Little Alpaca – Chapter 64

Volume 1: Little Alpaca

Fool.

Inside the scorching hot stone cave, Jiang Yuyao was continuously opening a path ahead with sword qi, while Yi Qiu was carried on Luo Mingyuan’s shoulder, frantically running all the way toward that stone cave’s exit.

This stone cave had been made too hot by that big black dog, so hot that the wind stirred up while running was a wave of heat that rushed to their faces, its scalding temperature particularly astonishing, causing people to lose their ability to think.

The sound of fighting from behind them shook the heavens, not ceasing for a long, long time.

Although Luo Mingyuan’s injuries had not yet healed, when it came to the critical moment of needing to escape, the pace of his feet was still extremely fast.

Carried by him, Yi Qiu ran farther and farther away. At this moment, looking back again, You Yan’s figure had long since disappeared from her line of sight; what could still be seen from afar was only that scorching hot firelight that was still flickering uncertainly.

“Little pig trotter, you should put me down, your Shijie has already put out the fire, I can run by myself!” Yi Qiu shouted loudly, wanting to lessen Luo Mingyuan’s burden a little.

But Luo Mingyuan paid her no mind, only lifting his shoulder a bit to carry her more steadily, continuing to rush forward with his head down.

Yi Qiu discovered that she didn’t seem to have to do anything at all, and her brain couldn’t help but enter a state of shutdown.

After a brief shutdown, her thoughts, compared to just a moment ago, finally became a little bit clearer.

“System! The system that knows everything and speaks of everything!”

【I’m here.】

“That big black dog from just now… the Huodou that the bird woman spoke of, what kind of thing is it, is it convenient to say?”

【The Huodou is an ancient vicious beast in the worldview of 《Thin, Withered Branch》, its form is like a black hound, it is skilled at controlling fire, and legend says it can swallow and spit out all the bright flames in the world. It once brought an extremely terrifying disaster to the human realm and is an extremely dangerous existence. But it has already vanished without a trace from the human world for more than two thousand years.】

What the hell?

This big black dog is an ancient vicious beast from the worldview of 《Thin, Withered Branch》?

Did that good-for-nothing¹ Little Bird Coo Coo Fly mention this big black dog anywhere?

Yi Qiu considered herself to be very familiar with the original text of 《Thin, Withered Branch》, but speaking of this Huodou, she truly had not the slightest impression of it.

But even if she were to set aside the original work, for such a thing to appear in the human world was also ridiculous enough.

So, that sealing barrier deep inside the stone cave was sealing a wisp of the ancient vicious beast Huodou’s soul, then?

And the little black dog she saw on the road earlier should be the Huodou with an incomplete soul after being sealed. The reason it was sleeping here was actually to guard its own soul?

No, no, it shouldn’t be guarding. That little black dog had no demonic energy on its body at all; no matter how one looked at it, it wasn’t threatening.

Perhaps, it had just lost its own soul and power, which is why it unconsciously lingered here.

Speaking of which, if the only people who came here were Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan, it’s estimated they truly would have been unable to break this seal.

But that seal has existed for at least two thousand years and should have long been crumbling. Regardless of who set up the seal back then, with You Yan’s ability, breaking it would not be a difficult matter.

No wonder that Yi bird knew You Yan was by Jiang Yuyao’s and Luo Mingyuan’s side, yet still insisted on using You Yan’s demon seed to kill people, thereby provoking You Yan.

Looking at it now, she simply wanted to turn the tables, luring You Yan as well to this sealing place of the ancient vicious beast, to kill Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan with the help of the Huodou.

To destroy the souls of those two, not hesitating to release an ancient vicious beast, this Yi bird is truly ruthless enough.

When Yi Qiu read the novel, she only felt that You Yan was very crazy, and really hadn’t noticed that this third female lead, who was played in the palm of You Yan’s hand, was this crazy.

It must be said, isn’t this new storyline now a bit too exciting?

The term “ancient vicious beast” sounds really awesome, you know, can that bird woman handle it?

Thinking to this point, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but fall silent for a moment, and then she couldn’t resist asking again: “This ancient vicious beast you mentioned, hiss—it is very strong?”

【That’s natural. The power of the ancient era was particularly formidable.】

“I don’t really have a concept of it. How long ago was the ancient era? Is it older than that more-than-three-thousand-year-old bird woman?”

【The ancient era, also called the Primordial Era², was at least tens of thousands of years ago from the present.】

“A ten-thousand-year-old vicious beast!”

Yi Qiu instantly sucked in a breath of cold air.

As they got closer and closer to the stone cave’s entrance, they also ran to the end of the sea of fire.

Behind them, the heat waves were still churning, but the road further ahead finally cooled down.

Yi Qiu saw from afar that “demon meat skewer” made by the Yi bird, and her chaotically thinking mind suddenly blanked for a moment.

They’ve already reached this place. It seems that after running not much farther, they’ll be able to leave here.

But You Yan is still delaying time for everyone… She hasn’t come out yet. Is it because she feels she hasn’t delayed long enough, or is it that she’s already unable to escape?

Thinking to this point, Yi Qiu subconsciously glanced back. A heart that originally had not the slightest worry suddenly became unsettled.

She seemed to be starting to get a little scared.

This kind of feeling was just like that day at Xianlu Sect, when she saw the strange phenomenon in the sky and then heard someone by the great fire say that You Yan was injured, which made it completely impossible for her to feel at ease.

