The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 118 All Schemes Backfire, Leading to Capture

"I have received definite information that within six months, the Jin army will launch a large-scale attack to deal with the rebel armies and mountain bandits in Hebei Road and Jingdong Road."

Yang Miaozhen said indignantly, "I was forced to settle in Caizhou because I was besieged by the Jurchens."

"Chief Yang, do you know why you failed?"

"Please give me some advice, senior."

"They fought individually and were defeated one by one by the Jurchens."

"I am also aware of this."

"Chief Yang is wise," Qiu Qianzhang praised, then continued, "Does Chief Yang know why the Jin people said, 'It is easier to shake a mountain than to shake Yue Fei's army'?"

Zhou Yan and Lu Beihe, dressed as henchmen, stood in the martial arts arena outside the council hall.

Both men possessed profound inner strength and exceptional hearing. As soon as Qiu Qianzhang uttered those words, Zhou Yan felt that the young master of Zhenwei Escort Agency's demeanor suddenly became sharp and ruthless.

Qiu Qianzhang's voice rang out again in the hall: "Because of strict discipline and unity of mind, as the saying goes, 'With unity of mind, even Mount Tai can be moved,' which is the reason."

Yang Miaozhen said with some emotion, "What the senior said is true."

Qiu Qianzhang brandished his palm-leaf fan, his gestures conveying a sense of commanding authority. "Chief Yang, have you ever considered why there's only one 'Yue Family Army' in the world, and not the 'Zong Family Army,' 'Han Family Army,' or 'Zhang Family Army' that strike fear into the hearts of the Jin people?"

"This?" Yang Miaozhen was stumped by the question.

"It's simple, because there is only one General Yue in the world, and his attitude towards the Jurchens is the attitude of the Yue Family Army."

"This old man is quite eloquent," Zhou Yan thought to himself upon hearing this.

"If the righteous armies of Jingdong Road and Hebei Road, the mountain strongholds, and the heroes of the water marshes want to resist this encirclement and suppression by the Jin people, first of all they need is to unite as one and work together with one heart and one mind. Secondly, they need a leader who can raise his arm and command the respect of thousands of people."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan suddenly realized what was going on.

After encountering Qiu Qianzhang, the old man tried to persuade the heroes of Xiangyang and Jingzhou to help the Jin army march south. He almost became a victim of Qingjing Sanren's sword, but now he has changed his approach.

This old man wants to be the leader of the rebel army, mountain stronghold, and water marsh of Hebei Road and Jingdong Road.

He was truly impressed by Qiu Qianzhang; his swindling and deception had reached such a level that he could be considered a master in this line of work.

"What do you mean, senior?"

The leader of the Jiangxi bandit gang laughed and said, "When it comes to reputation, who in the world can compare to Senior Qiu?"

Yang Miaozhen suddenly realized something, and she hesitated.

If it were a highly respected person leading two righteous armies and heroes to resist the Jin, they would naturally be willing to obey. However, they did not know the Iron Palm Gang leader well. The matter was of great importance, and there was no one to consult with. What should they do?

Qiu Qianzhang was shrewd and cunning, good at reading people's expressions and understanding their hearts. Seeing Yang Miaozhen hesitate, he said, "Leader Yang, come with me and I will explain slowly."

"it is good."

The two left the council hall, followed by seven or eight people. As they walked, Qiu Qianzhang said, "I am a disciple of Shangguan Jiannan. My master was a general under General Han who nearly captured Wanyan Zongbi alive in the Battle of Huangtiandang. I was taught by my master to be loyal to the country until my dying breath. I painstakingly built up the Iron Palm Clan, ready to serve the country loyally when the court launched its counterattack. However, the officials of Lin'an Prefecture are so incompetent that they can only worry about the world and lie in their laps. But now that we know about the Jin people's plot, how can we bear to see the heroes of the two righteous armies be harmed by the Jin people?"

As the golden lotus flower uttered from her mouth, Zhou Yan sighed.

Suddenly he felt that the young master of Zhenwei Escort Agency was breathing heavily, and when he turned his head, he saw that the other party was excited.

"What's this?" Zhou Yan asked in a low voice.

"My godfather is a descendant of General Han."

Zhou Yan was taken aback and felt a deep sense of respect.

I also admire Yang Miaozhen.

With Qiu Qianzhang saying this, how could she hesitate? She was about to acknowledge Qiu Qianzhang as her superior when she suddenly heard a voice say, "Then let's settle this with a martial arts contest."

Everyone was stunned. Yang Miaozhen turned around and saw the soldiers not far away. She smiled and thought to herself, annoyed, "Whose subordinates are these? They don't know their place and are talking nonsense."

Some of Yang Miaozhen's subordinates were people who had never heard of Qiu Qianren, the Water-Drifting Swordsman of the Iron Palm Gang.

Zhou Yan remained silent, and seeing their leader showing such respect, the other leaders kept quiet as well. But as soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of these leaders, who were unwilling to be led by an outsider, became clear.

