Chapter 40

While Lin Yuan was thinking about the future of the Beijing warship on the boat, Xu Feng was still on the Korean Peninsula.

After being ejected from the aircraft, Xu Feng landed in a dense forest. Due to the low altitude, his descent was quite fast, and the communicator he used to send signals to be found was damaged, so he completely lost contact with the Beijing warship.

Xu Feng's parachute got caught in a tree. He observed that he was not very high from the ground, so he took out a Type 99 paratrooper knife and cut the parachute ropes, allowing him to land on the ground.

Xu Feng looked around; the area was surrounded by trees, and he couldn't even determine the direction. The handle of the Type 99 paratrooper knife had a compass at the end, and he knew he should head south. The distance was about a hundred kilometers, and with such dense forests, it would be quite difficult to get out.

Next, Xu Feng took off his life vest and held it in his hand. This life vest was bright orange, and Xu Feng was worried that it might attract wild animals. He checked his personal equipment: a Type 92 pistol, four magazines of ammunition, a paratrooper knife, a rope, a thermal bag, and a water bag, all of which were in good condition.

Pilots have all undergone wilderness survival training, so Xu Feng was not panicked. After some thought, he put the life vest back on. He suddenly realized that in such dense forests, it was unlikely that large predators would be around.

He followed the direction indicated by the compass and headed south. Gradually, the forest thinned out, and the sound of flowing water could be heard. However, this sound made him feel increasingly nervous, as all animals go to water sources to drink, and large predators often ambush in these areas.

Biologists confidently tell people not to worry about wild animals attacking humans, as long as humans do not invade their territory, they will not attack. But who knows if the place a person stands is part of an animal's territory.

Xu Feng nervously hid behind a tree and looked around. He saw a small waterfall flowing down from the mountain, forming a small lake at the bottom. A stream flowed out of the lake, splashing against the rocks and creating white water flowers.

Xu Feng observed for a while and saw no large predators. He slowly walked out and approached the lake. The water in the lake was crystal clear. Xu Feng thought to himself, "According to the usual plot of穿越 (time travel) stories, there should be a beautiful woman bathing in the lake, and after I see her, she will fall in love with me."

He walked around the lake and suddenly saw a girl's silhouette behind a large rock. She was too far away to see clearly, but Xu Feng thought, "This is just like in the time travel novels! There really is a beautiful woman!"

With a sense of longing for beautiful things, he slowly approached the girl. As he got closer, he saw that she was wearing a moon-white blouse, light pink pants, and deer-skin boots, clearly a village girl. She was kneeling by the water, washing her hair, and her side face was facing Xu Feng. When Xu Feng stepped out from behind the rock, their eyes met, and he felt a shock in his heart.

The girl smiled at him and called out in a sweet voice, "Brother." Xu Feng felt his bones turn to jelly and managed to respond with all his strength.

The girl stood up and took out a piece of coarse cloth to dry her hair. Her black hair fell over her pale arms, shining brightly. As she dried her hair, she asked, "Brother, what are you doing in this deep forest?"

Xu Feng, who usually knew how to make jokes and make girls laugh, found himself at a loss for words in front of this girl. He stammered, "I'm lost."

The girl looked him over and smiled, "You speak Chinese, so you must be Chinese, right?"

Xu Feng nodded, racking his brain for something to say. At that moment, the girl said, "Are you going back to China? Come with us."

Without waiting for Xu Feng's response, the girl took his hand and led him into the forest. There, under the shade of the trees, sat five men, all with braids and wearing gowns. Two of them were holding large opium pipes. The girl said, "We are performers of the Lotus Falling, and we came with the Qing army. We earned money by performing in the military camp. After the Qing army was defeated, we fled into the forest to return home."

The girl introduced herself as Xiaotao Hong and also introduced the five men, all of whom had stage names. Xu Feng also gave his name. A man named Wanshanxiao smiled and asked Xu Feng to rest, then called Xiaotao Hong aside. Once he was sure Xu Feng couldn't hear them, Wanshanxiao whispered in Japanese, "Leader, should we bring this man with us? We are disguised as Chinese and secretly infiltrating China to complete the sacred mission given to us by the Empire of Japan!"

Xiaotao Hong sneered, "I know how to be loyal to the Emperor! Don't you see how unusual this man is? Look at his clothes; they are completely different from those of ordinary Chinese. And why would a Chinese person come to this deep forest? The battlefield is over a hundred miles away! I think he must be hiding a great secret!"

Wanshanxiao said no more. The two of them returned as if nothing had happened. Xiaotao Hong sat next to Xu Feng, her arm and shoulder brushing against his, and said in a sweet voice, "Brother, what do you do?"

If it were the 21st century, Xu Feng could proudly say, "I am a pilot." But the times were different, and Xu Feng was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.

The girl didn't mind and handed him a set of clothes and a fake braid, smiling, "Brother, change out of those clothes. In our Qing Dynasty, your clothes will cause trouble."

Xu Feng thought it made sense and took off his flight suit, putting on a set of civilian clothes. The fake braid was attached to a hat, and when he put the hat on, a braid naturally appeared at the back of his head.

Xiaotao Hong carefully examined the flight suit, feeling it with her fingers, and asked in surprise, "Why are there tubes inside your clothes?"

The flight suit was designed with internal tubes to introduce external air, creating a comfortable working environment for the pilot. Xu Feng didn't know how to explain, so he vaguely said, "Is that so? Haha, I didn't know."

Xiaotao Hong then discovered a package under the armpit of the flight suit with a button. She didn't know what it was and pressed the button curiously. A hissing sound was heard, and the package instantly expanded to several times its size. It was an underarm life preserver, consisting of a float, an inflation mechanism, and a gas cylinder. When activated, it ensured that the pilot's shoulders remained above water.

As she was surprised, a cylinder fell out of the pocket and hit a rock, emitting a strong flashing light. Xu Feng quickly picked it up, turned it off, and laughed, putting it aside.

It was a flashing beacon, used to attract attention with a strong light, and was also part of the pilot's survival equipment.

Xu Feng saw that Xiaotao Hong was still touching his clothes and was about to reach his waist where his gun belt was. He quickly grabbed the clothes. Xiaotao Hong noticed his nervousness and thought, "I will dig out all your secrets one by one!"

But she giggled and said, "I know, brother, you must be a magician!"