The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 113 Eastern Heretic, Western Poison

As the large ship approached, Wanyan Kang and Ouyang Ke, standing at the bow, saw Peng Lianhu in dire straits, surrounded by several men.

Wanyan Kang hurriedly bowed to Ouyang Feng: "Senior Ouyang, Mr. Peng is in danger, please help me."

Ouyang Ke said, "Uncle, Chief Peng is the one who wields the judge's pen. Those men were also the assassins who tried to kill the prince."

Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, now focused his gaze on Zhou Yan.

His eyesight was incredibly sharp. After only a few shots, Zhou Yan accurately identified the other party as the old beggar from Zhongdu Changjie who was protecting his own and was wearing the Kitchen God mask at the time.

The old beggar seemed to have called that person "boy" back then, so it's possible that he was a disciple or grand-disciple. The young man's marksmanship was extraordinary, and given time, it's not impossible that he could surpass Ke'er.

How can such a rising star, who is related to beggars, remain in the world?

Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, read this aloud, glancing left and right before finally settling on the anchor rope.

……

Zhu Cong's fan unfolded for a moment, like an umbrella swirling in the air, instantly disrupting Peng Lianhu's vision, and Zhu Cong's dislocating technique landed on his shoulder.

The Thousand-Handed Butcher shifted positions, and Han Xiaoying's longsword and Quan Jinfeng's scales attacked from the left and right respectively. He pointed his judge's pen left and right, and with a clang, Han Xiaoying's longsword swung away. Quan Jinfeng's scales, however, were incredibly varied; the weights and hooks at both ends flew out simultaneously. Even Peng Lianhu, with his vast experience, had never seen such strange weapons before. He used the move "Monster Python Turns Over" to dodge the weapons, shouting, "What are these things? You call something a mercenary weapon!"

Quan Jinfa said, "This scale of mine is meant to weigh you, you skinny pig!"

Peng Lianhu was furious. As he leaped forward, he heard a "buzz" of gunfire as Zhou Yan and Guo Jing's two spears came hurtling towards him.

"Come on, let's have a one-on-one fight!" Peng Lianhu shouted as he retreated.

Guo Jing remained silent, raised his spear and thrust forward, using the techniques of "Stepping Tiger" and "A Stick of Incense Facing the Sky," the spear tip gleaming as it aimed straight for Peng Lianhu's throat.

With a violent tremor, Zhou Yan's iron spear pierced towards Peng Lianhu's chest.

The Thousand-Handed Butcher retreated frantically, but with a loud "thud," he was struck on the shoulder by Quan Jinfa's steelyard. Enraged, he threw the Judge's Pen in a backhand motion.

Quan Jinfeng landed backward and rolled away. However, in that instant of distraction, Zhou Yan's spear suddenly disappeared from Peng Lianhu's sight for a moment, and then he leaped out from the other side.

The deafening gunshot rang in our ears. The Yue family's killing move, "Lone Smoke in the Desert," moved like a dragon soaring and a tiger leaping. The spearhead struck Peng Lianhu's side of the head with a "thud," and blood bloomed on the spear tip.

In Guo Jing's line of sight, red blood and black hair spurted several feet high.

"What superb marksmanship!" Guo Jing thought to himself as he sheathed his spear. The next moment, he heard his seventh master shout, "Benefactor, be careful, anchor!"

Zhou Yan's figure soared into the air, and a heavy iron anchor weighing several tens of kilograms landed with a "thud," sending wooden planks flying.

Ouyang Feng's figure suddenly appeared on the large ship.

The Western Poisoner, unarmed, used his internal energy to propel his wide sleeves. In the dim moonlight obscured by smoke, his sleeves seemed to unfurl like several iron fans. With several loud bangs, Zhu Cong's iron fan and Quan Jinfa's steelyard flew out one after another.

With a clang, Han Xiaoying's longsword broke in two, and Xi Du's figure rose up like a giant night owl, landing on Zhou Yan who was standing on the ship's beam.

Before Zhou Yan could think, he leaped behind the sail and thrust out with a swift motion.

Amidst the dust, the canvas in his vision seemed to burst open as if torn apart by hundreds of giant dragons, the spearhead passing over Ouyang Feng's head, and the Western Poison was already closing in.

With two sharp "snap" sounds, Zhou Yan's feet touched the mast, and his body shot backward like an arrow.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ouyang Feng suddenly shake his sleeve backward.

With a "whoosh," large swathes of the Western Poison's sleeves fluttered out like butterflies, and the Eastern Heretic, dressed in a blue cloth robe, landed on another mast. In Zhou Yan's sight, the smoke was stirred up by the pebbles thrown out by the Eastern Heretic's ultimate skill, "Finger Flicking Divine Skill," creating ripples.

