As Yu Sheng pondered, it seemed his blood had no effect on Ailin.
Perhaps it was due to the oil painting serving as a sealing medium that prevented the blood from permeating, or perhaps Ailin, being a puppet, was simply not affected by his blood.
More likely… it was that Huli, who was impacted, was the exception to the rule.
After waiting for a while with no change, Ailin, trapped in the painting, lost her patience.
She looked up at the frame and muttered, "Well, just wipe off the blood. After all, this is my residence. Having so much blood on it is really unlucky…"
Yu Sheng replied, "…You’re a peculiar puppet sealed in a painting, and you’re worried about luck! Just standing there is already enough bad luck!"
Ailin was displeased by his words.
"Who said I'm unlucky! Look how pretty I am, how could I be unlucky? There are places where people have walls full of plastic figurines. You’re leaning on a painting of a beautiful girl and complain about being unlucky?!"
Yu Sheng was taken aback, unable to fathom how she could condense all that into one line.
Nevertheless, he waved his hand, muttering "It’s not the same" as he stood up to grab a wet wipe, preparing to clean the blood off the frame.
It didn’t come off.
Yu Sheng froze for a moment.
After seeing no effect from the wipe, he rubbed it harder on the frame (careful not to press too hard on the canvas part, fearing damage), yet the bloodstains remained stubbornly in place.
However, compared to the bloodstains on the frame, Yu Sheng noticed something curious about the wet wipe—there wasn't even a hint of red on it.
Even if the blood was difficult to remove, it shouldn't be like this!
Ailin, unable to see the state of the wipe, looked up at Yu Sheng, sensing his sudden stillness and feeling uneasy.
"Uh, what happened?"
"It won't come off," Yu Sheng muttered absently, staring at the stains that seemed to have become part of the frame.
"It's not that it seeped in, but rather… it's just like the original color of the frame."
Ailin did not respond.
Yu Sheng lowered his head and saw the puppet in the painting staring blankly at him, as if her mind had gone blank.
After a couple of seconds, her expression morphed from confusion into terror, as if suddenly recalling something.
She pointed at Yu Sheng and screamed, "Ah ah ah Yu Sheng you you dead dead dead…"
Yu Sheng paused for a second but quickly grasped what was happening.
While Ailin continued her screaming, he calmly sat down in the chair across from her.
"Stop screaming ‘dead’ so much, it’s unlucky—though the real count is indeed a bit high."
Ailin suddenly stopped, glancing at him, but then continued to scream.
Yu Sheng had no choice but to rise and find a way to calm this terrified puppet—she was certainly more rattled than that fox had been.
However, his verbal reassurances seemed rather ineffective.
Perhaps due to the shock from the delayed effect of the blood, she appeared exceptionally agitated.
Fortunately, an idea suddenly struck Yu Sheng.
In the next moment, he grabbed Ailin's painting, swinging it vigorously before tossing it into the air, spinning it around a couple of times before settling it back on the table.
He watched as Ailin struggled to climb onto the chair covered in red velvet.
Ailin was no longer screaming.
Instead, she unleashed a torrent of foul language.
However, Yu Sheng was now adept at calming her down—he managed to soothe her, and through her enduring tirade, he clarified the situation.
At the same time, he confirmed that his blood remained effective on Ailin in her sealed state.
Though it seemed to affect the painting frame, somehow, Ailin indeed felt the impact, recalling the same event where Yu Sheng had ‘died’ that impacted Huli.
But so far, Yu Sheng had not sensed Ailin's "thoughts" and "memories" as he had with Huli before.
Looking at the still fuming puppet, he hesitated to mention that he suspected Ailin was quite lacking in those two areas…
Ailin remained huffing and puffing, but ultimately, Yu Sheng's "return from the dead" had a greater impact on her than her earlier emotions.
Her attention focused on Yu Sheng's "resurrection."
"You mean… this isn’t the first time?" she gazed intently at him, incredulity lacing her tone.
"Well, actually, it started before I met you," Yu Sheng recalled, thinking back to the frog in the rain.
