Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

Chapter 562 Crimson Nails on the Hidden Path, Earth Vein Revealed

Ye Xiao looked at the Nine Balance Array Academy:

"A few array formations are enough for them to remember all the names?"

Vice Envoy Meng smiled:

"Ordinary duties are certainly not enough."

"What Jiuheng really pays attention to is who can take over the formation that others can't break through, and who will eventually repair it."

Ye Xiao understood.

Jiuheng records that in the royal city, there is now another person who can truly solve the problems of the formation.

Deputy Envoy Meng's fingertips were still resting on that cluster of courtyards:

"The master array master really took advantage of the terrain and set up the array in advance."

"Even a grandmaster has to take a look before going in."

Ye Xiao's gaze lingered on that cluster of courtyards for a moment.

Only then did I truly memorize the two characters "九衡".

Deputy Envoy Meng immediately moved his hand to the side.

A red furnace mark was placed not far from the Nine Balances Array Academy.

Ye Xiao asked:

"here it is?"

"The Alchemy Gathering".

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"A place where alchemists and pharmacists gather."

"People send medicines there for testing, revising prescriptions, detoxifying, and treating drug interactions."

"Some pills are fine."

"Those who eat it may not be able to withstand it."

Ye Xiao looked at him:

"Does it also depend on physical condition?"

"look."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"The same pill might produce different results if taken by a different person."

"Physical realm, physical body, meridians, and the cultivation method one practices can all clash with the properties of medicine."

"If we really encounter a high-grade pill of dubious origin, the alchemy cauldron will not only test whether there is a problem with the pill."

"It depends on whether you can eat it."

Ye Xiao nodded:

"These kinds of alchemists aren't cheap, are they?"

"It can't be lower."

Vice Envoy Meng chuckled:

"Anyone who can truly test high-level pills, modify high-level formulas, and process medicinal powders won't be cheap anywhere."

Ye Xiao had just heard him finish explaining the Nine Balances when he casually asked:

"Compared to a formation master?"

Deputy Envoy Meng stopped.

He first looked at Jiu Heng, then at the Pill Cauldron Gathering, and finally turned to look at Ye Xiao:

"You really want to know?"

"Um."

"Then it's best not to ask in front of either side in the future."

Ye Xiao nodded:

"clear."

Deputy Envoy Meng continued to move his hand downwards.

A long, narrow old street came into view.

Shiyi Street.

You'll most likely go to this place someday.

Ye Xiao looked at him:

Why?

"You're lacking in many things."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"Old artifacts, remnants of weapons, ancient scrolls, old battle formations, stones of unknown origin, and animal bones that no one recognizes."

"As long as you dare to put it up, someone will dare to sell it."

He smiled:

"The sellers all said they found them themselves, and some even said they were family heirlooms."

"The buyers all pretended to believe it."

Ye Xiao asked:

"Do you have genuine products?"

"have."

"fraud?"

"More."

"Does our company handle this?"

"I wasted money on the wrong thing; it's my own fault for not having a good eye."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"They really dare to display forbidden and evil items."

"Then it falls under our jurisdiction."

Ye Xiao's gaze lingered on Shiyi Street for a moment longer.

Inside the Gu family's guest courtyard.

The last line of that materials list was still blank.

That batch of secondhand goods has been confirmed to have been transferred to the capital. It changed hands several times in between, and the Shang family is still pursuing it.

Shiyi Street is certainly not as reliable as the Shang family's road.

But it is also a path.

Ye Xiao noted down the location.

Deputy Envoy Meng's hand had already turned southeast.

仓。

Row.

River wharf.

Goods channel.

A large commercial route stretched all the way out of the city.

Deputy Envoy Meng's hand landed on the Shang family's cargo lines:

"You should be familiar with this area."

"Shang's goods are being sold."

"The routes are the most extensive, including vehicles, warehouses, and ships."

He didn't pause for long, moving his finger to the side:

"The Jin family's rare and expensive property."

"The Jin family also produced a young grandmaster recently."

Vice Envoy Meng smiled:

"To have reached that level at this age is quite remarkable in the royal city."

Ye Xiao looked at the markings:

"Golden".

Deputy Envoy Meng turned his head:

"You recognize this one too?"

"I've fought with them."

Deputy Envoy Meng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Ye Xiao added:

"Later, I did some trading."

Vice Envoy Meng glanced at him for two breaths:

"OK."

"I won't ask anymore."

Ye Xiao didn't explain either.

Deputy Envoy Meng continued to move his hand towards the outer edge of the commercial district.

A tall building stands out prominently among several commercial streets.

"Photo studio".

Vice Envoy Meng pointed to the building name:

"The place in the capital where intelligence trading takes place."

Ye Xiao looked over:

"You accept any kind of message?"

"Check people, find people, investigate, and spread rumors."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"There are official paths, but some people can't wait and don't want to leave behind official records."

"In situations like this, I would first go to a photo studio to ask."

Ye Xiao said:

Is it accurate?

