Star Trace Gate

Chapter 906 Temporarily Staying at the Sun Family's House, Father and Son Eat Porridge

Inspecting the hall, in the mission room.

Sun Michen paced back and forth, lost in thought for a long time before finally asking again, "You just said that when Qingxue and the others entered the tomb, the condemned prisoner was fighting several strangers?!"

“That’s right.” The young expert from the Sun family quickly replied, “Before the patrolmen even arrived, strangers had already entered the tomb to ambush and kill Huang Xiaozhi and his group. However, according to what Aunt Qingxue said, those strangers seemed to have perished together with the condemned prisoners, falling into the Nine Netherworlds of the Divine Tomb.”

Sun Michen frowned: "My feeling is right. So many constables from the three halls returned to report that they couldn't find the Huang family aunt and niece in the whole village, but Zhao Haochen remained inactive. Then, before Qingxue entered the tomb, he suddenly proposed to lead the patrolmen into the tomb to search for them, and he looked impatient, even at the cost of violating the rules."

"Those strangers must have been the ones he sent to the tomb, but the condemned prisoner was too powerful, causing them to be caught off guard and lose their lives. Only then did he have to bring the patrolmen into the tomb to save the day."

At this point, Old Sun's eyes suddenly brightened, and he put his hands behind his back and sighed, "The Tomb of the Gods is unusually lively tonight. In addition, Zhou Taozhi, who had a relapse earlier, is the only survivor among the tomb guardians... All these reasons combined are enough to show that this place is not simple."

The young expert couldn't keep up with Old Sun's train of thought and could only listen with a blank look on his face, nodding in agreement.

“Since the Divine Tomb is not peaceful, we must keep a close watch on this place.” Sun Michen slowly turned around and commanded succinctly, “You immediately lead the people of the Law Hall into the tomb. No matter what happens in the tomb, you must keep a close watch on the entrance to the Divine Tomb Immortal Palace and closely monitor the people entering and leaving. Tomorrow morning, I will propose to the Clan Hall to re-select the tomb guardians and completely control and seal off this place.”

"Grandson understands, grandson will go and do it right away."

"I'm tired...!" Sun Michen stretched lazily, then waved her chubby little hands and said, "Go on, go on."

"Yes."

After bowing respectfully, the younger generation of the Sun family quickly left the office. In less than a quarter of an hour, he led dozens of experts from the Dharma Hall into the Divine Tomb using a guiding talisman.

Although Sun Michen already knew that the two Huang family criminals in the Divine Tomb had already escaped, as the head of the Law Hall, one of the three major halls, he could not possibly "neglect his duties" at this critical juncture. Therefore, he waited until the next morning when the Clan Hall held a meeting before leaving the patrol office.

Early in the morning, during a temporary meeting in the clan hall, Zhao Mi claimed that he was unwell and therefore did not attend in person, but instead sent a highly respected elder of the clan to listen in.

Then, Sun Michen took the initiative to suggest that since the Huang family aunt and nephew, who were serious criminals, were not found in the Divine Tomb, the Divine Tomb should be completely controlled and sealed off to prevent any further accidents. Moreover, a new tomb guardian should be selected to personally guard this important place.

The proposal was passed unanimously, and then each of the four major families sent an elder, along with three elders from their clan halls, to reside permanently in the Divine Tomb and guard the place day and night.

After everything was settled, Sun Michen left the clan hall and took a carriage home.

……

The Sun family's library.

Ren and his aunt were sitting at the dining table, enjoying a hearty breakfast.

The two women, an aunt and niece, were a foodie and genuinely starving, so they ate with great relish and didn't act like outsiders at all.

Sun Qingxue rested her chin on her hand and looked at the two of them, speechless. "After such a big incident, Brother Huang still has such a good appetite. This mentality... is truly admirable."

"It's already like this, not eating won't solve anything." Ren Ye replied with a mouthful of grease, "Just keep showing off."

"Eat slowly. If you're not full, I'll have the servants prepare more." Sun Qingxue was quiet and spoke slowly and deliberately. "Look at you, you've been up all night, you're covered in mud and dust. After you finish eating, I'll help you take a bath."

"?!"

Ren was taken aback for a moment, then blushed and replied, "Okay. But I have sensitive skin, so please rub me gently, sister!"

"...Pah! I meant, I'm here to help you prepare for your bath, who said I was going to scrub you? How annoying!" After realizing the ambiguity in her words, Sun Qingxue blushed and joked back.

Beside her, Aunt Tianwei, who ate with exceptional elegance, glanced calmly at Sun Qingxue and asked softly, "When will your father return?"

"Tap!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than light footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by Sun Michen's hearty laughter: "Haha, I'm back now!"

Upon hearing this, Ren Ye looked towards the door and saw Sun Michen closing the door of the Scripture Pavilion himself. He then said, "The matter last night escalated, and the clan hall started its meeting early this morning. I went there first before returning home."

"Uncle Sun, thank you for saving my life." Ren Ye quickly wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, stood up solemnly and bowed deeply, replying humbly.

Although Aunt Tianwei looked down on Fatty Sun, she and her nephew had been rescued by him, and she couldn't possibly repay such a great favor with silence. So she solemnly stood up and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your help, Sun family. If you ever need our help in the future, no matter what it is, my aunt and I will do our best without hesitation."

"Haha, you're too kind, you're too kind."

Sun Michen waved his hand smugly, paused for a moment, and then grinned and replied, "I dare not accept such a task. I, Old Sun, only have one request...!"

Here he comes again!

"Apart from the moon, any request is fine." Aunt Tianwei instantly understood the other person's thoughts and sealed the deal with a single sentence.

