Star Trace Gate

The second day after entering the illusory village.

A ray of warm sunlight penetrated the curtains and reflected on half of the Little Bad King's face. He opened his empty eyes drowsily, habitually wanting to take a look at his surroundings, but suddenly remembered that he was blind.

Immediately afterwards, a cold voice of heaven's proclamation suddenly rang in his ears.

[I regret to inform you that you seem to have forgotten something important yesterday. Your behavioral compatibility score has been reduced by -10, leaving you with 69 points. If you forget again tomorrow, the penalty will be increased.]

[Message from the Heavenly Dao: Your journey through the Heavenly Entry Secret Realm was truly utterly awful. You truly look like an idiot.]

"Fuck, I got deducted ten points this early in the morning?!"

Ren was also confused. He sat on the bed with a dull expression, scratching his head and saying, "Did I forget something important?! I performed very well yesterday. I took down three Hades Beasts in one day and deduced Zhao Mi's motives... You call me an idiot?! What evidence do you have...!"

He really couldn't understand it and was so angry that his mouth was drooling.

The Little Bad King carefully recalled yesterday's experience and confirmed again that he had not forgotten any important tasks and had done everything he could.

But this declaration from heaven is definitely not "targeted" without reason, so what exactly went wrong?

He sat on the bed and thought for five minutes, but still couldn't figure out which link had gone wrong.

"Breakfast."

Aunt Tianwei's lazy and pleasant voice rang out in the living room.

"Let's think about it after we go to the Heavenly Prison. Damn, the way of heaven in this secret realm of Xuhuang Village is really cruel and sinister. Apart from the main tasks, there are traps everywhere..." After Ren Ye complained in his heart, he got up and went to the living room.

Aunt Tianwei was as beautiful as ever. Even though she was only wearing a coarse Taoist robe that had been washed white, it was still difficult to conceal the charm of a mature woman and her curvy figure.

However, she still looked very tired, and her delicate face was also tinged with a sickly paleness.

Ren Ye walked over to the dining table and sat down, then asked, as if possessed by a strange force: "Aunt, isn't controlling the fire too tiring tonight? If you feel it's too much, you can control fewer furnaces. Yin Ping gave me an excellent performance review yesterday. If nothing unexpected happens, my salary will increase next month."

From the perspective of the Little Bad King, he had only met this "Fairy Aunt" twice, and had no real feelings for her. But perhaps because of his "narrative memory" or the invisible influence of the heavens, he felt a strong sense of closeness towards this aunt.

Every time I see her, I feel like I'm facing a close relative, so I subconsciously care about her.

My aunt filled two bowls of porridge and boiled four eggs, then gracefully placed them on the table. She said simply, "Nothing. I can handle the current task. Let's eat."

"Oh."

Ren also knew that she was very frugal with words, so he didn't try to persuade her any further. He just peeled an egg and asked, "Auntie, when I came back yesterday, you were already on duty. Why did you leave so early?"

My aunt looked at the bland porridge and the tasteless eggs on the table and couldn't help but reveal a hint of disdain. But to satisfy her hunger, she drank slowly and attentively. "Yesterday, the Yin family publicly beat an alchemist to death. They were shorthanded when they were preparing the ingredients that evening, so they asked me to help out. This is a good thing, as I might be able to get involved in preparing medicine in the future, which would earn me more money."

Ren was slightly taken aback, then followed up with a question: "He killed an alchemist? Why did that happen?"

"That alchemist was in charge of preparing precious elixirs. She picked up two wrong auxiliary ingredients, and the recipe was too different from the ancient elixir formula. But she was quite experienced, so she wouldn't have noticed anything. But yesterday, the elder of the Yin family came to inspect the hall, checked it briefly, and noticed something unusual... So, in a rage, he dragged the alchemist out to the street and beat her to death in front of everyone." Aunt narrated casually.

After listening to his aunt's story, Ren Ye broke out in a cold sweat and his hair stood on end, because he suddenly remembered the conspiracy that a great wise man had come up with yesterday.

He was curious and frowned, "Just because he gave the wrong two auxiliary herbs, he beat someone to death? And in public?! This... this is lawless?"

"Hey, is this your first day in Xuhuang Village?" Auntie sneered. "After reaching the third rank, the weak in the village are no longer protected by the law. Forget about a single Dan slave, even someone from the Law Hall or the Punishment Hall. If they upset the Master or arouse his greed... they'd be no more than an ant to be crushed to death."

"When the alchemist was beaten to death, the people in the Punishment Hall stood on Factory Street and watched coldly, saying nothing."

When Ren heard this, he also remembered the extreme rules of this illusory village, and then he was speechless.

"Under normal circumstances, even if this alchemist made the mistake in prescribing the wrong auxiliary herb, the Yin family wouldn't be so enraged that they would have her executed. After all, she's a skilled craftsman, and training her is quite challenging." Auntie added softly, "But now is an extraordinary time. Everyone in Xuwang Village knows that the competition between the Yin Family Pharmacy and the Li Family Alchemy Academy... has reached a point of life and death. Therefore, her mistake in prescribing the wrong auxiliary herb has touched the Yin Family's most sensitive nerve."

"The Yin family will think she was bribed and did it on purpose, so we have to beat her to death on the street, letting the Li family and those servants with ulterior motives watch, to serve as a warning to others."

"...!"

This sentence made Ren even more frightened, and he also silently praised himself for his wit yesterday.

In the morning, after the aunt and niece had breakfast together, Ren changed into his police uniform again, took the black knife, and left home.

