Little Alpaca – Chapter 136

Volume 3: Old Tales of Kunlun

Pei!¹

In order to ask some questions clearly, Yi Qiu ultimately lifted the ban on the System ahead of time.

She asked the System whether her and You Yan’s current situation inside the Floating Dream Pearl would be discovered by the Yi Bird.

The answer the System provided let her breathe a huge sigh of relief.

It turned out that everything within the Floating Dream Pearl could not be observed or manipulated from the outside.

The Floating Dream Pearl’s illusion is born from the deepest fears within the entrant’s heart. If the person entering the dream does not possess a sufficiently steadfast mind, it can infinitely amplify this fear, thereby trapping the person inside until death.

Aside from this, it has no other utility.

Therefore, as long as the person entering the dream can retrieve their own consciousness and distinguish between the dreamscape and reality, they will no longer be easily eroded by the dream—however, for the majority of people, this point is almost impossible to achieve.

Because the dreamscape generated by the Floating Dream Pearl is too realistic, so realistic that people simply cannot distinguish true from false.

Therefore, having collected them into this bead, the Yi Bird should be quite assured and will likely pay them no further heed.

In order to accompany You Yan while she recovered from her injuries, Yi Qiu settled down within You Yan’s dreamscape.

They were currently still inside the Floating Dream Pearl’s illusion, but You Yan was evidently already able to control this dreamscape through her own consciousness.

If the master of the dream can maintain a shred of clarity, then within their own dream, they can be said to be an existence akin to a god. Conjuring up some money to fool the random passersby Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding² in the dream was simply too easy.

After filling their bellies, Yi Qiu followed You Yan to a nearby city.

Perhaps it was You Yan’s memories at work, but the place they arrived at turned out to be the incomparably familiar Moshui City.

The little alpaca found that most familiar inn like a light carriage on a familiar road³. The owner and the Xiao’er⁴ were also familiar old faces, only they did not remember them at all.

Within a dream, many things lack logic. For instance, both You Yan and she were covered in blood and filth, yet not a single person in the city felt surprised by this. Even the innkeeper and the Xiao’er did not harbor a shred of suspicion regarding the arrival of this seemingly unusual young woman and alpaca.

After they settled into the inn, the Xiao’er quickly boiled hot water, mixed in a little cold water, and delivered it to their guest room.

In days past, Yi Qiu had long grown accustomed to bathing together with You Yan. So, when the bathwater was brought up by the Xiao’er, her first reaction was to step onto that small step-stool and attempt to jump into the bathtub.

However, in the next second, You Yan grabbed her by the ear.

“Ei, ei, ei…⁵” The little alpaca subconsciously leaned her head toward You Yan and grunted loudly, “You Yan?! Let, let go!”

“You wash after,” You Yan said, pushing the little alpaca’s neck and gently shoving Yi Qiu to the side.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but grit her teeth, glaring at You Yan in a huff.

You Yan cared not for such things; she simply sealed the doors and windows with a spell, shed the clothes on her body piece by piece, protected her body full of wounds with spiritual energy, and stepped into the bathtub amidst the little alpaca’s displeased gaze.

Yi Qiu was originally somewhat angry, but seeing You Yan’s body covered in bloody wounds, she momentarily lost her temper.

Clearly, they had been fleeing together, yet You Yan was now so heavily injured, while she had merely suffered some exhaustion and fright, without a single wound…

Forget it. Seeing as the bathtub wasn’t large, she would yield to You Yan. With injuries that severe, it truly wasn’t convenient to be crowded by an alpaca.

Thinking this way, Yi Qiu obediently lay down outside the bathtub, yawning. She suppressed the grievance in her heart and curled her dirty body into a large ball of fur.

You Yan soaked in the bathtub, silently washing away the bloodstains on her body.

Hazy water vapor shrouded the entire guest room. Her gaze couldn’t help but drift toward the bored little alpaca on the floor.

She still remembered that during the days she had lost her consciousness, every time she bathed, she would pull this little alpaca to her side. The little alpaca wasn’t willing at first, but over time, she got used to it.

How could the version of herself in the dream do such a thing…

For a moment, she couldn’t figure it out, just as she couldn’t figure out how such a cowardly, weak, and not-too-bright little alpaca—one whose entire body was riddled with the weaknesses of ordinary humans—was worth treating in such a manner.

Yet even if she couldn’t figure it out, she still did it.

In that moment, a thought was born in her heart—perhaps she could still coexist on equal terms with this clumsy little alpaca, just like in the dream.

After all… she seemed to truly, more or less, feel a sentimental attachment to that kind of life.

“You.” You Yan held the edge of the bathtub, her gaze fixed on the little alpaca.

“En?” The little alpaca raised her head and tilted her neck, a look of curiosity surfacing in her eyes.

“Come in,” You Yan said, scooting a little to the side.

The little alpaca’s facial expression went slightly out of control for a split second. She stared at You Yan for a good while, and seeing that she didn’t seem to be joking, only then did she carefully step onto the footstool and “lightly” burrow into the bathtub.

