Chapter 78: Another Exploration
A dim glimmer shimmered within the colossal Portal that led to the Valley. Yu Sheng stepped across this “threshold,” and in the very next second, brilliant daylight filled his vision.
Narrowing his eyes, Yu Sheng looked out into the distance, then up at the sky where scattered clouds drifted lazily.
Since the massive eye that once veiled the heavens departed, this place—once known as the Night Valley of the Otherworld—had shed its eternal night. Yet Yu Sheng hadn’t expected it to still be daytime here, especially considering it was already night in the real world.
Could it be that this place lacked any day-night cycle altogether? With the end of the perpetual night caused by the Dark Angels, had it now become an everlasting day instead?
A swirl of speculations stirred in Yu Sheng’s mind, but he remained sharply vigilant, cautiously scanning his surroundings.
His chosen Portal drop-point was once again near the ruins of the broken temple. The devastation wrought by the rampaging Hunger Entity remained unchanged. The temple, already in ruins before, was now nothing but shattered bricks and dust. Not a single standing wall remained. The wasteland around it looked as if it had been plowed over countless times, with massive ravines stretching from the ruins all the way to the distant horizon. The forest that once stood tall was now nothing more than withered remnants. Piles of jagged stone marked the Valley Floor’s far end, and even nearby cliffs had been shaved clean, revealing bare, exposed soil.
But aside from all this destruction… there was no sign of danger.
Yu Sheng furrowed his brows and carefully traversed the ravines, stepping onto an open patch strewn with crumbling brick and stone.
He remembered this place. It was here he had begun the Feast—where the first Hunger Entity under his “influence” opened its maw and began devouring the others.
Now, all traces of the Entities had vanished. Even the bloodstains seemed to have evaporated into nothing.
The Valley was quiet. Occasionally, a breeze swept across the Valley Floor, no longer icy cold, nor tainted by that sickly stench of decay. Compared to the grim, night-shrouded dread of before, the place now held a strange air of… tranquil purity.
If one could ignore the chasms, that is.
Standing amidst the ruins, Yu Sheng stared blankly at this peaceful little realm.
Was this what the Madam Director had wanted him to see? Or… did she not know what had become of this place either, and simply sent him to find out?
Just then, Irene’s voice burst into his thoughts, cutting off his musings: “Hey! Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng, come in! Are you dead or what?”
“Loud and clear,” Yu Sheng replied immediately, his brow twitching. “Seriously, can you not start with something nicer? ‘Dead or not’… really?”
“Oh, come on! It’s not like you haven’t died outside before! You pushed through the Portal and went radio silent—I figured maybe a newly respawned Hunger Entity already got you.”
Her tone was so righteously obnoxious that Yu Sheng could practically picture the little Doll Lady with her hands on her hips, standing triumphantly on a table.
But he wasn’t in the mood for banter.
“There are no Entities,” he said flatly.
The Doll Lady on the other side paused for a couple of seconds. “…Huh?”
“I haven’t seen a single Entity. The Valley is completely calm. There’s no lingering malice or Hunger aura like before,” Yu Sheng explained while stepping out of the temple ruins, stooping to gather a handful of soil. “Even the rot in the dirt and air is gone.”
“Try walking a bit farther?”
“Already doing that,” Yu Sheng said as he walked, “Maybe not enough time has passed for the Hunger Entities to regenerate. I mean, the last incident here was kind of… big.”
He was cut off by Irene’s loud retort: “Impossible! It’s been more than twenty-four hours since we escaped! Hunger Entities regenerate in hours—some in just tens of minutes! If they could reproduce, we’d be looking at a five-generation family reunion by now!”
Yu Sheng sat down on a large stone at the edge of the ruins, gazing into the distance as he idly remarked, “Well, nothing’s here. Honestly, the air even feels pretty nice. The view’s not bad either.”
“Huh?”
Ignoring Irene’s confusion, Yu Sheng pressed his foot into the soft earth.
He felt it—that subtle connection. Since his return to this place, that delicate sense had grown stronger. Though not as intense as when it had reached its peak and manifested a Valley-centered “perspective,” he could still clearly sense many things around him.
