Chapter 65
Chapter 65 New Image
"I can tell that I’m a little older now."
Li Mu was standing in front of the mirror.
There was a large, well-crafted bronze mirror, which occupied almost half of the western wall of the darkroom, in the dark torture chamber.
This room was designed by Zhen Meng, a prison warden.
Zhen Meng had been known to let the prisoners watch through this bronze mirror as he tortured other prisoners in this chamber.
He used this method because it usually helped break down the prisoners mental defenses faster.
Li Mu had not noticed this mirror before.
Now, almost all of the Wulin masters at the Joint-qi level had been tricked, and even "Sky Dragon Sword" Dongfang Jian and "Iron Hand Holding up the Sky" Tie Zhendong were busy taking notes from the redemption books in front of the table. They looked just like students who were busy with homework. The plan seemed to have gone as he expected, so he was finally able to relax.
After eating the last piece of watermelon and melon seeds on the table, Li Mu noticed the bronze mirror.
While standing in front of the mirror, Li Mu noticed his unshaven face and long hair.
He had been in this gloomy prison for quite a long time now.
It felt the same as staying up late to watch a ball game on Earth, but it had much more mental focus.
He stretched a little.
Both the men and women on this alien world—Martial Art Star, had long hair with different styles of hair buns, which was quite similar to ancient China. It was also very difficult and time-consuming for them to comb their hair.
It had been several months since Li Mu came to this planet and his physique had improved after practicing the Xiantian Skill, so that might be why his hair had grown so quickly, so much that it was already down to his shoulders.
"Having my hair this long makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s also difficult to comb it."
In truth, Li Mu still had his habits from his days on Earth.
"Why don’t I give myself a haircut?"
As Li Mu thought about it, he narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, I’m an alien here and I’ll probably only be staying on these two planets for a couple of decades at most. It’s not necessary for me to integrate into society since I’ll be going back sooner or later. I’ll be like Superman on Earth."
"Action is better than hesitation!"
Clang!
Li Mu looked around before finally deciding to use the famous "Zhengyang sword" that was on the weapon rack. He had received it from "Sky Dragon Sword" Dongfang Jian.
"You… what are you doing?"
Dongfang Jian and Tie Zhendong, who were being forced to finish the letter of redemption, lost their countenances.
Was Li Mu going to kill them?
Was he planning to kill them and take everything they had?
Was he that brutal?
Li Mu just ignored the two trembling hostages.
He took the sword and moved to the front of the bronze mirror so that he could give himself a haircut.
The current Li Mu had perfect control of his limbs, so it was rather simple for him to give himself a haircut.
The "Zhengyang Sword" was extremely sharp.
As Li Mu proceeded, strands of long black hair fell to the ground.
Dongfang Jian’s heart was bleeding and his face was covered with shame.
That was the sword which he had worked so hard to get. He had used it to kill so many outstanding figures from the Northwest Wulin World, but now it was being used by a great devil like Li Mu for a haircut.
Tie Zhendong also looked confused.
What was this Taibai County Magistrate planning to do?
Why was he cutting his hair?
Was he going to become a monk?
A moment later.
Li Mu blew the hair off the "Zhengyang Sword" and looked at himself in the mirror with satisfaction.
Crew cut.
It was his favorite hairstyle during his time on earth.
Short hair made him feel simple and refreshed, not to mention that it was also easy to take care of it.
"Aha, that’s good. And I won’t need to worry about it since my hair won’t become unkempt."
Li Mu was very satisfied with his new hair style.
His physical strength and spirit had improved greatly after practicing the "Zhenwu Boxing" and "Xiantian Skill", so he was much stronger than he had been when he was on Earth.
While standing in front of the mirror, he saw a handsome boy who was vigorous and well-featured in it. Even though he was not extremely delicate and handsome, he possessed the masculine beauty of men with some good essences too.
"Aha, my looks have improved…"
Li Mu struck some poses with satisfaction.
Clang!
Then he sheathed the sword.
"Well, have you finished the redemption letter?"
Li Mu turned around and looked at Dongfang Jian and Tie Zhendong, both of whom were in a state of confusion. He took the redemption letters from the table with a smile and read them carefully with great satisfaction.
"Well then, you’ll have to stay in the county jail for now, until your factions and families show me their sincerity. Taibai County is a small county. It is poor and doesn’t produce enough food, so please don’t mind that there’s not enough or good food for you."
Li Mu smiled like a weasel who just returned from the chicken coop.
To be honest, it was rather hard for Dongfang Jian and Tie Zhendong to connect the greedy businessman in front of them with the unrivaled Taibai County Magistrate.
This Taibai County Magistrate was so odd.
"By the way, I will be blunt and tell you now that you’ll lose a leg if you try to escape…
Li Mu was telling the truth.
As of now, these Wulin masters he had intercepted were like silver and gold for him.
And, in truth, this was his first pot of gold since arriving on this Martial Art Star.
Dongfang Jian and Tie Zhendong were angry when they heard Li Mu’s threat, but they didn’t know what to say.
They had never been bullied like this before.
They would not have come to Taibai County if they knew things would end up like this.
While Li Mu was still speaking, the iron gate opened.
The secretary, Feng Yuanxing, and the warden, Zhen Meng, came in.
"Have you finished setting everything up properly?" Li Mu looked at them and asked.
Of course, these two would not be careless regarding the arrangement for the remaining Wulin masters. After all, those masters might escape and, prior to this, everything here had been arranged by these two.
"Yes," Feng Yuanxing replied.
"I’m sure none of them will escape," Zhen Meng said with great confidence.
Li Mu nodded with satisfaction.
It had taken Feng Yuanxing a long time to earn Li Mu’s trust.
