The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 124 A Nemo Star Fell From the Sky
A rainbow arches over the distant mountains and near the water, while passenger boats cast their shadows on the gentle breeze. The ancient pagoda's light shimmers in the lake's mirror-like surface, and pavilions and terraces stand amidst songs and dances along the Su Causeway.

In Zhou Yan's perception, the West Lake was at dusk. He walked along the lake, gradually approaching the pagoda on the Sunrise Peak of Xiangnanping Mountain.

The West Lake shimmered in the sunlight, and Zhou Yan thought of Taihu Lake again.

After the Battle of Taihu Lake, Wanyan Kang and his men retreated. It is unknown whether they adjusted their plans after this incident, or whether they are still in the city.

With the pagoda in sight, Zhou Yan's thoughts returned, and he climbed the steps.

……

"Brother Nemo, what do you think of the scenery of West Lake?"

On the second floor of the pagoda, Helian Chuncheng, the owner of the Changfeng Escort Agency, spoke to the foreign man beside him.

"Haha, I am an empty-headed fellow with shallow literary talent, and I cannot express myself in words."

"I cannot make a hasty judgment on Brother Nemo's literary talent, but I truly admire his martial arts skills."

"Young master, you flatter me," the foreign man said with a smile.

Looking at the clouds and mist over West Lake, Helian Chuncheng sighed, "In the past, Changfeng Escort Agency mainly dealt with goods from the Western Regions and beyond the Great Wall, rarely crossing the Yellow River into the south. Now that we have come to Lin'an Prefecture, we realize how prosperous the Jiangnan region is. If we had connected the goods trade between Jiangnan and the Western Regions a few years earlier, Changfeng would have been the number one escort agency in the world long ago."

"Young Master, you have great foresight; it's not too late," Cui Qingshan flattered from the side.

"With the help of Brother Nemo and Chief Escort Cui, it's never too late."

"Young Master Yin and I are kindred spirits and will definitely do our best to help you."

"Thank you, Brother Nemo."

Helian Chuncheng's words were polite, but Cui Qingshan found them rather unpleasant.

During the battle on the long street on the Lantern Festival, Shi Xiangui of the escort agency died, and his nephew Cui Changshun was also killed on the long street. To this day, the identity of the murderer wearing the Kitchen God mask remains unknown.

Merchants from the Western Regions would hire escorts through the Changfeng Escort Agency. After the Lantern Festival, I accompanied Yin Kexi on a journey to the Western Regions and encountered an Indian man named Nimo Xing.

After a while, Yin Kexi and the other party became sworn brothers.

When the caravan returned to Zhongdu, Nemo Xing stayed at the caravan agency. Helian Chuncheng, Yin Kexi, and Nemo Xing spent their days drinking and discussing martial arts. If this continued, the Indian might even become the head of the Zhongdu branch of the Changfeng Caravan Agency.

Cui Qingshan had originally planned to join forces with Shi Xiangui and others. The Changfeng Escort Agency was full of hidden talents, and while Shi Xiangui being the chief escort was a bit too ambitious, being the chief escort of the Zhongdu branch wouldn't be a problem. However, Shi Xiangui died on the Lantern Festival. Without him, Cui Qingshan clearly felt the coldness from the Hu (non-Han) escorts of the Changfeng Escort Agency. Although Helian Chuncheng remained polite, he didn't value him.

Helian Chuncheng's trip to Lin'an Prefecture was for two reasons: first, to accompany Western Region merchants in purchasing silk and porcelain; and second, to visit the Longmen Escort Agency. He would not have been summoned to accompany them if he hadn't frequently traveled to Jiangnan while in Fu'an.

Thinking this through, Cui Qingshan sighed inwardly at the coldness of human nature. He felt quite lost and out of place, his gaze wandering aimlessly between the distant mountains and nearby waters.

Suddenly, Cui Qingshan's gaze fell on a man climbing the steps. He scrutinized him for a moment, his eyes fixed intently on him.

"Young Master, Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan of Fu'an Escort Agency."

Helian Chuncheng was taken aback.

"Zhou Yan?"

He looked in the direction Cui Qingshan pointed, his pupils contracted slightly, and then he laughed, "What a coincidence!"

Nemo Xing settled in Changfeng Escort Agency in Zhongdu, and had heard of Zhou Yan.

