Chapter 140: An Undeliverable Message?
Bai Li Qing sat behind her desk, her gaze drifting into emptiness—or perhaps it wasn’t just her eyes that had gone blank.
It took quite a while before she muttered softly to herself, “Why is it that he always manages to do something completely unexpected?”
Song Cheng, seated across from her, didn’t know how to respond. He simply lowered his head and pretended he hadn’t heard.
But two seconds later, Bai Li Qing repeated herself. “Why is it that he always manages to do something completely unexpected?”
“Well… I suppose it’s because he himself is an unexpected existence,” Song Cheng finally forced a smile and replied stiffly. “Anyway, regardless of how you see it, at least we’ve identified another cause behind the temporal dislocation anomaly. The ‘signature parameters’ recorded by the Technical Division will be adjusted more accurately now. That’s something good, at least.”
“Yes, something good indeed—like learning that he can even open portals within anomaly-type Otherworlds,” Bai Li Qing shook her head. “But let’s put that aside for now. Back to our earlier topic—what was the conclusion of the last test samples?”
Hearing this, Song Cheng immediately straightened his posture and pushed the file he brought forward.
“This is the analysis report on the fur—we sent those so-called ‘Fox fur’ samples to three separate labs for independent study. The data was then shared with all major organizations, including the Academy. The conclusion… You’d better see for yourself.”
Bai Li Qing took the report and quickly scanned the critical details. Her expression grew graver with every line.
“No matching species found in the known universe?” She looked up, her gaze sharp on Song Cheng.
“Not only did we find no matching species, we couldn’t even find a single biological structure that corresponds to the microscopic composition of those hairs,” Song Cheng replied. “In other words, if we didn’t already know that they came from a sentient, thinking, speaking humanoid lifeform, the analysts might’ve thought this was a very bad joke.”
He pointed to a particular section of the document.
“The material composing the fur doesn’t match any known biological metabolic or growth byproducts. While over ninety percent of it is clearly organic, there’s a mix of inexplicable inorganic impurities as well. These impurities’ functions within a biological organism are completely unknown and… well—” he hesitated briefly, before continuing with a peculiar expression, “to this day, we still haven’t figured out what elements they even are.”
Bai Li Qing pressed her lips together. After a long pause, she murmured again, “Why is it that he always manages to do something completely unexpected…”
Song Cheng wiped the cold sweat from his brow. “Uh, strictly speaking, this wasn’t something he did…”
“But he was the one who brought her out,” Bai Li Qing rubbed her temples, visibly fatigued. “What about the other side? Did the Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain or any similar organizations respond?”
Song Cheng nodded. “They did. They joined forces with several influential Door-aligned sects and conducted a sweeping investigation. They screened every spirit-kin fox race they could, accounting for possible ‘temporal tunneling’ as suggested by Miss Foxy’s background. The search was massive—extending across potential pasts and futures, not just current interstellar records.
“This is the sample registry from their investigation. Besides typical fox demons and fox-kin hybrids, they even included individuals with only partial beastial traits—like fox ears, tails, or minor fur characteristics. According to the Messenger who handed it off, they were so thorough, they almost detained anyone with fox scent just to make sure the forms were filled…”
“No matches found, I assume?” Bai Li Qing’s fingers stiffened mid-flip through the documents. She looked up, incredulous. “Why such a commotion? They’re never this motivated when we ask them for help.”
“Well, word got out that a Fox could lead an entire clan to ascend—complete with an ancestral homeland full of Immortals. Naturally, everyone wanted to know who’d secretly triggered a mass ascension behind the rest of their backs,” Song Cheng shrugged. “You know how competitive their circles are. Most cultivators in the enlightenment stage might not fight over such things anymore, but according to Yu Sheng’s description of Miss Foxy’s home, it was quite a… stimulating revelation for them.”
“It was quite a stimulus for us too,” Bai Li Qing exhaled and set the document aside. “I’ve grasped the situation. Continue the investigation as a long-term task. If that ‘Fox’ really comes from ‘outside’…”
She paused, then gave Song Cheng a meaningful nod. “You understand what I mean.”
“Yes, I understand.”
…
On the way back from the Orphanage’s West Wing to the East Building, Yu Sheng recounted to Little Red Riding Hood in detail what he had uncovered while investigating alone inside the dark Little House—including the strange carvings he found beneath the bed, and his full encounter with the Hunter.
