The hairdryer hummed noisily as Irene sat cross-legged on the coffee table, gripping its edges with both hands to prevent herself from being blown away. Yu Sheng was helping dry her hair.
Whenever the dryer faced her, she’d lift her head suddenly, opening her mouth against the airflow and making loud “ah-wah-wah-wah!” noises, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Yu Sheng often wondered what exactly was going on inside this doll’s head.
“Stop playing,” he said, pressing her head down firmly when she tried the noise for the third time. He sighed in mild exasperation. “Almost done… There, that’s it.”
“Thanks!” Irene said as she ruffled her hair with her hands. Watching Yu Sheng put away the hairdryer, she suddenly asked, “What’s up? You seem distracted.”
Yu Sheng froze momentarily, exhaling lightly. “It’s nothing major. I just ran into Little Red Riding Hood in a dream and chatted with her.”
“In a dream?” Irene tilted her head in confusion before quickly catching on. “Oh! That weird dream thing of yours, like last time with Foxy… Wait, Little Red Riding Hood went in, too?!”
“Yeah, but unlike with Foxy, she was conscious when she entered,” Yu Sheng explained casually, avoiding any mention of the memories he had seen. “I’m planning to head back to the Black Forest tonight.”
Irene blinked but remained silent, watching him intently.
“Wow, you called encountering Wolf Granny ‘lucky.’ Only you would think that,” Irene sighed. “Fine, you can open the door whenever you want anyway. Bringing me and Foxy, right? You’ll probably need to fight in there.”
“Foxy’s definitely coming,” Yu Sheng nodded but hesitated slightly. “As for you…”
Seeing his reaction, Irene jumped up from the coffee table. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve played crucial roles so many times! You—”
“I’m just worried you won’t survive a direct encounter with a wolf,” Yu Sheng sighed, deep in thought. Eventually, he nodded. “But you’re right. Your support abilities will be vital. Your Thread Weaving Net might be effective against the intangible wolves.”
Irene grinned, clearly pleased. “Now that’s more like it.”
The little doll was always easy to appease.
Yu Sheng chuckled, pulling out his phone and typing a private message to Little Red Riding Hood through the Borderland Communications app: “Send me a message before you sleep tonight.”
Irene leaned over to peek at the screen. After Yu Sheng sent the message, she suddenly remarked, “That sounded weird. Kind of like you’re harassing the poor girl…”
“Do you have to put it like that?!” Yu Sheng glared at her. “And why wait until after I sent it to say something?”
Irene turned her head away. “I just realized…”
Yu Sheng didn’t believe her. Just then, his phone vibrated. A message popped up:
Little Red Riding Hood: “…???”
Two seconds later, another one arrived: “Why?”
Yu Sheng considered his response, only to find Irene staring at him again. Giving up on the long explanation he’d been composing in his head, he replied with just two words: “Black Forest.”
This time, there was a long pause before Little Red Riding Hood replied. She seemed to take her time forming a response, but in the end, it was a simple: “Okay… Also, thank you.” 𝘳ἈꞐȪ𝐛ЁS
Yu Sheng put away his phone and leaned back on the couch, letting out a long sigh.
“What now? Just wait until tonight?” Irene asked, curiosity brimming.
Instead of replying, Yu Sheng fixed his gaze on the little doll. His intense stare made Irene fidget nervously. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I…?”
“I need to reinforce you,” Yu Sheng said suddenly.
“…Huh?” Irene blinked.
“The Black Forest is dangerous. You’ve never faced the largest ‘Evil Wolf.’ Its sheer presence is stronger than the Entity-Hunger we encountered before. Your threads might restrain it, but your body won’t hold up,” Yu Sheng explained with a rare seriousness that made even Irene drop her usual playful demeanor. “Foxy might be strong, but she’s just one person. If our support gets knocked out… that wolf will become even harder to handle.”
Irene’s face showed a pensive expression as Yu Sheng glanced out the window at the daylight.
“There’s still time to prepare for tonight’s operation… We need to head out,” he said.
“Where to?” Irene asked instinctively.