He asked, "That arrogant bodyguard from Fu'an?"

"Ah."

Nemo Xing laughed, "How does the young master want to deal with this?"

As dusk settled, flocks of crows flew home.

Helian Chuncheng said, "Wouldn't it be a pity not to kill them?"

"understood."

"Wait a minute."

As Nemo was about to leave, Helian Chuncheng said, "Zhou Yan will not go to Lin'an Prefecture alone. Just in case, Brother Nemo, do not show your true form to others."

"Easy to say."

Nemo Xing took out a handkerchief from his pocket and covered his face.

The Indian expert walked along the pagoda corridor toward Zhou Yan. Helian Chuncheng said to Cui Qingshan, "That kid is cunning. Take a few men and surround him."

"Alright." Cui Qingshan covered his face and led several bodyguards from Datong Prefecture toward the stairs.

Nemo Xing's body had already flown out of the pagoda with a whoosh.

……

The shadow cast by the setting sun made Zhou Yan's hair stand on end.

Before he could even take a closer look, his body suddenly leaned back, his feet slammed into the ground, and he shot through the air like a long arrow, flying ten feet into the air. His body plummeted, his toes touched the bluestone steps again, and he floated another ten feet away.

A sound of "Eh!" came from the man in front of Zhou Yan, and then he saw the man stretch out his body, his toes touching the ground, and swooping down like an eagle.

The speed of his movements stirred up a roar like thunder and lightning.

Zhou Yan thought to himself, "How come I can encounter someone who wants to kill me just by strolling around the West Lake Pagoda?" Looking at the aura surrounding the other party, his cultivation was definitely no less than that of Peng Lianhu.

Retreat is the best course of action.

In an instant, Nemo Xing pounced, his fists heavy and swift. Zhou Yan shook his arms, using the Yue Family Boxing Technique, his body shifting, his fists, elbows, chop, and strikes coming in quick succession.

The moment the two clashed, their fists and palms unleashed a thunderous roar like a torrential downpour.

With a loud "bang," Nemo Xing and Zhou Yan stepped back. The Indian expert pushed off the stone steps with his back foot, sprang out, and pushed towards Zhou Yan's chest with his hands clasped together.

With a whoosh, the lime exploded. Zhou Yan turned and leaped into the forest without looking back.

"You're cheating!"

An angry voice came from behind Zhou Yan.

……

White smoke billowed in the air, and Nemo Xing's sleeves, propelled by his internal energy, were like two iron fans, swirling the lime powder out in a few swift movements.

He pulled out the iron-cast snake whip from behind his back and chased after Zhou Yan.

Helian Chuncheng's face was gloomy on the pagoda.
He knew Zhou Yan's skills and was even more familiar with Nimo Xing's realm. However, when the two clashed, the other party threw lime and fled. Although he was running away, it was clear from the few moves they exchanged that the other party's realm had improved.

"If Zhou Yan escapes today, there will be endless troubles in the future."

“That kid is no match for Brother Nemo, or he’s cunning. I’ll go help him,” Yin Kexi said.

"It's come to this, let's go for it."

Helian Chuncheng covered his face, and he and Yin Kexi jumped down from the pagoda one after the other, chasing after Zhou Yan.

……

In the woods and fields of Nanping Mountain, several figures rose and fell, chasing each other.

Behind Zhou Yan was Nemo Xing, and further back was Cui Qingshan, who led six bodyguards to surround them from both sides. Further into the forest, Helian Chuncheng and Yin Kexi hovered above the treetops, observed briefly, then disappeared into the woods and gave chase at lightning speed.

Zhou Yan's figure twisted and stretched in the twilight, heading straight towards West Lake.

He didn't look back, but instinctively judged that the attack seemed meticulously planned, which meant that it was unlikely that the person who set up the trap was a single individual.

One opponent is troublesome enough; with allies, once surrounded, certain death is inevitable.

Zhou Yan now relies on his swimming skills.

He practiced his skills in the Yangtze River and developed excellent swimming ability. Although he could not compare to Huang Rong or Hou Tonghai, he was no less skilled than the water ghost of Taihu Lake.

……

Zhou Yan burst out of the forest, and his view suddenly opened up to a fishing boat.

