Little Alpaca – Chapter 119

Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun

Whatever You Say, Is What It Is.

In just one night. She was only gone for one night.

The once neat and clean little home had once again become Little Red Flower’s “Cave of Silken Web”¹.

This feeling was just like that of a mother who tidies up the room for her internet-addicted daughter who stays cooped up at home every day.

Then one day, the daughter says, “Mommy, I’ve grown up. You and Daddy can go out and have fun, I can take care of myself!”

The mother happily goes on a trip with the father, but in the time it takes for that “one-day tour,” the daughter has already bombed the house overnight!

Although the analogy of a family of three was very inappropriate, if one were to say the house was bombed, it was truly not the slightest exaggeration.

Yi Qiu was incredibly certain that the little alpaca could now never go back to this “home.”

——Yi Qiu, are you angry?

——Did I weave too many webs? I can take some down.

“No need, no need…” Yi Qiu hurriedly shook her head.

Now that she was living at You Yan’s place, why should she continue to deprive Little Red Flower of its happiness? Weren’t they just webs? If it loves to weave, then let it weave! Anyway, there was a curtain at the entrance. From now on, she wouldn’t go into the cave, so it would be what the eye doesn’t see is clean².

“You, just don’t weave too many webs outside, I’m really scared of that,” the little alpaca said in a small voice.

Little Red Flower nodded.

——In Kunlun Mountain, no one likes me, so my range of activity is very small.

——I never weave webs outside!

Yi Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at You Yan, and suddenly remembered something, saying, “We brought you something to eat.”

Little Red Flower instantly looked up at You Yan.

You Yan squatted down, and a small meat patty materialized in her hand, which she gently placed in front of Little Red Flower.

Little Red Flower took two steps forward, held the meat patty that was about half the size of a fist, and began to nibble on it. Its sounds were quiet, and its speed was not fast.

Yi Qiu quietly lay on her stomach to the side, watching intently for a good while. Seeing that it had finally finished the meat patty, she then blinked her eyelashes and asked softly, “Was it good?”

Little Red Flower nodded, then suddenly stretched, turned around, and crawled back into the tree hollow.

Is that little guy who hides during the day and comes out at night going to sleep right after eating? Then didn’t I come with You Yan early in the morning to see Little Red Flower and end up watching a loneliness³?

“Little Red Flower is like this,” You Yan said softly. “It’s not very used to interacting with people. The fact that it’s willing to talk to you is only because it likes you.”

After hearing this, Yi Qiu thought about it carefully and realized it was true. Not only did Little Red Flower speak little, but it also didn’t like to move much. Most of the time, it would hang on its own web, looking as if it were asleep, but in reality, a single call could make it move immediately.

“You’re right, Little Red Flower has always been a creature of few words, and most of the time its temperament is very cold. It’s like…” Yi Qiu’s words suddenly stopped there.

“Like what?” A trace of curiosity flashed in You Yan’s eyes.

The little alpaca was silent for a moment and couldn’t help but shake her head.

She had wanted to say something to brush it off, but then she suddenly remembered You Yan’s words—it’s okay not to tell secrets, just don’t lie.

Actually, it wasn’t some incredible secret.

She was just reminded of that bird woman.

That bird woman also didn’t like to talk, especially didn’t like to talk. In the twelve shichen⁴ of a day, aside from eating, sleeping, and bullying alpacas, she was extremely silent for most of the remaining time.

Come to think of it, that makes sense. Little Red Flower is, after all, the first good friend the bird woman ever had in her life. It’s not surprising that they share some similarities, more or less.

“So, you see, before you appeared, I would just come to see it every day and leave after a short while. So, it was your arrival that made this place lively.”

You Yan said that the Kunlun Mountain of the past was truly quiet.

In fact, it wasn’t that Kunlun Mountain was quiet, but rather that within this immortal mountain, there were simply no sounds that were meant for her.

Whether it was the chirping of insects and birds, the rustling of wind through grass and trees, the patter of rain on the earth, or the joyous laughter of all living things, none of it had anything to do with her.

Her father was quiet, and Little Red Flower was also quiet.

Only that little alpaca was boisterous and fussy every day, demanding food, drink, and company, and would even cry out for a bath when she got dirty.

“The way you say that, am I really that noisy?!”

“It’s not noisy, how could it be noisy?” You Yan said, extending an arm to gently wrap around the little alpaca’s neck.

The young woman and the alpaca snuggled against each other just like that, as if they were the only two left in the world.

“Yi Qiu, I…”

“Hm?”

“I like your voice, I like your personality, I like your not-so-smart appearance, I…” As You Yan spoke, she couldn’t help but pause for a few seconds, biting her lip before continuing, “Whether you believe it or not, you are very special to me, even if, even if…”

“Even if?” Yi Qiu tilted her head, a hint of curiosity rising in her eyes.

But You Yan didn’t continue. She just shook her head and said, “In short, as long as you stay by my side, I will always be good to you.”

The little alpaca pouted, pondered for a long time, and then asked, feigning nonchalance, “Then what if one day, I suddenly leave?”

“I’ll go with you!”

“What if I leave without a word? How would you follow?”

“Then I’ll go find you!”

