Chapter 134: The Hut in the Dark
The squirrel calmed down and began to tell Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood what happened in the Black Forest.
"She came in a few hours ago. I didn't notice her at first. She didn't cry or make a fuss. She was different from the other children who just came in." The squirrel stood on Yu Sheng's shoulder and said with a sigh, "This may be her first time to 'really' enter the Black Forest, but before today, she probably had nightmares about the Black Forest for a long time..."
"Which direction did she go?" Little Red Riding Hood interrupted the squirrel's chattering, "Take us there."
"This way," the squirrel raised its paw and pointed in a certain direction, but then shook its head. "I think there's no point in chasing after them. It's too deep over there, and there are no trails or lights from the huts. There's no shelter in the darkness, and you'll just be eaten by the wolves in vain..."
Little Red Riding Hood didn't pay any attention to the second half of the squirrel's words. She had already stepped forward and said, "We can judge for ourselves."
"Hey, hey, you..." The squirrel suddenly screamed, jumping on Yu Sheng's shoulder, and then suddenly lowered his voice, "You don't know your situation, do you?"
Little Red Riding Hood stopped and looked back: "I know."
Yu Sheng followed Little Red Riding Hood into the depths of the Black Forest, and the squirrel kept chattering all the way - it jumped from Yu Sheng's shoulder to Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder, looking nervous and impatient: "You are taking a risk! If you take the initiative to walk towards a place without lights, you will definitely encounter wolves! Even the big bad wolf will find you soon!
"At least go to the path or the hut to rest for a few minutes and get back on track, especially Little Red Riding Hood. You need to regain your stability now...
"That adult over there, aren't you her friend? Why don't you try to persuade her...
"I think you guys are just trying to embarrass a little squirrel like me! No one cares about the opinion of a squirrel!
"Why is the world so cruel to squirrels - especially squirrels as adorable as me!"
The squirrel raised its paw and screamed, but before it could go on a rampage, Little Red Riding Hood suddenly reached out and grabbed the noisy rodent: "You're so noisy, if you keep doing that I'm going to throw you into the bushes - the kind with thorns."
The squirrel was silent for a moment, and after a few seconds he spoke reluctantly: "You can't go down the path of self-destruction."
"I'm not giving up on myself," Little Red Riding Hood pursed her lips, her tone suddenly becoming serious, "I'm serious - I'm calmer than ever before... at least calmer than every time I've been 'dreaming' recently."
The squirrel stared at Little Red Riding Hood blankly, then looked up at Yu Sheng who was walking next to him with some confusion, as if he wanted to ask something, but he didn't speak for a long time because his mind was a little confused.
Yu Shengze didn't say much along the way. He just followed Little Red Riding Hood quietly, but his mind was always focused.
He was trying to sense - sense the slightest movement around him, sense the possible blood connection, sense the movements of the wolves, sense... the largest and most ferocious wolf.
The faint sound of wolf howls could be heard from the dark depths of the forest, one after another, everywhere.
The remaining dim yellow light in the sky had disappeared without a trace, and night began to cover the forest, but this night was not completely dark - a more eerie feeling of dimness filled the woods, and the dimness was mixed with cold prying eyes.
"The wolf noticed us, the wolf noticed us..." The squirrel muttered nervously, and at the same time he took out a dry pine needle from somewhere, "This is crazy, we are going to be eaten by wolves in a place without any light! This is terrible, terrible."
Yu Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, and sensed some subtle... "flow" amid the wolf howls.
There was a line of sight sweeping across the area, and at a certain moment, he could even see his own figure in that line of sight.
But the owner of the sight has not appeared yet. The wolf is hiding in the forest, as if still waiting for something.
Yu Sheng kept his focus on that gaze, and then suddenly noticed that Little Red Riding Hood walking next to him slowed down a little.
The girl's body seemed to be shaking unconsciously.
"Are you okay?" Yu Sheng asked immediately.
"I'm fine," Little Red Riding Hood's tone remained calm, even her expression and eyes seemed to have not changed, "I just need to be alert when we go deep into the forest."
Yu Sheng looked at Little Red Riding Hood, who looked normal.
The gaze coming from the depths of the forest was also looking at Little Red Riding Hood.
A sweet fear, rooted deep in childhood, growing in darkness, amplified by memory, and permeating the forest.
Yu Sheng suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Little Red Riding Hood's hand.
The latter was surprised: "Why..."
"Don't be afraid."
Little Red Riding Hood looked a little awkward: "...I'm not afraid."
