Chen Yuan sized up the little creature,
A footlong, covered in fluffy golden fur patterned like flowers, with a conspicuously round and bulging belly.
Then, he grabbed the little guy's tail, and dangled it upside down.
Shook it vigorously.
The next second, a flood of white rice flour poured out from the little squirrel's mouth.
And soon, it piled into a high mound.
Estimating roughly, there were at least a hundred catties.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan exclaimed, "Wow, what a find."
Then looking at the deflated belly of the little squirrel, he was somewhat surprised.
How could this little thing hold so much?
Such a small belly could actually contain a hundred catties of rice flour.
A talent?
His eyes shone with a bright luster as he observed with his Heart Eye.
The little creature actually radiated with a faint Clear Spirit Energy.
A treasure shining on its body.
At this moment, the little squirrel, seeing its food being shaken out, frantically squealed.
It anxiously bit at Chen Yuan's hand in retaliation.
With a casual toss, Chen Yuan threw it.
The little guy, inhaling and exhaling in its belly, was like an air-releasing ball,
Rapidly shooting towards the distance to escape.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan, without urgency, extended a hand, and True Qi spurted from his fingers.
"Swish, swish, swish"
The rushing True Qi pinned the fleeing golden phantom to the ground.
The Golden Flower Squirrel, trapped within it.
Then, Chen Yuan spit out a stream of sword light.
The swiftly approaching sword light shocked the little squirrel till its fur stood on end, and then, as a human would, the fluffy front paws made a hand-rubbing gesture begging for mercy.
Afterward, it pointed its chubby paws first at the rice flour, then at its own belly, and finally towards the mountains outside.
"Squeak"
"Squeak squeak squeak"
The little thing squeaked away, gesticulating with bared teeth.
Seemed to say, willing to give back all the stolen goods, the goods hidden in the mountains.
This amusing sight did make Chen Yuan laugh.
This little creature had no malice, so Chen Yuan did not really intend to kill it.
It was just a lesson.
Unexpectedly, it was rather intelligent.
"Little guy, then lead the way!"
Chen Yuan scattered the sword light; he was curious to see what was so special about this little squirrel.
Having had some wine today, he felt a bit adventurous, and decided to accompany it on a trip.
Seeing it might not be killed, the little creature's blown-up fur settled down, it gave Chen Yuan a pitiable glance with its round eyes and ran towards the outskirts of the city.
Chen Yuan followed.
One person and one small beast, thus left the city and arrived at the forest outside.
At this time, in the mountain forest, a cave mouth concealed by dense shrubs.
A White Fox crouched at the entrance of the cave.
Suddenly, distant squeaking sounds were heard.
The fox immediately got up, looking in the direction of the sounds, and ran over.
But the squeaking sounds became even more urgent.
As if warning the White Fox.
Understanding the warning, but unwilling to leave, the fox's fur fluffed up, its body crouched low, glowing faintly in the moonlight, baring its teeth, emitting a whining call.
Those deep green eyes stared intently ahead into the darkness.
Soon, a figure emerged from the darkness.
In his hand, he was carrying something round and plump.
Seeing the figure clearly, the White Fox, whose teeth were exposed and whose mouth was wide open, ceased its aggression and instead, fear appeared in its eyes.
Its body lay down submissively, trembling slightly.
The White Fox bowed its head.
Because the newcomer was the Mountain Patrol Military Officer!
"How interesting, you two little ones know each other?"
Chen Yuan saw the White Fox.
This was one of his Contracted Demons!
The White Fox nodded, still trembling slightly.
"Unexpectedly, you two have such an understanding of human nature, this little one even knew to warn you in advance."
Chen Yuan said, smiling insincerely, his gaze turning towards the Golden Flower Squirrel he was holding in hand.
This little one just now wanted to run.
With a breath in, it floated upwards.
Chen Yuan captured it and brought it back. At this moment, the creature resembled an angered pufferfish.
It could only make chittering noises at the White Fox.
The White Fox, on the other hand, crouched down, emitting whines and fearful cries, even giving Chen Yuan a fearful glance.
As if to say, I told you about the ferocious person, you wouldn't listen.
Chen Yuan, listening to the two little demons speaking unintelligibly to each other, found it amusing.
All of a sudden, his expression changed, and his gaze turned towards a bush in the distance.
Through his Heart Eye, he saw a blazing firelight there.
This sparked his curiosity.
He tossed the Little Squirrel he held in his hand and walked straight over.
Beneath the bushes, a cave was concealed.
Inside the cave was an unexpectedly lit lamp.
There were also piles of grains, nuts, and even things like Lingzhi and ginseng.
It wasn't hard to deduce that this was the little creature's stash.
But Chen Yuan didn't focus on these items; instead, his attention fell upon the lamp.
The bronze body of the lamp was of a common style, with a light as small as a bean.
At first glance, it seemed to be just an ordinary oil lamp.
But when observed with the Heart Eye, the firelight was as bright as the Great Sun, dazzling and blinding.
Moreover, he keenly felt that when this firelight shone upon him, it was like the warm sun cleansing the body, making one's spirit platform clear and bright.
Chen Yuan was quite amazed.
Clearly, there was something unusual about this lamp.
The treasure light and Spiritual Energy present on the Golden Flower Squirrel likely originated from this lamp.
He guessed that if an animal stayed under this green lamp for a long time, it might gain intelligence and transform into a demon.
The Golden Flower Squirrel might well have gained intelligence from this object and became replete with spiritual energy.
At this moment, a golden phantom rushed in.
It planted its four paws squarely onto the pile of food.
Then it began chattering at Chen Yuan several times.
It was clearly protective over its food.
The White Fox hesitated outside the cave, not daring to enter.
Chen Yuan then pointed at the lamp and said to the little creature with a smile:
"Little guy, tell me, where did this lamp come from?"
"If you answer, how about I let you go?"
Upon hearing this, the little creature perked up its ears, its dark, glossy eyes immediately becoming spirited.
Then,
it stood up on its hind legs, dancing and hopping around.
"Chitter chitter"
"Chitter chitter chitter…"
Chen Yuan listened to it for a while, then abandoned the idea.
He beckoned with his hand and called the lamp over into his grasp.
"This thing is strange; if left unchecked, more demons will proliferate. Better for me to take it."
"To study it."
Chen Yuan talked to himself as if making a decision.
He turned around and vanished into the cave.
Only leaving behind two little demons, whose chittering echoed within the cave.
It seemed the cursing was quite unpleasant.
Chen Yuan exited the cave holding the lamp, then descended down the mountain.
He tried to snuff out the Lampwick.
The lamp oil seemed to be running low.
Yet he found that no matter what he did, the Lampwick just wouldn't go out.
Thus, Chen Yuan could only hold up this Bright Lamp, venturing through the darkness of the night.
Along the way, where the lamp light shone, the mountain's animals became noisy.
Pair after pair of greenish eyes looked at the lamp, unable to resist approaching it.
Then, like moths to a flame,
they were casually slain by Chen Yuan.
Witnessing this scene, a thought flashed through Chen Yuan's mind,
he pondered an excellent use for this artifact.
This thing lured demons,
he needed to slay demons.
Well, it was a match made in heaven, a force to be reckoned with.
Soon enough, Chen Yuan returned to Qingshan County.
Back to his own residence.
He then stared at the green lamp studying it all night.
Yet he couldn't fathom its secrets.
When day broke, the lamp extinguished itself!