Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Secret Letter

The door shut behind the tired young man, and the living room fell quiet.

After a few seconds, Yu Sheng spoke first and said: “He clearly made things easy for us. Where do we start?”

Little Red Riding Hood didn’t answer. She stepped to the low cabinet, lifted the urn with both hands, and said: “Let’s try.”

This time Yu Sheng hesitated at the idea of “trying” and said: “Do we really have to?”

“This is for Old Zheng,” she said, calm and steady, “if he had something left unsaid, this might be our only chance.”

Seeing how serious she was, Yu Sheng drew a slow breath, pushed aside his doubt, and reached toward the urn.

A moment later, he shook his head.

“As expected, it doesn’t work,” said Little Red Riding Hood with a small blink and a trace of regret, then she let out a breath and added: “Which makes sense. Life rarely hands you the easy path.”

She set the porcelain urn back on the cabinet, bowed to it with care, then turned to Yu Sheng and said: “I am a little surprised. You usually act like you don’t think about the fallout, like you don’t even care about your own life. Why are you so careful and serious this time?”

“This is different,” Yu Sheng said, voice firm, “ordinary people only die once. That one life and death is very serious.”

She studied him for a few seconds, as if seeing the person in front of her in a new way. Then she looked away, pointed toward the bedroom, and said: “Let’s see what we can find there.”

They went in and quickly found what the young man had described. On the desk by the window lay a stack of old books, several notebooks, and a scatter of labels, letter sheets, and slips.

Yu Sheng opened one notebook. The handwriting was clear and neat, hinting at the writer’s habits and mind.

He glanced to the other side of the room. A wall of wooden shelves held many crafts: ceramic vessels, metal ornaments, and even two anime figures.

Seeing his gaze, Little Red Riding Hood looked too and waved it off as she said: “Don’t bother. An abnormal item like the The Weeper statue won’t be kept here. In fact, that statue is missing now. The Curiosities Association is searching for it. It’s either hidden in one of Old Zheng’s secret caches or already in the black market.”

“I was just thinking his hobbies are pretty wide,” said Yu Sheng, “those two figures don’t look cheap.”

“Don’t really get it,” she murmured, and turned back to the books and notes.

Yu Sheng set his thoughts aside and read with her.

Most books were about art collecting. The two most worn were full of underlines and remarks. In the margins, Old Zheng added his own ideas to entries that interested him. The notebooks mixed everything from daily chores to work reminders, most of it ordinary.

Yu Sheng shifted his attention to the slips and letters.

He was surprised that in this age someone still used paper letters. Some were very new, clearly recent.

He picked up the ones that pulled at him, especially the last by date. He skimmed it.

The top and bottom edges were a little wrinkled, as if someone had gripped the sheet hard, but the contents were only daily greetings and chat about collectibles. The date was three days ago. The signature was clearly a fake name.

“Anything on that letter?” Little Red Riding Hood asked, curious.

“The content looks fine…” Yu Sheng muttered, frowning. He couldn’t say why, but the letter tugged at him. He kept turning it over and found nothing. Even so, his Spiritual Intuition thumped hard, a wrong note he could not ignore. [Something is off.]

“Warm it over a flame? Or soak it in water?” she said while thinking aloud, “old-school ways to hide writing.”

“No. If this is a specially treated Secret Letter, we could ruin the clues,” said Yu Sheng, still frowning, “we should have brought Irene. She always has some weird tricks with the occult.”

Little Red Riding Hood thought for a second, then said, unsure but willing: “Bring her now? No one else is around, and your The Door is convenient.”

That reminder snapped him out of his daze, and he said: “Good idea.”

He reported to the Special Affairs Bureau, then reached into the air. A much smaller, hazy Door opened in his careful control. On the other side was the living room at No. 66 Wutong Road, facing the sofa. Irene sat there, staring blankly at the TV, and said: “Uh, what?”

“Come help,” said Yu Sheng as he reached through and lifted the small doll.

“Hey, what are you doing, I’m watching TV-” she protested.

Her complaint broke off as the scene changed too fast. She found herself on the table, stunned for a heartbeat.

Then she snapped back, eyes blazing, and shouted: “Yu Sheng, you big jerk! Who does this? I told you not to yank me out like this. I was in the middle of an episode. I wanted to see which of those two idiots dies first. It was just getting to the key part and you-”

Before she could finish, Yu Sheng spoke fast and said: “Those two idiots die together later. Next episode a dumber villain shows up and keeps making trouble. I watched it. It will make you mad. In the end the heroine dies with the hero’s second cousin, and the hero sticks with the heroine’s cousin. In the extra, they die too.”

Irene listened with her mouth open. At the end she leaped up and yelled: “Who even wrote this show…”

Yu Sheng pressed her back down and said: “This is really important. I can’t handle it alone. I need your help.”

That one line put out her fire. Her mood flipped so fast that even Yu Sheng had trouble keeping up. She smirked and said: “I knew you couldn’t do it without me. What is it?”

Yu Sheng pointed at the letters and said: “Look at these. My gut says there’s a problem, but I don’t see it.”

Irene shot him a puzzled look and said: “How would you know if you don’t open it properly?”

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood both froze and said together: “Open?”

Yu Sheng picked up the letter that bothered him most and said: “It’s already a flat sheet. This is all it says.”

“It’s rolled,” Irene said, giving him a look like he was clueless. She took the letter, gripped the ends, one hand high and one low, and pulled very gently.

The dry rasp of paper filled the room.

Phantom flames licked over the sheet.

The paper, which had looked whole, began to “unroll.” A hidden layer slowly drew out, and between the ordinary lines, new lines of writing appeared. Yu Sheng’s eyes went wide as more and more text surfaced.

Before all of it could show, the unrolling stopped.

“Why did you stop?” asked Yu Sheng.

“My arms aren’t long enough,” said Irene with a sour face.

Yu Sheng’s cheek twitched and he said: “Then I’ll bring another you.”

“No, don’t! I’m in a raid,” Irene cried as she blocked him from opening another Door, “you grab this side. No special skill needed. Just pull slowly. Anyone can do it. Yes, gently. The sheet feels flimsy. Tug too fast and it’ll tear.”

Yu Sheng did as told. Bit by bit, he pulled the letter from that strange folded state until it lay fully open.

At last, the hidden paragraphs were clear. He and Little Red Riding Hood read:

“…before the Xth day of month X, you must lead her into the white Exhibition Hall. A miracle and a Blessing wait there for her. The curse on her will be cut away, and her body and mind will be free.

“We have arranged the rite. Do not worry about safety. Just as you care for those children, we also wish to use the safest and surest method to remove that vicious curse from the Fairy Tale.

“We know your doubts in these days, but the world misunderstands us. There are followers who strayed, tempted by power and pushed by their own foolishness. Those fools misread the Messenger’s will, and some even followed a false Messenger from the start. They committed many crimes, and their evil stained us all. This is sad and unjust.

“But you have seen that there are Messengers who are pure and wholly good. We showed you His power and intent. You heard with your own ears and saw with your own eyes. He is not malicious. He protects the Cursed Children. He spoke to you with an invisible mouth, and you admit that you heard Him. So you may set aside every worry.

“If you decide, then light the blank sheet we left you. Remember to light it with a scented candle mixed with rose essence.

“Note: do not buy the Exquisite Pavilion brand. They are shameless fakes and cheaters. The Messenger’s wrath will descend on crooks like that sooner or later.

“-Your humble and honest, Servant of the Angel.”

[Servant of the Angel?]