Chapter 2441: Fantasy Adventure
According to Chi Cai's explanation, the "Hidden Friend" was more like a fairy tale—it didn't randomly select its targets, but rather required a person to choose it.
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be very difficult for the players in this instance to clear it?" Xu Huo said.
Chi Cai was also worried. "The real Hidden Friend targets the local elderly. I don't know if the players taking on the role will have the same ability. But I'm leaning toward the instance requirement being that the player directly kills the chosen target. As for the friends taken away by the Hidden Friend, this forest is so vast—who knows where the bodies are."
"And the person?"
While Chi Cai was speaking and looking into the distance, Xu Huo arrived at a patch of forest a thousand meters away. The players hadn't searched this area yet, or perhaps they had come but failed to find the person hidden in an underground tree hollow.
He pushed aside a covered pit beside a thick, sprawling tree root, bent down, and crawled inside, then carried out a little girl whose eyes were tightly shut but whose breathing was steady.
"Wake up." He patted her cheek.
The child was sleeping deeply and took several calls to rouse. Because she had been hungry for a long time, she was a bit weak. "Uncle, how did you get here?"
Xu Huo gave her food and water, telling her to eat something first.
Hunger and the unfamiliar food made the child ravenous. She chewed hard and swallowed forcefully, only slowing down after the initial pangs of hunger had passed. With her mouth stuffed full, she said, "If only Sister Tuotuo could eat something this delicious..."
Before she could finish, tears streamed down her face.
"Did you run out on your own, or did Sister Tuotuo call you again?" When Xu Huo had picked her up, two candies had fallen nearby—the ones the Painting Woman had given earlier.
"Sister Tuotuo called me." The little girl was very sad. "I even saw Sister Tuotuo, but she walked too fast, and I couldn't catch up. I didn't get to give her the candies."
"Then how did you end up sleeping in the tree hollow?" Xu Huo returned the candies to her. "Was it cold last night?"
The little girl shook her head. "It was very warm in the tree hollow."
She paused, then turned to look at Xu Huo. "Uncle, is the strange person in the forest Sister Tuotuo?"
Xu Huo looked at her, his tone even gentler. "Why do you think that?"
"I know Sister Tuotuo is already dead," the little girl said. "Sister Tuotuo's parents and grandmother all lied to me, but I know. I heard their whispers. When Sister Tuotuo was giving birth, the brother who married her fell and died in the forest. She was very, very sad, and she died together with the baby."
"The adults all say there's a deceptive strange person in the forest and won't let us leave home. How could Sister Tuotuo deceive me? She must have missed me."
"Sister Tuotuo used to tell me stories. She said that when people die, they don't really die—they just go back into the forest and never come out again. Before, some adults from the village went into the forest and never came back. They must live in a very, very faraway place, and only come out for a quiet look when they miss us."
She asked Xu Huo, "Uncle, did Sister Tuotuo want me to go with her?"
Xu Huo didn't answer her question. Instead, he patted her head. "How old was Sister Tuotuo when she left?"
The little girl looked at her fingers. "Twenty."
"And how old were the other people in your village when they left?"
The little girl wasn't very good at arithmetic and couldn't count on her fingers, so she just answered, "They were older than Sister Tuotuo. A lot older."
"Then that's right," Xu Huo said. "Maybe Sister Tuotuo misses you very much, but the people in your village only went into the forest and never came back when they were old. You're still very young and can't leave your family, so Sister Tuotuo can't take you away."
The little girl said dejectedly, "When I was chasing Sister Tuotuo, I think I heard my little brother crying. I gave the candies to Sister Tuotuo and told her I wasn't going anymore, but Sister Tuotuo disappeared. I couldn't find my way home, so I could only crawl into the tree hollow."
"How about this," Xu Huo said. "Sister Tuotuo might live in a very faraway place, and she's different from you all now, so it's not convenient for her to come and play with you. Entrust these two candies to me. If I run into her when I leave, I'll give them to her for you. If I don't, I'll give them to the family she married into. Okay?"
"I'm an adult. I won't get lost."
This seemed like a good idea. The little girl happily agreed, but soon grew scared again. "My little brother helped me trick Grandma and the others. He must have gotten a beating. If I go back, will I get a beating too?"
"Not necessarily," Xu Huo said, pulling her up and brushing the grass off her back. "Have you been beaten before? Did it hurt?"
"Mom's beatings don't hurt, but Grandma's beatings hurt a lot." The little girl took his hand and walked with him.
"Then I'll give you a little cushion. You can secretly tuck it into your clothes, and no one will know," Xu Huo suggested.
"Grandma is the smartest person. No one can fool her." The little girl didn't think this method was reliable. "She'll pull the cushion out and hit me again."
"Hmm... then you'll just have to endure it for now. I'll secretly give you a bag of candy. You can think about how after the beating, you'll have something delicious to eat. It probably won't hurt as much."
"Really? It's so good to be an adult! You can bring lots of delicious things yourself!"
"Right? When you grow up, you can too. But the prerequisite for growing up is that you can't run around anymore. If you get lost and your family can't find you, what will you do?"
"I can eat things from the forest! When it gets light, I can find mushrooms and wild vegetables."
"How many mushrooms and wild vegetables do you know?"
"A lot... but not that many. Some mushrooms and wild vegetables can't be eaten. If you eat too much, you'll die. But after dying, I'd probably move to live with Sister Tuotuo and them. Then I wouldn't be able to see Mom and Dad, Grandma, or my little brother. I don't want that."
"Sister Tuotuo lives with her child and husband. You should live with your family too."
"Will Sister Tuotuo's child grow up?"
"Maybe, or maybe it will be a dwarf."
"What's a dwarf?"
"Someone who never grows up."
"Wow! A child forever!"
...
Following the directions given by the villagers, Xu Huo brought the girl back to Upper Wood Village. Yi Po was waiting at home with her grandson, while the girl's parents had gone out to search. Seeing her granddaughter suddenly appear at the doorstep, she yanked open the door, rushed out, and slapped the child twice. After hitting her, she hugged her tightly, her eyes red. "You damned girl! I told you not to run around, not to run around!"
The little girl cried from the beating. She hugged Yi Po back. "Grandma, I won't dare anymore!"
The little boy stood at the doorway watching them and started crying too.
The children's voices attracted the attention of the neighbors. Knowing the girl had returned safely, a neighbor took out a wooden whistle and blew it toward the forest.