141: Yin Shu, a fanatical boyfriend fan

"General, almost all the evil spirits in the entire Great Xia have been captured and brought to justice by us!" Yin Shu stood respectfully below, reporting the latest combat situation to Ma Sanqiang, who sat enthroned above.

Dressed in a black robe, his posture was as straight as a pine tree, but his expression revealed a hint of gravity.

"Hmm, well done. However, according to reports from scouts, after the Ghost Kings of other places learned of our Underworld's existence, they haven't dared to take a single step into the Great Xia base."

"In your opinion, should we take advantage of the situation and expand our search range?" Ma Sanqiang narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Yin Shu as sharp as a hawk's.

Yin Shu's heart tightened, and he quickly cupped his hands in response, "In reply to the General, this matter is entirely up to your decision. This General is at your command!"

"Centurion Yin! When you were with You Yu—you were like a fish in water, speaking your mind freely! Why is it that now, when you've come to the Shiling Army to offer counsel, you're as silent as a mute gourd?"

"General, my humble opinions are truly not worth mentioning." Yin Shu lowered his head slightly.

However, Ma Sanqiang didn't seem to intend to let it go. He gave a cold snort and suddenly changed the subject, "Yin Shu, remember that This General specifically transferred you from You Yu's hands to this Shiling Army."

"By all rights, I should have given you a position of great importance, yet I happened to demote your rank by one level."

"Could it be... that you still harbor resentment against This General to this day?" As he spoke, Ma Sanqiang's right hand had already quietly rested on the handle of the cold, gleaming blade at his waist.

Hearing these words, Yin Shu's face instantly turned pale.

He knew deeply that if his response was even slightly improper at this moment, what awaited him would likely be far more than just a simple slash of the blade.

Thus, he did not hesitate to drop to one knee, clasping his hands and shouting loudly, "General, please see clearly! Subordinate harbors absolutely no resentment in his heart."

"It is truly because Subordinate's martial arts are unrefined and his strategies insufficient that the hundred-man squad suffered heavy losses and casualties during the suppression of the White Lotus Cult Master."

"Subordinate is willing to accept punishment; please appease your anger, General!"

Unexpectedly, Ma Sanqiang showed no intention of putting away his long blade. Instead, he suddenly drew it halfway and rested it heavily on Yin Shu's shoulder.

He shouted sternly, "'Willing to accept punishment,' indeed! If that's the case, then you'd better explain things clearly to This General."

"Why did you know about the heavy losses in the 'Jinglian Temple' operation but chose not to report it? Could it be that there's some unspeakable hidden truth behind this?"

Facing Ma Sanqiang's aggressive questioning, Yin Shu wore a face of bewilderment and innocence.

His eyes widened as he argued urgently, "General, Subordinate truly knows nothing about this! I beg the General for mercy, so that even if Subordinate dies, he can die knowing the truth!"

"Truly no knowledge? Jinglian Temple suffered '46' Ghost Soldier casualties! This is no small matter!" Ma Sanqiang's gaze was like a torch as he angrily questioned Yin Shu.

Hearing this, Yin Shu's body trembled involuntarily. With a panicked expression, he quickly explained, "General, Subordinate truly had no knowledge of this matter! Perhaps there was an error when those below reported it..."

"Hmph!" Ma Sanqiang snorted coldly, directly interrupting Yin Shu's words, "A misreport? Do you think This General is a three-year-old child who is so easily fooled? To think you'd even dare to use such an excuse!"

By now, Yin Shu was drenched in sweat, which kept dripping down from his forehead.

He continued to stammer, "General, please appease your anger. Actually, there is an inside story. Jinglian Temple is the Taoist temple where Minister You Yu once underwent his initiation ceremony when he was alive. And Cheng Kangzi, who has now become a Ghost General, is the Minister's grand-disciple from over six hundred years ago."

"Therefore, this matter has broad implications, which is why Subordinate did not report it in time."

As Yin Shu's voice fell, the sound of "drip-drop, drip-drop..." could be heard incessantly.

It turned out to be the bean-sized beads of sweat on his head continuously dripping onto the floor tiles.

"Is that so?"

Yin Shu collapsed to his knees with a thud and said in fear and trepidation, "General, This General admits his crime. This General has truly failed His Majesty's trust and heavy responsibility!"

Ma Sanqiang waved his hand impatiently and barked, "Enough! Put away that sissy appearance! If This General really wanted to take your life, I would have already hacked you to death just now!"

"I know perfectly well that you just wanted to hide it from You Yu for three days, intending to go and suppress them quietly by yourself."

"You admire him a lot, don't you? I can see it from your eyes and your actions."

"Moreover, you absolutely do not want to see You Yu's reputation tainted by even the slightest speck of dust. Am I right, General?"

"Yes... Yes, General," Yin Shu murmured with trembling lips.

He lowered his eyes and stared fixedly at his toes, as if there were some magical power there that could save him from his current embarrassing predicament.

In reality, however, there was nothing but the cold, hard floor tiles.

[How tragic! The fan leader's cover is blown.]

[Wuwuwu...]

Ma Sanqiang tapped the hilt of his blade and said earnestly, "Military matters, regardless of size, are no trivial thing. Any act of concealment is a serious crime!"

"If Minister You Yu knew, he would certainly not want you to act this way..."

"Forget it! I shall pardon you this once, but let this not be a precedent. If such a situation occurs again, you will be severely punished without leniency!"

"Thank you, General, for sparing my life!" Yin Shu kowtowed in gratitude like a woodpecker.

"Get up!" Ma Sanqiang turned and sat back in his chair. "Speak quickly, what is the current situation at Jinglian Temple?"

"According to reports from scouts, over a hundred ghosts have gathered at Jinglian Temple, including some third-rank Fierce Ghosts with considerable cultivation."

Ma Sanqiang frowned upon hearing this. "Over a hundred? Why would so many ghosts gather there?"

Yin Shu quickly replied, "Subordinate also finds this matter quite suspicious. It is currently under investigation."

Ma Sanqiang pondered for a moment. "Regardless, this Jinglian Temple must be eliminated as soon as possible."

"You are to immediately lead a squad to suppress the remnant cult forces that fled to Country B. If you encounter resistance, kill without mercy!"

"As for the matters of Jinglian Temple, This General will naturally hand them over to the Special Affairs Bureau and Vice General Niu to handle together. You do not need to continue tracking it."

"The brothers have been busy for so long; it's time for them to stretch their limbs."

"Yes, General!" After receiving his orders, Yin Shu immediately withdrew.

Ma Sanqiang leaned back in his chair, thinking to himself, "Yin Shu has both civil and military talent, yet he is infatuated with You Yu..."

"Yin Hong is calm and composed, with a meticulous mind. Yet he only loves Mengmeng..."

[Damn, no wonder it was so easy when I asked You Yu for his trusted generals back then.]

[Curse it! I was actually toyed with by You Yu.]

[No matter which one I chose, it played right into that kid's hands.]

Ma Sanqiang pulled a long face and scratched his head. "Your Majesty, I finally know now—having a bunch of unreliable Subordinates is truly a headache!"