Chapter 136: Everything Under Control

"You're kneeling already? I haven't even started yet, and you've already collapsed!"

A dignified Elder of the Thousand Blood Sect, a master at Grandmaster Perfection—it wasn't that he wasn't formidable enough, but rather that he was too conceited. Before Shen Yu had restored his original appearance, the man hadn't even looked at him, let alone taken precautions against him.

Moreover, having held a high position for many years, the comfortable life surrounding him had caused this person to gradually lower his guard. Otherwise, facing such a master, it would not have been easy to make a move, even with poison.

You must know, to ensure nothing went wrong, Shen Yu had been secretly clutching two Peacock Plumes in his hands the entire time. If there had been a need, he would have pressed the Mechanism without the slightest hesitation.

Since he had been targeted by him, he still wanted to run? You're dreaming! Those densely packed, scattering Peacock Plumes were enough to kill any master before him.

"System, Sign-in!"

"Sign-in successful, obtained Sword Twenty-Three!"

"It's actually this Martial Learning!" He closed his eyes gently, digesting the information that had suddenly appeared in his mind. An invisible and terrifying Sword Qi emanated from Shen Yu's entire body, lingering incessantly, as if even time and space had frozen at this moment.

After a long while, having barely managed to fully internalize all the information, Shen Yu opened his eyes. The enhancement Sword Twenty-Three gave him was not just as simple as one plus one; this power felt as if it were about to merge into his very soul.

However, he had no time to experiment with many of the thoughts in his mind right now. Shen Yu walked forward, took off the other man's armor to drape it over himself, and tossed the corpse into his storage space.

Immediately after, the muscles on his face shifted again, and in an instant, he transformed into the likeness of Ye Jing. After moving about a little, he stepped forward and sat down in the main seat, then shouted loudly, "Someone, come here!"

"Commander-in-Chief!"

"Have Lu Shaozhi come to see this Commander!"

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"

Sitting quietly waiting for Lu Shaozhi's arrival, Shen Yu looked around. Tsk tsk, one had to admit, this life was truly more than just comfortable.

A Third-Rank Martial Guard General could by no means be called a Commander-in-Chief, but who knew if that previous Thousand Blood Sect Elder had some special quirk, insisting that others address him that way, and he didn't even find it shameful.

Soon, upon receiving the message, Lu Shaozhi hurried over. As soon as he entered the military tent, he bowed respectfully, "This subordinate pays respects to the Commander-in-Chief!"

"You're here? Sit!" He pointed to the seat beside him, letting Lu Shaozhi sit down. Shen Yu stared straight at him, making Lu Shaozhi feel a bit uneasy. Being stared at like this by a grown man made his hair stand on end.

"Commander-in-Chief? I wonder why the Commander has summoned this subordinate?" If there's business, let's talk business; what's with staring at him like that!

"Lu Shaozhi, this Commander asks you: are you loyal to the imperial court, or are you loyal to this Commander!"

"This..." It would have been one thing if the Commander-in-Chief before him hadn't spoken, but the moment he did, it was a death-trap question. This was going to cost him his life, but fortunately, his brain turned quickly for once.

After a slight reaction, Lu Shaozhi immediately said, "This subordinate knows the Commander is loyal to the imperial court; for this subordinate to be loyal to the Commander is to be loyal to the imperial court!"

"Heh, you are quite slick!" However, Shen Yu did not intend to let him off, and followed up by asking, "Then what if this Commander turns against the imperial court? Would you follow this Commander?"

Hearing this, Lu Shaozhi was so frightened he immediately knelt down. Although he was simple, he wasn't stupid. For such a long time, the atmosphere in the Dongning Army had long since changed; even someone as diligent as him had been removed on trumped-up charges. The Commander's intentions were known to almost everyone.

And now that the other party was asking him privately, he was likely demanding a stance. Could it be that their Dongning Army was really going to take that step?

"Commander-in-Chief, this subordinate... this subordinate requests to lay down his armor and return to farming!"

"Lay down your armor and return to farming?" With a soft snort, Shen Yu then said coldly, "You would rather lay down your armor than pledge loyalty to this Commander? Do you want to die?"

"Commander-in-Chief, this subordinate does not fear death, but this subordinate does not understand!" Kneeling on the ground, Lu Shaozhi raised his head, his gaze directed straight at Shen Yu. At this moment, he seemed to have made up his mind, casting Life and Death aside.

