The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 197 Snake Formation
With a sharp whistling sound, the long arrow swept across a distance of forty or fifty paces in an instant, its arrowhead tearing through the air with a piercing sound.

With a "thud," a fleeing镖师 (bodyguard/escort) collapsed to the ground, his body motionless. The arrow had pierced through his entire skull.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yin Kexi saw the bodyguard beside him fall to the ground with a thud. He rolled away alertly, and pain instantly shot through his ribs as the sharp arrowhead had pierced a two-inch-long bloody gash on his left side.

He wielded the soft whip with impenetrable speed, tumbling several times before suddenly leaping up and hurtling towards the woods ahead like lightning.

The sharp sound suddenly amplified, and Helian Chuncheng slammed his spear down. The sound of metal clashing against metal rose up, one long arrow was knocked away, and another appeared in his pupils, a chilling sensation rushing straight to the top of his head.

Helian Chuncheng leaned back instantly, making the "iron bridge" parallel to the ground. A long arrow, also parallel to the ground, flew past his forehead, and a cluster of blood exploded in his sight. The arrowhead left a red, creeping groove on his forehead, completely destroying the charm and balance of Helian Chuncheng's handsome face.

"What a treacherous and vicious scoundrel!" Helian Chuncheng sprang up, his eyes fixed on the forest on the flank. In that instant, he was stung several more times by the jade bees. The burning pain he had felt earlier had turned into an intense itch, an itch that seemed to seep into his very soul.

He desperately tried to suppress the urge to rip out his internal organs to stop the itch, and dared not walk in a straight line anymore. Instead, he ran diagonally. In the distance, in the sight of the young master of Changfeng Escort Agency, Zhou Yan was also moving in a parallel direction. Every now and then, the sound of the bowstring would be heard with a "thud," followed by the escorts and wandering heroes who were unable to pay attention to their own surroundings being pierced by long arrows and falling to the ground.

Ouyang Feng and his men disappeared into the mountains. Zhou Yan let out a light breath and shot ten people dead. The enemy had already lost a third of their force. The rest depended on the toxicity of the jade bees and how the Western Poison could neutralize it, and how many days they could be delayed.

Zhou Yan leaped out of the forest, his figure slicing through the sea of ​​grass like waves, and joined Li Mochou and her disciples.

Lin Chaoying's maid secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Her opponent was temporarily forced back by the Jade Bee, but Ouyang Feng's martial arts skills weighed heavily on her mind like a "dragon-severing stone." In her memory, he was no less skilled than her mistress.

Moreover, judging from the graceful leaps of these people as they fled for their lives, there were at least five or six experts whose cultivation was no less than his own.

Fortunately, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) arrived in time to warn them, otherwise the ancient tomb would have been destroyed in their hands.

As she read it aloud, her gaze towards Zhou Yan softened considerably.

"Ouyang Feng and his men have retreated; the head镖师's archery skills are extraordinary."

"You flatter me, senior," Zhou Yan replied politely, then added, "Now we'll see if we can withstand Ouyang Feng's counterattack."

Lin Chaoying's maid nodded with a rather solemn expression.

Having witnessed Ouyang Feng's prowess, she couldn't fathom how she could turn the tide.

The combined use of two swords might catch the opponent off guard and temporarily force them to retreat, but given Ouyang Feng's martial arts prowess, he would soon be able to devise a countermeasure. What would happen then?

Lin Chaoying's maid was preoccupied with worries.

……

"It itches."

Hou Tonghai was stung at least a dozen times on the head. The initial pain was bearable, after all, they had all experienced the excruciating pain of Huang Yaoshi's bone-piercing needles. However, the subsequent numbness and itching were unbearable, as if his internal organs were itching.

Hou Tonghai kept scratching the itching, even breaking the fleshy growth on his head. Holding a steel fork, he looked like a fierce demon.

Apart from Ouyang Feng, everyone else was poisoned by the jade bee to some extent.

Ouyang Ke, whose condition was the least severe, could still endure it. However, the other bodyguards, whose cultivation was the lowest and who were the most severely poisoned, were forced to endure it, their teeth chattering.

"Uncle, how do we cure this poison?" Ouyang Ke couldn't help but scratch his face, but seeing that he would be disfigured if he did so, he forced himself to restrain himself.

Ouyang Feng said in a deep voice, "There are countless bees, and their venom is not uncommon and potent. Crush all the antidote pills and apply them externally, then circulate your internal energy to expel the poison. This should alleviate the symptoms."

"Senior, I can't bear it any longer." Hou Tonghai spoke without thinking and couldn't help but curse again, "When I catch that old woman, I'll stab her to death with a steel fork."

