Volume 1: Little Alpaca
What else do you want me to help you do?
This was a threat, an intimidation!
Yi Qiu considered her middle and high school reading comprehension to be not bad. As soon as You Yan said this, she instantly got1 the true meaning within.
—If you dare not stand on my side, I will use you to stew alpaca soup.
After a brief silence, Yi Qiu sniffled, gave a wronged “oh,” and released the two hooves hugging You Yan’s ankle.
This bird woman, You Yan, usually walked leisurely everywhere, but once she got fast, she would disappear with a “swoosh.”
Yi Qiu stared blankly at the empty sky and earth outside the door for a long time, finally sighing softly. She shook off the dust on her body and lazily lay back down on her little floor bedding.
At this moment, she was the only one left in the room, and her brain, which had been crashing from time to time recently, started to work hard again.
Just now, for a moment, a very obvious moment, You Yan had really exuded a faint killing intent.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but think that at that moment, when You Yan asked if she was sent by the Heavenly Realm, if she really was, she would have lost her life on the spot.
But if she wasn’t, then You Yan wouldn’t care where she came from or what purpose she had.
This was a warning, and also a relief.
It was You Yan telling her—you can hide things from me, you can also have some purpose behind my back, as long as you don’t belong to the Heavenly Realm, I can open one eye and close one eye2.
The Heavenly and Demonic Realms had been opposed for a long time. As the Venerable of the Demon Realm, it was normal for You Yan to have such a reaction.
After all, previously, You Yan had traveled a thousand li3 to come here, originally intending to directly slaughter Luo Mingyuan. If she hadn’t been stopped by the alpaca beside her, how could that little pig trotter have lived to this day?
However, You Yan was a great villain, after all. Even if she had lost interest in the protagonist, just based on the opposition between the Demonic and Heavenly Realms, her trip here should not have been in vain.
Now that the novel’s main storyline had completely collapsed, this meant that anything was possible.
With You Yan’s temperament, Yi Qiu seriously suspected that she would pick a time before leaving to directly slaughter the male and female leads and that Wood God who had self-proclaimed her divine power, and then scatter flowers and end the whole show.
In the end, You Yan was not a particularly good and kind person. No matter how lazy she was to feign civility with people4, and no matter how much she disdained to drop stones on someone who has fallen into a well5, it didn’t stop her from directly giving her opponents from the Heavenly Realm a quick end.
If that were really the case, she could find a place to quietly wait for death again.
No, when You Yan came back, she still had to find a way to probe You Yan’s thoughts.
Although her current self was probably so exposed that only a pair of underwear was left, continuing to probe You Yan’s intentions like this was definitely a matter of courting death.
But she was now simply stuck between a rock and a hard place6, with absolutely no choice. She could only brace herself and do something knowing it was impossible7.
The little alpaca couldn’t help but lament.
Being a person is hard, being an alpaca is even harder. If one is a person trapped in an alpaca’s body, then that is adding difficulty to difficulty in hell mode!
Yi Qiu pulled out the attribute bar to take a look. The favorability of nine hundred and twenty was like a straw, swaying back and forth before her eyes. She couldn’t be sure if this was the little alpaca’s life-saving straw, or the last straw that breaks the alpaca’s back.
The sky outside gradually darkened. Before the last ray of daylight faded, You Yan returned.
You Yan wasn’t gone for too long, but when she returned, she didn’t bring back any cooked food as usual, only a fluffy, big, fat rabbit in her hand.
Yi Qiu quickly stood up and went to meet her. Her eyes rolled, looking at the rabbit, then at You Yan, thinking about how to beat around the bush8 to probe You Yan’s intentions.
Just then, You Yan looked down at her, a smile suddenly hooking the corners of her lips.
The next second, her fingernails suddenly grew a few li9, suddenly becoming sharp and black, instantly piercing the fur on the rabbit’s neck.
The little alpaca’s pupils shook violently. She saw the bird woman’s fingertips were like blades. While looking at her with a smile that was not quite a smile, she slid them down from the opening on the rabbit’s neck.
