The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 303 Chief Escort Guan is from the same family.

After knocking on the door for a short while, an old man opened it and welcomed him inside.

"Are you here to entrust a shipment to a customer?"

"That's right, I'd like to meet your deputy chief bodyguard."

"Um, our escort agency only has one chief escort, so where would a deputy chief escort come from?"

"I must have misremembered. Is your chief镖头 (chief镖师) surnamed Liu?"

"Sir, you've got it wrong. Our chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) is surnamed Guan."

"Please come this way, sir. I'll take you to the reception room for a cup of Cloud Moon Wine first. Our chief镖头 (chief镖师, head镖师) will be there shortly."

This set of rules can be considered a secret code, which Old Man Liang repeatedly instructed him to use. Only in this way would Wu Chengyu be served the so-called "Cloud Moon Wine" when he was led to the reception room.

Not long after Wu Chengyu was led to the reception room, a sharp and capable middle-aged man entered. His eyes gleamed as he looked Wu Chengyu up and down, bowing respectfully. Before speaking, he burst into laughter, laughing for at least three or four breaths, before finally asking, "May I ask what kind of shipment you are sending, sir?"

Wu Chengyu replied, "A statue of the Marquis of Champion, three feet three inches tall, with a gold-plated jade throne. I wonder if your esteemed escort agency dares to accept the mission."

"Where are they being transported to?"

"There are two orange trees next to the Jiuqu Congci Temple by West Lake."

Legend has it that after Yue Fei died, a jailer named Wei Shun secretly buried him at Jiuqu Congci and planted two orange trees as a marker. It wasn't until Yue Fei was exonerated that Wei Shun's son informed the government of Yue Fei's burial place.

The second secret code between Wu Chengyu and his opponent used the names of Marquis Champion and Yue Fei as metaphors.

Such a secret code wasn't particularly sophisticated, but compared to the oil shop in Chang'an, Wu Chengyu's communication with Liu Laoman on behalf of the Quanzhen Sect was slightly more rigorous.

But it's not that simple. If the old man who greeted the guest hadn't mentioned "Cloud Moon Wine" but instead said "Terrifying Fragrance," then it would mean that it wasn't a good time to receive guests. Wu Chengyu would then pretend that they couldn't agree on a price when he was entrusting the goods to someone and leave as soon as possible.

Or if the middle-aged man who appeared later hadn't laughed loudly before speaking, then what Wu Chengyu said wouldn't have been about the statue of the Champion Marquis with a golden throne. In short, if anything had gone slightly wrong, this rendezvous would have been impossible to continue.

Now that the secret code was indistinguishable, the wariness between the two sides was greatly reduced, and Wu Chengyu returned the greeting, saying, "Is this Chief Escort Guan?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "I'm just here to hear what kind of goods the guest wants to entrust. I'm not the chief镖头 (chief镖头 is a term used to describe someone who is very skilled or influential) of the Eight Thousand Mile Escort Agency. You should come with me to another place. The chief镖头 is waiting for you there."

Wu Chengyu had no suspicions and immediately followed the middle-aged man into the back hall. He first invited him to a side room, served him tea, and then the middle-aged man took his leave.

After a while, Wu Chengyu heard footsteps outside. The footsteps were heavy, but the pace was fast and steady. Just hearing the sound, Wu Chengyu immediately thought of the phrase "dragon's stride and tiger's gait," concluding that the chief镖头 (chief镖头, a type of bodyguard/escort) must be a tall and imposing man.

However, after the door to the side room was pushed open, Wu Chengyu looked towards the doorway but had to lower his gaze. He had expected a seven-foot-tall man to enter, but it turned out to be a woman who was probably less than 1.6 meters tall, a stark contrast.

This woman appeared to be at least in her thirties. Although she was not tall, she was by no means slender, but she was not obese either. She resembled the female bodybuilding enthusiasts in gyms of later generations who were obsessed with their biceps.

