Little Alpaca – Chapter 22

Volume 1: Little Alpaca

Master, I was wrong.

Inside an upper room of the inn, a folding screen had been set up. Besides having clothes for changing hung on it, it also blocked some of the line of sight.

Behind the folding screen, a bathing tub¹ was placed. The warm water was filled with fragrant flower petals, and a watery mist lingered in the space, making it seem dreamlike and fantastical.

The woman currently bathing had her ink-black hair damp on her shoulders. Her skin was like congealed fat, her hands like soft shoots. Every time her jade-like skin disturbed the water’s surface, it seemed to gently pluck at an onlooker’s heartstrings.

However, there was no onlooker to the side, only a little alpaca that had been “cured” in salt for half the day, so salty that it had lost the will to live.

The bathing tub was about one meter high, exactly the height that Yi Qiu could reach by stretching her neck. The salt particles on her body had not yet been cleaned off, and she was single-mindedly looking for a place to wash. Unfortunately, she had been tied to the folding screen by You Yan with Chuixue, so for the moment, she could only stare eagerly as her “Master” bathed, feeling her “Master’s” complete disregard for her.

I really don’t like this feeling of being covered in salt. Not to mention, the humidity in the room is very heavy right now. The salt stuck to my fur feels like it’s melting, making me very uncomfortable.

This discomfort mainly comes from a psychological place. After all, as a reserve ingredient, if my body is covered in salt, I’ll feel like I’m a piece of cured meat, not far from the day I’m put in the pot.

I know You Yan is doing this on purpose, deliberately bullying me, deliberately leaving me all salty and damp.

I also know that I deserve it. Who told me to make You Yan lose face in front of Luo Mingyuan?

Although I don’t know why my favorability inexplicably increased after I spat, in the end, I still angered You Yan and have been given the cold shoulder by her until now.

Thinking back on it now, I don’t even know where I got the courage to dare spit in You Yan’s face under those circumstances.

The scene at that time was once extremely awkward, and the atmosphere was astonishingly silent.

At that moment, the clothing store owner and two or three customers all looked over here, while Luo Mingyuan looked at You Yan, You Yan looked at me, and I shook my head and looked at the air.

Then, You Yan quickly bid farewell to Luo Mingyuan, and then used Chuixue to fashion a dog leash for me, leading me all the way to a nearby inn.

And then, it became the current situation.

I can’t help but think, maybe the volume of my saliva was too great and I truly angered You Yan. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stopped speaking even half a sentence to me after leaving the clothing store.

This kind of disregard makes me exceptionally terrified. Rather than this complete silence, I would much rather be subjected to some passive-aggressive remarks from this Demon Lord adult.

At least, being hit or scolded is better than her holding it in. It’s like the choice between wind and rain versus a volcanic eruption; even a fool would choose the former, right? But even so, I still feel I didn’t do anything wrong.

Such a deeply calculating and unfathomable major villain, acting cute to seduce a naive little innocent. As a little alpaca who knows the future plot and must change its direction, how could I just stand by and watch?

Anyway, this isn’t the first time I’ve offended You Yan. As the saying goes, the first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar. With experience, I’m not so scared anymore.

When in doubt, spit twice first. After spitting, immediately beg for mercy. The posture for prostrating on the ground must be standard, the gaze must show fear, the voice must be soft, and it must carry a slight crying tone.

Then, when faced with criticism, humbly accept it, and be repeatedly taught but never change.

Just like now, the little alpaca rested its head on the edge of the bathing tub, looking at You Yan while emitting all sorts of strange and aggrieved noises from its nose.

Like a puppy, like a kitten, like a hungry little fox.

You Yan gave her a faint glance and shifted her body slightly, as if preparing to get out of the bath.

Seeing that You Yan was ignoring her, Yi Qiu puffed up her cheeks again and said in a small voice, “Master, I was wrong, I’m sorry…”

“I don’t like to hear people acting spoiled.” You Yan’s tone was extremely flat.

“I’m not act…” Yi Qiu, halfway through her words, closed her mouth.

Alright, I admit it, I was indeed acting spoiled.

The tragedy is, a cold-blooded and heartless major villain like You Yan doesn’t fall for this kind of thing at all.

