Little Alpaca – Chapter 21

Volume 1: Little Alpaca

Go On, Keep Up the Act!

Yi Qiu was caught by Luo Mingyuan, and she was grabbed squarely by the neck.

The feeling of having one’s neck forcefully squeezed from behind was terrifying, and Yi Qiu instinctively began to struggle.

But the seventeen-year-old Luo Mingyuan, although he had not yet reached the point of blackening and falling into a demon and was still just a bullied, useless little pitiful thing¹ in the Xianlu Sect, was more than capable of handling a mere one-meter-tall alpaca.

Yi Qiu struggled with all her might, but not only did she fail to break free from Luo Mingyuan’s grasp, her violent struggles caused him to tighten his grip. In the end, the human and the alpaca, tangled together, took a tumble to the ground, spilling the entire basket of salt all over themselves.

Logically, since they were both in such a sorry state, they should have let each other go. But who knew what terrible grievance this male lead had suffered; the salt and sweat stuck to him, making him feel as uncomfortable as one could possibly be, yet he stubbornly refused to let her go.

Before long, the little alpaca’s four limbs were completely tied up.

The cloth strips Luo Mingyuan used to bind the alpaca’s legs were torn from his own clothes and weren’t particularly tight, but the sense of helpless bondage was overwhelmingly immense.

Yi Qiu was terrified, so terrified that she didn’t even have time to think about what was going on with that fifty-point favorability increase just now. She only stretched her neck as far as she could, desperately calling for help in You Yan’s direction.

You Yan rushed over to her. You Yan extended a rescuing hand.

But Yi Qiu could never have imagined that as a major villain, the first words out of You Yan’s mouth would be: “Young Master, please be merciful!”

At this very moment, in this very scene, the male lead was acting like a rabid wild man from the mountaintop, without the slightest resemblance to a “Young Master.”

And yet, You Yan could still call out “Young Master” in such a soft and delicate voice. Yi Qiu was so shocked that she instantly stopped struggling, her round, bean-like eyes staring blankly at You Yan.

The You Yan of this moment seemed to have changed a lot. If before she was a beauty in her peach and plum years², then now she was a young maiden in her jasper years³. Every frown and smile was as nimble as an immortal’s, incomparably delicate, leaving Yi Qiu with her little mouth slightly agape and her gaze dazed.

Yi Qiu wasn’t the only one who was shocked.

Luo Mingyuan was half-squatting on the ground, his hands firmly pressing down on the alpaca, but his gaze towards You Yan was exceptionally bewildered.

“Young Master, are, are you alright?” You Yan’s eyes showed concern.

“N-no, I’m…” Luo Mingyuan shook his head blankly.

“It’s good that you’re alright.” You Yan smiled a little awkwardly, her face clearly showing embarrassment. After a brief silence, she pointed at the little alpaca pinned to the ground in a daze and said in a small voice, “Um… Young Master, the one you’re holding is my spirit pet… Did she offend you? I apologize on her behalf, could you please let her go?”

“Ah…” Luo Mingyuan listened and quickly released the alpaca, waving his hands. “I’m sorry! I, I’ve never seen one before, I found it strange, so I wanted to catch it and take it back… to, to let my Shifu have a look.”

The alpaca couldn’t help but pout.

No way, no way, didn’t he just say he was going to stew me for his shifu to try? How did it so quickly become just looking and not tasting?

As expected of the future scumbag, he has no principles in front of a beautiful woman!

You Yan: “Shifu? Young Master has appeared here, could you be an Immortal Elder⁴ from the Xianlu Sect?”

The alpaca instantly rolled her eyes.

Pah, how old is this little brat? To think he’d even be called an Immortal Elder just to curry favor?

And this silver-bell-like, moving girlish voice, this face full of simple kindness, this expression of worry and anxiety, is this really something the great villain, whose every word is usually as cold as ice, can fake?

This bird woman is too good at acting, who can possibly stand it!

Luo Mingyuan: “…”

The male lead suddenly went silent, which was more or less the same as in the original novel.

The Xianlu Sect remained hidden on the mountain peak behind a barrier all year round, precisely to prevent people without immortal fate from coming to seek immortality and the Dao. As a disciple of the sect, Luo Mingyuan would naturally be intentionally secretive about the Xianlu Sect’s true location.

