Chapter Ninety-Two: The Oil Lamp

At first I had heard Chen Qingshan speak of a fox spirit, and later Chen Dongfang had mentioned it over the phone as well. I had never seen one myself. The only thing I had ever seen was the little creature worshiped by the one-eyed Old Four, the one that could sit in a shrine and pass for a mountain god. But the weasel in Li Qing’s hand also seemed to possess a measure of intelligence, for it could even bow in obeisance.

Before Li Qing’s finger could flick down onto the little creature’s head, I stopped him and said, “We’re on the territory of the Yellow Immortal. Killing her disciples and descendants doesn’t seem right, does it? Why not spare its life?”

The weasel, which had just shut its eyes in fear and despair, seemed to understand me when it heard those words. It nodded vigorously at me, its tiny round eyes brimming with gratitude and pleading. Tears even rolled down its face. It no longer looked like a mere weasel, but rather like a child who had made a mistake and was begging a parent for forgiveness.

Li Qing looked at me, apparently unable to understand how I could be so timid.

I leaned close to his ear and said, “This weasel seems to have some spirit to it. Believe it or not, there must be a weasel spirit in these mountains.”

Then I coughed and looked at the little yellow weasel. “You understand me, right? If yes, nod. If not, shake your head.”

Li Qing stared at me in bewilderment. The way he looked at me was exactly the way one looks at an idiot.

Who would have thought the next moment would astonish even Li Qing? The little weasel actually nodded hard and repeatedly. I was shocked too. Though this weasel was not as the stories described, wearing human clothes and speaking human words, it was still the most uncanny beast I had ever seen.

“We can let you go, but not for nothing. Can you lead us out of here? If you can, we’ll set you free.” I asked on a whim. The weasel was the true native of these mountains. Since it had managed to get in here, that meant it was extremely familiar with the terrain. Perhaps it could even bring us some unexpected good fortune.

I had only meant to test it, but the little weasel nodded even more vigorously. Li Qing and I looked at each other.

“Put it down,” I said.

“You’re crazy? You really believe a weasel?” Li Qing asked.

“Even if you kill it, all you get is a bite of meat. Don’t forget it’s fed on dead flesh. You eating it wouldn’t make you sick? At worst I’ll skip a meal and save you my ration. Let it try,” I told him.

Li Qing still seemed half unconvinced.

“What are you afraid of? Blowing stink is already its strongest move. With your skill, where can it run in this little cave?” I said.

Only then did Li Qing set the yellow creature down.

Once it touched the ground, the little weasel still bowed to me first to express its thanks. Then it spun in a circle on the ground, as though celebrating its newly regained freedom. Its innocence and bright, cheerful manner drove much of the gloom from my heart. I smiled at it and said, “Don’t be too happy. Hurry and help us get out, or that brute will still slap you to death in a moment.”

The little weasel turned another circle, then suddenly darted like a streak of smoke into the skeleton’s body. Li Qing was about to grab it, but I stopped him.

“What are you getting worked up over a little weasel for? So what if it runs?” I said.

It was not that I had suddenly become compassionate. Perhaps it was only because, in this sealed space, seeing a living thing felt different. And this little creature, with its uncanny intelligence, was genuinely endearing. I truly did not want Li Qing to smash it into a pulp.

Just then, the little weasel poked out its head from a pocket in the clothes and peeked at me furtively before quickly withdrawing again.

I felt it might be giving me some sort of hint. Could it be telling me to take off the mountaineering suit from that skeleton? I crouched down, suppressing my disgust and nerves, and actually pulled open the zipper of the suit. A foul stench of decay rushed into my face. On the bones of the skeleton, quite a bit of dried rotten flesh still clung. The organs inside had nearly dried out as well, giving off a suffocating reek.

The little weasel was standing above, and when I opened the suit, it bit onto a strip of white cloth from one of the pockets and tugged hard to pull it out, though it could not. The whole scene was oddly adorable.

After tugging twice without success, it collapsed onto the skeleton and looked at me beseechingly. I asked, “You want me to take this thing out?”

It nodded vigorously. The white cloth was stained with blood. I felt a little nauseated, but still reached in to pull it out. Only then did I realize the object was quite heavy. I took it directly from the pocket and found that it was something wrapped in white cloth. Whatever lay inside seemed to be made of iron, otherwise something this size would not have been so heavy. I was puzzled as to what it was. The cloth was wrapped so tightly, and the bloodstains only made it more eerie. The shape beneath it seemed vaguely human, which gave me the impression of some miniature mummy.

After I took out the object, the little weasel jumped onto my shoulder. It seemed as curious as I was about what was inside, and watched me expectantly. Just as I reached out to undo the cloth, Li Qing suddenly snatched it from my hands.

I jumped and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Be careful. I suspect the weasel is up to something,” Li Qing said.

At once I saw the little thing on my shoulder puffing up indignantly at Li Qing, clearly displeased at being suspected. Li Qing clearly noticed the tiny creature’s challenge and shook his fist at it. The little thing was truly timid. Frightened, it darted onto my back in an instant.

“Why keep scaring the poor thing?” I glared at Li Qing.

Li Qing looked at me as if I were the fool, and said, “Poor thing? You sound like a woman. One little display of cuteness and you start treating it like a baby? I’m telling you, with that much spirit, it has to be at least a hundred or two years old. It may even be older than your great-grandfather!”

I nearly spat a mouthful of blood into Li Qing’s face, but I had to admit he had a point. Thinking of such an adorable little creature possibly being a hundred or two hundred years old gave me a chill as well.

“Fine, fine. Open it and have a look. Maybe it’s a map, and it’ll guide us out,” I said.

“Got gloves?” Li Qing asked.

I remembered I had brought a pair of white cotton gloves. They were the roughest kind, usually used for manual work. I had brought them just in case, so I hurriedly took them out and handed them over. After putting them on, Li Qing carefully and slowly unwrapped the white cloth.

In the end, Li Qing and I exchanged a glance, and both of us looked a little embarrassed, because what was wrapped inside was rather suggestive.

It was a tiny nude female figurine.

Though small, it was exquisitely carved. Every detail was lifelike, from the breasts to the hair and eyes. The nude woman was kneeling, and in her hands she held a small lotus blossom, from which a thin black wick protruded.

It was that lotus blossom that told me what this thing was. It was an oil lamp. I picked it up and found it cold to the touch and very heavy. I could not tell what it was made of. It did not seem like iron, but rather some kind of very hard stone.

“This must be an antique. If you took this out, it would fetch a ton of money,” I said.

Li Qing rolled his eyes at me. “So your little pet is repaying your lifesaving kindness with this thing. Fine, then hold onto it until you die, just like that skeleton. Once you’re dead, your little darling will eat your flesh the same way it eats everything else!”

I realized that every time I relaxed even a little, Li Qing could knock me right back into place with a single sentence. Still, I felt I ought to trust the little yellow creature. Turning around, I asked the weasel, “Little one, I mean we need something that can get us out. This thing may be valuable, but it’s no use to the dead.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the little thing sprang up from my back, bit onto my trouser leg, and seemed to want to drag me somewhere.

At last it led me to a corner of the cave. It stood upright on its hind legs, waving its two front paws animatedly, its mouth chattering away, though I could not understand a word it was saying.

Finally, it seemed to realize what the problem was. One paw pointed at the nude oil lamp in my hand, while the other pointed at the ground.