Chapter Thirty-Two: A Fall into the Pit, a Gain in Your Wit

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“Wait, why are you riding back the way we came?”

Just as Feng Xue was reflecting on his conduct, Liu Yunxi beneath him suddenly cried out in surprise. Feng Xue was taken aback.

“You can actually tell which way we’re going?”

“Of course! If I can’t recognize a road I’ve just traveled back and forth along, I’d be an idiot!” Liu Yunxi replied disdainfully.

Feng Xue laughed inwardly, but still offered an explanation. “I don’t know this area very well, and I have no idea where we should go, so I decided to follow the railway.”

“But you’re on a dirt road right now!” Liu Yunxi’s occasional displays of illiteracy made Feng Xue want to laugh, but he patiently explained, “A railway isn’t for people to walk on. It’s for trains. The train station I know is just outside Harbor City, so if we circle around the outskirts, we should be able to find the tracks. Then we can follow them in the opposite direction. We’re bound to run into a major city eventually.”

“I don’t understand.”

Liu Yunxi’s answer was admirably concise. Feng Xue was not surprised. There was no need to explain what a train was to her. Once she saw one, she would understand.

“Wooooo—”

Sometimes coincidence was simply too perfect. At that very moment, the sound of a steam whistle drifted over from the distance. Feng Xue followed the sound, pedaling hard. Amid a series of jolts, the Liu Immortal-brand bicycle, powered entirely by human legs, charged wildly toward the source.

But even if the bicycle was a demon, it obviously could not outrun a train. Feng Xue did not mind. At least he had indeed found the tracks.

As he rode slowly along the railway, Feng Xue found the journey unbearably dull. He finally took out two candles, stuck them onto the handlebars, and decided to practice controlling the output of his magical power while riding.

He was not afraid of falling. After all, he had already trained his Rapid Chanting to the point where he could recite six words a second. Before he lost his balance and hit the ground, he could easily turn Liu Yunxi into a cushion.

There was only one problem.

“The candle wax is dripping all over me!”

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As the candles burned, Liu Yunxi could not help protesting. Feng Xue merely replied helplessly, “Your hands are made of iron. Are you really afraid of getting burned?”

“Whether it burns or not is beside the point. It’s uncomfortable! You wouldn’t like having something sticky clinging to your own head, would you?”

Liu Yunxi complained aloud, but she was not truly angry. Her protest was merely an expression of her attitude—a declaration that she did not wish to repay her debt in this particular manner. On the other hand, Feng Xue’s various actions that went against her wishes and caused her discomfort could also be considered a reduction of that debt.

The trouble was that this matter could not be examined too closely, nor could she dwell on it for too long. Otherwise, if the Human Path’s Numinous Mechanism interpreted her silence as consent, things could become truly disastrous.

Fortunately, Liu Yunxi was, in the end, a cultivator. She possessed at least some ability to cast aside distracting thoughts.

Unaware that he was inadvertently helping Liu Yunxi temper her mind, Feng Xue simply stared at the two candles and constantly adjusted the flow of magical power.

He had now purchased a spirit ghost, but if he wished to begin practicing the Art of Ghost Commanding, he had to be capable of casting at least the Thunder-Summoning Spell. Otherwise, he probably would not even be able to make the spirit ghost acknowledge him as its master.

Riding while practicing naturally kept his speed low. After two hours, he had traveled less than ten miles. When he spotted a rather old-fashioned stall by the roadside, Feng Xue was somewhat surprised and immediately slowed down to approach it.

As the distance closed, an old man smoking a long-stemmed pipe beneath a canvas awning came into view. Seeing no railway station anywhere nearby, Feng Xue found this strange. He examined the man from over his shoulder and confirmed that the old fellow had perhaps a decade of life left in him before drawing closer.

“Old sir, do you get any business setting up a stall out here?”

“You—”

The old man opened his mouth as though he intended to snap back, but then he noticed the handsome little bicycle Feng Xue was pushing. Feng Xue’s clothes were of good quality, and his fair, un sunburned complexion made it clear that he was no ordinary laborer. The old man immediately changed his tone.

“Ahem. Young master, there are things you don’t understand. The railway may be convenient, but it is made of iron. There is always the chance that some unruly fellow might take a fancy to it. Bandits and brigands may want to haul pieces of it away and hammer them into knives and swords. Even ordinary fools might think of using it to make an extra cleaver or hoe.

“Although such things may not happen even once in a month or two, when they do happen, it is not merely a matter of whether the stolen iron can be recovered. If a train happens to be passing through, the danger is considerable. As you know, most people who can afford to ride trains these days possess some status, so the tracks naturally need to be patrolled back and forth. If anything goes wrong, someone must be able to report it at once.

“But the stations are more than a hundred miles apart. It would be impossible to build barracks every few miles, and providing every patrolman with a bicycle would be even less practical. In the end, everyone agreed that it would be better to set up a few stalls along the way, so those soldiers on patrol would at least have somewhere to stop for a drink.

“Young master, you have traveled a long way. Why not rest here for a while? This old man has little else, but I can still offer you a bowl of hot tea.”

“I see.”

Feng Xue nodded silently, but he did not let down his guard.

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After being tricked by a rickshaw puller, Feng Xue had learned never to underestimate anyone. Thinking the matter over carefully, he now detected several hidden implications.

The old man’s words had been simple enough, but they were not necessarily meant only as an explanation. Everything he had said was true, yet anyone who thought about the job would realize that it was not something an ordinary household could simply take on. Quite apart from the beasts and bandits in the wilderness, collecting money from the patrolmen alone required considerable skill.

The old man’s speech was not merely an announcement that he had powerful connections. It was also a warning: soldiers familiar with him passed along this road regularly.

With that in mind, Feng Xue took several copper coins from his pocket and placed them on the tea table beside the old man. Affecting a casual tone, he said, “I am indeed a little tired. I’ll borrow your spot and rest for a while.”

The old man glanced at the coins and swept them into his palm. His eyes shifted, however, as though he were considering something.

Just as he was about to ask whether Feng Xue wanted some hot water, the young man waved his hand. From nowhere, he produced a steel water flask.

When the flask was unscrewed, steaming water poured out. The old man’s pupils contracted, and all his unnecessary thoughts vanished at once.

Seeing that he had cowed the old man, Feng Xue nodded inwardly. In this world, the existence of arcane cultivators was no secret. Showing that he was no ordinary person could actually spare him a great deal of trouble.

Now that he possessed a Pot-Heaven storage pocket, he no longer needed to carry an eye-catching large pack, which should reduce the dangers he faced to some extent.

Of course, Feng Xue also understood that not everyone would be intimidated by such a display. The armed soldiers of Peace County might fear an ordinary man dressed in fine clothes, while the ruffians of Harbor City, accustomed to seeing wealthy people, might dare to rob someone in broad daylight.

This world surely contained strongmen who would be even more eager to rob an arcane cultivator—and fools who did not know what an arcane cultivator was, mistaking such abilities for mere sleight of hand.

“In any case, caution comes first.”

Feng Xue muttered inwardly. He brought Liu Yunxi over beside him, then closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. Only after drawing out enough spiritual energy to form a covering around his body did he begin to rest with his eyes shut.

He had spent most of the previous day riding. Fortunately, his body had been soaking in primordial energy for three consecutive days. Otherwise, he would probably have been walking with his legs spread wide by now.

Come to think of it, there was something rather amusing about the situation. Although this primordial energy had been extracted from his own body, soaking in it instead granted his body a faint strengthening effect. It was not much, but it was still rather like watching an electric meter run backward. (Note 1)