“Have you ever offended anyone?”
The sudden question from Yu Sheng left Little Red Riding Hood momentarily stunned. After a few seconds, she realized why he had asked. Frowning, she replied, “Are you suggesting that the museum incident was a trap specifically targeting me?”
“I’m not trying to sound paranoid, but there are a lot of suspicious things about this case. The most suspicious of all is why it landed on you in the first place. Remember the ‘ritual’ inside the museum? If I, Foxy, and Irene hadn’t helped stall that Evil Wolf that emerged from the shadows, you would have completely lost control,” Yu Sheng said seriously. “The only reason you went to the museum and ended up in the White Exhibition Hall was because you took on a commission to retrieve a collectible. And it was time-sensitive. Now, we’ve found out that the commission was fake… That level of ‘coincidence’ is highly suspect.”
“The ritual was orchestrated by two Angel Cultists,” Little Red Riding Hood’s expression turned grim, as she had always despised dealing with those lunatics. “You mean to say that the followers of the Dark Angel set a trap just for me? Why? That doesn’t make any sense…”
“That’s why I asked if you’ve offended anyone.”
“…What could I have done to offend someone enough to be targeted by lunatics like them?” Little Red Riding Hood furrowed her brow deeply. “You know I never deal with anything related to the Dark Angel. Most of the time, I just take small commissions from official channels. In fact, over half of my commissions come from the Special Affairs Bureau. Even within the Fairy Tale Organization, we maintain cautious external communications. At most, we have competitors in the Spirit Realm Detective field, but that doesn’t escalate to ‘enemies.'”
“Then there’s another possibility. You might not have offended the Angel Cultists, but you may hold ‘value’ that caught their attention,” Yu Sheng pondered. “After all, you said they’re lunatics. Their logic doesn’t align with normal people’s. They might believe you’re somehow useful to their ’cause,’ and that’s why they acted.”
Little Red Riding Hood fell silent, seemingly lost in thought and doubt.
Knowing his thoughts were veering wildly, Yu Sheng cleared his throat to shift the conversation. “Ahem. Let’s focus on the commission itself. What do you know so far?”
Yu Sheng frowned. “Doesn’t such a major organization prohibit these loopholes?”
“In principle, yes. But in practice, it’s hard to avoid, especially at the year’s end. Large organizations like the Association of Strange Objects have strict deadlines for outsourcing projects. To meet those deadlines, the people responsible often push out tasks as quickly as possible. That way, they can use the timestamp for priority during budget reconciliation. Everyone’s under KPI pressure.”
“…So it boils down to something that mundane?” Yu Sheng exclaimed.
Little Red Riding Hood glanced at the Nine-Tailed Fox dragging one of her tails along the ground. “Your fox walks like that for ‘practical’ reasons too, doesn’t she?”
“…Fair enough.” Yu Sheng quickly conceded but couldn’t help lamenting, “The world truly is one giant circus troupe.”
Rubbing his temples, he contemplated briefly before looking up. “So, there’s no way to confirm whether the initial commission was falsified by the client or if someone higher up in the Association of Strange Objects acted as a mole and erased the records after issuing it?”
Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. “No way to confirm for now. But the Special Affairs Bureau will undoubtedly investigate. Loopholes may go unnoticed under normal circumstances, but now that something’s gone wrong, it’ll be scrutinized from top to bottom.”
“We’ll need to get updates from the Special Affairs Bureau later,” Yu Sheng muttered before asking, “What about the client who forwarded the commission? What’s their situation?”
“Details are unclear. From what I’ve heard, they fell from a high place, hit their head, and died on the spot,” Little Red Riding Hood explained. “I’ve arranged to visit their home tonight. They lived alone, but their nephew is currently handling the funeral arrangements.”
“I’ll go with you,” Yu Sheng said immediately.
Little Red Riding Hood hesitated. “Are you planning to…?”
“See if we can ‘ask’ anything,” Yu Sheng replied gravely. “Like we did at the museum. I’m not sure about the conditions for those ‘dead conversations,’ but it’s worth trying our luck.”
After some thought, Little Red Riding Hood nodded. “Alright… Shall we leave now?”
“Now.” Yu Sheng stood up, then glanced at Irene, who was sitting nearby. “You and Foxy stay home this time. I’ll handle it.”
Irene protested immediately, “Why can’t I go?”
Yu Sheng rolled his eyes. “We’re going to a deceased person’s home. Do you think bringing a doll along is appropriate?”
Though displeased, Irene had to agree. She plopped back onto the couch. “Fine. But I’m using your computer to play games!”
“Go ahead—but use your own account. Don’t touch my personal files!”
After leaving instructions for Irene, Yu Sheng turned to find Foxy standing behind him, looking concerned. “Benefactor, are you sure you don’t need me? I can fight.”
Yu Sheng’s eye twitched. He reassured her, emphasizing that this was an investigation, not a battle. Fighting, whether with the deceased or their family, would be entirely inappropriate.
As Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood left Wutong Road No. 66, Yu Sheng glanced back several times during the short walk to the street.
“You seem uneasy,” Little Red Riding Hood remarked.
“It’s my first time leaving Foxy and Irene alone. I’m worried I’ll come back to find the place demolished,” Yu Sheng admitted.
“She’s a Nine-Tailed Fox, not a husky with nine tails,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed. “And Irene seems responsible enough. She just gets a bit rash sometimes.”
“Clearly, you don’t know her well. She once nearly cooked herself and almost set the house on fire,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head.
“You’ll see one day,” Yu Sheng replied. “For now, let’s move on. How are we getting there?”
To save time and avoid complications, Little Red Riding Hood invited Yu Sheng to travel with her Shadow Wolves.
Standing in a secluded alley, Yu Sheng eyed the towering Shadow Wolf before him, its body shifting with dark, ethereal outlines.
“Are you sure this thing doesn’t bite?” he asked skeptically. “And can it even carry people?”
“It can carry people,” Little Red Riding Hood said flatly, sensing the wolf’s nervousness. “And for the record, it’s more worried about you biting it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yu Sheng huffed. “Do I look like someone with no standards?”
Little Red Riding Hood silently mounted her wolf, leaving Yu Sheng to clamber onto his. As he settled in, he remarked, “This thing’s trembling. Are you sure it can handle weight?”
With a wry smile, Little Red Riding Hood smacked the wolf’s head. “Coward.”
“Let’s go,” she commanded the pack.
Before Yu Sheng could ask how to control the wolf or replicate Little Red Riding Hood’s shadow-jumping technique, his vision suddenly shifted. The world around him transformed.
Colors faded into shades of black and white. The cityscape dissolved into silhouettes, roads replaced by disjointed shadow bridges. The once orderly scenery fragmented, twisting into a surreal, mirrored maze.
The wolves leapt gracefully, carrying them into this bizarre monochrome realm.
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation