The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 269 There's a Killing Intent in the Wine

The sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs of Yueyang Tower as Zhang Sanqiang, the leader of the Manichaean sect, carrying an iron spear, walked up the stairs.

In his vision, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and Huogong Toutuo's heads were like steamers, with wisps of heat rising straight up. The sounds of the flute and the zheng (a type of Chinese zither) advanced and retreated against each other, neither gaining the upper hand.

A disciple of the sect was swept towards Huang Yaoshi by the force of the Fire-Worker Monk's palm. Huang Yaoshi, with his flute still playing, shoved the disciple towards the Fire-Worker Monk with his shoulder, and suddenly sent the disciple flying back towards the Fire-Worker Monk.

Huang Yaoshi and Huogong Toutuo, separated by several feet, tossed and shoved their disciple around like a toy.

There were no diners left in the building. Zhang Sanqiang sat down in a private seat by the window, set up his spear in its holster, and went straight forward. As his disciple was being carried by the Fire-Worker Monk's palm strike towards Huang Yaoshi, Zhang Sanqiang's right hand flashed out and grabbed him. His body remained motionless, but the wooden floor beneath his feet cracked with a "crack".

"What an excellent technique for shifting force!" praised the Fire-Worker Monk.

Zhang Sanqiang used a clever trick to throw his disciple off Yueyang Tower. He glanced at the other party coldly and said in a low voice, "You treated my disciple like a plaything. I'll remember this debt."

The Firework Master smiled sternly, "How about a few moves?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Zhang Sanqiang sneered.

Ouyang Feng stopped playing the guzheng, and the sound of the xiao (vertical flute) also faded away.

The Fire-Worker Monk said, "Then come on."

"Let me make sure you have a good meal and drinks first." Zhang Sanqiang snorted and walked to the private seat.

Footsteps sounded again, and everyone looked over to see an old man walking up, followed by a handsome middle-aged man.

Ouyang Feng laughed heartily, "Master Yu, we meet again."

Yu Huacheng was taken aback for a moment, then came to his senses and said, "Indeed."

After saying this, he walked over to Zhang Sanqiang and sat down.

The White Lotus Saint summoned the innkeeper to serve wine and dishes. The innkeeper, trembling with fear, led his staff upstairs to deliver the wine and dishes, and then left in a panic.

Hong Qigong uncorked his wine gourd and took a few big gulps, thinking to himself that the martial arts discussions among the people at Yueyang Tower were comparable to a Mount Hua Sword Tournament. Zhang Sanqiang and Yu Huacheng were inside the tower, presumably for the conflict between the two sects. And what was the old poison master doing with the Vajra Sect leader? And Qiu Qianren was also in Yueyang. A bit of a coincidence.

Thinking this, he looked towards the lake. He wondered how Zhou Yan's sword fight was going.

……

Jiang Kui brandished his longsword, unleashing a barrage of shimmering, cold lightning that enveloped Zhou Yan. Each of his thrusts was as swift as a thread, while Zhou Yan dodged and weaved, his initial speed unparalleled, his rapid and fierce movements graceful as a dance.

But as the net-like sword techniques continued to fall, Zhou Yan's movements began to become sluggish, like a butterfly stuck in a spider web.

"This is not good," the old fisherman muttered to himself.

On the bow of the ship, several bodyguards from the Longmen Escort Agency showed expressions of joy.

Huang Rong was not anxious at all; she knew Zhou Yan too well.

Her question just now was not unfounded; it was definitely purposeful. She stared at Zhou Yan with a smile.

Zhou Yan listened intently to "The Song of the Rising Tide of the Blue Sea," and streams of internal energy gushed from the five major acupoints—Niwan, Zhiyang, Kaiyang, Weilu, and Guanyuan—pulled in rhythm with the sound of the flute, continuously accumulating in his meridians.

"Spring's first green, temples already streaked with gray, long separations in this world do not bring sorrow. Who ordained that every year on the night of the red lotus, we would both be lost in our own quiet contemplation?"

The poem "Partridge Sky" ends with the line "Jiang Kui let out a loud roar, his eyebrows and beard bristling, and his ancient greatsword thrusts swiftly into the center of the palace. It is a desperate gamble, a strike to the heavens and the earth, with all his might."

Because of Zhou Yan's sluggish movement, this sword strike suddenly looked as if he had crashed into the greatsword.

