Be a proper Taoist priest in The Condor Heroes

He raised his hand and tapped three times, the rhythm his father had taught him.

"Light-Heavy-Light"

Then shout in a low voice according to the agreed-upon code word.

"Shopkeeper, do you have Changchun ointment? It's for treating autumn chills."

There was a moment of silence inside, then a slight rattling of the latch. A crack appeared in the door, and Song Zhifang's face flashed in the oil lamplight as he lowered his voice and asked...

"I just brewed Qingning Powder, but I'm worried it might not be suitable for your condition?"

"The herbs from Zhongnan Mountain, when simmered for a long time, have a stable effect."

Su Yan quickly chimed in, and a knowing glint flashed in Song Zhifang's eyes. He immediately pulled him inside.

"Come in quickly, there are Mongol soldiers patrolling at the alley entrance, don't linger."

Su Yan slipped inside, bolted the door behind him, and as soon as he stood still, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted over, mixed with a faint smell of firewood, which made his tense shoulders and back relax a little.

This courtyard is a typical siheyuan courtyard, unlike the dilapidated Su family courtyard, but it still bears the bleakness of a chaotic era. There are no carved beams and painted rafters, just ordinary blue brick walls. The base of the walls has been reinforced with a few newly rammed yellow earth sections, making it look sturdy, yet it blends into the surrounding houses in a low-key manner, not attracting any attention.

The courtyard was small, and although the bluestone paved ground had a few cracks, it was swept clean. Even the fallen leaves were gathered in a bamboo basket in the corner of the wall, and there was not a single piece of debris.

The main room was the hall and processing room of the pharmacy. The window paper was newly pasted, but two small pieces of old paper were patched up at the corners. The faint sound of pounding medicine could be heard from inside the room, which was the sound of Song Zhifang processing herbs on weekdays.

At the entrance to the main room stood a worn-out millstone and a blue stone pestle. The millstone's grinding groove gleamed, and the pestle's head bore shallow dents—all marks of years of use. Next to it, a bamboo tray held half-dried Bupleurum and Platycodon grandiflorus, common remedies for autumn coughs; the aroma intensified with each breeze. Medicinal herbs were scattered throughout the courtyard.

After Su Yan was ushered into the east wing by the shopkeeper, there was no more sound in the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard gate, two figures glanced at the gate, exchanged a look, and then hid in the shadows nearby.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the courtyard gate opened from the inside, and Su Yan walked out, his arms bulging, clearly carrying many more things. He glanced around and then quickly walked away.

The two people in the shadows followed closely behind, keeping a distance from Su Yan.

Until they reached a dilapidated alleyway, Su Yan turned and dashed off, causing the two who were following her to lose sight of her. They hurriedly ran into the alley to investigate.

At the crossroads in the alley, the two looked around, unsure which direction to pursue.

"Where did he go? The little brat disappeared in the blink of an eye."

"We split up to chase them."

After a brief exchange, they decided to split up and chase after each other, one on the left and one on the right.

He had only taken a couple of steps when a pair of hands grabbed his collar and pulled him back, pinning him against the wall with terrifying force—clearly not the strength of an ordinary person.

Su Yan kicked each of them in the stomach, and seeing the two lying on the ground curled up like shrimp, Su Yan showed no sympathy and asked sternly.

"Tell me, what are you doing following me?"

The two knew they had messed with the wrong person. Although they had the Black Tiger Gang backing them, neither of them was foolish enough to confront the other party head-on at this time.

Feeling the pain in their bodies, the force was such that even if they weren't martial artists, they were still people with some skill; they were just two low-level thugs.

With only a few copper coins a month, why risk your life? Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is their specialty, so they immediately knelt down and admitted defeat.

"Hero, spare our lives! It was the Black Tiger Gang who ordered us to do this!"

"Spare me, hero! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support. It's all the Black Tiger Gang's fault!"

Their minds raced; it was clear this wasn't the first time the two had encountered something like this.

"The Black Tiger Gang?"

Su Yan frowned slightly. He didn't remember having any conflict with the Black Tiger Gang, so why would they suddenly target him?

"The Black Tiger Gang knows you moved out of the inner city and were seriously injured, so they arranged for their members to keep watch near your house a few days ago. You can ask Lai Zi if you don't believe me."

Seeing Su Yan frown, one of the henchmen hurriedly revealed all the information he knew. Another quickly corroborated this.

