CH 46

(Little Red Riding Hood)

Edited by Silver Wind 

The players watched as Shen Dongqing conversed with the Clown only to infuriate him in the end.

A voice with a cynical tone rang out: “Look, aren’t you getting too far ahead of yourselves?”

Zhou Wenyan shot him a flitting look.

The player who spoke was wretched in appearance and it was apparent that he was the sort to bully the weak and fear the strong at a glance. When he met Zhou Wenyan’s eyes, he shrank his head back in fear and shut his mouth. 

During the short span of the interaction, Shen Dongqing had already dealt with the chocolate and cotton candy guards, and he even went as far as snatching their doughnut to give it a lick.

“It’s not even sweet,” he said as he threw it to the ground disdainfully.

Zhou Wenyan turned towards him with some helplessness colouring his visage. “Didn’t I say that you’re not allowed to eat it?”

Embarrassed, Shen Dongqing lowered his head, “Just wanted to give it try.”

“It’s dirty, you’re not allowed to eat it next time.”

Shen Dongqing nodded his head obediently in reply.

While the pair were talking, the Clown was stomping around furiously.

“Useless things!” The Clown’s face was red, “Useless, useless, you ought to take care because you’re definitely not leaving the death roulette for angering me, the great Lord Clown!” 

Saying that, the Clown stretched his hand out to begin the next round of the roulette.

However, just as the disc started moving, Shen Dongqing walked over and stepped on the pointer directly to prevent it from moving away from his box.

The players at the side asked: “What are you doing?”

Shen Dongqing blinked before he said: “The spinning of the circular plate is making me uncomfortable, so…” He tapped his feet, “I might as well stop it from moving.” 

Player: “Then how are we going to proceed to the next round?”

Shen Dongqing: “I’ll play them.”

Another player queried cautiously, “Is that really feasible?”

The death roulette was incredibly dangerous and it was natural that no one wanted to play it. Now that someone was volunteering, how could they possibly disagree? 

However, there were still players who did not know an advantageous situation when they saw one, and they said: “You’re courting death! It’s fine if you want to seek your own death but don’t drag us down with you!”

Shen Dongqing eyed him, “Why don’t you play it then?”

As he said that, he kicked the pointer over.

The player who spoke just now went pale with fright, no longer daring to speak, deathly afraid that Shen Dongqing would push the pointer onto his box. 

At that moment, the Clown poked his head in again.

Originally, he had been interested in toying with the next pair but when he observed the roulette, he was met with a familiar smile again.

“Why is it you two again.” The Clown’s expression distorted and he seemed to think of something because he started laughing eerily, “Since you are looking for death, this great Lord Clown will satisfy you.”

The Clown grabbed three guards and tossed them in. 

They were a black club, diamond, and king guard respectively.

The three guards were positioned in a triangular formation with Shen Dongqing in the middle. With the guards’ tall stature, they obscured the human in an instant.

The player who had been constantly throwing out taunts uttered: “He’s having a difficult time now, isn’t he?”

Just as those words fell, Shen Dongqing seemed to be in the midst of doing something incomprehensible as he landed on the King guard’s shoulder in a lithe manner. Then, he jumped again and landed on to the ground as the three guards collapsed, changing into scrap metal behind him. 

Someone sneered, “Your face just got slapped, no?”

In reaction to that, the player who previously spoke became red as if they had really suffered a hit to their face.

Seeing that the guards he threw in could not withstand even a single blow, the Clown started fuming in anger.

For others, those guards brought a possibility of death but when it came to Shen Dongqing, he felt that those guards were rather boorish. He yawned: “Next round.” 

After he said that, he decided to change his mind. “Forget it, you can save yourself from spinning it, it’ll still be us either way.”

The Clown’s eyes were full of murderous intent when he heard that. Perhaps because he was provoked time and time again, he silently agreed with Shen Dongqing’s idea and no longer spun the roulette and directly sent more guards in.

