Little Alpaca – Chapter 105

Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun

Aren’t You Going to Feed Me?

Once a person gets used to eating good things, they can no longer stomach the bad.

The same was true for alpacas.

Yi Qiu bared her teeth as she stared at the “four flavors” of grass on the ground, feeling more and more aggrieved the longer she looked.

Just a few months ago, she was clearly attending her little classes, reading her little novels, and eating her little takeout meals every day. Aside from being criticized and pressured to get married during the holidays, and occasionally being dragged out on blind dates, there was basically nothing that particularly troubled her.

Where on earth had those muddle-headed yet exceptionally salted-fish-like¹ little days gone?

Why, as such an ordinary person, had she suddenly come to this world and been forced to painstakingly win over a villain?

Why, as such an ordinary person, after finally managing to raise the villain’s affection for her to a five-digit number, had she suddenly suffered a complete reset?

And why, upon meeting the great villain of her childhood at this very moment, was the first meal she had to face a pile of grass!

Ha, should she perhaps be politely moved? You Yan was just so good to her. He clearly didn’t remember her, yet he still went to the trouble of preparing four different flavors for her.

But she didn’t like eating grass one bit!

From the moment she woke last night until now, heaven knew just how much grievance the little alpaca’s tiny heart had endured.

You Yan was gone, the affection was reset to zero, You Yan appeared, but he had forgotten her…

She used to have delicious food every day; now, there was only a pile of grass before her.

The frustration in her heart made her unable to resist spitting fiercely on that pile of grass a few times.

The instant the little alpaca spat, the little red flower, its heart still fluttering with fear, zipped back into the air on a strand of spider silk. You Yan, meanwhile, stared in astonishment at the grass he had painstakingly spent all morning searching for, now soaked in saliva.

“I asked around. The grass-eating animals in the mountains all like to eat these…” You Yan said aggrievedly. “I made sure to ask clearly before I went looking for them.”

Yi Qiu was speechless.

No way. I’m the one with a belly full of grievances here, so how did You Yan manage to feel aggrieved before I did?

No, no, he’s five hundred years old, for goodness’ sake. He can’t be making that face. It’s like a little alpaca is bullying a minor.

Maybe I should apologize…

As unappetizing as this grass was, it was true that little You Yan had gone all over to find it.

“Um, I…”

“I’m sorry,” You Yan said, lowering his head.

“Huh?”

“I don’t know what you like to eat. Please don’t be angry. You… you can tell me what you like, and I can go catch it for you.”

Is this… are these really words that You Yan could say?

Was You Yan this easy to talk to when he was a child?

Yi Qiu was stunned for a long moment before she finally said in a daze, “I’m, I’m not a picky eater. I’ll eat whatever humans eat…”

“I understand,” You Yan said, standing up and bowing to Yi Qiu. “I’ll go make it for you. Wait for me for a little while.”

“Eh…” Yi Qiu froze for a moment. By the time she came to her senses, You Yan had already vanished like a puff of smoke, leaving no trace².

You Yan’s attitude made her regret having been so fierce just now.

She stared at the grass on the ground for a good while, then looked up and sighed softly. Her gaze swept over the surrounding spiderwebs, and she instantly started trembling again before turning and running out of the tree hollow with her head lowered.

The little red flower chased after her. Seeing it, Yi Qiu subconsciously backed away a little more.

Seeing this, the little red flower shrank back pitifully.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but swallow, speaking softly toward the hollow’s entrance, “S-sorry. I’m trying to get over it, but I’ve really… I’ve really been afraid of spiders my whole life. I, I, I get scared just seeing a spiderweb…”

After hearing this, the little red flower hesitated for a long while before, right under Yi Qiu’s nose, it began to suck the silk from the surrounding webs back into its belly, bit by bit.

After sucking up all the silk, it let out a burp and then lay on the ground, straining for a long time as if it were terribly constipated³.

Finally, a small red flower actually bloomed on its body, covering most of its somewhat frightening form.

It turned its back, facing Yi Qiu with the little flower, and its little legs nimbly wrote something on the ground. Then it shook the flower on its back as if waving to her.

