I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Two graves have appeared behind the courtyard. One grave has a wooden sign that reads "Grandfather and Grandson of the Courtyard", while the other is an unmarked, abandoned grave.

He sent the guards to the side rooms to spend the night, while Wang Yu and the other two stayed in the main house.

As dusk fell and night deepened, the sky grew darker.

Wang Yu rubbed his hands together, and said expectantly, "Um..."

Zi Ling placed one quilt on the west side of the kang (heated brick bed) in the main room and the other two quilts on the east side, then glanced at Wang Yu sideways and asked, "Which one are you trying to say?"

"I want to ask, when are you going to teach me the Seven Styles of the Setting Sun?" Wang Yu said.

Zi Ling, "..."

Li Yunxiu couldn't help but chuckle, but she understood Wang Yu's expectations. "If you still have the energy, let's start now."

Wang Yu nodded vigorously, "Of course!"

Just kidding, the misty rain of Jiangnan, the vast desert and long river, galloping through the martial world, wielding a sword across the land, drinking fine wine, and sleeping with beautiful women...

What Chinese man doesn't dream of being a martial arts hero?

The fact that Wang Yu waited until this point to ask shows his exceptional self-control.

"You've never learned martial arts before, and directly learning a sword technique like the Seven Styles of the Setting Sun is like building a castle in the air—the foundation is unstable."

Li Yunxiu said, "But teaching only the basics can be boring, so I will teach you both the basics of swordsmanship and the Seven Forms of the Setting Sun. You need to practice the basics of swordsmanship for a longer time than you will practice the Seven Forms of the Setting Sun in order to build a solid foundation."

"Okay!" Wang Yu readily agreed. As someone with knowledge from his past life, he knew that Li Yunxiu was absolutely right.

So Li Yunxiu first taught Wang Yu the basics of swordsmanship, which included thrusting, pointing, parrying, intercepting, and picking.

After Wang Yu had memorized all the basics of swordsmanship, they began to teach the "Seven Forms of the Setting Sun".

"The Seven Styles of Sunset" consists of seven sword styles, each with seven variations, totaling forty-nine variations, which is sufficient to handle most situations.

"These Seven Forms of the Setting Sun are naturally what I learned from Zhao Yu. However, my swordsmanship is not good, and I have never practiced 'Reflecting Fire,' so I only have the form but not the meaning, and I cannot experience the method of internal energy circulation."

"Therefore, I can only teach you the sword techniques and variations. As for how to use internal energy to wield the sword, you will have to figure that out yourself."

"These are the first to fifth moves of the Seven Styles of the Setting Sun. Although they are first-rate sword techniques, they are not particularly amazing."

"This is the essence of the Sunset Sword Technique: the sixth move, July's Blazing Fire, and the seventh move, Sunset's Reflection."

"The move is wide and powerful, with unparalleled strength and unending sword intent, as if its residual force has not dissipated. It is a sword path for facing the enemy head-on."

"A move that is unexpected, strange and mysterious, containing life within stillness, and disappearing in a flash, is a sword move that can achieve victory by surprise."

One is willing to teach, and the other is willing to learn.

Moreover, to Li Yunxiu's surprise, Wang Yu learned very quickly. Although it was obvious that this was his first time learning, he learned most of the things very quickly. Although his form was not yet standard and his posture was not yet stable, those were issues that would arise later when he became more proficient.

The moon was high in the sky, and the two stopped only when Zi Ling's even breathing became louder and louder. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Go to sleep, we have to travel tomorrow."

"good!"

……

The morning sunlight shone through the window paper and onto Wang Yu's eyes.

Wang Yu opened his eyes groggily. "Didn't you draw the curtains yesterday?"

Opening his eyes, he saw several pieces of cured meat still hanging from the roof beams above him, a few pieces of torn paper from the wooden window to the east, and Li Yunxiu and Ziling still fast asleep beside him. He finally woke up.

As soon as Wang Yu made a sound, Li Yunxiu instantly woke up. Zi Ling rubbed her eyes groggily, "Is it dawn?"

Li Yunxiu nodded. "It's dawn. Time to get going."

Wang Yu complained, "That doesn't sound very auspicious."

Li Yunxiu smiled slightly, "It's unlucky for a person to die, but it's very lucky if someone else dies."

As they were talking, Zi Ling also woke up, got up to fetch water, and helped Wang Yu and Li Yunxiu brush their teeth and wash up. When they finished getting ready, Song Yong and the other guards were also ready.

Next, Li Yunxiu and Ziling unloaded two bundles from the carriage, and then had the imperial guards drive the carriage back to the official road, heading back to the capital.

Song Yong was initially unwilling, since his mission was to escort the three back to Longshan Prefecture. However, after Li Yunxiu personally wrote him a letter to return to the capital and deliver it to the commander of the Imperial Guards, he stopped insisting.

After seeing off the guards, Wang Yu and the other two did not set off immediately. Li Yunxiu took out several eyebrow pencils and some makeup powder from her bundle, and then searched around the courtyard for some coal ash, loose threads, and so on, and began to apply makeup to the three of them.

A moment later, a down-on-his-luck scholar, a wife who had shared hardship with him, and a sister-in-law living under someone else's roof were freshly born.

Wang Yu looked at himself in the bronze mirror. Li Yunxiu had painted him seven or eight years older, adding a few traces of age, which, while obscuring some of his handsomeness, added a touch of vicissitude.

