Ji Xiaoxi looked apologetic, her little mouth pouting slightly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just now."

Zu'an knew he had only himself to blame, and it was unreasonable for him to accuse her: "Alright, alright, you have nothing to apologize for. In the end, it was my own fault. By the way, how did you create that water curtain when you were in the water?"

Upon arriving in this world, he thirsted for all kinds of spiritual knowledge like a sponge absorbs water.

Ji Xiaoxi's eyes widened: "Were you spying on me back then?"

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten about this and hurriedly said, "I was just a little worried because I hadn't heard you say you were okay, so I opened my eyes a crack. Don't worry, I didn't see anything. Didn't you cover your eyes with the water curtain?"

Ji Xiaoxi nodded with some doubt before answering, "Third-grade cultivators can release their vital energy a short distance to form armor or a barrier of energy within a three-foot radius. My water curtain works on the same principle."

"I see." Zuan gradually understood. It seemed that the second rank made the skin more resilient, while the third rank allowed the release of true energy. He wondered what the effects of the higher ranks would be.

Ji Xiaoxi suddenly stopped and tilted her ear as if listening to something: "Brother Zu, did you hear anything?"

"What?" Zuan asked, since he hadn't heard anything.

"There are sounds of fighting and killing." Ji Xiaoxi's delicate eyebrows furrowed, clearly indicating that she did not like such fighting and killing.

"Let's go quickly." Zu An instinctively wanted to run. If he were a big shot, he wouldn't mind running over and showing off, but now even a little girl's cultivation level was higher than his, proving that this world was too treacherous. He should keep a low profile.

Surviving to the end is the only way to succeed!

"Let's go take a look. Maybe someone needs medical help." Ji Xiaoxi grabbed his arm, her previously gentle eyes now showing a hint of determination.

Noticing her innocent eyes, Zu'an's heart softened: "Alright, but don't blame me if it gets too dangerous later. By the way, you didn't put poison on your hands, did you?"

"Don't worry, it's not poisonous." Seeing him agree, Ji Xiaoxi's eyes smiled like crescent moons.

The two rushed over following the sounds of fighting and found a caravan being besieged by a group of men in black in another valley. The caravan's guards were desperately trying to fend off the men in black's attacks, but the men in black outnumbered them and were clearly quite strong, their attacks ruthless and vicious. Many of the caravan's guards had already fallen into pools of blood.

It's only a matter of time before the remaining few are resolved.

Zuan noticed that the guards were all dressed in white, with gold thread embroidered on their lapels and cuffs, and they all looked handsome and dashing.

"Damn, this is so extravagant! The guards' clothes are so luxurious." Zu An subconsciously glanced at his own rather rough clothes, feeling indignant. Compared to them, these people are the ones who look like the sons-in-law of the Duke's mansion, and I look like a guard!

"But what's the use of dressing well? They're all just empty shells." Zuan noticed their retreat and felt a little better.

"They're from Black Wind Stronghold!" Ji Xiaoxi exclaimed in a low voice. Although she was kind and innocent, she wasn't stupid. Instead of rushing out recklessly, she pulled Zu An and hid behind some bushes in the distance to observe.

Now that the situation below is settled, rushing out would only be a pointless death, but seeing the people below being slaughtered, she was extremely conflicted.

"Black Wind Stronghold? Such a bland name, this stronghold must be some kind of low-class character." Zu'an couldn't help but complain.

“That’s not the case,” Ji Xiaoxi shook her head, her expression solemn. “Black Wind Stronghold is a bandit gang established by the notorious thief Chen Xuan. These people are ruthless and have considerable cultivation. Over the years, they have been robbing and killing merchants outside the city. Countless people have died at their hands.”

Zuan couldn't help but ask, "Then why not send troops to wipe them out? There are so many experts in the city, are we just going to let them run rampant like this?"

Based on the intelligence we've gathered so far, most of the world's high-end military forces have been incorporated into the government, so even the official military force of a single city is far beyond what these bandits can contend with.

Ji Xiaoxi explained, "Over the years, Duke Chu and Lord Xie have sent countless troops to wipe them out, but these people come and go like the wind, always appearing and disappearing without a trace. If the city's troops are few in number, they will be devoured; if there are many troops, they will hide in the mountains and disappear. They will only reappear after the city's troops have withdrawn. Therefore, they have always been a major threat to Bright Moon City."

Zuan couldn't help but complain about the Chu family's incompetence. When he was with the Chu family before, those people were all so arrogant, but he didn't expect them to be unable to handle even a mountain bandit.

Suddenly he realized something and asked, "Are the Black Wind Stronghold people always able to successfully evade the main force of the bandit suppression?" After receiving confirmation, he couldn't help but sigh, "It seems there must be an inside agent in the city working with them from the inside."

Ji Xiaoxi nodded: "Brother Zu, you're so smart. That's what my dad said too."

Zuan pictured a slovenly, drunken middle-aged man who was greedy and loved reading adult books; it was hard to imagine him analyzing things so seriously.

"Madam, we'll hold them off, you go quickly!" A white-clad guard said to the carriage behind him while fighting the enemy.