Yi Qiu boldly walked back into the now-web-free tree hollow and looked down at the words the little red flower had written on the ground.

You Yan said you don’t seem to have a home, so we’ll be living together for now. If you’re scared, I won’t spin any webs.

If I turn into a little flower, do I look a little less scary?

The words on the ground dissipated as the faint spiritual energy faded.

Yi Qiu stared at the now-blank ground, feeling a little embarrassed.

Seeing that Yi Qiu no longer seemed afraid of it, the little red flower happily wrote another sentence on the ground.

You’re amazing! You can already speak human language when you’re so little. If I want to talk, I’ll have to cultivate for at least another hundred years!

“I’m, I’m not amazing,” Yi Qiu said in a low voice. “Someone who was very good to me expended a lot of her spiritual energy on me.”

What about that person?

“I don’t know. We got separated. I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.”

Don’t be sad. You Yan and I will help you look for her in the future!

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but sigh softly.

Look for her? If this You Yan is real, then I don’t need to look. I just need to figure out how to wake him up.

But if this You Yan is fake, I can’t possibly leave this place with my power alone. Where would I even go to find the real You Yan?

And…

Why does this little red flower always write typos?

“Um, You Yan’s name… did you write it wrong?” Yi Qiu asked quietly.

No!

The little red flower shook the small flower on its back and wrote another line.

In the Kunlun Mountains, she’s the only one who’s nice to me. She even gave me my name. How could I write her name wrong?

“How could it be that Yan?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but frown.

That’s the “yan” from “to loathe”…

The little alpaca didn’t know how to use spiritual energy to leave words, so she spent a long time digging at the ground with her toes before she finally managed to scratch out the character for “Yàn”⁴.

“Isn’t it this Yàn?”

It’s not.

“How could it…”

It just isn’t.

With that, the little red flower turned and curled into a ball by the grass, leaving only the small flower on its back visible.

Yi Qiu’s mind couldn’t quite wrap around it. She thought for a long while as time ticked by. The sky outside gradually darkened again, but You Yan, who had promised to cook for her, still hadn’t returned, and she still hadn’t figured anything out.

Just then, she suddenly smelled a very strong, meaty aroma.

She subconsciously followed the scent and turned to look, only to see You Yan running in from outside the hollow, his hands protected by spiritual energy as he carried a steaming hot ball of mud.

Yi Qiu craned her neck, her eyes fixed on the mud ball in You Yan’s hands, and a very traditional, famous dish suddenly came to mind.

Seeing this, the little red flower’s eyes popped open as well.

You Yan ran all the way to Yi Qiu’s side with the large mud ball, set it on the ground, and rubbed his small hands together.

“This is…”

“The mortal realm’s Jiaohua Ji⁵! I saw this recipe in my father’s study!” You Yan said, balling his little hand into a fist and cracking open the thick layer of mud on the outside, revealing the lotus leaf-wrapped chicken within.

The little red flower instantly hopped onto the unopened clod of mud, but before it could even get its footing for a second, the heat sent it jumping back to the ground, hopping on its feet as if it had taken the wrong medicine⁶.

“It’s hot! Why did you jump on it!” You Yan said, quickly using his spiritual energy to soothe the little red flower’s pain.

Yi Qiu watched worriedly from the side for a moment, only letting out a sigh of relief when she saw the little red flower was okay.

“Does the little red flower eat this too?”

“Its cultivation is still low, so it hasn’t developed human-like organs yet, but it’s fine for it to eat a little,” You Yan said. He tore off the chicken skin, pulled off a small strip of meat, blew on it by his mouth first, and only then placed it in front of the little red flower.

“You’re really good at taking care of… little animals,” Yi Qiu said, unable to stop herself from remembering how You Yan used to feed her.

Thinking back, You Yan had indeed been very attentive when taking care of her. He provided a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, would feed her soup, and had never once burned her.

It seemed he’d had experience since he was a child.

Sure enough, someone with so much experience definitely isn’t a first-timer.

The little alpaca was never the first precious darling that bird woman had ever doted on.

