Star Trace Gate

As the sun sets and dusk approaches, it is getting late.

Zhao Haochen, dressed in white and carrying a thick stack of case files, followed by Wu Li and Ruan Dehen, strode into the courtyard of the court.

The case file he held in his hand was the final result of his three-day covert investigation, and the perfect answer he was about to submit to the clan hall.

Inside the Dharma Hall, Sun Michen, dressed in a loose satin robe and wearing a melon-shaped hat, was laying out paper on the table and drawing a portrait of a beautiful woman with great concentration.

He loved to paint, especially portraits of beautiful women. However, his subjects were rather singular: Aunt Tianwei. He painted her in various outfits and with different body types, and he did so with remarkable vividness, showcasing the skill of an unparalleled sycophant.

If Ren Ye were to witness this almost pathological obsessive behavior, he might be reminded of Yu Fen's personal photographer, Xiao Tang. These two share remarkably similar psychotic traits in their single-mindedness and dedication to a single matter.

"My lord, Zhao Haochen requests an audience."

Just as Sun Michen was engrossed in his work, a minor official who was waiting in front of the palace hurriedly came in to report.

"He comes at the perfect time, neither early nor late, but as soon as he's about to finish his business, he comes to see me." Sun Michen had a very good temper and had always been a highly respected figure, so he replied without any airs, "Let him in."

"Yes," the clerk replied, then turned and left.

Before long, Zhao Haochen, carrying the case file, walked alone into the inner hall and then bowed slightly: "Nephew, I greet Uncle Sun."

"There are no outsiders here, no need for formalities." Sun Michen had already put away Aunt Tianwei's portrait, and simply sat in the large chair, smiling as he greeted, "Serve some tea."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Haochen did not show any enthusiasm for conversation. Instead, he said seriously, "Uncle Sun, there is no need to let the servants into the hall. I have come here urgently to report something important."

"What's the big deal?" Sun Michen slowly picked up his teacup.

"The case of the prison break of death row inmate No. 79, and the case of Zhou Taozhi's sudden madness and murder, my nephew... has been thoroughly investigated," Zhao Haochen replied solemnly.

"Ok?"

Sun Michen suddenly froze on the spot, raising an eyebrow in surprise, "You've found out?!"

"Yes!"

"The mole has been found? The person who broke into the peach grove courtyard and saw Zhou Taozhi has also been identified? Tell me quickly, who is it?!" Sun Michen asked urgently.

After pausing for a moment, Zhao Haochen slowly stepped forward, spread the case file on the desk, opened the first page, pointed to a daily report on it, and said, "It's him, he's the mole."

Upon hearing this, Sun Michen quickly picked up the daily errand report, glanced through it briefly, and exclaimed with even greater surprise, "It can't be him...!"

“I have found both witnesses and physical evidence,” Zhao Haochen said firmly. “All the evidence points to him.”

Sun Michen paused for only a few breaths before his expression returned to calm. He looked down at the case file, flipping through it as he replied softly, "Nephew Zhao, although he is of low rank, he comes from an extraordinary background, and many people in the village are paying attention to him. Once you present this investigation file, it will convince everyone; but if the evidence is insufficient or flawed... it might arouse some bad speculation, and they might even think you are targeting him."

“The evidence is irrefutable and there is no room for argument,” Zhao Haochen replied without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Sun Michen didn't say anything more, but simply nodded slightly and said, "You mean, I should take the lead and hold a clan meeting immediately?"

"Yes."

“Alright, now that you’ve investigated, there’s nothing more to say.” Sun Michen’s expression remained unchanged as he replied softly, “I will have someone inform the three clan leaders and the inner hall elders that we will hold a meeting in half an hour.”

……

At the beginning of the hour of You (5-7 PM), at the Li family's residence.

After dinner, Li Taishan strolled over to his sixth uncle's courtyard.

Although the conflict between Li and Yin ended in a complete victory for the Li family, Li Erbo's excessive use of forbidden inherited power caused a relapse of his old illness, which has yet to be fully cured. He has been recuperating at home during this time, and has been frequently visiting his sixth uncle. This sixth uncle is the only remaining, near-death, living fossil-level expert in the Li family, and has a deep understanding of the void, which can help him better nourish his body and soul.

However, Uncle Liu is over three hundred years old. He is sometimes confused and sometimes clear-headed. He also often clamors to take some aphrodisiac powder. Therefore, Uncle Li Er always has to do a lot of mental preparation before he sees him.

Furthermore, Uncle Li knew that his injuries from back then were too severe; this ailment was incurable, at best only manageable. Unless he could enter the Divine Tomb again and, against his ancestors' wishes, forcibly seize that divine artifact…

But his personality was full of contradictions. He was cunning, ruthless, and exceptionally decisive when dealing with outsiders; yet he was very tolerant and kind to his family, rarely getting angry or stern, and was strict and unapproachable. So whether it was the mischievous and impulsive Little Fatty or the overly composed and inflexible Li Fusheng, they all felt close to him.

He walked slowly, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, until he arrived at his sixth uncle's courtyard.

"Uncle, have you eaten?" Uncle Li asked with a smile.

"Eating, eating. I don't know what's wrong with the little brat today, he's being unusually filial. He specially bought me a pigeon and brought two jars of good wine. Come over quickly and have a couple of drinks with me." An old voice came from inside the courtyard.

"OK!"

Seeing that the old man seemed to be behaving normally, Uncle Li breathed a sigh of relief and scurried into the inner room.

Once inside the hall, the uncle and nephew sat facing each other under an ancient mirror, drinking and chatting.

However, before the two could even drink half a jar of wine, a member of the Li family, leading a minor official from the court, hurriedly came over.

