Chapter 20: A Peerless Martial Art, the Night-Shining Jade Lion
A wind came, sensing the clear autumn air; the lamp wick was trimmed repeatedly, nearing the third watch.
A thin mist lingered between the overhanging eaves of the escort agency. The surroundings quieted down.
Escort Su of the Four Seas Escort Agency had naturally been let go. The corpses and bloodstains in the courtyard had long since been cleaned up by the runners. Huyan Lei and Zhang Wangyue were in the side rooms, while the Head Escort was teaching the Yue Family Spear Technique.
Zhou Yan, sitting on a stone stool in the octagonal pavilion, fiddled with the oil lamp.
With a snap of the wick, the flame brightened. He opened the Yue Family Fist Manual, genuinely curious about how the Yue Family Fist Technique differed from “Yanqing Fist,” “Xiaoyao Fist,” and “Taizu Long Fist.”
Under the lamplight, the characters entering Zhou Yan’s eyes seemed to leap and dance. The vivid aura, the rigorous structure, and the firm yet not rigid strokes conveyed a pure spirit, brimming with the temperament of a heroic warrior.
His gaze fell upon the general principles.
“Emptiness and fullness, movement and stillness, attack and defense, advance and retreat, continuous and compact, rooted stances and steady steps, rapid and fierce, the Six Harmonies return to one.”
The first twenty characters were not difficult for Zhou Yan to understand. He looked at the last four.
The Six Harmonies return to one.
The pages rustled as he flipped directly to the explanation.
“The Six Harmonies refer to the three inner and three outer harmonies. The three inner harmonies: the heart harmonizes with the intent, the intent harmonizes with the qi, and the qi harmonizes with the strength. The three outer harmonies: the hands harmonize with the feet, the elbows harmonize with the knees, and the shoulders harmonize with the hips…”
“It feels a bit like Xingyi Quan,” Zhou Yan continued to flip through the pages, his gaze landing on the Elbow Technique Manual.
“The elbow techniques include: Break, Roll, Fall, Smash, Yuanyang, and Block. The ‘Break Elbow Technique’ states: Break elbow must begin with a connecting hand, advance the shoulder tip to strike the chest, step the hip into finding emptiness and fullness, and in a flash, the Iron Fan arrives against the wind. The ‘Roll Elbow Technique’ states…”
His gaze continued downward, seeing “Yue Family Sanshou.”
Zhou Yan’s face lit up with joy. He remembered that Ouyang Feng had praised this cultivation technique, calling it a masterpiece among martial arts, worthy of the Western Venom’s attention, which spoke volumes about its quality.
Frankly, Zhou Yan preferred cultivation techniques that were direct and involved bone-separating maneuvers.
Hong Qigong’s “Xiaoyao Fist” focused its power on the fist’s edge, while “Yanqing Fist” excelled in agility. “Taizu Long Fist” was grand, but this “Yue Family Fist Manual” was different, with its heavily inked descriptions of elbow techniques, shoulder techniques, and sanshou. How to describe this set of boxing techniques?
Down-to-earth.
…
Before dawn broke, a wind arose, making the air even colder. Zhou Yan, with undivided attention, perused the fist manual. By the time the roosters crowed, the sky had begun to show a faint gray-white.
He placed the fist manual in his embrace and walked towards the martial field.
It was impossible to fully grasp this masterpiece of traditional martial arts and battlefield combat compiled by Yue Fei in just half the night. Zhou Yan had only memorized the elbow strikes from the Yue Family Fist Manual.
As he walked, he couldn’t help but sigh at the wonder of fate. It hadn’t been too long since he transmigrated, yet he had already interacted with figures like Li Mochou, Hong Qigong, and Zhang Wangyue.
Compared to Hong Qigong, he actually preferred interacting with the Head Escort.
The Nine-Fingered Beggar had no airs, and Zhou Yan felt no awe towards him. However, the Beggars’ Sect Gang Leader lived a life of leisure, and Zhou Yan always felt a barrier between them, with differing values.
It was like facing people like Ouyang Ke, Sha Tongtian, and Hou Tonghai. Unless they reached the level of the “Four Villains” in Tianlong, Qigong would not deliver a fatal blow.
But Zhou Yan believed that if he had the chance, he would definitely kill them.
This was a conflict of ideologies.
Zhou Yan liked interacting with Zhang Wangyue and Huyan Lei for this very reason: clear grudges and decisive action.
Perhaps this was also the way of survival for a small person. But he was also a small person.
There were hanging sandbags at the martial field.
Zhou Yan stood before them, mentally reviewing the various attack methods from the Elbow Technique Manual. Suddenly, he unleashed his movements, striking with consecutive elbow blows: thrusting elbow, lifting elbow, horizontal elbow, smashing elbow, backhand elbow. The most yang and most rigid elbow techniques rained down, and the sandbag emitted dull “thump, thump” sounds, kicking up dust.
