Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

Chapter 194 Shadow Capital
Looking around, all the wooden and stone buildings stood intact on the ground. Although there were still no stars in the sky, the flickering lights in many buildings illuminated the city.

"Are we in the Shadi Capital? A perfectly intact Shadi Capital? Could it really be like what the old man said before... ghosts?"

Poro looked around vigilantly, and there were some figures on the streets of the city.

They were dressed in the costumes of the Safdie people.

"You guys, should have come in from outside?"

At this time, the silk flute man who met Lake and Poro first asked again. His eyes passed over Lake and Poro and were behind them, with a thoughtful expression.

"Outside? Sir, where is this place? What do you mean by outside?"

Lake thought about it and decided to ask the silk flute man in front of her directly.

For some reason, Lake felt a sense of weirdness and disharmony from him.

But in the investigation of his strength, it seems that this person has nothing special about him. Whether it is strength or speed, he is the same as an ordinary person.

"Since you're here, you should be able to guess part of it."

The man smiled and said, "This is the Shadi Kingdom, or rather, the Shadi Capital in the shadows. As for the outside, it refers to the real world you just found yourself in."

After hearing the explanation of the person in front of her, Lake was stunned for a moment, and then she suddenly realized that the person in front of her had no shadow under his feet under the dim light!

"The capital in the shadows..."

Lake and Poro looked at each other, both with disbelief in their eyes. They walked back the way they came, while looking around.

There were also many Shadi people on both sides, and there were no shadows under their feet either.

Then...how should I get out?

Poro was thinking rapidly in his mind, but he had no idea how he got here.

If this is the capital of the Shadi Kingdom, then if we walk out of the city gate, will we be out?
After all, the old man Shadi who had tried to dissuade him earlier said that what was haunted was only the "ruins" of the Shadi capital.

However, when Lake and Poro stood at the intact but open city gate, they suddenly stopped.

"What's outside? Is this... another dimension?"

Behind the open city gate was a fog. The dark grey fog was swirling around, and no trace of the outside world could be seen. The color of the fog was changing strangely.

It was like countless afterimages blended together.

The stone bricks on the ground of the city beneath my feet extended outward and began to break into equally dark and invisible debris. The entire city seemed to be suspended in the air above a void world.

"Well, this isn't the reality you thought it was, so you can't leave through the main door."

Behind him, the Shadi man said that he was not surprised, as if he had already known the reactions of Lake and Poro.

"So, how did this world come to be? Where should we get out?"

Lake and Poro took a deep breath and asked the silk flute man behind them.

"Honestly, in the Shadow Capital, there are very few people with clear thinking like you. You must be special, right?"

The gauze flute person thought for a moment and replied, "As for how this world was formed, I'm actually not particularly clear—but there's no doubt that this world hidden in the shadows has protected many gauze flute people like me."

"Protect?"

“When the Weiser Kingdom massacred the city, about 10,000 people from the entire capital came here and escaped the slaughter.

As for leaving...it's still a little early in the morning, so you don't have to rush. I can take you back when the time comes."

The Shadi man narrowed his eyes and looked at Lake carefully while speaking, "We are not ghosts, just some Shadi people who survived by chance.

Of course, I can tell you this because you don’t sound like a Weiser, and besides, you’re a harmless little girl.”

Lake could hear that the Shadi man in front of her had some misunderstandings about her again.

But this misunderstanding did not have any bad consequences, so Lake did not refute it.

"Can you take me back in the morning?"

Lake thought for a moment, "It's like a dream?"

"Shadows and dreams always have an inseparable relationship."

As the silk flute player spoke, he waved to the two men, motioning them to follow, and then walked towards the city. "Over the years, many people have strayed here, many of them travelers like you. If you weren't Weser, we would be happy to send you back."

The Shadi Man said with a smile, waving to other people passing by on the streets of the city.

