Star Trace Gate

Zhao Haochen is a man of deep cunning and a master of disguise, a trait that makes him stand out among his peers. Whether it's his cultivation level, his comprehension and talent, or his gentle and amiable demeanor, he gives the impression that he is destined to be the next generation's number one in the Void Village.

But this shrewdness and pretense inevitably forged his suspicious and complex inner world. He wanted everything to be perfect and flawless, which in turn caused him to lose some of the authenticity of his humanity and the warmth of everyday life.

Although Zhao Mi's question came as a surprise, he was, after all, his father. If it were a son with a normal personality, he probably wouldn't have thought twice and would have retorted, "Can't we each drink half a bowl? You share half with me, and when we're old, I'll find you a new companion. Otherwise, if I starve to death, who will take care of you when you're old...!"

At the dinner table, in a relaxed atmosphere of casual conversation, the father and son should have felt completely at ease, and the son could simply reply with whatever he wanted.

But Zhao Haochen was different. After hearing his father's words, he overthought things. He felt it was a test, a warning, and even more so, a patriarchal alert within the large family. Therefore, he was completely stunned, holding the bowl of porridge in both hands, unsure how to respond.

Across the table, Zhao Mi saw him stunned and quickly replied with a bright smile, "Hehe, if there really is only one bowl of porridge left, I will give it to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Haochen suddenly came to his senses and immediately replied, "What kind of father would give way to his son in this world?! Where is filial piety? If there were only one bowl of porridge left in this world, the father would definitely drink it first."

"Hmm." Zhao Mi rested his chin on his hand and nodded slightly: "It's good that you have this filial piety."

“Father, that’s all I have to say, but we have a whole pot of porridge today, haha, even if we share it, we can’t finish it.” Zhao Haochen’s cleverness came out again. He stood up calmly and said with a double meaning, “You should eat with us too. I’ll get you a bowl.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he personally served his father a bowl and said with a wry smile, "Alas, in the eyes of ordinary people, this Huang boy is just a useless stray dog; but in the eyes of some important people, he may be a plump and fresh piece of meat after being slaughtered. If it were used to make porridge, it would be very delicious. After he escaped to the Divine Tomb, he should have been in a situation where he had nowhere to escape, hehe, but strangely enough, he completely disappeared in the Divine Tomb. The entire Three Great Halls were mobilized, but they couldn't find a single trace of him in this closed-off Illusion Village."

"Perhaps... there are too many people in the village who want to cook porridge, and no one wants to miss out on this lucrative opportunity."

Zhao Haochen lowered his head, raised his eyebrows and glanced at his father's expression, speaking in a very low voice.

Zhao Mi reached out and took the bowl of porridge, replying without looking up, "Hmm, you know, a person knows their own taste best. No matter how well someone else cooks porridge, it can't compare to the aroma of your own. Hehe, even a father can't fully understand his son's tastes...!"

So, if I want to eat this porridge every day, I'll have to find it elsewhere myself? ... Zhao Haochen's heart skipped a beat when he thought of this, and then he obediently sat back down in his original seat, lowered his head and picked up the porridge bowl.

"Do you think this young Huang's act of colluding with the enemy was decisive and brave, or foolish and reckless?" Zhao Mi asked softly.

Zhao Haochen frowned and replied without hesitation, "Of course it's foolish and reckless. When one's own strength is insufficient to change the status quo, any resistance is overestimating one's abilities and courting death...!"

“Hmm, that makes sense.” Zhao Mi nodded slightly. “However, my opinion is a little different from yours.”

"Please enlighten me, Father," Zhao Haochen asked humbly.

"Do you know the true nature of all the laws and extreme rules in this illusory village?" Zhao Mi asked.

“Restraints, fairness, and balance,” Zhao Haochen replied after careful consideration.

“No.” Zhao Mi shook his head slightly: “You see a young and beautiful woman on the street, you are very attracted to her, so you take action, carry her home, forcibly take her, and then indulge your desires. Such behavior will not violate the laws of the Illusion Village, and no one will care. At most, you will suffer some moral criticism. People outside the village will never understand such extreme laws and rules because they are too primitive, a continuation of the survival rules of the early days of human civilization.”

"This is the belief that we have always emphasized: respect for the accomplished."

"The essence of this belief is that as long as you are powerful enough, you can take whatever you want from the universe, instead of gathering a group of people to hold meetings, listen to others' reasoning, and discuss distribution. Our belief is more direct, pointing directly to the essence of the contradiction, and without any pretense. But it is undoubtedly very free, and it once made us exceptionally powerful, but it also caused extremely serious internal friction because it has a cruel drawback: the rules are too broad. If you are strong, you can burn, kill, and plunder, and you can stand on the corpses of hundreds of millions of your own people to demand resources indiscriminately. This will make the already powerful even stronger, while the still weak will have no space to survive. Over time, this extreme fairness and freedom will completely sever our heritage... and it will also cause those who cannot understand these rules to rise up in rebellion."

“We call those who rebel against these rules intruders. They come here wanting to change the rules, which violates our belief in the supremacy of the powerful and completely negates our way of life. So, the two ideas collide, and we become mortal enemies, so we must fight to the death.”

"In this environment of clash of beliefs and deadly struggle, our living space was infinitely compressed, and we had to ensure the continuation of our heritage and the existence of successors. Therefore, these broad and extreme rules were rewritten. While ensuring that the beliefs remained unchanged, the principle that the jungle does not eat its cubs was put forward, allowing wild dogs below the third rank to have the opportunity to grow up and have a fair chance to compete, so that the fittest would be selected and the best would continue the lineage...!"

