The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 84 Evil Thoughts Rise, Eradicate Them at the Root

Mu Nianci had a melodious voice, and her laughter carried the fragrance of plum blossoms.

Zhou Yan casually mentioned that Cui Qingshan had been beaten black and blue, which made Mu Nianci unable to suppress her laughter, attracting frequent glances from the surrounding gang members.

Her face flushed slightly, and she quickly composed herself.

Aside from exchanging martial arts techniques, Mu Nianci rarely had the opportunity to speak with Zhou Yan in private. Now, after only a few words, she found the bodyguard Zhou to be incredibly witty.

Cui Qingshan, who was walking from a distance, saw this scene. His face was gloomy, and he vented all his dissatisfaction with Zhou Yan being promoted to bodyguard and his nephew being expelled from Fu'an on Mu Nianci.

Who told you to be on Zhang Wangyue and Zhou Yan's side?

When Cui Qingshan appeared, more bodyguards and escorts appeared on the martial arts field. They sat on benches, whispering and speculating about the outcome of the test.

Most escorts and bodyguards had little hope that Mu Nianci would pass the exam and be hired as a bodyguard, given her young age and being a woman, while Cui Qingshan was a well-established bodyguard.

These people, on the contrary, favored Yang Tiexin, who was burly and weathered, and whose steady and experienced appearance fit the image of a bodyguard.

In fact, none of these people knew that Mu Nianci's martial arts skills were superior to Yang Tiexin's.

As Duan Huai'an, Duan Chaoxi, Zhang Wangyue, and Shi Xiangui walked out of the council hall, a noisy commotion arose from the crowd, and the atmosphere quickly became heated.

When the young master Duan Chaoxi saw Mu Nianci, he was stunned for a moment.

He was rarely at the escort agency, only accompanying Duan Huai'an to the agency for important matters. Today's examination had concluded, and Duan Huai'an was going to hire Zhang Wangyue as the chief escort, and also promote Zhou Yan, Hu Yanlei, and three others to become escorts. This was a joyous occasion for the escort agency, hence his presence there.

Duan Chaoxi already knew that the opponent Cui Qingshan was a woman.

Women serving as bodyguards are rare, but they do exist. Duan Chaoxi thought Mu Nianci was a woman with large, strong hands and feet, whose gender was hard to tell, but she turned out to be such a rare and beautiful woman.

"Father, is that Mu Nianci who will be taking the exam?"

"Yes!" Duan Huai'an nodded, took two steps, and Fu'an's owner stopped and turned back to Duan Chaoxi, saying, "You must not have any crooked thoughts."

“I’m not that kind of person,” Duan Chaoxi said, feeling wronged.

"I don't know who you are." Duan Huai'an turned around with a stern face, his tense expression suddenly relaxing. In fact, apart from not caring about the affairs of the escort agency, his son's character was acceptable.

Duan Huai'an, Duan Chaoxi, Zhang Wangyue, and Shi Xiangui took their seats. The manager of the escort agency arrived at the venue and briefly explained the rules, which were roughly that although swords and spears are merciless and fists and feet are unpredictable, the test was not a life-or-death struggle and would stop when the point was reached.

The manager came down to the stage, and a musician struck a gong. Cui Qingshan and Mu Nianci stood up at the same time, one holding an abacus and the other a gun, and went to the center of the stage.

Cui Qingshan said, "My abacus is heavy, Miss Mu, please be careful."

Mu Nianci cupped her hands in thanks: "Thank you for the reminder, Escort Cui."

The long-awaited sunlight fell on the martial arts arena. Mu Nianci took a step back, guided her qi with her mind, and her spear hummed and vibrated.

The discerning bodyguards outside the arena immediately became excited. Mu Nianci's skills were remarkable, and this test was going to be interesting.

Knowing that Cui Qingshan wouldn't attack first due to his status, Mu Nianci flicked her hands, the tip of her spear flashing silver, and thrust the spear at Cui Qingshan.

"Not bad, you've got the hang of it." Cui Qingshan chuckled in a low voice, then swung his abacus at the spear as it spun like a wheel.

Once Cui Qingshan unleashed his Iron Abacus technique, his attacks were relentless and continuous. He would either use the abacus to disarm his opponent or use its weight to wield and smash them, making it difficult for anyone to defend against.

Mu Nianci used the Yang family spear technique, employing techniques such as thrusting, stabbing, striking, parrying, blocking, thrusting, parrying, and closing, moving with ease and unpredictable variations. Cui Qingshan swung, smashed, parried, and blocked with his abacus, finding openings in Mu Nianci's moves during the exchange, and fiercely and rapidly smashed his iron abacus against her iron spear.

