The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 207 The镖人 (bodyguards) fight the Golden Wheel, Huang Rong teases Ouyang Xiu

When the "boom" rang out, most of the spectators below the stage let out a series of gasps of surprise.

In Zhou Yan's field of vision, a man who practiced "monkey fist" had just taken a stance when he was punched by a strange man from Sichuan named Ran Tianshi, whose body seemed to shrink a size.

Ran Tianshi's steps propelled his body forward, faintly emitting a roar like wind and thunder, and the sound of wind and thunder could also be faintly heard in his palm strikes.

The hero who practiced monkey boxing managed to parry a few blows before shouting, "Stop!"

Ran Tianshi instantly vanished, and the man said, "Impressive skill, I am ashamed to admit my inferiority."

"Easy to say."

"I will come back to learn from you again after I have practiced my martial arts diligently." This man had already won two matches in a row, and he was about to win one more match to secure a seat at the Heroes' Banquet. Now that he had failed at the last minute, he was somewhat resentful. He threw down a polite remark, jumped off the platform, took the thousand taels of silver offered by Huo Du's attendant, returned to his seat, and began to watch again.

The saying "hidden talents lie hidden among the common people" is indeed true.

It was already dusk. After a day of comparisons, more than thirty people had won three games in a row and were sitting in the front row.

From Zhou Yan's perspective, these heroes came from all over the country. Their cultivation levels were far inferior to those of the likes of the Eastern Heretic and the Western Poison, but they were no less than those of the likes of Lingzhi Shangren.

Even someone like Ran Tianshi, who is right in front of us, can be compared to Ouyang Ke.

Zhou Yan watched the competition and gained a lot. He witnessed the Xixia Springing Leg technique. A man named Ma Xiuping had won three battles in a row and was now sitting in the front seat. His legs were springing up in rapid succession, like a storm. In terms of leg technique alone, he was the second person Zhou Yan had ever seen besides Huang Yaoshi.

Because of the appearance of the opponent, Zhou Yan even thought of Murong Fu and Yipintang from the world of Tianlong, where Murong Fu was skilled in this martial art.

Zhou Yan observed and learned something from it.

There was also a sword master named Han Wugou, who also won all three battles, and used a total of eighteen sword strikes in the three battles.

Zhou Yan, Zhang Wangyue, Hu Yanlei, and others had traveled all over the country and were very knowledgeable, but none of them recognized the origin of the sword technique.

I gleaned some information from the conversations of the onlookers.

Han Wugou came from Xianyang, and his family's swordsmanship was enlightened by "Biographies of Assassins".

Zhou Yan did know about "Biographies of Assassins," a chapter in "Records of the Grand Historian" that recorded the deeds of assassins such as Yu Rang, Cao Mo, Nie Zheng, and Jing Ke.

Upon hearing this, he remarked with emotion that the sword technique he had gleaned from the chapters of the *Records of the Grand Historian* was akin to Huang Shang's enlightenment of the *Nine Yin Manual* from the Daoist canon. The person who created this sword technique was indeed exceptionally talented.

Han Wugou's unstoppable momentum and relentless sword intent inspired Zhou Yan greatly.

In conclusion, I gained a lot.

Hu Yanlei turned his gaze away from the high platform and asked Zhang Wangyue, "Does the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) recognize this set of skills?"

The chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Fu'an said with a wry smile, "Indeed, heroes often emerge from humble backgrounds. I thought I had considerable martial arts skills and broad knowledge, but now it seems that my vision is still too narrow."

As Zhou Yan looked at the man displaying his prowess on the stage, he thought of someone.

In the world of Condor Heroes, at the Xiangyang Martial Arts Tournament, a man named Lan Tianhe and Yelü Qi initially fought to a standstill. Lan Tianhe had met a strange man in Shu and learned martial arts from him. He had been invincible in the southwest for more than 20 years. Now, Ran Tianshi on the stage has palm strikes that roar like thunder. Could he be the strange man from the mountains that Lan Tianhe encountered?

As he thought this, another loud bang echoed from the stage, and the third person to fight Ran Tianshi was blasted off the platform.

The burly man on the stage struck a gong once and announced, "Hero Ran has won three victories and claims the Hero's Seat."

Huo Du was delighted and went up to him to befriend him. Then Ran Tianshi jumped down from the platform and sat in the front row.

The burly man holding the gong said, "There are still three seats left at today's Heroes' Feast. Which hero will step forward?"

"I'll give it a try."

Zhou Yan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ouyang Ke stand up, open his folding fan with a swish, stroll forward leisurely, lift his body and float up into the air, gracefully landing on the stage.

