The basement door swung wide open, revealing an angry-looking middle-aged man.
He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with silver-white hair, a square face, and round eyes. He certainly had an imposing appearance.
As soon as he opened the door and saw three figures outside—two unfamiliar young people and one of his own men—he asked in a low voice, "Sixth, what are you doing here?"
"Brother Hu." The burly man instinctively snapped to attention. "I... I came to pick up a delivery."
Zhao Xing'er got straight to the point. "Where are the children?"
"What children?" Brother Hu looked at her in confusion, still seeming a little dazed.
He had just been cursed out by a delivery driver, and now, the moment he stepped outside, someone was asking him about children. Anyone would have trouble making that mental leap so quickly. What he was thinking now was, Could this be another kid I fathered while fooling around?
It wouldn't have been the first time.
But with a girl this beautiful, there was no way he'd have forgotten if anything had happened between them, right?
Had he been too drunk to remember?
"Haah—"
During that one second Brother Hu spent short-circuiting, Zhao Xing'er had already leaped into the air and punched him square in the face!
Boom!
The punch sent him flying backward, straight down the basement steps and into the darkness below.
Yue Wen and the burly man could only wince as they watched. Who would have guessed that this seemingly delicate young woman was a straight-up heavy hitter?
Seeing Brother Hu sent flying, Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er immediately followed. The basement stairs were steep and long, so neither bothered to use them; they both leaped down and landed on the floor below.
The Tiger Head Gang leader lay sprawled on the ground, dazed and barely conscious.
Yue Wen was about to go grab him when he suddenly sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere around them.
Sixth, still at the top of the stairs, didn't dare follow them down. After hesitating for a second, he reached back and shut the basement door from the outside.
Whatever happened in there had nothing to do with him.
A gust of bloody wind swept through the basement.
"You..." A voice like rolling thunder boomed from straight ahead. "Who are you?"
The light in here was dimmer than outside, but once their eyes adjusted, they could make out their surroundings. The place was indeed quite spacious, at least a thousand square meters by the look of it.
The space was furnished with sofas, a television, exercise equipment, and various separate rooms. It was practically a comfortable living area.
At that moment, four enormous figures sat on the floor in the central hall.
Each had the outline of a human body. Some wore sleeveless undershirts, others well-tailored suits. But the parts left exposed were covered in mottled fur—reddish gold with black stripes. They stood three or four meters tall, with thick, knotted muscles and enormous tiger heads!
The black stripes forming the character for "king" on their foreheads stood out starkly.
The one who had spoken was a tiger demon in an oversized suit, seated straight ahead. He had the most imposing posture, one elbow propped on his leg, while he held several oversized playing cards in his other hand.
That was right: the four tiger demons were sitting in a circle playing cards.
In a distant corner, another black tiger, barely visible in the darkness, lay in beast form with its eyes closed. Now it slowly opened them, revealing pupils like two glaring red lamps.
As the unwelcome guests entered, all ten pairs of blood-red eyes turned toward them in unison.
Beneath the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters lay a veritable demon lair!
Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er didn't move. They cautiously studied their surroundings and sensed the auras of the tiger demons.
Before cultivators fought, their true qi would circulate at full speed, allowing them to judge an opponent's true cultivation by sensing their aura. But that could only serve as a reference. An aura could be concealed or disguised, and until someone actually made a move, their strength couldn't be determined with certainty.
The tiger demons merely sat there without moving, yet the presence they gave off as their blood and qi circulated was already oppressive.
They were unquestionably powerful.
After a brief, motionless standoff, Yue Wen reached into his pocket in full view of the tiger demons.
The atmosphere immediately grew tense. The tiger demons watched him warily, thinking he was about to pull out a weapon and attack. Just as the tension reached its peak, Yue Wen pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.
"Damn," cursed a tiger demon wearing a black sleeveless undershirt. "So he's crazy."
"I know." Another tiger demon, wearing a golden chain, stood up with a sinister grin. "It's this dark and he's wearing sunglasses. He's gotta be a rapper!"
"Who's a rapper?" The tiger demon who had his back to Yue Wen and the others turned around. He was the biggest of them all, and wore a specially made headset that fit neatly over his upright ears.
"Enough." The Suit Tiger raised a hand and said solemnly, "Whatever you are, you trespassed here and saw what we look like..."
"You all die."
