The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 252 Green Robe in Misty Rain, Huang Rong Changes Clothes

Bao Xian was no match for Zhou Yan and escaped. The group of desperate outlaws from the Western Regions recruited by the Vajra Sect fled in disarray.

Zhou Yan's figure transformed into a straight gray line, extending towards the three Vajra Sect warrior monks.

The sound of the wind whipped up by their figures amplified rapidly as it approached the monks. The two men screamed and turned around, one of them running away.

In the instant of contact, Zhou Yan forcefully carved a path through the gap between the two blades, leaving the two monks behind and leaping forward. The monk, desperately fleeing, turned around in despair, his fists aimed at Zhou Yan's chest. However, Zhou Yan was faster; his right hand, swift as a willow branch, pushed up between the monk's hands, smashing directly into his jaw. The monk's entire jaw, along with his teeth, was shattered instantly.

Zhou Yan suddenly grabbed the other person's ear with his right hand, dragged him a few steps, and pressed him to the ground.

With a loud bang, the opponent's head crashed into a pile of broken rocks and shattered.

Zhou Yan then turned around. In his field of vision, the two monks who had previously brandished their knives were now being held by the back of the neck by a bloodstained monk. The monk, who was about forty years old, had bulging arm muscles. With his arms clasped together, the two monks collided with each other, their facial bones shattering. They spun half a circle as if drunk before collapsing to the ground.

"what!"

A shrill scream rang out from afar, as a fleeing man in black was pinned to the ground by a tiger-headed, gold-inlaid spear thrown by Huyan Lei.

The brutal battle ended in this bloody manner.

The monk stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and said, "Amitabha, thank you for saving me, young hero."

The monk in Zhou Yan's sight had a high nose and deep-set eyes, typical of people from the Western Regions. His tattered robe was wrapped around his scarred body. It was unclear how many battles the monk had been through; there were more than a dozen wounds on his body, some scabbed over and some newly inflicted.

Even so, the kasaya could not conceal his bulging muscles, which resembled iron ingots, revealing a physique honed through martial arts training.

Zhou Yan withdrew his gaze and asked, "May I ask your name, Master? And where is your temple?"

"Tianlong, the head monk of the Dharma Hall of Shaolin Temple in the Western Regions."

"Is Master Ku Hui here?" Zhou Yan asked hurriedly.

"And you are, young hero?"

"I once met Master Tiancong of your temple, who was being besieged by the Vajra Sect, near the outskirts of Wuwei. He then sent a message to Shaolin Temple on Mount Song and became acquainted with Master Kucheng."

"Young Master Zhou, please follow me." Zen Master Tianlong's face showed surprise and delight.

"Please lead the way, Master."

The two of them moved swiftly and quickly, arriving at the stretcher where Zen Master Tianxiang was being escorted by five or six disciples.

Zhou Yan looked around and saw an old monk with white eyebrows and a white beard, who was sitting cross-legged on the stretcher. He was so thin that he looked like a skeleton, and his arms hung down, weak and powerless.

A dozen or so monks carrying book boxes surrounded the stretcher.

“Abbot, this is Young Hero Zhou. He delivered a letter to Junior Brother Tiancong to Shaoshi Mountain,” said Zen Master Tianlong.

"My name is Zhou Yan, and I greet the abbot." Zhou Yan cupped his hands in greeting.

"Amitabha, well said, well said, thank you for your righteous help, young hero Zhou."

Zhou Yan crouched down, "Abbot, what's this?"

Zen Master Tianlong answered on our behalf: "Half a month ago, the Vajra Sect, acting in concert with our insiders, poisoned the dining hall and launched a full-scale attack on Shalin Temple. We managed to escape and head to Mount Song, but the Vajra Sect relentlessly pursued us, killing us all the way. When the abbot covered our retreat, he was injured by the Vajra Sect leader's 'Mighty Vajra Finger'."

"That wicked monk, Huo Gong Tou Tuo, should have had his brains smashed open by Huang Daozhu's palm back then," Hu Yanlei said bitterly.

Ku Hui was taken aback. "What do you mean by that, benefactor?"

The guards were cleaning up the corpses and protecting the monk Ku Hui as he retreated, leaving only Tianlong and Zen Master Tianxiang behind. Zhou Yan briefly recounted the Vajra Sect's southward advance, the great battle at Shaoshi Mountain, the Fire-Worker Monk's defeat by Huang Yaoshi, and his visit to Master Ku Cheng, who said he would send eminent monks from his temple to Shaolin Temple in the Western Regions to discuss how to deal with the Vajra Sect.

Upon hearing this, Tianlong and Tianxiang let out a long sigh.

Ku Hui put his hands together and said, "All results arise from causes, and all retributions arise from karma. This is the will of Heaven."

Zhou Yan said, "Buddhism speaks of cause and effect, so killing the Fire-Worker Monk would eliminate any cycle, and Shaolin Temple would be at peace."

"Abbot, the young hero is right," Tianlong and Tianxiang said in unison.

Ku Hui sighed, "Young hero, your kindness is appreciated, but this old monk is now a cripple. How can I possibly accept the help of the Fire-Worker Monk?"

"I can restore the abbot's broken bones." As Zhou Yan said this, he also sighed inwardly. Even though the Fire-Worker Monk had schemed and plotted, he never expected that Huang Rong would trick him into giving him a box of "Black Jade Bone-Regenerating Ointment," and that he could use this ointment to bring Ku Hui back to life.

