Star Trace Gate

Zhao Mi sat behind the screen, listening to Ren Ye's questions, feeling quite surprised.

Because his question yesterday was: "Master Zhao, do you know how I lost my eyes?"

Zhao Mi replied: "You were born like this."

This question and answer was originally very simple, but today this kid actually asked again, "What was my question yesterday?" This action is somewhat intriguing.

What does he mean?

Did he already know what I experienced every day when I came to the Zhao Mansion for "an hour of quiet time"? And wanted to use this to threaten me and test me?

Haha, you’re quite brave.

Zhao Mi first imagined a big drama in his mind, and then stood up with a stern face, walked behind the screen with his hands behind his back, and said softly: "It seems that you are obsessed with the loss of your eyes."

Ren Ye was stunned when he heard this answer. He thought to himself, "Holy crap! Yesterday I asked about my missing eyeball? And so directly?! It seems I was really brave yesterday."

“You may not believe in fate, but you must never fail to see your own situation clearly.”

Zhao Mi stood behind the screen, hands behind his back, and spoke in a deep voice, "Wild beasts roam freely in this jungle. A tiger snatched up a piece of meat, and the surrounding wolves watched with envy, but dared not approach. But if it were a skinny stray dog, it would probably be killed before it could even take a single morsel of the meat."

"Even if other ferocious beasts just heard that the wild dog had meat in its mouth, they wouldn't miss the opportunity to fill their stomachs. They would first bite the wild dog to death. If there is meat, that's even better. If there is no meat, they will eat the dog instead."

"You were born without eyes. This is your fate. With your eyes missing, you have no potential or value in this illusory village. Furthermore, you are seriously ill. If I hadn't intervened and found a well-paying job for you and Tianwei, you would have been buried long ago. Even living is difficult; this is your situation."

"Even filling your stomach is hard enough, so why are you so obsessed with your eyes? Everyone here knows you, and they know you're a blind, seriously ill invalid, so they don't bother to pay attention to you... Why are you making a fuss and being that wild dog who's rumored to have meat in your mouth?"

"I've been asking around, searching so hard... I'm afraid that even though you haven't found it with your eyes, you'll still bring up the past, letting those greedy beasts outside think you've smelled the meat, or even secretly put it in your mouth... In the end, you won't get the meat, and you'll lose your life too."

Zhao Mi finished his words calmly, then waved his sleeves and said, "Come back tomorrow, but don't ask me the same question again."

"Yes, I will leave now."

Ren did not continue to dwell on the previous question, but just bowed humbly and solemnly.

He felt that what Zhao Mi had just said contained a great deal of information and needed to be analyzed word by word. However, this was clearly not the place to think about things, and he couldn't show any abnormality.

He even felt that the question he had just asked was a bit presumptuous, as the warning in Old Zhao's words was very clear. However, he was definitely valuable to him at the moment, so it wasn't a big problem.

After finishing his task quietly for an hour, Ren left Wudaolou and was picked up by Zhao Haochen at the door and walked out of the Zhao Mansion.

On the way back, Mr. Zhao was still elegant and talkative, and enthusiastically chatted with Ren about family matters.

Arriving at the back door of the Zhao residence, Ren also bowed and said softly, "Thank you, Master Zhao. I'll come again tomorrow."

"Ah."

Zhao Haochen raised his hand and a small medicine bottle appeared in his palm. "Reading ancient books is quite exhausting. This bottle of nourishing spirit pills can not only nourish your spirit, but also help you achieve enlightenment and concentration, better regulate the energy in your Dantian, and make you feel more comfortable."

Ren was slightly startled, and clasped his fists and said, "This...this is too expensive, right?!"

Zhao Haochen looked at him, his eyes revealing a hint of sympathy. He said softly, "It's not easy for you to come here every day. Take it."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao." Ren also showed a grateful look.

"You and I are of the same generation. We could have joined forces to conquer the Land of Li, but who could have imagined that fate would play such a trick on you, cutting off your chance? Sigh... But don't be discouraged. Among the past Lords of Illusion in my Illusion Village, there have also been those with congenital defects who have created many legends..." Zhao Haochen said in a gentle and comforting voice, "Blindness is not the end. It may even be a kind of opportunity and tribulation that others don't have. It depends on how you look at it."

"Thank you, Brother Zhao, for your comfort."

"If you want to learn more about the magic, you can come to my room after seeing your father every day. I have a rich collection in my room. You and I can have a drink and study together." Young Master Zhao invited warmly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Zhao. As long as I am not on official business, I will definitely make time to review it with you." Ren also responded casually.

"Walk slowly."

"You stay."

After chatting for a few words, the two parted at the back door of Zhao's house.

When Ren Ye returned home, he couldn't help but touch his abdomen with his hand. His expression was extremely complicated and his brain was boiling.

……

Less than half an hour after the Little Bad King left, another visitor came to the Zhao Mansion.

The visitor was about forty years old, of medium build and ordinary appearance, but he walked with dignity, his back straight, and his whole body was filled with a strong sense of rusticity.

He was the head of the Yin Family Pharmacy and the personal steward of Yin Hong, the head of the Yin Family. He held a high position in this small, isolated area of ​​Xuwang Village. Therefore, even when he entered the Zhao Mansion, he did not show too much flattery.

The inner court steward of the Zhao Mansion, the middle-aged man who had just met Zhao Mi and presented the case file of death row prisoner No. 79, personally met Yin Hong's chief steward and went with him all the way to the reception hall.

