Little Alpaca – Chapter 95

Volume 2: Fuzhu Huodou

Let me explain…

The Huodou came and went, but only silently took Xun Chi away.

Yi Qiu, with a look of utter befuddlement, furrowed her brow. It wasn’t until the fiery glow in the distance completely vanished from her sight that she suddenly grabbed You Yan’s sleeve, saying in astonishment, “You Yan, the big black dog captured Xun Chi, why aren’t we giving chase!”

You Yan was silent for a moment, then said flatly, “Chase after them, and then what?”

Yi Qiu was at a loss for words.

Chase after them, and then what? You Yan was no match for that big black dog. Chasing would just be a freebie¹, it held no real meaning.

“Go back and sleep,” You Yan said.

“Huh?” Yi Qiu’s gaze toward You Yan was particularly uncomprehending.

“Rest first, we’ll chase tomorrow.”

“Will we even be able to catch them then?” Yi Qiu said subconsciously, but the moment the words left her mouth, she met You Yan’s faint, unreadable smile.

She was familiar with that look. Every time You Yan looked at her like that, something bad was bound to happen the next second.

As a humble little alpaca demon, in order to guarantee her absolute physical and mental well-being, she didn’t even have time to think before she had already, in the instant You Yan’s vermilion lips parted, extended a finger and gently blocked the words You Yan was about to speak.

For a moment, she could even feel You Yan’s gaze tremble slightly.

“Alright, alright, don’t say it, I get it!” Yi Qiu said, her cowardly fingertip gently leaving You Yan’s soft lips. “If you say we can find them, then we can definitely find them. Let’s go back and rest!”

You Yan quickly concealed the panic in her heart, silently leading Yi Qiu back to Moshui City.

Yi Qiu thought the entire way, and the more she thought, the more uneasy she became. The moment she returned to the inn, she immediately shut the doors and windows, lit the candlestick, and in two steps was beside You Yan, who was washing her hands at a basin.

“The big black dog suddenly came back and took Xun Chi. Does that mean something happened to Fuzhu?”

“Her eyes have changed,” You Yan replied in a low voice.

Yes, the Huodou’s eyes had changed.

That big black dog didn’t know how to hide her emotions at all. They had only exchanged a glance just now, but Yi Qiu had already taken in the strangeness in her eyes.

Not counting the little puppy from Fuzhu and Xun Chi’s memories, Yi Qiu had seen the Huodou a total of two times. Once was in the stone cave in Wuzhou, and the other was the night Xianlu Sect was burned.

In both encounters, the Huodou’s eyes held a madness that wished it could drag the entire world down with her in death. It was unwillingness, it was resentment, and even more, it was the hatred of being abandoned, harmed, and sealed for over two thousand years by the one she cared about.

But today, that madness was gone from the Huodou’s eyes. In its place was a sense of helpless desperation, of having nowhere to turn.

The once nearly frenzied vicious beast seemed to have suddenly become a child, lost and unsure of where to go. Her eyes, full of hostility and vigilance, seemed to know that there was no one left in this world to love her. She was stubborn, yet no longer as fierce and cruel as she had been that day.

Thinking of this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“The Huodou didn’t come back to hurt anyone this time. She came to ask for help…”

Just as Xun Chi had predicted that day, Fuzhu’s departure with the Huodou this time would surely not last long before, like the Huodou back then, they would grow weaker day by day.

When Fuzhu’s body grew weaker with each passing day, the well-intentioned lies of the past would finally shatter, inch by inch.

That child, who had once been abandoned and returned full of resentment to seek revenge, would surely get the answer she had bitterly sought for two thousand years.

But such an answer would be cruel for her.

Yi Qiu knew this cruelty was inevitable, but she never expected it would all come so quickly.

Something must have happened to Fuzhu.

The Huodou had been born into this vast world for tens of thousands of years. Before meeting Fuzhu and Xun Chi, she had nothing to rely on besides her innate divine abilities.

She saw Fuzhu as everything she had, and now Fuzhu was growing weaker because of her. This had undoubtedly pushed her to a dead end.

To the Huodou, if there was anyone left in this world who could help her, it had to be Xun Chi.

She only trusted Xun Chi.

But if Xun Chi had a solution, why would they have sealed the Huodou in that small stone cave in Wuzhou for over two thousand years?

Seeing Yi Qiu unable to calm down, You Yan couldn’t help but blow out the lamp in the room.

The moment all the light vanished, Yi Qiu snapped back to her senses, her eyes searching for and finding You Yan’s figure in the darkness.

“Stop thinking about it. Sleep.”

“…” How could she not think about it?

Yi Qiu plopped down on her floor mattress, and unable to stop herself, fell into deep thought again.

As she was thinking, an idea suddenly flashed in her mind. Just as she was about to turn and say something to You Yan on the bed, her eyelids grew heavy, and she dizzily pitched forward, butt in the air, onto her soft pillow.

You Yan gently curled a fingertip, flipping Yi Qiu over and covering her with a thin blanket.

The next day, Yi Qiu awoke from her dreams to the aroma of the morning meal. When she opened her eyes and didn’t see You Yan, she instantly grew tense.

That bird woman didn’t just ditch her and run off to find the Huodou by herself, did she!

Thinking this, Yi Qiu scrambled up from the floor, haphazardly tidied her messy hair and clothes, and was just about to head out the door when she saw a note on the table, weighed down by breakfast.

——Finish your breakfast. Don’t run around.

