I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Old Yan is dead.

This man, who in his youth had single-handedly stormed Mount Taiheng, becoming a formidable figure on both sides of the Yellow River, and had just easily defeated the Twin Swords of the South Sea, was a secret master sent by the emperor to protect him, and died so easily.

Wang Yu's lips twitched. Such a master, yet he died so hastily. This world is too dangerous, isn't it?

With a whoosh, all the guests in the hall stirred.

If it were just an ordinary fight in the martial arts world, they might as well just watch the show. But since someone was poisoned, they couldn't help but worry about whether they would be affected.

The guests in the hall stood up in response, and the ten guards, led by Song Yong, also drew their swords, glaring menacingly.

Only Li Yunxiu remained calm. She looked at Old Yan's corpse, then at the trembling shop assistant who was almost losing his balance. "Take me to the back kitchen where the tea is kept."

Li Yunxiu's words gave the shop assistant strength. He nodded repeatedly and turned to leave.

"Princess?" Song Yong looked at Li Yunxiu.

Li Yunxiu waved her hand, "The murderer stopped staying in the shop the moment we stopped drinking those three bowls of tea."

Song Yong waved his hand, and the imperial guards sheathed their swords.

Li Yunxiu followed the shop assistant into the kitchen, and Wang Yu and Ziling followed as well.

The kitchen was just an ordinary kitchen. The head chef was still cooking at the stove, and another kitchen helper had just brought the chopped meat to the stove, poured himself a bowl of cold tea, and was leisurely drinking it.

His face also turned bluish-black.

"You...you..." The shop assistant pointed at the kitchen helper, barely able to speak.

"What's wrong with me?" the kitchen helper asked. "Why did you bring guests in...?"

Before he could finish speaking, the kitchen helper's vision went black, and he collapsed.

Li Yunxiu walked coldly to the iron pot containing the herbal tea, took a sniff, sighed, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Get on board, let's go!"

……

One of the guards was assigned to drive the carriage, and everyone continued on their way on empty stomachs.

One of the guards wanted to buy some steamed buns from the bun shop next to the eatery to fill his stomach, but Li Yunxiu threw the buns he bought to a stray dog ​​by the roadside.

When they saw the stray dog ​​let out a "woof" before collapsing to the ground and dying, everyone fell silent.

"The other party is a very calculating person," Li Yunxiu said in a deep voice. "He calculated that we wouldn't dare to continue eating in the restaurant, and he also calculated that we might buy steamed buns from the nearby steamed bun shop to fill our stomachs after we came out."

"What if we find another restaurant?" Zi Ling asked.

"Perhaps the food at that restaurant was poisoned," Li Yunxiu said calmly.

"Then wouldn't we be able to find him?" Zi Ling asked.

"He's always one step ahead of us, how are we supposed to find him?" Li Yunxiu asked.

"Who exactly is he, and how is he so powerful?"

"I don't know who he is, but I do know he's not actually that great."

"what?"

There are many experts in using poison throughout the world, but very few can truly reach the pinnacle of skill.

Li Yunxiu also explained to Wang Yu, "Whether it's poison made of metal or poison made from living things, it may have color or an unusual smell. If it's put into food or drink, it can be detected if you pay attention. Therefore, most people who use poison attach it to weapons or hidden weapons."

"Only by preparing poison to be colorless and odorless can it be added to food and drink to silently kill a true master."

"Does this person not count?" Wang Yu asked.

"Of course not. His poison had a hint of sweetness, the herbal tea had red dates in it, and the steamed buns had a wheaty aroma, which masked the sweetness and fooled Old Master Yan."

At this point, Li Yunxiu looked at Wang Yu with an enigmatic expression, "If it weren't for you, I might not have noticed."

The town was quite lively, and they had randomly chosen a restaurant. Even Li Yunxiu didn't expect that someone could poison the herbal tea in such a short time.

Although that sweetness was different from the sweetness of dates, Li Yunxiu wasn't sure if she could notice it without being mentally prepared.

Zi Ling patted her chest, still shaken, but it didn't cause a ripple. "Speaking of which, you were the one who saved us!"

"How about you guys cough cough..." Wang Yu nodded seriously, "If there's a weakness, we can defend against it. From now on, we won't eat sweets anymore. It's healthier for us. It's good to start taking care of our health early."

Li Yunxiu ignored his witty remark and continued her analysis, "His poison still has flaws, yet he still put it in our food, which shows that he doesn't dare to face us directly."

Zi Ling chimed in, "His martial arts skills are lacking!"

"But their agility is not weak," Li Yunxiu said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to poison us before we entered the shop, without affecting the previous customers."

"Moreover, he was a bit impatient and wouldn't give us a chance to catch our breath." Li Yunxiu's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's why he poisoned the bun shop instead of waiting for another opportunity."

Wang Yu listened quietly to the female top scorer's analysis.

"The opponent is exceptionally skilled in martial arts, capable of poisoning us silently before we do, and may even be able to disguise himself to avoid attracting attention. It would be very difficult for us to find him in a crowd."

"You can't guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days. We still have quite a while before we reach Longshan Prefecture, and there might be other assassins along the way. We don't have time to waste on him."

Li Yunxiu's eyes flickered, then he ordered Ziling to lift the carriage curtain and said to Song Yong, "Squad Leader Song, let's change our route. We won't take the main road; we'll just find a side road."

Song Yong took the lead, turning his horse around and leading the carriage and the guards onto a side road.

