Chapter 196

Chapter 196: The Secret of the Stage

Seeing the unfamiliar red-cloaked girl rush into the cabin, Yu Sheng hesitated for only a beat before charging after her.

The instant he crossed the threshold, it felt like he passed through something thin and icy, like cold mist. A heartbeat later, the world went mute. The wolf howls vanished. Even the wind seemed to die.

Only the baby’s crying remained—the sound only he could hear whenever he entered the Black Forest—and even that was muffled now, as if it were trapped behind a thick wall.

Yu Sheng raised his weapon and swept his gaze across the room.

Then he frowned.

There was no red cloak hanging anywhere. Not on the walls. Not on the floor. There wasn’t a scrap of red cloth in sight.

The only red in the room was the girl herself. She sat on the floor, panting, her shoulders shaking.

Yu Sheng and Foxy approached. He even waved a hand in front of her eyes.

No reaction.

Foxy’s nose wrinkled. She sniffed again, then whispered, “Benefactor… there’s no smell.”

Yu Sheng blinked. “What?”

“She doesn’t have a scent at all,” Foxy said, voice tight.

Yu Sheng’s expression changed. He opened the wooden box at once.

The angel umbilical cord still lay on the velvet lining, but part of it had plumped up, as if blood and life had returned. Less than a fifth of the cord had changed, yet the difference was unmistakable.

Irene spotted it and sucked in a breath. She grabbed a fistful of Yu Sheng’s hair and whipped her head toward Foxy. “Quick, quick—get the dipping sauce you hide in your tail or whatever!”

“Stop it,” Yu Sheng snapped, without looking up. “It’s not that bad yet.”

Then his eye twitched as he saw Foxy, completely serious, already pulling out chili powder and barbecue sauce from somewhere in her tail.

“Put it away,” he said flatly.

The red-cloaked girl remained oblivious to all of it. She was like a projection from another time—an echo replaying something that had happened long ago, right in front of them.

When Yu Sheng confirmed the umbilical cord wasn’t reviving any further, the girl finally seemed to have caught her breath. She pushed herself up, wobbling, then began to inspect the cabin as if she’d never seen it before.

From her eyes alone, Yu Sheng could tell she didn’t recognize this place—and she didn’t trust it.

And then, in the next second, something went terribly wrong.

As she straightened, her limbs bent at unnatural angles, like her joints had forgotten how to work. Her mouth moved as if she were trying to speak, but only a hoarse, twisted growl scraped out of her throat.

She lurched forward, then sagged again, as if her bones couldn’t hold her.

Fine fur burst from her cheeks and wrists. Her ears lengthened, sharpening into points. Her eyes took on a wolf’s gleam, and then fangs and claws began to push their way out, fast and ruthless.

It was as if years of slow buildup had finally crossed a threshold.

She was turning into a wolf.

The change clawed at her mind, too. Only when she felt her body twisting out of shape did she truly understand what was happening. She stared down at herself in horror.

She opened her mouth to scream.

Only a mournful, broken whine came out.

“Jesus…” Yu Sheng couldn’t stop himself. Even if she’d only been a phantom—someone not even in the same time as him—his body still moved on instinct. He dropped the spiked club and lunged forward to grab her.

His arm passed straight through her.

The girl collapsed.

Before Yu Sheng’s eyes, she became a warped creature, half human and half wolf.

Yet she hadn’t fully lost herself. After panting for a long time, she forced herself up and crawled on all fours toward a corner of the cabin.

The scrape of claws against wood shattered the silence.

She was carving words into the floor.

The forest is alive.

The chaotic noises have become clear whispers.

Something enormous is dreaming. It hides inside the shared dream of every child in the orphanage. I can’t see what it is, but it’s already crawled into my head.

I can’t go back. I’m tired, cold, and hungry, and I can’t remember how long I’ve been here…

I found a house, but it’s cold here too. If only there were a fire…

The wolves are outside. They’re outside, waiting for me…

I am Little Red Riding Hood, the first—but I’m afraid I’m not the last. I’ve already seen it choosing new targets. To those who come here after me… good luck.

