Little Alpaca – Chapter 199
by Little PandaVolume 6: Bound by the Life Soul
The Awkward Little Bird
Never before had Yi Qiu felt such lingering fear.
Looking back now, she finally realized that the sharp pain that had suddenly flared in her chest that night was a kind of indescribable sense of being pulled away.
At that moment, You Yan was grievously injured, her Three Hun and Seven Po1 on the verge of scattering. Because of this, the half-wisp of her Life Soul2 remaining in Yi Qiu’s body had sensed its main body was about to perish. Its attempt to pull away from her was what had caused her such distinct pain.
So, the soul-state anomaly the System had detected wasn’t an anomaly with her own soul, but the impending dissipation of the half-wisp of You Yan’s Life Soul inside her.
And her return to reality within the dreamscape—back to her original world where You Yan had never existed—was less a nightmare and more of a hint from her own soul.
It was a hint that You Yan was slowly disappearing from her world. Once that final half-wisp of Life Soul was pulled away, she would never be able to find the most precious thing in her life ever again.
What if—what if in that long, muddled dream, she hadn’t remembered You Yan? What if she hadn’t desperately tried to find You Yan, to grasp onto You Yan? Would she have woken up to a world where You Yan no longer existed?
If that were the case, when all the missions were complete, where would she have gone?
Back to her previous world?
To live a life no different from before, day after day, just like in that dream…
If she had never met You Yan, perhaps she would never have grown to loathe those ordinary days, not even after living through the cycle of life, aging, sickness, and death.
But there were no ‘what ifs’ in this world. To her now, all that normalcy was like a nightmare. The moment she regained her self-awareness in that dream, she had fought with all her might to wake up and find her own “reality.”
“I’m begging you, don’t gamble with your own safety anymore. If you’re gone, I won’t know how to live… Even if, even if you have to die, you have to die in front of me. I’ll definitely go with you. Whatever this world becomes after that has nothing to do with me!” Yi Qiu said, biting her lower lip. She sniffled, her nose red from crying, her tone aggrieved yet firm. “If we have a next life, I want to reincarnate with you. I want to be closer to you in our next life, to know you from childhood… If we don’t, then we’ll turn to dust and ashes together. Wherever the wind blows, we’ll go together, and we won’t separate until we’ve completely scattered…”
Yi Qiu spoke through her sobs, her trembling hands suddenly lifting to gently cup the tiny Qinyuan3 in her palms.
She saw the little bird in her hands deliberately retracting her sharp, poisonous tail stinger, so careful not to accidentally hurt her. Remembering the bird’s usual imperious demeanor, she couldn’t hold back. Amidst her tears, she let out a sudden snort of laughter.
The little bird’s brow furrowed. She blinked her eyes, which had at some point become moist, and with an awkward and unwilling expression, she tried to hop back onto the bed, only to be caught by the scruff of her neck by Yi Qiu.
“You let…”
“I’m letting myself be presumptuous! I’m being presumptuous!” Yi Qiu instantly stole You Yan’s line.
After a brief daze, You Yan subconsciously flapped her little wings in Yi Qiu’s palm and said helplessly, “I was saying, you let go… What is this supposed to look like?”
Yi Qiu raised the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. For a moment, she wanted to both laugh and cry, as if she had lost control of her facial muscles. For a long while, she couldn’t manage a normal expression.
Just like that, she and the little bird stared at each other, big eyes to small eyes, for a long time before she finally pulled her directly into her arms.
“I’m not letting go.”
“You…”
“And don’t you feel embarrassed or anything. In your current state, you need someone to take care of you. If I don’t, do you want someone else to?” At this, Yi Qiu frowned and continued, “Who would you want? Who do you want to see you in this weak and helpless state?”
You Yan was speechless for a moment. She could only shrink back and let Yi Qiu hold her, allowing those fingertips to stroke her feathers again and again.
This was the first time Yi Qiu had ever held such a small You Yan. The giant bird that had once carried her to the peak of Kunlun Mountain was now in her arms, about the size of a duck. She was like a pet, with a small head, a long neck, and tiny feet. Her feathers were smooth and soft.
