Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 76 The Consequences Are a Very Unpleasant Fruit
Yun Ce left early in the morning and returned early as well. E Ji waited anxiously at the entrance of the inn for a long time. When she saw Yun Ce and his chestnut horse appear, she immediately led a group of little girls to greet them.

Yun Ce dismounted, tossed them all onto his chestnut horse, and led them back to the inn.

Eji secretly observed Yun Ce's expression. Seeing that he was neither sad nor happy, it was difficult to guess whether he had obtained the desired title from the Tiger General's Mansion.

Back in the room, after helping Yun Ce finish washing up, E Ji said cautiously, "Just let me know if it works or not, I'm in a hurry."

Yun Ce took a sip of water and said, "It's done, but I didn't get the hairpin you wanted. I only got a top-grade one. Are you satisfied?"

Upon hearing Yun Ce's words, E Ji's eyes immediately welled up with tears. Without saying a word, she silently lowered her head, went to the bedroom, knelt in the corner of the wall, and then the tears started to fall.

The fact that he was not strong enough and was suspected of having obtained the Dragon Spirit made Yun Ce feel extremely anxious.

Martial prowess is fundamental to his survival in this world. He desperately wants to improve it, but he doesn't know where to start. Even the smartest dog, like him, only awakened after arriving in this world; in reality, it's still a baby in its first month of life.

After thinking it over for a long time, Yun Ce decided to ask Zhang Min to help him find a good teacher so he could practice intensively for a while first.

When it comes to science, Earth is naturally more advanced, but when it comes to physical training and the use of cold weapons, the Han Dynasty is naturally more powerful.

At least on Earth, Yun Ce had never seen anyone who could fight a wild boar the size of an elephant with melee weapons and still emerge victorious.

If the martial arts skills that the dog learned here could be scientifically simplified, it would be a good path for him to learn martial arts.

Yun Ce is not lacking in strength; in fact, he is only rudimentary invulnerability. All he needs to practice is how to kill, which should not be difficult.

When Yun Ce finally figured it out, he turned around and looked to the left and right, but he didn't see E Ji. This girl would always appear in his sight whenever he was at home. What was wrong with her today?
The sound of sobbing came from inside the house. Upon entering, they found Eji kneeling in the corner, weeping alone.

Yun Ce pulled her out from the corner and said, "Who upset you? Tell me, and I'll go beat him up."

Eji hugged Yun Ce tightly and cried, "Don't leave me."

Yun Ce asked doubtfully, "Of course I won't abandon you."

Eji wiped her face, which was covered in tears, with her sleeve and forced an ugly smile as she said to Yun Ce, "It's alright now."

Yun Ce didn't let go of E Ji. He quickly recalled E Ji's performance today. When he left home in the morning, the girl had clumsily danced a go-to dance for him. She seemed very happy at the time.

When I came back, the girl was still very happy. So, why was she unhappy?

"You idiot, when Eji cared about you, you said she only cared about that damn title."

The dog's explanation reminded Yun Ce of the words he had uttered when he was lost in thought. He realized he had indeed said the wrong thing and was about to apologize.

His mind raced, and he grabbed Eji by the shoulders, lifting her up and gently shaking her as he said, "Learn from this. From now on, no matter what happens, you must worry about me first. Ask me if I'm hurt, if I've been beaten, if I've eaten enough, or if I'm unhappy."
"Once you've figured these things out, then we can talk about other trivial matters. Otherwise, I'll feel like you don't like me as much as you did yesterday, and that will chill my heart."

Seeing Yun Ce's exasperation, E Ji suddenly burst out laughing, her big eyes regaining their sparkle – this was the E Ji she always was.

Just as Eji was about to express her love for Yun Ce after being teased by his cheesy pickup lines, she heard Yun Ce pretending to gag as he walked out.

"That's disgusting. Did I really say that?"

“You never treat me well…” Eji cried again.

This time, it was just normal crying, no comforting needed.

Zhang Min arrived before lunchtime. Upon learning that Eji was angry today and everyone could only eat bean porridge and cold wild vegetables, she left. Yun Ce didn't even have time to mention finding a martial arts master to her.

Zhou Chengming was actually a very good teacher. Yun Ce wanted to become his apprentice, but Zhou Chengming would never accept him. He even felt that Zhou Chengming seemed to distrust him for some reason and was very suspicious.

Eji was furious because the bean porridge she made today was burnt. Yun Ce held a large bowl of burnt bean porridge and looked up to see if the others needed it. He found that apart from Eji still slurping her porridge angrily, the other girls were all looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Drink your own, and don't look at others."

With a shout from Eji, all the maids, young and old, buried their heads in their porridge bowls like quails and drank it with gusto. Today, Feng An and Liang Kun had gone to take their exams and hadn't returned yet, so Yun Ce had to drink two more bowls.

It wasn't until late afternoon, when the sun was about to set, that Feng An and Liang Kun returned home, still drunk.