Her body jerked. A violent tremor ran through her.

The claw marks grew faint, the lines thinning until she couldn’t force them any deeper.

She stopped. She lay on her side, breathing hard, her gaze fixed on the dark fireplace in the corner.

“It’s so cold…” Her voice was barely more than breath. “If only there were a fire…”

Yu Sheng sank down beside her. He set his hand over her warped arm, but his touch couldn’t reach her. Foxy came close and piled several warm, burning tails beside the half-wolf girl.

It changed nothing.

And then—suddenly—the girl’s eyes brightened, just for an instant, as if she truly felt warmth at last.

A small smile flickered across her face.

“It’s warm…” she whispered.

Then she dissolved into a flowing shadow and slowly faded away.

A soft crack snapped through the cabin, breaking the dead quiet.

Yu Sheng looked up.

A spark had burst inside the fireplace.

A second crackle followed, and the spark became flame.

Warm, bright fire danced in the hearth. On the table, a candlestick appeared where there had been nothing, its wick already lit. The cold retreated as if it had been chased out by a miracle, and warmth flooded the cramped space.

Yu Sheng stared, stunned.

All at once, he understood.

And almost the moment the answer settled in his mind, a faint sound came from the windowsill.

Squirrel’s familiar voice reached him.

“The first Little Red Riding Hood died—and brought the first fire and candlelight to the Black Forest.”

Yu Sheng snapped his head up.

Squirrel stood on the windowsill. Yu Sheng had no idea when it had climbed in—or whether it had been here the whole time.

“So that’s it,” Yu Sheng said slowly, eyes narrowing. “The original Black Forest didn’t have this shelter at all, did it? What I just saw was a record from long ago.”

Squirrel rubbed its face with its tiny paws. For once, it wasn’t twitching or bouncing. It seemed weighed down, quiet in a way that felt wrong.

“Yes,” it said. “The Black Forest used to have nothing. In the beginning, there was only the forest, and the wolves… and a pitch-black little wooden house.”

Yu Sheng’s frown deepened. “Then Little Red Riding Hood—the stage’s ‘main character’—appeared, and the story started becoming complete.”

Squirrel lifted its upper body, but its gaze wasn’t on Yu Sheng. It looked past him, as if staring into a memory too far away to touch.

It spoke slowly, like it was telling Yu Sheng—and also talking to itself.

“The second Little Red Riding Hood died, and then there were red threads and cloth strips wrapped around the forest. They can slow the wolfification process.

“After the third died, food and water began to appear in the house, so you could recover your strength.

“After the fourth died, paths finally appeared. If you walk a path, the chance of meeting wolves is low, and the little house will always be at the end.

“The fifth lit the streetlamps along the paths. Now, unless the lamps go out, the wolf pack won’t come near.

“After the sixth died, nothing new appeared—but after that, every Wolf Granny had to knock first. It might only buy you a moment, but before that change, Wolf Granny could appear inside the house without warning.

“Now, after the knock, every Little Red Riding Hood has about a tenth more chance to escape.

“The seventh…” Squirrel’s voice went quieter. “She stayed for a short time, but she was impressive. After she left, Big Bad Wolf stopped appearing at dusk. All the danger was compressed into the night.”

Squirrel fell silent for a moment, then tugged at the torn strip of red cloth wrapped around its body. It looked up at the three of them.

“So I’ve always been curious,” it said. “Which Little Red Riding Hood brought you here? You… don’t belong to this forest.”

“Sorry,” Yu Sheng said, stepping forward and meeting its eyes without flinching. “We’re uninvited guests.”

His mouth twitched. “Just like that other uninvited guest—Hunter. You deliberately skipped over him just now, didn’t you?”

Squirrel tugged at the cloth again. It didn’t answer.

Yu Sheng didn’t press. He let the silence sit for a few seconds, then asked, softly but sharply, “What about you?”

Squirrel froze. “…What do you mean?”

Yu Sheng looked straight into its eyes and said each word clearly. “You. Which Little Red Riding Hood are you?”