As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but start scratching his head again. Meanwhile, Sha Tongtian, Nimo Xing, and the others had already taken out various antidote pills as instructed by Ouyang Feng, crushed them, applied them to the wounds, and used their internal energy to expel the poison.

Ouyang Ke applied the medicine and felt the numbness and itching slightly relieved. "These bees are endless. Even if I detoxify them, when they attack again, my wife will attract the bees and suffer from the itching pain of being bitten by thousands of ants."

Ouyang Feng smiled coldly.

He was filled with murderous intent from the start, and Yu Feng was powerless against him. But the scene of him saving Ke'er was so pathetic that he couldn't quell his hatred without killing that old woman.

"Don't worry, Ke'er. You were just caught off guard and fell into their trap. Your uncle has a plan."

Ouyang Ke was overjoyed, "Thank you, Uncle."

……

Stars shift and constellations turn; the sun and moon move and change.

Three days passed by in a flash.

Zhou Yan did not stray far from the ancient tomb, fearing that if he was not careful, Ouyang Feng would come and kill him, separating him and Li Mochou and preventing them from combining their swords. Therefore, he set up a small thatched hut on a barren hillside next to the ancient tomb to take shelter.

At midday, the sun was blazing.

Li Mochou walked over carrying a large and a small earthenware jar. "Head镖师 (镖师 is a term used in martial arts novels, often translated as '镖头')."

Zhou Yan accepted the Yi Jin Duan Gu technique and smiled, "Here you are."

"Yes, I made some porridge and brought over a jar of honey."

Li Mochou squatted down, placed the two earthenware jars on the ground, and took a porcelain bowl and a wooden spoon to scoop out the porridge.

Zhou Yan thanked him and added a little honey to the porridge before eating.

"Ouyang Feng and the others have been quiet for the past two days."

"I've been thinking about this too. Is it possible for bee venom to dissipate on its own?"

"If honey is used to detoxify, one can recover completely in half a day. If other methods are used, it is difficult to predict. It depends on the extent of the injury and the methods used by the Western Poison."

"That's true."

"However, according to the agreed schedule, Senior Hong should arrive at Zhongnan Mountain soon."

"Yes."

"Should we be able to wait for Senior Hong?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Of course."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a rustling sound came from behind him.

"Eh!" Li Mochou looked in the direction of the sound, her expression suddenly changed, and with a "clang", the sword light flashed and disappeared, and the head of a spearhead viper was cut off.

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "This snake can indeed be used to make snake soup."

“There are more over there.” Li Mochou pointed her longsword diagonally.

Zhou Yan stood up and saw several brightly colored snakes and insects swiftly disappear into the grass.

“That’s strange. We haven’t seen a single venomous snake in the past two days. How come snakes are suddenly appearing?” Zhou Yan said, his expression changing drastically.

"There's trouble."

"What do you mean by that?"

"No wonder it's been quiet these past two days. It must be that Ouyang Feng and his nephew are catching snakes, trying to use venomous snakes to invade the ancient tomb."

Li Mochou was shocked: "Really?"

Before Zhou Yan could answer, a hissing sound came from the direction of the woods where Ouyang Feng and the others were, growing louder as it approached. Zhou Yan looked over and saw a large number of snakes and insects of various colors and sizes slithering forward and swarming toward the ancient tomb.

Behind the snake formation, Ouyang Feng, dressed in white, flashed out of the woods in a few steps, followed closely by Ouyang Ke, who was holding a bamboo pole.

Li Mochou had never seen such a dense swarm of snakes and insects, numbering at least several hundred, and felt her legs go weak and her mouth dry.

As the swarm of snakes approached, Ouyang Feng took out his bamboo flute and whistled twice. The snakes and insects coiled up on the ground and raised their heads.

"Uncle, the one wearing the straw hat is that thieving kid."

Ouyang Feng's gaze lingered briefly on Zhou Yan before he said to Li Mochou, "Child, call your master over; I have something to say."

Li Mochou looked at Zhou Yan.

He nodded slightly.

Without uttering a word, Li Mochou leaped down the barren hill and entered the ancient tomb.

Zhou Yan walked slowly, holding the Qingfeng sword, and stood at the entrance of the ancient tomb after a few steps.

Ouyang Feng suddenly said, "Kid, you seem very familiar with this."

Zhou Yan was not surprised that Ouyang Feng recognized him.

A year ago, Ouyang Feng had a one-hit fight with me while I was masked on a large boat on Taihu Lake. When he encountered me at Huayan Temple in Datong Prefecture, he had some suspicions. Now that he recognizes me again, it is perfectly normal.

"really!"

Ouyang Feng smiled sinisterly, revealing his white teeth: "You really are incredibly lucky."

"A little bit."

(End of this chapter)