After the little girl asked her question, she assumed a stance as if she was ready to dissect anything at any moment. Her smile was still innocent and sweet, but her sharpening motions and stitched-up face made her appear incredibly eerie at that moment. The flickering candlelight danced incessantly, while she extended her crimson tongue, eagerly licking her lips.
âWhat do you want to askâ¦â This scene scared Xu Shuhan to her core; as a Zombie, she found herself retreating⦠In fact, if she hadnât been pinned to the table, she would have tried to escape even in her turkey form.
âHee hee, a smart choice,â the little girl said, still using a childâs voice, but her laugh was chilling.
âAs if I really have a choiceâ¦â Xu Shuhan couldnât help but mutter inwardly.
The little girl smiled and licked the blade, tossing out her first question, âWhy did you come here?â
âIs that your question?â Xu Shuhan found no reason to hide it and replied immediately, âI came to find someone.â
âLooking for someone⦠hee hee⦠Every year, people are brought into this black forest, but no one has ever come out alive⦠This is a closed world, a world belonging to that person. Our stories spread outside, luring more people here⦠The person you are looking for will also be trapped here, and in the end, that person will weave a story full of lies for him⦠And you, you will be the same.â
The little girl eyed Xu Shuhan eerily, her lips moving as she spoke.
That look made Xu Shuhan feel as if the girl was deciding where to make the first cutâ¦
âThat personâ¦â
âYes. As an outsider, you may have heard his name. The person youâre looking for is probably at his place right now.â When the little girl got to this point, her tone suddenly became mysterious, and her expression seemed much more serious, âHe isâ¦â
âAngrimwilde!â the little girl solemnly announced the name.
âWhat a flawed yet exceptionally perfect world⦠Fascinatingly combining Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and Wilde into one, truly the ultimate Fusion Technique of fairy tale kingsâ¦â Ling Mo remarked.
âDonât add your own commentary just like that! I bite when Iâm angry! And⦠you seem to know a lot about thisâ¦â
âHeh, back in the day when I used to tell Ye Lian fairy tales. She was so moved that she handed over all her lollipopsâ¦â
âEven though Iâve mutated, I know thatâs nothing to be proud of⦠You were just bullying her back then.â
âTsk, itâs just a boyâs way of showing affection, like flipping skirts, scaring with caterpillars, or suddenly snatching her thingsâ¦â Ling Mo corrected.
Xu Shuhanâs red eyes widened, and after a while, she said, âYou just listed more ways of bullying her!â
â¦
A few seconds later, Xu Shuhan, now in turkey form, broke the silence, âNever heard of itâ¦â
âSilence! What right does someone from a broken world have to say such things⦠Hmph. It seems youâve made up your mind? Since youâre not afraid of whatâs ahead, I wonât try to dissuade you anymore.â The little girl said, pulling the corner of her mouth.
âWait! I havenât said anything yet!â Xu Shuhan shouted.
But the little girl had already thrown out the second question, âThe person youâre looking for, whatâs his name?â
Xu Shuhan opened her mouth and replied, âHis name is Ling Mo.â
âSounds like a manâs name⦠Describe his appearance,â the little girl demanded.
âHis appearance?â
Xu Shuhanâs thoughts instantly became muddled.
She only knew she was very hungry, and to fill her stomach, she had to find Ling Mo.
Aside from that, her mind was almost completely blankâ¦
She could recall what Ling Mo looked like, but describing himâ¦
âI⦠I donât know⦠Can you ask a different question?â Xu Shuhan said nervously.
â¦
A minute later, Xu Shuhan was back under that big tree.
The little girl handed the basket to Xu Shuhan with a gloomy look on her face and said, âUse this to cross.â After finishing, she let out an eerie laugh, âWish you a pleasant trip⦠hee hee heeâ¦â
Xu Shuhan took the basket in a dazeâ¦
The seemingly small basket expanded several times its size once placed in the swamp, just enough for one person to sit in.
As she floated along the swamp, Xu Shuhan was shocked to discover that the swampâs area was actually hugeâ¦
In the bubbling black swamp, besides skulls, there were occasionally pieces of decaying wood drifting up and down. Occasionally, she could see half a head emerging from the muddy water, staring coldly at her in the basket.
Sometimes, she could hear whispers coming from the bottom, occasionally catching a few words.
âHumanâ¦â
âHeh hehâ¦â
âPoor girlâ¦â
Xu Shuhan couldnât help but hug her arms, curling up in the basket as much as possible.
This experience was utterly dreadful for her, but in such a bizarre atmosphere, her thoughts became unexpectedly active.
The initial state of extreme emptiness seemed to have eased somewhat at this momentâ¦
âLing Mo, donât worry, I definitely wonât just sit back and watch my food disappearâ¦â
Just as Xu Shuhan was resolutely making up her mind, a splash suddenly came from the front.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Xu Shuhan was startled and quickly grabbed the basketâs handle, looking towards the front.
The waterâs surface showed obvious ripples, and Xu Shuhan stretched her head out, looking beneath the water with tension and curiosity.
Whoosh!
A darker shadow suddenly swept past her eyes, and Xu Shuhan immediately let out a scream.
âWhat⦠what a big fish!â
She fell back into the basket, quickly moving to the center.
But the basket was only so big, even when she averted her gaze, she could still see the waterâs surface out of the corner of her eye.
For a moment, the swamp became dead silentâ¦
âDid it leave?â
Just as Xu Shuhanâs sense of fear slightly subsided, a sudden splash broke the silence.
With a large surge of black water rising ahead, a shadowy figure emerged on the waterâs surface.
The figureâs upper body was almost indistinguishable from that of a human, but her lower half was a black fish tail. Long, black curly hair draped down to her waist, modestly covering her crucial areas. Her features were breathtakingly beautiful, with her facial features as delicate as a mascotâs. She floated gracefully on the waterâs surface, her cold black eyes scrutinizing Xu Shuhan.
âA⦠a mermaidâ¦â Xu Shuhan froze completely in the basket.
Splashâ¦
With a flick of her tail, the mermaid was suddenly right in front of the basket, gripping its handle.
âYoung traveler, are you seeking the other shore?â The mermaidâs voice was exceedingly melodious, with each word sounding like a musical note, and each sentence like a beautiful melody. However, her icy expression sent chills down Xu Shuhanâs spine.
Xu Shuhan nodded fearfully, âY-yesâ¦â
âHehe, why do you want to go ashore?â The mermaid looked up at the sky, reminiscing, âI once encountered a drowning traveler here. Later, I followed him to the shore⦠When I turned my tail into legs to dance for him, his gaze was filled with such deep affectionâ¦â
âUm, Iâm in a hurryâ¦â Xu Shuhan said weakly.
The mermaid seemed not to hear and continued, âBut beauty will eventually be overshadowed by pain⦠It was a night full of passion, he embraced me and was about to kiss meâ¦â
At this moment, the mermaidâs expression suddenly contorted with rage, and her mouth opened wide.
Her mouth was filled with sharp teeth, and her tail slapped the water forcefully, âI just have a few extra sharp teeth and my legs turn back into a fish tail when they touch water or when I get excited⦠And he dared to despise me! He even said there could be no happy ending between a human and a fish, and finally, he released Puss in Boots to chase me back to the swamp!â
She suddenly turned around, glaring fiercely at Xu Shuhan, âWhat about you? The person youâre looking for, does he think the same way? Answer me!â