Besieging and Killing the Tiger Demon 4

The Tiger Demon charged forward in a wild sprint.

Director Liu issued the order to fire the cannons once again.

Simultaneously, all manner of firearms rained down on the Tiger Demon's wounds as if ammunition were free.

They continued to widen the Tiger Demon's injuries.

This time, these weapons were no longer useless.

Each volley caused the Tiger Demon's massive frame to shudder.

Seeing this, Lu Jing'an did not offer any further instructions.

In this situation, the Tiger Demon's death was merely a matter of time.

It had no chance of escaping before reaching him.

However, the next moment.

Lu Jing'an felt as if an ice pick had been driven into the inside of his skull.

The Tiger Demon's mental assault came without warning, like an avalanche erupting deep within his brain matter.

Roaring within his sea of consciousness at this moment

was a soul-form tiger composed entirely of violence and bloodlust.

"ROAR!"

The tiger's roar was silent, yet it shook Lu Jing'an's consciousness until it nearly dissipated.

He could still see the scene outside:

Director Liu waving his arms frantically thirty paces away, the crisp clatter of metal as soldiers reloaded the mortars.

Chen Xuan had already stepped forward, ready to strike at any moment.

He could even smell the faint scent of soapberry on Wen Ling.

Yet, he could not utter a single word.

On the battlefield of the mind, he stood alone.

The soul-form Tiger Demon, now shrunk to the size of a cat, charged and darted within his brain, each bite tearing away large swaths of his consciousness.

Lu Jing'an felt a warm liquid surging from deep within his nasal cavity, a sharp ringing filled his ears, and snowflake-like blind spots began to seep into the edges of his vision.

Lu Jing'an felt his spirit showing signs of collapse.

Add points!

Lu Jing'an chanted silently in his heart.

The instant his will fell, a force as clear and cool as a spring welled up from the depths of his consciousness.

His mental energy, previously like a candle in the wind, suddenly solidified, and those torn wounds were forcibly mended by an invisible power.

The soul-form Tiger Demon in his sea of consciousness faltered, actually shrinking back half a step.

Lu Jing'an looked at his mental points; all nine points of energy were injected, and his mental power value jumped from 8 to 17.

A qualitative change occurred in an instant.

When the soul-form Tiger Demon lunged again, Lu Jing'an could even see every line of the "King" character marking on its forehead.

Lu Jing'an still did not know how to launch a mental attack, but as he stood there, he was like a reef facing a raging wave!

The Tiger Demon's impact collided with his mental barrier, which had more than doubled in density, stirring up only ripples.

The stalemate lasted no more than three seconds.

The soul-form Tiger Demon let out a roar of unwillingness, turned, and dissipated into a sky full of light particles, retreating completely from Lu Jing'an's sea of consciousness.

"Hoo—"

Lu Jing'an snapped his eyes open and exhaled a breath of stale air.

This breath carried the metallic tang of blood from his throat, as well as the warm liquid that finally surged from his nostrils.

He reached up to touch it, his fingertips meeting a viscous smear.

"Young Master!"

Chen Xuan's exclamation exploded at his side.

The teacher, usually as steady as a mountain, had a voice tight with tension, his robes whistling as he spun around.

Lu Jing'an had never seen such an expression on his master's face;

those eyes, typically half-lidded, were wide open, pupils shrunk to pinpricks, the whites instantly webbed with bloodshot veins.

"Young Master Lu, you..."

Wen Ling's voice came from the other side.

She fumbled frantically through her sleeves, finally pulling out a plain white handkerchief embroidered with magnolias.

The cloth carried a faint, feminine scent of soap and a trace of medicinal herbs.

Lu Jing'an took it and pressed it to his nose; the cotton was quickly soaked through, dark flowers blooming in the moonlight.

"I'll return a new one to you next time." Lu Jing'an's voice was muffled, yet carried a smile.

Wen Ling froze, then glared at him: "Who wants you to return this!"

Chen Xuan's hand was already pressed against Lu Jing'an's pulse.

The old man's fingertips were ice-cold; he checked for three breaths before letting go, his voice raspy:

"Your soul is shaken, but the foundation remains intact."

He looked toward the Tiger Demon thirty paces away, which was sluggish from its own mental trauma, the lingering fear in his eyes instantly burning into frigid killing intent.

"Was it this beast's soul attack?"

"Yes."

Lu Jing'an wiped the blood from his face and carefully folded the stained handkerchief, tucking it into his inner pocket.

"The file was incomplete; that mental shock nearly turned me into an idiot."

"It was our oversight."

Wen Ling's voice was strained, every word squeezed through her teeth, "A Tiger Demon that commands a Chang Ghost must have a powerful soul.