The intricate details left Little Red Riding Hood visibly shocked.
“I’ve dealt with the Black Forest for many years,” murmured Little Red Riding Hood with a strange blend of wonder and lament, “but never have I suddenly come to understand so much at once like today. All the Little Red Riding Hoods before me… they too were swallowed whole by that ‘story,’ without even knowing what they were walking into…”
“Maybe some of them did discover the truth,” mused Irene, perched lightly upon Yu Sheng’s shoulder, swinging her legs idly, “but by then it was already too late to pass the message back to the real world. Like those carvings under the bed—obviously left by a Little Red Riding Hood from a long time ago.”
“Those carvings are definitely suspicious,” Yu Sheng agreed. “And I doubt they’re unique. I suspect we’ll find more like them elsewhere in the Black Forest… or even beyond it.”
Little Red Riding Hood squinted thoughtfully. “You mean…”
“Other ‘subsets’,” Yu Sheng halted his steps. “Like the ones you mentioned: Cinderella’s Ball, the Tower of the Long Haired Princess… similar things are happening in those places too, right? Maybe Cinderellas or Long Haired Princesses once uncovered the truth at the end of their dreams, but just like in that Little House draped in Red Cloaks… the ones who found the truth never made it back to tell anyone in the real world.”
Little Red Riding Hood fell into a deep silence. Yu Sheng sighed after a beat, speaking with a hint of wistfulness: “When you think about it… it’s actually a lot like childhood.”
She blinked, a little caught off guard. “How so?”
“You write your childhood secrets in a diary, lock it up with the utmost care… but by the time you grow up, you’ve already forgotten what that once-important password even was. And so your memories remain stranded at the edge of childhood, unable to reach your adult self. That happens to a lot of people.”
For the first time, Little Red Riding Hood looked slightly stunned. “Is that… true?”
“It is,” Yu Sheng chuckled. “Which is why sometimes, you need someone rude and disruptive—an unreasonable adult to just barge in and pry open that notebook. More often than not, you become that awful adult yourself. But since you all seem to have trouble growing up, I’ll take on that role for now.”
“…You make yourself sound like a villain.”
“To Fairy Tale, I am a villain. It doesn’t like me very much.”
Just then, a burst of clamor echoed from the corridor ahead, cutting short the conversation.
A group of Cursed Children dashed past, chattering and yelling, some of them slightly older kids mixed in.
Yu Sheng and the others quickly picked up their pace and headed in that direction.
Little Red Riding Hood swiftly snatched a half-grown Young Lady as she ran by, her tone stern and full of Guardian authority: “What’s going on?”
The Young Lady, visibly flustered, pointed in a direction. “Teacher Su fainted! She’s already been taken to the Infirmary!”
Yu Sheng blinked in disbelief. “Teacher Su fainted? Why?”
“I don’t know, I just heard about it!” the girl, probably no older than thirteen or fourteen, replied quickly. “She was playing with the other kids in the Activity Room when Xiao Xiao suddenly pushed the Door open to greet her—and she just passed out…”
Yu Sheng: “…”
Little Red Riding Hood: “…”
Irene: “Oh no~”
“…I really didn’t think that through. I was just too happy at the time,” Little Red Riding Hood admitted sheepishly, letting go of the child and turning her face away in embarrassment. “We should’ve had someone go notify Teacher Su first.”
Yu Sheng could only sigh, both amused and exasperated. “Well, no point complaining now. Let’s go check on her.”
They changed course toward the Infirmary, and by the time they arrived, the Long Haired Princess had already sweet-talked and ushered out the crowd of rubbernecking Cursed Children.
The young Council employee was lying on the bed, awake now, looking a little pale but otherwise alright.
Nearby, Xiao Xiao sat on a chair, her head lowered and her shoulders hunched like she’d just committed a grievous sin. Her eyes were red—Yu Sheng suspected she cried when Teacher Su fainted.
“No major issues,” the Long Haired Princess informed them. “The doctor’s checked her—just a bout of emotional shock. She just needs to lie down for a while. And this was partly my fault too. I shouldn’t have let Xiao Xiao push the Door open so suddenly.”
“I’m fine, really!” Teacher Su quickly waved her hands, trying to sit up. “It did startle me at first, but now… I’m just happy.”
As she spoke, she sat up fully, her eyes settling on Yu Sheng.
“I believe… you’re Yu Sheng, right? There’s something I’d like to speak with you about.”