The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 183 Five Poison Palm and Bamboo Sword

After two days of uneventful travel, Zhou Yan, Huang Rong, and the others rode their horses into Tongfeng Mountain.

The sun shines warmly, and one can see towering peaks rising like rosy clouds, solitary peaks standing out, verdant cypress trees shading the peaks, and clear streams babbling. As far as the eye can see, a hundred flowers bloom in competition, some fiery red, some snowy white, some emerald green, some indigo blue, a tapestry of vibrant colors, dazzling and magnificent.

Huang Rong exclaimed, "This magnificent scene is truly no less impressive than the Gongsun family's valley."

"really."

"So being a镖人 (bodyguard/escort) is not good at all. You have to endure wind and rain, live a life of hardship, and earn a meager profit. If you find such a paradise, practice martial arts and cultivate your skills, in time you will definitely be no less than the likes of Iron Palm Water-Walking and Western Poison. I can also seek you out to explore my secrets, just like going to Iron Palm Mountain."

"How can you know what a fish is if you are not a fish yourself?"

"You are not me, how do you know that I don't know the joy of fish?"

Do you have one or two close friends?

Huang Rong laughed and said, "There are one or two. There's an old rascal on the island who's been imprisoned by my father. We hit it off, so that counts. And then there's you."

Zhou Yan scoffed, realizing that reasoning with Huang Rong would be difficult.

"If the Hundred Herbs Immortal can cure Mei Ruohua, will you return to Zhongdu?"

"Of course, what about you?"

Huang Rong thought to herself, Hou Tonghai can't be killed in a short time, so she'll just see where it's fun and then hire you to accompany her. With that in mind, she smiled and said, "Let's go to Luxi first, discuss philosophy with the chef, then go to Guiyun Manor, take the silly girl back to Peach Blossom Island to see Father, and give him the 'Wumu Legacy' and Grandpa Yue's belongings."

"Very good."

Huang Rong nodded with a smile, pondering how to hire a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) to bring Zhou Yan out of Fu'an next time. The镖师 was smart and would not repeat the same trick.

"Ah!" A sudden scream broke Huang Rong's thoughts, and Zhou Yan's voice rang out, "There seems to be a fight in the valley."

Liang Xiaowu and the porters immediately went on alert. Zhou Yan said, "Drive the carriage into the woods. I'll go take a look."

"Got it."

The charioteer drove the carriage, its wheels rolling, until it disappeared into the forest. Liang Xiaowu, whose injuries had healed, and the charioteer, armed with knives and concealed weapons, guarded Mei Chaofeng.

Zhou Yan and Huang Rong, like bluebirds flitting through the valley, appeared occasionally and then disappeared into the woods, quickly approaching the source of the sound.

The deeper you go into the valley, the more secluded and wonderful it becomes. The trees are lush and the clouds are boundless. When you reach the depths of the valley, the blue stone path winds towards the verdant bamboo forest. At the other end of the bamboo forest, there are several bamboo houses, with more than twenty people in shadow.

The wind rustled through the bamboo forest, and the two figures, as swift as flying ducks, disappeared into the woods.

Spring sunlight streamed through the lush bamboo forest, and the rustling wind filled the air. Zhou Yan stretched out his body, his form resembling a wild goose taking flight, rising two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) high, his feet planted on bamboo branches and his hands embracing the bamboo stalks, steadily climbing up.

Huang Rong's greatest skill was lightness technique. After eating snake gall and having her meridians cleared by Huang Yaoshi at Guiyun Manor, her power increased greatly. Her figure was like a wisp of light cloud, landing on the green bamboo beside Zhou Yan.

From this vantage point, the view is unobstructed, and with the wind at your back, you can hear every conversation clearly.

What Zhou Yan could see was an old man with white hair and a youthful face, with eight or nine children behind him.

A man in black stood with his back to the two men; the twenty-odd people they had seen earlier were all male followers.

The old man and the young man were several feet apart, the ground covered with withered grass and trees, a scene completely different from the surrounding flowers and green grass.

"It's poison," Huang Rong said softly, turning her gaze away from the withered grass.

Zhou Yan also noticed it and was secretly surprised. The poison of the Western Poison was famous throughout the world, but he had never experienced it before. It could kill the flowers and plants within a range of several feet. The person who used this poison was not much worse than Ouyang Feng.

The world is indeed vast, full of hidden talents.

He thought to himself that the white-haired old man must be the Hundred Herbs Immortal. The fact that he had so few followers suggested that the Hundred Herbs Sect was a gang like the Shennong Gang in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," but in reality, they were worlds apart. Suddenly, a voice rang out from the white-haired old man: "The Hundred Herbs Sect has absolutely no connection with the Five Poisons Sect. Do you really think I can't do anything to you after you harmed my disciple?"

