The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 54 Surrounded by formidable enemies, surviving in dire straits

Before night had completely fallen, the crescent moon, now missing a piece, had already risen in the sky, casting its shimmering light upon the valley. Startled birds took flight, fluttering past Zhou Yan's head.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and combining some descriptions from The Return of the Condor Heroes, he realized what the scene before him represented.

It all originated from Qiu Qianchi.

Iron Palm Lotus wandered the martial world because she was chasing someone and entered the mountains and wilderness around Xiangyang. After wandering around, she eventually met Gongsun Zhi in the Valley of Heartbreak.

Right now, Qiu Qianchi has also stumbled upon the Valley Master of the Valley of Heartbreak by sheer chance.

Gongsun Zhi should now have a handsome face, not a sallow complexion and withered appearance. Qiu Qianchi is quite beautiful and has superb martial arts skills. Gongsun Zhi was moved and asked her about her well-being. It is also possible that Iron Palm Lotus was tempted. So he told her about his encounter in the suburbs of Xiangyang.

In ancient times, there was a story of a king who lit the beacon fires to amuse his concubine, thus playing a trick on the feudal lords.

To win the heart of Iron Palm Lotus, the Valley Master of Heartbreak Valley dispatched his disciples to search around Xiangyang, or perhaps he brought his disciples here personally.

Qiu Qianchi must have described her appearance and Sun Bu'er's appearance. In the twilight, her features were indistinguishable, but her bow gave her away.

Once this thought crossed Zhou Yan's mind, he had no other ideas. As expected, the next thing the fourth brother of the Heartless Valley, who had seized the south, west, northwest, and north positions, would do was throw out fishing nets. Even the Old Urchin had learned his lesson from this trick.

Strike first to gain the upper hand and avoid being controlled by others.

Behind him lay a deep valley, which could be a way out or a dead end. Zhou Yan did not turn around and nock an arrow to attack. Instead, relying on the immense power he was gathering under his feet, he charged straight at the disciples of the Heartless Valley who had seized the southern position.

He was already exceptionally strong on his feet, and now he had also mastered the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian and entered the "Golden Goose Skill." With this burst of energy, he sprinted forward as swiftly as a tiger leaping over a hill. The withered grass on the ground fell down with a whoosh as Zhou Yan sprinted forward, forming a ripple that extended towards him.

The two raced towards each other, closing the distance in an instant.

The disciple was shocked. He hadn't even taken his position yet, so he couldn't use a net to capture anyone. He changed his right fist into a palm and swung his arm in an arc from bottom to top to his left chest to defend. He then changed his left fist into a palm and pushed it out from his left waist. A simple yet powerful "Cloud Hand Butterfly Palm" move landed on Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan swayed, using the techniques "Free and Easy Wandering" and "Food Served to You," his right fist slamming into his opponent's palm. Internal energy surged outwards, the explosive force causing the man's wide sleeves to billow like waves, revealing his bare, fair arms, as white as a woman's.

The man's cultivation level was only at the level of the "Four Ghosts of the Yellow River." The moment his arm swung up with difficulty, Zhou Yan activated his footwork, lowered his right shoulder, and delivered a fierce "Iron Mountain Lean" to his opponent.

In the vast twilight, the man soared into the air like a thrown boulder and crashed to a distance of several feet.

The enemy had already launched a signal flare, so Zhou Yan decided not to linger and headed towards the southern mountains and forests of the valley.

In an instant, following the direction from which the four men rushed, a short man wielding a steel cane pounced on him like a falcon.

"Don't run, that kid."

As Zhou Yan ran, he looked back at the moon and saw a man who was extremely short, no more than four feet tall, with prominent cheekbones, a unique appearance, a beard that reached his chest, wearing a dark green cloth robe and a green straw rope around his waist.

It was Fan Yiweng! Zhou Yan turned around and started running with determination.

"Hey kid, don't run away!"

"Why don't you run away when you're chasing me?"

Upon hearing Zhou Yan's words, which left him speechless, Fan Yiweng refrained from further discussion. He channeled his inner energy, leaping and galloping forward as fast as lightning in pursuit.

The two walked one after the other through a valley hillside. Zhou Yan could see a babbling brook in his line of sight, and he began to deliberately slow down.

Fan Yiweng's short body seemed to generate the sound of thunder and lightning, rushing closer and closer until the two reached the riverbank, where Zhou Yan leaped into the stream.

