Chapter 147: The Wild Feast
With a ground-shaking explosion, a massive burst of fire and smoke soared skyward from the Black Forest. The light and heat were quickly devoured by the endless darkness of the Forest, but the shockwave was enough to bring a brief hush to the haunting howls of the Wolf Pack.
Yu Sheng knew the howls would soon return. The Forest would swiftly heal, continuing to operate according to its own script and rules. The dream-weaving “Source” lurking behind the stage would go on whispering its nightmare lullabies. Let it whisper. Yu Sheng no longer cared.
He had already stepped back through the Door with Miss Foxy, returning to the Valley.
“I saw the whole ruckus through the Door!” Irene came running over, immediately climbing up Yu Sheng’s pants like a little monkey. “You didn’t cause a Forest fire, did you?”
“If only it could burn,” Yu Sheng replied casually, supporting the little doll with one hand. “But that pitiful blast isn’t nearly enough to ignite the Black Forest. Don’t worry—we’re not ready for the full assault yet. I haven’t dragged the thing behind the curtains into the light… But it won’t be long.”
Miss Foxy tugged at his sleeve with a bashful look. “Benefactor, I’m getting a little hungry. When are we going home to eat?”
Yu Sheng had been deep in thought, planning out his ‘Cyber Fox Immortal Beats Up Children’s Literature’ strategy for the Black Forest. Her words jolted him—he whipped out his phone. “Oh, wow. It really is almost mealtime. There’s no day-night cycle here. Easy to lose track of time.”
“You’re not doing more experiments?” Irene sat on his shoulder, eyes wide. “Didn’t you say opening the Door to the Black Forest was just the first test?”
Yu Sheng rubbed his forehead, hesitating. Then he sighed. “Yeah, I wanted to test building a large Door that could stay open without me powering it… But not today. After all those failed Door attempts earlier, my head’s still spinning. I’m done for now.”
Irene looked amazed. “Wow. You do get tired. That’s rare.”
Yu Sheng ignored the little doll’s teasing and dialed Bai Li Qing. “…Yeah, it’s me. The experiment’s done. Thanks to everyone on duty… Uh-huh. I’ll let you know in advance next time. Oh, and if you see one or two more signal spikes later, that’s just me opening Doors to go home. Nothing serious. Okay, bye.”
Irene blinked. “You’re so smooth now. Don’t even give them a chance to cuss you out internally.”
Yu Sheng ruffled her head without looking, then turned to Miss Foxy. “Let’s eat something fresh tonight. Go ahead and let that Big Bad Wolf out of your tail. I need to do a bit of prep—the kitchen at home’s too small for that beast.”
At the mention of food, Miss Foxy was practically drooling. She quickly obeyed, pulling from her Storage Tail the massive corpse of the Big Bad Wolf. Along with it came a cleaver, a chopping knife, a frying pan, two soup pots, two spatulas, a chopping board, cooking wine, soy sauce, peppercorns, spices, and an entire barrel of peanut oil…
Yu Sheng had been about to open a Door back home to get supplies. He froze mid-motion, eyes wide as he processed the array before him. “Wait—when did you start carrying all this?!”
Miss Foxy lowered her head sheepishly. “I, uh… grabbed them on the way out the Door. Just in case.”
“You brought an entire kitchen?!”
“N-no! I didn’t take the gas stove…”
“Of course not—it’s connected to the pipes! You wanted to take it?!” Yu Sheng burst out laughing. It turned out even a Human could laugh in utter exasperation. Then another thought hit him. “Hold on. Does that mean… every time you go through a Door with me, you’re sneaking the kitchen into your tail?!”
Miss Foxy nodded earnestly. “Uh-huh.”
“And every time we get home, you dash into the kitchen ahead of me… to put everything back?!”
Another nod. “Uh-huh.”
Yu Sheng stared. “…Why?”
“I figured, maybe we’d need it. Like for a picnic or something… and see? We totally do today!”
Yu Sheng opened his mouth to say a real picnic didn’t look this wild—but he paused. Actually, this wasn’t bad at all.
Blue skies, green fields, mountains and rivers, eternal daylight… When the real world outside had long since plunged into darkness, this place remained bathed in sunlight. Gentle breezes brushed the lush grass. What better setting to roast a Wolf Granny for fun?
As a victory celebration for their Black Forest expedition, feasting on the remains of a Wolf Granny with his team in their Valley Camp felt perfectly on theme.
