Next day.
Filo’s crew slowly woke from dreamland, snoozing from night till noon.
If anyone tried pinning “Sleepy Bug” on Filo, she’d fight tooth and nail to ditch that label.
A salty fish life called Sleepy Bug? Nah, gimme something classier.
Salty Fish King sounds dope, right?
Filo crawled off the sofa, rubbing her eyes, vision blurry. Yawning, she shuffled out of the temp shelter.
Sunlight blasted. Today’s rays were harsh, even annoying True Ancestor Filo. She raised a hand to block it, spotting Xiao Lin by the spring, knees together, squatting, looking… shut down.
What’s up? Why’s she in emo mode?
Filo, suspicious, hustled over, patting her shoulder from behind.
“Xiao Lin?”
“Argh! Stop bugging me! Wait till morning, Big Sis’ll wreck you!!”
“…”
“It’s me, Xiao Lin.”
“Big, Big Sis! Waaah!!”
Seeing Filo, Xiao Lin buried her face in Filo’s chest.
Tears drip-dripped like beans. Filo, mom-mode on, gently patted her back.
What the hell happened to spook Xiao Lin like this?
“Don’t be scared, I’m here. What went down? Spill, I’ll handle it,” Filo soothed.
“Big Sis, ghosts!!” Xiao Lin wailed, clutching Filo’s clothes, face still buried.
Ghosts? Filo blinked, not that shocked.
This world’s got dragons, Blood Clan, and Xiao Lin—a Spring Spirit with that “all things have souls” vibe. Ghosts, spirits, demons? Filo could roll with it.
But Xiao Lin was terrified. She’s basically a newborn, only days old.
“What exactly happened? Don’t panic, tell me slow. I’m here. Ghosts? Psh, I’d club a Bone Demon dead, stick or not…” Filo pried Xiao Lin off, hands on her shoulders.
Xiao Lin sniffled, calming a tad under Filo’s comfort.
Stammering, she recounted last night. Filo listened, jaw half-dropped.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Big Sis, you were out cold. Waking you at night felt… wrong…”
“You dummy.” Filo ruffled Xiao Lin’s head. This kid was too sweet—too pure, a blank slate fresh from birth, knowledge aside.
Purity’s great, but risky. She’d get scammed and count the cash for ‘em.
“Can you pinpoint the sound’s source? What’d the ghost say? Dig deep—I’m no exorcist, so gimme more intel.”
Filo pressed her forehead to Xiao Lin’s. Blood Clan lore said this move sharpened focus or had some mystic vibe. Just instinct, but it wrecked Xiao Lin.
Her face went pfft red. Forcing herself, she dredged up last night’s nightmare, catching ignored details.
“I was too scared to focus, but now… they were yelling for help. And… the sound came from underground!” Xiao Lin said, serious.
Realizing this, half her fear poofed.
Fear’s mostly from the unknown. As the ghost’s “veil” lifted, Xiao Lin’s dread faded.
Filo glanced at the ground. Underground? That 100-meter cave Xiao Lin mentioned? Something hiding down there?
Filo suddenly itched to rip up the floor. Just then, Chiyan and Bingpo woke, rubbing eyes, stumbling over.
“Master, Xiao Lin, what’s up? Something wrong…” Bingpo mumbled, half-asleep.
“Xiao Lin cried? Who messed with you? I’ll smash ‘em!” Chiyan saw Xiao Lin’s tear-streaks, raising her fist.
Filo summed up Xiao Lin’s story for them. The dragons blinked, exchanged looks, then stared at Filo and Xiao Lin.
“No way.”
“Why not?”
“Human world, man. Spirits can’t just waltz into other races’ turf. Plus, their rep’s trash—no spirit sightings here for centuries,” Bingpo explained, ruling out ghosts.
“So, Xiao Lin’s sound wasn’t a spirit. Probably some transmission skill—lots of races have those. Someone’s trapped, calling for help. Last night’s noise is gone now, so they’re likely fading fast,” Bingpo analyzed like a pro.
Not ghosts?
Filo felt a weird twinge of disappointment.
But… good. No ghosts, less scary for Xiao Lin.
Filo hadn’t clocked it, but her vibe toward Xiao Lin shifted from buddy to big sis. For this days-old newbie, Filo was catching mom-feels.
She patted Xiao Lin’s head, raised her other hand, and a red orb sucked up the nearby spring.
Pfft!
Done.
“Dunno who’s down there, but meeting us? Your luck’s insane. Hang on—you’ll see today’s sun.”
Filo’s raised hand clenched. Countless blood threads whooshed, weaving overhead into a massive, 20-meter axe.
“Blood Axe: Mountain Splitter!” (Tentative name.)
Mountain: Damn, what’d I do to deserve this?!
With one swing, the peak under Filo’s feet… split.
Why would a high level holy spring spirit fear ghosts?
Tftc!