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“That’s about right,” Irene replied. “But whether the whole ‘world’ works like that… I’m not entirely sure. The world is vast, after all. At least within ‘Boundary City,’ the chances of Otherworlds popping up are quite high. That’s why they call this place the ‘Borderland’ or something like that. I don’t know all the details—I’ve been trapped in this painting for far too long, and my mind’s a bit fuzzy.”

“Borderland?” Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu at the mention of the name. Then, he realized something else Irene had slipped in—she had emphasized “within the bounds of Boundary City.” So this enormous, seemingly endless city actually had an “outside!”

He hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist asking, “What’s outside Boundary City?”

“Outside? Maybe more cities? Or perhaps… the sea or something?” Irene’s answer was vague. “I can’t quite remember. I’ve really been in that painting for far too long. I only recall a few things about this city…”

She suddenly paused, looking confused. “You don’t know? You’ve never left Boundary City?”

Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched, and he fell silent.

How would he know? He’d only been in this place for two months. Forget about outside Boundary City; he hadn’t even figured out the bus routes beyond four blocks from his home!

But after a long pause, he decided to keep this little secret to himself. He wasn’t ready to share that he was just a “homebody” with a cursed painting he had only just met.

“I haven’t been out. I’m quite a homebody… Anyway, let’s not dwell on that,” he said casually, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. “Let’s focus on how to get me out of this so-called ‘Otherworld.’ It is possible to leave an Otherworld, right?”

Irene seemed to consider this for a moment, as if sifting through the muddled memories of her long confinement. After a while, she replied, “Otherworlds come in many forms. Sometimes it might just be a building that isn’t on any map, or an extra stop on a bus route. It could even be a forest—a kingdom you can enter by opening a wardrobe door. Generally, smaller Otherworlds have obvious exits, or you can return to reality by following certain rules. But the larger the Otherworld, the more complicated things get.”

She paused, looking troubled. “I can’t remember the specifics. There should be a complete classification system for Otherworlds, with ‘depth’ and ‘danger level’ ratings. But I really… have been in that painting for too long…”

Her voice trailed off, sounding a bit despondent.

At first, Yu Sheng had wanted to make a sarcastic remark, thinking this doll prattled on but hadn’t offered any useful information. But hearing her last murmur, he held his tongue and chose not to bicker with Irene as he had before.

She was trying her best to help—she had just been sealed away for far too long.

“Let’s look around; I’ll find an exit eventually,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head as he gazed out at the valley beyond the dilapidated temple. “This place seems quite vast. From what I can see, there are mountains on either side and forests in the distance. According to what you said, leaving might not be easy.”

“Mhm,” Irene agreed. “You can start by checking around where you first entered the Otherworld. Look for anything that seems out of place—something that immediately strikes you as not belonging there. Usually, the exit of an Otherworld is nearby. If you don’t find anything, try getting to a higher place to see if you can spot any mirror-like reflections or hear the sound of wind.”

“But even if you find something like that, don’t approach it recklessly; it could be a trap leading to a ‘deeper layer.’ As for the specifics… I can’t explain them clearly; you’ll have to rely on your instincts.”

“Instincts?” Yu Sheng interjected.

“Yes, strictly speaking, it’s called ‘intuition’—a kind of spiritual perception. Trained investigators can master this method. I know you haven’t been trained in this, but there’s no choice now; you’ll have to push through.”

“But don’t worry too much. Spirituality exists in all intelligent beings. Ordinary people who haven’t been trained have it too; it’s just not awakened. If you’re careful, you’ll feel those innate warnings and premonitions. If you ever encounter something you can’t figure out, tell me, and I’ll… try my best to help.”

Yu Sheng nodded, stepping out from his hiding spot and cautiously making his way toward the main gate of the temple. The unsettling feeling of being watched, mixed with a sense of lurking hunger, surrounded him, nearly suffocating the air itself. Yet he steeled himself and continued onward.

According to Irene’s information, he had to find an exit quickly to leave this place—waiting around wouldn’t make a door appear before him.

Meanwhile, perhaps to ease his tension, he continued to chat casually with Irene.

