Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Safe, for Now

The forest trembled under roaring firepower.

A dark, twisted fairy tale burned in demonic flames. Shadow-born wolves were shredded and smashed one after another. The area ahead was torn open by raw violence. Lush trees fell like wheat, and in the blink of an eye a wide road was carved through.

Squirrel stared at it all, blank and shaking, buried in Little Red Riding Hood’s hood. Firelight reflected in its glossy eyes, as if the whole sky had melted.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

Scout. Avoid. Relocate. Hide. Then avoid again, relocate to the next safe house.

For years, that had been the only way Little Red Riding Hood survived after falling into the Black Forest. This malicious place never allowed prey to step outside its “rules,” and the prey had never possessed the strength to resist.

Nothing like this had ever happened—prey tearing the wolf pack apart with blood and fire, forcing a road open through the forest.

Squirrel stopped screaming. It only stared, as if its tiny brain had overloaded and shut down.

Little Red Riding Hood, meanwhile, was smiling.

It was a smile she’d never worn before—happy, loose, almost reckless. When wolf howls rose, fear still tightened in her chest. But then Foxy’s blue fire swept through her vision, fox carrot missiles screamed overhead, and Yu Sheng’s club cut through the edges of her sight like a promise. A strange, wild thrill slammed into her fear again and again until the two tangled into something she couldn’t name.

She didn’t know if she was terrified, happy, or simply venting.

She only knew it felt good.

Even if it happened only once in her life, it would be enough.

She hated this place.

She wanted to see it burn.

Yu Sheng tilted his head slightly and caught the sparkle in the red-cloaked girl’s eyes.

Good. A child should go a little crazy sometimes. She wasn’t even eighteen yet—she didn’t need to act like an adult so early, second-guessing everything.

Let the real Lord handle the second-guessing.

He rolled his wrist, spinning the rebar club welded with blades, nails, and jagged steel to ease the numb sting in his muscles.

It worked well. With a full swing, it crushed wolf skulls easily. The monsters that crawled out of shadow became solid the moment they lunged—giving him a perfect window. Wolves piled up as corpses with shattered heads, scattered along the blazing road.

Some of those corpses were already wobbling back to their feet, wandering blindly through the firelit forest, waiting to bite at other wolves crawling out of the dark.

Yu Sheng was blood-linked to them.

Through that spreading blood, he could feel how the Black Forest was changing.

It wasn’t truly burning—not yet. Compared to the endless forest, the flames Foxy ignited were nothing more than a small spark.

Countless wolf pack were spawning from deeper darkness, endless in number. Malice surged in real time. They were growing faster than they could be killed.

And the Big Bad Wolf hadn’t been destroyed. When those sixteen fox carrot missiles hit, Yu Sheng had felt its gaze fade—but only for a moment. Then its presence regenerated quickly. The monster born from Little Red Riding Hood’s understanding and fear could return unconditionally, endlessly.

Now, reborn, it was drawing closer.

This nightmare was too vast.

Too vast to burn clean with a single fire.

Little Red Riding Hood didn’t know that. Maybe she would, once she calmed down. But right now, she was still caught in the joy of watching the Black Forest suffer.

Then let her stay happy.

Yu Sheng exhaled quietly. The delighted expression on his face didn’t fade.

He could keep making trouble a little longer. And with this much noise… the Hunter hidden somewhere had surely noticed. If they still had even a shred of reason, they’d be curious about this lawless group tearing through the script.

A small lit cabin appeared at the edge of his sight.

“Look!” Yu Sheng raised the blood-dripping tetanus staff and pointed. “A little house. Let’s go take a look!”

He strode forward.

Blue demonic fire stretched beneath his feet. Tall, twisted trees crashed down beside him. Fox carrot missiles shrieked through the air. Dusk had vanished at some point; the night was lit by towering flames. The wolf pack surged again and again, only to be forced back by Foxy’s fire.

“Benefactor!” Foxy shouted, strain creeping into her voice. “We can’t finish them all! And the new wolves are harder to kill than before—sometimes they won’t die even after several hits!”

