Chapter 169

Chapter 169: Face Your Fear

Good meat.

Yu Sheng held the jerky in front of Little Red Riding Hood with a coaxing smile. The strip had a tempting dark red color and smelled… wonderful.

But she felt at once that something about it was off. She also caught something in Yu Sheng’s smile. She frowned: “Wait, what exactly is this?”

“It’s the last Wolf Granny,” Yu Sheng said, not hiding anything once she asked. “The one we killed in that lightless Little House last time. I brought it back and tried a bunch of ways to cook it. Turned out pretty good.”

Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes went wide, and she forgot to breathe.

Yu Sheng went on, almost like he was giving a cooking lesson: “Ribs are good pan-fried or stewed clear. Leg meat is tough, so you have to boil it a long time. Parts with more fat under the skin are great roasted and smell amazing. Some organs work well in hot pot, but if you don’t handle them right, there’s a gamey taste. Also, Wolf Granny is too big. Eat it for a few meals and you get tired of it, so I turned most of it into this jerky. Rub with spices and salt, then smoke it with Fox Fire. It’s a bit chewy, but the edges have a great crisp, and the flavor is excellent. You can eat it straight or boil it into soup.”

As he spoke, he nudged the jerky closer and smiled at the girl in red: “Give it a try. Once you accept where it came from, the taste is great.”

Little Red Riding Hood flinched and edged back. Her eyes showed confusion, nerves, and even a touch of horror. She stared at Yu Sheng, mind in a tangle, and finally managed to organize her words: “You… you ate Wolf Granny?!”

“We’re eating it. Haven’t finished yet,” Yu Sheng said casually. “Is it that surprising? You already saw a plate of garlic scapes stir-fried with Hunger.”

A twitch hit the corner of Little Red Riding Hood’s eye. She clearly remembered that this man had done other shocking things. That made turning Wolf Granny into jerky feel less unexpected. Even so, the weirdness, and the tiny bit of fear, didn’t fade as she stared at the dark red strip.

On her shoulder, Squirrel realized what the jerky was and rolled its eyes, keeling over without a squeak.

Foxy looked up from her plate, a pile of tails swaying behind her, and said: “Try it. It’s really good.”

Take a bite. It smelled so good.

Little Red Riding Hood’s breathing quickened.

Voices began to sound in her heart. They weren’t loud or fast, but they whispered again and again: Yu Sheng’s voice, her own voice, and even… the wolves’ voices.

Try it. Just one bite.

Urged by those inner whispers, she finally reached out, torn between wanting and resisting, and took the dark red strip.

Yu Sheng’s smile bloomed even brighter. The jerky’s strange, rich smell drifted into her nose.

“Fear is hard to erase, especially fear that took root in your childhood,” he said softly. “But starting today, you’ll always remember that the fear born from wolves… tastes like five-spice salt.”

Little Red Riding Hood stared at him, face odd: “What kind of crooked saying is that?”

“Instead of only facing fear, a better way is to give it texture and flavor,” Yu Sheng said, still smiling. “Doesn’t that make sense?”

It did. It made sense.

Little Red Riding Hood shoved the jerky into her mouth, like she had to finish a life-or-death task. She closed her eyes and bit down hard.

It was really tough. Her jaw had to work. But… it was meat. Nothing more than meat.

Far away in the deep forest, a faint wolf howl rose.

She couldn’t tell if that sound was real or only a ghost inside her mind. She chewed, fierce and stubborn, then swallowed, feeling the rough bite slide down her throat.

Yu Sheng lifted his gaze to the window. He felt the Evil Wolf’s eyes on them, locked tight on this place. It had been circling. In this moment, it suddenly stopped moving.

It only paused for a few seconds.

On the bed, Squirrel came to. The unlucky little rodent had already been shocked half to death several times today. It glanced up and saw Little Red Riding Hood tearing into Wolf Granny’s meat, squeaked, and fainted again.

Yu Sheng simply grabbed it and shook it in the air to wake it up: “Wake up, Squirrel. I have a question.”

“Squirrel doesn’t want to answer!” the little thing shrieked, struggling at once.

“What’s the relationship between the Evil Wolf and Wolf Granny?” Yu Sheng asked, ignoring Squirrel’s panic. “Are they the same thing?”

