Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

Chapter 28 The Light Ahead
The wooden house where Lake had lived before had been burned into a charred ruin by the fire.

All the furnishings and belongings were buried in dust and ashes.

In the center of the forest, which seemed to have been ravaged by a storm and a fire at the same time, the cold wind in the forest seemed even more icy and biting!

"Still not working?"

The Poro stepped on the charred ground. In the distance, a girl was trying hard to stuff the Heart of the Forest into a hole in a dead old tree.

That special old tree is dozens of meters tall.

From the old face on the tree trunk, Poro could roughly infer that this was probably the former forest witch.

The tree trunks, which were tens of meters high, were charred by the fire and the leaves were withered.

It looks like it's already dead!
"Why... why?"

There was a layer of mist in Lake's blue pupils.

There was already a hint of tears in her voice. Shortly after arriving here, Lake had been trying to stuff the Heart of the Forest into the hole cut into the tree trunk.

But... there was no response.

No matter whether Lake watered the trees, called out... or even cut open ordinary living trees and put the Heart of the Forest inside... nothing seemed to work!
Lake rested her head against the tree trunk, slowly slid down and knelt on the charred grass, holding the Heart of the Forest in her arms, her voice trembling:

"Grandma, please tell me...what should I do?"

But the heart of the forest did not change at all. It just flashed with a hazy green light as usual.

"Lake, cheer up, just like you did yesterday."

The Poro walked up to Lake, stretched out his claws, and patted the girl's shoulder.

"Thank you, Poro... and for comforting me..."

The girl whispered.

But his trembling pale lips revealed his inner turmoil.

"No, Lake, do you remember what you told me yesterday?"

The Poro stretched out his claws, diverting the girl's gaze from the scorched earth in front of him, and leading her to the still lush forest in the distance.

"Everything of the Forest Witch relies on plants... As long as there are forests in the world, the heart of the forest will be revived."

Poro said, wiping the tears from the girl's eyes.

"Be more careful, Lake. Now, I am more certain that your grandma is still alive!"

After hearing Poro's words, a glimmer of hope suddenly flashed in Lake's sad eyes.

Poro's expression didn't seem forced comfort.

"why?"

"Look at your feet again, Lake."

Poro smiled and used his claws to clear away the gray-black dust in front of where Lake was kneeling.

Afterwards, Lake saw more clearly that a tiny green grass sprout was growing on the ground!
Looking more closely, Lake discovered more differences!
The closer they are to you, the better the grass sprouts grow!

"This is……"

"This is the influence of the Heart of the Forest. Under the light of the Heart of the Forest, the forest is reviving."

"So, my grandmother is indeed still alive! She's still working magic to make the forest grow!"

A hint of joy appeared in Lake's eyes again.

"Yeah, Lake."

The Poro smiled.

"But why... Grandma doesn't come back?"

Lake looked at the dead towering tree on the side again.

"Perhaps her old body has withered and died, and ordinary trees may not be enough to support the magic of the forest witch."

Poro thought for a moment and explained.

Although Poro has never learned any magic, with his imagination from two lifetimes, he can come up with many logical guesses.

"Maybe we need to find some more special trees."

"A special tree?"

Lake's eyes revealed a hint of confusion. "What does it look like?"

Like the forest witch, who can transform into a human and even has a face...

Poro thought about it, and countless fairy tales flew through his mind.

"I know that in this world, there are trees that can grow golden apples every day, and vines that can grow to the clouds overnight - those should be what we are looking for!"

Poro said affirmatively.

The disappointment on the girl's face had begun to give way to deep thought. She thought carefully for a moment, and finally smiled:

"You're right, Poro, Granny told me stories like that!
I will find it!"

As she spoke, Lake carefully wrapped the Heart of the Forest in a silk scarf, placed it in a small jade-white bag, and hung it around her neck.

Then, she glanced at the forest again, a trace of reluctance suddenly appearing in her eyes:
"Polo, there shouldn't be any more trees like that in our forest. Now, my home has been destroyed... I may need to leave here and look for such a magical tree somewhere else."

"Isn't that certain?" Poro nodded and responded, "All miracles cannot be waited for by idle dreams. We must actively seek them out—"

"But Poro, you are a wolf, you certainly... don't want to leave this forest..."

Looking at the attachment in the girl's eyes, Poro finally realized why Lake said this.

"You said this..."

The Poro then grinned, "Of course I'll go with you!"

"really?"

The girl's eyes lit up.

"It must be true. Just think about it. A little girl like you who has lived in the forest for half your life, stupid and ignorant, is going on an adventure alone—"

Isn't that courting death?"

"Hey, Poro, I don't even call you a big stupid wolf anymore... but you're calling me stupid..."

The girl puffed out her lips, then suddenly opened her arms, hugged the Poro, and gently kissed the white hair on the wolf's forehead.

"Thank you, Poro."

……

"Little girl, are you leaving again?"

At the town gate, the plump washerwoman waved her hand and said, "It's too dangerous for you to go alone. Where are you going?"

"It's okay, Auntie. I'll be fine with Poro protecting me!"

Lake was still wearing a bright red cloak, with the hood covering her delicate face in shadow. She tightened the bag of the backpack behind her and waved goodbye to the washerwoman.

Then, she smiled at the Poro beside her and walked towards the road in the distance.

The early morning light rises at the end of the path, dazzling and brilliant.

"Puro, where is our first destination?"

Lake held the map she bought from the town in her hand, carefully understanding the various icons and texts on it.

"I don't know where all those magical plants are, so let's go to the Kingdom of Sinuo first."

Poro said as he walked. The map was not big and not very detailed.

He already had most of it in his mind.

"The Kingdom of Sinuo? Is that where the witch hunter came from? He hunted a princess there?"

"Yes, that's right there."

In Poro's mind, he thought of what the witch hunter had recorded in his hunting notes.

The Mirror Witch, and...Snow White.

Of course, there is also the reward "an answer" in the hunter intelligence sheet.

This is what the Poro is truly interested in.

If the answer is the same as what I thought...

Then it would be easy to help Lake find the plant, or even more directly find a way to resurrect the forest witch.

The all-seeing magic mirror.

Perhaps, there is still a chance to know the truth of this world?
No matter what, if you don’t know the direction, going to the Kingdom of Sinuo is the best choice!

……

After Lake and Poro left, in the small town.

Many townspeople gathered around the pulpit in front of the church.

This was the time when the weekly sermons were originally given.

"What? The Bishop is missing?"

"Oh my God! Is God going to abandon us believers?"

People were discussing intensely, and many of them had sad looks in their eyes.

"Could it be that the Bishop thinks our town is too poor and looks down on us..."

In the crowd, the washerwoman said with some disappointment.

After her husband disappeared, she had been feeling depressed. Coupled with Lake's departure today, this conscientious woman felt a little disgusted with the world.

But the moment she finished speaking, several townspeople nearby began to refute her:

"Shut up! Your Excellency the Bishop is God's agent, how could he have such a mentality!?"

"That's right, the Bishop has done so much for us..."

But the townsman who said this suddenly became a little unnatural in his voice.

Yes, what did the bishop do?

Lies without reality will one day burst like bubbles.

Of course, it will take some time for the clouds to dissipate.

(End of this chapter)