The four boys made preparations in their room to carry out Lu Wu’s decoy plan. When it got to a little before midnight, all four boys moved to different exits of the inn.

————

It was approaching midnight in Anwon, but the stifling warm night air was a clear indication that summer had yet to release its grip on the city. Tang Peng was wedged horizontally underneath the eaves of a tea shop that was across the street from a decent inn in a good neighborhood.

In this position his Shadow Arts allowed him to be virtually invisible while he observed the inn that held the four inner disciples of the Azure Grove Sect.

Tang Peng was one of many spies in Anwon that worked for Qiu Jing, also known as the Spider of Taimen. Yesterday night Tang Peng had discovered a note under his pillow informing him that his newest mission was to observe the quartet from the Azure Grove Sect. Like always he had no idea how the note carrying his orders was delivered without alerting him.

Every time he set up his most advanced warning wards and kept a keen watch on the room itself as well as on the rest of his house in general, yet still, to this day he had never caught any trace of whoever was delivering his orders. He would fruitlessly spend a day watching for any intruders, only to check under his pillow and find that at some point a letter had been delivered outlining his next task.

He supposed that the Spider had their reasons for doing it like this and he did have to admit that his inability to even sense his orders being delivered had done a great deal to ensure he remained loyal over the years. After all, how could he possibly consider working against his employer when he had no idea when he was being invisibly watched by his fellow employees.

Tang Peng had been working as a professional spy in one city or another for close to twenty years now, but even a veteran like him was alarmed by the increasing level of tension in Anwon these days.

Almost everyday people that he knew earned some extra cash by working as informants would disappear, turning up dead in the river the next day, or the day after that.

Although it hadn’t yet escalated to a full blown war between the various faction’s spies, he knew that it was coming. Tang Peng made sure to stay on his toes and carry his small arsenal around with him everywhere.

Right now he was working together with Zou Hua, another of the Spider’s spies in Anwon, to cover both sides of the inn. The two of them often worked together, so they had learned an art that allowed them to communicate simple signals across short distances with absolutely no sign that they were doing so. They had learned this art specifically for situations like this.

Tang Peng wasn’t sure what the quartet from the Azure Grove Sect were doing in Anwon, aside from delivering a letter, but over the past day he had become increasingly convinced that they were up to something.

He hadn’t seen anything that could be considered evidence of espionage in a court of law, but his instincts for when someone was up to something had been sharpened to an incredible sensitivity over the course of his twenty years as a spy and he trusted them completely.

When he saw a figure dressed in black climb up out of one of the inn’s second floor windows up onto the roof, before running away across the roofs of the city he wasn’t at all surprised.

Soon after he saw shadowy forms detaching from nooks and crannies all around the inn to follow after the figure that Tang Peng knew to be one of the Azure Grove Sect disciples. He wasn’t entirely certain how many other factions’ spies were watching this inn tonight, but he had spotted two others arriving earlier who hadn’t just departed and odds were there was at least one more who Tang Peng hadn’t seen arriving.

Zou Hua sent the signal that meant “inquisitive”. He was wondering if one or both of them should follow as well. Tang Peng sent back a negative response telling his partner to wait, along with one other signal: “instinct”.

Something about this didn’t sit quite right with Tang Peng. The quartet from Azure Grove Sect had been so careful not to give away their goals, to have them suddenly send out one of their number at midnight broke that pattern of caution and discretion.

In a few moments Tang Peng’s instinct was confirmed as a second, much larger figure snuck out of the inn’s back door, also carrying a large bag, before darting away into the network of back alleys that riddled the city.

In contrast to the blatant chase that had unfolded following the first figure, this time those agents who followed this second figure remained concealed as they did so. Tang Peng sent Zou Hua the signal to follow this one, but let him know that Tang Peng would be staying in place, again sending a single signal at the end: “instinct”.

With this second exodus of watchers, Tang Peng thought there couldn’t be more than two or three others still remaining aside from himself. In fact, he was almost certain he was familiar with any who had remained this long.

The number of casual informants or part time spies in Anwon was astronomical, but the number of true professional spies in the city wasn’t very large. The number of those who possessed elite instincts on par with his own, instincts that could only be developed over years of experience, was no more than four.

Four veteran spies, competing and clashing with each other season after season, year after year. Yes, Tang Peng was convinced that he knew exactly who else was still watching the inn from their own hidden vantages.

Stolen novel; please report.

After a long pause, more than three times the interval between the first and second figures’ departures, a third figure darted out of the front door of the inn carrying yet another large bag. This third figure crossed the road and entered an alley not ten paces away from Tang Peng’s current position.

This figure was average sized, reinforcing Tang Peng’s guess that the second figure had been the absolute behemoth of a teenager from the party of disciples. He hadn’t seen the lanky one yet, so this third figure was either the one who carried himself like a young noble or the oldest of the four boys, the one who wielded a saber.