Ktlr alwf jgbecv, la kjr j ylrmela uejgv.

Qtlif Vtfc Gbcudlcu kjr yers afjglcu vbkc atf ylrmela uejgv, tf aglfv ab cfubaljaf: “Jjc sbe rabq rfcvlcu lc obbv asqfr, P ufa tecugs fjrlis.” 

Jibkc: …….

Zjvvfclcu, lcoegljalcu!

Mloat gbecv. 

Ktf qblcafg rabqqfv bc Vtfc Gbcudlcu’r ybz.

Qtfc Vtfc Gbcudlcu erfv ybat tlr tjcvr ab afjg jqjga atf mbaabc mjcvs uejgv, atf qijsfgr tjv jigfjvs ubcf cewy ogbw kjamtlcu.

Sixth round……

Seventh round…… 

Seventeenth round…….

The players had transcended to numbness from their shock but the Clown’s wrath only burned higher and hotter. Thus, when the final round came around, he could no longer hold back from jumping in.

“Let this Lord Clown tear you to shreds—” As he said that, the Clown landed on the circular plate.

However, before he even had the time to stand stably, the Clown was slammed to the ground and forced to accept a fat beating, moreover he was beaten so badly that he was crying and shouting. 

“Ah! Hurry up and let me go, you stinking worm, you’re going against the dignity of Her Majesty the Queen by doing this!”

Shen Dongqing ceased his actions.

Believing that he scared the human, the Clown looked at him complacently.

Seeing that, Shen Dongqing pondered for a moment before he raised his hand again to deliver another punch. 

The Clown was thrashed into a daze.

Initially, he was still capable of uttering ruthless words but he was reduced to crying and begging for mercy by the end of it.

Shen Dongqing only stopped when the Clown was thoroughly convinced by the beating.

The Clown’s make-up had long become smeared as he laid on the ground, sobbing, leaving naught of the arrogance he used to have. 

Even the spectating players could not help but feel that he was too tragic.

Shen Dongqing brushed away the dust on his hands.

It was Zhou Wenyan’s turn to go up next.

Zhou Wenyan asked: “What is Her Majesty the Queen’s Tea Party for?” 

Having been beaten too miserably, the Clown did not manage to speak for a long time.

Instead, it was the player with the black hat that spoke: “You dared to keep the appointment without even knowing what the tea party is for?”

Shen Dongqing: “Why wouldn’t we dare?”

Black Hat choked. 

He recalled the valiant bearing Shen Dongqing had just now as he was tearing the guards apart. In accordance to his strength, it was evident that no matter what copy it was, it could not stop him.

The other players held onto their Dreamland invitation letters in confusion because they did not know what the use for it was either. Thus, they looked towards Black Hat, wanting to know the answer.

Black Hat pushed down his hat’s brim, saying, “Anyone who participates in the tea party can have one request fulfilled by Her Majesty the Queen.” He paused briefly before adding another line, “No matter what the request is.”

The other players seem to understand what he was driving at. 

Someone asked: “Any request can be fulfilled?”

Black Hat nodded, “For instance, you could request to directly leave the game.”

The gazes of the other players lit up in an instant.

Seeing the players putting on such appearances, the Clown wanted to draw his lips back to grin but the movement pulled on his wounds and the resulting pain made his facial features scrunch together. 

Calm and collected, Zhou Wenyan gazed at the Clown’s expression without saying a word.

The death roulette had a total of eighteen rounds.

Under Shen Dongqing’s effort alone, sixteen full rounds went to their box, and for that reason, they only lost one participating player, leaving the rest to stand around like a thick mass gathered together, whole and complete.

Having escaped the disaster, each and every player were feeling blithe. 

Only the Clown had a wooden face.

Why was there such a player? He questioned. Why did a player that could directly tear apart a group of guards and even give him a violent thrashing exist?

