Chapter 164: It's Actually You

"My Lord, give this subordinate some time, this subordinate will definitely make him talk!"

Glaring fiercely at He Yuan, Liang Ruyue felt his teeth itch with anger.

Arrogant, truly too arrogant; having been taken care of by them for so long, he still hadn't learned his lesson. It seemed He Yuan's bones had grown loose again.

If he didn't give him a taste of something fierce today, he would think the Black-Clad Guard was made of mud!

Stared at by Liang Ruyue's vicious gaze, He Yuan felt his whole body tremble instantly, and the pain radiating from all over him grew even more intense.

He had witnessed the methods of the Black-Clad Guard today; the fear of being dominated made his whole body turn cold even just thinking about it.

Those who administered the torture were like machines; no matter how he begged for mercy, no matter how shrill and miserable his screams were, these people remained unmoved.

If it were possible, he would absolutely not want to deal with these people again. Falling into their hands was truly worse than death; he didn't even know if he could hold out.

"Shen Yu, Lord Shen, now that I have been captured by you, the news will spread soon, and the chaos of war is already right before our eyes!"

"And only I can make them settle down!"

Thinking of the trump card in his hand, He Yuan braced himself to stay calm. He still had a trump card to use; he wasn't someone to be toyed with!

"Lord Shen, we can make a deal. I don't want much, I just want to live!"

"You indeed don't want much, but I don't want to give it. What do you say we should do?"

The blade continued to move slowly inward, and the blood grew more abundant. He Yuan even felt he could no longer breathe; death seemed to be right at his doorstep.

"I hate it most when others threaten me. Those who dared to threaten me are already dead beyond dead. He Yuan, you will be just like them!"

"You!" Extreme fear struck, making He Yuan's scalp tingle.

He couldn't believe Shen Yu really dared to kill him. Wasn't Shen Yu always known for loving the people like his own children? Shouldn't he be afraid of harming the innocent and thus be wary of him?

At this moment, He Yuan was truly panicked. "Shen Yu, you dare to kill me? You cannot kill me!"

Confirming the look in his eyes, he was definitely facing a pair of eyes that wanted to kill; he really was going to kill him.

"Shen Yu, are you not afraid that Xichuan will fall into great chaos and the people will suffer? Once the scourge of war begins, millions or even hundreds of millions will surely die. Do you not care about any of this?"

"If you kill me, Xichuan will surely flow with blood!"

"Heh, is that so?" Grabbing He Yuan by the throat, he lifted him straight up.

"No wonder the imperial court is wary of you. You do have real ability, but you have overlooked one point: I am different from others!"

"Do you know why the imperial court let me come, and even handed all military and political power over to me? Because I am not afraid of you flipping the table, and even less afraid of your threats!"

"Do you know? You truly know nothing about power! Whichever hand you dare to reach out, I will chop it off!"

"Shen Yu, you are too arrogant!"

"It is not that I am arrogant, but that you are too ignorant. A frog at the bottom of a well, how could it know how high the sky is."

Laughing with disdain, Shen Yu said indifferently, "You still dare to negotiate terms with me? Do you believe that in just one day, or even less than a day, I could kill all your trump cards and wipe out your people in an instant?"

"One day's time—let's see if your people can even gather the troops, provisions, and military equipment first!"

"Daring to clamor before me, you've blinded your dog eyes!"

"Never mind that they haven't started an uprising yet; even if they had, to me, even an army of a million could be extinguished with a flip of my palm!"

A terrifying aura erupted from Shen Yu, and the power that seemed to sweep away everything made He Yuan feel fear from the bottom of his heart.

He was, after all, a Grandmaster, and his strength was not weak; even in the martial arts world, he was a master of some standing.

Yet, when facing Shen Yu, he couldn't even move a muscle, and his whole body was filled with endless fear. It was as if with just one look from the other party, he would die immediately.

He had known before that these top-tier masters were not comparable to ordinary armies, but he hadn't expected it could be this terrifying.

No wonder the imperial court was so cautious when facing these top-tier masters; it was because they had the qualifications to not care about the imperial court and the capital to absolutely flip the table.

"Wait, Shen Yu, no, Lord Shen, aren't you curious about what leverage they have in my hands? Aren't you curious about exactly who has been controlled by me?"

"It doesn't matter!" With a light laugh, Shen Yu said indifferently, "From Tingfeng Pavilion, I know the vast majority of corrupt officials in Xichuan."

"Kill every single one of these people, one by one, and be done with it once and for all. How simple!"

"What? You, you, in the vast Xichuan, there are more than ten thousand who take bribes and pervert the law. You want to kill them all?"

"Madman, you are simply a madman!"

He knew Shen Yu liked to kill corrupt officials, but he hadn't expected his desire to kill to be this great. This wasn't just flipping the table; this was clearly tearing down the entire house.

"If you kill so many people at once, are you not afraid that the administration of Xichuan will be paralyzed, leading to great chaos?"

"You've thought too much. Do you think the imperial court would have no preparations? They had long since anticipated that I would raise the butcher's knife once I came to Xichuan!"

"Do you believe it? At this very moment, the imperial court must have already prepared replacements. As soon as I make a move here, someone will immediately step into office there!"

"Besides, there are many people in this world who want to be officials. Within the government offices, there are so many clerks who are familiar with political affairs and are capable and shrewd. If one dies, someone will immediately fill the spot!"

"You perhaps forgot that all military and political power is in my hands; all temporary promotions and appointments can take effect immediately!"

"Furthermore, if anyone dares to cause trouble at this critical juncture, this official doesn't mind sending them off with you!"

"You!" For a moment, cold sweat covered He Yuan's forehead. The protective talismans he had relied on before were now of no use at all.

The imperial court sending someone as impervious as Shen Yu clearly meant they had him cornered. At this point, He Yuan was truly desperate.

Feeling the force on his throat growing greater, He Yuan's face turned beet red, and waves of the fear of death kept washing over him.

"Shen Yu, I am a Governor of the imperial court, you have no right to kill me, you cannot!"

"At this stage, you still dare to use your status to pressure me. Never mind that you are only a Governor; even if you were a royal relative or the current Prime Minister, if I want to kill, I will kill regardless!"

"I want to see which blind fool dares to say half a word of objection. If someone really dares, this official truly doesn't mind letting them accompany you!"

While speaking, Shen Yu's other hand was already pressed onto He Yuan's head, and terrifying Mental Power surged in crazily like a giant wave.

Soon, streams of feedback surged back. This result, which was completely different from what he had expected, left Shen Yu stunned.

"The body and soul are actually completely identical. Could I have guessed wrong?"

In this World of high martial arts, bold and reckless strongmen were everywhere; it wasn't as if no one had ever considered the idea of a switch.

Secretly replacing an official to take office, thereby easily preying on the people and looting everything they wanted.

To prevent all this, the imperial court had its own set of identification methods, and furthermore, the relatives of He Yuan and the others seemed unable to detect that they had been replaced, thinking they might have just undergone a drastic change in temperament.

Therefore, Shen Yu judged that it was very likely that only their souls had been replaced, while their bodies remained the same.

However, the result of the investigation greatly surprised him; He Yuan's body and soul were in complete alignment.

Moreover, Shen Yu had just used the Soul Reflection Mirror to check; this is the Soul Reflection Mirror, which can illuminate the depths of the soul and probe the Spiritual Sea, yet it did not discover any problems at all!

Could it be that he had truly guessed wrong?