Chapter 104: Yu Sheng's Alchemy Experiment

Sleep was impossible; even without Erin causing trouble beside him, sleep was impossible.

Probably, experiencing an Otherworld exploration properly for the first time was truly exhilarating, and probably, having absorbed too much information recently, it all came rushing into his mind at once; Yu Sheng simply couldn't stop his wandering thoughts, so after tossing and turning and managing only two or three hours of sleep, he got up, threw a jacket over his pajamas, and quietly prepared to leave the bedroom.

As soon as he pushed open the bedroom door, the small doll on the bed suddenly sat up straight, eyes still closed: "Going out? Where to?"

Yu Sheng froze, just about to answer, when he saw Erin flop down again with a thud, muttering as she fell: "Don't forget to bring a helmet when buying money... you and the silly fox ate yourselves full and didn't take me to play games..."

Nonsensical sleep-talking—by the way, why did a single doll not only need to sleep but could even sleep and talk in her dreams?!

A strange urge to complain rose in Yu Sheng's heart; after confirming Erin hadn't woken, he quietly pushed the door open and stepped out into the hallway.

The sun had not yet risen; outside the house, boundless night still reigned, the quietest moment before dawn, with the house utterly silent inside and out, so that the sound of slippers walking on the floor seemed especially loud and abrupt.

Yu Sheng looked left and right, first seeing the door at the end of the hallway; he walked over, cautiously pushed the door ajar to peek inside, saw everything was as usual, felt slightly relieved, then turned and walked toward the stairs at the other end of the corridor.

Just as he reached the stairwell, he saw the clothes hanging on the railing post—that was the jacket he had worn when going out last night; since he had returned very late, he hadn't tidied up and had casually hung it there.

The jacket was still stained with large patches of blood, and where the giant wolf had torn and bitten, a sizable rip gaped, looking quite terrifying.

Yu Sheng picked up the jacket and examined it; he hadn't looked closely when returning, but now he felt the clothes were probably beyond saving; the repair work would be considerable, the massive bloodstains might not wash out, and it wasn't a precious garment anyway... later, he'd just throw it away.

He just didn't know if tossing such a "bloodied garment" that looked like it was recovered from a crime scene directly into the trash would scare anyone; at that point, the neighbors would probably call the police.

Various random thoughts churned in Yu Sheng's mind: sometimes he marveled at how massive his blood loss had been back then, sometimes he regretted not smearing all that blood around the exhibition hall before it dried, perhaps he could have gained more control over the "Museum" or unlocked something new, and sometimes he wondered what exactly that giant wolf emerging from Little Red Riding Hood's shadow was, worrying about the girl being hunted by the evil wolf...

His gaze unconsciously remained fixed on the bloodstains on the clothes; gradually, the chaotic thoughts in his mind coalesced into a single curiosity.

Blood, his own blood... what exactly was it?

This doubt had lingered in his heart for a long time, but there was never time or a clear line of thought to verify or research anything; now, however, Yu Sheng suddenly had some ideas, and since he couldn't sleep anyway, after a moment's hesitation, he turned and climbed the stairs leading to the attic.

Nightlight spilled through the windows, filling the attic with a deep blue, near-ink darkness; the large table that "Erin" had used as an "Alchemy Table" sat quietly in the depths of the gloom, with the tools used last time to craft a body for the doll still arranged on it, a few old books piled in the corner, and beside them, that old desk lamp.

Yu Sheng did not turn on the main light; instead, he went over and switched on the old desk lamp; in the limited light that better focused attention, he slowly sat before the table, pondering certain matters.

He had used two lotus root segments to reshape Erin's arms, turning the small doll into a "small lotus doll"; Erin protested vehemently, but setting aside her fussing, one thing was actually worth noting.

That was, within "Professional Doll" Erin's knowledge system, such a reckless operation should have been utterly impossible to succeed; clay, flour, even dirt dug from the garden could be materials for making dolls, but "lotus root" was not.

After a slight hesitation, Yu Sheng took a disposable mixing cup from the drawer, picked up the paper cutter on the table, gritted his teeth, sliced a cut on the back of his hand, and let his blood drip into the cup.

He possessed no occult knowledge; apart from the mechanical "operations" in the doll-making process, Erin had only taught him some rudimentary knowledge regarding Spirit Infusion, Guidance, and Activation, and even that was merely offhand remarks.

But for the current Yu Sheng, even that rudimentary knowledge was enough to satisfy his curiosity.

After completing an Otherworld exploration with Little Red Riding Hood, he was now filled with interest in matters of the occult realm and urgently wanted to increase his experience and understanding in this area.

