Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun
From now on, we’ll live together.
That day, the little alpaca who had been indulging in one-sided affection was ultimately carried home on You Yan’s back.
As a latecomer, she had been worried that if she just left with You Yan like this, Little Red Flower would very likely be unhappy. After all, in this past on the Kunlun Mountains, there was no little alpaca, only Little Red Flower.
When all was said and done, the one who had truly accompanied You Yan through those several hundred years of lonely adolescence was Little Red Flower. Little Red Flower hadn’t even gone to live at You Yan’s home, so how could she, a little alpaca who had only been here for a little over two months, have the nerve to just run off to You Yan’s house?
Besides, she had been living here recently, and Little Red Flower would come to chat with her from time to time.
She could feel that Little Red Flower quite liked her. She genuinely felt that if she were to “move house,” wouldn’t Little Red Flower become an empty-nest1 spider?
Putting heart to heart2, exchanging places to think3, that would be far too lonely.
For this very reason, after a brief period of thought, Yi Qiu made a decision——if Little Red Flower was unwilling to go home with her and You Yan, she would stay here to accompany Little Red Flower.
As for You Yan’s home, and that father You Yan was always talking about, she could just wait for another opportunity to pay them a visit.
Such a thought, were it in anyone else, would probably be considered quite thoughtful.
But what she never expected was that, from the day she arrived, Little Red Flower had been holding it in, wronged and pitiful, with bitterness in its heart that it found hard to speak.
Little Red Flower was a spider, after all. It liked to spin webs, rest on webs, walk on webs, and wait for prey on webs. This kind of “web addiction4” was a racial instinct that couldn’t be cured even with electric shocks.
Long before Yi Qiu’s arrival, this tree hollow was nothing but webs upon webs. Where would there have been a floor and a bed, a table, stools, and a night lamp?
These were all things that spiders disliked!
Especially that spirit lamp. Most spiders are averse to light; they are arthropods that hide by day and come out at night. Before cultivating human habits, they certainly would not like brightness.
In the past, Little Red Flower had been too embarrassed to bring these things up.
But today, it had finally heard You Yan say she was taking Yi Qiu away, and Yi Qiu actually wanted to stay behind to accompany it. How could it possibly endure that any longer? It immediately dropped down from the tree and began writing characters on the ground.
Little Red Flower wrote on the ground for a good while with swishing sounds. Although its sentences were gentle and tactful, it wasn’t hard to see the desire between the lines that said, “Please, just hurry up and leave.”
The little alpaca was stunned, and she understood——this was basically an order to expel a guest!
As Little Red Flower wrote, it noticed that Yi Qiu’s expression was becoming a little aggrieved, so it quickly stopped its complaints and began spinning in circles on the spot, at a loss for what to do.
Yi Qiu thought for a moment and, in the end, didn’t make things more awkward for Little Red Flower.
“Then, then You Yan and I will go. You, you have to, guard the house well at night, okay?” Her tone was just like an old mother being kicked out of the house by her child. “If you don’t like the spirit lamp You Yan made, I’ll take it with me. As for the other things…”
Little Red Flower quickly responded——You two take the lamp, but leave the other things. You still have to come visit me.
Yi Qiu nodded, and saw Little Red Flower write another sentence on the ground.
——Yi Qiu, don’t be angry, I didn’t mean to drive you away. I like you a lot!
——It’s just that we’re different, different in many ways. If we’re different, it’s very hard to truly blend with each other.
For a moment, Yi Qiu couldn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This little spider was actually lecturing her with great principles.
But thinking about it, the principle was indeed true. People who are different, no matter how hard they try to respect each other, will find it very difficult to truly live together. After all, minor frictions will accumulate by the day and pile up by the month. Maintaining a relatively suitable distance is the only way to make both parties feel comfortable.
That afternoon, before the sun had set, You Yan hoisted the heavy little alpaca onto her back and hurried all the way in the direction of “home.”
“Yi Qiu, my home isn’t big. If Daddy agrees to let you stay, you can sleep in the same room as me!” You Yan shouted happily, panting as she ran. “From now on, when I cook for you and Daddy, I won’t have to run back and forth between two places. We can make and eat all three meals a day together. That will save so much time. With the time we save, we can go find Little Red Flower, or we can play everywhere… Of course, we can’t neglect our cultivation!”
Hearing You Yan say this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but ask, “Before… did you never cook for Little Red Flower?”
“Little Red Flower can’t eat too much human food. Before you came, I only went there once a day and would only occasionally bring it something to eat.” As You Yan spoke, she hummed in thought for a moment, then continued, “Little Red Flower likes darkness and quiet. It doesn’t like to stick to me.”
“I, I’m not that clingy to you either…” Yi Qiu subconsciously retorted, though with very little confidence.
Thinking about it carefully, she really was very clingy to You Yan. When she couldn’t see her, she was constantly looking forward to it. The mere thought of being by You Yan’s side day and night again, just like before, made her unable to stop feeling overjoyed.
If that bird woman were to find out about this little thought of hers, the quills on her ass would probably stick up to the heavens.
“Right, You Yan, there’s something I’m very curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Little Red Flower… why is it unwilling to leave that tree hollow, and unwilling to go home with you?”
You Yan’s steps didn’t falter, but she couldn’t help but fall silent for a moment.
