Chapter 11: But... Three
In the last second before death, Yu Sheng felt a boundless, extremely heavy "darkness" that seemed to have substance like some kind of viscous fluid.
He felt his consciousness was rapidly dissipating, and he knew that the body supporting this consciousness was rapidly losing its vitality due to the tragic injuries - as the physiological functions stopped, the thoughts carried by the flesh also sank and dissipated, this was the law of nature.
However, on the edge of disappearing consciousness, a force, or a strong... "thought", a strange obsession, seemed to firmly bind Yu Sheng's mind. He vaguely remembered the frog that devoured his heart and his last "resurrection".
What happened at that time? What happened to me? Why am I alive?
These questions turned into obsession, allowing his consciousness to stay on the edge of endless darkness. Even though it was shaky, it never sank completely. He really wanted to know... what on earth had happened, and how he had "come back" after his death?
Darkness rolled over, and the sticky texture gradually became cold and rough. He felt as if he was covered in a thick layer of soil, and his soul gradually became breathless under this heavy pressure... But suddenly, this heavy pressure disappeared again.
In a moment of enlightenment, a thought suddenly popped up in his shaky consciousness -
In his death, death precedes him.
Yu Sheng’s death died, and so the dead Yu Sheng once again returned from the boundless darkness to the kingdom of the living - he felt that his "body" suddenly became lighter, and began to accelerate away from the endless darkness.
During this process, he vaguely saw that there seemed to be something on the dark surface, and he seemed to be rapidly passing through a certain "surface", but he had no time to see the scene clearly and suddenly opened his eyes.
The cold night wind blew in through the big hole in the wall. Outside the half-collapsed roof was a chaotic and dirty sky. Deep in the night, the hollow wind was howling in the valley.
Yu Sheng sat in the corner of the dilapidated temple, feeling his head was in a daze. He was very familiar with this feeling - he had just experienced it not long ago.
But this time, he recovered faster. In just a few breaths, he recalled everything, including the feeling of being buried in darkness.
After adjusting his breathing, Yu Sheng slowly stood up.
He felt that all the joints in his body were gradually awakening from stiffness, as if a newborn body was quickly learning how to "live". His physical strength quickly replenished and his mind gradually became clear. Then he looked outside the ruined temple, towards the place where his blood had been all over the ground.
There was nothing there now, the beast seemed to have left... or maybe just gone into hiding, just like it had before.
After a moment of silence, Yu Sheng tentatively spoke in his mind: "...Eileen."
Almost the moment he finished speaking, Irene's screaming voice exploded in his heart: "Yu Sheng! Oh my god, are you okay!?"
Then she began to babble rapidly: "Just now you suddenly stopped responding. No matter how I called you, there was no response. I couldn't even feel your consciousness. I thought you were dead! I was scared to death. If you died, no one would come to fix the TV - are you really okay?"
Yu Sheng's facial muscles twitched for a moment: "You are just worried that no one will come home to fix the TV, right?"
Irene thought for a moment and said, "...That's not the case. I'm also afraid that you're really dead..."
Yu Sheng: “…”
She actually hesitated for a moment! After trying to calm down, Yu Sheng finally gritted his teeth to make his voice sound calm and peaceful: "What if I tell you that I really died just now?"
Irene didn't believe it at all: "Stop it, you sound so lively now..."
"...Yes, I was just joking with you." After listening to Irene's reaction, Yu Sheng calmly changed the subject. He was silent for a while, and then he spoke abruptly, "How long has it been?"
"Huh? How long?"
"How much time has passed since I told you I was going to die?"
"Um... I can't see the clock in the living room from where I am... I estimate about half an hour? It may not be accurate. I have been sealed in this painting for many years, and my perception of time is a bit dull. But I see that the sky outside has not changed much. At least it hasn't been a night. It's not dawn yet..."
Yu Sheng: "...Aren't you a little too inaccurate? Do you know how big a difference half an hour makes with a whole night?!"
Irene was silent for a moment, but then a harsh, low laugh came from her.
Irene immediately started to explain: "It wasn't me! It was this bear!"
Yu Sheng waved his hands exhaustedly: "I know."
