Uncle Yu had borne too much.

Especially after Erin once again crashed to the floor—although Yu Sheng didn't actually have a "big father", he always felt that if the little doll kept being noisy, he would really create a "big father" from the void and then watch Erin kill him...

Thankfully, the little doll's temper came and went quickly. What's more important was that after the initial period of chaos and helplessness, she and Yu Sheng suddenly realized a detail that both had overlooked—

"This new body... wasn't it more than five meters away from that painting when we were in the attic?" Erin (main) blankly raised her head, belatedly looking at the other body Yu Sheng had placed on the bed, while the new body simultaneously looked down at itself. The two bodies spoke in unison, giving one the feeling of an echo.

The next second, Yu Sheng reacted: "Hey, go figure! That's right! This one woke up in the attic... it's broken through the painting's restrictions!"

Then the two of them (or rather three) looked at each other—after a while, Yu Sheng hesitantly spoke: "So this might not be a bad thing…?"

"Having an extra body is never bad—my biggest problem is feeling dizzy!" Erin immediately widened her eyes, then her tone changed abruptly, "But after all, 'dizziness' might be overcome, perhaps a bit of adaptation is all that's needed. The ability for this body to break away from the painting's range limitation... that's truly remarkable... Yu Sheng, how did you manage this?!"

"I don't know either, if you ask me how I made it, I could tell you something about that, but if you're talking about the underlying principles, my knowledge in alchemy is far behind yours," Yu Sheng scratched his head, "All I was thinking was to practice a bit before you could transfer to a new body in a few months so that you wouldn't find my doll-making ugly again, and incidentally, I just went through the entire process of the alchemy operation you taught me, who would have thought that it would actually come to life, and without your cooperation, it could become a usable 'shell'—I was just thinking of calling you up to take a look when I had just called your name, and then it started growing hair..."

"Wait a minute!" Erin suddenly interrupted Yu Sheng, the two dolls both looked up at him, a skeptical look in their four eyes, "You just mentioned... did the situation change right after you called my name?"

"Yes," Yu Sheng immediately nodded and then realized something, "…Are you suggesting that's why you could enter the second shell?"

"Just a possibility, because 'names' hold power. When you create a blank doll shell, it's just an 'item', but since you, the 'maker', called my name during the ritual, it's as though you've 'imparted' meaning to the item..."

Erin said thoughtfully, yet she couldn't help but shake her head.

"But this is a very advanced field of alchemy, requiring specific rituals and even specific times and places, and the alchemy items involved couldn't possibly be these clay figures made during beginner's practice... just considering the tea powder and Rose Oil you used as catalysts, how could such effects be possible? Not to mention, with the price you paid for them, I suspect that Rose Oil doesn't contain any trace of rose..."

"… Maybe it's because of my blood?" Yu Sheng cautiously reminded, "I bled a lot this time."

"…?"

Erin was momentarily stunned.

Then she got it: "This TM (F-word) works?!"

"I don't know," Yu Sheng helplessly gestured, "I was just trying to study what's with my blood, and now after the research, there are even more questions. But true enough, I have discovered some new characteristics."

The two continued their stare-down, then simultaneously started to analyze Erin's "second shell."

After all, this shell had broken the five-meter range restriction of the painting seal, which was incredibly important for Erin.

"Is there anything different about this new body compared to your now 'main shell'?" Yu Sheng curiously asked the two dolls sitting on the bed (honestly, it felt strange, especially knowing that both dolls were controlled by Erin's single consciousness), "I mean in terms of 'sensation'."

"Hmm… this shell feels stiffer, more sluggish?" Erin thought for a moment, carefully sensing and speaking, "Especially regarding the senses, extremely dull and numb, the tactile sense is about half, hearing and sight are relatively okay, hot and cold... almost no sense of temperature, and the pain is very faint."

While speaking, her second shell's hand reached out and pinched its own face.

"Another point is, when controlling the movements of this shell, there's always a feeling of... unreality, a lack of 'immersion', like using a very, very realistic device to control a virtual role. No matter how high the verisimilitude, you're always aware that you're 'controlling' it, rather than being it."

Yu Sheng slightly frowned.

The two Erins on the bed both looked at him eagerly.

