Little Alpaca – Chapter 101

Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun

You’re hungry.

The anomaly in Chao Yun’s whereabouts was undoubtedly a brand-new clue.

The gods of the Heavenly Realm had always regarded the Laws of the Heavenly Dao as more important than anything else. They firmly believed that all things were predetermined, which was why when immortals and gods underwent tribulations, all others were to observe as mortals. No immortal or god was permitted to intervene with divine power; violators would be severely punished.

For this Lord Wood God to take such a great risk, sealing his own divine power to secretly descend to the mortal realm, it seemed he truly wanted to protect Golden Crow and Fusang so they could successfully pass their tribulations.

That being the case, Chao Yun should have understood what was important and what wasn’t better than anyone.

Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao had left a note saying they were going to find the Huodou. If Chao Yun had really seen that note, how could he possibly have been unconcerned about their safety and not come to check on them at all?

If it truly only took three days for a mortal to travel here from Moshui City, then today was already the fourth day, yet Chao Yun still hadn’t arrived. No matter how you tried to explain it, it was unreasonable.

Could something have happened to him?

As Yi Qiu thought this, she couldn’t help but frown. But when she looked at You Yan, she immediately saw the indifferent expression on her face, one that said, “if it’s not my business, I’ll hang it up high.”¹

No matter how you looked at it, that expression seemed to say she’d known about this for a long time.

“You Yan, don’t tell me you suspected something happened to Chao Yun long ago?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but ask.

“Mm,” You Yan replied faintly.

“You figured it out yesterday?” Yi Qiu asked again.

“The day we set out.” You Yan looked up at Yi Qiu with a half-smile.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but bite her lower lip.

I’m numb.² That feeling of being completely crushed by You Yan in every respect was back again.

After they stared at each other for a few seconds, she took a deep breath and pressed, “How on earth did you figure that out?”

“This time, it’s really not your fault for being slow. After all, with your meager cultivation, you certainly can’t distinguish others’ spiritual presences.”³ As she spoke, You Yan reached out and gently ruffled the hair on Yi Qiu’s forehead. “Actually, on the day we left, Chao Yun’s spiritual presence was already gone from Moshui City.”

Yi Qiu was suddenly enlightened.

She still remembered the night of the Qixi Festival. She’d been bored and had asked You Yan if she could sense where everyone was.

At the time, You Yan’s answer had been——”One is back at the inn, and two are still at the lantern festival.”⁴

In other words, Chao Yun was still in Moshui City on the night of Qixi.

Normally, Chao Yun would always leave Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao a reason for his departure, but this time, everyone had just gone to sleep, and he had vanished without a word. Something had definitely happened to him!

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” For a moment, it was as if Yi Qiu had lost the ability to speak. She stared blankly for a long while before continuing, “You, how could you just… just watch Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao foolishly leave signs all along the way?”

“What else?” You Yan retorted. “If I told them something happened to Chao Yun, do you think they would save Chao Yun first, or Xun Chi first?”

Yi Qiu opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.

You Yan was right. There were priorities. To Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao, Chao Yun was clearly more important than Xun Chi. If they knew Chao Yun was in trouble, Xun Chi would probably gaze through the autumn waters⁵ in vain, never to see her great savior Jiang Yuyao arrive.

“But you could have at least told me…” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but mutter under her breath.

“Does your mouth have a gate?”⁶

“I… Hmm, you’re right.” Yi Qiu frowned and asked again, “But You Yan, now that the Fuzhu and Huodou business is all taken care of, why haven’t you told everyone yet?”

“Isn’t it good to stand by a stump waiting for a rabbit?”⁷ You Yan asked faintly.

“…” So after all this, it was because she’s lazy.

That’s right. This bird-woman has always been like this. As long as the goal is achieved, what do other people have to do with her?

Besides, even if Chao Yun had saved You Yan and wasn’t just some “other person” to her, he hadn’t offended anyone in the mortal realm. What kind of trouble could he get into? His sudden disappearance probably just means he was taken away by the Yi Bird! Though I don’t know what the Yi Bird is planning, she likes Chao Yun so much, would she really hurt him?

Thinking about it this way, Yi Qiu found she wasn’t that anxious anymore——no wonder You Yan didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

“So, so if that’s the case, are we…” Yi Qiu thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, “going to keep standing by a stump waiting for a rabbit?”

“What do you think?” You Yan asked.

Yi Qiu shook her head. “I wouldn’t dare say!”

You Yan couldn’t help but smile. “Just say what’s on your mind. It’s not like I’m actually going to stew you, am I?”

Yi Qiu thought about it seriously, then said in a low voice, “I actually… want to go find Chao Yun. We’re too passive right now. If we really can’t do anything but wait for trouble to come knocking, won’t we be too worried to even sleep well at night?”

You Yan looked at Yi Qiu in silence for a moment, then let out a soft “mm” and said slowly, “You’re always especially enthusiastic when it comes to these immortals and gods.”

“I…” Yi Qiu grew nervous. “You, you, you, the way you said that is so ambiguous! I, I’m not… Bailu⁸ and Little Hot Dog aren’t gods, and I’m just as enthusiastic about them!”

