Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

Chapter 561 One City, One Hundred Tables, Half the World

Two clerks carrying scrolls approached from the long corridor.

One of them saw Vice Envoy Meng and was about to bow when his gaze swept over the recommendation plaque that Ye Xiao had not yet put away, lingering for a moment on the newly placed dark red seal of the Bureau.

The two immediately stepped aside to make way.

Ye Xiao continued walking out.

Walk along the corridor to the third inner gate.

When he arrived, it was Vice Envoy Meng who led him inside.

Ye Xiao then took out the cyan-black recommendation token and pressed it into the inspection slot on the side of the door.

hum.

The deputy envoy's seal on the back lit up.

The gatekeeper glanced at the seal and stepped aside: "Vice Envoy Ye."

Click.

The inner door opens.

Ye Xiao retrieved the recommendation plaque.

When I arrived.

He followed the others inside.

now.

The door recognized his seal.

People are still waiting for their appointments under the corridor.

The local martial arts officer who had spoken earlier just looked up.

He saw the open inner door and the dark blue recommendation plaque in Ye Xiao's hand, and his legs, which were originally resting on the side of the passageway, moved further in.

Give way to the main road.

Ye Xiao walked past the group.

After exiting the second courtyard, Vice Envoy Meng did not head towards the duty room, but instead turned towards the west corridor: "Is this my first time on duty at the Royal City headquarters?"

"Um."

"The duty room is still set up for you."

Vice Envoy Meng raised his chin: "Perfect, let's familiarize ourselves with a few doors first."

Ye Xiao looked at him.

Vice Envoy Meng said, "It's not about taking care of newcomers."

"I'm the one who checked the person in. If the file you're holding really knocked on the wrong door, I'll most likely be the one who ends up cleaning up the mess."

He turned and walked towards the high corridor: "I don't like cleaning up other people's messes."

Ye Xiao followed up: "You can knock on the wrong door, right?"

"certainly."

Deputy Envoy Meng didn't even turn his head: "Same case."

"You knocked on the wrong door. You're the one standing outside their door explaining why."

He stopped when he knocked on the right door.

At the end of the corridor, an entire high wall emerges from behind the pillars.

A huge map of the royal city covered the wall.

Vice Envoy Meng raised his hand: "The other party asked first whether you had all the necessary documents."

Ye Xiao approached.

Streets, neighborhoods, rivers, and bridges are all on the map.

These are just the bottom layer.

What is truly striking are the dense array of copper nails, wooden plaques, and fine threads.

Imperial Palace.

Wangfu.

Zhusi.

Sect Academy.

Academy.

Temples and monasteries.

A grand family mansion.

Commercial area.

Warehouse area.

External service area.

In some places, only black circles, red nails, and gray lines are used, and the names are omitted.

Ye Xiao had looked at many maps after entering the royal city.

Those pictures showed him how to get there.

The one in front of me is different.

Deputy Envoy Meng tapped his knuckles lightly on the wall: "Ordinary maps depict streets, neighborhoods, gates, and bridges."

"This picture shows who is sitting at which table."

His first finger landed in the center of the royal city.

The index finger, stained with light ink, landed within a circle of dark palace walls.

"Recognize the first one first."

"The palace."

Forbidden roads, government offices, and princely residences were layered upon each other.

The further in you go, the fewer fine markings appear on the map.

Deputy Envoy Meng said, "The largest table in the dynasty."

"The imperial family, the imperial guards, various government departments, and the princes' residences—many orders and identities flow out from here."

Ye Xiao looked at it for a moment: "Can the Town Guard's document be submitted?"

"Scrolls can be delivered."

Vice Envoy Meng replied quickly: "Whether a person can enter, and which gate they can enter, depends on the rank of the case and the request signature."

He glanced at Ye Xiao sideways: "So don't take half a page of rumors and lead twenty guards to the palace gate to put up seals."

Ye Xiao asked, "Did you really put it on?"

"We'll knock on your gates first."

"Our company will send someone over to collect it again."

