Chapter 7

"How could this be?" Zheng Longxing gently stroked his three long mustaches, his expression surprised, and said, "Isn't Li Mu a literary scholar? How did he become a martial arts expert? Although the strength of a Cooperative Realm practitioner is not much, it is still considered a third-rate martial artist in the martial world. He was killed in one move, could the news from the capital be wrong?"

Apart from being the magistrate of Taibai County, Zheng Longxing had another identity: one of the four incense masters of the Blood Moon Gang.

This assassination attempt on Li Mu was initiated by him.

He himself was a martial arts expert.

Although the Cooperative Realm is the initial stage of martial cultivation, there are higher realms such as the Qi Integration Realm and the Intention Integration Realm. However, regardless, a martial artist who has entered the Cooperative Realm has initially mastered crude internal energy and is considered a third-rate martial artist in the entire martial world.

Moreover, the martial artists Blood Moon Gang sent to intercept and kill Li Mu were all alert and elite disciples of the gang. Besides five third-rate martial artists at the Cooperative Realm, the team leader was a Qi Integration Realm martial artist, who could be considered an expert among third-rate martial artists. Such a force was more than enough to deal with a literary scholar under fifteen years old. Who would have thought they would fail and even lose two disciples of the gang?

"Perhaps Li Mu has been hiding his true abilities, and we have never heard of him being skilled in martial arts before," the black-clad martial artist said, bowing his head.

Zheng Longxing recalled the scene when he met Li Mu at the county office during the day.

That young man sat in the official chair, seemingly calm, but in reality, he was extremely nervous, pretending to be calm, which was easy to see through. His demeanor and aura were those of a complete novice, showing no signs of being a literary scholar or a martial arts expert. Could it be an act?

If he could disguise himself to this extent, it would be terrifying, and he would definitely be a deeply scheming person.

This time, Zheng Longxing took a great risk and pushed the Blood Moon Gang to carry out the assassination, actually to seek the position of county magistrate.

In the Western Qin Empire and the entire continent, the status of martial arts gangs and sects is extremely special, almost on par with the government. Many of the empire's giants and officials come from martial arts sects. It can be said that the martial world and the court jointly govern the world. Even the law gives special treatment to martial artists. Originally, Zheng Longxing was just a bodyguard, but after joining the Blood Moon Gang and achieving great success, he was promoted to the position of incense master and, through the gang's operations, became the magistrate of Taibai County, holding military power.

Now, the Western Qin Empire is in political chaos and administrative corruption, with signs of turmoil.

He had already planned everything. As long as the new county magistrate was assassinated, he would quickly deal with the county vice-magistrate Zhou Wu. Using the power of the Blood Moon Gang, he would secure the position of county magistrate.

Zheng Longxing had great ambitions.

In his view, Taibai County was in an excellent location. If managed properly, it could become a paradise, where he could slowly accumulate strength, rest and recuperate, and perhaps one day rise up and achieve great things.

But now, the plan has encountered a setback from the start.

He pondered for a long time in the secret room, and finally, a fierce look appeared on his face: "The plan must not change. Time is of the essence. Send stronger experts from the gang to assassinate Li Mu and eliminate him before he can stand firm. My plan cannot be delayed in any way."

...

...

The night passed quickly.

The sun rose in the eastern sky.

There were two suns, one large and one small, one after the other.

The sunlight was bright, and the weather was pleasant.

With a creak, the door opened.

Li Mu walked out of the room, feeling more energetic than ever.

"Master, you..." The naturally dense little servant Mingyue stared at Li Mu with wide eyes. After a moment, she screamed and ran away, "So smelly, it stinks... Master, what is that black stuff all over you? It smells like shit."

Li Mu was speechless.

Last night, he practiced the先天功 (Xiantian Gong) all night, entering a state of meditation he had never experienced before. The night seemed to pass in an instant. When he walked out of the room, he didn't notice carefully, but after Mingyue's outburst, he realized that a layer of fine black dirt had seeped out of his skin, all from his pores.

A sour smell lingered around him.

Even he could smell the sourness.

"Someone, prepare hot water... I need to take a bath..."

Li Mu shouted.

There were servants in the county office who quickly prepared hot water and a bathtub and brought them to Li Mu's room.

After the bath, Li Mu felt refreshed.

He was surprised to find that after washing off the black dirt from his skin, his skin had become much finer. Looking in the mirror, he saw that his hair had grown significantly overnight. Last night, it was just a short cut, but today, he could style it with a middle part. Even his frame seemed to have grown a bit.

"This先天功 (Xiantian Gong) is really amazing, it even has a beautifying effect."

