To help Sen Lijiu find his way, Jun Yi had specifically given him one of the flowers.
Jun Yi's magical artifacts generally would not accompany anyone else unless he was more than happy to let them.
Meanwhile, Sen Lijiu watched the magical artifact that kept trying to snuggle up to him, utterly exasperated.
"Isn't this a little too enthusiastic?"
Bieyun, hanging at his waist, saw through it but said nothing. Heh ^_^, this boy is pretty excited. He's doing a good job of hiding it, though.
This was clearly Jun Yi's doing.
Only an innocent kid like Jiujiu would fail to notice.
A speck of starlight flew into the Castle of Memories. Jun Yi reached out to catch it, and Kukulu's voice emerged. "Brother, there's some information I don't have. Can I come over and look through yours?"
Jun Yi had not intended to agree, but then the queen's voice came through.
"Yi, say yes to Kukulu. You can take the opportunity to grow closer as brothers. It's been a while since you two had a proper chat..."
Then came her usual "concern." About twenty minutes passed, and the queen was still talking nonstop. Jun Yi sighed helplessly.
"All right, let him come. Do I need to send someone to pick him up?"
The queen's attention shifted. "There's no need to pick him up. He'll be within our territory the whole time, and he'll have people guarding him. Nothing serious will happen."
"I still have matters to attend to. Let's talk another time."
The queen agreed, and the speck of light dissipated.
Jun Yi turned around and spotted a little fox hiding behind a wall, his tail still sticking out.
When he approached, he saw the little fox covering his mouth and snickering. He seemed to be struggling terribly to hold back his laughter.
Jun Yi smiled helplessly, then bent down and picked up the little fox. "Laugh if you want to. Holding it in isn't good for you."
Only then did the little fox realize that he was being held in someone's arms.
Uh... was there anything more embarrassing than getting caught eavesdropping and then being held by the very person you'd been listening to?
"Um... hear me out. If I said I wasn't eavesdropping, would you believe me?"
The little fox squeaked at Jun Yi, his ears drooping slightly. He looked a little guilty.
Jun Yi could hardly keep from laughing at the little fox's expression.
He stroked the fox's head, then turned and carried him into the study...
Far away, Sen Lijiu shuddered, a faint blush spreading over the tips of his ears. He bit his lip. Seeing him like this, Bieyun flew up from his waist and tapped him on the head.
"Don't use your clone recklessly. Shared sensations are no joke. Keep messing around with it, and you'll be in for a rough time."
"Huh? Bieyun, how did you know I'd sent out a clone? You shouldn't have known."
Sen Lijiu's fluffy ears emerged, their tips a platinum color. They were utterly adorable. His hair was untied, falling over his shoulders and down his back. He was the very picture of cuteness.
Bieyun sounded a little exasperated. "Have you forgotten that we're all linked? We can sense your information, just like how you can see your teammates in games in the Human World."
"So, what were you doing with your clone just now?"
Sen Lijiu's large ears twitched, then slowly flattened out to the sides. "Okay, fine. I was just listening to a little gossip..."
Bieyun asked again, "Then where's your clone? Why hasn't he come back?"
Sen Lijiu's ears flattened even further, and he lowered his head. "He got caught listening in... Now someone's holding him, so he won't be coming back anytime soon..."
Bieyun sighed helplessly, bobbing up and down in his jade pendant form. "Well, leave things as they are for now. Don't let anyone find out. You might as well use your clone to keep an eye on things here."
"Oh, and remember to dial down the shared sensations a little, or else..."
Before Bieyun could finish, he saw...
Sen Lijiu's face grew even redder, and his ears turned pink. Even his tails emerged. His eyes gradually became unfocused, and his nine enormous tails flailed about, scattering the books around him. Each of those nine tails was as big as Sen Lijiu himself, leaving his surroundings to suffer.
Bieyun was a little curious. What exactly was happening to that clone (●v●)?
Before you continue