Sensing the scent of that “good-tasting water,” the red-bellied pheasant sped toward its source.
Soon, it spotted Gu Xiaomai staring at her own index finger.
“gui—gui—” the woman finally mastered the technique and didn’t even come find me?
“gui—gui—” lucky I’m smart enough to come find you, or I would’ve missed the good water!
Hearing the sound, Gu Xiaomai turned her head.
It was that same red-bellied pheasant from before.
With that movement, the liquid on her fingertip slipped off instantly—dropping onto the mint plant she had transplanted yesterday for experimentation.
“gui—gui—” Ah! My good water!!
The red-bellied pheasant let out a sharp, mournful cry.
“gui—gui—” You woman! Did you do that on purpose?! On purpose?!
“gui—gui—” Aaaah! I’m so angry!! So angry!! You’re so cunning! You broke your promise! …
“Keep your voice down. There are soldiers next door who are very strong in combat. If you attract them and get killed, I won’t help you.”
The pheasant’s cries were instantly choked back into its throat, dropping to a much lower volume, though still frantic.
Though Gu Xiaomai couldn’t understand it, she could clearly tell from its stomping, wing-flapping, and frantic pointing that it was definitely insulting her.
Let it curse. She didn’t understand anyway—and she had already intended to drop the liquid onto the mint plant.
She tore a strip of cloth from her clothing, crouched down, and tied it around the mint plant that had absorbed the liquid, marking it.
After tying it, she glanced at yesterday’s “dumb morning glory.”
Hmm… its vine had shifted toward her again.
Confirmed. It had some form of awareness—but very low intelligence, and no aggression.
Gu Xiaomai looked at the increasingly agitated pheasant and said flatly:
“Are you done yelling?”
“g—?” Huh?
The red-bellied pheasant froze.
What?
How does this woman know I was scolding her?
Can she understand me now?
Gu Xiaomai: …
Do you want a mirror so you can see how obvious you are?
Seeing her expressionless face, the pheasant suddenly felt uneasy.
What if she refuses to trade the good water because I insulted her?
What if I can’t even scold her anymore?
What kind of logic is that?!
“Originally, it was fine in my hand. Who suddenly appeared and scared me?” Gu Xiaomai said coldly. “And you still have the nerve to scold me? I was the one who got startled!”
Under her relentless “logic correction,” the pheasant gradually shrank in on itself, visibly losing confidence.
Only then did she stop her full-throttle argument—whose core idea was essentially: this is all the pheasant’s fault and has nothing to do with me.
“Good. At least you can recognize your mistake. I’m very relieved.”
The pheasant blinked.
Recognize mistake? I admit it—but what does that have to do with divine status?
Am I a divine beast… is she too?
It secretly sized her up again.
Gu Xiaomai rolled her eyes slightly.
Then she continued:
“This was probably just an accident. I don’t know if I’ll be able to produce it again tomorrow. When the sun is in this position, bring your ‘good grass’ here. If I can condense the good water, we’ll trade.”
The pheasant finally relaxed.
“gui—gui—” Alright! I’ll bring good grass tomorrow!
Then it asked:
“gui—gui—” Why didn’t I see you on Mountain 1 before? Where did you go?
“What mountain you saw me on is Mountain 1.”
“gui—gui—” Oh, that one! I’ll live there from now on. I’ll tell White Rabbit Mom to find me there!
“gui—gui—” I moved all my stuff there. As long as you keep trading good water with me, I’ll protect you on that mountain!
At that moment, Gu Xiaomai felt that not understanding chicken speech was truly inconvenient—this bird definitely just said something important.
After it quieted down, she changed the topic:
“Do you have a name? Since we’re already familiar now, we’re friends. I can’t keep calling you ‘you.’”
Name?
Like how White Rabbit is called White Rabbit?
Maybe my name is… Phoenix?
“gui—gui—” Woman, call me Phoenix from now on!
Gu Xiaomai: …
No need to guess—this was definitely telling her to call it Phoenix.
“Phoenix is a general term. You can be called Phoenix, but if another bird like you appears, it would also be called Phoenix.”
“It’s like how all humans are called humans, but each has a personal name. My name is Gu Xiaomai. Those two with me are Jiang Chen’an and Yumi.”
The pheasant tilted its head thoughtfully.
So that’s how it works…
But I still want to be called Phoenix.
Then it suddenly looked at her again.
What if I ask her to give me a name? Would she refuse?
Could she make one with ‘Phoenix’ in it?
“gui—gui—” Woman, can you give me a name? A nice one—with Phoenix in it.
“Fine. But if you ask someone to do something, you need to give a reward. If you’re satisfied with the name, remember to bring me a gift tomorrow. I want fruits as tasty as that good grass.”
The pheasant patted its chest proudly, signaling agreement.
Gu Xiaomai studied it carefully.
Then she said:
“Your belly feathers are as red as fire—bright, proud, and full of vitality, like an undying life force. How about the name ‘Red Phoenix’?”
“Red Phoenix… Red Phoenix…”
It repeated it over and over.
The more it said it, the better it sounded.
It contained its most beautiful feathers—and the meaning of Phoenix.
From now on, it wasn’t just a red-bellied pheasant anymore.
It was Red Phoenix.
“gui—gui—” Good! My name is Red Phoenix! From now on, you must call me Red Phoenix!
Seeing its satisfaction, Gu Xiaomai was also satisfied.
Perfect.
She was about to get her “cleansing fruits.”
Ha ha ha…