Little Alpaca – Chapter 94

Volume 2: Fuzhu Huodou

Leaving and Returning.

At the incredibly lively lantern festival, Yi Qiu kept a hold on a corner of You Yan’s sleeve, afraid they would get separated in the crowd.

She bought many little trinkets. As the night deepened, she grew tired from playing. Only then did she lead You Yan to a quiet rooftop to sit down and sort through the large pile of small items she had bought while wandering the festival.

The Qixi moon was half-shrouded, seemingly carrying specks of starlight, echoing the brightly lit long street below. For a moment, the sky was bright and the earth was bright. Looking from afar, it was a truly beautiful scene of prosperity.

As Yi Qiu watched, she couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “This really is ‘the flower market’s lanterns are like daylight,’¹ ah! Such a bright night is wonderful!”

You Yan had been quiet by her side for a long time. Hearing this sigh now, she suddenly spoke up and asked, “The day the Huodou burned the mountain, wasn’t it brighter than this?”

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “How can that be the same?”

You Yan was silent for a moment, then said, “It is indeed not the same.”

“I didn’t expect that answer from you! I thought you would say…” Yi Qiu stopped there, cleared her throat, lowered her voice, and imitated You Yan’s unromantic tone, saying flatly, “What’s not the same?”

You Yan couldn’t help but chuckle, yet she smiled and did not speak.

The smile in that instant was too gentle. Yi Qiu couldn’t help but gaze quietly at You Yan’s side profile. After a long while, she finally asked softly, “You Yan, do you now… like the mortal realm, even just a little bit?”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I like it.” You Yan said, pondering for a moment before speaking softly, “The mortal realm has its own good points, but no matter how good it is, it is still just the mortal realm.”

That’s right. No matter how good the mortal realm was, it was no place for the demon race to stay for long.

Yi Qiu pouted and said consolingly, “Actually, everywhere is the same. Just like the Demon Realm, the Demon Realm has its good points too. For example… for example, the Demon Realm is cool, and it’s very quiet!”

“You like it here.” You Yan said, turning her gaze to Yi Qiu and asking flatly, “You can’t bear to leave and go back with me.”

“No, I’m not! I’m not reluctant to leave!” Yi Qiu quickly waved her hands.

“Every time I say we should go back, you don’t seem very happy,” You Yan added.

Yi Qiu frowned and said, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to go back, it’s just… you know this, we have friends in the mortal realm now. Our friends have run into trouble, and I don’t want to just leave them like this.”

This was not a lie. At this point, they all shared a life-and-death friendship. Even if that pitting-dad² system suddenly vanished from her body and never gave her another unlucky mission, she couldn’t possibly abandon them so easily.

After all, on that night in Wuzhou, they had not abandoned her and You Yan.

That night, she was a fool, and Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao were fools too. Between fools, there was always a kind of ridiculously foolish trust, enough to entrust their lives to one another.

She was willing to believe that You Yan remained in the mortal realm to this day not only because she couldn’t tolerate the Yi Bird’s tricks, but also because she, more or less, genuinely wanted to help them.

It was just that this bird woman You Yan’s mouth was always yes while her heart was no³, so there was no way she would admit she was staying in the mortal realm to be a good person to the end and help those two from the Heavenly Realm undergo their tribulation.

“Yi Qiu.” Suddenly, You Yan softly called her name.

“Hm?” Yi Qiu came back to her senses, her gaze carrying a hint of confusion as she looked back at You Yan.

You Yan stared at her for a moment and said, “You need to understand one thing. Jiang Yuyao is Fusang, and Luo Mingyuan is a Golden Crow.”

Yi Qiu blinked, tilted her head, and replied, “I know that.”

You Yan shook her head and smiled, saying softly, “But you don’t know that once they successfully pass their tribulation and recover their former memories, Fusang may not necessarily be Jiang Yuyao anymore, and the Golden Crow may not necessarily be Luo Mingyuan.”

Yi Qiu: “…”

You Yan: “You are a yao⁴, and I am a mo⁵. In the eyes of immortals and gods, you are like dust, dirt, chaff, and bran⁶, while I am ten evils, no pardon⁷… One day, we will not even be worthy of meeting these so-called friends.”

Yi Qiu: “…”

You Yan: “Even so, are you still going to help them with righteousness and without turning back⁸?”

Faced with You Yan’s question, Yi Qiu was silent for a good while. Finally, she shook her head, held out her palm, and materialized the unfinished qiaoguo.

She picked one up and held it to You Yan’s lips.

You Yan’s gaze faltered for a second, but she still opened her lips and took it into her mouth.

“Hazelnut flavor,” Yi Qiu said, raising her eyebrows. “The hazelnuts were shelled by Little Pig Trotter, the dough was kneaded by Chao Yun, and Jiang Yuyao and I made the shapes.”

“…”

“You Yan, you have too much distrust for this world. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it will make you miss out on many trustworthy people and things.” Yi Qiu said, shuffling over and moving a little closer to You Yan. Gazing into those somewhat bewildered eyes, she said earnestly, “I am willing to believe that the friends who have gone through life and death with us, as long as they don’t lose the memories of this life, will definitely, definitely not despise us because of our identities.”

As she spoke, she seemed to feel her words lacked conviction. She thought for a moment, then continued, “Just like… just like Chao Yun. She only sealed her own divine power and descended to the lower realm privately. She never lost her memories of being a god, yet she has never held a trace of hostility towards us. So, not every heavenly god in this world looks down on yao and mo.”

Hearing this, You Yan suddenly raised her eyes and looked silently into the distance.