Seeing that Luo Mingyuan was unwilling to answer, You Yan didn’t press further. She just squatted down and untied the bindings on Yi Qiu’s feet.

“Miss, I’m truly sorry for getting your spirit pet into this state.” Luo Mingyuan stood up and bowed apologetically to You Yan, his eyes somewhat unconfidently avoiding hers.

“Young Master, don’t be like that!” You Yan said, looking Luo Mingyuan up and down before giving a bitter smile. “I should be the one apologizing. My spirit pet has a bad temper and likes to spit at people she sees. She must have offended you, Young Master, causing your things to spill and your clothes to get dirty. For you to not hold it against her, this little woman feels extremely apologetic in her heart.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing…” Luo Mingyuan waved his hands hastily.

“Young Master, your clothes, and the salt… let me compensate you for them?” You Yan said with great determination.

“No need, really, no need!” Luo Mingyuan looked terrified.

“I must, Young Master, please do not refuse my apology and compensation, otherwise I won’t be able to be at ease!” You Yan did not yield an inch.

Watching the protagonist and the villain chat back and forth, the miserably ignored tool-alpaca couldn’t help but roll her eyes and stand up aggrievedly.

She irritably kicked away the cloth strips by her feet, shook her head, and twisted her body, trying very hard to shake off the salt granules on her fur.

The weather was hot, and the salt in the basket was already somewhat damp. Now it was stuck to her fur, and no amount of shaking could get it clean. The little alpaca couldn’t help but stomp her feet on the spot in frustration.

Suddenly, her ear heard a soft puchi chuckle. She looked up and saw You Yan looking at her, her eyebrows curved in a smile.

Yi Qiu bared her teeth at You Yan in dissatisfaction, but unexpectedly, You Yan picked a small clump of congealed salt from her body and tossed it into her mouth, instantly making her face contort from the saltiness. She twisted her head and began to spit furiously at the empty air. TUI!

This time, You Yan laughed even louder.

What was even more detestable was that Luo Mingyuan, who was supposed to be the one being laughed at, also started laughing along.

Something’s not right, this is so not right!

Yi Qiu felt that everything, absolutely everything, had become not right.

In the original novel, the alpaca couldn’t persuade You Yan, and You Yan chose the plan of killing the heart before killing the person on her own accord.

In the original novel, the male lead in the early stages was just a punching bag who got the female lead’s script, delicate, weak, and timid.

Because of this, after the alpaca spat on the male lead, he was supposed to run away, and while running, he would trip on flat ground in front of You Yan, and then spill a whole headful of salt on himself.

But why has everything changed?

First, You Yan suddenly didn’t want to toy with the male lead anymore. Then, the male lead, who was supposed to flee in panic, for some reason got a wire crossed and chased her for several hundred meters, causing her to suffer a “salt bath” that she shouldn’t have had to endure.

And if that wasn’t enough, how did the part where You Yan was amused by the male lead get switched to her?

“System, can you tell me what is going on with all this?”

Yi Qiu was frantically questioning her existence. “Have the protagonist and the villain gone mad? Are their emotional indexes normal?”

【Checking characters for you, please wait.】

【Check complete.】

【You Yan: Emotional Index – Normal. Physical Condition – Healthy.】

【Luo Mingyuan: Emotional Index – Normal. Physical Condition – Sub-healthy.】

If everything is normal, why are the details of the plot completely different from the novel?

【Congratulations to the host for successfully entering the main storyline.】

The system’s sudden reminder about the main storyline pulled Yi Qiu’s thoughts back to reality.

She looked up blankly at You Yan, only then realizing that she and Luo Mingyuan had already exchanged names and were now preparing to take him down the mountain to compensate for the salt and clothes.

Yi Qiu sniffled and followed behind the two of them absentmindedly.

You Yan truly was the greatest actress of the original novel. Once she got into character, she was like a completely different person. Not only was she beautiful with a sweet voice and a lovely smile, but even the way she walked was as light as a little deer. She chatted happily with Luo Mingyuan the whole way, without a trace of her usual self.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. When I first started reading the novel, Bai Jianyou was just Bai Jianyou. No one knew she had a villainous identity, and everyone saw her as a little elf of the mortal world.

