Chương 213: Luo Bingli's Unexpected Discovery

Seeing that her carefully planned scheme to "steal the emperor's favor" had ended in an unexpected way by Luo Bingli, Ye Zixuan felt quite disappointed, but she quickly composed herself and stopped dwelling on it.

In her view, she has already become a comrade-in-arms with everyone, so there will be many more opportunities to get closer to Xiaoying in the future.

Since Xiaoli insists so much, then—it wouldn't hurt to give in to her for now.

Moreover, given the current situation, with Xiaoying's gentle nature and reluctance to refuse others, it seems that it is not entirely impossible for him to directly ask her to create a clone for him to use as a long-term "stress-relieving pillow".

Of course, what Ye Zixuan truly longs for is to one day be able to hold the real Xiaoying and all the clones she creates at will.

Just imagining herself surrounded by countless tiny and adorable little shadows filled her with excitement and anticipation.

But she also knew that this matter couldn't be rushed. Winning Xiaoying's heart would definitely be a long and challenging process.

and---- Ye Zixuan's gaze unconsciously fell on Luo Bingli, who was still tightly hugging the Xiaoying clone and pretending to be asleep to hide her shyness. A look of vigilance flashed in her eyes.

Besides Su Yuqing, who was already extremely wary of him, there seems to be another formidable enemy.

This seemingly aloof and quiet Luo Bingli will definitely be a formidable opponent for me in the future!

Previously, when she was having a heated argument with Su Yuqing, she was just like that, quietly and silently enjoying the warm embrace that was no different from the real Xiaoying, as if she were detached from the matter, yet firmly occupying the most advantageous position.

Even earlier, when they were returning from the unfinished building together, she took the opportunity to carry the weak Xiaoying back.

If it weren't for her earlier request to "use your clone to demonstrate," which had put her in a hurry, she probably wouldn't have revealed any flaws yet and would still be playing the role of that quiet girl who doesn't compete or fight.

Recalling how, as the magical girl Ruri, she had argued so fiercely with me in the abandoned school building to protect her senior, "Starfrost"— Ye Zixuan secretly concluded that the girl's inner emotions were far more intense than she appeared.

—No, no, now is not the time to think about that kind of thing— —Ye Zixuan, you need to focus! Don't forget your identity as an inspector! We were supposed to be exchanging information, how did they manage to lead us astray again!

She shook her head in secret annoyance, then stretched out her hands and slapped her slightly flushed cheeks hard, forcing herself to wake up from those chaotic girlish thoughts.

When she looked up again, her eyes had regained the composure and professionalism expected of an inspector. After clearing her throat, she said, "Ahem—Xiaoying, would you please demonstrate your abilities first?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ying nodded. Just like when he had demonstrated for Su Yuqing and Luo Bingli before, with a thought, he controlled the clone that was identical to himself to slowly stand up from the ground.

She first smoothly performed several difficult side flips and jumps to prove that her flexibility was no different from that of ordinary people. Then, under Ji Ying's control, she gracefully stretched her body.

At the same time, Ji Ying explained, "My ability allows me to create shadows of any living being I've ever seen, whether it's a human, an ordinary animal, or an insect. I can create clones that are identical to my original body and control them to act exactly as I want."

"Of course, with my current abilities, controlling only one clone while my main body is acting is already a bit of a challenge."

"To achieve more precise control, or to control multiple clones simultaneously, you will need to deliberately train this ability."

"It sounds like—it's an ability that can be used to do very lewd things," Su Yuqing, who was next to her, suddenly said quietly.

Because Jiying hadn't explicitly "helped" her during their argument, out of a little bit of revenge, she muttered under her breath, "Like that, that, and that—Jiying, you're such a complete lecher."

"You're the pervert!"

Ji Ying was both ashamed and angry, and without thinking, she gave Su Yuqing a light but not heavy chop to the head.

"Thump!"

"it hurts!"

