Little Alpaca – Chapter 126

Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun

Is This Our New Home?

That night, no further words passed between them. The little alpaca lay prone by the fire, her body unconsciously sticking close to You Yan at her side. Before long, she fell into a steady sleep.

Early the next morning, she woke from her dream. New firewood had been added to the pile beside her. Although the doors, windows, and roof were still broken and leaking, under the shroud of You Yan’s spiritual power, it was no longer as cold as the previous night.

Yi Qiu opened her mouth and let out a yawn. The yawn finished, she immediately followed it up with a sneeze.

Finally, she sniffed her stuffed-up nose and subconsciously stretched her neck to look out the window.

You Yan was not in the room, and there was no movement outside. If this were the past, she would definitely assume she had been abandoned again.

But today, she felt no unease at this. She simply continued to lie by the fire, waiting patiently.

This time, she firmly believed You Yan would not abandon her.

Because even if You Yan had not yet remembered everything outside the dream, they had still shared a period of peaceful and beautiful time within this dream.

And even more so because last night, when You Yan’s emotions were at their most shattered, she did not have the heart to cast her aside.

She thought, I will just lie here. If I wait a little longer, You Yan will come back. She will bring me something to eat, though her attitude probably won’t be very good.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, she was the one who had crashed through that dreamscape; it was she who had forced You Yan into the nightmare buried deepest in her heart, the one she was most unwilling to face.

The beautiful dream You Yan had woven for herself was shattered. The sweet-beaked, soft-hearted little sweet bird from the dream was gone, yet Yi Qiu faintly felt that the You Yan she was familiar with had returned.

Although not entirely, that temperament, that tone of voice when speaking, and that feeling when she scared or mocked her were all extremely similar to the bird woman in her memories—this made her feel as if she had returned to those days where, as long as she followed beside You Yan, she didn’t need to move her brain even a little bit.

Of course, she didn’t actually want to throw away her brain; she just hoped that when she encountered difficulties, there would be someone beside her who remained fearless in the face of danger.

Undoubtedly, You Yan was such a person. As long as she was with You Yan, no matter what matters she faced, she would feel incredibly at ease.

Just like now. Even lying in a broken, messy, abandoned courtyard, as long as she knew You Yan would return, there wasn’t much fear in the bottom of her heart.

Sure enough, not long after, You Yan returned.

The little alpaca stood up from the ground almost instantly. Enduring the soreness in her legs and feet, she went up to welcome her, stretching her neck and tilting her head back, looking at You Yan with a face full of expectation.

That look in her eyes seemed to ask—Did you bring me anything good to eat?

The answer was, of course, “yes,” but it wasn’t all delicious food; there were also some herbs used to treat a cold.

After breakfast, You Yan decocted the herbs over the fire. The bitter smell overflowed, filling the entire dilapidated little hut. Even with a stuffed nose, the little alpaca could still sense that wave of bitterness when she opened her mouth to inhale.

From childhood to adulthood, Yi Qiu had never drunk traditional Chinese medicine. She was extremely resistant to this kind of stuff, yet in the end, she could not escape this calamity.

That day, the pitiful little alpaca had her back of the neck of fate¹ seized by the fierce little bad bird. The herbal soup, with its terrifying taste, was poured mouthful by mouthful into her mouth by You Yan.

This stuff was truly too hard to drink. She would rather be sick for a few more days than drink it a second time…

After finishing the medicinal soup, the little alpaca’s mouth tasted bitter, and her body felt weak. She simply flopped listlessly back down by the fire.

You Yan sat quietly at the side for a long time. Finally, she came to the little alpaca’s side and gently began to stroke the soft white fur on the little alpaca’s body.

Such gentle stroking made the little alpaca feel very comfortable. She sniffed her nose, shifted to a relatively comfortable position, rested her head lightly on You Yan’s leg, and comfortably slept a return-to-cage sleep².

Perhaps the medicinal soup contained some sedative ingredients, for Yi Qiu slept very steadily this time, and incidentally had a very short dream.

In that tiny dream, You Yan transformed into the kind of celestial maiden³ she had seen in TV dramas as a child. She was dressed up so flashily, as if afraid others wouldn’t recognize she was a celestial maiden.

The little celestial maiden’s magic power was extremely high. With a casual wave of her sleeves, the broken house took on an entirely new look. With a light movement of her finger, she had whatever she wanted.

Just like that, the little celestial maiden turned this broken old estate into a mountain mansion.

In a moment, the ice and snow melted, and spring flowers bloomed.

The little celestial maiden lifted the hem of her skirt and skipped back to the little alpaca’s side. She gently squatted down, cupped the little alpaca’s fluffy head, and planted a gentle kiss between the little alpaca’s brows…

Then, she gnawed a mouthful of fur right off the little alpaca’s forehead. The little alpaca felt a pain on her forehead first, then a chill, and then she went directly bald in a small patch.

Bald in a small patch?!!

Cardiac arrest!

Yi Qiu woke from the dream gasping for breath, raising her eyes to look around in a state of lingering shock.

This house, uninhabited for hundreds of years, was still messy and broken. Outside, the heavy snow fluttered about, and the cold wind remained biting.

It was a dream…

Scared the alpaca to death!

Yi Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, sniffing her nose and shaking her head.

Just then, the old door was pushed open by someone. Accompanied by a harsh creaking sound, it dragged Yi Qiu out of that neurotic dream.

