Ai Lin found it absurd that Yu Sheng could unknowingly live in a "foreign land" for such a long time — but Yu Sheng felt that the whole world was absurd.
"According to you, this world is full of 'foreign lands', right?" He idly chatted with Ai Lin’s voice in his mind while hiding in a corner of a dilapidated temple.
"But most people can’t access them? Because they can't observe them?”
“Pretty much, but I can’t be sure if the entire 'world' is like this... after all, the world is so big, right?” Ai Lin replied. “But at least around the area of 'Boundary City'... the likelihood of foreign lands appearing is pretty high. So it seems this place is also referred to as the 'Boundary Land' or something. The specifics, I’m not too clear on, since I’ve been stuck in this painting for too long, my head is a bit foggy.”
“Boundary Land?” Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow.
The term felt familiar, but then he caught another piece of information Ai Lin had just mentioned — she specifically emphasized the "area around Boundary City" — so this enormous city that seemed boundless actually had an "outside!"
After hesitating for two or three seconds, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s outside Boundary City?”
“Outside Boundary City? Maybe there are more cities? Or perhaps… a sea or something?” Ai Lin’s answer was vague, “I can’t remember well, I’ve really been in this painting too long. I only remember a few things about this city…”
Suddenly, she paused and asked, somewhat puzzled, “You don’t know? You haven’t left Boundary City at all?”
The corner of Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched, and he fell silent.
How would he know! He had only been in this place for two months — let alone outside Boundary City, he still hadn’t figured out the bus routes beyond four blocks from his home!
After a long silence, he decided not to bring up this matter — he didn’t want to let a newly acquainted "cursed painting" know about this little secret of his just yet.
“I haven’t been out; I’m quite a homebody... Let’s put that aside for now,” he casually deflected. “I need to find a way to deal with the trouble I have here. How can I get out of this so-called 'foreign land'? By the way... can you actually leave a foreign land?”
Ai Lin thought for a while, as if sorting through her messy and blurry memories caused by long-term sealing.
After a long time, she finally responded, “There are many types of foreign lands. Sometimes it might only be a house that doesn’t exist on any map, sometimes an additional bus stop on a route, and sometimes even a forest or a realm you can enter by opening a wardrobe door — generally, smaller foreign lands have relatively fixed and obvious exits, which you can return to reality by following certain rules. But the larger the foreign land, the more complex the situation.”
She paused and continued, “I actually can’t recall the specifics clearly. There should be a complete classification system for foreign lands, plus some standards for ‘depth’ and ‘danger’, but... I’ve really been in this painting for too long…”
Her voice gradually grew faint, sounding somewhat melancholic.
Yu Sheng had initially wanted to criticize her, thinking that the puppet had babbled a lot but retained none of the useful info.
However, upon hearing Ai Lin’s last whisper, he closed his mouth and refrained from a verbal spar like before.
She was just trying very hard to help — she had simply been sealed for too long.
“Let’s search a bit; there has to be an exit somewhere,” Yu Sheng shook his head and looked toward the valley outside the broken temple. “This place looks sizable; at least in my line of sight, there are tall mountains on both sides and a forest in the distance. According to you, leaving... could be tricky.”
“Yeah,” Ai Lin agreed.
“You can start by circling around the 'original landing point' you entered after entering the foreign land. Look for anything that feels out of place, something that immediately strikes you as not belonging there. Generally, the exits are nearby.
And if there’s nothing in the vicinity, try looking from a higher point to see if you can spot anything reflective, like a mirror, or hear a continuous sound of wind… “But even if you find something similar, don’t recklessly go touch it; it might lead to a 'deeper' trap.
As for the specifics...
I can’t make it clear; you’ll have to rely on your intuition.”
“Intuition?”
Yu Sheng could not help but interject.
“...
Yes, strictly speaking, what you need is ‘inspiration’.
It’s a kind of spiritual intuition.
Trained investigators master this kind of perception — I know you haven't been trained, but right now, we have no choice but to dive in headfirst.
“However, don’t worry too much; spirituality exists in all intelligent beings. Ordinary people without training can have it too; it just hasn’t been triggered. If you pay close attention, you’ll sense those warnings and omens from your own essence — if you truly encounter something you can’t judge, just tell me, I... will try to help as much as I can.”
Yu Sheng nodded, slowly emerging from his hidden corner, cautiously walking toward the temple’s entrance — the unsettling feelings of “being watched” and “hunger” still lingered around him, as if they had soaked into the air and become part of the valley itself.
Yet, he forced himself to move forward.
According to the information Ai Lin provided, he had to find an “exit” quickly to leave this place — waiting in a corner wouldn’t open a door before him.
