The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 255 A disciple need not be inferior to his master

"Do you know you were wrong?"

A dim, yellowish light from a green lamp danced across the face of Lin Chaoying's maid, whose expression was as cold as frost.

Li Mochou had her hands behind her back, her slender fingers twisting together.

Little Dragon Girl stood straight, her back as upright as a green bamboo.

Both of the junior sisters were questioned.

Xiaolongnu was keeping watch for Li Mochou.

Li Mochou, on the other hand, lacked ambition and neglected her martial arts skills.

"Long'er, do you know your mistake?"

"I know I was wrong, Master," Little Dragon Girl answered honestly.

"What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't have acted as a lookout for my sister."

"How to do?"

"Put her in solitary confinement," Little Dragon Girl said timidly.

"Then let's go."

"I understand, Master." Little Dragon Girl turned around, squeezed Li Mochou's fingers tightly with her right hand, conveying the message that her sister should be brave. Then she walked out of the stone chamber, turned left and right, and went to another stone chamber, where she properly shut herself in.

Inside the stone room, where the lamplight flickered like fireflies, Lin Chaoying's maid asked again, "And you?"

Li Mochou said softly, "I know I was wrong."

"How do I do it?"

Li Mochou remained silent for a few breaths, then took a deep breath and said with sorrow, "Master adopted me and taught me martial arts. Your kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. In this life, I want to serve and take care of you. But Chief Escort Zhou has been kind to the Ancient Tomb and has saved me many times. Humans are not plants or trees, how can they be without feelings? I just can't forget him."

"You wicked disciple!" Lin Chaoying's maidservant spoke sternly, but her mind was filled with thoughts of Zhou Yan's solo journey to the ancient tomb, guarding the entrance and preventing any enemy from escaping. Meanwhile, Ouyang Feng and the others retreated and went down the mountain to the market to buy snake-repelling medicine, busying themselves with various tasks.

“Master, please punish me. You told me to ‘follow the natural course of things and forget my feelings to learn from plants and trees,’ but I really can’t do it. The more I try not to think about it, the more the scene of Chief Escort Zhou’s chivalrous deeds appears in my mind. I am too weak to remember such things.”

“Master, I don’t understand why you have to forget your kindness. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude, let alone a life-saving favor.”

Seeing Li Mochou's distressed and earnest expression, Lin Chaoying, the maid, sighed inwardly. Mochou was devoted to love and couldn't escape the mortal world.

"Are you willing to endure this punishment from now on, even if it means keeping Zhou the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) in your heart?"

"Ah."

"If that's the case, why not leave the ancient tomb?"

Li Mochou was terrified. "Master, how could I do such a disloyal and treacherous thing? Besides, my junior sister is so young."

"snort!"

Li Mochou trembled.

"Cultivate diligently. If you can defeat your master one day, you can leave the mountain. When your junior sister grows up a bit more, she can leave the Ancient Tomb."

Li Mochou was initially delighted but then alarmed. She hurriedly said, "Master, how can I leave the Ancient Tomb? If I can defeat you, Master, I can go down the mountain to travel around from time to time. When I come back, I will still be your disciple, okay?"

"You do have a heart."

"Master agreed?"

"for the time being."

Li Mochou immediately said, "Master, I want to try it now."

……

"what…"

"oops."

"Sister, please bear with it."

A few strands of hair clung to Li Mochou's cheek as she lay prone on the jade bed, her beautiful eyes filled with intense pain. The lamplight flickered across her body, revealing distinct blue marks on her jade-like back.

As Xiaolongnu applied herbs to reduce swelling, Li Mochou couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" again.

"Sister, you know it hurts, yet you still spar with Master."

"What do you know?" Li Mochou suddenly laughed. "I'm only a little bit worse than Master. At most, I'll be able to surpass Master after a few more months of training."

"and then?"

“If I defeat my master, she will allow me to go down the mountain to travel.”

"Isn't your sister coming back?"

"How could that be? If I don't come back, who will protect you if Ouyang Ke and his men come again? I just went to Zhongdu for a few days to travel around, do some chivalrous deeds, and see what level my martial arts are in the current martial arts world."

"Then I'm relieved. Sister, keep up the good work."

"Of course, I'll start practicing as soon as you've applied the herbs."

"I'll hurry up and apply it, sister. What do you think big brother is doing now?"

"Of course it's escorting goods. Do you think I wouldn't see Chief Escort Zhou even if I went to Zhongdu?"

"Didn't my sister say that as long as I beat Master, I can go down the mountain to travel anytime?"

"You're quick-witted."

Little Dragon Girl smiled innocently as she carefully applied the ointment. Li Mochou got up, straightened her clothes, sat cross-legged, and began practicing the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" (a martial arts manual). She compared martial arts with her master, only losing after more than three hundred moves. Once she completed the fourth stage of the great work and practiced the whip technique diligently for a while, she would surely be able to defeat him.

"...The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) is back."

When the familiar voice rang out from the Zhongdu Fu'an Escort Agency, Zhou Yan smiled.

The guard on duty knew of Zhou Yan's resignation, but upon seeing the familiar man and horse, he called out to them.

Zhou Yan cultivated at the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor and, with the help of a "Dragon and Tiger Pill," broke through to the fifth stage of the "Tendon Changing and Bone Strengthening Chapter," greatly improving his skills. The next day, he and Huang Rong bid farewell to the three Shi brothers and escorted Master Ku Hui and others southward.

