11: The Green Lantern (Seeking votes and follow-up reading)

Chen Yuan sized up the Little Squirrel.

It was about a foot tall, with fluffy fur patterned with golden markings, and a noticeably round belly.

Then, he lifted the Little Squirrel by its tail, hanging it upside down.

He shook it vigorously.

The next second, a cascade of white rice and flour poured out of the Little Squirrel’s mouth.

Soon, it formed a tall pile.

He estimated there were at least a hundred catties.

Chen Yuan exclaimed, “Wow, what a fellow!”

He then looked at the Little Squirrel’s shrunken belly, a little surprised.

How could this little thing hold so much?

Such a small belly, yet it could store a hundred catties of rice and flour.

A natural talent?

His eyes glowed with a clear light, and he observed it with his Mind’s Eye.

A faint, clear Spiritual Qi emanated from the Little Squirrel’s body.

It possessed a precious aura.

At this moment, seeing its food being shaken out, the Little Squirrel squeaked frantically.

In its haste, it bit Chen Yuan’s hand.

Chen Yuan casually tossed it away.

And this Little Squirrel, with a breath in and out, like a deflating ball,

shot away rapidly, fleeing into the distance.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan calmly extended a hand, and True Qi spewed from his fingertips.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh”

The True Qi whistled, pinning the escaping golden blur to the ground.

The Golden Flower Squirrel was trapped within it.

Then, Chen Yuan spat out a beam of sword light.

As the sword light rapidly approached, the Little Squirrel’s fur bristled in fear, then, like a human, its two furry front paws made a rubbing motion, a gesture of begging for mercy.

Following that, it used its chubby paws to point at the rice and flour, then at its own belly, and finally towards the large mountain outside.

“Squeak squeak”

“Squeak squeak squeak squeak”

The Little Squirrel squeaked incessantly, flailing its paws.

It seemed to be saying that it was willing to hand over everything it had stolen, and that its treasures were hidden in the mountain.

Its comical demeanor actually made Chen Yuan laugh.

Since the Little Squirrel had no Evil Qi, Chen Yuan hadn’t truly intended to kill it.

He just wanted to teach it a lesson.

Unexpectedly, it was quite intelligent.

“Little Squirrel, lead the way then!”

Chen Yuan dispersed the sword light; he was curious about what was special about this Little Squirrel.

Having had some wine today, he was in the mood to accompany it.

The Little Squirrel, seeing that it wouldn’t be killed, lowered its bristling fur, looked at Chen Yuan with pitiful, round eyes, and ran towards the city outskirts.

Chen Yuan followed.

One man and one small beast, they left the city one after another and arrived at the mountain forest outside the city.

At this time, in the mountain forest, at the entrance of a cave hidden by dense bushes.

There was a white fox lying at the cave entrance.

Suddenly, squeaking sounds came from afar.

The fox immediately got up, looked in the direction of the sound, and ran over.

However, the squeaking sounds became increasingly urgent.

It seemed to be warning the white fox.

The white fox understood but refused to leave; its fur bristled, its body slightly crouched, emitting a faint glow in the moonlight, baring its teeth and letting out whimpering cries.

Its pair of eerie green eyes stared intently into the darkness ahead.

Soon, a figure emerged from the darkness.

In his hand, he was carrying a round object.

And the white fox, which had been poised for battle, after clearly seeing the figure, no longer bared its teeth but instead showed fear in its pupils.

Its body crouched down, trembling slightly.

The white fox bowed its head.

It was because the person who came was the Patrolling Mountain Commandant!

“Interesting, do you two little things know each other?”

Chen Yuan saw the white fox.

This was one of his Contracted Demons!

The white fox nodded, trembling slightly.

“I didn’t expect you two to be so intelligent; this Little Squirrel even knew to warn you in advance.”

Chen Yuan said, with a forced smile, his gaze fixed on the Golden Flower Squirrel he held by its tail.

This Little Squirrel had tried to run away just now.

It inflated its belly and floated up.

Chen Yuan had brought it back, and now it looked like an angry pufferfish.

It could only squeak at the white fox.

And the white fox, in turn, crouched down, whimpering, and looked at Chen Yuan with fear.

It seemed to be saying, “The fierce person I told you about is him, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Chen Yuan found it amusing listening to these two little demons talking past each other.

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and his gaze turned to a distant bush.

In his Mind’s Eye, there was a brilliant blaze of light.

He was momentarily curious.

He tossed the Little Squirrel in his hand and walked directly towards it.

Beneath the bush, a cave was hidden.

Inside the cave, there was actually a lamp.

There were also piles of grain, nuts, and even things like ganoderma and ginseng, stacked like small mountains.

It wasn’t hard to guess that this was the Little Squirrel’s storage.

But Chen Yuan didn’t look at these things; instead, his gaze fell upon the lamp.

The lamp had a bronze body, common in style, and its flame was like a bean.

On the surface, it seemed like just an ordinary oil lamp.

But when viewed with his Mind’s Eye, the flame was like a great sun, dazzlingly bright.

And he keenly felt that the light from this flame, when it shone on his body, was like a warm sun cleansing him, making his mind clearer.

Chen Yuan clicked his tongue in wonder,

Clearly, this lamp was a bit strange.

The precious aura and Spiritual Qi on the Little Squirrel likely came from this lamp.

He speculated that if one stayed under this green lamp for a long time, animals could gain sentience and become demons.

That Golden Flower Squirrel might have gained intelligence and abundant Spiritual Qi because of this object.

At this moment, a golden blur rushed in.

Its four paws immediately landed on the pile of food.

It squeaked loudly at Chen Yuan several times.

It was very protective of its food.

Meanwhile, the white fox hesitated outside the cave, not daring to enter.

Chen Yuan pointed at the lamp and smiled at the Little Squirrel:

“Little Squirrel, tell me, where did this lamp come from?”

“If you answer, how about I let you go?”

Upon hearing this, the Little Squirrel’s ears perked up, and its dark, round eyes immediately brightened.

Then,

It stood up, gesticulating wildly, jumping up and down.

“Squeak squeak”

“Squeak squeak squeak”

Chen Yuan listened to it for a long time and then gave up.

He waved his hand, and the lamp flew into his grasp.

“This thing is strange; if left unchecked, it will lead to more and more demons. I’ll just take it.”

“To study it.”

Chen Yuan muttered to himself.

He turned around, and his figure vanished into the cave.

Only the two little demons were left, their chirping echoing in the cave.

They seemed to be cursing very loudly.

After Chen Yuan left the cave, he descended the mountain with the lamp.

He tried to extinguish the wick.

The lamp oil didn’t look like much.

But he found that the wick simply couldn’t be extinguished.

Chen Yuan could only carry this bright lamp, moving through the night.

And along the way, wherever the lamplight shone, the animals in the mountains became noisy.

Pairs of green eyes watched the lamplight, unable to resist drawing closer.

Then, like moths to a flame.

They were casually cut down by Chen Yuan.

Seeing this scene, a thought flashed through Chen Yuan’s mind,

He thought of an excellent use for this item.

This thing attracts demons,

And he needed to slay demons.

Perfect, a match made in heaven, like adding wings to a tiger.

Soon, Chen Yuan returned to Qingshan County.

He returned to his residence.

Then, he stared at the green lamp and studied it all night.

But he couldn’t fathom it.

When dawn broke, the lamp extinguished itself!