Chapter 12: The Locusts

  Yang Yun arrived at the county school library and plunged into a pile of books.

  As soon as I opened a book, I felt happy and almost moaned with pleasure.

  The information on the pages flowed into Yang Yun's mind like a stream, gurgling and pouring in. Before breaking through the second layer, although Yang Yun read very quickly, he couldn't remember the content, but now Yang Yun clearly felt that this surging information was like being carved into his mind.

  In the sea of knowledge, a colorful cloud emerges again, condensing into an ancient and fragrant building, with the three characters "Jinglun Hall" on the plaque.

  A stream of characters falls from the air, and in the splashing water, a book is slowly taking shape. It's exactly the one Yang Yun is reading.

  "It's too cool! At this speed, memorizing all the books in the library would only take five or six days of effort." Indeed, with the terrifying ability of Shi Hai, it's not just a small county school library, even if all the books from the entire state of Wu were brought here, it wouldn't be a problem.

  Unfortunately, Yang Yun's speed of memorizing was too fast, and he still had to turn the pages one by one, which was the most time-consuming part.

  There were many books in the county school library that Yang Yun had read, but most of them did not reach the level of recitation. Yang Yun browsed through these books one by one, feeling the continuous emergence of new gains.

  Those words printed on the book, now seem to have been read for a lifetime, deeply engraved in my heart. The profound meanings hidden between the lines, like pearls under the clear lake water of autumn, shine brightly.

  New perceptions, new experiences and new insights are flooding Yang Yun like a tidal wave.

  "Alas! Having heard the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening. The principles discussed in these books can be interpreted this way, no wonder I didn't pass the imperial examination in my previous life." Yang Yun sighed, holding a book.

  In his previous life, Yang Yun suffered a crushing defeat in the imperial examination and became disheartened. He then encountered an immortal and embarked on the path of cultivation, never again studying these classics until today, when with the help of the Sea of Knowledge, he finally grasped some of the true meaning behind the books.

  "But in my previous life, I was from a poor family and couldn't even read many books, let alone travel and gain enlightenment. Now being able to understand so quickly is also related to the knowledge and experience I accumulated in my past life, not just relying on recognizing the sea of characters."

  A person with rich experience and broad knowledge can naturally understand various principles more easily. The knowledge of cultivation is profound and complex, and it's not comparable to the content of science and engineering exams. Yang Yun has a solid foundation, so he can grasp it quickly.

  "Now my goal is to finish reading the books in the library as soon as possible, and then think of a way to find new sources of books." Yang Yun thought. The books in the county school library are too incomplete, if you want to pass the imperial examination, you must find more books to read.

  Yang Yun spent three days in a row in the county school library, finishing most of the books. The price he paid was that his fingers were sore and couldn't move - from opening to closing the library door, Yang Yun almost didn't stop flipping through books for a moment.

  Yang Yun was flipping through the county annals of Jinghai in a corner of the library, he had already flipped through all the books related to the imperial examination, so now his target shifted to these idle books.

  Yang Yun always looked for a secluded corner to read, otherwise others would definitely be shocked. The county school library was deserted as usual, and occasionally there were only a few people who quickly found books and went to the outer room to read, and no one had ever discovered it.

  Suddenly feeling someone approaching, Yang Yun closed the book in her hand and just saw a figure emerging from the corner of the bookshelf.

  "Brother Du."

  Yang Yun recognized the person as Du Longfei, who often sold books to students, and greeted him.

  "Ah - so it's Brother Yang."

  Du Longfei was startled and obviously did not expect that there would be someone in such a secluded corner.

  Seeing the book in Yang Yun's hand, Du Longfei was slightly taken aback and said: "County Annals? Why is Brother Yang reading this kind of book?"

  "Just flipping through casually, Brother Du is looking for a book?" Yang Yun asked calmly.

  "Oh, no, I'm just browsing."

  "Brother Du must be here to see the books in the library, alas... Speaking of which, this library is really incomplete. In a few days, I'm afraid I'll have to ask Brother Du for help." Yang Yun sighed and said.

  "Oh? Brother Yang wants a book?" Du Longfei asked with a flicker of his eyes.

  "If you want to get into a top high school, just relying on the books here won't be enough, Brother Du should help out more."

  "Hehe, alright alright, Brother Yang needs to tell me in advance what books he wants, I'll ask my relatives to pay attention when they're buying books from the bookstore."

  Du Longfei continued to pour out his grievances, saying that the price of paper had risen, which in turn caused book prices to rise as well. As they were all fellow townspeople and classmates, he felt embarrassed about selling books at a high price. In the end, he didn't make much money, but rather barely managed to scrape by because everyone pitied his difficulties.

  Yang Yun echoed a few words and then Du Longfei bid farewell and left.

