After the two gunshots, the depths of the forest temporarily fell silent.
There was no howling, no follow-up gunshots, and for a moment, even the wind seemed to fall silent. The entire forest sank into stillness, as if waiting for the group on the path to "respond."
At that moment, the two gunshots seemed more like some kind of guidance, as though the invisible hunter was trying to communicate with Yu Sheng's group and point them toward the correct direction.
Eileen glanced at the squirrel sitting inside Little Red Riding Hood's hood. "The rules say not to be lured by temptations outside the path into the depths of the forest. Do they say what we should do when gunshots go off outside the path?"
The squirrel remained dazed for quite a while before finally snapping out of it. Upon hearing Eileen's question, it immediately spoke in a frantic, uneasy rush. "That's never happened before! That's never happened... The hunter only shows up when Wolf Grandma appears... I—I don't know! I'm just a squirrel!"
Yu Sheng's brows drew tightly together. He had already taken the fearsome Tetanus Staff from his shoulder and tapped it against the ground. In a low voice, he said, "It's still bait from outside the path."
Little Red Riding Hood failed to understand at first. "What do you mean?"
"We came to find the hunter." Yu Sheng let out a soft breath. After his initial confusion and hesitation, his thoughts quickly cleared. "What could lure purposeful explorers like us off the path more effectively than 'the hunter's gunshots'?"
Little Red Riding Hood froze for a moment. Once she understood what Yu Sheng meant, astonishment instantly surfaced in her eyes.
"Don't pay attention to the gunshots. We keep moving forward." Yu Sheng spoke in a low voice, then