The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 59 Going to the meeting alone
A lightning-fast blade struck Zhang Sanqiang's iron spear, sparks flying everywhere.

In Zhou Yan's line of sight, two men who appeared to be members of the Imperial City Guard surrounded him from the left and right. The man on the left was wielding two swords, while the burly man on the right was holding a shuttle dart, a rare weapon that Zhou Yan had never seen before since his transmigration. The dart spun rapidly in the man's right hand, condensing into a crystalline fan shape.

But that swift movement was merely a waiting act, not an attack.

Even if Zhou Yan had never seen some of these weapons before, with the change in his perspective brought about by the improvement of his martial arts skills, he could now roughly guess the purpose of the weapon user before the user revealed their motives.

The flail in the hands of the Imperial City Guard was not used to injure people, but to entangle the iron spear in Zhang Sanqiang's hand.

The first man to fight Zhang Sanqiang used a serrated broadsword. His two partners were a pair; one wielded two swords and was clearly skilled in low-level martial arts, perhaps a master of ground-based swordsmanship. The other used throwing darts. This combination was specifically designed to counter Zhang Sanqiang's weapons.

The other party came prepared. As for why they haven't made a move yet, perhaps they are waiting for reinforcements, or perhaps they are trying to find out Zhang Sanqiang's purpose in appearing at "Zui Xian Lou" and whether he has any companions.

Zhou Yan was curious whether Zhang Sanqiang was truly related to the Ming Cult, and whether he could use the Qiankun Great Shift technique. After all, in the martial arts world of the Condor Trilogy, "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," it was mentioned that besides Yang Dingtian, there was also a cult leader surnamed Zhong who had practiced this technique, apparently at the third level, though he wasn't sure if he remembered correctly. But one thing was certain: Cult Leader Zhong lived before Yang Dingtian.

In other words, the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" technique has existed for a long time.

He carried a bow and a sword, and although he wasn't dressed in the uniform of a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), his identity as a martial arts expert was immediately apparent. So when the Imperial City Guard, wielding a flying dart, approached swiftly, Zhou Yan immediately stood up and followed the fleeing diners toward the stairs.

He was curious about Zhang Sanqiang, but didn't want to get involved in this mess, so he just observed him out of the corner of his eye as he walked.

The man wielding the twin swords moved swiftly, his body leaning forward in an instant, like a swallow skimming across a ripple, skimming the wooden floor. The twin swords spun silently, their light sweeping through the air, aiming for Zhang Sanqiang's legs. The sword strikes were so fierce that even the drifting dust was forced into an arc of white.

In a flash, Zhou Yan put himself in Zhang Sanqiang's shoes and thought about how he would defeat the enemy. Before he could even finish his thought, Zhang Sanqiang's right foot sprang up and slammed into the gun.

Amidst the smoke and dust, the spear emitted a violent tremor, abruptly deflecting the serrated broadsword. The spear followed closely with a horizontal thrust, and Zhang Sanqiang propelled his spear forward, piercing through the wide-open central path opened by the serrated broadsword.

With a single step forward, Zhang Sanqiang not only broke the fast-moving attack of the man wielding two swords, but also instantly seized the initiative.

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up. "Wonderful!" Hong Qigong said that moves are dead, but people are alive. Superior martial arts require making dead moves come alive. Zhang Sanqiang has reached this level.

Just as he realized this, seeing his companion in danger, the man wielding the flying shuttle swiftly flung his dart, the shuttle entwining towards the spear. In an instant, Zhang Sanqiang's iron spear changed its move to "Sweeping Through a Thousand Armies," the spearhead drawing a powerful, rounded arc as it fell towards the man wielding the flying shuttle.

The fast-moving man named Zhang Sanqiang was actually a demon, and the demon's real target was him.

The fast-moving shuttle skimmed past the iron spear, and the sweeping spear struck the opponent with a "bang." The fast-moving shuttle was sent flying backward and crashed through the window before it could even scream, falling onto the long street.

Zhang Sanqiang sheathed his spear, his palm sliding to the middle of the spear. He spun the spear in a large circle, and he and the spear rotated simultaneously. The spearhead swept across the neck of the man holding the serrated knife, and with a "thud," he decapitated the man.

In Zhou Yan's view, Zhang Sanqiang thrust out and retracted with a simple backhand thrust, landing behind him. Kuai Xing, who was holding two knives, had his head pierced and fell to the ground with a "thud".

