Blood's Test

Eileen wasn't just foul-mouthed; her loud screams made your head buzz.

Yu Sheng even wondered how she could make such a racket coming from an oil painting – was the entire canvas a speaker?

"Don't ask me about the principles, I don't know them myself," Yu Sheng said, digging in his ear and spreading his hands at Eileen with a hint of helplessness. "What's certain for now is that I can open 'doors,' and these doors can lead to all sorts of places, be it another world or... somewhere far away, like what you saw just now. Of course, I can't be sure if it's another world, another planet, or a parallel dimension or something like that."

He paused here and continued, "Maybe I should ask the person on the other side of the door for information? But that elf just now didn't seem to be in a good mood..."

Eileen was half-stunned. It took her a while to react after Yu Sheng's long rambling. After thinking it over, she finally asked, "Then... what about the activation conditions? Like, under what circumstances can you open a door?"

"Still not sure, I feel like I can open them anytime," Yu Sheng thought for a moment and explained based on his current feelings. "As for how to open them, it seems there are two ways. One is to directly open existing, ordinary doors in reality. Opening these doors is very easy, sometimes I don't even realize what I've done, and the door opens directly to 'somewhere else.' The second way is like what you saw just now—"

As Yu Sheng spoke, he made a gesture in the air, mimicking the action of opening a door.

"A door created out of thin air. It's more difficult, requiring concentration to perceive and imagine. Moreover, if you get distracted during the process, the door might suddenly disappear. But the advantage is that you won't accidentally step into another world."

Eileen stared at Yu Sheng's actions with her blood-red eyes, her gaze following his arm back and forth several times. After a long silence, she finally broke it, "...Are you even human?"

Yu Sheng immediately looked displeased, "What do you mean by that!"

"At a time like this, you still have the nerve to say that? That very sentence you told me not too long ago," Eileen muttered, recalling the past. Then, imitating Yu Sheng's tone and demeanor from back then, she said, "—If I'm not human, are you?"

She turned her body and looked straight into Yu Sheng's eyes.

"Some humans can wield supernatural powers, but I've never seen anyone like you."

"Maybe you've seen someone like me but forgot?" Yu Sheng stubbornly retorted, "Your memory isn't very reliable."

Eileen blinked, "...Yeah, yeah, you're right?"

This time, it was Yu Sheng who felt a bit awkward. He was just being stubborn and habitually bantering with this doll. He never expected Eileen to have such a clear self-awareness; her first reaction was to agree... she agreed...

However, he quickly adjusted his expression, cleared his throat, and steered the conversation back. "So, it seems that my falling into that valley back then had nothing to do with the peculiar characteristics of this house. It should have been a passage I opened myself at the moment I opened the door. Therefore, as long as I can replicate that action, I can return to that other world. Theoretically, that is."

When it came to serious matters, Eileen's expression also became solemn. "Is this ability controllable?"

"...Semi-controllable," Yu Sheng said uncertainly, then explained, "I can basically control when to open a passage to 'somewhere else' and when to open a normal door. But I have no idea where they lead. It's not even impossible that I might fall into a volcano the moment I open a door. However... there's one thing I just confirmed."

Eileen quickly asked, "What is it?"

"The passages can indeed be replicated. Under specific circumstances, opening the door twice can lead to the same place," Yu Sheng said. "Like the elf you saw just now, I've met her for the second time."

Eileen: "...Oh, no wonder she reacted like that just now."

Yu Sheng looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm still not sure how this happens, but I vaguely remember that 'feeling.' I think if I try more and train a few more times, I should be able to stably open those 'doors' that have been passed through once. But the biggest problem now is... I was completely unprepared when I entered that valley back then, and I've almost forgotten the feeling when I opened the door. This makes replicating that passage very difficult."

"But at least you finally have a direction now, right?" Eileen immediately spoke up to comfort him. "I always thought your idea of going back to save that fox was wishful thinking. Now it's becoming a feasible plan, isn't it, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Yu Sheng looked up and down at the doll in the oil painting with a somewhat surprised gaze. This look made the latter shrink uncomfortably on the chair. "Why are you looking at me? I told you, you and paper people will never..."

This time, Yu Sheng interrupted before she could finish her complaint. "This is the first time I've heard a few nice words from you. I always thought you only spouted trash talk, I didn't expect you to know how to comfort people."

