Answering Force with Words, the Law of the Land Weighs Heavy as a Mountain

At this command, the armored soldiers advanced with a whooshing sound, frightening the other diners into retreating and quickly surrounding Qiu Yan's table.

"General Zhao? What is this...?" The soldier sitting at the table was startled, jumped up from his seat, and quickly retreated, unable to help but ask, "Could this person be an imposter? Where is Wang Tou?"

"Whether it's an impersonation or not, we'll only know after they arrest him and interrogate him. As for Wang Su, he can no longer handle this matter." The one called General Zhao was the burly man with the thick beard. He glanced at the soldier, said this, and then ignored him.

These words enraged Hu Qi and Dai Guo.

"Outrageous! Before even clarifying the truth, you're already acting so unreasonably, trying to forcibly seize my young master!" Dai Guo jumped out, not making a move, but simply shouting, his voice booming like a bell, the sound waves causing the surrounding tables and chairs to shift slightly.

Upon seeing this, General Zhao's expression changed, turning grave. His mind raced. "Wang Su only mentioned that Qiu Yan's two servants possessed martial arts skills, but he didn't mention that one of them could already shake the heavens! This is troublesome; it might disrupt the Prince's plans."

He thought to himself, but didn't back down. Instead, he stepped forward, gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand, raised a token in the other, and shouted sternly, "We are the prince's personal guards, acting under orders. Are you trying to resist arrest? This is too suspicious! It seems you really are Huang Yan's accomplices! You are all traitors!" With his first words, he labeled Qiu Yan and the others.

The token in his hand was golden in color, with carved edges, and the word "Yan" written on it. People like Hu Qi and Dai Guo, who had refined the Three Souls and had sensitive Qi and sensitive perceptions, could clearly capture a trace of nobility lingering on the token.

Hu Qi silently stood in front of Qiu Yan, while Dai Guo stepped back slightly.

Even those of them who were uneducated knew this was no small matter. No matter how high their cultivation level, they couldn't possibly defy the law and the imperial court. Moreover, as servants of the Qiu Family, their every move affected their master's family. If they didn't handle it properly, they would immediately implicate Qiu Yan.

"We can't fight back, are we going to be forced to bow down to those in power?"

The two men suddenly felt constrained. Their anger only intensified, and they only restrained themselves out of consideration. However, their internal True Qi surged, and their power vibrated with their anger, combining to form an invisible force that radiated from their bodies and filled the surroundings, making General Zhao and his soldiers feel oppressed.

Meanwhile, Hu and Dai shifted their attention to Qiu Yan, wanting to see how he would react—whether he would temporarily avoid confrontation or confront him head-on.

General Zhao, under immense pressure, coldly stared at the three men, refusing to yield an inch, though his back was already drenched in cold sweat. In his mind's eye, the figures of Hu Qi and Dai Guo seemed to grow larger and larger, giving him a sense of towering strength. However, he kept the word "law" firmly on his lips, appearing dignified and righteous.

"Oh!"

Suddenly, laughter came from behind Hu Qi and Dai Guo.

The laughter came abruptly, like a bolt of lightning, breaking the oppressive atmosphere and allowing General Zhao to recover from the pressure. He said coldly, "What are you laughing at!"

He was saying this to Qiu Yan.

Then Qiu Yan walked out from behind Hu Qi with a smile, looked directly at General Zhao, his smile fading, and said, "I laugh at your arrogant words!"

"What did you say?" General Zhao was intimidated by the imposing presence of Hu Qi and Dai Guo, and had his concerns. However, he still bore the weight of the Prince's mansion. How could he allow a mere scholar to rebuke him? Even if this scholar was a top scholar in the provincial examination, he represented the face of the Prince's mansion and could not back down in the slightest. Otherwise, if word got out, he would be punished!

"You are a scholar, a mere licentiate, but you hold no official position. Do you dare disobey the Prince's orders? And even dare to speak words that defame the dignity of the Prince's residence?"

Qiu Yan shook his head and calmly said, "You keep talking about the law, but since they are Prince Yan's personal guards, they are his private army. According to the Great Rui Code, the local authorities responsible for arresting and apprehending people are the Commandant Office and the Patrol Inspectorate! Even the various departments in the Imperial City have no right to arrest people arbitrarily!"

He glanced at General Zhao, stepped forward, and said, "Since you are a member of the Prince's private army, you are certainly not a member of the two departments. What right do you have to arrest me?"

His step landed silently, yet it felt like a heavy hammer blow to General Zhao's heart, shattering one of his greatest assets.

This time, Qiu Yan used a trace of soul attack technique, combined with limb movements and muscle tremors, giving it the flavor of sonic power, and his words penetrated deep into the opponent's heart.

General Zhao, though not a transcendent being and not at the Soul Tempering Realm, is strong and robust, leading a troop of armored soldiers with surging Qi and Blood. Although Qiu Yan Half-Step Fusion the Three Souls Fusion Realm, he certainly cannot use his Nature Cultivation techniques in broad daylight, but he can use this kind of skill to deal with him.

"You..." General Zhao's expression shifted between light and dark. He subconsciously took a step back, his mind racing.

"How come this scholar is knowledgeable about the laws of our dynasty? Aren't the scholars of Great Rui supposed to be devoted to poetry and prose? Even now, when the Wang Gong are reforming the laws, they still focus on the classics. When did they start having people study the laws in detail?"

