Delicious meat.

Yu Sheng extended the jerky to Little Red Riding Hood, wearing a seductive smile on his face. The jerky had an alluring dark red hue, and it smelled... very fragrant.

However, Little Red Riding Hood instinctively felt something off about it, and from Yu Sheng's smile, she sensed something, her brows slightly furrowing: "Wait, what exactly is this..."

"Wolf Grandmother from before," Yu Sheng didn't hide anything and nodded directly when asked, "the one we killed last time in that dark little cabin—I brought it back and tried processing it in various ways, and found the taste to be pretty good."

Little Red Riding Hood's eyes widened instantly, her breathing even stopped abruptly.

Yu Sheng continued to explain: "... The rib meat is good pan-fried or boiled, the leg meat is tough, needing to be cooked for a long time, the fattier parts below the skin are tasty when roasted, and the scent is great. Some of the offal is suitable for hotpot, but if not handled well, there's a gamey smell. Also, since Wolf Grandmother is quite large, eating her repeatedly can become tiresome, so I made most of the leftovers into this jerky, kneading in spices and salt, then smoking it with Fox Fire. It's a bit tough to chew, but the edges have a great crispy texture, and the overall flavor is excellent. It can be eaten directly or added to a soup."

As he spoke, Yu Sheng pushed the jerky forward, smiling softly at the girl in red: "Give it a try, it actually tastes very good once you accept where it came from."

Little Red Riding Hood visibly shuddered, moving back instinctively, her gaze filled with confusion, tension, and even a hint of horror. She stared at Yu Sheng, her mind in chaos for a while before finally finding the words: "You... you ate Wolf Grandmother?!"

"Still eating, haven't finished yet," Yu Sheng casually mentioned, "is there a need for such surprise? You've seen stir-fried garlic stalks with Hunger before."

Little Red Riding Hood's eyes quivered, obviously recalling something else horrifying that this man had done. It felt less shocking that he had turned Wolf Grandmother into jerky, but while unexpected, the sight of the dark red meat strip didn't lessen the strangeness and slight fear within her.

The squirrel on Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder, upon realizing just what the jerky was, rolled its eyes back, keeling over without a peep.

The fox girl, gnawing on jerky at the table, glanced over here, her bunch of tails swaying: "Try some, it's delicious."

Have a bite, it's so fragrant.

Really fragrant.

Little Red Riding Hood's breathing became hurried.

It seemed like many voices suddenly rose in her heart, unhurried, yet whispering continuously, Yu Sheng's voice, her own voice, and even... the voice of a wolf.

Give it a try, just one bite.

Under the urging of those voices within her, she finally extended her hand hesitantly, grappling with a mix of anticipation and resistance, she took the dark red meat.

She saw a radiant smile on Yu Sheng's face, and within that smile, the savory aroma of the jerky wafted into her nostrils wave after wave.

"Fear, it's hard to eliminate, especially the fear that has been rooted in your heart since childhood," she heard Yu Sheng whisper to her, "But from today onwards, you will always remember that this fear originating from the wolf... tastes like five-spice salt."

Little Red Riding Hood froze, a bizarre look on her face as she stared at Yu Sheng: "What kind of twisted logic is that..."

"Facing fear head-on, it's even better to combat fear by giving it texture and flavor," Yu Sheng's smile remained, "Don't you think it makes a lot of sense?"

Yes, it makes a lot of sense.

Little Red Riding Hood stuffed the jerky into her mouth, as if carrying out a life or death task, she bit down hard with her eyes closed.

It was really tough, requiring some effort to chew, but... it was indeed meat, just meat.

From the depths of the distant forest, a faint and blurred wolf howl suddenly arose.

Little Red Riding Hood couldn't tell if the howl was really there, or if it was just an illusion in her own mind.

She chewed on the meat in her mouth, swallowing it down fiercely, feeling the coarse texture glide down her throat.

Yu Sheng looked up towards the window, feeling the gaze of the Evil Wolf, which was fixated dead on this spot, having been roaming around all this time, but at this moment, it suddenly stopped moving.

Although it only stopped for a few seconds.

The squirrel that collapsed onto the bed slowly came to, the unfortunate rodent, having been severely shocked multiple times today, lifted its head and saw Little Red Riding Hood tearing at the meat of Wolf Grandmother, and promptly fainted again with a "gah."

But Yu Sheng casually picked it up, shaking it a few times in the air, forcefully awakening it: "Wake up, squirrel, I have a question."

"Squirrel doesn't want to answer!" The little creature woke up, and immediately struggled, screaming.

"What is the relationship between 'Evil Wolf' and 'Wolf Grandmother'?" Yu Sheng paid no attention to the squirrel's reaction, simply asking on his own, "Are they the same thing?"

The squirrel stared with its small eyes at Yu Sheng, who in turn looked quietly back at it.