……

As the sun gradually slanted westward, it shone through the sparse gaps above the forest, bathing the sky and earth in a golden hue.

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, which carpeted the ground. The sound of hooves interrupted the chirping of insects and birds in the forest, followed by a series of footsteps. A group of people had entered this peaceful and natural scene.

"Your Highness and Your Highness, there is a small courtyard ahead," Song Yong said, reining in his horse to inquire.

Zi Ling lifted the carriage curtain, and Wang Yu and Li Yunxiu both saw the so-called small courtyard in front of them.

The courtyard had no walls, only a waist-high wooden fence. There were three small houses in the courtyard, one on each side. The sounds of chopping wood and children's laughter could be heard from the courtyard.

Li Yunxiu glanced at the sky and instructed, "I'll go and greet the master. We'll make do here for the night. You all set up camp outside the courtyard and don't disturb them."

"Yes!" Song Yong replied, dismounting.

Wang Yu and his two companions got out of the car and knocked on the wooden door outside the courtyard, which offered no real privacy.

The owner of the courtyard had already seen everyone, and everyone had also seen the owner of the courtyard, who was an elderly woodcutter and a little boy with a pigtail.

The little boy hid behind the unfinished stove in the yard. The old woodcutter put down his axe and came to open the door for them. "Who are you?"

"Greetings, sir." Li Yunxiu bowed slightly. "We've taken the wrong road and missed our lodging. We'd like to ask to stay here for the night. Don't worry, our men are all outside and will not disturb you. We'll also offer a token of our gratitude when we leave tomorrow."

The old woodcutter scratched his head. "What's a thank-you gift?"

Zi Ling replied, "It's a thank-you gift, five taels of silver."

The old woodcutter grinned and hurriedly waved his hand, inviting everyone in. "Please come in, esteemed guests. It's not easy being away from home. I'll offer you the main house later, though it's quite simple. Please don't mind."

"You're too kind. Any place that shelters us from the wind will do," Li Yunxiu said as she entered the courtyard, returning the greeting.

The little boy was no longer afraid when he saw his grandfather leading everyone in. He came out from behind the stove and looked at everyone curiously.

In the small courtyard, there was a pile of mud, straw, and lime next to the half-built stove. However, the stove was still usable. An iron pot was burning on the large stove door, bubbling something and emitting a fragrant aroma.

The door to the woodshed was open, and inside were piles of firewood that the old woodcutter had gathered, with some more firewood scattered outside—firewood that the old woodcutter had just chopped.

On the side of the main house was a doghouse, inside which a shadowy figure was curled up, and outside the doghouse was a half-eaten bowl of rice.

Under the eaves of the main house, there was a wooden horse, a rattle drum, a wooden comb, and two simple-looking rag dolls.

The old woodcutter walked heavily, seemingly with difficulty in his legs. He called to his grandson to bring some small stools for everyone to sit down, and then ladled out several bowls of thin porridge from the iron pot, along with several pre-baked dry flatbreads.

"My esteemed guests, you must not have had dinner yet. This is a porridge of cured pork that I just cooked. It may not taste very good, but it will fill your stomach."

Zi Ling took the porridge and handed it to Wang Yu and Li Yunxiu.

Li Yunxiu picked up the porridge, took a light sniff, sipped it, and nodded in praise, "You're too kind, sir. This cured meat porridge is very fragrant."

"I'm glad you like it." The old woodcutter took out some more bread and gave it to the little boy, telling him to go out and give it to the many guards. He received a lot of thanks in return.

While the group ate, Li Yunxiu leaned closer to the old woodcutter to chat. He learned that the old woodcutter's son and daughter-in-law had died unexpectedly, leaving him to raise his grandson and make a living by chopping wood.

"Are you going to Lujiaji, the nearest market, to sell firewood?" Li Yunxiu asked. "How's the price of firewood lately? Is it enough to live on?"

"It is indeed Lujiaji," the old woodcutter replied. "Nowadays, the imperial court has issued a restriction order that we cannot cut firewood in the surrounding area during the spring, so my firewood from the deep mountains sells very well. A hundred catties can sell for five hundred coins."

Li Yunxiu nodded and smiled, "That's indeed very good."

Everyone was indeed hungry since they hadn't eaten lunch. They quickly ate their fill of hard bread with porridge made with cured meat, but the old woodcutter and the little boy only drank a small bowl and seemed not to have eaten enough.

Zi Ling beckoned the little boy over and took a pastry out of her pouch. "This is a walnut shortbread from Qi Yun Zhai in the capital. It's delicious!"

The little boy saw his grandfather nod, thanked him, took the food, and his eyes lit up after taking a bite.

"Is it tasty?"

"tasty!"

The little boy nodded repeatedly, then ran to the stove, took a kettle from another small stove opening, poured three small bowls of water, and carried it to the group on a wooden tray.

"This is sweet soup my grandpa made for me, here you can have some!" the little boy said.

"Thank you." Li Yunxiu reached out and took the sweet soup, then looked at the old woodcutter. "We just passed through Lujiaji..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Yunxiu suddenly made a move, first grabbing the old woodcutter's wrist, then splashing the sugar water, bowl and all, onto the little boy, while his other hand sealed the old woodcutter's major acupoint on his chest.

The old woodcutter slowly collapsed, and the little boy cried out and retreated, moving lightly, but Zi Ling suddenly appeared behind him and knocked him to the ground.

Seeing the old woodcutter's shocked and angry eyes, Li Yunxiu smiled slightly, "I've got you."