Little Alpaca – Chapter 98

Volume 2: Fuzhu Huodou

Fulfillment.

——I do not love this mortal world; I love only you.

For a moment, it was as if a tremor surged like a tide through the gloom, and with just one careless slip, it crashed into Yi Qiu’s heart.

The realm within the painting, at that very instant, began to crumble inch by inch.

Through eyes with vision blurred, after a brief moment of darkness, she saw a familiar figure.

A silver-haired heavenly god in black robes walked out from the ruined realm of the painting. He held a folding fan painted with a dragon that had no eyes, gathering all the shattered memories within it.

“Back then, I was the one who took them in, and I was also the one who could not give them a lifetime of peace,” Xun Chi said in a heavy voice, walking step by step toward Jiang Yuyao, whose eyes were rimmed with red. “Whether it was Snake Mountain or the Xianlu Sect, I will do my best to repay the sins committed by the Huodou…”

Jiang Yuyao unconsciously took half a step back, a hint of hesitation in her reddened eyes.

“Miss Jiang, or perhaps, I should call you Fusang.” As Xun Chi spoke, he bowed deeply to Jiang Yuyao. “I once said that I had a favor to ask of you.”

Jiang Yuyao hurried forward to help him up, her eyes filled with bewildered helplessness. “Xianshang¹, you mustn’t. I am but a mere mortal now, I truly cannot bear such…” She trailed off when she saw the resolute look in Xun Chi’s eyes. She said no more, only frowning. After a moment of thought, she looked up and asked, “What can I help you with?”

“Fuzhu and Huodou, water and fire, are incompatible. This is the fate they were born with. But the Golden Crow is fire, and the Fusang is wood. By rights, it should have harmed the Fusang, but the Golden Crow roosted on the Fusang for thousands of years and never hurt it in the slightest…” As Xun Chi spoke, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. “Divine Maiden Fusang, on the day the Xianlu Sect met with disaster, I saw your branches show no fear of the heavenly fire. If there is anyone in these vast Three Realms who can help them, it can only be you!”

“But…”

“If the Fuzhu can receive your protection, she will surely no longer be harmed by the Huodou’s power.” After saying this, Xun Chi called out softly, “Yue Zhuo, come here.”

After a brief silence, a little girl in black clothes walked out sullenly from behind a large tree not far from Xun Chi. She came to stand behind him with her red-rimmed eyelashes lowered and her steps heavy.

The girl was thin and small; with her little head bowed, she didn’t even reach Xun Chi’s shoulder.

She raised a pair of tear-filled eyes and met Jiang Yuyao’s gaze without flinching. Hope and unease were written all over her incredibly complex expression.

Jiang Yuyao: “You…”

Yue Zhuo: “The Yi Bird of Snake Mountain once promised me that if I could burn the divine souls of both the Golden Crow and the Fusang, she would allow me to take Jian Li into hiding on Snake Mountain. Snake Mountain has a protective barrier set up by the Wood God, and then the people of the Heavenly Realm would never be able to sense where Jian Li and I were hiding…”

“Golden Crow, Fusang…” Jiang Yuyao softly repeated the two names, her gaze instinctively turning to Luo Mingyuan, who was just as surprised and bewildered as she was.

Just then, Yue Zhuo suddenly dropped to her knees before Jiang Yuyao.

Jiang Yuyao was stunned. When she came to her senses, she quickly moved to help the girl up, but the little thing was incredibly stubborn, her tear-filled eyes brimming with guilt.

“It was my ignorance, my selfishness, that allowed me to be deceived and used…” Yue Zhuo said, biting her lower lip and clenching her small fists. “Everything, everything is my fault. I am willing to spend the rest of my life, thousands and tens of thousands of years, to atone for my past sins. From now on, I am willing to be an ox and a horse² and would not refuse ten thousand deaths. I only ask that the Divine Maiden help us, and grant Jian Li and me a fulfillment.”

“But, but I…” Jiang Yuyao subconsciously took two steps back, shaking her head in confusion. “I don’t remember anything other than this life. I don’t have that kind of power, and I don’t know how to help you…”

For a moment, both Xun Chi and Yue Zhuo fell silent.

Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan’s mortal trial had not yet ended, and they had yet to return to their divine stations. Even though they had forcibly awakened a portion of their divine power with You Yan’s help, their situation was very similar to Luo Mingyuan’s: they possessed this power, but could not truly control it.