At this moment, the two beautiful women dressed as men got up and left the scene.

Zhou Yan smiled; the show was about to begin.

The man asked, "May I ask your honorable name, sir?"

“Ouyang Ke”.

No one had ever heard of this name before. The man asked, "Which hero would like to spar with Master Ouyang?"

"I come."

A man leaped onto the platform, introduced himself, and the two exchanged blows. The man stepped forward and threw a powerful punch, but Ouyang Ke tucked his folding fan into his waistband, dodging the punch. His own fist, swift as lightning, struck the man's right shoulder. The man parried, and Ouyang Ke countered with a left hook punch. As the man raised his arm to block, Ouyang Ke swiftly appeared behind him, his fingers gripping the man's back and pulling him down to his ribs. He lifted the man up and threw him off the platform.

The move was skillful; it didn't kill. The man landed, staggered back two steps, and, his face flushed, clasped his hands in admiration.

Knowing that Ouyang Ke was showing mercy, the man wisely refrained from uttering any harsh words and slipped into the crowd.

"Who else?" Ouyang Ke asked.

Having won in two moves, Ouyang Ke's momentum surpassed that of Ran Tianshi, and no one in the audience dared to challenge him.

Ouyang Ke looked around, quite pleased with himself. He took out a folding fan from his waist, waved it, and looked at Huo Du.

"Little Prince, no one is willing to fight. What does this mean?"

Huo Du had not expected such a scene to occur. As he was pondering a solution, a voice suddenly rang out from below the stage: "I'll give it a try."

A burst of laughter suddenly erupted.

Many onlookers turned to look at the sound, and saw a young man dressed in white with a handsome face take a few steps and then leap onto the high platform. His movements were so graceful and slow that it was as if he were dancing in the air.

"What a light gong."

Some people had a good eye, and cheers poured in.

When Zhou Yan saw Huang Rong take the stage, he smiled and said to Zhang Wangyue, "There's going to be a good show. I'll go to the front and help out if anything unexpected happens."

Zhang Wangyue smiled and said, "Okay."

Zhou Yan got up, walked to the side, and squeezed into the crowd of onlookers.

Ouyang Ke looked at Huang Rong, the folding fan he had been holding and tapping his left palm fell more and more slowly, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter. This was the first time Huang Rong had come into close contact with Ouyang Ke without wearing a mask.

Ouyang Ke had an incredibly sharp eye. Back at the Yellow River wharf in Tongguan, the monk Baoneng of the Vajra Sect had noticed that Huang Rong was a woman disguised as a man. There was no reason why Ouyang Ke couldn't tell the difference.

With a face as smooth as jade, eyes as clear as water, and a smile that radiates joy, she is not only stunningly beautiful but also possesses an indescribable charm and loveliness. She is clearly a peerless beauty who is no less beautiful than the person she admires in the ancient tomb of Zhongnan Mountain.

Ouyang Ke suddenly felt like "the mountains and rivers seem to block the way, but then a village appears amidst the willows and flowers." The woman in the ancient tomb in Zhongnan Mountain could only look at the plums to quench her thirst, but unexpectedly, a beauty of unparalleled grace appeared at the heroes' banquet.

Ouyang Ke read it aloud and said with a pleasant expression, "It is truly an honor for me to spar with you, young lady."

Huang Rong chuckled, "You figured it out?"

"The phrase 'fish sink and geese fall from the sky' is an insult to your beauty, young lady. How could I not see it? May I ask your surname and which school you studied under?"

"you guess?"

Ouyang Ke laughed and said, "Within ten moves, I will definitely be able to guess your sect."

"Within ten moves, I can also guess your sect."

The two exchanged a few words, and the audience on stage, unaware of Huang Rong's motives, assumed she was imitating Ouyang Ke, which led to another burst of laughter.

Zhou Yan, squeezed in the crowd, smiled slightly; Huang Rong was about to tease Ouyang Ke.

Ouyang Ke was not annoyed. "In that case, let's compare them. The young lady will go first."

"watch out"

Huang Rong moved swiftly, slashing diagonally with her left palm, punching with her right fist, and simultaneously kicking out with her right leg. This move, "Three-Step Combo," though a single strike, contained three attacks. This was a skill Huang Rong had learned from Hou Tonghai.

Ouyang Ke was quite surprised, thinking to himself how this girl knew the martial arts of the Three-Headed Dragon. He was not foolish enough to ask Huang Rong what her relationship with Hou Tonghai was. He used his "Instant Thousand Miles" lightness skill, and his body flew like a willow catkin, drifting several feet away.

Huang Rong made a circle with both hands and attacked Ouyang Ke with the "second move". This was another move that he remembered since Zhou Yan used the "Free and Easy Fist".

