Little Alpaca – Chapter 83

Volume 2: Fuzhu Huodou

Elementary School Chicken Behavior.¹

It had to be said, You Yan’s question was a bit baffling. Yi Qiu thought for a long time, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what information this question could possibly pry out of her.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yi Qiu pouted and, with a complete lack of any sense of crisis, answered honestly, “Of course I do!”

Such a clean, elegant, and gentle white deer that even seemed to have its own soft glow—who wouldn’t want to ride it and see what it felt like?

It was just human nature to want to get close to beautiful things, nothing to be ashamed of.

However, the second Yi Qiu responded, You Yan suddenly let out a soft laugh and, without a second word, released the left hand that was wrapped around Yi Qiu’s small waist.

You see, You Yan had been using spiritual power in the arm holding Yi Qiu. This way, she wouldn’t squeeze Yi Qiu too tightly, while also preventing her from falling.

At this moment, with just a slight release of that hand, Yi Qiu’s body couldn’t help but drop. The feeling of weightlessness that instantly washed over her scared her so much that her soul flew beyond the heavens². She immediately let out a panicked scream and threw her arms out, clinging desperately to You Yan’s body like someone hugging a tree to survive a flood.

It was no exaggeration to say that without the help of You Yan’s spiritual power, she felt as if she weighed a thousand jin³. The moment the strength in her arms gave out, she could fall from the sky at any time.

“You Yan! You Yan! Don’t scare me!” For a moment, the little alpaca demon shrieked nonstop, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.

You Yan looked down at the person in her arms, a smile playing on her lips as she watched the spectacle for a few seconds, before finally placing her hand back on her waist.

That familiar sense of security returned, but Yi Qiu refused to let go no matter what.

She hugged You Yan tightly, sniffling wildly as large teardrops fell, soaking the left side of You Yan’s collar in no time.

“Alright, stop crying,” You Yan said, smiling comfortingly. “It’s not like I’d really drop you. Chuixue is still on you.”

Yi Qiu didn’t consider herself a crybaby and had never thought much of the crybaby protagonists in novels. But after being scared by You Yan like that, she just cried. The tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t hold them back no matter how hard she tried.

She was genuinely terrified. The fear in that instant had nearly scared her already-not-so-strong little heart right out of her chest.

She knew You Yan would never actually drop her, but she just couldn’t help being afraid…

“I… I didn’t mean to cry…” Yi Qiu said, letting out a hiccup. She raised a pair of red, teary eyes, sniffled, and continued, “It’s, it’s this stuff, it just wants to fall on its own…”

With that, she sniffled again, rubbed her eyes, and gritted her teeth to hold it back.

As she held it back, a couple more tears fell.

As she held it back, her body twitched, and she let out a tearful hiccup.

Seeing Yi Qiu in this state, You Yan was momentarily flustered and quickly wiped the smile from her face. “I won’t do that again.”

“…I don’t believe you,” Yi Qiu said in a small voice, sniffling once more.

You Yan quickly conjured a handkerchief and offered it to Yi Qiu.

Yi Qiu slapped it away and pulled one out from her own spirit pouch, blew her nose forcefully, then folded it and clutched it tightly in her hand.

“Still angry?” You Yan asked softly.

“No!” Yi Qiu yelled fiercely.

“You clearly are,” You Yan stated with certainty.

“And whose fault is that!” Yi Qiu grumbled under her breath through gritted teeth.

You Yan thought for a moment, then said, “You were the one who wanted to ride the deer first.”

Yi Qiu took a deep breath and retorted, “What’s wrong with wanting to ride a deer!”

“I’m flying you, and you’re still not satisfied?” You Yan frowned, a trace of displeasure flashing in her eyes.

“You…” Yi Qiu wanted to argue, but when she looked up and saw the expression on You Yan’s face, which was even more aggrieved than her own, she was at a loss for words.

What was going on? All she wanted was to try and see what it felt like to ride on the back of the ancient divine beast, the Fuzhu.

In her past life, when she traveled to distant places, she had seen horses on the grasslands and camels in the desert. It wasn’t expensive to ride them once, so she always would to experience it.

How come here, with a white deer right there, just the mere thought of it, before she even got a chance to ride it, had already made You Yan unhappy?

What on earth was this bird woman so aggrieved about?

What did she mean, “I’m flying you, and you’re still not satisfied”?

Was this jealousy? Was she, a Demon Lord, getting jealous of a deer on behalf of a little alpaca demon?

Was she kidding? This bird woman was a Demon Lord, wasn’t she? How could she be so childish?

“You…” Yi Qiu was choked up for a while before finally wiping away a tear and saying in astonishment, “I, I can’t even think about it?”

“No,” You Yan replied.

“…” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but bite her lip.

This bird woman was truly domineering. In the past, she wasn’t allowed to look at handsome men or beautiful women, and now she wasn’t allowed to think about other mounts… Was there anything in this world she was allowed to do?

So frustrating! Suddenly, she felt as if anger didn’t strike from just one place⁴ all over her body.