“The valley. It’s the perfect spot,” Yu Sheng replied, turning toward the approaching fox spirit girl. “Foxy, come with me upstairs. We need to grab some supplies.”
Moments later, a door connected the living room of Wutong Road No. 66 to the valley. Yu Sheng, Foxy, and Irene (the fully clothed one) stepped through the door and arrived at a large platform in the center of the valley.
“This will do,” Yu Sheng said, surveying the area. He casually picked a spot and pointed to an empty patch of ground. “Foxy, put the supplies here.”
Foxy nodded and rummaged through her tail, pulling out an assortment of items: ordinary candles from a small supermarket, what seemed to be rose oil (likely synthetic and mislabeled), some unbranded essential oils of dubious freshness, tea powder of questionable quality, and a variety of random jars and containers. Finally, she yanked off her tail, gave it a shake mid-air, and with a cacophony of clanks and clangs, several pieces of rebar tumbled out.
Irene stared in astonishment, her expression frozen. Turning to Yu Sheng, she asked, “You’re not seriously planning to build me a body with rebar and cement, are you?!”
“Why not? I said I was going to reinforce you,” Yu Sheng replied matter-of-factly. Then, after a pause, he added, “Though we’ll skip the cement for now. I tried it before, and it’s tricky to mold. It needs a casing to set properly, which is a hassle. That’s why I chose this valley. The materials here are abundant and, most importantly, easy for me to ‘control.’”
Irene’s mouth twitched as she listened to his reasoning. “Will this even work?”
Yu Sheng nodded. “As long as the skeleton is sturdy, its strength will definitely improve—at least that’s my understanding.”
“That’s not what I meant…” Irene muttered, then sighed in resignation. “Fine, do whatever you want.”
Without further ado, Yu Sheng got to work.
Unlike when he used the “alchemy platform” in the attic, laboriously sketching alchemy symbols and arrays on a table, this time he simply stood on the ground and extended his hand toward the flat surface.
The faint sound of stone scraping against stone came from beneath their feet as lines began extending outward from where Yu Sheng stood. These lines spread, interwove, and converged, forming an intricate pattern. In just a few breaths, the array necessary for crafting a doll was complete.
Yu Sheng focused intently on his work, a smile gradually spreading across his face.
Yes, this was how it should be used. He should have done this earlier.
Looking down, his eyes met Irene’s startled gaze.
“That’s pretty handy!” the little doll couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Of course. I should’ve taken advantage of this place long ago,” Yu Sheng replied cheerfully as he instructed Foxy to assist. Together, they quickly set up the ritual candles and raised a temporary wall around the area to shield the flames from the valley’s wind. Finally, he picked up Irene, who was carrying her drawing frame, and placed her on a specific node in the array.
With preparations complete, Yu Sheng turned his attention to the pieces of rebar.
“Next, we’ll turn these into the doll’s skeleton,” he said softly.
Irene looked up at him. “Yeah, so get started.”
Yu Sheng rubbed his chin, his expression turning serious. “…I forgot to buy a welding torch.”
Irene froze for two seconds. “…”
Then she leaped into the air, ready to bite him. “What was the point of all this prep if you don’t have a welding torch?! You brought the rebar but not the tool to fuse it?!”
Yu Sheng fumbled to fend off her attacks while hurriedly explaining, “I overlooked it, okay? Who uses a welding torch to make dolls?!”
“And who uses rebar to make dolls?!” Irene was livid. “You had the foresight to use rebar but couldn’t think to bring a welding torch?!”
In an instant, the head and second-in-command of Wutong Road No. 66 descended into chaos, bickering furiously. Just as Irene managed to sink her teeth into Yu Sheng’s hand, a sudden flash of light interrupted them.
Yu Sheng turned in surprise to see Foxy using a concentrated burst of fox fire to cut through a piece of rebar. Then, bringing two pieces together, she used the flame at the tip of her tail to fuse them with a sizzling sound.
Moments later, she held up the welded rebar in one hand while cradling her tail in the other. Looking up at Yu Sheng with eager eyes, she asked, “Benefactor, will this do?”
Yu Sheng was speechless. “…You’re a walking argon fox welder.”
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation