The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 9: Hands are two doors, feet are a root
The rooster, longing for the dawn, flaps its wings and blows a long, drawn-out cry.

Zhou Yan's feet trod on the curved path, his trouser legs crackling, his steps light and natural, like a monkey leaping or a cat walking.

This is precisely the "Yanqing Fist".

In the past, the original owner lived a simple life as a镖人 (bodyguard/escort). With his superb archery skills and profound mastery of "Yan Qing Fist" and "Tai Zu Chang Fist", he gained a foothold in the镖局 (escort agency) and had a bright future.

The original owner was also cautious and rarely caused trouble. He had little experience fighting with martial arts practitioners. Zhou Yan couldn't accurately assess his own level in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, but after fighting against the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River, Sha Tongtian, and Hou Tonghai outside Datong Prefecture, he could easily draw a conclusion.

His current martial arts skills are inferior to Hou Tonghai's, let alone those of people like Ouyang Ke and Lingzhi Shangren, so he dares not be careless in the slightest.

In the battle at the mountain temple, when the opponent captured him, he blocked and deflected the attack, carrying Hou Tonghai as he smashed through the temple wall and landed outside, entirely due to his exceptional arm strength.

Fortunately, there are now jade Guanyin statues that can soothe the meridians, relieve fatigue, and repair internal ailments, allowing one to practice diligently even with a heavy heart.

He is now single-mindedly focused on perfecting the "Free and Easy Fist" to the point of mastery, thus solidifying his foundation. With improved internal strength, how could his "Yanqing Fist" and "Taizu Long Fist" not also reach new heights?

He would rise early at the first light of dawn, brush his teeth with a boar bristle toothbrush and salt, wash quickly, and then begin practicing the footwork of Yanqing Fist, including the horse stance, bow stance, empty stance, and T-stance. He would then refine his leg techniques, which were incredibly varied, including more than a dozen techniques such as kicking, stomping, rubbing, stamping, flicking, and sweeping. One such technique was the one he used at Songhelou, where he used a rubbing kick no higher than his knee to send Lu, the镖师 (bodyguard) of the Sihai Escort Agency, flying into the air.

The air still held the chill of the previous night. Having practiced footwork and leg techniques, he stretched out his body, kicking from afar, striking up close, throwing close to the body, using his hands, elbows, and leans, high punches and low smashes, combining defense and offense, feints and real attacks, and advancing from the upper, middle and lower fronts simultaneously.

As the music played out, my body urged me onward, and I could only see one figure moving about in the courtyard.

Zhou Yan clearly felt that his current use of this set of boxing techniques was more refined and more ferocious than when he fought his opponent in the suburbs of Datong Prefecture. He was delighted, which was the reason why listening to Hong Qigong's explanation of "Xiaoyao Fist" and his own enlightenment had added three parts to his understanding of the boxing technique, and he had initially mastered the use of intention to guide qi.

"Yanqing Fist" also has hidden strength, horizontal strength, opening and closing strength, shaking and releasing strength, and spiral strength. This means that as internal strength improves, the essence of this boxing style, which was previously difficult to grasp, will be readily understood.

Zhou Yan let out a clear whistle, turned his body to the left, lowered his feet, and split his fists up and down, with his left hand facing up and his right hand facing down, as if he were supporting the heavens and the earth.

This is the "Double Circle Hand" of the "Yanqing Fist," a move as solid and heavy as a mountain, capable of neutralizing an opponent's attack without them even realizing it. No matter which direction the attack comes from, it is completely contained within the "Double Circle Hand."

The ingenuity of this move was unprecedented, Zhou Yan exclaimed in amazement:
"That's what they mean by 'hands are two doors, feet are one root.'"

By noon, the fatigue from prolonged practice became apparent. The jade Guanyin pendant hanging on my body emitted a gentle and peaceful aura, clearing my meridians and relieving my physical exhaustion.

The Jade Guanyin's miraculous functions can repair internal ailments, but this does not mean it can replace grains. Zhou Yan already felt a strong sense of hunger.

Before becoming a镖手 (a type of镖师, a kind of镖师 in the镖局, meaning镖师 are skilled镖师), the original owner earned two taels of silver a month, which was enough to live a comfortable life. Now, as a镖师 (a type of镖师), the salary is five taels, more than double. This is why镖手 are so eager to become镖师.

Zhou Yan, having absorbed the original owner's memories, learned that the other party's living conditions were actually far more comfortable than those of an ordinary镖头 (bodyguard/escort). Instead of spending money in brothels, the other party frequently went hunting in the countryside with his excellent archery skills, which not only improved his archery skills but also nourished his blood and energy with the prey he killed.

