The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 294 The authorities are confused and the onlookers know clearly
The moon is pale, the stars are sparse.

Zhou Yan and Li Mochou appeared and disappeared among the towering buildings of Zhongdu, their figures winding their way towards Kaifu Temple under the night sky. In terms of lightness skill alone, Li Mochou, whose internal strength had improved significantly, was indeed not much inferior to Zhou Yan.

Of course, this is on the premise that Zhou Yan does not use the White Camel Mountain's ultimate technique, "A Thousand Miles in an Instant".

The Beggars' Sect's branch in Zhongdu was located in an abandoned temple within Kaifu Temple, something Lu Youjiao had told Zhou Yan when he visited his residence.

There were no lanterns hanging on the archways of the streets surrounding the abandoned temple. Zhou Yan silently rose from the darkness and landed on one of them. He looked into the distance and saw flames rising from a courtyard at one end of his line of sight.

Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted closer. Zhou Yan looked away and saw a charming and joyful face.

"You are very happy?"

“Of course,” Li Mochou replied, “When I first met you, I said that my journey down the mountain was to ‘escape from the blades and kill in the mortal world.’ Now that I’m doing these things with you, how could I not be happy? Aren’t you happy?” Li Mochou asked, looking up at her.

Zhou Yan chuckled, "Let's go, the Beggars' Sect's headquarters is just ahead."

"Ok!"

Li Mochou leaped lightly, floating more than two zhang in the air. When she landed, her lotus feet touched the ground as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water. Her green dress billowed open, just like an autumn lotus. Her graceful figure seemed to ride the wind as she landed on the roof of the temple in front of her.

Zhou Yan followed closely behind, her figure appearing and disappearing in the wind. When Li Mochou landed on the fish-scale green tiles and her skirt came together, Zhou Yan silently landed beside her.

He was half-crouched on the roof, holding the Qingfeng sword. To Li Mochou out of the corner of her eye, he appeared calm and dashing.

The abandoned temple grounds were spacious and gathered five or six hundred Beggar Clan disciples carrying burlap sacks. Looking around, each of them carried at least four folded burlap sacks.

The Beggars' Sect disciples who could participate in this conference were at least four-bag disciples.

Eighty percent of the Beggars' Sect disciples were dressed in rags, clearly belonging to the Dirty Clothes Faction. The remaining twenty percent gathered together, their clothes patched but clean. These were the Clean Clothes Faction disciples.

Li Mochou looked around and finally her gaze landed on the disciples of the Clean Clothes Sect. She asked in surprise, "That elder is not here."

Zhou Yan had already found Lu Youjiao among the disciples of the Dirty Clothes Sect, but he saw that the other party had a dark complexion, tattered clothes, and a sorrowful expression.

“It hasn’t started yet.” Zhou Yan looked away and said to Li Mochou, “Let’s wait a little longer.”

"okay."

The two figures disappeared into the shadows beneath the upturned eaves, looking down from a high vantage point with an unobstructed view. When the crescent moon hung in the mid-sky, the midnight clapper sounded across the long street.

Zhou Yan and Li Mochou suddenly heard three taps, followed by three more taps from another direction.

The Beggars' Sect's Clean Clothes Faction disciples inside the courtyard erupted in commotion, shouting, "It's Elder Peng, Elder Jian, and Elder Liang!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhou Yan looked over and saw three people appear at both ends of a corridor on one side of the temple. Behind them were a considerable number of Beggar Clan disciples with eight or seven bags of weapons. The group walked over in a grand manner.

“That’s Elder Peng.” Li Mochou’s voice rang in Zhou Yan’s ears. He looked in the direction of the slender fingers that resembled scallion roots and saw that the old beggar had a fair complexion and an elegant demeanor like a wealthy old man, holding a long strip of cloth in his hand.

Zhou Yan guessed that the dog-beating stick should be inside the cloth strip.

Suddenly, a faint sound came from the darkness.

Zhou Yan turned around alertly, and saw a figure carrying a wine gourd descend from a lush old tree not far away. With a few strides, the figure leaped onto the eaves.

"Seventh Duke."

"Seventh Master."

