### Chapter 162: Love Really Needs Courage
Red Wolf shrugged, not going into detail. Mainly because Lu Liangting was right there. She couldn’t very well say in front of him that he and Sky Fox got along so well because they both had once been a father to the same daughter. That would sound deranged, wouldn’t it?
Imagine the soul-searching question that would follow:
“Does your daughter call you Dad, or does she call you Mom? If she’s calling you Mom, can she accept that? Dad turned into Mom, and a Mom who’s not much older than her sister, standing there together as if they were actual siblings. Would she even ask, ‘Mom, how did you end up like this?’”
And what if the child’s real mother were still alive? How would that work?
These questions could drive anyone mad, tossing her insides like a salad spinner.
When she first arrived here, her daughter nearly took her out with her own hands, but slowly, through shared memories, she managed to calm things down. After living together for two whole weeks, her daughter finally accepted that her Dad had transformed into a cute girl.
At least now her daughter didn’t care about that anymore, and neither did she.
Man or woman, it didn’t matter as long as they could be there for their daughter.
Her initial goal in participating in the sc*m Game was to bring her daughter back, who had died in a fire. With her daughter now turned into an Evil Ghost, wasn’t that a kind of “resurrection”? Sure, she looked a bit rough and scary, but as long as she was her daughter, she was the cutest little princess in the world.
Just like the sign she had so lovingly hung on the door of that room.
‘Lady Princess’s Room’
“Sky Fox has been acting a bit crazed lately. I don’t even know what she’s been up to. All I know is, it’s for her daughter, and she mentioned a place called White Day Amusement Park.”
Pulling a ticket from her pocket, Red Wolf pointed to the Ferris wheel on it. “If you want to find Sky Fox, that’s the only place you’ll find her. She’s definitely there.”
“If you decide to go, I suggest you tread lightly. You won’t be the only ones there; others will be joining too, and I have solid intel that the Doctor will be going in as well. You catch my drift?”
“One doctor and one Sky Fox—both top-tier monsters. Yeah, I’m definitely not going.”
“If you’re already aware of what’s happening at White Day Amusement Park, then I’ll let you in on another spot—the River Orphanage.”
“That’s all. Now scram! Don’t forget your promise. Give me a contact number so I can reach out to you directly.”
Sky Fox didn’t want to say any more; the clues she provided were already enough.
She practically sold out Sky Fox for that one River Orphanage.
“Thanks a lot!” Lu Liangting quickly rattled off a number as he pulled Zhizi away.
Behind them, the Red-clothed Little Ghost cracked open the door a smidge, peeking out to watch Zhizi and Lu Liangting’s backs until she confirmed they had left. Then, she softly murmured, “Mom, are they going to that place? There are so many friends there; Little Yan loves it.”
“Yep, they’re going to find someone.”
Red Wolf moved closer, gently stroking Little Yan’s cheek. “Are you hungry?”
“Uh-huh! A little bit, Mom,” Little Yan nuzzled against Red Wolf’s palm like a kitten. “My head feels a bit heavy.”
“Then let’s eat.”
Red Wolf rolled up her sleeve, revealing an arm marred by dark purple bite marks.
Little Yan eyed the barely intact skin on that arm hesitantly. But the raging tempest of malice and resentment inside her gnawed away at her sanity bit by bit until she finally sunk her teeth into it.
Feeding souls was the simplest way to maintain the sanity of an Evil Ghost.
The more compatible the soul, the longer the effect lasted.
Red Wolf has killed a lot of people and lured in many others; those souls only satisfied Little Yan’s hunger but didn’t help with clarity.
For her daughter, she’d just have to take it on herself.
She didn’t fear the pain; compared to the agony she had endured in her past, having her soul devoured felt like child’s play.
It was something she stumbled upon unexpectedly, but she counted herself lucky.
Five minutes later, Little Yan released her grip. When she looked up, her rotten burns had vanished, replaced by her original adorable self, complete with a sweet, warm smile and eyes that sparkled like the galaxy.
“My precious daughter, you’ll always be the cutest child in Mom’s heart.”
Lifting her arm to let her sleeve fall, it concealed the new wound added to her already battered and bruised, delicate arm.
Red Wolf tried to lift the arm, but it felt weakened; after devouring the soul, only numbness remained. It was as though the nerves controlling her arm were snapping one by one in her brain. Each snap cost her some control, leaving her more numb and with a gnawing pain.
With no other choice, she used her other hand to stroke the girl’s face, gazing into her restored smile and unable to help but show a proud grin.
“Let’s go see the stars!” Taking her daughter’s cold hand, Red Wolf turned around.
