The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 48 The tide rises by the river, and someone is among the flowers.

Morning mist, dawn light, and clear frost and dew; birdsong, pine breeze, and murmuring stream.

Besides explaining and demonstrating the 49 moves of the Quanzhen Seven Swords to Zhou Yan, Sun Bu'er spent the rest of the time circulating her qi to heal her injuries. By dawn, her injuries had recovered by nearly half, which brought her great peace of mind.

Qingjing Sanren was naturally worried that Qiu Qianchi would relentlessly pursue him. Although he preferred quiet, he had traveled the martial arts world for many years and had seen all sorts of martial arts figures, but he had never seen a fierce woman like Qiu Qianchi.

Now that his injuries have healed by half, even if the enemy comes after him, at least he can still fight and won't become a burden.

There were rustling sounds outside the tent. The early risers started boiling water and preparing food. Sun Bu'er came out of the tent.

The fresh air carried the chill of the previous night, making it invigorating and clearing her mind. She wondered if Zhou, the镖师 (bodyguard/escort), had practiced his swordsmanship the night before. Traveling south for five or six days, they would reach Jingzhou, and then there would be no chance to catch up on any mistakes. She thought to herself.

Sun Bu'er didn't want to ask the messenger about Zhou Yan's situation, so she strolled along towards a slightly secluded valley on the side of the camp.

Good morning, Master Sun.

A deep male voice sounded from behind, and Sun Bu'er recognized it as Zhang Wangyue, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the Fu'an镖局 (escort agency).

She turned around and said kindly, "Good morning, Chief Escort."

Zhang Wangyue, as if he had known Sun Bu'er's thoughts all along, said with a smile, "Master Zhou practiced his sword all night long in that valley over there."

Sun Bu'er glanced at the direction the镖头 (镖头 is a person's name) pointed, and saw that it was the place she had originally planned to go to "eat morning dew and feast on clouds and mist". She thought to herself that Zhou Yan had already gained a basic understanding of Quanzhen internal energy and knew how to cultivate by gathering qi in the "six times" method.

As she was thinking this, she suddenly heard Zhang Wangyue ask seemingly casually, "When a true master takes on a disciple, it must be a female disciple?"

"nature!"

"Your disciple must be quite accomplished."

Sun Bu'er didn't understand Zhang Wangyue's meaning, so she politely replied, "So-so!"

“Alright!” Zhang Wangyue said suddenly, cupping his hands in greeting, “I will not disturb you, Master.”

"Easy to say."

Two figures crossed paths. Sun Bu'er wondered what the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) meant by saying "good." A so-so "good"... wait a minute!

Zhang Wangyue was thinking about the body-carrying mission he had taken many years ago.

Sun Bu'er wasn't one to overthink things. She quickened her pace slightly and, as she approached the valley, she saw Hu Yanlei practicing his spear technique in the morning mist, Wang Kui practicing his swordsmanship, and Shi Baichuan practicing his Iron Fan Kung Fu.

Qingjing Sanren sighed, "Even the disciples of the Quanzhen Sect don't work this hard."

As people walked through the morning mist, the mist drifted with the wind, and Zhou Yan's figure appeared in Sun Bu'er's sight. The young man held a sword incantation in his left hand, stepped out with his left foot, and thrust upwards diagonally with a move called "Stabilizing Yang Needle." This move was perfect in spirit and energy, with strength, skill, form, and power all in just the right way, as if he had been practicing hard for a long time.

Sun Bu'er was a little stunned. She knew that this move seemed ordinary, but to master it to the point of being flawless, even someone with slightly less talent might not be able to do it even after several months of practice.

Zhou Yan actually grasped the true meaning overnight.

Sun Bu'er gave a wry smile. "No wonder my senior brother taught me Quanzhen internal energy. Anyone would be eager to learn such martial arts talent. It seems my thoughts were unnecessary."

Her mind drifted back to her disciple Cheng Yaojia, who still hadn't quite grasped the essence of this move. Then her thoughts wandered a bit. Although Zhou Yan was a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) by trade, he was handsome and chivalrous. Heroes don't discriminate based on origin, and she wondered if her disciple would like him.

