Chapter 219

Chapter 219: A Little Mischief

After a very tense and very risky few minutes, Yu Sheng finally got the Dollheads down from those cruise missiles. [Yes, cruise missiles. Not kidding.] The good news was that nothing bad happened. Foxy did not look satisfied, though, and a few kids who did not get a turn looked disappointed.

“It was actually safe,” Foxy muttered. “I didn’t let the tails fly too high. And if someone fell, I could catch them right away. The Cursed Children back in my hometown play like this a lot.”

“Your hometown is nothing like here,” Yu Sheng shot her a look. “The kids in your kindergartens can probably already do Swordflight.”

Foxy hurried after him as he turned toward the other Cursed Children who were resting, calling out: “That’s not true, Benefactor. We start Swordflight in primary school…”

Yu Sheng almost tripped and fell on his face.

The Fairy Tale members on the platform had already seen the commotion. When Yu Sheng walked over, several “parents” came to meet him. Snow White was smiling: “You don’t have to be so nervous. We confirmed safety with Miss Foxy. Her control of those tails is unbelievable.”

Yu Sheng looked at the familiar faces, then at Fox with her gentle smile, and scratched his hair: “How did you all get this close in such a short time? And everyone, big and small, looks as at home as if they grew up here.”

“This place is better than we imagined, unbelievably good,” said the Little Match Girl with shoulder-length hair as she smiled softly. “And we should thank Miss Irene. She quickly showed us around and helped the little Cursed Children relax. Everyone was nervous at first. A moment before, they were surrounded by leaking, out-of-control Illusion Arts. Some are still asleep in the tents even now. Miss Irene went to the Sanctuary Wasteland to check on them for us.”

“Oh? Then she’s pretty reliable,” Yu Sheng said with a small laugh, glancing around as he asked: “Where is Irene?”

Right then, the little Doll screamed from behind him: “Yu Sheng, you have the nerve to ask! Come help already!”

Yu Sheng turned and saw Irene still being chased by a new set of kids. The earlier batch of Dollheads were now chasing King, the Tabby Cat, all over the place.

As Irene ran past, Yu Sheng caught her by the back of the collar and lifted her up, then he spoke to the crowd of kids gathering around: “Okay, okay, break it up. Sister Irene is tired. Let her rest a bit.”

The Cursed Children scattered at once.

Yu Sheng looked at the Doll now lying limp on his shoulder and said, half helpless, half amused: “Seriously? You can’t handle a bunch of six and seven year olds. What about your super magic, super strength, and super moves?”

“How could I use those on little kids? They are all tiny arms and legs,” Irene said, draping her hands and feet like noodles as she kept up her tough talk. “If I get serious, in under a second you’ll have to call the Special Affairs Bureau and explain why you need forty kids’ hospital beds! I was holding back… ugh, I’m exhausted… why do human cubs have so much energy…”

Yu Sheng laughed, hefted the Doll more securely, and sat on the edge of the platform, looking out.

The Valley had never been this lively.

Some kids were eating and resting on the grass around the platform. The older ones were helping at the camp. A few who had just woken were walking out of the tent area, peeking around with shy wonder. A whole pack of little ones were sprinting along the far edge of the grass, chasing the Tabby Cat named King.

There was no gloomy, grim feeling and no panic or pressure like a real flight for safety. At least the smallest children were fully relaxed and enjoying this place without a care.

“This is great. Kids should be like this,” Yu Sheng said under his breath. “When we gathered at the Orphanage, they were too sensible. Too sensible for their age.”

“You should be tense when it’s time to be tense, and relax when it’s safe,” said Little Red Riding Hood from beside him. He did not turn his head; he could see the red of her cloak sit down beside him in the corner of his eye. She sat with him on the edge, legs swinging in the open air as she added: “I told them the dangerous part is over. This is a safe place. They can play as much as they want, as long as they don’t leave the grass.”

“Do you know what time it is now?” Yu Sheng asked.

Little Red Riding Hood tilted her head.

“Four thirty in the morning,” Yu Sheng said with a crooked smile. “If they’re this wide awake, their schedule is wrecked on day one.”

“What can we do? We gathered at two thirty at night. By the time we got here, the sky was bright. Everyone is hyped. There aren’t enough places to sleep either. Some will cram into tents or just crawl into sleeping bags on the grass,” Little Red Riding Hood said, as if complaining, though a soft smile stayed on her face. “It’s kind of fun.”

