Little Alpaca – Chapter 211

Volume 7: Extras

Old Stories of Ao’an (Part 1)

It should live in a purgatory burned by raging fire.

The white deer in the air was a cold-eyed vision, its soft, pale spiritual light seeming to pass judgment on some sinner’s karma.

            

The ocean waves gradually submerged everything, the pressure making it impossible to breathe.

Struggling, fleeing, until its body began to fall.

The deepest despair was to be weightless in a sea of chaos.

            

The only warmth it had was dissipating.

So cold, as if it had fallen into a frigid pool.

Even those nights spent sheltering from torrential downpours had never been this bone-chilling.

            

The power that had once flowed freely through its body was now blocked inside its Yao Core by a disgusting force. Every inch of its once-scorching flesh now felt like a waterlogged piece of charcoal, unable to feel the slightest trace of warmth no matter how hard it tried.

The little dog with pitch-black fur trembled and curled up its body, like a little coal briquette that someone had carelessly tossed to the foot of the bed.

But no one had tossed it there. It had simply been a restless sleeper.

            

The little dog hit the floor with a dull thump.

Jian Li, who was brewing medicine in the courtyard, heard the noise and came inside at once to check.

The little black dog, its spiritual power weak and in need of quiet recuperation, had once again kicked off its blanket and rolled off the bed.

            

The little dog curled up at the foot of the bed, looking utterly aggrieved. If you looked closely, you could find its little head within the pitch-black ball of fluff and even see the fur around its eyes, damp with tears. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought someone was abusing it.

Jian Li knelt and gathered the little dog into her arms, gently rubbing its tiny head with the pad of her index finger.

Little Coal Briquette opened a pair of dark red eyes, which shimmered with wet, glistening tears.

            

It tilted its head up slightly, staring warily at the person before it.

“You kicked off your blanket again,” Jian Li said, her tone gentle, without a hint of reproach.

“It’s all your fault,” the little dog mumbled, lowering its head. “If you hadn’t helped that god catch me, I wouldn’t keep having nightmares.”

            

It was only complaining under its breath. Its body showed no resistance, allowing Jian Li to place it back on the bed and tuck it into the thick blanket once more.

“The medicine will be ready in a little while.” Jian Li rubbed the dog’s drooping, pointed ears, then stood and walked to the door. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to turn back and add, “If you’re tired, sleep a bit more. I’ll wake you when it’s ready.”

“I don’t want to drink medicine!”

            

“You have to.”

“…” The little dog pulled in its head and kicked its legs, sulking under the covers.

It was being held prisoner!

            

It, the Huodou, a magnificent Ferocious Beast of ancient times, had been imprisoned! The woman who had just left was also a Yao Beast hiding within a human shell—a Fuzhu.

She had helped a Bad God defeat it, allowing that Bad God to use a vile spell to seal its power and imprison it in this wretched place, which reeked of annoying immortal energy. And every day, through coercion and cajolery, she forced it to drink bitter, bitter medicinal soup.

And she had the nerve to say it was all for its own good!

            

It just couldn’t figure it out. A Yao Beast, one of its own kind, why would she insist on helping a Bad God against it?

Clearly…

Clearly, they were both Yao Beasts. They should have been on the same side.

            

Actually… actually, it didn’t really resent this white deer who had helped the Bad God.

They were both Yao Beasts, born to be rejected by the world. Life wasn’t easy. She was probably just acting against her will.

The ones to blame were that bunch of gods in the heavens. They were already living so meekly, yet the gods still insisted on hunting them down and wiping them out without any reason!

            

The more the little black dog thought, the angrier it became.

After a brief silence, it tilted its head back slightly, took a deep breath, and tried to spit out a stream of spiritual power.

As it expected, the power didn’t coalesce into flames like usual. Instead, accompanied by a cough, a wisp of gray smoke escaped its throat.

            

Damn it, that Bad God’s seal was truly vicious!

It had been deprived of its freedom for nearly two months, yet it still couldn’t muster an ounce of power!

The Huodou felt a surge of grievance. It couldn’t stop a little whimper from escaping, and its small, open mouth clamped down tightly on a corner of the quilt.

            

After a bout of thrashing its head and letting out powerless growls, the heavily injured little dog finally grew tired and curled up into a little coal briquette in the soft bed, grumbling and whining about the indignation in its heart.

Just you wait, Bad God.

One day, I’m going to burn this stupid mountain to the ground…

            

It thought to itself, with very little conviction.

The whooshing autumn wind outside carried the bitter scent of medicine, irritating the little dog to no end.

After an unknown amount of time, the door was pushed open again by the woman.

            

“Huodou, time for your medicine.”

Her voice was gentle, like a soft glimmer of light piercing a hazy mist, cool like the moon.

The little black dog instinctively shrank deeper into the covers.

            

But the blanket was no barrier. No matter how it hid, a simple lift of her hand was enough to leave it with nowhere to run.

