Chapter 33: A Delayed Effect?

Yu Sheng thought to himself that his blood apparently did not affect Irene—perhaps the oil painting acting as a seal prevented the blood from seeping through, or perhaps Irene, as a doll, was simply immune to its influence. More likely, Hu Li, who had been affected, was the special case.

After waiting for a long time with nothing happening, Irene in the painting lost patience. She looked up at the top of the frame and muttered, "Well, you could at least wipe the blood off. After all, this is where I live; having it covered in so much blood is quite unlucky..."

Yu Sheng replied, "...You’re a supernatural doll sealed inside an oil painting, and you have the nerve to complain about that? Your very presence here is already unlucky enough!"

Irene was immediately offended. "Who says I'm unlucky! How could someone as beautiful as me be unlucky? People keep walls full of plastic figurines in their rooms, and you’re complaining about a painting of a beautiful girl on your wall?!"

Yu Sheng was stunned, unable to fathom how she managed to string that entire argument together. Nevertheless, he waved his hand, grumbling "That’s not the same thing," and stood up to grab a wet wipe, intending to clean the blood off the frame.

It wouldn't come off.

Yu Sheng paused, noticing that the wipe had no effect. He scrubbed the frame harder (not daring to touch the canvas itself for fear of damaging it), but the blood remained completely unmoved.

But more than the persistent stains, Yu Sheng noticed something else about the wipe—there wasn't even a trace of red on it.

Even if the blood were stubborn, it shouldn't be like this!

Irene, unable to see the wipe, watched Yu Sheng freeze and felt a sudden unease. "Uh, what happened?"

"It won't come off," Yu Sheng said blankly, staring at the stains that seemed to have become part of the frame itself. "It didn't soak in; it’s... as if this was the frame's original color."

Irene didn't respond.

Yu Sheng looked down in confusion to see the doll in the painting staring at him, dazed, as if her brain had suddenly disconnected. After two or three seconds, her expression shifted from dullness to horror. As if she had suddenly remembered something, she pointed a finger at him and let out a shriek: "Ahhh! Yu Sheng, you, you died, died, died, died..."

Yu Sheng froze for a second, then realized what was happening. Seeing her still screaming, he sat down on the chair opposite her, quite calmly. "Stop saying 'die' so much; it's unlucky—even if the actual number of times is admittedly a bit high."

Irene stopped for a moment, shot him a look, and then resumed screaming.

Yu Sheng had no choice but to get up and try to soothe the terrified doll—she was far less composed than that fox.

However, verbal comfort had limited effect. Whether it was the delayed impact of the blood hitting her all at once or something else, she remained incredibly agitated.

Fortunately, Yu Sheng had a sudden, dark inspiration.

In the next second, he grabbed the oil painting, shook it violently in the air, tossed it into the air while spinning it, caught it, and spun it a few more times before placing it back on the table.

He watched as the young lady doll struggled to climb back onto the chair draped in red velvet.

Irene stopped screaming.

Irene started cursing quite foully.

But this time, Yu Sheng was more experienced in calming her down. He finally got the doll to quiet her nerves and, amidst her lingering, indignant swearing, managed to explain exactly what was going on.

At the same time, he confirmed that his blood was indeed effective on Irene while she was sealed. Though it seemed to only affect the frame, she had undeniably been influenced, experiencing the same thing as Hu Li: she recalled the "event" she had witnessed—Yu Sheng's death.

However, unlike when he was with Hu Li, Yu Sheng could not sense Irene's "thoughts" or "memories."

He glanced at the still-angry doll, not having the heart to tell her that he suspected she might be lacking in both departments...

Irene remained puffed up with anger, but regardless, the shock of Yu Sheng's "return from the dead" outweighed the "rollercoaster ride" she had just endured. Her focus remained on his "resurrection."

"You're saying... this isn't the first time?" she stared at him, her tone still filled with disbelief.

"Yeah, actually, it started before I even met you," Yu Sheng said, recalling the frog in the rain. "But don't ask me for the principle behind it. Like that door earlier, I only know that it happens; I have no idea why..."

