Demonic King of the Metropolis - Chapter 97 - Sensing Crisis

Zhu Nan listened to Jiang Dong and couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of worry. He looked at Jiang Dong and said, “Dong-Ge, just deal with Tang Jie. Let Chen Shuran go.”

Hearing this, Jiang Dong assumed Zhu Nan was simply being cowardly and afraid. With a cold sneer, he replied, “What’s the matter? Don’t worry-I’ll shoulder everything myself. You won’t get dragged into this.”

“Dong-Ge… I…” Zhu Nan hesitated, clearly conflicted. While he was indeed a bit scared, it wasn’t Tang Jie he was afraid of. He feared that if something were to happen to Chen Shuran, Chen Jiankai absolutely wouldn’t let the matter slide. Once an investigation was launched, it would inevitably implicate him.

But seeing Jiang Dong’s determined expression, Zhu Nan finally chose to remain silent. Since he had already come this far, there was no room for retreat. Besides, he figured Jiang Dong wouldn’t back down so easily either-it seemed foolish to fear Chen Jiankai after daring to target his daughter in the first place.

The evening passed quickly, and before anyone realized it, it was already 9 p.m. Chen Shuran had taken a shower and was now in her room reading a book. Tang Jie, for once, had some rare downtime and was in his room studying the iron piece. A gentle evening breeze wafted in through the open window, bringing a hint of nighttime coolness. The quiet was almost unsettling.

As Tang Jie sat still for a while, he started to feel a bit overheated. He turned toward the window for some fresh air. He couldn’t help but reminisce about his recent battle with Chen Nan, where his abilities had regressed to the Innate Great Perfection realm. He couldn’t shake the lingering sense of disappointment. Thinking back to when he first reached the Heaven-Man Realm, that exhilaration now felt like a distant memory he deeply missed.

“Tang Jie, are you there?” Chen Shuran’s voice accompanied the sound of the door creaking open from behind. Tang Jie turned around to see Chen Shuran standing at the doorway, wearing her sleepwear.

“Tell me a joke, would you? I can’t fall asleep,” Chen Shuran said, her face slightly flushed. The post-shower glow made her look refreshingly radiant, almost temptingly so.

Tang Jie involuntarily swallowed hard and replied with a grin, “I don’t tell jokes-I tell… anecdotes.”

“Anecdotes?” Chen Shuran blinked in confusion, not quite understanding what he meant.

Seeing her puzzled expression, Tang Jie chuckled internally but kept a straight face. “You know, the kind that’s… not entirely appropriate? Want to hear one?” He teased, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips.

“You…” Chen Shuran caught on and immediately turned red in both embarrassment and anger. She raised her small fists, ready to take a swing at Tang Jie. He deftly dodged aside and exclaimed, “Wait, you’re misunderstanding me!”

The two of them started chasing each other playfully around the room. Tang Jie bolted out of his room, into the living room, onto the sofa, and eventually onto the balcony, with Chen Shuran hot on his heels. Finally, Tang Jie found himself cornered against the wall of the balcony. Realizing he had no way out, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“Young miss, please have mercy on me,” Tang Jie said with a playful smile, looking at Chen Shuran. Over time, the two of them had grown so familiar with each other that there was no trace of awkwardness left. On the contrary, there was an unspoken warmth between them, tinged with an inexplicable hint of ambiguity.

“If you want me to let you off the hook, that’s easy-you just need to do one thing for me,” Chen Shuran said, her cherry-like lips exhaling soft breaths. The blush on her face made her look even more captivating, and Tang Jie couldn’t help but become momentarily dazed.

“What is it? Tell me,” he asked, his tone almost lovestruck.

“Go kneel by the door and sing… Conquer! Haha!” Chen Shuran burst out, hugging a throw pillow as her laughter bent her over.

Tang Jie’s face darkened with exasperation. Clearly, being bewitched by beauty came with its consequences.

But Chen Shuran was only joking. Naturally, she didn’t have the heart to use such a method to tease someone she liked.

“What are you staring at?” Chen Shuran asked after finishing her laugh, noticing Tang Jie looking out the window. Her playful demeanor vanished entirely, replaced by a sudden air of seriousness.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s late-you should go get some rest,” Tang Jie replied, turning back to look at her. A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Chen Shuran asked, her expression shy. Recently, whenever she went back to her room to sleep, she felt a sense of security only when Tang Jie was around.

“You go first. Be good-I’ll be there soon,” Tang Jie reassured her, urging Chen Shuran to leave. He glanced toward the window again, only to find that the shadowy figure he had spotted earlier had disappeared.

“Alright then, goodnight,” Chen Shuran said, a faint note of disappointment in her voice as she turned and headed toward her room.

“Wait,” Tang Jie said suddenly. He had spotted the figure from earlier reappearing downstairs. The person seemed to be staring up at their floor. A sharp, cautious glint flashed in his eyes-something about this wasn’t right.

“What is it? Are you scared and need me to tuck you in?” Chen Shuran teased Tang Jie, not taking his serious expression to heart.

“If you hear any strange noises later, promise me you won’t come out. No matter what, stay put. If necessary, hide in the wardrobe. Do you understand?” Tang Jie’s tone was firm, carrying an uncharacteristic weight.

Hearing this, Chen Shuran finally sensed that something was amiss. She turned to look outside but was stopped by Tang Jie.

“It’s nothing. I just want you to be careful,” Tang Jie explained, trying to soothe her concerns. “I saw a suspicious person downstairs earlier. Don’t worry-as long as I’m here, I’ll protect you.”

Chen Shuran nodded, seemingly reassured. She obediently returned to her room to sleep.