Lake and Poro saw that although it was midnight, those people were not sleeping. Many of them were leaning on the lounge chairs on the street, playing some Shadi-style board games.

"Can you tell me what the outside world is like now? About... those cities of Shadi. Of course, cities in other countries are also fine. By the way, little girl, which country are you from?"

Lake thought for a moment and said to the sand flute player:
"I come from the kingdom of Goethe."

"Goethe..."

The silk flute man thought for a while before recalling the name from the depths of his memory. He then fell silent. "Is the Kingdom of Weiser at war with your country? If we lose, will you also..."

"Well, actually, the Kingdom of Weser has already lost. Their king just died in the war against our Kingdom of Goethe not long ago."

"Wait—you said…what?!"

The Shadi man's eyes widened upon hearing this. "The Kingdom of Weiser is destroyed? You won the battle, and those flying ships in the sky?!"

"Correct."

"Then could you tell me... uh, well, little girl, you might not know this, but according to the rumors, how was that war won?"

The man with the silk flute forgot to even take a step forward. He leaned over and looked at Lake in disbelief.

"Of course, to put it simply, King Goethe led a relatively small number of soldiers into the Wether army, which was ten times larger in number. Using special powers, he quickly attacked the flagship and then killed King Wether directly?"

Lake thought about it and quickly summarized the war process based on her memory.

"Is this so..."

After hearing this, the silk flute man repeated what Lake said. His voice became a little trembling. Lake noticed that a crystal tear flowed from the silk flute man's eyes.

He wiped his eyes, and there was a hint of excitement in his words that he could not conceal.

"Um, sorry, I'm too excited. I mean... do you mind if I share this good news with others?"

As the silk flute player spoke, he pointed to a tall black tower behind the palace not far away in the center of the city.

Following his finger, Lake and Poro noticed that between the reality and the Shadi King's capital here, only the tall tower remained unchanged.

"There is……"

"The one who saved us from the massacre is the King of Shadow Shadi Capital, and also... the only surviving member of the royal family of our Shadi Kingdom, the Shadow Princess."

The silk flute player said, "Our princess, although she is a little... introverted, she will definitely be very happy if she hears this good news!"

As he spoke, the Shadi people continued to persuade, as if they were afraid that Rek and Poro would refuse:

"Don't be afraid, Her Royal Highness Princess Shadow is very kind and won't blame you.

Besides, the night is still long, so you don't need to leave now, right?" Hearing these words, Lake and Poro looked at each other.

The only surviving royal member of the Shadi Kingdom?

Shadow...Princess?
Although their purpose of coming to the Shadi Kingdom this time was indeed to serve as envoys of the Goethe Kingdom, how could they meet the last princess of the Shadi Kingdom here?
"Okay, please show me the way, sir."

Lake nodded and followed the Shadi people towards the center of the city.

After passing through the city, they arrived at the palace of the Shadi Kingdom. The Shadi Palace, which had not yet collapsed, indeed looked tall and luxurious. Next to the palace, Lake and Poro also saw many soldiers in armor sitting around to rest.

Many soldiers' armor bore traces of ancient sword strikes, and their bodies also bore many scars that were difficult to heal.

The silk flute player led the way towards the soldiers stationed in front of the palace.

He pointed at Lake and Poro and introduced them to the soldiers. The soldiers also showed surprise, and several soldiers ran into the depths of the palace first.

The remaining few people took Lake and Poro and walked into the palace.

After almost passing through the entire empty palace, Lake and Poro arrived at the foot of the tall tower.

The black tower is a slender cylinder with no doors or windows. It extends upward into the dark clouds in the sky.

"Your Highness, in this tower?"

Lake and Poro were confused, "How should we get in?"

They were thinking about it in their hearts, but before they asked, the square bricks on the outer wall of the tower suddenly began to become blurred - no, not just this tower, but all the surrounding scenery became blurred like ripples being shaken!
A soldier's voice came from my ears:

"Miss, Her Royal Highness the Princess invites you—"

This time, the Poro, who was concentrating all his attention, sensed the changes in the world.