The Clown limped onto the stage, his arrogance and wilfulness kept away as he said in a weak and weary voice: “Please come with me.”

The group followed behind the Clown and lined up to enter the castle. 

The path to the castle was lined with guards on both sides that stared at the players coldly as they walked in.

Originally, the players were somewhat afraid of these ice-cold guards, but when they remembered how they were teared apart under Shen Dongqing’s hands on the death roulette, their fear could not be roused.

In fact, they even wanted to laugh.

The Clown brought the players to the entrance of the castle. 

The huge castle doors opened to reveal a little girl around the age of six or seven. She was rather short and decked out in a dress with an immense amount of lace, looking like an extremely loveable little princess.

“New guests, I am Susie,” The little princess lifted up her skirts and inclined her body slightly.

Now that they were closer, they could see that her features were exquisite; they were delicate to the point where it was unnatural, as if she had been moulded meticulously and conscientiously to achieve the perfection she was. 

Black Hat bowed, “Hello there, little princess.”

Susie smiled bashfully in reply.

That made the ladies in their group sigh “so cute” with emotion.

While it was undeniable that Susie was cute, the impression was quickly ruined when she looked at the players before her and stomped her foot angrily, “Stupid Clown, why are there so many guests this time around? They will end up making the tea party a tight squeeze and Her Majesty the Queen will be displeased if she sees that!” 

The Clown’s anger had already been stretched taut, “Do as you see fit…”

Susie turned her head towards him, dark blue eyes rolling before she said smilingly, “How about this, there is still time before the tea party commences, why don’t all of you accompany me to play!”

Zhou Wenyan opened his mouth and asked, “Can we reject it?”

Susie’s eyes locked onto Zhou Wenyan with dead eyes, but her voice still sounded sweet when she replied: “Of course not.” 

Zhou Wenyan slipped his hands into his pockets and his tone held a hint of carelessness. “Fine, what do you want to play?”

Susie: “My puppets ran away, and there’s not enough puppets to act in a puppet theatre, so I’ll be asking the guests to help…”

“Make the puppets?” Someone asked.

“Or find the puppets back?” 

“Neither,” Susie’s smile was incredibly sweet, “I’d like to ask the guests to act as these puppets and perform a puppet theatre that satisfies me.”

Susie was akin to a little bird as she skipped into the castle corridor merrily.

Once she thought of how her favourite puppet theatre was about to begin, she could not help but become more elated, and she was so immersed in her happiness that she missed the pitiful gaze the Clown shot her.

The Clown thought: By virtue of the fact that she is a child, the next game shouldn’t be too tragic, right? 

Susie expended a lot of effort to push open a huge door.

It revealed a typical Western style room and there were numerous dolls lying around: there were male, female, old and young dolls, each with facial features so delicate that they were like living people, and their pairs of eyes were staring at the people at the door.

The players right at the front could not help but shudder when they encountered the gazes of the dozens of dolls.

Initially, he thought they were just accompanying the girl to play, but now that he saw this scene, he realised that it was not that simple. 

Susie bounced into the room: “I’ve prepared so many puppet theatre plays! Originally, I didn’t have enough puppets and I couldn’t act them out, but now there’s too many, how nice is that?”

As she continued to prattle, she climbed up her bookcase and flipped through it to find something.

Zhou Wenyan picked up the doll that was closest to him.

The doll’s skin was fine and smooth; upon touch, it felt like it belonged to a… human. 

Susie finally found what she wanted and turned around: “Let’s have a hodgepodge of puppet theatre plays then!”

Following that, Susie stopped in front of the players and held out the things in her hands.

She was holding onto a handful of bookmarks: “You have to play the character you draw, oh.”

No player took the initiative to draw first. 

Susie’s smile grew colder. “Do you not want to play with me?”

No matter how cute Susie looked, she was still a NPC in the copy; seeing that she was on the verge of changing faces, the players shuffled to the front one by one.