Irene sounded very happy: "Ah, you are finally willing to believe me..."
Yu Sheng was too lazy to pay attention to this sealed doll. He didn't have the courage to tell her that he didn't believe her, but he felt that if she really wanted to be beaten, she didn't need to laugh. She deserved a beating just by talking.
Facts have proved that in front of Irene's bad mouth, the bear's smirk at most served to add fuel to the fire...
With some useless thoughts in his mind, Yu Sheng walked out of the dilapidated temple again.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that his physical strength was even better than before he died last time. His steps were light, his movements were powerful, and even his eyes... seemed to have gotten a little better.
He seemed to be adapting to this place, to the darkness, the rugged ruins, and the ubiquitous malicious and hungry sights.
He walked towards the open space in front of the ruined temple, towards the woods opposite the open space, and towards the deeper part of this "foreign land".
He knew that he might die again, maybe even in the next step, the next second.
"Yusheng," Irene's voice sounded in her mind again, "Are you really okay?"
"It's okay, just a little injury, it's all healed now."
"Well, why don't you stay where you are, or find a safe place to hide. I'll try to recall my memories. Maybe I've encountered the 'valley' you mentioned before..."
"Then you just recall it first, I'll continue to walk around here." Yu Sheng said casually.
"Ah? That might be a little dangerous..."
"Erin," Yu Sheng interrupted directly. He had already reached the open space. He took a deep breath of the cold and strangely smelly air in the valley. Looking at the shadowy and gloomy forest in the distance, he suddenly smiled and said, "You know, I have been living in a daze these days."
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Irene obviously couldn't keep up with Yu Sheng's train of thought: "Uh...ah, should I know..."
Yu Sheng didn't care about Irene's reaction, but just kept talking to himself: "...I just heard you mention the 'foreign land' and some incidents of mistakenly entering the foreign land. Do you know how I reacted?"
"What's the reaction?"
"Happy."
"ah?"
"Happy, I'm very happy," Yu Sheng stood in the night, unable to suppress his smile, "You said that some people accidentally opened a wrong door, or just stepped on the wrong floor at a certain time under extremely low probability circumstances, and fell into the ghost place called 'foreign land', right? And you also said that if people who fell into the foreign land are lucky enough and find the rules of the foreign land, they actually still have a chance to go back..."
"That's what I said..." Irene said hesitantly, "But it really depends on luck. Professional investigators are fine, but ordinary people without training are basically waiting to die if they fall into a foreign land..."
Yu Sheng murmured softly: "It's okay, I'll find out when I try it out while dying..."
Irene: “…What?”
"Nothing, I just suddenly found something to do," Yu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, as if he wanted to let out all the turbid air he had been holding back for the past two months in this world. "Let's start from here. It may take a little more time, but I'm sure I can get out of this place."
"Although I don't know what's going on with you, it feels like you're... cheering up?" Irene said hesitantly, "Well, at least it's a good thing, come on? Try not to die... I'm still waiting for you to come back to fix the TV... and find me a body or something..."
"Okay, I'll try to solve your physical problem when I get back," Yu Sheng said casually, "I've had some experience with sculptures and models before, so I think it should work."
This time, Irene was really surprised: "Ah? You have experience as a puppeteer?! Why didn't you tell me earlier! How good are your skills? What level of puppets or models can you make?"
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment, then told the story frankly: "It was basically just following the online videos to watch masters kneading clay. After watching, my brain told my hands that I had done it, but my hands didn't believe it."
Two seconds later, Irene cursed very badly.
But Yu Sheng was completely relaxed. A kind of relaxed mentality, which he himself didn't know whether it was right or not, boosted his confidence. He walked forward and raised his head in the night, wanting to look at the high mountains on one side.
A giant beast of flesh and blood, several meters tall and looking like a fusion of countless twisted limbs of ferocious beasts, was staring at him on the side of the road.
Yu Sheng stopped and thought for a moment, then called out to the doll in the painting who was cursing in the street: "Erin."
"What is it?"
"...Nothing else, I'm going to hang up now."
"ah?"
(End of this chapter)
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