Chapter Summaries

Yu Sheng questioned a squirrel in a forest cabin about Little Red Riding Hood and learned that she was becoming increasingly like the wolves she fought. Eileen finally reached him through their connection and revealed that she and Huli were beside his sleeping body.

• Yu Sheng inspected the cabin and found red cloth and cords tied around its doors and windows.
• The squirrel described how Little Red Riding Hood had learned to survive the forest, catch wolves, and sometimes transform into one.
• The squirrel warned Yu Sheng that Little Red Riding Hood's condition was deteriorating and that killing the Big Bad Wolf would not end the forest's cycle.
• Yu Sheng learned that each Little Red Riding Hood was replaced by another, but the squirrel became too frightened to explain further.
• Eileen contacted Yu Sheng and said she and Huli had found him beside his bed after failing to reach him in his dream.

Yu Sheng told Eileen he was trapped in Little Red Riding Hood’s Black Forest, and she used a charcoal drawing to enter the cabin and join him. The squirrel reacted to Eileen’s arrival as an unprecedented accident that might give Little Red Riding Hood a chance.

• Yu Sheng explained to Eileen that his consciousness was lost in Little Red Riding Hood’s Black Forest, where wolves watched the cabin.
• Eileen asked Yu Sheng to draw a frame and her name so she could use it as a medium to reach him.
• Yu Sheng completed the charcoal ritual, and Eileen materialized in an oil painting while the squirrel fainted.
• Eileen introduced herself to the squirrel and mentioned that a fox was guarding outside the forest.
• The squirrel said that Eileen and the fox’s ability to enter the Black Forest was an accident outside its rules, and wondered if it meant Little Red Riding Hood would no longer have to walk alone.

Yu Sheng and Eileen faced the giant wolf after the cabin’s fire went out and the forest’s protections failed. Squirrel Knight sacrificed itself to attack the wolf, and Yu Sheng was left alone as the wolf lunged at him.

• Yu Sheng questioned why Squirrel Knight wanted to help Little Red Riding Hood, and the squirrel explained that it was a forest animal destined to help children in fairy tales.
• Squirrel Knight sensed the wolf approaching as the cabin’s fire rapidly dwindled and the knocking shook the cabin apart.
• The giant wolf destroyed the cabin, and Squirrel Knight charged at it with a pine-needle sword and acorn shield before being swallowed.
• Eileen admitted she could not fight and disappeared as the forest rejected her, while Yu Sheng dodged the wolf’s attacks and sent a message to Huli about dinner.
• Yu Sheng stopped dodging and taunted the giant wolf as it lunged at him.

Yu Sheng deliberately let the dire wolf devour him, then used his soul to explore the wolf and the Black Forest’s fear-feeding wolves before returning to life. He woke beside Eileen and Huli, learned Huli had eaten the bun filling, and messaged Little Red Riding Hood about what he had seen.

• Yu Sheng sensed his soul merging with the dire wolf and learned that the Black Forest’s wolves fed on fear, then spoke to the confused wolf from within the forest.
• Yu Sheng returned to his body and startled Eileen and Huli, who fell off the bed when he opened his eyes.
• Eileen accused Huli of eating all the meat filling, and Yu Sheng told them he was not angry and would make noodles.
• Yu Sheng hinted that he looked forward to tasting wolf meat, prompting Eileen to tease Huli about another dish.
• Yu Sheng messaged Little Red Riding Hood that he had entered the Black Forest and seen its wolves, path, cabin, and squirrel.

Yu Sheng told Little Red Riding Hood that his blood had connected him to the wolf within her and learned that the Black Forest was consuming her, with her eighteenth birthday approaching next month. They agreed to meet at her home the following day, while Little Red Riding Hood returned to helping welcome a new child at the orphanage.

• Yu Sheng cooked zhajiangmian and answered Little Red Riding Hood's call, explaining that his blood had connected him to the wolf inside her.
• Little Red Riding Hood told Yu Sheng that the squirrel was a recurring entity of the Black Forest and that the wolf had eaten it before.
• Yu Sheng learned that the Black Forest was gradually consuming Little Red Riding Hood and that she would turn eighteen next month.
• Yu Sheng asked to learn more about the forest and Fairy Tale, and Little Red Riding Hood invited him to visit her home the next day.
• Little Red Riding Hood returned to the orphanage, helped the children at dinner, and watched over a nervous new arrival.