She was actually quite good-looking, with phoenix eyes, silkworm eyebrows, and a spirited air. Of all the women Wu Chengyu had ever seen, she was more pleasing to the eye than Sister Niu in terms of fierceness, but lacked Yan Chunyu's tall figure and dashing air; she was somewhere in between. As soon as she entered, the woman carefully scrutinized Wu Chengyu, seemingly surprised that a handsome young man had suddenly appeared. However, her gaze wasn't as infatuated as Qiu Qianchi's. Wu Chengyu felt that she unconsciously glanced at his neck, as if considering how to cut it off with a single stroke.

"My name is Guan Su, and I am the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of this Eight Thousand Mile Escort Agency. May I ask which incense stick you are burning, sir?"

Wu Chengyu was taken aback. This was not the secret code given by Old Man Liang, because the rendezvous had already been successful and there was no need to ask any more questions.

But he knew how to answer. This was the identity verification code that Yan Chunyu had set for him when he was at the rebel base, representing his status in the rebel army.

However, he was revered as a benevolent elder brother by Yan Chunyu and many righteous soldiers, so his code words were somewhat different from others.

Wu Chengyu hesitated for a moment. He would have a lot of cooperation with this liaison point of the rebel army in the future, so it was not appropriate for him to hide his identity.

"Three incense sticks were lit in front of Yue Fei's tomb, each incense stick being nine inches and three-tenths of an inch long."

The rebels all revered Yue Fei and considered it an honor to offer incense at the Yue Fei Temple by West Lake. Three sticks of incense indicated the rebel leader's rank, while two sticks indicated the rank of leaders like Old Man Liang. The length of the incense sticks further distinguished their respective ranks.

A commander with a length of nine inches is a rank that only a high-ranking leader like Yan Chunyu can attain. There are very few commanders of that rank in the entire rebel army.

Since Wu Chengyu assassinated Shi Miyuan and was revered as the righteous elder brother, he is the only one who can be three inches above nine inches. This is Wu Chengyu's unique verification code, representing the respect of all the righteous army for Wu Chengyu.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Wu Chengyu's coded reply, Chief Escort Guan showed little respect; instead, he flew into a rage.

"So it was you, kid. I knew it was you, a pretty boy with slicked-back hair like you. I was looking for someone to settle scores with, but I didn't know where you'd run off to."

Now look what's happened! In broad daylight, you've actually delivered yourself right to my doorstep. Come on, let's go to the training ground in the back. Let's see how many blows you can take."

"Chief镖头, what do you mean by this? I have always been on good terms with the rebels and have never done anything to wrong them. Why resort to violence and damage our relationship?"

"Bah! You killed Shi Miyuan, and it's only right that I kowtow to you a few times. You didn't do anything to wrong the rebel army, but you wronged my sister. You dared to run away from your marriage without a word. The kind of heartless bastard like you deserves to be cut down by the Guan family's broadsword."

After saying that, the woman was not polite to Wu Chengyu at all. She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out, but at the same time, she strangely showed a bit of trust. She didn't seem to be on guard against Wu Chengyu. It was as if she knew that Wu Chengyu would not take the opportunity to attack her. In short, she was so contradictory.

It's obvious that Guan Su, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort), did this to avenge Yan Chunyu. But why are there so many heroic and fierce women like her in the rebel army?

Wu Chengyu was helpless. This situation was that he ran into the bride's family while trying to escape the marriage. The bride's family wanted to punish him, but at the same time, they did not treat him as an outsider.

At the same time, Wu Chengyu knew he was in the wrong, so he struggled a little before Guan Su pulled him to the backyard.

The backyard, though called a training ground, is more like a small military drill ground. All the furnishings are exactly the same as those in the army, and the weapon racks next to it are filled with long weapons from the battlefield, which are more suitable for charging on horseback.

Guan Su pulled Wu Chengyu into the arena, then walked to the weapon rack and took a long sword.

(End of this chapter)