The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 64 The Golden-Sword Prince Consort, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan

"Who"

"I!"

"It's the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort)."

"Oh, Brother Huyan and Brother Zhou are here too?"

Wang Kui was on night duty. He looked at the blanket that Hu Yanlei was carrying on his shoulder with a strange expression. There were people inside, two people.

For镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) on their missions, which can take anywhere from a few days to several months, it's not uncommon for their wives and concubines to be unable to resist the loneliness and have affairs.

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was all alone, and Zhou Yan didn't even have a lover. The one carrying the quilt was Hu Yanlei, who was already married.

Wang Kui immediately composed himself and said in a low voice, "Brother Huyan, don't overthink it. As the saying goes..."

"I hate you!" Hu Yanlei roared, throwing the blanket at him.

Wang Kui dared not accept the attack and leaped away.

With a "thud," the blanket that had fallen to the ground scattered, and the bodyguards Su and Lu from all over the world tumbled out.

Zhou Yan crossed his arms and blinked.

Being a bodyguard can sometimes be a high-risk profession that leads to family discord and marital discord.

Wang, the bodyguard, stared in disbelief at the two bodyguards from the Four Seas Sect lying on the ground. "Where is this?"

"With Lu An among them, those three bastards are sowing discord. How could the Fenglingdu incident be left unresolved?"

Wang Kui realized what was happening and complained, "Why didn't you take me with you?"

"Here, I'll give you the person."

Wang Kui suddenly smiled, "Alright, I'll interrogate them."

Hu Yan and Wang, each with one person, walked through the snow-covered courtyard to the hay shed near the stables, where Zhou Yan brought over some water.

Zhang Wangyue released the pressure points, and Su and Lu, the bodyguards, coughed violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of thick phlegm. They then looked at the four men with terrified expressions.

"Tell me everything, what happened with the Fenglingdu Yellow River Gang robbing the goods?" Wang Kui asked.

Lu, the bodyguard, said, "I know nothing."

"Don't do anything rash!" Su, the bodyguard, said fiercely, but his voice betrayed his fear.

"Let's see how long you can keep up this stubbornness." Hu Yanlei squatted down and grabbed Su's arms, while Wang Kui soaked bamboo paper in water and covered the other man's face with it.

With his face covered by bamboo paper, Su the bodyguard began to breathe rapidly. In Zhou Yan's view, the area around Su's mouth and nose on the bamboo paper-covered face heaved violently. In just a few dozen breaths, the veins on all the exposed skin on the other's body bulged.

Su, the bodyguard, felt every tendon in his body twitching, his muscles and bones pressing and collapsing towards his heart, his consciousness becoming unbearably heavy. He lost control of his bladder.

His head swayed incessantly, his feet kicking, trying to twist and turn. Beside him, the bodyguard Lu was deathly pale, his body trembling.

Suddenly he heard Zhou Yan speak: "Your turn will be soon."

“It’s none of my business,” I said.

When the air was filled with the smell of Su, the bodyguard being interrogated, having lost control of his bladder, Lu, the bodyguard watching from the sidelines, broke down.

Wang Kui removed the bamboo paper from Su's face, revealing a bluish-purple complexion and bulging eyes that looked as if they were about to explode.

Lu, the bodyguard, stammered, "It was Lu who found us and said that we could not let this great humiliation go unavenged. Only one of the four seas and Fu'an could survive. Later, Lu persuaded his master to give the Yellow River Gang the gold to rob the goods."

"What about Cui Changshun's matter?" Zhou Yan asked.

Lu, the bodyguard, was limp, like a rag doll, muttering to himself:

"So my premonition was right, you all knew." Under the dim light, Escort Lu confessed everything, explaining how Escort Lu had gathered him and Escort Su that day. They took advantage of the discord between the two head镖师 (escorts) Zhang Wangyue and Shi Xiangui within the Fu'an Escort Agency, and the fact that Escort Cui Qingshan was dissatisfied with Zhou Yan because his nephew could not be promoted to镖师 (escort). They instigated internal strife, used the opportunity to win them over, and then had the Yellow River Gang rob the goods, plunging Fu'an into a predicament from within and without, a place of no return, before finally annexing Fu'an.

Upon hearing this, Wang Kui was furious. "You damned scoundrel!"