During a night patrol, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White discussed her approaching adulthood and the newly arrived child who might become the next Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood invited Yu Sheng to visit the orphanage the next day, and the chapter ended with her finding a child’s wish to grow up.

• Snow White joined Little Red Riding Hood on patrol and said the new child might be the next Little Red Riding Hood because she feared wolves in storybooks.
• Little Red Riding Hood reassured Snow White that she might experience something good as adulthood approached.
• Little Red Riding Hood told Snow White that Yu Sheng, a Spirit Realm Detective familiar with the Fairy Tales, would visit the orphanage at noon the next day.
• Snow White warned that people who had tried to help before had died, but Little Red Riding Hood said she knew what she was doing.
• Little Red Riding Hood found a wish card reading, “I want to grow up,” and Snow White turned off the activity room lights.

Yu Sheng visited the hidden orphanage where Little Red Riding Hood lived and learned how Fairy Tales and the Crossroads Affairs Council cooperated to care for children affected by supernatural curses. He left understanding that the orphanage was largely self-governed by Fairy Tales, while the Special Operations Bureau had a more limited role.

• Yu Sheng woke after Eileen had calmed his restless dreams, and he prepared breakfast before setting out to meet Little Red Riding Hood.
• Yu Sheng bought candy and snacks to bring to Little Red Riding Hood’s home, then traveled there with Huli and Eileen (P2), while Eileen (P1) stayed home.
• Yu Sheng followed Little Red Riding Hood’s directions to a secluded orphanage enclosed by a wall and sealed off by Special Operations Bureau nodes.
• Little Red Riding Hood introduced Cinderella, who was keeping watch, and explained that Fairy Tales ran the orphanage while the Crossroads Affairs Council provided facilities, funding, and practical support.
• Yu Sheng asked why the Special Operations Bureau did not administer the orphanage, and Little Red Riding Hood explained that Fairy Tales handled most supernatural incidents themselves and dealt with the bureau mainly on business matters.

Yu Sheng visited the Fairy Tale orphanage with Little Red Riding Hood, Huli, and Eileen, learning how its children lived and why the council had not taken it over. Little Red Riding Hood began explaining Fairy Tale and the Black Forest, but first discovered Yu Sheng had not studied the Otherworld database.

• Huli asked why the council or Special Operations Bureau did not run the orphanage, and Little Red Riding Hood explained that Fairy Tale disliked adults and that an earlier supervised-care plan had failed.
• Little Red Riding Hood showed Yu Sheng the orphanage buildings and grounds, explained that it housed seventy-six children, and described how Fairy Tale selected and eliminated them.
• Yu Sheng offered sweets and biscuits to the children, whose noisy rush into the reception room was quickly settled by Little Red Riding Hood and Huihui.
• Yu Sheng asked about Fairy Tale and the Black Forest, and Little Red Riding Hood began by asking how many types of Otherworlds existed.
• Yu Sheng admitted he had not read the relevant database section and claimed he had been busy, then said the Special Operations Bureau had contacted him to discuss Dark Angel.

Little Red Riding Hood explained the four types of Otherworlds and revealed that Fairy Tales was an Anomaly-type Otherworld made up of story-like subsets. She described how Fairy Tales first erupted at the orphanage and how the Special Operations Bureau learned that it rejected adults.

• Little Red Riding Hood explained the Wilderness, Kingdom, and Fortress types, identifying Nightfall Valley, the museum, and Yu Sheng's home as examples.
• Little Red Riding Hood described Anomaly-type Otherworlds as manifestations of abstract things such as emotions, memories, sounds, and stories.
• Little Red Riding Hood explained that Fairy Tales contained subsets such as the Black Forest, Dorothy's Wilderness, Rapunzel's tower, Cinderella's ball, and fictional settings like a castle or treasure hoard.
• Little Red Riding Hood revealed that Fairy Tales first erupted at the orphanage, where the Special Operations Bureau initially evacuated affected children before the phenomenon spread across the Crossroads.
• Little Red Riding Hood said the Bureau's attempts to contain Fairy Tales brought heavy losses, and investigators eventually established that Fairy Tales did not like adults.

Yu Sheng learned why orphans were especially vulnerable to Fairy Tales and why its stories could not simply be suppressed. As he decided to investigate the Black Forest, Long Hair reported that a newly arrived child had disappeared.