Ouyang Ke couldn't recognize it and retreated several feet.

"Third move, fourth move, fifth move, sixth move!" Huang Rong shouted repeatedly, using the same techniques Zhou Yan had used before: Taizu Changquan, Yanqingquan, and the Five Elements Fist of Lei Meng, the "Short Lion" from Jiangxi, which had been used at the start of the competition.

Ouyang Ke knew the boxing techniques, but anyone randomly picked from the stands could probably know those same techniques.

"What a clever girl!" someone in the stands cheered.

Ouyang Ke dodged them one by one, thinking to himself that he would have to force you to use the secret techniques of his sect.

"Be careful, young lady." Ouyang Ke moved swiftly forward, his left palm "Returning Wind Smooths the Willow" and his right palm "Heavenly River Gathers Snow," the left being light and the right heavy, the force containing both strength and gentleness, and he released them at the same time, his palms enveloping Huang Rong.

Huang Rong's palms flew, their movements like piled-up clouds, unpredictable and elusive. With two sharp cracks, she exchanged blows with Ouyang Ke, using the Hengshan Flowing Cloud Palm technique that Zhou Yan had learned from Liu Qingzhou during their exchange in Hengshan.

"Eighth move, ninth move." Huang Rong's figure suddenly retreated and advanced, the two figures quickly overlapping. She abruptly retracted her palms, resembling an old monk's prayer hands, and then flipped out. She struck out in succession...

Ouyang Ke blurted out, "This is 'Buddha Asks Gara' from the Arhat Subduing Tiger Fist."

Huang Rong chuckled, "Are you trying to say I'm a monk?"

Her words drew another round of laughter from the audience.

Ouyang Ke was taken aback, thinking to himself that Huang Rong was cunning.

"One more trick."

Ouyang Ke laughed and said, "One move it is."

As soon as he finished speaking, his arm struck out, seemingly losing its bones in an instant. As Huang Rong tried to block, it spun around and smashed into her face.

Huang Rong withdrew her move and rushed forward.

Ouyang Ke was shocked, thinking that if this punch landed on his face, wouldn't it ruin his stunning appearance?

He abruptly pulled his fist back.

"Ten moves have passed. Can you recognize my sect?" Huang Rong suddenly stopped her stance and asked with a smile.

“Young lady, you are very knowledgeable. But even if you use ten moves, you still won’t be able to recognize my school. So we are still evenly matched.”

Huang Rong smiled and said, "I have already recognized your sect."

Ouyang Ke knew Huang Rong was clever and cunning, so how could he believe her?

"tell me the story."

"Listen carefully," Huang Rong said loudly. "Your name is Ouyang Ke. You were once hired by Prince Wanyan Honglie of the Jin Dynasty to help him at the Prince Zhao's mansion. Prince Huo Du is recruiting skilled fighters, wanting to use them to deal with Prince Wanyan Kang of the Jin Dynasty. You have come here on his behalf to disrupt the grand banquet, haven't you? However, the Mongol army once wanted to massacre Zhongdu. Your actions are actually a good thing for them, preventing the heroes from being deceived and unwittingly aiding and abetting evil."

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Ouyang Ke was shocked.

Huo Du's face turned cold. "Take these two down."

"Ha, a cornered dog will jump over the wall." Huang Rong said this, then turned and left, deciding it was best to leave. Darba pounced on Ouyang Ke like a tiger.

With a loud "hum", a golden wheel, one and a half feet in diameter and made of gold, broke through the air and landed on Huang Rong's back.

"He will definitely protect me." Huang Rong was horrified. The shadow of Ouyang Ke and Hong Qigong being hit by the raised stick and nearly losing their lives suddenly fell upon her, but then she chose to believe Zhou Yan.

With two sharp hissing sounds, a pebble and a silver ingot were thrown from the left and right respectively, landing precisely on the golden wheel.

The silver ingot was weak, only slightly deflecting the golden wheel, while the pebble sent the golden wheel flying sideways and crashing into the ground with a thud.

Huang Rong was overjoyed when she heard the sounds of hidden weapons breaking one after the other; it must be Zhou Yan and her father.

Zhou Yan had not expected Huang Yaoshi to be there. He used his "Finger Flicking Divine Skill" to throw out a silver ingot, and then took out the Kitchen God mask that he had prepared beforehand. He covered his face and jumped onto the high platform, blocking the Golden Wheel Monk who had already arrived on the platform.

As Zhou Yan ran, he brought his body to its peak condition, sinking his hips and relaxing his waist, preparing to unleash the move "The Dragon Regrets".

(End of this chapter)