The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 32 The mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows behind
The setting sun travels across the sky, while the镖人 (bodyguard/escort) walks along the long street.

Zhou Yan wandered through the streets and alleys until he arrived at the Fu'an Escort Agency.

The escort agency was bustling with people coming and going. As he passed by, escorts and bodyguards greeted him. When Cui Changshun saw Zhou Yan, perhaps feeling guilty, he quickly turned his head away, his mind replaying his conversations with Su and Lu, bodyguards from the Sihai Escort Agency, that he had during the day.

The other party asked Zhou Yan if his rapid improvement in martial arts over the past half month was due to some kind of stroke of luck.

He replied that he had been instructed by Zhang Wangyue, but he didn't know the specifics. Thinking about it, he suddenly realized that Zhou Yan had asked about the method of cultivating lightness skill in the martial arts field and was later summoned by the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort). Could it be that he was really given some profound skill?

Cui Changshun was already burning with jealousy when a thought suddenly occurred to him: Zhou Yan was on night duty, so should he search the house? If he found anything, wouldn't his martial arts skills improve dramatically?

Once consciousness arose, it grew and spread like wildfire, becoming uncontrollable, and his heart began to pound violently.

Zhou Yan had long known that Cui Qingshan and his nephew harbored resentment towards him. He was also sharp-eyed and noticed Cui Changshun's unusual reaction, with his pupils slightly contracting. He then regained his composure and walked out. On the way, he asked the familiar bodyguards Hu Yanlei and Wang Kui where they were. The bodyguards said they were with the head bodyguard.

He carried his bow and arrow bag and headed straight for Zhang Wangyue.

The dappled sunlight fell at the end of the long corridor. When Zhou Yan walked in, the head镖师 (镖头, a kind of bodyguard), Hu Yanlei, and two others were sitting around a square table.

When Hu Yanlei saw Zhou Yan, he joked, "You've even moved your whole family here."

He laughed and said, "If I'm on night duty, I should leave early to avoid having to go back."

“I was thinking of letting you continue to rest. The two battles at the Four Seas Escort Agency have taken a toll on your energy,” Hu Yanlei said.

Zhou Yan felt a warmth in his heart, but said aloud, "If you recover on the same day, you won't be able to return from Jingzhou for several days. Brothers, why don't you say goodbye to your wives?"

"You're so thoughtful," Hu Yanlei praised.

Wang Kui suddenly said, "I have a niece, sixteen years old, very pretty. Why don't you introduce her to Brother Zhou?"

Hu Yanlei said, "Go away, you call that ugly duckling handsome? You even said you'd introduce her to my nephew, but that little bastard sneaked a peek at her once and didn't dare go home."

Wang Kui was embarrassed, "Don't say that."

Zhou Yan stared in astonishment. Hu Yanlei said, "With a talent like Brother Zhou, he'll surely marry the daughter of some powerful escort agency owner."

"That's right, that's right." Shi Baichuan nodded repeatedly.

Zhang Wangyue smiled slightly.

It was just a casual joke. The head镖师 said, "Brother Zhou, come and take a look. We are discussing the route to the south."

In public, Zhang Wangyue referred to Zhou Yan as a bodyguard, but in private, he called him Brother Zhou.

He walked over. In terms of geography, his familiarity with the area was now far greater than that of Hu Yanlei and others. His only shortcoming was the specific road conditions.

The sketch shows two routes, which are easy to identify using knowledge of both incarnations. One route starts from Zhongdu, passes through Cangzhou and Dezhou, travels southwest from Shandong, crosses the Huai River, and heads straight for Jingzhou within the territory of the Song Dynasty.

The other route is a classic one, passing through Baoding, Handan, and Anyang, finally entering Fenglingdu in Shanxi Province. From there, it flows downstream along the south bank of the Yellow River.

Fenglingdu is one of the most important ferry crossings on the Yellow River, making it the most convenient place to cross.

Zhou Yan called this route a classic because in the world of The Return of the Condor Heroes, Guo Xiang met Yang Guo here, and the Condor Hero's revelation led to a lifelong regret.

He wasn't the kind of person who would give a smooth reply, saying things like "it's all up to the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort)."

"My idea is to go through Fenglingdu."

"Why?" Zhang Wangyue asked.

“We have many mules and horses, making it easy to cross the river. Moreover, we are traveling along the southern foothills of the Taihang Mountains, avoiding the key deployment areas of the Jin army. If there is any disturbance, it will be easy to hide. Once we cross Fenglingdu, this shipment will be mostly safe.”

