Chapter 171: Death and Response
The breath of the Wolf receded for a moment. The heart, flowing with Wolf poison, gradually withered in Yu Sheng’s arms. The Black Forest fell silent, with no more of those deep, chaotic howls, nor that gaze from deep within the Forest.
Foxy and Irene rushed out of the Little House and, together, dragged Yu Sheng inside.
“Benefactor, Benefactor, how are you?” Foxy nervously looked at Yu Sheng, whose face had turned an unhealthy shade of blue. Her tail bristled in distress. “Can you hear me?”
“I can hear, I can hear… don’t get so close,” Yu Sheng gasped, feeling his strength drain, his blood vessels spreading cold and numbness. “I’m about to die. This thing’s poisoned me; the moment I touched it, I was poisoned…”
“You look like you’re about to die. Your face is all black,” Irene said, climbing onto Yu Sheng’s chest, her crimson eyes peering at his face. “So, did Wolf Granny die too? Is it dead now?”
“It’s dead, but only for now, like all Entities. It will come back, and the Black Forest will reset in the next cycle, returning to how it was before we entered,” Yu Sheng struggled to say, coughing twice before continuing, “But it’s fine, I’ve already interfered with its cycle… We succeeded, at least we’ve taken a big step… You should get off now, you’re heavy.”
“Of course I’m heavy! This body’s made of steel and stone,” Irene muttered as she obediently climbed off Yu Sheng’s chest. “But when I was sitting on your shoulders earlier, you didn’t complain about the weight.”
“I’m dying now, aren’t I? I’m weak,” Yu Sheng paused to catch his breath, then reached out to Foxy. “Help me up.”
Foxy quickly complied, supporting Yu Sheng’s arm. “Benefactor, what are you planning to do?”
“You two should go back,” Yu Sheng said, and with Foxy’s help, he reached toward the air. A glowing door slowly materialized. “Take my weapon. It’s quite useful. You can modify it later and keep using it… Oh, and also bring this shriveled heart. There’s nothing else useful left from Wolf Granny, but this heart looks like it’s made of meat. Now that its poisonous blood is drained, I’ll see if I can cook it—maybe make a spicy Wolf heart stir-fry.”
“You’re going to eat that?!” Irene was shocked, her eyes wide as she stared at Yu Sheng. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“I’ll try it. We worked hard to kill it, and it almost killed me once,” Yu Sheng gasped for air. “If I don’t cook it, I’ll feel cheated.”
Irene couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of discomfort, but Foxy, who always obeyed Yu Sheng, had already wrapped the shriveled Wolf heart and the fallen Tetanus Staff with two of her tails. She walked toward the door, pausing to ask, “Benefactor, aren’t you coming back?”
Yu Sheng waved his hand. “I’ll stay here.”
“Huh?” Irene raised her head, surprised. “Aren’t you going to die back home?”
“I’m staying here for a bit. I want to see when the Hunter will show up,” Yu Sheng swayed slightly, struggling to keep his balance. “Maybe I can communicate with it… If I die here, that’s fine too.”
“Alright then, we’ll go back first,” Irene sighed, then casually asked, “Do you want us to prepare something to eat when we get back? Foxy and I can get it ready… Don’t worry, we won’t cook, just wash the veggies or something.”
“Wash a couple of cucumbers, and maybe two tomatoes. I’ll probably be back in the morning. After dying, I’ll want something light, maybe cold noodles with a tomato egg sauce and cucumber strips.”
“Okay.”
Irene and Foxy left, and the shimmering door slowly faded away.
The Little House fell into silence. Yu Sheng looked around, seeing the remnants of the Wolf attack scattered throughout the room. Despite the Giant Wolf never stepping inside the house, the spreading Fox Fire and piercing threads had nearly destroyed all the furnishings, leaving large scorch marks on the walls and floor.
He sighed heavily, struggling to move to the small bed in the corner, which had been burned to a heap of wreckage. Sitting amidst the debris, he waited for the Hunter, and for death.
The Wolf poison flowed through his veins, his blood blending with the Black Forest.
Faint, distant crying echoed, muffled and unclear, as if separated by a veil. It almost sounded like something was soothing the source of the crying, quieting it gradually.
A slight rustling sound came from the wreckage of the small bed. Yu Sheng turned to see where it came from and spotted a small, deep-brown, furry creature peeking out from the scorched pieces of wood, with a red strip of cloth tied around its head.
“Oh, Squirrel, I thought you would’ve run off by now,” Yu Sheng greeted the squirrel. “Pretty brave of you.”
