The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 199 The Eastern Heretic and the Western Poison Enter the Ancient Tomb

My heart is filled with the fragrance of flowers and the fresh scent of grass and trees. Looking up, I see a sky full of twinkling stars.

Li Mochou lifted her skirt and walked to Zhou Yan's side, who was on duty.

"What's it like inside?" Zhou Yan asked.

"A lot of venomous snakes still managed to get in. It will take some effort to get rid of them after Ouyang Feng and the others leave."

"Where is Little Dragon Girl?"

"She's afraid of snakes, but she's perfectly safe."

Zhou Yan smiled, thinking to himself that Little Dragon Girl was probably inside the stone coffin.

Li Mochou pointed to the tomb entrance and said, "There is a round stone over there. Grab the round stone and pull hard. The two huge stones above the tomb door will slowly fall down. These two Dragon-Slaying Stones weigh more than 10,000 jin. Once they fall, they will never rise again. If you hadn't arrived in time, Master would have dropped the 'Dragon-Slaying Stones,' and my junior sister and I would never have seen the light of day again."

Zhou Yan glanced in the direction Li Mochou was pointing and said, "That won't happen."

"It's a pity that my skills are still shallow, otherwise, if I had combined the two swords, I might have already repelled the thieves."

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "You've already exchanged dozens of blows with the Western Poison, which is quite impressive."

"What if Ouyang Feng launches a full-scale attack?"

“Ouyang Feng is a very suspicious person. There will be no problem in fooling Senior Hong. The problem now is that we can’t completely stop the snakes and insects from entering.”

"If we can hold off Ouyang Feng, it's acceptable for some snakes and insects to get in, since we have antidote pills. Once things are over, we'll buy more snake and insect repellent powder."

"Ok!"

I'll make you snake soup later.

"How delightful!"

Li Mochou smiled gently.

"I'm busy now."

"I'm cleaning the floor."

Li Mochou lit a lamp, and the dim light spread from the narrow tomb passage to both ends. She picked up a large snake, told Zhou Yan to be careful, and then gracefully left.

Zhou Yan used his "Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Kick" to sweep the dead snakes off the ground and out of the tomb. After finishing these tasks, he leaned against the stone wall and mentally fused the techniques of the Ancient Tomb Lightness Skill, the Five Divine Swords of Hengshan, and the Acupoint Striking Manual.

……

As the stars shift and the constellations turn, dawn breaks; mist rises from the dense forests and deep mountains.

At the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, a figure in flowing blue robes walked gracefully.

The autumn light fell on the newcomer, revealing a handsome and refined figure, serene and divine. With such demeanor, he was none other than Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic.

Huang Yaoshi went to Zhongnan Mountain simply to find Huang Rong.

Back on Peach Blossom Island, Huang Rong spent several days with Zhou Botong, but feeling bored, she took advantage of Huang Yaoshi's research on the formations in the "Martial Arts Manual of Yue Fei" to leave the island again.

After Huang Yaoshi had thoroughly studied the will of Yue Fei, Huang Rong had already been gone for many days. He became obsessed with protecting his daughter, thoroughly reading the "Wumu Will," and also had thoughts of going to Lin'an to mourn Yue Fei.

Therefore, he followed Huang Rong away from Peach Blossom Island and went to Yue Fei's cenotaph in Lin'an Prefecture.

Huang Yaoshi did not go to Guiyun Manor. Knowing that Huang Rong would cause trouble for Hou Tonghai, he went straight to Kaifeng Prefecture.

With his elusive and agile martial arts skills, he could enter and leave the palace as if strolling in a courtyard. As a result, he effortlessly learned that Ouyang Feng and his nephew, as well as Sha Tongtian, had all gone to Zhongnan Mountain.

Huang Yaoshi was certain that as long as Huang Rong kept an eye on Hou Tonghai, she would definitely head north. With that in mind, he wasted no time and went straight to Zhongnan Mountain.

It's true that "even the wisest can make a mistake." If Huang Rong hadn't heard about the "Heroes' Feast" at Taihu Lake, she would have gone to Kaifeng Prefecture and followed Hou Tonghai and the others.

However, Huo Du's "Heroes' Feast," which invited heroes from all over the world, led Huang Yaoshi and Huang Rong astray.

