The phantom door creaked open, revealing only swirling darkness on the other side. Unlike doors in the real world or more “ordinary” otherworldly realms, this one didn’t lead anywhere obvious.
Yu Sheng stood there, staying cautious and refusing to step through. Instead, he examined the door, focusing on the flow of its energy.
Up to now, he’d only confirmed that the phantom doors could appear in the Black Forest. He hadn’t actually crossed one. But with the wolves momentarily gone, the hunter vanished, and everything around him so eerily still that even the squirrel was absent, Yu Sheng finally had a chance to test the door properly.
As he’d guessed, the door inside the Black Forest behaved differently.
The Black Forest, a branch of the “Fairy Tale” otherworld, followed strange rules of time and space. It allowed consciousness to become unusually strong. Though his real body stayed in the orphanage’s west wing, his mind roamed freely here. Any door made in this place couldn’t be tuned with the same precision as in other realms.
He realized this door led to just one destination: his physical body, which remained asleep in the real world.
This finding cleared up a question that had nagged him:
If his consciousness entered the Black Forest and he opened a door to some far-off place in reality, would his mind return to his sleeping body, or would it pop up elsewhere, a wandering spirit?
Now the answer seemed obvious. In a realm as “abnormal” as this one, any door his mind created simply connected back to his actual body.
Lowering his eyes, Yu Sheng noticed he still held the wolf’s leg. Only one question remained:
Could things he’d taken hold of in the Black Forest be brought into the real world?
He took a careful breath, steadied the door, then hauled the Big Gray Wolf’s body alongside him and stepped through.
Instantly, he felt the dizzy rush of waking from a dream—like falling from a great height. A moment later, he sensed his real body again and the soft mattress underneath him.
He opened his eyes—to find himself staring straight at a mass of silvery tails.
Somehow, he’d ended up buried beneath a pile of warm, fluffy tails, with two of them draped over him like blankets. Foxy peered out from the mound, smiling brightly.
“Benefactor! You’re awake! I was worried you’d get cold,” she said.
Yu Sheng, still a bit groggy, took a second to gather himself. Then he shoved the tails aside, struggling to sit up.
“Cold? More like I was roasting under there,” he muttered, shaking his head as he slid free. “Now I get why you use your tails every night. They’re like giant heaters.”
Foxy beamed, clearly proud of her fluffy warmth.
Just then, Irene appeared. She launched into her usual chatter the moment she was close enough to speak.
“She was about to pluck off all her tails and dump them on you, you know,” Irene said. “I had to remind her that might not scare you, but it could suffocate you. Besides, you should’ve seen it—one huge furry heap with you lying there like a statue. I almost added a sign that said ‘Strange Exhibit,’ but I couldn’t find one.”
Right then came a thunderous crash. A giant shadow fell from above, slamming Irene flat on the floor.
It was the wolf—big, gray, and very much the same one Yu Sheng had cut apart in the Black Forest.
“It worked…” Yu Sheng murmured, a deep crease lining his brow. Quickly, he checked his pockets. Yes, there was the same stained scrap of paper the hunter had dropped. He felt relieved but all the more curious. řἁΝố𝐛ÊŞ
“How in the world does this function…?”
An arm flailed beneath the wolf’s hulking body, and a muffled voice snarled, “Yu Sheng, you jerk! Help me out! I’m stuck!”
Finally, he laughed and dragged the doll out from under the wolf.
He was tempted to go slow, just to tease her—serving a little payback for her endless commentary.
Irene, outraged, tried to give his knee a furious kick the moment she was free. He calmly dodged each time, leaving her pouting with frustration.
“You’re so childish!” she snapped.
But her pique vanished the instant her attention switched to the huge wolf corpse.
“That’s Wolf Granny?” Irene gaped, staring at the giant body sprawled on the floor. “It’s gigantic! No wonder it could swallow a six-year-old. And look at that weird shape—it’s horrifying.”
Foxy crouched beside it, studying it with curious eyes.
“Benefactor,” she said, glancing up, “I’ve never eaten one of these.”
“Neither have I,” Yu Sheng answered thoughtfully. “We’ll have to try some cooking methods. The ribs look tender—maybe stir-fry or grilling. The legs probably taste good smoked or marinated. Worst case, we can pressure-cook it. Not sure about the organs, though…”
By the time he finished, Foxy was practically drooling.
Meanwhile, Irene was so shocked she couldn’t form words. When Yu Sheng and Foxy started talking about the wolf’s brains, she finally burst out:
“You can’t be serious right now!”
Sobered by her reaction, Yu Sheng handed Foxy one of her own tails to wipe her mouth.
“Right, sorry,” he said, clearing his throat. “Irene, bring Little Red and the rest in.”
Still looking wary, Irene eyed him. She took a step toward the door, then paused again, eyeing the wolf.
“Isn’t it going to spook Little Red and that kid, Xiao Xiao? They’ve been through enough. They might freak out.”
It was a fair point. Little Red might handle the sight—she’d dealt with her share of nightmare wolves. But Xiao Xiao was still fragile.
“You’re right,” he said. “Foxy, stash it for now. And no nibbling—this is still raw.”
She blinked and tapped her storage tail. With a quick flick, the wolf’s huge body disappeared.
Only then did Irene fetch Little Red, the Long-Haired Princess, and Xiao Xiao—a small, anxious girl hovering close to them. All hints of “death” were gone from Xiao Xiao, who looked perfectly fine, as though her body had never been ravaged. Her heart and brain were fully restored, and Yu Sheng could sense the steady beat of her pulse through the faint bond in his blood.
When she noticed him watching, Xiao Xiao stopped, staring up at him. Then her gaze slid to Foxy and the many swishing tails.
Wonder filled the girl’s face.
“Everything’s taken care of,” Yu Sheng said, turning to Little Red with a casual smile. “How are you two doing?”
“If you want the short version of how it felt waking up,” Little Red answered wryly, “I kind of wanted to die all over again. That jolt was… way more than I expected.”
Yu Sheng chuckled. “Hey, if you can joke, you’re fine.”
He shifted his attention to Xiao Xiao. “How about you? Are you feeling alright?”
The girl hesitated, shrinking back, then stepped forward. She lifted her head, meeting his eyes. Her voice was almost a whisper:
“That’s good,” Yu Sheng said gently, ruffling her hair. “No pain is a good sign.”
“It’s still hard to believe,” the Long-Haired Princess murmured. “All the injuries vanished like nothing ever happened. Then she opened her eyes and talked about a dream.”
“A dream?” Yu Sheng repeated, turning to Xiao Xiao. “What did you see?”
She hesitated, then spoke in a soft voice. “There were lots of people. They all wore red cloaks. They told me to run, but I couldn’t move. Then… I can’t remember.”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation