People say that the timid are like mice, and it seems to be true. As soon as the rat spirit realized that Gu Shi Yi was a Great cultivator, far more powerful than itself, it truly didn't dare to act rashly and stayed there obediently for the whole night, waiting until the first light of dawn when the little birds in the woods started chirping and singing, and only then did Gu Shi Yi wake up.
She first went to wash her face at the stream, rinsed her mouth, and then had breakfast with the dry flatbread from last night before preparing to hit the road. The rat spirit looked at the lackluster old horse and the rickety carriage with a dumbfounded expression,
"You travel in such a carriage, noble one?"
Gu Shi Yi, sitting in the driver's seat, nodded,
"Yes, what about it?"
The rat spirit circled around the carriage with a look of disdain,
"How can such a dilapidated carriage be fit for the road..."
Gu Shi Yi spread her hands,
"There's no helping it, cultivators don't value material wealth. With such a small amount of silver, I can only afford this kind of broken carriage!"
The rat spirit's eyes moved craftily and it said,
"Noble one, ahead there were Mountain Bandits who I drained of Essence. They had once robbed a wealthy family on the road, killed them all,
and used the family's carriage to transport their spoils. Afterwards, they divided the plunder, slaughtered the horses pulling the carriage, and left a carriage dumped in the mountains. I saw that carriage, made of fine wood, which after several years still hasn't rotted away with insects – far better than this one of yours!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Shi Yi's eyes lit up,
"Where is it?"
The rat spirit pointed towards the mountain peak,
"On the other side of the mountain..."
Gu Shi Yi pondered for a moment and then made a decisive decision,
"Then we don't need this carriage!"
Having said that, she jumped down, untied the horse, and took it by the reins,
"Let's walk there!"
The broken carriage was indeed about to fall apart, so it was better to exchange it. The rat spirit nodded and, looking at the old, thin horse, stroked its chin and said,
"Noble one, if you trust me, why don't you follow me? I can lead you on a shortcut!"
Gu Shi Yi looked the rat spirit up and down and inquired,
"What kind of shortcut?"
This mountain trail was the one she had taken with the Old Taoist Priest two years prior; it was already considered a shortcut compared to the main roads. What shortcut could the rat spirit possibly have?
The rat spirit giggled with a flattering smile,
"Noble one, the thing our Mouse Clan is best at is digging tunnels. Under this mountain..."
That said, it pointed to the ground,
"Under this mountain, I have hollowed out space, creating a network of secret paths. I'm not boasting, but within a hundred miles of this great mountain, there's a route wherever you wish to go..."
Gu Shi Yi narrowed her eyes at it,
"You're inviting us into your den; are you planning to lure us in there to kill us?"
The rat spirit waved its hands frantically,
"You jest, noble one. You are a Great Cultivator, how could I dare to harm you? I was ignorant of your status before, but now that I know, how could I still harbor malicious intentions!"
Gu Shi Yi observed it for a long while, making the rat spirit's back grow cold with fear, until she finally nodded and said,
"Alright then, lead the way!"
The rat spirit had not lied; it had lived in these mountains for eight hundred years, and the whole mountain had been tunneled through by it. It led Gu Shi Yi to a rather unremarkable cave entrance obscured by tall weeds, pushed aside the dense vegetation, and entered first. Gu Shi Yi, holding an old pot in one hand and the reins of the old horse in the other, and with the horse carrying her personal effects on its back, slowly followed behind.
The entrance of the cave was narrow, but just tall enough for the old horse to lower its head and enter. Gu Shi Yi looked around and noticed the rocks around the entrance were covered in moss, clearly untouched for years. She had only walked about ten yards when she reached the bottom of the cave and said with doubt,
"Didn't you say you dug this tunnel? This doesn't seem like it, does it?"
The rat spirit turned back to her with a grin,
"This outer cave was naturally formed, but inside is where I've done the digging. If ordinary people who are ignorant of the details venture in here, they would stop at this spot, believing it to be the end, and wouldn't proceed any further..."
As it spoke, it walked to the cave wall, where from the top of the cave there were twisted tree roots crawling down. The rat spirit made a series of squeaking sounds, and suddenly the tree roots came to life, slithering quickly to the sides like snakes, causing the dirt to fall with a sound, and revealing a much wider entrance. Gu Shi Yi raised an eyebrow and looked at the rat spirit,
"You do have some tricks up your sleeve!"
The rat spirit chuckled with false modesty,
"You flatter me, noble one!"
Gu Shi Yi, leading the old horse, followed it inside. As soon as they entered, they were hit by an abominable stench that rushed to their nostrils, causing Gu Shi Yi to instinctively cover her mouth and nose.
How foul!