Little Alpaca – Chapter 162

Volume 4: Immeasurable

It Wouldn’t Do to Be Too Reckless.

If only I were a little more useful…

The thought flashed through Yi Qiu’s mind yet again.

In truth, an idea like this had crossed her mind thousands, even tens of thousands of times. It didn’t matter if she was in her old world or this new fantasy world, where any random side character could crush her with a single finger.

From childhood to adulthood, she had always been an ordinary person, nothing more. Her family was ordinary, her grades were ordinary, her looks were ordinary, and her intelligence was even more ordinary.

If she hadn’t come here, she probably would have lived an ordinary life to the very end, never once setting foot on a journey so frequently filled with heart-pounding peril.

But just as she was about to voice this sentiment, You Yan suddenly reached out and pressed a hand to the top of her head.

The sensation was not unfamiliar.

You Yan was peering into her consciousness. This wasn’t the first time.

But what kind of thoughts could I possibly be having right now? Why is she doing this all of a sudden? What is she trying to see in my mind?

Yi Qiu couldn’t stop her imagination from running wild.¹ And as her thoughts raced, she felt a wave of embarrassment, realizing that You Yan would see these thoughts, too.

She must be seeing how awkward I feel right now, Yi Qiu thought. Thinking about all this nonsense at a time like this… You Yan is definitely going to laugh at me later.

As her thoughts spiraled, You Yan finally lifted her fingers.

Yi Qiu frowned and took a small step back, her expression displeased. “You… why did you suddenly do that? If you want to know something, you can just ask. It’s not like I won’t tell you…”

She knew that You Yan had always respected her privacy, even back when their relationship was still lukewarm. Logically, You Yan had never easily probed her mind back when they didn’t trust each other. Now that they had long since opened up with sincerity and laid everything out,² why would she regress like this?

Just as Yi Qiu was feeling deeply troubled, You Yan placed her cool palm on the back of her hand.

“I wasn’t prying into your thoughts,” she said softly.

Yi Qiu raised an eyebrow. “Then what were you doing?”

You Yan’s brow furrowed for a moment before she answered in a low voice, “I was just… trying to find that System inside your body.”

“You…” Yi Qiu’s mouth fell open. It took her a long moment to press her lips together and ask, her voice devoid of hope, “Well, did you find it?”

“You were right. I can’t find it.” As You Yan spoke, a flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes.

“You Yan, it doesn’t belong to this world,” Yi Qiu said quietly.

“Mm,” You Yan acknowledged, but she quickly hid the disappointment in her eyes and looked up. “But I will find a way. There has to be a way to drive it out. Before that happens, if it needs you to do anything, you tell me. I will accomplish it for you.”

Hearing this, Yi Qiu felt a warmth spread through her heart. She smiled, her eyebrows curving. “It hasn’t asked me to do anything. The mission has always been the same.”

“That’s good,” You Yan said, squeezing Yi Qiu’s soft hands tightly.

After a long silence, Yi Qiu suddenly suggested they go sit by Shenlu Pool³ for a while. You Yan immediately stood and led her there.

Shenlu Pool on Ao’an Mountain was surrounded by the shade of trees. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth flowed slowly here like a fine mist, making one feel as if they had stepped into a dream.

The afternoon sun of the mountain’s autumn day spilled gently onto the pool. The turquoise water was so clear you could see to the bottom, its surface glittering. A light touch of a fingertip seemed enough to shatter a sky full of stars.

Yi Qiu had been here once long ago and had kept the memory in her heart ever since.

There was no place so beautiful in the mortal realm.

Perhaps Kunlun⁴ had such places, but You Yan didn’t like it there, so she didn’t like it there either.

You Yan asked, “You like this place?”

Yi Qiu replied, “Mm.”

“When we return to the Demon Realm,⁵ I will build you one exactly like it.”

“You can do that?”

“Of course. It’s not difficult.”

Yi Qiu lowered her gaze, pleased for a moment, but then she suddenly shook her head. “The Demon Realm is the Demon Realm, and Ao’an Mountain is Ao’an Mountain.”

You Yan paused, taken aback. “You don’t like the Demon Realm?”

Yi Qiu shook her head again and looked up at You Yan, speaking earnestly. “I like every place that has you in it. So you don’t have to change the Demon Realm into something I like.”

As she spoke, her fingers couldn’t help but gently stir the clear pool water, her eyes already filled with joy.

“Even though I’m always saying I like this or that, what I like most is what you give me,” Yi Qiu said softly. “That crude tree hollow on Kunlun, or our crooked little wooden cabin… I liked them all very much…”

“You liked it, even when things were so hard?”

“Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog,⁶ you know,” Yi Qiu said, and then suddenly flicked a droplet of water from her fingertip onto You Yan’s face.

The next second, she shot to her feet, instinctively backing away.

You Yan froze for several seconds, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She simply raised a hand and wiped the water from her face.

“Childish,” she murmured, though her tone held not a trace of contempt.

“So what if I am?” Yi Qiu said. Seeing that You Yan showed no sign of retaliating, she settled back into her original spot.

But in the very next instant, You Yan merely hooked a finger, and a stream of water “hooked” itself out of the pool, splashing Yi Qiu square in the face before she could react.

Yi Qiu was stunned for a long while before she could squint her eyes open. Her mouth fell open in shock as she stared at You Yan, who couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from turning up.

