The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 157 Regicide
Midnight had passed, but the commotion at the Prince Zhao's residence had not subsided.

The servants kept putting boxes filled with gold, silver and valuables into the carriage.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

"Greetings, Young Prince."

Amidst a constant stream of greetings, Yang Kang walked through corridors and buildings until he arrived at the elegant residence built by the lake.

"Senior Ouyang, have you taken a rest?"

"Please come in, Your Highness."

To outsiders, Yang Kang was still the noble Wanyan Kang, but to Ouyang Feng, he was just a young man with ambition and talent who needed his help.

Yang Kang did not feel that Ouyang Feng's attitude towards him was inappropriate.

In the martial arts world, martial arts are equivalent to power in the imperial court.

He straightened his clothes slightly and pushed the door open to enter.

As the light spread across Yang Kang's vision, Ouyang Feng withdrew his "Toad Stance."

Yang Kang got straight to the point, "There's something I need Senior Ouyang's help with."

"But it doesn't matter."

"Only you, senior, can do this?"

"tell me the story."

Yang Kang stepped forward.

A biting wind swept across the lake, swirling beneath the eaves of the hermitage, like a murmur, like a sigh.

Yang Kang's voice was barely audible in the wind.

When the wind stopped, Ouyang Feng inside the hut let out a laugh that sounded like the friction of broken cymbals.

"Everyone turns pale at the mere mention of the name of the Western Poison, but the young prince is no less formidable."

"Senior Ouyang, you flatter me."

"Haha, I admire it. I will teach you the 'Instant Thousand Miles' movement technique so that you can save your life when you encounter a crisis."

Yang Kang was overjoyed; this was an unexpected gain.

……

Day and night alternate, and the wind sweeps across the sky.

Zhou Yan walked through the streets and alleys and entered the Fu'an Escort Agency.

He skipped the martial arts arena and went straight to the council hall.

"Brother Zhou, have some tea."

"Thank you, bro."

He thanked him, picked up his teacup, and sat down in the chair.

"How was your visit to the Prince's residence last night?" Zhang Wangyue asked.

"Wanyan Honglie left the capital today. If Master Qiu and his men make their move, it will likely be within the city."

“It’s difficult to deploy troops on the streets, making assassinations easy to carry out. Without expert guards, it would only take a few breaths,” Zhang Wangyue said.

"exactly."

Where is Ouyang Feng?

"I'm not sure if I can go with Wanyan Honglie to the Prince's residence and follow him to find out what's going on."

“I will follow my brothers,” Zhang Wangyue said.

"Row."

"The Huyan brothers are staying behind at the escort agency."

Hu Yanlei knew the priorities. The chief镖头 (bodyguard) and Brother Zhou were proficient in all eighteen martial arts, unlike himself who was only good at spear fighting. In case of an emergency, they would have room to maneuver.

The three hit it off immediately. Zhang Wangyue changed into casual clothes and accompanied Zhou Yan out of Fu'an. As they traveled, they entered a teahouse to drink tea and wait when they approached the Prince Zhao's residence.

The weather had already changed by morning, turning gloomy and ashen by midday.

From the boundless sky, fine snowflakes fell. The long street stirred with excitement.

The Mongol army was about to arrive in Zhongdu. The Jin emperor was moving the capital, and the procession marched in a grand procession along the streets. At the head of the procession were the royal family members, such as princes like Wanyan Honglie, and in the middle were members of the royal family.

As the procession passed by, Zhou Yan saw Yang Kang riding a horse, but not Ouyang Feng and his nephew. Sha Tongtian, Hou Tonghai, Lingzhi Shangren, Nimo Xing, and others were following behind Yang Kang.

Zhou Yan could understand why Ouyang Feng and his nephew were not in the group.

The infamous Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, was traveling with the Jurchen army. If this were to be passed down orally, where would his dignity be?

Yang Kang and Lingzhi Shangren stood one in front and one behind, protecting a carriage in the middle. Zhou Yan guessed that Wanyan Honglie was inside the carriage.

As the royal family and royal procession passed by, Zhou Yan and Zhang Wangyue followed behind, observing the rows of houses on both sides.

