Little Alpaca – Chapter 39

Volume 1: Little Alpaca

Being sneaky, where are you trying to go?

For a moment, Yi Qiu really wanted to turn to You Yan and shout a few things at her.

“Bird woman, are your eyes broken!”

“That woman just now was Jumang¹, she is the guardian of Fusang, the Wood God Jumang!”

“I brought such an interesting person back for you, are you not the least bit surprised, not the least bit unexpected?!”

However, some things are fine to think, but absolutely cannot be said out loud.

After all, she was just a small alpaca, an ordinary little alpaca, so how could she possibly know what Fusang was, or what Jumang was?

So in the end, she still had to face the small blame for her own laziness.

“I… I couldn’t carry it!” The little alpaca felt extremely wronged. As she defended herself, she wished she could squeeze a few tears from her pair of round, beady eyes. “I’m not a person, and I don’t have hands. You ordered so many dishes that it took two meal boxes to hold them all. I couldn’t possibly carry them back in my mouth!”

“Would it be very heavy to tie them to your body and carry them back?” You Yan asked with a faint smile.

“But, but…” Yi Qiu stammered for a long while, then suddenly remembered something. Raising her head, she said righteously, “That person took the initiative to help me carry them. I can’t talk, so how was I supposed to refuse her!”

As she spoke, she quickly flopped down at You Yan’s feet and began playing the victim at the speed of light: “I just walked the mountain roads for a whole night yesterday, I’m so tired! When I got up this morning, my legs were sore, aching, and weak. Plus, I was hungry, so I really had no strength…

Think about it, if I had collapsed from exhaustion halfway back, wouldn’t you have had to go hungry too?”

Upon hearing this, You Yan gave a noncommittal “en,” then pushed the empty meal boxes to the side. She sat down lightly at the table, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and lifted a piece of glossy, bright red braised pork². Looking at Yi Qiu with a faint, unreadable smile, she asked coolly, “What is that woman’s identity?”

Staring at the braised pork, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. “I don’t know, but I heard someone call her Sixth Shijie.”

“That’s all?” You Yan pressed.

“That’s all…” The little alpaca stood up and rested her furry head on the tabletop, her eyes gazing pitifully at You Yan.

“Oh…” You Yan said, and put the piece of braised pork into her own mouth.

Yi Qiu swallowed again, her small eyes filled with great expectation.

In the past, whenever they ate, You Yan would always take a bite herself and then feed one to Yi Qiu.

However, today, after eating that piece of meat, You Yan actually closed her eyes and, at a speed that could make an alpaca die of anxiety, slowly chewed with her mouth closed for a long time before finally swallowing. She then opened her eyes and moved her chopsticks again.

Yi Qiu’s eyes lit up, only to see You Yan pick up a piece of green vegetable, put it into her own mouth, and begin a new round of chewing that could make an alpaca die of anxiety.

She could see it now; this bird woman was deliberately trying to anger her.

How could the little alpaca endure such a grievance?

She gritted her teeth, stretched out her neck, and planned to reach for the food on the plate directly with her mouth—even if she got it all over her face, she was going to eat!

But in the next second, You Yan blocked her mouth with the end of her chopsticks.

Yi Qiu let out a muffled grunt from her nose, her head shrinking back slightly. She looked up at You Yan and mumbled softly, “I’m hungry…”

“What is that woman’s identity?” You Yan asked coolly once again.

Yi Qiu finally reacted. You Yan was testing her, probing to see if she was hiding something.

She was indeed hiding something, but the truth in her heart could absolutely not be spoken aloud.

As an alpaca, an ordinary alpaca, she was sure, certain, and positive that she could only know this much information.

So, she took a deep breath and, after a brief silence, gave the exact same aggrieved answer as before: “I only heard someone call her Sixth Shijie…”

This time, You Yan gazed thoughtfully at the little alpaca for a few seconds, then arched her brows and smiled. “She doesn’t look like a good person. Stay away from her in the future.”

Hearing this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but start complaining in her heart.

“You bird woman, you yourself are a big villain, and you say others don’t look like good people!”

“In the eyes of a female demon head like you, could it be that there are any gods who can be good people?”

But some things were fine to think, but absolutely impossible to say out loud.

A smart alpaca naturally had to learn how to judge the time and assess the situation. For example, right now, whatever You Yan said, that’s what it had to be.

Based on past experience, at times like this, there was no need to consider right or wrong at all. Just nodding her head frantically like a little chick pecking at rice³ to show her loyalty would be enough.

Sure enough, before she had even nodded a few times, You Yan had already curled her lips into a faint smile at her mindless pandering, finally allowing her to eat her lunch.

After eating and drinking her fill, Yi Qiu stretched for a bit while lying by the table, and then fell into deep thought.

You Yan must have recognized Jumang; otherwise, she wouldn’t have reacted that way just now.

In any case, if all the characters required for the initial main storyline were gathered, it wouldn’t be long before the main plot officially began.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but glance down at the sachet on her neck, then turned her head to look at You Yan, who was currently playing with a brush and ink at her desk. For a moment, her feelings were somewhat complicated.

“Can I really change her?” she asked quietly in her heart.

No one gave her an answer. Even that useless system, which was usually full of nonsense, fell silent at this moment.

Forget it, I’ll just take it one step at a time.

