The silver instrument, with its dark open end, was aimed at Xia Xi's mouth.
Gu Tong raised an eyebrow expressionlessly, taking on a 'say one more word and see what happens' stance.
Xia Xi shrank her neck and instinctively made a motion of sealing her mouth, then spread her hands, indicating, 'All right, I won't say anything more.'
Gu Tong glared at her, retracted the laser, and turned again to walk up the mountain.
...
A mountain cave, dark enough to swallow everything.
The only remaining candlelight was the burning dry reeds.
Reeds are also known as rushlights, once the wicks in oil lamps.
As long as they soak in oil, they can burn for a long time.
Xia Xi had all sorts of miscellaneous things on her, including calming essential oil, which she readily offered up.
The essential oil bottle could serve as a lamp stand, only lighting part of the reeds, like a candle.
Moreover, it could avoid producing dense smoke.
