The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 302 Familiar Recipe, Different Ingredients

The autumn rain lingered, making the flowers and leaves under the eaves shine with an oily sheen, and the pattering rain added to the desolation.

The corridor was teeming with people. This was due to the conflict between Zhenwei Escort Agency and Longmen Escort Agency, the fact that the escorts and guards knew of the close relationship between Longmen and Changfeng Escort Agency, and the fact that Helian Chuncheng and Yin Kexi were now working for the Crown Prince of the Jin Kingdom. In this unusual environment and situation, although it was late at night, all the escort agency personnel, focused solely on the conflict with Longmen Escort Agency, remained gathered at their offices and did not leave.

The bodyguards and porters who were injured in the conflict between the two escort agencies were all filled with righteous indignation.

When Han Dang appeared, the commotion completely subsided. The elderly man looked around, then looked away and said, "I won't go into details about what happened at the escort agency today. Zhenwei Escort Agency has no place to stand in Kaifeng."

A buzzing sound spread out like a rising tide.

"Master, this is intolerable! Let's fight Longmen Escort Agency to the death!" said a bruised and injured escort leader who had been injured in the conflict between the two agencies.

"Yes, let's give it our all. Zhenwei has no cowards."

The various intertwined sounds suddenly fell silent as Han Dang gently pressed down in the air with his right hand.

"I appreciate your kindness, but after this gamble, have you thought about how your wives, children, and parents will make a living?" Han Dang's words silenced many people. He continued, "The escort agency will continue to operate, but it will not be in Kaifeng. Those who want to follow me can stay. Those who do not wish to leave their homes will not be forced. Go to the accounting office to collect your monthly wages, plus an extra hundred taels of silver."

“Wherever the master goes, I will follow,” said the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) who had spoken earlier.

"Me too."

Nearly 80% of the bodyguards and escorts expressed their willingness to leave their homes, while about 20% were unwilling to leave their families. Han Dang instructed the steward to take these people to the accounting office to collect their money.

Han gathered the remaining personnel together and began to arrange the specific details of their evacuation from Lifeng Prefecture.

In the distance, amidst the slanting wind and drizzle, Huang Rong kicked at the grass, and water droplets rolled down the green grass as her embroidered shoes fluttered past. She turned around and looked at Zhou Yan, "Don't you think this scene that happened to Zhenwei Escort Agency is very similar to what happened to Fu'an Escort Agency at the Tongguan Wharf on the Yellow River?"

Huang Rong was referring to the Changfeng Escort Agency's scheme to hire the Vajra Sect and bandits from the Western Regions to ambush and kill them.

"Yes, the familiar recipe."

Huang Rong smiled gently, "Master Han is a formidable figure. He made a bold decision based solely on my speculation. He would feel better if we could capture that merchant."

"I've got the same idea." Zhou Yan took the bamboo hat and, like a falcon, soared through the rain and mist, disappearing into the distant night.

Huang Rong smiled and muttered to herself, "Being with him, I feel like I don't have to use my brain at all, it's great."

Zhou Yan's figure appeared and disappeared among the rows of buildings in Kaifeng City shrouded in mist and rain. Soon after, he arrived at the Longmen Escort Agency, which he had learned about from Lu Beihekou.

The镖局 (bodyguard agency) occupying the five-entrance, five-exit compound did not act as if it were facing a formidable enemy as the Zhenwei镖局 (bodyguard agency). The镖师 (bodyguards) and 趟子手 (escorts) were on normal duty. Zhou Yan's figure rose and fell, darting towards a brightly lit detached courtyard.

The secluded courtyard is decorated with artificial hills and ponds. The strange rocks are craggy like honeycomb holes, the pine trees are gnarled and twisted, and the lotus leaves on the water are emerald green, which complements the artificial hills.

Zhou Yan's figure passed through the rain and mist, landing on the rooftop. He circulated his internal energy, with his lung energy reaching his nose, his liver energy reaching his eyes, and his kidney energy reaching his ears, gradually amplifying the sounds of the world.

The sounds of rain pattering on bamboo leaves, the swirling autumn wind, the rustling of falling leaves, and conversations inside the room.

"Brother Zhang, what do you think Zhenwei Escort Agency will do next? What if Han Dang just lets it go?"

"Brother Yin is right, that's very likely."

"Since Brother Zhang has anticipated this, he must have a plan to deal with it."

"Of course, it was Lu Beihe who led people to Longmen Escort Agency. It was Zhenwei Escort Agency that caused trouble. If Han Dang is going to tolerate it, we will force him and go to his door to demand money for the medical treatment of the injured escorts and porters. Let's see how long Han Dang can endure it."

"Good idea."

The autumn wind swirled around the eaves, making a whistling sound, and Zhou Yan chuckled softly.

……

Han Dang walked through the continuous, misty rain, his feet stepping on the waterlogged bluestone floor, and entered the hall.

"Master is back." Madam Han, with her gentle appearance and kind face, stepped forward to greet him.

"Is everything ready?" Han asked.
"There's not much to tidy up," Mrs. Han said with a smile.

"Hmm!" Han Dang nodded, walked to the table in front of the hall, and took down a long wooden box that was placed on it.

