Chapter 121: Little House
The Squirrel’s neurotic mumbling prompted Yu Sheng to instinctively tilt his head, listening for any sounds outside the Cozy Little House. Yet, all he heard was the distant and faint rustling of the wind.
The fireplace crackled gently, and the wind outside the Door was so soft it was barely perceptible. These subtle sounds only enhanced the tranquility, filling the candlelit interior of the Cozy Little House with a sense of peace and serenity.
The room’s layout was simple and easy to grasp. Upon entering through the Door, one would immediately see a modest square table draped with a blue checkered cloth. Two chairs flanked the table. Opposite the entrance, against the wall, stood a wooden shelf cluttered with miscellaneous items, and a one-person-high wooden wardrobe. In the corner rested a single bed layered with thick bedding that looked quite comfortable.
To the left of the entrance, a window reflected the glow of the fireplace and candles, along with the Squirrel’s hopping silhouette.
Yu Sheng stepped toward the window, cautiously peering outside. The old wooden floor groaned beneath his feet. Beyond the glass, only the dense and boundless nightscape of the Forest stretched out. It was that brief moment after dusk had just fallen; the sky still clung to a sliver of twilight, though the thick canopy above blocked most of the light, plunging the world beneath into shadow.
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Yu Sheng couldn’t shake the feeling that countless cold, gleaming eyes lurked in those shadows. An innumerable horde of Predators seemed to be hiding in the shroud of night, encircling the Cozy Little House and waiting for a chance to strike.
“Don’t look, don’t look. The more you stare, the more afraid you’ll get. The darkness always conjures the things you imagine. And here, all you can imagine is the Wolf,” the Squirrel muttered as it paced the table with its paws behind its back. “Oh, nuts!”
It suddenly spotted a dish of acorns on the table, leapt gleefully over, grabbed one with its paws, and looked back at Yu Sheng. “Want one? They’re good!”
“No, thank you,” Yu Sheng declined with a wave. His attention remained focused on observing the Cozy Little House. He noticed red tattered cloth and strings scattered throughout—attached to the Door and windows, hanging under the roof, and some broken pieces tangled in a pile against the wall—like some kind of protective charm or warding decor.
The Squirrel suddenly jumped down from the table and scurried to the corner, rummaging around until it found a long strip of red cloth. It then messily wrapped it around itself.
“A good omen! A good omen!” it squealed.
Yu Sheng asked curiously, “What are you doing?”
“Doing something lucky,” the Squirrel replied, looking ridiculous yet smug with the red cloth tangled around it. “Red is a lucky color. A Squirrel needs its lucky color—especially a Squirrel as cute as me, bursting with charm! Damn it, why is there no wine in this house… I’m thirsty.”
It scampered back to the table, grabbed another acorn, and started knocking it on the surface before gnawing into it.
After a moment of thought, Yu Sheng walked over and sat at the table, watching the Squirrel chew. “Can you tell me about Little Red Riding Hood?”
“Which one? Which one are you talking about?” The Squirrel lifted its head, candlelight glinting in its eyes. “Oh, I guess you mean the recent one—the one who’s still alive. But why should I tell you? You just barged in here out of nowhere.”
“…She’s my friend. I want to know about her,” Yu Sheng replied, his tone patient despite knowing this Squirrel was a little neurotic and difficult. “You helped me earlier, so I think you’re a good Squirrel—one who might be willing to help me and my friend again.”
“A good Squirrel—you hit the mark. I am a good Squirrel,” the Squirrel said, pleased, pacing a few steps on the table. “But I don’t know where to begin… What’s there to say? I don’t know how she lived out there, or what she was thinking. I just remember that when she first came here, she was about…”
The Squirrel darted its eyes around the room before pointing a paw at the chair. “About this tall. A bit higher than the back of the chair. Crying in the pitch-black Forest, unable to find her way or hide. I came out to talk to her, and all she could say was she’d never run off again. And then? Then she got eaten by the Wolf. Just like that, in the blink of an eye. Wolves are fast, and the more scared you are, the bigger they seem.”
It waved its paw in annoyance at the memory, then shifted tone again.
“She was awful at first. But later, she got better. She got caught by the Wolf many times. Cried even more. But soon, she could cry and still run toward the light with me. Then, she learned to cry without making a sound. Then, she learned not to cry at all. Then, she said she found a ‘group.’ I didn’t quite remember what exactly she said, but… it seemed like she learned a lot.”
The Squirrel gradually fell silent, as though lost in thought.
