He Yuzhu returns in Siheyuan

Chapter 874 Rescuing the Tiger Demon

But the opponent's relentless attacks were too brutal. The moment he managed to create an opening, four or five spells rained down upon him simultaneously. Wounds appeared on his shoulders and legs, and his movements grew increasingly sluggish. As the poison-laden magic sword, glowing with an eerie light, pierced his heart, a flicker of despair flashed in the tiger demon's eyes—could it be that his five-hundred-year-old obsession was finally about to end here?

Just then, a sharp cry came from the sky, and dozens of monkey spirits carrying stone and wooden clubs descended from the heavens, crashing into the black-robed cultivator's formation like a hailstorm. "Brother Tiger, don't panic, I'm here to help you!" The monkey demon's voice was smug, but it truly saved the day.

He wielded his rattan staff like a whirlwind, smashing the skull of the leading cultivator with a single blow. The monkeys were even more agile, climbing trees and scaling walls, targeting the cultivators' napes and knees, quickly shattering the triangular formation.

The tiger demon was stunned for a moment, then gritted its teeth and, taking advantage of the cultivators' panic, smashed the heart of the cultivator closest to it with a single claw.

Half an hour later, there was no one left standing in the valley. The corpses of the black-robed cultivators were piled up like a small mountain, and more than half of the demons had also been killed or wounded. The snake demon had lost half of its tail, the bear demon was still groaning on the ground, and only the monkey demon was still energetic, directing the apes to plunder the magical artifacts from the cultivators' bodies.

The tiger demon, leaning on his broken claws, looked at the mess on the ground, but there was no joy on his face. He knew that if it weren't for the monkey demon's intervention, he would already be a corpse. This "gratitude" was like a resounding slap in the face, making him unable to hold his head high in front of Long Jiao anymore—in the end, he still couldn't accomplish what he had done on his own.

The monkey demon walked over and tossed him a porcelain bottle containing healing ointment: "Take this, don't die, or Lady Long Jiao will say I'm bullying you."

The tiger demon didn't take it, but simply turned and walked out of the valley. The setting sun cast a long shadow over him, and the pain from his wounds paled in comparison to the frustration in his heart—he had won the battle, but lost the dignity he desired most.

The tiger demon slowly licked the blood from the corner of its mouth with its barbed tongue. The blood droplets, splattered during the fight, carried a rusty, metallic stench. The wound on its face, inflicted by the purple-robed cultivator's immortal sword, still throbbed with pain. The flesh was torn open, revealing the dark red muscle beneath, and every movement felt like needles pricking it. It knew it had indeed humiliated itself today—it had wanted to show off its abilities to the two dragons, but instead, it had been defeated by the purple-robed cultivator. The cultivator's sword energy, carrying the pressure of heavenly thunder, had nearly shattered its demon core. In the end, it was only thanks to the monkey demon's sneak attack from the side, wielding its iron rod, that it was saved. It grunted and glared at the monkey demon in a muffled voice: "You really did help me today, and I'll remember that favor. If you ever need anything in the future, just ask. I'll go through fire and water for you without hesitation."

The monkey demon scratched its furry head, its brown fur still stained with blood. It grinned, revealing two rows of sharp, white teeth, giving it a somewhat憨厚 (honest and simple) appearance. It usually loved to play clever tricks, its eyes sparkling with ideas, but it was also well aware of the demon race's current predicament—like scattered sand, each going its own way. The wolf demons in the east had seized the bear demons' territory in the west, and the snake spirits in the south had secretly poisoned the fox demons in the north. Constant infighting meant they would eventually be dealt with one by one by human cultivators, let alone follow the dragon race to the legendary holy land abundant with spiritual energy. It brandished the gleaming iron rod in its hand, its shaft still stained with bits of flesh and blood: "I have something to say to you, but this isn't the place to talk. Come with me."

The tiger demon nodded and followed silently behind the monkey demon. Its massive body caused each step it took on the corpses scattered on the ground to make a "crunching" sound, the sound of breaking bones shattering was particularly jarring in the silent forest, as if it were the lingering echo of the battle that had just taken place.

The monkey demon turned to look at the group of lesser demons it had brought—there was a rabbit demon with pointed ears, a raccoon spirit with a trailing tail, and several flying insect monsters with thin wings on their backs, all wounded but not daring to utter a sound. It raised its voice, "Clean this place up! Drag all the corpses to the back mountain and bury them, dig deep so that human cultivators can't smell the demonic aura; collect all the weapon fragments and broken magic artifacts on the ground, don't leave even a scrap of iron behind! In short, don't leave a single trace of our presence!"

The lesser demons dared not slack off and immediately sprang into action. Some carried the cultivator's corpse in pairs, the robes still dripping with blood; others swept the debris with broom-like branches, occasionally getting pricked by broken bones; all of them kept their heads down and dared not breathe loudly—they had long since figured out the Monkey King's temper. He looked like a mischievous monkey, but when he got angry, he was more frightening than a tiger demon. Last time, a lesser demon had been lazy and had his leg broken by the Monkey King's staff, then thrown to feed the poisonous spiders in the forest.

Seeing that the surroundings were quiet, with only the two of them and the rustling of leaves in the wind, the tiger demon asked in a gruff voice, "What do you want from me? Don't beat around the bush, I'm impatient."

The monkey demon sat down on a relatively clean bluestone, where half a cultivator's robe still clung. It kicked the stone away and swung its furry legs, saying, "I think we can't keep foolishly going our own way. We need to cooperate and stick together." Suddenly, its smile vanished, and its once bright, darting eyes sharpened, like poisoned pebbles. "Think about it," it continued, "if we keep fighting like this, our underlings will either die or be wounded, leaving only the two of us as lone commanders. Do you think the dragons will still take us with them? They need helpers who can fight, not two useless pieces of trash."

It paused, tapped the ground with its iron rod, making a dull thud: "You don't really think the dragon race is overflowing with kindness, do you? If Long Jiao and Long Tian hadn't been seriously injured and were in a hurry to find some demons to use as cannon fodder, why would they bother with us scattered demons? Once they recover, we'll be useless, and who knows how we'll be dealt with—either as sacrifices or kicked back into this Misty Forest to be wiped out by human cultivators, without even anyone to collect our corpses."

The tiger demon listened in silence, its massive head slowly nodding. Though straightforward and single-minded, it wasn't truly stupid. The monkey demon's words struck a nerve, hitting its deepest fears—the demon race lacked strength and couldn't stand firm anywhere. They'd been chased and beaten by humans before, and now, with a rare opportunity to follow the dragons, if they failed, their future would be bleak. It said in a muffled voice, "You're right. But I'm clumsy with words and don't like dealing with demons; I just want to fight them the moment I see them. You handle this; I'll follow you. Anyone who dares to disobey, I'll tear them apart."

The monkey demon's eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed—he knew this tiger demon was straightforward, and once reasoned with, he was more reliable than anyone else. He patted his chest, twirling his iron rod in his hand: "Don't worry, leave it to me! I'll make sure everything is taken care of!"