Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Cage of Fools (11)_1
After taking back the room for the Torrance couple, Fu Qian didn’t engage in much conversation.
No sooner had the middle-aged couple entered the room than he closed the door behind them, and, grabbing Violetta by the hand, made a swift exit.
This place was becoming increasingly bizarre!
Walking through the corridor that the couple had cleared, Fu Qian pondered as he walked.
Without a doubt, the moment he had seen the portrait of the Gridy family, he had been contaminated by some strange entity.
It resulted in him not only being able to see living people-shaped rabbits but also increasingly blurring the line between humans and rabbits.
...
Fu Qian deeply suspected that if he kept on chatting, he would start to lose SAN Points.
The end result would be just like that of the Torrance couple.
Fortunately, no other anomalies had been detected for the time being.
“Did you see what I was doing in there just now?”
Fu Qian gave it some thought and looked at Violetta.
“You were playing with apples.”
The little girl responded almost instantly.
It seemed that Snow White was unaffected.
Fu Qian nodded his head.
“Scared?”
“Why should I be scared?”
Violetta appeared somewhat puzzled by Fu Qian’s question.
“The monsters we encountered earlier, plus the long time it took to find your mother.”
“It’s okay, I will definitely find her.”
Violetta spoke with an indescribable certainty, much like one is certain the sun will rise tomorrow.
“Because that’s how the story goes, Snow White escapes the castle and, with the help of her friends, eventually finds her mother.”
Alright, it looked like in this young child’s eyes, everything happening was part of a fairy tale.
And no matter the twists and turns, finding her mother was an inevitable conclusion to the story.
Fu Qian made no comment on this, as he had noticed something more pressing—the endless corridor had smoothly leveled out.
This change seemed to suggest they had reached a certain juncture in their journey.
The only downside was that the corridor, having become level again, split into two after just a few steps, leading in different directions.
And standing at this three-way junction, even Violetta hesitated, unsure of which way to choose.
The protagonist lost?
It seemed it was time for him, her friend, to step up to the plate.
Seeing Violetta lose her sense of direction, Fu Qian stepped forward and looked left and right.
Unfortunately, what was essentially a pathway extending to both sides offered no discernible difference at a glance.
Just as he was about to check ahead, Fu Qian noticed something odd.
Without a sound, a red figure appeared in one of the hallways, no more than a dozen steps away.
The round-faced scarecrow again?
As Fu Qian frowned, someone tugged at his sleeve.
Looking back, Violetta was making a silent gesture, pulling Fu Qian to walk in the opposite direction.
Phew!
After moving a distance away and noticing the scarecrow had not followed, Violetta looked relieved.
“I thought you weren’t afraid?”
Fu Qian looked at her with a bit of amusement.
“I’m not afraid.”
The little girl shook her head stubbornly.
“But it really looks ugly, and it keeps following me.”
“Oh? You’ve seen it many times?”
Fu Qian unconsciously slowed his pace.
“Yeah, you saw it in the car earlier, right? It’s been following me even before that, and after I got on the car, it still found me.”
I see!
Fu Qian glanced back at the distant scarecrow, and couldn’t help but consider another possibility.
Could it be that this thing wasn’t here to capture anyone, but rather to guide them?
After all, according to Violetta, the scarecrow had been following her even before she met the Torrance couple. If it really wanted to harm her, it shouldn’t have waited until now.
And when he thought about it carefully, its appearance had directly caused the Torrance couple to get lost and ended up driving here.
“Stop!”
The more Fu Qian thought about it, the more it seemed possible, so he immediately signaled Violetta to stop.
“I think your mother is more likely in that direction.”
Facing her puzzled wide eyes, Fu Qian pointed in the opposite direction.
“Why?”
Violetta was clearly resistant, but she didn’t forget to keep her voice down.
“It’s just a guess, so stand here and don’t move; I’ll be right back.”
Fu Qian patted her shoulder, signaling her to stand still and not to move.
He quickly approached the scarecrow; this was the first time Fu Qian had come into such close contact with it.
From this angle, the scarecrow wasn’t very tall, its head made from a single piece of white cloth stitched together, along with the red coat on its body, the stitching was also very crude.
Of course, that wasn’t important.
What was important was that as he stood there, it remained motionless, just like a real scarecrow.
The possibility was increasing; at least if he had to choose between two options, he felt it was more likely they should go this way.
Fu Qian thought for a moment, but he did not call Violetta over directly; instead, he returned along the same path.
“Let’s go that way.”
“But I’m… a little scared.”
Violetta’s voice had a note of grievance.
“It’s okay, it’s normal for Snow White to be afraid.”
Fu Qian didn’t mock her for her contradictions.
“Besides, I’m Doctor Mister, and one of the major roles of a friend is to give courage to the main character at critical moments.”
“As a universal-level friend, I will lead you to conquer fear and achieve growth.”
…
Not quite understanding Fu Qian’s words, Violetta, with sweaty palms, was led along by him.
It was a relief that the scarecrow had no reaction to her arrival.
And after passing it briskly, the girl visibly relaxed.
“See, it won’t hurt you.”
Fu Qian comforted her with a grin, and she nodded repeatedly.
After turning a few more corners, something different finally appeared in front of them.
The corridor actually came to an end, and at the deepest part stood a solid black wooden door.
“Where’s your key?”
Fu Qian went to the door and checked it.
“Here.”
Violetta had recovered her composure and quickly took out the gold key she had before.
“There shouldn’t be a problem.”
Fu Qian took the key in his hand, compared it briefly, and inserted it directly into the keyhole, trying to turn it.
With a click, the door lock opened in response.
“Stand behind me.”
Fu Qian said to an excited Violetta.
Mm.
The girl was sensible, although she couldn’t hide her excitement about possibly finding her mother, she obediently let Fu Qian stand in front of her.
After she took her place, Fu Qian put some force in his hand and slowly pushed open the door before him.
As he did so, a bright light came through, engulfing both of their shadows.
“Violetta…”
In a vision, Fu Qian heard someone calling softly.
As the light dimmed slightly, he realized he was inside a room.
But the room didn’t contain Violetta’s mother from the photos.
Instead, a group of people, some squatting, some standing, were encircling Violetta in the middle.
This is—
When he got a clear look at their faces, even Fu Qian couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
A room full of Su Gao?