Chapter 95: The Blind Man Hires a Guard, Three Chapters of Agreement
“Let’s practice…”
After Huyan Lei spoke, Zhou Yan’s voice rang out from the martial field of Fu’an Escort Agency.
Hands are two doors, feet are one root.
Strikes are like lightning, returns are like fire.
Entering, brush the ground; retreating, lift the knee first.
Landing like steel nails, advancing as fast as the wind.
The essence of boxing begins with standing meditation.
…
After the Lantern Festival, Zhou Yan, Wang Kui, Huyan Lei, and Shi Baichuan announced that from now on, all runners could practice with the escorts and head escorts. The runners of the escort agency were all invigorated.
Even in an escort agency as relatively harmonious as Fu’an, it was extremely difficult for runners to receive hands-on instruction from escorts; it required considerable effort and maneuvering behind the scenes.
Secretly giving money was a small matter; it even forced runners to take clear sides. Most escorts with exceptional skills had their trusted runners.
But now, in the eyes of the runners, with Shi Xiangui, Cui Qingshan, and others gone, the atmosphere of the escort agency had completely changed, and there was even a rule that runners who had free time could practice with the escorts and head escorts.
The most popular was naturally Zhou Yan.
Firstly, he was young and could mingle with the runners. Secondly, not only was he proficient in boxing and hand techniques, but his explanations of the essence of cultivation techniques were simple and clear, easy to understand. Of course, this was also due to Huyan Lei’s skill with a spear and Shi Baichuan’s use of an iron fan; one was easy to learn but hard to master, while the other was a niche skill.
It was the seventeenth day of the first lunar month. On this morning, as the spring light waned, accompanied by Huyan Lei’s shouts, over fifty runners gathered on the field to listen to Zhou Yan explain boxing techniques. Soon after, he began to teach them the “Fanzi Fist.”
Actually, this boxing technique was passed down from the original owner’s ancestor, Zhou Tong, but the original owner didn’t know it. The escort agency had resources, and he became a head escort. Duan Huai’an still saw him as Fu’an’s future, so he could freely browse the cultivation techniques collected by the escort agency.
Zhou Yan only took two days to grasp the essence of the boxing technique. The reason he taught this cultivation technique to the runners was to help his ancestor’s legacy flourish. Furthermore, this boxing technique emphasizes “punches like a torrential rain, sharp as a whip,” and includes elbow techniques like “awkward elbow” and “smooth elbow,” making it highly practical and incredibly powerful.
Under the bright daylight, after Zhou Yan’s explanation and demonstration.
With synchronized footsteps and body movements, the sound of stomping echoed. Dozens of runners punched, elbowed, chopped, and rammed, creating an astonishing momentum. The martial field was filled with
a thunderous roar, and dust billowed.
Some escorts, envious, joined in. The young lady in red, Mu Nianci, was one of them.
At the end of the long corridor, Duan Huai’an and Zhang Wangyue walked side by side. The Boss of Fu’an glanced over and smiled, saying, “Youth is a wonderful thing.”
“Indeed.”
“With Zhou Yan leading the training like this, I believe Fu’an can escort throughout the land within three to five years.”
Zhang Wangyue smiled, recalling what he had said to Huyan Lei and others at the year-end: “Cherish what you have.”
He had lost many brothers, and now he had new brothers in Fu’an, so he had to cherish them.
“Do you think our first escort of the year will be southward or northward?” Duan Huai’an asked.
“The possibility of going south is quite high.”
“I wonder when Mr. Lu from Jingzhou will visit Zhongdu again,” Duan Huai’an mused.
The wind rustled past, sweeping over the courtyard walls and swirling down the long street.
A woman in black, with long hair cascading down her shoulders, a pale complexion, and carrying a bundle, slowly approached Fu’an Escort Agency. She stopped at the gatehouse, cocked her ear, and asked, “Is this Fu’an Escort Agency?”
The runner saw that the woman was blind and was quite surprised. He replied, “It is. Are you looking for someone?”
“I wish to hire an escort.”
“Certainly, please wait in the guest room.”
“Have your Chief Escort come and speak with me.”
“I’ll report to you first. Or, tell me what kind of escort it is and where you’re going?”
“A personal safety escort, going to Taihu Lake.”
“Alright.”
The runner led the woman to the guest room and then sprinted towards the martial field. He wouldn’t directly find Zhang Wangyue, as the head escorts and escorts of the escort agency were all in the martial field at the moment.
…
After Zhou Yan finished the “Fanzi Fist” and corrected the runners’ movements one by one, he went to the side of the martial field and took a bowl of tea from Huyan Lei.
“Brother Zhou, I just watched you lead the runners in boxing. Guess what I thought of?”
“Training soldiers.”
Huyan Lei was taken aback and looked at him sideways.
Zhou Yan smiled, “Old Brother, you are a descendant of the Hu Family Generals. Seeing so many runners training hard, it’s natural to think of military drills.”
“You’re truly clever.”
“Actually, I also had a similar feeling,” Shi Baichuan said.
Huyan Lei chuckled, “You descendant of Liangshan.”
“I’m also a descendant of heroes,” Shi Baichuan retorted.
Zhou Yan and Wang Kui laughed. At this moment, a runner arrived at the martial field.
“There’s a woman in the guest room. She’s blind and wants a personal safety escort. She said she wants to see the head escort and is going to Taihu Lake.”
“A blind woman, traveling such a long distance for a personal safety escort. Let’s go and tell the Chief Escort.”
