Starting from his vigorous old age, he began to conquer Liaozhai.

Cao Xiong carefully felt the impact; when the willow-leaf knife struck his body, he only felt a slight pain, and a thin red mark was left where he was cut.

Cao Xiong's flesh and bones had been tempered and refined over countless trials, but relying solely on his martial arts skills, his body would absolutely not be able to withstand a strike with only 30% of his own power.

The term "copper skin and iron bones" was even more powerful than he had imagined; it truly lived up to its blue name.

Having eliminated the major threat of Zhuquanzi, and with the firearms successfully improved, we are just waiting for tomorrow to send troops to suppress the bandits.

Cao Xiong was absolutely confident that he would succeed in this bandit suppression campaign.

The current Baihu Police Station in Guobei County is well-equipped and has a strong and capable force.

Cao Man has not yet entered the Skin Tempering Realm, but in combat, he is no less capable than a Bone Forging Realm warrior.

In addition, there were seven junior officers at the Skin Tempering Realm and eight martial artists at the Skin Tempering Realm who responded to the call to suppress bandits at the Hundred Households Office.

This time, Cao Xiong not only brought all the muskets, but also a cannon. Cao Man was in charge of guarding it.

At dawn on September 20th, the 307th year of the Ming Dynasty.

The drill ground of Baihusuo in Guobei County was already crowded with officers, soldiers, and military households, all lined up neatly.

Cao Xiong stood at the highest point, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Demons and ghosts are rampant, and natural and man-made disasters are raging. The Hundred Households Association of Guobei County will wipe out all enemies that are harming Guobei County."

"This time, we will not return to the city until the bandits are wiped out."

"Set off!"

A large group of hundreds of people filed out of the Hundred Households Office, with Cao Xiong riding at the very front.

Behind them was a carriage pulling cannons, accompanied by two well-trained warhorses.

To the side of the cannon is Cao Man, carrying a giant Xuanhua axe and walking on foot.

Following them were, in order, the musket squad, ordinary officers and soldiers, military households, and martial arts practitioners.

Cao Xiong's first target was Qingping Village.

Qingpingzhai was one of the largest bandit strongholds around Guobei County, and its notoriety was widespread.

During the first bandit suppression, Wei Qiang led the Second Banner to wipe out Qingping Village, where they encountered a mountain demon and were seriously injured.

Before Cao Xiong and his team even left Guobei County, a whole squad of scouts had already set off ahead of time.

Cao Xiong led his troops to eventually camp in an unnamed valley less than two kilometers from Qingping Village, which was also the place where Wei Qiang fought a great battle with the mountain demon.

Traces of musket fire remain on the mountains surrounding the valley.

"Reporting to the lord, Qingping Village has been heavily guarded these past two days, and not a single bandit has left the village."

A scout was already waiting in the valley. As soon as Cao Xiong and his men appeared, he immediately came to Cao Xiong's side.

"They must have known we had deployed troops; they're certainly cautious enough."

Cao Xiong sneered. So what if the bandits were on guard? He had no intention of launching a sneak attack. Instead, he would use cannons to blast open the stronghold and push through.

In the face of absolute power, everything else is meaningless.

"Everyone rest and prepare. We will attack Qingping Village tomorrow morning."

……

As night fell, Cao Xiong had just lain down.

Half asleep and half awake, a familiar fragrance wafted into his nose, instantly waking him up.

This taste... is it Nie Xiaoqian?

He suddenly opened his eyes and saw Nie Xiaoqian, dressed in white, looking down at him.

"Miss Xiaoqian, if I hadn't smelled your scent, I would have thought someone had come to kill me again!"

Cao Xiong sat up slightly, his gaze softening.

"Lord Cao, you broke your promise this month. I stood alone in the cold wind all night."

Nie Xiaoqian was on the verge of tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"Cough cough~"

On September 15th, Cao Xiong had not yet returned to Guobei County from Linya County.

He didn't tell Nie Xiaoqian about his trip to the county town when they met last time.

It is true that he did not keep his promise.

"This was my fault. On that day in the middle of this month, I wasn't in Guobei County, but went to the Thousand Household Office instead."

"Hehe~ I forgive you, but..."

