouth, then opening and closing it again.

Seeming to realize it could not outspeak this human, it suddenly raised the brass key in its hand, pointing the tip at Cheng Shuili; its zipper‑stitched mouth opened and closed, spewing a moldy‑smelling mist: "Guests who break the rules… must accept punishment! Stay forever… to clean the corridor!"

Before its words even finished, its thin, elongated body stretched out in a way that defied joint structure, like a giant stick insect, lunging at Cheng Shuili while holding the lantern and key.

The dim yellow light dragged twisted bands through the mist, casting an unnaturally elongated shadow behind it.