"You can't fool the wolf by pretending to be calm. It can see your fear directly." Yu Sheng just looked into her eyes calmly, "It's staring at you."
Little Red Riding Hood opened her eyes slightly, she was puzzled for a moment, and couldn't help asking: "How do you know?"
The fear that was emanating from her subsided slightly, and the wolf continued to wait cautiously.
Yu Sheng blinked. He knew that the wolf was still staring at him, but he was also staring at it.
"The wolf has my blood on him," he said to Little Red Riding Hood, always being frank in this matter. "Now you need not be afraid, for he will sooner or later become my prey."
Little Red Riding Hood didn't say anything, but just looked at Yu Sheng in a daze.
She was somewhat skeptical and hesitant. She could not fully understand or believe what Yu Sheng said—but the fear was indeed receding from her further.
That's enough.
Yu Sheng let go of her hand.
He knew that he couldn't blame Little Red Riding Hood for her "fear" - because this "fear" had long gone beyond rationality, and in this dark forest, it was even more than just an "emotional reaction" for Little Red Riding Hood.
As a veteran spirit detective, she might be able to go deep into foreign lands without batting an eyelid, stand up to those strange and ugly entities, and even face her own life and death. But the fear of "evil wolves" had been rooted in her mind many years ago, and even became a part of her childhood. It had grown up with her like a poison in her tarsal bones - the evil wolf that was bigger than a house was the reflection of this fear.
No wonder the children of “fairy tales” can never escape the curse it brings.
The squirrel stood on Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder, looking back and forth between the two with its black eyes. It was unknown what it was thinking. It suddenly broke the silence: "She has run into the depths of the forest before... Most Little Red Riding Hoods have had such experiences once or twice... at the beginning. The initial fear mostly comes from this."
"Don't say anything unnecessary." Little Red Riding Hood said sullenly.
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"Is it because of the 'temptations' outside the path?" Yu Sheng couldn't help but ask curiously.
Little Red Riding Hood lowered her head and walked forward in silence.
"What else could it be?" The squirrel sighed in a very human way, "Little flowers and mushrooms on the roadside - and some shiny things. Those things are always so tempting, but in the end they are the teeth and claws of the wolf..."
Little Red Riding Hood raised her head and gave the squirrel a fierce look: "I will really throw you into the bushes."
"...I also encountered 'temptation', which is nothing to be ashamed of," Yu Sheng thought for a moment and said to Little Red Riding Hood, "You see, I am an adult, but I almost lost control when I came in last time. If the squirrel hadn't reminded me, I might have walked into the darkness."
Little Red Riding Hood looked at Yu Sheng with a little surprise.
"...Have you also been 'tempted' by the scene outside the path?" She hesitated and asked, "Is there anything else that can tempt you?"
She said this in a tone of disbelief.
Just like she was incredulous when she first learned that Yu Sheng was a cannibal.
Yu Sheng always felt that the girl in red in front of him had some impolite thoughts in her head, but he had no evidence.
"It's normal. Everyone is tempted sometimes," he waved his hand and said nonchalantly, then asked casually, "What about you? What lured you into the depths of the forest?"
He had no other intentions, he just wanted to divert the other party's attention and learn more about Little Red Riding Hood's past experiences - this might help him help her get rid of the influence of the Dark Forest.
However, Little Red Riding Hood just pursed her lips tightly, as if she didn't want to answer the question.
Even the squirrel on her shoulder, which had been chirping incessantly despite her warnings, shut up this time.
"Okay," Yu Sheng exhaled and didn't ask any more questions. "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't talk about it. Let's..."
He suddenly stopped in the middle of his speech.
Little Red Riding Hood also stopped instantly.
In the depths of the dense forest ahead, a hazy outline appeared in the eyes of the two.
It wasn’t the “lost” child, it was a cabin.
"Don't get close!" The squirrel immediately became nervous, and his big tail was shaking slightly. "Something's wrong, the squirrel feels something is wrong..."
"That looks a lot like the hut I saw last time," Yu Sheng muttered quietly, "the appearance seems to be exactly the same."
"It looks similar, but it's not!" The squirrel spoke quickly, holding pine needles tightly in his claws. "See? There is no light! This hut has no lights on! Without lights on, deep in the dark forest, and not yet swallowed by the darkness! Weird, weird... The hut should have disintegrated and disappeared after the lights went out... Grandma is in there? No, no, the lights are on in the hut where grandma is..."
Listening to the squirrel's nervous and anxious chattering, Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood looked at each other at the same time.
Then they walked cautiously towards the small house standing quietly in the darkness.
(End of this chapter)
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