Xu Qi An stepped on the stirrups, causing the warhorse from the Qing State military camp to whiny and kneel on all fours. He flew into the dense forest like a great bird.

His black gold long sword flashed, instantly taking a head. Blood fountained from the severed neck.

Don’t look, don’t look… Xu Qi An recalled the tragic deaths of the merchant caravan, hardening his heart. His blade rose and fell repeatedly, taking the lives of one bandit after another.

With his cultivation at the threshold of the Forge Spirit realm, slaughtering these fierce bandits was as easy as cutting melons. Combined with his black gold sword that could slice through iron like mud, no one could withstand even a single exchange.

“Swish swish!”

A searing blade light slashed towards him from behind, silently felling branches and leaves in its path, the cut edges perfectly even.

Xu Qi An’s powerful spiritual sense allowed him to detect the attack in advance. He twisted his waist and spun, his black gold sword shattering the blade light. He saw a man wielding a large steel blade.

The man cut down a Tiger Tally Guard blocking his path and charged at Xu Qi An with a vicious grin. At the same time, two lean men holding standard military sabers attacked Xu Qi An from the left and right.

Suddenly, Xu Qi An found himself in the dangerous situation of being surrounded by men on all sides.

On the imperial road, Jiang Luzhong, who had been observing the battle with narrowed eyes, let out a laugh: “Those three bandits have decent skills. One is at the peak of Qi Condensation, while the other two are slightly weaker, but not novices who have just entered Qi Condensation.”

Hearing this, a Silver Gong Night Watchman spoke up: “Should we help him?”

The Night Watchmen all looked at Jiang Luzhong, waiting for his order.

In their view, Xu Qi An, who was only in the Qi Condensation realm, couldn’t possibly withstand the encirclement of three experts at the same level. Moreover, he was still inexperienced, having killed few people and lacking combat experience.

On the battlefield, combat experience was sometimes more important than cultivation level.

Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng knew that Xu Qi An was attempting to break through to the Forge Spirit realm, but this wasn’t necessarily a good thing, as he was exhausted, affecting his combat ability.

Jiang Luzhong quietly formed his fingers into a sword shape, staring intently at the surrounding Xu Qi An, ready to intervene at any moment. “Wait a bit longer.”

Three at Qi Condensation… The man with the steel blade had a strong aura, at the peak of Qi Condensation… The other two were significantly weaker… Were the mountain bandits in Yun State of such high quality? Encountering three Qi Condensation cultivators so casually?

Xu Qi An gripped his sword, his expression calm. He took the initiative, swinging his blade at the man with the steel sword. At the same time, he visualized the image of a roaring golden lion in his mind.

“Roar!”

A deep, majestic roar erupted from his throat, shaking the forest and momentarily freezing both sides of the battle.

The man with the steel blade felt as if thunder had exploded next to his ears. His pupils briefly dilated, and his thoughts froze.

That split-second of hesitation determined his fate.

“Slash!”

In the gleam of the razor-sharp black-gold sword, the man with the steel blade was split in two. His shattered organs were mixed with blood, spilling onto the ground.

After slaying one, Xu Qi An pressed his advantage. Without pausing, he turned, once again visualizing the image of a giant in his mind. In an instant, he seemed to transform into a battle god capable of fighting heaven and earth, his aura surging.

Clang… Slash…

One of the lean men swung his blade to block, but it was easily broken. The black gold sword sliced open his chest.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the other lean man turned to flee but was stopped by a volley of arrows from the Tiger Tally Guards. Xu Qi An caught up, once again visualizing the roaring golden lion, shaking the man’s spirit, and killed him with a single slash.

The entire process took only a dozen or so breaths.

This… Exclamations of amazement erupted from the watching Night Watchmen.

“The richness of his qi is completely beyond that of an ordinary peak Qi Condensation cultivator. Even I would only dare say I’m slightly stronger than him,” a Silver Gong said in shock.

“What we should be concerned about is where he got that Buddhist visualization technique. That was the Lion’s Roar,” another Silver Gong added.

“There’s another issue. He seems to be cultivating two visualization techniques simultaneously… and both have reached a profound level. This is enough to challenge the Forge Spirit realm.”

“He’s only been with the Night Watchmen for two months.”

As they spoke, the Silver Gongs fell silent, their expressions complex.

The Bronze Gongs had an even more exaggerated reaction, staring wide-eyed at Xu Qi An’s figure, their minds replaying the scene of him cleanly killing three Qi Condensation cultivators.

Even within the Qi Condensation realm, different individuals had varying combat abilities. The Qi Condensation cultivators of the Night Watchmen’s office were generally stronger than ordinary martial artists.

But the difference wasn’t usually this dramatic.

Xu Qi An’s ability to kill three jianghu martial artists in a short time without suffering any injury meant that none of the Bronze Gongs present could last ten moves against him in single combat, even accounting for the power of their Bronze Gongs.

Usually, they all interacted casually as equals. Only now did they realize: you could actually take on ten of us?

Jiang Luzhong knew even more – Xu Qi An’s ultimate skill was the “Heaven and Earth Single Slash,” which he hadn’t even used.

…

After clearing out the bandits, the Tiger Tally Guards brought out a group of bound ordinary people from the dense forest, 25 in total. After questioning, it was determined they were merchants.

Among them, one woman stood out. She wasn’t slender and delicate like a young girl, but voluptuous and alluring like a ripe peach. Only experienced men of the world could truly appreciate the charm of such a sensual woman.

“Thank you, noble officials. Thank you, noble officials…”

The rescued merchants expressed their gratitude profusely, repeatedly kneeling and kowtowing.

Governor Zhang comforted them with a kind expression, revealing his identity and promising to escort them back to the center of Yun State – White Emperor City.

