Little Alpaca – Chapter 186

Volume 5: Tribulation of All Beings

A Place Where Yin Qi Gathers.

In the afternoon, during a wait that wasn’t particularly long, a pair of golden-red wings finally returned from the distance. Yi Qiu saw them from afar and couldn’t help but stand up from the roof.

Upon their return, they flew toward Changqing Pavilion immediately. They were probably going to report the recent situation to the Sect Master in detail.

            

Yi Qiu had initially planned to follow them and see, but on second thought, she figured that even if she went, many things would be inconvenient to discuss in front of Sect Master Jiang.

“No hurry. They’ll come over later,” You Yan said coolly. She leaped down from the roof and walked back into the house.

Yi Qiu pouted and followed behind You Yan, muttering under her breath, “I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but Little Pig Trotter is flying much faster than before.”

            

“It’s a blessing in disguise.”​¹ You Yan walked to the table and sat down, speaking softly. “The memories of the nine-life tribulation failed to kill him in the nightmare. Instead, they awakened a portion of his divine power, which will be beneficial for the upcoming operation.”

Yi Qiu nodded at her words and sat down beside You Yan, letting out a yawn.

Seeing this, You Yan couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t you asking me about the next plan?”

            

“I won’t ask. You’ll tell us when everyone is here,” Yi Qiu said in a small voice. “As long as I know the general plan, I won’t worry needlessly. As for the detailed plan, it doesn’t matter if I know it or not. I’m sure there’s nothing for me to do in it anyway.”

As she spoke, Yi Qiu spread her hands in a gesture of indifference.

As an alpaca who knew her own limits, Yi Qiu had a very clear understanding of her role. She was just a big shot’s leg pendant;​² as long as she hung on tight and didn’t hold anyone back, she’d be fine.

            

Just like that, she sat at the table and zoned out.

You Yan had been resting with her eyes closed beside her the whole time. Although that bird woman had a bad temper, she was indeed more patient than anyone.

The stove in the room was warming, the warm tea was being drunk, and the cold wind outside couldn’t penetrate the barrier You Yan had set up. As Yi Qiu waited, she started to get drowsy.

            

After an unknown amount of time, You Yan suddenly opened her eyes and said flatly, “What a coincidence. Everyone has arrived.”

“Eh?” Yi Qiu woke with a start. Rubbing her temples, she looked up and asked, “What do you mean, everyone has arrived? Are Jian Li and Yue Zhuo here too?”

“Mhm.” You Yan gave a slight nod.

            

What an unplanned gathering. It seemed the peaceful and leisurely days were temporarily over.

Thinking this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but stand up and walk to the door to feel the cool breeze from outside.

She closed her eyes and, for the first time, tried to use the method You Yan had taught her to probe the spiritual aura​³ in the mountains. Perhaps because they were already very close, she quickly sensed the presence of the Fuzhu and the Huodou.

            

“They’re near the Cloud Bridge!” Yi Qiu said. She closed her eyes again for a moment, then opened them and continued, “Little Pig Trotter and Jiang Yuyao are on their way too.”

“Quite an improvement,” You Yan praised casually.

“Of course! I’ve been working really hard lately!” Yi Qiu said, leaning against the doorframe to wait.

            

Jian Li and Yue Zhuo were not disciples of the Xianlu Sect, so there was no need for them to rush to see the Sect’s Venerable Elders upon arrival.

The barriers of the Xianlu Sect were now all set by Xun Chi, so they were very familiar with them. They could slip in quietly and easily without needing a sect member to grant them passage.

Their first objective after entering the mountains was naturally to follow the spiritual aura to find their “Master.” Thus, it wasn’t long before the four of them arrived together at the Guest House where Yi Qiu and You Yan were temporarily staying.

            

Yue Zhuo was muttering something the entire way and didn’t stop even after entering the house. She didn’t even greet the people inside.

