The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 164 Concern Leads to Confusion, Binding the Dragon to Slay the Enemy (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)
The tree crowns were covered with snow, a mixture of blue and white, and the branches, bent under the weight of the thick snow, drooped toward the ground like fully drawn bows.

With the Qingfeng Sword slung over his left shoulder and his feet braced against thick branches, Zhou Yan stood quietly among the dense foliage. The giant ox-horn bow in his hand slowly drew its arc, the arrowheads moving with the figure of a Changfeng Escort Agency镖师 (bodyguard/escort) about eight or nine zhang away.

Beneath the large tree where he was, Nemo Star led three bodyguards cautiously toward him. The bodyguards each held a knife in their left hand and concealed weapons such as darts and bone-piercing nails in their right.

"Come out, Bruce Lee, you coward!" The bodyguard, his eyes fixed on the surrounding bushes, bluffed while preparing to retaliate at the slightest disturbance.

"bang"

The twang of the bowstring echoed chillingly in the night, and a thumb-thick arrow whistled through the air, hurtling towards the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) nine zhang away.
Zhou Yan shot an arrow, abandoned the giant bow, and suddenly landed headfirst on Nemo Star, unleashing the "Flying Dragon in the Sky" move from the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" towards his opponent.

Before he fell, the accumulated snow that had fallen when the arrow was shot was the first to fall.

The sound of a bowstring reached his ears, and Nemo suddenly looked up. A figure shrouded in wind and snow descended with overwhelming force, palms clasped together.

Nemo felt that no matter how he dodged, he was still enveloped by the palm strikes coming from the sky. He let out a strange cry and threw a punch.

With a loud boom, Zhou Yan's figure seemed to pause in mid-air, and the fine snow around him spread out in an arc.

Nemo felt his arm tremble and go numb, as if his hand was about to burst. He staggered and fell out like a drunkard.

As Zhou Yan landed, his body suddenly sank. A Hu (non-Han) bodyguard was beheaded, and a blade flashed past his head with a chilling aura. Without getting up, Zhou Yan kicked out with a "Whirlwind Sweep" kick in the blink of an eye, which landed heavily on the bodyguard's calf. The bodyguard's burly figure was sent flying sideways.

In a flash, Zhou Yan leaped up, grabbed the bodyguard, and pushed him toward the two remaining bodyguards.

The two men's hair stood on end. They didn't care about their companion's life or death. They threw darts with a whoosh and their fierce blades surged towards Zhou Yan at the same time.

"what"

The bodyguards, struck by darts and longswords, screamed hysterically as their bodies fell to the ground like torn burlap. Zhou Yan unleashed the techniques from the Yue Family Boxing Manual, his fists, claws, and elbows raining down on the two bodyguards like a storm, pressing forward relentlessly like an iron ox plowing the ground. In the blink of an eye, he pushed the two bodyguards against the trunk of the large tree he had been standing on. The instant the two bodyguards' backs pressed against the tree trunk, Zhou Yan's incredibly fierce "Crushing Divine Claw" landed on their Adam's apples.

The trees swayed in the moonlight, and large swaths of snow crashed down. Zhou Yan bent low and lunged forward, disappearing into the deep night with a few leaps.

Since his transmigration, he has fought hundreds of battles, both large and small. His rich experience and ability to seize opportunities far surpass those of Nemo Xing, whose martial arts are not much inferior to his.

In less than ten breaths, he shot one person and killed three others with his arrows. Half of the bodyguards that Helian Chuncheng had selected from the Changfeng Escort Agency had been killed.

Lin Chaoying, the maidservant who was hiding behind a tree in the distance and could see the scene clearly by the sparse moonlight, breathed a sigh of relief. In her mind, Zhou Yan, who practiced the Quanzhen Sword Technique, was like a ferocious beast.

"Damn it!" Helian Chuncheng, who had rushed over to provide reinforcements, cursed as he looked at his subordinate who was already lifeless and whose body was half covered by snow.

Nemo Xing, still shaken, said, "His martial arts skills are probably on par with Young Master Ouyang. Any one of us could take his life if we joined forces with him, but this little thief is too cunning."

"Search them all together; the girl must be nearby," Helian Chuncheng said.

“That makes sense.” Ouyang Ke nodded.

The group stopped separating and, keeping a distance of four or five large steps, stretched out their fan-shaped arrays to search the direction in which Zhou Yan had disappeared.

……

Snow fills the stream, making the thousand paths deserted; icy water rinses the stones, chilling the stream.