Squirrel stared with round eyes at Yu Sheng. Yu Sheng silently stared back.

He could feel the rapid drum of the tiny heartbeat against his palm.

“Wolf Granny is one face of the Evil Wolf,” Squirrel finally said, its voice thin and trembling. It wasn’t clear whether it feared Yu Sheng or the wolf staring in. “When it enters the Little House, it’s Wolf Granny. Outside, when it eats you, it’s the Evil Wolf. When it hunts you, it’s the Wolf Pack. All wolves are one face of the Evil Wolf, and the Evil Wolf is one face of the Black Forest…” It shivered, shrinking its neck. “Everything here is wrapped together like a ball of thread, like blood vessels, like nerves. Then it all wraps around Little Red Riding Hood, who is trapped in this nightmare. The Hunter is part of this place too. It’s been that way as long as I can remember. Squirrel doesn’t know why you want the Hunter, but they won’t help you. They help no one. They only fire at wolves…”

Yu Sheng listened and fell into thought.

He felt the signals that flowed to him through the blood links: the Wolf Pack thinning beyond the Little House’s shelter, and the Evil Wolf’s gaze shifting.

The Wolf Pack were fading from his range. The Evil Wolf’s attention fixed on the door. Something was appearing out there, taking shape.

Wolf Granny was generating.

The order of the Black Forest kept running. The stage moved to bring on the next actor according to the script. Their wild rampage hadn’t stopped the play.

Keeping his expression calm, as if he hadn’t sensed what was happening outside the door, Yu Sheng tore off a tiny strip of jerky and held it out to Squirrel: “Eat.”

Squirrel bolted, bouncing to the bed and staring in terror at the thing in Yu Sheng’s hand. “I… I’m Squirrel! I’m only a Squirrel! No, no, Squirrel doesn’t want that…”

“You should fight your own fear too,” Yu Sheng said seriously. “Little Red Riding Hood already ate it. Now it’s your turn.”

“Squirrel… Squirrel Knight fears nothing!” Squirrel squealed. “Squirrel Knight… please, don’t do this…”

Yu Sheng flicked the little strip aside: “Alright. I won’t force you.”

Squirrel froze, as if it couldn’t believe he’d let it go so easily.

Yu Sheng didn’t look its way again. He turned to Little Red Riding Hood: “Okay, you’ve rested enough. You should go back.”

She looked up in surprise, slow to react.

Yu Sheng pointed at the door.

The shadow on the other side was becoming Entity. Heavy breathing drifted in.

“Wolf Granny is here,” Yu Sheng said evenly. “If you stay, it’ll be dangerous. I’ll have Irene send you out first.”

“Wait, you never said…” Little Red Riding Hood started.

“I brought you here mainly to trigger this key plot point,” Yu Sheng said, raising a brow. “That’s as far as we needed to go. Team mission. Everyone has a job.”

Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth to say more, but Irene on Yu Sheng’s shoulder had already spread her hand.

A chill grip clutched Little Red Riding Hood’s mind and yanked her “out.”

She vanished from the cottage in a blink.

Yu Sheng watched for a moment, then glanced at his shoulder: “Honestly, can’t you make that feel nicer? Every time you wake someone up, it feels like they just dropped dead.”

“Please. If it didn’t feel like sudden death, how would you force a wake?” Irene rolled her eyes. “She’s awake now. She’s cussing. Want me to broadcast it?”

“No need,” Yu Sheng waved casually, then stood and shook out his limbs. He picked up the Tetanus Staff. “Get ready.”

A second later, knocking rang in every ear.

Thump thump thump. Thump thump thump. The knocks landed like fists on the heart, urgent and uneasy.

“Wolf Granny is here!” Squirrel yelped, bouncing in circles on the little bed. “Squirrel… Squirrel Knight needs to prepare, needs to prepare!”

Thump thump thump. The knocking grew faster.

Yu Sheng’s grin flashed. He snatched up the vicious Spiked Mace and yanked the door open: “Come on in!”

The door swung wide. A bent, long-limbed, twisted thing stood in the doorway, wearing a soft cap, its thin body coated in short black fur, blocking the way out.

A long, warped claw that barely counted as a wolf’s paw reached in for Yu Sheng.

He raised his stick and brought it down: “So you’re Wolf Granny, huh?”