"But don't ask me about the details, like that door earlier, I just know it happens but don’t understand how…"
"Are there side effects or costs?" Ailin asked quickly.
"So far… nothing discovered," Yu Sheng hesitated before answering, cautious of the matter at hand.
He set aside his usual nonchalance, "Neither physically nor mentally have I found any issues."
Ailin continued to stare deeply into Yu Sheng's eyes.
"Then you must avoid this ‘resurrection’ in the future."
Yu Sheng sighed helplessly.
"I know."
"Side effects could emerge in the distant future, and costs might come in ways you cannot imagine," Ailin seemed worried that Yu Sheng didn’t fully grasp the warning, explaining earnestly, "Everything in the world tends towards balance. Events that exceed rationality and order will always encounter a 'backlash' from them. Returning from death… is truly one of the most absurd occurrences. Even if you say you haven't found any problem, I’m doubtful."
Pausing for a moment, she added with seriousness, "It’s not that I don’t trust you; I don’t trust the ‘appearance’ of this incident."
"I understand, I understand," Yu Sheng nodded seriously, then shrugged helplessly.
"But speaking of which, do you think I chose to die any of these times?"
Ailin replied, "…True."
"I just maintain a good mindset. Honestly, in that valley, I had no choice but to keep a positive attitude," Yu Sheng sighed.
"I understand your worries; rest assured, I know my limits."
Ailin stared at him for a long while, finally muttering as she looked away, "Alright, just remember… I’m still waiting for you to give me a body."
Yu Sheng let out a sigh of relief.
He had to admit, the puppet's ability to accept things was surprisingly strong.
After all that had happened, she still managed to take it so lightly…
Suddenly, Ailin raised her head, her expression inquisitive.
"Wait a minute, I’m genuinely curious—are you even human? Are you sure you were raised by your parents, eating human food? Can’t you recall anything from your childhood that…"
Yu Sheng interrupted her thoughts, realizing this puppet's ability to accept things might not be so strong after all.
After half-heartedly brushing off her questions, Yu Sheng set his mind back on his original plan after testing the "blood."
He needed to become more familiar with the ability of "opening doors" and its traits, to locate the way back to the valley and determine the "drop point" accurately.
Until he could open that door leading to the valley.
To bring food to Huli.
Ailin gradually quieted down, watching as Yu Sheng grasped the kitchen doorknob.
After hesitating for a while, she couldn’t resist asking, "Even if you really find the ‘door’ back to that valley, have you thought about how to deal with ‘hunger’ afterward?"
Yu Sheng slowly turned the knob, sensing the subtle feeling coming from that so-called "spiritual intuition" deep within, finally saying, "We'll take it one step at a time."
"That’s completely unplanned, isn’t it?!" She didn’t even need to turn around to know Ailin was glaring at him, "Are you bringing food to Huli or to that monster?!"
"What I mean is, if we can defeat that monster, we will. Crushing the entity of ‘hunger’ can help Huli escape its influence; if it’s too strong, we’ll figure out a way to bring Huli out through the ‘door’, but that would carry side effects, and Huli might be targeted by ‘hunger’ again.
If that’s not an option, we can at least send in some food to make Huli feel better. As long as we secure a steady way to open the door, we can plan everything else out long-term.
When I said we would take it one step at a time, I meant that we would choose one of those three plans based on the situation at that time, but as for how to deal with that ‘entity’… I truly have no thoughts on it right now."
"Alright, you’ve at least planned this much, so that’s acceptable," Ailin sighed in relief.
"As long as you're not just running straight into that monster with food."
Yu Sheng considered it for a moment but refrained from saying, "After eating me, the monster's mouth and stomach would be mismatched," because once he said that, he didn’t know how long Ailin would keep going on about it…
With this trivial thought floating in his mind, he slowly pushed open the kitchen door.
An endless darkness greeted him.
In that distant void, faint stars flickered, and other than that… there seemed to be nothing beyond the door.
Puzzled, Yu Sheng stared at the empty scene beyond the door, and after a moment, he suddenly realized and slammed the door shut with a bang.
"Whoa, it’s outer space!"
(END OF CHAPTER)