OBS Chapter 62 Extracting the Moon Clan's Technique!
Chapter 62 Extracting the Moon Clan's Technique!
"You want the incomplete version?" the head steward asked in surprise.
"Are you aware of the drawbacks of incomplete martial arts manuals?"
Zhao An nodded, "I know a little about it, but I still prefer this swordsmanship."
The old steward had wanted to offer some advice, but after hearing this, he gave up and could only offer a silent reminder.
"Since you understand, I won't say any more. Just remember, if you want to practice this, you need to be more careful than when practicing other martial arts, after all, this skill is not complete..."
"I've noted it down," Zhao An replied, glancing at the name above the head steward's head—a faint white name with a merit light peeking out an inch above it.
As he accumulates more and more good deeds, he becomes able to sense the origins of the good deeds performed by others.
The old steward's good deeds were few in number, but they were the result of his accumulated good deeds of guiding others over time.
One can only say that even small acts of kindness are merit.
He has always been much more gentle and polite to those with white names in the world.
After leaving the armory, Zhao An headed back home.
From afar, they saw the county magistrate, whom they had met a few times before, leading a contingent of soldiers, his face grim, heading swiftly towards the Hu family's residence.
It was he, the county magistrate, who presided over the civil service examinations in the past.
Now that Li Tianhuai's matter has blown up, he has also lost face.
Zhao An couldn't help Li Tianhuai much more in this regard; he had already stood up for him by blocking that kick for him earlier.
Now that the county magistrate is aware of this matter, the Hu family should no longer dare to harm this poor scholar.
Back in the courtyard, Zhao An immediately instructed the county magistrate, a soul slave in the Soul Pool, to study and master the Thirty-Three Shadowless Blades he had acquired.
He placed high hopes on this incomplete seventh-grade sword technique, and thus directly selected the best soul slaves to study it.
As a soul slave, the county magistrate has a full fifty-year period of enslavement, enough time for him to stay in the soul pool and ponder for a long time!
With such a long period of time, even if this sword technique is extremely profound, it should have been thoroughly studied by now!
Ten days later.
A new government notice was posted at the entrance of the yamen (government office).
People discovered that the previous top scorer in the humanities had changed his name.
It was no longer Hu Dingwen, the third son of the Hu family patriarch in the inner city, but instead, it was Li Tianhuai, a candidate whom no one had ever heard of before.
"Officer, why have the names on this list been changed?" a member of the public asked, puzzled.
This was the first time they had ever encountered something like this.
"Hu Dingwen was suspected of favoritism and cheating, and the county magistrate thoroughly investigated him. The first-place exam paper was indeed written by this candidate, Li Tianhuai. Now that the truth has come out, Hu Dingwen's score has been canceled and the original score has been restored."
The official in charge of posting the notice replied somewhat impatiently.
He had to explain to the public that this was a task assigned by the county magistrate, and no official was allowed to neglect it.
"Such a thing exists! The Hu family is truly wicked!"
"Who is this Li Tianhuai? I've never heard of him before. Could he be a member of the Li family in the inner city?"
"It's not the Li family, it's a poor family from the outer city," the official said. They knew of Li Tianhuai, this impoverished scholar.
I also admire this kid for daring to defy the pressure from the Hu family and sneak into the inner city to beat the magistrate's office's appeal drum.
"The magistrate is truly a just and upright official, a truly incorruptible and benevolent magistrate!"
"Yes, he's a great official who truly stands up for the people!"
"What do you call this? A new broom sweeps clean!"
"..."
The people praised the matter highly, and the magistrate's act of upholding justice for Li Tianhuai has won over the hearts of the people.
As a newly appointed county magistrate, winning the hearts and minds of the people is a crucial factor in achieving political success.
A small courtyard in the eastern part of the outer city.
"Rumor has it that the magistrate was furious and killed a large number of criminal members of the Hu family in the inner city. In those days, county soldiers were arresting people everywhere in the inner city, and heads rolled everywhere. It was quite frightening. Everyone said that the Hu family was finished!"
Li Gou'er spoke animatedly, spitting as he told Zhao Chunzi and Zhao An about the latest happenings in the city.
"The Hu family is a prominent family in our county, is it really going to fall?" Zhao Chunzi was stunned.
In my memory, these powerful families and the government have always been in cahoots, only oppressing ordinary people together. There has never been a time when the government would turn its sword against these powerful families.
"You don't understand, do you? This new magistrate is a big shot from the prefectural city. Where is the prefectural city? It's the upper city! A big place!"
"A dragon crossing the river like that wouldn't care about the powerful families in our small town. For the Hu family to perish would be as simple as snapping a finger."
Li Gou'er said with a smile, comparing the aristocratic families in the inner city to little mudfish rolling in a swamp.
His words were filled with admiration and respect for the new magistrate.
Zhao An didn't have much to say about this, and whether the Hu family really had a large number of casualties was another matter.
Yesterday, Li Tianhuai visited him in person to thank him.
Zhao An played a significant role in helping him get his exam paper back.
After all, the fact that Zhao An can now travel with the magistrate and enter and leave the magistrate's residence shows that he holds a special place in the magistrate's heart.
A single word he said on their behalf might influence the magistrate's decision at that moment.
Zhao An did not take credit for this, but only told Li Tianhuai to be careful and not to be secretly retaliated against by the Hu family.
If you sense something is wrong, you can go to his courtyard for shelter.
Li Tianhuai readily agreed.
In the small courtyard.
Li Gou'er kept blowing air with a fan, making the fires in the stoves burn brightly.
Several small earthenware jars were placed on top, and the aroma of the herbal decoction of *Crimson Blood Root* had already filled the air.
"Brother Zhao, how's it going?" Li Gou'er asked, wiping the sweat from his face.
On the other side, Zhao Chunzi also brought out several plates of large, delicious-looking meat from the kitchen.
"That's enough." Zhao An tossed a bag of copper coins to Zhao An.
"Take Chunzi out for a nice meal, and come back in the evening."
"Alright!" Li Gou'er was overjoyed, got up, rubbed his hands together, and took the copper coins.
This bag of money was enough for them to have a good time in the outer city for a day.
After seeing the two off, Zhao An focused his attention on the Soul Pool.
A group of soul slaves, deep in thought and diligently practicing, were rising and falling in the soul pool, much like the hard-working oxen and horses enjoying the ultimate 007 work.
Among them were several soul slaves with slightly different appearances, some with blue or white hair, and some with a cold and aloof demeanor.
[The Soul Slave Xuan Si's ten-year enslavement period has ended. Shall we collect the karmic reward?]
[The Soul Slave Xuan Si, dressed in plain clothes, has completed his ten-year enslavement period. Shall we collect the karmic reward?]
【Soul slave...】
"Extract." Zhao An first tried to extract a karmic fruit from a Moon Human Soul Slave, intending to see how it went before proceeding.
To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, he had sent Li Gou'er and the other man away beforehand.
Soon, the results of this Moon Clan Soul Slave's ten years of arduous cultivation were bestowed upon it.
Numerous scenes of spiritual practice appeared and flashed by like a revolving lantern, resembling a long movie.
Zhao An's understanding of the techniques that the Moon Clan could use progressed from a vague initial understanding to a gradual comprehension, and finally to a profound and sudden realization.
"I see..."