Stepping on the stirrup, the warhorse let out a mournful neigh and knelt down, allowing Xu Qi'an to fly into the dense forest like a bird.

With a flash of his black-gold long knife, he took away a person's head, and blood spurted from the severed neck.

"Don't look, don't look..." Xu Qi'an recalled the tragic death of the merchant group in his mind, and his heart hardened. With each swing of his knife, he took the lives of the bandits.

With his cultivation at the peak of Qi Refining, killing this group of bandits was as easy as cutting vegetables. With the sharpness of the black-gold long knife that could cut through iron like mud, no one could withstand him for a round.

"Chi Chi!"

A blazing knife aura slashed from behind him, silently cutting through the branches and leaves along its path.

With his powerful spiritual power, Xu Qi'an sensed the attack in advance. He twisted his waist and turned around, shattering the knife aura of the man wielding the large steel knife. He saw another two thin men wielding standard military knives, attacking him from both sides.

Suddenly, Xu Qi'an found himself in a dangerous situation, surrounded by strong men.

Jiang Lvzhong, who had been observing the battle with narrowed eyes, smirked and said, "Those three bandits are quite skilled. One is at the peak of Qi Refining, while the other two are slightly weaker in aura, but they are not weak newcomers to Qi Refining."

One of the Nightwatchers with a silver gong spoke up, "Should we help him?"

The Nightwatchers looked at Jiang Lvzhong, waiting for his order.

In their eyes, Xu Qi'an, with only half a foot in the Qi Refining realm, could not possibly withstand the siege of three experts at the same cultivation level. Moreover, he was still young and inexperienced in killing, lacking practical combat experience.

In the battlefield, practical combat experience was sometimes more important than cultivation.

Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng knew that Xu Qi'an was attempting to break through to the Divine Refinement realm. However, this was not a good thing because he was currently exhausted, which affected his combat power.

Jiang Lvzhong quietly gestured with his fingers like a sword, staring at Xu Qi'an who was trapped in the encirclement, ready to rescue him. "Wait a little longer."

Three experts at the Qi Refining realm... The man wielding the steel knife had a strong aura and was at the peak of Qi Refining... The other two were much weaker... Are the bandits in Yunzhou of such high quality? They encountered three experts at the same cultivation level so easily?

Xu Qi'an gripped his knife, his face calm. He took the initiative to meet the man wielding the steel knife, swinging his knife towards him. At the same time, he visualized the image of a golden lion roaring in his mind.

"Roar!"

A deep roar erupted from his throat, shaking the mountains and causing a momentary pause in the fierce battle.

The man wielding the steel knife's ears seemed to be blasted by thunder, his pupils momentarily dilated, and his thoughts became sluggish.

In just a fraction of a second, this momentary pause determined his life and death.

"Pu!"

In the sharp light of the black-gold long knife, the man wielding the steel knife was cut in half, and his shattered organs mixed with blood flowed onto the ground.

After killing one person, Xu Qi'an pursued his victory without any hesitation. He visualized the image of the giant again in his mind. In an instant, he seemed to transform into a war god who could fight against the heavens and the earth, his aura soaring.

"Ding... Pu..."

One of the thin men tried to block with his knife but had his blade easily broken. The black-gold long knife cut open his chest.

The other thin man saw the situation was unfavorable and turned to escape, but was intercepted by the dense arrows of the Tiger Guards. Xu Qi'an caught up to him, visualized the golden lion roaring again, shaking his opponent's spirit, and killed him with a single strike.

The whole process took only a dozen breaths.

The Nightwatchers watching the battle burst into exclamations.

"The thickness of his aura far exceeds that of an ordinary peak Qi Refining cultivator. Even I can only say that I am slightly stronger than him." One of the Nightwatchers with a silver gong exclaimed in shock.

"The question we should be asking is, where did he learn the Buddhist visualization technique? That was the Lion's Roar." Another Nightwatcher with a silver gong added.

"There is another question. It seems that he is practicing two different visualizations at the same time... and has already mastered both of them. This means he can attempt to break through to the Divine Refinement realm."

"He only joined the Nightwatchers two months ago."

As they spoke, the Nightwatchers fell silent, their faces filled with complex emotions.

Zhu Guangxiao's reaction was even more exaggerated. He stared at Xu Qi'an in astonishment, his mind filled with the image of Xu Qi'an easily killing three experts at the Qi Refining realm.

Although they were all at the Qi Refining realm, different people had different levels of combat power. The Qi Refining cultivators in the Nightwatcher organization were generally stronger than ordinary martial artists.

But it wasn't to such an exaggerated extent.

Xu Qi'an was able to kill three martial artists in a short period of time without any harm to himself. This meant that in a one-on-one fight, no one could last more than ten moves against him. This already took into account the effect of the bronze gong artifact.

