“Going out for a bit?”
Hu Li was taken aback by Yu Sheng’s words for a moment, then quickly wiped the remaining bowls on her tail to dry them.
She grabbed another bit of tail and wiped the sesame paste off her mouth, saying, “Alright, I’m ready now…”
Yu Sheng watched the girl with a twitch of his eyes, “No need to rush—are you really just using your tail to wipe your mouth?”
Hu Li glanced at the sesame paste at the tip of her tail and only then realized what she had done.
She quickly dunked her tail back into the water basin to wash it, and after that, she gave it a vigorous shake in front of Yu Sheng.
“I’m just used to it…” she mumbled softly, “I forgot there are better tools at home.”
“It’s fine, it’s not a big deal,” Yu Sheng dried his face with a cloth. “But please be careful next time when you shake off water—especially around people and electrical appliances.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Benefactor!” Hu Li suddenly realized she had splashed Yu Sheng with water.
Flustered, she hurriedly leaned over and used her other dry tail to wipe his face, asking in the midst of her cleaning, “So… where are we going? Do we need to fight?”
“Stop, stop, I can wipe it myself—” Yu Sheng shooed away the flailing tail that was rubbing his face, spitting out two strands of silver fur in the process. “We’re heading back to that valley, but this time we shouldn’t need to fight.”
In an instant, Hu Li froze, standing rigidly in place.
The tension and fear in her eyes certainly didn't escape the notice of those around her—indeed, Yu Sheng had known she would react this way even before speaking.
But precisely because of this, he felt it was necessary to let Hu Li see the strange changes happening in that valley.
“Don’t be afraid; I’m here,” he took a step forward and gently patted the fox girl’s hair, “I know you’re reluctant about the place, but some bizarre changes have occurred there, and I think it’s important for you to see it with your own eyes. Don’t worry, you won’t be trapped there again.”
Hu Li stared blankly at Yu Sheng for several seconds before she stiffly nodded, as if gathering great courage to make this decision.
Yu Sheng then took her back to the dining hall, bringing along the small figurine who had been waiting for quite some time.
Together, the three of them—though not quite full in number—stepped through the door into the otherworldly valley.
The sunlight poured down into the valley, the refreshing breeze flowing through the bottom as the distant mountains and wastelands basked in the warm glow.
With the night retreating, everything appeared so vibrant and clear.
Even the aftereffects of the “feast,” which had left the place in ruins, now seemed soft and reassuring under the illumination.
Aileen perched on Yu Sheng's shoulder, wide-eyed at the scene, took a moment before exclaiming, “This is like Yu Sheng stepping into a medicine cauldron—something feels off…”
Yu Sheng’s original thought slipped his mind as he turned to the small figurine with a complicated expression, “Could you not compare me to something like that?”
“Then explain to me what is happening here,” Aileen pointed at the transformed valley, “The presence of physical hunger has completely vanished! This place doesn’t even feel like the original ‘otherworld’ anymore!”
“Not the original otherworld anymore?” Yu Sheng noted Aileen’s words, his expression shifting a bit, “What do you mean by that?”
“The environment has changed entirely. I’m not sure if you can feel the difference in ‘atmosphere,’ but it feels as if there is a…” Aileen said, slightly frowning, glancing up and down at Yu Sheng several times before hesitantly continuing, “a presence that’s yours, or rather… an aura like the one from 66 Wutong Road.”
Yu Sheng replied with a blank “...?”
While he was pondering, Hu Li nervously surveyed the surroundings for a long time.
When she first stepped through the door, she was tight with fear, but now she was left confused—unlike Aileen, who had a keen sense of the otherworld, as a spirit fox, Hu Li had an instinctive awareness of the things in the environment that had once posed a threat to her.
The genuine threat of physical hunger had indeed vanished completely, with no signs of it reappearing even after such a long time.
At this moment, Yu Sheng's voice broke through Hu Li and Aileen's attention. “There’s even more that I want you to see.”
As he said this, he crouched down and reached toward a patch of uneven mud ahead.
There lay the scars and traces left behind by physical hunger, marked by deep furrows and eroded areas.
Hu Li and Aileen looked over in confusion, instinctively following Yu Sheng’s pointing finger.
They noticed the earth there beginning to stir slowly.
They heard faint noises of friction rising from deep within the soil.
The ground began to heal, the devoured furrows gradually filling, and the corrosive marks swiftly dissipating.
Greenery began to peek through the stones and soil, delicate and fragile, but those tiny greens were sufficient to astonish.
The valley was “healing,” which was the only way Aileen could think to describe what was happening.
She turned her stiff neck to glance at Yu Sheng beside her.
Yu Sheng exhaled deeply and slowly rose to his feet.
