Chapter 9: This County Town Isn

Summarizing information from Bai She's words, Feng Xue took out a drone and began reconnaissance.

But just as the drone ascended and projected its feed onto his phone screen, the white snake on Feng Xue's finger finally understood what this black, dull object was for—this low-end drone, limited to hovering twenty to thirty meters, nonetheless triggered a startled cry from Bai She—

"A Kongming Lantern! The legendary reconnaissance-and-strike Kongming Lantern! So you've set your altar in the sky! The Fox Immortal Grandma said the higher the altar, the stronger the cultivator's spells—you're truly a powerful cultivator!"

"What the hell is 'recon-and-strike'…" Feng Xue knew Bai She had misunderstood badly, but he didn't correct her; instead, he filed away the fact that "this world also had Kongming," and silently maintained 【Gazing at Heavenly Lifespan】 to scan for possible risks nearby.

He walked for half an hour, and daylight fully broke; after two breaks, he finally spotted a clear road on the screen. To avoid being seen by passersby, he immediately retracted the useless drone, prone to crashing, then adjusted the solar power bank hanging outside, before jogging to the roadside to study the road conditions.

"There are wheel ruts, but narrow—probably horse carts or ox carts. Seems like the tech level is low…"

Feng Xue felt a premonition of doom and immediately asked Bai She:

"What's the largest vehicle… uh, carriage or cart—you've heard of?"

"Not sure. Probably a horse cart? The Fox Immortal Grandma said when she was young, she rode in a carriage from a prefect's household—so grand, it could even fit a full family banquet!"

"Oh no, we're screwed!" Feng Xue's heart sank. He'd originally thought that if this world offered no way to extend his lifespan, he'd just gamble and try somewhere else—but now it seemed this world had no luck at all?

Feng Xue's first thought was to use 【Mouth Seal】 to turn Bai She into a vehicle, but even ignoring whether she could become a hundred-ton monster, the bigger problem was whether a hundred-ton Bai She would be classified as a vehicle or a living being.

If he locked 【Gambling on Luck】, he couldn't lock lifespan—if the divine hand didn't recognize it, he'd be dead!

"No, no—【Gambling on Luck】 doesn't require a car. Even if this world has no automobiles, a hundred-ton wooden ship must exist somewhere. If not, I'll just build one myself—it's only for a single bump, no need to sail far!"

As Feng Xue psych-ed himself up, he analyzed the road conditions: for dirt paths like this, even if originally a standard "T" intersection, frequent shortcuts would gradually warp them into "入" shapes—just by observing the direction of the bend, he could roughly tell which way the target lay.

Though this small path had been abandoned for years, the main road saw constant traffic, and the edge marks remained—making judgment fairly easy.

It had to be said, Feng Xue's physical conditioning was really quite average; a mere load of ten-plus kilograms forced him to stop every couple of steps, and by the time the faint outlines of buildings became visible at the edge of his vision, the once-empty path had gained a few pedestrians.

They either drove donkey or horse carts, or simply carried shoulder poles; most wore hemp cloth, and those few in cotton were mostly the ones who owned carts.

"Looks like farmers and hunters—today's market day?"

Feng Xue muttered to himself, yet paid no mind to how out-of-place his tactical jacket made him look, and strode forward after them. He wasn't worried about entry taxes—he'd prepared for the穿越, so of course he carried loose silver and gold.

But when he finally saw the city gate, he was taken aback.

Unlike his imagined ancient small town, this place looked surprisingly "modern"—through the gate, faint outlines of Western-style "little villas" were visible, and the soldiers on guard carried rifles, though they looked like antiques even from wartime films—still, they were breech-loaders.

"Hmm, probably 19th to early 20th century level? But need to confirm further."

Feng Xue muttered to himself as he reached the gate. Even though he'd deliberately chosen nondescript gray clothing, modern dyeing made him stand out starkly.

Yet none of his ten carefully rehearsed excuses were needed—the gate guards, upon seeing him, immediately wore ingratiating smiles, bowed and gestured him forward without even approaching to speak, their posture clearly saying, "I'm not worthy to address you," making Feng Xue wonder if they'd mistaken him for some bigshot.

Feng Xue gladly played along, no longer hiding—he openly acted like a city dweller visiting the countryside, strolling freely through the streets.

"Paper money, coins, glass already exists… hmm, martial arts school?"

Feng Xue's gaze suddenly fixed on a roadside sign reading "Zhang's Martial Arts School." Through the open gate, over a dozen robust men were training—clearly morning drills.

He walked up to the entrance and activated 【Gazing at Heavenly Lifespan】. As his focus sharpened, numbers floated into view.

After a quick mental calculation, Feng Xue shook his head:

"Most have forty to fifty years left… add their age, that's considered long-lived in this era—but still short of what I need. Maybe this school's too low-tier; after all, it's just a rural county town—in a xianxia map, it's a beginner village. No masters expected."

Muttering to himself, Feng Xue continued walking, 【Gazing at Heavenly Lifespan】 still active—when suddenly, a string of numbers flashed in his vision—

"46323"

"Over a hundred years? That's not normal lifespan!"

Feng Xue turned his gaze and saw two men walking one behind the other: the front one, a young man in a black suit, looked awkward, as if wearing evening wear daily—his remaining lifespan was only about forty years; the man behind him was noticeably bulkier, and his remaining lifespan—over forty thousand days—hung above his head.

"Bodyguard?"

Feng Xue's eyes darted around the street, then he approached an old man smoking cheap cigarettes, pulled one from the opened pack, and offered it.

He didn't smoke himself, but from hanging out in mahjong halls, he'd learned how to hand out cigarettes—and had brought a few packs after the穿越, specifically for moments like this.

The old man didn't recognize the modern brand, but the refined filter and printed design told him this was no cheap stuff; seeing Feng Xue's unusual fabric, he hesitated to take it.

Feng Xue forced the cigarette into the old man's hand and demanded in an unyielding tone:

"Old man, I've got a question—what's the background of that man following the young master over there?"

(End of Chapter)