Chapter 43: Irene's Plan

Eileen certainly possessed many miraculous abilities—a fact Yu Sheng realized deeply when he sank into Hu Li's dream alongside this doll. But, truth be told, this unlucky doll was so frequently incompetent in other areas that people tended to overlook this fact, whether intentionally or not...

"So, there's only one thing left, the most crucial part," Yu Sheng said to the little doll beside him, sitting on the sofa with a serious expression. "We need to find a way to recreate that gateway to the otherworldly valley."

"Are you still planning to rely on brute force?" Eileen asked curiously. "Trying every 'frequency' you think is close, one by one?"

Yu Sheng sighed. "I have no choice. When I first entered the valley, I hadn't truly mastered the technique of 'opening the door.' I overlooked too many details back then."

Eileen turned her head to look at Yu Sheng. The little doll seemed to be thinking hard; after a moment, she spoke hesitantly. "Actually... I have an idea."

Yu Sheng immediately leaned forward. "Hmm? You have a way?!"

"It might not work, because I don't understand how your 'opening the door' actually works, let alone what this 'frequency' you keep mentioning means," Eileen said, spinning around on the sofa cushion. "But based on my understanding, you actually need a 'characteristic' that can help you 'lock onto' your destination? Or some kind of navigation signal?"

"...I suppose you could understand it that way?" Yu Sheng became a bit uncertain himself. "To be honest, I haven't figured it out perfectly either. The whole process has been me groping in the dark, relying mostly on 'feeling.' But your idea of a 'navigation signal' is quite apt—at the moment I open the door, the location on the other side is completely random. But if I can accurately 'remember' a certain 'characteristic' of the place behind the door, the passage will collapse into a single, unique path. It's something like that."

"So that means, if we can leave a navigation point on Hu Li's side, you can directly recreate the passage?"

"Likely," Yu Sheng nodded, but then looked puzzled. "But where would we get such a navigation point? My current problem is that I can't find the path to the valley in the first place. If I could just leave a navigation point there, I wouldn't have to worry..."

"From within the dream?" Eileen suddenly suggested.

Yu Sheng froze, then vaguely understood what the doll meant.

Eileen continued her detailed explanation: "The last time I sank into Hu Li's dream with you, I established a faint connection with her. If that connection were to advance further, perhaps I could link to her senses—and if I pull you along with me, you could directly experience the aura of that valley through Hu Li's perception. Wouldn't that be equivalent to establishing a 'navigation point'?"

Yu Sheng listened to Eileen's plan in a daze. The more he heard, the more he felt that this doll's wild imagination... might actually be feasible?

"There are two difficulties in this process," Eileen continued. "First, it requires Hu Li's cooperation; she must be willing to open her mind to you. But that shouldn't be a big problem—just explain it clearly to her. She should trust you. The second difficulty is a bit... dangerous."

Yu Sheng didn't interrupt, merely gesturing with his eyes for her to continue.

"The second difficulty is that Hu Li's mind doesn't only contain herself right now," Eileen's expression grew slightly serious as she looked into Yu Sheng's eyes. "Entity-Hunger has penetrated deep into the core of her psyche. So, once you establish a deep connection with Hu Li, it's equivalent to establishing that same connection with Entity-Hunger... I'm not sure what will happen then. While theoretically, you should be able to withstand short-term contact, I'm afraid the power of Hunger might take root in your heart. If you actually enter the valley and face that monster, the part that took root in you could erupt at any time..."

Yu Sheng fell into deep thought.

Seeing that he had gone silent, Eileen's eyes darted around before she realized what was happening. She immediately stood up from the sofa and planted her hands on her hips (though she was still not as tall as Yu Sheng sitting down). "Don't you dare think about dying first to see if you can clear the influence! I'm telling you, that tendency is dangerous. If you can't shake it off even after dying and coming back to life, you're in big trouble..."

Yu Sheng adjusted his posture somewhat awkwardly. "I didn't say that..."

"I can tell!"

Yu Sheng: "..."

*Why is this doll's intuition so sharp right now when her brain is usually so useless!*

"I get it, I get it. I'll put the 'dying' idea aside under any circumstances," Yu Sheng said, feeling uneasy under the gaze of Eileen's crimson eyes. He could only wave his hands in surrender and forcibly steer the conversation back on track. "But I've decided to try your plan. The risk of direct contact with 'Entity-Hunger' certainly exists, but I think... it's worth the risk."

Eileen's crimson eyes continued to stare at Yu Sheng. After several more seconds, she finally spoke. "Fine. It looks like you really want to save that fox, and her situation really can't be delayed any longer. Let's go with this plan."

But just then, Yu Sheng suddenly remembered something else. "However, there's one more problem."

"Huh?"