"It depends on which floor you buy a ticket for."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"The cheap option only gives you one direction."

"Who went where recently, who they met, what's being said outside?"

"Going further back, we'll give you everything we can: the source, the date, the people involved."

"Once the price arrives at the destination, we'll cross-check several pieces of information."

Ye Xiao said:

"And you still can't guarantee that?"

"News and evidence are not the same thing."

Deputy Envoy Meng glanced at him:

"What's truly valuable about a photo studio is that it can deliver information to you that you might not even be able to find even after searching for ten days."

"As for whether you believe it or not in the end."

"It depends on you."

Deputy Envoy Meng moved his hand away from the photo studio and down the outer edge of the commercial district.

Not far away, a large number of theater signs are connected together.

"Fengge Garden".

He touched one of them lightly:

"Remember this place too."

Ye Xiao looked over:

"A theater?"

"There are opera troupes, musicians, acrobats, magicians, and many troupes from other states."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"It's fine during the day."

"At night, this area becomes one of the liveliest places in the royal city."

Ye Xiao asked:

"The Town Administration Bureau's investigations have even reached this point?"

"often."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"There are many people."

"Too talkative."

"There are many doors."

His fingertips traced a path from the main entrance of Fengge Garden all the way to the back:

"Everyone can see where some people in the royal city go during the day."

"I really don't want people to know who I meet at night, so I prefer to go to the most lively places."

"Formerly a performer."

"Let's go upstairs for a drink."

"Substitution later."

"Drive through the back door."

"Hundreds of faces can come and go from the same stick of incense."

He looked at Ye Xiao:

"If they really investigate this far, don't just focus on the show."

Ye Xiao said:

"back."

It paused for a moment.

"There's also a back door."

Deputy Ambassador Meng nodded:

"Truly clever."

He withdrew his hand from Fengge Garden and pointed back to Wanfang Pavilion, which he had visited earlier:

"This was mentioned earlier."

"One more thing to note."

"Check out people from out of state, and do it quickly."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"A swordsman from a border state, a merchant caravan from another state, and an elder from a sect."

"They might only stay in the capital for three days."

"A travel record can tell you that someone has been here."

"We can't keep people."

"If we wait even a day, the person might already be out of town."

Ye Xiao noted it down.

Deputy Envoy Meng's hand moved south again.

The buildings and pavilions on the map gradually decrease, but a large gray line encircles the streets.

"The City of Sinking Lights"

Ye Xiao looked over:

"black market?"

"almost."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"You can't see anything during the day."

"The vendors only come out when it gets dark."

"Second-hand goods, grey market goods, obscure materials, weapons of dubious origin."

"There are also some medicines that reputable pharmacies refuse to accept or sell."

Ye Xiao asked:

"The Town Guard doesn't care?"

"Tube."

"If you catch someone breaking the law, take it anyway."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"But the Lantern Market is not a street, nor is it owned by any one company."

"This place is sealed off today."

"In a few days, even if the person moves to a different location, the stall can still be set up."

Ye Xiao looked at the gray line on the map:

"So it just won't go away?"

"If you really want to clear it all out, it's not impossible."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"The problem is that it's unnecessary."

"We don't have time to chase after ordinary secondhand goods and contraband every day."

"If it involves contraband, dead bodies, or serious cases, investigate it thoroughly."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiao understood.

The city of Shendeng is like a layer of business that grows out of the city at night.

Deputy Envoy Meng moved his hand an inch to the side.

At the end of the gray line, there is a single, dark mark.

There were only three words next to it.

The Cold Crow Order.

Ye Xiao glanced at it:

"Is this also a transaction?"

"Dirtier."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"Buying a life."

"A severed hand."

"Useless person."

"Pursue them, silence them."

"They dared not write anything in the official contract, so someone passed the message through that channel."

Ye Xiao asked:

"Who will answer?"

"uncertain."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"Someone specifically delivered the order."

"Someone is negotiating the price in the middle."

"The ones who actually take action may be another group of people."

"The swordsman who took your job today might not be there again next time."

Ye Xiao said:

"Has our company arrested anyone like this?"

"They caught the one who did it."

"We also traced the connection back up through the middleman."

Deputy Envoy Meng shook his head:

"Several lines were cut off."

"It wasn't pinched clean."

As he said this, he glanced at Ye Xiao:

"Someday someone might actually pay you to kill them."

Don't find it strange.

Ye Xiao said:

"Someone bought it before."

Deputy Envoy Meng paused for a moment:

"Too."

He looked at the map again, his fingertips tracing a path from the Shadow Pavilion to the Sunken Lantern Market, then landing on the Cold Crow Order:

"Photo studios sell information."

"Smuggling grey market goods in Shendeng Market."

"The 'Crow Order' involves receiving shady dealings."

"The three lines are not owned by the same company."

"But there really is someone in the royal city who wants to do something that is inconvenient to do openly."

"Nine times out of ten, it's unavoidable to get around one of these issues."

Ye Xiao asked:

"Who are these people behind the scenes?"