Water streaked down her face, and half her hair was soaked. Droplets dripped continuously, leaving her looking utterly miserable.

“You… you, you, you!” Yi Qiu grabbed You Yan’s sleeve, wiped her face hard with it, then threw it aside and demanded through gritted teeth, “Who’s the childish one now!”

“So what if I am?” You Yan said, the smile in her eyes deepening as she looked at Yi Qiu.

“…” Is she really learning on the spot and selling it right back to me?⁷

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but bite her lip, defeat written all over her face.

Just as she was trying to figure out how to win back a point, You Yan suddenly leaned in closer and reached out to wipe away the lingering water droplets on her face.

Then, from her face, she moved to her damp hair.

Under the urging of her spiritual power,⁸ her cool fingers grew warm.

You Yan’s movements were so light and delicate that they started to feel a little ticklish. Yi Qiu instinctively wanted to pull away, but for some reason, her entire body was frozen in place.

It felt like a long time had passed since she and You Yan had decided to “be together,” but their only overly intimate moment seemed to be that one kiss on Snake Mountain.

Beside her ears, it was as if she could hear the chirping of insects and the calls of birds.

The autumn wind blew gently, but it couldn’t cool her scalding cheeks.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, only that at this distance, every single second made her heart race.

Suddenly, You Yan released her face and pulled back slightly.

Yi Qiu habitually tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, only to realize that the hair that should have been wet had already been dried by You Yan’s spiritual power.

She couldn’t help but think, It’s a good thing I have a good temper, and it’s a good thing this bird woman⁹ has this “fingertip hairdryer”¹⁰ skill. If this were any normal couple, and someone dared to splash their partner with at least a basin’s worth of water, wouldn’t they break up on the spot?

“You’re not angry, are you?” You Yan asked.

“You… you don’t know how to hold back when you’re joking. Wouldn’t it be normal for me to be angry?” Yi Qiu turned her face away, subconsciously covering her crimson cheeks with her hands.

“Didn’t you splash me with water, too?” You Yan countered.

“I only used a tiny bit!” Yi Qiu frowned.

You Yan thought for a moment, then argued, “I dried you off.”

Yi Qiu gritted her teeth and retorted, “Isn’t that just giving me a slap and then a piece of candy?”¹¹

“I didn’t slap you.”

“…”

They say people with high IQs don’t have very good EQs.

Yi Qiu turned her head away again and muttered, “Let’s not argue about this. I’m not angry!”

“If you’re not angry, why are you turning your back to me?”

“I…”

My face is red. This is so embarrassing.

As she was thinking this, she saw You Yan had already gotten up and walked around to her front. She bent down, leaning over. A few strands of long hair slid forward from her shoulders, and her narrow eyes stared at Yi Qiu without blinking.

“What… what are you doing?”

“You’re blushing,” You Yan said, the corners of her eyes lifting in a smile.

Seeing that she couldn’t hide it, Yi Qiu stopped trying. She lowered her hands and raised an eyebrow. “So what?”

“Nothing. It’s red. It looks nice,” You Yan said, sitting down in front of her and studying her seriously. “The day I kissed you, your face was this red, too.”

“…” Yi Qiu instinctively lowered her lashes. After a few seconds of silence, she couldn’t resist peeking up at You Yan again.

She hadn’t noticed before, but now she saw that You Yan’s face was also tinged with a faint blush.

What right does this bird woman have to laugh at me for blushing? It’s not like she’s any better.

This thought gave her a surge of confidence.

“Aren’t you, too?” Yi Qiu said, reaching out to poke You Yan’s cheek.

In that instant, she clearly felt You Yan flinch back in surprise. That small movement made her bolder, and she decided to take a foot after being given an inch.¹²

“Look at you, you’re red all the way to your earlobes, and you’re talking about me!” Yi Qiu said, reaching out to pinch You Yan’s earlobe, looking for all the world like a servant who had overthrown her master.

“Don’t mess around…”

“How is your neck so red, too?!” Yi Qiu exclaimed, her fingertip sliding from the earlobe down to the side of her neck.

Just then, You Yan grabbed her wrist.

She watched You Yan’s brow furrow, her gaze flickering with uncertainty.

“That’s enough.”

“Huh?” Yi Qiu’s eyes went wide.

“I… feel a bit off,” You Yan said, taking a deep breath. “You, you…”

“Me? What about me?” Yi Qiu started to get nervous.

That look, that tone, this overly tense atmosphere… something really wasn’t right.

What does You Yan want to do, acting like this all of a sudden?

Out here by a little pool in the middle of a remote mountain forest, with no cover and no bed… it wouldn’t do to be too reckless, would it…

As Yi Qiu’s imagination ran wild, her breathing grew rapid.

However, in the next second, You Yan let go of her wrist.

“Don’t be so handsy,” You Yan said, composing herself. She sat up straight and fell silent.

“Oh…” Yi Qiu rubbed her wrist, a strange sense of disappointment flashing through her heart.

She sat there in a daze for a while before she finally processed what had just happened.

How can this bird woman be like this? She’s the only one allowed to be handsy, but other people aren’t?

That’s just too much!

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The author has something to say:

About the comments from the last chapter, oh, remember to show some love for those with OCD.¹³

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