Besieging and Killing the Tiger Demon 3

Kui Shan's expression shifted drastically the moment he heard Lu Jing'an intended to set the mountain ablaze, and he stepped forward in a fit of rage.

However, Chen Xuan was faster.

With a single shift of his position, he placed himself between Kui Shan and Lu Jing'an.

Facing Chen Xuan, Kui Shan didn't have a shred of temper.

He simply couldn't win.

Sometimes, Kui Shan wondered:

How could a great Martial Cultivator like Chen Xuan be content acting as a lackey for the Lu Family?

Kui Shan's chest heaved violently as he glared at Chen Xuan, his teeth clenched tight:

"What you are doing now is even worse than the Chang Ghost of that Tiger Demon!

How many families on this mountain rely on chopping wood and gathering herbs to survive?

If this fire burns, how many people will freeze to death this winter?

For the sake of your own selfish interests, has your conscience been eaten by dogs?!"

The spittle nearly landed on Lu Jing'an's face.

Chen Xuan didn't even twitch an eyebrow, merely stating calmly:

"The Young Master has his own sense of propriety in how he does things."

Wen Ling also frowned when she heard Lu Jing'an talk about setting the mountain on fire.

However, she was not as reckless as Kui Shan.

Based on the few times she had interacted with him, she understood one thing.

This Lu Jing'an might be a playboy, but he was certainly not a man devoid of conscience.

Lu Jing'an ignored Kui Shan's roar.

He pulled a gilded pocket watch from his breast pocket.

Click. He flipped the cover open.

The watch face reflected the somewhat pale midday sun.

He raised his eyes to look at the sky, his eyelashes casting faint shadows beneath them.

"Fire the shots, signal the burn."

Lu Jing'an said to Director Liu beside him, his voice devoid of emotion.

Lu Jing'an gave the order to Director Liu.

Director Liu nodded in agreement.

He immediately drew his service pistol and fired three shots into the sky to his front-left.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The three gunshots tore through the silence of the forest, startling a dark, dense flock of birds in the distance, the sound of their flapping wings washing over the treetops like a tide.

After a moment of deathly silence, a wisp of gray smoke curled up from between the gaps in the trees.

Then came a second, a third...

In the blink of an eye, the eastern peak was shrouded in billowing thick smoke.

The color of the smoke shifted from gray to black, rising straight up in the windless noon, staining half the sky murky.

Kui Shan's eyes were bloodshot, a low growl like a trapped beast rumbling in his throat.

But Chen Xuan's aura locked him firmly in place like an iron chain, and he couldn't even lift a single finger.

As the thick smoke spread, visible flames began to appear within the forest.

Seeing that the situation was already set in stone, "Lu Jing'an!"

Kui Shan's voice was nearly torn apart.

"I had thought you were different from them. You noble scions, besides your own interests, what else is there in your eyes?! In your view, are the lives of these commoners not even worth as much as grass?!"

Before Kui Shan could finish his shout, he heard Wen Ling from the side say, "Boss, look closely. The trees aren't catching fire."

Hearing Wen Ling's words, Kui Shan calmed down slightly.

Kui Shan whipped his head around.

Sure enough, despite the thick smoke filling the air and the flames dancing through the forest, the branches of the pines and cypresses remained dark and untouched.

The fire was only spreading among the low-lying shrubs and grass.

Moreover, the color possessed a strange, pale yellow hue, unlike the scorching red of a typical forest fire.

"This is..." Kui Shan was stunned.

Wen Ling remained silent for a moment before saying, "It's phosphorus."

Lu Jing'an smiled. "Sister Wen Ling is truly knowledgeable."

Kui Shan clearly did not understand these Western novelties.

Seeing the look on his boss's face, Wen Ling explained it to Kui Shan in layman's terms.

After explaining, Wen Ling did not forget to throw in a jab.

"Boss, this phosphorus is a Western trinket, more expensive than gold."

"Young Master Lu is burning gold just to save this forest and the livelihoods of those commoners."

Upon hearing Wen Ling's words, Kui Shan's face flushed a deep red.

Yet, he still refused to back down.

"What a waste. It would be better to just give that gold directly to the poor."

"If you just gave them Qian, the Tiger Demon wouldn't leave."

Lu Jing'an smiled, his gaze still fixed on the phosphorus flames dancing in the forest.

Kui Shan was choked by the retort, his old face turning even redder.

