Chapter 10 Flowers Bloom Twice

Erin finds it unbelievable that Yu Sheng has been living in an "Exotic Realm" for a long time without knowing it—but Yu Sheng thinks this world is unbelievable itself.

"According to what you said, this world is full of 'Exotic Realms', right?" Hiding in the corner of the ruined temple, Yu Sheng casually chatted with Erin in his mind, "Is it just that most people can't access them? Because they can't be observed?"

"It's roughly like that, but whether the entire 'world' is like this... I'm not very clear," Erin said, "After all, the world is so vast, but at least within the 'Boundary City' area... The appearance of Exotic Realms is very likely, so this place is also called 'Boundary Land' or something... I'm not sure about the specifics, I've stayed in the painting too long, my mind is a bit fuzzy."

"Boundary Land?" Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows, feeling that this name seemed familiar, but then he noticed another piece of information Erin had revealed—

She specifically emphasized "within the Boundary City area"—so, this huge city, seemingly without boundaries, actually has an "outside"!

He hesitated for two or three seconds but couldn't resist asking, "What's outside Boundary City?"

"Outside Boundary City? Maybe more cities? Or maybe... oceans?" Erin's reply was vague, "I don't remember, I've really stayed in this painting too long, I only remember a little about this city..."

At this point, she suddenly stopped, and asked somewhat puzzledly: "Don't you know? Have you never left Boundary City?"

Yu Sheng's mouth twitched, and he immediately fell silent.

How would he know! He had only been here for two months—not to mention outside Boundary City, he hadn't even figured out the bus routes beyond his neighborhood!

But after being silent for a long time, he decided not to mention this matter—about this little secret of his own, he didn't want a "cursed portrait" he had only met recently to know yet.

"I haven't gone out, I'm quite a homebody... Forget it, let's not talk about this," he casually dismissed, shifting the topic, "Let's first figure out how to get out of this so-called 'Exotic Realm'? By the way... it is possible to leave an Exotic Realm, right?"

Erin from across thought for a moment, apparently organizing her long-sealed, jumbled memory, it took a long while before she finally responded: "Exotic Realms... there are many kinds, sometimes it might just be a house that doesn't exist on the map, sometimes it could be an extra platform on a bus route, sometimes it might even be a forest, a kingdom you can enter by opening a wardrobe door—generally, smaller Exotic Realms have relatively fixed and obvious exits, or you can return to reality by following specific rules, but the larger the size of the Exotic Realm, the more complex it is."

Having said this, she paused, then continued, "I can't remember the specifics, Exotic Realms should have a complete classification method, and there's also some 'Deep Layer' scale and 'Danger Level' standards, but I really… have been in this painting too long..."

Her voice gradually dwindled, sounding somewhat desolate.

Yu Sheng originally wanted to complain, thinking that this person babbled a lot but didn't remember any useful information, but after hearing the last faint mutter of the other party, he closed his mouth and did not argue with Erin as before.

She was already trying hard to help—he was just sealed for too long.

"Let's look around, we'll find an exit," Yu Sheng shook his head, looked up at the valley outside the ruined temple, "This place looks quite large, at least to my sight, there are mountains on both sides and a forest in the distance, according to your words, leaving... might not be so easy."

"Hmm," Erin responded, "You can first take a walk around your 'original landing point' after you entered the Exotic Realm, look for anything that doesn't fit in with the surroundings, things that you feel shouldn't be there; usually, the exit of an Exotic Realm will be nearby. If there isn't anything nearby, then find a higher place, to see if you can spot a mirror-like reflection or hear a continuous wind sound…

"But even if you find something similar, don't rashly go and touch it, it could also be a trap leading to a 'Deeper Layer,' specifically… I can't say clearly, you have to rely on your feelings."

"Feelings?" Yu Sheng couldn't help asking.

"...Yes, strictly speaking, what it requires is 'inspiration,' a kind of spiritual intuition; trained investigators grasp this perception method—I know you haven't trained in this, but there's no choice now, you have to bite the bullet.

"Don't worry too much; spirituality exists in all sentient beings, untrained ordinary people also have it, it just hasn't been awakened; be a bit more careful, you will feel those innate warnings and premonitions—if you really encounter something you can't judge, just tell me, I… will try my best to help."

Yu Sheng agreed and slowly walked out from his hiding place in the corner, cautiously heading towards the great door of the ruined temple—the unsettling "Peeping Feeling" and "Hunger Feel" still surrounded him, even seemed to have permeated the surrounding air, becoming part of this entire valley, but he still bit the bullet and walked out.

Because from the information provided by Erin, he needed to find an "exit" as soon as possible to leave this place—waiting in the corner wouldn't have a door automatically open in front of him.

Meanwhile, probably to relieve the tension in his heart, he continued to chat with Erin on and off.

