The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 100 Zhenwei Escort Agency, the Martial World is in Crisis

The rain keeps falling.

The cold spring rain washed the early green trees clean and clear, and the sprouting grass and budding plants, little by little, adorned the world with vitality.

In the rain and mist, Zhou Yan's steps sank heavily downwards, and the puddles on the grass burst open like lotus flowers. He formed two claws with his hands, one claw pointing to the sky and the other to the ground. The starting stance of "Crushing Divine Claws" seemed to open up the heavens and the earth.

In the blink of an eye, its claws moved from left to right, as if trying to stir up the clouds.

He propelled himself forward with his steps, his spine exerting force, his claws opening and closing, creating a hissing sound as they cut through the air. His claws moved like giant pythons, and in the rain and mist, thousands of raindrops were stirred up by his claws, forming lines of rain, or like tiny flying snakes, flying and tearing at each other with his claws.

Suddenly, Zhou Yan's steps spun rapidly, exploding outwards. His pure internal energy, guided by the Qi-guiding method of the "Crushing Divine Claw," surged out from five acupoints: the thumb "Shaoshang," the index finger "Shangyang," the middle finger "Zhongheng," the ring finger "Guangchong," and the little finger "Shaozhe."

Zhou Yan's inner strength shone outwards as he crossed his left hand and gripped the ancient tree in front of him.

With a "bang," Zhou Yan stepped back, and a large piece of bark was clawed off, leaving ten clear finger marks on the tree trunk.

Zhou Yan walked over and took a look, then laughed, "This is the true 'Five Fingers Unleashing Power, Unbreakable' 'Crushing Divine Claw'!"

He was still far from mastering this technique, but in terms of skill level, his mastery of it far surpassed that of Wanyan Kang, who was also a practitioner.

His remarkable progress was due to his thorough understanding of the essential principles of Taoist cultivation.

The same technique, but Mei Chaofeng's was unpredictable, while Zhou Yan's was powerful and fierce.

Zhou Yan finished practicing his martial arts and then practiced the "Flying Dragon in the Sky" and "Shocking the Hundred Miles" moves of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms before returning to the convoy.

Liang Xiaowu had already cooked the noodles.

No longer just plain noodles and broth, but with the arrival of spring, wild onions and vegetables can be found everywhere. Add a pheasant hunted along the way in Zhouyan, and you have a mouthwatering chicken noodle soup.

Zhou Yan called over the medicine boy to eat noodles together, and he asked Liang Xiaowu to serve two more bowls of noodles to Mei Chaofeng and Huang Rong.

When Xiao Wu returned, he said indignantly, "Young Master is not feeling well, so the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) specially added a chicken leg. But Young Master only took one bite and then frowned and complained that it was awful. He said the chicken soup wasn't cooked long enough, and the noodles should be boiled in water. After boiling, water should be poured into the pot, vegetable leaves should be added, and after boiling again, the noodles should be taken out and then the chicken soup should be poured over them."

Zhou Yan chuckled, and Huang Rong gradually returned.

He laughed at the pair of porters and said:

"That's how we'll do it from now on."

"Does making it really change the taste?"

"nature!"

Zhou Yan affirmed that Huang Rong's culinary skills were beyond question, enough to conquer even the gourmand Hong Qigong.

……

Zhongdu, Fu'an Escort Agency.

A few peach blossoms peeked out from the green tile wall, and the gnarled branches of the peach trees in the courtyard filtered the sunlight into a pinkish glow. Merchant Lü walked past the petals that had fallen on the green bricks and said to Zhang Wangyue, who came to greet him, "Peach blossoms and spring breeze, a cup of wine; today we must drink together with the镖头 (bodyguard/escort)."

“Alright, then I will have to drink three hundred cups in one go.”

The two were already familiar with each other, exchanging pleasantries as they walked towards the council hall. Over at the martial arts arena, Hu Yanlei said to Yang Tiexin and Mu Nianci, "That's Merchant Lü from Jingzhou. We used his goods to cross Fenglingdu. Merchant Lü's arrival must be for another collaboration. Brother Zhou's personal escort missions at Guiyun Manor on Taihu Lake, plus this shipment of goods, will bring in profits equivalent to his entire year's income in the past. Brother Yang, we have something to do."

Since reopening after the Lantern Festival, the Fu'an Escort Agency has received several escort missions, all short-distance trips that did not cross the Yellow River, with the escort leader, Shi Baichuan, traveling on these missions. Now that Merchant Lü has come, it must be an escort mission with the same high profits as before, and Hu Yanlei is certain that he will be traveling to Jingzhou again.

Mu Nianci was also quite eager to do so, finally she could escort goods.

However, based on the timeline, Chief Escort Zhou will not be able to make it in time for this shipment.

……

Spring sunlight streamed into the hall through the open windows, and dust swirled in the air.