Yi Qiu waited on You Yan’s back for a good while before You Yan finally spoke again.
“Little Red Flower doesn’t like my diedie. It really, really dislikes him…”
“But why?”
“I don’t know either. It says it doesn’t like him, so it doesn’t like him. There’s no reason.” You Yan said, then sighed softly. “Besides, Little Red Flower… it really likes that tree.”
“That tree? You mean the tree hollow?”
“Mhm.” You Yan affirmed, unable to stop herself from gazing toward the distant horizon.
She chased the setting sun, feeling the wind brush past her ears. Her gaze was hazy, unseen by the little alpaca on her back.
She said that the tree was originally an old demon spirit in the mountains. Unwilling to move anymore, it found a place and put down roots for good.
It was very good to Little Red Flower, and Little Red Flower liked it very much. But then one day, it withered and died, before its fated lifespan was over.
Hearing this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath, having more or less guessed the reason.
You Yan continued the story, and just as expected, Little Red Flower was born carrying a potent poison. No matter where it went, it was ostracized and driven away. That great tree took it in, but it ended up harming the great tree.
Before the great tree departed, it didn’t blame it, only saying to it: “After I die, my branches and leaves will all wither, and I’ll no longer be able to shelter you from the wind and rain. If you have nowhere else to go, you can hollow out my main trunk and live inside from now on. Consider it my way of continuing to accompany you.”
“Ever since then, Little Red Flower has lived there. It cultivated day after day and finally learned how to control the potent poison in its body. Unfortunately, in the vast Kunlun Mountains, there was never a second tree demon willing to take it in.”
You Yan spoke softly, her words filled with sorrow, as if she could feel the same pain.
Hearing this, Yi Qiu felt a bit awful, but she could only “rub” You Yan’s head with her chin and comfort her in a small voice, “It still has you, and you still have it… From now on, you also have me, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” You Yan said, quickening her pace.
Carrying the alpaca on her back, she passed through a deserted forest, crossed a clear river, and finally arrived at a small residence in the woods.
Just as You Yan had said, this home wasn’t large, but it was enough to live in.
Outside was a small courtyard, but even before entering it, one could see four rooms: a kitchen, a study, and two bedrooms. There was no living room to speak of.
The moment You Yan entered the courtyard, she called out to the closed bedroom on the left, “Daddy, I’m back!”
The person in the room didn’t respond. You Yan pressed her lips together, lowered Yi Qiu from her back, and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “My diedie has a bit of a bad temper. If he’s harsh with you, just pretend you didn’t hear it. Whatever you do, don’t argue back with him, okay!”
Yi Qiu nodded repeatedly after hearing this. How would she dare argue with a Qinyuan bird5? If that old bird was in a bad mood and stung her with its rear, wouldn’t she just kick the bucket right here in this illusion?
“Daddy, I have something I want to tell you.” You Yan said, walking to the closed door and knocking gently. “Are you awake?”
After a moment of silence, a small sound came from within the room.
Hearing it, You Yan knew someone was inside and continued speaking, “I have a friend who has nowhere to go. For a while now, I’ve been leaving her at Little Red Flower’s place. Today, I brought her back… I wanted to ask, can I let her stay at home?”
There was still no response from inside.
You Yan bit her lip and said earnestly, “I really like this friend. She’s very good, not noisy or disruptive. I want to keep her here, I want her to be able to always accompany me. From now on, she’ll live in my room. She definitely won’t disturb Daddy!”
After speaking, she stood outside the room and waited quietly for a few seconds. After a dead silence, there was still no reaction from inside, but a smile suddenly bloomed on You Yan’s face.
“Thank you, Daddy!” You Yan said joyfully, reaching out to stroke the back of the little alpaca’s neck. “Daddy agreed, he agreed!”
“Huh?” Yi Qiu’s eye couldn’t help but twitch, her entire face written with the two words “dumbfounded.”
How did he agree? There wasn’t a single sound from inside!
Alright, maybe not denying is the same as tacitly agreeing…
Regardless, since she was being taken in by someone, she absolutely had to express her thanks.
Thinking this, Yi Qiu took a deep breath, faced the closed door, bent her neck into a bow, and said obediently, “Thank you for taking me in, Uncle!”
The moment the words fell, she hurriedly followed behind You Yan and ran into the other bedroom across the way.
The furnishings in You Yan’s room were very simple. Aside from a bed, a set of a table and chair, a standing wardrobe, and two chests, there was nothing else.
“This is great, Yi Qiu! From now on, we’ll live together. There isn’t much in my room, so if you need anything, just tell me, and I’ll go get it for you…” You Yan finished speaking and turned around with a smile, just in time to see the little alpaca kick the door shut with its hind leg.
A moment of as-if-once-acquainted6 made her heart pause.
“Eh?” Yi Qiu stood by the newly closed door and saw You Yan suddenly staring at her blankly. She couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I…” You Yan thought for a moment, as if she didn’t know what was wrong with her either. It was as if sent by ghosts and gods7 that she raised a hand and used her spiritual energy to push open a closed window.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but freeze. She suddenly remembered, once upon a time, in Xianlu Sect, that light-hating bird woman would also, after closing the door, open a window in the corner.
Only because that little alpaca loved to lie in places where there was sunlight.
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