Two dolls, nearly identical in appearance, but quite easy to tell apart, because one Erin was always carrying the painting, while the other could be seen to have a noticeably stiffer gaze and expressions that were not as rich and flexible as the main shell.

Looking at the two Erins, especially the one with the painting, Yu Sheng suddenly thought of something.

He stood up and took down the oil painting hanging behind Erin.

"Hey, what are you doing..."

"I've got an idea, let me check something."

Yu Sheng spoke seriously to the somewhat panicked little puppet, who, despite still being confused, nodded and calmed down.

Yu Sheng then hung the oil painting directly onto Erin's new shell.

"How about now? How does it feel?" he asked nervously, looking at the two puppets.

Erin visibly froze for a moment — both of them did.

Then both bodies exclaimed in unison, "Wow, I can't believe it! The feeling has switched!"

The puppet carrying the oil painting raised a hand pointing at the other, "This body has now become all stiff and sluggish."

"As I thought," Yu Sheng sighed with relief, then concluded solemnly, "Whichever one is carrying the oil painting is the main body — so, in essence, the oil painting itself is the main body."

Erin's expression became subtly complex, with a sense of resentment that screamed, "I escaped jail but I'm not fully free; damn it, the cell is still chasing me."

But Yu Sheng was already thinking ahead.

"We still need a series of tests, like what would happen if both bodies leave the oil painting, or how far can the 'secondary body' move freely while the 'main body' is carrying the painting, and most importantly, how to get you quickly accustomed to having two shells. If it's really not possible to adapt, we'll have to find a way to 'disconnect' one of the shells temporarily," he said, stroking his chin in thought, "It would be best to ask Hu Li for help."

"Hey, then I'll go wake her up!" Both puppets immediately stood up ready to hop off the bed, "With all this commotion in the house, how could she not have... Ow, mom!"

Erin, forgetting that she was now controlling two bodies and was a bit short on control bandwidth, lost balance after taking just a few steps and both bodies fell headfirst off the bed.

Fortunately, Yu Sheng, quick to react, caught each one by an ankle and lifted them up.

Both puppets, holding down their skirts and looking particularly embarrassed hanging upside down, looked at Yu Sheng, "You go call her then, I need to get my bearings..."

Yu Sheng let out an exasperated sigh, placed the Erins back on the bed, turned, and left the room, knocking on the opposite door, "Hu Li! Are you awake? I need your help!"

After knocking three times, he finally heard a flustered response from the fox girl, followed by a moment later by Hu Li, still in her nightgown and with uncombed hair, appearing at the door looking sleepy.

"I overslept..." she said, a bit embarrassed as she lowered her head, as if she had done something wrong, "I stayed up too late last night."

"It's okay, it's okay, my fault," Yu Sheng quickly waved off her concerns, knowing that Hu Li had exerted the most effort yesterday at the Museum and needed extra rest, "There's a situation; come have a look."

Hu Li, puzzled, followed Yu Sheng into the master bedroom.

Then she was greeted by two Erins sitting side by side on the bed, staring straight at the door like P1 and P2 from a video game.

Hu Li immediately froze at the doorway, rubbing her eyes vigorously after a good while, and once done, she still saw double.

"Oh no! Savior! I've gone hysterical," she exclaimed in panic, looking at Yu Sheng, "Erin has been split in two!"

"Stop rubbing—rub any more and when you see her again she'll be quadrupled," Yu Sheng stopped Hu Li from continuing to rub her eyes, and somewhat awkwardly coughed twice, "There's been a little accident. Erin indeed has two bodies now; you're not seeing things."

Hu Li stared in disbelief at the two Erins, then as if understanding something, admiration spread across her face, "So you're practicing the art of External Incarnation, I never knew you were an Immortal..."

"Immortal my foot! What balderdash are you talking, Hu Li? It's all because Yu Sheng made me an extra body!" Erin immediately began to complain loudly, "I was sleeping well and nearly fainted when I woke up!"

"Let's not talk about that now, not about that," Yu Sheng quickly interrupted the complaints of the puppet, stepped forward, took the oil painting off Erin's back, and turned to hand it to Hu Li, "You, take this painting to the attic."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.