The Fusang did not fear heavenly fire, but the current Fusang was merely a human. She couldn’t even perform the simplest transfer of spiritual power, so how could she protect Jian Li?

“You Yan…” Yi Qiu subconsciously tugged on You Yan’s sleeve.

She didn’t know why, but she had an unshakable, mysterious trust in You Yan, as if there was nothing in this world that You Yan didn’t know or couldn’t do.

You Yan pondered for a moment, then said flatly, “That’s simple.”

In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned to You Yan.

You Yan’s gaze, however, was on Yue Zhuo. “It’s simple, but it depends on how far you and Jian Li are willing to go to sacrifice for each other.”

“If I can be with her in this life, I am willing to sacrifice everything,” Yue Zhuo said, her gaze incomparably firm. “If I cannot, I would also give my life for her.”

“And what about her, for you?” You Yan continued to ask.

Yue Zhuo couldn’t help but feel lost.

She saw Jian Li as her everything, but what place did she occupy in Jian Li’s heart?

Just as she was at a loss for how to answer, a white deer had silently approached from a distance. She was much weaker than the last time they had parted at the Xianlu Sect, but her gaze was as gentle as ever.

“I, too, would sacrifice everything.” The white deer’s voice was weak, yet incredibly firm. As her words fell, her gentle gaze met Yue Zhuo’s surprised yet uncontrollably joyful eyes in an instant. “In this life, for thousands and tens of thousands of years, I have had only this one home. And you are the family I would rather die than harm in the slightest.”

“When I discovered that I could not coexist with you…” the white deer said, slowly walking forward. “I once thought that, no matter what, I had to leave everything good to you.”

If Yue Zhuo could live well, she was willing to abandon the mountains and waters of Ao’an; willing to abandon Xun Chi, who had protected her life against the gossip of the Heavenly Realm; and even more willing to abandon the hard-won peace and return to the mortal world that was, for her, almost cold and indifferent, to wander aimlessly alone.

But her one-sided devotion had instead become an irreversible harm.

“I’m sorry,” the white deer said softly, voicing the guilt in her heart as she walked step by step to Yue Zhuo’s side. Finally, using what little strength she had left, she transformed into a human figure, gently brushing aside the stray hairs on Yue Zhuo’s forehead. She gave a bitter smile. “If I had known you didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have acted on my own initiative…”

“You told me not to be sad for you, but if you were gone from this world, I wouldn’t know how not to be sad… For over two thousand years, I have lived in guilt, and I have been searching for a way to be with you…” Her voice was so light, so soft, yet every word struck the heart. “But I was so afraid that I would never find it, or that by the time I did, you would no longer be willing to forgive me. Countless times in my dreams, I cried and begged for your forgiveness, only to open my eyes countless times and not see you there.”

As Jian Li spoke, she gently pulled Yue Zhuo into her arms, closed her eyes, and shed a tear. Her voice was gentle yet incredibly resolute. “I love this mortal world, but I love you more. If we had enough time, I would want so much to take you, bit by bit, to fall in love with everything I love.”

For a moment, it was as if their world contained only each other, with no room for anyone else.

Yi Qiu subconsciously looked at You Yan, as if seeking an answer.

You Yan considered for a moment, her gaze drifting into the distance.

After what felt like a long time, she uttered a single phrase: “Blood Pact.”

“Blood Pact…” Xun Chi couldn’t help but frown.

The term “Blood Pact” was not unfamiliar to Yi Qiu, who had read xuanhuan novels³ for years. It was used in many stories with largely similar settings. The most accepted version was that the master of the pact held absolute control over the servant, able to decide their life or death with a single thought, with the servant having no right to refuse.

“The Fusang does not fear heavenly fire. If the Fuzhu can form a Blood Pact with her, she will naturally be protected by the Fusang’s power,” You Yan said flatly. “The same goes for the Huodou. You have made one mistake after another. If you have no immortal or god to depend on in the future, I’m afraid that even if you survive, you will not be forgiven by the Heavenly Realm… If you truly intend to turn toward good, following the Fuzhu and staying with the Fusang from now on would be your best choice.”

Suddenly, both Jian Li and Yue Zhuo turned their gazes to Xun Chi.