Shen Dongqing went up and drew a bookmark, and the four words “Little Red Riding Hood” was written on it.

“A fairy tale?” He did not seem to have an impression of it. 

Zhou Wenyan drew one after him and similarly, “Little Red Riding Hood” was written on top.

“Seems like we’re in the same play.”

Ding Ding Dang Dang. 

A gust of warm air blew past and the small bells underneath the eaves issued clear and sonorous rings.

All of a sudden, Shen Dongqing felt that the lower half of his legs were a little cold, and when he looked down, he saw a deep red chequered skirt with a threadbare apron on top, followed by a pair of straight white legs.

It was a skirt again.

He tugged on the skirt, somewhat unhappy. 

At that moment, a voice sounded from behind him: “Little Red Riding Hood.”

Shen Dongqing subconsciously felt like that voice was calling for him.

He turned around and saw that at the door of a run-down little cottage with a chimney that was emitting white smoke, which was curling up to the skies, was a similarly attired woman who was standing in front of the cottage as she beckoned him forward.

The woman blathered endlessly: “Your grandmother has fallen ill and she’s living in the woods alone which makes me worried since no one is taking care of her. But I can’t pull myself away right now, Little Red Riding Hood, can you help mother pay grandmother a visit?” 

Shen Dongqing was generally more polite to people who had no bad intentions. “… Sure, but can I not wear a skirt?”

The woman’s complexion changed, “Of course not, if you don’t wear your skirt and your red hood, how is your grandmother going to recognise you? You wouldn’t be Little Red Riding Hood then!”

As she said that, she draped the red hood over Shen Dongqing.

Shen Dongqing could do nothing about it. 

There were no pants here, and if he abandoned the skirt, his only option would be to go nude. Between the two options, it was still better to keep the skirt on.

The woman gave Shen Dongqing a small basket containing a bottle of red wine, two apples and two bread loaves.

“Before you go to your grandmother’s house, don’t forget to pick some fresh flowers to improve your grandmother’s mood when she sees them.”

Thus, Shen Dongqing set off with the basket in hand. 

Little Red Riding Hood’s house was located in the city and Shen Dongqing followed the small road that led him out of the city.

The road outside the city was curved and bent, and he met a lot of people along the road but he discovered that he could not distinguish if they were a human or a puppet.

A soldier clad in armour walked past and they were holding a glittering and translucent glass slipper as they shouted: “Important notice, we are looking for the lady who can wear this glass slipper—”

Two girls wearing braided pigtails were carrying a basket on their arms as they gossiped at the front of a small stall: “Have you heard? Duke Bluebeard is about to marry a new Duchess again.” 

At the side, a tailor complained: “Why are weddings happening one after another, His Highness the Prince is about to usher and marry a princess from another country, so the orders I have for formal attires are overflowing!”

Shen Dongqing reached the city entrance.

A soldier said: “Little Red Riding Hood, where are you going?”

Shen Dongqing felt that this puppet theatre was quite interesting, considering how there were interactions like in a television drama. 

He responded seriously: “I’m going to see my grandmother.”

The soldier reminded him: “Oh, please be careful of the big grey wolf outside of the city then, it is particularly fond of eating dainty and lovely little girls like you.”

Shen Dongqing nodded his head and bid the soldier farewell before he headed outside of the city limits.

After taking two steps out, the city behind him disappeared,the scene swiftly changed and he found himself in a flower meadow in a moment’s work. 

The sunlight was bright and beautiful and the flowers were brimming.

Shen Dongqing felt like the sunlight in the late noon was warm and pleasant, making him a little lazy to move so he decided to just sit on the ground altogether. After sitting for a while, he became hungry and he took out the bread and apples in the basket and treated them as his high tea as he nibbled on them happily.

The big grey wolf who was lying in wait further away silently drew circles on the ground.

Why hasn’t the Little Red Riding Hood arrived? 

According to the script, she should be here by now…