Chapter 112: Two Rong Xies
Lu Yingqi was about to stand up, but a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he sat back down.
“This seems to be my bedroom? You are asking me to leave?” Lu Yingqi was puzzled.
“Then what should we do? Should we leave? Isn’t this a special situation? Can’t you consider the bigger picture?” Shen Bingsi always sounded justified when he spoke.
“…Fine. I’ll go to the next room to regulate my breathing.” Lu Yingqi stood up, walked through the small hall, and headed toward his actual bedroom.
Now, only Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi remained in the study connected to the bedroom.
Seeing Lu Yingqi’s spot vacated, Rong Xie braced himself on the table to stand up, intending to move over there.
Unexpectedly, he had only half-risen when someone hugged him from behind.
Shen Bingsi was like a hot little bear, throwing himself onto Rong Xie and wrapping half of Rong Xie’s body in his embrace. Rong Xie tried to struggle, but Shen Bingsi held him even tighter, taking deep, inhaling breaths against his back.
“Shen! Bing! Si!” Rong Xie pushed at Shen Bingsi’s arms wrapped around his front, his face flushed with embarrassment. “The door isn’t even closed!”
This study and Lu Yingqi’s bedroom were connected, separated only by a small hall—a layout common in large households. Whatever happened in the study could be seen clearly from the bedroom.
“If I close it, can I hug you?” Shen Bingsi’s muffled voice came from behind Rong Xie.
“…No. What is wrong with you? Do it again, and I’ll electrocute you.” Rong Xie secretly channeled spiritual energy into his palm.
“Electrocute me then. Electrocute me to death.” Shen Bingsi rocked Rong Xie back and forth in his arms.
Rong Xie lost his center of gravity and nearly fell onto Shen Bingsi. Fortunately, he propped himself backward, his hand landing on something that was both soft and hard—an indescribable feeling.
Shen Bingsi let out a muffled grunt and let go.
Rong Xie looked back and found Shen Bingsi clutching the root of his thigh, rolling around on the sitting couch. His face was flushed red; judging by his expression, he wasn’t faking it.
Rong Xie felt a pang of guilt. That push just now wasn’t a simple push; it was a push with a Palm Thunder held in his hand…
“Are you okay? Let me see where you’re hurt.” Rong Xie sat down sideways, pinned down the rolling Shen Bingsi, pried his hands away to look at the spot he was clutching, and defended himself at the same time. “You can’t blame me entirely. Who told you to pull and tug at me? I told you I had a Palm Thunder in my hand, and you even told me to electrocute you to death. Now look what happened—”
There was a hole in Shen Bingsi’s pants, revealing a patch of white skin. Presumably, this area didn’t see much sun, so at first glance, it looked somewhat delicate. Of course, in reality, it had nothing to do with being delicate. The edges of the hole were scorched by the Palm Thunder, and the skin was just slightly red.
“I’m fine; it was just a bit numb earlier.” Shen Bingsi happily propped this “injured leg” onto Rong Xie’s lap, enjoying Rong Xie’s concerned gaze and touch. However, since there was no visible “injury,” Shen Bingsi felt he should offer a slight explanation. “You know I never activate my body-protecting spiritual aura when I’m with you. Just now, I really thought this leg was done for. Quick, touch it; see if it’s still a bit hot.”
“…” Rong Xie’s scalp tingled. He didn’t dare look at Lu Yingqi’s reaction across the hall while he was “regulating his breathing.”
Perhaps when embarrassment reaches its peak, one stops feeling embarrassed. Rong Xie slapped the hole in Shen Bingsi’s pants. “I think it’s not hot enough; needs a few more slaps—get up.”
Shen Bingsi’s skin looked even redder. He felt a bit embarrassed himself, sheepishly retracted his leg, and crawled up from the sitting couch.
With a flick of Shen Bingsi’s finger, the study door closed automatically, and the curtains in front of it rolled down completely.
