I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Yang Chengwu died without ever fighting Wang Yu.

With Zhao Shan's flying knife pinning his throat, Yang Chengwu's dying gaze towards Wang Yu was filled with resentment and incomprehension.

"Brother Yu, how did you figure out he was lying, and how did you discover he was Shi Mo's apprentice?" Zhao Yingjie asked in surprise.

The others also looked at Wang Yu with curiosity.

Wang Yu pointed to the burly man who had been killed by Duan Wei, "This guy looks like a typical grassland man."

Gongsun Yi shook his head, "There are many experts from the grasslands in the Central Plains, and even more in the North."

Wang Yu nodded. "So I'm just giving him a try."

"Huh?" Gongsun Yi looked at Wang Yu with a blank expression.

Wang Yu said matter-of-factly, "He was surrounded by grassland people and used double hooks. He didn't want us to investigate the Baiqiang. Of course, I thought he was related to the Heiqiang Shimo. It wouldn't have been difficult to bluff him, but I didn't expect to actually find out."

Everyone: ? ? ?

Although he always felt that Wang Yu was acting somewhat rashly, he could also discover that Yang Chengwu was actually using double hooks, and he could also keenly sense that he did not want the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion to go to Baiqiang to investigate.

Then they saw Wang Yu personally step forward, come to Yang Chengwu's side, and begin to touch the corpse.

Everyone: ? ? ?

"There's nothing here again." Wang Yu sighed.

Knowing Wang Yu's habits, Zhao Yingjie hurriedly said, "He's here tonight to retrieve his horse, not to escape. Of course, he won't carry anything important with him. Once we take over Pegasus Fortress, we'll definitely reap a rich harvest."

Wang Yu nodded, then looked at Li Xiu, who was slumped on the ground.

"Your Highness!" Li Xiu rolled over and knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically. "I was forced into this by Yang Chengwu's force and acted foolishly out of desperation. Please, Your Highness, spare my life!"

Wang Yu laughed. "A moment of confusion?"

"Exactly!" Li Xiu nodded hastily. "That Yang Chengwu threatened me with the lives of my entire family, leaving me no choice but to comply. I beg Your Highness to see the truth!"

Just then, Prime Minister Sun and Sun Lian, protected by two guards from the Prince's residence, arrived at the east gate. Sun Lian waved an account book in her hand and said loudly, "Your Highness, this is Li Xiu's account book!"

Upon seeing the account book in Sun Lian's hand, Li Xiu's pupils constricted, and his whole body tensed up instinctively. Then, he caught sight of Zhao Shan and Zhao He looking at him with a half-smile, and suddenly felt as if all his strength had been drained away, collapsing to the ground.

Wang Yu took the ledger and opened it by the firelight. Inside, besides the profits from horse trading, there was a detailed record of his expenditures on distributing money to his subordinates at the horse farm.

In other words, everyone in the horse racing track who colluded with Li Xiu was clearly recorded in the ledger.

Wang Yu patted the ledger. "Everyone, go back to the horse farm to rest. Seal off the horse farm; no one is allowed to enter or leave."

"yes!"

……

The next morning, Wang Yu ordered Zhao Shan to lead cavalry to destroy Pegasus Fortress, while he himself handled the aftermath at the West Horse Ranch.

With swift and decisive action, Li Xiu and several key accomplices were all executed. The remaining accomplices were demoted but retained in their posts. Finally, Sun Xiang was appointed as the manager of the horse farm, and several grooms who had not participated in the theft were promoted to deputy managers to assist him.

Sun Lian refused repeatedly, but Wang Yu used Sun Lian as an excuse to shut her down.

"The salary of a stable manager is much higher than that of an ordinary stable boy. Don't you want to save up a dowry for Sun Lian?" Wang Yu asked with a smile.

Then Sun Xiang fell silent.

Then Wang Yu said to Zhao Yingjie, "After returning to the palace, invite a tutor and an accountant to the horse farm to teach Sun Lian to read, write, and do arithmetic."

"It's nothing!" Zhao Yingjie said, indicating that he had made a note of it.

Wang Yu looked at Sun Xiang and his daughter, "I will hand over the horse farm to you two from now on."

Sun Xiang almost swore an oath, "Your Highness, rest assured, if a fine horse is stolen from the horse farm, or a sick horse dies unexpectedly, I, Sun Xiang, will offer my head..."

"No need! No need!" Wang Yu hurriedly interrupted, "I'm counting on you to raise a few more fine horses for me. In the future, when the Iron Eagle Cavalry roams the northern desert, you'll have a share of the credit."

……

Unexpectedly, coming to Zhenxi Horse Ranch to choose a horse resulted in a complete purge of the entire Zhenxi Horse Ranch's top management.

However, it is clear to the naked eye that the newly promoted deputy commanders are all young and capable, and they all expressed that the Iron Eagle Cavalry can replace a number of quite elite warhorses this year.

Not only that, they also wiped out a Black Qiang spy force planted inside the pass, and at the same time, they deduced that the White Qiang would move their royal court south. As long as the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion maintained its strength, the White Qiang had no ambitions.

Gongsun Yi exclaimed, "Yang Chengwu's tiger-head hook is clearly a Central Plains martial arts style. I never expected that he went to the grasslands to become a disciple of Shi Mo."

Duan Weijiu, who was in the Northwest, knew the inside story: "When Shi Mo was young, he traveled all over the world. He not only learned martial arts from the Central Plains, but also went to the snowy region to learn the secret arts of Tantric Buddhism, which is how he became a grandmaster."

Zhao Yingjie laughed and said, "That's why Shi Mo only taught him the Central Plains style of martial arts in order to let him infiltrate the Central Plains as an undercover agent, without teaching him the essence of his own martial arts."

