The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 322 The wicked will be punished by the ruthless.

Under the dim starlight and moonlight, in the dark alley outside the Fu'an Escort Agency, the triangular-eyed expert from Yipintang, who was on the run for his life, stirred up the wind and thunder with his movements, but Zhou Yan, who was chasing behind him, was still rapidly closing the distance.

Zhou Yan's feet tapped the ground repeatedly, and with each rise and fall of his body, he covered a distance of more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters), as if he were a feather soaring through the air, riding the wind. He was using the White Camel Mountain's ultimate technique, "Instant Thousand Miles," which he had learned from the secret chamber of the ancient tomb. For long-distance raids and pursuits, this lightness skill was no less impressive than the "Crossing the River on a Reed," a technique perfected by the Fire-Worker Monk.

Zhou Yan and the triangular-eyed expert from Yipintang walked one after the other, their figures leaving a winding trail between the rows of houses. The triangular-eyed man floated down from the house and landed on the ground. Zhang Wangyue suddenly rushed out from the shadows under the archway at the street corner ahead and threw a swift and heavy punch.

The burly man with triangular eyes reacted quickly, crossing his arms over his chest to block the powerful punch from the chief镖头 (chief镖头) of the Fu'an镖局 (镖局 is a type of security escort agency). He swayed slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he unleashed a punch as heavy as a hammer blow.

The clash between the two instantly produced countless crackling sounds. Dust billowed up from the street, like thousands of snakes writhing and twisting wildly.

Suddenly, the burly man with triangular eyes unleashed several punches, forcing an opening and managing to break free. He had only darted a few feet when a light, fleeting blade of light slashed from behind, causing blood to burst forth.

Taking advantage of Zhang Wangyue's brief moment of obstruction, Zhou Yan swiftly arrived, striking his opponent with a single blow. The burly man with triangular eyes roared like a wounded beast.

He turned to face the attack, and then his vision came into view of an extremely simple fist.

With a loud bang, the triangular-eyed man was sent flying backward, crashing into the archway. He tumbled several times after landing, and just as he was kneeling on the ground, Zhou Yan stepped forward and brought his knife down. A staggering amount of blood exploded like fireworks, and a single decapitation strike took his life.

"Brother Zhou, what's going on?" Zhang Wangyue stepped forward and asked urgently.

"The escort agency was attacked at night by twenty or thirty unidentified men, but the situation is under control. Qiu Qianchi and Lu Beihe are over there."

"Let's go take a look."

"okay!"

Just as the two were about to use their movement techniques to move forward, the sound of clothes fluttering came from the night, and Huyan Lei came running wildly.

"Has something happened at the escort agency?"

"Let's talk about it at the security escort agency."

The three of them rushed to the security company's courtyard.

The air was thick with the nauseating stench of blood. The fighting had long since ended. The tall, thin man Zhou Yan had immobilized, along with several wounded and captured men in black, were left lying on the training ground like dead dogs.

Among the menacing crowd, besides the bodyguards and escorts from Fu'an, there were also dozens of people who had come from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

Qiu Qianchi stepped forward and said to Zhou Yan and Zhang Wangyue, "A few people escaped, but the rest are here."

"Thank you very much for your help, Manager Qiu," Zhang Wangyue said.

"Chief镖头 Zhou, please don't be so polite."

"Interrogate these people to find out their background." Zhou Yan grabbed the tall, thin man and headed towards the council hall, followed by Zhang Wangyue, Qiu Qianchi, Hu Yanlei, and others.

Upon arriving at the council hall, Liang Xiaowu and several porters brought water and bamboo paper.

"Who are you waiting for?" Zhou Yan asked.

The tall, thin man looked at Zhou Yan with a complicated expression, his eyes still showing lingering fear.

"Xixia Yipintang".

Zhang Wangyue and Hu Yanlei were somewhat surprised that the man didn't resist. Zhou Yan, knowing the man's identity, wasn't too surprised.

Hiring someone for a hefty sum and expecting them to do something for money—what loyalty can you expect from them?

"Why target Fu'an?" Zhang Wangyue vaguely guessed the motive when he heard that the other party was from the Yipintang of Xixia.

Liang Xiaowu led his men out of the council hall. The man said, "You escorted a shipment to the Western Regions once, and five hundred 'Iron Falcons' went missing when they tried to rob it. We're going to the Fu'an Escort Agency to investigate this matter."

Zhang Wangyue let out a slight sigh of relief; it was indeed so.

"How many people are coming to Zhongdu?" Zhou Yan asked.

More than thirty people.

Who is leading this?

"Master Shengyin".

Zhou Yan understood, and then asked the nun who had fled, "Who is in charge of Yipintang?"

