# 1637
Chapter 1631: Her Name Is…
"Marquis…"
Huo Qubing shook his head.
"He actually managed to subdue that female demon… I thought in this world, only Marquis could control her." The scholar in confucian robes gazed at the mysterious figure cloaked in scorched straw hat and garments, shock evident in his eyes.
"He's very strong." Huo Qubing said gravely, "I had thought in this world, I was the only one who had reached that realm… Now it seems, that is not the case."
"You mean he has also reached that realm?!" The deputy commander was stunned into speechlessness.
Lin Qiye's subjugation of the female prisoner relied entirely on physical strength, so they hadn't sensed any spiritual fluctuations from him. However, Huo Qubing's cultivation was far beyond that of the scholar and deputy commander—he could clearly perceive the Human Apex aura emanating from Lin Qiye's every movement.
Huo Qubing silently watched the figure carrying the unconscious woman on one shoulder while dragging several monster heads with the other, lost in thought.
After a long moment, he spoke slowly:
"Please, come up for a conversation."
Upon hearing Huo Qubing's voice, the figure climbed the stairs. Finding the monster heads cumbersome, he casually tossed them below the tavern before carrying the woman up to the second floor.
When he entered the room, the deputy commander and others finally saw his face—and their astonishment only deepened!
Beneath that scorched straw hat was also a young face, appearing to be around the same age as their Marquis. A broken sword hung at his waist, and his entire presence was restrained, making him seem like an ordinary person.
Even Huo Qubing was momentarily stunned by Lin Qiye's youth, his expression turning thoughtful.
"Greetings, Marquis." Lin Qiye clasped his hands in salute.
"You are Lin Qiye?" Huo Qubing asked. "Where is your ancestral home?"
"Um… ancestral home…"
Lin Qiye faltered, stammering slightly. "Ancestral home in Cangnan."
"Cangnan?" Huo Qubing turned to exchange a glance with the scholar, who wore equal bewilderment and shook his head, indicating he'd never heard of such a place.
"Judging by your age, you should be of my generation. Why then did you call yourself a junior?" Huo Qubing pressed.
Lin Qiye hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and spoke seriously: "Because I come from more than two thousand years in the future. Naturally, I am the junior."
The words fell like stones into still water. The tavern fell into deathly silence.
Huo Qubing, the deputy commander, and the scholar stood frozen. After a long while, the deputy commander forced a laugh:
"More than two thousand years in the future? What a sense of humor, young friend… Ha ha ha…"
The scholar in confucian robes contemplated for a moment before speaking uncertainly: "Humor? I don't think so… These days, extraordinary individuals are appearing everywhere. If someone could traverse time, it's not impossible, is it?"
"Yan Zhong, do you truly believe he came from two thousand years ago? That's two thousand years!"
"I'm merely saying such a thing is possible."
As the two bickered, Huo Qubing continued studying Lin Qiye, his brow furrowed tightly:
"Can you prove it?"
Lin Qiye glanced over himself. Besides the Crimson Cloak beneath the straw hat and the Ame-no-Murakumo at his waist, there was nothing from his original era—his phone and other modern belongings had shattered during the time crossing.
Then perhaps he could prove his identity through prophecy?
But the problem was, Lin Qiye was an ordinary person who had joined the Night Watch after half-finishing high school. His knowledge of history was minimal—he only knew about Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, and that Marquis Huo Qubing had performed the Wolf's Den Sacrifice. Everything else was a complete blank… He couldn't exactly tell Huo Qubing that after the Western Han came the Xin Dynasty, then the Xuan Han, followed by the Three Kingdoms period of the late Eastern Han, with flames of war raging endlessly?
Even if he said it, there was no way to verify!
Lin Qiye agonized for a moment before speaking partly by guesswork: "In the future, you will crushingly defeat the Xiongnu, ascend Wolf's Den Mountain, and erect an altar to offer sacrifices to heaven…"
The scholar gave him a suspicious look. "The future? But wasn't that already over a thousand years ago? Everyone in the world knows about it now…"
"…"
Damn it! How did those historical transmigrators in novels always happen to know so much history?
Lin Qiye cursed inwardly, then as if struck by inspiration,
"Marquis, has the Bureau of Evil Suppression been established yet?"
Huo Qubing's pupils contracted slightly.
He turned to look at the scholar and deputy commander—they both wore matching expressions of confusion.
Huo Qubing did indeed have plans to establish a special department dedicated to suppressing evil and malevolent spirits… but it was merely a tentative idea. Besides the scholar, the deputy commander, and the already-unconscious woman prisoner, he had told no one else. How could this young man possibly know?
"You…" The deputy commander stared at Lin Qiye in astonishment, momentarily at a loss for words.
Huo Qubing studied Lin Qiye for a long while, then turned to sit in his chair. Instead of answering Lin Qiye's question, he asked slowly,
"Have you eaten dinner yet?"
"…No."
"Sit down and eat with us." Huo Qubing said calmly. "This spread shouldn't go to waste."
Lin Qiye didn't decline. He sat directly at the table and began devouring the food with his chopsticks like a tornado.
Having traversed over two thousand years of time, Lin Qiye was already famished. Although this body could apparently survive without eating, whenever there was an opportunity to satisfy his appetite, Lin Qiye certainly wouldn't miss it.
Watching Lin Qiye eat like a starving ghost, the scholar and deputy commander beside him wore peculiar expressions. This inexplicably-appeared young man seemed to be shrouded in mystery from head to toe.
Could he be an assassin sent to kill the Marquis?
Just as their vigilance reached its peak, Lin Qiye seemed to remember something and pointed at the unconscious woman beside them:
"Marquis, who is this person?"
"A condemned prisoner." Huo Qubing glanced at the woman indifferently. "This demon woman possesses a strange ability—she can devour practitioners weaker than herself, transplanting their faces into her own body. By swapping out those practitioners' faces, she can use their abilities.
Moreover, each practitioner she devours extends her own lifespan by grafting their years onto herself. As long as she continuously devours practitioners, she can achieve immortality—and the longer she lives, the stronger she becomes, able to consume even more practitioners… This cycle allows her to live forever and possess immense power.
The flaw is that those she devours will perpetually exist within her, tormenting her spirit. Additionally, the abilities she absorbs are frozen at their current level; to improve a particular ability's realm requires tremendous time and effort."
Lin Qiye nodded slightly. Huo Qubing's description matched what he had seen in the archives… And what Huo Qubing called "practitioners" were likely those who possessed Forbidden Ruins.
From what Lin Qiye knew, 【Eternal Visage】 was the only Forbidden Ruins among all the many that fed on their own kind. It was also called the most evil Forbidden Ruins, because the only way to collect "faces" was through devouring—cruel and merciless. But equally, the immortality and power it could achieve were beyond the reach of ordinary Forbidden Ruins.
If one were to personify the seven king-level ruins of the world, the Fifth King-Level Ruins 【Eternal Visage】 would undoubtedly be a ferocious Immortal Demon King!
Though Lin Qiye knew of the Fifth King-Level Ruins' existence, he had never heard of anyone actually possessing this ruin. He couldn't help but ask: "What is this prisoner's name?"
"Name?" Huo Qubing paused,
"Her name is Gongyang Wan."