Watching the phosphorus flames burning in the forest, Wen Ling asked curiously:

"Young Master Lu, I read in books that phosphorus fire should look like ghost fire. How is it that your phosphorus fire burns with the same color as a normal flame?"

Lu Jing'an replied, "I had people add a bit of salt to it. This lowers the burning temperature and makes the color closer to that of an ordinary flame."

Hearing Lu Jing'an's words, Wen Ling nodded while taking out the pen and notebook she carried with her to record it.

For a Literary Cultivator, the more knowledge she possessed, the stronger her power became.

After finishing her notes, Wen Ling smiled charmingly and said, "I didn't expect you, Young Master Lu, to be so well-versed in these Western eccentricities."

"I know a little."

Watching the phosphorus fire and thick smoke burning on the mountaintop, Lu Jing'an murmured:

"I hope this can fool that beast. If it doesn't, we will truly have no choice but to burn the mountain."

Wen Ling closed her notebook and said, "Rest assured, Young Master Lu. This trick will work; that beast is extremely afraid of fire and will run the moment it sees it."

"I hope so."

No sooner had Lu Jing'an finished speaking than—

"Awoo—ROAR!!!"

A heaven-shaking tiger roar erupted from the depths of the forest.

The sound was certainly not something an ordinary tiger could produce.

It was as low as muffled thunder rolling through the valley, yet carried the sharp, piercing force of metal grinding against stone.

Everyone's eardrums stung, fallen leaves cascaded from the trees, and the gravel on the ground trembled slightly in response.

Lu Jing'an narrowed his eyes and looked out.

He saw the distant treetops collapsing in waves, and a vague, massive yellow-and-black shadow sprinting toward the eastern highlands.

"It really is heading east," he whispered.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat—!"

A dense burst of gunfire suddenly erupted from the east, interspersed with several thunderous explosions.

It was a grenade.

More thick smoke billowed up, igniting the firebreak that had been dug in advance.

The true flames finally swallowed the withered grass, crimson tongues of fire leaping over ten feet high.

The gunfire continued for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Lu Jing'an's eyes suddenly sharpened.

An unusual movement came from the forest to the west.

The direction in which the trees were falling had changed.

"Everyone, prepare." Lu Jing'an's voice turned abruptly cold.

Lu Jing'an gave the order to Director Liu.

"Yes!"

Director Liu replied with a solemn nod and went straight down to make preparations.

As the Tiger Demon drew closer to their position.

The commotion grew increasingly intense.

Everyone held their breath, growing tense.

Soon, something darted out from the woods.

The first figure rushed out of the forest.

It was a man.

Or rather, it had once been a man.

The coarse cloth clothes on his body were tattered beyond recognition.

His exposed skin was a deathly gray, his eye sockets hollow.

His mouth was split open to his ears, revealing ghastly white teeth.

Most horrifying of all, several points of unextinguished ghost fire clung to his shoulders and back.

The dim yellow flames licked at the rotting flesh, yet there was no stench of burning; only a faint "sizzling" sound could be heard.

Following closely were the second, the third...

They surged from the forest, their postures twisted like marionettes on strings.

On their gray, withered faces, the fear and agony of their final moments remained frozen.

Some had twisted necks, some had gaping abdominal cavities, and some had limbs bent at impossible angles.

Ten, thirty, fifty...

One hundred, one hundred and thirty...

When the one hundred and fifty-seventh Chang Ghost stumbled out.

The entire mountain hollow fell into a deathly silence.

There was only the faint crackling of the ghost fire, and the sound of those "things" dragging their feet as they advanced.

One hundred and fifty-seven human lives.

And all of them had died within the past year.

The physical body of a Chang Ghost lasts at most one year before it completely rots into white bone.

Yet this Tiger Demon had been entrenched here for forty years.

The number of missing persons cases reported in Yinshan County that remained unsolved was only about two hundred a year.

To have over one hundred and fifty appear here.

Meant that over eighty percent of the missing population had likely been turned into the Tiger Demon's Chang Ghost.

Such a shocking scene.

Exceeded everyone's expectations.

Kui Shan felt more than ever that they should have burned the mountain long ago.

This Tiger Demon truly deserved to die!

"Yo-young master..." Director Liu's voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot, "Do we fire?"

Lu Jing'an suppressed the rage in his heart and said calmly, "You are the field commander; decide for yourself."