Yi Qiu subconsciously looked up toward the door. She saw You Yan leaning sideways against the doorframe, standing quietly by that dilapidated door.

She was still dressed in a suit of red robes, her long hair draped casually over her shoulders. Her brows and eyes were cold and cheerless—truly a world of difference from that appearance in the dream.

“Awake?” she asked indifferently, not stepping forward.

“En…” The little alpaca nodded, unable to move her eyes away for a moment.

“Let’s go.” As You Yan spoke, she turned her head to look outside the house.

Yi Qiu froze for a second, then hurriedly stood up. She walked a few steps to You Yan’s side and asked blankly, “Where are we going?”

You Yan opened her mouth, seemingly unsure how to answer, so she simply squatted down, leaving her back exposed to that muddled little alpaca.

Yi Qiu took a moment to react, then her heart warmed, and she hurriedly threw herself onto You Yan’s back.

Amidst the wind and snow of Kunlun Mountain, the red-robed young woman carried her little alpaca, stepping step by step away from that “home” she never wanted to face again.

Not long after, she was brought by You Yan to a wooden hut.

“This is…”

“Live here for now. Whatever is missing… we’ll talk about it later,” You Yan said, reaching back to close the door and placing the little alpaca onto the bed.

This wooden hut was built crookedly. The furnishings inside were also extremely crude; apart from a bed and a few small wooden stumps, there was nothing else.

Was this the difference between dream and reality?

In the dream, living in a mansion; in reality, living in a wooden hut. And it was a crooked one at that, the kind that looked teetering and precipitous no matter how you looked at it.

But speaking of which, this place couldn’t count as reality either.

The bed was wooden. Two layers of dry hay were spread on top, and atop the dry hay was a very large beast skin. Lying on it was much softer than the ground.

Did You Yan make this today?

A trace of surprise flashed through the bottom of Yi Qiu’s eyes. She had wanted to say something, but then she saw You Yan sit on the edge of the bed and reach out to sweep her inward a couple of times.

The little alpaca pursed her lips and scooted her body inward, making room for half the bed for You Yan.

You Yan lay down on the bed, but she did not reach out to hug her like usual. She simply lay flat and quiet, her eyes holding a somewhat unnatural look.

“Are you… going to sleep against the wall?” Yi Qiu asked softly.

You Yan pondered for a moment, then said, “Switch places.”

“Okay.” Yi Qiu agreed, standing up. She stepped her two left legs over You Yan’s body, but her two right legs remained in their original place, momentarily presenting a posture similar to “riding.”

“You…” You Yan couldn’t help but furrow her brows.

“You Yan, you have to scoot in more, otherwise I can’t get over!” the little alpaca urged seriously.

You Yan took a deep breath. The moment Yi Qiu lifted her right legs, she gritted her teeth and rolled inward, instantly sticking to the wall.

Yi Qiu lay down peacefully on the outer side of the bed. She subconsciously turned her head to glance at You Yan, and seeing that her hair had been messed up by the roll, she couldn’t hold it back and let out a soft laugh.

“Your hair is messy.”

“Quiet. Sleep.”

Yi Qiu let out a “hmph” and closed her eyes once again.

But she had slept too much during the day and wasn’t sleepy at all now; how could she fall asleep?

After a brief silence, she couldn’t resist opening her eyes. She extended a small hoof and gently poked You Yan’s arm.

You Yan frowned but did not open her eyes, only asking indifferently, “What are you doing?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“…”

“Talk with me.”

“…”

Seeing that You Yan didn’t refuse, Yi Qiu took it as silent consent. She immediately changed her posture, looked at You Yan, and asked in a low voice, “Is this our new home?”

You Yan was silent for a moment before mocking herself, “This can be called a home?”

Yi Qiu thought for a bit and responded, “It can, why can’t it?”

“You really take things in stride. A tree hollow, a wooden hut—no matter how crude, they can all be treated as ‘home’ by you.”

“Then what do you think is a home?”

You Yan frowned and did not answer.

Yi Qiu, however, continued speaking: “Whether it’s a tree hollow or a wooden hut, no matter how crude, they are places that can shelter us from wind and rain. And as for you, you count as my family.” As she spoke, she tilted her head and smiled. “A place that can shelter from wind and rain and let people settle down, plus a family member to depend on and accompany—isn’t that exactly a home?”

“You consider me family?”

“En!”

Hearing this, the corners of You Yan’s lips hooked upward slightly, but she quickly concealed it.

After several seconds of silence, You Yan opened her eyes.

She turned onto her side, reached out to grab one of the little alpaca’s thin legs, and while kneading it, said indifferently, “I am suddenly a little curious.”

Yi Qiu subconsciously shrank that front leg back, but she couldn’t compete with the strength of You Yan’s hand, so she stopped struggling and just asked curiously, “What are you suddenly curious about?”

“You said that the me from a long time in the future has high cultivation and is even the Venerable of the Demon Realm.”

“En!”

“If that is truly the case, why would a weak little yaojing⁴ like you gain my favor?”

“I…” Yi Qiu froze for a good while before her eyes went wide. She asked, “What do you mean? You… do you think I’m not worthy?”

“I am just curious.” You Yan shook her head and said plainly, “I know why I took you in—because in this Kunlun Mountain, apart from you, no one needs me.”

As she spoke, her gaze grew hazy. “But what about the future me? Is it also like this?”

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The author has something to say:

My stomach hurts too much, I really can’t write the second update today. See you tomorrow QAQ

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