When the "Songhelou" (Pine and Crane Tower), with its white walls, green tiles, flying eaves, and upturned corners, appeared from a distance like a dancing crane, Zhou Yan looked at Zhang Wangyue and said, "Chief镖头 (Chief Escort), do you think something might come from the Songhelou?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Guo Jing, a young man dressed in black and masked, emerged from the top floor of the "Songhe Tower" wielding a long sword and swooped down towards the Zhao Prince's army.

In an instant, Ke Zhen'e, Zhu Cong, Han Xiaoying, Han Baoju, and the three Quanzhen disciples, all dressed in the same manner, appeared. Guo Jing landed like a ferocious tiger charging and devouring its prey.

"Assassin!" A royal guard swooped down like a hawk. Guo Jing's steel blade slashed at the enemy's head, and a chilling sound filled the air. Blood, teeth, and flesh flew into the sky in that instant.

"Protect the prince."

With a whoosh, Master Lingzhi swung a pair of copper cymbals, deflecting the bone-piercing nails and iron caltrops that were attacking him. His red cassock and imposing figure roared like thunder as he faced Qiu Chuji.

Hou Tonghai, Sha Tongtian, and Nemo Xing each brandished their weapons and defended the carriage to the death.

……

From the rear of the Prince Zhao's entourage, a rather authoritative voice rang out, "What has happened?"

"Your Majesty, someone has attempted to assassinate the Prince of Zhao."

"These scoundrels!" the patron cursed angrily, recalling the assassination attempt on Wanyan Honglie during the Lantern Festival.

"Take men there and capture them alive."

Ying Nuo, the head of the palace guards, led dozens of skilled men forward to reinforce the Zhao Prince's forces.

A scream of agony suddenly rang out from the gold digger's ears, and also reached the ears of Zhou Yan and Zhang Wangyue behind him.

Zhou Yan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a masked man in black fall into the group of the patrons, a steel knife in his hand that had already unleashed a tremendous sharpness.

Blood-red light exploded like a blast in the gloomy sky.

The man's attack began on the street and, with unstoppable momentum, he rushed to the side of the carriage, which was lacking guards.

Two long swords intercepted the man in black. Amidst the fierce slashing of the three figures, the sound of metal clashing rippled outwards, and blood splattered into the snow-covered sky along with screams, along with a human head.

As the man moved forward, he lowered his shoulder to dodge the last guard's slash that blocked the carriage, and his fierce iron-mounted staff slammed into the guard with a loud thud. The guard was thrown like a stone and crashed into the carved carriage.

In Zhou Yan's line of sight, the black luxury car had overturned and its wheels were spinning rapidly in the air.

The man in black leaped towards the carriage.

"Capture the assassin and protect the Emperor!"

The cavalry behind the column rushed forward desperately to reinforce, and a dart was thrown that landed on the man's shoulder, leaving a trail of blood. The man ignored it, and with a swift movement of his left hand, he pulled the patron out of the carriage, while with his right hand, he swiftly and decisively pulled with his knife.

"Pfft!" Even from a distance of tens of feet, Zhou Yan seemed to hear the sound of blood rushing into the air.

Zhang Wangyue's first reaction was that the heroes of the martial arts world were assassinating their patron, which happened to lead him to run into the Three Masters of Quanzhen and their group.

Zhou Yan's pupils contracted.

Yang Kang killed the emperor and wanted to support Wanyan Honglie to become emperor.

He vividly remembered that in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, when Wanyan Honglie was chasing Tuolei and his men, he was instead killed by Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Yang Kang saved Wanyan Honglie, and the Jin prince told Yang Kang that he would be Li Yuan, and Yang Kang would be Li Shimin, and that the father and son would bring wealth and honor to the world. Filled with fervor, Yang Kang agreed to do his utmost to assist him.

Yang Kang is quite shrewd. Zhou Yan sighed inwardly and said to Zhang Wangyue, "I'll follow that person."

"Okay!" Zhou Yan covered his face with a square scarf and disappeared into the nearby houses.

The man in black carrying the head of the gold master leaped onto the house, landed swiftly on Guo Jing and the others, and then disappeared into the courtyard behind the "Pine and Crane Tower".

With a "bang," a window of Songhelou was suddenly opened.

Huang Rong, disguised as a man, said, "A bunch of idiots, why aren't you running away?"

As soon as Huang Rong finished speaking, she disappeared inside. She crossed the second floor, leaped out of the window on the other side, and chased after the man in black.

(End of this chapter)