Mu Nianci's arm went numb, and the iron spear almost slipped from her grasp, but her mind grew increasingly calm, everything unfolding exactly as Zhou the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) had demonstrated during their duel. With a clang, the abacus slammed into the spear again, causing it to vibrate and sink. Mu Nianci's right foot slammed into the spear, stabbing it away. The spear, which had been veering off course, not only stabilized but rebounded sharply, transforming into a deadly strike aimed at Cui Qingshan's abdomen as he lunged forward.

From the perspective of the bodyguards and guards outside the martial arts arena, Cui Qingshan looked as if he were charging straight at a spear.

Mu Nianci suddenly stopped her thrust as she aimed her spear at Cui Qingshan's abdomen.

Cui Qingshan had indeed rushed in too quickly, and there was no way he could react in time. He felt utterly hopeless; to be defeated in front of everyone by a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl—how could he ever maintain his position in the escort agency again?

He was also a narrow-minded person; otherwise, he wouldn't have resented Zhou Yan for not promoting Cui Changshun to a bodyguard. Enraged and malice arose, his right hand clicked as the iron abacus beads rained down on Mu Nianci.

Not far from Mu Nianci, a wooden bench suddenly flew out and landed between the two people on the field.

Zhou Yan and Hu Yanlei were both watching the battle intently, worried that Cui Qingshan might injure someone with a hidden weapon.

The duel proceeded unexpectedly smoothly. Mu Nianci seized upon Cui Qingshan's underestimation of his opponent and his desire for victory, using unconventional tactics to win, leaving little suspense.

Hu Yanlei was already joking with Wang Kui, saying that he would definitely go to Yang Tiexin's place to celebrate that evening.

Zhou Yan's attention remained focused on the field. The biggest difference between him and Hu Yanlei was that Zhou Yan never underestimated anyone's malice.

Almost as soon as Cui Qingshan raised his arm to point the abacus at Mu Nianci, he threw the stool, his body bursting up like an angry arrow shooting into the martial arts arena.

The iron beads crackled and popped like raindrops hitting tiles as they landed on the broad bench. Mu Nianci suddenly leaned back, sliding out without getting her back wet, avoiding the remaining beads.

Under the daylight, the bench landed with a thud on the ground, and Zhou Yan and Cui Qingshan's figures intersected, his fists, elbows, chops, and strikes coming in succession towards each other.

Cui Qingshan yelled "Ah!" and launched a frenzied attack with his fists. In the blink of an eye, the arena was filled with the roar of thunder and lightning. The snow on the ground was kicked up and rolled by the two men.

Suddenly, Zhou Yan's body slumped and rose, and in the instant he sprang up, his hands were like the mouths of a bloodthirsty tiger. He used the "Yue Family Freehand" grappling technique to grab the opponent's elbows.

Cui Qingshan planted his feet firmly on the ground with a "thud," but Zhou Yan leaped backward and pulled him up, causing Cui Qingshan's body to fly into the air like a kite being pulled.

The moment Zhou Yan landed, his right foot sprang up and kicked towards Cui Qingshan's groin.

"Oh!"

"Ah!" Cui Qingshan's scream echoed throughout the martial arts arena.

On the other side where Duan Huai'an was, the head镖师 Shi Xiangui roared, "How could he be so vicious?"

Shi Xian Gui landed on the field like a hawk, delivering a smashing blow to Zhou Yan's shoulder.
Zhou Yan used the "Dragon Tail Swing" backhand horizontal slash.

With a loud bang, Shi Xiangui stumbled back several steps.

Zhou Yan swayed for a moment but quickly regained his balance. He slowly turned around and looked at Duan Huai'an and Zhang Wangyue.

“Master, the steward said that the test was just a brief exchange. Miss Mu had just won and was about to put away her weapon. But Master Cui used a hidden weapon to kill her.”

Hu Yanlei broke out in a cold sweat. If it weren't for Brother Zhou's timely reaction, a disaster would have occurred. He stood up abruptly. "That's right. Just now, the spear could have pierced through Cui's abdomen. Miss Mu put the spear away, but Cui didn't know what was good for him."

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Mu Nianci had spared Mu Nianci's life, and Zhou Yan's words were true. Wang Kui, Shi Baichuan, Yang Tiexin, and others all stood up.

Shi Xiangui stood in the center of the arena, his face ashen. He had actually been knocked back by Zhou Yan's backhand palm strike.

(End of this chapter)