Little Alpaca – Chapter 181
by Little PandaVolume 5: Tribulation of All Beings
I Succeeded! Not…
You Yan’s incredibly relaxed attitude was undoubtedly a great comfort to Yi Qiu.
She firmly believed that if You Yan said she had a plan, then she would definitely find a way to turn things around.
Until then, worrying was useless. It was better to focus on her cultivation and avoid holding anyone back again.
With this in mind, Yi Qiu threw herself into her training. Every day, aside from eating, drinking, and sleeping, she spent all her time feeling the flow of spiritual power1 within her, which was gradually becoming more obedient.
She swore that, as a salted fish2 content to just muddle along,3 she had never worked this hard, not even for her college entrance exams.
Such effort was bound to be rewarded.
She finally succeeded in shapeshifting into her human form before the winter solstice4 arrived.
It was just… not quite complete.
It was a cold day with light snow in the mountains. You Yan was in the kitchen preparing dinner. It was an ordinary day, as ordinary as could be.
The little alpaca lying in the room suddenly felt her heart-meridian5 brimming with spiritual power. She had felt this sensation several times before. And though she always followed You Yan’s instructions, trying to channel her spiritual power to achieve what she envisioned, she had never once succeeded.
But despite that, she decided to give it another try.
You Yan had said that the measure of one’s strength wasn’t just the depth of their spiritual power, but also their control over it.
Some people had an abundance of spiritual power but didn’t know how to use it. They just splashed it out all at once like a bucket of water, which was just a meaningless waste.
The most classic example was the puddle of spit outside the kitchen not long ago.
It was stupid, but Yi Qiu had to admit that after spitting that mouthful, she had felt an indescribable sense of weakness. That was because she had consumed too much spiritual power.
And shapeshifting into a human was an exercise in controlling that spiritual power.
When enough spiritual power was gathered in her heart-meridian, it would naturally help her achieve her heart’s desire.
This time, Yi Qiu succeeded.
The moment she clearly felt a warm current spread from her heart-meridian through her four limbs and a hundred bones,6 she saw human hands—her own—appear within the fading spiritual light.
When the light dissipated, her fleece had transformed into a white robe. Yi Qiu scrambled up from the floor. With her long hair unbound and her little feet bare, she left a trail of snowy footprints as she clamored to the kitchen door.
“I succeeded! I succeeded! I succeeded!” Yi Qiu shouted excitedly as she jumped into the kitchen. “You Yan!”
The shout was so loud it shook the accumulated snow from the eaves, and some of it fell past the window.
You Yan, who was just about to plate a dish, heard her and instinctively turned her gaze to Yi Qiu.
After a brief daze, she couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Yi Qiu asked, frowning in confusion.
“Where are your ears?” You Yan couldn’t help but ask.
“Ears?” Yi Qiu tilted her head and subconsciously touched the sides of her face, only to find she had no ears at all.
How could I not have ears? How did I hear You Yan speak without them?
That moment of panic and confusion made her unconsciously prick up the pointy ears on top of her head.
At that, You Yan laughed even louder.
A villain is a villain, after all. Her laugh had none of the subtlety of a righteous heroine. It made Yi Qiu’s face burn.
Wait… wait a minute…
It took Yi Qiu a moment to react before she reached up to touch the top of her head.
Those pointy, soft, fluffy little things… what were they if not ears?
“Why are my ears up here?!” Yi Qiu exclaimed in astonishment.
You Yan calmly finished plating the last dish, then untied the sleeve ties7 that held back her robes. Her gaze drifted languidly down to Yi Qiu’s feet.
Yi Qiu habitually followed her gaze and saw that while her hands were indeed human, her two feet were still alpaca hooves. They were just a little bigger than when she was an alpaca, and still covered in fur…
Her four toes (the only ones she had) instinctively scraped against the floor.
“Since you have hands now, you can do some work,” You Yan said. She casually picked up two bowls of rice and two pairs of chopsticks, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.
