Little Girl

Biodata

Power Progression

The early companion is a Flower of the Other Shore incarnation of Little Girl. Her damaged soul prevents cultivation, whereas her original self later demonstrates exceptional talent 58 478 885.

Background / History

The Child Su Mo Took In

Su Mo encounters Little Girl while she is wandering alone. Despite her hunger and frailty, she drives away a stray dog threatening his remaining bun. She accepts food only after seeing him eat, and agrees to accompany him to Capital City when he offers her a home and asks her to look after him 5.

She remembers neither her name nor her origins. Although she calls Su Mo “Young Master” and serves as his maid, she considers him her older brother. He promises to use her real name once she remembers it, but she prefers being his “Little Girl” 6 15.

She writes his journal, accompanies him aboard their boat, and tries selling his paintings. Her choice of a gambling den as a busy place to set up a stall leads to two paintings being sold for a pittance 1 6.

Soul Illness and Recovery

When Su Mo asks to teach her the Academy’s cultivation method, the Dean reveals that she possesses only a damaged soul fragment. This explains both her poor memory and her inability to learn cultivation. The Dean also warns that her condition cannot wait indefinitely for a remedy 58.

Little Girl conceals her distress behind requests for chicken drumsticks and playful conversation. While riding on Su Mo’s back, she asks him to carry her for the rest of her life and hides her tears against his robe 59.

The Dean seals her until Su Mo brings back a Flower of the Other Shore, which awakens her. Later, an identical girl in the Divine Realm merges her little white stone with Su Mo’s before going to her death. Su Mo concludes that this sacrifice replenished Little Girl’s life soul; Third Senior Sister confirms that her soul will have no further problems for the time being 69 76 80.

Searching for Young Master

When Su Mo’s memories are severed, Little Girl senses the loss and fears that he no longer wants her. She produces the journal she carries to preserve their shared experiences, believing it can help him remember. Following Little Stone’s instruction to head north, she leaves the Academy with Luo Yin 123.

She later accompanies the weakening Su Mo and Master Hui Kong through the Snow Domain and south to Jiangnan. Su Mo falsely assures her that the Dao Sect’s Divine Spring has helped him, and she sincerely thanks Dao Twelve for saving him 136 147 153.

The Incarnation’s Sacrifice

The arrival of another Flower of the Other Shore restores Little Girl’s memories. She explains that she came from downstream along the Long River, seeking her older brother. Having overshot her destination, she spread herself into countless Flowers of the Other Shore so that any flower finding him could alert her 157 158.

Her longing became the flowers’ poison. Although a flower could restore a Divine Soul, it could also possess its recipient and turn them into a puppet. She refuses to let Great Calamity use such a flower on the dying Su Mo, instead using it to strengthen Great Calamity and choosing to save Su Mo herself 157.

Her incarnation’s sacrifice saves him. Her promise to return when Flowers of the Other Shore bloom across the world later proves to refer to her birth, not her resurrection 158 470.

Birth and Childhood of Her Original Self

Su Mo eventually recognizes Prince Ying and his wife’s newborn daughter as Little Girl. She is not the incarnation reborn: she is the same person at an earlier point in her own life, before creating the incarnation that travels into the past. Her Flower of the Other Shore power originates from Su Mo himself 470.

The child immediately shows an unusual attachment to him. She grows up playing with the Void Beast and a forest tiger, learns poetry and cultivation from Su Mo, and reaches Nascent Soul at five. She also learns to tie up hair specifically to tend his loose white hair 474 476 478.

After Su Mo disappears, the tiger offers her a Long River Stone as a means of finding him. Before she can touch it, the Reincarnation Mirror intervenes, showing her the incarnation’s diary, Little Stone’s memories, and Su Mo’s final instructions. She learns that traveling to find him has already led to their meeting and separation once before 493.

A Thousand-Year Wait

Little Girl follows Su Mo’s instructions and does not personally enter the Long River. Instead, she cultivates until she can create a Flower of the Other Shore incarnation capable of making the journey. The Reincarnation Mirror then gives that incarnation the stone leading to the river 885.

Great Peng becomes her master, guides her cultivation, and takes her through the places he can reach. His attachment to her restores the mortal feelings he had once severed, at the cost of his supreme cultivation 863.

For a thousand years, Little Girl uses Flower of the Other Shore power to preserve her childhood appearance, afraid that Su Mo will not recognize her if she grows up. Even when Great Peng tells her that her brother is dead, she holds to her parents’ report that his body disappeared 861 862.

When Su Jingyan returns, she embraces him and recounts their long separation. Although he tells her she can finally grow up, she refuses: remaining a child means she can always be his “Little Girl” 862.

Appearance

• Early incarnation: A small, frail child with long hair, described as barely past ten. Su Mo habitually musses her hair, prompting an indignant pout but no resistance 5 6 30 59.
• Divine Rune: A Flower of the Other Shore-shaped mark appears on her forehead when her memories awaken. Her original self bears a matching rune to Su Mo’s 157 478.
• Preserved childhood: Her original self maintains the appearance of a girl a little over ten for a thousand years through Flower of the Other Shore power 861 862.