Zhou Yan and Li Mochou greeted each other in hushed tones, though Li Mochou's voice trembled slightly. She had learned from Zhou Yan that Hong Qigong had been injured in Yueyang.

Hong Qigong was a formidable figure in the past, his movements as swift as a dragon soaring through the sky. Yet, the old tree, though only five or six zhang from the rooftop, had now stumped him.

Zhou Yan was actually quite surprised. Hong Qigong's cultivation had recovered considerably since his time in Baicao Valley, so it was likely that he had at least completed the second part of the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian".

Hong Qigong grinned, "You two are here?"

"Hmm, when did Master Qi arrive?" Zhou Yan asked.

"The old beggar arrived a long time ago."

"I have something to say to Master Qi."

Hong Qigong uncorked the gourd, took a few gulps of wine, and then asked, "Is this about the Beggars' Sect and the Manichaeism?"

"Did you guess it, Master Qi?"

"These past few days, the old beggar has overheard many conversations between Lu Youjiao and the little beggar from Yuezhou."

"Has Seventh Master ever seen Elder Lu?"

"No, Lu Youjiao is too honest and kind; he can't hide anything on his face. The old beggar wants to see what these bastards are up to."

Zhou Yan chuckled inwardly and whispered out every word Zhang Sanqiang was about to convey to Hong Qigong.

Hong Qigong nodded upon hearing this and said, "Zhang Sanqiang is a man of great character. The old beggar owes him a favor."

"Master Zhang said he is waiting for Master Qi's reply at Jingzhou Academy."

"Understood. Once the old beggar finishes dealing with the Beggars' Clan's internal affairs, he'll head over and meet Zhang Sanqiang." As the two were talking, a commotion broke out in the courtyard. The Beggars' Clan disciples made way for Elder Peng, who walked to the center and said, "Brothers, this calamity has truly befallen the Beggars' Clan. Our leader has been framed in Yueyang, and his chances of survival are slim."

The Beggars' Sect disciples who had come from Luoyang and Kaifeng knew nothing of what had happened at Yueyang Tower. Upon hearing this, the group of beggars fell silent. Suddenly, one of them opened his mouth and shouted, fell to the ground, and wailed loudly.

Suddenly, cries of grief erupted, shaking the trees.

Hong Qigong took a few big gulps of wine from his gourd and said, "These bastards, they're all idiots, they're not behaving properly."

"By the way, Seventh Master, before arriving in Zhongdu, I went to a place called the Valley of Heartbreak, where I met Ouyang Feng, the Fire-Worker Monk, Qiu Qianren, and Island Master Huang."

"Then what?'

“Ouyang Feng’s schemes against Island Master Huang are similar to those of Yueyang Tower’s schemes against Master Qi.”

"Huang Yaoshi was naturally vigilant, so he never ended up like me, almost crippled."

"It was alright at first, but after fighting Ouyang Feng again, I suffered internal injuries, which were quite serious at the time."

"It must be that Huang Yaoshi was provoked by Ouyang Feng's words."

"really.'

"That's Huang Yaoshi's weakness. He can't stand being provoked. Once the old beggar's skills are restored, he'll definitely have to fight the old poison master and the Vajra Sect leader."

"Seventh Brother Huang Island Master, please take me with you again."

Hong Qigong rolled his eyes.

Amidst the wailing of the Beggars' Sect disciples in the courtyard, Lu Youjiao's voice suddenly rang out: "Elder Peng, what exactly happened? We can't find our leader!"

"That's right, that's right. My Beggars' Sect has hundreds of thousands of disciples. Even a rat can crawl out of its hole. How can we not find our leader?"

Hong Qigong whispered to Zhou Yan, "You know Lu Youjiao. The one speaking now is called Li Sheng, who is in charge of the Yangzhou branch."

Zhou Yan remembered the name; he had rescued Cheng Yaojia, Sun Bu'er's disciple, in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, but Ouyang Ke had outmaneuvered him, and in the end, it was Hong Qigong who solved the problem.