As she stroked her, Yi Qiu’s heart softened, and she couldn’t bring herself to say any more words of blame.
After a long time, You Yan asked in a muffled voice, “Have you touched me enough?”
Yi Qiu snapped back to her senses. She stared at the little creature in her arms for a while, then her lips curved up. “This is what they call ‘what goes around, comes around.'”4
“…”
“Back then, you were always touching me. Now it’s my turn to touch you. It’s only fair,” Yi Qiu said self-righteously. “Besides, I couldn’t take care of myself back then, and now you can’t take care of yourself. The one being cared for always has to pay a price.”
“…”
“Don’t look so unwilling. I’ll take good care of you, just like you took care of me. It’s better for me to do these things than to have disciples from the Xianlu Sect coming in and out!” Yi Qiu said in all seriousness. “After all, you’re not human in their eyes. It would be awkward for you and for them if they had to take care of you. Am I right?”
You Yan took a deep breath. Just as she closed her eyes, Yi Qiu scratched the back of her little head with her index finger. Annoyed, she squirmed her small body and habitually covered her tail with her wings.
Yi Qiu poked at You Yan’s wing, asking with a mix of fear and curiosity, “They say the Qinyuan’s tail stinger is lethally poisonous, that a single touch means death. Is that true?”
“I can control it.”
“Then let me see!” Yi Qiu said, poking You Yan’s wing again.
She had never gotten a good look at You Yan’s demon form before. Now that she had the chance, she had to get a proper understanding.
After all, marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.5 The little bird in her arms was the bird she was going to marry in the future. If she was going to follow her for a lifetime, she had to understand her well enough, right?
She never had the chance to look before, but now she had finally found one.
“What are you doing!”
“Just looking, let me see!”
“What is there to see?”
“Let me see, what’s wrong with looking? It’s not dangerous anyway. What’s our relationship? Don’t be so stingy!”
“…”
This really wasn’t a matter of You Yan being generous or stingy. She was currently so weak she barely had the strength to stand up. Naturally, she could only wear a look of utter despair6 and endure the humiliation of letting Yi Qiu do as she pleased.
Yi Qiu didn’t bully You Yan too much, though. She could do whatever she wanted to You Yan now, but there was no guarantee You Yan wouldn’t hold a grudge and get her back for all of it in the future.
After all, once You Yan recovered, she could easily seal Yi Qiu’s spiritual power with a flick of her finger and turn her back into an alpaca. Yi Qiu definitely didn’t want that day to come.
For this reason, the self-proclaimed clever Yi Qiu held the little Qinyuan, turning her over and studying her for a long time, before finally choosing to stop just before her patient’s patience ran out.
“I’ll go make you something delicious!” Yi Qiu said. She placed the little bird, who had a face like death, gently on the bed as if it were a treasure, then turned and slipped out of the room.
But how was she supposed to make food?
This place had no induction cookers or microwave ovens. She had never even started a fire before. She would definitely need to find someone to help.
Yi Qiu had only taken a few steps out the door and was looking around at the empty surroundings in a daze when she heard Jiang Yuyao’s voice coming from a nearby flower bed.
“Yi Qiu, who are you looking for?”
The voice was extremely weak, sounding no better than the proud little bird in the room.
Yi Qiu paused for a moment, then quickly went over and squatted down. “I’m looking for some food,” she said softly. “You Yan is still hungry.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Yi Qiu’s own stomach let out an inopportune little rumble, making her press her lips together in embarrassment.
The little sapling before her didn’t laugh, only quietly giving her directions.
Everyone who was injured and exhausted was currently resting in Changqing Pavilion, so there was always some lean meat congee ready that just needed to be heated up. Yi Qiu followed the direction Jiang Yuyao gave her and, after about ten minutes, found the kitchen in Changqing Pavilion. There happened to be someone in the kitchen who kindly heated up the congee that had been made at noon, along with a few steamed buns and two small side dishes.
Thanking the person, Yi Qiu took the food and hurried back. She didn’t forget to wave a greeting as she passed the little sapling.
