Martial Star Ocean - Chapter 3 Impersonating the County Magistrate

Chapter 3 – Impersonating the County Magistrate

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“Mm.” The little girl nodded. “My mom wanted me to give you this.” She glanced over to the side.

A young couple was standing there.

The man seemed to be around 30 years of age. He appeared tall and strong with a square jaw and beard. He had a rough and firm demeanor and he held a three-pronged hunting pitchfork in his hands. There were a number of bloody mountain beast skins strung up on his back and he wore the clothes of a hunter.

As for the woman, she was a bit younger, looking to be around 23-24 years of age. She was a simple beauty with fair skin. A little baby that had yet to be weaned was held gently to her chest. Although her clothes were meager and plain, they still couldn’t hide her elegant temperament. She was someone that surprised the mind at first glance. She didn’t seem to be someone who came from a poor family, but a young lady from a rich household.

There were two bamboo baskets set down by her feet.

The bamboo baskets were filled with golden apricots that emitted a fresh and fragrant aroma. These should be wild fruits picked from the mountains, and she wanted to take them to the public city markets and sell them for money.

Seeing Li Mu’s gaze on them, the husband and wife couple revealed kind smiles.

“Thank you.” Li Mu cupped his hands across his chest and took the mountain apricots in the little girl’s hands. He smiled and said, “Thank you little girl, what is your name?”

“My name is Yaya.”

The girl happily smiled and quickly ran back to her parents’ side.

These people from another planet were truly friendly and generous.

Li Mu could feel hot tears trying to form in the corners of his eyes.

Because of the graciousness of these two apricots, Li Mu had a much more favorable impression of this strange planet.

These two golden mountain apricots were large and sweet, just barely able to appease his hunger. He ate one himself and divided the remaining one in half, giving a half each to the two study attendants, Qing Feng and Ming Yue.

The line into the city continued forwards.

Soon, the young couple and their child Yaya reached the city entrance.

The guard in charge of questioning those entering was clearly a veteran. His outfit was a little run down and he had a greedy expression on his face. He was the type to take any benefits when possible, and as long as someone wanted to enter the city, he would always try to take some things from them. He was an abhorrent man.

The young couple had two beast skins and half a basket of apricots taken away. Even though they were angry they didn’t dare to speak out and brought their child into the city.

Finally, Li Mu and his two attendants reached the city entrance.

The young attendant boy Qing Feng stepped forwards, wanting to state their identity. But, the guard stepped backwards and covered his nose, his eyes narrowing in disgust as he glared at the three people. “Fuck, where did three beggars come from. Not only do you look dirty but you even smell. How unlucky, just hurry up and enter…once you enter the city, don’t commit a crime otherwise we’ll break your dog legs…” The guard assigned to question Li Mu and his group immediately shooed them into the city without a second glance.

Li Mu and his group entered the city. He turned and glanced back at the city gate, unsure whether to laugh or to cry.

Although he had managed to smoothly enter the county city, this feeling of being despised and looked down upon wasn’t pleasant at all.

Moreover, one could get a feeling for the whole picture with just a glance. It was clear from the attitudes of the city guards that the administration of local officials running this part of the Western Qin Empire were lacking.

Alabaster County City was a mountain city.

Only by entering could one truly feel the charm of this old city.

The several main roads were paved with special blue stones excavated from the mountains. They were smooth and bright, similar to the granite roads back on Earth. As for the other roads, many of them had stairs and curves, winding up and down between the lush scenery. Walking through them, one felt as if they were strolling through a garden. Several rivers surrounded the old city and as they flowed from the mountain peaks to the base, they formed several waterfalls that were sprinkled throughout the city lands. But, the pools at the bases of the waterfalls weren’t too large and the waters were clear enough that one could see the bottom.

The city was covered with old trees, their crowns forming a canopy of green. Many of these trees were already several hundred years old.

The scenery was pleasant to the senses. Just by wandering about, it was easy to get lost in the sights all around.

