Chapter 25: The Fox in the Dream
Irene’s reaction didn’t seem fake.
In fact, throughout his interactions with this Doll, Yu Sheng had never found her to be insincere. Every word and action carried a kind of clear, straightforward honesty, almost as if her brain were solid through and through—either her acting skills were ridiculously high, or her head was truly empty.
Yu Sheng cautiously maintained the first assumption but leaned more toward the second possibility.
He then described to Irene the appearance of the dead Doll and the massive “shadow monster” that seemed to have perished alongside her. The answer was still the same—”I don’t know.”
Yu Sheng frowned, sinking into deep thought.
Irene, meanwhile, grew curious. “Hey, why did you suddenly come to ask me about this? Weren’t you going upstairs to sleep?”
After a moment of hesitation, Yu Sheng decided to share the room’s changes with the Doll in front of him—it didn’t touch on his secrets, and it might even be related to Irene herself. Speaking up could help unravel the mystery.
“The room upstairs… something strange happened.”
Yu Sheng recounted everything he had just seen when he went upstairs. This time, Irene surprisingly didn’t interrupt, just listening with wide eyes. When he finished, she stayed stunned for a long while before finally coming back to her senses with a long, drawn-out, “Woooow—”
Yu Sheng instantly felt that even telling her wouldn’t help solve the mystery.
“Looks like you don’t know what’s going on either,” he sighed. “And that Mirror—you definitely haven’t seen it before, right?”
“Nope, no idea,” Irene said confidently, adding, “But I think your house is getting weirder and weirder.”
“No need for you to say it—I think so too,” Yu Sheng sighed again. “Opening a Door might lead anywhere, rooms suddenly change their decor, and Mirrors reflect scenes from God knows when or where. I used to think this place was pretty livable… sigh.”
Irene stared at his face with her scarlet eyes, blinking without saying a word. After hearing his complaints, she hesitated and asked, “So… are you planning to move out? Not live here anymore?”
For a moment, Yu Sheng stayed silent, though he had to admit the thought had crossed his mind.
He could tolerate haunted Mirrors, mysterious furniture, suspicious appliances, or even a noisy Doll trapped in a Painting—it all just added some spice to his life since he wasn’t afraid of death. But the trait of opening a Door and possibly ending up in some Otherworld—that was a hassle too big to ignore. It wasn’t something he could just shrug off.
For Yu Sheng, the most terrifying part of the Otherworld wasn’t the danger itself but the uncertainty of coming back. That alone made him seriously consider moving.
Seeing his prolonged silence, Irene spoke up again, this time in a more practical tone. “If you find a place you like, let me know. You figure out a way to get me into their neighborhood, and I’ll make sure their house prices drop for you…”
Yu Sheng was taken aback. “I was just joking when I said that… Aren’t you worried that’s insulting to the Ancestor of the Dolls and your sisters?”
“I thought about it carefully just now, and it actually makes sense,” Irene replied earnestly. “Besides, if I lower the house price for you, that kind of counts as paying back the favor of living at your place, right?”
Yu Sheng suddenly realized—she wasn’t really trying to be helpful. She was just worried that if he moved out, she’d be left behind.
But he didn’t point it out, only shook his head. “Let’s not talk about that now. I’m just thinking about it—not planning to move just yet. Don’t worry, if I do move, I’ll take you with me. A painting doesn’t take up much space anyway.”
“Oh, okay!” Irene’s mood lifted instantly.
But soon, a hint of worry crossed her face again. “Um… that dead Doll you saw in the Mirror—were her eyes closed?”
“…I don’t think so,” Yu Sheng recalled. “Why are you asking?”
Irene opened her mouth, looking a bit sad. “When a living Doll is broken and their eyes close, it means their soul has returned to the garden in Alice’s Little House, where we are reborn. But if their eyes remain open… it means they’re still ‘there’.”
Yu Sheng froze, suddenly regretting how he had answered so thoughtlessly earlier. He should have asked more questions first.
“We don’t know what that Mirror is reflecting,” he said softly after a moment of silence. “But since she appeared in the Mirror, it might have something to do with this house. Maybe one day we’ll find her. For now, don’t think too much about it—you’re still stuck here yourself.”
Yu Sheng sighed as he sank into his bed, pulling the heavy curtains shut to block out the world. His mind churned with restless thoughts, an unending cascade of memories and fragmented ideas swirling through his consciousness. He was exhausted, his body screaming for sleep, but his mind refused to comply.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Irene—the way her carefree demeanor had cracked, revealing a flicker of vulnerability as she spoke of her sisters who had vanished through the Doors. Then there was the haunting image of the Night Valley, the terrifying knowledge of the Otherworld, and the resolute figure of Foxy—the Demon Fox Maiden who had held onto her sanity to the bitter end, urging him to flee. And of course, there was his own impossible resurrection.
The whirlwind of chaotic thoughts battered his weary mind until, at last, sleep claimed him. It was not the restful slumber he needed, but rather a descent into a murky, dreamlike pool where fractured memories and incoherent ideas circled him like predatory fish.
He found himself wandering through a dimly lit wilderness, the landscape hazy and indistinct. Far in the distance loomed a low hill, a solitary mound rising from the desolate plain. Yu Sheng couldn’t remember how long he had been walking around that hill—minutes, hours, maybe even lifetimes—without purpose or direction.
Then, amid the gloom, a gleam of silvery light caught his eye. Intrigued, he moved toward it, his steps uncertain yet pulled by an invisible thread. Suddenly, he stood before a magnificent creature—a Demon Fox Maiden of breathtaking beauty and ethereal grace. Her silver fur glowed faintly in the twilight, and her massive form, even curled up and asleep, towered at least three meters tall.
The fox lay serenely on the wild grasses, her tails—thick and luxuriant—wrapped protectively around her body, some nestled like a blanket while others curled into her embrace. The gentle breeze stirred her fur, but she remained motionless, lost in a deep and impenetrable slumber.
Taking a cautious step forward, Yu Sheng hesitated before lightly touching her forepaw. “Foxy… is that you?” he whispered.
But she did not stir. No matter how much he tried—calling her name, nudging her paw, even tugging gently at her tails—she remained unresponsive, as if sealed away from the world.
Puzzled, Yu Sheng took a step back, his gaze lingering on her tranquil form. [Why is she in my dream?] he wondered. His hand tingled, and he glanced down to see a tiny bead of blood on his finger—a faint indentation marked where Foxy had bitten him during their scuffle over the chocolate earlier.
The realization hit him like a tidal wave. [Is it because of the blood?] he mused. He remembered glimpsing fragments of Foxy’s thoughts back in the Night Valley, sensing her emotions as if they were his own. Perhaps this dream was an extension of that fleeting connection.
His thoughts veered to stranger territory. [But the Flesh Monster and the Rain Frog also consumed my blood. Why didn’t they appear in my dreams?] He shuddered at the absurdity of imagining that grotesque mass of flesh joining him here.
Before he could contemplate further, a soft, mocking laugh drifted from behind him. The sound was oddly familiar. He whipped around, catching sight of a painting frame stuck in the grasses. Irene’s face peeked through the frame, clutching a teddy bear and flashing a guilty, childlike smile.
“Watching TV got boring, so I came to see your dreams,” she confessed sheepishly.
Yu Sheng just stared at her, unamused, while she fumbled to explain herself.
“You were having such a weird dream… I couldn’t help but sneak in,” Irene admitted, glancing nervously at the silver-furred Fox Maiden behind him.