Yi Qiu listened closely for a moment before realizing the girl was reporting all the small good deeds she and Jian Li had performed over the past few months to Jiang Yuyao.

She was still a rather insensible girl. It would probably take a few more years before she could rein in her slightly impetuous nature.

            

“Little Hot Dog!” Yi Qiu waved at the chattering Yue Zhuo.

Hearing her, Yue Zhuo looked up at Yi Qiu, and only then did she let out an “oh” as if waking from a dream. “Little Sheep Demon, long time no see!”

As she spoke, she finally noticed You Yan sitting to the side. She stopped her “report” at once, stepped forward, and bowed. “Demon Lord!”

            

You Yan gave a soft “mhm.” To avoid any awkwardness, Yi Qiu quickly said, “Everyone, let’s sit down and talk.”

Yue Zhuo didn’t stand on ceremony. She took a few steps to the table, sat down, grabbed a teacup, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Jian Li beside her.

Jian Li accepted it, a little embarrassed, and after a moment’s hesitation, sat down next to Yue Zhuo.

            

This was the Xianlu Sect, after all, so Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan wouldn’t feel awkward on their own turf. At Yi Qiu’s suggestion, the two of them found empty seats and sat down.

As soon as they were settled, Jiang Yuyao quickly asked, “Miss You, it’s been a long time. How is your recovery?”

“Very good!” Yi Qiu cut in to answer. “Her injuries have completely healed, and her spiritual power has recovered to about seventy percent.”

            

“That’s good to hear.” Jiang Yuyao’s brow furrowed. “It’s just a pity… that this trip was not a promising one for my shidi and me.”

Why is she still calling him shidi?

Was a whole winter of just the two of them not enough for them to change how they address each other?

            

Just as Yi Qiu was thinking this, Luo Mingyuan spoke up.

“But it wasn’t a total loss. Wherever my shijie and I went, we would inquire about the local people’s livelihood. In some places, the grain harvest was decent. After paying the grain tax, the common folk would have some surplus grain left over after setting aside enough for a year’s consumption. Most would choose to sell it directly to the grain merchants for some money. In other places, the harvest was poor, and after paying the tax, there was little surplus grain. The people have to alternate between starving and eating just to make it through the year.” Luo Mingyuan spoke with a serious expression. “But whether it’s the former or the latter, every household more or less has enough grain stored up to last until the next year’s autumn.”

“Eh?” Yi Qiu tilted her head. “Most of them have enough surplus grain for a whole year?”

            

Didn’t the novel say that because spring hadn’t arrived, people everywhere began to run out of food, and during this critical period, grain prices were driven up by merchants everywhere? And the imperial court neither reduced taxes in time nor opened its granaries to distribute food, which is what caused a famine to break out in just a few short months?

If not for that, how could the Fei have been born in the summer?

Just as Yi Qiu was wondering about this, Yue Zhuo voiced the question in her heart. “If most people have enough surplus grain to last until autumn, how could the Mortal Realm fall into chaos before summer, as Yi Qiu said?”

            

“This isn’t a question of whether there’s enough food to eat.” Luo Mingyuan frowned. “If the crops suffer a disaster during the spring planting and autumn harvest season one year, it will be very difficult for them to get by the following year. If public morale cannot be stabilized, it won’t be long before great chaos erupts.”

With Luo Mingyuan’s explanation, Yi Qiu roughly understood.

The common people weren’t afraid of not having enough to eat this year. But even if they made it through this year, what about the next?

            

No one could accept the cruel reality that they would not have enough to eat next year.

With spring yet to arrive and nothing growing, and with the court neither reducing taxes nor distributing grain, the first thing to be crushed would undoubtedly be the people’s spirit.

When a person’s will is weak, they are susceptible to attracting yin and evil. If the people of the Mortal Realm all fall into mental disarray because of this, then just as the novel described, countless evil spirits​⁴ would appear to plague the world.

            

From this perspective, no matter how unrealistic what Little Bird Gu Gu Fly wrote was, the final outcome would not change at all.

