The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 107 A Crack in the Heart, Love Unrequited

Upon hearing the fighting, Zhou Yan was about to turn around when Fan Yiweng, holding a steel staff, suddenly leaped out from the stone chamber not far away.

Upon seeing Zhou Yan, the short, stocky man was first startled, then enraged, and roared, "Where do you think you're going, you thief?"

Under the sunlight, Fan Yiweng, who was rushing towards them, had his beard curving wildly. As he closed the distance, the cane in his hand seemed to bring down with the force of an earthquake.

With a "humming" sound, Zhou Yan thrust out his iron spear, the spear shaft vibrating with the elasticity of the steel, its momentum enveloping his opponent.

With a deafening roar, sparks flew through the air. Fan Yiweng's momentum and subsequent attacks were halted by Zhou Yan's spear. The clash of spear and staff created a tremendous shockwave that sent Fan Yiweng staggering backward.

Fan Yiweng, who left the Valley of Heartbreak in the world of Condor Heroes and earned the nickname "Long-Bearded Ghost," was filled with disbelief.

In our last encounter, I was clearly on the verge of defeating the thief, but he cheated and I suffered a loss in silence. How come the thief's martial arts have improved so much now?

Zhou Yan gained the upper hand with one move and continued his attacks relentlessly. His body moved like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, he closed the distance with Fan Yiweng. The iron spear in his hand was like a nimble snake, and the tip of the spear was not steady. It kept dancing in a small circle in front of him. The Yue Family Spear techniques such as "Drinking Horse in the Long River", "Ten Thousand Miles of Passes and Mountains", and "The Great River Like a Silk" came one after another. The spear rained down like a tide, and the force of the shaking spear was enough to split the ground and shatter rocks. The continuous attacks fell on Fan Yiweng.

Fan Yiweng unleashed eighty-one water-splashing staff techniques, doing his utmost to defend himself.

His staff technique was known as "Water Splashing," meaning that water could not penetrate it, which shows its rigor and precision. The sound of metal clashing together was as loud as popping beans.

However, compared to when Zhou Yan was escorting goods through Jingzhou, his current cultivation level has improved dramatically. Fan Yiweng is also in his prime, diligently studying and practicing, and his cultivation level has naturally increased, but ultimately, his progress in the art of martial arts is far inferior to Zhou Yan's, and his current cultivation level is much lower.

In the blink of an eye, Fan Yiweng was forced back ten or so steps by Zhou Yanqiang's spear-like movements and stepped onto the wooden walkway connecting the stone houses.

Suddenly, the tip of Zhou Yan's spear sank into the ground, then bounced up again, lifting the entire wooden floorboard and smashing it down on him.

Fan Yiweng frantically struck the wooden plank with his steel staff, when suddenly Zhou Yan plunged his iron spear into the ground. He then darted forward and extended his right hand, using his "Destroying Claw" to grab the other man's shoulder.

His internal energy flashed, and Fan Yiweng suddenly felt his arm go numb. With a "clang," the steel staff fell to the ground.

Fan Yiweng was truly ruthless. He strained his spine and suddenly raised his head, his beard, which was over two feet long, was about to whip towards Zhou Yan like three thousand strands of Buddha's whisk. However, all his movements stopped when Zhou Yan grabbed his beard with his left hand in a "moon-grasping" motion.

"How did this scoundrel know I was going to slap his face with my beard?" Fan Yiweng was momentarily confused, and then his whole body lunged forward as Zhou Yan pulled on his beard with his left hand.

Zhou Yan raised his knee like a spear.

With a "thud," Fan Yiweng experienced a sharp, cramping pain in his abdomen, almost causing him to vomit bitter fluid.

Zhou Yan bent his arm and suddenly pulled back diagonally, striking Fan Yiweng on the neck.

The short, stocky man let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground.

A fight broke out. Two of the scouts rushed towards Zhou Yan's vicinity, while another, holding a hidden weapon, moved in and out of position, following the movements of Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi.

Zhou Yan said to the approaching porters, "Watch closely."

Alright!

One of the scouts grabbed Fan Yiweng and held a knife to his neck.

Zhou Yan turned to rush to Mei Chaofeng's aid, but from the stone house in the distance, a green-robed disciple from the Valley of Heartbreak was shouting hysterically, "The scoundrel has captured our senior brother! Find the old valley master!"