Yu Sheng immediately summoned stone beneath his feet, shaping a makeshift table and stove atop the platform. With a wave of his hand, he instructed the Fox Girl to set up a temporary kitchen. Then, grabbing both a kitchen knife and a bone cleaver, he began butchering the massive Giant Wolf carcass. As he worked, he muttered wistfully, “Too bad Little Red Riding Hood and Xiao Xiao already left. I would’ve definitely dragged them over to try this…”
Perched atop the stone stove, Irene stood akimbo. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll traumatize someone doing this?”
“You know nothing. The best way to overcome fear is to face it directly. And what’s more direct than eating it?” Yu Sheng lifted his gaze to glance at the little doll. “As for you, stop prancing on the stove or you’ll end up in the pot yourself.”
Irene stuck her tongue out at him and continued pacing atop the stone oven, curiously observing Yu Sheng as he dismembered the wolf carcass, which was two to three times larger than a normal one.
Midway through his task, Yu Sheng suddenly froze.
“Wait a second. We don’t have fire here.” He looked around the barren Valley. Though patches of greenery were emerging, it was far from sprouting trees, let alone producing firewood. As for connecting the gas line from Wutong Road No. 66 to this Night Valley? That was a fantasy he hadn’t even begun to entertain.
Just as his words trailed off, Foxy approached. “It’s fine, Benefactor. I’ve got fire.”
With a cheerful tone, the Demon Fox Maiden reached behind her and yanked off one of her silver tails. She hugged the fluffy thing and rubbed it against the stove like striking a match. With a sudden whoosh, a plume of Fox Fire burst from its tip.
“Here you go.” Smiling brightly, she handed her flaming tail to Yu Sheng.
Yu Sheng stared blankly. “…You can cook with this?!”
“Sure! Control the intensity. High heat for steel forging, low for warming hands.”
“…Then toss it into the stove and boil some water first.”
“Okay.” Foxy nodded and headed toward the stove. Halfway there, she turned back. “Benefactor, should we fish Irene out of the pot first?”
Startled, Yu Sheng spun around. There, soaked to the bone, the little doll was scrambling out of the large soup pot.
“Wait—when did you fall in!?”
“Just now, when Foxy struck fire. I got distracted and slipped in… You two better not laugh! I mean it!”
…
It was a peaceful night—a rare, restful, and truly tranquil night.
Little Red Riding Hood hadn’t slept like this in ages.
As she approached adulthood, her sleep had dwindled. Now, she barely managed two hours a day, and even those were plagued by the malice of the Black Forest. She’d long since lost track of how many days this had lasted. The Black Forest’s corruption distorted her sense of time. In dreams, she sometimes felt like her whole life had always been this way.
But tonight, she slipped easily into slumber, carried along by a stream of gentle, dreamlike visions.
She was aware she was dreaming—walking through familiar sights, memories from her Academy days, the halls and courtyards of the Orphanage. In this half-dream, she wandered. No looming trees blocked out the sky, no howls echoed around her. Sometimes, she’d spot familiar, friendly Wolf shadows walking beside her.
Then, in one of the dreams, she found herself entering a narrow alleyway.
It was somewhere in the Old City District. Familiar. She might’ve been there not long ago.
She couldn’t remember why she was heading there. She only saw herself leading her Wolf Pack quickly through the alley.
One of the Wolves growled uneasily, having found something. She ran ahead to investigate, and at the alley’s end, saw a fallen figure. Blood was everywhere. A familiar face.
In the heart of the dream, Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes widened.
She saw Yu Sheng lying motionless in the alley—dead. A hole gaped in his chest where Rain Frog had stolen his heart.
Fear and confusion clenched her spirit. She stood frozen, staring at the man she knew—dead before her long ago.
Then, the vision shifted again. She saw the Black Forest once more. Saw Yu Sheng fall beneath the onslaught of Entity-Hunger.
She saw the blood spreading, staining her.
With a gasp, Little Red Riding Hood jolted awake, heaving for breath.
Sunlight already streamed through the window.
A head poked down from the top bunk. The Long Haired Princess stared wide-eyed. After a long moment, she spoke in disbelief.
“You slept through the whole night! You haven’t slept that soundly in forever!”
But Little Red Riding Hood didn’t reply. She kept panting, only slowly regaining composure. Her gaze remained dazed.
The Long Haired Princess noticed her unease and grew anxious. “What’s wrong? Nightmare again? Did you go back into the Black Forest?”
“…No,” Little Red Riding Hood hesitated, then slowly shook her head. “I just… remembered something. Something I can’t believe. Long Haired Princess, something’s wrong.”
“Huh?”