Qiu Qianzhang looked around and could see the thoughts of the outstanding leaders.

Yang Miaozhen explained, "Senior, this kid is ignorant and inexperienced. Let me reprimand him." "It's alright. Let him come over."

One of the leaders shouted, "Hey kid, come here."

Zhou Yan took two quick steps and stood in front of Qiu Qianzhang.

"How do you propose we settle this through a contest of martial arts?"

"It all comes down to who has the greater strength and the harder their fist."

Qiu Qianzhang laughed and said, "I'll let you see what's what."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked around. When he came back to Zhou Yan, he was holding half a brick in his hand. He didn't use much force, but a series of cracking sounds could be heard. The two bricks had broken into small pieces. After squeezing them for a while, the pieces turned into powder and fell to the ground with a rustling sound.

Yang Miaozhen was astonished. This palm and finger skill had truly reached the pinnacle. She could also see that the envoy was actually showing this move to herself and her subordinate leaders.

“Boy, did you see that clearly?” Qiu Qianzhang said, standing in front of Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan suddenly smiled: "You saw it clearly too."

Suddenly, Zhou Yan's arm sank, and his hands circled and hooked, twisting left and right, unleashing the "Crushing Divine Claw." With a series of hissing sounds, Qiu Qianchi's sleeve exploded into countless fragments, which were then swept up by the turbulent air currents and flew around.

Qiu Qianchi's sleeve was torn, and two bricks, a tightly bound bundle of dry straw, a piece of tinder, a fire knife, and a flint, which were hidden inside, fell to the ground.

Although Qiu Qianzhang was a swindler, his skills and techniques were actually quite remarkable. However, he encountered Zhou Yan, who knew him inside and out, and the head of the Fu'an Escort Agency was using the Nine Yin Manual. Suddenly, he was controlled and lost his chance to fight back.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before Yang Miaozhen and the leader of the Jiangxi bandit gang could react, Qiu Qianzhang was suddenly lifted up and thrown towards Lu Beihe.

With a "bang," ripples appeared amidst the smoke and dust.

Qiu Qianzhang was thrown to the ground, and before he could make a move, Lu Beihe pressed two guns against his throat.

The thought that the Iron Palm Gang leader could be subdued by a mere lackey left Yang Miaozhen stunned for quite a while. Zhou Yan bent down to pick up a brick from the ground and grasped it with his five fingers.

The powder fell in a soft, rustling sound like snow.

He laughed and said, "It's just a trick by a charlatan."

Yang Miaozhen then realized: "Who are you?"

"I'll talk about this later. This old man is not the leader of the Iron Palm Gang. He not only deceived Chief Yang, but these people were also completely fooled and obeyed his orders blindly. However, they are no good either. They are not heroes or righteous men, but notorious bandits with evil intentions. They intend to take over the stronghold, gain a foothold, and then control Chief Yang."

Based solely on Qiu Qianzhang's deception, Yang Miaozhen believed Zhou Yan's words.

The bandit leader's expression changed, and he roared as he lunged at Yang Miaozhen.

Zhou Yan took a step to the side, slightly bent his left leg, bent his right arm inward, and drew a circle with his right palm, then pushed it outward with a whoosh. Seeing the fierce force of the palm strike, the bandit leader could not block it head-on and rolled away on the ground.

Yang Miaozhen had already taken the spear handed to her by her subordinate. Her figure moved like an arrow, closing the distance with the bandit leader in the blink of an eye, and she thrust out her spear.
This thrust was as powerful as a silver bottle shattering and an iron cavalry charge. When the spearhead was several feet away from the opponent, the spear hummed and trembled, unleashing a huge arc, like a pear tree in bloom.

Yang Miaozhen's signature move, the Rain of Pear Blossoms Spear.

The bandit leader had just gotten up when he saw the spearheads flashing and changing unpredictably in his vision. How could he possibly resist? In the blink of an eye, he was stabbed several times, and an astonishing rain of blood sprayed into the air.

The bandit leader and more than twenty other Ming Cult scum were nearly torn to pieces by Yang Miaozhen's men.

Yang Miaozhen stepped forward with her gun and said to Zhou Yan, "Now tell me who you are and what your purpose is in infiltrating this mountain stronghold."

Zhou Yan said, "I am the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of Zhongdu Fu'an镖局 (escort agency). I went into the stronghold to investigate the night before last and happened to hear this group of people conspiring together."

"And how do you know that old man isn't the leader of the Iron Palm Clan?"

"Last year, I traveled through Jingzhou as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort). On the outskirts of Xiangyang, I encountered Qingjing Sanren, a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect. The master had seen through the old man's tricks, and that's how I came to know him."

"And why did you help me?"

"I want to take the darts."

One asked urgently, the other answered quickly; the air seemed to freeze for a moment, then was suddenly broken by Yang Miaozhen's laughter, "I believe you. Kill this old man, then we can talk about the escort."

Yang Miaozhen, exuding murderous intent, drew her gun and walked towards Qiu Qianzhang.

(End of this chapter)