# 1680
Chapter 1680: Suppressing Evil in Chaos, Returning Peace to the World
"Marquis is here!"
At the sound of a voice from before the residence, the nineteen figures in black robes who had been whispering immediately straightened up, their gazes fixed on the direction of the mansion gate, their faces full of anticipation!
These nineteen were all the ordinary members of the Bureau of Evil Suppression since its establishment. Six of them were异士 who had originally followed Huo Qubing, while the other thirteen were new members selected by Lin Qiye over the past few days.
The study door slowly opened. Lin Qiye, wearing that winter-green hanfu, walked out followed by Wu Quan and Chloe, gazing toward the direction of the gate.
Except for Hu Jia, Lin Qiye's karmic connections with these new members had all been fabricated using【Causeless Cause】. Therefore, in each of their perceptions, Lin Qiye played a different role. However, this posed no problem—after all, with just one thought from Lin Qiye, all these fabricated karmic connections would vanish, and they would completely forget the existence of Lin Qiye.
Creak—!
The mansion gate opened, and several figures walked in. Leading them was Huo Qubing in his marquis robes, with Zhan Yuwu and Yan Zhong at his side. Looking further back, Lin Qiye let out a surprised sound.
He saw Gongyang Wan walking slowly in an elegant cyan ruqun, her jet-black long hair bound up with a jade hairpin. If one ignored the occasional sharpness in her gaze, she looked like a gentle and virtuous lady from a noble family—a far cry from before.
"Now there's a bit of that lady's bearing..." Lin Qiye couldn't help but comment.
Indeed, clothes make the person. Without that dirty prison uniform, Gongyang Wan was undoubtedly a standard beauty. He had seen the two-thousand-years-later Gongyang Wan in court attire on the National Fortune Island. Though there was still a significant difference in temperament, they were already quite similar... Throughout these over a thousand years, she had never aged in the slightest.
And Gongyang Wan's elaborate attire also indicated that Huo Qubing had abandoned the idea of killing her—a good sign indeed.
"Greetings, Chief!"
"Greetings, Chief!!"
The nineteen members of the Bureau of Evil Suppression present all knelt halfway in unison. Using their peripheral vision, they gazed at the young general in marquis robes, their faces filled with worship.
"Rise." Huo Qubing spoke calmly.
The crowd quickly stood. Huo Qubing's gaze swept over them, and his deep voice rang out:
"This Marquis established the Bureau of Evil Suppression with the intention of gathering the strength of all异士 under heaven to eliminate evil spirits and protect the people's well-being..."
Huo Qubing's voice echoed through the residence as everyone present quietly listened, attentively absorbing his words.
Lin Qiye and Wu Quan stood behind the threshold of the study, watching this scene, feeling an indescribable sense of fulfillment.
"Seven Night Brother, are we witnessing history?" Wu Quan couldn't help but ask.
"We are." Lin Qiye smiled slightly. "Not only are we witnessing history, we were once part of this period of history... However, no one will remember it from now on."
In the modern society two thousand years later, who could have imagined that this small residence, with merely twenty-odd people, was the original form of the Night Watch?
In this era, having the foresight to establish the Bureau of Evil Suppression was already extremely rare. To achieve this, powerful strength and extraordinary resolve were absolutely essential... And young Huo Qubing had done it. This was why Huo Qubing was so revered by later generations. He could be considered the progenitor of all Night Watch, and the title of "First Apex" was truly well-deserved.
"...We who have received heaven-granted power should repay the world." Huo Qubing clasped his fists before his chest and bowed slightly to those before him.
"I hereby request that you join this Marquis in suppressing evil spirits in chaos, returning peace to the world!"
"—We shall serve the Marquis unto death!!"
"—Suppress evil spirits in chaos, return peace to the world!!"
The crowd's voices rang out loudly, their chests heaving, their eyes filled with excitement.
Behind Huo Qubing and the others, Gongyang Wan's calm gaze swept over these passionate figures, her expression unchanged, as if everything before her had nothing to do with her.
Without fanfare, without gongs and drums, after a simple ceremony, this ancient organization that would span two thousand years of human history was established unnoticed, quietly and without attention.
"Yuwu, take them to collect their stipends and weapons. You two, follow me." After a brief instruction, Huo Qubing brought Yan Zhong and Gongyang Wan directly toward the study where Lin Qiye was.
The study door slowly closed. Seeing Huo Qubing's grave expression, Lin Qiye couldn't help but ask:
"Marquis, what's wrong?"
Huo Qubing took a deep breath and spoke solemnly, "Lin Qiye, do you remember a few nights ago, that giant willow released a large number of spores toward the sky?"
"I remember. Why?"
"The situation is not optimistic." Huo Qubing's voice was heavy. "On my way back to Chang'an, this Marquis received urgent reports that those willow tree monsters have appeared throughout the Great Han... They should be offspring left behind before Its death."
Lin Qiye's eyes narrowed slightly. "Offspring? Do they have the same abilities as It?"
"Basically similar, but weaker. They can also release colored smoke, but the range is small, and they cannot replicate the abilities of异士—only ordinary people... Their combat power isn't high, roughly equivalent to a third-realm异士.
But the problem is there are too many of them. From the urgent reports I've received in the past few days alone, there are at least fifty of them, not counting the more remote areas where messages haven't arrived yet.
It's said these willow offspring have been replicating ordinary people and causing great chaos everywhere... They even seem to be forming armies..."
Hearing this, the other people in the room furrowed their brows. Lin Qiye spoke in confusion:
"That's strange. Logic dictates that since Its main body was killed by Chloe, these offspring should have disappeared too..."
"This is exactly what this Marquis truly fears." Huo Qubing's expression was extremely serious. "There are also urgent reports that... besides Chang'an, massive willow tree monsters have appeared. Whether in size, smoke coverage, or ability to replicate异士... they are identical to what we encountered that night."
"Are you saying there are other Kusuns??" Lin Qiye said in shock. "How is that possible? Did【Chaos】bring more than one? But if that's the case, why didn't He bring them all to Chang'an to kill me?"
As Lin Qiye's words fell, he seemed to think of something and froze on the spot.
"What did you think of?" Huo Qubing asked.
Lin Qiye paced silently in the study for a long while before slowly speaking:
"From the current intelligence, Kusuns has the ability to produce large numbers of secondary offspring. The offspring It produces are significantly weakened in all aspects... But we overlooked a question: could the offspring that Kusuns produces reproduce another generation of offspring? Like vampires?"
"Is it possible that what Chloe killed that night wasn't Kusuns' true body... but the first-generation offspring produced by the true Cthulhu Faction deity Kusuns?"
"Otherwise, this cannot explain why Chloe, without any divine law, could kill that Kusuns."
The more Lin Qiye thought, the tighter his brow furrowed. He paced ceaselessly in the room, muttering to himself:
"If this is true, then what you just mentioned, Marquis—those that can only replicate ordinary people—should be second-generation offspring. They came from the first-generation offspring that could replicate异士 abilities... By this logic, doesn't it mean the true Kusuns' main body can replicate... gods?"