The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 145 Yang Kang Visits His Mother, Using a Borrowed Knife to Kill

The setting sun glowed crimson, and the evening clouds burned like fire.

Inside the council hall of the Zhongdu Changfeng Escort Agency, Helian Chuncheng's incredulous voice rang out, "The goods are intact."

"Young master, that's true, and they've even paid the escort fee."

Helian Chuncheng's expression gradually darkened.

Yin Kexi said to the bodyguards who came from Datong Prefecture, "Go and rest."

"Got it."

The bodyguard left the council hall and walked away quickly.

As the escort team from Fu'an approached Datong Prefecture, Zhou Yan left the group and rode swiftly to the Mountain God Temple to keep his appointment.

Hu Yanlei and his group of several hundred people returned to Zhongdu, their journey naturally much slower. It was around the same time Li Mochou left that the caravan finally reached Zhongdu territory. At roughly the same time, the Changfeng Escort Agency of Datong Prefecture dispatched escorts to Daxing Prefecture to inform Helian Chuncheng that Fu'an had delivered the goods safely to Xianyang and received tens of thousands of coins in payment.

The sudden news left Changfeng's young master bewildered and furious that his plans had failed.

"Tell me what's going on here." Helian Chuncheng picked up his teacup, brushed the tea needle with the lid, and slammed the teacup down on the table in frustration.

Yin Kexi said, "The Vajra Sect is a sect that values ​​its reputation. With Master Baoneng involved, there's absolutely no possibility of failure."

"If that's the case, where do you think the problem lies?"

Yin Kexi muttered to himself, "Could it be that Fu An has wiped us out?"

“Zhou Yan could not possibly be a match for Master Baoneng.” Helian Chuncheng said in disbelief.

"Logically, that shouldn't be the case, but what other reason could there be besides this explanation?"

Helian Chuncheng laughed in exasperation, “I feel like I’ve lost both my wife and my army. It was supposed to be a foolproof plan to kill two birds with one stone, but in the end it all fell apart and I even gave away tens of thousands of taels of silver to Fu’an.”

Yin Kexi's eyes darted around: "Actually, it's not a bad thing."

"How so?"

"If Zhou Yan really kills Master Baoneng, wouldn't he be provoking the Vajra Sect?"

"Heh, I suddenly feel a bit better." Helian Chuncheng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "According to their pace, the escort team from Fu'an should be back in the next couple of days. Have some quick-witted people keep an eye on the team to see if there have been any casualties and what the atmosphere is like. Then you go to the Vajra Gate and tell them how bad Zhou Yan is."

"Ah."

"Why can't you kill him?"

Yin Kexi said, "Even with iron arms and a copper head, he would be smashed into scrap metal by the Vajra Gate."

Helian Chuncheng laughed: "Send men to travel at full speed to Tongguan to investigate. If Master Baoneng really dies after Zhou Yan, he will have offended the Vajra Sect. I believe this. The people of the Vajra Sect will crush every bone in his body."

"it is good."

"Send someone else to the Prince Zhao's residence to inquire whether the young prince has returned to the city, and we will go to pay him a visit."

"I'll go make the arrangements." Yin Kexi turned and walked out of the hall.

"Zhou Yan, just you wait. Because of you, I will also have to deal with Fu'an." Helian Chuncheng laughed sinisterly.

……

As the sun set and the heat in the air gradually dissipated, Yang Kang slowed his pace as he walked to the backyard of the Prince's mansion, a look of annoyance on his face.

During the trip to Datong Prefecture, Helian Zhantai, the owner of Changfeng Escort Agency, acted as a go-between, recruiting experts from the Western Regions for the Prince's Palace.

Ouyang Ke would occasionally give him pointers, and although he didn't know where the "Martial Arts Manual" was hidden, it didn't fall into the hands of that beggar Hong Qigong.

Everything was moving in a positive direction, except for his own background.

He let out a soft breath, took a step forward, and walked around a bamboo fence. Before him stood three small houses with black tiles and white walls. Yang Kang pushed open the wooden door of the small house and went inside.

"mother."

"Kang'er is here."