However, because he had been a messenger on a previous mission, he hadn't hunted or bought any supplies before leaving. So, Zhou Yan planned to solve his hunger problem by learning martial arts at the escort agency and buying some rice, flour, salt, and oil on his return. Tomorrow, he would ride a horse to the outskirts to hunt.

Thinking it over, Zhou Yan left the hospital and went to the bustling city. He found a restaurant, ate two dishes (one meat and one vegetable), and had two bowls of rice to fill his stomach. After leaving the restaurant, he walked quickly into the Fu'an Escort Agency and headed straight for the training ground.

"Brother Yan is here."

A sharp-eyed scout spotted Zhou Yan and greeted him warmly.

Most of the slingers are under twenty years old, dressed in gray tight-fitting clothes, wearing rough-patterned, grippy soles, and when they go out to throw darts, they also wear flat-topped hats to protect them from the wind, sand and sun.

"Brother Yan, come over and practice martial arts."

"Ok!"

"Brother Yan is really hardworking." The porter praised sincerely, only to be immediately tapped on the head by the bodyguard who was leading the martial arts training. "You think Brother Zhou became a bodyguard at such a young age by lying around? He trained hard in the coldest winter and hottest summer."

The porter ducked his head back and chuckled.

"Why aren't you practicing martial arts?"

"Let's get started!" the cheerful trooper shouted, and he and his companions began practicing martial arts.

This is the life of a镖手 (a type of镖手, meaning someone who escorts goods), besides carrying and unloading cargo, the rest of their time is spent on the martial arts field.

Five or six bodyguards who weren't on escort missions were training their men. Zhou Yan greeted the bodyguards familiarly, then walked to a corner of the training ground and started tossing two stone weights up and down to train his arm and shoulder muscles.

After practicing intermittently for about a hundred times, cheers came from the martial arts arena. He looked over and saw that the bodyguard who had previously reprimanded the guards was performing a set of "Hawk Fist". With the last move, he lightly flipped backwards for several feet.

The bodyguard's surname was Shi, and his given name was Baichuan, a name with a strong江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) feel to it. He often claimed to be a descendant of Shi Qian, a hero of Liangshan, but no one took it seriously.

In fact, it is common for bodyguards to exaggerate their status, but it is also true that Shi Baichuan has outstanding lightness skills.

Zhou Yan cheered, picked up a clean towel from the rack to wipe his sweat, and then grabbed another towel and walked over to the bodyguard.

Wipe your sweat!

"Thank you, Brother Zhou. Few sleight of hand can match your meticulousness."

"It's just a little effort."

"You can see the big picture from small details; there's a reason why you've achieved so much."

Zhou Yan smiled and humbly asked, "How do you practice lightness skill? By tying sandbags to your body?"

Shi Baichuan was around thirty years old and short in stature. He laughed when he heard this, saying, "The method you mentioned can only train your leg strength. If you want to develop lightness skills, you need to temper your meridians with internal energy. Take the Yin Qiao Meridian and Yang Qiao Meridian of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians for example. They run through the lower limbs and maintain normal lower limb movement. They have the effect of lightness, agility, and nimbleness. If you temper and open up these two meridians, you will be able to be as light as a swallow."

"Instead of opening the Yin Qiao Meridian and Yang Qiao Meridian, it is better to temper the six regular meridians of the foot, namely the three Yang meridians and the three Yin meridians. When the time comes, the Qi will surge from the first point of the foot, the true Qi will boil, and when leaping up, the knees will be slightly bent, the Qi will be drawn up from the Dantian, the true Qi will rise, the muscles and bones will be relaxed, and the body will be like a flying crane."

The speaker was a bodyguard surnamed Wang, who was sharp-eared and had clearly heard Zhou Yan and Shi Baichuan's conversation. He couldn't help but interject.

Shi Baichuan retorted, "This is quite harmful. External martial arts work from the outside in, first nourishing the twelve regular meridians with qi and blood, and then using the twelve regular meridians to nourish the eight extraordinary meridians. If Brother Zhou practices according to your method, he will surely suffer a qi deviation and become possessed by demons."

Wang the bodyguard said with a stern face, "Are you implying that I have ulterior motives?"

The bodyguard said, "It's due to my limited knowledge."

"You, then let me ask you, have you tempered and opened your Qiao Meridian?"

"Have you mastered all six orthodox principles?"

"I'm so angry! Let's have a one-on-one fight. Let's see who's better."

"come!"

Zhou Yan looked around and realized that neither of the two well-meaning bodyguards had successfully cultivated the meridians they had mentioned, and they even seemed ready to fight.

(End of this chapter)