Star Trace Gate

Sun Qingxue followed her father's instructions and specially invited Ren Ye and his nephew to a dinner at her home the next day. However, she was afraid that Tian Xiao's aunt would hide from the Sun family, so she came so late.

Inside the carriage, Shan'er, the personal maid, listened to the young lady's words and immediately frowned. She advised kindly, "Miss, this slum where the stray dogs live is poor and dilapidated. The roads are muddy and difficult to walk on, and the places are narrow and cramped. I'd better have the coachman drive the carriage inside. You can get off when we reach the Huang family's gate to avoid dirtying your embroidered shoes."

"Since you've come to invite someone, you should be sincere. Driving a carriage to someone's doorstep and showing off is a bit impolite." Sun Qingxue frowned and waved her hand. "It's not far, let's just walk over. You can have the driver stop by the long street."

"Alas, this Huang aunt and niece, one is a cripple and good-for-nothing, the other a fire-controlling servant who's been kicked out. I can't understand why the master insisted on inviting them to a banquet at our Sun family?! And he even asked you to invite them personally. This is really giving them too much face." Shan'er was about 26 or 27 years old. Although she had delicate features, she had a mean look on her face. Her words were full of complaints on behalf of her master. "The most important thing is, they didn't even want the face they gave them. An invitation wasn't enough, but they asked you to come in person. They really don't know what's good for them."

As he spoke, Shan'er lifted the carriage curtain and jumped out first, raising his arm to support him. "Slow down, and watch your step. It's pitch black in here, and there might even be filthy rats."

"Don't say that," Sun Qingxue said, cautiously taking lotus steps, and spoke to stop them. "During the last days of the old master, without the Huang family, there would be no Xuwang Village today. This place still exists, and you and I are still alive, thanks to the Huang family's lingering protection during the old master's time. Although they have fallen on hard times now, they still deserve respect. Even though little brother Huang has lost his eyes and is seriously ill, with no future, the four clan leaders, including my father, unanimously agreed to promote him to the position of Heavenly Prison Warden, giving him a respectable job to support his family, and no one in the village objected... This is the blessings and prestige accumulated by their ancestors. Although it was so long ago, the people here still remember it."

"My lady, you are so kindhearted, so tolerant of everyone." Shan'er seized the opportunity and followed the conversation to praise the young lady, but she looked down on the Huang family from the bottom of her heart. Because Xuwang Village admires the strong, no matter how glorious your family was in the past, as long as the descendants of this generation are useless and stray dogs, they are destined to be despised and will never receive true "respect."

The master and servant got out of the car and walked towards the dim and narrow alley with one foot deep and one foot shallow under the soft moonlight.

As soon as you enter, you are hit by a complex stench mixed with dry toilets, garbage, livestock feces, and rotten filth.

Shan'er looked disgusted, raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Is this really a place where people live?"

A third-rank official at the prime minister's door, she was only a maidservant and guard, but she followed the eldest daughter of the Sun family, and she was of outstanding character, having even traveled away from her hometown twice. This was equivalent to being the most popular eunuch at the emperor's side, and one with a very high level of cultivation.

She doesn't usually act like a boss in the Sun family compound, but she is the supreme being among the servants. She is used to a life of luxury, so naturally she has a strong sense of superiority.

"It stinks so badly, it's unbearable." Shan'er pulled a handkerchief from her lapel and quickly handed it to the young lady, saying, "It's like stepping into a cesspool full of maggots... Miss, cover yourself with the handkerchief. I'll prepare some bathing supplies for you when we get back."

"Life is already difficult for people here, so stop being sarcastic." Sun Qingxue was annoyed by her nagging. She frowned and scolded her before reaching out to take the handkerchief she handed over.

The strong stench produced by this harsh living environment made both the master and the servant tacitly choose to keep their mouths shut, as if they would inhale something unclean if they said one more word.

They walked cautiously and soon entered the depths of the alley, less than a hundred steps away from the Huang family...

……

In the jade pendant illusion, the black-clothed man named Lin Er suddenly frowned and muttered subconsciously, "Someone is coming. It's two women...!"

Wizard Peng Yuan was slightly startled and said softly, "It's okay. If they enter the illusion, I will use my secret technique to make them fall asleep."

"No, they seem to be going to the little blind man's house." Lin Er's expression gradually became solemn: "And...!"

"And what?!" Peng Yuan's face became serious when he heard that the other party was going to the little blind man's house.

Lin Er hid in the illusion, carefully radiating his perception, and faintly glimpsed Sun Qingxue's true appearance: "That's right... It's the Sun family's eldest daughter, Sun Qingxue!"

"What is the eldest daughter of the Sun family doing here when she has nothing to do?!" Peng Yuan was also confused.

"Who knows?" Lin Er's face suddenly changed. He said solemnly, "Sun Qingxue has left her hometown three times. She is the most outstanding genius of this generation of the Sun family! She is definitely not easy to deal with. If you get any closer, you will definitely discover this illusory place. No, I have to inform my eldest brother...!"

Faced with such an unexpected situation, Wizard Peng Yuan also became nervous and agreed: "Yes, let's inform Big Brother quickly."

"Ong!"

Lin Er raised his right arm slightly, using his breath to entice the jade pendant suspended in mid-air, and then transmitted a message: "Brother Yu, someone has entered the alley from outside. It's Sun Qingxue, the eldest daughter of the Sun family. She's brought a maid with her, and she should be going to the blind man's house... She's already very close, what should we do?"

In Xiaopo's house, a strong man who was commissioned by a mysterious person to frame Ren Ye was standing at Aunt Tianwei's door to investigate.

He originally felt very lucky because Tian Wei was not at home tonight. The sudden absence of one person naturally reduced the risk of them being discovered to a greater extent. So, he was about to hide the false evidence and then leave quietly.

