Chapter 42: Subtle Clues Laid Bare Across a Thousand Li
With bamboo paper covering his face, Zhou Yan said to Zhang Wangyue, “Repeat this a few times, perhaps the other party will speak. I’ll go see that young master.”
The Head Escort naturally knew that if the young man hadn’t suddenly spoken out, the Yellow River Gang wouldn’t have attacked in a frenzy and lost their composure. He said, “There’s no time to delay, hurry.”
“Mm!” Zhou Yan replied, leaped onto the riverbank, summoned the “Night-Shining Jade Lion,” and galloped along the river.
The wind whistled, sweeping past the riverbank, and the dried grass it stirred up swirled onto the water. Suddenly, the river parted, and Huang Rong emerged from the water, panting, “Three-Headed Ghost, I will definitely catch you.”
As Zhou Yan had predicted, Huang Rong truly couldn’t adapt to the bone-chilling cold of the river in early winter. After pursuing for a while, she felt her body temperature constantly draining away like threads being pulled. She knew that if she continued to pursue, she would be in danger of hypothermia.
Huang Rong surfaced from the water. To one side of her vision was a large expanse of withered reeds. She emerged from the water and entered the reeds. Just as she was about to break off some reed stalks to start a fire with oil-paper-sealed flint to warm herself and dry her clothes, hurried horse hooves sounded from the direction of the riverbank.
The reeds rustled, gulls flew up. The sound of horse hooves entered the green mountains.
Zhou Yan couldn’t see Huang Rong standing in the reeds. The Night-Shining Jade Lion galloped away, turned towards the foot of the mountain, and disappeared.
Huang Rong looked at the person and the horse, then thought about her own situation. Suddenly, a line came to mind:
“A guest rides a horse from the north, a person travels by boat from the south. The rustling sounds of parting and sorrow are all in the evening wind by the reeds.”
As this thought settled, the death of her mother, her father’s pampering, and her own petulant departure from Peach Blossom Island unfolded like a scroll.
Poetic lines like “Reeds rustle, the wild islet is autumn, a lone boat returns in a straw cloak amidst wind and rain” surged up again.
Huang Rong broke off a stalk and, feeling stifled, slapped the reeds, muttering to herself, “Father doesn’t love me and isn’t looking for Rong’er. Mother, I miss you. Hmph, Three-Headed Ghost, I must capture and kill you. How dare you insult my mother.”
…
Zhou Yan searched along the Yellow River for nearly twenty li, but still found no sign of Huang Rong or Hou Tonghai. He found another ferry crossing, hired a boat to cross the river, and then searched up from the south bank of the Yellow River, but still found no trace of them.
He surmised that the two of them must have come ashore somewhere, so he stopped searching back and forth and headed straight for Fengling Ferry.
Zhang Wangyue was still on the north bank. Zhou Yan left the “Night-Shining Jade Lion” on the south bank and took the ferry back and forth across the river.
When the fight broke out, Huyan Lei was on the south bank. The escorts had crossed the river, and the fight was already nearing its end. He hadn’t had many opportunities to strike. Zhou Yan arrived, and Huyan Lei stepped forward, his face still showing a look of lingering fear. “If it weren’t for you, this escort mission would have gone awry.”
“It was everyone working together that saved the escort.”
Huyan Lei patted Zhou Yan’s shoulder, “From today onwards, you are one of the mainstays of Fu’an.”
“Will my monthly pay increase?”
“Heh, when we get back, we’ll jointly ask the Boss.”
Zhou Yan chuckled and changed the subject, “How was the interrogation?”
“Good heavens, that interrogation method was truly formidable. Just looking at it sent shivers down my spine. The other party even wet himself and confessed before three rounds were up. The Head Escort is at the teahouse, let’s go talk.”
“Alright!”
The two entered the teahouse. Wang Kui poured tea for Zhou Yan. Zhang Wangyue asked, “Have you found that young master?”
“No, he must have come ashore.”
The Head Escort nodded, lamenting, “It’s a pity we couldn’t thank him.”
“Indeed!” Zhou Yan asked, “What were the results?”
Wang Kui said, “It was mainly people from the Yellow River Gang. The two captured by Brother Zhou are disciples of ‘Thousand Hand Butcher’ Peng Lianhu. They, along with Hou Tonghai, all came from Daxing Prefecture. They were just following orders.”
Zhou Yan suddenly understood and blurted out, “Four Seas Escort Agency.”
Shi Baichuan quickly said, “The Head Escort was also considering this possibility just now. Brother Zhou, quickly tell us how you deduced it.”
Zhou Yan said, “Escort Su and Escort Lu of Four Seas sought out Cui Changshun, tempting him with promises of an escort position, and also tried to win over Cui Qingshan, escalating the conflict between Shi Xiangui and the Head Escort. This was to create internal strife within Fu’an. The Yellow River Gang, Peng Lianhu, and others robbing the escort were meant to plunge the escort agency into irrecoverable ruin. If they had succeeded on the water, Fu’an would not only lose a large number of escorts and runners, but the compensation for the lost goods would have emptied the agency’s coffers. Under internal and external pressure, how difficult would it be for Four Seas to annex Fu’an?”
