The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 52 The Eastern Heretic's Escort, Using a Borrowed Knife to Kill

Moonlight and cloud shadows linger, the sounds of waves and flutes reach the ears.

Zhou Yan felt that his body and mind were so heavy that he could hardly bear it. His breathing was rapid, and every muscle in his body was twitching, sore, numb and sluggish.

He staggered out from Jiang Tao, not bothering to put on his clothes, and sat cross-legged, silently practicing the Quanzhen Principles taught by Wang Chuyi, which made his mind clear and empty, without a trace of thought, his soul not wandering inward, and his spirit not drifting outward, sitting quietly and calming his mind.

The immense pressure from all directions seemed to lessen considerably, and I felt more alert. However, the sound of the flute suddenly became sharp, like a hurricane before a tsunami, carrying the destructive and crushing power to overwhelm everything.

He felt as if his mind had turned into a boiling sea, ready to explode at any moment. Guiding his qi with his intention became utterly futile. Just as his internal qi scattered and surged wildly through his meridians, the sound of the flute stopped abruptly.

Zhou Yan was already drenched in sweat and exhausted. The gentle energy emanating from the jade Guanyin pendant hanging around his neck seeped into his body, relaxing his muscles and relieving his fatigue.

He didn't bother to look around. He focused his mind on guiding his qi and gathering his internal energy. After several dozen breaths, he finally opened his eyes.

Directly in front of him, the moonlight outlined a figure, tall and thin, dressed in a blue cloth robe, with a strange expression. His two eyes seemed to be able to move slightly, but apart from that, his muscles, mouth, and nose were all stiff as wood or stone, like a dead man's head on a living body, sending chills down one's spine at first sight.

Knowing the world of Legend of the Condor Heroes, Zhou Yan was certain that the other party was Huang Yaoshi.

Huang Yaoshi had already observed Zhou Yan while he was adjusting his breathing. He was somewhat surprised to see that Zhou Yan had calmed his breathing in a very short time. Although he had only used about 30% of the power of "Azure Sea Tide Song", this young man was able to persist for so long and quickly stabilize his internal energy. Among the younger generation, this was truly remarkable. The old beggar had taken on a good disciple, but why did he also know the internal energy of the Quanzhen School?

Dongxie looked at Zhou Yan again. His bare upper body was muscular and well-developed, especially his shoulders, arms and chest. The well-proportioned muscles resembled a butterfly about to take flight.

Training one's muscles and skin externally, and cultivating one's inner energy internally, achieving both internal and external refinement—such a person is one in a thousand.

As he thought this, his gaze fell on Zhou Yan's shoes and trousers. The indigo trousers were tucked into the multi-layered sole boots, and a belt with a "福" (fortune) character in ink cloud pattern was tied around his waist. A dark green jade Guanyin pendant hung around his neck.

Huang Yaoshi's gaze fell upon the bow case, straight knife, and bundle that Zhou Yan had placed beside the campfire.

He had keen insight and could see the future from a single leaf, and he thought of the sharpshooter and bodyguard from the Fu'an Escort Agency at Fenglingdu Ferry.

How could the old beggar's apprentice be a bodyguard? Huang Yaoshi wondered strangely.

Just as Zhou Yan had predicted, Huang Yaoshi had come in search of Huang Rong.

He doted on his daughter immensely, and when Huang Rong left Peach Blossom Island, he naturally had to search for her.

The world is vast, and the sea of ​​people is boundless; finding someone is no easy task.

But Huang Yaoshi knew his daughter's personality perfectly well; he knew she was playful and loved excitement. She was also stubborn, and if she were to run away from home, she would naturally want to be as far away from Peach Blossom Island as possible.

Therefore, Huang Yaoshi searched all the way from the south to the north, visiting prosperous places such as Lin'an Prefecture, Suzhou, Wuxi, and Yangzhou, but found nothing. He then went north along the Yangtze River, through the Han River to the Yellow River, and passed through Luoyang, intending to go to Chang'an and Zhongdu.

His love for his daughter turned into a demon; he had truly gone to great lengths to achieve this.

Passing through Fenglingdu, the teahouses and inns all recounted the battle between the Fu'an Escort Agency and the Yellow River Gang at Fenglingdu, which became a classic storyteller's tale. Of course, the classic scene of Zhou Yan shooting the water ghost with his bow and Huang Rong fighting the three-headed dragon in the waves was indispensable.

Huang Rong was disguised as a man, but as the saying goes, "a hidden clue can lead to a thousand miles of trouble." Huang Yaoshi was a very clever man. When he heard the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, Rulong Zaiyuan, say something ridiculous like "The Yellow River Gang has been exposed, why aren't you making a move?", the Eastern Heretic immediately thought of his daughter and inquired in detail about the young man's appearance.

With unanimous agreement, Huang Yaoshi confirmed that the other person was Huang Rong.

Huang Yaoshi then traveled south along the Yellow River, following the trail of three fleshy tumors and a handsome young man. Like father, like daughter, Huang Rong pursued Hou Tonghai. No one knows a daughter better than her father, and the Eastern Heretic also tracked him down to Jingzhou.

