Tiger Hunting

The basement doors swung wide open, revealing a furious 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 a rather imposing appearance.

Finding three figures outside the door—two unfamiliar young people and one of his own men—he asked in a low voice, "Old Six, what are you doing here?"

"Brother Tiger." The burly man instinctively snapped to attention. "I... I came to pick up the takeout."

Zhao Xing'er went straight to the point. "Where's the child?"

"What child?" Brother Tiger looked at her in confusion, his eyes still somewhat blank.

He had just been cursed out by a delivery driver, only to step outside and run into someone looking for a child. No one could have switched gears that quickly. At that moment, he was wondering whether this was another child he had fathered while fooling around.

It wouldn't have been the first time.

But with a girl this pretty, there was no way he could have forgotten doing anything with her.

Had he been too drunk at the time?

"Hah!"

In that single second while Brother Tiger's brain stalled, Zhao Xing'er leaped forward and slammed a fist into his face!

Boom!

The punch sent him flying backward, down the basement stairs and into the darkness below.

Yue Wen and the burly man both grimaced at the sight. Who would have guessed that this delicate-looking girl was a human cannon?

As Brother Tiger went flying back inside, Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er followed him. The long basement staircase was steep, so neither bothered with the steps. They simply leaped down and landed on the level floor below.

The leader of the Tiger Head Gang lay sprawled on the floor, utterly dazed and barely conscious.

Yue Wen was about to go over and grab him when he suddenly sensed something wrong with the atmosphere.

Old Six, still at the top of the stairs, didn't dare follow them down. After a second's hesitation, he reached back and shut the basement doors from outside.

Whether anyone lives or dies in there has nothing to do with me.

A blood-reeking wind swept across the basement floor.

"Who..." A voice rumbled like thunder from directly ahead. "Are you?"

The lighting here was dimmer than outside, but once their eyes adjusted, they could make out their surroundings. It was indeed an expansive space, easily over a thousand square meters at a glance.

Sofas, televisions, exercise equipment, and more filled the space, along with numerous separate rooms. It was actually a very comfortable living area.

At that moment, four enormous figures sat on the floor in the central hall.

Each had a humanoid outline. Some wore tank tops; others wore neat suits. But every exposed part of their bodies was covered in reddish-gold fur marked with black stripes. They stood three or four meters tall, with thick, bulging muscles and enormous tiger heads!

The black markings forming the character for "king" stood out prominently on their foreheads.

The one who had spoken was a Tiger Demon directly ahead, dressed in an oversized suit. He sat in the most domineering pose, one elbow propped on his leg, his other hand holding several oversized playing cards.

Yes, these four Tiger Demons were sitting in a circle playing cards.

In a distant corner lay another huge tiger, his black coat barely visible in the darkness. He rested on the floor in beast form, his eyes closed in meditation. Now he slowly opened them, revealing pupils like two glaring red lamps.

As the uninvited guests entered, ten crimson eyes turned toward them in unison.

The space beneath the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters was nothing less than a Demon Den!

Neither Yue Wen nor Zhao Xing'er made a move. Instead, they cautiously examined their surroundings and sensed the auras of the Tiger Demons.

Before cultivators exchanged blows, they circulated their true qi at full speed, allowing others to gauge their actual cultivation through their auras. But that could only serve as a reference. Auras could be suppressed or disguised, so strength could never be determined with certainty until the fighting began.

Even sitting motionless, these Tiger Demons exuded an intensely oppressive presence as the blood and qi circulated through their bodies.

They were undoubtedly formidable.

After a brief, motionless standoff, Yue Wen reached into his pocket in full view of the Tiger Demons.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. The Tiger Demons watched intently, assuming he was about to draw a weapon and attack. Just as battle seemed imminent, Yue Wen pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

"Fuck," muttered a Tiger Demon in a tight black tank top. "He's just a nutcase."

"I know what he is." Another Tiger Demon, wearing a gold chain, stood up with a vicious grin. "Wearing sunglasses when it's this dark? He's definitely a rapper!"

"Who's a rapper?" The Tiger Demon sitting with his back to Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er turned around. He was the largest of them, with a specially made pair of headphones fitted over his upright ears.

"Enough." Suit Tiger lowered a hand and said heavily, "Whoever they are, they've broken in here and seen what we look like..."