With a kick, the kick hit the mark. Lu, the bodyguard, slid several feet away from the ground, kicking up a large amount of grass clippings, and crashed into the wall with a thud. The bodyguards from all over the world curled up, all of them vomiting bitter juices.

"Head镖师, what should we do now?" Wang Kui asked.

Zhang Wangyue said, "Please invite the host."

Zhou Yan laughed. He and the镖头 (bodyguard) were very similar in personality: they went with the flow, didn't anticipate the future, weren't distracted by the present, were decisive, and never let things linger overnight.

After Su and Lu, the bodyguards, were tied up, Zhang Wangyue instructed Wang Kui to arrange for a capable escort to invite their employer, Duan Huai'an. He then said to Zhou Yan and Hu Yanlei, "The rest of the matters do not require your concern, brothers."

"Alright, Brother Zhou and I are heading back to recharge and see how the boss will take action against Sihai tomorrow."

Zhang Wangyue smiled and said, "Go quickly, your wife is still waiting on the kang (heated brick bed)."

Hu Yanlei chuckled, "Let's go, Brother Zhou."

"Head镖师, I'm back."

"Go ahead and get some rest."

Zhou Yan and Hu Yanlei left the escort agency through the side gate of the stables, parted ways, and disappeared into the wind and snow.

The long street was deserted, with only the occasional bark of a dog. Zhou Yan walked through the streets and alleys until he reached his own courtyard.

The gate was bolted from the inside. He leaped over the wall and entered, his figure passing through the courtyard to the eaves. He shook off the snowflakes on his body, pushed open the window and entered the house. The strands of hair he had stuck to the door with rice grains were intact. During his escort mission, no scoundrels or people with ill intentions visited.

He lit an oil lamp to burn charcoal, cleaned the bedroom, and fetched water for a bath.

On a snowy winter day, the well water felt like needles on his skin, but having traveled all the way from Jingzhou, practicing his skills in the river and cleansing himself in the cold mountain pools, he was already used to it.

At midnight, the sound of the clapper echoed through the long street, and Zhou Yan extinguished the oil lamp and went to sleep.

……

Yuelai Inn in Zhongdu.

White walls and black tiles covered in snow, lanterns hanging in rows, and plaques suspended high.

The welcoming couplet at the gate has fourteen characters.

First line: Let beauties from all directions linger.
The second line: Guests include farmers, scholars, officials, and merchants.
The embers of the fire lingered through the long night, and the bean lamps glowed like fireflies.

In a guest room on the second floor, a woman in blue adjusted the wick of an oil lamp. After a "snap," the bright light illuminated the faces of seven people, men, women, and children.

The woman, the scholar, and the dwarf were the three people Yang Tiexin encountered in the outskirts of Beijing. Among the other four, the most eye-catching were the elderly blind man with a sharp mouth and cheeks, a sallow complexion, and a fierce appearance, who held a thick iron staff in his right hand, and the young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, regular features, a strong physique, and an age similar to Zhou Yan.

The seven men gathered together, and the old blind man said, “Second brother, we are heading south. We have received travel expenses from the Great Khan, and Jing’er has promised to bring back Wanyan Honglie’s head. Now that we are in Zhongdu, do you think we should first seek an opportunity to kill the Jin king or head south to Jiaxing?”

The scholar said, "There is plenty of time before the martial arts competition in Jiaxing. Why not stay in Zhongdu for a few days and do some reconnaissance? If we have the chance, we can kill the dog prince of the Jin Kingdom, and then we can ride to Jiaxing with his head in high spirits. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

The blind man said, “I think so too. The Great Khan values ​​Wanyan Honglie highly, saying that he is shrewd and capable. It would be better to eliminate such a formidable character as soon as possible, so that he won’t try to sow discord and kill people like he did with the Great Khan’s tribe, creating things that are detrimental to our Great Song and causing the deaths of millions of Han people.”

After the blind man finished speaking, he asked the boy, "Jing'er, what do you think?"

The young man said respectfully, "Jing'er thinks so too. There are bound to be more problems if we wait too long. It's better to deal with things one by one, build bridges over rivers and clear paths through mountains."

The blind man said, "Then it's decided. We'll make more moves and inquire around these next few days."

The crowd in the room erupted in cheers.

　Bonus chapter for monthly pass votes, and another chapter tonight. Thank you all for your votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)