The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 111 The King of Hell's Decree, Bone-Piercing Needle

The "Three-Headed Dragon" wielded a steel fork, its weight and power immense. As it swung, it moved like a dragon, stabbing and stabbing at the soldiers of the Taihu Lake water fortress who stood in front of it. Amidst the chilling screams, it killed more than twenty people on a large ship with its fork.

Hou Tonghai, who had been chased by Huang Rong all the way from Fenglingdu to Lin'an Prefecture, suddenly felt incredibly powerful again.

They're nothing but clowns, nothing more than heroes of Taihu Lake.

Once the prince obtains the "Wumu's Legacy" and leads his army south, Taihu Lake will be under the control of the Yellow River Gang.

In an instant, Hou Tonghai felt as if he had the ability to smash the Taihu Lake water fortress with oars and punch the Yangtze River boatmen.

Everything was almost exactly as Zhou Yan had guessed.

Wanyan Honglie employed a two-pronged approach. He sent "Three-Headed Flood Dragon" Hou Tonghai, "Ghost Gate Dragon King" Sha Tongtian, and "Thousand-Handed Butcher" Peng Lianhu to Lin'an Prefecture to investigate first. Then, under the pretense of an imperial envoy, he lulled Ouyang Ke, Liang Ziweng, Lingzhi Shangren, and others into a false sense of security while Ouyang Feng and others stole the "Wumu's Legacy." With Ouyang Feng in charge, everything was foolproof.

Hou Tonghai scouted the area and, as agreed, went to meet Wanyan Kang. However, upon arriving at Taihu Lake, he inadvertently learned that the water fortress was not conducive to the imperial envoy's team and Wanyan Kang's group from Lin'an Prefecture. After a brief discussion, he infiltrated the Ling'ao Island fortress.

It is quite normal that the Taihu Water Village raised the banner of rebellion, recruited soldiers and horses, and was filled with all sorts of people, making it difficult to identify the identities of Peng Lianhu and others.

Seeing that the imperial troops in Lin'an Prefecture were gradually showing signs of defeat under the attack of the Taihu Water Fortress, Hou Tonghai and two others led dozens of their men in a sudden attack, catching Lu Guanying off guard. It was only because the young master of Guiyun Manor was on a large ship that was a little far away from Peng Lianhu and the others that he was captured or killed.

Even so, five or six village chiefs have already perished at the hands of these three.

Zhou Yan traveled north from Jingzhou, practicing his skills on the river. His water skills were also quite remarkable. He was not afraid of water battles and sailed in his boat. From afar, he saw Hou Tonghai standing arrogantly on a large ship.

There were floating corpses of soldiers from the Taihu Lake water fortress on the water. He squatted down and removed the turban covering the faces of the soldiers.

Such attire was quite normal amidst the raging flames and billowing smoke of battle; some even wet their headscarves to cover their mouths and noses to protect themselves from the smoke.

"Brother, can I borrow your headscarf? I'll stab a few more Yellow River Gang water ghosts to death."

Zhou Yan muttered something to the corpse, then rowed the boat toward Hou Tonghai.

He knew the "Three-Headed Flood Dragon's" cultivation level intimately, and with his current level of cultivation, defeating it with his spear would not be difficult.

As the small boat approached, Hou Tonghai was about to jump into Taihu Lake and swim towards Lu Guanying's large ship when the three-headed dragon suddenly heard a sound coming from the lake below, "Over here!"

Hou Tonghai, the three-headed dragon, looked over and saw Zhou Yan, whose face was covered by a turban, and asked, "Who are you?"

"One of our own."

Hou Tonghai, still not quite grasping the situation, assumed they were Peng Lianhu's men and was overjoyed: "They've come at the perfect time."

Without the slightest hesitation, he said to a Yellow River Gang disciple beside him, "Let's take a boat and kill the leader of the Taihu Lake stronghold."

"Got it."

Hou Tonghai jumped down first, followed closely by his men.

Amidst the smoke and fire, the buzzing of gunfire rang out as Zhou Yan thrust out his spear, the tip of which, like a serpent spitting its tongue, aimed at Hou Tonghai's abdomen.

If this shot lands, the internal organs will be instantly shredded.

"Swoosh!" The sudden sound of wind was like tearing silk. With a "clang," Zhou Yan's iron spear was hit by a stone and knocked away.

Hou Tonghai landed at the bow of the boat.

The three-headed dragon felt a chill run down its spine as Zhou Yan thrust his spear, thinking to itself that it was like a hunter who had been preyed upon by a goose, destined to die at the hands of an unknown man. But then, the tip of Zhou Yan's spear was struck by a hidden weapon and deflected, allowing the dragon to land safely on the ground.

Knowing that a master had come to his rescue, he was overjoyed and grinned maliciously, "Kid, I'll smash your head in."