Three shots killed three people.

"Your turn!" Zhang Sanqiang slowly lowered his gun and looked at Zhou Yan.

"I'm just a customer," Zhou Yan said innocently, looking at Zhang Sanqiang's long, bushy beard.

"sneaking!"

How was I acting suspiciously? Is the martial world really this unreasonable? Zhou Yan, secretly on guard, said, "I merely glanced at your heavy iron spear, and that's considered suspicious? You're all so unreasonable, taking whatever you want."

Zhang Sanqiang snorted coldly, his spear humming as it reached the ground, his leopard eyes flashing like lightning: "What do you mean by that?"

"If that's what you're asking, I'll tell you. But this is a dangerous place, not a place to linger. You shouldn't leave here yet."

"Alright, see you at Baishui Temple outside Xiangyang City. We'll make things clear then. Don't try anything funny, I'll be watching you." Zhang Sanqiang finished speaking and didn't linger. He took a few steps, leaped out of the broken window, crossed the long street, and landed on the opposite rooftop. His figure disappeared in the blink of an eye in Zhou Yan's sight.

"I'm going to this meeting alone," Zhou Yan thought to himself as he quickly went downstairs.

...Li Bai left behind a considerable amount of writing in Xiangyang. The "Drunken Immortal Pavilion," which Zhou Yan visited after hearing about its fame, is said to be the place where the Qinglian Hermit left his "Xiangyang Song." When Zhou Yan visited Baishui Temple, he also wrote the poem, "At dawn I crossed the source of Baishui, temporarily escaping from worldly people. The islands are beautiful, and the river and sky reflect the clear emptiness," which shows how wonderful the scenery is.

Baishui Temple also preserves a large number of legends about Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, so Zhou Yan felt that Zhang Sanqiang's meeting here had some symbolic meaning.

For example, the other party might portray himself as Emperor Guangwu, who was trapped in a desperate situation in Xiangyang, but miraculously recovered and eventually established his dynasty.

The wind swept through the mountains and fields, and the afternoon sun shone peacefully. Alone on horseback, Zhou Yan slowly arrived at the foot of Baishui Temple Mountain.

Zhang Sanqiang sat on a boulder, half of his iron spear embedded in the ground beside him. The man, whom the Imperial City Guards called a demon, had tiger-like eyes, a bushy beard, and a burly physique. Apart from his height, Zhou Yan thought he looked a lot like Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, from the 97 TVB version.

When Zhang Sanqiang saw Zhou Yan, he didn't have the murderous aura he had at "Zui Xian Lou," but his words were far from friendly. He snorted coldly, "You have some guts."

Zhou Yan said, "Since I promised you, I cannot break my promise."

"Tell me, what did you mean by that sentence?"

The two were about two zhang apart. Zhou Yan asked, "Have you recruited soldiers and horses?"

Zhang Sanqiang suddenly laughed and said, "You're an interesting kid. What, you want to join me?"

"I just want to know how you recruit people?"

Having killed three members of the Imperial City Guard right under Zhou Yan's nose, Zhang Sanqiang spoke without any pretense, saying, "Heroes from all over the world, those who share the same ideals, are naturally welcome."

"Qi is divided into Yin and Yang, and people have good and evil; should we reject both?"

"How could a clown possibly catch my eye?"

"And how do you control the behavior of your subordinates?"

Zhang Sanqiang laughed: "Speak frankly, don't beat around the bush."

Zhou Yan roughly guessed some of the other party's personality traits: brave and bold, and unconcerned with trivial matters.

"I have witnessed your men committing indiscriminate murder and robbery."

"Who?" Zhang Sanqiang's eyes shot out like lightning.

"There is a wanted notice outside Xiangyang City. The people to be arrested are you and a group of bandits. Those bandits are..."

"Since you have experienced it firsthand, would you be willing to follow my guidance?"

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "If you value your reputation, verifying such matters would be a piece of cake, why would I need to point it out? Besides, I have important matters to attend to."

"You are young but mature and prudent in your actions, which suits me well. You witnessed me killing the Imperial City Guard and dared to go to the meeting alone. You are a young hero. Would you like to follow me? I will investigate the matter of the bandits you mentioned and uphold justice for you."

"Do not want to."

"Why?"

"I don't think you're capable of great things."

　I'll add an extra chapter tomorrow or the day after for everyone's monthly votes. Whenever there's a fight scene, my typing speed slows down.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)