Dressed in green, Li Mochou carried her purchases along the stream. As she approached the ancient tomb, she quickened her pace. Suddenly, a scream startled wild birds into flight.

"It's over at the ancient tomb." Li Mochou's expression changed, and she suddenly thought of the despicable man she had encountered in Datong Prefecture.

She immediately threw down a bag of rice, candied fruit, and pastries, then drew her sword and charged toward the ancient tomb.

Concern clouded her judgment, and all the martial arts experience Zhou Yan had taught her vanished. As she walked forward, she anxiously called out, "Master, Junior Sister."

The crisp sound carried far into the quiet night, and Ouyang Ke's face lit up with joy upon hearing it.

“The main character has arrived; it’s that woman. I can recognize her voice.”

Helian Chuncheng quickly said, "Arrest this woman first, then force Li Xiaolong and the old woman to show themselves."

"Alright, but don't hurt her. Be careful with the silver needles," Ouyang Ke instructed. Nearly ten people walked through the forest, quickly approaching Li Mochou.

"Sister is in danger."

Little Dragon Girl emerged from the crack in the rock and followed the sound.

Concern can cloud judgment, and she completely forgot Zhou Yan's instructions.

……

Zhou Yan entered the depths of the forest, pondering how to assassinate several bodyguards in secret, when he suddenly heard Li Mochou's voice. He turned around with a bitter smile, leaned forward like a leopard, and charged out with his sword drawn.

"Sister, there are bad people!" Little Dragon Girl's voice echoed anxiously in the night as Zhou Yan rushed out.

Helian Chuncheng, who was surrounding Li Mochou, grinned maliciously and said to the four bodyguards, "Seize the girl."

"Got it."

The four bodyguards turned and rushed towards the location of Xiaolongnu, following the sound.

The moon cast sparse light and shadows through the forest. Several figures darted in and out of Xiaolongnu's sight. She exclaimed "Ah!" and then remembered Zhou Yan's instructions.

"Oh no, this is bad." Little Dragon Girl turned and ran towards the bushes not far from the flank. A few steps later, she suddenly saw Zhou Yan's figure grow larger in her peripheral vision. His gray shirt was billowing in the strong wind. Before she could say that her sister was in danger, Zhou Yan picked her up and put her on his back, stuffing her into the cloth bag of the giant ox-horn bow.

The giant bow and arrow with bull horns were even longer than Little Dragon Girl, so putting her into the bow bag was no problem at all.

Zhou Yan unbuckled his belt and quickly secured the cloth bag to his back before saying, "Close your eyes."

"Mmm." Little Dragon Girl nodded emphatically.

"By the way, why do they call me Bruce Lee?"

“My sister’s surname is Li, and my surname is ‘Xiao’ and ‘Long’. When I encountered them, I initially thought it was you, but I didn’t see the bad guys carrying bows, so I asked if you were Bruce Lee. They said yes, and that’s when I was exposed.”

"So clever! Close your eyes and count to thirty, then open them."

"Understood, one, two..."

With the Qingfeng sword in hand, he flew away like a wild goose.

Within the silhouette of the night, five figures approaching from different directions intertwined.

"Eight, nine, ten..." Little Dragon Girl's clear voice echoed in the cold wind.
The Hu escort in front of Zhou Yan's eyes wielded a long sword with fierce light, slashing fiercely as it came down. On the left and right sides, other sword lights formed like flowing water.

With a "whoosh," the limestone exploded in the night, rolling out like waves of clouds. Zhou Yan's Qingfeng sword slashed back, like an autumn moon surrounded by clouds. The Hu escort on the flank, whose blade was just beginning to take shape, was instantly shattered. A bean-sized red blood droplet burst open in his throat, and blood gushed out uncontrollably.

Zhou Yan took a step and circled around to the back of the bodyguard in the middle whose eyes were blinded by lime. He then struck him on the back with his left hand, knocking him towards the bodyguard who was watching the fight with a dart and was the only bodyguard unaffected by the lime.

In the silvery glow of the bright moon, Zhou Yan and the left-wing bodyguard passed each other, and a line of blood, like an earthworm crawling, bloomed and enlarged on the bodyguard's neck.

He charged toward the last guard, who was also blind and holding a throwing dart, and slashed down with his sword.

The bodyguard had barely dodged his companion's flying collision when a blinding white light filled his vision.

"puff"

The shocking blood was like fireworks exploding under the moonlight.

"Twenty-two..."

Little Dragon Girl's clear voice rang out in the night.

(End of this chapter)