They had both been saved by Xun Chi back then. If they were to stay by the side of any immortal or god in this life, it would only be Xun Chi.

This scene left Jiang Yuyao at a loss for how to respond. She could only lower her eyelashes, her gaze hesitant as she clutched the hem of her skirt.

This was an answer Yi Qiu hadn’t expected.

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but this scene felt familiar… as if, as if it were from Journey to the West, where a demon, after causing trouble, is taken in as a mount by a deity summoned by Sun Wukong.

What a strange sense of déjà vu.

But You Yan was right. Xun Chi’s single thought of benevolence⁴ back then had led to disaster. Now, no matter how much he wanted to stubbornly go his own way⁵, he could no longer protect the Fuzhu and the Huodou.

Fusang was different. Just by virtue of being the female lead, by virtue of having won over the son of the Heavenly Emperor, she could protect the Fuzhu and the Huodou.

The premise was that these two fierce beasts truly signed a Blood Pact with her—after all, Xun Chi had told such a lie back then to protect the Fuzhu. Now that things had come to this, it wouldn’t be as easy to bluff his way through as it was before.

After a brief silence, Xun Chi gave a faint smile and said nonchalantly, “I couldn’t protect you anyway.”

He said that in the thousands and tens of thousands of years to come, he might not return to Ao’an. After all, some sins had to be atoned for. It would be for the best if everyone could find their own place and go their separate ways.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuyao couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

Finally, as if she had made a decision, she suddenly said in a low voice, “I am willing to make a promise. As long as you never again bring harm to the mortal world in this life, and use your powers to protect its people, I can grant you eternal freedom and will never activate the Blood Pact to restrain you in the slightest.”

“Is that true?” Xun Chi found it hard to believe.

“It is a thousand truths and ten thousand certainties.” This time, Jiang Yuyao’s reply was extremely firm. “However, there is one more thing I must get to the bottom of.”

“What does the Divine Maiden ask?” Jian Li inquired.

Jiang Yuyao thought for a moment, then frowned. “Huodou, do you know why the Yi Bird is so intent on killing me and my junior brother? Have we… ever done anything to wrong her?”

Yue Zhuo frowned and shook her head, looking completely baffled.

Yi Qiu couldn’t hold back any longer and said loudly, “How could you have wronged her? When Snake Mountain was burned, Jade Sea even took her in for three hundred years! If she really wanted revenge, why would she ignore Little Hot Dog and go after you guys instead!” She pouted and continued, “If you ask me, that Yi Bird is just crazy with jealousy and wants to use Little Hot Dog to get rid of her romantic rivals!”

Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan’s expressions became bewildered.

You Yan: “Oh?”

Yi Qiu: “What do you mean, ‘oh’? You know about this too, don’t you? Xun Chi, Jian Li, you all know!”

You Yan nonchalantly hummed in agreement, then raised her hand with a faint smile and lightly patted Yi Qiu’s little head three times.⁶

Yi Qiu: “…”

My head is going to explode. The system was the one who told me about the three hundred years, how did I just blurt that out!

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The author has something to say:

There’s no point in rushing me; it won’t work. Each volume is one story. How many tens of thousands of words can two people spend just falling in love? If I delete all the plot, the relationship won’t feel real either. To those who say the relationship has made no progress, I can only say that progress isn’t just about kissing and ‘doi’. Think about how much the two of them have changed for each other along the way. You can feel it if you go back and read the earlier parts. These changes are the result of everything they’ve experienced together; they don’t just happen from chatting and eating together every day. You don’t have to like the side CP, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a reason to exist. I have dropped hints more than once that the situation with petting the dog is very similar to Yi Qiu and You Yan’s current situation. They are observers, but they are also participants. Seeing all this changes Yi Qiu, and it changes You Yan too. Ask yourself honestly, is it really that much page space? The title of this volume is Fuzhu and Huodou. How many chapters are actually about them? If you count, you’ll find that Yi Qiu and You Yan still take up the majority. And I have never left the protagonists’ point of view to give fluff to any other CP. Everything that every character experiences serves to promote the protagonists’ reflection or empathy. At least for me, I don’t think any of it is pointless plot.

My view on relationships is that they should be like a thin stream that flows for a long time⁷. The protagonists’ personalities are not the type to easily open their hearts and get together. I can’t write something that progresses by leaps and bounds. I wouldn’t be able to convince myself.

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