The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 61 Compassion, Killing a Chicken is Difficult
"I went out at midnight, the stars and moon were dim, the rugged grass was cold and damp. I went into the market and won a bushel of grain, and returned home to share it with my wife and children."

The snow in Daxing Prefecture fell at dusk last night. It fell softly overnight, and by dawn, the world was completely white, with no other color to be seen.

Two sleek horses came from the north. The man on horseback looked like a scholar, but he was lazy and greasy. His clothes were disheveled and his face was covered in dirt, making him look like he hadn't bathed for months.

The scholar's appearance makes it hard to associate him with a scholar who is "well-read and naturally elegant." However, when the scholar saw the middle-aged woodcutter walking in the snow, he said these lines of poetry to the woman traveling with him.

The woman, dressed in a fur coat, was beautiful, though her face bore the marks of time. Hearing the scholar's words, she sighed and said, "Poor families, struggling to make ends meet, cut firewood and sell it everywhere in the dead of winter, yet they have no firewood to keep warm themselves. The charcoal seller worries that the price of charcoal is low and wishes for cold weather. This is true not only in Daxing Prefecture, but also in Lin'an Prefecture."

"Pitiful man, his clothes are thin, yet he worries that charcoal is cheap and wishes for colder weather." The scholar sighed, and the two horses, kicking up snowflakes, rode away into the distance. The scholar then said to his female companion, "The wood seller is skilled in martial arts."

The woman chuckled and said, "I noticed it too. How could an ordinary woodcutter move so swiftly in the freezing weather?"

"With this man's physique, he would be better off as a guard in a wealthy household than a woodcutter. I don't know why he does this kind of work."

Who knows?

The sounds of horses' hooves and voices faded into the snowstorm. The scholar and woman disappeared into the distance, and on the same path they had come from, another black horse broke through the snowstorm. The horse was exceptionally magnificent, tall and fat, and the rider on it looked like a large lump of flesh. His arms and legs were short, and his head was as big as a bucket, tucked into his shoulders, so that his neck could not be seen.

The black horse galloped past on the main road. The woodcutter watched the rider's departing figure and muttered to himself, "This Zhongdu is truly a place where hidden talents abound, a gathering place for all sorts of people, and an excellent place to gather information."

The woodcutter continued on his way to the horse ranch on the outskirts of the city.

Even though they were still a hundred paces away from the horse stable, two workers rushed over. "Master Yang, why are you going to chop firewood in this freezing weather?"

The man surnamed Yang said, "I can't stay idle, so I'll trouble you two young men."

"Mr. Yang, what you're saying is too kind. Don't do that again next time."

As the two men were talking, one picked up some firewood and the other gave the man surnamed Yang some copper coins, saying, "Master Yang, come over for a drink when you have time."

"Alright!" the man readily agreed, bowed respectfully, and turned to leave.

The snow was falling heavily, and the man hurried along the horse trail for several miles, heading towards a dilapidated but clean courtyard by the river near Zhongdu City.

Before he even got close, the wooden gate of the courtyard was pushed open, and a bright-eyed, white-toothed girl emerged. She swept away a large patch of snow with a broom, then turned and went back into the courtyard. When she came out again, she was carrying a winnowing basket and an iron spear, and a clear, melodious voice rang out: "Giggle giggle giggle..."

A dozen or so chickens, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, rushed over. The girl sprinkled bran and chaff to feed them, then picked up her gun to practice martial arts. But seeing the chickens pecking at the food, she felt a sense of satisfaction, a feeling that though it was cold, it was still home, a sense that life had a place to return to, unlike before when she only knew the way she came but didn't know where she was going.

With this thought in mind, the girl muttered to herself, "Zhang the镖头 (bodyguard) and Zhou the镖师 (bodyguard) should be arriving in Zhongdu soon."

The woman's name was Mu Nianci, and the woodcutter was Yang Tiexin.

After parting ways at Fenglingdu Wharf, Yang Tiexin took Mu Nianci through Anyang and Cangzhou to Zhongdu. Yang Tiexin had already decided to settle down at Fu'an Escort Agency, traveling north and south to escort goods and inquire about the descendants of his sworn brothers. Therefore, there was no need for a martial arts contest to find a husband.

Upon entering Daxing Prefecture, he took the letter given to him by Zhang Wangyue to the escort agency. During this time, the escort agency had a fierce battle with the Yellow River Gang, and the messenger sent by the head of the escort agency had already rushed into the city.

Duan Huai'an was relieved to have escaped with a scare, exclaiming that Heaven had blessed the Escort Agency. If it weren't for the head镖师 (escort leader) and Zhou Yan, Fu'an would have been doomed. In the eyes of their employer, the two were the pillars of Fu'an—one the present, the other the future of the agency. Their strong recommendation of Yang Tiexin was a testament to the employer's high regard for him.

They immediately wanted to hire Yang Tiexin and Mu Nianci, father and daughter, as bodyguards to provide a home for the family.

However, Yang Tiexin refused all of these requests, saying that he would wait for Zhang Wangyue to return from his escort mission and then conduct a martial arts assessment according to the escort agency's procedures.

Duan Huai'an admired his qualities even more.

Duan Huai'an, a dignified man whose back could not bend, followed Yang Tiexin's wishes.

Yang Tiexin stopped using the alias Mu Yi and used his savings to buy this courtyard in the suburbs of Beijing. He practiced his marksmanship diligently, because he wanted to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) in the future and could not let his poor martial arts skills hold him back.