Then, by sheer coincidence, they saw Zhou Yan practicing his martial arts on the river, displaying the "Regretful Dragon" and "Dragon's Tail" techniques from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. Huang Yaoshi's disciples had all been expelled from the sect, leaving no one to inherit his mantle. Seeing that Zhou Yan's cultivation was quite advanced, they tested him with the "Azure Sea Tide Song".

The test revealed that Zhou Yan also knew the Quanzhen internal energy cultivation method.

Even though he was the Eastern Heretic, and no wonder he could not see anything, he possessed the martial arts of both the Central Divine and the Old Beggar. And the other party was also a bodyguard. He was a little puzzled.

Seeing Zhou Yan looking over, Huang Yaoshi asked directly, "Are you the old beggar's disciple?" Zhou Yan stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior, who are you?"

"I'll ask you an answer."

Zhou Yan was shocked by Huang Yaoshi's martial arts skills, but he didn't feel any awe. So he spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I have met Chief Hong twice and received his guidance in martial arts."

"What about the core principles of the Quanzhen School?"

"The same applies to Master Wang Yuyang."

"Since this is such an opportunity, why not become a disciple of a beggar or join the Quanzhen School? Do you want to have your cake and eat it too?"

The words were sharp and cutting, each one like a knife. Zhou Yan sighed inwardly.

"I am a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), traveling the martial world. Swords and blades have no eyes, and the rules of the Quanzhen Sect and the Beggars' Sect are strict, so it is inconvenient for me."

"How can a mere镖师 (bodyguard/escort) compare to a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect or a beggar's prized apprentice?"

"How can you know what a fish is if you are not a fish yourself!"

Huang Yaoshi snorted coldly, but inwardly he greatly appreciated Zhou Yan's words. He then changed the subject and suddenly asked, "Are you a bodyguard from the Fu'an Escort Agency?"

Zhou Yan was stunned, as if he had heard Huang Rong ask in the reeds by the Jingzhou River, "Are you still selling your 'Jade Lion Under the Night'?"

“Exactly!” Zhou Yan replied steadily.

"Did you encounter a young master, around fifteen or sixteen years old, who attacked the Yellow River Gang at the Fenglingdu ferry crossing?"

Zhou Yan suddenly realized that Huang Yaoshi, in his search for Huang Rong, had been to Fenglingdu and, based on hearsay, deduced that Huang Rong was disguised as a man. He then traveled south from Fenglingdu in his search and arrived in Jingzhou.

He then said with a smile, "I saw them just the other day on the banks of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou. They were chasing after Hou Tonghai, the junior brother of Sha Tongtian, the leader of the Yellow River Gang and the Ghost Dragon King."

Huang Yaoshi was overjoyed and asked, "Do you know why we chased them all the way from Fengling Ferry to the Yangtze River in Jingzhou?"

Zhou Yan replied: "Perhaps it is related to Hou Tonghai's insults towards the young master's parents and ancestors."

Huang Yaoshi took a silent breath.

Zhou Yan appeared calm on the surface, but was quite nervous inside. He was telling the truth, but he was also using someone else to do his dirty work, and the target was none other than Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic.

Do you know where they went?

"Young Master said that Hou Tonghai is going to Lin'an Prefecture."

When Huang Yaoshi heard that Huang Rong wanted to pursue Hou Tonghai to Lin'an Prefecture because the latter had insulted him and his beloved wife, he felt a pang of sorrow and regret for his harsh words to his daughter on Peach Blossom Island. On another level, he harbored intense killing intent towards the Three-Headed Flood Dragon.

Huang Yaoshi learned of his beloved daughter's whereabouts from Zhou Yan and should have expressed his gratitude, but the Eastern Heretic had never uttered such a word to anyone in his life. He thought to himself that the bodyguard had received martial arts instruction from the old beggar and had a connection with him, so it would be extremely inappropriate to simply leave, as it would be tantamount to owing the beggar a favor.

Huang Yaoshi read it aloud and said, "I'll exchange my cultivation technique for this message. We'll be even now. Take a good look. I'll only go through it once."

Without asking whether Zhou Yan should learn it or not, Dongxie spoke and moved: "This technique is called 'Whirlwind Sweeping Leaves Leg'. It is used to defeat exhausted enemies and strike down weary bandits. Like a swift wind shaking autumn leaves, it sweeps them all away in an instant. The upper move comes out and the lower move arrives, each move connected and tightly linked..."

Within Zhou Yan's sight, Huang Yaoshi braced one foot on the ground while the other foot swept horizontally in a series of rapid movements. Though described as sweeping, the movements were varied and unpredictable. The single leg would suddenly bend inward from the outer circle with lightning speed, and then suddenly close and close again, circling, extending, kicking, turning, and bending in an instant, leaving the audience mesmerized.

Suddenly, the layers of surging leg shadows vanished, the surrounding weeds slowly sprang up, and the Eastern Heretic's figure, graceful as a startled swan and as nimble as a swimming dragon, had already disappeared into the distance.

(End of this chapter)