Before leaving, he did not notice that Aunt Tianwei had glanced at the collar of his uniform and saw traces of wrinkles from washing, but she said nothing and just went back to her room to rest silently.

Ren Ye washed his police uniform himself after dinner last night, so the ten points deducted from his behavior score this morning were definitely not for this reason.

……

After leaving the house, Ren Ye rushed to the Sky Prison with ease.

When passing by Xuwang Street, he sensed that the gate of Li's Danyuan was full of clan members, all holding signs saying that the magic pills and immortal pills were on sale at 40% off, as if they were doing a sales promotion at a loss.

However, after taking a look, Ren Ye felt that this promotional tactic was not very effective. The pharmacy in the main hall of the Li family was still deserted, while the Yin family's pharmacy was bustling with people and traffic.

It seems the Li family has been severely squeezed by the Yin family, and it looks like they're on the verge of bankruptcy. However, there's nothing that can be done. Pills are extremely important to cultivators, and they're also highly consumed items. The core of alchemy is secrecy, specialness, and uniqueness, so the recipe is paramount.

The Yin family had the "Divine Canon - Remedying the Sky Recipe", which contained ancient recipes that had been lost, so they were naturally advantaged and their business was booming.

As Little Bad Wang walked down the long street, he took a special look and found that his half-friend Li Xiaopang was also holding a promotional sign to attract customers.

However, he did not intend to have any communication with the other party. He just wanted to avoid him temporarily and go to work first.

Who would have thought that when Fatty Li was looking around, he happened to see Ren Ye and shouted, "Hey, brother, brother...!"

Ren didn't want to pay attention to him, so he just pretended not to hear and continued walking quickly.

Fatty Li refused to give in. He rushed across the long street holding a promotional sign and nimbly blocked Ren Ye's way. "Damn it! I called you, didn't you hear me?!"

"Hey, Brother Li?!"

Ren also pretended to be surprised and laughed, "Haha, I don't know what happened these past two days, but my ears have started to go deaf."

"Hmph, you don't think I'm a plague god and are deliberately avoiding me, do you?" Fat Li asked back cleverly.

"How could that be!" Ren Ye was very quick-witted and said with high emotional intelligence, "I know what you want me to do. Don't worry, you are my only brother in this illusory village. Your business is my business. Even if there is a risk of being beheaded, as long as you open your mouth, I will definitely do my best!"

Fatty Li was slightly startled: "You...!"

"I've already discussed the matter you told me yesterday with my aunt. After hearing it, she flatly refused and angrily scolded me... But I knelt down in front of her. I told her clearly that Brother Li is my lifelong friend and a childhood friend. He's opened his mouth, and I absolutely cannot shut it back. If you don't agree, I'll cut off my ears tomorrow. If you still don't agree the day after tomorrow, I'll pick my own kidneys..."

"Auntie was terrified, and her attitude is not as resolute as it was at the beginning. Don't worry, brother, this matter has been resolved. Just wait for my news. The aphrodisiac powder that your family has used for generations will definitely continue to explode in the Yin family's alchemy furnace...!"

The Little Bad King has rich expressions and his tone is full of righteous brotherhood. He speaks as if these things really happened, and he has a strong sense of personal belief.

But why would he say that?!

Because the moment he saw Li Xiaopang, he knew what he was looking for. Yesterday, something happened at the Yin family, and an alchemist was beaten to death. That was enough to show how foolish and childish Li Xiaopang's plan was.

Sure enough, after hearing Ren Ye's words, a hint of warmth and a complex expression of guilt appeared on Li Xiaopang's cheeks.

"Ugh."

He sighed deeply and asked, "Did you really say that to your aunt?"

"Why would I lie to you?! I'm about to pick my own waist, and you won't back out, right?" Ren Ye raised an eyebrow and asked.

"It wasn't me who backed out, but my second uncle thought I was backing out and beat me up," said Fatty Li with a resentful look. "It's fucking amazing! When the Yin family had an accident yesterday, my second uncle immediately suspected me of being the culprit. He thought it was incredibly stupid and idiotic... so he called me in for questioning. Of course, I couldn't admit it. Then, he secretly counted the treasure trove and discovered... that there was less love pollen. Then, upon asking, he found out that I was the only person who had recently entered the trove...!"

"Damn it! When this result came out, the elders of the family all beat me up, saying I broke the rules."

Li Xiaopang's eyes were filled with tears. "But I only attempted it! Before I could even do anything, this shit was already being thrown at me."

As he spoke, he took off an exquisite antique mirror from his waist, looked at his chubby cheeks, and said through gritted teeth, "Look at the beating they gave me. My peerless handsomeness...has added a bit of unnecessary vicissitudes."

Ren Ye heard this and couldn't help but laugh in his heart: "Wise people all have to go through hardships."

"Don't bother with this anymore. Those old guys are too ruthless." Fatty Li put away the exquisite ancient mirror and said softly, "I'm officially informing you that the discussion we had yesterday is off. I'll give you the love pollen, and we'll just pretend it never happened."

"Ah? You're quitting?!" Ren had already guessed the outcome, but he revealed a look of surprise: "Brother, look at the fuss this has caused. What if you had told me a few days later and I'd gotten my kidneys scratched... wouldn't that have been all for nothing?"

"That alchemist was beaten to death, and the Yin family suspects us of the crime. If we continue now, wouldn't that be like walking into a trap?! What's more... my second uncle's harsh words are too sharp... I really can't take it anymore." Fatty Li waved his hand: "Forget it, forget it. My Li family... is already preparing for a decisive battle with the Yin family, so there's no need for me."