“Li Wuxiang.” “Explain in detail.”

"We are all hired and have limited knowledge. We only know that Li Wuxiang has a relationship with the Western Xia royal family."

"What is Li Wuxiang's cultivation level? And what about the strength of the First-Class Hall?" Zhou Yan pressed.

The tall, thin man said, "It is unfathomable. Yipintang has more than four hundred skilled martial artists from all walks of life who have been hired by them."

"anything else?"

That's all.

Zhou Yan chuckled softly: "Tell me everything, how did 'Iron Falcon' know about the Western Regions convoy from Fu'an?"

The man let out a slight breath and said, "It's a message delivered by someone called Matthew Ping."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wangyue looked at Zhou Yan and nodded. The man who was talking about Ma Xiuping was the one recruited by Huo Du when he held a grand banquet for heroes. He was skilled in kicking.

“Continue,” Zhang Wangyue said.

“I only know Ma Xiuping, nothing else. One of the reasons we went south was to investigate the ‘Iron Falcon’ incident at the Fu Escort Agency. The other was that Ma Xiuping sent a message to Yipintang saying that someone from the imperial court in Lin’an Prefecture had come to Zhongdu to find out what the other party intended to do.” After saying this, the man looked at Zhou Yan. “That’s all I know. Give me a straight answer.”

“Okay,” Zhou Yan said.

Hu Yanlei carried the man whose pressure points had been acupunctured out of the council hall and handed him over to Liang Xiaowu to deal with. He returned to the council hall, sat down in a chair, and said, "How should this matter be handled?"

"Brother Zhou, what do you think?" Zhang Wangyue asked.

Zhou Yan pondered for a moment and said, "How about we find Ma Xiuping first?"

"What do you think, Brother Zhou?" Zhang Wangyue asked.

"Since Ma Xiuping can send messages to 'Yipintang,' he can also send information to Funiu Mountain. This way, if Yipintang takes any further action in the future, we can prevent any potential problems."

"What's Manager Qiu's opinion?" Zhang Wangyue asked Qiu Qianchi.

"Agreed."

“Okay, then that’s settled.” Zhou Yan nodded.

……

A misty rain enveloped the capital city of Zhongdu.

Ma Xiuping, known as "Shadowless Kick," is one of the most skilled martial artists under Li Wuxiang of the First-Class Hall. He has made outstanding contributions to the First-Class Hall and is deeply trusted by Li Wuxiang. When Huo Du held a grand banquet for heroes, he was dispatched to Zhongdu to showcase his skills and was appreciated and valued by the Mongol prince Huo Du. He continuously transmits information about Huo Du and the Mongol army to the First-Class Hall.

Given the delicate relationship between the Mongols, Western Xia, Jin Dynasty, and the Lin'an court, Ma Xiuping felt that passing on intelligence, establishing merit, and rising rapidly in rank were all within his grasp.

Master Shengyin and the others knew Ma Xiuping's name, but had no idea about his identity. Therefore, Ma Xiuping was also unaware of the battle that had taken place at Shengfu Anbao Escort Agency a few days earlier.

The pattering raindrops tapped on the new buds of the peach tree in the courtyard. Ma Xiuping walked through the courtyard and reached the eaves. He took off his straw hat and hung it on a pillar, then strolled leisurely into the hall.

In the hazy darkness of the night, Ma Xiuping suddenly saw Zhou Yan sitting on a chair in the hall.

Night was falling, and the light was dim, making Zhou Yan's facial features indistinct. Ma Xiuping could only vaguely see a blanket on Zhou Yan's knees.

The sudden and unexpected turn of events immediately put Matthew on alert. He asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

"I've come to talk to you about something."

"Let's see if you have the ability." Ma Xiuping sneered as his figure suddenly moved, his leg shadows spreading out in layers, enveloping Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan stood up, flicked his wrist, and a thick blanket swept over him with a whoosh, like a dark cloud obscuring the "Shadowless Kick's" vision.

Matthew was horrified. After throwing the blanket, he used his ancient tomb-style lightness skill to appear beside "Shadowless Kick." Zhou Yan's leg shadow moved like the wind, kicking through the air.
With a series of thuds, Ma Xiuping flew sideways and crashed heavily into the wall before bouncing back to the ground. The blanket hanging on his body looked like a shroud.

Zhou Yan stepped forward and lifted the blanket, only to see Ma Xiuping using his hands as legs, bracing himself on the ground with his feet in the air, aiming a kick at Zhou Yan's chest. The next moment, Zhou Yan suddenly lowered his body and swept out with his right leg.

With a "bang," Ma Xiuping was swept into the air by the killing move of "Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Kick," tumbling like a falling leaf.

(End of this chapter)