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, surprised she used that word: “Kind of fun?”

“Running out of the Orphanage in the middle of the night, all of us carrying bags packed in a rush, then heading to the ‘wilds,’ building a camp with the lords, some helping, some getting in the way, kids running everywhere, even getting low passes while holding Fox tails,” Little Red Riding Hood said slowly. “It’s like jumping from one dream into another. Messy and a bit bold. Maybe even a little… mischief?”

She turned her head and looked at him as she asked: “Would you call it a little mischief?”

Yu Sheng stared for a second, then laughed: “Yes. It is a little mischief.”

The Cursed Children who lived in that Orphanage probably had very few chances to be naughty.

They always had to follow the rules. In their short lives, being proper was required.

Generation after generation of Little Red Riding Hoods and Snow Whites might only today, in this rushed and slightly chaotic ‘emergency shelter,’ finally get to be mischievous once. Many unexpected things happened. They did things they had never done before. They ran in front while nightmares chased them from behind.

And they won the race.

Now they could rest in a safe haven. Even at four thirty, they did not have to sleep.

[If only this could last.]

“How are things back at the Orphanage?” Little Red Riding Hood broke the quiet, turning to him. “You seemed to stay there a long time after we came over. Did something happen?”

“I saw the Hunter’s shadow, but I don’t know if it was an aftershock from the subset overflow,” Yu Sheng said plainly. “I didn’t get to talk to him before he vanished. After that I checked the whole east wing and found nothing odd. I didn’t have time to check the west wing, but I didn’t hear anything there.

“Then the Special Affairs Bureau’s takeover team arrived. Li Lin led them. You know him. They sealed the area and will be stationed there for a while. They brought a lot of pro gear. Looks like they’ll run full-time, full-area monitoring. They seemed pretty professional to me.”

“That’s good,” Little Red Riding Hood breathed out, then hesitated. “We left in a rush. We didn’t bring a lot of things. If you have time later…”

“No problem. I’ll go back and get them. I can open a Door Opening anytime, and it’s easy to send everything here,” Yu Sheng said with a grin and a nod. “Plus the council’s employees will come soon. Teacher Su and the others know the Orphanage better. If something’s missing, they can help find it. Don’t worry. We’ll get back on track. For now, don’t think about anything. The night is already safe. Rest is the most important thing.”

Little Red Riding Hood slowly nodded: “Okay.”

Yu Sheng stretched long, then lay back flat on the platform.

As soon as he relaxed, the tiredness finally hit him.

Irene had been flopped on his shoulder. In a blink she rolled, tumbled, and switched from lying on his shoulder to sitting on his chest, then slumped down again to rest.

Little Red Riding Hood stared for a moment, then met Irene’s eyes and said: “Nice moves.”

Irene poked Yu Sheng on the chin and said: “This guy is super careless. If you put up with him long enough, you can learn it too.”

With eyes half closed, Yu Sheng raised a hand by feel and pushed the Doll’s finger away as he said: “Normally, you should walk on your own, not sit on my shoulders like you own the place.”

Irene huffed: “Talk to me again after you craft me a one meter sixty seven body!”

Footsteps came from the side. Yu Sheng opened his eyes and saw a thin young man in a Special Affairs Bureau uniform standing nearby, clearly from the camp.

Yu Sheng sat up fast, but the young man waved and smiled: “It’s fine. Rest. I just came to say the field kitchen is lit. Breakfast at five thirty. We made hot soup, buns, and porridge for the Cursed Children. The cafeteria tent isn’t up yet. Where should we eat?”

“Oh, that’s all,” Yu Sheng said, breaking into a grin as he slapped the ground. “Easy.”

In the next second, with the scrape of stone and a deep rumble, a table more than fifty meters long rose from the center of the platform. [Yes, an entire fifty plus meter table.] Along both sides, more than a hundred chairs lifted neatly into place, which were really a lot of stone stools.

“I’m not good at making complex stuff, but a dining table is simple,” Yu Sheng said, looking at the wide-eyed young man with a pleased smile. “Bring your people too. You’ve worked all night. Come eat something hot with the Cursed Children.”

“…Got it!”