Martial Star Ocean - Chapter 6 Someone Came to Report an Injustice?

Chapter 6 – Someone Came to Report an Injustice?

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In the crowd of people, the county commander had a gloomy look on his face.

He had originally prepared all sorts of plans to assassinate Li Mu, but he never expected that Li Mu would hide away in the County Administrative Hall and not come out at all. Although the Bloodmoon Gang was strong and even had a number of officials in their ranks, there were still many risks if they were to break into the County Administrative Hall and try to kill off a ninth-grade county magistrate.

Because of this, their only choice was to wait for an opportunity to present itself. But from the way things were going, it seemed that Li Mu was going to hide away in the rear county hall for an indeterminate amount of time. Just when would he finally come out?

“I have to find some way to lure Li Mu out.”

Zheng Longxing thought to himself. He was already impatient.

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Time passed, a day at a time.

Soon, half a month flashed by.

Within the training room in the rear section of the County Administrative Hall, Li Mu was punching his fists into a slab of granite as tall as he was.

Bang!

It was difficult for even swords or sabers to mar this slab of granite. But, these punches were actually cracking it apart, causing chips to fly everywhere.

This strength was simply superhuman.

“I wonder just how strong my fist is?”

Li Mu said with satisfaction as he blew off the stone dust from his hands.

In these past days he had been cultivating the True Martial Fist during the daytime and now he finally managed to perfectly display the opening static stance.

At the same time, Li Mu was just barely able to display the first style of the True Martial Fist – Sky Charging Hammer. Even so, his movements lacked the necessary charm, and after every time he attempted it his muscles would feel as if they were being torn apart. If he were to forcefully use this move, it would lead to him tearing apart his muscles and even wounding his organs.

Li Mu tried several times but eventually gave up.

Currently, he had a much clearer understanding towards the True Martial Fist and Xiantian Arts.

The True Martial Fist seemed to be a body technique that could temper the human body.

Every move and every style had a mysterious function of strengthening the body.

In this past half month, Li Mu tried his best to practice the opening stance and first style of the True Martial Fist, Sky Charging Hammer. During this time he also discovered that his skin and flesh had become much harder and more resilient. Even when he used sharp stones to cut across his skin, they still wouldn’t break open the surface and would only leave behind faint marks.

As for the function of the Xiantian Arts, that was completely opposite to the True Martial Fist.

The Xiantian Arts could heal internal wounds and strengthen the mind.

During the night, Li Mu would cultivate the Xiantian Arts.

This sort of breathing technique energized Li Mu’s mind and spirit. Even if he didn’t sleep all night he would still be as exuberant and cognizant as if he had slept for the entire night. Not just that, but his senses had been sharpened. His hearing and vision became much more sensitive and even his reaction rate was greatly enhanced.

And, the Xiantian Arts had an incredible regenerative effect. Li Mu had suffered internal wounds and tore his muscles several times when training in the True Martial Fist, but all that damage had been repaired using the Xiantian Arts.

When cultivating the Xiantian Arts, through the strange breathing rhythm and inner mantra, one could draw in the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth to enter the body and cleanse the organs. The impurities would be discharged through every breath, and this was similar to the legendary techniques of purifying the body and mind. Over time, Li Mu’s physique also changed little by little, and there was a feeling similar to being reborn.

Faintly, Li Mu also understand the intentions of that old conman.

The Xiantian Arts and True Martial Fist represented the inner and outer body, each complementing the other. They were able to change a person’s physique.

Li Mu had lived for 14 years in the polluted environment of Earth and breathed in the dirty air there. The things he had also included all sorts of unhealthy substances that left behind many internal injuries and impurities within him. By training in these two cultivation methods, he could gradually restore himself to his most primal and natural Xiantian state. Only like this would he be able to step onto the road of interstellar martial arts in the future and fight with the peerless proud sons of heaven that existed in the various stars all around.

What left Li Mu feeling a little sad was that whether it was the Xiantian Arts or True Martial Fist, neither of them seemed to possess much actual combat strength?

“Kuh…” Li Mu couldn’t help but cough and spit out phlegm.

This phlegm was filled with traces of red blood and black dirt.

This was not the first time this had occurred.

When Li Mu first started coughing up bloody phlegm, he had been frightened, thinking he had developed some incurable sickness.

It was afterwards that he slowly came to realize this was all because the Xiantian Arts were cleansing his internal organs and eliminating the impurities and internal wounds he had accumulated over time. It was only because the Xiantian Arts were strengthening and cleansing his lungs that such a dire phenomenon occurred.

“I’ve already hidden myself away in the administrative center for over 20 days. It’s about time to go out and breathe some fresh air.”

As Li Mu coughed, he began to move.

He was originally an active youth that loved going out and exploring lively situations. If it weren’t for him being scared that those hooligans from the Bloodmoon Gang would try to assassinate him then he would have long since gone out for a stroll around the city.

Now, with his strength having increased a bit, he was also a bit more confident in himself. Thinking it over, Li Mu decided to go and venture outside the County Administrative Hall to walk around.

The old conman had once said that when it came to cultivating martial arts, the most taboo action was to remain in deep seclusion and hide away from reality. Sometimes, cultivating diligently in seclusion for an entire year was worth less than sparring with others. Sometimes, fighting someone in a life or death battle might be better than 10 years of hard work.

Li Mu certainly didn’t want to engage in random life or death battles, but going out to see the wider world was also good.

Since he came to this new world, he should at least try to integrate himself into it.

As Li Mu was thinking this, before he could summon his two young attendants –

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From the great front doors of the County Administrative Hall, a loud rumbling boom rang out like thunder, echoing through the entire hall.

The young attendant Qing Feng ran up, panting, “Young Master, someone has struck the injustice drum to report a complaint…”

Li Mu’s eyes brightened.