Fresh blood dripped down the rabbit, down You Yan’s fingers, drop by drop onto the ground, splashing up a bit of bloody foam. It stained the hem of her pure white, slightly dusty robes, like plum blossoms dotted in the snow10.
A female demon lord like You Yan probably possessed a great sense of beauty even when killing people.
Yi Qiu, however, took a deep breath, took two steps back, and said: “I, I’ll go back and lie down for a while.”
With that, she retreated behind the screen.
Yi Qiu’s old home was in the countryside. When she was young, she would visit once or twice a year. She still remembered that her maternal grandfather raised chickens in the small courtyard. Every time he saw her arrive, he would kill one and make a good meal.
At first, she didn’t dare to look. Later, one year, she looked out of curiosity, and later still, she would even help out.
She really wasn’t so squeamish that she couldn’t watch an animal being killed. If she were a person now, she would have no psychological pressure standing there.
But she was an alpaca now. To put it bluntly, just like that rabbit, they were both food ingredients that could be sent into the stomach after being slaughtered, cooked, and seasoned.
Before killing that rabbit, You Yan had even smiled at her specifically. It was clearly an intimidation.
How could she not be creeped out?
The little alpaca huddled behind the screen for a while. There were constant sounds of movement from You Yan outside, but she didn’t know what was being done.
Before long, the sky outside darkened completely. Yi Qiu saw the flickering firelight and also smelled the aroma of roasted meat.
She felt a little hungry, so she stood up from her floor bedding, slowly walked out from behind the screen, and walked hesitantly to You Yan’s back.
Outside, the bloodstains on the ground had been cleaned up. You Yan had set up a bonfire by the door, out of the way.
She was currently sitting on the threshold, roasting the rabbit, which had its head and feet removed and was skewered on two bamboo sticks. From time to time, she would turn it over and sprinkle some seasoning powder on it, which she had gotten from who knows where.
It smells so good…
Although You Yan hadn’t personally cooked in a long time, she seemed to have always been quite skilled when it came to food.
Perhaps it was almost the middle of the month; tonight’s moon was just a little shy of being full.
The moonlight, soft as light gauze, sprinkled down from the distant, sparsely starred sky, silently blending with the firelight that danced with the night wind on the mountain peak.
The little alpaca sat down beside her master, her eyes staring eagerly at the roasted rabbit held by that jade-like hand.
After an unknown amount of time, You Yan suddenly turned her face, quietly glanced at the little alpaca, and then calmly moved her gaze away again.
After a brief silence, she unconsciously raised the corners of her lips slightly.
【You Yan Favorability +10】
Yi Qiu: “!!”
The little alpaca raised her neck and turned her gaze to You Yan. Seeing the smile on the corner of her lips, she blinked her somewhat dazed eyes.
Can you gain favorability just by squatting next to a roasted rabbit?
It seemed You Yan was in a good mood now. Did this mean they could chat about something?
Yi Qiu struggled a little in her heart, and finally, mustering her courage, she extended her right foreleg and lightly touched You Yan’s left hand, which was propped on the ground.
You Yan glanced at it faintly but said nothing.
The great villain is in a good mood right now. If I suddenly talk about serious business, it would probably be a buzzkill. I have to be indirect.
Thinking this, Yi Qiu quickly turned her head to look at the roasted rabbit: “This, how do you know when it’s cooked?”
“Hungry?”
“Mmm…” The little alpaca nodded.
“Then stay hungry…”
“I…” The little alpaca was instantly choked up.
“It’ll be a little while longer,” You Yan said, her eyes curving.
The firelight shone on her body, accentuating that flawless face that one couldn’t look away from. She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but her eyes seemed to be twinkling with a bit of gentleness.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but stare, only coming back to her senses after a long while.
She thought, perhaps to You Yan, she really was special.
So special that even if she concealed, even if she deceived, as long as she didn’t cause harm, it could all be tolerated.
She thought, perhaps she didn’t need to be so indirect; she could be a bit more direct.