Zhou Yan thought that in the current martial arts world, Ouyang Ke had gone to Zhongnan Mountain twice, so the scene of kidnapping Cheng Yaojia should not have happened. Otherwise, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen should have been searching for Ouyang Ke and his nephew to seek revenge.

He looked back at the arena.

Elder Peng said, "Our leader is elusive and we don't know exactly why he went to Yueyang Tower. We only heard later that he fought with Zhang Sanqiang, the leader of the Manichaeism, Ouyang Feng, the leader of the Vajra Sect, and others in Yueyang Tower. After that, the leader's token fell into the hands of the Manichaeism."

"It must be Zhang Sanqiang of the Manichaeism who has harmed the gang leader!" shouted a member of the Clean Clothes Sect.
"Yes, yes, avenge our leader!" another disciple of the Clean Clothes Sect shouted.

The crowd was instantly enraged, and cries for revenge arose everywhere.

Elder Peng reached out and lifted the cloth bag, revealing the emerald green Dog-Beating Stick to everyone. He raised the stick and said, "This token of the gang leader is what I took back from the Mani sect, at the cost of losing many disciples."

"Elder Peng is mighty."

"Elder, you are a good man."

Amidst the cries and cheers, Elder Peng said, "After the incident, Elder Liang and I dispatched disciples to search everywhere, but the old leader was nowhere to be found."

Lu Youjiao stepped forward and said, "Thank you Elder Peng for finding the gang leader's token. But shouldn't we be the ones directing our disciples to work together to continue searching for the gang leader?"

"Finding our leader is of paramount importance, but since the Jin Dog occupied the north, the Beggars' Clan's center of gravity has become increasingly difficult to shift. Consequently, we have had many conflicts with the Manichaeism, the Iron Palm Clan, and others. Now, with our leader missing, the Manichaeism has become even more unscrupulous, and the Iron Palm Clan is also eyeing us covetously. Without a leader, we must elect someone to lead us all in working together. When our enemies attack our Beggars' Clan's branches, we can't afford to have to gather from all over the country to discuss how to respond every time such an incident occurs. If that were the case, wouldn't it chill the hearts of our fallen brothers?"

“That’s right.” A plump, white-skinned old beggar stepped forward and said, “At least a deputy leader needs to be elected to lead everyone in their work.”

"Yes, that makes sense." The disciples of the Clean Clothes Sect cheered, while the disciples of the Dirty Clothes Sect were mostly taciturn.

Lu Youjiao was speechless for a moment.

Zhou Yan looked around the arena and asked Hong Qigong, "What does Qigong think?"

Hong Qigong drank his wine, his expression slightly grave, and said, "The one who spoke just now was Elder Liang. The one next to him is Elder Jian. There's something fishy about this matter; it seems like they're deliberately trying to provoke a conflict between the Beggars' Sect and the Manichaeism."

"Mm." Zhou Yan nodded.

Suddenly, a disciple of the Clean Clothes Sect said, "Elder Peng seized the gang leader's token from the Manichaeism sect, so the acting gang leader should be appointed by the elder."

“That’s right, even the old beggar agrees,” Elder Liang said.
“Me too,” Elder Jian stepped forward and said.

Li Sheng said, "Elder Peng has done a great service by retrieving the Beggars' Sect's token. It would be too arbitrary to decide who should take charge of the Beggars' Sect based on this. If an ordinary disciple were to seize the token, he shouldn't be the one to take charge. Elder Lu has made many outstanding contributions to the Beggars' Sect, and I support Elder Lu."

On the rooftop, Hong Qigong muttered to himself, "This Li Sheng is indeed clever and has good judgment."

“Indeed, they can stand on the big picture.” Zhou Yan said this, but his eyes were fixed on the arena.

Li Sheng made a suggestion, which was immediately agreed upon by the Dirty Clothes Gang disciples. However, the Clean Clothes Gang disciples immediately objected, and the two sides engaged in a heated debate, unable to reach an agreement. Hong Qigong's expression grew increasingly somber.

"I have something to say?" Elder Liang suddenly spoke up.

He spoke with his inner strength, and all the beggar disciples, regardless of distance, could hear him clearly, and the scene suddenly fell silent.

(End of this chapter)