Zhou Yan was taken aback when he heard the voice. "Old Valley Master, is Gongsun Zhi's father still alive?"
He quickly recovered, gave a wry smile, and realized that the current Valley Master of Heartless Valley was not yet thirty years old, so it was reasonable that the old Valley Master was still alive. He just didn't know what his cultivation level was.

Zhou Yan grabbed his gun and ran toward the place where Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi were fighting.

……

A gray figure passed through the swaying bamboo forest, the narrow leaves falling in a straight line behind Zhou Yan. The moment he disappeared into the distance, the energy he carried with him dissipated.

The bamboo leaves then tumbled and swirled down.

Zhou Yan's figure solidified outside the battle formation of Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi.

"Captain, the merchants have gone to hide in that stone house over there."

Zhou Yan also felt that it was a good choice for Huang Rong to temporarily avoid the situation. Once bitten, twice shy. If Mei Chaofeng's whip were to fall, sand and stones would fly. If any of the flying stones were to hit Huang Rong, given her current physical condition, all of Zhou Yan's hard work in treating her would be in vain.

Zhou Yan looked at Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi.

Both were dressed in black; one wielded a whip like a venomous dragon in motion, while the other's palms danced like lotus blossoms in bloom.

Comparable.

Zhou Yan could tell that Qiu Qianchi's martial arts had improved a lot, and he also had some other sensory experiences.

Iron Corpse Mei Chaofeng. Iron Palm Lotus Qiu Qianchi.

These two people are strikingly similar in everything from their experiences to their eventual personalities.

If Qiu Qianchi had met Mei Chaofeng at the beginning of her adventures in the martial arts world, they might have hit it off immediately.

“Miss Qiu, may I have a word to say?” Zhou Yan said, withdrawing his thoughts.

Seeing that it was Zhou Yan, Qiu Qianchi made a feint and her figure floated several feet away.

Mei Chaofeng quickly withdrew the long whip from her hand.

"How could it be you?"

As soon as Qiu Qianchi said this, Zhou Yan knew that Gongsun Zhi was keeping the matter of capturing the Divine Eagle with his disciples a secret.

……

The stone chamber was cool, but Huang Rong had spent a lot of time and energy memorizing the "Golden Knife, Black Sword, Yin-Yang Double Blades" technique, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Zhou Yan's voice reached her ears, and she quickly flipped through the cultivation manual to solidify her understanding. Making sure she had memorized every word, she left the stone chamber and headed towards the bamboo forest.

She thought that even if Zhou Yan couldn't master both spear and sword, he could certainly master both saber and sword. If Gongsun Zhi were to encounter the镖头 (镖头 is a term for a镖师, a kind of镖师, who is a镖师, and the two sides were to fight each other and use the same techniques, Gongsun Zhi would probably be speechless.)

It would be interesting to die from a technique that turns the other person's methods against them.

Serves them right.

The wind rustled past, and the bamboo leaves whispered.

Zhou Yan's voice rang out, "I was passing through Xiangyang on a delivery mission and, remembering the kindness of the eagle, I came here to visit it. Little did I know that Master Gongsun and his disciples had captured the eagle with a fishing net formation. The eagle was kind to me that day, and Miss Qiu was also able to see it."

"Yes." Qiu Qianchi nodded.

"Therefore, I took action to help the giant eagle escape. However, when Master Gongsun left, he captured two people, including a group of men, so I followed him all the way here."

"Is there such a thing?"

"Absolutely no lies."

Qiu Qianchi looked at Fan Yiweng, who was being carried over by two porters.

"Is this possible?"

Fan Yiweng was straightforward. "Reporting to Miss Qiu, my master did indeed capture the ugly eagle, but he had no intention of killing it. He only wanted to extract the fleshy growth on the eagle's head to refine elixirs. I hope Miss Qiu will..."

"Okay, don't say any more."

Qiu Qianchi was extremely annoyed.

When she met Zhou Yan, her conversation with him at the mouth of a valley in the countryside outside Xiangyang was still vivid in her mind.

The bodyguard said he had encountered bad people; Gongsun Zhi was cunning and treacherous, and he should not be taken advantage of.

At that time, Gongsun Zhi's behavior was indeed somewhat unbecoming.

The镖师's words resonated with him, and he did indeed keep a close eye on things after returning to the Valley of Heartbreak. However, the old valley master treated him kindly, and Gongsun Zhi showed him concern and care. Over time, he put aside his thoughts of testing the valley and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the affairs of the valley. He also filled in the gaps and improved the martial arts of the Valley of Heartbreak.