“You’re really not afraid of me,” You Yan said with an embarrassed smile. He pulled the entire chicken out of the mud and began blowing on it with “whoosh whoosh” sounds while fanning it with his hand.

He looked so silly that Yi Qiu’s face was a picture of disbelief—she truly never expected You Yan to have a side like this.

Finally, You Yan sat down cross-legged, wiped his dirty little hands on his already-unclean clothes, and leaned forward with shining eyes to tear off an entire chicken wing.

The little alpaca unconsciously stuck out her tongue. Just as she was leaning her head closer, she saw You Yan, without even glancing at her, pop it into his own mouth and begin eating with loud smacks.

The little alpaca gritted her teeth and brought her nose closer to the Jiaohua Ji to take a sniff.

It smelled so good.

But how was she supposed to eat it? Should she use her hooves to tear at it, or just bite into it with her mouth?

Either way seemed like it would make a mess of a perfectly good chicken. If she ate it like that, would You Yan still be able to eat?

Besides, eating it directly would get her all dirty.

She might be an alpaca, but she wasn’t a real alpaca…

You Yan finished a chicken wing, tossed the bone on the ground, and his gaze fell upon the little alpaca. “Why aren’t you eating?”

Yi Qiu tilted her fluffy head, her voice hoarse. “Am I supposed to eat it just like this?”

“How else?” You Yan mimicked her, tilting his own head with its two large braids.

“Aren’t you going to feed me?” the little alpaca asked, craning her neck, her eyes full of grievance.

“Do you need to be fed?” You Yan’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

The little red flower, which was busy picking at its strip of meat nearby, also looked up. Although its eyes were hidden by the flower petals, it was clear from its head-tilting motion that it, too, was extremely surprised.

“I don’t have hands!” the little alpaca stomped her four little hooves anxiously, huffing, “My hooves have dirt on them! You can’t let me eat dirt, can you!” After saying her piece, she gestured toward the chicken with her head. “A chicken this big, if you don’t tear it apart, I have no idea how to even start eating it! So you have to feed me!”

“You…” You Yan blinked, looking a little lost.

“Hmph?” The little alpaca held her head high and puffed out her chest. “In my dreams, you always fed me one bite at a time!”

After a brief silence, the young girl tore off a small piece of meat, placed it in the little alpaca’s mouth, and watched earnestly as she chewed and swallowed before feeding her a second bite.

Yi Qiu ate with utter satisfaction. She had never expected that You Yan would know how to cook at such a young age, and that it would taste so good.

As she ate, she started to feel thirsty. She suddenly dodged the meat You Yan offered and shook her head. “Thirsty!”

“Oh, oh!” You Yan quickly conjured a small water pouch, brought it to the little alpaca’s mouth, and let her drink several large gulps.

After drinking the water, the little alpaca opened her mouth again, waiting to be fed.

Once the entire chicken was finished, she happily lay on the ground, squinting her eyes and stretching out lazily.

An unknown amount of time passed. Night fell outside the hollow, and the moonlight crept in.

You Yan cleaned up the chicken bones scattered on the ground and was about to leave when the little alpaca, who had been quiet for some time, suddenly grabbed his left ankle.

“What is it?” he asked, looking down.

Yi Qiu looked up at You Yan, bewildered. “Where are you going?”

“I have to go home. I’ll bring you two food again tomorrow.”

“Ah…” Yi Qiu faltered. She wanted to go back with You Yan, but considering this younger version of him didn’t know her at all, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

After a short silence, the little alpaca asked quietly, “Then… then what time will you come tomorrow?”

“Noon?”

“Can you come a little earlier?” Yi Qiu asked.

“You eat three meals a day too?” You Yan asked. He thought about it seriously and said, “Okay.”

With that, he rubbed the little alpaca’s head, and a smile finally appeared on the small face that had been sullen all day.

This simple, straightforward joy was something Yi Qiu had never seen in You Yan’s eyes before.

She couldn’t help but stare, dumbfounded. By the time she came back to her senses, the small, thin figure had already walked far away into the moonlight outside the hollow.

Kunlun Mountains… You Yan…

Are you… real?

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