About two hours later –

Li Mu led the two young attendants through the city, climbing around the mountain as he asked his way about. He spent a considerable amount of time before finally managing to reach the entrance of the county administrative hall.

That’s right. After a momentary ideological struggle of what was right and wrong, he decided to go with the flow and temporarily pretend that he was the new county magistrate of Alabaster County City.

There were three reasons for this.

One was because he had already managed to offend that Bloodmoon Gang or whatever it was they called themselves. Because of this, he was sure to be chased after. Currently he didn’t have the confidence that he could preserve his own life in such a situation.

Second, he had spoken with that study attendant Qing Feng and learned that in the Western Qin Empire, all new residents that didn’t possess valid and legal papers would be deemed illegal and be labeled as slaves.

The third reason was the simplest. Li Mu was merely a junior high graduate from Earth and lacked the skills to survive in the wild. If he randomly roamed about then he would starve to death in several days.

Of course, after he passed through space he had somehow managed to land himself the role of a county magistrate. This was certainly a wonderful turn of events.

At the entrance to the County Administrative Hall, there were two guards.

As the group arrived at the entrance, the two guards rudely and maliciously said, “Hey, you three smelly beggars, this is the County Administrative Hall. Nobodies like you need to screw off. If you don’t want to die then get out.”

“You two unsightly pieces of filth, how dare you scold my family’s young master? Do you want my young master to beat you to death with his fists or something?” The young girl study attendant Ming Yue menacingly spoke as she placed her hands on her waist. Even in the face of these two guards she didn’t back down at all. “You two disgusting mongrels, my young master is the current county magistrate of Alabaster County. It’s as if you two idiots don’t know what death or danger are. Hurry up and come greet your Lord County Magistrate!”

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Half an hour later –

In the lobby of the County Administrative Hall.

“Greetings, Lord County Magistrate.”

After having confirmed the appointment letter and stamp of the official seal, a crowd of officials greeted their new county magistrate in one voice. Their heads were bowed low.

Li Mu sat on the magistrate’s chair, no expression on his face.

Although he was young and a newcomer here, even he could see that these officials from the County Administrative Hall held no fear or respect towards their new county magistrate. However, those two guards that recklessly spoke up against him before were trembling in their boots. They had fallen to their knees on the side.

“There is no need to be so courteous. You may draw back.”

Li Mu didn’t want to deal with the problematic attitudes that these people showed.

This was because he was a bit faint at heart himself.

After all, the person that Li Mu was impersonating was someone who had successfully passed the imperial scholar examination of the Qin Empire. At the very least, this person would have a deep knowledge of how the government of the Western Qin Empire operated. And as for Li Mu, a new interstellar traveller, he was completely unaware of how government worked in this world.

“Ah?”

The crowd of administrative hall officials was left a bit dazed.

What was going on here?

They were ordered to draw back?

The new county magistrate had just taken office, so didn’t he want to understand the current situation of the County Administrative Hall?

“My Lord, ever since the previous County Magistrate Lord Lu resigned a year ago, Alabaster County City has not had a county magistrate in command of the County Administrative Hall. The number of documents that have yet to be reviewed has piled up and they are as high as mountains…” A pudgy middle-aged man said. He bowed as he continued, “I have already gathered all the small and large happenings of the past year into documents for review. My Lord, you can look over these documents now…”

Li Mu waved his hand, interrupting the man. “You are?”

“I am Zhou Mo, the county deputy.” The pudgy middle-aged man smiled.

Oh, county deputy? Then that would be the vice county magistrate.

However, listening to this man, it seemed that the previous county magistrate has suddenly resigned out of nowhere. Just what happened for that to occur?

Li Mu calmly nodded. “The road here has been long and weary. I will deal with government affairs later…the rest of you can draw back for now.”

Li Mu had already decided on something, and that was that he couldn’t interact with these fellows too much.

The more he spoke, the more chances there were that he would mess up.

As the various government officials heard these words, they glanced up at Li Mu. Each of them had various expressions on their faces. Some were disappointed, some were happy,some were contemptuous, and some were completely expressionless. With another bow, the officials began to walk out.

