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As the saying goes: “First time unfamiliar, second time familiar, by the third time you add scallions, ginger, and cooking wine.” Early humans probably explored nature’s gifts step by step, much like this.

Humming a little tune, Yu Sheng chopped the largest portion into big chunks. He blanched them in boiling water to remove any scum, then placed star anise, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, and other spices into a clay pot. Adding the meat, he poured in enough water, salt, soy sauce, and a splash of cooking wine to mask any gaminess. He set it on the stove to simmer slowly.

While the stew was bubbling away, he took the remaining meat and stir-fried two dishes: one with chili peppers and another with garlic sprouts. He tasted a bit and found them fresh and delicious—not too tough, not undercooked. The meat slices were tender and smooth. He couldn’t quite place the flavor; it was somewhat like very tender beef.

There was still some meat left. He planned to wait until he confirmed there were no issues after this meal before turning it into cured meat for storage. Or perhaps, after curing, he could use an air fryer to dehydrate it into jerky? He hadn’t tried that before and wasn’t sure if it would work.

Various ideas swirled in his mind. He felt like an adventurous scientist, exploring possibilities in a field no one had ventured into before.

He spent nearly two hours experimenting in the kitchen. After a flurry of activity, he finally opened the door and began carrying plates, bowls, and the clay pot of stew to the dining table, trip after trip.

From within her oil painting, Irene watched him bustle about, her eyes wide with horror. Her face displayed a contradictory mix of “Oh, forget it, let him be” and “You can’t! You absolutely can’t!” After a while, she couldn’t hold back any longer.

“You’re not really going to eat that, are you?” she exclaimed. “That’s stuff you brought back from the Otherworld! You might poison yourself!”

Yu Sheng looked up at her. “What if I told you I’ve already eaten it twice over there?”

The conflicting expressions vanished from Irene’s face, replaced by sheer shock. “What?!”

“Look at me, alive and kicking,” he said matter-of-factly. “So it should be fine. This was hard-earned; it’d be a shame to waste it.” He grinned. “You know hunting, right? This is my catch. Sooner or later, I’m going to bring that thing back whole and show it who’s at the top of the food chain!”

Irene didn’t respond immediately. Yu Sheng glanced at her dumbfounded expression and asked, “By the way, hasn’t anyone ever tried eating the ‘entities’ from the Otherworld? Didn’t you say they come in all shapes and sizes? There must be some that look edible.”

“Who would try that?” Irene looked aghast. “You have no idea what weird properties they might have! Poison would be the least of your worries. Who puts stuff like that in their mouth? And you ate it twice… You really ate it twice?”

“Yep,” he replied casually. “But the first two times were sashimi. The situation was urgent; no time to cook. It was a matter of eat or die.” As he spoke, he sat down opposite her, casually picked up a slice of meat with his chopsticks, and popped it into his mouth, chewing with relish.

Irene was stunned. “And… and what happened after you ate it?”

“I died,” Yu Sheng said honestly.

“And you still…” Irene began, then realized something was off. Not knowing about his “resurrections,” she thought he was teasing her. She glared at him. “I’m being serious!”

Yu Sheng grinned, laughing at her exasperation.

He realized he was starting to enjoy bantering with this doll. After all, she couldn’t jump out of the painting and headbutt him.

He chose not to explain his “deaths and resurrections.” For one thing, Irene couldn’t perceive his death process; explaining it would just sound like a joke. For another, he had too many questions about the changes happening to him. He wanted to understand more before discussing them with her.

Unaware of the myriad thoughts behind his mischievous smile, Irene couldn’t help but glance at the sumptuous dishes on the table. She watched him chew as she mulled over the idea.

It did look… quite appetizing. After being cooked, the meat’s color was no different from ordinary meat, nothing like its original strange appearance.

“Is it… tasty?” she finally asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Yu Sheng chuckled as if he’d been expecting this. He picked up an empty bowl, ladled some food and broth into it, and placed it in front of her painting.

“I didn’t say I wanted any…” Irene mumbled.

“Well, you can’t actually eat it anyway,” he said casually. “So there’s no need to worry about what it’s made of, right?”

She considered this and nodded. “I suppose so.”

Content, she sat before the bowl and chopsticks he’d set up as if she could truly partake.

Halfway through the meal, their conversation drifted back to the topic of “professionals.”

“Actually, there’s another reason why no one’s come looking for you,” Irene said, hugging a teddy bear as she perched near the edge of her frame. “Some organization or official might have noticed something odd here. But professionally, they might think it’s not time to act yet, or they haven’t pinpointed the connection to the Otherworld. So they’re just monitoring for now.”

“Monitoring?” Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Maybe there are plainclothes agents watching your house right now. After all, you returned from the Otherworld on your own before they could rescue you. Whether it’s because of your abilities or sheer luck, the specialists didn’t get a chance to intervene. They probably haven’t located the exact point of connection, so all they can do is set up surveillance. You should pay attention over the next few days to see if there are any unfamiliar faces around. They might be undercover agents, detectives, investigators—it’s easy enough to keep an eye out. It won’t stop you from checking out the ads on the utility poles nearby…”

Yu Sheng ignored her comments about utility pole ads and glanced out the window.

Irene made it sound simple: just notice if there are any unfamiliar faces nearby. But how was he supposed to know who was unfamiliar? He’d only been here two months, and he’d spent most of the first month cooped up inside. Plus, he was a bit face-blind. Half the people around here were unfamiliar to him!

“Do you think that pancake seller on the corner looks like an agent?” After suspiciously scanning the street for a while, he muttered to Irene.

“I wouldn’t know; I can’t see,” she replied.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” he said, realizing his mistake. He picked up her painting and placed it near the window. “Over there, that one…”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course. He can make a pancake with sausage and egg in fifty seconds. If he were an agent, he wouldn’t even know how to brush the oil that fast.”

“Good point. What about the guy next to him, the one doing phone screen repairs?”

“Not him either—his hands are too quick.”

“Hmm… Well, what about—”

“Stop looking,” Irene interrupted. “Being paranoid won’t help, and if they’re real professionals, you won’t spot them. Instead of guessing, you might as well go out more these next few days. You’ve been exposed to the Otherworld’s aura. If you get close, those professionals will notice you immediately.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Yu Sheng admitted with a sigh. He couldn’t argue with her logic. He began clearing the dishes from the table.

Just as he turned away, Irene called out, “Could you put me back first? I’m still leaning against the window!”

He sighed heavily, turning back to retrieve her painting. “So troublesome,” he muttered under his breath.

“Well, if you’d hurry up and get me a body, I could move around on my own,” she retorted, raising an eyebrow as he set her back on the dining table. “I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other better today, so I’m asking again…”

Yu Sheng felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

Previously, when discussing her “escape plan,” Irene had said they weren’t familiar enough to cooperate on that front yet. He hadn’t expected her definition of “familiar” to be so… flexible.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said evasively. “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. At least wait until I get through this busy period…”

“Alright,” she agreed easily, though she looked a bit disappointed. “But don’t forget!”

She was quiet for a moment, watching him tidy up. Then she piped up again, “So what are you going to do next? Heading out to look for utility poles?”

“What’s your obsession with utility poles?” Yu Sheng shot her an exasperated look. “I’m going upstairs to sleep! After everything that’s happened, I’m exhausted!”

“Oh,” Irene murmured, then pointed at the TV opposite her painting.

“Could you fix the TV first? The signal suddenly went out, and there’s nothing to watch…”

Yu Sheng stared at her, momentarily speechless.

After a long pause, he let out an especially heavy sigh.

After such a brief time with this chatterbox, he was already starting to miss his carefree, solitary life.