[Adult tiger demons: Kings of the Mountain Forest, at the top of the food chain, transformed from the most formidable hunters. Bloodthirsty and powerful, they loathe human males who get drunk in the wilderness. Their combat strength is equivalent to that of eight thousand healthy human grandmothers. They are born with powerful innate abilities, but according to a rumor in the martial world, a move called the "Sliding Tackle" can defeat them...]
Combat strength equivalent to that of an entire division's worth of grandmothers?
Since beginning his cultivation, this was probably the most powerful evil spirit Yue Wen had encountered.
And there were five opponents like this. The Suit Tiger seated at the front had combat strength above Ten Thousand Grandma Level, beyond the Demon-Slaying Mirror's ability to measure precisely.
From the Demon-Slaying Mirror's perspective, the entire basement was filled with waves of crimson demonic aura, each surging higher than the last. The intermingled stench of blood was overwhelming. It was impossible to know how many lives these tiger demons had taken to accumulate such a thick aura of blood.
Yue Wen didn't even have the presence of mind to think about how many Demon Suppressing Coins he could get out of this. He wasn't sure he could win.
"This probably won't end peacefully," Yue Wen whispered to Zhao Xing'er. "I'll do my best to hold them off. Look for a chance to pull out your phone and call the Supervision Bureau."
For now, neither side was making a move, which was the only thing keeping the standoff going. With the tiger demons' auras locked onto them, the moment they tried to call for help, the demons would attack. It wouldn't be easy.
They would have to wait until the fight broke out. Yue Wen would hold the front while Zhao Xing'er looked for an opportunity to call for backup.
The situation was clear. The Tiger Head Gang and its leader were all puppets. The gang's real backing was the group of tiger demons in the basement.
Why were the Tiger Head Gang's enemies always killed in secret?
Because the tiger demons couldn't act openly. Like those little cat demons, they could only live in the shadows beneath the city. They were simply stronger and craftier, and had joined forces with the underworld to amass wealth.
If the Supervision Bureau discovered them, the tiger demons would inevitably be eliminated.
"Ah..."
Just then, Brother Hu, who had been lying on the ground, slowly came to. He opened his eyes and got to his feet.
"Damn, you hit me? You're asking to die!" He cracked his neck and strode over to the Suit Tiger. "Big Brother, you can kill the man and eat him, but leave the woman alive. She might have some connection to me. I need to clear things up..."
Smack—
The Suit Tiger didn't change his seated position or move his body. He simply flicked the tip of his tail behind him, turning it into a blur that sent Brother Hu flying. The man had only just woken up, and now he shot across the room like a meteor, crashing into a distant wall with a bang.
He went from cosplaying as a rug to cosplaying as a wall painting.
"Both of these humans are strong. Be careful," the Suit Tiger said, his gaze domineering and vicious. After a brief pause, he spat out a single word. "Kill!"
"Roar—"
The tiger's roar shook the mountains and forest, its heavenly sound stunning the soul.
The tiger demons roared together. Their voices carried demonic power, sending waves of sound rolling toward Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er. Their minds wavered, and a hint of fear crept in.
This was one of the tiger demons' innate abilities. The weaker beasts of the mountain forest would have their souls shattered and die just from hearing that roar!
Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er were nowhere near that fragile. They were dazed for only an instant before gathering their wits again. Three tiger demons were already charging from the left, center, and right.
Vest Tiger, Golden Refined Tiger, and Earphone Tiger all pounced through the air, blood-colored shadows filling the sky. Each was faster than the last, each carried a more murderous aura than the last. It seemed the gusts from their claws alone could tear the two young people to shreds before the blows even landed!
Yue Wen didn't dare let his guard down. He immediately drew his sword and shouted, "Careful! I'll meet them head-on. Look for an opening."
Zhao Xing'er had already raised a Three-Pointed Double-Edged Halberd taller than she was. Her fighting spirit surged, red light flickered in her eyes, and she cried, "Bring it on!"
Then she charged forward, excitement written all over her face!
Her martial cultivation method flared to life. Her blood and qi surged with rising red light, while the blade shimmered with razor-sharp cold gleams. From behind, she looked every bit like a female Yang Jian!
"Wait..." Yue Wen stared at her figure, his eyes widening. "I told you to get your phone out! Where did you pull that Three-Pointed Double-Edged Halberd from? And what kind of ridiculous weapon is that?!"
Before you continue