“Ah, wait a moment. Zhou whatever you were called…” Li Mu lifted a palm and waved at the county deputy Zhou Mo.

Zhou Mo’s heart trembled. His complexion changed as he turned back to look at Li Mu.

“There’s something, that is…I am a bit hungry right now. Have some food prepared and deliver it to the back of the county hall.” Li Mu tried to make the tone of his performance seem as natural and elegant as possible. “There must be wine as well as meat.”

“Oh.” The county deputy Zhou Mo drew back. A flash of contempt appeared from deep in his eyes. He revealed a strange smile and said, “Of course.”

Like this, the group of officials left the lobby of the County Administrative Hall.

After a moment, loud and boisterous laughter erupted from outside.

On the side, the little study attendants Qing Feng and Ming Yue covered their faces in embarrassment.

It was obvious that their young master’s performance just now on the magistrate’s chair had become the butt of those officials’ jokes. This news would rapidly spread through the inner circles of Alabaster County City and they would all say that the new county magistrate made a clown of himself before his welcoming incense burned out.

Li Mu lifted a leg up on the magistrate’s chair. He had a completely free and uncaring expression, and he even seemed as if he were smiling.

He had only pretended to be a county magistrate in order to survive. As for the so-called powers and authority bestowed to him, he didn’t care about that at all.

After all, he was an alien.

He had come to this planet in order to cultivate his martial arts. Everything that occurred up until now proved that the old swindler’s words had been true all along. If so, then this meant the Xiantian Arts and True Martial Fist might truly possess the power of the immortals, and there was even a chance that he could cultivate them on this planet.

As long as he could successfully cultivate these two supernatural powers…no, even if he could only just cross into the threshold then he would have the power to sweep across everyone on this low level martial arts planet. Even the emperors of the three great empires and the sect leaders of the nine great sects would have to tremble beneath his feet. At that time, who cared about being a young county magistrate? Wealth, power, women, wouldn’t all of that just easily fall into his hands then?

“Ahahahaha…”

As Li Mu was lost in these fantastical delusions, he couldn’t help but begin cackling on his chair.

At the side, Qing Feng and Ming Yue were both left utterly speechless. Shock was written all over their faces.

This young master simply lacked any potential. He had actually gone crazy from happiness.

…

Half an hour later, County Deputy Zhou ordered people to send back an entire table of dishes. Indeed, there was wine as well as meat, and even fresh river fish and shellfish.

Li Mu and the two young study attendants were completely unable to control themselves. They directly dove into the food, right in the lobby of the County Administrative Hall. They ate so fast and with so much gusto that they seemed as if they would kick up clouds of dust around them. They ate until their bellies were stretched, just like hungry ghosts that had been reborn. The several bailiffs standing on the side were left staring in complete bewilderment.

After finishing eating, Chief Captain Ma Junmo, who managed the defenses of the County Administrative Hall, came forwards to request an audience; he wanted to ask for instructions on how to arrange the defenses of the County Administrative Hall.

Within the Western Qin Empire, the division of administrative work at the county level was extremely simple and also extremely clear. Beneath the county magistrate were three first-level county officials.

They were the county deputy who was in charge of managing general county affairs, the county registrar who managed taxes and various payments and other monetary issues, and the county commander who managed the soldiers.

The county commander was equivalent to the chief of a public security bureau on Earth.

And beneath the county commander were three chief captains. They were the chief captain of the county guards responsible for defending the County Administrative Hall, the chief captain of the soldier guards responsible for apprehending criminals, and the chief captain of the militia who was responsible for overseeing civilian matters. On Earth, this division of responsibilities would be roughly equivalent to the internal police, the criminal police unit, and the local militia.

Chief Captain Ma Junmo was responsible for overseeing the defenses of the County Administrative Hall. As per tradition, he had to ask for instructions from the county magistrate.

“I won’t see him.”

Li Mu refused the audience without hesitation. He sent out his young attendant Qing Feng to deal with it instead.

Then, by himself, he hid away in the back of the county hall.

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