Little Alpaca – Chapter 40

Volume 1: Little Alpaca

Extremely boring.

Silence. During the brief silence, an awkward atmosphere enveloped the entire room.

Yi Qiu knew that, let alone You Yan, who seemed to be at level ten in mind-reading, anyone who wasn’t a fool sitting in front of her at this moment could tell she had a ghost in her heart¹.

But she really couldn’t think of any reason sufficient to make any excuses for her series of sneaky behaviors just now.

Heaven knew how much she hoped You Yan could show some kindness, do a small favor, raise a noble hand for her², and give her a chance to get by through acting cute.

However, the fact was——absolutely impossible.

At that moment, You Yan quietly gazed at Yi Qiu, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, the meaning in her eyes unclear.

Yi Qiu timidly looked back at her, her pair of eyes that wanted to dodge but dared not, were filled with unease.

A few seconds later, a trace of a smile appeared in You Yan’s eyes. She gently rubbed the little alpaca’s head twice with her right hand and leisurely asked, “Do you think you’re very humorous?”

“I was wrong!” Yi Qiu instantly knelt and prostrated on the ground. “I, I was wrong… I was wrong in that I shouldn’t have played dumb and acted foolish, and I shouldn’t have given an irrelevant answer!”

Her movements were so practiced and her posture so standard, one look and you could tell she was an old apology king.

You Yan arched her brows and scrutinized Yi Qiu for a few seconds, then parted her lips to ask, “Why didn’t you continue singing?”

Yi Qiu: “……”

“It was quite nice. Sing two more lines,” You Yan said faintly. Although her tone was calm, her eyes were filled with amusement.

Yi Qiu lowered her eyes and said in a small voice, “I for… forgot the lyrics……”

“Then just hum,” You Yan said with her eyes closed. “Continue singing……”

Yi Qiu knitted her brows tightly, a sorrowful expression on her face as she squeezed out a whimpering sound like a crying puppy from her nose. The sound was long and continuous, and after a few seconds, it began to tremble slightly. At first listen, it was as if there was an incessantly buzzing fly in the room.

You Yan’s brows furrowed. “Do all you alpacas sing like this?”

Yi Qiu quickly stopped the sound and shrank her little neck back. Her eyes cautiously sized up You Yan, as if trying to discern what this Demon Lord’s mood was at this very moment.

However, in the next second, after all that beating around the bush, she was once again faced with the question she least wanted to answer.

“Where were you planning to go just now?”

Yi Qiu sighed mournfully in her heart. She finally resigned herself to her fate, knowing that there was no way she could escape today.

She shrank back, tried her best to organize her words, and only then did she raise her head and say in a small voice, “Recently… doesn’t the Xianlu Sect have some kind of, uh, disciple trial assembly that happens once every four years?”

“Mm……” You Yan responded faintly, slightly shifting her posture on the bed, showing no other reaction.

“This trial assembly is held once every four years. All disciples in the Xianlu Sect over the age of sixteen can sign up to participate. They are grouped by drawing lots and engage in one-on-one sparring that stops once a point is made³. Don’t you think it’s very lively, Master?”

Yi Qiu said, and seeing that You Yan didn’t interrupt, she continued, “That kid with the surname Luo hasn’t signed up yet.”

“Oh?” You Yan lowered her gaze toward Yi Qiu, who was prostrated on the floor, a different kind of interest appearing in her eyes.

Seeing this, Yi Qiu knew there was a chance and quickly said, “Master, don’t you hate that kid? Why don’t we just give him a push? He’s so weak he can’t withstand the wind. When the time comes, he’ll be beaten down in just two or three moves. It will be incredibly embarrassing! Just thinking about it is interesting, don’t you think, Master?”

Hearing this, You Yan lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, her deep pupils couldn’t help but ripple with a bit of light.

Seeing that You Yan didn’t speak for a long time, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but ask tentatively, “Master, what do you think?”

You Yan thought for a moment and said, “You hate him very much?”

