CHAPTER 207: CHAPTER 122: THE PRICE OF ESCAPE

Simon had been locked up in detention for two or three days now. A single cup of water a day, no boxed meals, just endless questioning and relentless coercion to give in.

Having been mixed up in such situations for so long, this wasn’t Simon’s first time in detention. They’d asked all their questions, administered their beatings; his left arm was broken and the muscles in his thigh were strained. No matter how they tormented him, he just grinned and bore it, neither admitting nor confessing. As long as he didn’t sign those pieces of "evidence," the cops were at a loss with him.

If it hadn’t been for the abolition of the death penalty in Hua Country in 2050, the police in Bazhou City would’ve executed Simon on the spot long ago.

"Simon, you’re free to go," said the officer who, just the night before, had been pressing him to sign.

"What kind of trick is Captain Cai trying to play now?" Simon didn’t dare to believe that Cai Yang and his group would let him off so easily. It was strange to Simon that Cai Yang hadn’t personally taken part in the interrogation this time, and that the methods used by the police station were far "gentler" than before.

"Trick? Cai Yang is now incapacitated both in his person and his job, still in the hospital – what game can he play?" From early morning, Bazhou Police Station had received calls from several witnesses who had previously testified, now changing their stories, claiming they hadn’t seen clearly who was the one that crippled Cai Hai. Additionally, several small-time hooligans came forward to take the fall for the cases previously attributed to Simon.

Captain Cai Yang himself, who had been adamant about bringing Simon to justice, was dismissed from his job and the special police force for dereliction of duty and improper conduct.

The situation had changed so fast in just a few days that even the seasoned cops, accustomed to all manner of police corruption, couldn’t explain what had happened.

That morning, another lawyer came to post bail for Simon, with all the paperwork duly processed.

Stepping out of the police station, Simon found his legs and arms still uncooperative. After a few days in the detention cell, he was disoriented by the piercing sunlight, squinting, he saw not far away, the mother and two daughters of the Xia Family standing beside a car.

A man Simon had never seen before was chatting and laughing with Xia You. It dawned on him that it wasn’t just a stroke of good fortune for him, nor was it particularly bad luck for Cai Yang. Everything, everything was because of his good sister, Xia You.

Minghang was in excellent spirits, so much so that even after dropping off the Xia’s Family Member, his good mood continued. Even on the way to see Marshal Ren Bonian with a bag of fruit, he couldn’t wipe the silly smile off his face.

Hua Country’s once illustrious Marshal, Ren Bonian, was waiting for his most beloved grandson, peeling an apple he’d been working on for nearly five minutes - an apple that was almost down to the core.

"Minghang, I heard from your brother that you’ve agreed to work at the President’s Staff Office?" Marshal Ren decided to interrupt his grandson’s silly grinning.

"Yes, I’ve made up my mind," Minghang glanced at the apple in his hand, his face reddened slightly, and he tossed it straight into the trash. He then took another and started peeling again.

"Made up your mind about what? When you gave up the Political Science Institute for Longzhi, didn’t you resolve not to get involved in either the military or political spheres?" Marshal Ren, being from a military background, was somewhat dissatisfied that none of his grandsons chose to follow in his footsteps.

"I should be a man and have my own career," Minghang’s apple was once again a sorry sight.

"Be a man? Who dares to say that Marshal Ren’s grandson isn’t manly?" Marshal Ren was irate.

"Grandpa, don’t get worked up, Xiao You didn’t say I wasn’t manly," Minghang passed the mutilated apple to his grandfather, hastily explaining.

"Xiao You? A woman – bring her here tomorrow for me to see," Marshal Ren brightened up the moment he heard, his previous anger fizzling out like an open beer. His little grandson had finally come around. Speaking of which, both of his grandsons were from good families, and first-rate in character and appearance. The older one worked at the President’s Staff, mingling every day with all those old foxes, and in the end, he snagged a yin yang strange qi mother fox. The younger one, honest and straightforward, ought to find a pure and virtuous girl. However, in the twenty-some years of Minghang’s life, the times he mentioned girls could be counted on one hand.

"Grandpa, what are you talking about? We haven’t even come to that point yet," Minghang was also surprised that Xia You would call to ask for help, so he spared no effort to resolve the issue quietly without alarming his parents, entrusting his older brother to take care of it discreetly.