Chapter 32

"Really? So sure I'm a military man?" Su Peng listened to the clown wearing the tengu mask and couldn't help but laugh, asking him.

Today, Su Peng wasn't wearing his military uniform. He had only been in the Black Water Army camp for a few days and hadn't yet developed the habits and demeanor of a seasoned soldier.

"I'm not wearing this tengu mask for nothing. I can still smell the military scent on you, sir." The clown wearing the tengu mask pointed to the long nose on his mask and smiled eerily.

Su Peng shook his head and smiled. He had already noticed the special marks on the saddle of the warhorse he had received from the Black Water Army, a sign of his carelessness. His identity was obvious to anyone with a keen eye, and this clown was just putting on a show.

But Su Peng didn't expose him, saying, "Even if you're right, my friend from the Northern Clowns, how's business in Jiangning County these days?"

"Hehe..." The clown wearing the tengu mask wasn't embarrassed by being called out, saying, "Business in Jiangning County has been good lately, and most of the purchases are for information... Would you like some, sir?"

"Let's hear it." Su Peng said. The clown wearing the tengu mask raised a finger: "One piece of information for one gold piece, only answering specific questions. If you don't have a specific question, I'll give you similar nearby information."

Su Peng nodded, threw a gold piece to the clown, and then took out a fist-sized clown mask, showing it to the man from the Northern Clowns.

"Hehehe... I didn't expect you to be one of our regular customers, sir." The clown chuckled and said, "This is a mark of a high-level guest. Regular information is half price, but the Northern Clowns don't give change. You can hear two pieces of information."

"Then two. The first question is about the sects recruiting disciples in Jiangning County recently." Su Peng said. This was the advantage of having an intelligence network. He already had basic information and didn't mention the name of the sect recruiting disciples in Jiangning County, as that would have broken down the information into several specific details.

"You're very careful... But rest assured, the Northern Clowns' reputation in the intelligence business is trustworthy. Of course, the price is... Hehe, your question actually contains three questions, but since this is our first meeting, I'll give you two for free." The Northern Clowns' information dealer said, and then, in a rather mechanical voice, he said, "Purple Mist Sect, Sunset Mountain, noon tomorrow."

Su Peng nodded. This information was indeed very valuable. The few words the Northern Clowns' man said included the name of the sect, the location, and the time.

"Good, it seems I have one question left. I don't have any specific questions, but what do you think is the most valuable information in the area around Jiangning County within the past month, at this price?" Su Peng asked the clown wearing the tengu mask.

"Hehehe... You're very cunning, but the Northern Clowns' information is always worth its price. I can only give you what I think is the most reasonable." The clown laughed strangely and then, in a stiff, mechanical voice, said, "Ancient Sword Manor's Lord Gu is getting a new shipment, expected to arrive by the end of the month, possibly via the Green Mountain Gang route."

"Ancient Sword Manor? Lord Gu?" Su Peng frowned. He hadn't heard of this manor or this person, but since the Northern Clowns had given him this information, the Ancient Sword Manor must be somewhere not far from Jiangning County.

As for the shipment... Su Peng had a gut feeling it wasn't something legitimate.

"If you want more detailed information, you can buy our second-level information, which costs ten gold pieces per piece." The Northern Clowns' man laughed strangely and said to Su Peng.

"Pass, I'll come back when I'm richer." Su Peng said to the Northern Clowns, then looked at the sky, mounted his warhorse, and said, "Until we meet again, there might be more to discuss in the future."

"Sure thing." The clown wearing the tengu mask nodded and laughed strangely, "As long as you can pay the price."

"Alright, then, see you later." Su Peng nodded, spurred his horse, and galloped out of the city.

Su Peng had nothing to do in the city. The intelligence inside the city was mainly handled by a small leader, and another small leader was specifically gathering information about the gangs, having infiltrated one of the three major gangs in Jiangning County, the Qian Gang, making it inconvenient to contact him. So Su Peng didn't go to see him today. He rode his horse back to the Black Water Army's western camp.

Upon arriving at the camp, Su Peng went to Hei Lang Er's office. His fellow middle-level leaders weren't there, but his direct superior, Hei Lang Er's deputy commander, was. Su Peng reported the intelligence he had obtained, but he didn't mention that the sect recruiting disciples was the Purple Mist Sect or the time and location of the recruitment.

Come on, that was information he had paid for personally, and he hadn't even received his military salary yet. He couldn't just spend his own money!

Su Peng wanted to use this specific information to its fullest potential.

After listening to Su Peng's report, the deputy commander of Hei Lang Er pondered for a moment and said, "A major sect recruiting disciples? I haven't heard of this. No sect has sent a letter to the city lord... This is a bit suspicious. Could it be that some hidden sects are recruiting disciples? But if so, it wouldn't be such a big deal."