Yu Sheng could even feel the rapid and rhythmic heartbeat of the small animal in his palm.

"Wolf Grandmother is just one facet of the Evil Wolf," the squirrel finally spoke, whether it was out of fear of Yu Sheng, or fear of the wolf staring at this location, "Once it enters the cottage, it is Wolf Grandmother; if it eats you outside, it is the Evil Wolf; when it chases you, it is the Wolf Pack... Every wolf is an aspect of the Evil Wolf, and the Evil Wolf is a facet of the Black Forest..."

Its body trembled slightly, neck shrinking back farther and farther.

"Everything here is entangled together, like balls of yarn, like veins, like nerves, and then everything will entwine around Little Red Riding Hood who has fallen into a nightmare," it prattled on, voice thin and trembling, "The Hunter is also a part of this place, has been since I can remember. Squirrel doesn't know why you're looking for the Hunter, but they won't help you, they don't help anyone, they just shoot at wolves..."

Listening to the squirrel's answer, Yu Sheng seemed to ponder.

He keenly sensed the information transmitted through the connection of blood, sensing the movements of the Wolf Pack outside the shelter of the cottage, as well as the shifts in the gaze from the Evil Wolf.

The presence of the Wolf Pack in his senses faded, the Evil Wolf's gaze was now focused on the door, where something was taking shape, gradually forming.

Wolf Grandmother was incarnating.

The order of the Black Forest continued its operation, the Stage was arranging for the next "actor" to enter according to the script, and the ruckus he had caused here seemed to have had no effect on the entire Stage's operation.

Yu Sheng showed no change in expression as if he did not notice the change in the atmosphere outside the door, merely calmly tore a small strip from the jerky and passed it to the squirrel: "Eat."

The squirrel struggled frenziedly and jumped onto the bed, staring at what was in Yu Sheng's hand in terror.

"I... I am a squirrel! Just a squirrel! No no no, squirrel doesn't want this thing..."

"You should also confront the fear in your own heart," Yu Sheng looked at the other earnestly, "Little Red Riding Hood has already eaten it, now it's your turn."

"Squirrel... squirrel knight fears nothing!" the squirrel shrieked, "Squirrel Knight... please, don't do this..."

Yu Sheng casually threw the small strip of meat to the side: "Alright, I won't force you."

The squirrel was frozen, seemingly not expecting Yu Sheng to simply "let it go" so easily, somewhat disbelieving.

Yu Sheng, however, paid no attention to the squirrel's reaction, only turning to look at Little Red Riding Hood: "Alright, you've rested enough, it's time for you to go back."

Little Red Riding Hood raised her head in surprise, not reacting for a moment.

Yu Sheng raised his hand and pointed to the door.

A shadow at the door was becoming tangible, and heavy breathing sounds came from there.

"Wolf Grandmother is here," Yu Sheng said unhurriedly, "Continuing to stay here will be dangerous for you, I'll have Erin take you out first."

Little Red Riding Hood blurted out instinctively: "Wait, you didn't say before..."

"Bringing you here was mainly to trigger such a key plot point," Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly, "This is enough—teamwork means everyone has their own tasks."

Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth, seemingly still wanting to say something, but Erin, who was sitting on Yu Sheng's shoulder, had already extended her palm towards her.

A cold breath invisibly took hold of Little Red Riding Hood's consciousness and then yanked it forcefully "outward."

The girl's figure disappeared from the cottage in the blink of an eye.

Yu Sheng fell silent for a moment, turning his head towards his shoulder: "Seriously, can't you make this a bit more comfortable? Waking people up like this feels like dying suddenly every time..."

"Bullshit, if it didn't feel like sudden death, how could you wake someone up unconditionally?" Erin rolled her eyes, "She's awake now, cursing away, want me to broadcast it?"

"No need," Yu Sheng waved his hand dismissively, then stood up to stretch his limbs, casually picking up the Tetanus Wand leaning against the door, "Get ready."

The next second, knocking resounded in everyone's ears.

Bang bang bang, bang bang bang, the knocking from outside the wooden door was like directly knocking on one's heart, carrying an unnerving urgency.

"Wolf Grandmother is here!" the squirrel screamed and jumped up, running circles on the bed, "Squirrel... squirrel knight needs to get ready, needs to get ready!"

Bang bang bang, the knocking sounded again more urgently.

The squirrel watched in horror as a brilliant smile appeared on Yu Sheng's face; he picked up the vicious Wolf Fang Club and pulled the door open with one swift movement: "Here we come!"

The door of the cottage opened, and there stood a creature at the entrance, wearing a soft hat, hunched over, with a skinny, twisted figure, covered in black fur, blocking all escape routes.

A long, bizarre claw that could no longer be considered a wolf's paw reached in, aiming for Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng swung the club and smashed it down—

"Are you freakin' kidding me with 'Wolf Grandmother'?"

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