Eileen: "..."

Eileen was truly foul-mouthed.

However, Yu Sheng's mood was now excellent. He could even treat Eileen's curses as background music in his life.

He looked at his hands, waved them in the air, got up from the dining table, and paced back and forth in the dining room, looking full of energy.

Seeing this, Eileen stopped her incessant chatter, and her gaze followed Yu Sheng around. "You're not going to start... uh, 'training' right now, are you?"

"The sooner the better. I slept all day anyway, and I'm full of energy now," Yu Sheng said matter-of-factly. "This practice doesn't take up much space."

"Then take it easy. If you open the door again and see that elf, she might just blast you with a fireball – and splash me with blood."

This trash talk felt just right.

Yu Sheng waved his hand dismissively, his gaze falling on the kitchen door next to him.

Creating a door out of thin air required extra energy expenditure. For practice, it was naturally more suitable to use "physical doors," which consumed less energy.

However, before that, Yu Sheng suddenly thought of something.

"What did you just say?" he turned his head, looking at the person in the painting on the dining table.

Eileen thought for a moment. "...Told you to take it easy? To prevent that elf from blasting you with a fireball?"

"I meant the more punchable line."

Eileen's mouth twitched. "Don't splash me with blood!"

"Yes, that's the one. I want to test this first," Yu Sheng grinned, walked to the dining table, and picked up a small fruit knife from the table. "My blood."

Eileen's eyes widened in visible shock. She immediately jumped up from her chair, hugging the plush bear. "Hey, what are you doing! I just said it casually, and you're pulling out a knife? I warn you, I'm very easy to provoke. You don't need to use a knife, you can just scratch the canvas, and I might crack..."

When this doll panicked, she babbled a whole string of words. Yu Sheng couldn't help but frown. "What are you so nervous about? I didn't say I was going to cut you."

Before he finished speaking, he had already pressed the small knife to his finger—but after a moment's hesitation, he switched to the back of his hand. Then, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, he let out a plop and made a cut.

It didn't even hurt much.

Eileen stared at the scene in dumbfounded amazement. As Yu Sheng brought his bleeding hand closer to her, she kept backing away, exclaiming as she retreated, "What are you doing! Wait... you don't actually believe that nonsense about blood-binding from novels, do you? I told you to read less..."

"First, I am a novelist. Although I'm not doing very well, I strongly object to your opinion of me and novels," Yu Sheng glanced at the terrified person in the painting. "Second, this has nothing to do with blood-binding. I just want to test some hypotheses. In that valley, Huli came into contact with my blood, and afterward, both she and I underwent some changes. I want to see if similar things will happen to you."

Yu Sheng was referring to Huli suddenly being able to sense his "death" after touching his blood, and his ability to perceive some of Huli's thoughts and memories. He also suspected that the projection of the silver-white demon fox in his dream world was related to this "blood connection."

Eileen blinked slightly upon hearing Yu Sheng's words. Then, sensing his seriousness, even though she didn't fully understand what was going on, she gradually quieted down. Despite her reluctance (mainly due to her distrust of Yu Sheng's suspicious actions), she adopted a cooperative attitude.

Of course, the main reason for her cooperation was that she couldn't escape. After all, she was sealed within the oil painting. Normally, she couldn't do anything besides loudly blabbering, and now Yu Sheng had basically gotten used to her incessant chatter...

But to be honest, Eileen wasn't a suitable "test partner."

After all, her "constitution" was rather peculiar.

Yu Sheng found it difficult to determine whether his blood had been applied to Eileen or to the oil painting that served as the sealing medium. He smeared his blood on the frame and, while the wound was still fresh, squeezed a few drops onto the canvas. However, regardless of which method he used, he couldn't get his blood to directly contact the person in the painting itself, unlike with Huli.

Eileen looked up. It was unclear what her perspective was like within the oil painting, but she had clearly sensed the blood.

But that was all.

The oil painting didn't "absorb" Yu Sheng's blood like Huli had when she licked the fresh blood.

"Do you feel anything?" Yu Sheng asked after waiting for a while, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

Eileen thought for a moment. "...Warm? But it's cool now."

Yu Sheng: "...So it seems to be useless."