The water in the bathtub was still warm; soaking in it felt just like soaking in a hot spring.

However, the moment she got in, the water became significantly dirtier.

“Wu…” The little alpaca grunted somewhat sheepishly. Just as she was feeling awkward, she saw You Yan lift her scar-ridden arm and begin to wash the soiled fur on her body.

She had originally been quite accustomed to such a familiar action.

Yet for some reason, in this very moment, she suddenly felt ill at ease.

It was as if, for the same action, there was nothing inappropriate when Little You Yan did it, but when it was this Bird Woman doing it, she just felt that something wasn’t quite right.

“You… You I…”

“What are you being awkward about? In the past…” You Yan paused here for a moment, then corrected herself, “In the past within the dream, wasn’t it always like this?”

“I don’t know either,” Yi Qiu said, lowering her furry head.

She was still pondering “why” when she was drenched over her entire head by a large ladle of hot water from You Yan—it was too sudden, she didn’t even have time to close her eyes!

The Bird Woman really couldn’t be gentle!

In this world, how could there be a bird whose EQ gets lower the longer she lives!

Yi Qiu gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and grunted quietly twice.

“Forgot to remind you to close your eyes,” You Yan said indifferently. She scooped up another ladle of water, and while gently pouring it down, she began to scrub and knead the little alpaca’s drenched head.

As she rubbed, she couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

Yi Qiu thought to herself, this Bird Woman is probably going to call her ugly again. Before entering the dream, every time the little alpaca finished bathing, she would be disdained by this Bird Woman.

Yet in the next second, You Yan actually said softly: “This look of yours… once one gets used to seeing it, it’s actually quite cute.”

Yo…

Is this something a little alpaca is worthy of hearing?

Thinking this, Yi Qiu opened her eyes and looked at You Yan.

After a brief gaze, she lowered her wet, snow-white eyelashes in a somewhat awkward manner.

She thought about it very seriously and roughly understood where the difference between Little You Yan and the Bird Woman lay.

Little You Yan had never seen her human form; every time she helped her bathe, it was just like bathing a small animal, so there was nothing to be awkward about.

But this Bird Woman was different. The Bird Woman had seen her human appearance, so she felt that bathing with her like this brought a sense of shame, as if she were standing naked before the Bird Woman.

Even though she knew she was covered in fur and wasn’t naked at all, this feeling was still very intense.

“Um, You Yan…”

“En?”

“I… will I be able to change back in a few days?”

“En.”

You Yan responded softly, rubbing the little alpaca’s head with a bit more force.

Yi Qiu thought for a moment and asked again, “Then—and I’m asking seriously—do you… do you hope for me to be like a human, or to stay in this appearance forever?”

She thought to herself, she had been an alpaca in the dream for over half a year; her current self didn’t hold such a deep obsession with her human form anymore. If You Yan really liked her furry appearance that much, she didn’t have to be in a rush to change back.

Hearing this, You Yan pondered for a moment before responding in a low voice, “I’ve said it before.”

“Oh…” Yi Qiu nodded quietly. “I understand.”

Indeed, You Yan had given the answer long ago.

She knew it; the Bird Woman liked her furry and silly appearance best. Since that was the case, she just wouldn’t rush to change back into a human…

“What did you understand?”

“You like this appearance of mine, so I’ll stay like this for the time being. That way, you’ll be happier looking at me…” The little alpaca responded obediently. “Mood and physical health influence each other. If you’re happy, the wounds on your body might heal a bit faster.”

“I certainly don’t like waiting on a delicate spit-sheep,” You Yan said, her gaze involuntarily meeting Yi Qiu’s astonished eyes.

They quietly stared at each other. After a few seconds, as if by prior agreement, they simultaneously averted their gazes.

After a few seconds of silence, You Yan said unhurriedly, “I was actually counting on you growing hands and feet to wait on me, the injured patient, for a bit.”

Hearing this, the corners of Yi Qiu’s mouth couldn’t stop rising wildly.

She forced herself to hold it in for two seconds before suppressing the smile welling up in her heart. Rolling her round eyes and pouting, she said, “It’s not impossible. Although I’m very lazy, for the sake of you being injured like this, I can… reluctantly take care of you a little, just like back in Moshui.”

“That sure is hard on you,” You Yan said, pouring another basin of water over Yi Qiu’s head.

“As long as you know it, Bird Woman!” the little alpaca said, deliberately shaking her head with force, flinging out a spray of water that splattered all over You Yan’s face.

In the next second, You Yan cupped her wildly shaking head and, under her curious gaze, brought that face covered in water droplets close.

The little alpaca widened her eyes blankly. Just as she was about to ask what the Bird Woman planned to do, she heard a “Pei!” accompanied by tiny yet impossible-to-ignore flecks of spit. It scared her into jerking her head and subconsciously closing her eyes.

After coming to her senses, Yi Qiu was shocked.

What was going on?

She, such a big alpaca, actually got spit on by a bird?!

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The author has something to say:

Yi Qiu: Is she challenging my only current strength?

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