Garden of Eden || Apocalypse Paradise #2 [Complete]

137: Neapolitan Cake (3)

"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 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 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 that 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 with 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 that 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, as 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 this, his memory became hazy...

He could only remember waving his sword fearfully with all his might. Then, he heard Richard's 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 consciousness 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 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 in 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 that lashed against her skin 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, which was filled with a transparent liquid, in her hand. Judging from her reddish face, it was wine.

"What are you doing? You're so weird." Lila pinched Lin Sanjiu playfully, "You have stayed for 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 savory 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?"