We should have anticipated it might possess a direct soul-assault technique."

"Sister Wen Ling."

Lu Jing'an interrupted her self-reproach, his voice calm, "The battlefield changes in an instant; how could there be a perfect plan?

The fact that I can stand here and speak is already a blessing."

Hearing Lu Jing'an's words, Chen Xuan looked at the Tiger Demon, his eyes brimming with lethal intent.

"Young Master, I will kill it."

Chen Xuan said this and leaped directly into the fray.

Lu Jing'an was about to call out, but realized Chen Xuan had already crossed the distance.

Lu Jing'an could only signal for Director Liu and the others to hold back.

The Tiger Demon possessed an instinctive reaction to danger.

When it saw Chen Xuan, it instinctively sensed the peril.

But it was already severely wounded and could not escape.

In truth, even without its injuries, it would not have been able to escape Chen Xuan.

Though he hadn't stopped him, he would at least get to see his master in action.

Seeing Chen Xuan approach, the Tiger Demon raised its claws to block.

Chen Xuan shifted his hand into a blade, striking the joint of the tiger's paw.

The dull crack of shattering bone rang out with startling clarity in the silent forest.

The Tiger Demon howled in pain, but Chen Xuan was already closing in.

With his left hand clamped onto the Tiger Demon's jaw, he drove his right knee fiercely into its throat.

It took less than five minutes.

The Tiger Demon, which had been lively and kicking just moments ago, was now nothing more than a dead carcass.

Watching Chen Xuan with his blood-stained hands, Lu Jing'an felt that Wu Song from the legends couldn't possibly be as imposing as his own master.

[Detected soul capable of Refining/Repairing. Collect?]

Seeing this prompt emerge from the Tiger Demon's body, Lu Jing'an chose to collect it without a moment's hesitation.

He had come here for two reasons.

One was to lure the Tiger Demon out and kill it.

The second was precisely for this soul.

The Tiger Demon was incredibly powerful.

Lu Jing'an was already beginning to look forward to the potential of its soul.

After collecting the soul, Lu Jing'an decisively chose to initiate the Refining process.

[Refining in progress. Estimated completion time: 12 hours]

Looking at the estimated completion time this time around, Lu Jing'an grew even more expectant.

The longer the Refining took, the more bountiful the harvest would surely be.

His previous longest Refining time had only been 6 hours.

Now, it had doubled in duration.

It was well worth Lu Jing'an's anticipation.

Chen Xuan returned to Lu Jing'an's side after finishing off the Tiger Demon.

As for the remaining cleanup work, there was certainly no need for a master expert like Chen Xuan to handle it.

The men brought by Director Liu and his third uncle were more than enough to deal with such matters.

"Master, wipe your hands."

Lu Jing'an took out the handkerchief he carried with him and handed it to Chen Xuan.

"Thank you, Young Master."

Chen Xuan took it and wiped his hands, though it could only remove the surface-level bloodstains.

Just then, the phosphorus in the forest burned out completely; aside from a few trees being scorched black, no fire had broken out.

Over at the Tiger Demon's location, all the available personnel had gone over to help.

The giant beast, weighing over a thousand catties, had a hundred men sweating profusely.

The sounds of work chants, the friction of ropes, and the roar of truck engines blended into a chaotic din.

Lu Jing'an looked at the Tiger Demon's corpse, turned to Wen Ling, and asked:

"Sister Wen Ling, the Peacekeeping Bureau must have protocols for handling these demon beasts, right? Could you share a copy with me? Or perhaps I could hire people from the Peacekeeping Bureau to handle it for me?"

Wen Ling nodded: "That naturally exists, but the Peacekeeping Bureau cannot handle it for you. However, sharing the experience of how to process it is perfectly fine."

"Many thanks."

Lu Jing'an cupped his hands in gratitude.

Wen Ling looked at the Tiger Demon's corpse being dragged away and said:

"Young Master Lu, to be able to think of such a clever way to deal with a demon beast—I wonder if Young Master Lu would be interested in helping us handle another one?"

Pausing for a moment, Wen Ling added: "Inviting you this time would not be a violation of rules, and we can provide Young Master Lu with Qian afterward."

Changing the subject, Wen Ling said: "It's just that our standard is relatively low, only five hundred silver dollars. Young Master Lu probably wouldn't think much of it, would you?"

Lu Jing'an smiled and said: "The Qian isn't important. Sister Wen Ling, you can give me the file first; let me take a look at it."

"If I can truly be of help to you and your team, Sister Wen Ling, it would be my honor."

Wen Ling giggled and said: "Then it's a deal."

Kui Shan stood to the side, suddenly finding it hard to distinguish who exactly was the director of the Peacekeeping Bureau between him and Wen Ling.