As her anger grew, Yi Qiu turned her head to the side, refusing to look at You Yan again.

She had decided!

That’s right, she was always making the same decision—she was going to ignore You Yan, at least until dinner.

After Yi Qiu made this decision, the air between her and You Yan instantly fell silent. For a moment, the only sound was the wind whistling past their ears.

But this silence didn’t last long.

She suddenly heard You Yan say in a low voice, “I’ve never flown anyone before.”

The tone was faint, yet it inexplicably carried a very aggrieved flavor.

Yi Qiu subconsciously glanced back at You Yan. Seeing her expression was normal, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was hearing things.

But just as she was doubting herself, You Yan added faintly, “You’re the first.”

“Uh… huh?” Yi Qiu responded, a bit dazed and out of it, but You Yan said no more.

You Yan flew very fast, and the wind blowing against their faces was strong.

Yi Qiu instinctively shrank her neck. Suddenly, in a flash of spiritual light, that feathered cloak from yesterday appeared on her body once again, blocking the chill from the strong wind.

Yi Qiu glanced at the cloak covering her, then at You Yan who was holding her.

Catching Yi Qiu’s gaze finally turning to her out of the corner of her eye, the corners of You Yan’s mouth lifted into an almost imperceptible arc.

Yi Qiu caught that tiny arc, and a trace of suspicion rose in her heart.

She opened her mouth, hesitating for a long time.

You Yan couldn’t help but ask, “Something to say?”

Yi Qiu frowned and turned her head away again.

She had made a promise. She wouldn’t speak to this bird woman before dinner today. She couldn’t be so easily forgiven just because of a piece of clothing.

As she was thinking this, her stomach suddenly let out a “grumble~.”

Hearing it, You Yan turned her head to look at Yi Qiu and asked, “Hungry?”

Yi Qiu: “…”

She swallowed silently. Then she saw You Yan’s right hand conjure a packet of dried meat wrapped in lotus leaves and hold it out to her. “Have some of this to tide you over. We’ll find a town later and have a proper meal.”

“Oh,” Yi Qiu responded in a small voice. She cautiously released her left hand from around You Yan, making absolutely sure You Yan had a firm hold on her before letting go with both hands. She took the dried meat from You Yan, untied the string, and began to eat it in small pieces.

As she was eating, she started to feel a bit thirsty, and You Yan handed her a wineskin filled with rice wine.

Yi Qiu paused, reaching out to take it. Just as she was wondering how to open the lid, You Yan casually uncorked it for her.

This bird woman’s “in-flight service” was certainly thorough…

Yi Qiu took a couple of sips of rice wine and handed the wineskin back.

As You Yan was putting it back into her spirit pouch, she asked softly, “Yi Qiu, are you still angry with me?”

The question came so suddenly that Yi Qiu was stunned and didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

You Yan had never asked her such a question before.

In the past, no matter how much she sulked, You Yan never seemed to care in the slightest, never offering a single word of comfort.

But today, You Yan actually cared about her feelings?

“Am… am I dreaming?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows and look at You Yan, asking with a bewildered expression, “Are you… comforting me?”

You Yan suddenly froze. When she came to her senses, she instantly put on an indifferent face. “Just a casual question!”

“Oh~” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows in a smile. “Just a casual question, huh~~”

“…” You Yan subconsciously averted her gaze.

Seeing You Yan’s evasive look, Yi Qiu suddenly felt a sense of joy and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

You Yan frowned and snatched the dried meat from her hand.

Yi Qiu: “Hey…”

The next second, the dried meat was put away into You Yan’s spirit pouch.

Yi Qiu gritted her teeth, took out the candied fruit she hadn’t finished from her own spirit pouch, and was just about to eat it when You Yan snatched it away again and stored it in her pouch.

Yi Qiu: “You!”

Her eyes widened in utter astonishment.

Heavens, what kind of elementary school chicken behavior was this?!

“You Yan, this isn’t right!” Yi Qiu frowned, attempting to lecture this great villain who seemed to have regressed three thousand years in maturity.

You Yan couldn’t help but frown.

“What, I can’t even criticize you now?” Yi Qiu continued to gain an inch and advance a foot⁵.

You Yan: “Quiet!”

Just two words, but her tone was surprisingly stern. Yi Qiu was startled and didn’t dare to speak for a good while.

Why had this bird woman suddenly become so serious?

Could it be that she got angry just from being laughed at a little?

No, it didn’t seem like she was angry.

You Yan closed her eyes, as if sensing something.

Yi Qiu opened her mouth, about to say something, when she saw You Yan suddenly flap her wings, releasing a burst of spiritual power. She instantly changed direction and sped away.

On the ground, Jian Li and Xun Chi, seeing the spiritual power You Yan released, also quickly turned and followed behind her.

Something wasn’t right…

“You Yan! What’s happening?!” Yi Qiu exclaimed in alarm. “Aren’t we going to Xi City? Where are we going now?”

“Moshui!”

Yi Qiu frowned.

Moshui City? What was wrong there? Why were they suddenly going back?

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