Ye Xiao nodded: "Understood."

Vice Envoy Meng glanced at him for a moment: "Did you just carefully calculate what level of case is required to post this?"

"I need to know where the edge is."

Deputy Envoy Meng's faint crease at the end of his left eyebrow twitched slightly: "Alright."

"At least if something really goes wrong in the future, you won't tell me that no one taught you."

The finger, tinged with pale ink, moved northward.

A vast expanse of white walls and black tiles lay beneath my fingers.

"White Deer Academy".

Ye Xiao saw the name: "Gu Qingzhang?"

"He is a member of the Confucian school."

Vice Envoy Meng said, "But Gu Qingzhang alone does not represent the entire Confucian school."

"At the White Deer Academy, the Confucian scholars sit at a large table in the capital city."

"There are quite a few capable fighters inside."

"What's truly troublesome is never just fists."

His fingertips traced a white line along the outer perimeter of the academy: "Does an order have any official status?"

"Did a case cross the line?"

"What you're doing—is it protecting the people, abusing your power, or is it like a mountain gate blocking the city?"

"If we really started arguing, we could go from the beginning of the book to the end."

Ye Xiao asked, "Do you have a certificate?"

"That would be best."

Deputy Envoy Meng chuckled: "When dealing with people who genuinely value rules, having a certificate actually makes things easier."

"If you don't have a certificate, at least make sure you write the answer sheet clearly."

He glanced at the deputy envoy's seal that Ye Xiao had just put down: "Don't go around telling people how it feels to use a new seal."

Outside the White Deer Academy, two thin lines continued to extend outwards.

A path leads through the high pavilions facing the street.

One path leads down the waterfront into another tall building.

Deputy Envoy Meng pointed his finger outwards: "Record this entire area together."

"Wenjin judges by his name, Mingyu judges by his character."

"Wenjin Pavilion is full of scholars, painters, poets, and those who have just entered the capital and can't wait to have half the city know their names by tomorrow."

"Mingyu Tower is more direct."

"Who sits at the same table with whom, and who poured a drink for whom, sometimes spreads faster than what was actually said at the table."

My finger continued to slide along the north side of the city.

Large guild halls are located on the periphery.

"Wanfang Pavilion".

"Merchants from other states, martial artists from other places, and members of small sects who come to the city on business, and who do not have their own courtyards, will mostly stay there first."

"From now on, when investigating a newcomer who has recently entered the capital, first check their registration records."

Deputy Envoy Meng's hand had already turned towards the west city.

Dajue Temple.

Ye Xiao said, "Zhao Ji."

Deputy Envoy Meng turned his head to the side: "You've seen him before too?"

"I've seen it."

Deputy Envoy Meng didn't ask any more questions, and simply pointed eastward.

Qingwei Guan.

Ye Xiao said, "Lin Guizhou."

This time, Vice Envoy Meng truly stopped.

He first looked at the white deer, then at Dajue, and finally turned to look at Ye Xiao: "You've met Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, haven't you?"

"I've seen it."

Vice Envoy Meng paused for a moment, then smiled: "Alright."

"Then I won't start by teaching these three families how to recognize people."

He turned back to the map: "Dajue Temple has monks' registers, temple property, a monastic monastery, and also a place for suppressing evil spirits."

"When Zhen Cha enters the temple, the first thing he does is not to listen to how well he can recite the scriptures."

Ye Xiao's brow twitched slightly: "Nuclear monk registration?"

"right."

Deputy Envoy Meng said, "We arrested more than a dozen fakes last year."

"Those who cheat for incense offerings, those who hide from enemies, and those who conceal stolen goods."

"There was another one who infiltrated the treasury for six months, just to steal from it."

Ye Xiao nodded.

Deputy Envoy Meng tapped the dense array of old formation markings around Qingwei Observatory with his ink-stained finger again: "This is more troublesome."

"The royal city has a long history, with old formations, ancient wells, altars, and ancient gates layered upon each other, and many places have been touched by the Taoist sect."