“Injustice drum…that means someone came to report a complaint…”

Li Mu began to recall movies and television shows from Earth where the county magistrate would preside over cases in the court hall.

Hahaha!

Li Mu began wildly laugh inwardly.

This was perfect. He could take this chance to display his abilities as a county magistrate. After a brief act he could then relax.

Hehe, thinking about it, he had seen many serial dramas that had situations like this with people reporting injustices. Now, all that knowledge could be put to use.

If someone was desperate enough to strike the injustice drum then that meant this would surely be a great, breaking case. Li Mu shook his fists together in excitement. As someone who came from Earth, he could surely use his advanced schools of thought and reasoning to awe and suppress these trifling people from another planet.

While he cultivated his martial arts skills and increased his strength, at the same time he could uphold justice for the common people and be an upright and honorable Magistrate Li!

Thinking about it, this would definitely be amazing.

“Someone, we’re holding court, holding court!”

Li Mu impatiently hurried towards the court hall with large strides.

“Eh? Young Master, hold on a moment, you forget to switch into your official clothes…” The young attendant Qing Feng panted as he chased after Li Mu.

This little fellow was a bit thin and pale, seeming as if he lacked energy.

Ever since he arrived at Alabaster County City, he felt as if he were working as the mother and father here.

In the gardens of the rear county hall, the little girl attendant Ming Yue was holding up a catcher’s net that she had just used to capture a cicada. As she heard the loud rumblings of the injustice drum she was stunned for a moment before immediately understanding what was occurring. A look of excitement flashed across her face. Haha, someone had struck the injustice drum! Then wouldn’t this be fun?

She opened her mouth and directly ate the cicada, chewing it with great zest.

Her movements were as quick as lightning. It was nearly impossible to follow her with the naked eye.

As if she simply weren’t a human at all.

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“Hold court!”

“Justice!”

Six county guards stood loosely arranged on the sides of the hall. Their guard staffs were pointed to the ground as they shouted out loud.

In the court room, a faintly solemn and dignified atmosphere filled the air.

Li Mu excitedly sat in his seat at the top of the court room.

Pa!

His gavel struck the table.

“Bring in the plaintiff.” Li Mu quickly entered into his persona as county magistrate.

The county guard on the side hesitated, a strange look on his face. He leaned over, coughed, and said in a low whisper, “My Lord, the secretary is not here. Without anyone recording the proceedings, we cannot hold court…”

“Ah? Then where is the secretary? Why isn’t he here?”

“That is…the secretary has been ill of body lately so several days ago he requested leave to recuperate.”

“How come no one told me?”

The county guard’s expression became even stranger. He said, “The secretary personally came to request leave three or four times already, but Lord has refused to see him each time.”

Ah.

Li Mu’s face blushed red.

So he could only blame himself on this.

What should he do now then?

At just the right time, the young attendant Qing Feng arrived. He rushed in, panting, carrying with him the official magistrate robes that he brought all the way over here.

Li Mu’s eyes brightened. “Hey, come over here. Little fellow, you’re going to be the secretary for a while…” Li Mu pointed to the side where the secretary usually sat.

“Eh? Young Master, isn’t this…a bit inappropriate?” Qing Feng was stunned.

Li Mu chuckled. “What’s inappropriate about it? If I say you’re appropriate then you’re appropriate.”

“Oh…” The young attendant wasn’t able to change the mind of his stubborn young master, so he lifted the official robes up high and said, “Young Master, put on these clothes first.”

Li Mu, “I’m not putting those on.”

“You need to wear your official robes before presiding over a case.”

“Those clothes are uncomfortable to put on. I’m not putting them on. As the county magistrate, I will decide these matters.”

Qing Feng, “…”

At this time, the plaintiffs were led forwards.

The first person was actually a little girl around 10 years of age. Her face was covered with tear stains and she wore mourning clothes. She supported a woman that also wore white mourning clothes but was extremely injured and covered in blood. As the two people walked into the court room hall, a series of bloody footprints followed in their wake.

Damn!

What sort of situation was this?

How could these plaintiffs be in such a miserable state?

Could this be a murder case?

Li Mu’s heart skipped a beat.

“I ask the county magistrate to uphold justice for us…” The woman fell to her knees. Blood flowed out from the corners of her lips and she cried out in sorrow and pain. She could barely steady herself and nearly spat out another mouthful of blood.

The little girl beside her was scared pale white. “Mother, Mother, don’t scare me! Grandma, Grandpa, and even Father are gone, please don’t leave me…wuhuhu…Mother, Kin’er is scared…”

Looking at this scene, Li Mu was also scared.

A county guard brought forwards the official letter of complaint.

In the last 20 some days, Li Mu had obtained a rough understanding of this world’s writing system; it was more or less similar to the traditional characters used in ancient times. As he looked over the letter of complaint, he was approximately able to grasp the essentials of the case.

On Earth, this case was an extremely common situation of bullying and theft seen in television series and novels.

The severely wounded woman kneeling in the hall was named Zhang Li. With her parent-in-laws as well as her husband Zhang Sheng, the four of them opened and managed a small medicine shop in Alabaster County. Because they sold genuine goods at fair and reasonable prices, and even treated both young and old with open honesty, their business thrived.

However, the number one medicine hall, Divine Herb Hall, regarded this small medicine shop as a thorn in their eyes. Using their superior strength they randomly came up with a reason to purchase the small medicine shop at only a tenth of the price. They wanted to tear down the Zhang Family’s business before it could grow further. Zhang Li’s father-in-law refused this proposal and was beaten dead as a result. Her husband Zhang Sheng and her mother-in-law were enraged. They went over to complain and were also beaten to death. The widow Zhang Li and her daughter Little Kin were driven out of their small medicine shop and tossed into the streets…

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