Gongsun Zhi mentioned the ugly eagle several times, saying that the red fleshy growth on the eagle's head was caused by the accumulation of toxins from pecking at snakes and insects over the years, and that it could be used as a medicinal ingredient in alchemy.

Having kept his promise not to make things difficult for the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), he also wouldn't bother with the ugly eagle that had helped them. Besides, although the eagle was ugly, it was incredibly brave, and it was unlikely that it was being kept by a master. Why invite trouble? Therefore, he rejected Gongsun Zhi's suggestion.

Not long ago, the other party left the valley, claiming to be collecting medicinal herbs for alchemy. However, they secretly disobeyed orders, capturing not only the giant eagle but also the bodyguards.

Could it be that I've been with Gongsun Zhi for so long that he's really just pretending and using me, as the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) said?

"Phew!" Qiu Qianchi let out a soft breath.

Seeing Qiu Qianchi's face grow colder and colder, Fan Yiweng was horrified and hurriedly explained, "Miss Qiu, Master has never had any murderous intent. You have been in the valley for a long time, when have you ever seen Master kill or eat meat?"

Fan Yiweng's explanation only fueled Qiu Qianchi's anger, as she had already studied the techniques of the Valley of Heartbreak. She thought to herself, "The Valley of Heartbreak abstains from meat because the old Valley Master and Gongsun Zhi practice a special acupoint-sealing technique."

Thinking this through, Qiu Qianchi asked Fan Yiweng, "Have you ever arrested anyone?"

Fan Yiweng dared not refuse to answer, “Yes, there are two Miss Qiu.”

"Why take people?"

"That little thief injured the disciples in the valley."

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just kill them directly?"

Fan Yiweng was unable to answer, his words choked in his throat.

Huang Rong found it increasingly interesting and said, "That's easy. Once we capture the镖手 (bodyguard/escort), we'll definitely interrogate the镖头 (bodyguard/escort leader) and奇雕 (strange eagle), and find out if there's any extraordinary person behind the eagle, and what we're doing in the mountains and fields of Xiangyang."

"not like this."

Huang Rong laughed and said, "A gentleman seeks revenge against his enemy. The Valley Master, however, captured some lowly shrimp soldiers. To say that he did this to avenge the disciples of the Valley seems petty. If not, then his intentions are sinister. Let me ask you, is what I said reasonable?"

Fan Yiweng was covered in sweat, thinking to himself that he would have been better off being knocked unconscious by the thief when he fought him.

His veins bulged as he angrily retorted, "You're talking nonsense."

"How dare you spout such nonsense! If you can give me a reasonable explanation, I'll apologize."

"Master originally intended to seek revenge on the petty thief, but several of his junior brothers were wounded by arrows, and Master was in a hurry to treat them, so he gave up the idea."

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "I held back with my arrow and didn't kill anyone. It's not as serious as you make it out to be. It was clearly because it was dark at the time, and the Valley Master was wary of my archery skills and suspected that there were other accomplices. That's why he chose to flee and gave a whole bunch of high-sounding reasons. On the way, he encountered the bandits and wanted to capture and interrogate them. Unfortunately, despite all his scheming, he didn't expect that my bandits had left marks along the way, which allowed me to track them down."

“That’s not how it is.” Fan Yiweng shook his head wildly, his beard and hair flying.

Qiu Qianchi sighed inwardly.

She believed what Zhou Yan said.

Suddenly, an angry voice came from the air, "You audacious thief, how dare you enter the valley and harm people!"

Zhou Yan and Huang Rong looked in the direction of the sound and saw two figures flying towards them from a distance on one side of the bamboo forest. The one in front of them was flying over the stone roof and tree canopy like a hawk, and disappeared into the bamboo forest in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Yan looked at the man who had emerged from the forest and landed beside Qiu Qianchi. He saw that the man had an air of arrogance, but his face was sallow and his appearance was withered. He was probably over fifty years old.

This must be Gongsun Zhi's father, Zhou Yan thought to himself.

As expected, Qiu Qianchi bowed and said, "What brings you here, sir?"

"Having heard of the trouble in the valley, and worried that Miss Qiu might be in danger, I came to see what was going on."

"Thank you for your help, Master Valley."

After Elder Gongsun finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Zhou Yan and Mei Chaofeng.

Behind him, Gongsun Zhi, who had just reached the bamboo forest, was already secretly lamenting how the little thief had managed to find his way into the valley and even bump into Qiu Qianchi here.

(End of this chapter)