As soon as he finished speaking, he unleashed a move called "Dragon Emerging from the Sea," swinging his steel fork towards Zhou Yan's head. With a "crack," another pebble flew through the air, striking Hou Tonghai's elbow at the "Quchi" acupoint. The three-headed dragon felt a numbness in his arm, and the steel fork slipped from his hand, falling into the lake with a "thud," creating a large splash.

Zhou Yan's arm was also sore and numb, but he changed his move incredibly fast. The moment his spear swung out, his right foot suddenly bent inward from the outer circle, and his momentum was like a flash of lightning sweeping across Hou Tonghai.

The three-headed dragon was struck by a stone, its steel fork slipping from its grasp. In its haste, how could it possibly dodge Zhou Yan's "Whirlwind Sweep Leaf Kick"?

With a loud "bang," Hou Tonghai yelled as he was kicked into the air and crashed into the lake.

Zhou Yan retreated with his gun, stood at the other end of the small boat, and looked in the direction from which the stones had been thrown.

Under the silvery moonlight, a tall man in a blue cloth robe stood on the beam of a large ship several feet away, half of his body hidden behind the sail, the visible half of his face stiff and strange, like wood or stone.

Zhou Yan instantly realized it was Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic.

On that day by the river in Jingzhou, he told Dongxie Hou Tonghai and Huang Rong where he was going. Huang Rong couldn't find the three-headed dragon, so she rode north to Zhongdu. But Dongxie found the dragon by chance.

Huang Yaoshi could kill Hou Tonghai with ease, so he must have seen Hou Tonghai join Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, and others heading to Taihu Lake. He wasn't in a hurry to act, but wanted to investigate first, and also find Huang Rong along the way.

The Eastern Heretic's act of knocking away his own spear with a pebble clearly indicated that he either had to kill the Three-Headed Flood Dragon himself or Huang Rong had to do it; he wouldn't allow anyone else to get involved.

Zhou Yan chuckled inwardly; the three-headed dragon had been sealed with a death warrant. Huang Yaoshi must have recognized him too.

He then ignored Hou Tonghai, flicked his wrist, and the iron spear leaped from the deck of the small boat. The trembling sound suddenly grew louder, turning into a mournful cry as he assassinated the Yellow River Gang disciples.

The disciple swung his sword, and with a clang of metal, the steel blade flew out, and the spearhead instantly ripped open his abdomen, as if a ferocious beast had suddenly taken his life away.

Zhou Yan steered the boat straight to the large ship where Lu Guanying was.

The three-headed dragon emerged from the water, cursing loudly: "I hate your ancestors! If you have the guts, come and fight me one-on-one! You stealthily plotted against me!"

When Zhou Yan heard Hou Tonghai's angry curses, he almost choked on his breath.

Behind the three-headed dragon, Huang Yaoshi appeared above him without making a sound, his figure like a water bird floating on a lake. The Eastern Heretic struck Hou Tonghai's neck and back with a palm, and then used the force to leap back towards the horizontal beam of the large ship where he had been standing.

Hou Tonghai suddenly felt a slight stinging pain in his back and neck. He tried to grab something but missed. He turned around in the water and started cursing, "I hate you, let's fight one-on-one!"

With a "bang," a pebble struck Hou Tonghai's acupoint, rendering him speechless.

Zhou Yan had previously thought that Hou Tonghai had been given a death warrant by Huang Yaoshi, and it turned out he was right. The Eastern Heretic struck down with a palm carrying a needle, the needle penetrating deep into the flesh and firmly anchored to the joint of the bone. The needle was infused with poison, but the effects took slow, occurring six times a day, circulating through the blood vessels, causing unbearable, indescribable pain, yet not death. The suffering was like adding fuel to the fire.

If Huang Yaoshi were to kill the three-headed dragon with a single palm strike, he would be unworthy of the title "Eastern Heretic".

As Zhou Yan's small boat approached the large ship where Lu Guanying was, another large ship suddenly veered diagonally towards it, and the two ships collided with a loud crash. The Thousand-Handed Butcher "Peng Lianhu" and several fierce disciples leaped over the collision.

Zhou Yan lightly touched the bow of the boat with his toes, landing as lightly as a goose.

One of Peng Lianhu's disciples, who had leaped onto the large ship, asked warily, "Who is it?"

“One of our own.” Zhou Yan approached with his gun raised and thrust it forward.

"You scoundrel!" the man cursed, throwing a punch. Suddenly, the iron spear danced like a giant dragon, exploding with killing intent.

"Be careful."

Peng Lianhu gave a warning, and in his field of vision, his disciple's right fist had already shattered, and blood was spreading along his arm. Zhou Yan's spear first pierced through the opponent's fist, then through his arm and into his right chest.

Peng Lianhu roared like thunder, took out the Judge's Pen from his waist, and immediately drew his weapon, intending to kill him mercilessly.

(End of this chapter)