Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 69 People are actually quite foolish
Yun Ce had a tough time taking the college entrance exam on Earth, and the memory still brings him a lot of bitterness. As the son of a high-ranking official, he was expected to achieve great things.

This is mainly due to the extremely poor academic performance of the other members of the Yun family.

Therefore, Yun Ce's achievements stand out among his peers.

Yun Linchuan set the goal for him too high. To be honest, you can't just get into China's top university by working hard.

That thing is either destined to exist or it isn't; it's a selection process that filters out highly intelligent people and doesn't like candidates who are overly bookish.

Most importantly, Yun Linchuan refused to help him. If he had, Yun Ce felt he could easily get into any of the best universities in the world.

Because he wouldn't help, Yun Linchuan was, in Yun Ce's eyes, just a rock in a latrine.

In the end, he failed the entrance exam. Even the School of Archaeology and Museology didn't want him. It wasn't until Yun Ce revealed his identity as the child of a martyr, which he desperately wanted to keep secret, that he gained a lot of points and was able to study in the History Department, majoring in Chinese History.

Despite attending school for so many years, he was ridiculed by that old scoundrel Yun Linchuan for just as many years.

The saying that relying on heaven, earth, or parents doesn't make you a hero is just something to listen to. Very few people are so capable that they can build a great empire on their own. If everyone were like that, Earthlings would have already left the solar system and were exploring the Milky Way.

Of course, there are some things that still need to be done personally, such as—the wedding night.

On Earth, Yun Linchuan was undoubtedly Yun Ce's greatest enemy; in the Han Dynasty, Yun Ce felt he had finally become his own master.

Many things are beyond the comprehension of people like Feng An and Liang Kun, who come from humble backgrounds.

Why did the Han government prepare the exam questions in advance and then openly display them in a place that everyone knew about?
To put it bluntly, it's preparation for leaking exam questions.

Those who should know the exam questions already do. If someone accidentally leaks this information, how will the government handle the situation?
Here's the exciting part: hang the exam questions in plain sight, then send a few trusted confidants, or trick a bunch of fools into trying to steal them, creating the illusion that the questions have been stolen but no one actually succeeded. That's perfect.

If someone were to blabber on about having obtained the exam questions in advance, the government would step in and say that the questions had been stolen by thieves, and that the blabbermouth was in cahoots with the thieves. After making an example of him, no one would doubt the impartiality of the government.

To be honest, this is exactly how Yun Ce conducted the exams for recruiting temporary workers in rural towns. For any job, preparing from multiple angles is the only way to do it well.

The college entrance examination questions on Earth are a top-level state secret, far exceeding the security level of a bank's armored truck. Robbing the former would surely mean certain death, while robbing the latter might offer a chance of survival.

On Earth, Yun Ce wouldn't dare, but in the Han Dynasty, he was an enhanced version of Yun Ce, so naturally he had to give it a shot to avoid failing the test and being ridiculed by Feng An and the others.

Anranlou Yunce was quite familiar with the building, mainly because it was located next to the school. The building was 27 meters high and had seven floors including the top eaves. The color was given by the gray marble unique to Chuyun City. As for the top, it was covered with pure white tiles. These tiles must have had a lot of limestone added to them, which resulted in this bright white effect after firing.

If you want to steal someone else's exam questions, you should naturally scout the place beforehand. Yun Ce thought that it would be a natural thing for him, dressed as a scholar, to pass by Anran Tower. However, after walking only half a circle, he was dragged into an alley by a person with long arms and legs who looked like a thief.

"Brother, are you planning to steal the exam questions?" The thief's words were not only concise but also insightful and to the point.

Yun Ce immediately blushed and said, "How can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?"

"Stop pretending. You took fifty-eight steps, spending thirty percent of that time looking at those six guards and another thirty percent looking at the surrounding environment. The remaining forty percent was spent checking all the places in Anran Tower where you could hang a grappling hook. How about it, brother? My ability to judge people is pretty good, isn't it?"

Yun Ce said angrily, "I am a scholar..."

Before Yun Ce could finish speaking, the thief said disdainfully, "Don't even mention scholars, the most disgusting things in this world are all done by scholars."

Judging from your physique, you're not very robust, so your martial arts skills probably aren't that high either. Most importantly, I can tell from the fact that you were peeking at Anran Tower that you're not good at this.

"How about you do me a favor? At night, distract the guards so I can sneak into Anran Tower from the side. Once I'm out, I'll tell you the test."

Yun Ce stared wide-eyed in horror, wondering if his behavior just now had made him misunderstand him as a fool.
How could he fall for such an unreliable scam?

Since he was being considered a fool for the first time, Yun Ce naturally nodded repeatedly, indicating that he was very satisfied with the thief's suggestion.

The thief smiled with satisfaction, patted Yun Ce on the shoulder twice, and said smugly, "There's nothing in the world that I can't get. You're very lucky to have met me today."

Yun Ce sniffed and said, "How should I attract the guards' attention later?"