"However, this belief in the supremacy of the accomplished has a very important premise."

Zhao Mi slowly raised his head, looking at his son with incredibly sharp eyes, and said, word by word, "If you take advantage of a woman you fancy in the street, you should consider whether she has her own man and her own children, and whether these people are powerful enough. When you seek momentary pleasure, you should also consider the other party's revenge."

"That's it. There's nothing in this world that can't be done, as long as you can afford the price."

Zhao Mi slowly finished his porridge: "On this point, Huang might understand it better than you. He wasn't overestimating himself. Before he betrayed the enemy, he must have already thought about what price he would have to pay if he failed."

When Zhao Haochen heard the word "price," the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

“You failed in the three major cases as well.” Zhao Mi picked up a handkerchief and wiped his mouth. “But I think you can still bear the cost of these failures for now.”

"Father……!"

“The clan hall feels that you have not handled the case well, and many elders and clan leaders also have many complaints.” Zhao Mi interrupted him and said in an unquestionable manner, “It just so happens that the road to leaving home is about to open, so you should also put your mind on the matter of traveling abroad.”

"After you finish your porridge, go to your maternal grandfather's monastery for quiet meditation, and then send your resignation to the clan hall. From today onwards, you will no longer be required to serve as the patrolman."

Zhao Mi slowly stood up, looking calmly at his son: "Remember what I said. You have come this far, and the price is still bearable, but you must not go any further... because what lies before you is an abyss you cannot see."

So, you've finally decided to eat porridge alone? Father…

Zhao Haochen clenched his fists tightly under the table, his mind racing with a lot of things he wanted to say in rebuttal, but in the end he didn't dare to open his mouth.

After hesitating for a long time, he slowly stood up, bowed, and replied, "My son, I will remember your teachings, Father."

"Ah."

Zhao Mi nodded slightly and then walked out with his hands behind his back.

Watching his retreating figure, Zhao Haochen couldn't help but ask, "So, who will be in charge of overseeing the capture of the Huang family aunt and niece?"

“The Law Hall is the head of the three halls, so it should naturally be handed over to Sun Michen for supervision.” Zhao Mi didn’t even turn his head, and said indifferently, “Of course, as the person in charge of the Clan Hall, I should also personally supervise the progress of this case before the road to leaving home opens.”

After a long silence, Zhao Haochen clasped his hands and exclaimed, "Father is wise."

……

In the blink of an eye, four days have passed since the Battle of the Divine Tomb.

During this period, Zhao Haochen was dismissed by the clan hall by voluntarily resigning. After that, he stayed at home all day, never leaving the house, and practiced Taoist cultivation with his nearly four-hundred-year-old grandfather.

Sun Michen was forced into accepting the temporary position of patrol officer, and ironically, the two suspects he urgently needed to arrest were currently hiding in his own home... This was undoubtedly a bit of a mental blow, because if he, the lead investigator, were found to be harboring serious criminals who colluded with the enemy, the nature of the whole incident would be far too egregious, and the person implicated would not only be Sun Michen, but the entire Sun family.

Therefore, during these four days, Sun Michen became extremely cautious even when defecating, fearing that one wrong step would lead to utter ruin.

Furthermore, a new batch of tomb keepers selected by the clan hall have begun to take turns guarding the tomb day and night to ensure that no outsiders will enter the place and cause trouble.

At noon that day, at Li Jiadan's courtyard.

Li Xiaopang sat alone in front of the Li family ancestral hall, his hands supporting his chin, staring blankly at the flowerbed not far away.

In the past few days, he had obtained a lot of inside information about the clan hall from his good friend Sun Fusheng. He also knew that his good brother Huang Xiazi and his aunt Tianwei were not yet captured, but Number 79 was most likely dead in the Nine Netherworld of the Divine Tomb...

Li Xiaopang was saddened for several days by the death of No. 79. Every time he lay in bed, he felt that the other person's voice and smile were still in front of him.

At the same time, he was also very concerned and curious about where Huang Xiazi and his aunt had escaped to, and why the three halls had not been able to find out about them for so many days.

Could it be that they've already used undisclosed methods to secretly enter the tomb...?

Sigh, I want to go too, I really want to!

Li Xiaopang was still immersed in the experiences of the three major criminals who roamed the Void Village, and he also regretted not being able to enter the Divine Tomb. Therefore, he had no intention of cultivating at home and his mind was full of things to do with the case.

"Quack quack...!"

A plump bird flew gracefully from the blue sky outside the courtyard into the courtyard of the ancestral hall.

"Clap!"

Bird droppings landed right on Li Xiaopang's forehead, emitting an extremely foul stench.

"Wornima...!"

Li Xiaopang was already in a bad mood, and now that he had been hit on the head with a pile of shit, he was on the verge of a breakdown.

He suddenly sprang to his feet, pointed at the bird, and cursed, "You son of a bitch, are you blind? How dare you treat my head like a cesspool?! Come on, come on, if you have the guts, come down here!"

"brush!"

He had just cursed a few times to vent his anger, but to his surprise, the bird actually circled above his head once before slowly landing.

"Damn it, you dare to challenge me?!" Li Xiaopang suddenly leaped up, his movements incredibly swift as he raised his arm and swung it, grabbing the plump bluebird. He then landed with a thud, cursing, "Since I've got nothing better to do, today I'll taste what bird eggs are like."

"Croak, croak...!"