The two sat down together to drink tea and exchanged a few polite words.

Then, Yin Hong's chief steward spoke first, "Brother Huang, today is the day to pay the dues. I came here as soon as the main hall closed. Everything is here. Please have someone count it."

“Swish, swish…!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and waved, and five large boxes filled with tempting star sources appeared in the reception hall.

The Yin family is known as the fifth largest family in Xuwang Village, but they are later arrivals and have not been in this village for long.

As everyone knows, the competition in Xuwang Village is extremely fierce. Not only is it difficult to survive, but it is also very exclusive. Fortunately, the Yin family has a deep foundation. Although it is slightly inferior to the other four families, it still has the capital to gain a foothold here.

But these alone were not enough to allow the Yin Family Pharmacy to grow to this scale. Because the resources and structure of this place were already fixed, starting out became very difficult.

For example, the Yin family's vast alchemy academy was not something a newly arrived family like theirs could own. Therefore, in the early stages of their development, the Yin family frequently interacted with the Zhao family, and their humble attitude earned them some support.

But everyone knows that the people of Xuwang Village respect those extreme rules very much, and even regard them as beliefs. Therefore, even the Zhao family, the head of the four major families, supports the Yin family, which is allowed within the rules and is open and transparent.

To put it bluntly, they allocated some of the resources they could get to the Yin family and did not abuse public power for personal gain.

However, even the small amount of resources that the Zhao family managed to squeeze out was enough to allow the Yin family to expand their business. For example, their extensive alchemy center was originally rented to them by the Zhao family. Initially, the Yin family only built a three-story medicine shop in a small area in front, and then gradually expanded to its current size.

The Yin family had not only bought the land, but was also making a killing every day. Furthermore, many of the elders in the family had already broken free from their constraints, leading to the rumor that the Yin family was the fifth largest clan.

However, although the Yin family has become powerful, they still keep their promise and give 10% of the net profit of the pharmacy to the Zhao family every month. Moreover, the money they pay each time is genuine. Even if the people in the Zhao Mansion never send anyone to check, they will definitely not be short of a single cent.

Huang, the housekeeper of the Zhao residence, looked at the five large boxes on the ground and said with a smile, "Old You, you are just a reputation. Do you still need to check the small amount of fees you paid?!"

"Haha." Shopkeeper You smiled slightly smugly but did not respond.

After a moment of contemplation, Butler Huang took the initiative to say, "Old You, has there been any result on the matter that our two masters discussed last time?"

"I have discussed this matter with the master, but he feels that although the "Divine Scripture - Recipe for Repairing the Sky" is a treasure of the world and unparalleled in the world, it is not a complete thing. There are only about one-tenth of the fragments in existence. And the recipes recorded in it are also a bit too old to be verified, and the materials used are even more difficult to find. Therefore, the master feels that it is greedy and excessive to open a pharmacy with your Zhao family just for this fragment. Moreover, my master has traveled away from home twice and found the whereabouts of another fragment of Recipe for Repairing the Sky, so... he plans to wait until the next time the road to leave home is opened, collect the two fragments, and then discuss with your Zhao family about opening a pharmacy together." Shopkeeper You spoke in detail and replied very politely.

When Butler Huang heard this, he just smiled and said, "Haha, since Master Yin has considered it so carefully, there is no need to mention this matter anymore."

"The next road out of the village should not be opening far away, right?" Shopkeeper You smoothly changed the subject.

When these big men talk about things, they always decide their fate with just a few words. So, after waiting for Butler Huang's question and conveying Master Yin's intentions, Shopkeeper You found an excuse to leave.

After a while, Butler Huang sent Manager You away and came to Wudao Lu again.

After paying his respects, he solemnly reported, "Master Yin wasn't here today to pay the dues, but Old You, the shopkeeper in charge of his main hall, was here. After collecting the dues, I casually asked him about opening a joint pharmacy, but he found an excuse to decline, so I didn't say anything more."

Zhao Mi fell silent after hearing this.

"The Yin family relied on the Shendian Butianfang to make a fortune and become increasingly powerful. If they jointly opened a pharmacy, not only would they have to split the profits 50-50, but they would also have to make the Butianfang recipe public, so... I'm afraid Master Yin would not be willing to do that." Butler Huang added.

"Everyone protects their food, there's nothing to say about it." Zhao Mi said simply, "I'll keep the regular payment, but don't mention the joint drugstore. Just pretend it never happened."

"Yes, sir."

"Go ahead. I want to enter a state of meditation and enlightenment." Zhao Mi waved his hand.

After Butler Huang left, Zhao Mi sat cross-legged in the dimly lit Wudao Hut, carefully absorbing today's "harvest" and sighing softly, "Three Thousand Great Daos, each one different, truly incomparably mysterious..."

……

A penniless family.

Ren Ye sat in the living room, staring blankly at the police uniform he had just taken off and the bloodstains on his clothes, his brain still boiling.

What the hell did he do to me?!

Why is there blood on this uniform? Could it be that... that old man really fucked me and got the first blood in a rage?

The Little Bad King was indeed in a deep sleep and unconscious during the quiet hour, and had no idea what was happening outside, so now he could only guess, speculate, and reconstruct the scene at that time.

He frowned and curiously picked up the uniform. He lay down at the bloodstain and sniffed it like a wolfhound. "This...it's hard to tell if it's blood from behind. But it definitely doesn't smell like poop...!"