Delayed effect?

Yu Sheng thought that his blood didn't seem to work on Eileen—perhaps because the oil painting, used as a medium for the seal, prevented the blood from penetrating, or perhaps because Eileen, as a doll, was unaffected by the blood. It was even more possible that Huli, who was affected, was the anomaly.

After waiting for a long time with nothing happening, Eileen, sealed within the painting, lost her patience. She looked up at the top of the frame and grumbled, "Then just wipe the blood off, will you? It's where I live, and it's bad luck to have so much blood on it..."

Yu Sheng: "...You're a creepy doll sealed in an oil painting, and you're worried about bad luck? Just you standing there is bad enough!"

Eileen immediately took offense. "Who says I'm bad luck? I'm this beautiful, how can I be bad luck? Some people fill their rooms with walls of plastic figurines, and you're complaining about a painting of a pretty girl on the wall being unlucky?!"

Yu Sheng was taken aback, unable to comprehend how she managed to string all that together into one statement.

Still, he waved his hand, muttering, "That's not the same thing," as he got up to grab a wet wipe, intending to clean the blood off the frame.

It wouldn't come off.

Yu Sheng blinked. Seeing that the wet wipe had no effect, he rubbed harder against the frame (he didn't dare scrub too hard on the canvas itself, afraid of damaging it), but the bloodstain remained completely unmoved.

However, more than the stubborn bloodstain on the frame, Yu Sheng noticed the state of the wet wipe—it had no trace of red on it at all.

No matter how hard it was to wipe off, the blood couldn't possibly disappear like this!

Eileen, unable to see the wet wipe, just tilted her head, watching Yu Sheng suddenly freeze. A sense of unease washed over her. "Uh, what's wrong?"

"It won't come off," Yu Sheng said blankly, staring at the bloodstains that seemed to have become part of the frame. "It didn't soak in; it's just... like it's the frame's original color."

Eileen didn't respond.

Yu Sheng looked down, puzzled. He saw the person in the painting staring at him blankly, as if her mind had suddenly short-circuited. After another two or three seconds, Eileen's expression slowly shifted from blankness to terror, as if she had suddenly remembered something. She suddenly pointed a finger at Yu Sheng and let out a scream: "Ahhh Yu Sheng you you die die die die..."

Yu Sheng froze for a second, then immediately understood what had happened. Seeing Eileen still screaming, he calmly sat down on the chair opposite her. "Don't keep saying 'die,' it's bad luck—though the actual number of times is quite high."

Eileen stopped abruptly, glanced at Yu Sheng, and then continued screaming.

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

However, verbal reassurances clearly had limited effect. Whether it was because the delayed impact of the blood was too intense, she seemed exceptionally agitated.

Fortunately, a sudden idea struck Yu Sheng.

The next second, he grabbed Eileen's oil painting, shook and swung it vigorously in the air, and finally tossed it spinning into the air. He caught it, swung it around a couple more times, and placed it back on the table.

He watched as the doll lady struggled to climb onto the chair covered with a red velvet blanket.

Eileen stopped screaming.

Eileen started cursing profusely.

This time, however, Yu Sheng was adept at calming her down. He finally got the doll to settle, and amidst Eileen's lingering curses, he managed to clarify the situation with her.

At the same time, he finally confirmed that his blood was indeed effective on Eileen in her sealed state. Although it seemed the blood only affected the painting's frame, for some reason, Eileen was undeniably influenced by it, experiencing the same thing Huli had: she recalled the "event" of Yu Sheng's death that she had witnessed.

However, so far, Yu Sheng hadn't perceived Eileen's "thoughts" or "memories" the way he had with Huli.

He glanced up at the still-angry doll, feeling a bit embarrassed to admit that he suspected Eileen was rather lacking in both...

Eileen was still pouting, but regardless, the impact of Yu Sheng's "return from the dead" was still greater than the "rollercoaster" ride she'd just experienced. Her focus remained on Yu Sheng's "resurrection."