Hearing this, You Yan only said coolly, “No matter. I already have a plan.”

Then, in just a few words, she laid out her thoughts. The room fell into a brief silence.

            

Everyone could tell it was a huge gamble, yet it left them with no other choice.

Yue Zhuo looked left and right for a while. Seeing that no one else was speaking, she couldn’t help but say, “I think this plan is great.”

Such a declaration made it hard for everyone else to remain silent.

            

Jian Li hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “The Demon Lord is right. It’s better to strike first. The sooner we act, the greater our chances of success.”

“Even if we fail, the amount of resentment gathered in the Mortal Realm won’t be that much,” Yi Qiu quickly added with a nod. “It definitely won’t be able to recover for a while.”

With things having reached this point, what choice did the other grasshoppers on the same rope have?

            

Jiang Yuyao was silent for a moment before finally taking a deep breath. “This matter… Father cannot know about this.”

“No one will tell him,” You Yan said in a flat tone. “Ordinary people need not participate in this. They can’t help with anything except getting in the way.”

“…” Jiang Yuyao was momentarily speechless. Her expression suggested she wanted to rebut, but she found she had no grounds to do so.

            

In Jiang Yuyao’s heart, her father and two Martial Uncles were incredibly powerful existences, but that was only in her heart.

Now, even though she had yet to awaken much of her divine power, she was already far, far stronger than any mortal cultivator.

Jiang Yuyao composed herself and asked in a low voice, “Then when do we set out?”

            

“Anytime,” You Yan said, then raised an eyebrow. “Is there a place near Moshui where Yin Qi gathers?”

Jiang Yuyao thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I grew up in the Xianlu Sect and am not familiar with matters outside the mountain.”

“Is there no place where a lot of people have died?” You Yan pressed. “War is fine, so is a natural disaster. If not, it will just be a bit more troublesome to find one elsewhere.”

            

“I remember…” Luo Mingyuan said. “When I was little… about twelve or thirteen years ago, a very serious plague broke out in the city. A lot of people died. No one dared to touch the corpses, so later they were all wrapped in coarse cloth and thrown onto a barren mountain eighty li​⁵ north of the city. Some were taken by their families and could be buried hastily. Some didn’t even have family left, so they were just tossed into the mountains and never cared for again.”

“Didn’t that become a mass grave?”​⁶ Yi Qiu couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

Luo Mingyuan nodded. “I once heard my father say that it wasn’t just the dead who were transported there, but also many who had contracted the disease. They hadn’t died yet, but they had already been abandoned.”

            

Jiang Yuyao’s brow tightened. “How could that be?”

Luo Mingyuan said, “Because there was no money for treatment. Staying at home, they wouldn’t survive either, and they would pass the disease to others. That year, everyone was in a panic. Many people were very extreme. If everyone in a family fell ill, it was very likely they would be surrounded in their home and burned alive by others. Rather than that, it was truly better to abandon one… Some people even dragged their sick bodies there themselves.”

Yue Zhuo said, “It turns out humans like to burn people too.”

            

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but facepalm.

This Little Hot Dog’s focus was truly one of a kind.

“That’s the place, then,” You Yan said, standing up. She looked at Luo Mingyuan and said leisurely, “Lead the way.”

            

Her tone was so relaxed, as if they weren’t going to some mass grave, but to a restaurant for dinner.

“Do we really have to go to a place like that?” Yi Qiu’s eyes were full of hesitation.

“You can wait here,” You Yan said coolly.

            

“Forget it!” Yi Qiu quickly grabbed the corner of You Yan’s sleeve. “I’ll go with you. With you guys… I feel at ease.”

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The author has something to say:

My train of thought has been a bit sluggish lately, so updates will be a little slower. We’re approaching the end, so I’ll do my best to wrap it up nicely. It should be finished by the end of this month, or early next month. (:3」∠)_

            

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