……

The water is so clear that the stones are clearly visible; in the deep forest, where no one is around, only birds call to each other.

Huang Yaoshi strolled leisurely, pondering the purpose of Ouyang Feng and the others' visit to Zhongnan Mountain, and lamenting that his old friends were long gone.

Suddenly, Huang Yaoshi's figure swayed slightly and disappeared into the forest.

What came into Huang Yaoshi's view was a mechanism set up by Zhou Yan that had been triggered by Ouyang Feng and his group; there were also brown bloodstains on the sharpened half of the green bamboo.

Strange, could it be that the old poison master and his group have been tricked? Huang Yaoshi was curious and followed the wild path. This time, he deviated from his original route to Chongyang Palace on Zhongnan Mountain and went straight to the ancient tomb.

Deep in the mountains and dense forests, Huang Yaoshi traveled several miles before leaping onto a lush ancient tree to survey the surroundings. Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly as he saw a white figure in the distance, sometimes floating above the treetops and sometimes disappearing into the forest, moving swiftly until it reached a distant valley.

It was the old poison master. Huang Yaoshi landed silently and moved towards the valley.

……

The valley is covered with dense shade, and the flowers shimmer in the sunlight.

Ouyang Feng found a spacious place, first caught a wild rabbit, then skinned it and chopped the rabbit meat into small pieces with a knife, mixed it with a secret medicine pill, and then scattered the chopped meat.

Valley snakes and insects, attracted by the smell of medicine and blood, will flock to the area.

Ouyang Feng swayed and landed by the stream to wash his hands and face. As he was about to get up, he suddenly saw something being swept away by the stream. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a huge rat.

In a short while, one after another, rats and vipers were swept away by the current.

As the stream flowed down, more and more snakes and insects appeared. Suddenly, Ouyang Feng stretched out his arm and scooped up a tiger keelback snake whose tail was an inch shorter.

"It's like the snake's tail has been severed by a sharp sword," Ouyang Feng muttered to himself, a sudden flash of inspiration striking him.

He looked up in the direction of the ancient tomb and muttered to himself, "Could it be that there is a secret passage in that ancient tomb that leads directly to the valley, and this snake came out of the underground river of the ancient tomb?"

Ouyang Ke was overjoyed and used his "Instant Thousand Miles" lightness skill, his figure soaring like a large bird, floating upstream. A moment later, the autumn light flashed, and Huang Yaoshi landed, paused briefly, and caught up with Ouyang Feng.

……

The sunlight, which had been streaming through the cave entrance like a curtain, was suddenly broken through, and the figures became solid.

"Is this the underground river that leads directly to the ancient tomb?" Ouyang Feng waded forward, and after about ten steps, the water reached his neck. He was highly skilled and daring, and he could walk forward while holding his breath. Even Sha Tongtian and Hou Tonghai were no match for him, so how could he take an underground river seriously?

A moment later, the stream submerged him, and Ouyang Feng steadily moved forward step by step from the bottom of the water.

The figure in green swayed slightly as he entered the cave. Huang Yaoshi landed, observed for a moment, and said, "The old poisoner has gone down into the underground river?"

"If the Western Poison can enter the Dark River, what chance do I have?" Huang Yaoshi's face held a smile reminiscent of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. He was even less concerned about the Dark River than Ouyang Feng.

The Eastern Heretic followed closely behind the Western Poison, stepping into the river.

……

With a splash, Ouyang Feng emerged from the underground river.

After a rustling sound, a faint light appeared.

Ouyang Feng took a tinderbox from the oilcloth and lit it. By the light, he could see a deep, upward-stretching tunnel.

He smiled sinisterly, "Kid, you didn't expect this, did you?"

Ouyang Feng strode forward.

At the end of the passageway was a smooth stone chamber. Ouyang Feng used a tinderbox to look for the mechanism to open the chamber. When he looked up at the ceiling, he saw that it was covered with dense characters. On the far right were four large characters: "Nine Yin Manual".

Ouyang Feng shook his head, his hair still wet, water droplets splashing everywhere, but it was still those four words he had been dreaming of: "Nine Yin Manual".

He examined the text closely and found that it contained martial arts manuals such as "Soul Transfer Technique", "Acupoint Striking Secrets", "Snake Walking and Fox Turning", "Tendon Changing and Bone Forging Chapter", "Great Demon Subduing Fist", and "White Python Whip". The text on the "Tendon Changing and Bone Forging Chapter" was written in ancient and simple language, with profound meaning.