“Bury all these corpses, then organize the goods. We’ll take them with us,” Governor Zhang ordered.

Jiang Luzhong nodded and instructed the Tiger Tally Guards to get to work.

“Wait a moment!”

Xu Qi An, who had been examining the scene, returned and called for the Tiger Tally Guards to stop.

Governor Zhang and Jiang Luzhong gave him questioning looks. Xu Qi An walked up to them and frowned, “Something’s not right.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Luzhong looked around, focusing his senses for a moment. “There’s no ambush in the surroundings.”

This seemed to be a simple case of bandits robbing travelers, something that happened every day in Yun State.

“It’s not about an ambush,” Xu Qi An shook his head. “I examined the scene and found that most of the dead are escort guards. These merchants and ordinary people are unharmed, and the goods are intact. The bandits didn’t even tear the waterproof oilcloth to check their loot.”

“Don’t you two find it strange that highway robbers would leave valuable goods scattered on the ground, ignoring them?”

Governor Zhang pondered, “Perhaps they didn’t have time to collect them.”

Xu Qi An asked, “Then why did they have time to tie people up? If I were a bandit, I’d be after money. These carts full of goods would be my target. I’d kill all the ordinary people too. Why go to the trouble of tying them up? Unless…”

Jiang Luzhong and Governor Zhang exchanged glances. The former frowned and said, “Unless their target wasn’t the goods, but the people?”

Xu Qi An nodded, scanning the group of survivors who still looked shaken. “We can find out by asking.”

He beckoned to a middle-aged merchant and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m a silk merchant from White Emperor City. I was taking two thousand bolts of silk to do business in Qing State. Because of the long journey and fear of bandits, I joined Mr. Zhao’s caravan to go to Qing State… Oh, that’s Zhao Long. He’s quite capable, with connections in both legal and illegal circles. His caravans are usually very safe.”

“I’ve cooperated with him many times. Who would have thought today… Ah, the hunter becomes the hunted. This Zhao Long was a man of some reputation and kept his word. What a pity.”

Xu Qi An immediately looked towards the corpse-strewn caravan, where Mr. Zhao lay among the dead.

He questioned each person in turn and found they were all merchants traveling together. Finally, only the voluptuous woman remained.

She looked to be in her early thirties, which in Xu Qi An’s era would still be considered a young mature woman.

“And you?” Xu Qi An scrutinized her. “Why are you, a lone woman, going to Qing State by yourself?”

Yang Yingying hesitated, lowering her head and speaking softly, “A few years ago, my husband went to Qing State to make a living. Recently, he sent a letter saying his business there was thriving. He wanted to come back personally to take me to settle in Qing State, but because he was too busy with business, he couldn’t get away. So he asked me to join a trusted caravan to go to Qing State.”

“I inquired for a long time, and everyone said Mr. Zhao’s caravan was the best, both safe and reliable.”

Her story sounded reasonable and, at first glance, had no flaws.

Quite composed… But as an ordinary woman who had just witnessed such a bloody scene, shouldn’t she be pale-faced and whimpering to everyone? Moreover, when speaking, her gaze was fixed on the ground, as if reciting lines. This showed a lack of confidence…

Xu Qi An said, “Let me ask you a few questions.”

Yang Yingying glanced up at him, then lowered her head again, speaking in a weak tone, “Please ask, sir.”

“What’s your husband’s name?”

Yang Yingying pondered.

“Where do you live?”

“…”

“What are your husband’s distinguishing features?”

“…”

“How tall is your husband?”

“…”

“What did your husband write in his letter? Can you repeat a few sentences? What business is your husband in?”

Yang Yingying stood there dumbfounded, looking confused and helpless. After a long silence, she finally recovered and said in a soft voice, “My husband’s name is…”

“That’s enough, don’t say anymore.” Xu Qi An called to the Tiger Tally Guards, “Search her.”

“???” Yang Yingying looked at him in bewilderment, completely taken aback by this official’s actions.

She stepped back in fear, arms crossed over her chest, biting her lip with an expression of shame and indignation.

“You thought too long,” Xu Qi An smiled as he scrutinized the beautiful woman. “If a wife needs to think for so long to recall her husband’s name and features, how can anyone believe her?”

“Lies aren’t something you can just make up on the spot and expect people to believe. If you don’t want to be searched, then tell the truth. Why were those bandits trying to intercept you?”

After the stick, seeing the woman’s face gradually pale, Xu Qi An offered a carrot, “My lord here is the governor sent by the imperial court. There’s no official in Yun State higher than him. Whatever it is, you can tell us.”

Yang Yingying looked at Governor Zhang, who nodded and said, “This official has been sent by imperial decree to inspect Yun State. You’re just an ordinary woman, not worth deceiving.”

Yang Yingying lowered her head, weighing her options. Realizing she had no choice, she suddenly gritted her teeth and fell to her knees:

“I am Yang Yingying. I was going to Qing State to escape danger and to seek justice and revenge for my husband from Governor Yang of Qing State.”

Governor Zhang didn’t speak immediately, pondering for a moment, “Who is your husband? What matter requires Governor Yang to uphold justice?”

Yang Yingying cried, “My husband is Zhou Min.”

Governor Zhang exclaimed in shock, “What?!”

Xu Qi An and Jiang Luzhong suddenly turned their heads, staring at Yang Yingying.

Zhou Min was the Night Watchman mole who had died in Yun State. It was he who had exposed Yang Chuannan, the Commander of Yun State, for colluding with mountain bandits, supplying military resources, and seeking personal gain while nurturing bandits to maintain his power.

Shortly after the secret message was sent back to the capital, he had died silently.