The system said the Huodou is an ancient vicious beast that existed ten thousand years ago.

Ten thousand years ago, ah!

At that time, You Yan didn’t even exist in this world yet.

Is You Yan powerful?

In the writings of Little Bird Coo Coo Fly, this great villain had already left the immortal mountain Kunlun not long after coming of age, heading to the Demon Realm alone.

In a period of more than two thousand five hundred years, she crawled out from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the Demon Realm by her own strength, ultimately securing the position of Demon Lord with the status of an “outsider.”

Not only did she use one lie after another to torture the male and female leads to the point of losing everything, she also utilized every supporting character that could be utilized, disrupting the entire Heavenly Realm almost without shedding a drop of blood, causing the Heavenly Emperor to suffer losses of soldiers and generals and also the painful loss of his beloved son.

Such a villain was undoubtedly extremely powerful.

But her power was not just the power of strength.

More so, it was her ruthlessness and lack of scruples, it was that she could use anything, and could also discard anything.

The reason the You Yan in 《Thin, Withered Branch》 was powerful was because her heart did not have the slightest weakness.

If a person has a weakness, even if they possess power that surpasses everything, they will inevitably be defeated at a certain soft spot.

Just like this Huodou that appeared today…

If it were the You Yan from the original work, she would definitely flap her wings and leave by herself, completely disregarding the life or death of others.

But right now, that bird woman was left alone in a sea of fire, delaying the Huodou’s pursuit for them.

They finally escaped that terrifying stone cave, but inside it was still a sky of firelight, and You Yan’s figure could not be seen coming out.

Nothing will happen to You Yan, right?

You Yan is so formidable, nothing will happen to her for sure…

Yi Qiu frantically comforted herself in the bottom of her heart.

But right at this moment, she heard the cry of a giant bird, which surged out from the stone cave behind her along with the rolling waves of fire, seeming as if it could pierce the heavens.

“This sound…” Jiang Yuyao couldn’t help but stop her steps.

Luo Mingyuan also frowned, turning around to look while panting heavily.

This sound, they had heard it before.

That night at Xianlu Sect, that giant bird that suddenly barged into Changqing Pavilion…

At this very moment, looking from the outside in, the cave was no longer just a raging firelight; there was also a kind of pale green spiritual light.

The low roar of the Huodou, the cry of the Qinyuan, intertwined in this silent night.

Yi Qiu saw that the spiritual light originating from You Yan was actually growing fainter and fainter, as if it was being crushed by the power of that heavenly fire, and not long after, from within the cave, came the mournful cry of the Qinyuan.

In that instant, her heart, which was already incomparably anxious, actually stopped beating for a moment.

Nothing can happen to You Yan!

“Let me down!” Yi Qiu suddenly began to struggle with all her might.

Jiang Yuyao hesitated for a moment, but finally made up her mind: “Go!”

Hearing this, Luo Mingyuan tightened his grip on the frantically struggling little alpaca on his body and followed closely behind Jiang Yuyao.

“Let go of me!” A very large alpaca forcefully twisted its body.

“Stop fooling around!” Luo Mingyuan clenched his teeth, but did not put down this alpaca that seemed to have gone mad.

“I don’t need you guys to take me away! The one who captured you to bring you down the mountain was Master… I suggested it! I’m an accomplice! I don’t need you to save me!”

The little alpaca’s struggle, using all its strength, caused the wound on Luo Mingyuan’s shoulder to burst open again.

Fresh blood soaked through his clothes, dyeing her pure white fleece.

The intense pain of the wound splitting open made it so Luo Mingyuan could no longer control this alpaca demon, whose figure could not be considered small. Failing to hold on securely for a moment, he let her jump down from his body.

The moment the little alpaca landed, she took a donkey’s roll³. She didn’t think too much; she stood up and then staggered toward the stone cave behind her.

“Don’t go back!”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed!”

The worried and angry voices of Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan came from behind her.

But the little alpaca was just like she had lost her soul, using the fastest speed she could achieve, running back with all her might.

She had watched so many novels, so much anime and film and television, had tasted every kind of melodrama thousands upon thousands of times, and in her heart there had always lived a chatterbox ghost⁴ who wanted to roast everything it saw.

Fools. In this world, every fellow who clearly cannot turn the tide, yet still runs back to live or die together with the one holding the rear, is a fool.

She had clearly said so more than once.

But in the end, she still became a fool.

In that moment, she didn’t even know what she was thinking; her heart was in extreme turmoil.

Perhaps, what she was thinking was, if something happened to You Yan, in the plot that follows, who would walk with her, and in the dangers that follow, who would help her get through them?

Or perhaps, what she was thinking was, if something happened to You Yan, this one thousand favorability points would have been raised for nothing, and all those times she was bullied would have been suffered for nothing, and she could only be an alpaca for the rest of her life.

Even more perhaps, what she was thinking was, if something happened to You Yan, when the day comes that she finishes the system’s tasks and goes back, and opens the pages of 《Thin, Withered Branch》 again, would there no longer be a bad woman named You Yan running through the entire text inside…

Then in that case…

Let’s die together.

At the very least, don’t let that bird woman believe, even in death, that there isn’t a single person in this world who loves her.

If, a foolish alpaca also counts as a person.

---

---