He arrived in Zhongdu without incident and made good progress. He first settled Ku Hui, Huang Rong and the others in an inn not far from the escort agency before heading straight here.

"You're back. Is the chief镖头 (chief镖头, the head镖师, the head镖师) here?" Zhou Yan asked the porter.

The escort, who had been to the Western Regions, hurriedly said, "The chief镖头 (chief镖头, head镖头 is here), but镖头 胡延 (镖头 胡延) has gone to Caizhou."

Zhou Yan understood; Hu Yanlei was sending armor and warhorses to Yang Miaozhen's stronghold.

"I'll go in and take a look."

Tangzi, holding the horse's reins, said, "If you're used to calling me 'head镖头,' you can still call me that from now on."

"No problem."

"Alright!" The escort was overjoyed. Zhou Yan smiled and patted the man on the shoulder before quickly entering the escort agency.

……

Sunlight streamed into the guesthouse through the windows, casting square patterns on the wooden table, while dust swirled in the air.

"Wow!" the little leopard cried out and jumped into Huang Rong's arms. She giggled and picked up the tiger-headed little guy, gently stroking his soft fur.

Suddenly, the light and shadows shifted, and a man in a blue robe appeared at the inn.

"Father!" Huang Rong exclaimed with joy, dropping the little leopard and running to Huang Yaoshi, hugging his arm. "Father, what brings you here?"

Huang Yaoshi said quite seriously, "If I hadn't come, you wouldn't have known to return to the island?"

"How could that be? Rong'er was thinking of taking the little leopard back to tame it and keep Father entertained."

"Nonsense, tell me where you went?"

"Father, please sit down."

Huang Rong pulled Huang Yaoshi to sit down, poured him tea, and said, "That day, when I went down Shaoshi Mountain, I unexpectedly encountered more than ten people, including the monk Baoyin from the Vajra Sect. I was no match for them and was escorted to the Western Regions."

Huang Yaoshi's expression tightened. "And then?"

"Of course I'm fine now. In Shuozhou, I met a caravan from the Fu'an Escort Agency heading to Yumen Pass, and Chief Escort Zhou rescued me again."

"It's been almost three months since you arrived in Zhongdu. Have you gone to the Western Regions?"

"Did Father go to Fu'an to inquire about this?"

Huang Yaoshi snorted.

Huang Yaoshi smiled apologetically: "Father, don't be angry. Rong'er will tell you many interesting stories."

Huang Rong recounted in detail the scenery of the Gobi Desert, her encounter with the "Iron Hawk" in Ganzhou, Zhou Yan's arrival at the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, the defeat of the enemy by the beasts, and the burning of the Shaolin Temple in the Western Regions by the Vajra Sect.

She described the three Shi brothers' animal-taming skills in vivid detail.

Huang Yaoshi was quite surprised by the beast-taming methods of the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, but he gradually noticed that Huang Rong was slightly different from others. Whenever his daughter mentioned Zhou Yan, her tone was particularly affectionate and she praised him a lot.

He suddenly wondered if his daughter might have feelings for Zhou Yan.

Huang Yaoshi did admire Zhou Yan, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he couldn't help but recall the woman from the ancient tomb in Zhongnan Mountain.

A镖头 (bodyguard/escort) who would rather be an enemy of Ouyang Feng than risk his life to protect him must have an extraordinary relationship with him.

Amid Huang Yaoshi's speculation, Huang Rong added, "In a few days, Rong'er and Chief Escort Zhou will escort Master Ku Hui to Shaolin Temple."

"Why go to Shaolin Temple? It's none of your business. Come back to Peach Blossom Island with me."

"what!"

"Don't want to?"

"How could that be? Once Rong'er goes to Shaolin Temple, she will definitely return to Peach Blossom Island to be with Father."

Huang Yaoshi's expression suddenly turned cold.

Huang Rong's mind raced. She thought to herself that her father seemed a little angry for some reason, so she would follow him and slowly ask him what the reason was.

“Father, don’t be angry. Rong’er will go back to Peach Blossom Island now. I can’t leave without saying goodbye. I must inform Zhou Yan first.”

Huang Yaoshi stood up. "Let's go!"

Huang Rong pouted, picked up the little leopard, and left the inn with Huang Yaoshi.

……

As dusk falls and the aroma of wine fills the air.

Inside the octagonal pavilion of the Fu'an Escort Agency, Zhou Yan and Zhang Wangyue toasted each other, drinking and chatting.

"Once Chief Yang has trained the cavalry for a while, the mountain stronghold will attack Tongbai Mountain. Would you like to go and show off your skills, brother?"

Zhang Wangyue laughed: "With Zhenwei Escort Agency, how can we forget Fu'an?"

"Alright, then we'll have a good, satisfying fight."

“No problem.” Zhang Wangyue raised his cup, and Zhou Yan handed him a drink. Suddenly, he looked behind the pavilion, where a tall figure in a blue robe stood on the roof of the council hall, with Huang Rong beside him.

Zhang Wangyue looked over and sighed inwardly, "I didn't notice that Island Master Huang had arrived, but Brother Zhou heard the commotion. His cultivation has improved again."

Such talent is truly rare.

(End of this chapter)