"Second Master, Second Master, someone from the Clan Court has arrived!" A member of the Li family shouted from outside the door. "The Clan Court requests your presence for a meeting."

Li Taishan turned to the side impatiently and asked, "What is it? Why do you have to call someone during mealtime?!"

“It’s urgent,” someone from the Law Hall replied. “There’s been a major breakthrough in the case, and all the inner elders of the Clan Hall have been notified.”

"Oh."

Li Taishan put down his chopsticks and said helplessly, "Sixth Uncle, you eat first, I have to go to the clan hall right away."

"The more people there are, the more trouble there will be." Uncle Liu said with some dissatisfaction, "You should find an opportunity to quickly disband the clan hall. From now on, everyone can live their own lives and no one will bother anyone else. Wouldn't that be better?"

“Living together is indeed full of trivial matters.” Li Taishan slowly stood up: “But after the last former master passed away, no one can rule the entire territory with the invincible Dao. Since no one is willing to submit to anyone else, we can only discuss and decide how to handle things.”

After saying goodbye to his sixth uncle, he hurried to the clan hall.

……

It was past midnight, in the clan hall and the council hall.

The four clan leaders gathered together, and the twelve inner hall elders took their seats, all looking solemnly at Zhao Haochen, who stood in the center of the hall.

"Alright, everyone's here." Zhao Mi glanced at everyone out of the corner of his eye before speaking first: "Chen'er, you and the elders and clan leaders, explain in detail the investigation results of the three major cases. Make sure the evidence is irrefutable and don't make things up."

"Yes."

After bowing slightly, Zhao Haochen looked up at everyone and said solemnly, "After more than ten days of arduous investigation during my patrols of the court, and three consecutive days and nights of verification... we have finally discovered that the mole who helped death row inmate number 79 escape, and the suspect who broke into the Peach Blossom Courtyard and met with Zhou Taozhi—is actually... the prison guard of the death row, a descendant of the Huang family—Blind Huang. In other words, the one that the village often talks about, the blind, useless stray dog ​​who has lost his potential."

Upon hearing this, the council hall fell into an instant of complete silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Qian Zhongge of the Qian family looked completely dazed, while Li Erbo was so shocked that he spat out a mouthful of tea. The twelve inner hall elders beside him also stared at each other, looking utterly bewildered.

Throughout the entire hall, only Zhao Mi and Sun Michen did not show any signs of losing their composure; they simply looked around calmly.

"What did you say?!" Qian Zhongge was the first to react, sitting up straight and saying, "That kid Huang is a traitor?! How is that possible?"

"Yes!"

Uncle Li Er also looked puzzled and said, "He is a crippled person at the third rank, with neither outstanding divine abilities nor an official position that allows him to act expediently. How could he commit crimes one after another under the continuous pressure from the three major halls, and escape successfully every time? Even if you say that my nephew is an inside traitor, that would be more believable than saying that Huang boy is one!"

"Young Huang, that's the kind of guy who's so good he'd bump into walls while walking. He's a mole? That can't be, right?"

“That’s right. That little blind boy was introverted by nature, didn’t like to compete, and disliked studying hard. He was always a coward. It’s unbelievable that he was a traitor and dared to commit such a big crime on the day of his death anniversary.”

"...!"

Inside the hall, the twelve elders began to discuss amongst themselves.

"Uncle Qian, Uncle Li, elders." Zhao Haochen saw the crowd making a fuss and then shouted, "At first I didn't believe this result either, but after careful investigation, I can say with certainty that Blind Huang is the traitor, and I can also provide evidence."

"What evidence?!" Qian Zhongge asked bluntly.

"I would like to ask the clan leaders and elders, what conditions must a death row inmate in this death row prison meet in order to escape?" Zhao Haochen countered, "Remember, I said 'must'."

After a brief silence in the hall, an elder with a full head of white hair answered first: "The great formation and the spirit-sealing nails can all be broken through by one's own abilities, but the Divine Severing Pill cannot be removed by oneself. Therefore, if a death row inmate wants to escape, he must take the Divine Communication Powder to break through all kinds of restrictions. This is the only necessary condition."

"Alright." Zhao Haochen nodded slightly: "Where can we find the Divine Communicator in this Illusory Village?!"

“The first is the Li family, and the second is the Yin family,” the elder replied again.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Haochen's eyes sharpened as he said, "I'll only mention one thing. This young man Huang's aunt was previously a fire master in the Yin family, and before the Yin family fell, she was even promoted to a temporary alchemist. Given this status, she can do two things: first, she must know the effects of the Divine Communicator Powder and where it is kept in the Yin family; second, she has great convenience to steal it."

Upon hearing this, the people in the hall exchanged bewildered glances and nodded slightly, without uttering any further questions.

"I previously investigated the Yin Family Alchemy Institute, but due to the relocation of the entire Yin family, I couldn't find the sealed Divine Communication Powder, nor could I verify whether someone stole some of the powder from the Yin family. However, I borrowed a Celestial Spirit Rat from the Enlightenment Academy, and when I first ordered it to track scents, this Celestial Spirit Rat ran wildly towards the Huang family's residence, but got lost along the way..." Zhao Haochen added, "But when I obtained the most important piece of evidence, I intentionally had it appear on the Illusionary Street and secretly followed Huang Xiaozhi's aunt who was buying ingredients, letting it re-identify the scent. The Celestial Spirit Rat gave a positive response, indicating that the two scents were the same. In other words, Huang Xiaozhi's aunt did indeed appear in the secret room of the Yin Family Alchemy Institute where the Divine Communication Powder was stored. And she's a third-rate alchemist, not a direct descendant of the Yin family, so what qualifications does she have to enter such an important secret room?!"

"Besides theft, what other possibility is there?"