Yi Qiu stared sullenly at You Yan. Seeing that she seemed to have the intention of getting up, just as she was about to politely close her eyes, the piece of clothing that still smelled of saliva was draped over her entire forehead.

She quickly took two steps back and sat on the floor with a plop. Extending her two small front hooves, she pulled the clothing off her forehead.

By the time her vision was restored, You Yan had already draped on her clothes, walked to the side of the folding screen, took the garments from it, and casually hung them over her slender arm.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but stand by the bathing tub, acting cowardly. Staring with a pair of pleading eyes, she mumbled softly at You Yan, “Master, Master, I really know I was wrong…” Although I’ll dare to do it again next time, the surface effort must be done well.

Hearing this, You Yan’s face was finally no longer indifferent. Instead, she rested one hand on the folding screen, turned back, and gave Yi Qiu a charming smile. “Wrong about what?”

At this moment, she was not wearing an inner garment, only having casually draped on a thin outer robe. The outer robe was light and wide, not as concealing as an inner garment. Her exquisite collarbones were faintly visible under the half-open, half-closed lapels. Beads of water trickled down her long, unbound hair that had not yet been dried, silently dampening the already thin white fabric, causing it to cling to her body and outline her nearly perfect curves.

It truly makes one unable to stop their imagination from running wild.

Yi Qiu stared in a daze for a moment, unconsciously wanting to move closer to her.

A woman like this, if only she weren’t a villain…

“If you were a male,” You Yan finished, then curled her lips, turned around, and said with a half-smile, “I would dig out your eyeballs. Gently. And crush them.”

Yi Qiu abruptly snapped back to her senses, quickly nailing her gaze to the wooden floor beneath her feet, not daring to lift her head in the slightest.

This major villain, she really is a witch skilled at bewitching people’s hearts. I fell for it with just a moment of carelessness.

You Yan: “What about the question I just asked you?”

Yi Qiu raised her head. “Ah?”

You Yan sat down on the edge of the bed, slowly and methodically combing the long hair that fell over her chest, her entire face seeming to be written with—I’ve already said it, think of it yourself.

Receiving no reminder, Yi Qiu was so awkward that her toes curled into the ground for a while.

Ah, right, just now You Yan asked me what I did wrong!

Yi Qiu swallowed and said with fear and trepidation, “I was wrong! I shouldn’t have spat on you!”

You Yan: “I’m used to it…”

Yi Qiu: “Master wanted to purchase new clothes, I shouldn’t have been impatient…”

You Yan: “It’s not a big deal.”

“Eh?” Yi Qiu’s gaze went dull for half a second. She tilted her head and asked, “Then what did I do wrong?”

“So, you think you did nothing wrong?” You Yan looked at her playfully.

“No, no, no!” Yi Qiu instantly prostrated herself, pressing her little head down extremely low. “I was wrong! I was definitely wrong!”

You Yan let out a soft “en,” and then said no more. The atmosphere in the room became awkward for a moment.

As Yi Qiu was prostrating, she suddenly felt the calf of her front left leg get a little itchy. After a moment’s hesitation, she couldn’t resist raising her hind leg in a strange posture to give it a scratch.

【You Yan’s Favorability +50】

Ah, this…

You Yan: “Wash your body.”

“Oh!” Yi Qiu stood up and shook her body. Just as she was about to remind You Yan to untie the Chuixue fastened around her neck, she was yanked by the long whip, her feet leaving the ground.

For an instant, her gaze couldn’t help but become vacant.

The next second, along with a cry of alarm, the little alpaca was thrown entirely into the aforementioned bathing tub. For a moment, water splashed up high, but it seemed as if a current of spiritual energy at the bottom of the basin had lifted her up, preventing her from being hurt by the fall.

You Yan: “Wash yourself well. Use this water, and while you’re at it, wash your flowery intestines² clean as well.”

Hearing this, Yi Qiu emerged from the water with a flower petal on her head. Her little hooves clung to the edge of the tub, her eyes filled with sorrow.

You Yan is warning me.

—You follow me, you use everything of mine, so you shouldn’t let your elbow bend outwards³.

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