“It’s fine,” Yu Sheng said without looking back. “We’re there.”

Before the words fully fell, he stepped into the warm light spilling from the little house’s window.

In an instant, the howls weakened.

The wolf pack retreated quickly. Even wolves that had already become solid and charged close reverted to shadow the moment they hit the cabin’s range, then dissolved in the light.

Foxy panted, hugging a tail in each hand. Detached fox fire still drifted around her as she stared in amazement.

Squirrel peeked out from Little Red Riding Hood’s shoulder. It looked back at the road of fire they’d carved, then at the quiet cabin standing at its end. Its voice came out like a terrified, grieving wail:

“What’s going to happen next—”

Yu Sheng reached the door, glanced inside, smiled, and knocked.

“Wolf Granny at home?”

Silence. No response.

Yu Sheng knocked again. “Guest coming in—”

Still nothing.

“Looks like Wolf Granny really isn’t here.” Yu Sheng shrugged at Foxy and Irene, then pushed the door open.

With a creak, the wooden door swung wide. Warm light washed over them—along with an unbelievable sense of ease, like some invisible force had drawn a boundary and said, Here. You can breathe.

Yu Sheng stepped in, cautious… but not very. He kept one hand on the tetanus staff, still dripping blood.

Then came a sharp thunk from above.

“What was that?!” Yu Sheng spun instantly, club coming up.

Irene’s furious voice snapped from his shoulder. “I hit my head on the doorframe! Couldn’t you look before you walked in?!”

Yu Sheng blinked, then finally looked. Irene was holding her forehead, scowling.

“Tch… damn it. This doorframe is way too low. I already ducked and still couldn’t dodge it…”

The doll’s terrible luck dissolved the last of the tension. Foxy broke first—she laughed out loud.

Irene cursed like a sailor.

“Rest here for a bit,” Yu Sheng said, leaning the “war club” casually against the door. He turned to Foxy.

Foxy gave a small “oh,” finally letting her nerves loosen. She sat at the dining table in the middle of the cabin, dug a big handful of jerky out from her tail, and crunched happily.

Ammo replenishing.jpg.

Little Red Riding Hood followed them in and sat on the empty little bed, dazed. Squirrel crawled out onto her shoulder and stared right along with her, as if neither of them could fully process what had just happened.

Yu Sheng glanced at the table. He rummaged in a wooden bowl, found an acorn, and walked over to Squirrel.

“Here,” he said. “Didn’t you drop yours earlier? Take a new one.”

Squirrel hesitated, then accepted it. It didn’t eat. It only looked up at Yu Sheng, still stunned. After a long pause, it managed, “Thanks…”

Yu Sheng looked amused and poked at it on purpose. “What about the classic line after that?”

Squirrel blinked. “What line?”

“The one where you say, ‘So-and-so is Squirrel’s best friend.’ If I give you an acorn, am I your best friend?”

Squirrel froze so hard it looked like it had crashed.

Yu Sheng didn’t care. He’d only been messing with the odd little thing. He turned away and looked out the window.

The wolf pack had retreated. The Black Forest was quiet again. Only lingering blue demonic fire still burned among the trees, and even that was slowly being swallowed by darkness, fading out.

The area torn apart by fire and explosions was already beginning to return to normal.

“That Big Bad Wolf is circling nearby,” Yu Sheng said suddenly. “But it doesn’t seem to want to approach, for now.”

Little Red Riding Hood lifted her head and stared at him blankly.

“It’s not dead,” Yu Sheng said with a small smile. “We only made a mess. We’re still far from destroying this place.”

He shrugged, almost casual. “It’s fine. If it comes, I’ll hit it. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid,” Little Red Riding Hood said quickly, lowering her head. Her voice came out muffled.

Then, like she was worried he’d call her bluff, she changed the subject and pointed at Foxy chewing contentedly. “What is she eating? It looks pretty good.”

Yu Sheng walked over, took a strip of jerky from Foxy, and pressed it into Little Red Riding Hood’s hand. “Good meat. Want to try?”