The despairing ancient Ferocious Beast bared its teeth and glared, fiercely resisting the medicine bowl in the woman’s hands. But in the end, its whole body was held down by spiritual power, and the soup was sent rumbling down its canine gullet into its round little belly.

Gentle?

            

It was just a facade for a Yao Beast.

Sigh, being a dog really was hard.

No, this couldn’t go on!

            

This life of being cooped up in a small room drinking medicinal soup every day was no life for a Ferocious Beast!

It was a Huodou! It had its pride!

That white-haired Bad God wanted to raise it like a spiritual pet, but it absolutely would not submit obediently!

            

That’s not how a Ferocious Beast should act!

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The Bad God wasn’t around, and Jian Li had gone out to find more herbs. Today, no one was guarding the courtyard.

Little Coal Briquette extended a paw, stealthily scraped open a crack in the door, and furtively¹ poked its head outside.

            

The autumn wind was cool. The little dog, weakened by the seal on its spiritual power, shivered twice as the breeze hit it and let out three consecutive sneezes that came with tiny sparks.

A teary sheen appeared in its ruby-like eyes—brought on by the cold.

The sparks landed on the ground, and it hastily stomped them out.

            

This wasn’t because it wanted to protect the place; it was simply afraid it wouldn’t be able to escape if a fire started.

The Huodou shook its head, braved the cold wind, and shot off, scampering without pause² in the direction of the sunrise.

This was its third escape attempt. Compared to the previous two, it was more experienced.

            

It wouldn’t be like the previous two times, running around like a headless fly.

This time, it had figured out the path off the mountain beforehand!

The little black dog ran freely between heaven and earth, its tongue lolling out.

            

If only it could use its spiritual power freely, it would burn this place to the ground.

The mortal world was too cold. The only warmth was in the sea of fire that had been its lifelong companion, born from beneath its feet.

Following a small river, it passed through dense woods and leaped over hillsides, running toward the freedom that belonged to it, the freedom of a Yao Beast that would forever be hated or feared by others.

            

Its body gradually warmed up, and even the wind rushing past its ears no longer seemed so bitingly cold.

It was a little surprised but couldn’t help thinking that this was actually nice.

So it wasn’t that cold without its flames after all.

            

Then it would keep running. Just keep moving forward, forward…

The birds in the sky, the fish in the river, the beasts in the mountains—sometimes they would even “escort” it for a stretch.

So, without its innate flames, they would approach it willingly.

            

However, the little black dog ran from sunrise to sunset. Just when it finally saw hope of leaving this place, it was caught by that very same Bad God it had cursed a thousand times in its heart.

“Trying to run again?” The Bad God truly was a Bad God, showing it no face at all. He bent down, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, and lifted it from the ground while saying something that infuriated the dog to no end. “You little thing. With that paltry bit of strength, where did you think you were running off to?”

“Bad God! Let me go!”

            

“Let go of me, let go! Or I’ll burn this place down!”

“I’ll burn your house, burn your mountain, I’ll… I’ll, I’ll burn you!”

No matter how the little dog struggled, no matter how much squeaky-voiced, incompetent rage³ it displayed, it was ultimately carried back “home” to the familiar smell of medicine.

            

It saw Jian Li hurry out from the house to greet them. When her gaze fell upon it, her willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly.

“You tried to run again!”

“I did not!” The Huodou subconsciously wagged its tail, which dangled in midair. Its eyes darted away, but the excuse that tumbled out was still incredibly stubborn. “I was just taking a walk! He’s the one who insisted on grabbing me!”

            

“You were ‘taking a walk’ at that speed, and you were about to reach the barrier’s exit. You expect me not to grab you?”

After saying his piece, the Bad God tossed it forward.

A gentle embrace caught it. Without thinking, it scrambled out of Jian Li’s arms, turned its head, and bared its teeth at the Bad God, making a face as if it were about to eat him.

            

Unfortunately, no matter how ferocious the little black dog tried to look, it only ever appeared cute and harmless, completely unable to scare anyone.

The Bad God chuckled, not pursuing the matter, and left with a flick of his sleeve.

Jian Li shook her head and sighed. She stroked the soft fur on the little dog’s back, then turned back into the house, gently closing the door.

            

The cold wind was gone, but its body was still cold.

With the Bad God gone, the Huodou slowly relaxed. Its tired and weak body finally let go, and it unconsciously snuggled into Jian Li’s embrace.

This kindred spirit, who hid her Yao Beast form under a human shell… although she had lost the imposing presence of a Yao Beast, she was the only being it could be close to.

            

But her body was so cold. So cold that it couldn’t help but squirm out of her arms, jump back to the floor, and curl up pitifully against a table leg.

“Where can you even run to?” Jian Li knelt and stroked its head. “The Mortal Realm today has no place for Ferocious Beasts like us…”

That was true. There was no place for them.

