The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 44 Iron Palm Lotus, Shooting the Flag with One Arrow

The two figures, one in front of the other, clearly demonstrated exceptional martial arts skills, whether through the whooshing sound of their movements or their agile darting and leaping techniques.

Zhou Yan was astonished to find that the other party was Sun Bu'er. How could he have encountered Qingjing Sanren, one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, on the outskirts of Xiangyang? But upon closer examination, he realized that there was some clue to it.

Traveling south from Xiangyang by waterway, one can reach Baoying County in Yangzhou. Qingjing Sanren has a disciple named Cheng Yaojia who lives there. Perhaps he encountered his enemies on his way from Zhongnan Mountain to the Cheng family or on his way back to the north from Jiangnan.

The distance seemed to close as if by illusion; the two figures that had been floating down from the steep cliffs arrived in the valley in an instant.

"Get out of the way!" Sun Bu'er shouted urgently, and the howling sound that shattered the air behind her had already amplified.

Sun Bu'er landed on the cargo box, and Xuanfeng Huixue turned around, pointing his long sword and thrusting out.

Zhou Yan had never seen the Quanzhen Sword Technique before, but he felt that this sword strike was like a silver bottle bursting open or iron cavalry charging forward. Even from a distance of ten feet, it gave people a sense of oppressive force, like a tide being pushed in.

The woman chasing Sun Bu'er was not afraid of Qingjing Sanren's sword style. Her movements seemed chaotic, but they were actually extremely exquisite. She dodged the sharp thrust by swaying left and right. She quickly advanced, her palms moving in unison, one after another. With a powerful and turbulent force, she suddenly gathered and dispersed her palms, unleashing a powerful attack on Sun Bu'er.

The Seven Masters of Quanzhen were renowned throughout the world, and their martial arts skills were beyond question. However, in Zhou Yan's eyes, the woman in green was even more impressive than him. Her palm technique was executed with perfect precision and fluidity, her palm shadows fluttering like a blooming blue lotus.

If Sun Bu'er hadn't relied on the "Golden Goose Skill" to dodge attacks, she would have been at a disadvantage and suppressed long ago.

Zhou Yan couldn't think of any woman in the world of Legend of the Condor Heroes who was so powerful. There was no time for anyone to think. Even without Yu Yangzi or Wang Chuyi teaching him martial arts, he had to help her in the current situation.

"The escort vehicle!" he shouted, bending his arm and drawing his bow.

With a thud, the air rippled as the bowstring vibrated, the first arrow shot through the air, the second followed closely behind, and the third trailed by like a shadow.

Zhou Yan's arrows were shot so fast that, to the senses of the archers a short distance away, the three arrows leaving the bowstring one after another sounded like a single audible sound.

He fired three arrows in quick succession, and Hu Yanlei began to understand.

Brother Zhou was going to help the Daoist nun. As he traveled south, he would often see Zhou Yan practicing the Daoist techniques that the镖头 (bodyguard) had mentioned. This was considered helping a relative.

Since the two were there to check what trouble had occurred ahead of the caravan, they naturally carried weapons. The caravan leader flicked his wrist, and the powerful tiger-headed spear trembled slightly in the dust. The next moment, the spear shot towards the woman's location as if cleaving through waves.

The bodyguard Shi Baichuan was a discerning man. Zhou Yan and Hu Yanlei attacked the woman in green. It was not difficult to choose. The moment he unfolded his iron fan, it was like an umbrella spinning in the air. The dazzling cold light seemed to be arranged in an incredible way in the space between Sumeru. The fan blade slashed towards the woman's feet.

At that moment, several oblivious men drew their steel knives and attacked Sun Bu'er.

The woman in green casually slapped her hand, and the first long arrow Zhou Yan had shot suddenly shot into the sky. The woman then kicked with both feet in quick succession, shattering two more arrows.
Taking advantage of the woman in green blocking the arrows, Sun Bu'er opened a wide opportunity. With a slight sway of her long sword, she unleashed the Quanzhen sword technique "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones," unleashing three showers of sword rain.

Facing the attack from Zhou Yan and the other three, the woman in green did not dare to be careless. She leaned back and avoided the attack of Hu Yanlei and Sun Bu'er with a move called "Iron Bridge", which was so amazing that it made people applaud.