The solid stone beneath him. The gentle wind. The soil underfoot. The hidden pool at the Valley Floor’s base. And…
Yu Sheng suddenly froze, his gaze shifting to the side.
From the soil, a tender green sprout pierced forth—a fragile newborn life glimpsing the world for the first time. It trembled lightly in the breeze, as though unaccustomed to the open air.
A resilient vitality.
Yu Sheng stared at it, bewildered. Strangely, watching that blade of green emerge stirred something within him—his heart quickened, as if touched by a peculiar and ancient chord. Perhaps it was the connection he shared with the Night Valley… or maybe something even more primal. Without realizing it, his hand extended toward the patch of earth.
The soil began to stir.
The deep furrows began to mend. Slender shoots broke the surface.
Life was blooming—like resurrection after death.
Yu Sheng could only gape in awe. At last, he blurted out, “Holy crap?!”
From somewhere behind, Irene squawked in alarm. “What? What what? Are you hurt or something?!”
Yu Sheng sprang to his feet, flinging open the Phantom Door. “Hard to explain—grab Foxy and come see for yourself!”
A blink later, he was back in the lounge, staring eye-to-eye with Irene, who still stood atop a chair.
“Foxy’s doing dishes,” she said after a pause, pointing toward the kitchen. “Should I go grab her now?”
Yu Sheng nodded—but just as he was about to speak, his pocket began to vibrate rapidly.
Fishing out his phone, he saw a chain of missed calls—two from Li Lin, two from Xu Jiali, and several from the same unknown number.
His expression tightened. As he debated who to call back, that unknown number rang again.
He picked up before the first chime finished. A calm yet familiar woman’s voice came through the line. “It’s me—Bai Li Qing.”
Yu Sheng’s lips twitched. [Knew it.] He scratched his cheek, trying to sound casual. “Ah… yeah. I just stepped out through the Door. Probably should’ve told you, huh?”
“No need. As long as we confirm the ‘vibrations’ were caused by your Door, that’s enough,” replied the voice of the Female Bureau Chief of the Special Affairs Bureau. Her tone was flat, devoid of emotion. “We’ll attempt to collect more parameter samples so we can distinguish your ‘signature’ when the next alert goes off.”
Her clinical indifference somehow made Yu Sheng feel even more awkward. [Is this just how the Madam Director acts?] He gave a sheepish laugh. “Heh… Sorry for the trouble.”
Bai Li Qing didn’t acknowledge it. “Will you be stepping through another Door soon?”
“…Yeah, probably,” Yu Sheng replied. Then, as though struck by a thought, he added quickly, “I’m checking on the state of Night Valley.”
He was sure he heard a sharp intake of breath.
Her voice shifted slightly. “You got in? It’s still there?”
Yu Sheng caught a particular word—is. Not was.
So she’d thought Night Valley no longer existed? Why?
His mind spun. “Of course it’s there. But I’ve only peeked in—don’t know the full situation yet. I was just about to assemble my team and head back in.”
He glanced at the little doll sitting on the chair—and the other member of his “team” in the kitchen.
Bai Li Qing didn’t press further. After a beat, she said, “Very well. If you need support from the Special Affairs Bureau, contact me directly. This number is always open.”
The call ended. A staccato beep hummed in the speaker.
Yu Sheng turned to Irene. “That was the Female Bureau Chief. No big deal.”
With that, he turned and strode into the kitchen.
Then, upon opening the Door, he saw the Demon Fox Maiden using her tail to dry dishes—while simultaneously sneakily snacking on sesame paste from the cupboard.
For a full moment, he had no idea what to react to first.
“Ah—Benefactor…” Miss Foxy’s fox ears twitched when she heard the Door creak open. She spun around in a panic. “It… it just smelled so good. I couldn’t resist. I’m sorry.”
Yu Sheng stared, caught between laughter and exasperation. Foxy’s mouth was absolutely smothered in sesame paste.
“Clean up. You’re coming with me through the Door.”