"It's only been a month since I last saw Lord Cao, and I didn't expect his strength to have increased so much. Even Zhuquanzi is no match for him now."

Before she could finish speaking, Nie Xiaoqian sat down on the makeshift bed that Cao Xiong had built with wood, half of her body lying in Cao Xiong's arms, her nose twitching as she gently inhaled the yang energy emanating from him.

"This vixen's methods of seducing people are becoming more and more sophisticated."

Feeling a soft sensation, Cao Xiong was filled with emotion.

"I am also grateful for the Yin Thunder Pearl given to me by Miss Xiaoqian, which allowed me to escape this calamity and even kill the enemy."

"Then Lord Cao is really lucky."

Nie Xiaoqian's gaze was deep, as if she wanted to see through Cao Xiong.

Cao Xiong's expression remained unchanged as he calmly met Nie Xiaoqian's gaze.

Being high-profile isn't Cao Xiong's style, but there's no way around it; his strength has indeed improved rapidly.

"Yaksha doesn't know that you've already killed Zhuquanzi. He's been staying in Grandma's cave all this time. You'd better be careful from now on."

"If I can find you so easily, do you think Yaksha can't?"

Nie Xiaoqian adjusted her position to make herself more comfortable in Cao Xiong's arms.

Cao Xiong was curious; Zhu Quanzi had only been dead for a few days, so how could Nie Xiaoqian know so quickly?

He couldn't do anything about the revenge that Nie Xiaoqian mentioned from the Yaksha. As the only commander of the Hundred Household Office in Guobei County, and with the Thousand Household Office's intentions being clear, he would soon receive a promotion order from the Thousand Household Office to become a Hundred Household Office commander.

Mountain bandits plunder the people at will, and it is imperative to suppress them. He has no reason to hide in the city and not come out.

"Miss Xiaoqian, the night..."

Just as Cao Xiong was about to speak, Nie Xiaoqian extended a finger and placed it on his lips.

"Don't you think it's too formal for me to call you 'Miss Xiaoqian' given our ambiguous relationship?"

Cao Xiong felt ashamed and thought to himself, "Nie Xiaoqian is really difficult to deal with."

"Then shall I call you Xiaoqian?"

"Can."

Nie Xiaoqian seemed quite pleased with the title, her tone of voice filled with joy.

The sudden change in address made Cao Xiong feel awkward, but he shouldn't dwell on it now.

He removed Nie Xiaoqian's finger from her lips and continued, "Is Yaksha much stronger than Zhuquanzi?"

While fiddling with Cao Xiong's hair, Nie Xiaoqian pondered, "Of course, although Yaksha and Zhuquanzi are both early-stage Qi Refining cultivators, they are completely different, seemingly involving the secrets of spiritual cultivation."

Cao Xiong's heart sank. Without the Yin Thunder Pearl, he probably wouldn't have been able to kill Zhu Quanzi, let alone Yaksha.

"I am aware of this matter, and I will be careful."

"Xiaoqian, you're also in the early stage of Qi Refining, right?"

"You can think of it that way, Cao Lang. Are you done asking?"

Nie Xiaoqian suddenly wrapped her arms around Cao Xiong's neck, her eyes filled with turbulent emotions.

Before Cao Xiong could answer, Nie Xiaoqian suddenly kissed Cao Xiong's lips.

"Hiss~"

Cao Xiong gasped as his lip was bitten hard.

"This is your punishment for breaking your promise."

This time, Nie Xiaoqian absorbed another wave of yang energy, and Cao Xiong's body became visibly weak.

"Is this also a punishment?"

Cao Xiong said helplessly to Nie Xiaoqian.

"No, it's because your yang energy is stronger that I couldn't help myself."

As she said this, Nie Xiaoqian didn't blush or skip a beat.

"I'm leaving, don't miss me, okay?"

Nie Xiaoqian disappeared like a gust of wind.

"Huh? Why didn't you leave me any treasures this time?"

Only after Nie Xiaoqian had completely left did Cao Xiong realize that he had been taken advantage of by Nie Xiaoqian.

"Does Nie Xiaoqian not have any martial arts techniques or treasures suitable for me? She's so easily exploited." Cao Xiong shook his head in disappointment.