However, Jiang Yuyao seemed to have fallen asleep and didn’t hear her. Only her leaves drooped downwards, swaying with every gust of wind, looking incredibly frail.
Seeing this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.
In any case, they had all successfully defeated the final boss of this novel. Although it had deviated from the original plan and the price they paid was much greater, it was still far better than the original novel’s ending.
After entering the room, Yi Qiu laid out the contents of the food container one by one, then gently picked up You Yan, who was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, and placed her on the table.
Looking at You Yan’s embarrassed little eyes, she tore a steamed bun into tiny pieces. Using a very small spoon, she carefully fed the bird, who was countless times smaller than herself, a bite of bun and a bite of congee.
You Yan was clearly not used to being cared for like this. Every expression on her face screamed resistance, but no matter how much she resisted, she still had to eat.
Yi Qiu said, “Stop being so awkward. Eat properly. I’m hungry too, you know. I can only eat after I’ve fed you.”
After hearing this, You Yan finally settled down a bit.
Yi Qiu had now figured it out. No matter how weak and helpless You Yan was, she was still a terminally tsundere.7 To deal with an awkward little bird, being gentle was useless, and being fierce was useless. The only thing that worked was to play the victim, just like before.
“You Yan, I’ve discovered… feeding you bite by bite like you used to do for me really requires a lot of patience…” Yi Qiu said, gently pressing the tip of her index finger against the Qinyuan’s sharp beak. She let out a soft laugh at You Yan’s highly displeased expression. “But your mouth is so small, much smaller than mine was back then. It’s much harder for me to feed you than it was for you to feed me!”
“Oh, thank you so much,” You Yan said, taking a long, deep breath. Seeing Yi Qiu offer another piece of steamed bun, she took the opportunity to open her little mouth as she exhaled.
She looked extremely well-behaved. If one didn’t know this little bird’s identity, who could possibly connect her to her former self?
As Yi Qiu thought this, she couldn’t resist reaching out and rubbing the little bird’s head.
“You…”
“Me?”
“Know when to stop.”
“Fine,” Yi Qiu shrugged. She stroked the feathers on the little bird’s wing one more time, then reached out to poke one of the tiny claws resting on the table.
The little bird instantly lost her temper. She refused to eat another bite and just flapped her wings, which were still too weak to fly, and tumbled onto the floor.
Yi Qiu cried out in alarm. She quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks and squatted down to see if You Yan was hurt.
But as soon as she got close, she saw the little bird with the stinger on her butt stand up. On two trembling little legs, she staggered back to the foot of the bed. She tilted her head up and hopped a few times, but couldn’t get back onto the bed no matter how she tried.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
You Yan: “…”
Yi Qiu: “Let me do it!”
The tiny Qinyuan couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she was helplessly lifted back onto the bed.
Footnotes
- In Chinese mythology, the soul is comprised of three ethereal souls (sānhún) that govern spirit and consciousness, and seven corporeal souls (qīpò) tied to the physical body. To have them scatter means death and the inability to reincarnate.
- The mìnghún is the most critical of the three ethereal souls, governing life itself. Its existence allows the other souls to be recalled, but its destruction means true death.
- The Qīnyuán is a mythological bird from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is said to have a poisonous stinger.
- The original phrase is ‘tiāndào hǎo lúnhuí,’ which literally means ‘the Heavenly Dao’s reincarnation is good.’ It’s an idiom for karma or turnabout being fair play.
- A traditional Chinese idiom (jià jī suí jī, jià gǒu suí gǒu) meaning a wife should be loyal to her husband and follow him, for better or for worse, regardless of his circumstances.
- The original phrase is ‘shēngwúkěliàn,’ a popular modern term literally meaning ‘no love left for life,’ used to describe a feeling of hopelessness, often humorously.
- The original term is ‘sǐ àojiāo.’ ‘Tsundere’ is a Japanese term for a character who is outwardly cold but inwardly affectionate. The Chinese character ‘sǐ’ (dead) is used as an intensifier.
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