Chapter 397: Do You Still Have Any Shame?

"I want to know what exactly happened."

With one foot stepping on Cheng Moshu, Shen Yu looked toward Ma Mingchang, who remained in a state of agitation, his eyes full of inquiry.

At this moment, Cheng Moshu looked anxiously at Ma Mingchang, the threat in his eyes plain to see. He knew Ma Mingchang was a smart man who understood how to seek advantages and avoid harm.

Once some things were spoken of too loosely, Shen Yu might not necessarily be able to protect his whole family when the time came.

Yet Ma Mingchang straightened his clothes and bowed deeply to Shen Yu.

"Lord Shen, it is the members of the Baicao Sect from Qianchong Valley in Chengzhou; they are the ones who have controlled all of Chengzhou."

"Ma Mingchang, do you not want to live anymore, and have you even stopped caring about your own family!"

"Noisy!" With a forceful stomp of his foot, a 'crack' was heard; suddenly, Cheng Moshu's eyes nearly rolled back, and he spat out mouthfuls of blood.

If it weren't for Shen Yu holding back some strength, this single blow would have been enough to send him off.

"Bah, you dare to threaten me in front of Lord Shen? Who gave you the guts!"

After spitting at Cheng Moshu, Ma Mingchang continued, "Lord Shen may not know, but as early as a few months ago, the Baicao Sect had already controlled the entire Chengzhou."

"Not only the State Yamen from top to bottom, but even the Garrison, the Black-Clad Guards, the Capture Gate, and others within the Prefecture Government have already been controlled by them."

He sighed helplessly, recalling the events from before, and he still felt lingering fear even now. Fortunately, Lord Shen Yu had arrived, and he felt a bit more confident in his heart.

Otherwise, he would rather have continued to remain decadent. Only by preserving oneself first could there be any hope to speak of.

"Lord Shen, a few months ago, for some reason, the strength of the Martial Artists suddenly began to increase greatly, and riots broke out in the city. Even though this subordinate tried his best to suppress them, it was to no avail."

"In the end, while the major forces in the city were still competing, the people of the Baicao Sect suddenly arrived and suppressed all who refused to submit with absolute, overwhelming strength!"

"The experts in the city who dared to resist were all suppressed, and those who remained either went into hiding or surrendered to them."

Speaking up to this point, Ma Mingchang glanced at Cheng Moshu, who was being stepped on by Shen Yu, and then said coldly, "Cheng Moshu, who is under Lord Shen's foot, is one of them!"

"He was originally the commander of the Huwe in my residence, yet he was the first to see that the situation was bad and defected to the Baicao Sect. If it weren't for him, how could I have been so controlled by others!"

"The generals of the Prefecture Government Garrison were tricked out of the military camp by him and then controlled by the people of the Baicao Sect. Otherwise, how could the Baicao Sect have controlled the entire state city without a sound?"

"Cheng Moshu used his position to bully others; I don't know how many people he has harmed in these few months. My Lord, this person deserves to die!"

Saying this, Ma Mingchang glared fiercely at Cheng Moshu again; if it weren't for Shen Yu watching from the side, he would have wanted to go up and stomp on him a few times.

Come to think of it, he could be considered his own trusted aide; in the past, he also looked like a person who was righteous and fearless in the face of danger.

Who would have thought that as soon as he saw the situation was wrong, he was the first to kneel. He was also the one who volunteered to trick all the military officers out.

This is a villain through and through; he only hates himself for being blind before and not seeing it at all.

Betrayed by his own trusted aide, all of Ma Mingchang's weaknesses were exposed under the eyes of others, and naturally, he was easily manipulated.

The entire Chengzhou was also completely controlled by the people of the Baicao Sect within just a few days, and no news could be passed out.

And he could only hole up here. News of Chengzhou being ravaged like this outside reached him, but other than worrying in vain, he had no other way and could only drown his sorrows in alcohol every day.

"Lord Shen, the strength of the Baicao Sect people is too strong; any one of them taken out seems to be much more powerful than the experts in the city!"

"Even the experts in the Black-Clad Guards and the Capture Gate are no match for them and were easily taken down. If you want to deal with them, my Lord, you must plan carefully!"

"I have my own sense of proportion regarding these matters; continue!"