Su Yuqing let out an exaggerated cry of pain, looking at Ji Ying with teary eyes, but thankfully she didn't continue causing trouble.

After hearing Su Yuqing's suggestive remark, Ye Zixuan also began to have some strange fantasies.

—If these clones can truly perfectly replicate every detail of the original body, then it seems that they could indeed do many "interesting" things?

Thinking about this, she felt a little regretful.

—Should I have used that reason to refuse Xiaoying's request to create a clone of myself for the demonstration?

—Although—I feel very shy in front of everyone, doing this—it seems like it would allow Xiaoying to more directly feel the charm of her body?

Imagine, Xiaoying, whom she cares about and loves so much, controlling a clone that looks exactly like her, making all sorts of movements, even some she herself would never normally do— Her cheeks flushed slightly again, as she couldn't help but do so.

Meanwhile, after giving Su Yuqing a little "punishment" in a rather irritating manner, Ji Ying continued to explain seriously: "Ahem—in short, from the current perspective, although these clones I created are no different from the original body in terms of appearance and internal physical structure, but—" Her tone turned serious: "They don't seem to be able to replicate what the original possesses—any supernatural power."

"Just like now, I can also imagine what you would look like after transforming into magical girls, and create them, such as Ruri or Ginyuki."

As Jiying spoke, she raised her hand.

Under her mental control, the clone's appearance changed, quickly transforming into the face of the magical girl Ruri, and her pajamas swiftly changed into a cool battle suit with a dark blue base and silver trim.

"However, 'they' can only be seen as—a group of ordinary people with the appearance of magical girls. They can neither fly freely in the air like you, nor use magic for effective defense."

Attack and physical enhancement.

"Not to mention—using those unique spells that are deeply connected to your souls—ah!"

Before the words were finished, Ji Ying's originally calm and composed tone suddenly rose, and she uncontrollably let out a short scream, her body tensing up involuntarily.

Her surprised and uncertain gaze immediately fell on Luo Bingli, who was still burying her face deeply in her arms.

On the surface, the other party seemed to still be in the same position as before, burying his face in his clone's chest, motionless, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

But through that damned, unbreakable sensory sharing, Silent Shadow could perceive with perfect clarity— Just now, while she was solemnly explaining her abilities, Luo Bingli's small, concealed hand quietly—gently touched her own clone's flat, smooth abdomen.

The instantaneous, feather-light, yet electric-like, subtle tickling sensation that coursed through her body almost made her jump up on the spot.

"Xiaoying? What's wrong?"

"Xiaoying, are you alright?"

Ye Zixuan and Su Yuqing looked at Jiying, who suddenly let out a scream and whose expression became extremely strange, with some confusion, and asked him.

"No—nothing!" Ji Ying waved his hands repeatedly, trying to cover up his abnormality with a smile.

"Just now—I just suddenly thought of something and got a little distracted."

As she spoke, she tried to calm the strange feeling, then looked at Luo Bingli, who was still pretending to be asleep, with a complex and meaningful gaze.

"Xiao Li! You—you stop right now! They'll find out!"

However, Luo Bingli did not receive her "eye signal," or perhaps—she did it on purpose.

Just as Jiying finished speaking, "Ah—!"

Another, even sharper and more uncontrollable scream burst from her throat.

This time, she sprang up from the bed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instinctively covering her mouth with her hands, her dark red eyes even welling up with a thin layer of mist due to shame and stimulation.

Meanwhile, Luo Bingli, who had buried her face in Xiaoying's clone's arms, was actually a little nervous after making her first "test".

Actually, it was just a sudden thought. She felt that since she had already gone all out to keep holding onto Xiaoying's clone, and everyone's attention was on her clone— So, it shouldn't be a problem to just secretly do a little "bad thing" to Xiaoying's clone in my arms, right?

Surrounded by others, and under the watchful eyes of his two companions, he secretly did something so intimate and bold towards the one he cared about and loved so much.