"It really is the Nine Yin Manual! Hahaha, back then I went through so much trouble to seize the manual and even had my skills broken by Wang Chongyang, who faked his death. Now I've obtained it effortlessly. It's the will of Heaven, the will of Heaven."

"who!"

Suddenly, Ouyang Feng extinguished the tinderbox and rushed out of the stone chamber. He used both palm and finger techniques to attack the figure that crashed in. His palm strikes were like falling petals, and his finger strikes were like flourishing spring orchids. Each move was sharp and elegant.

Ouyang Feng disassembled and reversed the object twice, then spun around and suddenly drifted back into the stone chamber.

"Is that Brother Yao?"

Ouyang Feng did not receive the answer he expected. From the darkness, a voice, both crying and laughing, sounded like a madman, "Aheng, I have finally found the Nine Yin Manual. Are you protecting me?"

Ouyang Feng quickly pondered. Huang Yaoshi was so grief-stricken that he was bound to be distracted. Should he seize the opportunity to strike suddenly? But then he thought, Huang Yaoshi is a shrewd man. How could he not be on guard? He should wait and see what Huang Yaoshi would say.

After muttering for a while, Huang Yaoshi stopped speaking. A soft light bloomed from his palm, illuminating an area of ​​about ten feet in radius. When Ouyang Feng looked at it, he saw that it was a rare luminous pearl.

Using the light, Huang Yaoshi first looked around, then looked at the ceiling. When he saw the four characters "Nine Yin Manual", his gaze lingered for a moment before turning back to Ouyang Feng.

"Brother Feng, it's been a long time."

Ouyang Feng laughed heartily: "Indeed, you and I discovered the Nine Yin Manual at the same time, what should we do?"

"Each person keeps their own record."

Ouyang Feng stared at Huang Yaoshi with a sinister expression, thinking to himself, "You have the Night-Shining Pearl and see it clearly. My memory may not be as good as yours. If you memorize the true martial arts before me and then destroy them, who in the world will be your match in the future?"

"Brother Feng, do you have a problem with this?"

"How could that be? How about I borrow Brother Yao's Night-Shining Pearl to take a look?"

Huang Yaoshi thought that Ouyang Feng was ruthless and it was not impossible for him to suddenly use poison for the sake of the Nine Yin Manual, so he had to be careful. He had Jiang Yeming switch to his left hand, secretly gathered his energy, and prepared to unleash his Finger Flicking Skill.

"it is good!"

Huang Yaoshi was already on guard. Never mind, he'd better memorize the true scriptures first. Seeing Huang Yaoshi's actions, Ouyang Feng replied, "Thank you, Brother Yao."

There's no need for us to be so polite.

"Exactly, exactly."

Ouyang Feng leaned towards Huang Yaoshi, but not completely close. The two of them silently selected the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" (a book on tendon and bone strengthening techniques) to memorize.

During this forced memorization, Ouyang Feng completely forgot about the passage of time.

Outside the ancient tomb, the sun was setting and twilight was falling.

……

"The enemy hasn't attacked for a whole day now." Zhou Yan stood at the tomb entrance, looking at the campfire leaping deep in the woods, and muttered to himself, "Could Ouyang Feng be away in the woods because he's hunting snakes?"

With that thought in mind, he moved swiftly, disappearing into the barren hill on the left and circling around to the depths of the forest.

It's true that Zhou Yan, Li Mochou, and others helped Hong Qigong out of the predicament, but how could he be the kind of person who would place all his hopes on the Beggar Clan leader?

If Ouyang Feng hadn't been there, how could he have missed the opportunity to kill someone with a sneak attack?

A fishy, ​​medicinal smell lingered in the air.

Zhou Yan sneaked into the forest, and based on his sense of smell, he deduced that the campfire must have been filled with herbs specifically for repelling poisonous insects.

He moved in a zigzag pattern, and when he got within five or six zhang (approximately 10-13 meters), he leaped up and climbed a large, leafy tree, where he had a clear view of the surrounding landscape.

There were many campfires of all sizes, and Ouyang Ke, Nemo Xing, and others were all there, but Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, was nowhere to be seen.

He chuckled softly.

(End of this chapter)