"When you encounter an old formation with an unclear origin, first check the old contracts."

"Don't make the first cut."

Ye Xiao asked, "What if you chopped it wrong?"

Vice Envoy Meng looked at him: "Aren't you skilled in military formations?"

"meeting."

"That's alright."

Ye Xiao turned his head.

Deputy Envoy Meng smirked: "Just kidding."

"Even if it can be repaired, it will still cost money."

Ye Xiao looked at the three gates again.

White deer.

Great Awakening.

Qingwei.

Although separated by most of the royal city, the lines on the map extend from under their respective gates.

Heading towards the palace.

Past families.

Heading towards the commercial area.

There are also several black circles.

Ye Xiao asked, "The Demonic Sect?"

Deputy Envoy Meng raised his hand and pointed to the black circles: "They're not on the map."

"If they dare to hang a plaque for the Demonic Sect's Royal City Academy on the main street of the Royal City, our department will remove it that very day."

"The problem is, they never put their names on it."

His fingertips traced the edges of several black circles: "The skin of a shop, the door of a gray market, the shell of a cult, even a house that looks cleaner than anyone else from the outside, could be hiding people."

"Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism all have their own paths."

"They specifically target cracks in doors."

Ye Xiao's gaze lingered on those black circles for a moment.

Deputy Envoy Meng has already started walking downstairs.

Several sprawling mansions came into view.

"Aristocratic families".

Vice Envoy Meng first addressed Cui: "Doesn't this need to be explained?"

"Need not."

"The Gu family."

"Where you live now."

Next place.

"The Du family."

"A family with a long history of criminal investigation."

"There may not be many people in the clan who wear the official robes of the chief, but when you look back at many old cases, legal contracts, and criminal disputes in the capital, you can often find the names left by the Du family."

Ye Xiao looked at the several large mansions: "These old families in the royal city have been around for so long?"

Vice Envoy Meng laughed: "There are quite a few who dare to say that their traditions have been passed down for thousands of years."

"Whether it's a thousand years or more, you can add up to a whole number yourself. Our company doesn't revise family genealogies for them."

His hand swept across several mansions.

A thin thread is pulled out and then splits into several strands.

"The real problem for these elderly families is never simply that they are 'old'."

"In-laws, worshippers, disciples, officials, old acquaintances from the same sect, and contracts that haven't been completely severed from decades or even centuries ago."

Deputy Envoy Meng casually pointed to an inconspicuous little shop: "Investigate one of these shops."

Fingertips follow the line upwards.

"Flip it up twice."

The thread fell into the hands of a powerful family.

"Turn it over again."

They were taken to the Prince's residence.

Changing direction, they entered another sect's academy.

Deputy Envoy Meng withdrew his hand: "Difficult to investigate and impossible to investigate are two different things."

Ye Xiao asked, "What can't be investigated?"

"Without a license."

The knuckles fall on the picture.

笃.

"I have the certificate."

"Knock on any door that needs knocking."

Vice Envoy Meng looked at Ye Xiao: "The only difference is whether you came here with half a sentence you overheard at the dinner table, or a scroll that dares to let people write their names on it."

Ye Xiao nodded.

Suddenly, a faint metallic scraping sound came from behind.

An official with fine pliers walked up to the map, nodded slightly to Deputy Envoy Meng, pulled out a red nail from the south city wall, moved it two streets away, and tightened the gray line again.

The old nail holes are still on the wall.

The new line has been taut.

The clerk put away the pliers and left.

Deputy Envoy Meng said, "Don't memorize the positions by heart."

Ye Xiao looked at him.

"The sign won't disappear."

Deputy Meng tapped the diagram with his knuckles: "People will."

The finger, stained with light ink, slid along the gray line outwards: "Outwards."

"Zoumafang".

The number of prominent figures from sects and aristocratic families is gradually decreasing.

The number of copper nails suddenly increased.

dense.

miscellaneous.

Some have only a single, solitary copper nail, without even a wire.

"A place for江湖人 (jianghu people)."

