CHAPTER 712: CHAPTER 716: FAIRY TALE TOWN (PART 5)

"Very pretty, very pretty."

"Little Red Riding Hood, are you carrying that basket to Grandma’s house?"

Little Red Riding Hood tilted her head in confusion, "Big sister, how do you know? My grandma is sick, Mom asked me to take some tasty food to see her."

Anian and the others exchanged meaningful glances, silently communicating something.

"Rourou, you speak."

Si, who looked the most gentle and approachable among the girls, whispered to his companion.

That outsider named Rourou stepped forward, lowering her voice and gently asking, "Little Red Riding Hood, where is your grandma’s house? How can your mom be at ease letting such a little girl go alone?"

Little Red Riding Hood seemed to have no guard up, and answered when asked.

Little Red Riding Hood, "Grandma’s house is on a small mountain on the outskirts, the little cabin at the top of the mountain is where my grandma lives."

"Brothers and sisters, don’t worry, I’ve gone to Grandma’s house many times by myself."

But Rourou expressed her concerns, "But I heard there are big gray wolves on the mountain... How about, brothers and sisters escort you there..."

Even the normally quiet vendor uncle chimed in, "Indeed, that’s the case. I heard from people who went to pick wild fruits outdoors that they also saw a black shadow in the mountains, it might be a wolf..."

A flash of fear crossed Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes, her face showing slight fear.

Just when Si and others thought Little Red Riding Hood would agree with the suggestion, she firmly refused.

"It’s okay, if I return before it gets dark, I won’t encounter the big gray wolf."

Rourou wanted to persuade more, but was stopped by Si pulling her back.

Si gently shook his head.

After Little Red Riding Hood had hopped away joyfully, Si explained, "We are also strangers, it’s natural for Little Red Riding Hood not to trust us."

"How about we secretly follow behind Little Red Riding Hood? If we encounter the big gray wolf, with so many of us, we can surely scare the wolf away."

A charming girl proposed this idea.

"Yanyan has a good suggestion, let’s do that," Si, who seemed to be the leader among this group, spoke up, and the decision was made.

Su Li listened quietly on the side, her eyes twinkling.

Oh, Little Red Riding Hood...

Anian forcefully pulled Su Li along, not allowing her to leave.

The group stealthily followed behind Little Red Riding Hood.

Watching Little Red Riding Hood’s joyful, hopping step, Rourou couldn’t help but remark, "Ah, my childhood was just as wonderful."

Anian quickly added, "It’s still pretty good now, we can reminisce about the flavor of our childhood together."

These outsiders didn’t shy away from talking in front of Su Li, talking all the while about things they thought Su Li wouldn’t understand.

In reality, Su Li not only understood them but also commented on them.

Su Li said, "How do you know that this little girl is weak and harmless?"

"Have you not heard that when out and about, you should never underestimate a lone traveller, whether old or young? You never know..."

Su Li was like a mood-breaker, the air that seemed filled with nostalgic innocence was immediately disrupted by her words.

A few girls glared at her annoyed, she oblivious, continued happily on her own, "Look, this little girl goes out alone, her mom and the people on the street who know her, none of them worry about her, shows she often moves around alone... But look at how young she is, carrying a big basket filled with stuff, walking such a long way, not only not tired but hopping and jumping along, and then look at yourselves, huffing and puffing... Doesn’t that seem suspicious?"

Outsiders: "....."

Thinking about it, it perhaps, possibly, sort of makes some sense.

Si couldn’t help but voice what he was thinking.

"Of course there’s reason... When you were kids, didn’t the adults at home ever teach you not to talk to strangers, not to trust strangers easily, not to run off alone..."

Yanyan: "They did, how could they not have? My parents always mentioned it, saying there are many strangers outside who could kidnap you, and then you’d never see your mom and dad again."

These people were inadvertently led astray by Su Li’s words.

Her words seemed to make some sense.

Seeing others nod in agreement, Anian, the first to snap out of it, glared angrily at Su Li.

"Pshaw, what nonsense, don’t forget, this is Fairy Tale Town."

"Oh, right."

Others also snapped back to reality.

Curious, Su Li leaned in and asked, "What about Fairy Tale Town, is there something different here for us outsiders?"

Reminded by Su Li, they realized that the person in front of them was a local and of course wouldn’t understand them.

Rourou directly said, "Don’t bother explaining to her, she won’t understand anyway."

"Just know that Little Red Riding Hood really is a good girl who needs protection."

"She might face danger soon, and we must protect her."

Su Li: "How do you know she will be in danger?"

This time, everyone ignored Su Li.

Alright, Su Li also uninterestedly closed her mouth.

Of course, if she really wanted to leave, these Little Cuties had no way to stop her, but why would she leave...

Is this the Little Red Riding Hood she was thinking of?

A small group of Little Cuties followed Little Red Riding Hood, stopping and starting, winding their way through the forest without losing her.

They watched Little Red Riding Hood picking flowers and mushrooms, stopping now and then to chase butterflies.

The people following her were exhausted, yet that young girl seemed carefree, her face showing no signs of fatigue.

She really had good stamina.

But was she really sure they weren’t lost?

Su Li remembered the big tree they were now leaning on; they had just passed it a while ago.

Hey, that intersection over there, she had already seen it three times.

It seemed like they were just circling in the woods.

But seeing that Si and Anian were oblivious, Su Li decided: better not tell these Little Cuties about it.

It was getting darker, and after an afternoon of frolicking, Little Red Riding Hood finally realized it was getting late.

She hurriedly picked up her basket and ran up the hill, when suddenly everyone heard a rustling noise.

Little Red Riding Hood heard it too, pausing in her steps.

A pair of green, glowing eyes was watching them from the bushes.

Not just Little Red Riding Hood, but the group of Little Cuties trailing far behind were scared out of their wits.

Especially the girls, if not for Si and Anian acting quickly to cover a few girls’ mouths, they surely would have screamed.