"Yes, my Lord!" Carefully glancing at Shen Yu, Ma Mingchang then continued, "After the Baicao Sect people controlled Chengzhou, it happened to rain heavily, but the river dikes were safe and sound at the time."

"Originally, after the rain cleared, everything would have been safe despite the danger. But they dug open the river dikes and let the floodwaters submerge villages and fertile fields; they left countless commoners displaced and starving on the streets!"

"This subordinate didn't know why they did this before, but recently I finally understood: they just wanted to make the commoners homeless and without food to eat."

"They wanted to force people into a dead end, and only in this way could they easily control everyone. What they paid was merely a little food."

"And only in this way, with just a little food, could they gather everyone in the entire Prefecture Government to the places they designated."

"In this way, they could calmly select the candidates they needed from among all the commoners of Chengzhou!"

Gritting his teeth, Ma Mingchang said in a low voice with his eyes splitting. Although he was trapped here and hadn't gone out to see the situation outside, he could guess a little.

Fertile fields destroyed, villages submerged, commoners with no food to eat and no house to live in—who knows how many people will die from hunger and cold.

Thinking about it, Chengzhou at this moment must already be a place where people trade children to eat, with corpses of the starved littering the fields!

At the thought of this, Ma Mingchang was heartbroken; the Chengzhou he had painstakingly managed had been ruined in just a few months!

"Lord Shen, the Baicao Sect's intentions are punishable; they must be plotting something, but this subordinate is trapped here and doesn't know much about these things, though Cheng Moshu must know at least something!"

"You want me to open my mouth? Dream on! I won't say anything."

Struggling to turn his head, Cheng Moshu simply closed his eyes, determined not to let anything slip.

He wanted to use what he knew to beg for a way to survive; of course, he had to bargain, so how could he open his mouth so easily.

"I know I am bound to die, so since I am bound to die, why should I speak!"

"And you, Lord Ma Mingchang, you don't need to act as if you are so benevolent and love the people; don't you know about your own dirty business? It's laughable that you are still deceiving yourself."

"If you, this Prefect, hadn't refused to cooperate to the death, how could they have controlled the entire Chengzhou so easily? By relying on me, a mere Huwe commander?"

"You!" Glaring at Cheng Moshu with hatred, Ma Mingchang then said loudly, "My Lord, this subordinate is indeed guilty, guilty beyond redemption!"

"Of course you are guilty; countless commoners have died, why are you, this Prefect, still alive!"

"Cheng Moshu, you!"

"Enough, I am not here to listen to you two bickering; I already know what I need to know!"

With a forceful stomp of his foot, Cheng Moshu, who had still been thinking of bargaining, was immediately crushed to death; until the very end, Cheng Moshu did not react in time.

He did not understand why Shen Yu dared to kill him; did he not want to know the things he knew?

Perhaps Cheng Moshu would never know that there are people capable of viewing others' memories. He knew even less that upon seeing the memories in his mind, Shen Yu had already formed the intent to kill.

Ma Mingchang was quite right; this person indeed deserved to die. He was a treacherous villain, and the kind who would commit all kinds of evil the moment he grasped a bit of power.

Having killed Cheng Moshu as if crushing an ant, Shen Yu then looked deeply at Ma Mingchang and said indifferently, "Lord Ma, you should take care of yourself as well!"

"This, this..." Panicked, he retreated two steps, and Ma Mingchang collapsed helplessly onto the ground.

Who was Shen Yu? That went without saying; his reputation for killing like hemp was already famous in official circles. Although his own actions were all forced, dying ten times would not be too much.

Some sins cannot be erased by a single phrase of being forced by circumstances.

"Husband, are you alright!" Seeing Ma Mingchang in such a state, Madam Ma immediately stepped forward, wanting to help Ma Mingchang up, but she was stopped by him.

"Madam, since Lord Shen has come, then Chengzhou is saved, and I no longer need to worry about your safety!"

"I am incompetent; above, I cannot protect the common people, and below, I cannot keep my family safe. Madam, in the future, find someone who can truly cherish you and marry him!"

As he spoke, Ma Mingchang knelt down in the direction of Shen Yu, while one hand pulled a dagger from his bosom.

"My Lord, this subordinate is guilty!"

"Husband, what are you trying to do, husband!"