The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 76 One Sword Transforms into Three Pure Ones
Who took the ten thousand piles of snow on the flat ground and carved them into these flowers that stretch to the sky?

As the north wind swept by, the snow on the branches of the ancient trees in the courtyard fell in a flurry, like a white curtain being drawn between the sky and the earth.

The snow on the ground had been cleared by Zhou Yan before she went out in the morning, but now three inches of snow had accumulated again.

The carriage stopped at the door, and Zhou Yan jumped down to open it. "Please, Taoist priests."

"it is good."

Yu Yangzi and Dan Yangzi entered the courtyard one after the other. Zhou Yan quickly took out a money pouch from his person and handed it to the porter, saying quickly, "Buy a jar of 'Chrysanthemum White' liquor, and also purchase wood ear fungus, cabbage, tofu, yam, and vegetarian meatballs..."

Zhang Wangyue was a meticulous person. He sent the messenger over because he thought that if Zhou Yan needed anything, he could arrange for him to come. The messenger also had a good memory and remembered the more than ten kinds of vegetarian dishes that Zhou Yan had mentioned without any mistakes.

As soon as he finished speaking, a porter of similar age to Zhou Yan said, "Alright, don't worry, Master Zhou, it will be delivered in a moment."

Tangzi was quick and agile; he took a straw hat, put it on his head, and disappeared without a trace.

Danyangzi, who had just entered the courtyard, was taking in the scene.

An ancient tree and a courtyard well lend the spacious courtyard a sense of tranquility. The main house faces north, with east and west wing rooms, a typical courtyard layout.

Under the eaves of the west wing was a simple weapon rack, on which were spears, straight swords, and steel swords. In front of the rack were a pair of stone locks weighing twenty catties each. As a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), the fact that he could keep weapons and weapons in the courtyard showed that he was obsessed with martial arts.

Wang Chuyi looked at the plum blossom stakes in the courtyard and was slightly taken aback.

There were no stakes here when I visited Xiaoyou before.

He also noticed that the plum blossom stakes were several feet taller and much thicker than those used by martial arts practitioners.

What kind of skill does the young friend practice? The mystery of where Wang Chuyi obtained Zhou Yan's Quanzhen sword technique remains unsolved, and now a new question has been added.

"Master Ma, Master Wang, please come inside."

"it is good!"

The three of them walked through the snow in the courtyard and entered the hall. Zhou Yan lit a charcoal stove, and the aroma of tea filled the clean room.

When the official spring green tea was presented as tribute, the small yellow flags fluttered on the carrying poles. Its sweet fragrance was rarely tasted in Yangxian; the joy of serving the emperor in secret was evident.

Zhou Yan brewed Yangxian tea. After brewing, the tea soup was clear, the tea leaves were uniform, the aroma was light and elegant, the taste was fresh and mellow, and the aftertaste was sweet and refreshing.

Having lived two lives, he was quite particular about tea, unlike ordinary镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) who viewed tea as merely a way to quench their thirst.

Danyangzi Ma Yu couldn't help but become curious again.

The newly recognized young friend's behavior was quite different from that of ordinary镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), rather...

Danyangzi thought of ten words.

When out in the field, he is a镖师 (bodyguard/escort); when at home, he can be a chivalrous knight.

Wang Chuyi took a sip of tea and then got to the point, saying, "My senior brother and I have been watching from the long street for a long time. We saw that you were using the Quanzhen Sword Technique and that your skill was quite good. Everyone has their own opportunities and it is not appropriate to inquire about it, but since it concerns the Quanzhen Sect, we cannot not ask."

Zhou Yan sighed inwardly at the strangeness of fate. If it had been Qiu Chuji who came today, the word "strange" would have been missing.

He rescued Sun Bu'er himself, and Qingjing Sanren taught him the Quanzhen Sword Technique. The other party was Danyangzi's wife before he became a monk, and now they can be considered Daoist partners.

"To be honest, my Quanzhen sword technique was learned from Senior Sun, the Qingjing Hermit."

……

The house was filled with the aroma of tea, and snowflakes were falling outside the window. The sound of children running and playing in the snow could be heard in the distance. As soon as Zhou Yan finished speaking, Wang Chuyi and Ma Yu were both stunned.

"What do you mean?" Danyangzi asked hastily. Zhou Yan then succinctly recounted his journey south as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), during which he encountered Iron Palm Lotus and the Tranquil Hermit outside Xiangyang. The two men suddenly understood; so that's how it was.

