Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Wei Sen walked into the Misty Forest. She had no compass, so she could only rely on the position of the sun to tell which way to go.

There had originally been no path through the woods, but perhaps because Little Red Riding Hood had traveled back and forth so many times, a muddy trail had been worn into the forest floor, leading all the way south.

Wei Sen quickened her pace. The first of the Misty Forest Rules stated that the forest was relatively safer during the day than at night, because the Big Bad Wolf would not come out to hunt in daylight.

But the forest was larger than she had imagined. She walked for a long time and still saw no end to it. White mist surrounded her on every side, and the woods were eerily silent. Every now and then, some unknown thing would flash past in the fog.

After walking for so long, her stamina gradually began to drain. Wei Sen had no choice but to slow down and conserve some strength in case she needed it.

By afternoon, the sun had shifted west. Using it as her reference point, she could tell the little trail had continued south the entire time. Wei Sen guessed that the end of this path was probably Little Red Riding Hood’s home.

Once she arrived there, she did not know whether she would be able to successfully switch her identity from “grandmother” to “Little Red Riding Hood.”

But even if she could not make the switch, she should still be able to find some clues. The trip would not be for nothing.

Of course, that was assuming she could actually find Little Red Riding Hood’s home!

As Wei Sen was thinking this, she suddenly heard a woman’s singing drifting faintly from the mist ahead.

The woman’s voice was ethereal and lilting, as if she were chanting some ancient hymn.

Listening closely, Wei Sen seemed to hear the sound of waves gently lapping against a beach within the song, and the cries of seagulls circling overhead.

It was as if, beyond the mist before her, there lay a sunny summer beach. On a reef by the shore sat a beautiful woman, singing tenderly.

Wei Sen stopped abruptly, her eyes snapping warily toward the front.

Rule Six of the Misty Forest Rules: There is only one stream in the forest. There is no sea! If you hear waves and singing, find the stream immediately and drink from it! Never try to find where the singing is coming from!

This song was the Eerie Entity trying to erode her mental strength!

There was only a stream in the forest. There was no sea!

Do not try to find where the singing was coming from!

Right now, she had to find the only stream in the forest and drink from it. Only then could she avoid being further bewitched by the song.

Wei Sen decisively abandoned the muddy trail she had been following and moved in a direction that veered away from the singing.

But the song only drew closer and closer, as if there were a woman in the mist following right beside her, singing into her ear.

Wei Sen knew that if this continued, her sanity would definitely collapse!

The forest was so huge. Where on earth was the stream?!

She came to an abrupt stop.

Visibility in the Misty Forest was too low. If she kept searching like this, she would probably never find the stream before her mind was corroded away.

She might as well use another method: listen!

Wei Sen held her breath and forced herself to calm down.

Even though the woman’s ethereal voice echoed right beside her ear, and the other side of the mist seemed filled with surging waves…

The sound of running water was different.

It was crisp, like pearls falling onto a jade plate. It was gentle, like a ribbon winding through flowers.

Do not listen to the woman’s song. Block out every sound related to the sea. What remained was her own steady breathing, and the extremely faint sound of flowing water coming from the silent forest!

Wei Sen opened her eyes, turned toward the direction of the water, and strode quickly forward.

As she lowered her gaze, she saw her own hands. Her once withered, bony hands had somehow grown a layer of brown fur, and her nails were lengthening and sharpening at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Her mouth was also protruding forward uncontrollably. She could even see her own nose and her cheeks, which had likewise sprouted fur.

Her gums throbbed with swelling pain, as if fangs would burst out at any moment.

By now, she could no longer tell whether any of this was hallucination or reality.

The woman’s previously incomprehensible song was now something she could understand:

“Dear child, stop running now~

Your footprints will bloom into blood-red flowers~

Stay here, stay here~

The forest soil is softer than any bed~

Your breath will become our wind~

Your bones will become our vines~

Laugh forever, sing forever~
Here, you will never feel sorrow again~

For the hungry one was never the Wolf~

But the empty chamber of your heart~]

Wei Sen dug her fingers hard into her own arm, trying to use the pain to stay awake.