Within a radius of several dozen meters around him, the ground had begun to restore itself, but that was the limit of what he could achieve at that moment.
Further beyond, while he could feel a subtle connection to the land, he couldn’t simply “activate” or “reshape” it like that.
Yet even so, he could sense that what he was doing was affecting the entire valley, like planting a seed that set off a slow chain reaction; he felt the valley gradually awakening and slowly regenerating.
“How are you doing this?” Aileen finally couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked.
“I’m not clear on the specific principles, but this should also be a contact built through ‘blood,’” Yu Sheng pondered as he spoke slowly. “Ever since the last incident, I felt like I had formed a certain stable ‘connection’ with this valley, probably because I’ve died here so many times that there would be enough blood to nourish it… Anyway, from a certain moment on, I started feeling it, just like this.”
He pointed at the already healed patch of land beneath his feet.
Aileen stared wide-eyed, even feeling a chill, as she struggled to voice, “What exactly is your blood?!”
Then she snapped her fingers as if recalling something, “Wait! You’ve shaped my body with your blood and smeared it on my frame. Does that mean you can control…”
“Not at all,” Yu Sheng sighed in response, “If I could control you, would I have to suffer through getting kicked all night when I was asleep?”
Aileen considered this and sighed in relief, “Oh, that makes sense.”
Then she turned to the quiet Hu Li: “You come from a place of cultivation; you see things differently. What do you think?”
Hu Li gazed at Yu Sheng with admiration, “Benefactor, your profound methods can harmonize with nature’s changes—like a garden god!”
Yu Sheng was left unsure whether this fox girl was genuinely complimenting him or not, so he took it as flattery.
“I shouldn’t expect you to have a different view,” Aileen sighed after hearing Hu Li's answer.
She reached out and poked Yu Sheng on the forehead. “In any case, we can put your ‘connection’ with the valley aside for now. The critical thing is the presence of physical hunger that has lingered here—if it hasn’t regenerated for so long, it might really be gone.”
“Is this really something that’s never happened before?” Yu Sheng asked skeptically.
“Of course not; at least, I haven’t heard of it,” Aileen replied without hesitation. “Physical presences are a ‘necessary phenomenon’ during the valley’s operation, not an independent entity that can be wiped out. Where there is an otherworld, there is the presence. But having said that—”
The small figurine paused, her gaze subtly scanning the surroundings.
“The overall ‘atmosphere’ of this entire valley has changed. At least from my sensation, it truly no longer feels like the otherworld that nurtured physical hunger. If that’s the case, then indeed physical hunger might really have vanished for good…”
The little figurine frowned deeply, as if she had grasped a logical explanation but was unable to believe it entirely.
Meanwhile, Hu Li seemed not to grasp what Aileen was struggling with; she had simply understood one thing: that monster seemed like it would never return.
She tugged on Yu Sheng's sleeve, “So, there won’t be any more of that monster coming out to hurt people?”
“It seems that way,” Yu Sheng thought for a moment and gently nodded. “Unless this valley ceases its connection with me and manages to revert back to its former state on its own.”
Hearing this answer, Hu Li stared blankly at Yu Sheng, momentarily lost in thought.
Then suddenly, she threw herself at Yu Sheng, hugging him tightly—so tightly that even Yu Sheng’s considerably more robust body creaked under the force, and she wrapped up many of her tails around him as well. “Benefactor, this is wonderful! It’s amazing!”
Yu Sheng had not anticipated this reaction, and he was nearly out of breath.
Forget about feeling the warmth of the fox’s embrace; he felt as if he was being squeezed by seven or eight hydraulic clamps from all sides. “Let… let go… I’m going to suffocate… tails…”
Only then did Hu Li realize and quickly loosen her grip, jumping back in alarm. “Ah! I’m so sorry, Benefactor—I got too excited…”
Yu Sheng, having escaped near death, braced himself on his knees, gasping for air.
After a long moment, he finally had the strength to wave his hand. “Why is your tail so strong too?!”
“That surprised me as well!” Aileen protested, “You swung your tail so fast that you almost knocked me over!”
Hu Li kept apologizing, her ears nearly flat against her scalp…
But it was clear she was still very happy.
It was a joy that surpassed even the sense of relief she felt when escaping the otherworld.
Finally catching his breath (and managing to mend a few minor cracks in his body), Yu Sheng reached out to pat Hu Li's hair to calm her down before straightening up and looking out into the distance.
Aileen immediately noticed Yu Sheng's movements and changes in expression.
The little figurine rushed to Hu Li, “I think he has an idea again…”
“Should we go take a walk further out?” Yu Sheng asked as expected. “What do you think this valley holds outside?”
(End of Chapter)