I was living in the Five Dynasties period, just after crossing the Zhongdu Bridge.

Before Liu Chengxun could finish speaking, there was a loud bang.

Shen Lie's wine glass fell to the ground, spilling wine everywhere.

Everyone stared in astonishment.

The commander, who had been laughing and joking just moments before, was now deathly pale, with large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"Brother Shen?" Guo Rong, who was closest, quickly reached out to help him.

Shen Lie forced himself to stay awake, pressed his hands on the table, and tried to stand up to bow and take his leave.

"Your Majesty...I have been disrespectful..."

But after uttering just those three words, Shen Lie felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

In a dizzying moment, Shen Lie's body swayed, but he ultimately couldn't withstand the mental shock and fell straight forward, smashing the cups and plates on the table to pieces.

"Commander Shen!"

"Shen Yaozhou!"

Finally, what came into view was Guo Rong's astonished face and Liu Chengxun's momentarily out-of-control shout.

This fall startled the remaining three people quite a bit.

However, a person's soul and physical body are ultimately two different things.

If the two are separated, it's like a child wielding a sledgehammer—it looks fun, but it actually hurts both the child and others.

Only when the spirit and body are united can one act as if it were an extension of one's own arm, carving out a place for oneself in this chaotic world.

The wandering ghosts who possess corpses and return to life, though they can move and speak, and even stir up trouble in this chaotic world with their precognitive abilities from later generations, are ultimately separated by a layer.

Like a child in armor, no matter how well he puts on a show, once they actually clash with a real weapon, his momentary instinctive reaction might fool people, but it won't save his life.

······

When he opened his eyes again, what he saw was the roof of the side room of Li Congxi's mansion.

Shen Lie felt his throat was dry and his mind was still somewhat dizzy.

"My lord is awake?"

The maid who had been waiting by the bed saw Shen Lie open his eyes and quickly brought him warm water, her face full of joy.

"How long did I sleep?"

"My lord slept soundly for a whole day and night."

After feeding Shen Lie water, the maid stood up, bowed, and said, "Please wait a moment, my lord. I will go and inform the general."

After the maid hurriedly left, the room returned to silence.

Shen Lie lay on the couch, not in a hurry to get up, but immediately closed his eyes.

My head is throbbing.

Along with this pain came the memories belonging to the original owner of the body.

In the fourth year of Tianfu, in Yecheng.

That year, he had just joined Wang Qing's forces and was climbing the city wall for the first time.

Just as the Khitans' siege ladders were being erected, a burly barbarian with a menacing grin jumped into the crenellation.

The imminent danger once made the young Shen Lie's legs tremble.

But the next moment, the memory became incredibly clear.

Sidestep, lower your waist, slide forward, and draw your gun.

That was a marksmanship technique that veteran soldiers of the Fengtian Army had taught countless times.

The sensation of the gun tip piercing flesh, the stinging pain of the gun barrel rubbing against the palm, the curses coming from the other person's throat, and even the taste of blood spraying into the mouth.

Everything is crystal clear now.

There is also the Zhongdu Bridge.

Shen Lie could even recall the feeling of the rain hitting his face that day.

How Wang Qing wielded his sword, in which direction the Fengguo Army's banner fell, and even the dying words his comrades asked him to deliver home—every detail is meticulously presented.

All of these became his personal experiences in life.

This fusion made him feel unfamiliar, yet inexplicably at ease.

"Alright."

Shen Lie sighed inwardly.

If he only relies on the few military books he read in Yaozhou, then he will probably only be able to watch from behind the main army when he goes to Ye City this time.

Although Du Chongwei was a terrible person in the Battle of Ye City, he was able to rise from suppressing internal rebellions to become the Commander of the Imperial Guards, in charge of all the elite troops of the Later Jin Dynasty, which shows that he was indeed capable.

If he wants revenge, he must have a real fight.

In the end, the battles at Daizhou, Zhangjiawu, and even outside Danzhou City were all due to luck.

If this siege of tens of thousands of troops were to rely solely on a vague and illusory stroke of luck, they would likely lose their lives beneath the city walls.

"woke up?"

With a bang, Li Congxi strode in.

The head of the Fuwei Army had obviously just changed out of his official robes and was carrying a food box in his hand.

Seeing Shen Lie wake up, a smile finally appeared on his face.

"Yu Niang is cooking porridge for you in the kitchen. She said she added some herbs to replenish your qi and blood. I've brought you some snacks to tide you over."

Li Congxi placed the food box on the table, casually sat down on the edge of the couch, and only breathed a sigh of relief after reaching out to touch Shen Lie's forehead.

"No fever, it seems the imperial physician was right, it's just exhaustion. You're so young, how can you be so calculating? You even managed to faint from a meal with a prince?"

"I'm sorry to have made you look foolish, Commander."

"Perhaps I had been working too hard in Guanzhong a few days ago, and now that I've relaxed, the illness has struck like a landslide."

Shen Lie gave a wry smile and tried to sit up, but Li Congxi pressed him down.

"Lie down!"

Shen Lie felt a warmth in his heart and asked again.

"But... how did I get back?"

Shen Lie remembered that he fainted at Liu Chengxun's residence.

"How else could they have gotten back? They were carried back."

"You just collapsed yesterday, and things went into chaos on the Crown Prince's side. It was originally a well-intentioned offer; he said there was an imperial physician at his residence and wanted you to stay there to recuperate for a few days, so he specially sent someone to inform me."

"But I didn't let him."

Li Congxi picked up the bowl on the table and poured Shen Lie another glass of water.

Shen Lie took the water, and after a moment's thought, he understood Li Congxi's good intentions.

"The commander is saving me."

"Good that you understand."

Li Congxi sighed, "His Highness is a good person, everyone in the court knows that. But precisely because he is a good person, sometimes his good intentions lead to bad results."

"What is your status now? You are an official outside the capital, a general leading troops, and also one of Commander Shi's men."

"The commander Shi is the kind of person who hates it most when his subordinates get too close to the princes."

"If you spent a night at His Highness's residence, and this news gets out, in the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it will appear that you, Shen Lie, have betrayed the Infantry Command and switched allegiance to the Left Guard."

"At that time, His Highness will be fine, but you, Shen Lie, will probably be stripped of your identity by Commander Shi."

"So I insisted on having you carried back despite His Highness's kindness."

For this reason, I even apologized to His Highness, saying that since you, Shen Lie, are my subordinates in the Fuwei Army, it is only right that I take care of you.

Liu Chengxun's desire to keep Shen Lie stemmed from benevolence and righteousness, and was a gentlemanly act.

However, Li Congxi brought Shen Lie back out of protocol and out of a sense of maturity and political responsibility.

In this city of Daliang, benevolence and righteousness can sometimes kill, while rules and regulations can save lives.

"Thank you for protecting me, Commander."

Shen Lie was about to get out of bed to pay his respects, since it was only a mental shock and had not actually affected his body.

"Thank me my ass."

Li Congxi grinned, his eyes clearly showing smugness. "Besides, living in the prince's residence is nowhere near as comfortable as staying with my own brother. Furthermore, if something were to happen to you, how would I explain it to Commander Shi?"

"Alright, stop thinking about those things."

Just then, the aroma of food wafted from outside the door, and Li Congxi quickly got up to open it.

"Yu Niang's food is ready. Get up and eat something. Getting your health back is the most important thing."