With the appearance of this third figure, Tang Peng instantly understood the gambit the Azure Grove Sect disciples were executing. He had been right, those first two who left were just decoys. One of these last two would be the one actually carrying out their hidden goal.

The only question left was which one of these two was it? The one who went last was the obvious choice. If the four young disciples only considered sending out as many decoys as possible before sending the real agent, the fourth figure who had yet to appear would be the one to actually carry out whatever mission they had been tasked with.

But if the Azure Grove Sect disciples were slightly more cunning, then this third figure would be the real one, with the fourth and last to leave the inn only acting as yet another decoy.

If they were much more cunning, then none of the four of them would be carrying the real package, and once the four of them had left and drawn away all of the watchers, some fifth agent would infiltrate the inn to take away whatever the giant and the gangly one had refused to let out of their sight all day.

Tang Peng needed to make a judgment as to which level of thinking the four young disciples were on immediately. He recalled back to earlier when he watched the young noble one wander the market, looking as suspicious as it was possible to look, obviously attempting his clumsy approximation of counter surveillance, and Tang Peng relaxed.

He knew from his intel that that one was the leader of the group, and that idiot obviously wasn’t the deep thinker he had been worrying himself over. The fourth one would be carrying the real package.

None of the other veteran spies left to follow the third figure and Tang Peng felt reassured that he had made the correct judgment.

Tang Peng and the other remaining watchers didn’t have to wait very long at all before the fourth figure dove through an open window on the first floor and sprinted down the side of the main street, keeping to the shadows as much as possible.

Tang Peng flipped himself up onto the roof and followed silently while eliminating all signs of his presence. He was able to roughly detect two of the other watchers also following. He was briefly surprised that the last one of them had remained behind, but then smirked at his peer’s misjudgment. Clearly the last among their number believed the four Azure Grove disciples to be much more competent than the other three spies were giving them credit for.

Tang Peng and the other four followed the gangly figure dressed in black as he led them on a circuitous route through the city, often doubling back on himself and changing direction without sense or warning. This level of counter surveillance, while not enough to shake these three veteran intelligence agents from his trail, was an impressive enough contrast to how the young noble had acted earlier in the day, to convince them that this figure was the one with the true package.

When the thin young disciple eventually led them to a dead end alley only three blocks away from the inn they had started at, it only confirmed in their minds that this was the real thing. This alley was open enough to allow many great hiding spots for a watcher to hide in while awaiting a dead drop while also giving such a watcher ample ability to detect people following the delivery boy. Also, it made sense for the four disciples’ contact in the city to choose a drop off point near their inn if they were worried that the boys might screw up somehow.

The gangly disciple carefully deposited the heavy bag in the alley before covering it with some garbage and departing.

As soon as they were sure that he had left, the three spies flashed out of hiding to form a triangle around the bag, forming a three way standoff. Tang Peng occupied the mouth of the alley, the other two crouched on the roofs either side of the alley looking down at him and across at each other.

“Hahaha, we all know that none of us will yield, what is the point of this confrontation? Let’s just get to it.” The one on Tang Peng’s left broke the silence first.

Tang Peng recognized their voice as that of Hu Tu, who worked for Zhu Wang Lin, the young man currently sitting on the throne.

“Patience old friend, let’s see if whoever they are delivering this package to will show up.” The one on Tang Peng’s right said.

Again, Tang Peng recognized them from their voice. This third figure was Ren Jian who worked for the Zhu Lei Chin faction.

After an appropriate delay had passed, they decided that the recipient of this package had seen their cultivation levels and given up contesting it.

The three veteran spies tensed even further as they weighed who among them would make the first move.

The three of them disappeared almost simultaneously, moving so fast they left afterimages all over the alley as they fought over the bag.

…

Covered in wounds Tang Peng finally drove off Hu Tu, Ren Jian had retreated long ago after suffering a severe injury.

“Hmph, you win this time Tang Peng, but your days are numbered.” Hu Tu’s voice echoed weakly back to Tang Peng even as he fled, nursing a near disembowelment.

If Hu Tu had been even an inch closer when Tang Peng had struck the last blow then his wound would be undoubtedly lethal. As it was, Hu Tu needed to find a healer as soon as possible in order to survive.

Tang Peng stood panting with exhaustion, carrying his sword in one hand and the bag in the other.

After relocating to a nearby safe house of his, Tang Peng finally opened the bag to see what it was he had risked his life for.

He undid the straps tying it closed, and pulled away the flap obscuring the contents to find-

Rocks. The bag was full of ordinary rocks, individually wrapped in cloth so that they would not clack against each other and give themselves away.

Tang Peng crouched over the bag, filled with shock, disbelief, shame, and a burning fury at having been outwitted by four children.