Demonic King of the Metropolis

Early the next morning, before Tang Jie had even gotten out of bed, Wang Qianya entered his room. Startled, Tang Jie quickly pulled the blanket over himself-after all, he was wearing nothing but his underwear.

“Come on, what’s there to be shy about? Get up and get ready to leave,” Wang Qianya teased him with a mischievous grin. Tang Jie felt like he was being playfully mocked by her.

“Could you wait outside? I’ll be ready in no time,” Tang Jie replied, his cheeks slightly red. Though they weren’t strangers to each other, Tang Jie was inexperienced with such situations and couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.

Wang Qianya blushed a little herself, but she found Tang Jie’s shy demeanor endearing-and somehow, very charming.

Still, she stepped out and waited outside the door. Once she was gone, Tang Jie was relieved and quickly climbed out of bed to get dressed. He put on his casual outfit from the day before.

When he stepped out of the room, Tang Jie noticed Wang Qianya wearing a white tracksuit that perfectly accentuated her slim figure, making her look even more elegant and refined. He couldn’t help but glance at her a few extra times before they headed out of the villa together.

Once they reached downstairs, Tang Jie noticed that Wang Qianya was carrying a backpack filled with all sorts of useful tools-flashlights, a compass, climbing ropes, and more.

“She’s so meticulous,” Tang Jie thought to himself, genuinely impressed. But then he realized that her parents were nowhere to be seen, which struck him as odd. As they were leaving, he asked, “Where are your parents? Where did they go?”

In truth, Wang Qianya hadn’t told her parents about her plan to visit Lifedeath Cliff with Tang Jie. She was worried they wouldn’t approve. However, she had made up her mind to go with him, no matter how dangerous it might be. So she lied.

“They had something to take care of and left early this morning. They told us to go ahead on our own,” Wang Qianya replied casually, quickly changing the subject as she pulled Tang Jie out the door.

Not thinking much of it, Tang Jie followed her out of the villa gate. They hailed a car and began their journey.

After nearly half a day of travel, they finally arrived at the base of a towering mountain, rumored to be where Lifedeath Cliff was located. The mountain loomed high above, shrouded in a thick mist. Tang Jie began searching for a way to enter the mountain.

Eventually, they discovered a narrow path at the source of a small stream. Tang Jie jumped onto the trail first, then turned back to take Wang Qianya’s hand. Together, they began making their way up the winding, narrow path toward the mountain.

“Tang Jie, are you sure this is the right place?” Wang Qianya asked as she walked, captivated by the towering, steep mountain before them.

“Uncle Zhao said so. He’s been here before, so it shouldn’t be wrong,” Tang Jie replied. Noticing that Wang Qianya seemed tired, he took the backpack off her shoulders and carried it himself.

The two had been walking for half a day but had barely made it a quarter of the way up the mountain. By now, the sun was already dipping westward.

“I don’t think we’ll make it to the top before dark. What should we do? Maybe we should find a place to rest for a while,” Wang Qianya said as she looked at the increasingly steep path, which required her to hold onto nearby trees and plants just to keep moving.

“Alright, let’s head over there. That looks like a cave,” Tang Jie agreed, pointing to a spot not far ahead on their left where a small opening seemed to lead into the mountain. It seemed they might have to spend the night here.

Helping each other along, they made it to the mouth of the cave. Tang Jie asked Wang Qianya to wait outside while he went in to check. After confirming that the cave was clean, he called her to come in.

“Ah!” Wang Qianya let out a startled cry as she stepped inside. Tang Jie quickly turned and saw that a bat had been hanging upside down near the entrance. Alarmed by her scream, the bat flapped its wings and flew out in a hurry. As they took a few more steps in, an entire swarm of bats came flying out of the cave.

Wang Qianya clung tightly to Tang Jie’s arm, refusing to let go until no more bats appeared for a while. Only then did she follow him further inside.

Once they were deeper into the cave, Tang Jie realized it was quite clean inside. There was even a pile of dry firewood, suggesting that someone had used the place before. He glanced back toward the cave entrance and saw that the sky had grown darker. It seemed they would have to spend the night here.

With that in mind, Tang Jie gathered some dry wood and started a fire. Meanwhile, Wang Qianya took out the food she had packed in the backpack, and the two of them sat around the fire, enjoying a makeshift picnic.

“Tang Jie, do you think we’ll actually find the treasure this time?” Wang Qianya asked after dinner. By then, it was completely dark outside. She stared into the flickering flames as she spoke.

“I don’t know. We’ll just have to try and see,” Tang Jie replied, his gaze shifting toward the sky outside. Through the cave’s entrance, he could spot twinkling stars dotting the vast night sky. It was truly a spectacular sight from this vantage point.

Following his gaze, Wang Qianya suddenly seemed to make a discovery. She sprang to her feet and ran toward the cave’s entrance.

“Wow! This is incredible! Tang Jie, come over here, quickly!” she called out. Hearing her excitement, Tang Jie assumed she was talking about the stars. He stood up and walked over to her.

“Look! Look over there!” Wang Qianya exclaimed, grabbing Tang Jie’s arm and pointing outside. Tang Jie followed her gaze and realized she was talking about fireflies. The tiny creatures floated softly in the darkness, glowing with a gentle green light. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful.

“I’ve never seen a night sky this stunning,” Wang Qianya murmured as she looked up, having finished admiring the fireflies.

Tang Jie stood beside her quietly but wasn’t as impressed. Having grown up in the countryside, he had seen countless beautiful night skies. It wasn’t anything new to him. But he understood why she was so astonished-after all, city lights and pollution made such views rare in urban areas.