White and blue figures soared up and down like two large birds, accompanied by clanging metallic sounds and clear voices.

"Brother Yao, how have you been?"

"The old poison master has emerged from seclusion." "Brother Medicine, why are you stopping me?"

Huang Yaoshi never mentioned that Zhou Yan and Hong Qigong had a connection and that Zhou Yan had sent him a message.

"Seeing the old poison master makes me happy, let's exchange a few moves."

Ouyang Feng chuckled softly, revealing his gleaming white teeth. "Very good."

He said this aloud, but in his heart he thought, "With both the beggar and Huang Yaoshi protecting him, this kid will be a formidable enemy of mine in the future. I'll seize any opportunity to take his life."

Zhou Yan knew perfectly well that Huang Yaoshi was unaware that Huang Rong was at Guiyun Manor. The reason Huang Yaoshi had intervened to save her was so that he could tell Huang Rong's whereabouts by the river in Jingzhou.

Huang Yaoshi taught him the martial arts techniques without owing anyone a favor, but he also didn't want to see himself die at the hands of the Western Poison Master.

He thought to himself how close he had come to disaster. Looking around, he saw more and more light boats from the Taihu Lake fortresses approaching, and people were constantly jumping into the lake to begin scuttling the large ships on both sides of Lin'an Prefecture and the Jin Kingdom.

A little further away, a military officer holding a steel sword stood at the bow of the ship, with two Imperial Guards standing beside him. The officer shouted, "Water demons, sabotage the ship and fire arrows!"

That must be Duan Tiande. Zhou Yan thought to himself, then took a few quick steps, and the iron spear in his hand suddenly flew out, covering a distance of seven or eight zhang, and landed on the mast.

With a snap, the mooring rope broke, and the sail of the large ship carrying Ouyang Ke and the others plummeted like a leaden cloud.

"Catch the thief first and capture the king first."

As Zhou Yan turned and sprinted away, he heard Zhu Cong say, "Jing'er, cut the anchor rope."

"Alright, Second Master."

Han Xiaoying and Zhu Cong followed Zhou Yan closely.

The two men were skilled in light-footed techniques, and Zhou Yan's "Golden Goose Skill" was even more extraordinary. The three of them moved with the agility of rabbits and falcons, sometimes stepping on the awning of the fishing boat, sometimes lightly touching the small boat, and somehow made their way to the large ship where Duan Tiande was.

Duan Tiande was terrified, shouting, "Fire the arrows! Fire the arrows!"

"Benefactor, Seventh Sister, board the boat." Zhu Cong, who was following behind Zhou Yan, said this and suddenly raised his hands, throwing out bone-piercing nails and money darts in succession.

Duan Tiande wielded his longsword swiftly, retreating continuously. The archers beside him were struck by the hidden weapons and rolled on the ground like gourds.

Zhou Yan silently leaped ten feet into the air amidst the smoke, landing first on the bow of the ship. In his field of vision, the Imperial Guards rushed over with their swords drawn. He picked up the steel sword that a soldier had dropped from the ground.

The blade flashed out almost skimming the ground. His "Night Battle in All Directions," a move he had learned from the镖头 (bodyguard) Wang Kui, struck the calf of the Imperial City Guard. The opponent stumbled, and blood gushed out like a waterfall.

Zhou Yan struck the ground with his left hand, using the recoil to leap into the air. His steel blade slashed repeatedly at another fast-moving opponent.
Amidst the clanging and clattering of metal, the swift longsword flew from Zhou Yan's hand, and an astonishing rain of blood exploded like fireworks as Zhou Yan's sword fell.

Han Xiaoying landed at the bow of the ship at that moment. She was skilled in the "Yue Maiden Sword Technique," but dealing with ordinary soldiers with a knife was a piece of cake for her. As the woman in green drew blood with her blade, Zhou Yan had already reached Duan Tiande.

"Ah!" Duan Tiande lunged forward, his face contorted with bravado but his heart filled with fear.

While his steel knife was still in the air, Zhou Yan knocked him to the ground with a shovel kick.

With a "thud," his helmet rolled away, and Zhou Yan swiftly brought down his knife, the blade pressed against his neck.

"Let me ask you, what is your name? Are you the imperial envoy who received the Jurchens?"

"Your humble servant Duan Tiande, I was only following orders. Please spare my life, sir."

Zhu Cong then jumped onto the bow of the boat, his mind going blankly.

"Duan Tiande, what a familiar name."

(End of this chapter)