“What if you can’t find me?”

“Then I’ll just keep looking. A Qinyuan’s⁵ flying speed is very fast, and the higher my cultivation, the faster I can fly.” As You Yan spoke, she turned to look at Yi Qiu, her fingers gently stroking her fur, the look in her eyes incomparably resolute. “I believe that as long as I keep searching and searching, by the time I’ve scoured the entire Three Realms⁶, I will definitely find you.”

Hearing this, Yi Qiu’s eyes suddenly felt a bit sore. But after the soreness passed, there was a warmth in the bottom of her heart that she couldn’t shake.

If, if what little You Yan is saying right now is truly what the bird woman was thinking in her heart, then I really don’t have the courage to leave this place and return to my original world.

Otherwise, what would You Yan do…

As Yi Qiu thought this, she couldn’t help but lean into You Yan’s embrace.

They sat together, just quietly leaning against each other, without needing to say or do anything, and time easily slipped away.

The sun in the sky climbed bit by bit until it was right above their heads. You Yan glanced up and then said, “Let’s go back now. It’s time to cook for Father.”

“Mhm,” Yi Qiu responded, once again climbing onto You Yan’s back and returning home with her.

The tightly shut door seemed as if it had never been opened, yet there was, more or less, some stirring from within.

Just like always, You Yan prepared lunch, dished some out, placed it at the door of that room, and then brought Yi Qiu back to her own room, patiently feeding her bite by bite.

After that, Yi Qiu truly settled down comfortably in You Yan’s home.

During the day, they would usually go see Little Red Flower first, then find a deserted spot to chat and space out, or just play around as they pleased.

When night came, they would sleep in each other’s arms under the same blanket, sleeping comfortably until dawn.

The only thing that made Yi Qiu curious was what kind of “father” lived behind that tightly shut door. Why did he never speak, never show his face, only eating the meals You Yan prepared daily, and then from time to time, the door would be wide open, and he would suddenly disappear for a day or two.

You Yan said that this was all normal; her daddy needed to go out for some fresh air too.

That was true in theory, but Yi Qiu just felt that something was very wrong. She had even suspected that there was no one in that room at all.

But this kind of thought was a bit horrifying, so she pushed it back down into the bottom of her heart time and time again—perhaps, that father is simply trying to escape, simply doesn’t want to make any eye contact with You Yan.

Time passed day by day. In the blink of an eye, autumn turned to winter, and a goose-feather heavy snow⁷ began to fall on Kunlun Mountain. The vast Kunlun was transformed into a boundless world of white in just one night.

Growing up, Yi Qiu had never seen such heavy snow. In the city where she lived, let alone snow that could blanket an entire mountain in white, it was considered quite good if snow could accumulate once a year, and if that one time it was as thick as a thin chopstick.

On the day the small courtyard was filled with snow, Yi Qiu had just woken from her dreams when she saw the snowy landscape outside. In a flash, she excitedly scampered out of the bedroom.

The little alpaca’s own fur was very thick, so she had never been particularly afraid of the cold. Coupled with the protection of You Yan’s spiritual energy within her body, she didn’t feel too cold even on a snowy winter day.

The snow in the courtyard had already been swept by You Yan, but the places that hadn’t been swept were still piled very thick. She tested it with her little hoof, and it sank in instantly.

“You Yan! You Yan, it’s snowing heavily!” The little alpaca was overjoyed. She pulled her hoof out of the snowdrift and, shouting and yelling like a little kid who had never seen the market⁸, ran all the way to the kitchen where You Yan was.

“It is. Do you like the snow?” You Yan squatted down and rubbed Yi Qiu’s neck.

Yi Qiu nodded vigorously. “I’ve never seen it, I’ve never seen such heavy snow. Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved snow… When I was a child, I always thought that when I grew up, I would definitely make time to spend a winter in the north. I want to play in the snow too, and build a really, really big snowman!”

Hearing this, You Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “How are you going to build a snowman?”

As she spoke, she grabbed Yi Qiu’s left front hoof and shook it up and down, as if shaking hands with a puppy.

The little alpaca couldn’t help but frown, saying through gritted teeth, “I, I said when I grow up! Grow up, grow into an adult, understand? Once I’m an adult, I can build a snowman!”

As she spoke, she ran outside and started stomping on the snow that You Yan had swept into a pile. The white snow was suddenly covered in one small print after another.

You Yan watched the little alpaca outside, who was so happy about a heavy snowfall that she was hopping and skipping, and a smile couldn’t help but surface in her eyes.

“How big of a snowman do you want to build?” she suddenly asked loudly.

“How big can it be?”

“As big as you want it to be!”

“That impressive?” The little alpaca’s tone was clearly a bit disbelieving.

But You Yan was very certain. “Of course. How hard can it be to build a snowman?”

Yi Qiu thought for a moment and said, “Then I don’t want a snowman, I want something with a high degree of difficulty!”

“Name it!”

“I want…” Yi Qiu thought for a moment, then twisted her neck to look back and said, “I want to build one of me, and then build one of you!”

“Alright.” You Yan’s eyes curved into a smile as she stood up and said, “Whatever you say, is what it is.”

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