Chapter 44: Swallowed

An antique black oil painting frame floated in the dim dream world, and the doll-like girl sealed within the painting was utterly baffled by the current situation.

"This shouldn't be happening! I've already broken free from its control and even have a body in the real world!" Erin paced in circles inside the painting. "I accepted having to carry this painting around when I was 'outside,' treating it like extra luggage, but why is the situation worse in the dream world? Theoretically, shouldn't entering a dream make one freer?"

She raised her head and stared straight at Yu Sheng.

"You ask me, who should I ask? I also thought you should be freer after entering the dream," Yu Sheng shrugged. "I even wanted to see what you'd look like at one meter sixty-seven, but you're still just a paper-thin figure."

Erin looked extremely agitated, losing all desire to bicker with Yu Sheng. After circling the chair in the painting for who knew how many times, she finally resigned herself to sitting back down, then casually grabbed the fluffy teddy bear and rubbed it vigorously against her chest.

"Now I'm stuck with this guy again... but, well, it's fine. At least I have the ability to move freely in the real world now. The dream world isn't that important. Yes, not that important."

"... Sometimes I actually envy your optimism," Yu Sheng sighed sincerely.

Erin immediately bared her teeth at him, but whether in reality or the dream world, her snarling threats had never held any real deterrent power.

Yu Sheng stepped around the floating oil painting and approached the sleeping silver fox.

"What's next? Same as last time? I lie on her tail, and then we both 'sink' down together?"

"Same as last time, but this time, the connection will be more 'direct.' I'll try to keep Hu Li's consciousness in a near-awake state, making it easier for you to communicate with her and perceive her surroundings afterward," Erin said, floating over to Yu Sheng's side. "But at the same time, 'Hunger' will notice you. It will come for you... After that, I won't be able to help you. Contact and struggle on the level of consciousness are up to you alone."

Pausing there, as if to reassure Yu Sheng, she added: "But I can act as the final safety net. Once I sense your spirit becoming extremely unstable, I'll forcibly 'pull' you out. It'll be as unpleasant as waking up abruptly last time, so you'd better be mentally prepared."

"... Honestly, I really don't want to go through that again," Yu Sheng sighed immediately, but he quickly nodded, his previous resolve unshaken. "Alright, let's begin then."

He found a stable depression between Hu Li's large tail again, then caught Erin who jumped down directly from mid-air. One person and one painting, leaning against the fox tail, they sank downward once more into the drowsy dream.

Perhaps because of the connection foundation from last time, this second descent was even faster and smoother than Yu Sheng had imagined. He barely felt a moment of dizziness before his vision stabilized, and he could already see the figure of the fox girl.

She was squatting quietly among a pile of rubble, staring blankly at something ahead.

Yu Sheng's viewpoint moved behind Hu Li, following her line of sight forward—

He saw a massive wreck, resembling the aftermath of some large aircraft crashing. Twisted metal skeletons and broken decks still faintly revealed its former grandeur, while faint glimmers of light, like lingering spiritual breath, drifted slowly among the shattered debris.

The entire wreck had crashed at the foot of a mountain. The collapsed and molten mountain rock had almost swallowed and fused it into part of the mountain itself. Even a single glance was enough to reveal how tremendous the impact must have been back then.

If the passengers aboard had been ordinary humans, perhaps there would have been no survivors at all.

Yu Sheng looked at the crash site in astonishment but did not forget his original purpose here. He approached the fox girl and spoke softly to avoid startling her: "Hu Li."

The ears on Hu Li's head instantly perked up sharply, then she suddenly stood up and scanned the surroundings, seemingly trying to locate the source of the voice. After failing to find anything, she hesitantly replied: "... Benefactor?"

"It's me. Stop looking. I'm connecting directly with your consciousness."

"Benefactor! You really are here! I thought I misheard last time... Benefactor? What, what is going on?" A look of joy appeared on Hu Li's face, though she still instinctively searched the surroundings with her gaze. "I, I was just zoning out in the valley, but suddenly, I'm here. Am I, am I dreaming? Is this a dream?"

"Yes, I... used some methods to forcibly guide your dream. Only under these circumstances can I contact you—but now isn't the time to explain details," Yu Sheng said quickly. "Listen, Hu Li, I'm coming to save you. To do this, I need to open a special door, which requires your cooperation—do you trust me?"