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"There are all kinds of people."

"merchant."

"Aristocratic families".

"The Prince's Mansion".

"A hand that cannot be shown in public within the sect."

He tapped the gray lines lightly with his fingertip:

"All sorts of people approach them."

"Don't assume that only those hiding in the shadows take these paths."

"sometimes."

"The people who are less able to make money during the day are more likely to send money here."

Ye Xiao didn't ask any more questions.

Upon reaching this point, the entire map of the royal city is no longer just a collection of streets, neighborhoods, buildings, and pavilions, as it was when it was first unfolded.

The obvious door.

The road at night.

Who does what business?

What places are suitable for hiding people, exchanging goods, and delivering messages?

The general outlines are all there.

Deputy Envoy Meng withdrew his hand from the gray line in the south and swept it across the entire map of the royal city.

Ye Xiao followed his gaze.

A few red nails are scattered on the picture.

Some are located near the residences of prominent families.

Some landed near temples and monasteries.

Two more were nailed directly into ordinary alleyways.

There are no building names nearby.

There are no faction markers either.

Ye Xiao asked:

"What are these?"

Deputy Envoy Meng glanced at it:

"people."

Ye Xiao looked at him:

"Pinning a person to the diagram alone?"

"Grandmaster".

Ye Xiao's gaze shifted slightly as he glanced at the vermilion nails again:

"Are all Grandmasters in the Royal City this good?"

"Of course not."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"Masters of aristocratic families follow the family's records."

"The people from the Prince's Mansion have fallen below the Prince's Mansion."

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

"Even a grandmaster needs to be nailed with a vermilion nail—"

He smiled:

"There are definitely more nails on this picture than that."

Ye Xiao looked at the few vermilion nails:

"So these people aren't under the jurisdiction of any organization now?"

"right."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"At least when our company records them, we list them individually."

He pointed to one of the vermilion nails near the old family residence:

"Some of them came from the old clans and then set up their own families."

The finger then moved towards the vicinity of the temple:

"Some of them originally came from Confucian, Buddhist, or Taoist backgrounds."

"There are still old acquaintances inside, and the incense has not been extinguished."

"But now, what he does or doesn't do is no longer under the control of the old family."

Next one.

It is located in an ordinary neighborhood.

"There's also this kind."

"I never really had any powerful backers to begin with."

"But she has reached the level of a grandmaster."

"You are a brand yourself."

Ye Xiao said:

"That's why you're keeping a separate record?"

"right."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"If a grandmaster from a prestigious family gets into trouble, go to the prestigious family first."

"The people from the Prince's residence have made a move. Let's check the Prince's residence first."

"The same applies to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism."

"But these people are different."

"There is no established power behind us that can control them."

As he said this, he lightly touched one of the red nails with his knuckle:

"A true master must open his own doors, recruit his own students, and do his own work."

Even if there are only three or five people under your tutelage.

"We can't really treat him like just three or five people."

Ye Xiao asked:

"How many of these are listed separately?"

"Our company has a special register."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"Quantity is not a fixed number."

"Some people are not in the capital for many years."

"Some people go into seclusion for several years and don't show their faces."

"Some people were originally affiliated with a certain company, but after a few years they took the sign off themselves."

Ye Xiao said:

"And vice versa?"

"certainly."

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"I've been standing outside for decades."

"What if one day I return to the sect, enter the royal palace, or reunite with the old clan?"

"The nails were naturally removed."

Ye Xiao paused for a moment on the several vermilion nails.

Vice Envoy Meng then said:

"There are a few others who are rather special."

"Nominally, he still falls at the level of a grandmaster."

"But when it comes to actually getting things done, our department won't just look at the weight of an ordinary grandmaster."

Ye Xiao looked at him.

Deputy Ambassador Meng did not continue:

"The names are all in the register."

"You can see for yourself later."

His hand moved northeast along the map of the capital city.

Finally, it landed on a mountain gate mark that Ye Xiao was all too familiar with.

Yuanwu Mountain Royal City Courtyard.

Deputy Envoy Meng said:

"I don't need to teach you this."

"Remember only one thing."

He glanced at the dark blue recommendation token in Ye Xiao's hand:

"You used to be in the royal city."

"They recognize the identity of the Yuanwu Mountain sect."

"Starting today."

"You will be stationed at our company."

"When handling duties at the Town Office, look for the Deputy Envoy's Seal on the back."

Ye Xiao glanced down at the recommendation plaque.

On one side is Yuanwu Mountain.

One side is Wangcheng Town Chief.

"clear."

Deputy Envoy Meng nodded, preparing to remove his hand from the map.

Ye Xiao's gaze, however, fell on the very bottom edge.

Streets, neighborhoods, buildings, and pavilions are all on the ground.

Only there.

Several very faint gray lines run through the underground of the entire royal city.

There were only a few small words pressed down next to it.

External veins.

Old branch.

Well shaft.

External protection for the blood vessels.

Ye Xiao looked at it for a moment:

"These also fall under our company's jurisdiction?"