Summarizing the information from White Snake’s words, Feng Xue took out his drone and began to scout.
But just as the drone ascended and projected the image onto his phone screen, the White Snake, coiled around Feng Xue’s finger, finally understood the purpose of this black, unassuming device.
Though it was a low-end drone capable of hovering only twenty to thirty meters high, it startled White Snake into an exclamation—
“kongming lanterns! The legendary reconnaissance-strike integrated kongming lanterns! So you set up your altar in the sky! Fox Immortal Grandma said that the higher a Cultivator’s altar, the more powerful they are in a fight. You truly are a powerful Cultivator!”
“What the heck is a reconnaissance-strike integrated…?” Feng Xue knew White Snake had greatly misunderstood, but he didn’t explain.
He merely noted down that “this world also has Kongming” and silently maintained his View of Heaven and Longevity to search for potential risks in the surroundings.
Half an hour passed like this, and the sky had completely brightened.
Feng Xue rested twice in between before finally seeing a clear road on his screen.
To avoid being seen by passersby, Feng Xue immediately put away the useless drone that he also had to worry about crashing, and adjusted the solar charging bank hanging outside.
Only then did he jog to the roadside and lower his head to study the road conditions.
“There are wheel tracks, but they’re very narrow, probably from horse-drawn or ox-drawn carts. Looks like the technological level isn’t high…”
An ominous premonition rose in Feng Xue’s heart, and he immediately asked White Snake:
“The largest mode of transportation you know… well, like carriages and carts, how big are they?”
“I’m not sure, probably horse-drawn carriages? Fox Immortal Grandma said that when she was young, she rode in a prefect’s horse-drawn carriage. It was very grand, you could even set up a family banquet inside!”
“Oh no, I’m screwed!” Feng Xue’s heart instantly turned cold.
When he discovered that locking the ‘Receiving Oral Edict’ skill would guarantee 100% success, he had thought that if he couldn’t find a way to extend his life in this world, he could just try his great fortune elsewhere.
But now it seemed this world didn’t even have great fortune?
At this moment, Feng Xue’s first reaction was to use the characteristics of ‘Receiving Oral Edict’ to turn White Snake into a vehicle.
However, not to mention whether she could become a hundred-ton king, the primary question was whether a White Snake transformed into a hundred-ton king would be defined as a vehicle or a living being.
If he locked ‘Striking great fortune,’ he couldn’t lock lifespan. If the Golden Finger didn’t recognize it, it could be fatal!
“No, no, ‘Striking great fortune’ doesn’t require it to be a car.
Even if there are no cars in this world, I can always find a wooden boat weighing hundreds of tons.
Even if I can’t find one, I’ll just build one myself. Anyway, it’s just for one strike, no need to consider going too far!”
While doing some self-reassurance, Feng Xue analyzed the road conditions.
For such a dirt road, even if it started as a standard ‘T’-shaped intersection, it would gradually skew into a ‘enter’ (entrance) shape as people took shortcuts.
By looking at the direction of the skew, one could roughly know which way the destination was.
Although this small path had been abandoned for many years, the main road was frequently used, and the traces at the edges were still there, making it not difficult to judge.
It must be said that Feng Xue’s physical fitness was indeed average; a mere dozen kilograms of load made him stop every two steps.
By the time the outlines of buildings became faintly visible at the end of his sight, the originally empty path had also gained a few pedestrians.
Some were driving donkey or horse carts, others simply carried shoulder poles, and their clothes were mostly made of hemp cloth.
The few who wore cotton cloth were generally those driving carts.
“They all look like farmers and hunters. Is today a market day?”
Feng Xue muttered to himself, but he paid no mind to how out of place he looked in his assault jacket.
He strode forward and followed them.
He wasn’t worried about city entry taxes; having already prepared for Transmigration, how could he not carry some scattered gold and silver?
However, when he finally saw the city gate tower of this so-called county town, he was somewhat surprised.
Unlike the ancient small town he had imagined, this place actually looked quite “modern.”
Through the city gate, he could vaguely see some “Western-style buildings” that were not of Chinese style.
The soldiers guarding the gate were also armed with rifles; although they looked like antiques not even seen in anti-Japanese war films, they were at least breech-loading guns.
“Hmm, roughly 19th to 20th century level? But I’ll need to see more specifics.”
Feng Xue muttered to himself, but he had already arrived at the city gate.
Even though he had deliberately chosen inconspicuous gray when buying his clothes, the modern dyeing process still made him stand out.
However, none of the dozen or so excuses he had meticulously prepared were needed.
The guarding soldier, upon seeing him, immediately put on a fawning expression, bowing and gesturing for him to enter.
He didn’t even come up to speak, maintaining a posture of “I am not worthy to speak with you,” which made Feng Xue wonder if he had been mistaken for some important figure.
But Feng Xue was happy with this misunderstanding, and he no longer tried to hide anything, openly displaying the demeanor of a city dweller visiting the countryside, freely wandering the streets.
“Both paper money and coins exist, and glass is already present. Hmm, a martial arts school?”
Feng Xue’s gaze suddenly focused on a signboard by the roadside that read “Zhang’s Martial Arts School.”
Through the open door, he could see over a dozen vigorous men practicing inside, which seemed to be their usual morning exercise.
Walking to the door, Feng Xue immediately activated View of Heaven and Longevity.
As his vision focused, numbers began to appear one by one.
After a quick mental calculation, Feng Xue shook his head:
“They generally can live another forty to fifty years… adding their current age, that’s considered long-lived in this era, but it’s still a bit short of what I want.
Hmm, it’s also possible that this martial arts school is of a lower caliber, after all, it’s just a small county town in the countryside.
In a Xuanhuan novel with map changes, it’s just a beginner village level. It’s normal not to have masters.”
Muttering to himself, Feng Xue continued forward, keeping View of Heaven and Longevity active the whole time.
Suddenly, a string of numbers flashed in his vision—
“46323”
“Over a hundred years, this isn’t a normal lifespan!”
Feng Xue shifted his gaze and saw two men walking one after the other.
The younger one in front wore a black suit, but it gave him an awkward feeling, as if he was wearing evening wear as casual attire.
His remaining lifespan was only about forty years.
The man following behind him was noticeably sturdier, and the four tens of thousands of days of remaining lifespan hung above his head.
“A bodyguard?”
Feng Xue’s eyes darted around the street, and he immediately approached an old man smoking a low-quality rolled cigarette, tapping out one from his opened pack and offering it.
He himself didn’t smoke, but he had learned how to offer cigarettes from his time in mahjong parlors, and he had even brought a few packs with him after Transmigration, precisely for times like these.
Although the old man didn’t recognize the modern brand, just the exquisite filter and the printing on it told him that this was by no means an inferior product.
Seeing Feng Xue’s strangely fabric-ed clothes, he hesitated to take it.
Seeing this, Feng Xue forced the cigarette into the old man’s hand and asked in an unquestionable tone:
“Old man, I have a question for you. What is the background of that young master’s companion over there?”