Still Breaking a Prisoner Out

"Come, come, Jinghong, sit here and tell me about your experiences these past few years. It's been eight or nine years since we last met."

The old general warmly invited Yan Jinghong to sit down, leaving Su Yingbo aside. However, Su Yingbo didn't stand on ceremony and found a seat for herself, while casually rummaging through the cabinet looking for tea.

Yan Jinghong apologized, saying, "I've been too busy these past few years and haven't had time to visit you. I hope you'll forgive me, senior."

"A good man should have ambitions beyond his hometown and be diligent in his career. If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old. If you're not busy when you're young, are you going to wait until you're too old to be busy?"

The old general touched hands with Yan Jinghong and praised, "Your cultivation is far superior to what it was eight years ago. You have lived up to your reputation. It seems that you haven't neglected your cultivation while busy with official duties. That's truly remarkable."

The old general was not Spirit Transformation; the difference in cultivation level was too great to be discerned by mere observation. One had to engage in combat to understand Yan Jinghong's true cultivation level, even though he had taught a Spirit Transformation disciple.

Then he looked at Su Yingbo with an expression of utter despair and said, "Unlike some people, whose ambitions have been worn down by the allure of pleasure, who only think about romance and idleness, their skills have regressed instead of improved, and they have wasted their title of Spirit Transformation."

Su Yingbo was already used to similar complaints and didn't take them to heart. He laughed it off, saying, "Master, everyone has their own ambitions, so don't force me. It's not like I haven't tried. It's just that some people are wholeheartedly devoted to their careers, with lofty goals and tireless struggle, destined for a life of toil. Others are content with modest wealth, enjoying life after achieving their goals, their minds filled only with romance and no longer possessing any ambition."

The old general was so angry that he glared and his beard bristled. "You unambitious wretch, how dare you be so unreasonable! Look at Yan Jinghong, a junior who achieved the Nascent Spirit Transformation even later than you, yet now he is not only more famous than you, but also stronger. Don't you feel ashamed?"

"Everyone has different pursuits, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. Brother Yan has the world in his heart, is unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness, and is determined to fight for the cause of peace for all mankind. As for me, I don't have that kind of magnanimity; my heart can't hold so many people. I only want to protect the people around me, and I can't care about anything else."

Su Yingbo glanced at his wife, a tender expression on his face.

The old general sighed and shook his head, saying, "Forget it, I can't be bothered with you anymore. You won't listen anyway. How many more months until your child is born?"

"We're only halfway through; there are still five months to go."

Suddenly, Ai Qing showed a pained expression, ran to the sink, pressed her chest, and vomited. Su Yingbo rushed over and channeled his True Qi into her to calm her down.

The old general said, "I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're a Spirit Transformation, can't you teach your wife martial arts? Look how weak she is, giving birth would be quite risky for her."

Ai Qing defended her husband, saying, "Senior, it's my fault for not wanting to learn."

"It's okay if you don't want to learn martial arts; there are plenty of people in the world who hate practicing martial arts. But you can practice Internal Cultivation. If you had level six Internal Cultivation, you wouldn't be feeling so uncomfortable now. Even if you don't have the talent for cultivation, with a Spirit Transformation guiding you every day, reaching level eight Internal Cultivation isn't difficult."

Su Yingbo said, "Ai Qing doesn't want to learn martial arts, then don't make things difficult for her. Anyway, I'm here. At worst, I'll just transfer my Internal Cultivation to her every day. There won't be any danger."

"You!" The old general shook his head helplessly, "Sometimes spoiling someone too much isn't necessarily a good thing; it's the same principle as overindulging a child."

The group chatted for a while longer, mainly Yan Jinghong recounting his more interesting experiences over the years, such as hunting down super criminals and single-handedly intercepting a demon tide.

In contrast, Su Yingbo, the Imperial Army, had almost nothing to boast about. After all, it was a time of peace, and there was no need for him to serve as a palace bodyguard. In his earlier years, he often sparred with Spirit Transformation Grandmaster and occasionally fought against Spirit Transformation experts from Nation of Valor. However, since marrying his wife, he had completely fallen into a life of domestic bliss, spending his days revolving around his family and no longer caring about anything else or doing anything dangerous.

After lunch, Yan Jinghong was about to take her leave when suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

You can't go in.

Get out of the way!