Yi Qiu bit her lip, stepped forward to pick up two of the dishes, and followed behind You Yan.
The snowy ground outside still held the prints she had just made, which clearly could not have been human footprints.
Yi Qiu ran back and forth three times, finally bringing all three dishes and the soup to the table.
In the process of carrying the food, she discovered another major “flaw”: she had a short, stubby little tail on her backside. It was hidden under her dress and couldn’t be seen, but it got squashed when she sat down and made her butt look big!
How could such a failed alpaca exist in this world?
To avoid sitting on her tail, she couldn’t even sit still, let alone eat.
You Yan watched Yi Qiu’s awkward expression from the side. Not only did she not offer to help, but she also asked lightly, “What’s wrong? No appetite today?”
“No…”
“Right, you ate quite a lot for lunch,” You Yan said, then added airily, “Do you need me to feed you?”
“No…” Yi Qiu mumbled, lowering her head and shoveling a mouthful of plain rice.
She absolutely did not want to tell You Yan about the tail on her butt.
It was embarrassing enough that her ears and legs hadn’t changed properly. If You Yan found out she still had a tail, she would laugh herself to death.
She chewed on the rice for a long time, then couldn’t help but stretch her neck forward and look up. “Why did I turn out like this? Was the method wrong?”
You Yan said flatly, “The spiritual power you can control is not yet sufficient to support a complete human form.”
Yi Qiu pouted and frowned. “So I just have to keep practicing?”
“Mm,” You Yan affirmed.
Yi Qiu gripped her chopsticks tightly and buried her head in her food.
She had made up her mind. She would turn her grief and anger into strength!
With that thought, Yi Qiu quickly finished her meal and rushed into the kitchen to wash the dishes first.
She was barefoot on her two alpaca hooves. She had no shoes, and none to wear. If not for the fact that alpaca hooves were not easily affected by the cold, You Yan would surely have been displeased again.
After washing the dishes, Yi Qiu tiptoed back to the stove.
When You Yan wasn’t looking, she found a more comfortable sitting position and tried to channel her spiritual power to hide these bestial transformations.
But just as You Yan had said, without external help, the spiritual power she could currently control was nowhere near enough to sustain a complete human form.
If her ears became normal, her mouth would become abnormal. If her legs and feet became normal, her hands would become abnormal.
Most hatefully, just when she finally managed to retract her tail, a ruff of fleece grew around her neck.
Just as she was on the verge of a breakdown, You Yan appeared behind her. Her cool fingers gently toyed with one of her pointy ears.
Yi Qiu looked up in surprise.
Having her ears touched as an alpaca and having them touched as a person were two completely different feelings.
“You look quite well-behaved like this,” You Yan said, slowly crouching down behind Yi Qiu. Her fingertips traced down from the fluffy little ear, gently and softly combing through Yi Qiu’s long, unbound hair.
As her fingers brushed past the nape of her neck, the cool touch grazed the fleece there.
Another soft laugh reached her ears from behind.
The pair of pointy little ears drooped unconsciously.
“When did this appear?” You Yan murmured, unable to resist giving the fleece a gentle rub. “It wasn’t there at dinner.”
The moment she finished speaking, the girl before her was enveloped in a spiritual light.
When the light faded, the girl had once again turned back into a little alpaca, lying obediently by the stove, its face a perfect picture of being unable to bear the humiliation.
You Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s wrong?”
Yi Qiu bared her teeth and turned her head away. “I still can’t transform properly. Let’s talk again when I can…”
Right now, she thought, even though I can’t become a proper person, I can still turn back into an alpaca whenever I want. That’s progress, isn’t it?
“That form just now was actually quite nice,” You Yan murmured from the side.
“No…” the little alpaca said, drooping its head to the floor as if it had nothing left to live for, and closed its eyes.
You Yan reached out and stroked the little alpaca’s head. “If you’re sleepy, go sleep on the bed. Don’t catch a cold.”