            

But even if the mortal world had no place for Ferocious Beasts, they shouldn’t have to hide their claws and fangs and let those high-and-mighty gods and immortals kill them as they pleased, right?

“I’ll go to the Earthly Realm! It’s full of demons there, not so many rules!” The Huodou lifted its little black head, a hint of expectation in its eyes as it looked at Jian Li. “Will you come with me?”

“…”

            

“What’s the point of staying in this Mortal Realm? There’s no freedom at all!” The little black dog unconsciously extended a small paw. “You’re a Yao Beast! Why would you cultivate a human appearance? Why trap yourself inside a human shell?”

At this, it tilted its head and asked with great confusion and utter seriousness, “Wasn’t the way you looked before beautiful?”

“What do you call freedom?” Jian Li asked softly, rubbing the Huodou’s head. “Is hurting people freedom?”

            

The Huodou was at a loss for words.

It didn’t want to hurt people, either.

It was already hiding. Hiding in the mountain forests, hiding in caves, hiding in desolate, uninhabited places…

            

But in the end, it couldn’t escape the countless living beings of the world, just as it couldn’t escape the flames it was born with.

The Huodou hung its head and lay silently on the ground for a long while before mumbling with no confidence.

“What’s so good about this place? I don’t like gods, I don’t like humans, they’re all bad…” Its voice was very quiet, so quiet it held little anger, sounding more like someone complaining to a close friend about some trivial annoyance⁴. “They stole the places where we Yao Beasts originally lived, and now they have the nerve to pretend to be kind by taking us in. What kind of act is that…”

            

Jian Li shook her head. “Xun Chi isn’t that kind of person.”

“Yes, he is! He’s super mean!” The Huodou leaped up, baring its sharp little teeth. “If I hadn’t lost my power, I would’ve burned this place down with a single fire!”

“You dare!” Jian Li’s tone was soft, but her words held a clear edge of anger.

            

The little black dog instantly lost its nerve. It didn’t dare say another word and could only wag its tail pitifully. It nudged against Jian Li’s leg, trying to curry favor with its fur.

Jian Li was silent for a moment before reaching out to stroke the injured little dog’s coat.

A short while later, she placed the little dog on the bed.

            

“Huodou, you’ll come to like it here… Perhaps, you’ll even come to like… a human’s appearance?”

“Never!”

“Whether you will or not, you still have to drink your medicine first.”

            

“…”

It, the Huodou, a magnificent Ferocious Beast of ancient times, had in the end drunk today’s portion of medicinal soup, personally brewed by Jian Li.

Although Jian Li gave it a candied fruit this time, that didn’t stop it from suffering from the bitterness.

            

Being injured already hurt enough. Why did it also have to endure the bitterness of medicine?

Your spiritual powers are incompatible, so you can only heal with medicine. Bitter medicine is good for you. It’s all for your own good.

Hmph. If you asked it, that god was probably torturing it on purpose!

            

If he was really trying to help, he would just undo its seal. Then it could heal itself with its own spiritual power. Why would it need a stupid, slow method like drinking medicine?

The sun sank outside the window, and the bitter taste of medicine slowly faded from the room.

The Huodou curled up in its corner of the bed and didn’t say another word to Jian Li.

            

Night fell, and the candle was extinguished.

The Huodou poked its little head out from the covers. Jian Li was sleeping peacefully beside it, her breathing light.

This human shell… it was actually not so bad to look at.

            

But just not bad, that was all. It would never, ever come to like it.

The little black dog deliberately looked away, gazing up at the moon outside the window, and found itself lost in thought.

Here, there were no inextinguishable flames, no snakes, bugs, birds, or beasts fleeing in all directions. Even the moon overhead was a different kind of pristine from the one in its memory.

            

Everything on Ao’an Mountain was so clean it was blinding.

The Huodou wondered what Jian Li was talking about.

She was clearly also a Ferocious Beast spurned by heaven and earth. She, too, had once brought disaster to the world and been feared and hated by countless living things.

            

How could she not understand it?

It truly hated gods, hated this place, hated the wretched seal inside its body…

It should live in a purgatory burned by raging fire, accompanied by ashes dancing on the wind.

            

It would never come to like this place.

Absolutely, definitely…

That day would never come.

            

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The author has something to say:

Some daily life for the Deer-Dog⁵ ship, two chapters in total, around ten thousand characters. This is basically the flashback part I wrote about in Volume 2, just without Yi Qiu’s main POV, fleshing out some of the daily life and Little Hot Dog’s inner thoughts. For those who don’t like this pairing, I hope you can gently click away.

I originally said I wanted to write this back in March, but I can’t believe I procrastinated all the way until December. I really am a ‘Big Pigeon⁶‘. This Big Pigeon suddenly has the desire to fill in some plot holes. I’m posting an announcement for a new book here; any ‘little angels⁷‘ who are interested can add it to their bookmarks. Barring any surprises, it’ll start this month.

            

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