Mu Nianci worked even harder, and finally no longer had to rely on martial arts contests to find a husband. She had to live a nomadic life through spring, summer, autumn and winter. Although her current life was no longer one of luxury, at least she had settled down.

Purchasing the small courtyard nearly emptied Yang Tiexin's savings, so he chopped firewood and sold it to supplement his income, while Mu Nianci raised some chickens. Fu'an's landlord secretly liaised with the horse trading company manager, so Yang Tiexin's firewood was directly ordered by the horse trading company.

Sometimes Mu Nianci would think of Zhou Yan and envy his archery skills. If she had such skills, her family would never lack meat even in the dead of winter.

The day before yesterday, her father went to the escort agency. One of the escorts returned ahead of time, saying that the escort team would arrive in Zhongdu in a few days. Mu Nianci naturally couldn't help but imagine her new life in the future.

The sound of footsteps crunching in the snow approached. Mu Nianci saw Yang Tiexin and quickly went forward. "Dad's back. I made you some wild vegetable and egg soup and steamed buns. I've already eaten."

"Okay, you continue practicing your skills and don't worry about me."

"it is good!"

Yang Tiexin entered the courtyard, appearing under the eaves with a porcelain bowl in one hand and a steamed bun in the other.

Beyond the open door, amidst the wind and snow, it was unclear whether the spear was dragging Mu Nianci or Mu Nianci was pushing the spear; a figure in bright red wielded an iron spear that danced wildly, surging forth with a whooshing sound. Yang Tiexin frowned, thinking to himself, "Why is this girl practicing with a spear? The Yang family's spear technique is passed down only to men."

……

The mountain path winds and turns, and you are nowhere to be seen; only the horse tracks remain on the snow.

When the caravan's trail turned around the mountain pass, it was only half a day's journey from Zhongdu, and they could arrive by noon. A festive atmosphere filled the caravan.

Hu Yanlei, with his loud voice, said, "Let me tell you, when we were in Anyang, Brother Wang, Brother Shi, and I saw swordsmen dancing with their swords. Their movements were as swift as Yi shooting down nine suns, as graceful as emperors riding dragons. They came like thunderbolts gathering their fury, and when they stopped, they were as clear as the calm waters of the sea."

"It's a pity Brother Zhou didn't get to see it," Wang Kui said with regret.

“There was no opportunity. Brother Zhou is exceptionally talented. If you were there, perhaps that swordsman, like Master Sun, would have passed on his skills to you,” said the镖师 (bodyguard/escort).

Zhou Yan was a little confused.

While studying swordsmanship in the Taihang Mountains of Anyang, he integrated the intent and style of the Quanzhen swordsmanship. He also practiced the Yue Family Scattered Hands on the mountaintop. With the majestic Taihang Mountains and the vast sea of ​​clouds, he also comprehended the iron-blooded intent and the force of autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves in this set of skills.

With breakthroughs in various martial arts techniques, Zhou Yan descended the mountain and discovered traces of the caravan's overnight stay. After some further inquiry, he learned that the caravan had passed through Anyang three days prior. He spurred his horse and finally caught up with the team in the Zhongdu region on this snowy morning.

When Zhou Yan returned to the team, Hu Yanlei and the others were excited and couldn't help but tease him about the Taihang swordsmen of Anyang.

Realizing what was happening, he asked Huyan Lei, "Is it really that powerful?"

Hu Yanlei pounded his chest with a loud thud: "Truly, the Taihang swordsmen are as swift as dragons."

Zhou Yan chuckled.

"Really, Brother Zhou, you must believe me."

"Ha ha……"

In this atmosphere, the caravan arrived at Daxing Prefecture.

……

The Fu'an Escort Agency became lively, with a festive atmosphere like that of the Chinese New Year.

Zhang Wangyue recounted in detail to his employer what had happened along the way. Duan Huai'an, with a sigh of regret, also mentioned Yang Tiexin's current situation.

As dusk fell, the light quickly faded, leaving only a few specks of white on the western horizon.

Zhang Wangyue summoned Hu Yanlei and Zhou Yan.

"Master Yang lives in the suburbs, let's go take a look together."

Huyan Lei: "That suits me perfectly."

The bodyguards were extremely close to Yang Tiexin; the Huyan and Yang families had a connection.

"I'll go get the wine!" Zhou Yan said.

Amidst the wind and snow, the three rode their horses out of the city to a small courtyard on the outskirts, where they dismounted and tied the reins to a willow tree by the river.

The door was open, and inside the courtyard, a girl in red sat on a bench, her left hand holding an old hen and her right hand holding a kitchen knife, hesitating and not daring to make a move.

"Don't blame me if you die, Father needs nourishment."

"Grrrrrr!"

"Are you blaming me? I've only been taking care of you for a few dozen days."

Zhou Yan thought in bewilderment, "Is it easy for江湖儿女 (people of the martial arts world) to kill someone but difficult to kill a chicken?"

He walked over, and amidst Mu Nianci's surprised and embarrassed expression, he took the kitchen knife and swiftly brought it down.

"puff!"

　Many thanks to "Finally Have Time", "Wanderer Shangqiu", "The Fat Guy Who Can't Swim", and "YI998" for their generous donations, and thank you to everyone who supported me with monthly tickets. Bonus chapter tomorrow for monthly ticket winners.

　　"拉豐入懷" and "溪山行旅图" have both cast over twenty monthly tickets, more than I've ever received before when writing a book. "终於有时间" has even reached the deacon level. If these three authors are still following the novel after its release, I'll give them an extra chapter; otherwise, I'll always feel uneasy.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)