"Watch out!" shouted the old fisherman on the misty waves.

Zhou Yan stepped forward with his left foot and thrust diagonally forward with a move called "Dingyang Needle". This move was perfect and full of energy, with the strength, skill, form and power all just right, without the slightest flaw.

With a clang, the two swords clashed. Just as Jiang Kui was about to skillfully deflect the force, Zhou Yan's Qingfeng sword suddenly pressed down.

Under the pressure, Zhou Yan took the opportunity to use the Qi-guiding method of "The Song of the Azure Sea" to force his internal energy to surge.

Forcefully propelling the body to move, the entire pelvis rotates, and the Qi within the Dantian surges rapidly through the Ren and Du meridians, passing through the three Yang meridians of the hand, and falling from the acupoints on the palm and fingers towards the Qingfeng sword.

A clear, bright light suddenly exploded from the longsword, shattering Jiang Kui's clothes and robes, tearing off a few strands of his beard, which were then pulverized by the sword energy.

"Excuse me!" Zhou Yan swayed and landed at one end of the bamboo raft.

The old fisherman on the misty waters was dumbfounded; this unexpected turn of events was truly beyond his expectations.

Huang Rong was overjoyed. Zhou Yan had indeed acted with a purpose, clearly hiding his true strength to lure her into a contest of internal power. But that move he just made was truly impressive.

Jiang Kui was still in shock from what had just happened. The force of the energy that had erupted from Zhou Yan's longsword struck him like a knife cutting through his body. This was...

"Sword energy!" the chief镖头 of Longmen镖局 murmured to himself.

"This is hardly suitable for refined occasions; please excuse my poor writing, Chief Escort Jiang."

Jiang Kui was able to take it and put it down easily. He smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "I have practiced swordsmanship for decades and have never been able to release an invisible sword with my inner energy like you. If this is a trivial skill that is not worthy of being called elegant, then all swordsmen in the world would be ashamed. I keep my word and the enmity between Fu'an, Longmen and Young Hero Zhou is wiped clean."

"Thank you very much, Chief Escort Jiang."

Jiang Kui nodded, said no more, and turned to leap from the bamboo raft onto the large ship.

"Brother Fisherman, let's dock at Yueyang Tower. Chief Hong is still over there." Zhou Yan leaped onto the light boat.

"Alright." The old fisherman rowed his boat, taking Huang Rong with him along the way, and the three of them landed on the shore.

Gongsun Zhi turned his gaze away from Zhou Yan and said resentfully, "What a pity about this good opportunity."

Qiu Qianren looked in the direction of Yueyang Tower and said, "Don't rush, there will be plenty of opportunities. Let's go and take a look."

"Good!" As the large ship approached the lakeside, Qiu Qianren, Gongsun Zhi, Helian Chuncheng, and others jumped ashore and approached Xiangyueyang Tower.

……

Before Zhou Yan, Huang Rong, and the Fisherman of Misty Waves even reached Yueyang Tower, they saw dozens of people fighting amongst themselves. A figure rushed in like lightning, wielding a long stick, and in an instant, smashed several people to the ground.

A voice came from the crowd: "The Dharma King has arrived! Everyone, give it your all and tear down the White Lotus Church!"

Huang Rong said, "Just now at Yueyang Tower, two groups of people got into a fight, each setting off signal fireworks. The other side said something like, 'The Manichaeans are like ghosts that won't go away.'"

Zhou Yan suddenly realized that this must be the Ming Cult taking the initiative to attack the White Lotus Cult, which might be related to his sword wound to Yu Huacheng at Funiu Mountain.

The sounds of zheng and xiao in Yueyang Tower had long since ceased.

Zhou Yan and his two companions bypassed the chaotic fighting and went upstairs.

Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi, and Hong Qigong were sitting together, while Huogong Toutuo, Ouyang Ke, and Bailian Shengzi were sitting alone.

There was a table by the window, with Zhang Sanqiang and the old man sitting facing each other at both ends of the square table.

Yu Huacheng, leader of the White Lotus Sect.

Zhou Yan remained calm, having already anticipated that Zhang Sanqiang and Yu Huacheng would likely come here if they were in Yuezhou. This was simply a case of his speculation being confirmed.

The three appeared, and Huang Rong ran to Huang Yaoshi's side. "Just now I heard a clanging sound. Was it Uncle Ouyang and the Fire-Worker Monk who teamed up to bully Father?"

