Outside, drip drip drip, a raging storm poured, what the heck—how’d it suddenly turn into this level of downpour? The whole villa started swaying, and outside, trees were yanked from their roots, spiraling through the air like Thomas the Tank Engine on a bender.
The only calm spot was probably the Holy Spring. Despite the storm’s assault, rain and wind got bounced right off when they neared it.
Defense MAX. No wonder the Spring Spirit said she’d be fine—this wasn’t just talk. Staring at the spring through the window, Filo quietly thought she’d gone and meddled for nothing.
She sighed helplessly, turning to the Spring Spirit inside the villa. The Spirit, head high, was gawking at the interior, clearly stoked despite the plain setup.
Made sense, though. She was just over an hour old, and even counting her Holy Spring years, she’d been stuck underground with nothing but mud.
Seeing the Spirit’s excited vibe, Filo felt a tiny bit of comfort. Call it racking up good karma—key for a better salted-fish life, right?
Filo told herself this to justify her out-of-character move.
“By the way, we can’t keep calling you Spring Spirit forever, can we? We’re neighbors now—how ‘bout a name?” Filo asked, eyeing the Spirit wandering the villa.
The Spirit, dazed, pressed a finger to her lips. A name? She had zero clue about names.
“Just call me Spring Spirit.”
“Nah, that’s too awkward. Like how you call me Filo, and those two are Bingpo and Chiyan. Race name’s one thing—you need a personal name!”
Filo earnestly explained the difference between race and individual names to the Spirit.
If she saw herself acting like this, she’d probably roast herself for turning into such a nag. She wasn’t the Spirit’s mom, geez.
“Then everyone can call me Xiao Lin!”
“Xiao Lin? Hmm, that’s pretty good.”
Filo nodded, glancing out at the torrential rain. Nice name—way better than her backup plans like “Little Red,” “Little Ya,” “Little Blue,” “Little Flower,” or “Little Fang.”
With her new “name,” Xiao Lin’s status panel flipped 180 degrees. From a bare-bones race bio, it morphed into a detailed interface like Filo’s, packed with specifics.
This shift marked her transformation from just a Spring Spirit into a unique individual.
…
Five minutes later.
Chiyan and Bingpo hauled out trays of homemade gourmet dishes from the kitchen. To Filo’s shock, their Detect skill showed the food hit Ordinary Grade!
Ordinary Grade means edible stuff that actually tastes decent—leagues above Inferior Food.
Is this what genius looks like?
Even without taste buds, tweaking the basics let them jump from trash-tier to ordinary so fast. Give them a few months, and they’ll hit Chinese Little Chef levels?!?
The dishes landed on the table. Bingpo untied her apron, flicked it with a whoosh, and struck coolly, “Pardon the humble fare, Master, dig in!”
“…”
Man, where’d she learn that pose? So flashy.
Filo roasted her mentally, but her body was honest. In a second, she was seated. True Ancestors don’t need food, but enjoying gourmet? That’s a vibe she’d never ditch.
Filo grabbed chopsticks, snagged a bite, and popped it in her mouth.
“Mmm… this flavor’s wild! It’s like a blazing inferno torching my mouth—I’m all fired up!”
Filo’s mouth gaped, practically spewing flames. Still, her chopsticks didn’t stop, grabbing a piece of meat from the other plate.
“Cold, cold, cold! Freezing, but… so refreshing! Like eating ice cream—no, wait, this is meat, right? Eh, whatever!”
Filo savored it, looking like she’d hit peak bliss, one hand on her cheek, gurgling as she chewed.
Seeing Filo’s delight, Chiyan and Bingpo glanced at each other, raised their hands, and slapped a high-five.
“Don’t wanna admit it, but your idea was straight-up brilliant!”
“Obviously! Check who I am—a genius, heh heh heh.”
Bingpo and Chiyan yapped about something Filo didn’t get. She swallowed her bite, ready for more, but froze.
What is this meat?
Not fish, not chicken, duck, pork, beef… Back in her old life, Luo Fei had even tried alligator, but she couldn’t pin this down.
Filo, curious, looked up at the grinning Bingpo and Chiyan. “What’s this meat? Tastes kinda wild.”
Bingpo hesitated, choosing her words to avoid freaking Filo out.
But that doofus Chiyan didn’t even think. At Filo’s question, her brain skipped, and she blurted, “Yo, Master, it’s dragon tail meat! How’s it? Tastes awesome, right? Want more? Unlimited supply!”
As she spoke, a red dragon tail sprouted behind her human form. Chiyan, unfazed, chopped off a chunk with a hand slice, thwack. The next second, her tail regrew, good as new.
Filo, watching, was floored. Snapping back, she gawked at the dishes.
“D-Dragon… dragon meat?”
“Holy crap, you guys… this is… too way flashy…”
After countless inner battles, Filo surrendered, letting out a mega-helpless sigh.
In that moment, she grasped a new truth: never, never clash your worldview with a dragon’s. Yours will shatter.
Filo’s worldview went splat, smashed to bits…
Tftc!
Isn’t Xiao Lin effectively Little Lin?
I thought of doing that, but that’s also a valid name (like Xiao Mei) so I kept it as is
In later chapter when the level is checked, she is called Lin. Which confirms Xiao is not a name but means little.
And because Xiao could be a name it is best to use little. For a few years on many translations before knowing what Xiao meant I was always confused why people who had same last name but seem to not be from the same family. Only later I found out Xiao means little.
Not to mention this chapter already has her say little red, little ya, little blue. So using little Lin would be more consistent