Star Trace Gate

Chapter 895 Zhao Mi's Probing, the Simp's Gains

Zhao Mi's tone was not accusatory, angry, or aggressive; it was calm and even, as if they were having a casual conversation. However, these words stirred up a storm in Ren Ye's heart.

Holy crap, what does Old Deng mean?! He's already found out that we were the ones who did last night... Little Bad King sat on the bed, his heart pounding wildly, but he tried his best to control his facial expression, not letting himself show the slightest abnormality.

Don't panic. Even when faced with overwhelming evidence, a good criminal should remain calm and composed, as if it's none of my business... Ren Ye forced himself to calm his inner turmoil and then replied softly, "Reporting to Lord Zhao, I was at home last night...!"

"Think carefully again, where exactly were you last night?" Zhao Mi's tone remained unhurried: "More precisely... where were you when the No. 1 Enlightenment Academy case occurred last night?"

Ren paused for a moment, then replied with a very firm yet bewildered expression, "I really am at home!"

"Are there any witnesses?" Zhao Mi asked again.

“My aunt hasn’t had any work to do these past few days, so she prepared dinner for me early this morning. She’s my witness.” Ren Ye stood up, reaching out to pull off the few traces of blood that had stained his clothes when he was disemboweled, and then added, “I haven’t been to the Zhao family these past two days, so I had plenty of time this evening and even washed some clothes…!”

Zhao Mi stared intently at Ren Ye through the screen: "Only your aunt can testify for you, but no one else has seen you at home, right?!"

“Yes. I don’t usually have contact with outsiders. I go home as soon as I finish a business trip, and everything is normal.” Ren answered fluently.

After he finished speaking, silence fell behind the screen once again.

A short while later, Zhao Mi slowly stood up, walked around with his hands behind his back, and said, "A major case has occurred in the Peach Blossom Courtyard of the No. 1 Enlightenment Academy, and two people have died. You know about this, right?"

"Yes, I heard about this today while on my official business." Ren Ye clasped his hands slightly and said, "It seems that a madman from the academy had a fit and killed a teacher...!"

"The lady who was killed was my cousin; and the madman who killed her was an elder of the clan who guarded your grave before you were taken out of your coffin." Zhao Mi's voice gradually turned cold: "That elder was named Zhou Taozhi. He was the only person who had contact with you the night before you were taken out of your coffin. How your original eyes were lost... perhaps only he knows."

Go to hell with your third aunt's little steamed buns... Still pretending?! Don't you know how I lost my original eyes? And stop bringing up Zhou Taozhi!

Ren listened to the other party's words and only laughed awkwardly: "If you hadn't brought it up today, I wouldn't have known... that before I was taken out of my coffin, there was a crazy elder who guarded my tomb."

Zhao Mi ignored the other's reply, only to suddenly sigh, "The only old man who might know the whereabouts of your original eyes suddenly went mad... He not only violently killed people, but also ultimately passed away in the Peach Blossom Courtyard. Who exactly provoked him... or rather, who made him recall the past he didn't want to remember?"

Ren Ye bowed solemnly and said, "If Lord Zhao thinks I am a suspect, he can immediately dispatch the experts from the three main halls to investigate me."

"hehe."

Zhao Mi shook his head and smiled slightly, then waved his hand and said, "I was just asking, you can just say whatever you want... Alright, you can go back now."

"Thank you, Lord Zhao." The Little Scoundrel didn't explain anything further, but simply bowed with a normal expression and left decisively.

Zhao Mi stepped out from behind the screen and walked to the entrance of the thatched hut. He stared sharply at the back of the little rascal, remaining silent.

Indeed, he had a strong intuition that Zhou Taozhi's sudden illness might be related to the little blind boy who had just left.

This intuition, this suspicion, has nothing to do with any clues; it's just a thought that suddenly arises in my mind.

Zhou Taozhi was the only surviving insider from back then, and he has remained safe and sound all these years. However, he suddenly fell ill and eventually died recently when major cases occurred frequently in Xuwang Village. So who had an absolute motive to risk seeing him and provoke him, causing him to fall ill again?

Among the four major clans, perhaps some have such motives; among the countless rogue cultivators of extremely high rank, perhaps some also want to gain something from the little blind boy...

However, if we're talking about absolute motives, only the little blind man himself has all the necessary conditions, because he wants to know the truth about the past and the whereabouts of his original eyes more than anyone else.

"Oh……!"

Thinking of this, a sinister smile crept onto Zhao Mi's face again: "Three people have passed the Treasure Chess Game, so who is the last one...?!"

……

Zhao Mi began to doubt himself, that much was certain, but there was nothing he could do about it.

As Little Bad King walked towards the Zhao family's gate, he mentally analyzed the situation: "As long as I'm still investigating the truth of the past, I'll inevitably infringe on Zhao Mi's interests and be discovered. There's no way to avoid it. So, I must speed up my investigation, find the Origin Eyes as soon as possible, and then finish my mission and leave this secret realm. If, during this time, Zhao Mi really decides to kill me... then I'll have no choice but to marry Miss Sun with tears in my eyes... or have my aunt pretend to agree to marry Sun Michen first...!"

It's not surprising that he would have such an "absurd" idea, because only the four major clans could stand against each other. Aside from being a storyteller, he lacked any means of self-defense. If he were truly driven to desperation, he could only rely on the power of the major clans to restrain Zhao Mi.

If all else fails, you could try selling your body to Little Fatty and becoming sworn brothers; that would be a viable option. The Li family is definitely not weak either; finding a way to demonstrate your value to them would make Zhao Mi wary.