"The imperial court has not wronged our Dongning Army; why must you insist on opposing the court? This subordinate offers a death-remonstrance: please, Commander, think thrice!"

"Good, very good, haha!" Suddenly, the Commander-in-Chief opposite him was not angry, but instead burst into loud laughter, a laugh that made Lu Shaozhi feel somewhat baffled.

"General Lu, you are good! Very good!" Stepping forward, he pulled Lu Shaozhi up, and Shen Yu led him outside, "Let's go, this Commander will take you to a place!"

Taking Lu Shaozhi with him, the two secretly infiltrated the dungeon beneath Ye Tinghai's manor. Throughout the process, Lu Shaozhi was extremely anxious; the surrounding environment didn't look like a good place at all. The Commander wouldn't be finding a place to kill him to silence him, would he?

"Follow!" He shouted to Lu Shaozhi. Both were masters, so it wasn't easy to be discovered while intentionally hiding in the dungeon. Plus, Shen Yu was quite familiar with the place, so the journey was very smooth.

Using the same method to drug the guards at the deepest dark cell, Shen Yu opened the door and signaled for Lu Shaozhi to walk in.

"Commander-in-Chief, this..." He couldn't understand this series of actions at all, but since the Commander told him to go in, Lu Shaozhi would have to go even if it were a mountain of blades or a sea of fire.

"Take a look, who is the person inside?"

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!" Biting the bullet, he walked forward slowly. In the very corner of this dark cell, a person was curled up. This person was disheveled and unkempt, making it impossible to see their face clearly.

But when Lu Shaozhi walked up and pushed aside the long hair covering the face, his eyes were left with nothing but horror. "This, this is..."

"This is the Dongning Army Commander, Ye Jing!"

"What?" The words from behind caused a monstrous wave to surge in Lu Shaozhi's heart. If this was their Commander, then who was the person speaking behind him?

"General Lu, are you very confused?" At this moment, Shen Yu behind him also restored his original appearance and voice. When Lu Shaozhi turned his head, he almost thought he had seen wrong.

The Commander who had been standing in front of him just a moment ago had changed into another person. Am I dreaming right now?

"You are Shen Yu! You have such great audacity to impersonate the Commander?"

"It is not that I am bold, but that others are bold. General Lu, for all these years, General Ye has been impersonated. Could you not tell?"

"What? This, this..." At this moment, Lu Shaozhi thought of many things. He had joined the Dongning Army since he was a youth and was naturally familiar with everyone in the army. But he didn't know when it started, their Dongning Army seemed to have changed.

Former colleagues gradually became strangers, and even their Commander Ye Jing began to become arrogant, conceited, and dismissive of others; he was no longer the person he knew. Now that he thought about it, it did indeed seem strange everywhere.

Could it be that for all these years, the Commander had really been swapped? This, this was simply too insane!

"Let's go, I'll take you to see other places!" Pulling Lu Shaozhi along, they walked out, looking at one cell after another. Here, he discovered many of his former colleagues.

Thinking back on the changes in "them" outside over these years, with everything connected together, he couldn't help but believe it!

So many veteran generals in the army had been replaced, and they hadn't noticed at all. At this moment, Lu Shaozhi was completely panicked. He found it hard to imagine that the colleagues who had been with him were actually a bunch of fakes.

"How could it be like this? Why would it be like this!"

"General Lu, Lu Shaozhi!" A slap landed on the other man's shoulder, startling him out of his suspicion and panic. After meeting Shen Yu's calm and firm gaze, Lu Shaozhi felt much relieved.

For some reason, this face that he had wanted to punch when he saw it before now gave people a sense of security!

"General Lu, this official will use Ye Jing's identity to hand the command of the two-thousand-strong Front Guard cavalry back to you. You must take complete control of these two thousand cavalrymen in the shortest possible time!"

"This... Official Shen, what are you planning to do?"

"Afterward, this official will use Ye Jing's identity to gather those imposters outside, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop!" Taking a deep breath, Shen Yu's gaze was like a torch, as if he already had everything under his control.

"However, to prevent any from slipping through the net, and because there may be many Dongning Army soldiers who have been deceived, just in case, at the critical moment, this official needs General Lu to lead troops to suppress the entire Dongning Army!"

"General Lu, I wonder if you dare to accept this task?"

"So that's how it is. I accept this task. Official Shen, rest assured, with this General here, the Dongning Army will not fall into chaos!"