Under Rong Xie’s supervision, Shen Bingsi cast soundproofing spells and barriers in every corner of the room, ensuring it was completely sealed off from the outside. Not a sound or shadow would leak out.
Only then did Rong Xie breathe a sigh of relief. The constant tension he had felt since entering the Lu estate eased slightly, and his posture became a bit more relaxed. “Lu Yingqi won’t hear what we’re saying, right?”
Shen Bingsi liked that Rong Xie referred to them as “we.” It was obvious who was an insider and who was an outsider.
“How could he?” he said dismissively. “I set up barriers. This room is impenetrable. Never mind Lu Yingqi, even if Elder Bai came, he wouldn’t be able to probe the situation inside.”
“Mn…” Rong Xie hesitated. “But Lu Yingqi’s cultivation is very high. He said he has already broken through to the late Nascent Soul stage…”
“What?!” Shen Bingsi was startled. He had always assumed Lu Yingqi’s cultivation was about the same as his. After all, for someone in the Nascent Soul realm, ten years of seclusion was nothing; if you couldn’t break through, you couldn’t break through. “He really said that? He said it himself?”
“Yes.” Rong Xie felt he should warn Shen Bingsi, lest Shen Bingsi actually provoked Lu Yingqi into a fight.
“…Impossible! He must be bragging!” Shen Bingsi pondered for a split second before declaring immediately, “Only ten years, and he rushed from early Nascent Soul to late Nascent Soul? Why didn’t he just say he’s in the distraction stage!”
“…” Rong Xie was speechless. Lu Yingqi didn’t look like the type to brag, okay?
However, this matter still had a slight impact on Shen Bingsi. For the time that followed, he became noticeably deflated.
Once Rong Xie confirmed that Lu Yingqi’s spiritual sense couldn’t probe the sounds or images in the room, he got down to business.
“Are you sure there’s no problem transforming into my appearance?” Rong Xie asked. “Do you need me to cooperate in any way?”
Shen Bingsi was a bit distracted. Upon Rong Xie’s question, he snapped back to reality. “No problem at all. In a moment, I’ll transform into you and take a stroll next door. I guarantee Lu Yingqi won’t recognize the difference.”
“Really?” Rong Xie was somewhat curious about what it would feel like to have an exact copy of himself appear before him. “Then transform one for me to see.”
“Okay, I’ll do a rough transformation first.” Shen Bingsi sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
Golden light emerged from the top of his head, turning into thousands of golden threads that wrapped around him like a silkworm cocoon. The crackling sound of bones and flesh shifting came from within the cocoon.
Rong Xie had seen Shen Bingsi transform before, but this was the first time seeing him transform into him. He stared intently at the human-shaped golden light.
The golden light shrank a bit, then became smaller… Rong Xie thought suspiciously, Am I that short? Is the difference in build between me and Shen Bingsi that obvious?
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the golden threads dispersed, landing on the sitting couch and vanishing. The person inside was revealed bit by bit, like a statue buried in snow seeing the light of day again when the snow melts in spring.
Rong Xie saw another “himself” sitting there.
Rong Xie inhaled gently, staring unblinkingly at the other him. The feeling was too strange. He couldn’t help leaning forward and pinching “his own” cheek.
“Hiss.” The other “himself” opened his eyes and looked at Rong Xie with dissatisfaction. “Why pinch me?”
Rong Xie held back again and again, but finally couldn’t help it and burst out laughing. “What is this… are you imitating me?”
“Is the imitation good?” The other “himself” stretched his body. Unintentionally, the oversized clothes slipped off his shoulder, revealing a patch of snow-white skin.
Rong Xie hurriedly pulled them up for him, gripping the collar tight to ensure nothing could be seen even if he looked down.
