In this situation, Fu Hua cannot be blamed for being blind and mistaking an old friend.
First, she had already lost the memory of five thousand years ago.
Second, Ji Lin Angel was the first to appear, creating a preconceived idea.
Most importantly, because of a simple prayer, she bravely crossed five thousand years of loneliness and despair to stay by Fu Hua's side. This deep affection would move anyone to tears.
Anyway, Fu Hua believed it all, without a single doubt.
Fortunately, Angel still had a little conscience, knowing that she had used Ji Lin's identity to fool Fu Hua. She had some idea.
"Ahem! I can't say whether the consciousness was torn apart in the five thousand years of struggle is true or false. But seeing how weak you are, you are not a threat to me... I'll keep you for now and observe for a while."
"Ji Lin, don't take it lightly. Honkai is not so easy to deal with. It's better to eliminate the hidden dangers. At worst, you can seal it up first."
Fu Hua shook Ji Lin Angel's hand disapprovingly and looked at the other Ji Lin opposite her with an increasingly unfriendly gaze.
Both Ji Lins were stunned.
'Master, you don't have to be so serious!'
'Jingwei, you don't have to be so heartless!'
Ancestor Ji Lin bit her lip and looked at the girl opposite her with resentment.
Angel coughed dryly, suppressed her guilt, and said seriously:
"Jingwei, you have to consider my condition. After all, I have just been reborn, and my consciousness and spirit are not stable now. And she does have a deep inner connection with me, and it would be a loss for both of us to act rashly."
"This... Well, you have a point."
"Believe me, I am also a veteran of the spiritual way. With her current strength, she can't hurt me even if there is a conspiracy."
"I hope so."
Fu Hua sighed helplessly and looked at the resentful expression of the ancestor Ji Lin opposite her. After a moment, she involuntarily looked away.
Strange, she is not my best friend Ji Lin, so why do I suddenly feel guilty?
It must be because their bodies are too similar!
Honkai is really cunning, actually using the face of a best friend to shake the will of this immortal!
It's so bad!
The next day, after Fu Hua prepared breakfast, she just returned to the door and wanted to go into the house to wake up Ji Lin.
But she saw two classical girls in red clothes and phoenix crowns walking out of the door at the same time. One was a real entity, the real Ji Lin. The other was a consciousness body materialized by Honkai energy, essentially the floating Xuanyuan Sword, the broken consciousness body whose true identity was unknown.
Fu Hua made such a judgment, ignored the phantom, stretched out her hand to the "real Ji Lin," and smiled.
"Good morning, Ji Lin."
"I said I am also Ji Lin, can you not be so partial to one over the other, Jingwei!"
Ji Lin (the ancestor) said with great resentment. Fu Hua's smile disappeared instantly. She frowned and thought for a while, then said:
"But I still can't completely believe in the idea of split consciousness."
"When I think of a way to prove my identity, I will make you bow down to me and apologize!"
"If it turns out that I was too suspicious and hurt your heart, I will apologize, even if I bow down to you."
"...As expected of Jingwei, I give in."
Ancestor Ji Lin held her forehead with one hand, not knowing what to say for a moment, and could only sigh:
This wooden face is exactly the same as it was five thousand years ago, and there is no sign of blooming at all!
Angel laughed, stretched out her hand, and carelessly put her arm around Ji Lin's shoulders.
"Don't we know what Jingwei is like? Don't worry about it!"
"She is right in at least one thing. You should be alert! The more you use your Ki, the easier it is to breed inner demons. You need to keep your mind upright at all times and be extremely careful of your inner demons—you let down your guard too quickly against me, the other me!"
Ji Lin frowned and persuaded earnestly, with full sincerity and good intentions.
Angel's conscience began to hurt again.
But it doesn't matter, she's used to it.
Angel grinned and said, "Yeah. I'm really sorry, how about I seal you now?"
"It's just a warning, I don't want you to target me!"
"Do I need your warning? I feel that you are not a bad person, so I treat you tolerantly. Don't think I am always so easy to talk to!"
"I hope you will do what you say. As another me, it would be too embarrassing if I were defeated by an inner demon one day!"