Yu Sheng waited patiently, then gently prompted, “And then?”
“Don’t rush me, don’t rush me. I’m just a Squirrel. I need to think… The old Little Red Riding Hoods were pretty much the same. All about the same. Ah, right—she learned many things. Like how to set traps while hiding. How to regain her humanity quickly after being eaten by the Wolf. How to observe the Wolf Pack’s behavior while staying hidden. One day, she caught a Wolf. Then the second. Then the third…
“She chased the Wolf, and the Wolf chased her. Sometimes she triumphed, sometimes she was devoured. Slowly, she became one with the Great Forest. Over time, she managed to survive most of its nights in peace. But in doing so, she bound herself tighter and tighter to it. Sometimes, she would even take on the traits of the Evil Wolf—claws and a tail, sprinting through the shadows beyond the trees. These days, the Hunter would occasionally appear by the winding path, his gunfire jolting her awake. And the more the Hunter appeared, the more she began to feel that perhaps… she, too, was a Hunter.”
The Squirrel’s voice grew slower, a heavy gloom shrouding its tiny form. Then, abruptly, it tugged at the red fabric clumsily wrapped around its body and stared directly into Yu Sheng’s eyes.
In those eyes, reflecting candlelight, flickered an unmistakable glint of humanity.
“You have to help her. She… she’s starting to deteriorate. The other Little Red Riding Hoods were like this too. They grow used to the Forest, then become part of it. The more she becomes the Evil Wolf, the harder it is to turn back. That monstrous, savage Big Bad Wolf—he draws ever closer. But for her, the greatest danger isn’t when he bares his fangs… it’s when she grows fangs of her own. You’re her friend, right? You’re her friend—you must help her!”
Yu Sheng quickly pieced together every word the Squirrel had offered, his thoughts racing with sudden insight. He asked, “Specifically—what should I do? How do I help her?”
But the Squirrel drooped, its mood deflating as it stepped back, twisting its little paws nervously. “I don’t know. I… I’m just a TMDSquirrel…”
Yu Sheng didn’t give up. “Would killing that Evil Wolf help?”
“No. No, it’s useless,” the Squirrel shook its head sadly. “When a Little Red Riding Hood arrives, so does the Evil Wolf. That’s how the Forest works. As long as there’s a Little Red Riding Hood, there will be a Wolf, a Grandmother, a Hunter, and a long winding path leading to a Little House—safe or unsafe. Everything is set. Kill them a hundred times, they’ll always return… Only when the Little Red Riding Hood vanishes, will the Forest fall into brief silence…
“A silence that lasts… until the next Little Red Riding Hood appears.”
“There were others before her, weren’t there?” Yu Sheng finally asked the question that had been burning inside him. “One Little Red Riding Hood dies, and another ‘victim’ takes her place. How many have there been? When did the first appear?”
“There are always more. Because the Forest needs them,” the Squirrel shuddered, “I… I’ve lost count. Don’t ask me anymore. Don’t… I’m just a Squirrel. Say too much, and the Wolf will come…”
Something in the Squirrel’s response struck Yu Sheng as odd. It wasn’t just afraid of the Wolf—it feared something else. But this jittery creature had shut down, spinning circles atop the table as if caught in a trauma loop.
Just then, Yu Sheng felt a sudden tug in his soul.
A distant call echoed faintly in his mind.
It was vague at first, muffled… but the more he focused, the clearer it became—Irene was calling out to him from within.
“Yu Sheng! Yu Sheng, where the hell did you go? Answer if you hear me!”
“Irene?” Yu Sheng jolted, responding instantly in his mind, “Damn, I can finally hear you… I tried calling you earlier, but you didn’t respond.”
“Yeah yeah, I heard it—finally found you!” The voice of the little doll burst through in excitement, rapid and rambling. “I heard you calling, then tried to trace you but couldn’t find a damn thing. Felt like you were dreaming but your consciousness was totally unreachable—like you got lost inside a dream. Oi, Foxy, stop shaking me! I’ve found your Benefactor! Foxy’s been pacing like crazy—made me dizzy. She was about to do a whole Spirit Summoning Ritual… We’re right by your bed, and no joke, you look like a memorial exhibit—so peaceful it’s spooky… Ow ow ow! Dumb Fox Girl just bit me!”
Yu Sheng’s lips twitched as he listened to the little doll’s babbling. A wild mix of emotions surged through him.
That ridiculous chatter really did feel like thunder crashing through a clear sky.