"Let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it." Sun Michen replied somewhat awkwardly, then sat down in an empty chair and took the initiative to say, "Now that you're here at the Sun family, don't stand on ceremony. Come on, sit down and have your meal...!"

Although he said that, Ren Ye and his aunt sat down but did not touch their chopsticks, waiting quietly for Sun Michen to continue.

Only the four of them were seated inside the library, and the servants of the Sun family, as well as most of the Sun family members, were unaware that the Huang family aunt and niece were hiding there to avoid trouble.

Sun Michen sat in the chair, looking at Ren Ye with a face full of curiosity, and asked bluntly, "You kid, have you really colluded with the enemy?! A die-hard traitor?"

"Hmm... a die-hard traitor." Ren was also asked a question that made his face turn red. After holding it in for a long time, he finally snorted through his nose.

Upon hearing this answer, Sun Michen looked at Tianwei with a puzzled expression: "Why? Why do you have to betray the enemy?! He's just a child, maybe he doesn't understand the consequences, but... but why did you follow his foolish ways? Do you know how serious the consequences of this are?"

Aunt Tianwei looked at him quietly and said succinctly, "Why so many questions? He's unwilling, and I'm unwilling, so we can only become the mole."

"Completely disregarding the consequences?!"

"What will be the consequences?" Aunt Tianwei said calmly, "When you embarked on this perilous journey away from home, did you think about the consequences? The path of cultivation is inherently fraught with uncertainty and defies the will of Heaven. Since you have made your decision, then go for it. Before you reach the other shore, even the gods cannot predict the outcome."

“…!” Upon hearing this, Sun Michen stopped dwelling on it and changed the subject, asking, “Then where does the resentment of you two, aunt and niece, come from?”

Upon hearing this, both Ren Ye and his aunt fell silent.

“…Since I chose to help you, I’m now a die-hard mole!” Sun Michen was speechless. “Don’t I even deserve to know the truth?”

“No, you misunderstand, Uncle Sun.” Ren Ye immediately replied, “It’s not that we don’t want to tell you, it’s just that this matter was brought about by a series of unexpected events. I’m thinking about… how to tell you about it.”

"Let me hear what exactly happened by sheer coincidence." Old Sun's habit is the same as his daughter's: when he gets serious, he likes to rest his large chin on his hand, looking unpretentious and even a bit simple-minded.

"Ahem...!"

Ren cleared his throat and then began to recount: "To tell you the truth, Uncle, ever since I became a jailer in this prison, Zhao Mi would call me to his Enlightenment Hut every evening and have me read ancient books for an hour. But in reality, Zhao Mi would use a strange kind of sandalwood to make me fall asleep while reading, and then he would cut open my abdomen to examine my star core... This has been going on every day for many years, without fail, rain or shine."

"Faced with Zhao Mi's cruel methods, I am naturally terrified. What if one day he no longer needs to spy on my star core? Will he kill me?! Even if he doesn't kill me, will I be completely crippled by his method of disembowelment?"

"I don't know, but I'm terrified and anxious all the time."

"But more than anything, I was unwilling! I was unwilling to be just a stray dog ​​that could be bullied and have its flesh cut off every day. So... I have always wanted to find my original eyes and also wanted to know what Zhao Mi saw and gained when he spied on my star core every day."

"But with just my aunt's and my own strength, it's naturally difficult to find the Eyes of Origin. So, I started investigating in secret while waiting for the right opportunity to act."

"Finally, while I was attending a class at the Enlightenment Academy, I overheard people talking about Zhou Taozhi. I learned that he was the tomb keeper the night before I was taken out of the coffin, and the only survivor. So, I've always wanted to meet Zhou Taozhi and ask him about what happened before I was taken out of the coffin, as well as how the other two tomb keepers died, to see if I could find any clues about my original eyes."

"But Zhou Taozhi's Treasure Chess Game is too bizarre, and it would be difficult for me to even get close to him. So I felt I needed help, and coincidentally, No. 79 was also unwilling to become a little golden statue on the day of his death."

“We hit it off immediately. I secretly saved him, and he agreed to help me get close to Zhou Taozhi and find out the truth about the night before the coffin was taken out.”

"But I didn't expect that when No. 79 broke out of prison, he would cause such a big commotion, kill so many prison guards, and I didn't expect Zhao Haochen to frame me... which led to things gradually getting out of control."

When Ren Ye got to this point, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh: "Alas, fate is not on my side. After investigating for so long, I haven't gotten a single clue. Instead, I've been completely exposed...!"

After listening, Sun Michen couldn't help but ask, "Is it that simple?"

"Yes, it's that simple." Ren nodded solemnly.

“According to the case files submitted by the patrol officers, you should have seen Zhou Taozhi that day. Moreover, all three chief judges deduced that his sudden relapse was due to the stimulation you caused.” Sun Michen asked with a puzzled expression, “Could it be… that you didn’t get anything out of him?”

"To be precise, we were just one step away from success," Ren corrected. "Number 79 was very powerful. He had successfully guided Zhou Taozhi to recall his past, but unexpectedly, at this crucial moment, Zhao Mingdi from the Zhao family suddenly broke into the Peach Blossom Courtyard, interrupted Zhou Taozhi's state, and drove him completely insane. We tried to calm him down, but it was no use, so we could only escape in the chaos while he was insane."

"...So, you've gone through all this trouble to investigate such a huge case, and all you got in the end was Zhou Taozhi going crazy, without getting a single thing?!"

"You're absolutely right." Ren shook his head helplessly. "This case was definitely not worth it."

"And what about Zhao Mi?" Sun Qingxue asked curiously, "He's been disemboweling you every day, didn't you ever suspect him?!"