In their usual interactions, they joked and sat on an equal footing. Now they realized that Xu Qi'an could actually take on ten of them?

Jiang Lvzhong knew even better that Xu Qi'an's ultimate technique was the "Heaven and Earth One Slash," which he hadn't even used.

...

After clearing out the bandits, the Tiger Guards brought out a group of ordinary people who had been tied up in the dense forest. There were a total of 25 people, and after questioning, they were identified as merchants.

Among them, one woman stood out. She was not a delicate young girl, but rather a voluptuous and enticing beauty that only experienced men would understand.

"Thank you, sirs, thank you, sirs..."

The rescued merchants expressed their gratitude, continuously kowtowing.

Zhang, the governor, reassured them with a gentle expression and revealed his identity, promising to send them back to the central city of Yunzhou, Bai Di City.

"Bury these bodies and then organize the goods to be taken together," Governor Zhang ordered.

Jiang Lvzhong nodded and instructed the Tiger Guards to do the work.

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"Wait!"

Xu Qi'an, who was surveying the scene, came back and stopped the Tiger Guards.

Governor Zhang and Jiang Lvzhong looked at him inquiringly. Xu Qi'an walked to their side and furrowed his brows. "Something is not right."

"Hmm?" Jiang Lvzhong looked around and sensed for a moment. "There are no ambushes nearby."

This was just a simple incident of bandits blocking the road and robbing. Similar things happened every day in Yunzhou.

"It's not an ambush," Xu Qi'an shook his head. "I inspected the scene and found that most of the dead were escorts, while these merchants and ordinary people were unharmed. The goods were also intact. The bandits didn't even tear the waterproof oilcloth. Count the spoils."

"Doesn't it seem strange to you, the bandits blocked the way but left the valuable goods scattered on the ground without caring about them?"

Governor Zhang pondered for a moment. "Perhaps they didn't have time to clean up."

Xu Qi'an asked, "Then why did they have time to tie up the people? If I were a bandit, I would definitely prioritize wealth. These carts of goods would be my target. I would kill those ordinary people as well. There would be no need to tie them up unless..."

Jiang Lvzhong and Governor Zhang exchanged glances. The former furrowed his brows and said, "Unless their target is not the goods, but the people?"

Xu Qi'an nodded and looked at the corpses of the merchant group, realizing that the man named Zhao was among them.

After questioning one by one, they found that they were all merchants who traveled together. Only the voluptuous woman remained.

She appeared to be in her thirties, still considered a young mature woman in Xu Qi'an's era.

"What about you?" Xu Qi'an scrutinized her. "Why would a weak woman like you travel alone to Yunzhou?"

Yang Yingying hesitated and stood with her head lowered, softly saying, "A few years ago, the husband of a commoner went to Yunzhou to seek a living. He sent a letter back recently, saying that business in Yunzhou was booming. I wanted to personally go and bring my husband back to settle in Yunzhou, but he was too busy with his business and couldn't leave. So he let me go with a reliable merchant group to Yunzhou."

"I have inquired for a long time and heard that Zhao is a trustworthy merchant. His caravan used to be very safe."

Her words seemed reasonable and well-founded at first glance, without any flaws.

Her expression is so calm... But as an ordinary woman, witnessing such a bloody scene, shouldn't her face be pale and sobbing when facing others? Moreover, when she speaks, her gaze has been fixed on the ground, as if reciting lines. This is a sign of lack of confidence...

Xu Qi'an said, "I have a few questions for you."

Yang Yingying glanced at him and then lowered her head again, speaking softly, "Please ask, sir."

"What is your husband's name?"

Yang Yingying pondered.

"Where do you live?"

"..."

"What are the distinctive features of your husband's appearance?"

"..."

"How tall is your husband?"

"..."

"What did your husband write in the letter? Please repeat a few sentences. What does your husband do for a living?"

Yang Yingying stood there blankly, and after a long silence, she finally recovered. In a soft voice, she said, "I am Yang Yingying, and I went to Yunzhou this time to seek help and justice from the Yunzhou Provincial Governor, Mr. Yang, for my husband."

Governor Zhang didn't speak immediately and pondered for a moment. "Who is your husband? What matter requires Mr. Yang's justice?"

Yang Yingying cried, "My husband is Zhou Min."

Governor Zhang exclaimed, "What?!"

Xu Qi'an and Jiang Lvzhong turned their heads abruptly, staring at Yang Yingying.

Zhou Min, the undercover agent who died in Yunzhou, was the one who exposed the collusion between Yang Chuannan, the commander of Yunzhou, and the bandits, as well as the smuggling of military supplies for personal gain.

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