Yi Qiu tilted her head and blinked, putting on an expression that was harmless to humans and animals, and said obediently, “If Master hates him, then I hate him!”

After saying that, she was moved by her own sentiment for a moment.

What does it mean to be considerate? This is what it means to be considerate!

Just for this line that was so full of loyal-dog vibes, she thought it wouldn’t be too much to praise herself as the “villain’s considerate little lamb jacket,” right?

In the next second, the outer corners of You Yan’s eyes lifted slightly. She walked off the bed with a pair of bare jade feet⁴, and with a light flick of her right hand, she wrapped Chuixue, which had been tangled on the little alpaca’s hind legs, back around her slender waist.

Yi Qiu quickly got up and chased after You Yan in two steps, raising her head to ask, “Master, have you considered what I said just now?”

You Yan lowered her eyes to glance at Yi Qiu, walked to the table to pour herself a cup of cold tea, and said faintly with some impatience, “Childish……”

Yi Qiu gritted her teeth and snorted softly, complaining in her heart—You’re right. When it comes to maturity, I certainly can’t compare to a three-thousand-year-old young lady like you.

But just then, You Yan spoke again, “However, since I’m idle with nothing to do, if you find it interesting, then I’ll go along with you.”

Her tone was still faint, but the words she spoke made Yi Qiu overjoyed.

That afternoon, the little alpaca skipped and hopped ahead, leading the way. Every few steps, it would turn its head back to wait for the slowly strolling You Yan.

Changqing Pavilion had a relatively large number of male disciples, and every time You Yan came, there were always a few who would gather around to proactively offer their services.

As soon as they heard You Yan wanted to learn about the Xianlu Sect’s trial assembly, they began leading the way while scrambling over each other to speak.

“The trial assembly is held once every four years. Basically, everyone in the three pavilions who has reached the age and hasn’t completed their apprenticeship has signed up. They’re just waiting for the time to compete. Miss Bai, you must come and watch then.”

“The competition grounds are just ahead. Spiritual power barriers have already been set up around it. When the time comes, the Sect Leader Shizun⁵ and the two Shishu⁶ will act as guardians from the side. No matter how they fight inside, the spectators on the sidelines won’t be harmed.”

“Our cultivation isn’t refined, so for us, going up there is just to stretch our limbs. It’s not embarrassing if we can win a match or two…… If you really want to see a show, you have to watch the three most highly-anticipated individuals from the three pavilions.”

You Yan looked at the trial platform, which was suspended on all four sides, and asked casually, “Those three, which three are they?”

A person beside them laughed and said, “That would be, of course, our Changqing Pavilion’s Jiang Yuyao-shijie, Huamo Pavilion’s Zhao Yun-shijie, and Liuxian Pavilion’s He Xiuzhu-shixiong⁷.”

A tall and thin disciple from Changqing Pavilion nodded in agreement. “That’s right. The person who exclusively occupy the giant turtle’s head⁸ in this trial assembly will definitely be one of them.”

Yi Qiu, anxious about the registration, impatiently rubbed against You Yan’s thigh.

You Yan impassively stroked Yi Qiu’s head and changed the subject, asking, “This trial assembly is only held once every four years. I imagine everyone who is old enough signs up, right?”

The tall, thin disciple heard this and laughed disdainfully. “More or less, but it’s not without exceptions.”

“Oh?” A trace of surprise flashed in You Yan’s eyes.

In the next second, another person waved his hand and shook his head, saying, “You mean Luo Mingyuan? That piece of trash, it’s better not to talk about him.”

The tall, thin disciple mocked, “That guy is the shame of our Changqing Pavilion. He’s been in the sect for eight years, is seventeen years old, and hasn’t learned a thing. He’s clearly a disciple of our Changqing Pavilion, but he can’t even hold a sword steady. He’s sissy-like⁹ all day long, a complete piece of trash.”

“It’s a pity that kid isn’t signing up. If he did, whoever was lucky enough to draw him would be no different from getting a bye¹⁰.”

“If registration didn’t require a disciple seal¹¹, I’d want to sign him up myself. I just don’t know if he could even get onto our trial platform.”