Vice Envoy Meng said, "Most people who have no powerful family background, no religious sect, and no official position, and who rely on their own abilities to make a living, come here."

"Wandering knights, independent cultivators, bodyguards, hunters, escorts, people who help others find things, and even out-of-town martial artists who have just entered the royal city in the morning and haven't even decided where to stay for the night."

Ye Xiao said, "Let's take the job."

"right."

"Several notices are displayed year-round. They are for escorting, finding lost items, offering rewards, and hiring temporary workers."

"A job that pays ten taels of silver is available."

"Some people even dare to hang up a bill for 100,000 taels."

"Some aristocratic families would also indirectly involve themselves in matters that they themselves couldn't handle directly."

Ye Xiao asked, "Is this company keeping an eye on it?"

"stare."

Deputy Envoy Meng said, "Carrying a knife at your waist is not illegal, nor is earning a living through your skills."

"There are true knights-errant and true outlaws among them."

Which one?

He tapped the picture with his calloused knuckles: "Look at what he's done."

At this point, Vice Envoy Meng suddenly glanced at Ye Xiao: "If you didn't have this identity as a member of the sect now..."

"Most people who enter the royal city for the first time will come here first."

Ye Xiao looked at the horse-riding workshop.

The way of life is not unfamiliar to me.

They all earn their living through their skills.

However, the royal city offered a higher price for these skills.

"Possibly."

Vice Envoy Meng laughed and said, "So don't underestimate it."

"Some truly skilled individual fighters are mixed in with the royal city. Today they might escort a shipment, tomorrow they might go out of the city to kill a sixth-level desperate criminal, and a couple of days later, they might disappear without a trace."

Ye Xiao glanced at the horse-riding stall one more time.

Further west.

The markings for furnaces, workshops, and foundries became denser.

Hundred Crafts Workshop.

Vice Envoy Meng only mentioned one sentence: "Weapon forging, ore refining, mechanisms, and talismans are all here. Ordinary array plates and small array devices are also made."

The finger continued pointing north.

Cross two streets.

It lands on a cluster of independent courtyards.

Nine Balance Array Academy.

Ye Xiao's gaze truly fixed for the first time.

Vice Envoy Meng saw it and also pointed to the courtyard complex: "Make a note of this place."

"Many of the truly important military affairs in the royal city cannot be separated from Jiu Heng."

He traced the array markers on the map with his fingertip: "Mansions, warehouses, clan protection areas, high-level cultivation grounds, and the various departments' own grand arrays."

"For even more difficult problems, which the sects and academies can't handle themselves, they'll send them here."

Ye Xiao asked, "Who's in charge?"

"No one is in charge."

Deputy Envoy Meng said, "In the beginning, it was a group of people who were truly capable of handling major formations. When they encountered a difficult formation, they would sit down together to discuss it and decide whoever could handle it would take on the task."

"Over time, people will recognize the craftsmanship and the rules."

"And that's how the Jiuheng signboard was erected."

He paused for a moment: "There aren't many permanent residents, but there are quite a few who are nominally stationed there."

"There are also some people who may not show their faces even once every few years."

Ye Xiao asked, "Are there very few people?"

"If there are too many, they won't be worth much."

Vice Envoy Meng's hand was still resting on the courtyard complex of the Nine Balances Array Academy when he suddenly asked, "Did you repair arrays for someone in the royal city during these past three months?"

"I have practiced several sects."

"Then it's not surprising."

Vice Envoy Meng smiled and said, "Most people in Jiuheng have probably already heard of your name."

Ye Xiao's brows twitched slightly: "So fast?"

"There aren't many people in this industry who are truly capable of handling big projects."

Deputy Envoy Meng said, "When a formation malfunctions, news spreads faster inside the circle than outside, about who didn't understand it, who took over the task, and who ultimately repaired the formation."

He lightly tapped the Nine Balances Array Courtyard with his knuckles: "So you haven't even come to visit yet."

"Those arrays that were repaired earlier—"

"They've probably already submitted your name."