Huyan Lei laughed heartily, "That's what the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) said too."

Zhou Yan looked at Zhang Wangyue, who nodded approvingly.

"Then it's settled."

“Okay.” Hu Yanlei and the others nodded in agreement.

A cool evening breeze blew gently by, and night fell. Zhou Yan and the others were discharged from the hospital. Hu Yanlei and Wang Kui said goodbye to him and left the escort agency. As the night deepened, the escort agency gradually quieted down.

Zhou Yan and Shi Baichuan sat on opposite sides of the courtyard filled with镖车 (escort carts). They sat in the same octagonal cooler. Zhou Yan placed his bow quiver on the stone table and silently practiced the breathing techniques taught by Wang Chuyi. In just a moment, a warm internal energy rose from his dantian, circulating throughout his body. It then rose from below his little toe, diagonally along the sole of his foot, emerging below the Rangu point, following the inner ankle, and finally entering the heel…

Following the "Golden Goose Skill" practice method, Zhou Yan began to temper the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.

With the internal energy cultivation methods of the Quanzhen School and the Qi-guiding techniques of the Yue Family Scattered Hands, he officially embarked on the path of cultivating both internal and external strength. His two extraordinary meridians, the Qiao Meridians, which run through his feet, were already open. Further refining the Foot Shaoyang and Foot Shaoyin meridians, achieving a balance of Yin and Yang, would maximize the prevention of qi deviation. Focusing solely on cultivating either the Yang or Yin meridians would lead to an imbalance and easily cause trouble; these were all cultivation principles he learned from Yu Yangzi.

As the lights near and far thinned out, Zhou Yan opened his slightly closed eyes, got up and went to Shi Baichuan's side, whispered a few words, and then disappeared into the night.

……

The halls were made of white jade and the horses of gold; the luxurious buildings were filled with the aroma of wine.

Ghost King Sha Tongtian walked through the courtyard filled with artificial hills, pushed open the door and entered the hall. He said to a short, stocky man, "Why didn't you call me when you were drinking?"

The short, stocky man said, "I heard from the staff of the Prince's residence that you were out, so I was drinking alone."

Sha Tongtian said, "I'm looking for Brother Peng because it's related to what happened today."

Sha Tongtian addressed the man as Brother Peng, who was none other than Peng Lianhu, one of the five top masters hired by Wanyan Honglie, the Prince of the Great Jin Dynasty, known as the "Thousand-Handed Butcher."

The two were bosom friends and often helped each other out, engaging in business ventures with no upfront capital.

"What do you mean by that, Ghost Gate Dragon King?" asked Thousand-Handed Butcher.

“The Fu’an Escort Agency in Zhongdu is going to carry out a shipment of hundreds of mules, medicinal herbs, furs, and spices from the Western Regions. The escort team is scheduled to cross the Yellow River. I’m too busy to handle everything, so I’ll have my junior brother take action on the Yellow River. But you know my junior brother’s character; he’s not always quick-witted. Besides, I’ve done some research, and the Fu’an Escort Agency has a few skilled guards. How about we team up?”

"You want me to send people to assist Hou Tonghai?"

"That's right, hundreds of mules and horses, each one is worth tens of taels of silver, easy to sell."

"Row."

"When we brothers work together, we are invincible. Let's drink this bowl of wine."

"it is good!"

Sha Tongtian held up the wine, and in the wine that was soaked in light, he seemed to see piles of snowflakes of silver.

……

On a dark, moonlit night, a dog barks as people venture out in the shadows.

Cui Changshun sneaked into Zhou Yan's courtyard. Seeing that no one was around, he climbed over the wall and entered.

After the thought popped into his head at dusk that Zhang Wangyue might have given Zhou Yan some profound martial arts techniques, he could no longer suppress the urge to search for and steal them.

Zhou Yan was on night duty, which conveniently provided the opportunity.

He knew the address and sneaked over in the middle of the night.

Very brazenly, he walked straight through the courtyard, pushed open the door and entered the house. In the pitch-black night, the three strands of hair that Zhou Yan had stuck on with rice grains snapped off.

Cui Changshun lit an oil lamp and began rummaging through boxes and cabinets to search.

Soon after, he said impatiently, "How could there be none? That doesn't make sense. Where could it be hidden?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out behind Cui Changshun, "What are you looking for?"

Cui Changshun was shocked and suddenly turned around.

What came towards you was a fist that was simple to the extreme.

　One more chapter coming soon. Bonus chapter for today's monthly votes: three chapters.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)