14: Return of the Tiger Hunter

Early in the morning.

Many villagers gathered at the village entrance.

They were all inquiring about yesterday's situation.

"Don't even mention it. When that tiger demon roared yesterday, I felt like I was going to wet myself even three li away!"

"That tiger demon could shatter a tree as thick as a water bucket with one claw. Several people were flattened into a pulp by its claws, spread out on the ground. It was truly gruesome."

"This tiger demon is too terrifying. Who will go and tell Lord Nie to invite experts from the Black Yamen?"

"We are just farmers; how can we withstand this!"

"Where's the village chief? Why isn't he here yet? Let the village chief go and talk..."

"Look quickly, someone is coming out of the mountain."

When darkness fell yesterday, villagers gradually emerged from the mountain, but many more had not.

Some had died, while others wanted to wait in the mountain for a night to see what would happen.

But without extensive experience, venturing into the mountain rashly often leads to more misfortune than good.

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed villager saw a figure slowly walking out of the path ahead.

He was carrying a head on his back, like a large lantern.

"It's Jiang Chen!"

"What he's carrying on his back... is a tiger head!"

"Jiang Chen killed the tiger demon?"

"The tiger demon is dead!? Really!?"

Some were shocked by Jiang Chen's strength in slaying the tiger demon, while others were overjoyed that they no longer needed to venture into the dangerous mountain forest.

Even Nie Wenlong, who was preparing to re-enter the mountain, couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Jiang Chen emerge carrying the tiger demon's head.

Jiang Chen approached Nie Wenlong and placed the tiger demon's head he was carrying on the ground.

"Lord, the tiger demon's head is here."

"The tiger demon's body weighs over a thousand catties; I couldn't carry it back."

Jiang Chen said.

This was, of course, just Jiang Chen's excuse. With Jiang Chen's current immense strength of a million catties, directly sliding into a bare-knuckle chokehold with the tiger demon would be no problem.

"You... you killed the tiger demon?"

The two mustaches on Nie Wenlong's lips twitched sharply.

Yesterday, he searched another side of the mountain forest, killing many wild beasts but not encountering the tiger demon. Hearing that the tiger demon appeared in this vicinity, Nie Wenlong estimated that it was very likely Jiang De and his group encountered it. Yet, Jiang Chen came with the tiger demon's head. Regardless, it was good that the tiger demon was killed.

Nie Wenlong didn't care about the process.

He stepped forward to inspect it and saw a scar on the tiger demon's head.

A smile appeared on Nie Wenlong's face.

"It is indeed the tiger demon that attacked Donghuai Village."

"Haha, good! A hero among the youth."

"Your name is... Jiang Chen?"

"Yes."

"Good, I will report this achievement truthfully. Two days from now, you can take this document to the Dongfeng Town government office to claim your reward."

Nie Wenlong threw a scroll to Jiang Chen. The content of the document was the reward for this mission, and Nie Wenlong had also signed his name on it, indicating that he personally supervised this reward.

The reason it would take two days was that Nie Wenlong also needed to report this matter, then follow the procedures to approve these rewards. Adding his return journey, two days would be about right.

Normally, it might take longer.

But this time, it was an achievement for slaying a demon, so the higher-ups would surely not delay.

"Thank you, Lord Nie."

Jiang Chen was very surprised to see Nie Wenlong sign so readily.

He originally thought Nie Wenlong would ask a few more questions, such as how he killed the tiger demon, but the other party simply didn't care.

They only looked at your strength; they didn't care where your strength came from.

They didn't care how you did it; if you achieved the goal in the end, then you were impressive.

Nie Wenlong immediately wrapped up the tiger head and rode off on his horse.

Leaving behind a crowd of stunned Da Huai Village villagers.

The only people from Da Huai Village who truly didn't return were Jiang De and his three companions.

Although many others were injured, they all returned intact.

But with Jiang Chen returning after slaying the tiger demon, the villagers offered more congratulations and admiration. They weren't jealous that Jiang Chen could achieve this.

After all, today's scene was remarkably similar to three years ago when Jiang Chen carried the black bear's head.

However, this time, Jiang Chen seemed to be unharmed.

Among the crowd, Jiang Chen found Jiang Dachai.