The force of the elbow strikes far exceeded that of punches. The elbow techniques were unleashed like a storm, causing the hundred-pound sandbag to hang suspended in the air, taking a long time to fall.
This kind of training was truly exhausting. The Jade Guanyin hanging around his neck began to emit a gentle qi, effectively soothing his muscles, invigorating his blood, and dispelling fatigue. Zhou Yan showed no signs of slacking, gradually entering a state of flow.
As heat steamed, it formed a mist above his head.
From the side room, Zhang Wangyue had finished explaining the essentials of the Yue Family Spear Technique. He and Huyan Lei walked out shoulder to shoulder and headed towards the martial field.
The dull booming sounds grew louder. As they approached the area, they suddenly saw Zhou Yan leap several feet into the air, his fierce smashing elbow descending towards the sandbag.
With a “bang,” the sandbag shattered, and a curtain of sand bloomed like an inverted funnel. Sand grains scattered, striking the weapon rack with a crackling sound.
Zhou Yan already possessed iron arms, and training his elbow techniques directly showcased their power.
Huyan Lei couldn’t help but scratch his head. If that smashing elbow landed on his crown, it would be like splitting a watermelon.
Zhang Wangyue was stunned and praised him without reservation: “Brother Zhou is truly gifted.”
“Indeed, he’s even opened his Qiao Meridian,” Escort Hu interjected softly.
…
Fine, scaly clouds drifted across the sky, and the autumn sunlight filtered through the gaps, feeling comfortable and pleasant.
Zhou Yan and Huyan Lei, along with over a dozen runners, departed from the escort agency.
The group arrived at a street-side breakfast stall and each ordered tofu pudding, porridge, and buns.
The shopkeeper was initially fearful, worried they were from a gang looking for a free meal. But after Zhou Yan told them not to be afraid, to serve the buns freely, and gave them two silver coins, the couple became joyful.
The dozen or so people ate and drank to their heart’s content, clearing out the breakfast stall. Afterward, the runners followed Huyan Lei and Zhou Yan, noisily heading to the horse market to pick up mules and horses.
Nearly forty escort carts required an equal number of mules and horses, with a few spares.
The escort agency and the horse market were closely linked. The fine horses ridden by the escorts were sourced from the horse market, though purchased outright, while the mules and horses for escorting needed to be hired.
The horse market in Zhongdu had extensive connections and often had good horses.
Mongolian horses, Ferghana horses, Liaodong horses. Besides the escort agency, a major consumer of horses, some wealthy Jin youths and martial arts enthusiasts also frequented the horse market to buy horses.
They were all familiar faces. The horse market shopkeeper was overjoyed to hear that the escort agency was hiring forty to fifty mules and horses for an escort mission.
As the runners led the mules and horses, the shopkeeper said, “Brother Zhou is truly a remarkable young man. Just a month ago, he was a runner, and now he’s an escort. We should interact more in the future.”
Huyan Lei never spared praise for Zhou Yan. “He’s a popular figure in Fu’an now, and the Head Escort values him greatly.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes brightened. The sharp young man before him had a boundless future.
There were only two major escort agencies in Zhongdu, but many horse markets. By supporting such escorts, they would secure future revenue.
“Congratulations, Brother Zhou.”
Zhou Yan cupped his hands. “Shopkeeper, you are too polite.”
“Escort Huyan, Brother Zhou, you have good luck. A few days ago, we received a shipment of horses, including a ‘Night-Shining Jade Lion.’ Are you interested?”
Equipment and horses were the escorts’ right and left arms.
How could Huyan Lei and Zhou Yan not be interested?
“Let’s go see!”
“Certainly.”
The shopkeeper led the two to a separate stable. Zhou Yan saw a tall horse, completely snow-white from head to toe, without a single speck of mixed color.
“A fine horse.”
Huyan Lei, being an expert, exclaimed in admiration.
Zhou Yan, seeing the “Night-Shining Jade Lion” snort like two small snakes at the sight of strangers, also liked it.
Guo Jing had his Little Red Horse. If he could get this fine steed, wouldn’t that be wonderful? The Qingcong Horse he rode for escorts belonged to the agency, not his personal property.
“Shopkeeper, how much is this horse?” Zhou Yan asked.
The shopkeeper said, “Money is a small matter. It’s just that this horse was just delivered and is quite wild. No groom at the horse market has been able to tame it yet.”
“Brother Zhou, would you like to try?”
“Brother, you go ahead.”
“I have my Wuzhui Horse. You need a good horse.”
Horses were expensive at the time. The Lin’an Court purchased horses in Guangxi; horses four feet seven inches tall were worth 45 strings of cash, while those four feet one inch tall were worth 13 strings. Zhongdu was slightly cheaper, but the “Night-Shining Jade Lion” was another matter entirely.
Zhou Yan had killed the Yellow River Four Ghosts outside Datong Prefecture and pocketed some money bags. The original owner also had some silver savings, so he was financially well-off.
He then said:
“Alright, I’ll try.”
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