Lu Jing'an watched the walking corpses quietly, his face devoid of expression.

Only a flash of icy cold light swept through the depths of his pupils as he said slowly:

"You are the field commander. Act according to your judgment."

Director Liu acknowledged the order and immediately commanded, "Use half our firepower."

Gunfire erupted like popping beans.

Long guns, short guns, and two Czech-style light machine guns spat tongues of fire simultaneously.

Bullets wove a net of death.

The decaying bodies of the Chang Ghost shuddered like rags in the hail of lead.

The dull thuds of shattering skulls rang out in succession, and grey-black gore splattered onto the withered grass and gravel.

In mere moments, every Chang Ghost that had rushed out of the woods lay on the ground, motionless.

Yet, the Tiger Demon had still not appeared.

Lu Jing'an stepped forward.

His boot sole ground against a pebble, producing a faint cracking sound.

Facing the mountain wind and the deep, dark woods, he spoke in a clear, resonant voice:

"Are you not here to kill the descendants of the Lu Family?

I, Lu Jing'an, am standing right here."

Lu Jing'an's voice was crisp and clear, echoing through the valley:

"The mountain paths on both sides are sealed, and the east is a sea of fire.

You can only pass through me; if you have the ability, come and take my life."

The woods fell into a deathly silence.

A moment later, a tiger roar, even more violent and frenzied than before, exploded forth!

The monstrous hatred within that roar almost solidified, shaking everyone's blood and qi into a churn.

Several young team members even stumbled backward, blood seeping from their ears and noses.

Lu Jing'an narrowed his eyes.

He truly could not fathom what the Lu Family had done to this Tiger Demon to make it hate them to such an extent.

"BOOM!!"

The earth trembled.

A massive black shadow snapped several pine trees as thick as bowls, leaping ferociously out of the forest.

When it landed, it kicked up a cloud of dust, and gravel sprayed like rain.

It was a tiger.

But such a giant tiger should not exist in this world.

It was nearly ten meters long, its shoulder height half a head taller than a grown man, and its yellow and black striped fur shimmered with a cold, metallic luster under the sun.

Most terrifying were those copper-bell-sized eyes, scarlet as blood, with pupils narrowed into thin slits.

Within them surged madness and malice.

From its gaping maw, foul-smelling saliva dripped off dagger-like fangs.

The white "King" mark on its forehead was twisted like a ghost's face.

At such close range, the stench of Sha Qi belonging to an apex predator rushed toward them.

Several young Security Officer felt their legs go weak, barely able to hold their guns.

"Open fire, all of you!"

Director Liu roared hoarsely.

Every muzzle spat tongues of fire at once!

Bullets poured onto the Tiger Demon like a rainstorm.

Short-gun bullets clanged against its fur, sparking tiny flickers of fire.

Rifle bullets occasionally burrowed into its flesh, bursting into small sprays of blood.

Only the bullets from the Czech-style machine guns could truly tear through its defenses, gouging bloody holes into the Tiger Demon's body.

The Tiger Demon let out a low growl, its massive frame shuddering violently.

"Clang! Clatter!"

Dozens of deformed bullet casings sprayed from its fur like iron sand, bouncing and rolling across the stone ground.

The gesture was as dismissive as brushing away dust.

Director Liu's pupils constricted, and he roared hoarsely, "Fire!!"

"BOOM! BOOM!"

The two mountain guns bellowed in unison, their muzzles spitting tongues of searing flame.

The Tiger Demon clearly did not recognize these weapons, and it froze, startled by the thunderous roar.

In that split second of hesitation.

"BANG!!"

A shell struck its left shoulder blade dead center!

Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

The Tiger Demon let out a miserable howl as it was flipped over, snapping two pine trees before crashing heavily to the ground.

A basin-sized wound had been blasted into its left shoulder, the skin and flesh torn asunder.

White bone was ghastly and visible, with blood gushing out like a fountain.

The other shell landed three feet to its side, blasting a charred crater into the earth.

"It's a hit!!" someone shouted in excitement.

Director Liu's face was flushed with triumph as he waved his hand again: "Reload! And—"

Before the words could leave his lips, the Tiger Demon actually stood up, swaying.

Its scarlet beastly eyes locked firmly onto Lu Jing'an, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.

Its muscles bulged, and blood poured from its wounds like a waterfall.

Yet, as if completely unaware of the pain, it kicked off the ground with all four limbs and lunged forward with savage ferocity!