Huyan Lei slapped his thigh, “That’s exactly it.”
Zhang Wangyue nodded. Zhou Yan’s analysis coincided with his own thoughts, “So, the Four Seas Escort Agency hired the Yellow River Gang and Peng Lianhu with a large sum of money.”
“More or less.” Zhou Yan nodded.
“Head Escort, what do you think we should do about this?” Wang Kui asked Zhang Wangyue.
“What are Brother Zhou’s thoughts?” the Head Escort asked Zhou Yan in return.
Zhou Yan’s thoughts were very meticulous. The Four Seas Escort Agency hired the Yellow River Gang with a large sum of money. Sha Tongtian and Peng Lianhu were in cahoots, but only the Three-Headed Flood Dragon and two disciples of the Thousand Hand Butcher had arrived, indicating that Wanyan Honglie’s hired five great experts were about to arrive at Lin’an Prefecture to steal the 《Wumu’s Military Writings》. Of course, that would be in vain, as the true 《Wumu’s Military Writings》 were on Iron Palm Mountain. Hou Tonghai was very likely to head south directly to rendezvous with Sha Tongtian and the others. Therefore, in the conflict between Fu’an and Four Seas, there was no need to worry about the Ghost Gate Dragon King or the Thousand Hand Butcher.
If Yang Tiexin had arrived at Daxing Prefecture and stayed at the escort agency, the scene of Mu Nianci’s martial arts competition to recruit a husband would not have happened. Huang Rong was also unlikely to be in Zhongdu at this time. The stories surrounding Zhao Wang Manor in the Legend of the Condor Heroes world would become extremely simple. The Golden Saber Consort and the Six Freaks of Jiangnan aiming to take the Great Jin King’s head, whether successful or not, would throw the entire Zhao Wang Manor into chaos.
Who would pay attention to the affairs of two escort agencies in Zhongdu?
Thinking this way, he said, “Escort Shi and the others are heading to the Shu Region ahead of us, but the Shu roads are as difficult as ascending to heaven, so we will be the ones returning to Daxing Prefecture first.”
Huyan Lei said, “When the time comes, we’ll directly go and demand an explanation and take action against Four Seas.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Zhou Yan said.
“That makes sense. The Head Escort can first write a letter and send a clever runner to deliver it to the Boss, explaining the situation,” Wang Kui said, then sighed, “Fortunately, Senior Yang and Miss Mu will be arriving at the escort agency now, and the Boss will also have someone to protect him.”
Zhang Wangyue nodded, “Alright, we’ll do as you brothers suggest.”
“What about Peng Lianhu’s two disciples?” Zhou Yan asked.
Zhang Wangyue said, “The escort team will cross the river, escort them for a distance, and then kill them.”
“Understood.” Zhou Yan smiled, his thoughts aligning with the Head Escort’s.
“Hurry up and cross the river, we need to travel quickly from now on,” Zhang Wangyue instructed.
“Alright!”
Everyone got busy. Zhou Yan left the teahouse and stood at the ferry crossing, lost in thought. Hou Tonghai had insulted Feng Heng and Huang Yaoshi, so Huang Rong would definitely pursue him relentlessly, making it unlikely for her to head north now. If the Golden Saber Consort hadn’t encountered Huang Rong and had returned to the desert to report after killing Wanyan Honglie, what butterfly effects would occur in the Jianghu of Legend of the Condor Heroes?
…
The crescent moon climbed into the sapphire blue sky. The escort carts and mules and horses had all crossed the Yellow River. The fighting during the day had ended, and most of the escorts and runners were actually resting. Therefore, after crossing the Yellow River, the escort team traveled at night.
Because there were injured people, Zhou Yan gave his “Night-Shining Jade Lion” to an injured escort.
He strode forward, and without realizing it, he used his body to propel himself, executing the “Golden Goose Skill.” After advancing several li, his internal force suddenly stirred, flowing and circulating along the Yang Qiao Meridian and Yin Qiao Meridian in his legs, which had been tempered and unblocked.
Zhou Yan was pleasantly surprised. The Quanzhen Sect’s “Golden Goose Skill” could improve internal energy cultivation. He had just glimpsed the threshold.
His spirits soared, and as he walked, he continuously circulated his cultivation technique to refine his internal force.
By the fifth watch, the escort team made camp. Huyan Lei, who had also given his horse to an injured person, sat on the ground rubbing his sore legs. He looked around for Zhou Yan but saw him sitting cross-legged, circulating his energy to cultivate.
The escort thought that Brother Zhou was cultivating so diligently precisely because he would have to fight Four Seas after returning.
Huyan Lei thought this, grabbed his water skin, and gulped down several mouthfuls. He took his Gold-Inlaid Tiger Head Spear and found a spot to practice the Yue Family Spear Technique.
Escorts Wang Kui and Shi Baichuan, who were supposed to be resting, followed suit.
