Volume 1: Little Alpaca
Do you want me to carry you on my back, or in my arms?
That afternoon, the little alpaca, who had a very clear sense of self, suddenly grew bold and shamelessly freeloaded a full meal in the Demon Lord’s private territory.
To describe the entire dining process as one of joyous harmony would not be an exaggeration.
If this had been a few days ago, you could tell a ghost and even the ghost wouldn’t believe it!
In truth, even Yi Qiu herself could hardly believe it, but it was the reality. It seemed as if she had suddenly stopped being so afraid of You Yan.
If she had to give a reason, it was probably that You Yan’s affection had come so suddenly that the alpaca in question didn’t even have time to react before she was already drowning in dangerous, sugar-coated cannonballs1.
After returning to her little room, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but lie on her bed in a daze for a long time.
Some things were fine as long as you didn’t think about them; the moment you did, you realized just how terrifying the details were.
In the original novel, the little alpaca didn’t actually have a name.
You Yan’s names for her little pet could be described as extremely casual, including but not limited to Little Foolish Sheep, Little Idiot, Little Pitiful Thing, Little Furball, and so on.
To sum it up, they were the kind of nicknames that started with “Little” and were utterly thoughtless.
But now, this alpaca had her own name.
You Yan would call her by name now. When they talked, when she fed her, when she told her to leave, she always used her name.
Yi Qiu should have been happy to receive this bit of respect in how she was addressed, yet she couldn’t bring herself to be.
Because a pet’s name should always be given by its master. What kind of master asks a pet for its name?
What name could an alpaca that had just gained sentience possibly have!
Yi Qiu couldn’t resist banging her head against the bedpost.
She felt she must have been an idiot at that moment. How could she have directly told You Yan her name!
Stupid, how could I be so stupid!
The standard answer to that question should obviously have been, “I request that Master bestow a name upon me”!
Fortunately, You Yan didn’t seem to care about these details, or at least she didn’t say anything more about it today. Not only did she not say anything, but her affection level had also increased, which at least meant she hadn’t messed up in front of her because of a name.
Yi Qiu remembered that the original text had once mentioned that the little alpaca was a rare species that had drifted across the sea from an unknown continent. It wasn’t a native creature, so perhaps it had other “masters” before being brought to the Demon Realm.
Yes, this explanation was perfectly reasonable.
If You Yan came to her senses later and suddenly asked her about her name, she would just say her previous master gave it to her!
Thinking of this, Yi Qiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In any case, You Yan had said she would take her to the Human Realm in a couple of days.
The real trouble was all waiting there.
In this world, everyone has their own concept of time, and the great villain You Yan’s was clearly not very good.
She had clearly said she would take Yi Qiu to the Human Realm in a couple of days, but who would have thought that “a couple of days” would turn into another couple of days, and before she knew it, nearly half a month had passed.
During that half-month, Yi Qiu shamelessly went to You Yan’s place to freeload meals every day.
One reason was that You Yan’s cooking was indeed quite delicious, and the other was that she wanted to get along well with this villain as soon as possible. Knowing oneself and knowing one’s enemy is the only way to win a hundred battles2.
The day of departure came very suddenly.
It was a gloomy morning, and Yi Qiu was still lying on her bed dreaming of the Duke of Zhou3, when suddenly one of her hind legs was ensnared by You Yan’s Chuixue4.
The icy touch jolted her from her dream.
In her terror, before she could even see who had barged into her room, she was dragged off the bed by the water-colored long whip.
“Ah!”
With a pained cry, Yi Qiu was completely jolted out of her previous groggy state.
She looked up at You Yan, her eyes full of confusion and shimmering with a thin layer of misty tears.
You Yan retracted the long whip to her waist and gave the little alpaca a smiling grin. “Let’s hit the road, Little Yi Qiu.” [LP: The term for “hit the road” (上路, shàng lù) is also common slang for “to set off for the afterlife” or “to die.” The dark humor is intentional.]
“H-hit the road?”
Yi Qiu shivered subconsciously but quickly realized what You Yan meant, hurriedly shaking her head and trotting to catch up.
Outside Buhuo City, there was no sun. Day and night were equally cold. Not only that, but from time to time, a freezing hurricane would sweep through, or a purple lightning that could turn the ground to scorched earth would fall.
The water sources here were scarce and the soil was barren, making it difficult for most plants to grow, and the animals were mostly ferocious, mutated species.
The extremely harsh living conditions forged the strength of the Demon race, while also causing them to grow up incomparably savage. The law of the jungle where the weak are meat for the strong5, and the savage practice of eating flesh raw and drinking blood6, were nothing new in this dark land.
Yi Qiu was thoroughly frightened by what she saw along the way, sticking close behind You Yan the entire time, not daring to fall even half a step behind. Even during breaks, she had to cling to You Yan’s feet to feel at ease.
Before this, she had never been so clingy to anyone in her life.
What a pity. Her first time being a clingy-bug had nothing to do with love, and everything to do with saving her own skin.
It had to be said, the Demon Realm was truly too gloomy. Yi Qiu was desperate to get to the Human Realm.
You Yan said the passage between the two realms was located in the Underworld7. They just needed to travel to the River of the Underworld8, take a ferryboat upstream, and pass through the realm where the water meets the sky to reach the Human Realm.
Yi Qiu: “Master… so where exactly is the Underworld?”
You Yan: “Just ahead.”
Yi Qiu: “How long will that take?”
You Yan: “About three days.”
And just like that, Yi Qiu naively believed You Yan. The two of them, one person and one pet, walked and rested, and after three days passed, and then another three, by the time they actually reached the Underworld, they had spent more than ten days on the road.
Yi Qiu felt like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.
The moment she boarded the ferryboat, she shed tears of bitterness.
Seeing this, You Yan couldn’t help but raise a smile.
“What happened to the promised three days?” Yi Qiu grumbled under her breath, extremely dissatisfied. “Master is a big liar.”
“I didn’t lie. If we traveled by wing, three days would have been enough,” You Yan replied.
When Yi Qiu heard this, her mind instantly exploded. “So… if you can fly, why did we have to walk?”
How could she have forgotten that You Yan’s original form was a giant Qinyuan bird9, and she could fly extremely fast!
F#ck, what is wrong with this villain? Why would she choose to take Route 1110 when she has a perfectly good airplane she could be flying?
For a moment, the little alpaca’s eyes, as she looked at the Demon Lord, were filled with a questioning gaze that did not befit her status.
But the Demon Lord didn’t get angry. On the contrary, she seemed to be in a good mood as she rubbed the little alpaca’s ears and said, “I couldn’t just leave you behind.”
After hearing this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but be surprised. “You can’t carry me?”
“I can carry you, but do you want me to carry you on my back, or in my arms?”
“Uh…” Yi Qiu felt she needed a moment to think about it.
Being held the whole way would probably be a bit constricting; riding on her bird back should be more comfortable.
Just as Yi Qiu was about to answer, You Yan’s eyes curved into a smile, and she asked, one word at a time, “Do you think… you are worthy?”
Yi Qiu was momentarily speechless. All her surprise and dissatisfaction instantly turned into embarrassment, gradually freezing on her furry face.
“Sorry to have bothered you…”
Yi Qiu thought to herself that she must be the most humble pet in the world, so humble that she wasn’t even worthy of being held by her master.
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