"Pah, why am I thinking such nonsense?" Sun Bu'er snapped out of her reverie, laughing and scolding herself. "If my disciple and Zhou Yan are destined to be together, we will meet again from afar and grow old together. If not, we may be close yet unable to hold hands. Let it be."

Admiring Zhou Yan's talent for martial arts, and seeing that he had already mastered the Quanzhen sword technique, she felt pleased and decided not to disturb him any longer, turning to leave.

Throughout the night, Zhou Yan had mastered all forty-nine moves of the Quanzhen Swordplay. His specialty was the "Stabilizing Yang Needle," a move he remembered Yelü Qi used in The Return of the Condor Heroes, which startled Li Mochou, making her wary of it. He had practiced the Yue Family Boxing Manual, first focusing on freehand techniques and elbow strikes; now, with the Quanzhen Swordplay, he naturally prioritized mastering a few moves first, which was why he had achieved such proficiency with the "Stabilizing Yang Needle." As dawn broke, Zhou Yan finished his practice, took his iron bow, and shot a few rabbits and pheasants to take back. However, practicing the Quanzhen Swordplay inevitably brought to mind the Jade Maiden Swordplay, and he wondered if Li Mochou was also diligently practicing.

Zhou Yan agreed. Although his time with Li Mochou was short, he could tell that she had a competitive personality. If she was guided properly, there would be no more Red Serpent Fairy in the world.

After breakfast, the caravan set off south again. The journey was peaceful, with no trouble from Qiu Qianchi and no disturbances.

As night fell, the caravans that had entered Jingzhou set up camp to rest, and an atmosphere of relief permeated the air.

After dinner, Zhou Yan continued his meditation as usual.

The campsite was not far from the river. Zhou Yan found a quiet place and first practiced "Xiaoyao You" (逍遥游), followed by "Yue Family Sanshou" (岳氏散手) and "Elbow Technique" (肘法).

The terrain is rugged and treacherous, with few flat areas in the narrow gorges.

It is said that in the section of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou, Zhou Yan was in high spirits and saw the surging waves crashing against the shore, creating thousands of piles of snow. So he took off his shirt and practiced the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, including "The Dragon Regrets" and "The Divine Dragon Swings Its Tail", in the waves.

As the turbid waves surged in, he slightly bent his left leg, bent his right arm inward, and drew a circle with his right palm. With a whoosh, he pushed it outward, and with a loud boom, an arc-shaped curtain of water burst forth from his palm, like a beautiful water lily.

The waves rolled back, and the undercurrents surged, causing him to sway slightly. Zhou Yan pondered the four words "fullness cannot last" from the palm technique.

The true power of "The Dragon Regrets" lies in the release and release of palm force, just as the power of the current river tide lies not in "slapping" but in "rolling back".

The end of the paper is so shallow that I know that this matter must be carried out.

Zhou Yan understood this principle, but now, experiencing it firsthand in the river tide, his understanding of "the dragon that soars too high will regret it" has deepened to a new level.

The stars hang low over the vast plain, and the moon rises over the flowing river.

Not far from Zhouyan, clusters of yellow flowers swayed in the river breeze among the reeds. Suddenly, the reeds rustled and fell to the ground, and a figure leaped into the water with a splash. In just a few breaths, the person reappeared in the river about ten feet away.

"I dug up your ancestors' graves, and all I did was curse your father, your mother, and your ancestors. Why are you still haunting me like this?"

Zhou Yan was taken aback. He recognized the voice as that of Hou Tonghai, the Three-Headed Dragon. He crouched down, groped around in the water for a moment, and grabbed a stone.

From within the reeds, Huang Rong's voice rang out: "Three-headed demon, you're dead."

Hou Tonghai yelled angrily, "Don't you dare call me a three-headed ghost!"

"What did you say, Three-Headed Demon?"

"I said you can't call me the Three-Headed Demon."

"You yourself admit that you are a three-headed demon."

"I hate your mom."

"I will cut out your tongue and turn you into a tongueless ghost."

"Where did all these ghosts come from?" Hou Tonghai roared like thunder.

In the darkness of night, a whistling stone slammed into the three-headed dragon with a "thud".

"Damn it, there's something fishy going on!"

The three-headed dragon rubbed its throbbing chest and plunged into the river.

(End of this chapter)