• Little Red Riding Hood explained that Fairy Tales preyed on orphans with weak social ties and could reach children even without their encountering its stories.
• Huli recounted how people in her hometown had defeated a story-bound demonic cultivator by turning his legend into memes.
• Little Red Riding Hood warned that destroying Fairy Tales’ entrances could make the Otherworld more dangerous, and that no one had found a way to stop it.
• Yu Sheng decided to start by investigating the Black Forest despite Little Red Riding Hood’s warning.
• Long Hair arrived and told Little Red Riding Hood that the new child had left suddenly.

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood visited a child who had transformed into a wolf during a nightmare and appeared to have died. After touching the bloodstains on her body, Yu Sheng sensed that she was still alive.

• Little Red Riding Hood explained that children in the Fairy Tale could suffer dangerous changes before coming of age, and she led Yu Sheng, Huli, and Eileen to the West Building.
• Teacher Su told Little Red Riding Hood that the incident had happened during class and that she had failed to notice it sooner.
• The group found a child lying motionless on a bed, covered in bloodied red lines, and Rapunzel explained that she had briefly transformed into a wolf.
• Little Red Riding Hood said the child might have become the next Little Red Riding Hood and described this as the end of her childhood.
• Yu Sheng touched the blood near the child's neck and concluded that she was not dead.

Yu Sheng realized Xiao Xiao was still alive in a deathlike dream and prepared to enter the Black Forest to find her. Eileen sent Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood into the dream together, while Rapunzel and Huli remained behind.

• Yu Sheng insisted that Xiao Xiao had not truly died and smeared his blood over her wounds, explaining that apparent signs of death could be misleading.
• Yu Sheng told Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel that they had three hours to reach Xiao Xiao and pull her back from her dream.
• Yu Sheng asked Eileen to guide him into the dream, and Little Red Riding Hood volunteered to go with him.
• Eileen wove threads over Xiao Xiao's body and sent Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood into the Black Forest.

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood entered the Black Forest together to find Xiao Xiao, while Eileen stayed outside to monitor them. The squirrel revealed that Xiao Xiao had already reached the forest’s deepest part, beyond the reach of its lights.

• Yu Sheng entered the Black Forest and met Little Red Riding Hood, whose shadowy appearance suggested she was not doing well.
• Eileen told Yu Sheng she would remain outside and explained that Huli could not enter because the forest required a special connection or ability.
• Yu Sheng tested whether he could open a door inside the forest, then set the experiment aside to search for Xiao Xiao.
• The squirrel appeared, panicked at seeing Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood together, and calmed down after Little Red Riding Hood kicked it.
• Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood asked the squirrel to help find Xiao Xiao, and it said she had already gone alone into the forest’s deepest part.

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood ventured into the Black Forest to find a lost child while the evil wolf watched them from hiding. They discovered an unlit cottage deep in the forest and cautiously approached it.

• The squirrel warned Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood that the child had gone into the pathless depths of the Black Forest, but Little Red Riding Hood led the way anyway.
• As wolves howled around them, Yu Sheng sensed the hidden evil wolf watching and noticed Little Red Riding Hood trembling.
• Yu Sheng took Little Red Riding Hood's hand and told her the evil wolf had tasted his blood and would become his prey, easing her fear.
• The squirrel explained that Little Red Riding Hoods were often lured into the forest by enticing flowers, mushrooms, and shiny things that turned out to be the wolf's teeth and claws.
• Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood spotted an unlit cottage that should have disappeared into the darkness, then carefully approached it.

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood searched an abandoned cottage in the deepest part of the Black Forest, where they found countless ruined red cloaks but no sign of Xiao Xiao. Yu Sheng sensed a hidden presence above the bed and cut into it, revealing that Wolf Grandma was concealed there.

• The squirrel panicked near the cottage, bit Yu Sheng, and fled while warning them that the wolves were coming.
• Yu Sheng entered the cottage first, then let Little Red Riding Hood join him when he saw its interior.
• Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood found the cottage filled with tattered red cloaks and discussed how Little Red Riding Hood had to wear red to keep her condition stable.
• The pair searched the cottage but found no sign of Xiao Xiao.
• Yu Sheng sensed a hidden presence above the bed and sliced through empty air, drawing blood and declaring that he had found Wolf Grandma.

Yu Sheng rescued Xiao Xiao from the wolf he killed in the little house, then sent Little Red Riding Hood and the girl out of the Black Forest with Eileen’s help. Left behind, he investigated the house and found a past Little Red Riding Hood’s cryptic message before the howls outside fell silent.