"You said the place I've been living is an 'Exotic Realm,' how did you determine that? I didn't notice anything wrong with my home..."

"I can feel it," Erin replied, "It's the 'inspiration' I mentioned, I can clearly feel that there's something wrong with this building—of course, it looks completely normal on the surface... I don't know what that's about."

"Feeling again, huh..." Yu Sheng shook his head, "So, according to what you said, every day when I go home, I'm entering an Exotic Realm, and when I leave, I'm leaving an Exotic Realm, right? Then my home is really a 'nice Exotic Realm' that allows free entry and exit, harmless to both humans and animals."

After two or three seconds, Erin spoke faintly: "…Going out doesn't necessarily lead to where you want to go, does it?"

Yu Sheng's expression momentarily stiffened, recalling why he ended up being trapped in this place.

He seemed to know what was wrong with his "home".

Thinking about it, the fact that he had been living peacefully in that big house for two months was a miracle!

While talking, he had already returned to the clearing in front of the ruined temple, which was his "original landing point" when he first entered the "Exotic Realm."

"There's nothing to be found here," Yu Sheng carefully inspected the surroundings of the clearing, confirming that he hadn't found the "discordant key item" described by Erin, "It seems it's not that easy."

"Yes, as expected," Erin sighed, "then you try walking outwards, but remember, never touch anything that glows or suddenly moves in front of your eyes, and unless absolutely necessary, do not eat or drink anything in the Exotic Realm..."

"I know... Wouldn't it be better to search during the day?" Yu Sheng said, looking up at the sky which seemed to be forever covered with a murky veil, "It always feels gloomy to move around in the wilderness at night."

"The Exotic Realm often defies common sense; the day might not necessarily be safer, and there might not even be a day," Erin quickly responded, "I still suggest you find the exit as soon as possible. The longer you delay, something might change on your side."

Yu Sheng pursed his lips, having no choice but to move toward a farther place.

But just as he took a step away from the range of the ruined temple, a sound reached his ears.

At first, it seemed only a faint and indistinct breath.

Yu Sheng instinctively looked in the direction of the sound, just in time to see a white mist slowly dispersing in the air, as if some invisible giant beast had just exhaled a turbid breath.

He heard the sound, and thus the giant beast's breathing was generated.

He saw the white mist, and thus the existence of the giant beast began to be confirmed.

Shadows loomed in the air, a figure almost three times the size of Yu Sheng slowly formed in front of him, accompanied by heavy breathing.

Now, he saw the outline of the giant beast—the beast existed.

Yu Sheng's heart suddenly tightened, an overwhelming sense of crisis crashing down on him, heavier than the oppressive feeling brought about by the frog in the rain!

And just when his heart was clenching at that moment, the shadow solidified.

It was something Yu Sheng had never seen before—a bear? Lion? Eagle? Or a tiger and a snake? Numerous fierce and bizarre, yet close to reality, limbs piled up on that huge and ugly flesh ball, as if many fierce beasts had been forcibly melted into a big pot and then amalgamated into a mass that scrambled out, this nauseating and terrifying creature with its variously sized swollen limbs supported its massive body looming over Yu Sheng, and in those randomly stacked eyes... filled with hunger.

Yu Sheng slowly raised his head, locking eyes with the giant beast.

Without any hesitation, the giant beast pounced down—At the critical moment, Yu Sheng swiftly crouched, miraculously dodging past one of the gaping mouths of the giant beast.

Then he fell into its other gaping mouth.

The ferocious teeth snapped shut, tearing apart half of Yu Sheng's body in an instant, yet at this moment, the intense pain seemed to turn into a distant, numb illusion. He felt everything slow down before his eyes; he saw another snake-like limb stretching from behind the giant beast, another massive mouth biting into his body, tearing at the remnants below his chest—he could see his own heart again.

The heart was beating slowly, and then it disappeared into the depths of the snake-like mouth.

"Fuck you, grandpa!"

Yu Sheng squeezed out a curse from his throat last, knowing he seemed to be dying again, but he felt he couldn't just let it end this way.

With the last bit of muscle in his body still able to contract, he strained to turn his head and bit at something beside him—he didn't know which part of the giant beast it was, and he didn't know what use there was in biting, but he knew he had bitten into the creature.

At least take a piece of flesh with him in death.

Yu Sheng exhausted all his strength at this moment; he fiercely bit into the giant beast, and the giant beast bit into him too, blood and flesh, claws and teeth, food and diner...

Before his thoughts completely sank into darkness, the last thought squeezed through Yu Sheng's mind—he whispered softly to Erin, who was far away in an unknown place: "Erin..."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, I'll hang up first."

Erin was taken aback for a moment, not reacting in time.

And then Yu Sheng hung up.