Little Alpaca – Chapter 13

Volume 1: Little Alpaca

A Scholar Can Be Killed, But Not Humiliated¹.

Yi Qiu admitted that her emotional intelligence was indeed not high, but as someone who had spent years dishing it out with a keyboard, she had never truly been afraid of anyone.

After all, she was on the other side of the internet. Even if she got into a heated argument, the other person couldn’t just climb through the network cable and beat her up, right?

Today, however, the situation was different. The person beside her could not only beat her up, but also held the power of life and death over her.

Given that this villain was truly capricious and unpredictable, with a long list of evil deeds in the original novel, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but tell herself that being a mute wasn’t such a bad thing.

At the very least, in the presence of a dangerous person, “being unable to speak” was far safer than “not knowing how to speak.”

More than becoming a mute, what truly drained her of vitality was this journey she was forced to make, and the sun overhead that seemed determined to roast her until she smelled of cooked meat.

The Demon Realm was perpetually gloomy and cold, but the Human Realm was in the height of summer.

Alpaca wool has excellent insulating properties, which also leads to alpacas being cold-resistant but intolerant of heat.

For this reason, Yi Qiu hadn’t been too afraid of the cold back in the Demon Realm, but not long after arriving in the Human Realm, the heat had made her dizzy and faint.

She was like a wilted plant, trailing half-dead behind You Yan, her eyes glazed and her mouth slightly agape, panting heavily at all times.

“Help me, I feel… I’ve just walked from an air-conditioned room… straight… straight into a sauna… I’m… I’m about to die!” Yi Qiu complained to the system, her will to live completely drained. “You system, besides acting cute and providing data queries, do you… do you really have no other function?”

What’s the use of having so many stats? You could at least open a system store so people can exchange them for something useful.

Like some kind of internal ice, a heat-avoiding spirit pill, or a heat-clearing and detoxifying pill, or something. I don’t care if it’s expensive. Strength, Spiritual Root, Agility, Favorability—all of that can be earned back. As long as it can cool me down, anything is fine. Take it all, you can even have my Intelligence!

【Host’s request successfully received. Three cooling solutions have been custom-tailored for the host.】

There’s actually a way! Wonderful, wonderful.

Yi Qiu: “Quick, let me hear them!”

【Cooling off in the shade, taking a bath, getting a haircut.】

Yi Qiu: “…”

Deep breaths. Don’t get angry!

Yi Qiu: “Oh, I really have you to thank for that!”

Useless piece of junk!

The little alpaca was going mad from the heat. To breathe a little more easily, she unconsciously stuck out her pink tongue like a dog.

My head is so dizzy, and my body feels so awful.

My consciousness seems to be fading. Could this be heatstroke?

Do… do alpacas also get heatstroke?

“Mmm, wuu…”

The little alpaca’s aggrieved cry finally caught the attention of her unscrupulous owner.

You Yan turned to glance at Yi Qiu. Seeing her on the verge of fainting, a flicker of curiosity crossed her otherwise placid eyes.

“You little thing, what are you pretending for? You’ve got four legs, how can you be unwilling to walk a few steps?” she asked, though she still walked back to Yi Qiu’s side and knelt, pinching the little face that was devoid of any will to live.

The blood of the demon race was cold, and she was further protected by a barrier of spiritual energy. Even under the blazing sun, You Yan’s fingers remained cool.

That icy touch was incredibly comfortable for the heat-addled Yi Qiu. She couldn’t help but close her eyes and nuzzle her little face into You Yan’s palm with a soft whimper.

Why is she so hot?

You Yan couldn’t help but frown. Just as she was about to check the little alpaca’s physical condition, the fluffy body unexpectedly burrowed into her arms. It was soft, yet searingly hot, like a little fireball.

The little fireball unconsciously rubbed against her, feeling that even the fabric of this person’s clothes was cool. Being in her arms was far more comfortable than being under the sun.

You Yan was lost in a daze for a moment before she looked up at the blazing sun in the sky.

After a brief silence, You Yan frowned and pulled the small fireball out of her embrace. The little alpaca instantly fell to the ground with a thud, her cry sounding as if it was laced with tears.

You Yan couldn’t bear to look for a moment. She simply raised her hand, pressed two fingers lightly to Yi Qiu’s forehead, and channeled a stream of spiritual energy into her.

As the spiritual energy entered her body, the heat from Yi Qiu’s body dissipated into the surroundings. Her temperature slowly dropped, and the pained expression on her face finally eased.

“Let’s go,” You Yan said, patting Yi Qiu’s little face.

Yi Qiu struggled to open a slit of an eye, got up, and wobbled for two seconds before letting out a whimper and collapsing softly against You Yan, who had just been about to stand.

“Stop pretending. I’m not carrying you,” You Yan frowned.

The little alpaca showed no reaction, remaining limp in her arms like a corpse.

…It seems this little thing really does have heatstroke.

“Weak and useless. What’s the point of keeping you?” You Yan said coldly. She pushed the little alpaca off her, stood up, straightened her sleeves, and walked away without a backward glance.

The little alpaca lay pitifully on her side on the grass. One small hoof pawed unconsciously at the air, but ultimately, she couldn’t manage to open her eyes.

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In the steamy bathhouse, women in pairs or groups, or leading their children, were all laughing and talking in the soaking pools, under the showerheads, or having someone give them a massage, scrub their backs, or perform scraping therapy.

Yi Qiu sat alone in the steam room, staring blankly through the glass window at the scene outside, her mouth slightly agape and her body drenched in sweat.

Although she didn’t feel particularly hot, she had a gut feeling that if she didn’t get out soon, she would genuinely die of heat in here.