In the early and middle stages of the novel’s serialization, before the villain’s conspiracy was exposed, there were indeed many readers in the comments section who felt sorry for the character Bai Jianyou.

They said things like, they felt sorry for her unrequited love, for her forbearance and modesty. If she could be a little more selfish, she wouldn’t have had to hide her love in the bottom of her heart, not daring to speak of it.

Later, when the plot unfolded and Bai Jianyou became the Demon Lord You Yan who had committed all kinds of evil, who knows how many people were slapped in the face by their previous words of pity.

As Yi Qiu thought of this, she looked up just in time to see You Yan happily pointing at a clothing store not far ahead, her smile as brilliant as could be.

“Ha, so the cold-blooded, unfeeling female demon lord also loves to shop?”

“She’s smiling so happily in front of her enemy. I’ve never seen her smile at me like that.”

“And who was it that just this morning said she wanted to skin him, flay his flesh, then crush his bones and stew them into a soup… and now she’s putting on an act!”

Yi Qiu ranted and grumbled in her heart for a long time, and finally, unable to hold it in, she snorted through her nose.

The tone was extremely disdainful, but she knew that You Yan was busy playing the little white flower right now and couldn’t tear off her mask to discipline her.

Sure enough, You Yan just smiled and reached out to rub her head, only to get a handful of salt. She and Luo Mingyuan shared an awkward glance for two seconds, then she shyly lowered her brows and smiled again.

Incredible, the female demon lord can even be shy.

This alpaca truly can’t bear to watch!

Just as Yi Qiu was rolling her eyes, she heard You Yan find a new topic.

You Yan: “I forgot to ask, what is the Young Master’s age?”

Luo Mingyuan: “Not yet of age for the capping ceremony⁵.”

No way, no way, is she about to start acting young and calling him ‘big brother’?

You Yan: “Then are you sixteen?”

Luo Mingyuan: “A year older.”

You Yan: “Then you’re a year older than me. I should call you Luo-dage⁶.”

Luo Mingyuan: “Ah?”

Damn, damn, damn, it’s really happening!

This old bird with a thorny butt has to be at least three thousand years old, and she really has the face to tell a real young man that she’s sixteen!

You Yan: “May I call you that? Luo-dage…”

Luo Mingyuan: “Th-that, um…”

Yi Qiu almost retched up the raspberries she ate this morning.

If I am guilty, please let the law punish me, instead of making me watch a mass-murdering great villain shamelessly act young just to please a baby-faced pretty boy⁷ who hasn’t even shed his childishness!

The scumbag who will cruelly hurt the female lead in the future is now just a pure little boy who blushes at the drop of a hat. This almost cruel change, no matter how you think about it, is all this old actress You Yan’s fault!

“Luo-dage, what do you think of this one? I think it really suits your figure.”

Hmph, as expected of the villain I hate the most. Even when compensating for a piece of clothing, she has to be so clingy, as if afraid her charm has nowhere to be released.

“Luo-dage, this one isn’t bad either.”

Stop picking, the male lead is a clothes hanger⁸, what difference does it make what he wears.

“Luo-dage, look at this outfit. How do I look in it?”

Why are you picking for yourself now? You big bee with bird wings, what are you dressing up so gaudily for every day!

The more Yi Qiu listened, the angrier she got, and she couldn’t help but grit her teeth hard.

No, I have to stop the male lead from turning into a scumbag, so I absolutely cannot let these two get along so happily!

The little alpaca grunted deeply twice, pulled the sourest face imaginable, walked to You Yan’s side, and stomped her foot hard.

You Yan glanced at her casually without responding, continuing to play the role of the innocent young girl.

In the next second, countless crystal-clear water droplets shot out from the little alpaca’s mouth, drawing a graceful arc in the air.

Finally, they fell like rain, splashing all over the “young girl’s” face.

The shopkeeper standing to the side was stunned.

Luo Mingyuan:

You Yan:

Yi Qiu: “Hmph—”

The little alpaca turned her head away as if nothing had happened, a faint smile hanging on the corner of her mouth.

【You Yan’s favorability +100】

The smile was instantly replaced by astonishment.

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