The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 70 Mo Chou Hunts, Using Martial Arts to Stop War

The southern slopes of Zhongnan Mountain are beautiful, with snow piled up at the edge of the clouds. The forest reveals a clear, bright color after the rain, while the city grows colder with the approaching dusk.

After the snow cleared, looking out from the mountainside, the peaks and cliffs were shrouded in mist, and the valleys were deep and winding, creating a scene of mist and snow.

Li Mochou wore a simple white robe, the white fabric covering her nascent figure, undulating like a snow-capped mountain. She held a long sword, her eyes fixed on the wild buffalo grazing in the valley.

There are wild oxen in Zhongnan Mountain, but even Li Mochou, who lived there for a long time, had never seen such a magnificent ox. The wind blew its fur all over its body like butter, and its nostrils seemed to blaze like fire. Especially its horns, which looked like they were embracing the moon from afar.

"Sister!" A child's voice rang out, and Little Dragon Girl ran over quickly.

That day in Zhongdu City, Zhou Yan asked Wang Chuyi if he had seen anyone from the Ancient Tomb Sect. Yu Yangzi said he had, and when the Daoist mentioned Xiaolongnü, he said she was very lively. Zhou Yan was astonished and then realized that Xiaolongnü was a child at the time. How could she be as stern and aloof as she was in the Condor Heroes? She should be lively, cute, and intelligent.

At this moment, the Little Dragon Girl running towards Li Mochou was just like this: her teeth were like melon seeds, her forehead was broad and her eyebrows were like moths's, her smile was charming and her eyes were bright and beautiful.

"Sister, why are you looking at the cow?"

Li Mochou said, "The agreed-upon martial arts competition will be held in six months. Regardless of who wins or loses, it won't affect our friendship. So I was thinking of bringing him a gift. After all, Zhou Yan helped me in Datong Prefecture."

Little Dragon Girl's bright eyes darted around, "You're going to give me a cow."

"Silly junior sister, why send him a cow? His archery skills are outstanding, I was thinking of sending him a cow horn bow."

"Oh...I understand, sister wants to get the horns of the wild buffalo." Little Dragon Girl looked at the wild buffalo in the valley and said.

"You are really smart."

“That’s right.”

"But I'm worried about how to control the wild buffalo to get its horns, and then send them to Chang'an to find the most famous craftsman to make a horn bow."

Upon hearing this, Xiaolongnu stood beside Li Mochou, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a child's voice rang out, "Sister, I have a way."

"You said."

"To trip someone up with a rope."

Li Mochou's eyes lit up. "You're really smart?"

Who is smarter, me or Zhou Yan?

"I told you to go ask him, let's go!"

Li Mochou grabbed Xiaolongnu's hand and ran quickly toward the ancient tomb.

……

As the time came, more than a dozen ropes were firmly secured by Li Mochou to various directions in the valley. She used her lightness skill to move through the forest to the front of the herding wild buffalo.

The wind whistled through the forest, and suddenly a large amount of snow burst up. Li Mochou rushed out, startling the wild buffalo, which turned and ran wildly towards the valley. Under the blinding sunlight, the buffalo, which had tripped over the rope, collapsed like a wall, crashing up a curtain of snow.

"Junior sister, you succeeded."

Li Mochou's joyful voice echoed through the valley.

Plum blossoms peeked out from the forest, their gnarled branches casting rosy hues of sunlight. Li Mochou, her face as radiant as a peach blossom after her busy work, took a pair of ox horns, and set off for Chang'an with a large sum of money.

Xiaolongnu waited for her senior sister Mochou to return so she could have some peach blossom cake. Occasionally, she would think that she had also contributed to the creation of the ox horn bow that Zhou Yan would later use.

……

Fu'an Escort Agency, Daxing Prefecture.

Zhou Yan walked through the corridor and past the black and white snow-covered trees in the courtyard. The wind swirled and swept past the treetops, and the falling snow made a rustling sound.

His thoughts were like fine snowflakes being tossed and turned by the wind, swirling into a jumbled mess. His relationship with Yang Tiexin was growing increasingly harmonious; he genuinely admired this man in his forties. How to find an opportunity to inform him of Bao's whereabouts was a matter he constantly pondered. Seeing the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan at Yuelai only intensified this thought.

Bringing Yang Tiexin into the Prince's mansion is not very realistic.