Wang Chuyi, in particular, sighed deeply. Given Zhou Xiaoyou's personality, regardless of his martial arts skills, he would always step in to help his junior sister in danger. However, if he hadn't taught Zhou Xiaoyou his skills, the latter's skills would have improved day by day, and rescuing him in Xiangyang might have been extremely dangerous.

This truly shows that "the world changes like a wheel, but Heaven has never failed the virtuous."

Danyangzi Ma Yu stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you for saving Qingjing Sanren, young friend."

Zhou Yan hurriedly returned the greeting: "Master, you flatter me. Compared to Master Wang's life-saving grace and the virtue of passing on his skills, what I have done is nothing. Besides, it is our duty to help those in need."

"That may be true, but young friend, you are on a mission. If you are not careful, you may offend the Iron Palm Gang. If you are retaliated against by them, wouldn't that implicate innocent people?"

"Where righteousness lies, one should not succumb to power or disregard personal gain."

"What a fine excuse for 'gentlemanly courage'!" Wang Chuyi exclaimed.

Upon hearing Zhou Yan's words, Ma Yu admired his character even more. He no longer insisted on expressing his gratitude for Zhou Yan's rescue of his Daoist partner, and instead asked, "But if that's the case, according to the timeline, he has been practicing the Quanzhen Sword Technique for less than a hundred days, so how can he have achieved such proficiency as if it were several years ago?"

"Senior Sun said, 'A swordsman comprehends nature and expresses it through meditation; this is the way to understand the sword. When one grasps the true meaning, the sword style becomes lively; otherwise, it becomes lifeless.' When I looked at the Quanzhen Swordplay, it was ancient, simple, and heavy, like a mountain range being traversed. Each move depicted a landscape. I was also reminded of the words in the Huainanzi, 'It can be used to fill the four seas and has no end.' Inspired, I comprehended the sword on the Taihang Mountains and grasped its essence, thus achieving some minor success."

Danyangzi was at a loss for words. The "Sword Enlightenment Chapter" that his Daoist partner had mentioned to his young friend was something he had taught her, yet his Daoist partner had never even reached that level, while his young friend had already begun to grasp the basics.

Wang Chuyi asked, "Young friend, are you also well-versed in the Huainanzi?"

"The main reason is to better understand the true meaning of Quanzhen Swordplay, so I read more Taoist classics, but I still couldn't grasp the meaning of many of them."

"Young friend, would you like to hear your story?"

What a rare opportunity it is to seek instruction from the two masters of Quanzhen once again. External martial arts techniques are easy to understand, but the internal martial arts manuals are extremely obscure. Even a single misunderstanding could lead to qi deviation and demonic possession.

"Keep lead and mercury carefully stored. What does that mean?" Zhou Yan asked.

Ma Yu replied casually, “Lead sinks, which is likened to kidney water, while mercury flows, which is likened to heart fire. ‘Keep lead and mercury carefully stored’ means that one should strengthen kidney water, extinguish heart fire, and cultivate stillness and tranquility to achieve success.”

Zhou Yan felt ashamed, thinking to himself that all he could think about was the elements lead and mercury, and alchemy.

"What does 'metal male and wood female' mean?"

Ma Yu smiled and said, "Jin Gong refers to the essence of the human body, while Mu Mu means spirit."

……

In this rhythm, Zhou Yan kept seeking guidance, and the two Quanzhen masters, or Danyangzi, would enlighten him, or Yuyangzi would answer his questions. Many Quanzhen techniques and terms that Zhou Yan only vaguely understood in other Taoist classics were explained by the two of them.

When they were having a good time, Danyangzi said, "Young friend, please come with me into the courtyard."

Zhou Yan, unaware of his meaning, followed Ma Yu out of the house. He saw Danyangzi take the Qinggang sword from under the eaves of the west wing, and stand in the wind and snow in the courtyard. He said, "This sword technique complements the Quanzhen internal energy you have been practicing. Watch closely, young friend."

As soon as Danyangzi finished speaking, he began to wield his long sword. In a short while, he thrust out eighteen times. Each sword was divided into three. When he thrust out, there was only one move, but with a flick of his wrist, the sword move was divided into three.

Seeing this, Zhou Yan suddenly recalled the "One Sword Transforms into Three Pure Ones" sword technique, a superior martial art of the Quanzhen Sect mentioned in The Return of the Condor Heroes.

Danyangzi taught him this superior sword technique both to thank Ying Sun Bu'er and because of his own temperament.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Yan held his breath and concentrated on memorizing it.

　Many thanks to the generous donations from "Confucian Scholar", "Changye Weiyang", "Lang Xingyu", "Sancan", and "Huazhongwu".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)