Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15: Xiao Du
’What the hell!’
’Am I seeing ghosts?’
Hearing a child cry in your own bedroom late at night is not exactly a pleasant experience.
Shi Lan shot up in bed, startled, and immediately turned on the lights. She couldn’t help but squint at the glaring, palm-sized green mushroom at the foot of her bed, making her question her own sanity.
’This green mushroom... it looks just like the one from my dream.’
’Could it have actually come out of my dream?’
This mushroom didn’t have hands like the one in her dream, but the little girl’s crying was definitely coming from it. Suspicious, clear droplets were falling from its cap, soaking the sheets at the foot of her bed.
Shi Lan’s brow twitched. She couldn’t help but rub her forehead. "No crying!"
The green mushroom reflexively stopped crying, but its body awkwardly turned slightly to the side.
Even though it looked like just an ordinary, albeit very poisonous-looking, mushroom, Shi Lan could sense a strong aura of sorrow and grievance coming from it.
"Alright, alright, I won’t be harsh with you." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Her voice softened. The mushroom fidgeted, turning slightly in her direction, then went back to sulking and turned away again.
Shi Lan hesitated for a moment, then tentatively said, "I’m not going to eat you."
Hearing this, the mushroom finally stopped turning its side to her.
Seeing its human-like movements, Shi Lan found it amusing and began to wonder what this mushroom actually was.
She couldn’t help but ask, "Where did you come from? Why are you in my room?"
The moment she finished speaking, a pitiful voice sounded in her mind.
"Master, I’m your spirit body. Of course I have to follow you."
The voice was coming from inside her head. She belatedly realized that the crying from before had also seemed to originate from within her mind.
’But... a spirit body? Do I have a spirit body even with my Spiritual Power Level at F?’
Shi Lan recalled the plot of the original book. It had never mentioned what the original owner’s spirit body was. ’Could it really be a mushroom?’
’And a useless female can have a spirit body?’
Shi Lan was shocked. The green mushroom unhappily retorted, its voice echoing in her mind, "Master’s spiritual power isn’t F."
"???"
Shi Lan was even more surprised. ’Can spiritual power change? Or is it related to me transmigrating into the book?’
"Then what Level is my spiritual power?"
The green mushroom seemed to think for a moment before its hesitant voice sounded in her head. "I don’t know either..."
It had only just awakened and didn’t know human standards for evaluation. It only knew that its master was powerful, and "F" sounded really bad.
"...Oh."
Recalling its earlier confident tone, Shi Lan was momentarily speechless.
Still, it wasn’t that important. It was late, and she needed to get her beauty sleep.
So she said, "Okay, okay, I get it. Just find a place to stay, but don’t come crying in my dreams."
The voice in her mind took on a choked-up tone again.
"Waaah, Master hasn’t given me a name yet."
Shi Lan turned off the light, lay down, and closed her eyes, replying with her thoughts, "Then let’s call you Xiao Du."
’It looks just like a poisonous mushroom,’ she thought. ’I’m still a little scared to touch it.’
’But my own spirit body should be safe, no matter what.’
With that thought, Shi Lan rolled over, reassured. Meanwhile, Xiao Du, unaware of the origin of its name, was just happy to have one and obediently returned to her sea of consciousness.
The next day, Shi Lan sat on her bed, hugging her blanket with sleepy eyes.
She yawned, a slight mist clouding her clear, bright eyes, making them look even more clean and radiant, as if freshly washed.
After spacing out for a moment, she suddenly thought of something and called out, "Xiao Du."
"I’m here!"
The voice in her head responded instantly. Only then did Shi Lan confirm that last night hadn’t been a dream.
’I really do have a spirit body, and it’s a green mushroom.’
But she had heard that most Beastmen had animals as their spirit bodies. Why was hers a mushroom?
But Shi Lan wasn’t too surprised or felt it was that unique. After all, in the book, the original female lead’s spirit body was a Snow Lotus, which wasn’t an animal either.
Although her own spirit body’s appearance wasn’t as stunning as others, the solid green, chubby mushroom was still quite cute.
At this thought, she had Xiao Du appear, couldn’t resist grabbing it and giving its soft, fleshy cap a squeeze, and only then got out of bed, satisfied.
After a night of recovery, when Shi Lan went to deliver breakfast, Ye Ming had already recovered. His room was once again pitch-black.
When she delivered the meal, he said "thank you" as usual. Aside from a pair of faintly glowing green eyes, she couldn’t see his figure at all.
The food made by the robots in the prison every day was all meat. Shi Lan’s homemade meals always included some vegetables. For breakfast, she substituted with sandwiches that had meat, egg, and vegetables. Of course, she also packed the meat prepared by the robots that the Beastmen loved.
This was also the first time Ye Ming had eaten food she’d made herself. However, Shi Lan discovered that Ye Ming was actually a picky eater; he had eaten the sandwich but left the vegetables in the bowl.
When she collected the meal container, she couldn’t help but say, "A balanced diet of meat and vegetables is good for your health, especially since you were injured not long ago."
The silence from the dark cell seemed to be a silent protest. Behind her, Jiang Xia—who had already devoured the two sandwiches Shi Lan had specially set aside for his large appetite and still seemed unsatisfied—huffed, "Shi Lan, give me the Eldest Prince’s next time, too! I’ll eat three servings. I’m not a picky eater. I love everything you make."
Shi Lan: "..."
’Is he not afraid of eating himself to death?’
The prison’s meal containers weren’t small; each compartment was quite deep. Besides, Jiang Xia wasn’t just eating sandwiches, but also a lot of meat. His appetite was just too big.
Shi Lan wouldn’t dare actually give him three servings. He usually ate two servings at most, plus some dessert afterward. There was no way she was letting him go hungry.
She looked at the pitch-black cell number three, thinking that if he didn’t like it, she wouldn’t have to go through the trouble next time. Just then, she heard Ye Ming’s voice, slow and cool like a mountain spring, drift from the darkness. "It was delicious. I’ll eat it next time."
"...Oh, okay."
Hearing that, Shi Lan didn’t say anything more.
Besides, Ye Ming was a picky eater. She was just offering a well-intentioned reminder; it didn’t matter to her whether he listened or not. If he didn’t like what she made, there was still the robot-prepared food, and she could save herself some trouble.
Hearing this, Jiang Xia’s two ears drooped slightly on his round, furry head, and his pair of golden, beast-like pupils showed clear disappointment.
When Shi Lan saw this, she was so overwhelmed by his cuteness that she almost couldn’t stop herself from making him another serving. But she managed to restrain herself, took the meal container, and left.
As she was leaving the prison, she passed by cell number two and stole a glance inside.
For some reason, she felt that Mu Tangfeng had become much quieter recently. At first, he liked to press the call bell to see her, but now he barely said a word when he saw her.
Beastmen have keen perception, especially the ones in this prison whose Spiritual Power Levels were very high. Mu Tangfeng naturally noticed Shi Lan’s gaze.
He awkwardly turned his head away but couldn’t resist straightening his posture and arching his neck, showing off the long, elegant curve of his profile, all while his dark eyes secretly took in her entire figure.
When he saw her slow her pace, a clear look of admiration in her eyes, he tilted his neck even higher. Only after Shi Lan had left the prison did he roll his neck, stretch his wings, and relax.
In the opposite cell, He Hanshi, who had been training on the climbing wall, leaped lightly to the ground. His gaze unintentionally swept toward the opposite side, and a flicker of gloom quickly passed through his eyes.