As for Zhen Meng, he seemed to have an aura which could make others trust him easily. Even when speaking the exact same words, he would be more convincing than others.
"Okay then, take these two warriors with you and watch them carefully. Remember not to give them too much food. If they are close to starving, they won’t be able to escape… Aha."
Li Mu was quite vicious on the inside.
He felt like he was almost addicted to being a great devil.
"By the way, one more thing master, I’ve already ordered the others to make the clothes you mentioned several days ago," Feng Yuanxing said with a fawning smile.
He waved his hand and two guards came in behind him with a small box.
He opened the box, inside which there were more than a dozen pieces of clothes made of soft cloth with a peculiar style, and they were mostly white.
Earth style clothes.
Trousers, robes, and ancient style boots…
They were clothes full of elements from modern Chinese.
Li Mu was stunned.
He felt a little surprised but soon understood what was going on.
Feng Yuanxing really was good at flattering people.
Several days ago, during lunchtime, when he inadvertently talked about food, clothing, shelter, and transportation with those two young attendants, he couldn’t help but mention the style of clothing from Earth because he missed Earth so much, so he could not help mentioning it several times.
Feng Yuanxing was also there at that time.
Li Mu never expected that Feng Yuanxing was such a considerate person.
Feng Yuanxing had not only kept his thoughtless word in mind, but also sent to have the clothes tailor-made for him.
Li Mu took a robe out of the box.
The white robe had a simple style, but it was made using the tailoring ideas and industrial style of earth. It looked simple and plain, but it had incomparably exquisite workmanship and was very similar to the modern Chinese robes on Earth.
It was easy to see that Feng Yuanxing really had paid great attention to every little detail.
It was easier for Li Mu to change in and out of this ancient-style robe when compared to the Taoist robe that he was currently wearing. This was mostly because there were no extra belts or layers of sleeves inside and outside of the clothes. This suited Li Mu quite well because he was very "lazy".
Moreover, it was completely tailored according to Li Mu’s size.
"Thank you."
Li Mu changed into these robes, trousers, and boots in front of the bronze mirror.
He had acquired a new look.
Other people might think these clothes were outlandish when combined with Li Mu’s short hair, but Li Mu was quite satisfied with it. And, this kind of outfit made him feel absentminded because it gave him a feeling of returning to Earth. Even though they were not the same suits or straight-legged trousers, they helped him recall so many good memories from Earth.
In the mirror stood a modern teenager in ancient-styled clothes with a strange sense of an evil spirit. He looked simple but had a Taoist aura.
"Good, you did a good job."
Li Mu patted Feng Yuanxing on the shoulder with great satisfaction.
Li Mu really enjoyed having someone around him that was so good at flattering people.
The County Magistrate felt as if he was going to be bad due to such bribery.
Feng Yuanxing was amazed.
Even though he had done it on purpose, he never expected the result to be so good.
He never expected that his speculative mind could win such grand appreciation from the County Magistrate, and it made him more determined to work harder and win more praise from Li Mu through his various ideas.
Even Zhen Meng was inspired when he saw this.
But he still maintained his style and didn’t say a word.
Didn’t he want to be put in an important position by the County Magistrate?
Of course not.
The reason why he had not shown himself in front of Li Mu before was not because he did not want to get promoted, but because he felt that he himself was not qualified— he was quiet, poor, and had no social standing. So it was useless for him to try and get promoted so since he was only good at managing and questioning the prisoners.
However, Zhen Meng had a shrewd suspicion that the County Magistrate had a good impression of him.
He realized that there might be a good opportunity in the future.
But he was also quite clear that he was totally different from Feng Yuanxing, who was smooth and agreeable.
He could never learn to be like Feng Yuanxing.
If he wanted to gain the magistrate’s trust and be put in an important position, he could only make it using his own ability.
And this was a good opportunity since there were so many Wulin masters in jail who needed to be suppressed.
He should be able to seize this opportunity as long as he was able to meet the magistrate’s demands. He just had to guaranty that none of the masters could escape.
He was not interested in gaining merits, only in avoiding mistakes.
Finally, Dongfang Jian and Tie Zhendong were taken away in a state of humiliation and confusion
Li Mu was still busy enjoying the look of the new clothes in front of the bronze mirror. He also gave Feng Yuanxing some more ideas that he had.
"Find someone to draw up the designs for these clothes and show them to me. Once I feel like they are acceptable, you can use the green snakeskin to make new clothes. They will be more durable. Of course, you can also use ordinary cloth too. The more, the better."
"It makes sense for me to have some spare clothes since I’m a County Magistrate, right?"
"These clothes may look bizarre in the eyes of the people on this planet, just like how the style of clothes a punk wears looks in the eyes of people on earth."
"But, who cares?"
"As long as I like it."
"From now on, this will be my new image in this world."
Li Mu was very pleased.
Feng Yuanxing made sure to remember everything.
At this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside.
Clang! Clang!
The door opened suddenly.
A bloody Ma Junwu rushed in.
"Bad news, master… there’re some martial art masters attacking the county government. Some of our men got hurt and Ming Yue has been taken away…"
"What…"
Li Mu instantly lost his composure when he heard that.
How could this happen?
This was an internal matter.
Wasn’t his performance in the Wulin Championship today enough to deter these stupid guys in Jianghu?
"Who did it?" Li Mu asked as he exited the prison.
It was more important to get back to the governing this area first.
Ma Junwu wiped the blood off his face, then quickly followed behind him and said, "It was a blind Taoist with a crow. He was using a black art. Even though they tried their best, our brothers couldn’t stop him. The Taoist broke into the county governor’s office and took Ming Yue away. He also said that Ming Yue was a devil and that he would skin her, pull out her tendons, and bleed her dry…"