At this moment, Jiang Dachai was a bit embarrassed.

After all, yesterday, after hearing the commotion, he retreated to the village immediately.

He didn't wait for Jiang Chen.

Although it had been agreed upon beforehand, it still felt like deserting in battle.

"Xiao Chen, yesterday..."

"Uncle Chai, it's good that you're fine. I really have to thank you for your arrows yesterday. If it weren't for your arrows, that beast wouldn't have gone down after three hits. I estimate that ordinary arrows wouldn't have been able to pierce its defense. Here are the remaining arrows, Uncle Chai."

"Oh, and I secretly kept a tiger paw. You can stew it later to replenish your Qi and blood."

Jiang Chen directly interrupted Jiang Dachai, not only returning the remaining refined iron arrows but also taking out the prepared tiger paw.

"This won't do. How could an old man like me be worthy... You quickly take it back and eat it yourself. You keep these arrows too; they're useless to me. Only with you can these arrows unleash their value."

Jiang Dachai repeatedly refused. How could he still have the face to accept this tiger paw?

Although he was very tempted, that tiger paw was a great tonic. If he ate it, he might even look several years younger.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen chuckled softly.

"Then, how about this: we both take a step back. I'll take the arrows, and you take this tiger paw."

Jiang Dachai awkwardly rubbed his hands on his clothes. How could he not know that Jiang Chen was helping him indirectly?

"Alas... I never thought an old man like me would have such good fortune. Xiao Chen, thank you!"

Jiang Dachai finally accepted the tiger paw.

And Jiang Chen also returned home.

"Rou'er, I'm back."

Cheng Yurou, inside the house, heard the sound and immediately ran out, shouting with surprise.

"Xiao Chen is back? Come in quickly!"

Cheng Yurou was naturally overjoyed to see Jiang Chen return; the worry in her heart finally settled.

She hadn't dared to sleep all last night, fearing she would hear some bad news.

She even thought that if anything happened to Xiao Chen, she wouldn't live either.

Anyway, her only mission now was to help Xiao Chen continue the family line.

"How are you? Are you injured?"

"Are you hungry? I made you black pork buns."

"If you can't find that tiger demon, then forget about it. There's no need to risk your life for these things. Your sister-in-law's body has recovered now, and she can do some needlework to make a living."

Cheng Yurou said repeatedly.

"I'm not injured."

"The tiger demon has already been killed by me. We'll go to town tomorrow, and we can claim the reward the day after tomorrow."

"I'm not very hungry..."

Jiang Chen's eyes gleamed as he gazed at Cheng Yurou, the meaning in his eyes unspoken.

"Ah... then I'll go wash up..."

Cheng Yurou also enjoyed the moments she was with Jiang Chen.

After all, Cheng Yurou had not had much sense of security since she was young.

As long as Xiao Chen still liked her body, she would do anything.

Jiang Chen stepped into his haven of tenderness.

But on the other side, Xu Ying, the village chief's wife, waited anxiously, but in the end, she didn't receive any news of Jiang De's triumphant return.

Instead, people were saying that Jiang Chen had killed the tiger demon.

This made Xu Ying unable to sit still.

"That bastard Jiang Chen must have used some despicable means to snatch the tiger demon from my Old De's hands!"

"Our Old De is kind-hearted and benevolent; he must have been tricked by that little brat."

But Xu Ying also knew that if Jiang De didn't return, she alone, being weak, couldn't pose any threat to Jiang Chen.

"No, that good-for-nothing Jiang De can't be relied on either."

"I still need to get my cousin to act!"

When Xu Ying was young, she was quite attractive, so she had quite a few cousins.

One of her cousins was now a high-ranking member of the Black Tiger Gang in Dongfeng Town.

Many of the Black Tiger Gang's businesses were even brought in with Xu Ying's help.

Jiang De's comfortable position as village chief was also inseparable from Xu Ying's support.

"I must get my cousin to come and properly deal with this Jiang Chen!"

"And that bitch Cheng Yurou!"

"I'll strip her naked and throw her on the street, so everyone can see her two ounces of flesh!"

"How dare she cause my son's death? I'll skin her alive!"

Xu Ying's expression twisted, and she immediately sent a villager to Dongfeng Town to deliver a letter.