Hearing this, Yi Qiu sprang up from the floor, walked over to the bed in a few steps, and hopped on with practiced ease.
You Yan sighed, pushed herself up from her knees, and walked to the bedside to sit down.
She covered Yi Qiu with a cotton quilt, then gave the back of her neck another rub before asking softly, “Are you embarrassed?”
“…”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?” You Yan said. “Is there any side of you I haven’t seen?”
Yi Qiu shrank back, muttering under her breath, “You’ll think I’m stupid, and you’ll think I’m ugly!”
You Yan smiled. “How could I? You’re learning very quickly.”
“You were just laughing at me! You obviously thought I looked hideous just now!”
“I did not.”
“You did! You were laughing!”
“That wasn’t laughing at you. That was…” You Yan trailed off, falling into thought.
Yi Qiu turned her head to press the issue. “What was it then?”
You Yan thought for a moment before replying, “I couldn’t help it.”
“…Is there a difference?” Yi Qiu asked, her expression growing even more twisted.
“There is,” You Yan said, seeming to fall into another thoughtful silence. It was a long while before she said, “But I can’t explain it.”
“…”
“I didn’t mean to laugh at you. I just suddenly laughed because I felt…” You Yan paused here, pondering for a moment before continuing, “I just felt… my heart was suddenly very happy…”
“Huh?” Yi Qiu’s gaze softened, her eyes filled with surprise and confusion as she looked at You Yan.
“You really didn’t look very smart just now, but I was genuinely happy,” You Yan said, then suddenly shook her head and chuckled. “I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.”
“Alright, alright, I get it…” Yi Qiu shrank back and lay on the bed, lost in thought. After a long pause, she mumbled, “You really don’t think I looked ugly just now?”
“I’ve told you before,” You Yan said softly. “I like you no matter what you look like.”
Hearing this, Yi Qiu tried to hold it in, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning up in that signature grin of hers.
She stole a glance at You Yan sitting beside her.
Suddenly, a flash of spiritual light appeared. The little alpaca demon with the pointy ears leaped forward, laughing and shouting as she crashed into You Yan’s arms.
Yi Qiu instantly wrapped her arms around You Yan’s neck. She saw You Yan’s brow furrow slightly and knew exactly what was coming next.
To avoid being called out, she beat You Yan to the punch: “Childish!”
Her words stolen right out of her mouth, You Yan was momentarily stunned.
The next second, the childish girl planted a kiss on her cheek as light as a dragonfly dipping in water,9 hugged her even tighter, and buried her face in the crook of her neck, whispering—
“I am childish.”
Footnotes
- Hanzi: 灵力 | Pinyin: línglì | Context / Meaning: The fundamental energy used for cultivation and magical arts.
- Hanzi: 咸鱼 | Pinyin: xiányú | Context / Meaning: Internet slang for someone who is lazy, unmotivated, or a slacker.
- Hanzi: 得过且过 | Pinyin: déguòqiěguò | Context / Meaning: An idiom describing an attitude of just getting by without ambition.
- Hanzi: 冬至 | Pinyin: Dōngzhì | Context / Meaning: The shortest day of the year, one of the 24 solar terms.
- Hanzi: 心脉 | Pinyin: xīnmài | Context / Meaning: A central point or channel for spiritual energy within the body.
- Hanzi: 四肢百骸 | Pinyin: sìzhībǎihái | Context / Meaning: A literary way to refer to the entire body.
- Hanzi: 襻膊 | Pinyin: pàn bo | Context / Meaning: A band or cord used to tie up sleeves, typically for convenience during work.
- Hanzi: 自闭 | Pinyin: zì bì | Context / Meaning: Slang for feeling depressed, socially withdrawn, or overwhelmed to the point of not wanting to interact.
- Hanzi: 蜻蜓点水 | Pinyin: qīngtíngdiǎnshuǐ | Context / Meaning: Describes a superficial touch, a brief contact, or a shallow approach to something.
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