"Damn it!"
The burly man spat, but made no move to dodge. Instead, he increased his force, venting all his anger onto the shadowy mass not far away.
Playing with dirt, huh? A swamp, you say!
I'll make you bloom!
With a furious roar, his legs transformed into two tree trunks, sinking deep into the soil. The ground began to rumble with a "boom, boom, boom" sound, and a slight tremor ran through it. In a courtyard not far from the royal manor, people were startled awake from their sleep.
"What's that sound?"
"Oh no, the earth is shaking!"
Terrified screams pierced the night sky, followed by the urgent clanging of a night watchman's gong.
The burly man couldn't spare them any thought. Hundreds upon thousands of roots burst from the ground, burrowing into the shadowy mass and wrapping around it. The roots intertwined, weaving into a massive woven ball that completely encased the two figures hidden within the darkness. Each root strained with all its might to penetrate the shadow, and at the tip of each root, seeds for vibrant flowers were planted into the darkness.
"Bloom for me!"
Instantly, the seeds absorbed the energy of the shadow, and one by one, small yellow flowers began to blossom.
As the flowers bloomed, the thick, ink-black substance thinned, its darkness gradually fading as if diluted with water.
"Bang~"
Behind the burly man, a ball of fire erupted.
The fireball didn't strike the burly man's back. Instead, Ying Yi caught it bare-handed. He clenched his five fingers tightly, and before the fireball could even utter a mournful cry of its extinguished flame, it completely turned into a handful of dust.
A gust of wind blew, and it vanished without a trace.
"Gulp~"
Not far away, a man who was once again conjuring a fireball swallowed hard.
Was this even human?
"Chi Yan!"
A sharp shout echoed from within the gradually fading shadow.
It's bad!
Seeing the shadow thin and reveal the figures hidden within, the man conjuring the fireball's expression changed. He couldn't afford to be shocked any longer and quickly conjured more fireballs, flinging them forward.
Ball after ball of fire rained down. Ying Yi's hands seemed to be covered in a layer of silver frost. Under the moonlight, his clean, sharp lines were like a pair of black iron gloves as thin as cicada wings.
He charged directly towards the fireballs.
"Damn it!"
Chi Yan's scalp tingled.
He crushed the fireballs with ease, as if crushing eggs.
Chi Yan gritted his teeth. Suddenly, he clenched both fists and swung them downwards forcefully. The fireballs he had just thrown suddenly plummeted. Just as they were about to hit the ground, they accelerated again. The fireballs did not head towards the burly man but instead, with a "boom," slammed into the woven root ball outside the shadow.
The woven ball immediately caught fire.
The burly man's face turned a sickly green in the firelight.
"Ying Yi, my roots are burning!" the burly man cried out in agony.
Ying Yi's face turned ashen.
Damn it, just shut up!
Ignoring the burly man's wailing, Ying Yi charged at Chi Yan.
Chi Yan looked at the burly man's fists, which glittered in the moonlight. He felt as if those fists were imbued with infinite power, radiating an irresistible radiance. He didn't dare to meet them and turned to run.
As he ran, he threw fireballs backward.
The flames spread rapidly along the roots, and the shadow seized the opportunity to tear open a path. The two figures quickly burrowed into the earth.
"Hiss~"
The burly man bared his teeth and flicked his hand, extinguishing the flames that had climbed onto his sleeve. He looked at the messy ground, his mind buzzing.
"Swish~"
A sound of breaking air came from behind the burly man. Without turning his head, he crouched down, placing his palm on the ground. His roots penetrated the earth, and he tidied up the soil that had been messily disturbed by that damned 'mole rat,' preventing any ground collapse.
With a "bang," someone landed on the ground, blood splattering. The vines on the burly man's head swayed gently, drawing away the blood droplets flying towards his face. Then, they waved in the air, dispersing any non-existent residual blood, striving for their own perpetual cleanliness.
"Tsk, couldn't you have put him down more gently? You almost got blood on me."
The burly man grumbled dismissively.
"No!"
Ying Yi was a man of few words.
The burly man stood up and glanced at the figure by his feet, who was beaten beyond recognition and resembled a puddle of mud. His molars ached.
He looked at Ying Yi, who stood there with a deathly expression, quietly observing him.
The burly man: "..."
He shouted into the manor, "Jia Huan, come out and clean up!!!"
...
A sky-obscuring volley of arrows tore through the air, each arrow locking onto them. In that instant, Xiao Man once again felt the terror of death.
The first time was when she was stuffed into a vat, and she had witnessed with her own eyes her grandmother being brutally dismembered.
This was the second time.
Nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape.
Xiao Man was unwilling. She had not yet avenged herself. She still wanted to stay by her young lady's side, for a day, a hundred days, a thousand days, ten thousand days. She wanted to see the martial world lakes and icy glaciers her young lady spoke of, to climb high mountains, travel a thousand miles, taste all the delicacies in the world, and witness all the beautiful scenery.
Gouzi threw his arms around Xiao Man and Yatdan, shielding them within his embrace.
It was just death.
He had already died once, and he wasn't afraid of dying again!
"Clang clang~"
The expected pain of being pierced by arrows did not occur. Instead, there was the sound of weapons clashing. Xiao Man pulled Gouzi away and looked at the back of the person blocking in front of them, exclaiming with surprise, "Sister Lvwann!"
The Xuanwei guards formed a circle, protecting Xiao Man and the other two within.
Lvwann did not look back, merely waving a hand slightly at Xiao Man, signaling her to stay hidden and not show herself.
Broken arrows were lodged in the signboards and wooden doors of the shops on all sides. In front of Lvwann, there were no broken arrows, only a pool of metallic-colored ash at her feet.
"Zero?"
The black-clothed men on the surrounding eaves, who had witnessed the arrows turning to ash in mid-air, widened their eyes in astonishment. The person who appeared before them, dressed as a maid, wielded a strange art that was identical to that of Zero from the Dark Shadow Tower.
Zero, as the name suggested, returned everything to zero.
All tangible physical objects, be they weapons or strange arts, would become zero in her presence, turning to ash.
Why was Zero here? How could she be...
"Kill them. Leave no one alive!"
Lvwann gave the order, radiating killing intent.
Xiao Man blinked. Was this still the same Sister Lvwann she knew, who always wore a smile?
Following Lvwann's command, the dark guards moved in unison, charging towards the enemies on the rooftops. Lvwann raised her hand, her hand bathed in the moonlight, and pointed at one of them.
The bow and arrow in that person's hand turned to ash at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Retreat!"
Seeing the bow and arrow in his hand turn to ash, that person shouted the word "retreat" with all his might.
With Zero here, resistance is futile!
Among the dark guards, hidden were the shadow guards, and the shadow guards were most skilled not in martial arts but in strange arts. The moment Lvwann led her people to arrive, the outcome was already decided.