"Hmm?" Upon seeing this, Hu Qi and Dai Guo exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. The general in front of them was not very skilled, but he was determined. He could still stand firm under the pressure of the two of them, but he seemed to back down after Qiu Yan's words.

At this moment, the two of them suddenly remembered the scene when First Meeting Qiu Yan, and then they realized that this seemingly thin scholar was not as kind as he appeared. In some ways, he could be described as ruthless!

As expected, Qiu Yan forced General Zhao back a step, but did not stop speaking, continuing, "I have also heard about Eastern Capital events in the Eastern Capital, and know that there are rebels causing trouble, but such matters should be investigated by the Emperor through Council of State Affairs or the Privy Council..."

Qiu Yan stepped forward, his words flying like a machine gun, giving the other party no chance to breathe. "If the investigation is true, the Censorate Prison, the Dali Temple Prison Judicial Review, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Petition Drum Office Yamen Runners cooperating. What does it have to do with Prince Yan? And what does it have to do with your private army? Now that everything is unclear, you are overstepping your bounds. What are your intentions!"

He shouted his last words out, though he didn't say them aloud. Even Dai Guo could understand the meaning behind them. This was tantamount to accusing General Zhao and the Prince Yan behind him of having ulterior motives!

"What did you say?" General Zhao retreated repeatedly, his face changing drastically, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. The situation was completely unexpected. As the commander of the Prince's personal guards, he could intimidate people without even making a move when he spoke to them. Not to mention Xiucai and officials, even many officials dared not speak loudly in front of him. But now, facing Qiu Yan, he was shaken to his core by the other party's words, feeling a sense of foreboding, as if a mountain was slowly tilting and about to crush him.

Even so, he still stubbornly insisted. "Stop talking nonsense! Rebels Eastern Capital, and it is said that they are accompanied by Confucian scholars who have come from all directions and gathered in one place. We are acting on orders from above, and we are not arresting people arbitrarily!"

Qiu Yan, however, was relentless in his pursuit, seemingly oblivious to General Zhao's expression, and continued, "Ordered to arrest people? Absurd! Volume 28 of the Penal Code contains a specific Arrest and Fugitive Law, which never mentions that a prince's private troops could overstep their authority to arrest people. Even if there were rebellions, it wouldn't be the prince's place to worry about them. On the contrary, history is full of princes and dukes who, under the pretext of apprehending thieves, have disrupted the country and the state, such as the Prince of East Sea, the Prince Jingyang, and the Rebellion of the Nine Princes of the previous dynasty..."

Upon hearing this, General Zhao staggered back several steps, sweat pouring down his face.

"Amazing! Amazing! Absolutely amazing! What goes around comes around. Just now, this officer accused us of resisting arrest, and now you're implying he has ulterior motives! That mouth of yours is incredibly sharp; it's like turning the world upside down with a flick of your wrist! And, to someone's face, you can use classical allusions to insult them, and the other party can hardly refute you!"

Seeing this, Hu Qi and Dai Guo felt a strange sense of pleasure as they looked at General Zhao. In their younger days, they had wandered the world without a fixed abode. They were called chivalrous heroes, but in the eyes of the government, they were just vagrants and were never treated with respect. So when they saw the soldiers making trouble today, even though their cultivation was not what it used to be, they were still uneasy and secretly endured it.

Unexpectedly, the officer who was so dignified and represented the court in his eyes was rendered extremely embarrassed by Qiu Yan's few words. Moreover, judging from his appearance, it seemed that Qiu Yan had seen through him and stripped away his glamorous exterior.

"He truly is a scholar..."

The way the two looked at Qiu Yan changed.

"This guy has so many tricks up his sleeve. He can talk his way out of people, and his aura is even stronger than that of Life Cultivation. He's really too insidious..."

Qiu Yan, of course, had no idea what his two servants were thinking. He continued to righteously rebuke General Zhao, but his eyes swept around, carefully observing the expressions of the armored soldiers. He noticed that someone had left without making a sound, which stirred up a strange emotional fluctuation.

"Just as I suspected. It seems that the prince sent people to arrest me not because I was a rebel, but because he had other plans."

On the other side, General Zhao was in complete disarray, his official authority gone, and he even had a helpless expression. He wanted to resort to violence, but he was also mindful of Qiu Yan's reputation and the skills of Hu Qi and Dai Guo.

When a person is at the height of their popularity, they can turn black into white, but once they suffer a setback, their fortunes will decline and they will collapse completely.

Now, Qiu Yan is based on the law and has also used the methods of Soul Dao Life Cultivation. Combining these, his words strike straight to people's hearts. He also has the status of a scholar, so he speaks with confidence. Unless General Zhao can produce evidence of his crimes on the spot, his words are not legitimate and he has no way to defend himself.

However, just as General Zhao was struggling to cope and was somewhat embarrassed, two people suddenly walked in from outside. They were two men dressed in Confucian robes. One of them was about thirty years old, with a goatee and bright eyes, giving people a shrewd feeling.

The other was a thin scholar, with a fair complexion and no beard, slightly upturned eyes, and curved eyebrows. He was exceptionally handsome, holding a folding fan in his hand, and walked with an elegant and graceful air, like a refined young gentleman.

As soon as the two men stepped over the threshold, they were seen by General Zhao. The latter's expression changed drastically, and he tried to speak, but the man with the goatee waved him off. Then, the man cupped his hands in a respectful greeting to Qiu Yan and smiled—

"My name is Gongyang Yi, and I greet Young Master Qiu."