Little Alpaca – Chapter 198

Volume 6: Bound by the Life Soul

I forgot you in my dream.

The System had lied to her again. This System never spoke clearly.

The “low spirits, injuries not yet healed, situation optimistic” that this genius had mentioned were all ambiguous terms. The reality was always far more unexpected!

            

On the way to find You Yan, Xun Chi gave a rough account of that night’s battle.

The general situation was similar to what Yi Qiu had witnessed from a distance. With You Yan’s help, Jiang Yuyao had used a rather dangerous magical art, using the Fusang branches scattered across the mortal realm to forcibly draw all the Resentful Qi into herself, thereby forcing the Fei to appear.

The Fei had rushed over, intending to seize the Resentful Qi to strengthen itself. But it hadn’t expected the reincarnation of the Jinwu to be in the mortal realm, forcing it to once again face the Heavenly Fire that could incinerate all things.

            

The battle against the Fuzhu and the Huodou a dozen or so days ago had already left it severely weakened. Now, facing the Jinwu and the Fusang again, with its path blocked by Xun Chi and You Yan, it was caught in a dilemma. Thus, it decided to make a final, desperate stand.

Jiang Yuyao once said that there was no such thing as good or evil in the powers of the world; it was simply that power used for protection was good, and power used for destruction was evil.

Although she had gathered the Yin and Resentful Qi into her own body, she had managed to retain her own will even as the Resentful Qi assaulted her heart. She instead took control of this immense power and used it to fight against the ancient Ferocious Beast.

            

But no one could have expected that this immense power would break through the Spiritual Veins in her body, helping her break through the limits of a mortal and attracting the legendary Heavenly Dao Thunder Tribulation.

In this world’s cosmology, the Heavenly Dao was even more unreasonable than some of the old fossils in the Heavenly Realm. The power of a Heavenly Dao Thunder Tribulation needed no description. Its sudden arrival at such a moment was undoubtedly a shove pushing Jiang Yuyao, who was already struggling to resist the corrosion of the Resentful Qi, into an abyss of despair.

And whether in TV dramas or novels, whenever the female lead faced a thunder tribulation, the male lead would unconditionally rush in to help her endure it. The protagonists of 《Thin, Withered Branches》 were naturally no exception to this eternally unchanging, dog-blood​¹ law of immortal romance.

            

It wasn’t the first or second day that Luo Mingyuan, that Little Pig Trotter, had been tough enough to take a beating. Faced with such a situation, he of course charged forward without a second thought. But countless immortals and gods couldn’t necessarily withstand a heavenly tribulation unscathed. He was now merely a demigod; after a dozen bolts of heavenly lightning came down, the great big firebird was struck until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside,​² nearly breathing its last.

The Heavenly Dao Thunder Tribulation was like an auto-aiming missile;​³ unless someone was foolish enough to block it, it would never harm an innocent bystander. This undoubtedly gave the Fei a golden opportunity.

The Fei was formed from condensed Resentful Qi and lacked a physical body; its only weakness was its single eye. Yin and Resentful Qi had always been known to disturb the mind. The Fei knew this well and naturally took advantage of the moment when Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan had no time to manage the Resentful Qi. It manipulated the uncontrolled Resentful Qi scattered across the land to launch a counterattack, intending to corrupt their true hearts and draw their Heart Devils into their bodies in one fell swoop.

            

At that moment of world-shaking reversal, You Yan, who had been standing guard on the side, suddenly soared into the sea of fire that was being consumed by Resentful Qi. With an extremely powerful surge of Demonic Qi, she solidified the Yin and Resentful Qi between heaven and earth, binding the one-eyed giant ox. Amidst the raging flames, she bore the brunt of the heavenly lightning, letting out a heaven-shaking roar and a mournful cry.

Finally, the last of the lightning fell, the Heavenly Fire dissipated, and the towering, blood-colored Fusang curled up and withered. The night sky returned to a state of utter, dark tranquility. The already desolate Mass Grave was burned into a deathly silence.

When all the Resentful Qi had vanished like smoke and clouds, all that was left between heaven and earth was Xun Chi, who had been utterly powerless to intervene and could only protect himself, and three heavily injured people—or perhaps, they could no longer be called “people.”

            

In Yue Zhuo’s words, Xun Chi had brought back a small twig and two scorched little birds.

Yi Qiu walked for a long time with her brow tightly furrowed before she couldn’t help but ask, “So where are they now?”

“There’s one.” Yue Zhuo tilted her chin up, pointing with the tip of her nose at a small sapling in the courtyard’s flowerbed, no taller than her knee.

            

As if to cooperate, the antlers of Jian Li, who stood beside it, began to glow faintly. A light drizzle, like that from a watering can, fell upon the little sapling’s head.

