Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

Chapter 95 Do you think anyone can get in?

The people are even more striking in the upper town.

The fabric is better, the colors are more stable, and the pace is neither too fast nor too slow.

Some wore fur coats, others wore jade pendants, and their attendants followed half a step behind carrying boxes; the short blades and pendants at their waists were not unusual, but they were all neatly stored away—not as a show of force, but as a sign of confidence.

What truly dominates the entire street is neither noise nor desolation.

It's that tower in the distance.

The town tower stands in the morning light, its dark body and layered eaves like blades, one upon another. It doesn't rely on clamor to establish its authority; a single glance is enough to tell you which part of the city is the most unapproachable and which is the least daring to approach.

What sets the upper town apart is not its stillness, but its stability: it is crowded, yet orderly; it is noisy, yet not chaotic. Standing here, one's steps will unconsciously become steady, and one's voice will naturally become calmer.

It's not that I'm afraid of anyone, it's just that this place has its own set of dignity, which makes people willing to follow it.

When they reached the North Street intersection, the captain in black armor stopped.

He didn't go any further in, but simply raised his chin forward, speaking in a low but measured tone: "Sir, the territory of the Town Guard is just ahead, I'll leave you here."

Ye Xiao nodded and walked straight ahead.

As you approach the tower at the end of the street, its black eaves casting shadows on the light. The two stone beasts in front of the tower are not new but clean, their eyes empty, yet they inspire an instinctive sense of awe.

Town City Division.

Ye Xiao walked to the door.

The gatekeepers were two trainee town guards, neither flamboyant nor undisciplined.

One of the men glanced at Ye Xiao and asked, "What brings you here?"

Ye Xiao raised his hand and showed the town's guard token.

The token was dark and heavy, with a faint pattern on its corner that flashed and then disappeared.

The trainee town guard's expression shifted, and he immediately stepped aside, his tone becoming much more respectful: "Mystic-level town guard, please come in."

Ye Xiao didn't say anything more. He stepped over the threshold, and the sounds from North Street outside seemed to be blocked by the door frame.

The town's administrative center lacked the hustle and bustle of a marketplace and the noise of a government office.

The stone corridor was deep, the eaves cast cold shadows, and the walls were adorned with the bureau's road signs and lamps—simple in appearance, yet illuminating every stretch of the road clearly. The town guards who came and went walked slowly, without a single unnecessary pause, turning corners, passing through gates, and changing corridors as if they were used to it.

Occasionally someone would glance at them, but only for a fleeting moment.

They weren't looking at the straw hat or the face mask.

Instead, it was the direction Ye Xiao walked.

There are many roads in the Town Guard Bureau, but few lead to the Town Guard Tower. The inner corridor leads deep into the town, where fewer and fewer people are seen, and the place grows quieter with each step.

Ye Xiao remained unhurried, his sleeves slightly tucked in, his steps steady, as if he were simply there to handle an ordinary official business.

He turned into the inner corridor, and suddenly heard footsteps ahead.

Not in a hurry, yet sinking.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

Two town guards stood in the shadows at the end of the corridor, their short blades pressed even tighter against their waists, their positions firmly planted.

Inside the tower gate, a man dressed in unassuming clothes exuded an aura of power that surpassed all others.

As he walked out, the town guards on both sides almost simultaneously slowed down their movements by half.

The man didn't look at anyone else, but instead swept his gaze across Ye Xiao's bamboo hat and face mask, pausing for a moment.

There was no questioning, nor was there hostility; it was more like confirmation: who would be hiding their face in the Town City Division, and who was about to enter the tower?

After a moment, he suppressed his curiosity, looked away, and continued walking.

The two quickly passed each other.

Ye Xiao remained expressionless, simply pulling his straw hat down even lower as he continued walking inside.

The inner corridor grew quieter the further in you went, the clearer even the sound of footsteps could be heard. Occasionally, there were small doors on either side, each with a black wooden plaque nailed to it, bearing only a few simple symbols. Outsiders wouldn't understand them, but those in the department would recognize them at a glance.

After turning through several corridors, the space suddenly opened up ahead.

The Town Tower lies deep within the Town City Bureau.

From afar, it's a landmark; only upon closer inspection do you understand why it's so imposing. The stone steps at the base of the tower are stacked one on top of another, their surfaces worn dark by countless boot soles, yet without a trace of disorder.

