All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

"Brother Nian, you can just call me Yang Pan," Yang Pan said, clasping his hands in return.

When Nian Jiu heard Yang Pan's name, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a pleasant surprise. "So it's Senior Brother Yang! I've heard so much about you. I never expected to meet you here!"

Seeing that the other person seemed to recognize him, Yang Pan was puzzled. He stared at the other person's face for a few moments before saying, "Brother Nian, I don't think I've seen you before. You..."

Before Yang Pan could finish speaking, Nian Jiu said excitedly:

"Senior Brother Yang, you may not know this, but our gang's spies have even better intelligence. Sometimes we even exchange information to verify each other's claims. Senior Brother Yang joined our gang in Jiaxing, and in just two years you earned the title of Black King Kong. Before even reaching the third rank, you were able to kill third-rate martial artists. You also displayed remarkable skills at the Xiangyang Martial Arts Tournament..."

As Yang Pan listened to Nian Jiu recount his experiences since joining the Beggars' Sect, he was amazed by the strength of the Beggars' Sect's intelligence network, except for his initial stiff expression upon hearing the name Black King Kong.

The Beggars' Sect has many low-level disciples, so it's natural that they have strong intelligence capabilities. However, Yang Pan didn't expect the intelligence to be so detailed. Even information about him, a third-rate martial artist, was collected in such detail. It seems that there must have been Beggars' Sect agents in Jingu County back then, otherwise the other party wouldn't have been able to know the details so clearly.

Yang Pan felt that he didn't have much of a reputation in the martial arts world, but seeing Nian Jiu's excited tone and the way he seemed to admire him quite a bit made Yang Pan, who was used to being unknown, feel rather... strange.

Yang Pan was unaware that it was a fact that the Beggars' Sect was currently facing a shortage of young masters. Although the sect had no shortage of second-rate or even first-rate masters, all of them held high positions or were senior figures with many years of experience.

Firstly, these people were older, and although they had prestige, it wasn't as great as the Five Greats, who were practically legends in the martial arts world, so there wasn't much to talk about. Secondly, they held high positions, and the lower-ranking disciples of the gang basically had no chance to see them. Only Yang Pan, although also not young, was still under thirty, the prime age for fighting in the martial arts world.

Yang Pan, in particular, has risen to prominence in recent years, and judging from his performance, he is undoubtedly one of the top five-bag disciples in the Beggars' Sect.

With the information exchanged among the undercover agents, Yang Pan gradually gained a reputation among the lower-level gang members.

Seemingly sensing Yang Pan's somewhat uncomfortable expression, Nian Jiu gradually stopped talking and said somewhat apologetically, "Senior Brother Yang, I'm really sorry, I've been rambling on for a while."

"It's alright, but Brother Nian, do you have any more information about Bai Yan and the Bai family?"

Yang Pan waved his hand, not minding the other person's somewhat time-wasting chatter. After all, the other person was recounting his achievements. Although he didn't say anything on the surface, the feeling of being admired did make Yang Pan feel quite happy.

After all, who in this world can be completely indifferent to fame and fortune? Even Buddha has to earn a stick of incense, let alone people who are entangled in the six desires.

Upon hearing Yang Pan inquire about serious matters, Nian Jiu's expression also turned serious, and he said:

"The information about Baiyan and the Bai family is basically on the folded paper I gave you, Senior Brother Yang. You should already know something about it."

Bai Yan is obsessed with martial arts. Several years ago, it was rumored that he had already mastered all six meridians. After practicing several forms of our sect's Dragon Subduing Palm, his strength has increased considerably. If it were just you, Senior Brother Yang, alone, it would probably be difficult to defeat him. Now, only you and I working together can find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.”

Listening to Nian Jiu's words, Yang Pan was deep in thought. Hong Qigong would only stay in Jinzhou for a month, leaving him no time to plot. Moreover, Hong Qigong would definitely be watching secretly as Bai Yan was killed, and the other party might be using this opportunity to test him.

Thinking this, Yang Pan asked Nian Jiu, "Does Bai Yan have time to be alone, or does he ever go out to meet anyone?"

Nian Jiu pondered for a moment, then seemed to realize something and said, "Yes, Bai Yan meets with some people every two months. He thinks he's doing a good job of concealing it, but I know that those he meets are all Mongols. It must be during those times that he passes intelligence to the Mongols!"

He gritted his teeth as he spoke, for the intelligence the other side had passed to the Mongols was obtained at the risk of their lives, only to be easily leaked by the other side for their own gain. Those Beggars' Sect disciples who sacrificed their lives for this were practically dead in vain; how could he not hate them?

Yang Pan patted the other person on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "When is the next meeting? Where?"

"It's exactly tomorrow night, at the Bai residence," Nian Jiu said.

Tomorrow night, at the Bai residence...

Yang Pan cursed inwardly. This Bai Yan was truly a coward; the meeting was even taking place within the Bai residence. He had originally thought the other party would choose an inn or restaurant in the county, so he wouldn't have much to worry about when making a move outside the Bai residence. But now…

He could only wait and see if he could sneak into the Bai residence tomorrow. As long as he could get close to Bai Yan, Yang Pan would have a chance to kill him. As for whether he would be surrounded and killed by others after failing or killing him, he didn't know.