"Really!" Tianxiang grabbed Zhou Yan's hand and asked urgently.

“Of course, but you masters will need to come with me. I will take the abbot to a place for treatment, and I happen to be going to Caizhou. I can escort the abbot all the way to Songshan.”

"Thank you very much, young hero!" Zen Master Tianlong replied.

Upon hearing that he was to follow Zhou Yan, Tianxiang hesitated somewhat.

Ku Hui clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you, Young Hero Zhou. This old monk will keep this body to visit my fellow disciples on Mount Song and watch the Fire-Worker Monk go to hell."

Zhou Yan nodded secretly. As expected of the head of the Luohan Hall who went to the Western Regions to establish a sect in a fit of anger, he was reasonable, flexible, and had more character than Master Kucheng. "There is no time to lose, Abbot, please."

"it is good!"

Master Tianlong immediately summoned two martial monks to carry the stretcher, and the group quickly set off towards the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor deep in the Qilian Mountains.

During the journey, Zhou Yan talked with Tianlong and Tianxiang and learned more details.

Several high-ranking monks of the "Ku" generation from Shaolin who accompanied Ku Hui to the Western Regions were poisoned. They were left behind at Shaolin Temple while their disciples were retreating after retrieving scriptures from the Sutra Pavilion, and their deaths remain unknown.

The incident occurred during the evening meal. Most of the warrior monks were too poisoned to fight and became prisoners of the Vajra Sect.

Fewer than a hundred people evacuated, but were pursued and killed along the way, and most of them perished.

When Tianlong and Tianxiang spoke these words, their eyes were bloodshot and their veins bulged.

Zhou Yan said, "I would gladly gamble away a million dollars, and revenge a thousand miles away is as close as a foot."

Tianlong Shao and Tianxiang shouted their approval.

They continued on their journey without incident. When they arrived at the market, Zhou Yan bought a horse-drawn carriage, and Zen Master Ku Hui rode in it, which quickened the pace of the procession considerably.

Traveling day and night, ten days later the group entered the depths of the Qilian Mountains, where willows were green and flowers were in bloom, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor was not far away.

……

Light thunder rumbled like countless threads, and a misty rain enveloped the heavens and earth, shrouding the empty mountains and the blue lake.

The raindrops washed the sprouting grass and budding flowers clean and clear, making them full of vitality.

A small boat was moored on the misty lake. A young girl was seen wearing a bamboo hat, with long hair flowing over her shoulders. She was dressed in a blue robe, and her skin beneath the hat was as white as snow. She was incredibly beautiful and her appearance was so stunning that it was impossible to look directly at her.

In this paradise-like place, the girl is like a fairy.

The girl sat at the bow of the boat fishing. A furry little leopard poked its head out like a cat's. The girl stretched out her slender wrist and pressed the little head down.

With a "whoosh" like a cat's meow, the little leopard's head popped out again, and the woman said, "Don't disturb my fishing."

The little leopard stretched out its front paws and grabbed the woman's arm. The woman gently pushed it away, and the little leopard rolled over and jumped into her arms.

The woman angrily put away her fishing rod, then burst out laughing, "If I can't catch any fish, I'll just stew you to welcome Zhou Yan back."

"Wow!"

The woman held the leopard cub and skillfully kneaded the back of its neck a few times. The leopard cub enjoyed it and soon began to wheeze. However, a moment later, the leopard cub suddenly pricked up its ears and turned to look towards the valley entrance.

A white light, resembling the snow line on a mountaintop, rapidly approached, slowing down as it reached the villa. The "Night-Shining Jade Lion" then came into view of the young woman.

A silver saddle gleams on a white horse, swift as a shooting star. The newcomer is Zhou Yan.

When Zhou Yan, Hu Yanlei, Mu Nianci, Ku Hui and others arrived, he was afraid that there were lions and tigers in the valley, so he rushed over first. As a result, he saw a man in green robes in the misty rain, and a light boat in the wind and waves.

When the girl saw Zhou Yan, she quickly rowed over. As she got closer, her smile blossomed, and her clothes fluttered gently in the wind.

"I heard that someone has resigned from his position as head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) to travel the world with a sword."

Zhou Yan was quite surprised that Huang Rong had changed into women's clothing, but after the change of makeup, she was indeed clever and beautiful, with a face as fair as jade and eyes as clear as water.

This was the first time Zhou Yan had heard Huang Rong's female voice; it was like pearls falling onto a plate.

"Did the chief镖头 (chief镖头, the head镖师, say that)?" Zhou Yan asked.

"It's natural."

Zhou Yan chuckled, looking at the fishing rod, "Any catches?"

Huang Rong was instantly dejected. "When you were near the valley, you were spotted by the monkeys trained by the old master. The fish in this lake are plump and delicious. We wanted to catch a few to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey, but the weather didn't cooperate."

Zhou Yan chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that the fisherman named Yanbo could fill his basket with fish in the time it takes to eat a meal.

His thoughts returned, and he asked, "Do I have the 'Black Jade Broken Heart Ointment' on me?"

"Who's hurt?"

"On the way, we met Abbot Ku Hui of the Shaolin Temple in the Western Regions. He was injured by the 'Vajra Finger' and needed to have his bones repaired."

"Luckily, I didn't give the plaster to my father. I let him take it back to Peach Blossom Island to study the formula."

As soon as Huang Rong finished speaking, she moved like a swallow, skimming over the misty waves and landing beside Zhou Yan.

(End of this chapter)