Chapter 10: A Second Blooming

Eileen found it absurd that Yu Sheng could live in an "Otherworld" for so long without realizing it—but Yu Sheng thought the whole world was absurd.

"According to you, this world is full of 'Otherworlds,' right?" Hiding in the corner of a dilapidated temple, Yu Sheng chatted intermittently with Eileen, who resided in his mind. "It’s just that most people can't come into contact with them? Because they can't observe them?"

"That’s about the size of it, though whether the entire 'world' is like this... honestly, I’m not entirely sure," Eileen replied. "I mean, the world is vast, isn't it? But at the very least, within the confines of the 'Boundary City'... the probability of encountering an Otherworld is very high. That seems to be why this place is also called the 'Borderlands' or something similar. I’m not really sure; I’ve been stuck in this painting for so long that my mind is a bit hazy."

"Borderlands?" Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow. He felt a sense of déjà vu at the name, but he immediately caught another piece of information in Eileen’s words—she had specifically emphasized "within the confines of the Boundary City." That meant this city, which felt so vast it seemed endless, actually had an "outside"!

He hesitated for a few seconds, unable to hold back: "What is... 'outside' the Boundary City?"

"Outside the Boundary City? Maybe more cities? Or perhaps... an ocean or something?" Eileen’s answer was vague. "I don’t remember. I’ve truly been in this painting for too long. I only remember fragments about this city..."

She stopped suddenly, then asked with some confusion, "Don't you know? You haven't left the Boundary City either?"

Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched, and he fell silent.

How would he know! He had only been in this place for two months—let alone the area outside the Boundary City, he hadn't even figured out the bus routes four blocks away from his own home yet!

But after a long silence, he decided not to bring it up. He wasn't ready to share his secrets with a "cursed painting" he had just met.

"I haven't gone out; I’m a bit of a homebody... Anyway, let's not talk about that," he said dismissively, shifting the topic. "Let's figure out how to solve my current problem. How do I get out of this so-called 'Otherworld'? By the way... is it actually possible to get out of these things?"

Eileen pondered for a while, seemingly organizing memories that were cluttered and blurred by long-term sealing. It took a long time for her to respond: "Otherworlds... they come in many forms. Sometimes it might just be a house that doesn't exist on any map; sometimes it’s an extra bus stop on a route; sometimes it’s a forest, or a kingdom you can enter by pushing open a closet door. Generally, smaller Otherworlds have relatively fixed and obvious exits, or one can return to reality by following specific rules. But the larger the Otherworld, the more complex the situation."

She paused, then continued, "I don't recall the specifics. There should be a complete classification system for Otherworlds, and there are even standards for 'depth' and 'danger levels,' but I really... I've been in this painting too long..."

Her voice grew quiet, sounding somewhat dejected.

Yu Sheng had initially wanted to complain that the doll had rambled on without providing any useful intel, but hearing her faint murmur, he shut his mouth and didn't bicker with her as he had before.

She was trying her best to help—she had simply been sealed away for too long.

"Let's look around. We'll find an exit eventually," Yu Sheng said, shaking his head and looking at the valley outside the temple. "The scale of this place doesn't look small to me. At the very least, as far as I can see, there are mountains on both sides and a forest in the distance. According to what you said, leaving... might not be so easy."

"Mhm," Eileen agreed. "You can start by looking around your 'initial arrival point' where you entered the Otherworld. Look for anything that seems out of place with the surrounding environment—things that strike you immediately as not belonging there. Usually, the exit to an Otherworld is nearby. If you don't find anything, try to find a higher vantage point to see if there are any mirror-like reflections or if you can hear a constant, persistent wind...

"However, even if you find something similar, don't rush to touch it; it could be a trap leading to a 'deeper layer.' The specifics... I can't really explain. You have to rely on your intuition."

"Intuition?" Yu Sheng couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. Strictly speaking, it actually requires 'Inspiration,' a kind of spiritual intuition. Trained investigators master this method of perception. I know you haven't been trained, but there’s no other way now. You'll have to wing it.

"But don't worry too much. Spirituality exists in all sentient beings. Even untrained ordinary people have it; it just hasn't been awakened. If you are careful, you will feel the warnings and premonitions that stem from your own essence. If you encounter something you truly can't judge, tell me. I will... try my best to help."

Yu Sheng agreed, slowly stepping out from his hiding corner and walking cautiously toward the temple gate. The unsettling feeling of being "watched" and a gnawing "hunger" still surrounded him, seemingly soaking into the air and becoming part of the entire valley. But he steeled himself and walked out.

According to Eileen, he had to find an "exit" to leave this place—waiting in a corner wouldn't make a door appear before him.