Yi Qiu struggled to her feet from the wooden bench and staggered to the door, only to find that she couldn’t pull the glass door open no matter how hard she tried.

She reached out and slapped the door, but the people outside were completely oblivious.

Fear instantly submerged her. She began to pound on the door desperately, even shouting for help, but to her dismay, her throat could only produce “mmm, mmm” sounds.

Just as she fell into despair, someone suddenly broke the door open.

Finally, it’s not hot anymore!

She looked up, unable to make out the person’s face, seeing only a long, ink-black robe and shoulder-length, date-red hair.

Why is it this demoness again?

How can I be standing like a red fruit² in front of this demoness? Won’t she mock me until I dig a hole on the spot and bury myself?

Yi Qiu subconsciously retreated, but a large pit had appeared behind her at some point. In an instant, she lost her balance and fell in with a scream.

“Mmmph!” Ouch!

The little alpaca fell off the bed with a thud.

You Yan’s indifferent gaze shifted over at the sound. She saw Yi Qiu dazedly flip herself upright and lie prone on the floor in a stupor.

The sounds from outside the window were noisy, suggesting a lively atmosphere.

“Where is this?” Yi Qiu asked the system in her mind. “An inn in the Human Realm?”

【Successfully received spiritual energy transfer from You Yan. All stats have increased.】
【Intelligence +30】
【Spiritual Root +100】
【Strength +30】
【Agility +30】
【You Yan Favorability +100】

Yi Qiu was stunned. She had just had a bizarre nightmare, so how did she wake up to the system spamming notifications?

“Check current stats.”

【Current Stats】
Intelligence: 180
Strength: 95
Spiritual Root: 200
Agility: 85
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
You Yan Favorability: 600

Yi Qiu: !!!

My Spiritual Root is at two hundred! Now, besides Favorability, all my other stats have met the requirement. I’m really not far from transforming into a human!

At this thought, Yi Qiu was overcome with ecstasy, but her ill-timed smile froze on her face when she looked up and saw You Yan slowly walking toward her.

“What are you smiling about?” You Yan’s tone was very calm. She knelt and gently pinched one of Yi Qiu’s little legs.

Yi Qiu was awkward for a few seconds, then tilted her little head and let out the most innocent-sounding “Mmm~” at You Yan.

The benefit of being unable to speak was on full display at this moment.

No matter what You Yan asked, as long as she was a mute, she could bluff her way through!

You Yan watched Yi Qiu with a half-smile for a long time before finally getting up and sitting on the bed, seemingly enjoying stroking the fur on the little alpaca’s back.

Her draped gauze sleeve blocked Yi Qiu’s view. She stretched her neck and shook her head, then gave a well-behaved yawn, showing no intention of moving away.

Ultimately, Yi Qiu had gotten used to it. After accepting the fact that she was just a pet, she no longer rejected this kind of physical contact and sometimes even found it quite comfortable.

“You fainted from the heat earlier,” You Yan said, poking the back of Yi Qiu’s neck with a fingertip.

“Mmm~” Yi Qiu shrank her neck. Fainting from the heat once in exchange for a stat boost isn’t a bad deal.

“The Human Realm is too hot for you. I’ve thought of a way to alleviate this heat,” You Yan said faintly.

“Mmm?” Yi Qiu twisted her neck to look back at You Yan, her eyes full of anticipation.

You Yan met Yi Qiu’s gaze, and her lips suddenly curled into a smile. She lifted the little alpaca’s chin with her index finger and chuckled, “Let’s shear off all this fur. It’ll be cooler.”

The next second, Yi Qiu was scrambling and crawling away from the great villain before her.

So the dream didn’t come from nowhere!

This great villain wants to shear my fur and turn me into a stark-naked little alpaca! How cruel!

Even though I’m not human anymore, I still care about my appearance!

I refuse to be made all bald and scrawny like a shaved poodle, too ashamed to face anyone!

Just as Yi Qiu’s fur exploded³, You Yan actually covered her mouth and let out a light chuckle.

Damn it! The mockery is palpable!

Fur is like clothing, Yi Qiu decided. I will defend my coat of fur just as I would defend my clothes!

“Come here,” You Yan beckoned to Yi Qiu.

Yi Qiu stood with her fur on end. She was not going over there!

Seeing the little alpaca refuse to come, You Yan simply walked over herself, bending down to grab the little alpaca who was trying to play ring-around-the-rosy with her⁴.

The moment she was miserably apprehended, Yi Qiu didn’t know where the courage came from, but she took a deep breath, tilted her neck back, and shot a warning glare at You Yan.

You Yan: “What kind of look is…”

Yi Qiu: “Tui!”

If this had been before, that spit would have surely been repelled by an invisible barrier of protective spiritual energy.

But for some reason, today was a special day. The sun seemed to have risen from the west, because You Yan had no spiritual energy protecting her.

You Yan had let her guard down!

That mouthful of saliva, completely unexpected, landed squarely on You Yan’s face. It was so sudden that You Yan instinctively half-closed one eye, taking a long moment to come back to her senses.

You Yan: “…”

Yi Qiu: “…”

A dead silence fell over the guest room. Yi Qiu saw You Yan unconsciously clench her jaw.

Two seconds later, Yi Qiu swallowed in terror and, with great effort, lifted one of her not-so-flexible little hooves, clumsily trying to wipe You Yan’s face with her leg fur.

As she was wiping, Yi Qiu suddenly heard You Yan take a deep breath.

That breath made her heart stop.

It’s over, I’m going to die!

“You…” You Yan began, but trailed off.

“Mmm wuu wuu” The little alpaca shrank her neck and began to beg for mercy.

Please, don’t eat me!

【You Yan Favorability +100】

Huh?

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