"Come, save me?" Hu Li paused, then suddenly realized what was happening and immediately shook her head. "No, no, don't come! Benefactor, you barely managed to get out. This valley is very strange; once you enter, it's hard to escape! You, don't come! Absolutely not..."

Yu Sheng interrupted the somewhat panicked girl: "I have a way! Hu Li, listen, I have a way. I've already found a method to stably enter and exit that valley. Now I just need your help to open that door. Don't worry about that monster; I can deal with it—understand? I'm very powerful, and this time I also found a helper, who is also... um, very powerful."

Yu Sheng tried to soothe Hu Li, striving to make her feel at ease, but a hint of confusion appeared on Hu Li's face. Her thinking was slow, as if it took great effort to keep up with Yu Sheng's words. After a long while, and who knew how much she actually understood, she asked doubtfully: "So, Benefactor is also an Immortal?"

Yu Sheng had no idea how Hu Li's thoughts had jumped to that conclusion.

But he could be.

"A very powerful Immortal," he tried to make his voice sound more reliable. The fox girl then smiled.

"Benefactor, what do you want me to do?"

"You don't need to do anything. Just focus on perceiving your surroundings next. You will feel someone peering into your mind, or even feel someone looking around through your eyes—don't resist; that's me."

"Mm, okay."

Yu Sheng breathed a slight sigh of relief in his heart; negotiating with Hu Li was easier than imagined. So next... he only needed to face the second problem.

"Erin," he called softly in his mind, "begin."

The next second, accompanied by a slight dizziness, Yu Sheng felt an indescribable... pull.

A new "connection" appeared, established between him and Hu Li. Unlike the obscure connection previously established through blood, he could clearly feel that this newly established connection was stronger and also more... crude.

Part of his consciousness directly detached from control and merged into a series of new perceptions. It was as if nerves had suddenly connected to a whole set of extra limbs. Although the sensations transmitted were somewhat vague and sluggish, he still... began to feel the aura around Hu Li.

Cold, decayed, carrying the stench of all things withering. The wind surged in the valley, blowing through the dark forest.

The night was eternal; Hunger endured forever.

!.

The fox girl stood in the forest, her eyes wide as she struggled to look around.

She actually didn't understand what the Benefactor was doing, nor did she know if staring around like this was correct. She was just trying to complete the task Yu Sheng had assigned, according to her own understanding.

Afterwards, she felt the "connection" the Benefactor had mentioned.

She was startled, but she felt no malice.

Hu Li had always been able to keenly sense even the slightest malice, but this time, no malice came through.

She only felt a slight sense of relief, and even... her stomach didn't seem quite so hungry.

The moment that tidal wave of hunger and the tide of madness suppressed deep within the hunger surged toward him, Yu Sheng seemed to perceive a massive wave crashing down upon him head-on—like a mountain collapsing in the pitch-black night. Hunger and madness were almost tangible, like a vast shadow, like solidified darkness, instantly drowning every inch of his perception.

Yu Sheng didn't even have time to call Erin's name. At the critical moment, he merely managed to remember the "characteristics" of the valley transmitted from Hu Li, before being completely submerged by this chaotic black tide.

However, deep within the black tide, he discovered he was still maintaining clarity.

Hunger gnawed at his soul; his soul withered and died. Yu Sheng watched as "himself" was swallowed in an instant within the dark torrent, while his viewpoint remained like that of a cold bystander.

Hunger receded, and the withered, dead soul woke up again. Yu Sheng opened his eyes in the darkness, momentarily unsure if he had experienced "death" again, or if it was merely an illusion of being swallowed for an instant.

He wandered in the depths of darkness, feeling neither the passage of time nor the end of space, and even uncertain if he was truly moving.

He could only feel... that a gaze was always fixed upon him.

It wasn't a single gaze, but the entire dark chaos was part of that gaze.

He was like a speck of dust as small as a needle tip, being stared at and submerged by boundless, hungry eyes.

And then, after an unknown duration, he finally glimpsed within the depths of that darkness... floating massive limbs, or shadows.

(End of Chapter)