Su Peng understood his superior's thoughts. Jiangning County was within the territory of the major sect, Qingcheng Sect. If another sect wanted to recruit disciples here, they would at least need to show respect to Qingcheng Sect and inform the city lord. Otherwise, it would be considered overstepping boundaries and not giving Qingcheng Sect face, which could lead to friction. If the other sect was relatively weak, Qingcheng Sect might even send a few elders with disciples to confront them.

There were unwritten rules among the sects. This situation was equivalent to poaching talent, which could be a big or small issue.

Major sects usually valued their reputation and acted cautiously, while the more casual ones were the smaller, more loosely organized, but generally more powerful hidden sects.

"Sir, the information is still unclear. I request permission to investigate this matter personally and uncover the truth." Su Peng bowed and said to the deputy commander of Hei Lang Er.

"Very well." The deputy commander nodded and said, "Since you were the first to discover this, you will be in charge. I will give you the authority to act as you see fit. Report back to me after you have the details, and if you succeed, you will be credited with a merit."

Su Peng nodded and left.

Outside, Su Peng shook his head. He was actually quite curious about the Purple Mist Sect's recruitment. He wanted to use this opportunity to meet some sect members, which was why he had taken on this task.

In any organization, the middle-level leaders were the most relaxed. Higher-ups had to bear the pressure of decision-making, and the lower-level members had to do the legwork. Middle-level leaders just needed to pass the pressure from the higher-ups to the lower-level members and complete their tasks, making their lives quite easy.

In this case, he hadn't done anything himself. His subordinates had done the work and reported the information first. If he hadn't been curious and bought the information from the Northern Clowns, he could have delegated the task, which would have been even more comfortable!

"Be a good middle-level leader and build a bright future." Su Peng chuckled to himself and went to do some preparations.

...

By evening, Su Peng had gathered all the information he needed.

Sunset Mountain was a peak about twenty miles from Green Mountain Gang, standing over 3,000 meters high. It was a good place to watch the sunrise and sunset. From the direction of Green Mountain Gang, the mountain blocked the setting sun, hence its name, Sunset Mountain.

There was a natural platform on the mountain, like a square, with a good view. However, the path up the mountain was difficult, and there were tigers, wolves, snakes, and insects, which deterred many tourists.

Su Peng quickly found this information about Sunset Mountain in Hei Lang Er's database. He also searched for information about the Purple Mist Sect but found nothing.

"It seems the Black Water Army's intelligence work is far inferior to the Northern Clowns..." Su Peng thought, sighing. He would have to go to the location and try to gather more information from other martial artists there.

After gathering the intelligence, Su Peng found some disguise tools. He dyed his hair a light yellow and used some props to change his appearance. Looking in the mirror in Hei Lang Er's makeup room, Su Peng's face seemed a few years older, with a square jaw and slightly altered eyebrows.

Looking in the mirror, Su Peng felt that his appearance was only about 30% of his original look. People who had only seen him a few times probably wouldn't recognize him, which put him at ease.

He was afraid that he might encounter the carpenter Cao tomorrow at Purple Mist Mountain. By changing his appearance, clothes, and being more low-key, the chances of Cao recognizing him would be much lower.

"Tonight, I should stay at Green Mountain Gang, but that might lead to unexpected incidents. I'll log out at the camp today and tell Lei Ming I need to log in at 5:30 AM tomorrow."

Su Peng planned in his mind.

At that moment, Su Peng heard the bell ring, realizing it was already 5:00 PM.

Su Peng was still somewhat reluctant to leave but returned to his tent to log out. He then told Lei Ming that he had found a task and needed to log in at 5:30 AM the next day.

"Sure, I have the authority to arrange your regular overtime. Just come here at 5:30 AM, and I'll turn on the machine for you. Of course, you'll need to sign the overtime record and give it to Director Shi." Lei Ming nodded, and Su Peng agreed on the time before heading to the dining hall for dinner.

In the dining hall, Su Peng met Ji Ming and Sun Shijia, and they had dinner together. He learned that Ji Ming had been selected for the Black Water Army's horse archer team, and Sun Shijia had become a spearman and could later become a cavalryman after improving his spear skills.

"Everyone is doing well..." Su Peng thought, realizing that all three of them were growing.

...

The night passed without incident.

...

The next day, Su Peng logged in early, at 5:30 AM.

In the game, Su Peng took a fine horse captured from the bandits on Green Dragon Mountain and galloped to Green Mountain Gang, arriving by 8:30 AM.

Considering that there was no place to keep the horse at Sunset Mountain and that it would attract attention, Su Peng left the horse at Aunt Li's inn in Green Mountain Gang. Aunt Li didn't recognize Su Peng, which boosted his confidence in his disguise.

In Green Mountain Gang, Su Peng used his third-level Land Flight technique and headed for Sunset Mountain.

Before long, Su Peng had reached the foot of Sunset Mountain...

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