What can’t be said, won’t be said. What can be said, will be said without a hint of falsehood. Only then would she be worthy of that tolerance.
That’s right. She decided she would directly ask You Yan about her future plans.
“You Yan, I have something to say to you!”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“It’s not really something I want to say to you, I have a question I want to ask you!”
“Shut up…” You Yan said, turning her eyes away.
Shut up!
Two short words, like a crumpled rag, were ruthlessly stuffed into the little alpaca’s mouth.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but bare her teeth for a while, her furry face gradually deforming with grievance.
She hated it, hated that she had eaten too little bear’s heart and leopard’s gall11. The moment You Yan said shut up, she didn’t dare to utter a single syllable.
After a long silence, You Yan brought the roasted rabbit from the fire to her face and smelled it with her eyes closed.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but swallow, and also moved her nose to take a deep sniff of the aroma.
Seeing this, You Yan tore off a piece of rabbit meat, blew on it gently for a while, and held it out to Yi Qiu.
Just as Yi Qiu was about to open her mouth, she suddenly remembered You Yan’s “shut up” from earlier. A temper flared up, and as luck would have it, her temper defeated her stomach.
The little alpaca greedily tilted her head back, pitifully avoiding the piece of cooled roasted rabbit meat at You Yan’s fingertips.
“Hm?” A bit more interest appeared in You Yan’s eyes.
Yi Qiu snorted from her nose and said petulantly: “You told me to shut up. You can’t eat when your mouth is shut!”
“So you’re not eating?” You Yan asked in return.
Yi Qiu instantly felt even more wronged. She tilted her neck up and said stubbornly: “Can’t you just not tell me to shut up?”
As soon as the little alpaca’s voice fell, before she could even close her mouth, a mouthful of meat was forcefully stuffed into it by You Yan. In her fit of pique, with the meat between her teeth, eating it was not right, and spitting it out was not right either.
After a brief moment of awkwardness, Yi Qiu closed her mouth and began to chew.
The taste wasn’t bad…
Forget it, for the sake of this rabbit, I won’t be angry for now!
The little alpaca stretched lazily, put away her petulant expressions, and opened her mouth to You Yan.
You Yan smiled, tore off another piece of meat, blew it cool, and brought it to Yi Qiu’s mouth.
Back and forth, a rabbit was almost finished. You Yan still held the bamboo skewers in her hand.
She quietly stared at the dancing bonfire before her, her mind wandering for a long time, before she let out a light laugh.
“What did you want to say to me?”
“Huh?” Yi Qiu was dazed for a moment, then suddenly came to her senses and said boldly, “I, I just wanted to ask, do you… do you still want to kill Luo Mingyuan?”
“Do you want to?” You Yan asked in return.
Yi Qiu didn’t dare to speak for a moment.
At that moment, they faced each other without words.
After a brief silence, You Yan stretched her arm forward, dropped the bamboo skewers in her hand, and stood up, saying: “I understand.”
“Ah…”
Understand what?
You Yan turned and walked into the room. With a wave of her sleeve, she extinguished the bonfire outside.
Yi Qiu quickly followed her into the room, kicking the door shut with her hind legs in a particularly well-behaved and sensible manner. She looked at You Yan, who was standing by the table drinking water, at a loss.
After drinking a bowl of plain water, You Yan lit the candlestick in the room and said faintly: “I won’t kill him…”
“Ah!”
You Yan turned around: “What else do you want me to help you do?”
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
This treatment, was it really something a little alpaca deserved?
Tonight’s You Yan was so good it felt a bit fake. She had every right to suspect she was dreaming.
The candlelight was dim, pulling at someone’s unknown emotions.
Suddenly, the little alpaca, like a crab, with her butt against the door, walked sideways for a few steps, only stopping when she hit the cold wall.
The next second, she turned her head sharply and knocked her forehead hard against the wall.
Bang!
In that instant, a trace of shock flashed in You Yan’s eyes.
The alpaca slowly buried her head between her two front legs, letting out a whimper from her nose like a milk puppy—it actually wasn’t a dream.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…
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