Right now, her body was barely taller than Little Yan, at least compared to the strong frame she used to have, she was a lot smaller.
On the hotel rooftop, cradling Little Yan in her red dress, Red Wolf looked up at the starry sky, quietly telling Little Yan the names of the stars, their stories, and how they got their names.
In truth, she didn’t know the names of those stars; everything she said was pure fiction.
What else could she do? Before joining the sc*m Game, she’d been busy working. Post-game, her hands were stained with bl**d. Not counting plot characters, her body count peaked at one hundred thirty-eight. If you counted plot characters, that number soared beyond what she even knew.
Men, women, the elderly, the young — she killed them all.
She became numb, so used to the warmth of bl**d as it splattered across her face, only to gradually lose its heat. It was during one such moment that she snapped and crushed a man’s skull without flinching, choosing to k*ll his innocent wife and aging mother in the process.
Afterward, she pondered for a long time without reaching an answer.
And now, she considered herself a mother, transitioning from a cold-blooded executioner to a woman carefully arranging her daughter’s room, intentionally learning what it meant to be a genuine woman inside and out.
The reason was simple.
She didn’t plan to leave; she wanted to stay in this world forever.
She needed to let go of the past.
She wanted her daughter to adapt to the changes more quickly and easily.
But she slowly realized she might not hold out.
How many souls could she provide her daughter with?
In such a short time, her left hand had already lost its feeling; what about later?
Once every soul was used up, how much longer could she persevere?
She had no idea.
Maybe a year, perhaps two.
During the sc*m Game, her relationship with Sky Fox was quite solid. Yet, despite Sky Fox ranking fifth, she always hovered in the twenties, her highest rank being nineteenth.
She felt their strengths were more or less equal; why was there such a disconnect in rankings?
Eventually, she realized the difference in raw strength was real.
But only recently did she uncover another, much bigger disparity.
Sky Fox had the determination and courage to do utterly insane things for her child, while she could only scrape by in this abandoned hotel, stealing time with her own soul and not contemplating what came next.
“Mom!” Little Yan suddenly spoke up.
“What is it?”
“I have a question I want to ask you.”
“Go ahead; Mom will answer.”
“So, here goes…” Little Yan’s voice dropped, causing Red Wolf’s expression to shift. The little girl turned to face her, sporting an eerie grin. “Are you just planning to hide away like this, playing the coward?”
Red Wolf gasped, but even then, she didn’t immediately release her daughter.
“Who are you!?”
“Who I am isn’t important. Just answer my question.” Little Yan broke free from Red Wolf’s grip and soared into the sky. The smile on her face was unrecognizable—a calm facade masking insanity.
“Rank twenty you, could easily change some things, right?”
“Just look at our Miss Sky Fox, dragging the entire city into a dream for her daughter—what a mighty spirit, what tremendous maternal love!”
The words “maternal love” dripped from ‘Little Yan’s’ lips with mockery.
“Get out of my daughter’s body!” Red Wolf seethed, but she found her body unwilling to move forward, held back by an invisible wall separating her from her daughter.
“What a pitiful existence you have, so lacking in courage, how easily satisfied you are. What on earth do you think you’re doing?”
“You keep saying it’s for your daughter. So, what about later?”
“When you’re gone, your daughter remains a wandering ghost. You won’t even turn into a ghost yourself,” she taunted.
“You’re lying to yourself. You’re letting Lu Liangting help you, and deep down, you know that in the end, you might even lose your soul. When the gods come, they can’t change your fate. You’ll end up as nothing more than a decaying shell.”
“Shut up!” Red Wolf’s eyes blazed with fury as she pounded the invisible wall with her fists, but no pain washed over her, “Be quiet!”
More than physical pain, she felt an evident loss of strength, as if all her soul was being siphoned away.
“Is this a dream!?”
“Congratulations, you’re correct.” Little Yan clapped mockingly, “Too bad there’s no prize.”
“I’ll lend you the courage you can’t find. Don’t refuse.”
“I will make you and your daughter be together forever.”
In reality, Red Wolf collapsed to the ground, while the enraged Little Yan ravenously devoured her soul.
The pace was swift; within just half an hour, Red Wolf was left with only a wisp of a remnant.
But Little Yan wasn’t finished yet. She tore open Red Wolf’s abdomen and entered her body.
After a moment, Red Wolf opened her eyes, her gaze wild.
In the corner of the little house behind her, the Rabbit-Masked Girl sat, hands cradling her face, her lower half sporting an expression that was both a smile and a smirk, gently humming a tune.
“Love really needs courage~”
“To face the six-eyed flying fish~”
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Just wait for one more chapter!
