Star Trace Gate

Ren stood in front of the grocery stall, staring blankly at the sky. His mind raced, and many questions and clues converged in his heart. In a very short time, he figured out a lot of things.

After a long while, he slowly came to his senses and whispered to the young marquis with his back to him, "Good brother, it's time for you to play your part. Think of a way to arrange for me and Wang Anquan to meet secretly. If we want to turn the tide later, we will definitely need his help."

Upon hearing this, the young marquis inexplicably shuddered, then said somewhat timidly, "You think too highly of me! I'm a spineless traitor who betrayed the Divine Court, and I've only managed to gain a fraction of Niu Dali's favor by sheer luck. At most, I can stay by his side as a lackey; I have absolutely no right to make any decisions. Do you know how many people are watching the Heavenly Prison right now? Do you know how strictly Wang Anquan is being monitored?!... I'm telling you, the difficulty of seeing him is no less than seeing the Ancient Emperor himself!"

"What do you mean? You don't want to help your brother with this?" Ren Ye raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Didn’t Niu Dali say that he can give you special privileges? If you want to see Wang Anquan, you can see him anytime.” The young marquis did not answer directly, but instead changed the subject like a quail: “I think that if you have your own way, there is absolutely no need to use me… The best way to use me is to continue to lie low cautiously until you win completely and are completely safe.”

"Damn it, this isn't like you at all!" Ren Ye exclaimed in surprise. "The young marquis of the past was so spirited, so arrogant, so lawless... What a dashing and carefree person he was! How did he become such a coward now... Where did your temper go? Where did your invincible aura go?!"

"Hehe." The young marquis smiled helplessly: "During this period of time, I used my unparalleled talent and paid the price of my life... to summarize an eight-character mantra in the place of migration."

"What truth?" Ren also asked.

"Don't show off, or you'll get struck by lightning." The young marquis imitated the accent of the place he had migrated from, saying, "The opening scene was hundreds of thousands of mighty dragons, a dense mass of bald heads and palm shadows. I still remember that scene vividly. I was imprisoned, surrounded by high walls, all my martial arts skills were restricted... Not only did that Niu Dali want to put on a show of killing for money, but even a few lowly second-rank prison guards dared to bully and harass me. They heard that I came from Jiuli and had the lifestyle of the ancients... and then they forced me to write poems every day. If I couldn't, they would slap me hard across the face, making me see stars and bleed from my mouth and nose...!"

"Brother, let me tell you the truth, I don't want to do anything with even the slightest risk these days."

When he saw his old friend again, he exclaimed with tears in his eyes, "To tell you the truth, I really want to stay by Niu Dali's side forever and be his loyal and devoted lackey!"

"You are a prodigy, the number one person in Jiuli! How can you be so unambitious?! Where does this leave the old Marquis's face?!" Ren replied incredulously.

"He can put it wherever he wants... Anyway, I've figured it out...!" Recalling his experiences over the past few days, the young marquis suddenly had an inspiration and whispered, "I met some fellow inmates in the prison and unintentionally learned a folk song. I truly feel that this folk song is about me; it perfectly captures my state of mind. Wait a minute, I'll sing it for you...!"

"Are you sick?! Why are you singing at a time like this? Are you out of your mind...?" Ren Ye was completely dumbfounded.

"Iron gate, iron window, iron chains, I lean against the iron window and look out. How wonderful life is outside! When will I be able to return to my home...!"

The young master sang with great emotion, his voice deep and resonant. After each line, he would mimic the tone of his fellow inmates, chanting in a mystical voice, "Come on, let's sing 'Tears Behind Bars' for all of you, let's get this party started in the middle of the night...!"

"Shut the fuck up and shut up!" Ren Ye was extremely annoyed. He first shouted at them, then immediately realized what they meant and asked urgently, "Wait, your cellmate knows this song?!"

"Yes, they are all very talented. One of them even made a clapper from a chamber pot's wooden board, and he always speaks eloquently..." The young marquis nodded obediently.

"Holy crap, there are even experts from Blue Star in North Wind Town?" Little Bad King thought in surprise, instantly concluding that no one in the migration area's heritage could have created the song "Tears Behind Bars." So, he paused slightly and asked, "Are your fellow prisoners... travelers?"

"Yes. On the day Beifeng Town fell, they suggested fleeing, but I decided to fight them head-on, so everyone was captured at the start. Currently, they are all imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison..." the young marquis replied softly.

"Are you sure they are all from the Order of the Divine Court?" Ren asked again.

"It's basically confirmed, because they've been treated terribly by the jailers. One of them, who's usually quiet and reserved, is constantly being made to lose control of his bladder and bowels... If it were spies planted by the Tianzhao Temple, there would be no need to do this," the young marquis replied truthfully.

"Holy crap, there's an unexpected bonus. How many of them are there, and how strong are they?" Ren Ye was a little excited.

"Their combat strength is average, and they probably didn't receive any assignments related to the struggle for control of the core of Northwind Town. Let's put it this way, they could have escaped before Northwind Town fell, but because they encountered me... they all ended up in prison." The young marquis explained very clearly.

“Very good, these people can be very useful at critical moments.” Ren nodded slightly, then said decisively, “I can’t go to see Wang Anquan using Zhenyi’s identity, because I’m not sure if he will betray me like you did. After all, Niu Dali is a man without any bottom line. If he threatens Wang Anquan with his family again… I can’t guarantee that he won’t sell me out to ensure his family’s safety in that situation.”

