The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 18 A Madman Suddenly Draws His Sword in the Night
Moonlight poured down from the night sky. As several figures swept past the security escort agency, an unknown bird fluttered its wings and flew away, leaving a clear trail.

Hu Yanlei let out a slight sigh of relief: "What a scare."

Zhou Yan took the bow case off and placed it on the stone table in the pavilion.

"Hey bro, what do you think these people are doing?"

"In the dead of night, if you avoid the watchmen along the street, what good can you possibly do besides petty theft and thievery?"

Have you ever encountered such a scene while on night duty before?

Once he was completely relaxed, Hu Yanlei said, "It's like finding money in a brothel."

Zhou Yan chuckled, "I'll go find some melon seeds."

"okay!"

Zhou Yan walked out of the pavilion, then returned, bringing back a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds.

He poured tea for Huyan Lei and then sat down on the stone bench.

The bodyguard, munching on sunflower seeds, began to recount the glorious deeds of his ancestors' battles, but Zhou Yan would often be distracted, always thinking of those night travelers.

Hu Yanlei, observing this, suddenly said, "The escort agency stipulates that no one should cause trouble during the escort or guarding of the goods. However, those people who suddenly came and went from the escort agency are another matter. Who knows if they were going to steal the goods or do something else? Those night travelers were empty-handed, so they were most likely going to steal."

"So there's a possibility of returning the way we came," Zhou Yan asked.

Hu Yanlei laughed: "What do you think? I'll lie in ambush on the roof. If those people come back the way they came and launch a sneak attack, you can shoot arrows from the shadows. We'll also get a few scouts to throw fishing nets and throw concealed weapons. Taking them down shouldn't be a problem."

“There’s a better way. Let’s switch places. I’ll ambush them and throw lime. They’ll be caught off guard and it will definitely fall into the yard. You shoot, and I’ll shoot arrows from my high ground.”

"good idea."

The two quickly came up with a plan.

The escort agency also had escorts on night duty. Hu Yanlei got up and walked out of the pavilion, summoned seven or eight skilled men over, and gave them some instructions.

All the workers were greatly encouraged.

With Hu Yanlei and Zhou Yan in charge, and the ambush taking place at the escort agency, there was no chance of failure. A well-executed attack would be recorded in the merit book, which would be beneficial for future promotion to escort master.

The group of men, armed with weapons, fishing nets, and concealed weapons, slipped into the night.

Holding a large gun, Hu Yanlei instructed Zhou Yan, "Be careful."

"Don't worry, brother!"

He carried a bow pouch on his back, held a steel knife, and checked the packet of lime powder in his arms.

A servant was carrying a ladder to help Zhou Yan get onto the roof, but he smiled and said there was no need for such trouble. As soon as he finished speaking, he gathered his strength and rushed out. With a few strides, he leaped onto the guard carriage in the courtyard, bent his knees slightly, took a deep breath, and "whoosh," landed on the roof.

"Master Zhou has excellent light-footed skills!" A porter who was about to move the ladder exclaimed, seizing the opportunity.

Hu Yanlei was stunned. Logically speaking, there was absolutely no way Zhou Yan could have jumped onto the roof like that. This...

Although he has the movement technique of leaping, he mainly relies on the explosive power of his feet, having tempered and opened up the Qiao Meridian.

Hu Yanlei, a man of both roughness and meticulousness, recalled Zhou Yan's boxing practice in the martial arts arena these past few days. The grand and expansive style of his boxing, the smooth coordination between his steps and body movements, seemed quite different from before.

The bodyguard scratched his head. "Good heavens, what talent and comprehension this kid has! He only asked for instruction in lightness skill a few days ago, and he's already mastered it and even opened up his meridians."

He recalled the meal he had at Zhou Yan's house, and Wang Kui's words that in about ten years, Brother Zhou would definitely be able to refine the six serious matters. Suddenly, he felt that those words were incredibly ridiculous.

"So the difference in talent between people is really that huge," Hu Yanlei muttered to himself.

... Zhou Yan hid in the shadows cast by the eaves, clutching two packets of lime powder in his left hand and holding a knife in his right. He recalled the Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Knife Technique of the镖师 Wang Kui over and over again, until finally all his consciousness was fixed on the "Night Battle in All Directions" move that the other party had used.