The options are either to figure out Bao Xiruo's routines when she goes out to the Prince's mansion and create a chance encounter, or to get involved in the incident involving the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan and the Golden Knife Prince Consort targeting the Prince Zhao's mansion, using the excuse that the Quanzhen Sect was also involved. It wouldn't be difficult to smooth things over with the镖头 (镖头, a kind of bodyguard) and 胡延雷 (Huyan Lei, another person) who are close friends and would risk their lives for each other. Then, while drinking and chatting with Yang Tiexin and the others, he could tell them that he saw a courtyard in the Prince's mansion with old tables, chairs, cabinets, and beds, and even a broken plow and a rusty iron spear. He could then gradually guide Yang Tiexin to ask questions and let him know that the Princess Zhao is his wife.

He thought this method was quite appropriate.

"Head镖师, Brother Zhou has important business to attend to."

Hu Yanlei, who was walking ahead, spoke up. Zhou Yan's thoughts returned to normal. He decided to suppress the matter of Bao Xiruo for the time being. No matter what means were used to make the two recognize each other, at least the Bao family was safe for the time being.

The most pressing matter was still the escort agency's business, so Zhou Yan quickened his pace and entered the council hall.

The landlord, Duan Huai'an, was not there. Zhou Yan and Hu Yanlei entered the hall. Zhang Wangyue put down the book in his hand and said, "I was also thinking of looking for Brother Zhou later."

Hu Yanlei sat down and asked, "What business does the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) have with Brother Zhou?"

Zhang Wangyue laughed and said, "Good news, the master wants to promote Brother Zhou to head镖师 (bodyguard/escort).

Hu Yanlei laughed heartily, "This is truly a wonderful thing, congratulations Brother Zhou."

Zhou Yan was taken aback; his promotion to head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was something he hadn't expected.

Hu Yanlei laughed and said, "What's wrong? You're not thinking of saying something like 'I'm not worthy of this' to decline?"

Zhou Yan came to his senses and said, "How could that be? I am honored by the master's high regard and the head镖师's appreciation. I should be able to be a good head镖师."

Zhang Wangyue, a descendant of Yue Fei's army, admired Zhou Yan's attitude towards life and conduct, believing that a man should be self-respecting and act boldly.

"Well said, I admire Brother Zhou's sharpness and sense of responsibility," Hu Yanlei praised.

Zhang Wangyue said, "If you say that, I won't worry about it anymore. Tell me what you want to see me about."

"The reason for looking for the head镖师 is because of the matter of Sihai. Helian Chuncheng, the young master of Changfeng镖局 in Datong Prefecture, brought people to Sihai镖局. Sihai has already joined Changfeng镖局 and become a branch. They also said that they would come to pay a visit to the master and the head镖师."

Hu Yanlei said angrily, "The master should have dealt with Lei Luo directly."

Zhang Wangyue had not anticipated such a change. After pondering for a moment, he said, "The master's approach was not wrong. He used his position to demonstrate his strength and force Sihai to withdraw from the escort agency."

“The boss didn’t expect Lei Luo to be this wicked,” Zhou Yan said.

“Yes, we will offer the four seas to Changfeng, serve the wolf with our lives, and deal with Fu’an,” Zhang Wangyue said.

Huyan Lei asked, "Helian Chuncheng has come to our door; how should we deal with him?"

Zhang Wangyue looked at Zhou Yan.

“I was passing by the Sihai Gate when I saw people coming and going inside. I took another look and saw that there were two young masters in Changfeng. One was Helian Chuncheng, and the other was Yin Kexi. He threw a ‘sneaky’ hat at me and then attacked me.”

Hu Yanlei hurriedly asked, "Did you suffer a loss?"

"The opponent's martial arts style is complex, with many moves I've never seen before. It should be martial arts from the Western Regions. However, I still managed to withstand it. Yin Kexi's actions are nothing more than an attempt to humiliate me and undermine Fu'an's prestige. It's a provocation. So I estimate that when Helian Chuncheng comes to visit, Lei Luo will accompany him. The day our master whipped him with a thorn cane, he wanted to see how our master would embarrass himself after Helian Chuncheng took over Sihai. If our master agrees, I will make my move."

"As a result, Fu'an and Changfeng will be at odds from now on."

Hu Yanlei said, “Our boss is benevolent, and Fu’an is an upright and honest businessman. The other day, Brother Zhou and I were drinking at ‘Songhelou’, and we said that there’s no end to business for merchants, and we should help each other out. But there are always those blinded by greed, always looking to trample on others. The young head of the Longmen Escort Agency deliberately blocked our way and treated us maliciously on this voyage to Jingzhou. Now that Changfeng has taken over Sihai, they’re throwing a dagger at us again. In this situation, are we still going to say ‘harmony brings wealth’?”

Zhou Yan chuckled softly, "If people are kind to me, I will be kind to them in return; if people are unkind to me, I will treat them the same way."

　I'll add an extra chapter tomorrow for all the readers who voted for me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)