Zhang Shi clasped his hands behind his back, wearing an air of one who had weathered countless trials. He said calmly, “For the greater cause, what does it matter if I, Zhang Shi, sacrifice a little personal honor and dignity?”
“So long as our army can win, so long as we can break through the Yangtze River defenses—what is a mere ruse of sowing discord? What can I, Zhang Shi, not endure?”
To be fair, everyone had a desire to show off now and then. Even Zhang Shi, a great general, was no exception. Normally, he simply could not be bothered to put on a display before ordinary soldiers.
But this time was different. Shitou, though only a personal guard, served under Zhou Mengyan—the opposing camp. To have someone from the enemy ranks hold the Lord Duke in such high regard naturally made Zhang Shi want to show off just a little.
As it turned out, the display was quite effective. After being stunned for a long while, Shitou finally seemed to understand what Zhang Shi meant. Yet he still could not believe it.
“Impossible… impossible…”
“You clearly defected to that dog Zhou Mengyan. How… how could you be an undercover agent?”
“You’re an undercover agent?”
“No—you’re trying to trick me into talking! You want to use me to uncover the other brothers like me, those who admire the Lord Duke!”
Zhang Shi raised his brows slightly in surprise.
Shitou looked like a rough, brawny fellow, no different in appearance from Bangchui, the personal guard under Zhang Shi’s command. Yet his mind was rather quick; he had actually thought of that possibility.
But Zhang Shi was not displeased. Instead, he smiled faintly and, with a flourish, drew a letter from his robes.
The Lord Duke had given it to him. Lord Su Jin had been present at the time, and the letter bore Lord Su Jin’s personal seal, allowing Zhang Shi to contact the spies the Demon Suppression Directorate had long ago planted along the Yangtze River defenses.
It was meant to offer him some assistance in his life as an undercover agent.
And to serve as proof of his undercover identity.
At this moment, it was perfect for showing Shitou, so that he would understand Zhang Shi’s true situation.
He handed the letter to Shitou, then placed his hands behind his back once more and said coolly, “Open it and take a look. Then you’ll know whether Zhang Shi speaks the truth.”
With his back to Shitou, Zhang Shi lifted his eyes toward a gap in the roof of the tent and gazed at the sky beyond the Yangtze River defenses. His eyes were distant, his expression profound. He displayed to the fullest the burden and pressure of being an undercover agent—and, at the same time, his own extraordinary caliber.
He waited for Shitou to cry out in astonishment, then fall to his knees before him.
But after waiting for quite some time, nothing happened.
At last, Zhang Shi turned around.
The moment he saw Shitou holding the letter, Zhang Shi completely lost it.
“No, for fuck’s sake, Shitou—you’re holding the letter upside down!”
“Damn it, can’t you read?”
When Shitou nodded, Zhang Shi became even more furious. “Then why the hell were you pretending to read it?”
Snatching the envelope back, he pointed at the seal on it. “Can you recognize this?”
“It’s the imperial seal—the Lord Duke personally had it stamped for me!”
“And this one—this is the exclusive seal of the Demon Suppression Directorate. Lord Su Jin, the Demon Suppression Envoy, personally stamped it for me. It gives me the authority to mobilize every Demon Suppression Guard along the Yangtze River defenses!”
Shitou was illiterate, but he believed the letter Zhang Shi had produced. After standing there in a daze for two seconds, he dropped to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face.
“General Zhang Shi, I... I... I wrongly accused you...”
“It was my fault!”
“General Zhang Shi, why don’t you give me a beating?”
“Even if you beat me to death, I wouldn’t have a word of complaint.”
“I shouldn’t have doubted you, General Zhang Shi. I shouldn’t have questioned that someone would give up such a promising future under the Lord Duke just to surrender to Yunjing!”
Zhang Shi was no longer in the mood to keep up his act. Somewhat dejected, he nevertheless helped Shitou to his feet.
“Enough, enough. I won’t hold it against you.”
“As it happens, I am in need of capable men right now. If you—”
Thud!
Shitou knelt again. “General Zhang Shi, this humble one, Shitou, is willing to serve at your command! Whatever orders you give, I will obey without hesitation, even if it means death ten thousand times over!”
Zhang Shi had no choice but to help him up once more.
Seeing the expression on Shitou’s face, he became even more convinced of this honest man’s loyalty.
“All right, all right. There’s no need to be so dramatic. Still, there are indeed some matters I need you to handle.”
“General, give the order. I would not dare disobey!”
“Good.” Zhang Shi nodded. “From what you said just now, I gathered something: there are quite a few people in this camp who wish to throw in their lot with the Lord Duke.”
“Using your own judgment, list them for me one by one, according to the degree of their loyalty to the Lord Duke...”
“Forget it. You can’t write.”
“Then tell me about them one by one.”
“Leave no one out. And if you’re uncertain about anyone, make that clear as well.”
Shitou said excitedly, “Yes, General Zhang Shi.”
He immediately began naming them one by one. Zhang Shi listened beside him, taking notes at first. But the more he wrote, the less he wanted to continue, because names kept pouring from Shitou’s mouth—there were at least a hundred of them!
And nearly all of them were officers of one rank or another within the army!
“The Lord Duke’s influence is truly terrifying!”
“With such influence, once the Lord Duke has trained his navy and launches an attack, taking the Yangtze’s natural defenses will not be difficult at all. Even without me serving as an insider, the Yangtze defenses would still be the Lord Duke’s for the taking!”
“However...”
“Since I’m here, I need to make it easier.”
“Otherwise, how would my contribution stand out?”
As Zhang Shi pondered this, a plan gradually formed in his mind.
There were so many of them. He would have to find chances to test them out one at a time, then draw them over to his side and build a force within the camp that belonged to him alone.
But after Shitou had finished, Zhang Shi discovered another problem.
“It seems to me there are two factions in this camp.”
“One belongs to Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan, while the other belongs to Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan’s Madam. But the people you named... I get the feeling they all belong to Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan!”
“There aren’t many who truly belong to Zhou Mengyan?”
Shitou hurriedly explained, “General Zhang Shi, you do not know the situation. Madam has shown great kindness to many people in the army. They trust and follow her completely, and few of them acknowledge the Lord Duke.”
“The only ones who look up to the Lord Duke are us—ordinary soldiers and those who serve under the Grand Commander but are neither favored nor valued.”
Zhang Shi nodded, understanding everything at last.
He slowly let out a breath and said, “In that case, I can’t afford to show Madam’s people any mercy.”
“Shitou, you just listed a whole string of names. Pick out those who are most loyal to Lord Duke—those willing to brave fire and water for him—and bring them all to me.”
“But…”
“Do not tell them why.”
“Understood?”
Shitou did not understand, but Zhang Shi’s words were an order to him. He immediately turned to carry it out.
He had only taken one step when Zhang Shi called him back.
“Wait. You’re just going to walk out like that?”
“Huh? General Zhang Shi, is there anything else?”
Zhang Shi was somewhat speechless. “Have you forgotten my current identity? Have you forgotten that you were brought to my side because you defied me, and I was supposed to punish you?”
“If you swagger out there with such a delighted look on your face, even a dog by the roadside will know that my surrender is up to no good.”
Only then did Shitou realize. He hurriedly said, “General Zhang Shi, y-you’re right. This humble one was careless. Then… what should I do?”
“How about you beat me up first, and then I’ll go out?”
Zhang Shi nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”
…
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