Wang Qianya, while speaking, naturally linked her arm around Tang Jie’s and rested her head on his shoulder. In this moment, they resembled a pair of heavenly lovers isolated from the world. For the first time in his life, Tang Jie felt as though he had truly uncovered the beauty of living.

It wasn’t until the fireflies disappeared and the stars blanketed the night sky that Wang Qianya yawned. Noticing her drowsiness, Tang Jie gently brought her back to the cave. When she fell asleep leaning on him, Tang Jie-lost in thoughts about their treasure-hunting journey to Lifedeath Cliff the next day and wanting to ensure Wang Qianya remained comfortable-didn’t close his eyes even for a moment that night.

As dawn softly crept into the cave, Wang Qianya woke to find that Tang Jie was no longer beside her. Startled, she quickly stood and moved toward the entrance, just as Tang Jie came climbing up from below the cave’s entrance, carrying something in his hands.

As he approached, she realized that Tang Jie was holding a handful of vibrant, ruby-red fruits. Their translucent, glossy surface shone under the morning light, making them look incredibly appetizing.

“Here, eat up. I tried one earlier; they’re not poisonous,” Tang Jie said, handing her the fruit.

Wang Qianya hesitated for only a moment before taking a bite. The fruit tasted sweet and tangy, truly delicious.

After tidying up the cave and ensuring all their supplies were packed, the two resumed their ascent toward the mountain summit. The higher they climbed, the more treacherous the path became. Eventually, they found themselves in terrain so difficult to traverse that they had to rely on the ropes Wang Qianya had brought. They tied the rope to large rocks and tree trunks, using it to pull themselves forward step by step.

After another half day’s effort, their hard work finally paid off-they could see the mountaintop ahead. There, at the edge of a sheer cliff, they caught sight of what appeared to be Lifedeath Cliff, standing imposingly against the backdrop of the sky.

But their excitement quickly turned into worry as they stood beneath the sheer cliff. The question now was: how were they supposed to climb up?

“You stay here and wait. I’ll go up first and then pull you up with the rope,” Tang Jie decided. He figured he was more suited to scale the cliff and could ensure Wang Qianya’s safety once he reached the top.

Wang Qianya, although skilled in martial arts, wasn’t particularly adept at climbing steep cliffs. Acknowledging this, she nodded and agreed to Tang Jie’s plan.

Tang Jie mustered every ounce of his strength to scale the cliff, bracing himself against the rock wall and leveraging every surface he could cling to. By the time he finally reached the top, he was utterly exhausted. He hooked the rope securely around a sturdy point and dropped it down, ready to pull Wang Qianya up. At this moment, Wang Qianya, who had been waiting under the scorching sun, was almost tanned from the heat.

But just as Tang Jie was about to pull her up, he froze. A faint sound seemed to come from the direction of the cliff behind him. Tang Jie stopped what he was doing and tilted his head, listening carefully. It sounded somewhat like the wind, but there was also an unmistakable undertone resembling the growl of a wild beast.

Tang Jie, sensing possible danger, was just about to tell Wang Qianya to wait below when he heard her let out a terrified scream.

“Tang Jie! Look! What… what is that?” Wang Qianya’s voice was trembling. Tang Jie immediately looked down. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock-something in the bushes about ten meters away from Wang Qianya was moving rapidly toward her. Its speed was terrifying, like the wind, and it was closing in on her position. As it got closer, Tang Jie finally saw it clearly-it was a giant python, its black body gleaming ominously under the sunlight.

“Ah!” Wang Qianya cried out, her face turning ashen with fear.

Tang Jie saw the python slithering nearer to Wang Qianya and realized that pulling her up in time was impossible. Without a second thought, he leapt from his position and landed protectively by her side.

“Climb up there now, quickly!” Tang Jie shouted to Wang Qianya. He concentrated his true qi and unleashed a powerful strike, sending a blast of palm wind directly at the giant python. The creature seemed startled by the force of Tang Jie’s attack and hesitated for an instant. Then, as if deterred, it turned and slithered rapidly down toward the lower parts of the cliff.

Relieved to see the python retreat, Wang Qianya let out a shaky breath and leaned against the rocky wall for support.

“Let’s keep moving. We need to get to the top quickly,” Tang Jie said firmly, urgency in his voice. He didn’t want to linger any longer; who knew if the python might return, or if there were even more dangerous creatures lurking on the mountain.

With renewed determination, the two worked together and finally climbed to the top of the cliff. What greeted them was unexpected-they found themselves on a wide, flat area that stretched out like a polished plateau. The surface beneath their feet was smooth bluestone, almost unnaturally so, as if it had been cleaned and maintained. The entire mountaintop exuded an eerie sense of man-made perfection that felt out of place in the rugged wilderness.

But where was the treasure? Tang Jie furrowed his brows in confusion as he surveyed the area. He and Wang Qianya walked the length of the mountaintop, but all they saw was smooth, flat rock. There wasn’t even a cave, let alone any signs of hidden treasure. Could the treasure be buried underground? Were they supposed to dig for it?

Wang Qianya also realized the predicament they were in. Though they had reached the summit, they had no clues where to begin searching for the treasure, nor even a hint of what they were looking for.

“Let’s rest for a moment while I think,” Tang Jie finally suggested, finding a clean rock to sit on. Wang Qianya sat down beside him, her expression reflecting the same uncertainty.

Together, they gazed at the cliff top, now shrouded in swirling clouds and mist. The two adventurers, surrounded by the vast expanse of gray stone, couldn’t help but feel a little lost in the stillness of this mountaintop mystery.