Yi Qiu wanted to say more but stopped herself. She felt that after saying so many grand principles, she should be quiet and give the bird woman some time to contemplate her bird life. So, she lowered her head and began to eat the qiaoguo by herself.

As she was eating, she suddenly noticed You Yan close her eyes and take a long, deep breath, and she quickly shifted her attention over.

After waiting a few seconds, You Yan exhaled that long breath. When she opened her eyes, she was still looking into the distance, but her gaze was no longer clouded.

“Sing a song for me to hear,” You Yan said suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Catching Loaches,” You Yan said. “Sing it nicely, and I’ll help your friends.”

Hearing this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

This bird woman, ah. She clearly wants to help too, but she insists on finding an excuse to be stubborn.

Well, I’ll sing then. It’s not like I can expose her, right?

“The~ pond’s~ water is full~ the rain has stopped~”

In the quiet of the deep night, a singing voice suddenly arose.

“In the thin mud by the field~ there are loaches everywhere~”

The distant lanterns had not yet gone out, and the crowds were still noisy, but none of it had anything to do with them.

“Every day I wait for you~ wait for you to catch loaches~ Big brother⁹, how about it~ let’s go catch loaches~”

The weak little sprite¹⁰, singing a children’s song that no one in this world had ever heard, was like the chirping of cicadas on a summer night, or the song of an oriole at dawn, melodiously entering the heart.

You Yan watched Yi Qiu quietly, her no-longer-calm eyes seeming to ripple, circle after circle.

Finally, as the song faded away and Yi Qiu turned to look at her, she nonchalantly turned her head away and said with a light laugh, “Truly awful.”

“I don’t believe you.” Yi Qiu’s lips curved upwards. Following You Yan’s gaze, she looked into the distance and asked curiously, “You Yan, can you sense everyone’s presence?”

“Mhm,” You Yan responded softly.

“What is everyone doing?” Yi Qiu asked again.

“One has returned to the inn, two are still at the lantern festival.” You Yan said, closing her eyes to concentrate for a moment before continuing, “Xun Chi is still on the mountain.”

“Is he celebrating the festival on the mountain?”

“Who knows?”

Yi Qiu thought for a moment, then pouted, “I almost forgot, Jiang Yuyao said this is her first time celebrating Qiqiao¹¹. It seems the Xianlu Sect doesn’t celebrate this kind of festival from the foot of the mountain.”

As she spoke, she hugged her knees and began to quietly admire the night scenery.

An unknown amount of time passed. The lights of the distant market street gradually grew sparse, as if to say that the night had deepened, and it was time for the city to sleep.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but cover her mouth and let out a big yawn. A watery mist instantly veiled her eyes, and she couldn’t help but raise the back of her right hand to wipe her dampening eye sockets.

“Let’s go back,” You Yan said, standing up and reaching out a hand to help Yi Qiu up.

Just then, her gaze suddenly shot southward.

That was the direction of the Xianlu Sect.

A rooftop is not flat ground. Yi Qiu had just steadied herself when she saw the gravity in You Yan’s eyes. Flustered for a moment, she couldn’t help but frown and ask, “What’s wrong?”

“You go back to the inn and rest. I’ll go take a look,” You Yan said. She was just about to leave when Yi Qiu grabbed her wrist firmly.

“What is it?” Yi Qiu pressed.

You Yan hesitated briefly, but finally said with a frown, “It’s the spiritual breath¹² of the Huodou.”

“Little Hot Dog? She… didn’t she leave with the Fuzhu?” Yi Qiu was astonished. “We haven’t even gone to look for her yet, why is she back… It can’t be, it can’t be that she was instigated by the Yi Bird again!”

“You…”

“Let’s go together!” Yi Qiu gripped You Yan tightly, not letting go. The Huodou was back, there was no way she could sleep!

You Yan was silent for a moment, but in the end, she pulled her into an embrace, spread her wings, and flew at full speed towards the Xianlu Sect.

Yi Qiu stared anxiously into the distance. Thankfully, she saw no flames, which at least meant the Huodou hadn’t started a second mountain fire because one word did not agree¹³.

But it had only been a little over half a month since the Huodou had left. Everyone’s injuries had not yet healed, so why had the Huodou suddenly left and returned?

Could it be that the Fuzhu couldn’t control her anymore?

The autumn night wind was much cooler than in summer, and it instantly blew away Yi Qiu’s sleepiness.

She hugged You Yan’s waist tightly, her uneasy heart unable to stop its reckless thoughts and chaotic thinking.

At You Yan’s speed, it would take half an incense stick’s time¹⁴ at most to get from Moshui City to the Xianlu Sect. Because of this, it wasn’t long before Yi Qiu could already see the enormous black dog in front of Xun Chi from a distance.

She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but at this very moment, even though there was clearly not a single flame around, Yi Qiu was already starting to feel hot.

The black dog sensed someone approaching, and its gaze instantly became much more vigilant.

She raised her head, her crimson pupils staring directly at You Yan and Yi Qiu hovering in mid-air. The madness from before she left last time was no longer in her eyes, but they still held a hint of hostility.

Seeing them, Xun Chi was just about to say something when the Huodou beside him transformed into a streak of fire and instantly engulfed him.

Everything happened too suddenly. Yi Qiu was stunned. By the time she came to her senses, the streak of fire was already carrying Xun Chi far away, like a shooting star streaking across the distant sky.

“What is this situation…”

That dog, wasn’t kidnapping a deer enough, now it has to kidnap a god too?

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The author has something to say:

Old, old rules, red envelopes… I don’t believe it, I can’t adjust the time of the first update to before dinner QAQ

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