"I might not be able to dream the specific dream where Hu Li exists," Yu Sheng spread his hands. "I didn't even dream last night—I don't know how to control my own dreams."

Hearing this, Eileen actually laughed, her smile filled with triumph and boasting.

"I can!" The little doll stood on the sofa (66.6cm tall) with her arms crossed proudly. "You just focus on dreaming, and leave the rest to me—I'm telling you, after breaking free from the constraints of that painting, I'm terrifyingly strong now! I'm even scared of myse—"

Before she could finish, Yu Sheng adjusted his position on the sofa. The cushion deformed accordingly, and Eileen, who was standing on the edge, suddenly lost her footing. With a startled "Eek!", she tumbled off the sofa—only to get wedged between the sofa and the coffee table by the back of the oil painting frame, hanging suspended beneath it.

The doll hung beneath the frame, flailing her limbs as if she were about to fly up and bite someone.

She cursed quite colorfully.

Yu Sheng reached out and lifted the frame. "It looks like your 'constraints' are still quite severe."

"You... you keep laughing and I won't help you!" Eileen's arms were caught between the straps on the back of the frame, leaving her hanging in a cross shape as Yu Sheng lifted it. "Put me down! You... hey, hey! My arms! My arm joints are stuck! Bend them back for me..."

Yu Sheng looked at Eileen speechlessly. He casually plucked her from the frame and began to pop her stuck joints back into place while enduring the doll's loud complaining.

***

Late at night, Yu Sheng had made all the preparations to go to sleep.

Yet Eileen was still running around his bed like a tiny, frantic rocket.

"I say, can't you be quiet for once?" Yu Sheng, lying in bed, looked at Eileen jumping up and down beside him with a face full of helplessness. "I'm going to sleep."

"Your bed is so big!" Eileen happily ran to the head of the bed, then hopped onto the nightstand, grabbing the lamp and shaking it as if she hadn't heard a word Yu Sheng said. "Hey, hey, this lamp is shorter than me! Yu Sheng, look! This lamp is shorter than me!"

"I'll buy a smaller nightlight next time, even shorter than you!" Yu Sheng rolled his eyes irritably and reached out to pull Eileen off his lamp. "Have you forgotten what you're supposed to be doing? Keep this up and I'll lock you in the closet!"

Only then did Eileen finally quiet down, smiling sheepishly. "I was just a little excited... Fine, fine, you sleep, you sleep. I won't cause trouble."

Yu Sheng let out a weary sigh and set Eileen down. "Go help me turn off the light."

The doll replied righteously, "I can't reach it!"

"...Get a chair!"

"Oh."

The world finally fell silent.

Yu Sheng took a long breath, enjoying the momentary peace in the darkened bedroom, and began to work on settling his mind to try and fall asleep.

Then, he turned his head and saw two glowing, blood-red eyes staring at him from the darkness by the bed.

Eileen was hanging off the edge of the bed, clutching the mattress like a koala, staring straight at Yu Sheng.

"...You're making it harder for me to sleep," Yu Sheng said helplessly. "By the way, why do you insist on coming into my room? Couldn't you enter my dreams from the first floor like before? Is it necessary to follow me here?"

"Closer proximity means better signal."

The doll spoke with such unearned confidence that her nonsense sounded like truth.

However, she did at least understand his meaning, finally jumping down from the bed edge and sitting on a nearby chair.

Yu Sheng sighed again.

He knew Eileen was still watching him, and he had no idea what was going on in that doll's head (if she even had one), but it seemed he wouldn't be able to drive her away tonight.

He could only try his best to ignore the crimson gaze emanating from the darkness, clearing his mind as much as possible to induce sleep.

He didn't know how long he tossed and turned in bed—perhaps an hour, perhaps longer.

Only when exhaustion reached its peak did he finally sink into a hazy, foggy darkness.

The dream arrived, and through the thin mist of the dreamscape, Eileen's soft voice drifted in: "You're finally asleep... Come, this way."

Yu Sheng instinctively turned toward the sound, and in the next second, the mist dissipated, and light and shadow emerged from the darkness.

He truly saw that dim, vast wilderness once again. A somber sky hung over the land, nameless hills rose in the distance, and the silver-white demon fox still slept in the expanse.

Yu Sheng walked forward, and immediately after, he noticed the "guide" floating beside him.

It was Eileen, guiding his dream.

Yu Sheng stopped in his tracks, looking at the oil painting suspended in mid-air with a strange expression.

The Eileen in the painting was staring eye-to-eye with him.

Yu Sheng: "...Why do I feel like this painting is your real body!"

Eileen looked down, then looked around her surroundings, finally realizing what was happening with a delayed reaction.

"Wait, how did I end up in the painting again?!"

(End of Chapter)