"Ah! Assassins!"
The sound of Odawara Ikegami's body hitting the water startled the surrounding guards from their daze. Realizing what had happened, they cried out in alarm.
"Demonic woman! A demonic woman!"
"Charge! Take her down! She used a Demonic Technique to kill the City Lord!"
Their City Lord had been killed right under their noses!
They could not bear such a responsibility. If they failed to capture the culprit before them, they would all be interrogated and lose their lives.
Facing a life-threatening crisis, the guards immediately cast aside their lust, drew their weapons, and charged at Zhou Ming.
"Should I make a move?" Kaka casually asked, not even glancing at the charging guards.
"No need, I'll do it myself. It's a good opportunity to test a Killing Move I've recently developed."
Zhou Ming extended her right hand. From her jade-white palm, a cluster of shimmering green light suddenly emerged. Within the light, countless tiny grass seeds sprouted and drifted away with the wind.
"Killing Move, City - Spring Grass and Trees Grow Deep, Variation One."
The guards rushed before Zhou Ming, raising their weapons to strike at Zhou Ming and Kaka beside her.
However, their bodies suddenly stiffened the next moment, unable to move.
Then, they were horrified to discover that fine, thread-like strands of grass were growing out of their bodies, rapidly spreading all over them.
The grass seeds drifting with the wind were too tiny; so small that no one would notice them even if they landed on their bodies.
Thus, those grass seeds attached to people's skin or entered their bodies through breathing. Imbued with the characteristics of the Bloodsucking Vine Gu by the Killing Move, they rapidly absorbed the host's flesh and blood, growing swiftly.
This was the variation of the City - Spring Grass and Trees Grow Deep Killing Move. It no longer targeted the surrounding environment but people, using humans as soil to plant vegetation and as nutrients to nourish them.
After advancing to Rank Four Peak, the potential of the Forest Sea Reincarnation Body grew even stronger. Zhou Ming's Wood Path Realm rose accordingly, and new inspirations continuously emerged every day.
After several months of accumulation, Zhou Ming finally developed a Killing Move, "City - Spring Grass and Trees Grow Deep."
Subsequently, based on the City - Spring Grass and Trees Grow Deep Killing Move, Zhou Ming researched several more Killing Moves, but they were all in a state of needing refinement and were not actually complete Killing Moves.
For instance, the Killing Move Myriad Trees Spring, which she had used before, mostly relied on the full power of the Forest Sea Reincarnation Body and the potent effect of the Wood Charm Gu to manifest its almost immortal self-healing effect.
Another example is the Killing Move A Single Tree Forms a Forest, which is essentially a prerequisite for the Killing Move City - Spring Grass and Trees Grow Deep, and is not yet considered a true Killing Move.
To this day, the most perfected and powerful Killing Move Zhou Ming had developed was still the original "City - Spring Grass and Trees Grow Deep."
"Demonic, Demonic Technique."
A guard screamed in terror, watching his body gradually being covered by slender grass threads and budding with tiny, rice-grain-sized flower buds.
"My, my Lord, spare my life..."
The guards' horrified gazes gradually turned to pleas, begging Zhou Ming to spare their lives.
However, all they saw was Zhou Ming's face, beaming with a satisfied smile.
"Bloom," Zhou Ming softly said.
The rice-grain-sized flower buds on the guards' bodies rapidly bloomed, opening into small red, white, pink, and purple flowers. Though tiny, they were incredibly numerous, covering their entire bodies.
Once the flowers fully bloomed, their petals began to fall, revealing the mature, dense clusters of grass seeds within their centers.
The guards' bodies were first completely covered in green grass threads, looking like meticulously trimmed grass figures.
Now, the grass figures were covered in tiny flowers of various colors, dazzling and captivating.
The wind blew, carrying the fragrant scent of flowers, and petals drifted with the breeze. Countless grass seeds also scattered everywhere with the wind, drifting to even more distant places.
Thus, more people became parasitized by the grass seeds. Screams came from increasingly distant places, occasionally mixed with the cries of livestock and the dying wails, until all sounds vanished.
When Zhou Ming stopped activating the Killing Move, the entire City Lord's Mansion had transformed into a green ocean. The ground, walls, doors, and windows were all covered in green vegetation. The grass and trees grew deep, yet it was eerily silent.
All living beings—men, women, adults, children, and even cats, dogs, donkeys, horses, cattle, sheep, birds, and insects—were buried within the vegetation. All sounds ceased, replaced by a serene and beautiful tranquility.
"Quite an interesting Killing Move, isn't it?" Zhou Ming turned around and smiled at Kaka.
Kaka's body trembled uncontrollably, yet he still managed to force a smile and replied, "It certainly is interesting."
As a Reincarnator, Kaka had killed many people. Every plot world was a journey of slaughter, and he had long grown accustomed to taking others' lives.
However, never before had Kaka felt the way he did now.
It was a… shiver, a shiver originating from the depths of his Soul.
Was it the sorrow of seeing fellow humans die, a feeling of empathy? Or was it fear of Zhou Ming's bizarre methods, of this silent death?
Neither. Kaka himself couldn't explain where this shiver came from.
"Do you know," Zhou Ming took a step and walked towards a nearby building, "there's another reason why I asked for your help and left Qin Wumeng at Yunxia Mountain."
Kaka mechanically took a step, following behind Zhou Ming, and asked, "What reason?"
"Your acceptance is higher than hers." Zhou Ming's voice was cold and detached, falling into Kaka's ears as if from a distant sky, devoid of any human warmth.
"My journey to Eastern Japan this time will involve very aggressive methods. It's not yet time for Qin Wumeng to accept them; she still needs some transition."
"But you are a veteran, after all, so you'll definitely find it quite normal, right?"
"Right." Kaka nodded expressionlessly, as if he had become an unfeeling wooden puppet.
"Well, this place has been cleaned up." Standing in front of a house, Zhou Ming turned around and said, "Let's rest here today. Tomorrow, we'll continue our journey to the Capital."
After devouring Odawara Ikegami's Soul, Zhou Ming compared his memories with Xue Ji's memories, easily enriching her understanding of Eastern Japan.
This knowledge was enough to ensure her upcoming trip to the Capital would be unimpeded.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next day, the Flying Flower Gu flew out of the deathly silent yet vibrant City Lord's Mansion, soaring towards the sky.
"What beautiful weather!" Zhou Ming placed her right hand on her forehead, gazing into the distance. Her mood was as bright as the rising sun, and a sweet smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
Kaka, who dared not look directly at Zhou Ming yesterday, was now watching her with a calm expression, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
"Are we going directly to the Capital today?" he asked.
"Yes, we'll go deep into the enemy's main camp and strike at the Dragon's lair. Isn't that how Hollywood blockbusters are made?" Zhou Ming chuckled.
"Deep into the enemy's main camp? I strongly suspect it's to wipe out the enemy's main camp." Kaka's mouth twitched.
"Is there a difference?" Zhou Ming's smile bloomed in the sunlight, dazzling and magnificent, breathtakingly beautiful, yet it sent a chill down Kaka's spine.