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

"Yes, it actually started before I met you," Yu Sheng thought for a moment, recalling the frog in the rain. "But don't ask me how it works. It's like that door earlier; I know it happens, but I don't know why..."

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

"Currently... none that I've found," Yu Sheng hesitated, speaking cautiously. He dropped his usual nonchalant attitude for this matter. "Neither physical nor mental issues have been discovered."

Eileen continued to stare intently into Yu Sheng's eyes. "Then you should still try to avoid this kind of 'resurrection' in the future."

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

"The side effects might appear in the distant future, and the cost could be in ways you can't imagine," Eileen explained patiently, as if afraid Yu Sheng hadn't truly grasped the warning. "Everything in the world tends towards balance. Things that exceed reason and order will always encounter the 'rebound' brought by reason and order. And coming back from the dead... is truly the most absurd of all super-rational events. Even though you say you haven't found any problems, I don't quite believe it."

She paused, then continued with a serious expression. "It's not that I don't believe you; I don't believe the 'appearance' of this matter."

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

Eileen: "...That's true."

"I just have a good attitude, after all, there's nothing I can do. In that valley situation, I could only maintain a good attitude," Yu Sheng sighed. "I understand your concerns, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Eileen stared at him for a long time, then finally grumbled and looked away. "Fine, just remember it... I'm still waiting for you to get me a body."

Yu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

He had to admit, this doll's capacity for acceptance was quite remarkable. Such an absurd event, and she still accepted it so easily...

Eileen suddenly looked up again, her expression unable to hide her surprise. "Hey, no, I'm really curious, are you even human?! Are you sure you were born to parents and grew up eating human food? Can't you recall anything from your childhood..."

Yu Sheng: "..."

He retracted his thought. This doll's capacity for acceptance wasn't that strong after all.

After a few perfunctory replies, Yu Sheng didn't pay attention to the doll's subsequent mumbling. After testing the "blood" matter, he remembered his original plan.

Continue familiarizing himself with the "opening a door" ability and its characteristics, and find a way to reproduce the passage and accurately pinpoint the "landing spot."

Until he could open the door leading to the valley.

To deliver food to Huli.

Eileen gradually quieted down. She watched Yu Sheng grasp the kitchen door handle, hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Even if you really find the 'door' back to that valley, have you figured out how to deal with 'Hunger' afterwards?"

Yu Sheng slowly turned the handle, sensing the subtle feeling coming from deep within his so-called "spiritual intuition," and slowly said, "We'll take it one step at a time."

"That means you haven't thought anything through at all!?" Without even looking back, he knew Eileen's eyes were probably wide with disbelief. "So are you going to deliver food to Huli or to that monster!?"

"What I mean is, if I can beat the monster, I will. It would be good to temporarily eliminate the physical manifestation of 'Hunger,' as this would very likely help Huli escape Hunger's influence. If I can't beat it, then I'll find a way to bring Huli out through the 'door,' but that would have side effects, and Huli might still be targeted by 'Hunger.' If the second option doesn't work either, then at least I can send some food in to make Huli feel a bit better. Anyway, as long as we have a stable way to open the door, everything can be planned for the long term.

"When I say 'take it one step at a time,' I mean choosing one of these three plans based on the situation at the time. But as for how to deal with the 'entity' itself... I really don't have any ideas right now."

"Okay, if you've already planned this far, then that's fine," Eileen sounded relieved. "As long as you're not just blindly rushing in to feed the monster."

Yu Sheng thought about it but decided not to say, "After eating me, the monster's mouth and stomach won't match the accounts," because once that left his lips, who knew how much more that doll would babble...

He entertained this trivial thought as he slowly opened the kitchen door.

A boundless darkness met his eyes. In the distant darkness, faint stars twinkled. Other than that... it seemed like there was nothing outside the door.

Yu Sheng stared in confusion at the empty scene opposite the door. After a moment, he suddenly realized what it was and slammed the door shut.

"Whoa, it's outer space!"