“Squi… Squirrel Knight fears nothing… fears nothing…” Squirrel repeated these words over and over, as though its mind was on the verge of breaking, yet suddenly it stopped, staring blankly at Yu Sheng. “Wait, you’re dying… you were bitten by Wolf, Wolf’s heart bit you! You… you will die! You will really die! Even in the real world! What should we do, what should we do…”
It seemed to have finally realized something horrifying, and began to shout in panic, appearing anxious and frightened.
“I originally came here using my real body,” Yu Sheng responded with a faint smile, a flash of light returning to his eyes, “Don’t worry so much. I’ll come back — to me, ‘death’ is just a temporary symptom. You don’t need to think about these complicated matters now. Calm down, little Squirrel, if you don’t want to leave, let’s talk.”
Squirrel stared with its round little eyes, as if it didn’t understand what Yu Sheng was saying, nor knew what it was supposed to do, trapped in a state of confusion.
“You’ve wrapped yourself in this red cloth again,” Yu Sheng extended his finger and pressed it gently against Squirrel’s head. “Do you like this?”
“Red cloth… red cloth is a good omen,” Squirrel suddenly shivered and spoke without thinking, “Squirrel also needs its Red Cloak… the Red Cloak will drive away the Evil Wolf, the Red Cloak proves I haven’t become a Wolf…”
“Red Cloak proves you haven’t become a Wolf? Is that so?” Yu Sheng murmured slowly, straining to keep his eyelids open. “So, does Squirrel worry about becoming a Wolf in the Forest?”
Squirrel fell silent, standing there motionless, as though the question had sent it into another crash state.
This little creature often malfunctioned like this, as though its small mind carried too many thoughts beyond its comprehension.
Yu Sheng felt the same way now.
His mind was slowly numbing, the Wolf’s poison seemed to have replaced his blood, gradually growing cold, malicious branches in his veins. His vision became blurry, and the tiny Squirrel in front of him began to appear in multiple, shifting images. He heard the hollow howling of the Wolf Pack in the Forest, howling again and again, just as the stories told, or at least… that’s how the storyteller believed.
Through the gradually darkening view, Yu Sheng saw something.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the Black Forest, through the shadowed barrier that enveloped it, and the thick soil beneath it. He saw countless fine branches, like tree limbs, supporting this place from the “other side” of the Forest. He also saw intricate, entangled structures, like veins and nerves, spiraling and filling the void and chaos. At the end of each intertwined cluster was a tree-like support.
They propped up the King’s Castle, the wilderness where Knights and Dragons fought, the eternal ball, the tower that imprisoned the princess, the tower surrounded by thorns, the towering beanstalk, and the sea and court filled with song…
But what Yu Sheng truly wanted to see were not these things.
He wanted to see the “other end,” the depths of those entangled structures.
He tried to control his gaze, wanting to shift his eyes towards the depths of the chaos, towards the origin of those tangled structures.
But an impenetrable darkness blocked him, and within that chaotic depth, it seemed there was nothing.
The sound of footsteps reached his ears.
Yu Sheng briefly snapped back to full awareness, his consciousness returned from the perspective that pierced the Black Forest, and landed back in the little house.
The fire in the stove had long since gone out, the candlelight on the table had disappeared, and a cold atmosphere enveloped everything. A tall figure pushed open the Little House’s door and walked in with stiff, mechanical steps.
The dim starlight fell on the figure, sketching a vague outline.
“Hello, ‘Hunter’,” Yu Sheng forced a smile as he leaned against the remains of the little bed, sensing the empty, formless figure was now looking at him, “I’ve been waiting for you a long time, almost waiting to die.”
Hunter approached him slowly, the empty hood hanging down, as if carefully observing this “dying” “person.”
Although the expression beneath the hood could not be seen, Yu Sheng felt that Hunter was in confusion.
This was likely because, at this moment, there was a trace of Wolf’s poisonous blood flowing within Yu Sheng. This poison made it difficult for Hunter to determine whether or not to pull the trigger.
Yu Sheng did not explain anything. He conserved every bit of his strength and slowly pulled a piece of paper from his chest, unfolding it in front of Hunter.
Twelve men and women in heavy protective armor stood there, leaving behind a well-ordered group photo.
“Do you remember this?” Yu Sheng lifted his head and spoke softly, “You… were you one of them?”
Hunter stood motionless, offering no response.
Yu Sheng patiently waited, wondering which would come first — his death, or Hunter’s answer.
Then, he saw that the hollow, formless body slowly raised the rifle in its hands.
Yu Sheng: “…?”
Isn’t it, brothers?
“Bang!”
The gunshot rang out.
Death and the response arrived at the same time.