"Are there any side effects or costs?" Irene asked immediately.

"Currently... none that I've found," Yu Sheng said hesitantly and cautiously. On this matter, he had set aside his usual nonchalant attitude. "Physically and mentally, I haven't found any issues."

Irene continued to stare into his eyes. "Then you must try your best to avoid this kind of 'resurrection' in the future."

Yu Sheng sighed helplessly. "I know that, of course."

"The side effects might appear in the distant future, and the cost might come in ways you can't imagine," Irene explained tirelessly, as if afraid he didn't truly grasp the warning. "All things in the world tend toward balance. Things that exceed reason and order will always encounter a 'backlash' from that very reason and order. And coming back from the dead... it really is the most absurd of all super-rational events. Even if you say you haven't found any problems, I don't quite believe it."

She paused, then added with a serious expression, "I don't disbelieve you; I don't believe the 'appearance' of this matter."

"I understand, I understand," Yu Sheng nodded earnestly, but then spread his hands in frustration. "But then again, do you think any of the times I've kicked the bucket were voluntary?"

Irene: "...That's true."

"I just have a good mindset. After all, there's nothing I can do; in that situation in the valley, a good mindset is all I have," Yu Sheng sighed. "I understand your concern, but don't worry, I have my own sense of judgment."

Irene stared at him for a long while, then finally muttered and looked away. "Fine, just remember it... I'm still waiting for you to find me a body."

Yu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

It had to be said, this doll's capacity to accept things was quite strong. Even for something so absurd, she eventually accepted it so easily...

Irene suddenly looked up again, unable to hold back. "Wait, no, I'm really curious—are you even human? Are you sure you were born to human parents and raised on human food? Can't you try to remember if anything happened in your childhood..."

Yu Sheng: "..."

He retracted his previous thought. Perhaps this doll's capacity to accept things wasn't that strong after all.

After brushing her off with a few vague remarks, Yu Sheng ignored her subsequent muttering. Having finished testing the "blood" matter, he remembered his original plan.

He needed to continue familiarizing himself with the "door-opening" ability and its characteristics, and find a way to replicate the passage and accurately pinpoint the "destination."

Until he could open that door to the valley.

To bring food to Hu Li.

Irene finally quieted down. Watching Yu Sheng grip the handle of the kitchen door, she hesitated several times before finally asking, "Even if you really find the 'door' back to that valley, have you thought about how you're going to deal with the 'Hunger'?"

Yu Sheng slowly turned the handle, sensing the subtle feeling emanating from the depths of his so-called "spiritual intuition," and spoke slowly: "One step at a time."

"That means you haven't thought about it at all!?" Without looking back, he knew Irene must be glaring at him again. "Are you going to deliver food to Hu Li or to that monster!?"

"I mean, if I can beat the monster, I'll fight it. Eliminating the physical manifestation of 'Hunger' would be good; it has a high probability of helping Hu Li escape its influence. If I can't beat it, I'll try to find a way to bring Hu Li out through the 'door,' but that has side effects—Hu Li might still be targeted by the 'Hunger.' If the second method doesn't work, then at least I can send some food in to make Hu Li more comfortable. Either way, as long as I have a stable means of opening the door, everything can be reconsidered."

"When I say one step at a time, I mean I'll choose one of these three plans depending on the situation. But as for how to deal with the 'entity'... I truly don't have a strategy yet."

"Fine, if you've planned to that extent, then it's not so bad," Irene sounded relieved. "As long as you aren't just blindly diving in to feed that monster."

Yu Sheng thought about it but didn't say, "The monster's mouth and stomach wouldn't even be able to reconcile the accounts after eating me," because once he said that, he didn't know how much more the doll would blather on...

With this trivial thought passing through his mind, he slowly pulled open the kitchen door.

A boundless darkness filled his vision, with dim stars flickering in the distant void. Apart from that... there seemed to be nothing outside the door.

Yu Sheng looked at the empty void beyond the door in confusion, then suddenly realized what had happened a moment later and slammed the door shut with a bang.

"Holy crap, that's outer space!"