“I would never do that.” Rong Xie gripped the collar with one hand while his other hand quickly grabbed the loose belt, tying the oversized clothes firmly onto “himself” like binding a zongzi. “Your transformation is too inaccurate. Good thing I checked beforehand; otherwise, you’d definitely be exposed tomorrow.”
“How is it inaccurate?” Shen Bingsi tilted his head back in confusion because Rong Xie’s forearm was pressed against his neck, preventing him from looking down. He felt Rong Xie lying all over him, busily working away. A faint scent of soap locust and ink wafted from Rong Xie. Above that, there was a scent of roses. Shen Bingsi wrinkled his nose, excluding that scent from his breath.
After tidying him up, Rong Xie stepped back to scrutinize the version of himself Shen Bingsi had become.
It felt like looking in a mirror, yet something was indescribably awkward, so much so that Rong Xie could tell at a glance that this “self” was a counterfeit.
“I’m not this pale, am I?” Rong Xie touched his chin. “And I don’t have this much hair. And the eyes—my pupils aren’t this big, are they? Why are the eyes so watery? I wouldn’t make such a teary expression. Especially the expression you made when you said that sentence just now.”
“What sentence?” Shen Bingsi humbly accepted Rong Xie’s guidance.
“‘What are you doing?’ No, ‘Why pinch me?’ That one,” Rong Xie shuddered at the memory. “I wouldn’t roll my eyes and say ‘Why pinch me’ in such a coquettish way!”
“Oh…” Shen Bingsi pondered. “Is there a possibility that you sometimes do that, but just don’t realize it yourself?”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Rong Xie said firmly.
“Sometimes… you aren’t looking in the mirror every moment, right?” Shen Bingsi said. “The bystander sees clearly.”
“Impossible. No one knows me better than I do. Your transformation is clearly wrong.”
Shen Bingsi summoned a mirror from thin air, looked at himself, and shook his thick, smooth long hair with a supremely vain expression. “That’s right, you look just like this. So this is how you feel when you look in the mirror normally.”
“What feeling? No feeling!” Rong Xie found Shen Bingsi’s intoxicated expression while looking in the mirror extremely eyesore-inducing. He snatched the mirror away, his cheeks inexplicably heating up. “Stop looking. Your transformation technique is unqualified right now. Change back and redo it.”
“It’s clearly amazing,” Shen Bingsi continued to lean near Rong Xie’s hand, looking into the mirror Rong Xie held. “Guaranteed authentic. If you don’t believe me, let’s go walk in front of Lu Yingqi and see if he can recognize who is real and who is fake?”
“This…” Rong Xie pondered. “That is actually an idea.”
Lu Yingqi definitely wouldn’t cover for Shen Bingsi. With a third party present, they could pinpoint exactly where the difference lay, making it easier for Shen Bingsi to adjust.
Rong Xie stared at Shen Bingsi, sizing him up. “However, these clothes definitely won’t do…”
A short while later, Rong Xie took out the clothes he carried with him and had Shen Bingsi change into them. Fortunately, he had an outer robe made from the same bolt of cloth, almost identical to the one he was wearing.
During this time, Rong Xie made Shen Bingsi keep his head up and forbade him from looking around.
After dressing Shen Bingsi, Rong Xie stared at his hair again and re-styled it according to his own hairstyle. Shen Bingsi happily closed his eyes, letting Rong Xie bustle around him, cool fingers constantly brushing against the skin of his head and face.
This feeling was like returning to their time at Huanxue Villa. Even though not much time had passed, it felt like a lifetime ago.
Rong Xie finished tidying Shen Bingsi, told him to get up, and looked him over from head to toe. At least in terms of attire, there were no obvious differences. Now, Lu Yingqi could focus on the transformation itself.
The study door opened. Two Rong Xies walked out one after the other, passed through the flower hall, and arrived at the bedroom.
Lu Yingqi was meditating on the bed in the bedroom. Sensing someone approaching, he opened his eyes.
Seeing the two people before him, Lu Yingqi was stunned.
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