Upon seeing Yun Ce, Feng An grabbed his hand and said, "I passed, and Liang Kun passed too. The teachers read our exam papers and the opening paragraphs, and praised us as rare talents who can save the world."

Yun Ce pushed aside the two drunken idiots. If they had stayed there and continued listening, they would have heard the teacher say the same thing to all the candidates who had passed.

The quotas for the literary competition had long been allocated. Zhang Min had managed to secure those two spots by leveraging his fearsome reputation at Panxing Tower. What teacher could afford to offend such a candidate? Even if they had to kneel and beg for favors, it would be expected, given his innate tendency to curry favor with the powerful. Upon learning that Yun Ce had already obtained the title of Shangzao and was now awaiting the official approval, Feng An and Liang Kun wanted to invite him for another meal at the inn.

Yun Ce grabbed the two drunkards by their collar and led them to the bed.

Yun Ce didn't sleep. Instead, he practiced the horse spear in the courtyard, following the dog's instructions, for four hours straight.

Snow began to fall from the sky sometime earlier. The snowflakes were unusually large and crystal clear. They landed on Yun Ce's bare back and melted instantly, mixing with his sweat and falling to the ground.

Eji stood under the eaves, holding her clothes, watching Yun Ce thrust his spear out again and again, each time the same as the last, each thrust hitting the suspended green coin accurately.

Hong Guniang was also watching Yun Ce practice his horse spear. She had moved into this inn called Gao Liansheng yesterday, and Yun Ce had paid for it. For some reason, he didn't feel bad at all about spending money on these pure rebels.

At first, Yun Ce thought Zhang Min and her group were a large rebellious force, but after testing them with soap, he discovered that their power was not great, and was only in its infancy.

Honestly, if you join an organization that can't even guarantee the interests of soap makers, you'll only be used as cannon fodder and end up with nowhere to be buried.

Hong Guniang is different from Pei Chuan and the others. If they get involved now, they will definitely be cannon fodder. However, the good thing about them is that everyone is cannon fodder, so there is no distinction between them. When they die, everyone dies, which seems fair.

Following Gouzi's instructions, Yun Ce's power originated from his feet, emanated from his waist and kidneys, flowed through his arms, was channeled into the shaft of the spear, and finally struck the tip, making it invincible.

These words sound reasonable, but when you actually put them into practice, you realize they're complete nonsense. No matter how hard Yun Ce tried, he couldn't pierce the green coin tied to the rope with his spear.

After thrusting three thousand times in succession, Yun Ce slowly put away his lance, letting the heavy snow fall on him. He was covered in sweat and felt much more refreshed.

Unsurprisingly, Yun Ce fell ill after getting soaked in the snow shirtless.

He was very ill; he had a persistent high fever and was shivering all over, foaming at the mouth. If it weren't for Eji holding him down, Yun Ce would have fallen off the bed.

Zhang Min came to visit during the day, but left with a gloomy expression.

Hong Guniang came to visit in the evening, but left with a gloomy face.

Zhou Chengming asked Zhang Min, "Is he really sick?"

Zhang Min replied, "My whole body felt like it was burning hot."

Pei Chuan asked Hong Guniang, "Is he really sick?"

The girl in red replied, "She's really sick. She's having shivering and foaming at the mouth. It's very serious."

After Hong Guniang left, Yun Ce stopped burning up, stopped having shivering, and stopped foaming at the mouth.

Eji held Yun Ce's head and said worriedly, "Why do they all want to drag you down with them?"

Yun Ce took a bite out of the head of a baby bean, sucked hard on its neck, and the slightly salty soup entered his mouth.

This is a new way of eating invented by Yun Ce. First, steam the baby beans until they are half-cooked. Then, cut the beans open, pour out the oil that has been released during steaming, pour in the prepared meat broth, and finally put the baby beans back on the steamer to steam until fully cooked. The delicious soup-filled baby beans are then ready.

Yun Ce was sick and didn't eat dinner. After eating a basket of soup-filled baby beans, he felt he wasn't full, but E Ji wouldn't let him eat any more because eating too much of these would cause him to fart.

Feng An said with worry, "Although I don't know what the two sides are planning, I think it has nothing to do with us."

Liang Kun slammed his fist into his palm and said angrily, "This is forcing good people into prostitution."

Yun Ce rolled his eyes at the two guys, took a sip of warm water and smiled, "I'm sick. The doctor examined me and said that this cold has penetrated to the bone, and I won't be able to get out of bed for at least two or three months."

Therefore, no one can do anything to me.

Eji said worriedly, "It can't be delayed for that long. If the young master's title of Shangzao isn't granted, we won't be able to move an inch."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "Zhou Chengming will be leaving in ten days. After he leaves, neither Zhang Min nor Pei Chuan will be able to beat me."

"If I don't want to, can they just bite my bird off?"

When Yun Ce started spouting nonsense, Feng An and Liang Kun left Yun Ce's bedroom. They were going to take a good look at Chuyun City and see what was wrong that made both sides so interested.

(End of this chapter)