Fu Hua watched the two identical Ji Lins argue, like twins.
Suddenly, there was a sense of déjà vu.
After a while, Fu Hua couldn't help but put her hand over her mouth and laugh out loud.
"Pfft!"
"Huh? Jingwei laughed?"
"Indeed, she was laughing!"
The two Ji Lins looked at each other. Then, Patriarch Ji Lin blocked her mouth with one hand and whispered to Angel:
"Although it feels strange, do you think Jingwei is a little better now than before? Yes, she is more humane."
"Jingwei has always been strange, Nuwa and the others all said so. But are you serious when you said she is more humane? She is still thinking about how to get rid of you!"
"One thing for another, she is not sure about my identity yet, which is understandable. I mean, compared to the previous tense face, either dazed or melancholy, at least she can smile now... Forget it, it's not good to gossip about others behind their backs."
"Behind? How can there be a behind? Aren't we talking in front of her?"
The two Ji Lins came close, blinked in sync, suddenly realized in sync, and then nodded at the same time.
In the eyes of others, they were exactly the same person.
Fu Hua's smile disappeared again, replaced by a kind of self-doubt:
'Was I a very strange person five thousand years ago?'
At this time, Angel took the old man's shoulder, patted her, and said:
"Let's not talk about Jingwei for now. Anyway, I thought about it when I got up. In order to distinguish you and me, I will be called Ji Lin from now on, and you can be called Ah Lin for short!"
"A…Ah Lin?"
"Hmm! You see, I magnanimously kept you, lent you power so that you could come out of Xuanyuan Sword to breathe, and gave you a code name considerately—I helped you so much, why don't you say thank you!"
"Thank you…"
Ji Lin held Angel's little hand, said with a touching face, and then followed Fu Hua to the lobby.
Whether from the order of appearance or the current power comparison, Ji Lin thought that her other self was naturally in the main position. Therefore, she didn't think there was anything wrong with losing her real name. On the contrary, she was really moved by the trust of the other self her.
Especially with Fu Hua, a stubborn dead wood, next to her, in this way, the other self in Ji Lin's eyes seemed more considerate and kind!
"How about we call each other sisters from now on? Anyway, this kind of relationship from the same origin is no different from real sisters!"
"...Ah Lin, you have a lot of ideas."
"Sister, you are too kind!"
"Ah this..."
Angel wanted to say something but stopped. It was hard to refuse, and she couldn't bear to see the old ancestor Ji Lin being fooled and becoming more and more lame. It was really a dilemma.
Ji Lin, who voluntarily condescended to her position, scratched her head, with a smile that only she understood.
In the past, she was the guardian of the tribe, the leader and goddess respected by her fellow clan members. But in fact, she is human. Although she has power, she is different from the immortals who hold ancient pasts such as Jingwei, Fuxi, and Nuwa.
It seems that Ji Lin can integrate well with both sides and get along well. But from another perspective, she is actually a sandwiched existence, neither like a complete human nor a complete immortal, unable to advance or retreat.
The sensitive emotions of these little girls are not a big problem for Ji Lin. She was born in an era where it was very difficult to survive, so how could she have time to immerse herself in the thoughts of a normal girl?
But occasionally, in the night when she was alone, she would imagine how good it would be if she had a sister in the same situation, who could accompany her and share these feelings that she couldn't express at ordinary times.
At this time, the sun was rising gradually.
The slightly warm morning light shone through the clouds.
Ah Lin suddenly stopped, stood in the quaint corridor, stretched out a hand, and greeted the sunrise, as if receiving the sun.
"It's been a long time since I saw the sun."
Ah Lin murmured, her eyes illuminated by the light.
For a long time, she put her hand on her chest, as if she had passed the warmth of the sun to the sword and shone on her body.
Ah Lin couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, and the old friends who had long gone away appeared in her mind one by one.
After feeling sad, she finally sighed softly.
"I'm still alive, maybe it's not a bad thing."
Want to see advanced chapters? Chapters 1-300+ available at patréon.com/PorterOfSomething