Meanwhile, likely to ease his tension, he continued to chat with Eileen.

"You said the place where I’ve been living is an 'Otherworld.' How did you determine that? I haven't felt anything wrong with my house..."

"I can feel it," Eileen replied. "It’s that 'Inspiration' I mentioned. I can clearly sense that there is something wrong with that building—of course, it looks perfectly normal on the surface... I don't know why that is."

"Intuition again..." Yu Sheng shook his head. "So, according to you, every time I go home and walk through the door, I’m stepping into an Otherworld, and when I leave, I’m stepping out? Then my house must be a very convenient, harmless 'good Otherworld' indeed."

After a few seconds, Eileen murmured, "Walking out of the door doesn't necessarily mean you'll arrive where you intended to go, does it?"

Yu Sheng’s expression stiffened instantly as he recalled why he had the bad luck to be trapped here in the first place.

He suddenly realized what might be wrong with his "home."

Thinking about that, the fact that he had lived peacefully in that big house for two months was a miracle in itself!

As he spoke, he had returned to the clearing in front of the temple, his "arrival point" when he first entered this "Otherworld."

"Found nothing here," Yu Sheng said after checking the area carefully, confirming he hadn't found any of the "out-of-place key items" Eileen described. "Looks like it really won't be that easy."

"Yeah, that was to be expected," Eileen sighed. "Try walking further out, but remember: never touch anything that glows or suddenly moves in front of you. Also, unless absolutely necessary, don't eat or drink anything in the Otherworld..."

"I know... by the way, wouldn't it be better to search when it's daylight?" Yu Sheng said, looking up at the sky, which seemed permanently covered by a murky veil. "Being out in the wild at night always feels eerie."

"Otherworlds are often counter-intuitive. Daylight isn't necessarily safer, and in fact... there might not even be a daylight," Eileen said immediately. "I still suggest you find an exit as soon as possible. If you drag it out too long, who knows what might happen on your end."

Yu Sheng curled his lip and had no choice but to walk further away.

Just as he stepped out of the range of the dilapidated temple, a sound reached his ears.

At first, it was just a faint, blurred sound of breathing.

Yu Sheng instinctively looked in the direction of the sound and saw a white mist slowly dissipating in the air, as if some invisible beast had just exhaled a foul breath.

He heard the sound, and thus, the beast’s breath was generated.

He saw the mist, and thus, the beast’s existence began to be confirmed.

Shadows emerged in the air—a silhouette nearly three times the size of Yu Sheng began to take shape before him, accompanied by heavy, labored breathing.

Now, he saw the outline of the beast—the beast existed.

Yu Sheng’s heart tightened instantly. A massive sense of crisis crushed down on him, heavier than the pressure he had felt from the frog in the rain!

And the moment his heart constricted, the shadow solidified.

It was something Yu Sheng had never seen before—a bear? A lion? An eagle? Or a mixture of tiger and snake? Countless grotesque, bizarre, and contradictory limbs were piled onto a massive, ugly ball of flesh, as if several ferocious beasts had been melted down in a pot and fused together before crawling out. This nauseating, terrifying thing looked down at Yu Sheng with its swollen limbs of various shapes and sizes, and in its chaotically layered eyes... there was only hunger.

Yu Sheng slowly looked up, meeting the beast's gaze.

The beast lunged without hesitation—at the critical moment, Yu Sheng dropped his body, narrowly dodging past one of the beast's gaping, bloody maws.

Then, he fell into another.

Sharp teeth clamped down with ferocity. Half of Yu Sheng’s body was torn apart instantly. Yet, in that moment, the excruciating pain felt like a distant, numb hallucination. He felt as if everything before him had slowed down. He saw snake-like limbs stretching out from behind the beast, and another massive mouth biting into him, tearing at the remnants of his body below the chest—he saw his own heart.

The heart beat slowly, then vanished into the depths of the snake-like maw.

"Screw you!"

Yu Sheng squeezed out a final curse from his throat. He knew he was dying again, but he felt he couldn't just leave it at that.

With the last of his muscles capable of contracting, he turned his head with all his might and bit down—he didn't know which part of the beast he had caught, and he didn't know what good it would do, he just knew he had bitten into it.

Even in death, he would at least rip a piece of flesh off.

Yu Sheng poured all his strength into that moment. He tore violently at the beast, and the beast tore at him. Blood and flesh, claw and tooth, food and diner...

Before his consciousness plunged into total darkness, one final thought squeezed into Yu Sheng’s mind. He spoke softly to Eileen, who was somewhere far away: "Eileen..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing, I'm hanging up."

Eileen was stunned, not reacting in time.

Then, Yu Sheng hung up.