Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

"Ah? The gods' bet, why is it this?!"

Leake's expression faltered upon hearing this answer.

She couldn't imagine why a god who sounded so powerful would do such a thing!

"Could it be that the wizard... is lying to you?"

Poro, on the side, was even more astonished. He finally couldn't help but ask the old woman:

"But like this... wouldn't the blazing sun win easily? Why would it..."

"Your dog can... talk?"

The old woman was startled, but the existence of wizards, magic, and gods in this world made her mentally more resilient.

She sorted her thoughts and continued:

"Yes, heat is certainly more likely to make people take off their clothes than cold, and that wizard was indeed a capable person."

The old woman shook her head, "But as I said, the gods don't care what people think! We asked the wizard to persuade the gods, and he agreed, but—he failed."

"The gods wouldn't listen?"

"That wizard wanted to judge, just like you thought. He used all sorts of reasons to persuade them, wanting to declare the blazing sun's victory and stop their competition—

But in the end, he was killed by the furious North Wind!"

"The wizard was... killed?"

Hearing this, Poro and Leake couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

"Yes, that powerful wizard died, like a human stepping on an ant. The gods' game was never meant for mortals to step into!"

The old woman's voice trembled slightly, "Little girl, can you guess what happened next?"

"I can't guess..."

Leake said softly, but looking at the current situation, she could guess it wasn't good.

"Their game changed. Now, they are competing to see—who can make more people take off their clothes!"

"Why? No matter what, the North Wind won't be stronger than the blazing sun!"

Leake exclaimed in surprise, "People will only wear more clothes when it's cold!"

"No, child, you're wrong!"

But at this moment, the old woman restrained her smile, and a terrifying expression appeared on her face, "The North Wind isn't stupid. He didn't start a game he was bound to lose!

You might think that people only take off their clothes when it's hot, right?

I used to think so too—

But... when people get extremely cold, they take off their clothes instead!"

"Ah? Why is that?"

Leake's blue pupils widened. The old woman's words overturned many of her common sense beliefs, making her thinking somewhat confused.

"I didn't believe it at first, until... I saw a person who was about to freeze to death. His bluish-black face squeezed out a strange smile. In the cold wind, he slowly took off all his clothes, then fell down—and never got up again!"

In the sky, the sun's light was still warm.

But Leake and Poro felt a sense of despairing coldness in the old woman's words.

Knives can be blocked with armor.

Arrows can be defended with shields.

But what about extreme, ubiquitous cold? What about terrifying, overwhelming scorching heat?

"Poro, maybe... we should change direction?"

"Yeah, I don't want to be roasted by the sun or suddenly frozen into ice."

Poro shook his head, recalling the map in his mind.

Perhaps this world is much crazier than he imagined!

...

Not far from the road, a sizable village.

"Goodbye, Auntie!"

Leake waved her hand, and the old woman with the injured leg also forced a smile.

She took out a few copper coins from her怀中, wanting to hand them to Leake, "Little girl, you saved my old life, but I only have these..."

"No need, Auntie, we have money."

Leake smiled and politely refused the old woman. She understood that such poor old people needed this small amount of money much more than herself.

Then, she looked at the direction and walked with Poro towards a relatively remote house behind the town.

"Poro, the person from the Sino Kingdom, his home is in this direction, right?"

"It should be fine. The villager at the entrance said it was in the south, but the exact location... should we ask again?"

"Yeah."

Leake nodded and walked towards a villager resting by the roadside.

"Uncle, can I ask... where does the uncle from your village who went to the Sino Kingdom live?"

The villager was stunned for a moment, thought for a while, and then slapped his thigh:

"Oh, you mean Hans? What do you want him for? Little girl, you must be from outside, right? Let me tell you, that Hans is a bit slow...!

"Uh, Uncle, we just want to find a guide to the Sino Kingdom."

"Oh, is that so? You should have said so earlier!"

The villager waved his hand somewhat listlessly, pointing to a dilapidated hut behind the village, "Then he is indeed the most suitable person in the village, especially... now."

Leake and Poro were a little puzzled, but they still thanked the villager and walked towards the dilapidated hut.

As they approached the wooden house, Poro and Leake heard some rhythmic sounds.

"Poro, did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounds like digging, behind the house."

Rounding the wooden house, Poro saw a haggard, thin man wielding a hoe in his hand, digging a hole in the ground under a tree.

Beside the hole, a wooden, thin-skinned coffin lay flat.

On the other side, opposite the new pit, there was already a burial mound.

Poro and Leake did not disturb the man, but stood aside, quietly watching the man push the coffin into the dug pit, and then bury the pit with soil.

Finally, the man sat cross-legged on the ground, staring at the two graves for a while.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that he turned his head and looked at Leake and Poro, who had lit a fire at his door.

"This... lady, are you here to find me?"

"Uh, I heard that there is a person in the village who has been to the Sino Kingdom, named Hans..."

"Yes, that's me."

The man with dark circles under his eyes nodded, acknowledging his identity, "What do you want me for?"

"Poro and I want to go to the Sino Kingdom, but the most common road is blocked by natural disasters. We need to find a guide who knows other small roads."

Leake said seriously.

"Poro?" Hans was a little puzzled.

"Mr. Hans, my name is Poro."

Poro raised his wolf paw and spoke.

If he really invited this man to be a guide, he and Leake would inevitably be heard when they spoke. He couldn't... really be a silent dog all the way, right?

"You can talk?!"

Hans widened his eyes, but was quickly covered by the sadness in his eyes. "Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore, you should have seen it... I have nothing left now."

"Sorry, Uncle, I didn't know before I came..."

Leake lowered her head, looking at the two graves, she felt a little embarrassed, "If it's difficult, we'll find someone else."

The thin man shook his head:

"How much will you pay?"

Immediately, Leake was stunned, and took out a few gold coins from her bag.

These were all taken from the bishop's room before leaving. After all, in the wild, she relied on hunting skills, and in human society, she relied on money.

"Uncle, is this enough?"

Hans looked at the gold coins, his expression froze.

He reached out and took them, widening the eyes inside his dark circles, carefully observing the patterns and colors on the gold coins against the firelight.

Then, he blankly fell into contemplation.

After a while, he sighed and returned all the gold coins to Leake.

"Is it not enough? I can still..."

"No, it's too much, a guide doesn't need that much money."

"Then... how much money?" Leake was a little puzzled.

"No money, let's go tomorrow, I'll be your guide to the Sino Kingdom."

Hans stood up unsteadily, leaning on the shovel he used to dig the ground, and walked towards his house, "Stay in my house for the night, then... just don't let me starve to death on the road."