Following the method Erin had taught him, which he remembered, Yu Sheng arranged the candles for the Spirit Infusion ritual on the table, placed his blood at the "focal points" of several concentric circles and connecting lines, and began attempting to draw upon his own "Spirituality," pouring this power into the separated blood.

Erin had said that "blood" was an excellent "natural alchemical wonder"; the flow of fresh blood symbolized "Life," the greatest miracle in the universe; it was the substance most likely to react in alchemical rituals, and even the most clumsy novice could use it to complete many tests.

But Yu Sheng encountered a problem at the very first step.

He did not know how to draw upon his own "Spirituality"—although he had recently been able to feel the existence of "Spiritual Intuition" more and more clearly, he still had no way to perceive and control this "Spirituality," said to originate from the essence of the human soul, as a concrete, controllable "element"; he felt no supernatural "energy" appearing within himself, so naturally, he could not pour it into the separated blood.

He could only fully unleash his imagination, and he unleashed it so much he almost fell asleep.

After ten minutes of fussing, he saw the blood in the cup beginning to show signs of coagulating, so he abandoned this line of testing.

Perhaps some "auxiliary materials" were still needed?

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, opened the drawer again, and took out a bag of clay.

This was a new purchase after the previous clay ran out; considering Erin might have an emergency needing limb repair in the future, he now needed to keep these "materials" in stock at home.

After all, he couldn't keep using lotus roots—although he did quite want to try that, Erin might go mad.

Clay sculpting was the only alchemical experiment Yu Sheng had successfully "operated" so far.

He mixed the blood from the cup directly into the clay, kneaded it evenly, then rigorously added "auxiliaries" like tea powder and rose oil according to the ratios Erin had taught, and after careful preparation, he began seriously shaping this lump of clay into the form of an arm.

He figured that since he was messing around once anyway, he might as well practice the "craft" of making dolls, saving Erin from complaining every time she recalled the "reshaping" process about how ugly his creations were.

Thinking this, Yu Sheng used twelvefold patience and meticulousness to complete the arm's shaping, then used a scraper and a rod needle to craft a tiny hand at the end of the clay lump; after trying hard, he found... it was still ugly.

But at least it was better than last time; at least there were definitely five fingers.

He had never dared to mention to Erin that the body he first molded for her actually had two six-fingered hands... anyway, after the doll completed its self-reshaping, it repaired itself to normal, and she never noticed.

After finishing all this, Yu Sheng placed the arm back at the center of the alchemical array, imagining the connection he had established through his blood and this arm, while slowly moving his own right hand, attempting to make the arm on the table move just like him.

But it remained motionless.

Yu Sheng frowned, poked the arm with the scraper, and after confirming there was truly no reaction, could only resign himself and set it aside for the time being.

Faint morning light had already begun to spill into the attic through the windows in the sloped roof, and the surroundings were gradually brightening.

However, Yu Sheng was already immersed in what he was doing and hadn't even noticed the sky was gradually brightening.

He released more blood and prepared more clay.

Doing handicrafts was something very easy to get addicted to.

Since he had already made an arm, why not just make a complete body? Whether alchemy would succeed was a question for later; if he could at least practice the craft of molding people, that would do; he could treat it as preparing a spare body for Erin—although she said she wouldn't replace her body for a few months, this period was perfect for him to practice properly.

He would give the little doll a small surprise then.

Thinking this, Yu Sheng's enthusiasm gradually rose; continuously releasing fresh blood caused him no discomfort; instead, his spirit grew even more vigorous; he crafted a new torso, arms, and two legs, then opened a new pack of clay and began attempting to make the doll's head.

He felt he had improved greatly; at least compared to last time, the body he made now could be called symmetrical, with all four limbs intact, arms were arms, and legs were legs.

Making the doll's head was more mentally taxing than making the body; not only did one have to carve the facial features as delicately as possible, but one also had to consider the more complex makeup process; Yu Sheng didn't know if he could handle it—when he first shaped Erin's torso, he had skipped the "facial makeup" step entirely, and that face had eventually grown in correctly on its own, but this time he wanted to challenge a higher difficulty.

Anyway, when he bought the clay last time, he had also bought a set of small tools for applying makeup to dolls and figurines; not using them would be a waste.

Yu Sheng worked with great immersion.

In fact, he was so immersed that he didn't even notice—

The fingers of the arm he had originally crafted were trembling slightly.

And the doll's torso placed on the edge of the table was rising and falling slightly, at a degree barely perceptible to the naked eye.

(End of Chapter)