That's how it'll be done. On one hand, investigate as quickly as possible, and on the other hand, exploit the storyteller, using him as a nuclear weapon. When all else fails, just grab onto a powerful figure.

Little Bad Boy is not an indecisive person. Once he has a direction in mind, his mentality becomes more stable, and even his steps as he walks out become much more confident.

He and the steward walked to the back gate of the Zhao family's residence. Just as they were about to leave, they saw Young Master Zhao walking back, looking exhausted.

Young Master Zhao looked as if he had been "prostituted" countless times; his eyes were dark, his face was sallow, and even his gait was no longer as sunny as before.

It was obvious that he had been completely drained by these three bizarre cases, and he was extremely weak.

"Greetings, Brother Zhao." Ren greeted him warmly.

"...Oh, I forgot you were coming over today." Zhao Haochen forced a smile and said helplessly, "But I can't have tea and chat with you today. Another major case happened last night, and we still have no leads. I'm about to report to my father...!"

"Sigh, the demons and monsters hiding in this village should really be wiped out completely, otherwise they will jump out and cause trouble from time to time, which is very annoying." Ren Ye pretended to speak up for Zhao Haochen, and then clasped his hands and said, "Brother Zhao, you are busy, I will go back first..."

"Okay, let's get together again when we have some free time these next couple of days."

"Well, farewell."

After exchanging a few words at the entrance, Zhao Haochen dragged his tired body into the inner courtyard.

However, he did not go to Wudao Lodge to see Zhao Mi today. Instead, he informed the steward and asked him to go to Wudao Lodge to call his father, while he waited in the family council hall.

Before long, Zhao Mi walked into the council chamber with his hands behind his back.

……

It was late at night, past midnight.

Due to the impact of the three major cases that have occurred recently, the night patrolmen who are on duty for half of the time are still working overtime.

The Peach Blossom Courtyard of the No. 1 Enlightenment Academy has been completely sealed off. No one is allowed to approach except for the investigators patrolling the hall. The courtyard is brightly lit and bustling with activity.

After reporting the progress of the case to his father, Zhao Haochen led his men back to Taolin Courtyard for a second on-site investigation.

Inside the courtyard, Zhou Taozhi's body had already been carried away and transported to the mortuary of the punishment hall for safekeeping. Therefore, the main task tonight is to investigate the scene of last night's battle.

To be honest, the night patrolmen who personally participated in the investigation had no hope for this second round of checks, and even felt somewhat irritable and impatient. The reason was simple: the Taolin Courtyard had already been checked once last night in detail, so going through it again today would be a pointless repetition for them.

In the peach grove where the peach blossoms had all fallen, a relatively young night patrolman bent down and squatted on the ground, carefully examining every inch of the ground beneath him. Then, with an extremely speechless expression, he muttered, "I just don't understand. We already checked this once yesterday, so why do we have to check it again today?! If this case can't be solved, are we all just going to find something to do?"

"Keep your voice down. Three major cases have occurred in the last ten days, and so far, they remain shrouded in mystery, with not a single clue." Another person frowned and replied, "Our Young Master Zhao is in a tough spot too. The clan hall has put pressure on him, and right now... he's probably feeling like he wants to eat shit. What can we do if we don't investigate? Are we all supposed to go home and sleep?"

“That makes sense. You may not be able to find out, but you can’t do nothing.” An old man nodded in agreement: “Clumsy repetition is still more diligent than sleeping in the middle.”

These night patrolmen were forced to work overtime and saw no hope whatsoever, so they spoke very politely, venting their sarcastic emotions to the extreme.

Not far away, Wu Li, who was working diligently, heard the crowd's discussion and immediately raised an eyebrow, scolding them: "Just do what I tell you to do, what are you talking about?! Did I shortchange you on your monthly salary?"

"Yes, yes, Lord Wu is right. No wonder you are so favored by Young Master Zhao... You are so good at handling things, we all have to learn from you." The young night patrolman was also very polite, and replied with a bright smile: "I also want to make a pledge, from today onwards, for as long as Lord Wu doesn't go home, I won't go home! Whoever can't take it anymore first, whose mother is a courtesan!"

That retort was so forceful that Wu Li was momentarily thrown off balance. He immediately stood up and cursed, "You little brat, you've only been here a few days! And you dare to talk back to me...!"

“Lord Wu, Garlic Bird, Garlic Bird. He’s just a child, not mature enough, why are you arguing with him!” The older man immediately pulled him aside and advised, “You are a favorite of Young Master Zhao, you are so magnanimous…!”

"Get lost, you're no better than me." Seeing that the other party was trying to put him in a bad mood, Wu Li retorted without any politeness.

The old man didn't seem to care, and just shouted, "Check properly, and stop joking around... Remember this: the disgrace of this patrol is the disgrace of Young Master Zhao; the disgrace of Young Master Zhao is the disgrace of all of us. If you feel tired, just think about your salary at the end of the month, understand?"

"Damn it! If Lord Wu doesn't go home, none of us will go home!" the young man shouted again.

"If Lord Wu doesn't go home, none of us will go home!"

Encouraged by the old man and the young man, a chorus of responses rang out from the peach grove.

Wu Li blushed as she was teased and put in the position of a model worker, which made her feel a little annoyed, but she couldn't refute it.

Although there's an unspoken rule of seniority within this patrol office, there's only one officially appointed patrol officer. This means that, apart from Zhao Hao Chen, all the other night patrolmen are equals. Even the captains of each patrol team only handle coordination and execution; they have no specific official position or power. Therefore… although Wu Li is a favorite of Young Master Zhao, everyone still largely ignores him.