The door was suddenly pushed open, and a group of men in white military uniforms rushed in. The man in the lead took out a piece of paper stamped with the red seal of the imperial seal and said to the old general, "General Wang, it has been discovered that you disobeyed military orders and mobilized troops without authorization half a month ago. This is a special arrest warrant approved by His Majesty. Please come with us."

Su Yingbo frowned. "Do you know where you are? Do you even know what you're doing?"

Although he was very easygoing and his sharpness had been dulled by a long period of comfortable life, his cultivation at the Spirit Transformation level was not fake. Once his aura was released, it was like a dragon emerging from the sea, with a raging tide pushing forward, making the faces of those guys in white military uniforms turn pale.

"Commander Su, His Majesty has already agreed to this matter, so please don't make things difficult for us?"

"Give me the arrest warrant. I'm going to discuss this with His Majesty. No one is allowed to take him away until I return!"

Su Yingbo stood up to make a move, but was stopped by the old general. "Yingbo, stop! Don't break the law. You are the Imperial Army. How can you lead the way in violating discipline? If you can't even obey orders, who can trust you to be their bodyguard?"

He stood up, took the arrest warrant, and after confirming it, said, "I knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to be today. Although I don't regret sending troops to provide disaster relief, it was indeed a violation of military discipline, and I voluntarily accept the punishment." These words were mostly addressed to Su Yingbo, warning him not to act impulsively.

The old general straightened his clothes, making sure they were perfectly straight without a single wrinkle, and then left with the group.

Yan Jinghong asked in confusion, "What exactly happened? Why was Senior Wang arrested?"

"I don't know either. I haven't paid attention to the affairs of other armies besides the Imperial Army for a long time... No, I'll find someone to inquire about it now."

"I'll go with you."

"In other words, a major earthquake occurred in a neighboring state half a month ago, which happened to be the area under the command of this old general. So, without receiving instructions from his superiors, he sent his soldiers to the disaster area for relief, violating military discipline, and now he will be held accountable."

Si Ming had just returned with the inspection results of the imperial tombs and hadn't even had a chance to explain them when he heard this news from Yan Jinghong.

As citizens of the Celestial Empire, many people may not understand this matter. Isn't it normal to send troops to provide disaster relief? It's not just earthquakes; we should also go to the rescue during floods, and do so without regard for our own safety, risking our lives to protect the safety of the people.

Unfortunately, only the People's Liberation Army in the world would actually do this. No other country's army has the responsibility for disaster relief; on the contrary, their responsibility in going to disaster areas is not to protect the people, but to suppress them and prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to start a riot.

Unauthorized troop mobilization is undoubtedly a serious violation of military discipline and a breach of the emperor's most sensitive taboo. It cannot be easily let off the hook. Compared with the safety of the people in the disaster area, the control of the army is of course more important.

"While it won't be a death sentence or life imprisonment, I'm afraid I'll have to spend more than ten years in prison. The Second Prince sent someone to contact my friend Su Yingbo, demanding his public support before he'll help." Yan Jinghong was quite troubled by this and didn't know what to do.

Si Ming thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we just go and break them out of prison?"

Chapter 489 Still a Prison Break

Yan Jinghong naturally disagreed with Si Ming's bold proposal. The case was still unresolved and there was room for maneuver. There was no need to resort to such drastic measures. If their identities were exposed during the prison break, although they could simply walk away without worrying about their personal safety, they would forget about completing the mission, not to mention the negative political repercussions.

Old General Wang is, after all, an East-Pacifying General Guards the East, holding the Subordinate Fourth Rank. He has many comrades-in-arms who can speak with him, as well as a disciple at the Spirit Transformation stage. It's not impossible for him to clear his name and receive a lighter sentence.

Judging from the order of the rescue, although Yan Jinghong had received guidance from him and they had a master-disciple relationship, and he was willing to go through fire and water for him, it was indeed not his turn, as a foreigner without a master-disciple relationship, to make decisions on his own and make things unmanageable.

However, this hope was dashed seven days later.

"The first instance verdict has been handed down: deprivation of political rights for life and life imprisonment. Why was the trial so quick? And the sentence is too harsh. Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to get a death sentence or life imprisonment?"

Upon hearing the news, Yan Jinghong specifically checked the date to confirm that she had not traveled through time; indeed, only seven days had passed, not seven months.