Chapter 10: Flower Blooms Twice
Irene thought it was outrageous that Yu Sheng could live in a "foreign land" for a long time without realizing it - but Yu Sheng thought everything in this world was outrageous.
"According to what you said, this world is full of 'foreign lands', right?" Hiding in a corner of the ruined temple, Yu Sheng chatted with Irene in his mind, "But most people can't touch them? Because they can't observe them?"
"That's about right, but I'm not sure if the whole 'world' is like this," Irene said. "After all, the world is so big, right? But at least within the 'boundary city', the probability of foreign lands appearing is very high, so this place seems to be called the 'borderland' or something... I don't know the details, I've been in the painting for too long, and my mind is a little fuzzy."
"Border area?" Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows, feeling that this name seemed a bit like déjà vu, but then he noticed another piece of information revealed in Irene's words just now -
She specifically emphasized "within the city boundary" - so, this city that is so huge that seems to have no boundaries, actually has an "outside"!
He hesitated for two or three seconds, but still couldn't help but ask: "What's 'outside' the boundary city?"
"Outside the boundary city? Maybe more cities? Or maybe... the sea or something?" Irene's answer was vague. "I don't remember either. I really stayed in this painting for too long. I only remember a few things in this city..."
At this point she suddenly stopped and asked in confusion, "Don't you know? You haven't left Jiecheng either?"
The corner of Yu Sheng's mouth twitched and he immediately fell silent.
How could he know! He had only been here for two months - let alone outside the boundary city, he hadn't even figured out the bus routes four blocks away from his home! But he was silent for a long time, and decided not to mention this matter - he didn't want to let a "cursed portrait" who had just met him know this little secret of his for the time being.
"I've never been out. I'm a homebody... Never mind, let's not talk about this for now," he said perfunctorily, then changed the subject. "Let's first think of a way to solve my problem. How can I get out of this so-called 'foreign land'? Speaking of which... can I get out of this foreign land?"
Irene on the other side thought for a while, as if she was sorting out her memory that was messy and blurred due to being sealed for a long time. After a long time, she responded: "There are many kinds of foreign lands. Sometimes it may be just a house that does not exist on the map, sometimes it may be an extra platform on the bus route, sometimes it may even be a forest, a country that you can walk into by pushing open the closet door. Basically, smaller foreign lands have relatively fixed and obvious exits, or you can return to reality by following specific rules, but the larger the foreign land, the more complicated the situation."
She paused for a moment, then continued, "I can't remember the details. There should be a complete classification method for foreign lands, and there are also standards for 'depth' and 'danger' classification, but I really... stayed in this painting for too long..."
Her voice gradually became lower and she sounded a little lost.
Yu Sheng originally wanted to complain, thinking that this puppet kept talking a lot but didn't remember any useful information. However, after hearing the other party's last muttering, he shut his mouth and did not argue with Irene like before.
She had tried hard to help—she had just been sealed away for too long.
"Look for it, we can always find the exit," Yu Sheng shook his head and looked up at the valley outside the ruined temple. "This place looks quite large to me. At least as far as the eye can see there are mountains on both sides and forests in the distance. According to what you said, leaving... may not be that easy."
"Well," Irene hummed, "You can first look around the 'original landing point' after entering the alien land to see if there is anything that is out of tune with the surrounding environment, that is, something that you feel at first glance should not be there. Generally, the exit of the alien land will be nearby. If there is no such thing nearby, find a higher place and see if you can see a mirror-like reflection or hear the continuous sound of wind...
"But even if you find something like this, don't rush into it. It could be a trap leading to a 'deeper level'. I can't tell you the details. You have to go with your gut."
"Feeling?" Yu Sheng couldn't help but ask.
"...Yes, strictly speaking, it actually requires 'inspiration', a kind of spiritual intuition. Trained investigators will master this kind of perception - I know you haven't been trained in this, but there is no other way now. You can only bite the bullet and do it.
"But don't worry too much. Spirituality exists in all intelligent creatures. Ordinary people without training also have it, but it has not been stimulated. If you pay more attention, you will feel the warnings and omens that come from your own nature. If you really encounter something that you can't judge, tell me, and I will... try my best to help."
Yu Sheng agreed, and slowly walked out from the corner where he was hiding, cautiously walking towards the gate of the ruined temple - the unsettling feeling of "being watched" and "hunger" still surrounded him, and even seemed to have permeated the surrounding air and become a part of the entire valley, but he still walked out.
Because from the information provided by Irene, he must find an "exit" as soon as possible to leave this place - waiting in the corner will not cause a door to open in front of him.
At the same time, perhaps to relieve his tension, he was still chatting with Irene.