At the same time, perhaps to relieve the tension he felt, he carried on a casual conversation with Ai Lin.
“You say the place I always lived in is a 'foreign land'; how did you come to that conclusion? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my home…”
“I can sense it,” Ai Lin replied. “It’s that ‘intuition’ I mentioned; I can clearly feel something’s off about this building — though it appears normal from the outside… I’m not sure what’s going on there.”
“More feelings…” Yu Sheng shook his head. “So, according to you, every time I come home, I’m entering a foreign land, and leaving means exiting that foreign land? It seems my home is a harmless ‘good foreign land’ where creatures come and go freely.”
After two or three seconds, Ai Lin spoke softly, “... Leaving through the door doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll arrive at where you want to go, does it?”
Yu Sheng’s expression froze for a moment as he recalled how he ended up trapped in this place.
He seemed to understand what was wrong with his “home.”
Just thinking of this, he realized he had been living quietly in that large house for two months, which in itself was a miracle!
While he was lost in thought, he had already returned to the clearing in front of the broken temple, the very spot where he first entered this “foreign land.” “I didn’t find anything here,” Yu Sheng carefully inspected the clearing, confirming that he didn’t locate any of the “discrepant key items” Ai Lin described, “Looks like it really isn’t that easy.”
“Yeah, pretty much to be expected,” Ai Lin sighed. “Try moving outward first, but remember, don’t touch anything that glows or suddenly moves in front of you. Besides, unless absolutely necessary, don’t eat or drink anything from the foreign land…”
“I know... Speaking of which, wouldn't it be better to wait until daytime to search?” Yu Sheng suggested, glancing up at the seemingly eternally shrouded sky. “It always feels creepy to be out in the wild at night.”
“Foreign lands often defy common sense; daytime isn’t necessarily safer, and it... might not even have a daytime,” Ai Lin said immediately. “I still recommend you find an exit quickly. If you drag this out, something might change on your side.”
Yu Sheng frowned and could only walk farther with resignation.
Just as he took a step to leave the broken temple's range, a voice suddenly reached his ear.
At first, it seemed like a weak and vague sound of breathing.
Instinctively, Yu Sheng turned to the direction of the sound and saw a white mist slowly wafting through the air, as if some unseen giant beast had just exhaled a puff of murky breath.
He heard the sound; thus, the beast's breath materialized.
He saw the white mist; thus, the presence of the beast began to solidify.
A shadow emerged in the air, one nearly three times Yu Sheng's size, slowly taking shape before him, accompanied by heavy breathing sounds.
Now he could see the outline of the giant beast — it existed.
A tightness gripped Yu Sheng’s heart as a great sense of danger washed over him, more intense than the pressure he felt from the frog in the rain!
Just when he felt his heart tightening, the shadow solidified.
It was something Yu Sheng had never seen before — was it a bear? A lion? An eagle? Or something like a tiger mixed with a snake? Countless grotesque and bizarre limbs piled upon that massive and ugly mass of flesh, as though many fierce beasts had been melted together in a big pot, only to burst forth in a grotesque amalgamation.
This nauseating and terrifying creature loomed over Yu Sheng with its swollen limbs, and in its chaotic, overlapping eyes... hunger was brimming.
Yu Sheng slowly raised his head, locking eyes with that monstrous creature.
Without hesitation, the beast leapt at him — in a moment of crisis, Yu Sheng suddenly ducked low and narrowly dodged past one of the beast's huge, gaping maw.
Then he fell into the other giant mouth.
Its fierce teeth clamped shut, and just like that, a portion of Yu Sheng’s body was torn apart.
Yet, in that moment, the intense pain almost turned into a distant, numbing illusion; everything in front of him seemed to slow down.
He saw snake-like limbs stretching out from behind the creature, and another huge mouth bit into him, tearing away the remnants of his body below the chest — and he saw his heart.
The heart thudded slowly, then vanished into the serpent's maw.
“Damn it!”
Yu Sheng finally squeezed out a curse from his throat, knowing he was about to die again, but he felt he couldn’t just let it end like this.
With the last bit of muscle strength he had, he turned his head with all his might and bit down on whatever part of the creature was beside him — he didn’t know what part it was, but he had to bite something.
He just knew he sank his teeth into its flesh.
At the very least, he wanted to take a piece with him in death.
In that moment when all his strength was spent, he fiercely gnawed at the giant beast while the beast gnawed at him, blood and flesh, claws and teeth, predator and prey…
Before completely slipping into darkness, the last thought that squeezed into Yu Sheng's mind was — he softly called out to Ai Lin, who was far away, “Ai Lin…”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, I’m hanging up.”
Ai Lin was stunned for a moment, not able to react immediately.
And then Yu Sheng hung up.
(End of Chapter)