The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 19 A Tiger Cub from a Military Family, Yue Family Boxing Manual

A night breeze rustled by, and the stars in the sky dimmed.

The one who was still alive was a man caught in a fishing net, his body riddled with hidden weapons. His companion was already dead, the fatal wound coming from a long arrow that pierced his chest.

As for the man whose legs were severed by Zhou Yan, he had already died from excessive blood loss.

The courtyard was noisy, with the players boasting to each other about how many hidden weapons they had thrown at each other.

Zhou Yan took the ivory token and handed it to Hu Yanlei: "Brother, take a look at this."

The bodyguard took it, examined both sides, and whispered, "This is suspicious."

"Disperse, everyone!" Huyan Lei shouted.

"okay!"

The porters dispersed, their voices carrying through the night.

"That strike from Escort Zhou was absolutely brilliant."

"Indeed, a strike like a crashing wave."

"Fierce and domineering, no less than Master Wang."

The镖手 (bodyguards) often learned martial arts from the镖师 (bodyguards). The镖师 rarely passed on their most secret skills, but occasionally, when they felt like it, they would show the镖手 a move or two of their famous skills to broaden their horizons. Therefore, these people were all good at judging skills.

After everyone dispersed, Zhou Yan put away the fishing net and applied hemostatic wound medicine to the seriously injured Imperial City Guard.

He and Hu Yanlei did not interrogate him, but waited for Zhang Wangyue to arrive.

The head镖师's house was only a few miles from the镖局 (镖局 is a type of security escort agency). The messenger was quick and agile, and within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, footsteps came from afar, and Zhang Wangyue's burly figure appeared in the night.

"Head镖师." Hu Yanlei stepped forward, handed the token in his hand to Zhang Wangyue, and said succinctly, "These people first used their movement techniques to leave from the镖局 (镖局 is a type of security escort agency), and then came back. Brother Zhou and I ambushed them, and they captured Su, the镖师 (镖师) of the Sihai镖局 (四海镖局 is a type of security escort agency)."

In the glow of the lanterns under the eaves, Zhang Wangyue's expression turned serious. He looked up at the crystal-clear night sky, where the stars shone brightly and the air was cool as water. The bluebird of memory had returned.

"The head镖师 (镖头, a term referring to a镖师 who is skilled in escorting goods)."

Zhang Wangyue's thoughts returned, and he asked Huyan Lei, "Are there any survivors?"

"There is one."

"bring it here."

"Where is Escort Su? He's been acupunctured."

"Let's hold off for a bit."

"it is good."

Hu Yanlei looked at Zhou Yan and pointed to the man on the ground. Zhou Yan understood immediately, grabbed the man, and followed the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) towards the side room.

Lying on the ground, Su, the bodyguard, thought resentfully, "These bastards definitely want to interrogate me and get something on me. But what kind of gang are they from? They've offended quite a few people in the past." He couldn't guess.

Zhou Yan entered the room and threw the man on the ground. Hu Yanlei said, "Brother Zhou, please go and clean up the body."

“It’s alright!” Zhang Wangyue said.

Their words were actually quite subtle. Hu Yanlei didn't want Zhou Yan to get involved in this matter anymore; he would take responsibility for any unexpected events that might occur. Zhang Wangyue, on the other hand, was conveying his trust in Zhou Yan.

“That works too,” Hu Yanlei replied with a smile.

Zhang Wangyue waved the ivory token in front of the man. "From Lin'an Prefecture?"

The man's face was gloomy. "That's right."

What are you doing stealing someone in the middle of the night?

The man remained silent.

"I told you, you should be able to tell that I'm also a member of the escort team, and you've captured a fellow professional. You understand the principle of teamwork among colleagues, so if you have a valid reason, I can give you a way out. Otherwise, killing you is no problem either, so there's no need to hold a grudge."

Zhang Wangyue's words were upright, polite, and respectful, without any problems.

The man understood this logic, and after a few moments of contemplation, he said, "Find someone."

"who?"

"A bodyguard from the Longmen Escort Agency in Lin'an."

Zhou Yan's heart skipped a beat. Zhang Wangyue was from the Longmen Escort Agency in Lin'an Prefecture. Belatedly realizing this, he broke out in a cold sweat. The head镖师 (escort leader) knew the Imperial City Guards were looking for him the moment he saw the warrant. Therefore, he wasn't in a hurry to release Su the镖师; if necessary, he would kill him to silence him.

The head镖师 (镖头, a kind of镖师, or镖师) would not harm himself or Huyan Lei, so he did the opposite and treated them with trust.

Following this line of reasoning, Zhou Yan thought of the human body dart that Zhang Wangyue had once walked through.