“Oh, really? You’ve already left me all alone, and you tell me not to run, so I’m not supposed to run? Do you really think I don’t have legs?” Yi Qiu said, stomping her foot angrily. She turned and ran to the door, and was just about to reach for it when a flash of spiritual light knocked her back half a meter.

For a moment, she was stunned. It took her a good while to come to her senses. She slowly reached out and gently stroked the tightly shut door.

As expected, a barrier had been placed on the door. The barrier wouldn’t harm her, but it could trap her firmly inside!

Yi Qiu took a deep breath, turned, and ran to the window to test it as well.

Good fellow², just as expected of You Yan. She really wouldn’t even let a single window slide…

This bird woman, since she already sealed the door shut, what’s the point of leaving a note? This leaves her no choice at all!

A moment of speechlessness turned into a bellyful of anger.

Yi Qiu stood rooted to the spot, grinding her teeth for a long time, before finally plopping down at the table and starting to eat the breakfast You Yan had left.

As she ate, she felt more and more wronged, and couldn’t help but start muttering curses about You Yan with her mouth full of steamed bun.

As she muttered these curses, she started reciting the nicknames she usually only dared to mumble in her heart.

“Stupid bird woman, stinky bird woman… Bamboo shoot-mouthed bee³, big bad bird, ghost-sees-and-worries!” Yi Qiu chanted, then suddenly shouted through gritted teeth, “Running off all by yourself without a single word! You must think I’m a little oil-bottle-dragger⁴, that’s why you didn’t want to bring me!”

The next second, the door behind her made a soft sound. Yi Qiu couldn’t help but turn her head and stare blankly.

At that moment, with a spoon for her millet congee in one hand and half an uneaten steamed bun in the other, her eyes slightly red, she looked completely stupefied, staring dazedly at the doorway where You Yan was watching her with that faint, unreadable smile.

“You’re awake,” You Yan said, walking into the room and closing the door behind her.

Yi Qiu forcefully swallowed the bun and congee in her mouth.

“You seem to be in good spirits,” You Yan said with a slight smile.

Yi Qiu sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. “You, you… didn’t you go, go find the Huodou?”

You Yan walked slowly to Yi Qiu’s side, leisurely reaching out a finger to smooth her messy hair. “You weren’t even awake. Why would I go alone?”

“Then, then why did you leave a note?” Yi Qiu said, forcefully poking the note on the table. “You told me not to run around, and you even sealed the doors and windows. You… you wouldn’t even let me out!”

“If I’m not here, a note is useless. If I hadn’t sealed the doors and windows, wouldn’t you have really run off?”

“I wasn’t planning on running off…”

“If you weren’t planning on running off, how would you know the doors and windows were sealed?”

Yi Qiu choked, completely at a loss for how to respond.

After a brief, awkward moment, she bit her lip and said, “Then, then how did you get out just now…”

You Yan sat down beside Yi Qiu and said flatly, “I went to find Jiang Yuyao.”

“Ah… Right, to save Fuzhu, we’ll have to rely on the Fusang after all.”

So, the bird woman went to find Jiang Yuyao. And here she thought she’d been abandoned…

Yi Qiu felt a wave of relief and let out a long, deep breath.

But just then, You Yan lowered her gaze, let out a soft chuckle, and eerily recited some words that made one’s hair stand on end.

“Stupid bird woman, stinky bird woman, bamboo shoot-mouthed bee, big bad bird, ghost-sees-and-worries…” You Yan said softly, her eyes curving as she looked at Yi Qiu, whose eyelid was twitching frantically. “So, I have this many titles.”

“You, you you… you listen to my explanation…” Before Yi Qiu could finish, You Yan grabbed her by her left braid. “Aah, that hurts!”

“Your resentment for me runs quite deep, doesn’t it,” You Yan said, though not with much blame. Amidst Yi Qiu’s soft whimpers, she rather un-gently undid the two messy lantern braids, then combed them smooth bit by bit, and re-braided them as they were before.

Throughout the entire hair-braiding process, Yi Qiu kept her neck shrunk down, not even daring to take a single deep breath.

Talking bad about You Yan behind her back, only to be caught red-handed by You Yan herself. Could there be anything more tragic in this world?

If there was, it would have to be her favorability score being docked back to below one thousand.

Thinking this, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but check her current stats.

She wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t looked, but one look gave her a shock.

【Current Stats】
Intelligence: 200
Strength: 500
Spiritual Root: 3000
Agility: 300
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
You Yan Favorability: 10241

Oh, mother, when did this all secretly increase?!

The last time she looked, the favorability was just a little over sixty-five hundred. When did it break ten thousand?

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but look at You Yan with a bewildered expression.

“What’s with that look?”

“N-nothing.” Yi Qiu shook her head and mumbled softly, “I, I thought you were going to hit me…”

“It wouldn’t come to that,” You Yan said, letting go of the newly finished braid and sitting down gently beside Yi Qiu. “Hurry and eat. We’re leaving after you’re done.”

“Oh…” Yi Qiu responded, quickly gulping down the bun and congee in a few bites. She stood up, hiccupping, and said quietly, “I’m done.”

“Then let’s go,” You Yan said, standing up.

Yi Qiu couldn’t help but ask, “Just the two of us? We don’t need to go find Jiang Yuyao and the others…”

You Yan: “They’re all waiting downstairs, little oil-bottle-dragger.”

Yi Qiu: “…”

Wasn’t that the term she was just muttering to herself? How is You Yan still holding a grudge over it?

She swore she would never secretly speak ill of someone ever again.

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