The next moment, when Poro opened his eyes again, the surrounding scenery had turned into a room that looked like a bedroom in a palace. To be more precise, it looked more like a princess's boudoir.

The flame in the carved hanging lamp flickered, illuminating a young girl sitting on the bed.

"Hello, miss."

The girl on the bed wore a crown on her head. She had a sweet face and her skin was sickly pale. She looked at Lake and smiled, with a look of apologetic.

But although her words were brief, all her meanings were clearly expressed.

"I am the princess of the Shadow Shadi Kingdom. You can call me by my name, Marlene."

"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Marlene."

Lake leaned over and performed a standard court etiquette, "How can I help you?"

"Um, could you please tell me more...about the Kingdom of Weiser?"

Princess Marin gestured for Lake to sit on another chair in the room, and then asked curiously.

……

After listening to Lake's story, Princess Marlene was still immersed in thought, with a reserved smile on her lips:

"Thank you! You killed King Weiser. I promise that every Shadi in this city, and indeed, every Shadi in the outside world, will thank you from the bottom of their hearts!"

After hearing this, Lake's eyes lit up:
"Then regarding our Goethe Kingdom's alliance with the Shadi Kingdom..."

"Although I haven't come into contact with the Shadi people from the outside world for a long time, I believe that those Shadi people who are still in the world will be your best friends!"

Princess Marlene smiled and said, "It will definitely be no problem."

"Thank you. Then you..."

Lake paused for a moment as she spoke. "If the Kingdom of Weiser is destroyed, will you leave? You, and the people in this city?"

After hearing Lake's question, Princess Marlene fell silent. Then, she slowly shook her head.
"I'm sorry, although I really want to, but... we hid here in order to survive the massacre.

This is the side of reality, the crack in the world, a created shadow world.

When you came, you saw my people. They did not sleep at night. They were not ghosts. They were still alive, just... in the form of shadows.

We don't need to eat, drink water, or sleep, and we can live here forever.

But it comes at a price.”

Both Lake and Poro understood what Princess Marlene meant. Indeed, all benefits come at a price, but Lake couldn't help but ask:
"You're all still alive, but is there really no way out?"

"Not really, but..."

Princess Marlene was silent for a moment, as if she remembered something, then she shook her head and changed her words, "Yes, there really is no other way.

We escape in the shadows.

War and death should have nothing to do with us anymore.

We Shadi people always yearn for peace. There is nothing good in the outside world, so it is better to stay here forever."

Having said that, Princess Marlene smiled apologetically at Lake:

"Thank you for bringing me this good news. The city may revel for a long time because of this. As for your mission to the New Shadi Kingdom—"

No matter who is ruling there now, as long as he is from Shadi, he will definitely help you!"

"Thank you, Your Highness."

There was a hint of relief in the eyes of both Lake and Poro. It seemed that there would probably be no problems on this mission.

"Well...it's almost dawn."

At this point, Princess Marlene suddenly seemed to sense something. She looked up at the empty ceiling, then stood up and made a farewell gesture with court etiquette:
"You don't belong here. Now, I should send you away."

Princess Marlene raised her hand and pointed. Lake and Poro instantly saw the shadows beneath them spread upwards like a tide, and in the blink of an eye, they were above their heads.

The shadow swallowed up the sound and light, and all five senses were lost.

This is……

When the Poro's mind reconnected, he opened his eyes and the darkness receded like the tide.

He got up from the ground and exchanged glances with Lake, who had also just woken up.

On the ground, the remains of last night's burned-out fire were still scattered.

Above my head, outside the collapsed corner of the roof, a ray of early morning light shines into the room.

"call……"

The Poro breathed a sigh of relief.

came back.

The real Shadi abandoned city.

(End of this chapter)