A personal safety escort didn’t yield much profit. Any escort in the agency could handle it, but Huyan Lei didn’t intend to be perfunctory; instead, he felt a bit of sympathy.
The four of them went to the meeting hall and relayed the information to Zhang Wangyue. They then proceeded to the guest room.
“This young lady, our Chief Escort has arrived.”
“Do you wish to hire a personal safety escort?” Zhang Wangyue asked.
Zhou Yan looked at the woman, and the more he looked, the more suspicious he became.
Blind, dressed in black, long hair, a pale face devoid of blood, and an eerie aura.
He then thought about her destination: Taihu Lake.
Guiyun Manor was located on Taihu Lake.
As Zhang Wangyue asked, the woman moved. She placed her bundle on the table and casually opened it, revealing over twenty ingots of gold.
“I need to ask you first if Fu’an can handle this. This escort mission is no small matter and cannot be delayed in the slightest. If you can, then we can discuss other terms.”
Huyan Lei looked at the gold ingots and frowned, “Young lady, we do not accept escorts of unknown origin.”
“How can a personal safety escort have an unknown origin? Are you implying it’s a kidnapping?”
Huyan Lei remained silent. Her words made sense.
“Where in Taihu Lake?” Zhou Yan asked.
“Guiyun Manor.”
Zhou Yan took a shallow breath. It was Mei Chaofeng.
Zhang Wangyue nodded, “Young lady, how many people are there?”
“Three.”
“Very well, we can accept the escort.”
“Let me state the conditions: First, prepare three horse carriages, two of which should be lined with thick fur and driven by the best coachmen; second, you must reach Taihu Lake within twenty days; third, not a single word must be leaked. This third condition is especially important.”
Mei Chaofeng’s conditions were not overly harsh. Zhang Wangyue said, “Young lady, when will you depart?”
“We will leave the city at night.”
“Agreed.”
“Then it’s settled.” Mei Chaofeng stood up. She didn’t need the runner to guide her and left the guest room and the escort agency with practiced ease.
“Chief Escort, I think this escort is suspicious. Is it possible that Changfeng Escort Agency is setting a trap? After all, this escort order is almost as valuable as the one to Jingzhou.”
Zhang Wangyue looked at Zhou Yan, “What do you think, Brother Zhou?”
Zhou Yan pondered but couldn’t figure out who Mei Chaofeng was escorting. This was a complete deviation from the original storyline of the Condor Heroes Jianghu. Moreover, Mei Chaofeng and Lu Chenfeng, the Manor Lord of Guiyun Manor, although both from Peach Blossom Island, had grudges between them.
He snapped back to his senses and replied, “If it weren’t for leaving the city at night, it would be normal.”
Huyan Lei said, “This is precisely why I am suspicious.”
“How about I escort this mission?” Zhou Yan offered.
“Brother Zhou is meticulous and indeed the most suitable candidate.” Zhang Wangyue
“Then I will prepare.”
“Perhaps Miss Mu could accompany you? It would be convenient for communication with that young lady.”
How could Zhou Yan let Mu Nianci accompany him? That person was Mei Chaofeng! If there was a real crisis, he could use Huang Yaoshi to scare her.
“Since that young lady has no special requests, I don’t think it’s necessary. Three runners should suffice.”
“Alright, Brother Zhou, you make the arrangements.” Zhang Wangyue agreed.
Wang Kui and Huyan Lei sighed again. The first escort of the year being a personal safety escort was something they had never anticipated.
Zhou Yan didn’t waste time and busied himself selecting runners and hiring horse carriages from the cart shop.
However, while working, he couldn’t help but repeatedly ponder who the person Mei Chaofeng was escorting.
…
A dark figure moved through a narrow alley. Mei Chaofeng leaped into the backyard of a Prince’s Manor and skillfully landed in a cleaned-up abandoned hut, where Huang Rong lay unconscious on a bed lined with soft fur.
Mei Chaofeng was helpless regarding Huang Rong’s injuries and could only think of Huang Yaoshi.
Huang Rong was the key to Mei Chaofeng’s return to Peach Blossom Island, so she was doing her best. However, escorting her to Peach Blossom Island was a long journey, and she still feared Huang Yaoshi. Thus, she thought of escorting her to Guiyun Manor first.
Lu Chenfeng should have more ways to save Huang Rong’s life. If that didn’t work, she would take her to Peach Blossom Island.
As for the past grudges, in the face of the opportunity to return to Peach Blossom Island, Mei Chaofeng had long since dismissed them.
This led to Mei Chaofeng stealing gold from the Prince’s Manor, taking wild ginseng and medicinal herbs from Liang Zi Weng’s residence, and abducting a medicine boy.
Even the wisest can make mistakes. Zhou Yan truly did not expect that the person to be escorted was Huang Rong.
Today’s updates are all finished. Regarding the update schedule, from now on, it will be around 6 PM every night, usually two chapters. If there are bonus chapters, they will be uploaded together. Starting next month, I should be able to update 8,000 to 10,000 characters daily. I am currently writing another book, which will be completed at the end of the month. But I will try my best to write more and add bonus chapters this month. The author is a part-time dual-book writer and doesn’t even know what it feels like to sleep six hours. Next month, I will only write one book, otherwise, my body will surely collapse. I will add bonus chapters for monthly votes and recommendations. I will not go back on my word. Because the readers give me money to earn, I must be grateful.
Thank you to “One Lineage Single Transmission, Dong Xuanzi Thirty Sanshou,” “Scholar Cultivator,” “YI998,” and “Treasure” for their rewards, monthly votes, and recommendations. Thank you to all the great readers!