The little sapling swayed and, obligingly, sprouted two new leaves.

The corner of Yi Qiu’s eye twitched. “How long will it take for her to grow back…”

            

“The Fusang has now fully awakened and recovered all its memories from when it was a god. Self-healing won’t take too long,” Xun Chi said, not forgetting to add, “The same goes for the Jinwu.”

“What about You Yan?” Yi Qiu pressed.

Xun Chi hesitated for a long time before finally saying, “Her situation is rather unique. I can’t tell…”

            

Xun Chi guessed that You Yan must have used some kind of Forbidden Art that night, allowing her to generate Demonic Qi powerful enough to contend with the Heavenly Dao in such a short time.

Such Forbidden Arts usually came at a great personal cost. When it was all over and a dead silence fell, he had clearly felt You Yan’s three hun and seven po souls​⁴ on the verge of dissipating.

Strangely, those souls seemed to be held by some kind of force, remaining in a state of being about to scatter but never quite doing so.

            

He had tried to investigate, only to be startled.

He said that half of You Yan’s Life Soul was missing, and it was precisely this missing half, protected by some power, that was forcefully holding onto the rest of her souls.

You Yan was born a being of both god and demon, and her self-healing ability far surpassed that of ordinary immortals, gods, yao, and demons. Although her injuries had been recovering quite well over the past few days, she showed no signs of waking. It seemed the only way to awaken her was to find the other half of her Life Soul and bring it back to her side, safe and sound.

            

But as for where that other half was, he had no way of finding it.

What was all this about? First the three hun and seven po, and now the Life Soul…

Xun Chi said half of You Yan’s Life Soul was missing, and it was this absence that had given the critically injured You Yan a chance at survival. But the whereabouts of that other half were unknown.

            

Yi Qiu had some understanding of this world’s cosmology. All living things possessed three hun and seven po souls, and those whose souls scattered completely would never enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Setting aside the seven po, the three hun souls governed life, intellect, and emotion/desire, respectively. The Life Soul was the most important among them. As long as the Life Soul existed, the other scattered souls still had a chance of being drawn back. But once the Life Soul also dispersed, that living being was well and truly dead.

How could half of You Yan’s Life Soul be missing?

            

Was this missing half a calculated gamble You Yan had made to save her life, or was it a disaster she had suffered in the past that had now, by a twist of fate, become a blessing in disguise?

Regardless, she had to find a way to retrieve that other half of the Life Soul for You Yan. Only then could You Yan wake up again.

Before stepping into the room, Yi Qiu prepared herself for the worst.

            

She even imagined that she might see a scorched, bald little bird with a spiky butt. Thankfully, when she pushed open the door and walked to the bedside, that horrifying image did not appear.

A dark red bird, only the size of a duck, was curled up on the soft bedding. Its feathers were brand new, clearly having just grown in. It was hugging its coiled, bee-like tail tightly, in a posture that resembled… a cooked crayfish.

Yi Qiu took a few hesitant steps forward, her gaze fixed. Tears began to well up in her reddening eyes, but before they could even fall, the little bird opened a pair of dark golden eyes.

            

Yi Qiu said, “I thought you said… she couldn’t wake up?”

Xun Chi stammered, “This…”

Yue Zhuo, who had followed them in, instantly leaped onto the bed, a look of shock on her face. “It’s a miracle! She actually woke up!”

            

The little bird rolled its eyes and twisted its body to change position, pointing its tail stinger at Yue Zhuo.

Yue Zhuo instinctively jumped back half a step, a hint of alarm in her eyes.

Yi Qiu quickly grabbed Yue Zhuo by the scruff of her neck, lifted her off You Yan’s bed, and dropped her onto Jian Li’s back. “All of you, get out. Get out. I’m all that’s needed here.”

            

Hearing this, Xun Chi immediately ushered everyone out, taking Yue Zhuo away before she could start making a fuss. He even thoughtfully closed the door on his way out.

After the door was shut, Yi Qiu fell into a heavy silence.

She slowly sat on the edge of the bed, her feelings a complicated mess as she gazed at the tiny Qinyuan bird before her. She felt grief and heartache, but also a mixture of anger and amusement.

            

She had never, ever imagined that You Yan would revert to her true form like this, lying so weakly in front of her.

Wasn’t this bird woman always powerful and proud? How could such a formidable person have a day where she played herself like this? When would she ever learn to cherish herself? When would she stop doing such crazy things…

The more Yi Qiu thought, the more her nose stung. She reached out and poked the little red bird’s wing, her voice a mix of heartache and blame. “What did you do? Xun Chi told me what happened that night. Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

            

“…” You Yan’s only response was silence. She kept her eyes shut, remaining motionless no matter how much Yi Qiu poked her, as if she had never woken up at all.