"You said that the place where I have been living is a 'foreign land'. How did you judge it? I don't think there is anything wrong with my home..."
"I can feel it," Irene replied, "It's the kind of 'inspiration' I mentioned. I can clearly feel that there is something wrong with this building - of course, it does look normal on the surface... I don't know what's going on."
"A feeling again..." Yu Sheng shook his head. "So according to what you said, when I come home every day, I walk into a foreign land, and when I leave, I leave the foreign land? Then my home is really a 'good foreign land' where people and animals can come and go freely and it is harmless."
After two or three seconds, Irene spoke faintly: "...Opening the door and going out may not necessarily lead you to where you want to go, right?"
Yu Sheng's expression froze for a moment as he recalled why he was so unlucky to be trapped in this place.
He seemed to know what was wrong with his "home".
When you think about it, it’s a miracle in itself that he managed to live peacefully in that big house for two months!
As he spoke, he had already returned to the open space in front of the dilapidated temple, which was the "landing point" when he first entered this "foreign land".
"I didn't find anything here," Yu Sheng carefully checked around the open space and confirmed that he didn't find the "distinctive key items" that Irene described. "It seems that it's not that easy."
"Yeah, that's to be expected," Irene sighed, "Then try to walk out first, but remember, don't touch anything that glows or suddenly moves in front of you. Also, don't eat or drink anything from the alien land unless you have to..."
"I know... Wouldn't it be better to wait until daytime to search?" Yu Sheng said, looking up at the sky that seemed to be always covered with a turbid veil. "It always feels eerie when we are outdoors at night."
"Foreign lands are often counterintuitive. Daytime may not necessarily be safer. In fact... there may not even be daytime," Irene said immediately. "I still suggest you find an exit as soon as possible. If you delay for too long, who knows what will happen to you."
Yu Sheng curled his lips and could only walk further away helplessly.
Just as he stepped out of the ruined temple, a voice came to his ears.
At first, it seemed like just a faint, blurred breathing sound.
Yu Sheng subconsciously looked in the direction where the sound came from, and just in time he saw a white mist slowly dissipating in the air, as if an invisible giant beast had just exhaled a breath of foul air.
He heard the sound, and then the breathing of the beast was generated.
He saw the white mist, and thus the existence of the giant beast began to be confirmed.
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A dark shadow emerged in the air, a shadow almost three times the size of Yu Sheng, slowly taking shape in front of him, accompanied by heavy breathing.
Now, he saw the outline of the beast—the beast existed.
Yu Sheng's heart tightened instantly, and a huge sense of crisis came over him, which was more oppressive than the frog in the rain! At the moment when he felt his heart tighten, the black shadow solidified.
It was something Yu Sheng had never seen before—a bear? A lion? An eagle? Or a tiger or a snake? Countless hideous, bizarre, and ambiguous limbs were piled on that huge and ugly meat ball, as if many beasts were melted alive in a big pot, and then mixed into a ball and ran out of it. This disgusting and terrifying thing used its swollen limbs of different sizes to support its huge body and looked down at Yu Sheng, and in its randomly stacked eyes... it was filled with hunger.
Yu Sheng slowly raised his head and met the giant beast's eyes.
The giant beast pounced down without hesitation - at the critical moment, Yu Sheng suddenly lowered his body and narrowly avoided one of the beast's bloody mouths.
Then it fell into its other huge mouth.
The sharp teeth closed fiercely, and half of Yu Sheng's body was torn apart in an instant. However, at this moment, the severe pain seemed to have turned into a distant numb illusion. He felt that everything in front of him had slowed down. He saw snake-like limbs extending from the back of the giant beast, and another huge mouth biting him, tearing the remaining part below his chest - he saw his heart again.
The heart beat slowly and then disappeared deep into the snake's mouth.
"Fuck you!"
Yu Sheng finally squeezed out a curse from his throat. He knew that he was about to die again, but he felt that he couldn't just let it go like this.
When the last bit of muscle in his body could still contract, he turned his head with all his strength and bit the side of him - he didn't know which part of the beast it was, nor did he know what the bite would do, he just knew that he bit the other party.
At least a piece of flesh can be torn off before dying.
Yu Sheng used up all his strength at this moment. He bit the beast fiercely, and the beast bit him back. Blood and flesh, claws and teeth, food and eater...
Before his mind completely fell into darkness, Yu Sheng squeezed out one last thought in his mind - he whispered to Irene who was far away: "Irene..."
"ah?"
"Nothing else, I'll hang up now."
Irene was stunned for a moment and didn't react.
Then Yu Sheng died.
(End of this chapter)
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