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

"Breaking free from the limitations of the original body?"

"The Ming Dynasty's fortune still suppresses the dynasty; even if the tree demon breaks free from its physical limitations, what can it do?"

Cao Xiong was somewhat puzzled.

Nie Xiaoqian shook her head, "I don't know about that. I'm just guessing. Perhaps only the Tree Demon Granny and Danyangzi know the secrets behind it."

Cao Xiong felt that what Nie Xiaoqian said was probably true, and that the tree demon's purpose was definitely not simple. He continued to ask Nie Xiaoqian questions.

"The tree spirit needs more essence blood. What methods do you think she will use to achieve her goal?"

Cao Xiong has already wiped out the mountain bandits, and the demons and ghosts under the tree demon's command have also been rejected by the Ming Dynasty's fortune. Could these powerful demons attack the village and plunder the people?

Nie Xiaoqian frowned, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"The Ten Thousand Mountains stretch endlessly outwards. The Tree Demon Granny doesn't rely solely on Guo Bei County; otherwise, do you really think you could have wiped out the mountain bandits so easily?"

"The situation in the surrounding counties is similar to that in Guobei County." Nie Xiaoqian buried her head in Cao Xiong's arms, her voice muffled.

"However, Guobei County has a large population and is closer to Grandma's sphere of influence, so you're right, she won't give up easily and will definitely make another move. As for how she will do it, I don't know."

Hearing this, Cao Xiong finally understood why the resistance to this bandit suppression was so small.

He didn't know much about the bandit suppression efforts in the surrounding counties.

The mountain bandits of Guobei County alone provided so many people for the tree demon. Adding those from other counties, Cao Xiong simply couldn't imagine the sheer number.

Since that's the case, he can only deal with whatever comes his way.

After all, he was only a martial artist at the Muscle Refining Realm. He was helpless even when facing a Yaksha, let alone a tree demon with much greater strength.

Nie Xiaoqian reached out and pinched Cao Xiong's cheek.

"Don't worry too much, Cao Lang. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Nie Xiaoqian left Cao Xiong's embrace and took out a white jade pendant from her bosom.

"Take this and carry it with you at all times. If one day the jade pendant breaks, it means I have something very important to tell you."

"So, you need to come see me as soon as possible."

A cunning glint flashed in Nie Xiaoqian's eyes.

Cao Xiong took the jade pendant; its cool touch calmed his mind.

He concluded that the jade pendant must be a magical artifact.

This trip wasn't in vain; the rich woman made her move again.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of what you gave me."

Nie Xiaoqian wrapped her arms around Cao Xiong's neck, her eyes glazed over. "Lord Cao looks honest and simple, but I never expected him to be so good at winning a woman's heart."

"Looks like I'll have to work harder to keep you from being dishonest."

"Smack~" A familiar touch came over me.

Compared to the previous times, Nie Xiaoqian kissed him more forcefully.

Cao Xiong felt that his body was weaker than ever before.

Nie Xiaoqian wasn't joking; she really did take a big sip.

The joy of obtaining the magical artifact vanished instantly.

Seeing the distress on Cao Xiong's face, Nie Xiaoqian, who was feeling quite satisfied, couldn't help but laugh.

"Pfft~"

"It's not the first time, is it really that big of a deal?"

According to Nie Xiaoqian's usual habits, she would leave quickly, but today she was unusual and stayed with Cao Xiong until late at night.

……

……

……

After meeting Nie Xiaoqian, Cao Xiong returned to Guobei County and, while recovering from his injuries, supervised the training of the officers and soldiers of the Hundred Households Garrison.

Five days later, Cao Xiong's injuries were fully recovered.

Instead of focusing on his cultivation, he prepared to head to the county town.

According to custom, when a new centurion takes office, he needs to go to the chiliarch to report for duty and receive the centurion's armor and token.

Furthermore, a portion of the spoils obtained from this bandit suppression campaign must be handed over to the county town's Thousand-Household Office.

When Wei Qiang left Guobei County, he told him not to rush and to recover from his injuries first.

Fortunately, now that his injuries have healed, he decided to go to Linya County.

He asked Liu Mingzi to compile a list of the supplies that needed to be handed over.

I had intended to have Liu Mingzi divine the fortune of this journey again.

However, Liu Mingzi's previous divination involved a Yaksha, who was at a higher level, and he suffered a backlash, making him unable to perform divination again in the short term.

Cao Xiong had no choice but to give up, as Nie Xiaoqian had said that the Yaksha would not go out during the day.

He was accompanied by two soldiers with small flags, Cao Man and Li Cheng.

At dawn, we embarked on our journey to the Thousand Household Office.

This time, because we were transporting a large amount of gold, silver and grain to the Thousand Households, we could only take the official road.

As evening fell, Cao Xiong thought he would have to camp out in the wild, but then he saw an inn by the roadside.

Two conspicuous red lanterns hung at the entrance of the inn, which looked odd.

Cao Xiong looked around. In the distance, there were layers of mountains and dense trees, but not a single ray of light.

This location is not close to the county seat; it's practically in the middle of nowhere.

Cao Xiong found it strange that an inn was being opened here.

He arrived at the inn with his men, but there was no sound from inside; the door was tightly shut.

Cao Xiong gestured for Li Cheng to go up and knock on the door.

"Bang bang bang~"

Li Cheng knocked four or five times, but no one came out to open the door.

"Kick it away!"

Cao Xiong immediately ordered the door to be forcibly opened, because just as Li Cheng knocked on the door, the Evil-Sniffing Longsword at his waist suddenly trembled, indicating that there was danger inside the inn.

Cao Xiong naturally couldn't sit idly by. Although the inn was in the middle of nowhere, it was next to the main road, and there were occasional pedestrian crossings.

Upon hearing Cao Xiong's order, Li Cheng had not yet made a move.

Cao Man strode to the front of the inn, pulled Li Cheng aside, and kicked him hard.

With a loud bang, Cao Man kicked the wooden door of the inn apart.

Cao Xiong left Cao Man to guard the carriage outside, while he led Li Cheng and a group of soldiers into the inn.

Inside the inn, red lanterns identical to those outside hung, with candles burning inside, illuminating the entire first-floor lobby.

However, the tables and chairs in the hall were arranged in an extremely messy manner, and there was food that had become black and dry on two of the tables.

The ledgers and abacus on the counter were covered with a layer of dust.

It is clear that no one has lived here for a long time.

So, why does the lantern light up?

"Everyone, do not act rashly."

As Cao Xiong spoke, he continued walking up the stairs to the second floor without stopping.

The second floor consists of a series of guest rooms, each with a red lantern hanging at its door.

Cao Xiong walked to the door of the first guest room and kicked it open.

A musty smell wafted over, along with a foul stench.

The guest rooms, like the lobby, were covered in a thick layer of dust, and the corners were covered in cobwebs.

Cao Xiong pinched his nose and walked into the guest room. The wooden bed in the room was half collapsed, and the quilt was bulging, as if something was covering it.

Just as he was about to walk back to the bed, a cold wind suddenly swept past his back, giving him goosebumps.

"Whoosh~"

Cao Xiong suddenly turned around and looked towards the door.

The door was shaking slightly, but nothing else was found.

Since entering the inn, the Evil-Sniffing Longsword has remained silent.

He gently gripped the knife handle with his right hand and continued walking towards the bed.