# 1656
Chapter 1649: The Madness of Gongyang Wan
Compared to the chaos erupting throughout Chang'an City, the imperial palace was eerily quiet.
Lin Qiye and Wu Quan stepped over a group of unconscious guards and entered the silent palace courtyard. Apart from the guards stationed near the palace walls, all the palace consorts and attendants seemed to have hidden inside their chambers, with scattered candlelight flickering from within the various palaces. Tonight, the inner palace would surely be sleepless.
"With all the chaos outside, why are there still so many guards left in the palace?" Wu Quan scanned the surroundings and frowned.
"These guards are the personal guards protecting the Son of Heaven and the palace consorts. Even if the heavens were to collapse, they must guard the palace. After all, staying here they can use the terrain to resist the rebels. If they rushed out proactively, it would be no different from sending themselves to death. They are, in a sense, the final line of defense for this dynasty."
Wu Quan raised an eyebrow. "So when I knocked all these guards unconscious just now... does that make me the greatest criminal in history who trampled upon the final defense line of the Western Han Dynasty?"
"Under the circumstances, we had no way to obtain entry credentials for the palace. I'm sure the Son of Heaven will understand."
Wu Quan nodded, then suddenly seemed to realize something. "Seven Ye-ge, it seems to have gone quiet outside."
Lin Qiye turned to look beyond the palace walls. The cacophony of battle cries had vanished, leaving only the rising wails and anguished sobs. His eyes filled with surprise...
How long had it been? Chloe's speed was truly incredible.
Just moments ago he had said her physical strength didn't seem human... and she had immediately turned around to annihilate thirty thousand troops in an instant. Tsk.
Lin Qiye's gaze swept across the silent palaces around him, his expression growing grave. The palace was so vast. Where should they even start looking for Huo Qubing?
BOOM—!!
Just as Lin Qiye was contemplating, a thunderous sound echoed from a distant location. Billowing smoke rose from somewhere within the imperial palace, and even the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
Lin Qiye's brow furrowed. He immediately moved toward the source of the sound!
...
"Hmph, do you people really think you can kill me?"
Through the swirling dust, a figure in prison garments slowly emerged. Gongyang Wan, with disheveled hair and shackles, swept a disdainful gaze across the fallen figures on the ground.
"Fake... mon... ster..."
A fallen soldier's face was covered in grime and blood. He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the female prisoner before him, his gaze filled with不甘, but as a foot came crashing down, his skull shattered instantly, blood splattering across the earth.
Gongyang Wan, drenched in blood, frowned. Just as she turned to leave, two figures descended howling from the air!
"Gongyang Wan?"
"You?" Gongyang Wan caught sight of Lin Qiye and instinctively retreated half a step. She glanced at the corpses around her, her expression turning grim.
"Let me clarify—I didn't provoke them. I was just waiting here as Marquis Huo ordered. It was these lunatics suddenly shouting something about monsters and trying to hack me to death... This was self-defense, it doesn't count as violating orders!"
Gongyang Wan's expression held a hint of tension. After all, Huo Qubing had implanted the 【Heart-Returning Gu】 in her. If she was mistaken for actively killing people to escape, she would die for certain.
Lin Qiye didn't respond. His gaze fell upon the numerous corpses at Gongyang Wan's feet. As a gentle breeze passed, these bodies eerily melted into scattered willow branches, emitting a foul stench.
"Cthulhu Faction creatures?" Wu Quan pinched his nose shut, disgust evident on his face.
Seeing Wu Quan's reaction, Lin Qiye relaxed somewhat.
"What's going on?" A broken willow twig happened to rest against Gongyang Wan's ankle. She noticed the unusual sensation and glanced down, confusion flickering across her brow.
"It's a Cthulhu Faction creature that descended to the mortal realm with that meteor..." Lin Qiye slowly explained, sharing the information he knew.
After Lin Qiye finished speaking, Gongyang Wan's brow arched as she spoke in astonishment:
"So these are the powerful foreign creatures you mentioned?"
Gongyang Wan didn't seem repulsed by these disgusting-looking willow branches. Instead, she proactively reached down and picked up the willow branch at her feet, holding it up to examine it closely. "The ability to freely transform into others' appearances... Sounds rather interesting."
"The perception of these fakes can be arbitrarily altered by that crimson star, so even they themselves..."
Lin Qiye continued to elaborate, but before he could finish, Gongyang Wan simply opened her mouth and swallowed the broken willow branch in one bite!
"??? What are you doing?!!" Seeing this absurd scene, Lin Qiye froze in place, then lunged forward to grab Gongyang Wan's mouth, trying to reach in and pull out the willow branch!
Wu Quan beside him stared in shock, mouth gaping. As if connecting the dots, his face turned ashen. His Adam's apple rolled for a moment before he couldn't help but turn away and retch.
"Are you insane?!! This is a Cthulhu Faction creature's remains! Not some special cultivator! Eating random things like this will get you killed!!" Lin Qiye pinned down Gongyang Wan's struggling hands, trying to extract the willow branch, but at this point it had already entered her body—there was nothing to pull out. He couldn't help but curse!
Damn it!! He had dealt with Cthulhu Faction creatures for so long, and never once had he seen anyone dare to directly swallow Cthulhu Faction creature remains!
One had to remember, these things carried traces of Cthulhu Faction contamination—whispers in the ear, mental derangement, madness and confusion... Swallowing Cthulhu Faction creatures raw? That was no different from courting death!
Gongyang Wan broke free from Lin Qiye's grip, retreating two steps. She lifted her head proudly. Beneath her messy black hair, a pair of eyes gleamed brilliantly.
"Get killed? Heh... I crawled out of a pile of corpses in the first place. How many times haven't I risked my life just to survive? Rather than being treated as a dog to be ordered around for a lifetime, what's wrong with taking a gamble? As long as I can obtain Their power, Huo Qubing will never be able to control me again!"
Looking at the coldly smiling Gongyang Wan before him, Lin Qiye's expression turned grim. Just as he was about to speak, Gongyang Wan's shoulder suddenly began to writhe!
BANG—!
With a muffled thud, Gongyang Wan's entire left arm exploded outward. Splashing blood drenched the earth, and a black willow branch extended from the severed stump.
Gongyang Wan let out a pained roar while turning to look at her left hand. At the tip of the willow branch, a pustule suddenly bulged outward. As a crack like wrinkles appeared on its surface, a诡异的 eyeball slowly opened...
Seeing this scene, a cold gleam flashed through Lin Qiye's eyes. He shielded Wu Quan behind him with one hand while gently raising the other—the broken Ame-no-Murakumo falling into his palm, ready to strike at any moment.
However, after the willow branch took over Gongyang Wan's left arm, it didn't continue growing. Gongyang Wan's cries of pain gradually faded. Her face pale, she疑惑地 looked at this willow branch. Its tip lifted, and that eyeball extended before Gongyang Wan's face, as if gazing at her.
A moment later, that eyeball seemed to become part of Gongyang Wan's body. Following her will, it slowly swept across the surroundings...