Lu Keshang said, "I didn't see Zhou the bodyguard when I passed by the martial arts arena just now."

Zhang Wangyue said, "Zhou, the镖师 (bodyguard/escort), was promoted to镖头 (head镖师) before the New Year. Now he is in charge of his own affairs and is escorting goods to Taihu Lake."

"I see." Merchant Lü's eyes held a hint of regret. He was naturally disappointed, having greatly admired Zhou Yan. Last year, when his goods were delivered to Jingzhou, the young man hadn't entered the city, which he found quite regrettable. He had expected to have a good chat with him this time, but alas, his wish had not come true.

Merchant Lü's idea was merely a fleeting thought. He quickly regained his composure and said, "This shipment will be the same as last year: mules, horses, medicinal herbs, and furs, but the number of mules will double." "No problem."

"I respect the chief镖头's character, so there's no need for further explanation. All the supplies purchased in the last two days will arrive. The mules and horses will be purchased from the horse stables. How about we set off in three days?"

"Row."

"Chief镖头 (Chief镖头, the head镖师) will accompany me to the horse stable to select mules and horses. Tonight, we'll meet again and drink three hundred cups of wine."

"it is good."

After the two finalized the arrangements, they finished their tea and Zhang Wangyue summoned Hu Yanlei. Together, they accompanied Merchant Lü out of the Fu'an Escort Agency and headed straight for the horse market on the outskirts of the city.

……

Xinye is bordered by Qinling to the west and Jingzhou and Xiangyang to the south, and is known as the "gateway between the north and south and the shield of the Central Plains".

The convoy passed through Xinye, and Xiangyang was in sight.

After traveling all night, the carriage stopped at the edge of a forest nestled against the mountains and beside the water at dawn.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees. The young apprentice took several fur coats from the carved carriage and laid them directly on the grass in the forest for Huang Rong to breathe and rest.

Zhou Yan entered the woods and soon shot down two pheasants.

Liang Xiaowu skillfully plucked and cleaned the chicken, simmered it to the perfect temperature, then cooked the noodles, poured chicken broth over them, and followed the whole process with practiced ease. Of course, following Huang Rong's instructions, the chicken broth noodles he made were indeed authentic.

The young apprentice brought over two bowls of noodles and gave them to Mei Chaofeng and Huang Rong. Zhou Yan and the others sat down together to eat the noodles.

Suddenly, with a "bang," the fireworks shot into the sky.

Zhou Yan stood up with the bowl in his hand, and before long, the sound of intense metal clashing came from the front.

"Xiao Wu, lasso the horse, I'm going to investigate."

"Alright!" Liang Xiaowu led three men to harness the horses to the chariot, while Zhou Yan, riding a yellow horse and carrying a lance, galloped over in response to the sound.

Turning past the mountain pass, Zhou Yan saw over a hundred bandits besieging the caravan.

It was just like a scene from the outskirts of Jingzhou.

Hundreds of mules and horses were surrounded by the escort wagons, and more than a hundred escorts, including the head of the escort team, the guards, and the porters, fought desperately to hold them off using a makeshift defensive line.

In Zhou Yan's line of sight, a young man in his early twenties was wielding two pistols. As he charged forward, his right pistol pierced the chest and abdomen of a bandit. Amid the bandit's hysterical screams, the young man's left pistol plunged into the bandit's throat. In a flash, the bandit pulled out his right pistol and stabbed it into the throat of a bandit who was charging at him with a knife.

A dual-wielding general, that's a rare sight indeed. Zhou Yan's gaze swept past the boy and landed on the escort team's flag.

The banner fluttering in the wind prominently displays the two large characters "Zhenwei". The banner is rolled up, and the characters on the other side are also clearly visible: "Han".

Looking at the hundreds of mules and horses, Zhou Yan wondered if these were also being sent to the Jingzhou military camp.
He turned his horse around and galloped over to the carriage, saying to Liang Xiaowu, "The Zhenwei Escort Agency in Kaifeng has encountered bandits. Xiaowu, please take the carriage into the mountains to take temporary shelter."

"okay!"

Zhou Yan turned to Mei Chaofeng: "I need your help."

Mei Chaofeng was stunned. Was this about me?
Huang Rong laughed and said, "Go ahead, you think you can just eat chicken noodle soup for free?"

Zhou Yan laughed. That's exactly how Huang Rong should be.

Mei Chaofeng dared not disobey Huang Rong, and besides, she had gotten along well with Zhou Yan along the way; it was nothing more than helping to kill someone.

"Bring the horse over here."

Liang Xiaowu deftly led his green horse to the carved carriage.

Mei Chaofeng mounted her horse and followed Zhou Yan straight to Zhenwei Escort Agency's escort team.

　Three chapters are presented here. Thank you for reading.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)