Personality

Little Girl is affectionate, cheeky, and unusually direct with Su Mo. She teases him about needing help with his hair, dismisses his talk of cultivating immortality as nonsense, and honestly tells him that the zither sounded better than his flute. Her delight in food repeatedly surfaces in requests for chicken drumsticks, candied hawthorn, and braised pig’s trotters 1 6 80.

Her devotion is protective rather than merely dependent. Before he takes her in, she shields him from a stray dog; later, she wants to learn the sword so she can protect him. As a young child, she never harms the forest animals and has the Void Beast treat those she finds injured 5 37 476.

She often hides pain to spare him worry. Her cheerful requests after learning of her soul illness mask tears, and her thousand-year refusal to grow up comes from fear of losing their bond. Su Jingyan recognizes that she is clever, even though she prefers to behave simply as the little girl at his side 59 861 862 863.

Abilities & Skills

Flower of the Other Shore Power

Her central power connects her original self, her incarnation, and the Long River 158 470 885.

• Creates an incarnation capable of crossing the Long River 885.
• Spreads into countless Flowers of the Other Shore to search for her brother 158.
• Preserves her childhood appearance for a thousand years 861 862.
• Carries powerful karma that attracts ferocious beasts, which perceive her as a potent tonic 861.
• Her incarnation’s longing contaminates the flowers with a “poison” that can take over a recipient’s Divine Soul 157 158.

Supernatural Perception

Little Girl perceives things inaccessible to ordinary senses.

• Detects Su Mo’s arrival at the Riverboat Pavilion despite being a non-cultivator 36.
• Receives his emotions through Little Stone and follows its instruction to search north 42 123.
• Sees Great Calamity when the accompanying Academy disciples cannot 89.

Animal Communication

After her soul stabilizes, she discovers that she can speak with animals 80.

• Befriends Little Black Horse and calls Second Senior Brother’s bird onto her shoulder 80 81.
• Her original self forms close bonds with the Void Beast, a tiger, and the surrounding forest animals 476.

Cultivation and Learning

Her original self learns poetry and cultivation from Su Mo, attaining Nascent Soul at five. She also displays exceptional memory when learning hairdressing from her mother 478.

• Can move food through the air with a gesture 479.
• This aptitude contrasts with her incarnation’s inability to retain cultivation teachings because of soul damage 58 478.

Equipment / Items

• Little Stone: A small white stone closely tied to her. She gives it to Su Mo as a protective charm; it transmits his feelings to her and preserves memories of her life 42 493 882.
• Journal / diary: Records her experiences with Su Mo. Her incarnation carries it constantly because she fears forgetting him; it later reveals their history to her original self 1 123 493.
• Long River Stone: A separate stone offering passage to the Long River. The Reincarnation Mirror prevents her original self from using it and later entrusts it to her incarnation 493 885.
• Temporary spiritual wings: Created for her by Su Mo’s Confucian Dao True Words. They allow her to fly, but are an externally granted effect rather than an innate ability 91.

Relationships

• Su Mo / Su Jingyan — Older brother, caretaker, and the center of her attachments. Her incarnation calls him “Young Master”; he searches for ways to save her, while she ultimately sacrifices that incarnation to save him 6 58 158 862.
• Prince Ying — Father of her original self. He observes that Su Mo’s indulgence is responsible for her playful demands 470 476.
• Prince Ying’s Princess Consort — Mother of her original self; teaches her to arrange Su Mo’s hair 474 478.
• Great Peng — Master and protector during her long wait. He guides her cultivation and comes to share her wish to find her brother 861 862 863.
• Luo Yin — Qin teacher and trusted companion. Comforts her after Su Mo loses his memories and accompanies her north to find him 36 123.
• The Dean — Diagnoses her damaged soul, seals her for protection, and administers the Flower of the Other Shore that awakens her 58 69.
• Great Calamity — Receives Little Girl’s help in restoring her physical form and later remembers her with gratitude 157 260.
• Void Beast / Big Strong — Playmate and protector. Helps her ride the forest tiger and treats injured animals at her request; apart from Su Jingyan, only Girl is allowed onto its back 476 865.
• Reincarnation Mirror — Preserves the diary and stones, reveals her incarnation’s history, and helps carry out Su Mo’s plan to avoid repeating her original journey unchanged 493 885.

Later Appearances

• During the search for the Great Tomb, she proposes choosing the route by counting the bites needed to finish a chicken drumstick. The others lose count while she continues licking the bone 873.
• Her preservation of memories in Little Stone inspires Su Mo’s plan to send memories upstream through the Long River 882.
• In the finale, a girl called Little Girl boards a pleasure boat with Tongtong. She identifies them as twins, says she is older by a quarter of an hour, and cannot explain why they have come to the white-clad youth 896.

Notable Quotes

“But I don't want to remember my name. I like him calling me ‘Little Girl.’” 15

“I was afraid that if I grew up, you wouldn't recognize me when you came back...” 862

“I want to stay like this forever. That way, I can always be your little girl.” 862