Tang Jie watched Chen Shuran return and carefully looked downward, only to find that the sneaky shadow had disappeared again. He walked over to turn off the living room lights and then returned to the window, hiding behind the curtain to continue his watch. Sure enough, after a while, the shadow reappeared, looked up towards the window where Tang Jie was hiding, and took out a phone from his pocket, seemingly reporting to someone.

Tang Jie remained motionless, observing the scene. He then saw the person hang up the phone and walk away, which raised some doubts in his mind. He continued to hide behind the curtain, and soon saw the shadow return, but this time, the figure didn’t hide below but walked straight towards the villa gate.

Narrowing his eyes, Tang Jie saw the figure disappear below and guessed that the person had walked up the stairs to the villa entrance. Thinking quickly, he darted out to grab his keys and silently exited his room. He immediately hid beside the villa gate, waiting quietly, and indeed heard footsteps soon after.

Peering from the entrance, Tang Jie saw a slim man in a black top standing for a moment, then stopping at their room’s door and looking back to ensure no one was behind him before pressing his ear against the door to listen.

Tang Jie watched carefully and realized that this was the same person he had seen downstairs. He held his breath and just as the little guy turned to leave, Tang Jie suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” Tang Jie’s sudden appearance startled the little guy, but he quickly regained his composure. He was an unremarkable man, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old.

“I came to find someone, got the wrong place,” he said to Tang Jie, then turned to leave, but Tang Jie grabbed him.

“That doesn’t sound right. Haven’t we met somewhere before?” Tang Jie was bluffing, but to his surprise, this little guy was one of those who had surrounded him at the bar that day. Due to the dim light at the bar entrance, and because the little guy had seen Tang Jie confronting the bald man and four others and nearly fainted with fear, Tang Jie, in his rush to find Chen Shuran, hadn’t paid much attention to their faces.

Hearing Tang Jie’s words and recalling that day’s encounter, panic flashed across the little guy’s face. He pushed Tang Jie hard and tried to run away, but Tang Jie didn’t chase him; he simply stuck out a leg. “Thud! Ah!” The little guy tripped and fell, letting out a scream as he tumbled down the steps at the villa entrance.

Tang Jie walked down to where the little guy had collapsed unconscious. He checked his breathing to make sure he was still alive, then began searching his pockets. After a moment, he pulled out a cellphone. Turning it on, Tang Jie quickly navigated to the call history and found the most recently dialed number labeled simply as “Boss.”

Without hesitation, Tang Jie dialed the number. Almost instantly, a deep, rough voice answered from the other end of the line.

“I told you to keep an eye on them! Why the hell are you calling me again? It’s not time to act yet. Keep watching and don’t screw this up!” The voice barked angrily before the call was abruptly cut off.

Tang Jie stared at the phone. He now had a much clearer grasp of the situation. Pocketing the phone, he glanced at the unconscious little guy and grabbed him by his collar. Dragging him across the ground, Tang Jie brought him inside the villa gate, where he found a fire hose. He used the hose to tie up the man tightly, gagged him with some cloth, and then locked the gate securely behind him.

Stepping back outside, Tang Jie crouched low as he moved stealthily through the villa’s green belt, painstakingly avoiding all open areas. Eventually, he reached the community entrance and hid behind the wall. Peeking out cautiously, he spotted what looked like three or four black sedans parked about a hundred meters away to the left of the entrance. Through the windows, he could faintly see figures smoking, the red glow of their cigarette embers flickering intermittently in the dark.

Tang Jie observed the scene for several minutes. The cars didn’t move, and it seemed the people inside were simply waiting. This confirmed his suspicion-they were the ones the little guy must have been reporting to earlier. However, Tang Jie didn’t immediately recognize any of the men as the ones from the bar incident. Deciding not to act recklessly, he cautiously retraced his steps and returned to the villa.

Once back, he turned his attention to interrogating the now-conscious little guy.

“Talk! Who sent you here?” Tang Jie demanded.

The little guy, who had just come around, felt his face sting as Tang Jie slapped him hard enough to wake him up. The sharp pain in his legs returned in waves, and as he looked down, he realized he must’ve broken a bone when he fell down the stairs earlier. He glanced at Tang Jie and opened his mouth, intending to deny everything, but Tang Jie acted faster.

Before he could utter a word, Tang Jie raised his foot and stomped down hard on the little guy’s injured leg. A muffled scream was all he could manage as his mouth was forcibly clamped shut by Tang Jie. Tears and sweat streamed down his face as he writhed in agony, his eyes filled with desperation and helplessness.

“Still want to keep quiet?” Tang Jie asked coldly, his gaze sharp like a blade. He didn’t release the man’s mouth until he saw him nod frantically, tears threatening to spill over.

“N-no! I won’t scream! Please, just let me go! I swear I don’t know anything!” The little guy stammered, his voice trembling with both fear and pain. His mind raced, and he couldn’t decide which was more terrifying: spilling what he knew and facing Jiang Dong’s wrath later, or staying silent and enduring the horrifying torment Tang Jie was more than willing to dish out.

Tang Jie’s eyes darkened as he calmly watched the man squirm.

“Oh? So you don’t know anything, huh?” Tang Jie said, his voice low and icy. When he saw the man hesitate, his patience snapped. He grabbed the man’s face again, this time pressing down with greater force, while raising his foot and stomping viciously on the broken leg once more.

The little guy couldn’t even scream this time; he simply convulsed in silence as the pain reduced him to a trembling, tear-streaked mess. His breathing grew shallow, and he peered up at Tang Jie with genuine terror. The once calm and polished young man now seemed like a merciless demon to him.

Though Tang Jie lacked the appearance of someone particularly threatening, his cold, ruthless actions made it clear he was more than capable of matching Jiang Dong’s cruelty-or perhaps even surpassing it.