Chapter 85: Being Watched (Second Update)

In the instant he heard the warning, Feng Xue's previously relaxed nerves snapped taut; his hand in his pocket instantly reached for the Substitute Spell jade talisman, and as the Summoning Spell activated, several jade talismans bearing different seals leapt out from the Hu Tian bag.

The over-the-shoulder view now rose, ascending to a height of nearly four meters above ground, scanning the surrounding people for suspicious targets, when Liu Yunxi's voice sounded again:

"Probably to the west."

Feng Xue frowned but shoved his ring-covered hand back into his pocket—after all, in a world without mobile phones, raising a hand to the ear might be mistaken for scratching one's head if brief, but prolonged, it would draw attention.

As for making Liu Yunxi transform, not to mention anything else, the smoke alone would be enough to draw the watcher's notice.

Fortunately, Feng Xue had already anticipated this scenario; he lightly tapped the Ghost Character jade talisman, and as the Spirit Pact triggered, his mind instantly connected with Seeing Mo Ying.

Though the Ghost Body's prior injuries had made Seeing Mo Ying even more reclusive, upon learning the task required her to stay within the scroll, she no longer resisted; Liu Yunxi only needed to whisper softly inside her pocket, and Seeing Mo Ying, attached to the scroll in her arms, could capture her words and transmit them directly to Feng Xue through the Spirit Pact link.

After completing these small actions, Feng Xue had already scanned the area with the over-the-shoulder view, yet found no suspicious figures in the direction Liu Yunxi indicated—west—or anywhere else, nor any special spiritual radiance indicative of ghostly entities.

After a brief internal calculation, he simply found a roadside tea stall, ordered a few snacks as if merely grabbing a casual breakfast, and through Seeing Mo Ying's voice-link asked:

"What exactly is the situation?"

"I'm not entirely sure—didn't I already tell you? After the Mouth Seal was placed, I gained human senses but retained my original ones too; this is something like smell, but not through the nose—it occurs with every breath."

"After you left the guesthouse, I caught that strange odor a few times, but back then there were many such smells mixed together, and even when one was particularly strong, it wasn't unusual, so I ignored it. But here in the Bird Market, the odor is faint, and suddenly one became intensely strong—it stood out clearly, and the details matched exactly the one before, so I think it may have followed us all the way from the guesthouse."

"Humans can't smell it, and I can't really describe what it is—only that to a snake, it's not pleasant but not unpleasant either; it even stirs a desire to seek it out. There aren't many similar scents around now, and that distinct one is still present—roughly six or seven zhang to the west."

Though Liu Yunxi's words, relayed through Seeing Mo Ying, were somewhat jumbled, Feng Xue grasped her meaning: it was a special sensory perception, akin to a snake's infrared detection, that had picked up a certain odor.

Following Liu Yunxi's direction, Feng Xue used the over-the-shoulder view to gaze westward—but beyond ten meters lay a row of storefronts across the street. Though morning pedestrians weren't numerous, they were certainly not few; aside from shopkeepers and similar figures, few stood motionless in one spot.

"So many people around, yet Liu Yunxi senses only one target—does that mean it's possibly not human?"

With this thought, Feng Xue shifted his focus: the condition for Guan Tian Shou's activation changed from "lifespans of surrounding humans" to "lifespans of animals other than humans."

Instantly, the numbers above passersby vanished; only the occasional flying insects—each with one or two-digit lifespans—remained visible on the street.

Feng Xue looked west again—and finally, a three-digit number appeared before his eyes.

"Oh!" Feng Xue reached out, picked up a snack from the table, took a casual bite, and tried to pull the over-the-shoulder view closer.

But his field of view could extend no farther than two meters from his brow, and his vision matched reality exactly; though he saw a black lump on the ground near a corner bearing the number "374," the constant flow of pedestrians and obstructing objects made it impossible to discern what the lump actually was.

"Is this some spell controlling a small animal to surveil the target? Master Li? No—if Master Li intended harm, he had countless opportunities to act already… no need to wait until now to spy."

Though Feng Xue felt this way, the slight wariness he'd previously held toward Master Li now doubled; he ate his snacks slowly and deliberately, finishing every bite before declining the vendor's offer of a free meal, paying, and rising.

"It hasn't moved in this long—ordinary small animals wouldn't have this much patience, and with over a year of lifespan left, it's nowhere near old age for a wild creature. Definitely a surveillant."

The still-visible number in his over-the-shoulder view confirmed it; Feng Xue stood, feigning a tourist's casual gaze at roadside goods, slowly approaching the alley entrance.

The distance was only fifteen to twenty meters; once he cleared the obstructions, the object's true form came into view—

A gray rat, crouched in the corner, even covered with a few leaves on its back!

"Damn! A rat? You like the smell of this thing?"

Feng Xue's thought flashed through his mind; Seeing Mo Ying immediately transmitted it to Liu Yunxi, followed instantly by Liu Yunxi's frantic trembling.

"Why do you relay everything?"

Seeing Mo Ying ignored Feng Xue's accusation entirely, even fed back Liu Yunxi's complaint:

"I didn't say I like it—I said it's not unpleasant to a snake! I stopped eating after infancy thanks to the Imperial Dew—I don't eat rats!"

"Then why does a snake think eating rats is bad?"

Feng Xue mentally grumbled but understood this was likely common knowledge implanted by Human Dao's spiritual influence; he suppressed the urge to retort further and kept walking steadily toward the guesthouse.

Rats in a guesthouse? In this era, unavoidable. But being surveilled by a rat? That was interesting—

He hadn't forgotten: in this small county town, there was still a Hui Xian lineage's Chu Ma Xian!

But…

"Why would Deng Gu Niang be watching me? Because the demonic cultivator using my old house drew suspicion? Or is Deng Gu Niang unorthodox, eyeing my wealth? Isn't the Hui Xian known for attracting fortune? Can't all of them acquire it this way? Come to think of it, Chu Ma Xians are indeed 'heterodox paths,' just not to the level of 'demonic'—sigh, clearly Miss Lan's innocent stupidity left too good an impression; Ping'an County truly is a place that harms people!"

Feng Xue's mind raced with many thoughts, yet he didn't fixate entirely on Deng Gu Niang; after all, rats were the most common small animals in the city, and using them for surveillance was routine—even now, through Seeing Mo Ying's Spirit Possession, he could temporarily seize a rat for short-term monitoring. He didn't believe something he could do was beyond other Daoist cultivators.

After mentally reviewing the Daoist cultivators of Lu City, Feng Xue decisively abandoned trying to identify who was spying on him—for he realized he didn't need to think so much at all—

It was time for him to flee!

Though eliminating the evil spirits had boosted his reputation, he knew deep down he was unworthy of such acclaim; the higher he was lifted, the harder the backlash would strike.

But right now, at this moment of being watched, fleeing wasn't wise—it would make ambushes easier and risk drawing attention from others beyond the surveillant.

"I need to find a time when everyone's busy. Oh, and I should check the train station situation—don't want to try running and find no luck to catch, that'd be truly ridiculous!"

(End of Chapter)