"To be on the safe side, I can't meet him as Shinichi; I have to work with him as the woman in the gray robe."

"So you're determined to make me betray my sworn brother, aren't you?"

"You're a damn person from the Divine Court, the very same scapegoat for the Fulong Pavilion! You need to know your place!"

"What exactly did the Divine Court give me? Why the hell do I have to have a stance?" The young marquis felt incredibly unlucky and was filled with resentment.

“Alright, what the Divine Court can’t give you, I will.” Ren Ye said decisively, “After this matter is over, let’s return to Qingliang Prefecture… I’ll arrange for Sister Longshou to enjoy the moon with you, creating an opportunity for you two to be alone together.”

Upon hearing this, the young marquis curled his lip: "Do you think the Dragon Head will listen to you?"

“Definitely… Actually, she’s always been one of my people. We have a very special relationship.” Ren Ye blurted out, showing audacity by making a joke about the vice-captain of the park’s team.

It took the young marquis a good ten breaths to process what he said before his eyes turned bloodshot and his face contorted with rage: "Your man?! You...you, I'll fucking kill you! You ruined my wonderful life...!"

As he spoke, he opened his arms and turned around to strangle the little rascal.

"Oh ho... Little monkey, are you serious? I thought you were just after Sister Long's beauty, but I didn't expect it to get involved in life." Ren Ye replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I never mess around in my own park... After all, the Yin-Yang Mother-Child Sword at home is also very sharp... Besides, Dragon Head and we are good buddies, we don't usually sleep together."

After hesitating for a while, the young marquis blushed and asked, "Can you really arrange for me and Sister Long to enjoy the moon?"

"can."

"Alright, then I'll think of a way to betray my sworn brother...!" The young marquis made his decision instantly.

Ren hesitated for a long time before saying, "Don't talk to your fellow inmates too much for now, understand?"

"I'm not an idiot, why would I talk nonsense to them? I'm being very careful now...!" the young marquis replied, rolling his eyes.

He used to be incredibly aloof, barely interacting with anyone in the Emperor's Tomb Secret Realm. But for some reason, once he entered the park, he completely transformed into a goofy guy who kept failing at trying to be cool, radiating a pervasive sense of dejection. Most importantly, he's actually a pretty good singer…

……

It was nearly noon.

The young lord found an opportunity inside the monks' residence, and then, with a bright smile, said to Niu Dali, "Brother, I have something... I want to ask you for a favor."

Niu Dali glanced at him and said calmly, "We are brothers, so just say what you need to say. There's no need to be so formal. If I can't help you, you'll understand my predicament."

"Didn't I spend a long time in prison before...? Hehe, I unintentionally made a few friends with whom I got along well." The young marquis deliberately feigned embarrassment, scratching his head sheepishly. "Now, I... I've met my elder brother, and I don't have to suffer in prison anymore, but they...!"

"Releasing them is impossible. After Wang Anquan's rebellion, Tianzhao Temple became even more wary of these unidentified prisoners, so... you understand." Although Niu Dali was grateful to the young marquis for saving his life, he still had basic intelligence when it came to official matters.

"No, no, no, brother, I didn't mean to bail them out... I just wanted to see my fellow inmates. To be honest, without them by my side during that time, I would have thought about committing suicide," the young marquis replied, waving his hands repeatedly.

"Oh, you just want to visit them in prison?" Niu Dali paused for a moment, then asked softly while eating, "Are your fellow inmates cultivators?"

"Yes." The young marquis dared not hide anything, and only said in a low voice, "Hehe, if he's not a cultivator... then we can't talk to each other."

Are they from the Divine Court?

"…!" The young marquis instantly realized that this question was crucial, so he answered without hesitation, "When we were in prison, we never talked about each other's true identities. As you know, there's no humanity in this prison. If you say something you shouldn't, you might get yourself killed, so everyone maintained a tacit understanding of not asking too many questions. However, in my opinion, they might be from the Divine Court, after all, their cultivation levels are not low…!"

Niu Dali was satisfied with the answer and nodded slightly: "Can these people be turned?"

“Hiss… I can try, but brother… I really don’t recommend you try to turn them against you at this time.” The young marquis, having almost pushed his intelligence to its limit, replied cleverly, “Think about it, Beifeng Town is going through a turbulent period right now. If we turn these people against us and they don’t cause any trouble… that’s fine, but if something goes wrong, you’ll definitely be implicated, and Tianzhao Temple will be unhappy too. I think… it would be better to wait until the Wang Anquan case is over before I try to turn them against us. That way, there won’t be any hidden dangers. And if we succeed in turning them against us, their character and cultivation are all quite high… you will definitely be rewarded by Tianzhao Temple.”

“That makes sense.” Niu Dali nodded in deep agreement: “Right now is indeed… not a good time to contact the people of the Divine Court, even if they are just a few prisoners.”

The most profound art of flattery isn't actually guessing your boss's thoughts, because guessing always carries the risk of being wrong... So, only by completely abandoning your own perspective and truly standing in your boss's shoes, considering the pros and cons of everything, can you make them feel that your spirits resonate and that you are truly bound together as one of your own.

The young marquis barely managed to do this despite performing exceptionally well.

After finishing his lunch, Niu Dali slowly replied, "Neither of us has become an immortal, so we are naturally bound by human relationships... I admire people with loyalty and righteousness. Why don't you go and see the Heavenly Prison?"

"Thank you, brother."