I Live on the Land in Global Games-Chapter 486 - 469: The Villain

Although in the stories Mu Ying knew from her past life, Princess Shirley was supposed to be taken to the forest to be killed by a Hunter sent by the Queen, and was let go by the Hunter who couldn’t bear to do it, unlike now where she ran away from home by herself.

But she still ended up in the forest, and according to the following plot, Princess Shirley should have been tired and hungry, found a cottage belonging to seven dwarfs, eaten their bread, drunk their water, and fallen asleep in their beds.

Even though reality and stories could vary, according to previous Experience, they generally still connect.

Without knowing the full picture of this story, Mu Ying would not intervene in the development of the plot, as it was not her first encounter with twisted plots. Even if she wanted to help, she would wait to understand the whole picture first.

Thus, after hearing the story, Mu Ying left the remaining food in the basket for Princess Shirley and then planned to part ways with her.

The carriage slowly started, moving further and further away on the forest trail, until it disappeared from Shirley’s sight.

She also, with two somewhat bulky food baskets, went in the opposite direction, unaware that as soon as the carriage left her sight, it had stopped.

Mu Ying switched to a Magic Flying Carpet to follow Princess Shirley to see if she would encounter the seven dwarfs, then head to Trebia to check out the legendary Jin Jing.

Both of these were unusual elements in the story.

Especially the Jin Jing, which Princess Shirley claimed had greater abilities, could know everything, and even prophesy, instead of just being a mirror that told who was prettier.

It was unclear which way Shirley took, when there was a clear path in the woods wide enough for a carriage to pass through. By following this path, although it took a bit longer, she should at least not get lost on her way through Sunset Forest to the Green Wall Kingdom.

Mu Ying had arrived by this path, sure that there were no little people’s houses along it.

But it wasn’t long before Shirley strayed off the path into the forest. Continuing in this direction, it was impossible for her to reach the Green Wall Kingdom.

However, Shirley seemed unaware of this, in high spirits because she had just satiated her hunger and still had two baskets of food, she sang as she walked.

As the two large baskets were a bit hard to carry and somewhat heavy, Shirley ate as she walked, finishing off the perishable snacks and fruits first, then consolidating the food into one basket.

Afterward, she discarded one basket, keeping just one draped over her arm, which made it easier to carry.

Watching this, Mu Ying felt she had underestimated her appetite. She originally thought the food would last at least a couple of days, but it seemed it would barely last one.

Moreover, Mu Ying’s original estimate even took into account the possibility that Shirley might not finish the food and it would go bad.

Now, it seemed there might not be enough food.

With the way Shirley was eating, if it wasn’t for her obviously oversized dress that clearly didn’t fit well, and the fact that Trebia was less than a day’s walk away, Mu Ying might have thought she wasn’t drugged by a stepmother jealous of her beauty but had actually just overeaten to the point of gaining weight.

But the good times did not last long, Shirley’s left shoe heel broke, and her foot got blistered. Optimistic as ever, Shirley took off her shoes and continued walking in her socks.

That night, she slept leaning against a tree trunk.

The next day, it was visibly obvious that Shirley had slimmed down a lot, looking slightly chubby now, which made her dress appear even looser, giving her the semblance of a great beauty.

The next day, the food basket was empty again, but the forest still had no end, Shirley was both tired and hungry, but she had to keep walking. Her socks were now worn through, and her feet hurt severely.

Another day passed, deep in the forest now, she hadn’t eaten for a day, and her water bag was empty. Just as she felt tired and hungry again, a small wooden cottage appeared before her eyes.

Princess Shirley gently pushed open the door and found that the cottage housed seven small beds and a table adorned with seven small loaves of bread and seven small cups.

Having walked for so long, Princess Shirley, devoured by hunger and devoid of strength, grabbed a loaf of bread and gulped it down.

"Cough, cough," the bread was too dry, so she gasped for breath and took a small cup to drink some water.

Exhausted, Princess Shirley fell asleep on one of the small beds.

Mu Ying’s Magic Flying Carpet remained stationed on the cottage roof; she had pried open a tile and clearly saw everything inside.

Given the size of the furniture inside, it really was on the smaller side. Could there actually be dwarfs in this world?

Mu Ying had never seen such information in the witch’s archives. Could a witch, renowned for her longevity, have failed to discover such a species?

As evening approached, indeed, seven short-statured figures returned, seeming as though they had been out hunting, carrying their quarry with them.

However, upon closer inspection, Mu Ying identified magical traces on them— it looked like a curse.

Furthermore, it was a more profound curse than her own Curse Magic. She couldn’t shrink someone to such a small size with a curse, and even if she could, it would come at a great cost. Yet the one who had cast the curse on these little people was still alive and seemed to be living quite comfortably.

The seven dwarfs returned to the cottage and noticed the disturbed food on the table as well as Princess Shirley sleeping on the bed.

"Who is this beautiful girl?"

"She sleeps so soundly!"

"She is truly beautiful!"

The dwarfs all spoke at once.

"If she were to kiss our foreheads, would our curse be lifted?"

"But with our appearance, she would only despise us!"

"Look quickly, she is waking up!"

The dwarfs promptly shut their mouths.

Princess Shirley was awoken by the dwarfs’ voices.

Upon opening her eyes and seeing seven ugly-faced dwarfs with wrinkled faces by her bed, she showed no panic or disgust. Instead, she quickly stood up, "Hello, I am Shirley. I’m really sorry for intruding like this— the door was unlocked, and I was just so tired and hungry that I couldn’t help myself to your food and fell asleep."

Since being cursed by the witch for mocking her ugly appearance, the dwarfs had lived far away from civilization, residing in the deep, dense forest. Although they hadn’t been dwarfs for many years and were previously hunters from the Rose Kingdom, they recognized Princess Shirley by her name, fair skin, and beautiful features.

"Princess Shirley? What brought you alone into the forest?"

Princess Shirley also shared her own story with them.

The dwarfs indeed felt sympathy, and the leader among them spoke indignantly, "The Queen is too wicked, poisoning you out of jealousy for your beauty. It’s unfortunate we don’t know the way to the Green Wall Kingdom; it’s far, far too long a journey on foot. Since you’re looking for a place of refuge, why don’t you stay here with us? We will protect you!"