Li Mu marveled.

However, he soon became worried.

Because apart from his official robes, he had no other clothes to change into.

The sneakers, sports pants, and tank top he brought from Earth, he didn't plan to wear again. After all, they were out of place in this world and would draw attention and criticism. It would be better to keep them as a memento, perhaps useful if he returned to Earth in twenty years.

After some thought, Li Mu had an idea.

He vaguely remembered that when he toured the back office, there were a few boxes in the former magistrate's alchemy room, which seemed to contain clothes. Perhaps he could wear them temporarily and, when his salary was paid, have the two little servants buy some ready-made clothes from the street.

Damn, being a county magistrate is frustrating. On the first day, he was laughed at and is now penniless.

Li Mu angrily walked through the corridor of the back office and arrived at the alchemy room.

The alchemy room was in a quiet location, accessible only through a hidden door in the front practice room. Inside were alchemy furnaces, shelves, cushions, fans, medicine cabinets, and neatly stacked hardwood logs... In short, everything needed for alchemy was there, indicating that the former magistrate had put a lot of effort into setting up the room.

This made Li Mu feel a sense of familiarity.

Because in Earth, the old mystic's meditation room in the Lamp Temple was similarly styled.

He glanced around and came to a few black wooden boxes, opening them.

As he remembered, there were indeed several sets of clothes inside.

But when he took them out, he found six differently colored Taoist robes, finely crafted and sewn with fine gold threads. The robes of different colors varied slightly in size and style, embroidered with patterns of the sun, moon, stars, cranes, qilins, the Eight Trigrams, pagodas, dragons, and phoenixes. Each robe came with an inner shirt, long pants, and boots, very complete and very clean.

"Wow, it seems my predecessor was quite particular."

To be honest, Li Mu was really curious about this former magistrate who resigned and went deep into the mountains to seek the Dao.

He quickly put on the inner shirt and a blue Taoist robe, finding it very fitting.

The material of the robe was extremely comfortable, like pure cotton.

Li Mu walked out of the alchemy room, returned to his room, and looked at himself in the bronze mirror, very satisfied.

The young man in the mirror was tall and slender, full of vigor. In the blue gold-threaded Taoist robe, he had a faintly transcendent aura, truly like a Daoist immortal.

"Not bad."

Li Mu was very satisfied with his appearance.

The only flaw was that the sleeves were too large and a bit long.

If he encountered an enemy in a fight, he would have to take the time to roll up his sleeves.

The clothing issue was temporarily resolved.

A servant brought breakfast.

While eating breakfast, the two little servants were not overly surprised by Li Mu's attire.

"Master is finally a bit more normal," Qingfeng said with a look of relief, like a hardworking father seeing his foolish son return to normal.

Mingyue, on the other hand, had stars in her eyes and cheered, "Master is so handsome."

Later, Li Mu learned that in the Western Qin Empire, Daoism was highly esteemed. Many nobles, scholars, and upper-class people often wore Taoist robes as their daily attire and were very fond of this style, which was also popular in Mingjian. Therefore, as the county magistrate, Li Mu's appearance in a Taoist robe was not strange.

Before he finished his meal, a servant reported that County Vice-Magistrate Zhou Wu and others had come to seek an audience, asking for guidance on county affairs.

"Refuse to see them, I'm busy," Li Mu said decisively.

He just didn't want to see outsiders to avoid being exposed.

"Um... Master, you should be diligent in your duties..." the little servant Qingfeng said with a look of disappointment.

Li Mu waved his hand and got up, returning to the back office.

Behind him, the little servant Mingyue laughed heartily.

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the front hall of the county office.

"Again, he refuses to see us?"

County Vice-Magistrate Zhou Wu looked at the little servant Mingyue, who had come to reply, and said in confusion, "Does the county magistrate not want to understand the county's affairs?"

Mingyue, the naturally dense little girl, had been well-fed and well-clothed in the county office for several days, looking fresh and rosy. She nodded with a smile and said, "My master said that all county affairs can be handled by County Vice-Magistrate Zhou, and he has no interest." Thinking about the braised pork she had hidden for lunch, she immediately drooled and ran away.

"This..."

County Vice-Magistrate Zhou Wu and the other clerks looked at each other, puzzled.

For several days, they had been prepared to put on a show to give Li Mu a hard time, but this young county magistrate had hidden like a turtle, acting like a hands-off boss, staying in the back office and not coming out, refusing to see anyone. They didn't know if he was really uninterested in administrative power or if he was smart enough to avoid embarrassment.

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Second update, please follow and collect.

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