Chapter 137: Neapolitan Cake (3)
Translator: Pluto Editor: Vermillion
[If the person who took Cinderella wasn’t the prince, who could it be?] This was the question in Lin Sanjiu's mind when she stepped back and hit Emma’s dining table.
It took a few milliseconds before she processed the sound of rain and of barking dogs. She quickly looked around, realizing where she was. The cottage was dimly lit but Lin Sanjiu could see Red Riding Hood hiding behind Emma. The scared girl clutched her grandmother’s clothes with both hands and peeked at Lin Sanjiu.
The interior of the cottage was lit with a bright light every time a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, at that same time, the knife in Emma’s hand was revealed.
Lin Sanjiu knew it was useless but she couldn’t help defending herself, "I am not a werewolf…"
However, Emma did not even look at her. Instead, she held her knife tightly with her trembling hands and shouted to the men outside, "It’s here! She must be the werewolf. Please think of a way to save us!"
Lin Sanjiu sighed. She didn’t even know what a werewolf should look like, and she had no way of judging who was lying. It wasn’t even that hard for her to incapacitate or kill everyone, ironically, that was the reason why Lin Sanjiu did not dare to act rashly. Besides, she didn’t know what the consequences in the pocket dimension were if the characters of the story died...
Through the pouring rain, Lin Sanjiu understood from the shouts of the hunters outside that their plan was to rush into the house. If they came in, the situation would become even more complicated. Lin Sanjiu walked towards the side of the door and showed a bitter smile at the cautious-looking Emma and Red Riding Hood.
"I am not a werewolf and I don’t know who is the real werewolf. But I won’t be far. If you are in danger, just call for help." She didn’t know who exactly she should direct these words to but she pulled open the door right after she said that. One of the hunters who was leaning against the door tumbled into the cottage once Lin Sanjiu opened the door. Before the men could take out their weapons, she threw the hunter aside and dashed outside like a leopard. She knocked the men and dogs coming at her and disappeared into the rain in a few seconds.
The hunter who got up from the ground wanted to continue chasing her, but was it even possible?
The hunters ran after Lin Sanjiu, refusing to just give up. However, they couldn’t even see much in a forest at night, let alone with the heavy downpour. They had no choice but to return to Emma’s cottage after chasing for a short distance.
When Emma saw the hunters, she dropped the knife in her hands. The knife fell with a clunk as Emma hugged Red Riding Hood tightly. With more people around, Emma and Red Riding Hood became less frightened. After she calmed down, Emma lit the candles and quickly served the men water. She brought towels for them to dry themselves and thanked them profusely. At this point, however, the dogs were still barking. "I guess they won’t calm down anytime soon," Ive muttered and then he went out to pacify the hunting dogs. While the dogs still barked every now and then, the group of people had already agreed through their discussion that the woman in the weird outfit was the werewolf.
Red Riding Hood bit her lips while she watched each of the people around her carefully. Noticing that it was really late, Link stood up first, "We will leave now. Please be careful."
"Yes," Emma dodged his eyes and sent the men out, "I am really grateful for your help today."
Ive’s dog was still restless but it kept quiet after he pulled on its leash. The hunters left with their dogs and soon their figures disappeared into the rain as if a few strokes of watercolor on a painting.
Emma watched as they left and closed the door. When she turned, she saw Red Riding Hood’s bright black eyes looking at her. In an instant, she felt her hair stand on end.
"Granny," Red Riding Hood called her softly. In the cottage, which had returned to its previous silence and darkness, Emma could not see her granddaughter’s expression.
"What... what is wrong, dear?" Emma wasn’t sure why her voice was shaking. Under the darkness, Red Riding Hood took a step toward Emma. Emma unconsciously stepped backward towards the window.
"I want to ask you something." Red Riding Hood’s voice sounded a little weird.
Emma threw a quick glance at the knife on the floor as she remembered how the dogs were still barking.
"Dearie, come over here to talk to me. Granny wants to see your face." Emma gathered her courage and smiled at the girl.
Unexpectedly, Red Riding Hood agreed obediently and walked toward the window. The light from the flashes of lightning revealed Red Riding Hood’s normal face. Though it was a little pale, that definitely wasn’t the face of a werewolf. Emma let out a sigh of relief as she silently blamed herself for suspecting her granddaughter.