He opened the wooden box, and the light flickered onto a five-foot-long sword with a sharp point, a wide, sloping back, and a ferrule at the bottom of the hilt.

“I thought I would never need this ancestor’s pen knife again, but now it seems this knife will drink blood again.” As Han Dang finished speaking, he took out the treasured knife used by his ancestor and gently tapped the blade with his right hand.

A low, resonant hum of a blade rang out.

Suddenly, Han Dang looked out the window, where Zhou Yan's figure pushed aside the curtain of rain. "Master Han, I've brought you someone." Zhou Yan landed and threw a fair-skinned man to the ground.

Han Dang walked out of the hall with a knife in his hand. When his gaze fell on the man, his pupils contracted slightly. He recognized the man as a merchant.

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "I went to Longmen Escort Agency. Helian Zhantai, Yin Donglai, and Zhang Jinzhong from Longmen Escort Agency were all there."

"Thank you for your help, young hero. What did they say?"

“If Master Han tolerates this, he will take his men to the escort agency to demand medical expenses for the injured escorts and porters. If Master Han loses his temper, he will fall into their trap, and the Longmen Escort Agency will be in serious trouble. This fellow is a wealthy man surnamed Wang from the city, hired by the Changfeng Escort Agency, posing as a merchant.” Zhou Yan’s face darkened, and he continued, “The Changfeng Escort Agency also used similar methods to scheme against Fu’an, hiring merchants to escort goods through the agency. When the escort agency was transporting goods to Tongguan, they were attacked by bandits hired by the Changfeng Escort Agency.”

Han Dang's face was gloomy as he looked at the man.

The man's face was deathly pale, and he trembled all over. "Master Han, spare my life! It was all arranged by Master Yin and Master Zhang. I had no choice but to do it."

Han Dang swung his sword upwards, the blade's light shimmering like clear water washing over the man, and astonishing amounts of blood exploded like fireworks.

Zhou Yan thought to himself, "The old man has the iron-blooded spirit of General Han."

Han Dang cleaved his opponent in two with a single stroke, sheathed his longsword, placed it against a pillar, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Thank you, young hero, for allowing me to personally kill this scoundrel. Tomorrow at dawn, the镖局 (escort agency)'s镖师 (bodyguards) and 趟子手 (couriers) will leave the city. What are the arrangements for the aftermath?"

"Master Han and Brother Lu, you'll leave the city tonight. Leave some capable bodyguards and porters at the escort agency, and I'll take care of the rest, okay?"

"Alright, thank you, young hero."

"I'm looking for Brother Lu."

"Thank you."

"Don't be so polite, Master Han." Zhou Yan cupped his hands and turned to walk towards the wooden building in the villa where Lu Beihe lived.

A little later, Lu Beihe boarded a black carriage.

Han Dang, Madam Han, the steward, and the maid boarded three other ordinary carriages.

As Zhou Yan and Huang Rong watched them leave, the carriage drove out of the back gate of the escort agency onto the main street, heading straight for Funiu Mountain before curfew.

……

"morning!"

Zhou Yan got up early, but Huang Rong had already placed eight-treasure porridge made from walnuts, pine nuts, mushrooms, persimmons, and chestnuts, steamed pastries, and two dishes of pickled vegetables on the table.

The two sat facing each other. During the meal, Huang Rong said, "When Longmen Escort Agency heard that Zhenwei Escort Agency was going to move out of Feng Mansion, it probably did as you guessed and wanted to eliminate them completely."

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Pretty much. When they come charging over, you lift the carriage curtain and give them a taste of the 'Little Vajra Fist'."

Huang Rong exclaimed "Ah!" and burst into laughter, "You still remember the boxing technique I tricked from the Fire-Worker Monk?"

"Of course, it's a Shaolin martial art."

“I’ve forgotten all about it. How about I tell you, and you can start your cultivation?”

"I have never mastered the 'finger flicking magic' of Master Huang."

"It's a pity I lack internal strength, otherwise I would have used my 'Finger Flicking Skill' to make a bloody hole in the other's forehead. However, I picked up a silver needle when I went to Hundred Herbs Valley, had it forged by a craftsman, and learned a hidden weapon technique from my father. I can throw a few needles at him then."

Zhou Yan was taken aback. Huang Rong was referring to the hidden weapon of Yuan Foshou, the leader of the Five Poisons Sect, which was the "Ice Soul Silver Needle" used by Li Mochou in the Condor Heroes world.

Did Huang Rong learn this hidden weapon technique?

What are you staring at?

Zhou Yan snapped out of his thoughts and smiled, "Good idea."

"Of course!" Huang Rong said proudly.

Han Dang left more than thirty capable escorts and bodyguards at the escort agency. They had all participated in the battles of Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain and knew Zhou Yan.

After breakfast, the two men put on their gloves and loaded some famous paintings and calligraphy and other valuable items into the car.

When the sun was high in the sky, Zhou Yan and Huang Rong calmly boarded two carriages. The carriages left from the backyard, went to the front street, and met up with several large carts carrying goods. Under the protection of bodyguards and porters, they headed out of the city.

(End of this chapter)