Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

Mist shrouded the entire Stetz capital.

Polo and his companions' carriage stopped in the forest at the foot of the mountain. The two steeds neighed restlessly. After a moment's thought, Polo, Leike, and the others left the carriage and tethered the horses to a tree.

They placed enough hay in front of the horses to last for several days.

The potential dangers within the city meant that if these horses entered, their chances of emerging unscathed were slim to none.

Through the mist, the details of the city became increasingly clear.

Countless bones littered the roadside, buried by mud and weeds. Closer to the city, patches of red substance appeared on the ground.

They resembled the flesh of the maddened prince in his inhuman form.

These patches of flesh sprouted tiny buds, like countless miniature arms, swaying and dancing. The red and white patterns created an ornate design.

They weren't ugly, but possessed a strange beauty.

"What is this flesh? Is it still alive?"

"I don't know."

The old soldier, Inver, shook his head. Everyone was careful not to touch the flesh. "When I left, the Stetz capital was only populated by citizens controlled by the Dance Plague."

The city gates stood open.

Strands of flesh were wrapped around them, the red and white muscles pulsating with a unified rhythm.

Initially, the group tried to avoid the flesh on the ground.

But soon, they realized there was no place to step that wasn't covered in the strange substance.

"I'll try first. Whatever it is, it shouldn't affect me much."

The angel, Karen, said, stepping onto the flesh.

The flesh merely yielded slightly to the side, without any strange reaction.

"It's probably just some effect of the crazed dancers on the environment. There shouldn't be much consciousness involved..."

Subsequently, the others also stepped onto the flesh.

Crimson flesh writhed across the city's ground, lacking blood. The red and white muscles formed a chaotic, patterned style.

Stepping on it felt soft and elastic.

Like walking on a rubber carpet.

The mist faded, revealing the black shadows of several low houses in the outer city.

"Did you hear something?"

At that moment, the group exchanged glances. After Polo heard it, the others also held their breath and listened, nodding.

"It does sound like...some kind of sound."

"Is that some kind of music?"

Indeed, a musical sound drifted from the distant city.

At first, Polo thought it was a hallucination, but now it seemed otherwise.

It was unlikely that everyone was hallucinating, right?

Moreover, the haunting melody became clearer as they ventured deeper.

Polo stepped over the flesh on the ground, noticing that the tone of the soothing music seemed to gradually align with the undulations of the flesh.

"I've heard this tune before."

At that moment, the old soldier, Inver, suddenly spoke. "It's a Stetz kingdom court dance. Most of the citizens know how to dance it."

"But why, in this disaster-stricken dead city, is there still this...music?"

Leike asked, puzzled. In such a bizarre, ruined city, the originally soothing music carried a hint of eeriness!

"Yes, could it be that the citizens who died from the Dance Plague are not at peace even in death, their spirits still dancing..."

Polo said casually, but his voice trailed off.

Because in the distance, at the source of the soothing music, in the center of the wide street, several swaying shadows vaguely appeared, like several...dancing people!

"Someone?!"

Polo and his companions were shocked. They exchanged glances and moved behind the shadows of roadside buildings.

Here and now, in such a place—such a scene—could never happen normally!

And such strangeness also meant unknown danger.

Fortunately, there were many remnants left over from before the disaster in the city's streets.

Many overturned carriages, collapsed and scattered goods, and the remains of houses that had tilted into the middle of the road due to abnormal changes.

These things provided Polo and his companions with perfect cover.

They tiptoed forward, slowly approaching under the cover...

The figures gradually became clearer.

Moreover, there wasn't just one person, but...countless residents dressed in ordinary clothes. Their clothes hadn't become dirty and tattered over time.

Instead, they looked...incredibly clean.

Their skin looked pale and clean, without any scars.

They didn't seem to have suffered any disaster.

Most people were wearing neat dance costumes, while some wore other neat attire.

They danced to the soothing music in the center of the road.

Some danced in groups, while others danced alone, but their steps seemed perfectly normal, like real, living citizens still dancing in the city.

They danced through the streets and alleys.

Their footsteps, in a unified rhythm, stepped on the flesh on the ground, but without making the slightest sound. Only the soothing music could be heard from all directions, gradually increasing in volume.

"What are they doing? Are they still...alive?"

"But I think it's better not to be discovered by them. These people, not to mention their strange dance, haven't become mummies after so many years—that's definitely not normal!"

The group lowered their voices and continued forward along the walls of the roadside houses, towards the city center, the palace.

The silent, dancing citizens all wore serene smiles on their faces.

But there was no change or exchange.

The silent dance steps were more like a silent nightmare parade.

The bizarre music came from all directions, and the source of the sound was on the walls, within the scarlet flesh—

Thicker muscles encased flower-like mouths.

They opened and closed, and from the depths of these twisted throats, eerie dance music was born.

Blood light rippled before Polo's eyes.

Polo was in a daze, the scene distorted by the music. He seemed to see again in the distance, the scarlet red light rising from the top of the palace, dyeing the cloudy sky red.

A cool sensation came from the golden runes on his palm.

The blood color in the distant sky gradually faded.

"Okay, at least they're dancing by themselves and not doing anything unusual."

Polo and his companions walked forward along the walls of the adjacent houses. The citizens immersed in the bizarre song and dance drama danced in the center of the street and did not approach the corners of the houses on both sides.

This undoubtedly made Polo and his companions' stealth much easier.

But just then, Polo's ears twitched slightly—

"Wait!"

"What's wrong?"

The others stopped and asked.

"The house in front seems a little unstable. I vaguely heard...a cracking sound?"

Polo frowned and looked up.

The next moment, everyone heard a louder cracking sound!

"Crack—crack——"

It was a support pillar that looked like it was about to collapse due to insect infestation and weathering. Now, a shocking crack had appeared on the surface of the support pillar!

"Crack——"

The third cracking sound finally rang out. The next moment, the building in front of them, along with a large piece of wriggling flesh clinging to the outer wall, collapsed together!

"Bang!"

In the huge sound, countless smoke and dust, carrying a red mist, rose up.

The group took a few steps back, feeling lingering fear.

"Why did the wall that hadn't collapsed for so many years suddenly..."

"Yes, luckily Polo has good hearing, otherwise we would have been in trouble if we had taken a few more steps."

But just then, Polo suddenly noticed that the dance music that had been permeating the air suddenly stopped abruptly with the sound of the collapse!

"I don't think our situation is that good right now."

Polo's mouth twitched and he said.

The group looked around, only to see that the "citizens" who had been engrossed in dancing had now all turned their heads.

They stared intently at the group sneaking in front of the collapsed ruins.

The serenity and smiles on everyone's faces, and their different dance poses, froze in mid-air. They stood still, like silent wax figures.