Chapter 69: The Human-Faced Flower Emperor

Whoosh, whoosh...

The cold wind howled, and heavy snow fell from the sky.

In an instant, the entire Sog Ruins City was shrouded in a sea of snow.

It was snowing.

At the school gate of Sog Ruins City, many students watched the heavy snow, some smiling, some quietly gazing at the drifting flakes, some reaching out to catch the falling snow.

The oppressive gloom of the past few days seemed to vanish in the face of the heavy snow.

From the Green Leaf Bracelet, he took out an umbrella, then after a moment's thought, Gune put the umbrella away and took out a brown fedora, placing it on his head.

"Huff... puff..."

Taking a deep breath, a faint smile on his face, Gune walked with light steps, bathed in the heavy snow.

...

Antu Kang District.

Inside a villa.

"Father." The thin Black Luo, clad in a robe, looked at the tall man standing with his hands behind his back, her voice trembling slightly.

"Is there really... no other way?"

"Other way?"

The tall, broad-shouldered man shook his head gently.

"Those Pioneers will not let us go."

"Your grandparents, my own parents, both died at the hands of the Pioneers."

The broad-shouldered man clenched his fists tightly.

"Even though I knelt and begged them to spare my parents, those Pioneers showed no mercy and burned them to death."

"Even your mother died at their hands."

"For over a decade, I have not forgotten that night, in that garden, when your mother was surrounded by three Pioneers, her blood staining the entire lawn."

"The piercing screams still echo in my mind, waking me in the dead of night."

The man's voice was steady and deep, every word laced with intense hatred.

After a long while, he finally calmed the anger within him.

"Is the Human-Faced Flower meme curse from the depths of our blood our fault?"

"It never was."

"Yet they only want to kill us to silence us."

The man opened his palm, and a pattern of a human-faced flower faintly bloomed in the center, the flower face resembling a human visage, lifelike, enchanting and moving.

"Since those Pioneers think we are followers of the Human-Faced Flower Cult, then I will become a true follower and take revenge on them, making them pay with blood and death."

"That Gune has been confirmed as a member of the Pioneers, and the upper echelons of the Human-Faced Flower Cult have received important intelligence that Gune has the skill of an expert-level pharmacist and is expected to become a master pharmacist."

"This Gune is still young and not yet a loyal dog of the Pioneers. There is still a chance to make him one of us, but if not, we need to eliminate him as soon as possible."

"Tonight is the Blood Night, when Gune's strength is at its weakest. You need to approach Gune, lure him onto the carriage, and leave the rest to us."

Although her personality was relatively weak, Black Luo could still distinguish the gravity of the situation.

If she really lured Gune onto the carriage, he would be in grave danger.

As if summoning courage, Black Luo clenched her fists, looked at her father, and said stubbornly.

"He is my friend. I won't go."

"Slap!"

A rough, broad palm struck Black Luo's face hard.

"Friend?"

"Have you forgotten how I told you your mother died?"

"That Gune is a Pioneer, an accomplice."

"If we don't deal with him now, then one day, he will kill me with a spell, or even kill you."

The rough, heavy words made Black Luo's frail body tremble even more.

After a moment, the man's voice softened.

"Besides... if you lure him onto the carriage, we will have someone talk to him. If he is willing to join us, he won't die."

"But if you don't go, his fate will be only... death!"

...

155 Old Stone Street.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Snowflakes danced wildly in the howling wind.

"It's snowing."

By the window, watching the swirling snow, Meisha murmured softly.

Not far from her.

A human-faced flower hovered in the void, its roots boldly anchored in the "Immaculate Fertile Soil Layer" that countless supernatural plants dreamed of.

The Immaculate Fertile Soil Layer was a dimension of the Shadow World accessible only to supernatural plants.

Those dominant-level plants could easily pierce the surface world and root themselves in the inner world.

For ordinary supernatural plants,

even powerful "King-level" supernatural plants were not qualified to root in the Immaculate Fertile Soil Layer.

Plants that pierced the surface world and touched the inner world were no longer King-level but Emperor-level.

This human-faced flower was boldly an "Human-Faced Flower Emperor."

As the snow fell, this Human-Faced Flower Emperor, relying on the accumulated power from rooting in the Immaculate Fertile Soil Layer, was rapidly and robustly blooming.

Within the bud, an image of a majestic superior species eerily unfolded.

However, the flower face of this Human-Faced Flower Emperor was identical to Meisha's.

...

"It's snowing?"

In the study, Old Cohen, reading a pharmacopoeia, saw through the window that the outside was already a vast expanse of white.

A thin layer of snow had already accumulated.

Old Cohen tried to stand up, but as soon as he moved, a pained expression appeared on his face.

"Ah, old age is unforgiving." Old Cohen shook his head with a bitter smile, then rubbed his shoulder joints.

After a moment, his blood circulation improved, the pain disappeared, and his arm became flexible again.

As a supernatural being, even in old age and frailty, he was still incomparable to ordinary elderly people.

After standing up, Old Cohen paced around a bit to loosen his body from sitting too long.

"There's always a nagging worry."

"Could it be because..."

Old Cohen looked out the window.

As the snow fell, the dark clouds seemed to have dissipated somewhat.

This caused a faint crimson glow to reflect on the thin layer of snow.

"Gune?"

Old Cohen narrowed his eyes. He knew that Gune's strength would greatly diminish during the Blood Moon.

"Knock, knock, knock..." A light knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?" Old Cohen asked.

"Dad, it's me." It was Meisha's voice.

"What's wrong?"

"The window in my room seems broken; it won't close tightly, and cold air keeps blowing in. The room is freezing."

Old Cohen recalled that Meisha had mentioned this to him before and asked him to fix it.

But then he got sidetracked and seemed to have forgotten.

Opening the door, he saw Meisha wearing a plaid skirt.

"I'll get the tools."

After getting the tools, he followed Meisha to the side room on the second floor.

Once Old Cohen stood still, Meisha slowly opened the door.

The moment the door opened,

a human-faced flower as large as a washbasin met Old Cohen's gaze, its flower face staring at him.

The huge flower was deep blue and purple, its face both enchanting and majestic, like a supreme, seductive emperor overlooking everything.

The moment he met the human-faced flower's gaze, Old Cohen's body trembled, struggled slightly, and then stood still like a puppet, motionless.

Staring at the human-faced flower, after a moment, Old Cohen's face was streaked with tears.

He reached out and gently caressed the air in front of him, as if admiring his most beloved person, his face showing tenderness and affection.

"Niya... is that you? Do you know how much... I've missed you all these years?"