“You said the place I’ve been living is an ‘Otherworld.’ How did you figure that out? I didn’t notice anything strange about my home…”

“I can sense it,” Irene replied, her tone matter-of-fact. “It’s that intuition I mentioned. I can feel something’s off about that building—though on the surface, everything seems normal. I just don’t know why.”

“More intuition, huh…” Yu Sheng shook his head, skepticism flickering in his eyes. “So, according to you, every day when I go home, I’m entering an Otherworld, and when I leave, I’m exiting it? Then my home is just a harmless ‘good Otherworld’ that’s freely accessible.”

After a few moments, Irene said softly, “…But going out the door doesn’t necessarily take you where you want to go, does it?”

Yu Sheng’s expression froze, the memory of how he had ended up trapped in this place rushing back to him.

He began to understand what was wrong with his home. Thinking about it, it was a miracle he had lived peacefully in that big house for two months!

As they spoke, he found himself back in the open space in front of the dilapidated temple—the spot where he had first entered this Otherworld.

“There’s nothing here,” he murmured, carefully checking the clearing. He confirmed he hadn’t found the key item Irene had described. “Looks like it’s not going to be that easy.”

“Yes, as expected,” Irene sighed. “Try venturing further out, but remember—never touch anything that’s glowing or suddenly moves in front of you. Also, unless absolutely necessary, don’t eat or drink anything in the Otherworld…”

“I know… By the way, would it be better to search during the day?” Yu Sheng asked, glancing up at the sky, which seemed perpetually shrouded in a murky veil. “Moving around in the wild at night feels pretty creepy.”

“Otherworlds often defy common sense; daytime isn’t necessarily safer, and there might not even be a daytime there,” Irene replied promptly. “I still suggest you find the exit as soon as possible. If you delay, something might change on your side.”

Yu Sheng shrugged, resigned to move further away from the temple.

Just as he stepped beyond the temple’s vicinity, he heard a sound.

At first, it was like faint, muffled breathing.

Instinctively, Yu Sheng looked toward the source and saw a puff of white mist slowly dispersing in the air, as if some invisible giant creature had just exhaled.

He heard the sound, and so the beast’s breath formed.

He saw the white mist, and the creature began to take shape before him—a dark shadow looming, nearly three times his size, its heavy breathing echoing in the stillness.

Now, he could see the outline of the beast—it existed.

Yu Sheng’s heart tightened; an overwhelming sense of danger engulfed him, even more oppressive than the threat posed by that frog in the rain!

Just as his heart clenched, the dark shadow solidified.

It was something Yu Sheng had never seen before—a mix of a bear, a lion, an eagle, and perhaps a tiger merged with a snake. Countless ferocious limbs were piled onto its massive and grotesque body, as if many creatures had been melted together into a monstrosity that had escaped. This horrifying beast loomed over Yu Sheng, its mismatched eyes glinting with a dreadful hunger.

Yu Sheng slowly looked up, meeting the beast’s gaze.

Without hesitation, the creature lunged forward. In that critical moment, Yu Sheng dropped low, narrowly dodging one of the beast’s gaping jaws.

But he fell into another of its enormous mouths.

Sharp teeth snapped shut; half of Yu Sheng’s body was instantly torn apart. Yet at that moment, the pain felt distant, almost numbed. Everything around him seemed to slow down. He saw a snake-like limb extend from behind the beast, another massive mouth biting into his remaining lower half—he even saw his own heart.

The heart beat slowly, then vanished into the serpent’s maw.

“Curse you!” Yu Sheng forced out a cry. He knew he was probably going to die again, but he couldn’t go down without a fight.

In his last moments of control, he mustered all his strength to turn his head and bite down beside him—he didn’t know which part of the beast it was, nor what good biting it would do; he just knew he had sunk his teeth into something.

At least take a piece of flesh before dying.

Yu Sheng used every ounce of strength left, fiercely biting into the beast while it continued to tear at him—blood and flesh, claws and teeth, prey and predator…

As his consciousness began to slip into darkness, one final thought squeezed into Yu Sheng’s mind. He softly called out to Irene, who was somewhere far away: “Irene…”

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll hang up now.”

Irene was momentarily stunned, not quite processing his words.

Then Yu Sheng hung up.