"Great hero! I overheard the gang leader and the others discussing that they'll make their move within the next day or two at the latest. We were forced to join the Black Tiger Gang; otherwise, they'd kill my mother! Please, great hero, save us!"

Su Yan almost laughed out of anger. She clearly remembered what kind of people the Black Tiger Gang were.

These two really treat him like a naive young swordsman from back in the day.

Su Yan found out that this was only their hall master's idea, and no outsiders knew about it. Only a few of his underlings were squatting there, watching the two people kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly.

Staring at the two figures, he remained silent for a moment, his eyes filled with struggle. For Su Yan, who had only been in this world for a few days...

Murder... is destined to be a hurdle.

Although the two people in front of them were dressed no differently from the refugees and had the same pale faces, they were kowtowing loudly in order to survive.

He must be a very cunning person, thinking of Han Xin's humiliation of crawling between someone's legs and Lü Bu's adoption of a godfather.

Without hesitation, he raised his fist and smashed it into the temples of the two men. Not satisfied with leaving, he stomped on their necks and broke them.

Although Su Yan has a compassionate heart, he doesn't have it for everyone. He is ruthless towards his enemies, especially since this might involve the Quanzhen Sect's spies.

Seeing that it was getting dark, he did not hesitate and searched the two men for a few copper coins before leaving quickly. As for the corpses, there were fresh corpses in the city every day, so it was nothing new.

Back home, Xiao Nianba had already dried all the grain in the house. Hearing the sound from the gate, he timidly hid in the corner of the kitchen, like a frightened little animal. Only when he heard Su Yan's voice did he breathe a sigh of relief.

After returning home and locking the door, he took out the package in his arms. These were some very useful medicines given to him by his Uncle Song, the shopkeeper: a bottle of wound medicine, a bottle of insect repellent powder, a high-quality water bag, and two taels of silver.

Normally, people wouldn't send these things; this is only because of Su's father.

The most valuable thing was what Master Song told us about some precautions for the journey. Along the way, we would pass through the Mongol-controlled areas, the regions where the Mongols and Jin were in confrontation, and the Jin's heavily fortified defenses.

One wrong move and you could die without a burial place.

Fortunately, according to Master Song, the Quanzhen Sect's token can avoid most official troubles. The only thing to watch out for is the elite cavalry of the Mongols and the Jin Dynasty. These cavalrymen usually only obey military orders and will kill anyone suspicious. They might be surrounded and attacked before they even have a chance to produce their token.

The rest were defeated soldiers, bandits, and venomous snakes and wild beasts from the mountains.

While these types of people don't pose much of a threat to him, they become overwhelmed when there are too many of them, especially since he also has to take care of Xiao Nianba, making the journey even more difficult.

I just asked Uncle Song if I could keep him at the pharmacy as a medicine-pounding boy.

Unfortunately, the Quanzhen Sect's secret agents were extremely selective in recruiting, and each additional person added to their ranks increased the risk.

Not to mention people of unknown origin.

There was no other way. Although following him meant a slim chance of survival, at least there was a chance of living. If they stayed in the city, the refugees, the Mongol soldiers, and even the Black Tiger Gang would almost certainly die.

He gently stroked the little boy's messy hair and said softly.

"Go to bed early tonight, we'll leave as soon as it's 5-7 am."

In Taiyuan Road, which was under Mongol rule, an extremely strict curfew was in effect, just like... now.

Su Yan looked towards the gate. The sound of gongs could be heard everywhere in the streets and alleys. The sentries would beat gongs and shout along the streets and alleys, ordering all civilians to return to their homes. The refugees from the outer city had to return to the designated dilapidated houses or wasteland settlements. Those without a fixed home had to wait in the open space next to the sentry post and were not allowed to move around at will.

Before 7 p.m. (戌时), no civilians may be seen in the streets and alleys except for soldiers and yamen runners carrying tokens.

The patrol teams would patrol the main street continuously. Every hundred paces along the streets and alleys, there were sentry posts with lights on. If anyone was found wandering around without a pass, there was no need for interrogation. The Mongol soldiers could directly treat them as "traitors to the Jin dynasty." The lightest punishment was being caned and then conscripted into the army, while the heaviest punishment was being beheaded on the spot, with the body thrown directly into the desolate outskirts of the city.

Of course, this only applies to ordinary people. Although martial artists are not afraid, they are still very cautious when acting at night. If they are surrounded by a large number of soldiers, they will not come out unscathed.