For a moment, those disciples took turns mocking someone who wasn’t even there.

Listening from the side, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

These immortal sect disciples, engaging in campus bullying within a cultivation sect, point at others and curse them as “women” all day long, yet who knows how many of them could last even three moves against Jiang Yuyao and Zhao Yun. Still calling people “women” this and “women” that. If you look down on women so much, you should have had the ability not to come out of your mother’s womb. Besides, although that little pig trotter might not be a good person in the future, at his young age, he does all sorts of heavy and rough labor. He bears hardship without complaint even when injured. How could he be as worthless as these guys claim?

Clearly, You Yan was also too lazy to listen to these people gossiping behind someone’s back, so she spoke up and continued to ask, “Registration requires a disciple seal?”

Hearing this, Yi Qiu pricked up her ears.

“Of course. Otherwise, what if someone impersonates another?” said the tall, thin disciple. “Every disciple of the Xianlu Sect has their own disciple seal. It’s a unique nameplate that their Shizun carves for them with spiritual power on the day they are accepted as a disciple. To register for the trial assembly, you must use the disciple seal to enter the name into the roster; otherwise, it doesn’t count.”

“So that’s how it is.”

After hearing this, Yi Qiu’s gaze became a bit dull.

She had originally thought she could just secretly add Luo Mingyuan’s name to the roster, but it turned out this thing was so complicated. It absolutely required that disciple seal. So, in the end, this matter of registration still required Luo Mingyuan’s own consent…… So, was there still time for her to trick You Yan into tricking Luo Mingyuan?

Having asked all she needed to, You Yan had no desire to chat any longer with these people. She turned to leave but was once again stopped by them, each one eagerly offering to show her around other places.

Unable to secretly register the little pig trotter, Yi Qiu was already quite sorrowful. Now, hearing that these people wanted to take You Yan “to see other places” made the displeasure in her heart grow exponentially.

For a moment, she let out an extremely displeased “harrumph harrumph” at them——however, no one paid any mind.

The anger of being ignored prompted her to move her mouth.

In the next second, the little alpaca raised its neck.

“he-tui!”

“pu! tuitui!”

That afternoon, the apology-maniac Grass-Mud Horse successfully “assimilated” its master, making her also deeply experience the feeling of “apologizing” to others.

However, You Yan didn’t get angry because of this. On the contrary, her mood seemed to have improved.

On the way back, they enjoyed the mountain breeze and watched the clouds, passed by a clear spring to drink water, and returned to their lodging just as the sun was setting. Watching the sunset from the peak of a high mountain was, after all, different from anywhere else.

It was just that You Yan disliked these things, so recently, whether it was sunrise or sunset, only Yi Qiu watched alone.

Today was the first time——at sunset, You Yan stood outside with her.

Yi Qiu leaned against You Yan, watching the sun burn through the layers of clouds as it gradually sank in the west, and her agitated, guilty conscience also dissipated quite a bit.

“Have you ever heard of the Three-Legged Golden Crow?” You Yan suddenly asked faintly.

“Ah?” Yi Qiu instantly grew tense.

“That is the son of the Heavenly Emperor, the most radiant of the feathered race in all the Three Realms.”

As she spoke, You Yan rubbed Yi Qiu’s head, her tone mocking, “But it is like this setting sun. It sinks in a single evening and becomes dim and lightless. It’s like a dragon swimming in shallow shoals, or a tiger descending to the flat plains¹²—anyone can step on it. Extremely boring.”

Yi Qiu blinked with a guilty conscience and asked in a small voice, “Master…… have you ever seen it?”

“Never……” You Yan replied.

“Never?” Yi Qiu was surprised. Just as she was about to press on with more questions, she heard You Yan call her name.

“Xiao Yi Qiu……”

“Ah?” She raised her eyes and stared blankly at You Yan.

You Yan patted the back of Yi Qiu’s head. “Go back to the room and wait for me.”

With that said, she transformed into a gust of wind and vanished in an instant.

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