Grandma Identity Rules, Rule One: Remember, you are Little Red Riding Hood’s beloved grandma. You must never question your own identity!

“I am Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma! I am Grandma! Even if I’m disguised as Little Red Riding Hood, my identity is still Grandma!”

Wei Sen repeated it over and over.

Only then did she realize why the song had bewitched her. From the moment she left the wooden cabin, she had ignored the first rule of the Grandma Identity Rules!

Before she found a way to become Little Red Riding Hood, she absolutely could not let her identity as “Grandma” waver!

If her theory was right, then it was possible for her to transform her identity and become Little Red Riding Hood, and the new identity rules would override the old ones.

But as things stood, until she was one hundred percent Little Red Riding Hood, she could not forget that she was still Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma!

Once Wei Sen steadied her conviction, she followed the sound and soon found the stream.

A murmuring brook flowed through the woods, so clear she could see straight to the bottom.

She stepped up to the water’s edge. She had thought she was about to turn into the Big Bad Wolf, yet what was reflected in the stream was a young, beautiful face.

Was this… her?

Wei Sen looked at the reflection in the water and, for an instant, doubted herself.

Did she look like the person in the stream?

She seemed to be in her early twenties, with delicate features and deep-set eyes. There was something faintly familiar about the face, yet it did not quite match the way she remembered herself.

Wei Sen had no time to think further. She cupped the stream water in her hands and drank.

The water was sweet. The instant it slid down her throat, a purifying force spread through her body.

The disturbing song vanished. The sound of the tide also turned into a gust of wind that rustled the leaves and disappeared.

Peace returned to the forest. Only the stream went on chiming softly, and the sound was unexpectedly soothing.

After regaining her reason, Wei Sen checked her hands again. This time, they were neither old nor covered in fur, but the normal hands of her twenty-something self!

When she looked at the reflection in the stream again, it was still the young face she had seen a moment ago.

Who did this face belong to? Herself? Grandma? Or… a third person?

Wei Sen thought of the third rule of the Grandma Identity Rules: Do not trust mirrors. Mirrors lie!

Hiding her true appearance and showing her the illusion of white hair and old age. That was the “lie” the mirror had told her!

Then, in Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes, what did Grandma look like?

Carrying those doubts with her, Wei Sen continued on her way.

One thing was beyond question: no matter what the stream showed her, she could not question her identity again. Otherwise, she would draw in another Eerie Entity that could sing and bewitch the mind.

She returned to the muddy little path. The road was correct, provided she did not do anything that violated the rules.

After walking for a long while, she judged from the sun’s position that it was probably around four in the afternoon.

At last, Wei Sen spotted a wooden cabin in the forest.

The cabin door stood wide open. Inside, it was spotless, without even a speck of dust. Several Hunting Guns of different models could be faintly seen hanging neatly on the wall.

There were no flower beds or vegetable gardens around the cabin either. The entire house blended perfectly into the forest.

Clearly, this place did not look like Little Red Riding Hood and her mother’s home. It was more like… the Hunter’s home.

Misty Forest Rules, Rule Two: Others also live in the forest, but the people who live here are not warm or hospitable. It is recommended that you avoid associating with them.

Wei Sen quickened her pace, preparing to leave, but the sound of a gun being loaded came from inside the cabin.

“Hey, running into you again!” Immediately after, a rough male voice came from the direction of the cabin door.

Wei Sen looked toward the voice. A man holding a Hunting Gun was leaning casually against the door.

He wore a tight brown hunting outfit without so much as a single wrinkle in it.

His hair was neatly combed back. Though he had a little stubble on his face, it had obviously been carefully trimmed.

He was wiping the Hunting Gun in his hands, smiling as he looked at Wei Sen.