“Let’s go.” You Yan stood up, and with a slight tremor of her spiritual power, she shook off all the dust from her clothes.

“Go? Go where…” Yi Qiu asked, stunned.

The next second, You Yan’s arm was suddenly around her waist. Then, hearing the sound of wings unfurling behind her, before she could even say a word, You Yan had carried her up into the sky.

“Yi Qiu! Miss You! Where are you going?” Jiang Yuyao chased after them for two steps, staring blankly at the two figures in the sky who seemed about to depart.

Hearing the commotion, Luo Mingyuan also stood up dazedly from the campfire and looked toward You Yan and Yi Qiu in the sky——he was still holding two nearly-cooked grilled fish. The aroma wafted all the way up to them. Being able to see them but not eat them was just torture…

Yi Qiu subconsciously swallowed. If I’d asked about this a little later, she thought, I might have been able to have dinner before we left.

You Yan hovered in the air for a moment, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she only said, “We’ll meet again.”

Seeing this, Yi Qiu could only wave to them. “Jiang Yuyao, Little Pig Trotter, You Yan and I have something to do, so we’re leaving first. See you if fate allows!”

With that, You Yan flew her away from the forest.

No one chased after them. After all, they had only met like duckweed meeting on the water⁹; they were never meant to travel the same road. No one had the right to force anyone else to stay by their side.

Yi Qiu had thought they would travel together for a while longer, at least until the Yi Bird matter was resolved. She never expected that before it was resolved, she would once again be acting separately from the protagonists.

But that makes sense. You Yan has always preferred to act alone. In her eyes, “partners” who can help each other are probably just a burden.

“I thought you were going to tell them,” You Yan said suddenly.

Yi Qiu’s drifting thoughts were instantly pulled back by You Yan’s words. She pondered for a moment, then said, “If you wanted to travel with them, you wouldn’t have just taken me and left without a word. Since you did that, it must mean you don’t want to travel with them, right?”

Hearing this, You Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “Getting smarter and smarter.”

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but feel a little happy. “I thought you were just going to deny it!”

You Yan said no more, simply picking up speed. Her destination seemed very clear; it looked like she already knew exactly where the Yi Bird and Chao Yun were.

Sure enough, they hadn’t been flying for long before Yi Qiu saw You Yan fold her wings and bring her down into a completely unfamiliar city.

So Chao Yun was captured by the Yi Bird and brought here?

I have to say, this place is way too close to the mountain we were just at. For the Yi Bird to be watching the two protagonists so closely, she must be plotting something huge, right?

Yi Qiu quickly followed close behind You Yan, her pair of pretty almond eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. She tried hard to find the most unusual thing nearby before You Yan could point it out, just to prove that she wasn’t actually stupid.

But she followed You Yan for a good while without sensing anything out of the ordinary, and then You Yan led her into a restaurant that looked to be doing very good business.

Damn it, she found it already? I didn’t sense even a hint of abnormal spiritual power flow!

Forget it. This is just a matter of being crushed by sheer power. It has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence!

As Yi Qiu thought this, her gaze swept warily over the other diners.

Just then, You Yan led her directly to a private booth on the second floor and began ordering food from the waiter.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but blink. After the waiter left with the menu, she lowered her voice and asked, “What’s the situation now?”

You Yan replied faintly, “Eating.”

Yi Qiu was stunned for a good while before she asked in disbelief, “We’re just here to eat?”

You Yan retorted, “What else?”

Yi Qiu frowned. “The Yi Bird and Chao Yun aren’t here?”

You Yan retorted again, “What do you think?”

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

She had thought You Yan was in such a hurry to launch a sneak attack before the Yi Bird could react!

And the result? She had observed everything so carefully the whole way, only to observe a whole lot of nothing. You Yan had really just brought her here to eat…

“You, you were just getting a meal, what was the rush for…” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but mutter.

The sun had just set. Rushing to eat like you’re trying to get reincarnated… it’s not that serious, really.

“You’re hungry,” You Yan said, looking quietly at Yi Qiu.

“Huh? Am I?” Yi Qiu tilted her head and blinked, not realizing it.

“No? Then why were you drooling while looking at that kid?” You Yan raised an eyebrow and asked leisurely, “Is he so beautiful one could eat him?”¹⁰

“…Yes.” Seeing a flash of displeasure in You Yan’s eyes, Yi Qiu quickly added, “I mean the fish! Those two grilled fish in his hands, the color was perfect, and they smelled so good…”

After speaking, she couldn’t help but press her lips together and swallow again.

You Yan wasn’t wrong. She really was starting to get hungry; her mind had just been in such a mess earlier that she hadn’t even noticed her stomach was empty.

But compared to the rich variety of dishes at the restaurant, she still wanted grilled fish more. After all, she had just seen it right before they left, and it had been a long time since she’d had any…

You Yan: “That fish looked average.”

Yi Qiu: “…” But the original novel said—and she had indeed tried it—that Little Pig Trotter was an excellent cook.

You Yan: “If you want to eat it, I’ll grill some for you later.”

Yi Qiu: “Eh?”

Is that something the bird-woman would say?

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The author has something to say:

You Yan: Don’t look at others. I can do it too.

……Also, are all of you who said Chao Yun was in bed devils?

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