But at this moment, after hearing Lin Er's voice transmission, he suddenly froze in place and cursed subconsciously: "Damn it, how unlucky! The eldest daughter of the Sun family didn't come earlier or later, but at this time!"

"She's getting closer!" Lin Er reminded again.

"Can we hide and leave quietly?" Brother Yu immediately asked in a voice transmission.

"No, she...she has discovered the illusion." Lin Er shook his head with his heart pounding.

Spicy balls!

Brother Yu, a burly man, felt sweat break out on his forehead upon hearing Lin Er's reply. He stood in front of Aunt Tianwei's door, his mind racing.

Sun Michen was the ruler of the Dharma Hall. If Sun Qingxue discovered tonight's plot, it would undoubtedly affect the mysterious benefactor's plans, and the clan hall would know about it by tomorrow morning. Hiding the false evidence "shoes" was useless now. Since the other party had already discovered the existence of the illusion, they knew that a stranger had intruded, targeting the blind man's family.

In this case, even if Brother Yu left behind the false shoes, they cannot be used as evidence, because Sun Qingxue can fully prove that an outsider sneaked into the Huang family tonight.

Damn, it's really unlucky...

Brother Yu quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind, and then decisively replied: "We can't put the shoes away. It's useless to put them away. We have to go...!"

"But she's already discovered the illusion," Lin Er emphasized. "If we leave now, she might sense something's wrong and quickly raise her aura, attracting the attention of the patrol officers. Then we'll definitely not be able to escape."

"Cover their faces, mask their auras, and force Sun Qingxue and her maid into a fantasy world to isolate them from the aura of their fight. Then... Lin Er and I will subdue them, while Peng Yuan uses sorcery to force them into a deep sleep. This way, we can quietly depart." Brother Yu, despite his reckless appearance, was quick-witted and swift in his reactions. "Remember, do not harm Sun Qingxue's life, or else there will be endless trouble."

"understand!"

"We must fight quickly and decisively!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the three of them raised their right arms almost at the same time and turned their palms upwards.

“Swish, swish, swish!”

A dark light surged, and a human skin mask appeared in the palm of each of the three people, and they all exuded an extremely cold aura.

This artifact, called "Thousand Faces," is completely different from ordinary disguise techniques. It's crafted from the actual skin of fallen ascetics, refined through specialized sorcerous techniques. Its craftsmanship is both sinister and cruel. However, when applied to the cheek, it not only obscures the wearer's true features but also imbues them with a highly complex aura, thus preventing recognition from acquaintances.

These three Thousand Faces were all crafted by the wizard Peng Yuan. They were extremely expensive and could only be used once. If the situation wasn't so dire, the three of them would never have been willing to use them.

"Boom boom boom!"

The three of them chanted incantations, raised their arms and covered the human skin with their faces. Then their facial features changed drastically, and the aura emitted from their bodies was as chaotic as a raging sea.

"Pull in!"

After Brother Yu put on the Thousand Faces Skin, he turned around and ran out of the house, while urging Lin Er with the secret method of voice transmission.

At Xiaopo's house, the Little Bad King continued to lie on the bed pretending to sleep, muttering in confusion, "Fuck, my house has become a vegetable market? Why is she here too?!"

He had also sensed Sun Qingxue's presence through the mysterious secret method of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Talisman.

……

Three breaths ago.

Sun Qingxue was walking in a narrow, dim alley when she suddenly stopped and said in surprise, "Shan'er, stop!"

Like Yin Ping and Zhao Haochen, she is a very rare "black energy level" among her peers, so she noticed the existence of the illusion earlier than Shan'er, who is a red energy level.

"What's the matter, miss?"

"No, there's an illusion here!" Sun Qingxue's eyes suddenly shone with a sky-blue light, looking like ice crystals, extremely dazzling: "An outsider has used an illusion magic weapon to cover the Huang family. Their purpose is unknown!"

"Is there danger?!"

Shan'er was horrified. After carefully spreading her senses, she urged without hesitation, "Miss, hurry up! You go first!"

"The people in the illusion... have noticed us." Sun Qingxue's face had lost its gentle, lazy expression. She quickly ordered, "The Huang family's aunt and niece might be in danger. Quickly, go first, rush to the long street of illusion, and attract the aura... Summon the night patrol, quickly!"

"Miss...you!" Shan'er was concerned about the young lady's safety and wanted to persuade her again.

Sun Qingxue knew very well how much her father valued the Huang family's aunt and nephew, and how strongly he wanted to establish a close relationship with the Huang family. Therefore, when she met the mysterious stranger here, she was not only thinking about her own safety, but also about the situation of the Huang family's aunt and nephew.

Her realm and divine power were superior to Shan'er's, and she was smart and quick to react: "Fool, they must be afraid that we'll attract the night patrol. I'll stop them here, you go to the long street!"

"brush!"

When Shan'er saw that the young lady was angry, she gritted her teeth and turned to flee.

In the illusion, Lin Er clasped his hands together and said urgently, "Brother Yu, that maid is trying to run away!"

"Damn it! They really want to call in the night watchman!" Brother Yu gritted his teeth as he ran, "Since the women of the Sun family are meddling in other people's business, don't blame us for being rude! Lin Er, drag them into the illusion, quick!"

"boom!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Er hid in the illusion, and tried his best to mobilize spiritual energy, pouring it all into the jade pendant in mid-air, making it shine even brighter and increasing the range of the illusion by nearly one third.

The blurry and illusory scene spread like a tide, instantly enveloping Sun Qingxue's body. At the same time, it spread forward unstoppably, and in just a moment, it forcibly pulled the fleeing Shan'er in.