He ran over and leaped up, landing on the bow of the boat.

"Boatman, may I borrow your boat?"

There was no response from the cabin. Zhou Yan didn't care where the boatman had gone and used a bamboo pole to push the boat.

Nemo Star's figure loomed large on the lakeside at that moment. He gathered his strength in his feet, leaped up, and like a water bird, swung across the lake and landed on the other side of the fishing boat.

The bow of the boat where Zhou Yan landed suddenly rose high and then landed on the water with a "thump".

"Kid, where do you think you're going?" Nemo Xing sneered, leaping onto the boat's canopy. The moment he lunged forward, Zhou Yan took a step to the side, using a bamboo pole as a spear. In an instant, seven afterimages shot out from the spear's flourish, stabbing towards Nemo Xing's shoulders, neck, chest, and abdomen.

Nemo Xing let out a strange cry and began to wield his short whip. He leaped and danced, then spun and rolled. Amidst the dense sounds of whips and bamboo poles clashing, bamboo shavings flew everywhere, managing to intercept Zhou Yan's seven-step attack.

Cui Qingshan led his bodyguards to the lakeside. Seeing that the fishing boats were already two or three zhang away from the shore, he immediately ran along the lake for more than ten steps, seized two fishing boats, and rowed around Zhou Yan.

In that instant, Zhou Yan had already thrust out twenty-one spears.

He had never heard of a weapon like the one before him. The short whip was exactly like a venomous snake with a triangular head. The whip was flexible and bent, and was made of countless tiny iron balls. Both the snake's head and tail had sharp spikes. What was most dangerous was that it was impossible to predict when the snake's body would bend or which direction the snake's head and tail would point.

The opponent used the unique nature of the weapon to hastily receive the killing blow of the "Rain of Pear Blossoms Spear".

"Twenty more shots."

Zhou Yan shouted and lunged forward.

Nemo couldn't maintain his footing on the awning for long. Not daring to underestimate Zhou Yan's lightning-fast marksmanship, he lightly touched the ground with his toes and drifted towards the bow of the ship.

Suddenly he saw the bamboo pole in Zhou Yan's hand disappear for a moment, then he saw the bamboo pole in Zhou Yan's hand thrust backward, and then retract in an instant like a phantom.

With a sudden counterattack, the Hu escort who was rowing over and leaping toward Zhou Yan's fishing boat was as if he had hit a bamboo pole.

"puff!"

The bamboo pole pierced out and retracted, and the spurting blood sprayed out like exploding fireworks.

With a "thud," the body of the bodyguard fell into the lake, splashing water everywhere.

He plunged the bamboo pole into the water, gave it a push, and the fishing boat beneath his feet shot backward. In that instant, Zhou Yan leaped toward the fishing boat where Cui Qingshan was.

The continuous shadows of spears surged forth like an angry dragon as Zhou Yan landed on the bow of the ship, and six wounds on the chest of the bodyguard gushed blood like a fountain.

Zhou Yan pushed the bodyguard into the boat's awning. As he pulled up the bamboo pole, he saw flashes of swords and lightning striking down.

He took a step back and placed the bamboo pole across the ground.

With a "crack!" sound, the bamboo pole was split into two pieces of varying lengths.

As soon as the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) who had leaped forward with his sword landed, Zhou Yan thrust the bamboo poles in his hands into the opponent's chest like twin spears. He did not pull out the two bamboo poles, but instead used them to push the镖师 and charge forward.

In Cui Qingshan's view, the entire ship's canopy shattered and scattered. Zhou Yan, pushing the bodyguard, crashed into it in an instant. He secretly groaned, as the corpse lay in front of him, making it impossible to use the abacus beads as a hidden weapon.

He spun the abacus in his hand and smashed it down on Zhou Yan's head.

Zhou Yan suddenly spun left and right in front of Cui Qingshan's eyes, then abruptly reached out and grabbed the other's wrist. His powerful internal force surged from Cui Qingshan's Shaofu Shenmen acupoint straight into the Shaoyang Sanjiao meridian of his hand.

The Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian is distributed in the heart, liver, lungs, gallbladder, kidneys and other parts of the human body, and governs the whole body.

Zhou Yan unleashed his internal energy, which surged through Cui Qingshan's meridians, shattering his internal organs.

(End of this chapter)