Before she could calm herself, Red Riding Hood asked her a question which froze her brain. "Granny, how many hunters came to help us just now?"
Emma thought about it, she felt that her cold must have clouded her judgment, "There were three, three men!" When she said that, she suddenly realized that there was something wrong about that. It wasn’t a large number but she didn’t know why she was hesitating.
"Link, Ive and Richard… right?" Red Riding Hood continued.
"Yes, yes…" Emma couldn’t remember anyone else, "What’s the problem?"
"But four people left our house." Red Riding Hood pressed her white finger against the cold window.
"Huh… Who is that?"
The same question which surfaced in Emma’s mind was spat out by Link a few moments later.
As they all wanted to return to their homes quickly to dry the wet clothes on their body, the bold and experienced hunters decided to walk through the forest, like what Lin Sanjiu did. The shortcut they took was just a small narrow trail that naturally formed over the years. The dense forest and the rain made it very hard to see, and they walked for some time in silence. The poor visibility was also the reason why the hunters failed to spot immediately what was amiss. Link turned to look behind him casually and suddenly realized that something was wrong.
Ive wasn’t that tall…
But there were only three of them in the forest, including that tall figure. Being a hunter with 20 years of experience, Link quickly pulled Richard to his side and drew his sword nimbly, "Who are you? Where is Ive?"
[Is that person the female werewolf?]
The tall figure paused and answered, "Huh? I am Richard. Isn’t Ive by your side?"
[Yeah, Richard is tall too.] Before he felt relieved, Link’s callus covered hand felt a rough, prickly, needle-like sensation.
Following which, his memory became hazy…
He could only remember waving his sword with all his might, fearfully. Then, he heard Richard startled voice, the sound of pouring rain, the clashing between two tall figures and he felt the intense pain as something sharp pierced his stomach...
Link lost conscious for some time until the heavy cold shower of rain woke him again. By then, he only had a vague memory of what had just happened. He saw Richard’s corpse nearby. Despite the heavy rain, there was still a heavy scent of blood in the air. The corpse was intact and it did not look like the werewolf fed on him. [But if the werewolf’s goal isn’t to eat us, why did it attack us?] Link didn’t have the energy to think of a reason. With his body’s primitive instinct to survive, he crawled slowly toward the path just outside the forest. It was a main route to the city so people would come by every now and then. If he could reach it, his chance of surviving would improve. As he crawled on the ground, the fallen leaves on the forest ground, the pebbles, and the mud contaminated his wound and dug into his flesh. Just when Link was about to faint, a sudden scream from a child pierced through the rainy night.
Lin Sanjiu was at the top of a tree on the other side of the forest when she heard the scream. Her body tensed up. It was Red Riding Hood’s voice. Lin Sanjiu slid down the tree and sprinted toward Emma’s cottage.
As she didn’t dare to harm any of the characters and didn’t dare to get too close, she found herself crouching in a tree. She had been listening carefully for any movements for the cottage, but ever since the noisy men and dogs left, the cottage was silent. All she could hear was the sound of the heavy rain.
The distance from where she was to the cottage was nothing to Lin Sanjiu. She saw the cottage in a matter of ten seconds. The cottage was totally dark and the door was wide open. Red Riding Hood cried out again, "Granny!"
[Damn it. The werewolf must be hiding inside the cottage.] Lin Sanjiu cursed inwardly. She was reaching the cottage when her vision blurred. The raindrops which lashed against her skin all this while suddenly stopped.
Lila was a little astonished to see Lin Sanjiu. Lin Sanjiu was still running and was about to crash into a dining table. She quickly twisted her body and stopped herself. It was only then that she realized that her clothes were once again dry and comfortable. Lila was still holding a goblet in her hand which was filled with a transparent liquid. Judging from her reddish face, it was definitely wine.
"What are you doing? You’re so weird." Lila pinched Lin Sanjiu playfully, "You have stayed for a quite a few days but I still don’t understand you… Hey, did you actually listen to what I said just now?"
Lin Sanjiu steadied her pounding heart and she looked at the scrumptious spread on the table. "I didn’t hear you properly. What were you saying?" she asked a little rudely.
Oddly, Lila was not angry at Lin Sanjiu and was always friendly to her, "Oh gosh! I told you that my husband gave me all the keys to the rooms in this castle but he doesn’t allow me to open the door at the end of the corridor of the second floor. What do you think is in that room?"