Chapter 9: The Imperial Edict

  One by one, the big buns were eaten up, and Yang Yun was constantly reversing the Jingyuan Huajing Jue, quickly turning the food into essence and storing it in the meridians. Otherwise, these big buns would be enough for a strong and energetic person to eat four or five at most, how could Yang Yun finish so many?

  A thread of warmth seeped out from the intestines and stomach, converging into a hidden meridian that circulated throughout the body.

  When the essence flows through the arm, Yang Yun controls some of the essence to settle down at the Shao Shang and Tai Yuan acupoints.

  If you can introspect, you will find that there is a faint white light flashing in these meridians, which is an abnormal phenomenon that appears after the concentrated essence reaches a certain level.

  If further advanced, these meridians can even condense into physical essence pearls. Essence pearls have many uses and can be used to refine some low-grade elixirs, such as the Avoiding Grain Elixir, or to create talismans, and some thunder techniques can also be applied.

  "If only every meal had some ginseng, bear's paw and deer antler to eat, relying solely on buns is not enough, even if I vomit my intestines out, I still won't be able to refine a single Pearl of Essence." Yang Yun thought about the wonderful uses of the Pearl of Essence, his eyes grew red with excitement.

  If Yang Yun had the support of Jingyuan Pearl, he would be able to kill people with a single move like the top masters in the martial arts world, and even a single finger wind could defeat his enemies. At that time, money would not have any use.

  Yang Yun controlled another strand of essence to condense at the Yongquan acupoint on the sole, and would extract it when using the Body Uplift Skill. Hidden weapons and lightness skill were the two external skills that Yang Yun was currently focusing on to establish a foundation for survival.

  Since baozi's transformation is not much, we must be meticulous and use good steel on the blade.

  When there was only half a bun left, Yang Yun stopped the refining technique of Jingyuan.

  "That's enough for now, save some buns to fill your belly." Yang Yun had not forgotten that the first time he lost control and ate all the buns without stopping his technique in time, resulting in him being so hungry that stars were shining before his eyes, and he was so desperate that he almost ate his own fingers. This taste Yang Yun absolutely did not want to experience again.

  It's about time, Yang Yun strolled towards the county school, and along the way, people began to emerge one after another, setting up stalls, selling vegetables, driving carts, and going to work.

  The King of Wu has been in power for over a decade, focusing on civil governance and abandoning military conquests, forming good relations with the Chen Dynasty, resulting in a thriving national situation. Even though Jinghai County is small, it also presents a prosperous scene.

  Recalling the memories of war disasters that came a few years later in his dreams, Yang Yun's mood couldn't help but darken. Unfortunately, he had been cultivating for too short a time, and when the time came, it would be difficult to even protect himself, let alone care about others.

  Unconsciously, Yang Yun had already walked to the county school library. As soon as he entered the door, he saw four or five attendants sweeping the floor and sprinkling water in the courtyard, busy running around.

  Upon entering the library room, it was clear that there were many more scholars coming to read books today, including several unfamiliar faces that had never been seen before.

  They look so well-dressed and clearly don't need to come to a county school to find books to read.

  Yang Yun waited at the county school for over a dozen days and got to know several familiar students, one of whom was named Meng Chao. He leaned in close to Yang Yun's ear and said, "Have you heard? The Magistrate is coming today."

  Yang Yun also guessed seven or eight parts, the instructor is a positive eighth product, in charge of the county's academic administration, the county school gate is next to the library, but usually not one entrance.

  It's probably because the library is too dilapidated, so the instructor rarely comes over for inspections.

  Meng Chao was the kind of person who couldn't keep a secret, and seeing Yang Yun's not-so-enthusiastic expression, he couldn't help but continue: "I heard that this Instructor is going to be promoted to the prefecture soon ——"

  "Oh?" Yang Yun's expression changed slightly as he pondered it.

  The educational official of our province is already old and will probably retire in two months, if this teacher can be promoted to take his place, then he will preside over the autumn examination of the imperial examination this year.

  Wu State was a small country, equivalent to only one prefecture of the Great Chen, with only nine prefectures and eighty-two counties in the whole country. Therefore, the imperial examination for selecting officials was held at the prefectural level, and it was scheduled to be held once every three years in autumn.

  Although the chief examiner was sent by the King of Wu, as the deputy chief examiner, the Academician had great power in determining who would be on the list. At that time, the Academician's words carried weight, "This young man has a good reputation locally and is exceptionally talented." The chief examiner generally wouldn't go against his face. The reason for sending down the chief examiner was actually to monitor and restrict him, to prevent this power from expanding too much.