  Yang Yun looked at the time and thought it was about right, so he put the county annals back on the bookshelf and left the library.

  Walked out to the outer room and found in front of

  The old servant who was beaten with a stick a few days ago has also returned.

  It was almost closing time at the library, and all the other students had left. Only Du Longfei was still sitting there, holding a book in his hand, shaking his head as he read. The old janitor was leaning on a crutch, pacing back and forth in the courtyard.

  Yang Yun thought for a moment, then bid farewell to Du Longfei with a bow and left the library.

  As soon as he came out of the county school library, Yang Yun did not go far, but hid in a corner to observe.

  Not long after, the old servant came out and looked around, then "bang" shut the door of the bookcase.

  "Du Longfei hasn't come out yet, what's going on between him and Lao Chaoyi?" Yang Yun thought to herself.

  The door of the library had been closed, but this did not stop Yang Yun. He was hiding next to the wall of the library's courtyard and when he saw that there was no one around, he jumped onto the top of the wall in one bound.

  Alongside a old locust tree in the courtyard, Yang Yun landed softly.

  There was no one in the courtyard, walked to the window of the library, found a gap and looked inside.

  Du Longfei and Lao Chaoyi sat together, their conversation faintly audible.

  "Uncle, your injury hasn't healed yet, why did you find someone to call me here?" Du Longfei asked.

  Yang Yun secretly delighted, and the two indeed had a relationship, unexpectedly being uncle and nephew, he arrived just in time.

  The old constable waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it. The ones who are caning him are all colleagues of mine, they've also received favors from me before, so they'll go easy on him."

  "That's good, I was thinking of finding a day to visit my uncle anyway."

  "No need, you come to me. If we're seen together, it'll cause trouble. It's better we meet here. I called you over because I received a message that a new batch of books will be delivered to the warehouse the day after tomorrow."

  "This... The instructor just got angry, shouldn't we calm down? These books won't be moved?"

  "It's nothing - the county magistrate is an official, but he can't do anything to me even if he wants to, as long as I insist that the missing books were stolen by the xiucai. He can't possibly interrogate all the xiucai who came to read books one by one. He has to consider the reputation of the scholars in this county after all. Besides, he will be promoted and leave in a few months, so it's not worth worrying about. I heard that there are many books coming in, if they really get stored in the warehouse, I'm afraid you won't have any business for half a year."

  "Alright then."

  "I don't know what characters are, but the day after tomorrow the books will arrive and you should sort them out carefully. Take away the useful ones and put the useless ones in storage to make a show." The old runner instructed.

  "What I'm concerned about is that there's one thing, today I saw Yang Yun - the person who always stays in the library, and I'm a bit worried he might figure something out."

  The old official said disdainfully: "That person has read books and become foolish. What's the point of that?"

  "Still be careful, I always feel that this person is not so simple."

  "Come over the day after tomorrow at midnight, and avoid Yang Yun. Be careful on the road not to be seen by anyone, I'll stay here to open the door for you." The old runner thought for a moment before saying.

  "Alright."

  The two of them discussed again, when to come and divide the books, when to leave, how to transport the books away and other details. Yang Yun listened carefully, then took advantage of their inattention and quietly left.

  Still climbing over the wall to come onto the street, Yang Yun sighed: "Even a humble county school library has such bookworms. Without money or power, it's so hard to read books and become a scholar!" Shaking his head, he walked away.

  Yang Yun returned to his residence and first found his landlord Fan Jun.

  "Uncle Fan?"

  "Ah, Yang Xian has returned."

  "Yes, Uncle Fan, I have a favor to ask, do you have invisible ink in your store?"

  "Inkstone?" Fan Jun asked in surprise: "It can be found, but which kind do you want?"

  "Want red color, on paper, also need to match with display liquid."

  Fan Jun's expression eased up, "Mm, no problem, I can find it for you by tomorrow."

  "Thanks a lot, Uncle Fan."

  After chatting for a few more sentences, Yang Yun bid farewell and left.

  Fan Jun muttered to himself: "Why would anyone want to hide ink for no reason? It's just used on paper, and it's a bright red color, and it needs to be paired with a display liquid. It shouldn't be for cheating on an exam. Forget it, I don't care what he's doing. This Yang Yun is a bit eccentric, but he's a reliable person, nothing unexpected will happen."

  Invisible ink is a special kind of ink that can't be seen when written, and can only be revealed by special methods. It's actually a good way to cheat on exams.

  However, when entering the examination room, a body search is required, and even a blank sheet of paper is not allowed to be brought in. Therefore, invisible ink that can be written on clothing is the favorite of cheaters, and they usually choose some inconspicuous colors similar to the color of their clothes.

  Yang Yun's request for invisible ink was clearly not suitable for cheating, otherwise Fan Jun would not have agreed to it.