Fan Yiweng, who had just caught up with him, followed closely and jumped down.

His short body, like a falling stone, splashed up a magnificent curtain of water with a loud bang. Suddenly, Zhou Yan swung his palm horizontally in a backhand strike.

Fan Yiweng never expected that Zhou Yan could unleash such a swift and unpredictable palm strike, like a dragon swinging its tail, even in such a desperate situation. Before he could react, Zhou Yan's palm strike cleaved through the water curtain and landed on him.

With a "bang," dense water droplets splashed from Zhou Yan's body the moment his palm struck. Fan Yiweng felt a burning pain in his chest and shoulders. He swayed, took a half-step backward, and used his steel staff to stabilize himself.

But the next moment, he saw Zhou Yan use a backhand chop to spin his body, his left foot on the ground, his right leg sweeping out, and an amazing splash of water exploded in his sight.

With a "thud," Zhou Yan's right foot landed on Fan Yiweng's head. Normally, this kick should land on the opponent's waist or ribs, but Fan Yiweng was simply too short. He had to take the "Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Kick" head-on with his face. This time, without the support of his steel cane, his body flew sideways like a falling leaf and crashed into the water.

Zhou Yan secretly felt lucky. Fan Yiweng from the Legend of the Condor Heroes world was no less skilled than himself, but he suffered from the exquisite skills of the Northern Beggar and the Eastern Heretic, as well as their lack of experience in actual combat.

The moment he turned around and ran away, he caught a glimpse of a man and a woman in the direction of the valley entrance. Their black and white figures floated in the treetops like giant owls, appearing occasionally and then disappearing into the darkness of the forest. When they reappeared, they could cover several meters in the distance and catch up with him.

They got together so quickly? Zhou Yan felt a chill run down his spine as he leaped onto the riverbank and disappeared into the woods.

……

As the trees gradually thin out, the view widens, and the lines of the mountain ridges resemble undulating gray dragon bones.

Zhou Yan landed on the mountaintop, but saw mist rising from the cliff below, its depth unknown. Looking straight ahead, the distant cliff tops were faintly visible, and the width of the canyon was unknown.

Zhou Yan was certain that Qiu Qianchi, who was just starting out, was not a person who would kill indiscriminately. This could be seen from the fact that when the caravan encountered Sun Bu'er, who was being chased by the enemy, Iron Palm Lotus did not kill the caravan's men when she forced her way in.

But he was certain that Gongsun Zhi would definitely kill Qiu Qianchi in order to curry favor with her.

So he didn't hesitate, quickly took down the bundle, and took out two thin hemp ropes, each five or six feet long.

As a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), one must be familiar with the strength of various ropes and know how to tie knots; these are essential knowledge and skills.

He found a tree stump, bent the end of one of the ropes from the current descent rope to a length of more than two feet, then wrapped the double rope ends around the tree stump. He then passed his right hand through the loop in the middle of the rope ends, bent the long rope through the loop to form a slipknot, tightened the loop, and then passed his right hand through the slipknot to loop the short rope through the new slipknot in the same way and bent it. He tightened the rope to form a new slipknot.

He then took another rope and attached it to the short end of the descent rope as an auxiliary rope.

Once everything was ready, he threw the two ropes down the cliff.

Zhou Yan did this not without purpose. He spent several days searching for Snake Valley in the mountains and saw many cliffs and precipices. Unless it was a sheer drop, there were usually pine branches and trees growing out of cracks in the uneven cliffs. If you could find a foothold, you could use ropes to survive.

Just as they were ready, Qiu Qianchi and Gongsun Zhi flew out together from the dense forest in the distance.

Zhou Yan drew his bow with a backhand stroke, the bowstring taut, and the two arrows flew in quick succession, heading straight for Gongsun Zhi and Qiu Qianchi.
"Be careful, this kid is a skilled archer," Qiu Qianchi said.

Gongsun Zhi laughed and said, "How can the light of a grain of rice compete with the brilliance of the moon? Miss Qiu, don't worry."

As soon as the Valley Master of Heartless Valley finished speaking, he casually swung his longsword down. Qiu Qianchi kicked the long arrow away.

"Keng!"

"bang"

The leather bag tied to the arrow was torn apart. A strong wind swept across the mountaintop, carrying a white, jade-like face and the square face of the Iron Palm Lotus Qiu Qianchi.

Zhou Yan, with his back arched and hands holding a descent rope, slid down the cliff.

(End of this chapter)