  At this time, a bailiff at the gate shouted, "The Magistrate has arrived—"

  A house full of scholars stood up in a flurry, all bowing their hands to greet the instructor who was walking in with a steady pace.

  A young man in a brocade robe hastily stepped forward, "Governor, I am Liu Fu, the county's top scholar. I had the good fortune of hearing your lectures at Haitian Academy, and it was truly enlightening."

  "Hmm, you're a student of Haitian Academy, huh? The academy isn't bad." Instructor said while continuing to walk inside.

  Yang Yun's eyes, tempered by the true energy of the moon, had already detected a hint of displeasure in Jiao Shou's eyes from afar. He couldn't help but secretly laugh at this Liu Fu, who was too shameless, thickening his skin to curry favor with Jiao Shou as soon as he entered the door, without even considering the bulging belly under his clothes, which would give Jiao Shou a good impression.

  Several other finely dressed scholars were slightly higher than Liu Fu, they quietly occupied the most eye-catching position in the teacher's line of sight, and their courtesy was also dignified and calm.

  Meng Chao also wanted to squeeze forward, but unfortunately hesitated for a moment, and the good position was already occupied by others. He stopped feeling that he might have blocked Yang Yun, so he slightly shifted half a step to the side, revealing Yang Yun's position.

  Yang Yun's heart moved slightly, Meng Chao was a good person, and in his dream, he seemed to be very compatible with him.

  The instructor strolled around casually, asking a few students questions. The ones being asked answered with great respect, but Yang Yun felt that the instructor wasn't particularly interested in the students' answers. This inspection seemed more like a formality.

  Jiao Huan quickly walked into the room where the books were stored, and his expression changed instantly.

  "Shi San!" The instructor shouted with an unchanged expression.

  "Ah! Sir——" The old janitor who usually took care of the library hurried over.

  "I'm asking you, what's going on with the books in this library? The government has allocated silver funds multiple times, and there have been donations from prominent locals in the county, so why has this library become increasingly dilapidated over the past three years?"

  The old yamen runner knelt down and replied: "I report to your honor, although books are occasionally allocated to the county school, these books are not properly stored, and due to insect damage and rain leakage, many have been damaged, therefore——"

  "Preposterous!" Judge Dee exclaimed in anger. "How can it be damaged to such an extent? Even if some damage was done, surely not the entire book was destroyed! You are also an old hand in the yamen, do I have to order someone to come and verify this?"

  "This... I have something else to report to you, sir, but it's a bit difficult to say."

  "Speak quickly, otherwise this official will sentence you for corruption!"

  "Sir! I, your subordinate, may have been remiss in my duties, but I am absolutely not corrupt! I'm just a low-ranking clerk who can barely recognize a few big characters. What would I do with a pile of books? The people coming and going from this library are all scholars and officials with honors to their name. If there's an occasional slip-up, it's really not easy for me to investigate strictly!" The old clerk called out to Qu.

  Jiao Xun took a few steps closer, glaring at the old constable.

  The surrounding scholars all showed anger on their faces, and the words of this bailiff were clearly saying that there was a scholar who stole books, which was simply slapping them in the face. However, although they were angry, not one of the scholars dared to jump out and deny it, but instead several people had flickering eyes and shortness of breath.

  "Hmph!" The instructor grunted, "Since you have the crime of dereliction of duty, come and take Shi San away to receive ten lashes as punishment!"

  The other yamen runners came at the call and carried the old runner into the courtyard, where they gave him a good drubbing.

  The old official's painful cries came one after another, and the scholars' faces were also burning with shame, each one losing face.

  After this incident, the imperial inspector hastily concluded his inspection tour.

  Jiao Xun walked away, and all the scholars immediately dispersed like birds. Only a few people were left in the library.

  The old policeman with the surname Shi was beaten with a board and was helped home by some familiar policemen, who temporarily replaced him with a younger one.

  Under the gaze of this young official who was as vigilant as a thief, the remaining few scholars also quickly dispersed, leaving only Yang Yun alone.

  Walking alone in the library, Yang Yun occasionally pulled out a book from the shelf to browse, completely ignoring the disturbance of the young servant's gaze.

  Maybe he was tired of staring, and Yang Yun's calm demeanor really didn't seem like the kind of person who would steal books. The young officer finally gave up his suspicious behavior and went to find a place to slack off instead.

  Except for going out for lunch at noon, Yang Yun stayed in the library all day until it closed at dusk.