Could it be that these people from the Imperial City Guard are trying to find the infant girl through the镖头 (bodyguard/escort)? Thinking this, Zhang Wangyue asked, "What's the镖师's name?"

"Zhang Tailai".

“There’s no such person at Sihai Escort Agency. The same goes for Fu’an Escort Agency,” Zhang Wangyue said.

"We don't know. There are only two major escort agencies in Zhongdu, Sihai and Fu'an. Fu'an is too famous. Let's capture a guard from Sihai first for interrogation. If we find the person, then we'll be done with it."

"Or we could try targeting the Fu'an Escort Agency."

"Yes."

Hu Yanlei scoffed, "Why don't you just ask someone for directions?"

The man glared menacingly at Huyan Lei. "Do you think we're stupid? Wouldn't the other party use an alias? How would an ordinary person or a spies know?"

Hu Yanlei was furious and kicked the other person.

The man grunted and glared at him venomously.

Zhang Wangyue asked, "But how do you know that the bodyguards are in Zhongdu, and not Datong Prefecture, Nanjing or Kaifeng Prefecture?"

"It's an order from above."

Zhang Wangyue nodded slightly. "I see. Just the few of you?"

"Yes."

The man's eyes gradually turned suspicious as he looked at Zhang Wangyue.

"I am the person you are looking for."

As soon as the head镖师 finished speaking, he pointed his fingers like a sword and struck the opponent's chest at the Tanzhong acupoint.

The man's body trembled violently, and he died.

Now, not only Zhou Yan from before, but even Hu Yanlei felt a chill run down his spine.

Zhang Wangyue calmly looked at the two of them.

Zhou Yan had more or less figured things out. He had long suspected that the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) might be a member of Yue Fei's army, and now it seemed there was no problem.

He suddenly became serious and said, "The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) is a member of Yue Fei's family army."

Zhang Wangyue was taken aback, and after a long pause, he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"The 'Taizu Changquan' manual that the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) gave me contains methods for internal energy cultivation, methods for guiding qi, and stance training. Therefore, I suspect that the style of boxing may have originated from the military. The person who possesses the complete manual must have a special identity. Just now, the镖头 said that his real name is Zhang Tailai, and his alias is Zhang Wangyue. Taiyue, being so persistent about his name, must have an extraordinary relationship with the character 'Yue'. So I dare to make this guess."

Zhang Wangyue smiled slightly: "Brother Zhou is clever, his ancestor was Zhang Xian."

"Good heavens," Hu Yanlei muttered to himself.

Zhou Yan let out a slight sigh. Although he had long guessed that the other party was a member of Yue Fei's army, Zhang Xian's lineage was still somewhat shocking.

Zhang Wangyue's voice rang out again: "This matter..."

"Don't worry, Chief Escort. If I leak even a single word, may I be struck by lightning. Both Chief Escort and I are from military families."

Zhang Wangyue chuckled, “That’s true. If you’re interested, you can learn the Yue Family Spear Technique from me privately.”

"Thank you very much, Chief Escort!" Hu Yanlei was overjoyed.

"I have nothing to teach Brother Zhou."

"The镖头 (镖头 is a person's name, roughly translated as 'The Chief Escort's Long Fist') has been a great favor, even with its accompanying diagrams of meridians and acupoints," Zhou Yan said, bowing respectfully. In his heart, however, he was thinking that when he had the chance to go to Iron Palm Peak, he would definitely find a way to steal the Wumu (武木) manual and give it to the镖头. If Guo Jing could still become a great hero who served his country and its people, it would be a happy thing if the镖头 lent a helping hand in Xiangyang. Let's wait and see.

"Head镖师, what should we do with镖师 Su? Or..." Hu Yanlei made a throat-slitting gesture with his right hand.

"He's just an insignificant, unlucky fellow. He was probably captured while on night duty. Many of the guards saw him. I'll release him after I release his pressure points."

"What if more people come from Lin'an Prefecture?"

"No need to worry, the Imperial City Guard is just conducting a screening. I will go to Lin'an Prefecture when it is convenient."

"okay!"

After Zhang Wangyue finished speaking, he said to Zhou Yan, "I haven't finished speaking to Brother Zhou. Although I have no martial arts techniques to teach you, I have a copy of the Yue Family Boxing Manual. You have outstanding boxing skills, a resolute character, and decisive actions. I hope you can carry forward this martial art."

The Yue Family Boxing Manual, also known as Yue Family Boxing.

Zhou Yan suddenly felt that sometimes fate is like a bridge. Yue Fei was a disciple of Zhou Tong, and the original owner of this body was also from the Zhou Tong lineage. Every sip and bite had fallen upon him.

(End of this chapter)