The tower gate was made of dark, thick wood, with an iron lining, and the doors were sewn tightly together. There was no lock on the door, only the imprint of an old seal next to it.

Two town guards stood at the gate, motionless, yet they made people instinctively stop.

One of them raised his hand to stop them, his voice low but firm: "The town's tower is a heavily guarded area; no one may enter without permission. State your purpose and await notification."

Ye Xiao did not explain.

He raised his hand and took out the smaller black card from his sleeve.

The black plaque wasn't large, and the subtle patterns on its edges were almost invisible, but the moment it appeared, the guards below the tower changed their expressions.

It wasn't respect, it was shock. The hand that had been stopping the person froze in mid-air, its knuckles turning white.

He swallowed back what he was about to say, and only whispered to confirm, his voice even softer than before: "Personal identification card?"

Ye Xiao didn't explain, but withdrew the black token and said in a flat tone, "I want to see the Town Envoy."

The guard at the foot of the tower dared not ask any more questions, but simply clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, more solemn than ever before when he had allowed passage. He then turned to his companion and gave him a wink: "Go and report this."

Another guard immediately entered:

The tower gate closed, the tower's shadow loomed over, and the surroundings became even quieter.

In this stillness, one can hear the subtle reactions around them even more clearly.

The town guards patrolling the corridor in the distance, who had been keeping their eyes straight ahead, couldn't help but glance over out of the corner of their eyes.

None of them had ever heard that the town envoy's personal token had been given to someone else.

A moment later, the tower gate opened a crack again.

After the town guard who went in came out, another town guard was behind him.

His clothes were darker, his shoulders were straight, and his waist ornaments were simple and without any extra decorations, yet they were heavier than those of the town guards outside.

He didn't ask any more questions, but simply clasped his hands in greeting at the tower entrance, and said in a clean and crisp tone: "Please enter the tower, the city magistrate is waiting."

As soon as these words were spoken, the two town guards below the tower simultaneously stepped aside.

Ye Xiao stepped into the tower gate.

The light inside the door immediately dimmed.

The tower wasn't a main hall, but rather a spiral staircase and corridors. The stone walls felt cold, swallowing any footsteps that made them echo. The staircase leading up the tower was narrow, yet excessively clean, clearly maintained daily.

The town guard walked ahead, leading the way without explaining or chatting.

Ye Xiao didn't ask a single question, and simply followed along.

The higher you go, the farther away the sounds of the morning grow, and the closer the wind seems to come. The tower windows are small, and light cuts in through the cracks, falling in beams onto the stone steps, making the steps even clearer.

We went up two more floors.

A wooden door appeared ahead; it was not ornate, yet it was more imposing than the tower gate.

The town guard leading the way stopped, stepped back half a step, and whispered, "We've arrived."

A very soft rustling sound of a pen falling came from inside the door.

Immediately afterwards, a calm voice rang out from inside the door, not loud, but enough to make one instinctively straighten their back: "Come in."

Ye Xiao pushed open the door and entered.

The room wasn't large, but it had a high ceiling. The beams were dark and the walls were so clean they were almost cold. A row of narrow windows on the side let the morning light be cut into thin lines by the window panes and fall on the stone floor in front of the desk.

The case is very long, and it only contains three items.

An unclosed dossier, a seal still bearing the scent of ink, and a cup of clear tea.

The tea leaves did not fog up; they looked as if they had just been placed down.

The town magistrate sat behind her desk, dressed in plain white robes with her cuffs neatly pressed down. She held a brush in her hand, writing slowly and deliberately until she finished the last word, then gently set the brush down: "Speak."

There was another person standing beside the table, Lu Xingzhou.

He stood casually with his arms crossed, but he didn't cross the invisible line in front of the table. His eyes swept over Ye Xiao's bamboo hat and face mask, as if he were watching a show.

Ye Xiao stopped three steps in front of the desk and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "This subordinate wishes to enter the cold pool ten miles north of the city."

Lu Xingzhou immediately clicked his tongue: "If anyone else hears you say that, it could be a disaster."

The garrison commander didn't even glance at him, his gaze fixed on the tightly tucked edge of Ye Xiao's sleeve. His tone was flat: "Do you think just anyone can enter the garrison's territory?"