• Yu Sheng killed Wolf Grandma and cut open its belly, freeing Xiao Xiao while Little Red Riding Hood watched in shock.
• Yu Sheng asked Eileen to forcibly send Little Red Riding Hood and Xiao Xiao out of the Black Forest, and they vanished from the house.
• The shadow wolves disappeared with Little Red Riding Hood, but the wolf pack’s howls drew closer and then stopped outside the house.
• Yu Sheng searched the house and found scratched writing beneath the bed, apparently left by a previous Little Red Riding Hood, including the fragments “is alive,” “it is dreaming,” and “I am.”
• Yu Sheng considered what the message meant as the wolf’s corpse went still, pale starlight entered the house, and the howls outside ceased.

Yu Sheng encountered the Hunter after killing Wolf Grandma and rescuing the child, then discovered the Hunter was an empty outfit that acknowledged him before fleeing. He picked up a damaged scrap of paper and prepared to open a door from the Black Forest into the real world to bring it out.

• Yu Sheng hid as the Hunter entered the cottage and froze upon seeing the dead Big Bad Wolf.
• Yu Sheng learned from Eileen that Little Red Riding Hood and the child had awakened and were recovering after vomiting.
• Yu Sheng approached the Hunter, found no one beneath its clothes, and saw it nod when he explained that he had killed Wolf Grandma and rescued the child.
• The Hunter abruptly retreated from Yu Sheng and vanished, leaving behind a filthy scrap of paper.
• Yu Sheng asked Eileen to keep Little Red Riding Hood and the others away, then grabbed the wolf corpse and opened a glowing door to try bringing the scrap into the real world.

Yu Sheng tested whether he could bring things from the Black Forest into reality and returned with the Big Bad Wolf’s corpse and a hunter’s paper. After the others gathered, Xiao Xiao had recovered from her injuries and described a dream of red-cloaked people urging her to run.

• Yu Sheng opened a door in the Black Forest and confirmed it led to his sleeping body in the orphanage.
• Yu Sheng carried the Big Bad Wolf’s corpse through the door and awoke in a pile of Huli’s tails, confirming he could bring objects out of the Black Forest.
• Yu Sheng and Huli discussed cooking the wolf before Eileen reminded them that Little Red Riding Hood and Xiao Xiao were waiting.
• Huli stored the corpse, and Eileen brought Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and the recovered Xiao Xiao inside.
• Yu Sheng checked on Xiao Xiao, who said she felt no pain and recalled dreaming of red-cloaked people telling her to run.

After rescuing Xiao Xiao from the Black Forest, Yu Sheng learned more about Little Red Riding Hood’s struggle to retain her identity and asked the Special Operations Bureau to examine objects from the forest. The chapter ended with Baili Qing arranging an analysis for the next day.

• Xiao Xiao could not remember the faces of the red-cloaked people, so Little Red Riding Hood sent her with Rapunzel to rest and inform Teacher Su.
• Little Red Riding Hood thanked Yu Sheng for saving Xiao Xiao and described how the Black Forest made her shift among the identities of a human, wolf, grandmother, and hunter.
• Yu Sheng showed Little Red Riding Hood the hunter’s scrap of paper, and she suggested asking the Special Operations Bureau to analyze it along with the metal component from No. 66 Wutong Road.
• Baili Qing called Yu Sheng after the monitoring department detected an unusual temporal-spatial displacement, and Yu Sheng told her he had entered the Black Forest to find Xiao Xiao.
• Yu Sheng asked Baili Qing to arrange analysis of both objects, and she agreed to prepare a laboratory and report back the next day.

Baili Qing learned that neither the strange fox fur nor any fox-type being investigated by the sects matched a known species, and ordered the search to continue. Yu Sheng discussed how discoveries in fairy-tale subsets might be lost before reaching the real world, then went to check on Teacher Su after Xiao Xiao startled her into fainting; Teacher Su recovered and asked to speak with Yu Sheng.

• Song Cheng reported that laboratories found no known organism or matching biological tissue for the fox fur, and Baili Qing ordered a long-term investigation.
• Song Cheng told Baili Qing that Thousand Peaks Spirit Mountain and other sects had investigated fox-type clans across past and future eras without finding a match.
• Yu Sheng told Little Red Riding Hood about the carvings under the cabin bed and suggested that other fairy-tale subsets might contain discoveries that could not be conveyed to the real world.
• Little Red Riding Hood learned that Teacher Su had fainted after Xiao Xiao surprised her, and Yu Sheng's group went to the infirmary.
• Rapunzel explained that Teacher Su had fainted from fright but was recovering, and Teacher Su asked Yu Sheng to speak with her.