The thief immediately pulled a leather bag from his pocket, put his mouth to a tube, and blew hard. In a moment, the bag inflated. The thief then pulled out the tube, untied a string of ropes, and split the inflated bag in half.

He then took out several thin wooden strips from his pocket, which, when unfolded, resembled fan ribs. He stuffed the fan ribs into the leather pouch, which immediately transformed into a lantern. Sure enough, the thief placed a box filled with grease into the lantern and said to Yun Ce, "Light the wick later, and then find an opportunity to throw this lantern into Anran Tower, and we can make our escape."

See? It's that simple!

Yun Ce nodded seriously and said, "Simple."

The thief turned to leave, but Yun Ce grabbed his sleeve. He turned around impatiently and looked at Yun Ce, saying, "Can't you even handle such a small matter?"

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "You haven't told us where we'll meet later." The thief pointed to the corner of the wall and said, "Let's meet here, brother. Once I get the test questions, I'll tell you. You'll definitely pass the competition. If you can show your talent in Chang'an, you'll surely be a hero among men."

Seeing that Yun Ce was already engrossed in the grand spectacle of his competition, the thief patted him on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Don't forget to get down to business."

Yun Ce readily agreed, and the thief hurriedly went to make preparations.

Yun Ce watched as the thief went to the left side of Anran Building, which was the school's outhouse. It seemed that this guy was planning to take advantage of the chaos to climb over the outhouse and enter the Anran Building area.

It's obvious that this group of thieves are all of low quality and have no chance of stealing the exam questions. Just the six sword-wielding guards standing at the entrance alone could easily take on ten thieves like this. Not to mention, there are two guards holding crossbows crouching on the large, leafy tree to the left.

When Yun Ce walked out from the street corner, he saw Feng An and Liang Kun. The two of them were acting suspiciously, looking even more like thieves than he was, the one who was preparing to steal the exam questions.

When they grabbed the two by the collar and returned to the street corner, several people followed them. They all looked furtive and were clearly planning to steal the exam questions.

"Why are you here?"

Feng An smiled wryly and said, "It was E Shaojun who sent us. She also said that although the two of us are not very useful, at least we can help you keep watch."

Yun Ce looked back at the men who had followed him and said to Feng An and Liang Kun, "You two stay here and take the opportunity to learn about the power struggles."

After saying that, Yun Ce covered his face with a handkerchief and approached the group of people, saying, "Gentlemen, are you also here to spy on the exam questions?"

"No, no, don't talk nonsense."

"Yes, we simply admire Anran Building. We heard that it was built by Master Cheng using the funds from his lectures. We younger generations should look up to it."

“A guy named Grasshopper just contacted me. He said the exam questions are in Anran Building and he can definitely steal them. He can share them with me later.”

"Huh? Such a good thing?"

"Brother Grass Flying is a refugee who fled from Chang'an to Yunzhou. I heard that he stole an important item from the Panxing Tower and is being hunted down all over the world. Now he is in trouble and has no money, so he plans to steal the exam questions and sell them."

This guy's most amazing skill is that once he unleashes it, he can fly across the grass and leave no trace in the snow. Such a great opportunity must not be missed.

"Huh? Why are you telling us about this great opportunity?"

"Heavens! Brother Grasshopper doesn't act easily, but when he does, he wants a lot of money. I can have the exam questions, but the money..."

"How much does he want?"

"Fifty taels of gold!"

"Wow... so many!"

"Are you stupid? It is indeed expensive to sell the exam questions to this masked guy for fifty taels of gold, but these are exam questions! All you need to do is know the content. If this guy sells them to us five more, wouldn't it only cost ten taels of gold?"

As soon as this person spoke, the five people in front of Yun Ce fell silent, their eyes gleaming with a golden light and a sharp wisdom.

"At least you cover your faces with handkerchiefs. Do you want people to know who you are?"

Yun Ce said with a sense of disappointment and frustration.

"Oh, you're right, you're right."

Once everyone had covered their faces, Yun Ce pointed to Feng An and Liang Kun, who had already covered their faces, and said, "Two brothers over there have already agreed to join. With the five of you, we'll have eight people. Fifty taels of gold will only amount to a little over six taels of gold per person. I was the one who arranged this, and you each gave me seven taels of gold. I didn't ask for a single extra penny from you."

"We'll only give it to you once we get the exam questions!"

“Nonsense, if Brother Grasshopper doesn’t give me the test questions, I won’t give him the gold either. I suggest we give all the gold to this guy, and he’ll pay me when we trade.”

Feng An had no choice but to step forward when Yun Ce pointed at him. Yun Ce took out a gold bead from his pocket and handed it to Feng An, and Liang Kun also gave Feng An his money pouch.

Then, Feng An simply stood in front of the five people and collected the money.

"Everyone, don't get separated! Run as soon as you get the exam questions!"

Everyone nodded.

Yun Ce hesitated for a moment, then took out the lantern ball that the thief brother had given him from his pocket, and assembled it like him. He then held it up to the five people in front of him and said, "There's one more thing. Brother Cao Shangfei hopes to find someone to light this thing and throw it into Anran Tower."

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(End of this chapter)