The man in black laughed and said, "Alright, how about we each rely on our own abilities? If you defeat me, the Five Immortals Sect will not enter Xiangxi; otherwise, you will join our sect. What do you say?"

Zhou Yan was taken aback. The Five Poisons Sect?
It seems that this is not a sectarian conflict like the rise of the Iron Palm Clan and their establishment of authority by annihilating the Hengshan Sect.

The Five Poisons Sect uses poison, the Hundred Herbs Sect uses antidote; they are sworn enemies. If the Immortal Herbs refuses, the other side will surely kill him.

As Zhou Yu was thinking this, he suddenly heard the Hundred Herbs Immortal say angrily, "The Five Poisons Sect is nothing but covetous of my martial arts manuals. Do you think I'm old and blind?"

"So, are you going to join or refuse?"

"Bah! How could I possibly associate with scoundrels like you!"

The burly man in black sneered, "You don't know what's good for you. I'll take your head and make it into a medicinal jar to brew immortal wine. You're called Immortal Elder, so Immortal Elder's head brewed into Five Immortals Wine, how delightful!"

Before the man's laughter had even faded, two boys rushed out angrily, shouting, "You are not allowed to insult your master!"

The man in black darted forward like a hawk, slapping his hands together.

"It's the Five Poisons Divine Palm! Disciple, retreat at once!"

The Herbalist, with his sleeves swirling and dancing, met the man. His movements were elegant and graceful, like a dance. His palm strikes were effortless and effortless, while the black-clad man's palm techniques and movements were as swift as lightning and as ghostly as a phantom.

The two fighters clashed at their peak in an instant, their palms striking each other with a thunderous roar, and Zhou Yan and Huang Rong could still see billowing white smoke all around them.

A scream of agony rang out, just as Zhou Yan had heard it for the first time. In his field of vision, a boy clutched his throat and rolled around on the ground.

"The man from the Five Poisons Sect secretly poisoned her."

Zhou Yan nodded, and his body suddenly slid down from the green bamboo, landing on his feet, the giant ox-horn bow opened like a full moon.

The spring breeze lowered the bamboo tips, and sunlight bathed the lush green forest. With a "whoosh," an arrow pierced through the light and shadow, heading straight for the burly man in black. In a flash, Zhou Yan tucked in a second long arrow, moving swiftly through the bamboo grove, the incessant sound of arrows ringing out in a steady rhythm: "Thump, thump, thump..."

Fifteen long arrows were all fired in an instant, without a single miss.

Zhou Yan drew his Qingfeng sword from its sheath, its light flashing and disappearing in an instant. A series of sounds followed, and a row of bamboo stalks was snapped in half.

A long bamboo pole, like an arrow, shot out from the bamboo forest and flew straight towards the black-clad man and his remaining subordinates.

Zhou Yan unleashed his full lightness skill, his figure slicing through the bamboo forest and grass like a wave breaking through the sea, appearing a few feet away from the black-clad giant of the Five Poisons Sect.

Caught off guard by the long arrows, the burly man barely managed to dodge one that came from behind. Then, bamboo poles came whistling through his vision. He shouted and knocked two bamboo poles away with his palms. He grabbed one in each hand and thrust it at Zhou Yan, who was charging towards him.

Without pausing for a moment, Zhou Yan thrust his longsword straight forward. The clear, bright light, like a sudden flash of cold lightning, pierced into the bamboo tube. In an instant, his immense internal energy surged forth from acupoints such as the "Fish Base." The internal force radiated outward, and the Qingfeng sword wielded a "twisting" force. Within the small space of the bamboo tube, the sword tip trembled, like hundreds of tiny, fragmented electric snakes writhing. With a "whoosh" sound, as Zhou Yan relentlessly pushed forward, the bamboo pole became flying debris. Zhou Yan himself, like a willow catkin in the wind, suddenly appeared before the burly man, delivering a fatal blow to his throat.

"This this……"

The burly man staggered backward, as if he was about to say something impossible, but all his words seemed stuck in his throat. All he could hear was the sound of blood washing over his throat and the friction of broken bones.

The spring light was blurred, and Zhouyan became a shadow.

The burly man's eyes glazed over, and he fell backward to the ground like a wooden stake.

Huang Rong stood atop the bamboo whistle, her smile as radiant as a flower.

"This is the most elegant and graceful swordsmanship I've ever seen him wield."

(End of this chapter)