“What kind of Forbidden Art did you use? Why did you have to risk your life against that thing? If you…”

“If I hadn’t, they would have died,” the tiny Qinyuan bird interrupted Yi Qiu’s scolding, her voice weak. “And then you would have died.”

            

Yi Qiu was at a loss for words. After a long moment, she bit her lip, her eyes red, and retorted, “But have you ever thought that if you were gone, how would I live?”

After a brief silence, You Yan sighed softly. “But I’m still here, aren’t I?”

Her tone was like that of an adult placating a child they had angered, dismissive and without much reason, yet utterly self-righteous, as if to say, ‘If you don’t forgive me, then you’re just being petty.’

            

Yi Qiu took a deep breath. Unable to hold back, she reached out, grabbed the base of the Qinyuan bird’s two wings, and lifted You Yan right off the bed.

The now duck-sized Qinyuan bird struggled forcefully, but for the first time in its life, it couldn’t break free from a little alpaca demon. For a moment, it could only stare with wide, astonished eyes at Yi Qiu, who was holding its wings, its face full of embarrassment and an unwillingness to accept its fate.

“What are you doing!”

            

“You planned this from the start, didn’t you? That half a Life Soul Xun Chi mentioned, that was also part of your calculations. You were actually gambling, gambling that the half-soul could protect your life, weren’t you?” Yi Qiu demanded loudly, her eyes red.

“…”

“Weren’t you?” Yi Qiu pressed again.

            

After a long silence, You Yan finally gave a weak reply. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do this? It’s not like I can stop you from doing whatever you want anyway. Couldn’t you have just given me a heads-up?” Yi Qiu complained resentfully, her choked voice growing quieter and quieter.

“I didn’t lose, did I?”

            

Hearing this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but grit her teeth. For a moment, she had the urge to strangle the little bird in her hands, but the instant her fingers applied a little pressure, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

In the end, You Yan had done all this for her.

After a long while, Yi Qiu calmed down. She placed the little bird back on the soft bed, raised the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, and then, full of lingering fear and extreme displeasure, she snapped at You Yan, “How could you… How could you just entrust your life to someone else like that? Weren’t you scared at all? And what’s the deal with that half of your Life Soul? Who hurt you, or where did you hide it? You… just how many things are you still hiding from me? Didn’t we agree to trust each other…”

            

What started as a fierce interrogation devolved into her crying out of pure grievance.

The moment Yi Qiu started crying, You Yan grew anxious.

She trembled on her weak little feet, trying to stand up, her eyes filled with helplessness.

            

“You…”

“You don’t tell me anything. Do you just not trust me at all… You still think I’ll let my emotions get the better of me. You… you still think that telling me this kind of thing will only mess things up… is that it?” Yi Qiu said, sniffling loudly. She ground her teeth. “I would have messed things up! If you had told me you were going to do this, I would have messed things up! I’m incredibly selfish. I’ve always been a hypocrite. If the lives of thousands had to be exchanged for yours, I would rather be a sinner and keep you by my side…”

“Don’t say things like that… You don’t really think that way in your heart. A choice like that would torment you for the rest of your life.”

            

“Don’t you act like you know me so well…”

“I do know you. That’s why I dared to gamble,” You Yan said. “You asked me where the other half of my Life Soul is… It’s inside your body. As long as you can protect it, I will be fine.”

“What…” Yi Qiu was stunned. She stared blankly for a long time before asking in a daze, “When did you… you included me in your calcu—”

            

“I didn’t scheme against you,” You Yan said softly. “Last autumn, I used a Forbidden Art to write half a wisp of my Life Soul into the palm of your hand.”

Yi Qiu’s thoughts drifted into the distance.

Last autumn. She still remembered…

            

You Yan had written a strange Spell Mark in her palm, saying only: “You have secrets you won’t tell me, so I won’t tell you what this is.”

She had never imagined that from that moment on, You Yan had entrusted half her life to her.

So casually, so silently…

            

“This art is irreversible, but it wasn’t for the sake of gambling with my life to survive,” the tiny Qinyuan bird said, her tone earnest as she stammered out words that seemed incredibly difficult to say. “Back then… I never foresaw today. I did it only so… so that from then on, any pain you endured… would be shared by me, half and half.”

“I just… wanted to protect you. To protect you as I would my own life,” she said. “Because you are worth it. So at the moment I decided to risk everything, I also believed that you would definitely protect me.”

“But… but I forgot you in my dream. You weren’t in that world…” Yi Qiu’s eyes turned completely red. “If I had never found my way back, would you have never been able to return?”

            

“But you found your way back, didn’t you?”

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