A sudden attack is the best tactic. Occasionally, I'll wonder if the night travelers will turn back. If they don't, I'll consider it a crisis drill with my scouts, and I'll feel much more at ease.

About two quarters of an hour later, four figures darted across the rows of buildings in the distance, with one of them carrying a sack on his shoulder.

"Flower thief!"

Zhou Yan's first thought was of the notorious womanizer, and then he thought of Ouyang Ke, the young master of White Camel Mountain, who was naturally lustful and often sent people to various places to search for beautiful women to take as his concubines.

Sha Tongtian wanted to capture Li Mochou and present her to Ouyang Ke for this reason. Based on the time it took for them to encounter the Ghost Gate Dragon King outside Datong Prefecture, Ouyang Ke should be close to Zhongdu by now.

He let out a slight sigh.

The closing distance felt like an illusion. Zhou Yan could already hear the whistling wind in his ears, and the flashing blade light surged up along the eaves as he unleashed a strike of peak essence, energy, and spirit.

"Night Battle in All Directions," the gleaming blade carries a resolute and domineering power that devours everything.

The night traveler ahead never expected that a madman would suddenly draw his sword in the dark. He had no time to react and the sword light, which swept across half a zhang, directly cleaved the lower half of the opponent's body, and the viscous blood splattered everywhere like an explosion.

Hu Yanlei, who was hiding in the courtyard, felt his eyelids twitch. The night walker whose legs had been cut off let out a hysterical scream. Before the other man's body fell, Zhou Yan suddenly leaped up and pushed half of the man's body into another night walker on the roof.

The opponent flipped his hand, unleashing a blindingly sharp blade. Lime powder exploded in the flash of the blade.

Hu Yanlei suddenly felt old.

That night, the pedestrian was terrified. He closed his eyes and quickly slid backward. With nowhere to gain leverage in the air, he fell straight into the courtyard, along with the night pedestrian carrying the sack and a man who brought up the rear.

The night traveler's eyes were stinging from the lime Zhou Yan had sprinkled on him. As he landed, Hu Yanlei's iron spear was already gleaming. He rolled on the spot, and the bodyguard's iron spear followed the man on the ground like a shadow. His whole body lunged forward along with the steel spear. Suddenly, the spear plunged into the ground like an iron plow. Hu Yanlei flicked his wrist and lifted the spear, sending the blue bricks and the man on them flying into the air.

Hu Yanlei deftly raised his spear, which instantly cut through the wind and pierced into the opponent's abdomen.

"puff!"

The bodyguard drew his gun, the man fell to the ground, and blood gushed out like a pillar.

The night traveler carrying the sack had already discarded his burdens. He and his companion charged left and right through the falling fishing nets, but what followed were darts, caltrops, bone-piercing nails, and long arrows whistling down from the rooftops. With such a disregard for martial ethics and their martial arts not having an overwhelming advantage, how could the two possibly resist and escape?

First, he was entangled in a fishing net, and then he was hit by hidden weapons from all directions and knocked to the ground, his hands and feet twitching.

None of the soldiers were injured, and amidst the cheers, someone lit a torch.

Zhou Yan jumped into the courtyard and quickly stepped forward to untie the burlap sack.

A familiar face came into view.

He was taken aback. It wasn't the virtuous woman he had imagined, but Su, the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) from the Sihai镖局 (escort agency) who had tried to kill him at Songhelou.

Hu Yanlei had not expected this outcome.

Su, the bodyguard, had his acupoints sealed with a unique technique that Hu Yanlei couldn't undo. His expression turned somewhat grave, and he ordered the quick-witted escort to find Zhang Wangyue immediately.

Zhou Yan searched the body, feeling around, and found a tooth token on the corpse.

A rectangular ivory plaque with characters on it.

"Cao Yi, the Swift Officer of the Imperial City Guard"

Zhou Yan was confused.

"The Imperial City Guard, the imperial court's secret service agency in Lin'an Prefecture, what are they doing capturing the bodyguards from the Sihai Escort Agency?"

(End of this chapter)