The镖师's tiger-headed spear passed right above her face, causing her black hair to fly wildly. The woman slammed her hands on the镖箱 (镖箱, a type of cargo box) and kicked the spear with her lotus foot. In the instant the gilded tiger-headed spear swung, the woman was sent flying backward like an arrow.

Shi Baichuan's original attack with the iron fan, which was meant to cut off the foot, instantly missed. However, this created a considerable distance between the woman and Sun Bu'er. Qingjing Sanren turned around and leaped into the air, passing over the attacking hand. His figure was as graceful as a wild goose flying in the blue sky, and he reached the cliff in a few leaps.

"Get out of my way!" the woman in green shouted angrily. She did not entangle with the caravan. She avoided Zhou Yan, Hu Yanlei and others, and rushed through the ranks of the guards. Along the trajectory of her figure, there were several loud bangs as three guards were knocked down by her palms.

The woman in green was incredibly fast, moving like a shuttle or a movie. One moment she was in the canyon, and the next she was on a steep cliff. The imposing presence she exuded stirred up fallen leaves and withered grass, creating a straight line behind her. In just about ten breaths, she disappeared from Zhou Yan and the others' sight from the cliff top.

Zhou Yan ran to the three porters to check their injuries.

Fortunately, although they were all bruised and battered, the other party did not kill them.

He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both shocked and excited.

He had never seen Hong Qigong or Wang Chuyi truly fight. His fight with Ouyang Ke was a close-quarters battle with fists flying because he had planned ahead. The fight between Sun Bu'er and the woman in green in front of him, from lightness skills to swordsmanship and palm techniques, matched all his imagination of martial arts.

The woman in green was clearly more skilled than Qingjing Sanren, but compared to the Southern Emperor, the Northern Beggar, the Western Poison, and the Eastern Heretic, she was definitely still far behind. How magnificent would it be if these people made a move? How could it not make people's blood boil?

The sudden fight brought the argument in front to a halt. Zhang Wangyue landed on the escort team's side in a few leaps. Zhou Yan stepped forward and said, "It was Qingjing Sanren, one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, fighting with a woman in green. The two have now gone far away. By chance, I received martial arts guidance from Master Yuyangzi, so I know the Quanzhen martial arts and guessed the other party's identity."

In terms of not showing his emotions, Zhang Wangyue, as the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), was far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Zhou Yan had the ability to see through things perfectly, but he never noticed the indescribable expression that flashed in Zhang Wangyue's eyes when the Seven Masters of Quanzhen were mentioned.

Hu Yanlei realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise, "It's actually Master Sun from the Quanzhen Sect! Brother Zhou even has a connection with Master Yuyangzi. If we had known this earlier, we would have joined forces with Qingjing Sanren to keep that woman here no matter what."

Zhang Wangyue quickly regained his composure. "We shouldn't stay here any longer. Once we leave the valley, I'll have people search around to see if they can help Master Sun."

Zhou Yan didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said.

Putting aside his own connection with Wang Chuyi, the Seven Masters of Quanzhen were renowned righteous figures, and given Zhang Wangyue's character, it was only natural for him to lend a helping hand.

He then asked, "What's the situation ahead?"

"I didn't know that bodyguard, and we had a verbal altercation."

"It's clearly arrogance. That head镖师 said 'giving way is bad luck,' which is clearly sophistry. I think he just wants to put us, the Fu'an镖局, in his place," Shi Baichuan said after putting away his iron fan. "And some镖师 even called us lackeys of the Jurchens. I want to slap them. We're risking our lives to deliver military horses."

A boisterous commotion erupted from ahead. Zhou Yan leaped onto the mule pulling the caravan, stood on its back, and looked out into the distance. In his field of vision, a richly dressed man charged in, kicked over a bodyguard, snatched the flag from the porter, and threw it to the ground.

Zhou Yan's gaze was cold and sharp. He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and with a steady cheek strike, found the perfect distance to shoot, the bowstring taut like a full moon.

With a "thud," the bowstring vibrated, and the triangular arrowhead pushed through the air, heading straight for the flag of the Longmen Escort Agency, a hundred paces away.

　I'll be adding an extra chapter tomorrow for those who voted for me. I'll try to add even more chapters next week as a way of thanking you for your support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)