"…"
"…"
"Hey, I'm talking…"
Lynelle's lips twitched slightly at the bizarre scene before her. "Could you say something, already? If I didn't know better, I'd think my online connection dropped."
"The thing is…" Seeing Lynelle break the awkward silence, Little Senti scratched her head irritably.
"Even if we're all sitting here like we're in some grand inquisition, we're not gonna get anywhere arguing over who between me and this Fu Hua is the real one."
This whole mess started about half an hour ago.
After their midday resupply, Little Senti had quickly retrieved Fu Hua's feather from Lixue, then forcefully poured her own energy into it, allowing Fu Hua to maintain her physical form.
But that's exactly where things got weird.
Because of Fu Hua's incredibly high compatibility with the Fenghuang Down, during their energy exchange, some of the memories from Little Senti's side and the memory data Fu Hua had stored within the feather flowed back and forth between them.
To use a strange term for it, it was like a "soul communion." And from these shared memories and emotions, Little Senti discovered a serious problem.
Why did she feel… that she might be the fake one?
It wasn't that she'd found some definitive proof in Fu Hua's memories that this feather was the real body.
Rather, she realized that all the subconscious habits and mannerisms of the "old fossil" from the memories, as well as the other's attitudes toward the people and events within them, perfectly matched the memories inside Little Senti's own body.
In simple terms, after accepting a portion of the Fenghuang Down's memories, Little Senti found that this "old fossil" residing in Lixue seemed more like Fu Hua than she herself did.
Just looking at how Fu Hua had treated those Jingweis earlier was proof enough—she genuinely loved those things.
So, for a moment, Little Senti was at a loss. Before Lynelle and the others came to Mt. Taixuan, she was absolutely convinced she was the real Fu Hua.
She'd even thought that if the Fu Hua inside the feather had developed self-awareness, she could just use the Fenghuang Down to craft a body for her.
But now, it seemed like she might be the one needing a new body?
However, since neither Lynelle nor the other Fu Hua seemed to have a clear stance on the matter, Little Senti, with a touch of unease, decided to let this "Who is Fu Hua?" debate continue.
Driven by a childish sort of defiance, even though she was beginning to suspect the truth, she had no intention of bringing it up herself.
Anyway, worst case, she'd just switch bodies—compared to something as trivial as a body, what Little Senti really wanted to know right now was how the others saw her.
"Hmm…" Kiana looked left and right.
Since Sirin, who usually helped her think things through, was asleep, Kiana's 'intelligent intellect' once again took command of the high ground.
After a moment of thought, she raised her hand. "How about this: you each tell me something only the real Fu Hua would know, and we'll see who gives more specific details?"
"Sounds good to me." Kiana's suggestion perked Little Senti right up.
"If I remember correctly, before Lynelle came to St. Freya Academy, Kiana, you failed to turn in your homework a total of 164 times across all subjects… that number's right, isn't it?"
"That's correct," Fu Hua nodded.
"Let me add: of the only three times you did turn in homework, twice it was because Mei-san lured you into finishing it with food. The remaining time, you probably copied from Bronya."
"Stop, stop, stop…"
Only now realizing that both Fu Huas seemed to have a perfect grasp of her embarrassing past, Kiana hurriedly buried her face in Lynelle's chest.
"Wahhh… l-let's just try a different method…"
"Then how about letting Lixue decide?" Lynelle suggested.
"As Fu Hua's most outstanding disciple, Lixue should be able to spot some differences, right?"
"I, I…" Lixue stammered for a long moment before finally blurting out:
"I think both Masters are great! One is gentle and kind, the other is lively and cute… I like both Masters very much!"
"Guh…" A faint blush rose on Little Senti's face, caught off guard by Lixue's sudden, straightforward affection.
She quickly turned her head away.
"See, I told you we shouldn't let Lixue be the judge… with her personality, there's no way you'd get her to say anything bad about me."
"But Lixue, you really need to work on that character of yours. What if that bastard Otto someday disguises himself as me and causes trouble in front of you…"
"Then he'd have to face a fully-enraged Lixue," Lynelle quipped from the side.
"Actually, I think you could consider a different angle. Since you can't prove who is Fu Hua, how about trying to prove who isn't Fu Hua?"
"If you can't prove you aren't Fu Hua, then, by default, you both are Fu Hua."
"Th-this…" Little Senti immediately grew hesitant.
However, at that moment, Kiana suddenly lifted her head. Immediately after, Lynelle and Little Senti also seemed to sense something and looked in a certain direction.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Lixue was startled by their reactions.
"Another Honkai incident has erupted. There are quite a few Honkai Beasts this time… is it because both Lynelle and I are here?"
Kiana murmured, frowning slightly as she looked at Fu Hua and Little Senti. "How about this: you two keep talking, and I'll take Lixue to check out the situation?"
"Wait, I also—"
"Alright, Big Sister Hua, you stay here and have a good heart-to-heart with the other Fu Hua, okay?" Lynelle quickly pressed a hand on Little Senti's shoulder.
"Just a few Honkai Beasts—with this lineup, it's more than enough."
"And besides…" Seeing that Lixue had already left ahead of them, Lynelle's voice suddenly took on a coaxing tone.
She lowered her voice, "My dear Big Sister Hua, with Lixue not here… put yourselves in her shoes. Even if you could really prove one of you isn't Fu Hua… with Lixue's feelings for you both, do you think she'd let you do anything… rash?"
"Of course, Lixue probably wouldn't directly attack you. But what if she tried to force your hand by threatening something drastic…?"
"For the sake of her most beloved Master, I think there's a real chance she might do something like that."
"I…"
Then, not giving Little Senti a chance to speak, Lynelle winked with a smile and vanished on the spot, leaving Little Senti and Fu Hua alone in their own private space.
"…"
Sitting directly opposite Fu Hua, Little Senti fell into silence for a moment.
A short while later, just as she was about to speak, she found Fu Hua opening her mouth at almost the exact same time.
"You go first, old fossil."
As if trying to escape something, Little Senti hurriedly motioned for Fu Hua to continue.
"Hmm…" Fu Hua's voice paused slightly. "Lynelle and the others are gone. It's just the two of us now, so… let's be frank."
Little Senti's breath hitched. However, Fu Hua's next words nearly made her lose her composure completely.
"Later, I'll tell Lynelle that I'm just a virtual persona derived from the feather, carrying Fu Hua's memories. From now on, it's you who should carry the name of Fu Hua and continue living on."
"Huh?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.