"They both have to die."

[Adult Tiger Demon: King of the forests, the apex of the food chain, a supremely powerful predator that has taken humanoid form. Bloodthirsty, formidable, and loathes human males who drink excessively in the wilderness. Combat power equivalent to eight thousand healthy human grandmothers. Born with powerful innate supernatural abilities, but according to tales circulating among martial artists, a move called the "sliding tackle" can defeat it...]

Combat power equivalent to an entire division of grandmothers?

Since Yue Wen had begun cultivating, this was arguably the strongest evil creature he had ever encountered.

And there were five such opponents. The Suit Tiger sitting at the very front had combat power exceeding ten thousand grandmothers, beyond the Demon-Detecting Mirror's ability to measure precisely.

Through the Demon-Detecting Mirror, the entire basement was filled with a red tide of demonic aura, each wave higher than the last. The mingled stench of blood was pungent. There was no telling how many lives these Tiger Demons had taken to accumulate such a dense bloody aura.

Yue Wen didn't even have the spare attention to consider how much Evil-Suppressing Money they might drop. He wasn't certain he could win.

"Looks like this won't end peacefully," Yue Wen said quietly to Zhao Xing'er. "I'll do my best to hold them off. Find a chance to get your phone out and call the Supernatural Affairs Bureau."

For now, neither side was moving, which kept the situation at a stalemate. With the Tiger Demons' auras locked onto them, any attempt to call for help would trigger an immediate attack. It wouldn't be that easy.

He would have to wait until the melee began, hold the front line himself, and let Zhao Xing'er find an opening to call in backup.

The situation was clear now. Everyone in the Tiger Head Gang, including its leader, was a puppet. These Tiger Demons in the basement were the gang's true source of power.

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 more cunning, colluding with the criminal underworld to rake in money.

Once the Supernatural Affairs Bureau discovered them, these Tiger Demons would inevitably be eliminated.

"Ah..."

Just then, Brother Tiger slowly came to on the floor. He opened his eyes and climbed to his feet.

"Fuck, you dare hit me? You're asking to die!" He twisted his neck, then walked over to Suit Tiger. "Big One, you can kill the guy and eat him, but keep the girl alive. She might have something to do with me. I need to ask her..."

Smack!

Without changing his posture or moving his body, Suit Tiger flicked the tip of his tail. It became a blur and sent Brother Tiger flying. Having only just regained consciousness, Brother Tiger once again turned into a shooting star and crashed into the distant wall.

He went from cosplaying a rug to cosplaying a mural.

"These two humans are both powerful. Be careful." Suit Tiger's gaze was fierce and commanding. After a brief pause, he spat out one emphatic word: "Kill!"

"Roar!"

A tiger's roar shook the forest; its mighty voice cowed the soul.

The Tiger Demons roared in unison. Rolling waves of sound, infused with supernatural demonic power, crashed toward Zhao Xing'er and Yue Wen, leaving their souls reeling and even stirring a faint sense of fear.

This was one of the Tiger Demon's innate supernatural abilities. Weaker Demon Beasts in the forests would have their souls shattered and die merely from hearing that roar!

Of course, Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er weren't nearly that fragile. After only an instant of disorientation, they refocused their minds. Three Tiger Demons were already charging at them from the left, center, and right.

The Vest Tiger, Gold Chain Tiger, and headphone tiger all lunged through the air, bloody shadows filling their vision. Each seemed faster and more murderous than the last. Even before their claws landed, the cutting wind seemed enough to tear the two young people apart!

Yue Wen didn't dare take them lightly. He immediately raised his sword and shouted, "Careful! I'll engage them first. Find an opening!"

Meanwhile, Zhao Xing'er had already swung up a Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Blade taller than herself. Her fighting spirit surged, a faint red glow flaring in her eyes as she shouted, "Just what I wanted!"

Then she charged forward, her face alight with excitement!

She unleashed all her martial arts, red light rising as her blood and qi circulated. A sharp, cold gleam flowed along the blade. Seen from behind, she looked every bit a Female Yang Jian!

"Wait..." Yue Wen stared at her, his eyes jolting wide. "Wasn't I asking you to get your phone out? Where did you pull that Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Blade from? Isn't that weapon a little ridiculous?!"