Yang Pan was not worried about this. Don't forget that Hong Qigong was also in Jiuyuan County at the moment. Yang Pan had seen the caravan from the deserted temple enter the city that morning, and a beggar was among them.

With such a master of the Five Greats supporting him, Yang Pan didn't feel that his life was in any danger.

With a plan in mind, Yang Pan instructed Nian Jiu to keep an eye on the Mongols' movements and notify him as soon as they were about to enter the city so that he could act in advance.

......

The following day, Yang Pan remained at the Yunlai Inn. He occasionally ventured out of his room, but didn't see Nian Jiu again, presumably he had gone outside the city to keep watch. Yang Pan didn't leave the inn either; since he intended to infiltrate the Mongols, he needed to minimize his public appearances.

Yang Pan cultivated in his guest room during the day, and it wasn't until nearly evening that Nian Jiu reappeared in the guest room.

"Senior Brother Yang, those Mongols are here. There are about thirty of them, disguised as a caravan, entering the city. I caught up with them when they were still about ten miles away, and at their pace, they should still be about ten miles away."

"Alright." Yang Pan stood up and walked to Nian Jiu, asking, "Are there any among them of similar build to me?"

Nian Jiu nodded and said, "Mongolians are generally quite tall, and there are a few with big beards who are about the same size as you, Senior Brother Yang."

"Okay, let's proceed according to plan. We'll ambush them on their inevitable route and set fires when they get close." Yang Pan's voice was calm; this was a plan he had discussed with Nian Jiu beforehand.

Outside Jiuyuan County, the roads are mostly mountainous. Although there are no dense forests on either side, there are plenty of shrubs and bushes. When the thick smoke rises, Yang Pan can take the opportunity to rush in and replace someone to sneak into the Bai residence.

Having finalized their plan, the two left one after the other, with a certain amount of time between them.

......

On a mountain road seven miles outside Jiuyuan County, a caravan of more than thirty people was struggling to make its way.

Although the caravan members were all dressed as Song people, the leader would sometimes unconsciously squeeze out a few words of Mongolian when he turned around to urge those behind him. These were the Mongolian caravan that Yang Pan and his companion were keeping an eye on.

These people had traveled all the way from beyond the Qinling Mountains, and presumably due to the long journey, their steps were somewhat unsteady and their strength greatly diminished. Just as the caravan was about five miles away from Jiuyuan County, suddenly, thick plumes of smoke rose from both sides of the mountain road, billowing and shooting straight into the sky, immediately attracting the attention of the caravan members.

"What's going on? Why is there so much smoke?"

"It looks like the forests on both sides are on fire."

......

The caravan stopped and looked around for a while, completely unaware that the mountain path beneath their feet was also covered with weeds.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a strong wind seemed to rise on one side of the mountain road, and the flames and thick smoke that had been rising straight into the sky turned ninety degrees and rushed towards them in the middle of the mountain road.

The flames were scorching hot, and in the blink of an eye, they ignited the weeds on the mountain road, and in an instant, even thicker smoke enveloped the caravan.

"Pfft! Cough cough, damn, what a huge plume of smoke!"

"It's choking! I can't breathe!"

"Don't panic! Protect our belongings and hurry up to get out of here!"

......

The sudden thick smoke blinded everyone in the caravan, causing them to cough violently. Despite the warnings from the leader at the front, the caravan inevitably became somewhat disorganized.

Whoosh!

Just then, a figure rushed out from the side of the mountain road, out of sight of the others, and shot into the thick smoke on the mountain road like an arrow.

Inside the caravan, Yang Pan rushed into the thick smoke and locked onto a man of similar build, dressed similarly, and with a full beard. Before the man could react, Yang Pan swiftly reached out and snapped his neck with a snap. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the man far into the forest beside the mountain road.

Then, on the way, Nian Jiu gave him a disguise beard and stuck it on his face. Yang Pan was initially puzzled as to why the other party would have such a thing. Nian Jiu explained that as an undercover agent, one must learn some simple disguise techniques.

This surprised Yang Pan. He stuck his beard on his face, covering his entire mouth and cheeks, and then grabbed a handful of ash from the ground and smeared it on his face.

Even after he finished doing all that, the thick smoke on the mountain road hadn't completely dissipated. Only the sound of him snapping the Mongolian's neck caught the attention of another person a few steps away, but Yang Pan easily dismissed it.

When the caravan finally emerged from the thick smoke, the passengers were all disheveled, their faces and hands covered in soot, making them unrecognizable. This was exactly the effect Yang Pan had wanted.

The caravan members grumbled a few times, but after counting the number of people and finding no one missing, they didn't care much about why the fires had suddenly broken out on both sides. They just wanted to get into the county town before dark.

The large caravan, with more than thirty people lined up to enter the city, immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the county, including the spies that Bai Yan had planted.

However, whether they had received prior orders or not, these spies did not pay much attention to the caravan, allowing it to enter Fugui Lane in the county town and finally stop in front of the Bai Mansion.