Zhao He shook his head. "You overestimate him. Even if Shi Mo taught him the essence, he still needs to be able to learn it. In my opinion, he hasn't even learned the Central Plains style that Shi Mo taught him."

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Then a piercing scream interrupted the laughter, followed by a woman's soft shout and a man's maniacal laughter.

The group immediately spurred their horses and soon rounded a corner of the woods, where they saw the scene on the road.

A carriage was parked by the roadside, the driver lying on the ground with his neck twisted, clearly dead. The carriage curtain was lifted, and a beautiful woman was supporting the carriage, her face full of terror.

But the battlefield didn't happen to her; it happened next to the carriage.

A man with a smile struck a woman's shoulder, knocking the longsword out of her hand and causing her to spit out blood. Then, with his fingers like hooks, he tore open her clothes, revealing a delicate glimpse of skin.

The woman cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"You've been poisoned by my bone-softening powder, and you still want to resist?" The man laughed heartily. "A young heroine who's just come down from the mountain wants to act like a chivalrous hero? Today I'll teach you a lesson: acting like a chivalrous hero will only get you killed!"

As the man spoke, he stepped forward and grabbed, tearing the woman's pants with a "rip" sound, revealing her firm and elastic thighs.

But at the same time, they all heard the sound of horses' hooves.

The man turned around and saw Duan Wei carrying a seven-foot-long sword. His pupils shrank, he let out a strange cry, and suddenly leaped into the nearby woods. After a rustling sound, he quickly disappeared into the depths of the forest.

The man, who had been so arrogant just moments before, vanished in a few breaths and disappeared without a trace.

This scene stunned not only everyone present, but also the two women who were getting off and on the carriage.

"Old Duan, does he know you?" Gongsun Yi teased with a smile.

Duan Wei thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I don't know him."

Zhao He laughed and said, "The Duan family's horse-slaying saber is renowned throughout the Northwest. Any martial artist with a little experience can tell at a glance that if this person doesn't want to die, then naturally he can only run away."

As the group chatted and laughed as they approached, Duan Wei realized that the woman in the car was someone he knew. "Miss Narcissus?"

The beautiful woman was none other than Narcissus from the Colorful Phoenix Pavilion.

"And who is this?" Wang Yu asked, looking at the woman who was lying on her side on the ground.

The woman was tall and slender. Although she was not as beautiful as Narcissus, she possessed a rare heroic spirit. Even though she was poisoned and seriously injured, she still had a wild and stubborn look on her face.

Especially those strong, long legs, they look like they could crush someone to death.

"This young lady saved me!" Narcissus said hurriedly.

Xu Hao dismounted, helped the woman up, then took out a porcelain bottle, poured out a pale yellow pill, and handed it to her, saying, "This is the Five-Flower Detoxification Pill, effective against all poisons."

The woman thanked him, not caring about the little bit of skin exposed, and simply took the pill, introducing herself, "My name is Meng Zixiao, thank you for the medicine."

Meeting Meng Zixiao's bright and beautiful eyes, Xu Hao blushed and looked away. "I am Xu Hao from Huichun Valley. You don't need to be so polite, young lady. Saving lives is what we should do."

While Xu Hao was treating Meng Zixiao, the Narcissus Girl had already explained the whole story in a few words.

It should be noted that competition in brothels is fierce. Even the top courtesan must not only maintain her appearance and figure, but also constantly innovate her talents, otherwise her patrons will inevitably get tired of her.

Narcissus is resting today, so she asked the driver to take her out of the city for a spring outing and to gather inspiration, as she wanted to compose a new piece of music and dance.

Just as they arrived at this spot, the man suddenly appeared, killed the coachman with a single blow, and then tried to have sex with Narcissus.

"Uh..." Hearing this, everyone was speechless.

Narcissus was a little embarrassed. This was her business, and she could simply not take any money today. She hadn't expected that the man wouldn't recognize her profession.

Of course, there's also Meng Zixiao, who stepped in to help those in need.

Just as the man killed the coachman and threatened the Narcissus girl, Meng Zixiao rushed out from the side and stabbed the man with his sword. However, the man countered with the Xiaoyao Powder and Meng Zixiao was hit by his palm, suffering serious injuries.

Then the scene that everyone had just arrived at unfolded.

"Fortunately, you all arrived in time. I am but a withered flower, and if Miss Meng were to suffer as a result, it would be my fault," Shui Xian said repeatedly.

"None of your business!" Meng Zixiao waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Even girls in brothels have set prices. He's trying to freeload, and I'll still teach him a lesson!"

Everyone laughed upon hearing this. Although this Miss Meng's martial arts skills were average, her personality was indeed straightforward.

So they helped Meng Zixiao into the carriage, and Xu Hao acted as the driver, and the group returned to Longshan City together.

First, Wang Yu escorted Narcissus back to Caifeng Pavilion, and then asked Meng Zixiao where she lived.

Meng Zixiao gave an awkward smile and changed the subject, "Thank you for seeing me off, Your Highness. I will get off here and go back on my own."

No one was stupid. Zhao Yingjie asked, "Was your purse stolen?"

Meng Zixiao paused for a moment, and Xu Hao suddenly said, "Your internal injuries haven't healed yet. If that person finds you again, things could get very bad. Either find a safe place to recuperate, or... how about you come with us to visit the Duan family?"

Upon hearing the mention of a safe place, everyone turned to Wang Yu, who then invited, "Why don't you stay at my Zhenxi Prince's Mansion for a few days, so that you can recover from your injuries and continue your chivalrous journey?"

Meng Zixiao's eyes lit up as she looked at Wang Yu, and she laughed heartily, "Since that's the case, then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Hao's expression darkened.