Ouyang Feng smiled coldly, "I'm just here to entertain your father."

"I don't believe it," Huang Rong said, making a face.

"Brother Huang, you're really something! It's amazing that you could give birth to such a beautiful young girl," Ouyang Feng said.

Hong Qigong clicked his tongue and sighed, "There is one thing that Brother Yao and I are not as good as each other in.

“Exactly, exactly,” Ouyang Feng said with a smile.

Hearing the two men praise Huang Rong, Huang Yaoshi felt quite pleased and said, "Seventh Brother, Brother Feng, you flatter me."

After the three finished speaking, Zhou Yan greeted Zhang Sanqiang and Huang Yaoshi.

The Fire-Worker Monk gave a sinister smile. "Boy, you'll meet someone again anywhere in life."

“Indeed!” Zhou Yan nodded and sat down with the Fisherman of Misty Waves.

The sound of footsteps came again, and everyone looked over to see Qiu Qianren, Gongsun Zhi, Helian Chuncheng and others.

The old fisherman on the misty waves chuckled and said to Zhou Yan, "All sorts of demons and monsters have come."

"No!"

Qiu Qianren waved his palm-leaf fan and said, "Brother Ouyang, Island Master Huang, Chief Hong, Master, we meet again."

The people responded one by one.

The leader of the Iron Palm Gang sat down at a table not far from Zhou Yan and summoned the waiters to bring wine and dishes.

……

Fireworks signaling messages rose and fell in the air, while the sounds of chaotic fighting outside continued to drift in, adding to the tense atmosphere at Yueyang Tower.

The group inside the building could be described as sworn enemies.

Zhang Sanqiang and Yu Huacheng.

Huogong Toutuo and Huang Yaoshi.

Zhouyan, Jingangmen.

Ouyang Feng and Zhang Sanqiang also fought to the death.

The atmosphere remained tense. Ouyang Feng pondered, with the old beggar, Huang Yaoshi, and Zhang Sanqiang all present, summoning poisonous snakes and setting up a snake formation would be a golden opportunity. Eliminating the three would also grant him the Manichaean leader's technique for shifting internal energy, making him the undisputed number one in the world. However, the terrain was inauspicious. The old beggar and Huang Yaoshi leaped out onto Dongting Lake. "Very well," Ouyang Feng thought, "I'll first test whether Huang Yaoshi is willing to marry his daughter to Ke'er before making a decision."

Qiu Qianren picked up his bowl and drank the wine, thinking to himself that with the White Lotus Sect and the Manichaean Sect fighting, his Iron Palm Clan could just take advantage of the situation and the more intense the fighting, the better.

The Fire-Worker Monk's sinister gaze lingered on Zhou Yan and Huang Yaoshi from time to time, pondering his chances of defeating Huang Yaoshi, Hong Qigong, and Zhang Sanqiang if he joined forces with Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren.

Thinking this through, the Fire-Worker Monk pushed the wine bowl on the table with his right hand and said, "Boy, you injured my worthless second disciple in the Western Regions. I really underestimated you."

Zhou Yan knew that Huogong Toutuo was referring to Bao Xian, and that he had rescued Ku Hui and the others from Bao Xian.

"Do you have the courage to drink a bowl of wine with this old monk?"

"Why not."

"Haha, you have guts." The Fire-Worker Monk took a bowl and poured wine. The bowl spun in his hand without spilling a drop of wine. Then, it suddenly left the table and flew more than two zhang (about 6.6 meters) across the table, landing on Zhou Yan.

The moment the old fisherman leaped up, Zhou Yan exclaimed "No!" He drew his longsword and placed the flying wine bowl on it. He had mastered the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, and had long since mastered the application of techniques such as collapsing force, squeezing force, collapsing force, twisting force, and entangling force.

The sword rested on the wine bowl, and the long sword moved from left to right, using the Jade Maiden Sword Technique "Raising the Tray to Eyebrows" to dissipate the force.

The wine bowl was right in front of him. He picked it up with his left hand, drank it all in one gulp, then took another bowl and poured tea. "It is impolite not to reciprocate. I will use tea instead of wine."

Zhou Yan held the bowl in his right hand, flicked it lightly with his middle finger, and the bowl suddenly flew away.

(End of this chapter)