Although you can still see your own reflection if you look closely, we don't live in a technologically advanced society now. If you haven't seen it in person, you absolutely wouldn't recognize it based on a paper portrait.

Li Yunxiu and Zi Ling were the same; their appearances were altered by three parts, and their temperament was changed by two parts, so at first glance, they looked like completely different people.

"I never knew your makeup skills were so good!" Wang Yu exclaimed.

Although Li Yunxiu's makeup skills are not as good as the legendary disguise techniques or the modern heavy makeup techniques that can almost change a person, they are already amazing enough.

"That's right!" Zi Ling exclaimed with pride, "My young lady disguised herself as a man to participate in the imperial examination, but no one discovered it until the final palace examination!"

Wang Yu glanced at Li Yunxiu curiously.

It's quite big, how come no one noticed?

Li Yunxiu glanced at Wang Yu and said, "Let's go to the nearest town first and buy an oxcart. That will make the journey easier."

Cows are cheaper than horses and don't attract much attention.

So the three of them carried their bundles and took a side path out of the mountains. Along the way, Li Yunxiu instructed Wang Yu on lightness techniques. After they left the forest, Wang Yu had also learned the most basic lightness techniques.

……

boned...

A bullock cart swayed along the rammed earth road, an old yellow ox walking slowly behind it, pulling a wooden and bamboo canopy.

On the throne in front of the carriage sat a down-on-his-luck scholar who looked to be nearly thirty. The carriage was simple and drafty, with an ordinary-looking woman and another girl who looked younger sitting inside.

It was Wang Yu and his two companions in disguise.

The three of them had come out of the small courtyard in the woods, bought an oxcart in the nearest market town, and then took another road toward Longshan Prefecture.

Sure enough, since changing his appearance and taking a different route, he hasn't encountered any assassins again.

Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it's still a normal world, not like Jin Yong's world where you always have chance encounters, nor like Gu Long's world where everyone has their own radar. This world is relatively realistic.

Three days had passed since the battle in the small courtyard in the forest. During these three days, apart from traveling, Wang Yu had been diligently practicing martial arts.

Unfortunately, the effects of the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill were limited. Apart from improving his physical aptitude and widening his meridians, he reached the first level of "Flowing Fire Reflection" with the help of the tortoise shell. However, his other sword techniques and lightness skills were still at the beginner stage.

The good thing is that they have had a peaceful three days. Not only did they not encounter any assassins, but they have also left Gyeonggi Province and arrived at Hangu Prefecture in Haseong Province.

"After passing Hangu Pass, you'll reach Daxing Pass, and further west is Fengming Pass. Turn north, and you'll exit Hexi Pass and enter Anxi Pass, which leads to Longshan Pass," Li Yunxiu explained.

"It's a pity the oxcart is too slow. It will probably take more than a month to get to Longshan Prefecture," Ziling sighed.

"That's a good thing!" Wang Yu said leisurely. "You don't have to rush into scheming against others, and you can travel around enjoying the scenery. It's practically a paid vacation. How can you not be satisfied?"

"That makes some sense?" Zi Ling thought for a moment, somewhat convinced, then looked at Li Yunxiu, "We didn't intentionally want to be late, but Old Master Yan died, and we need to avoid assassins, right?"

Li Yunxiu's lips twitched involuntarily. In just three days, his little maid had been completely fooled.

Isn't it safer to return to Longshan Prefecture as soon as possible?

As long as they are on the road, there is a risk of their identities being exposed and encountering assassins. Only when they return to the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion and Wang Yu assumes the title of Zhenxi Prince will they be completely safe.

Of course, Li Yunxiu also understood Wang Yu's concerns and wanted to use this month to practice martial arts more and get to know Zhao Yu's personality and behavior better.

However, Wang Yu always manages to express his thoughts and actions in a very reasonable way, sometimes even he himself finds it hard to refute, let alone Zi Ling, that silly girl.

Sitting in the car, Li Yunxiu looked at Wang Yu's back through the gap in the bamboo curtain in front of the car.

Actually, she didn't have much interaction with Wang Yu before. Apart from teaching him martial arts and helping him get to know Zhao Yu's personality and behavior, she only started spending time with him after the emperor bestowed a marriage upon her and they left the capital together.

In her mind, Wang Yu was an honest and decent man from a good family. Although he was kind and intelligent, he couldn't hide his timidity and reserved nature.

Unexpectedly, after being frightened unconscious by an assassination attempt, Wang Yu suddenly changed a lot when he woke up. He became more composed, bolder, smarter and calmer in the face of trouble, and even his mouth became more eloquent.

If Li Yunxiu hadn't been there the whole time, she would have suspected that Wang Yu had been replaced again.

"However, such examples do exist. Buddhism has the sudden awakening, Taoism has the dream of the Yellow Millet. He went through a life-and-death experience, so it's normal for him to suddenly have an epiphany."

Wang Yu drove quietly, Zi Ling began to admire the scenery, and Li Yunxiu also pulled himself out of his thoughts, calmly considering how to reclaim power and govern the region after returning to the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion.

Just then, a figure tumbled down from a tree by the roadside, staggered slightly before regaining his balance, and then raised his left hand, which was holding a sword, to wave to Wang Yu.

However, he quickly realized his mistake, hurriedly retracting his left hand and hiding the longsword behind his back, though the hilt was still sticking out. He then raised his right hand, which was holding a wine gourd, and greeted, "Brother, I've been drinking too much and missed the appointed time. Could you give me a ride?"