When Yang Kang spoke, the middle-aged woman sitting at the table inside the room replied gently. The woman was not yet forty years old, with a beautiful appearance, without makeup, and dressed in coarse cloth.

"Kang'er, is something the matter?"

Yang Kang addressed her as "Mother," and the middle-aged woman was none other than Bao Xiruo, Yang Tiexin's wife, who was now the Princess of Zhao. "Can't you see your mother for no reason, Kang'er?" Yang Kang said, his gaze sweeping over the iron spearhead and broken plow in the house. The image of the old Yang family house in Niujia Village flashed through his mind again.

The layout of that room was indeed exactly the same as the room where her mother lived.

"Kang'er, you're not allowed to be cheeky."

Yang Kang snapped out of his daze and sat down opposite Bao Xiruo.

Bao Xiruo poured tea.

"Mother, I visited Niujia Village when I arrived in Lin'an."

Bao Xiruo's hand trembled violently, spilling tea onto the table.

"Ah!" She got up, found a towel to wipe the tea, and asked nervously, "What are you going to Niujia Village for?"

“It was someone I knew who took me there.”

"Who?"

"That person said my biological father's surname is Yang, Mother, is that true?" Yang Kang did not answer, but got up and went to Bao Xiruo, took her hand, and said, "I'm all grown up now, and I've reached the age where I understand things. Mother, please speak frankly about whatever you have to say."

Bao Xiruo's vision blurred instantly, as if a white mist was rising before her eyes, and the eighteen years of time seemed to have entered a painting.

"Sister-in-law, come and have a drink."

"Sister-in-law Guo is also pregnant. Would you please give her two names, Taoist priest?"

“Brother Guo’s child will be named Guo Jing, and Brother Yang’s child will be named Yang Kang. These two names can be used regardless of whether the child is male or female.”

"Alright, what the Taoist priest means is to tell them not to forget the humiliation of Jingkang and to remember the disgrace of the two emperors being captured."

As Bao Xiruo returned to Niujia Village, the words of her sworn brother Guo Xiaotian, her husband, and Daoist Qiu were still vivid in her ears.

"mother!"

Yang Kang's voice brought Bao Xiruo back to her senses. She took a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. After a few breaths, she walked to the wall and took down the iron spearhead.

“Kang’er, when you were little, you asked me who Yang Tiexin on the gun was.”

"My mother didn't say anything at the time."

“Because you are still young,” Bao Xiruo said. “Now I’m going to tell you. He is your father, and your name is Yang Kang. This iron spear originally came from Niujia Village in Lin’an Prefecture. I sent people all the way there to get it. The half-plowshare on the wall, the table, stools, cabinets, and wooden bed in this room—none of them were not transported from Niujia Village.”

"That's really true."

Bao Xiruo, holding the iron spearhead, asked, "Who told you about this?"

"A Taoist priest."

Bao Xiruo thought to herself, "It must be Daoist Qiu."

“Mother, the kindness of giving birth to me is greater than any human being, and the kindness of raising me is greater than the heavens. Kang’er used to be naughty, but now he is sensible and will listen to you and be filial to you and Father from now on.”

Bao Xiruo asked, "Kang'er, do you know why you're named 'Kang'?"

"The child doesn't know."

"It is to remember the humiliation of the Jingkang Incident and the disgrace of the two emperors being captured."

"I see, but why is Mother saying this?"

“Now that you know your background, we don’t need to stay in this palace. Kang’er, come with me to Niujia Village.”

"Mother, are you willing to part with Father?"

There are some things Kang'er doesn't understand.

"Will Mother get used to that dilapidated place, Niujia Village?"

"Is it dilapidated? I think it's much better than the magnificent pavilions in the Prince's mansion! My child, you are not blessed to live in this run-down place with your own father and mother."

Yang Kang sighed inwardly. To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, he had made two preparations: if the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, the Six Heroes of Jiangnan, and Guo Jing really came to Zhongdu and forced him to kill his father, he had planned to use the excuse of his mother's deep affection for his father to refuse, but now it seemed unlikely that this would work.

(End of this chapter)