Just thinking about it gave her a strange, unprecedented thrill mixed with guilt.

So, with a try-it-out mentality, Luo Bingli cautiously made her first attempt.

But to her surprise, the moment she made the move, the real Xiaoying beside her also let out a scream, which startled her greatly.

"Um?"

A deep sense of confusion welled up inside her, but even more so, she felt a vague premonition that made her heart race.

To confirm her suspicions, she mustered her courage and, using the same action, gently touched the same spot.

After successfully receiving an even more distinct and identical scream, Luo Bingli instantly understood something—something extremely significant.

Is a single sense organ shared?!

—She—she really can feel it! She can sense everything I just did to her clone— I felt it exactly as it was!

After realizing what she had done to Xiaoying's clone, Luo Bingli's cheeks, which were already flushed with shyness, turned bright red and hot in an instant.

Her hand, which had been making "little movements" on the Shadow Clone, was suddenly pulled back as if she had been electrocuted.

Immediately, she dared not make any unnecessary movements, and even subconsciously held her breath, hoping that time could stop or that a crack in the ground would appear so she could disappear into.

Hearing Ji Ying let out two unintelligible screams, Su Yuqing stepped forward with concern and asked, "Xiao Ying, what happened? Are you really alright?"

"No—it's okay—really."

Ji Ying waved his hands repeatedly, then turned to look at Luo Bingli, who was completely petrified, and said in an almost pleading tone, "Xiao Li, would you like to sit up and listen to me finish what I have to say?"

Upon hearing Ji Ying's question, Luo Bingli instantly understood his meaning, but she was too embarrassed to even look up and meet Ji Ying's gaze. Moreover, she was still reluctant to let go of the clone in her arms that made her feel incredibly safe.

So she could only remain in her previous position and reply in a muffled voice with a thick nasal tone, "No—no—it's too embarrassing—I'll just listen like this—that's fine—" As if afraid that Ji Ying might be worried and think that she might do something outrageous again, she added in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Don't worry, Xiao Ying—I promise—I will absolutely not—do anything reckless again."

These words sounded somewhat ambiguous to Su Yuqing and Ye Zixuan, but to Ji Ying, they were undoubtedly an invaluable guarantee.

She breathed a long sigh of relief, then composed herself and forced herself to regain a serious demeanor before continuing her introduction: "Ahem—correspondingly, this shadow of mine can use all the abilities I originally possessed, and its power is no different from that of my original body. Moreover, it can freely change its form and easily disguise itself as someone else."

"However," her tone became somewhat serious again, "I can only possess one shadow like this at a time. I can't create countless mirror images like Mirror Lord."

"At least—based on my current level of control over this power, that's the case."

"In short, I've named this unique ability 'Shadow Authority,' which echoes Mirror Lord's self-introduction of 'Mirror Authority.'"

"The Authority of Shadows, huh?" Ye Zixuan murmured the name of the ability, her eyes gleaming with contemplation.

She hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ji Ying with a somewhat complicated gaze and slowly said, "Xiao Ying, your ability is truly powerful. Whether used for stealth, deception, or assisting in combat, it is extremely practical, but—" Her tone carried a hint of barely concealed confusion: "I originally thought that someone like you, Xiaoying—could not possess 'authority'."

Why?

Ji Ying was slightly taken aback, feeling deeply puzzled by Ye Zixuan's statement.

She had always thought that, in this respect, the process by which the apostles of the Void Realm gained power was similar to the process by which magical girls comprehended the "laws".

As long as you continuously improve your abilities and deepen your understanding of virtual power, you will naturally awaken your own unique "authority".

But now, listening to Ye Zixuan's explanation, the real truth seems to be—not so?

Looking at Ji Ying's puzzled expression, Ye Zixuan gently shook her head, a slightly serious expression appearing on her delicate and beautiful face: "That's not how it is."

"As for the specific reasons—we must begin by discussing the most fundamental difference between 'law' and 'authority.'"

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