When the cart reaches the mountain, there will surely be a road; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten itself⁴.

How could there be a book transmigrator in this world who has thoroughly read the original text but can’t handle a mere villain?

From now on, I will follow You Yan every day without leaving her side by a single step, quietly observing the situation from the sidelines and countering her moves as they come.

I refuse to believe that this bird woman can successfully brainwash that little pig trotter right under my nose.

The moment she made up her mind, the little alpaca with great difficulty clenched her pair of stiff front hooves. Her round eyes were filled with two words—determination.

However, at that time, Yi Qiu did not realize the seriousness of the matter.

And by the time she realized something wasn’t quite right, more than half a month had already passed.

At this moment, the Xianlu Sect, just as described in the novel, was preparing for the Trial Assembly held once every four years. The disciples within the sect were all eager to give it a try. A walk through the mountains would reveal people sparring everywhere; it was incredibly lively.

However, all of this seemed to have nothing to do with You Yan.

More than half a month had passed, yet this major villain, who was supposed to be actively brainwashing the male lead day and night, had recently made no moves at all. She was acting like a great idler, sponging off food and drink while waiting for a show to watch.

The registration deadline for the Trial Assembly was fast approaching, yet the villain who, in the novel, persuaded the male lead to sign up with a bitter mouth and a grandmother’s heart⁵, was still on a passive strike, showing no sign of taking action.

If the villain doesn’t go and trick the little pig trotter, how will the little pig trotter participate in the Trial Assembly?

If the little pig trotter doesn’t participate in the Trial Assembly, how will he get a spot to descend the mountain for training?

If the little pig trotter doesn’t even descend the mountain for training, then how is the main plot of the original text supposed to proceed?

Yi Qiu remembered the system had once said that the protagonist “descending the mountain for training, relatives die tragically” was an unavoidable plot point.

If this plot could not proceed smoothly, then the system would erase her existence.

Yi Qiu was anxious, extremely anxious!

She had thought of a thousand, even ten thousand, difficult situations to handle, but she had never imagined that the main plot would get hopelessly stuck in place because of the villain’s inaction.

During this period, in order to get You Yan to act, she had dropped countless verbal hints from the sidelines, but to no avail.

She was starting to miss the green-tea-like⁶ Bai Jianyou from the novel.

She hadn’t heard this bird woman use her three-thousand-year-old girl’s voice to call the little pig trotter “Luo-dage” in a long time.

She also discovered a very serious problem: the disgusting form of address “Yuyao-jiejie” from the original text had not appeared even once.

Why…

Why is everything completely different from how it was written in the novel?

“System…”

【Here.】

“If Luo Mingyuan doesn’t register for the Trial Assembly, will I really kick the bucket?”

【”Descending the mountain for training, relatives die tragically” is an unavoidable plot point. If the main storyline cannot proceed smoothly, the host’s existence will be erased.】

Great, it’s this sentence again.

In short, I just have to make that little pig trotter get a spot to descend the mountain for training.

“I’m very curious now, if the main plot is unavoidable, then how am I supposed to change the ending?”

As Yi Qiu spoke, she couldn’t help but take a deep breath and question seriously, “This is too contradictory! It’s basically a paradox, isn’t it?”

【Not all main plot points are classified as unavoidable plot points.】

“So you’re saying, no matter how twisted the other main plot points become, as long as I successfully get through this point, it counts as me passing, right?”

【That is correct.】

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

If, apart from the unavoidable plot points, everything else isn’t important, then it seems it doesn’t make a difference who pushes the plot forward.

As Yi Qiu thought this, her eyes couldn’t help but light up.

After a brief moment of thought, the little alpaca turned her head for a glance to the side. Seeing that You Yan was napping on the bed, she stealthily got up from the floor. With steps like a thief, she carefully walked to the door, extended a hoof, and lightly pawed at the closed door.

Soon, she had pawed the door open a crack. With a light “creak,” a sliver of daylight poured in through the gap she had opened.

This feeling, like a prison break, made Yi Qiu’s heart race. Her front leg had just stepped out of the room, and before a smile could even form on her lips, her right hind leg was ensnared by something.

“Where are you going?” You Yan’s voice floated over lightly from behind her.

The alpaca, with the guilty conscience of a thief, froze abruptly on the spot.

She lowered her head and glanced at the Chuixue tightly wrapped around her hind leg. After a moment of silence, she slowly drew back the front leg that had stepped out of the room.

The little alpaca hung her head in terror for a moment, then suddenly lifted her leg and kicked the door wide open. Turning back, she gave You Yan a brilliant smile. “Master, look, the weather is nice today!”

You Yan smiled faintly as she pulled the long whip back inch by inch. Yi Qiu, with her hind leg entangled, was dragged back to You Yan’s side bit by bit, like a mop.

With a mournful face, she looked at the unreadable smile of the master before her, not daring to even let out a single fart for a moment.

After a brief exchange of glances, You Yan asked with a smile, “Being so sneaky, where were you trying to go?”

“I, I…”

“Hm?”

“I…” The little alpaca was at a loss for words for a long moment. Her tone suddenly shifted, turning into a slightly trembling melody, “Want to go to the farthest place I can see—and dance with my hands and feet while talking about dream-s with you—⁷“

In the next second, a trace of astonishment couldn’t help but flash through You Yan’s eyes.

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