The Magistrate: Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Chapter 19

The Finch Equations

Tobias lowered his umbrella as he entered the ministry building, flicking the water outside, before walking to the front desk. The line waiting to speak to the clerk parted for him, and the clerk behind the desk bowed.

"How may I help you, Magistrate?"

"Inform Lower Magistrate Yun that Magistrate Finch is here to report for his assignment."

The clerk bowed. "He's waiting for you in his office. Would you like me to guide you?"

"That would be appreciated.

Tobias was led through the hallways to a grand pair of doors and an office that would have turned Lower Magistrate Han green with envy. The wealth on display was both intimidating and tasteful, creating the impression of a sophisticated oligarch.

Lower Magistrate Yun sat behind his desk, reading his daily reports. He wore his robes tight against his body, displaying a fit physique. His hair was immaculately kept, and his skin was as flawless as porcelain. He carried himself well, presenting handsome features that many cultivators would envy. He was clearing into the initiate realm and close to reaching the foundation realm.

Tobias stopped before his desk and bowed. "Magistrate Finch greets Lower Magistrate Yun."

Lower Magistrate Yun looked up and smiled. "I respect a man who arrives on time, Magistrate Finch. Please sit with me."

Tobias pulled out a chair and sat.

"Magistrate Finch, your dedication to your current assignment is to be commended. I've checked your reports and progress against the state records and found that you are the most effective magistrate ever assigned to Cloud Sect's state assignment hall. I would like your honest opinion. Do you believe you can replicate your results with Mist Sect?"

Tobias shook his head. "Cloud Sect has been very accommodating, and I've been blessed with good assistants. I cannot promise I will achieve the same results with Mist Sect, Lower Magistrate Yun."

Lower Magistrate Yun nodded. "Good. Like you, I have achieved exceptional results, but I can no more promise that I can repeat these results than you can. I would have been disappointed with you if you had tried to claim that you could. Do you need anything from my office to fulfil your assignment?"

"I was told that I'm supposed to train someone immediately. Is that still required of me?"

Lower Magistrate Yun nodded. "Would you like to select who you train?"

"I would, but I would also like sixty days alone to better understand what I will teach them."

"That will leave you barely any time to train your replacement."

"The time I have been given is insufficient to train any replacement to do what I do, but it is enough for me to put a system in place and have them continue to operate this system. It will be more efficient than what you have now, but less efficient than what I can do myself."

Lower Magistrate Yun shook his head. "I would prefer you train them to do what you do."

"I have no problem with doing that, but I cannot do so in the time I've been given. If you would prefer, I can train two lower magistrates to perform my assignment. One who will remain behind to temporarily fill the role and another who will return with me to Cloud Sect to continue their training."

Lower Magistrate Yun gave his first frown. "I like to think of myself as a fair man, Magistrate Finch. I reward success and punish failure, but only if the success or failure was within the individual's control. Is it within your control to do what I wish within your allotted time?"

Tobias paused. "I honestly don't believe so, unless the lower magistrate I'm supposed to teach to replace me is brilliant."

"You consider yourself brilliant?"

"I do for my age. Whether this continues as I grow older, we will have to wait and see."

"Are you an ambitious man, Magistrate Finch?"

"Not at all. I prefer to be left alone in obscurity."

Lower Magistrate Yun chuckled. "If that's true, let me give you some advice. Become more ambitious. If you don't try to climb higher, your superiors will try to use you to improve their station. However, if you try to climb higher, they will try to force you to fade into the obscurity you want. There is nothing more terrifying to those in power than a junior who can perform their job better than they can, who also wishes to replace them."

Tobias felt that this was reasonably sound advice, and he was surprised he hadn't considered it. "Thank you for the advice, Lower Magistrate Yun."

"You're welcome, Magistrate Finch. You may report to Mist Sect tomorrow morning for your assignment. You're dismissed."

The sudden end to their conversation threw Tobias for a second, but he quickly rose to his feet, bowed and left Lower Magistrate Yun's office.

Tobias thought about the sudden dismissal all the way to the front door and realised what had happened. Lower Magistrate Yun had cut the conversation off before he could confirm whether or not he could do things his way. He was being left in limbo, where his superior could chastise him for failing to do as he was told, despite his discussing his intentions.

By the time he reached the entrance, he realised that he was going to be called back to discuss the matter in the future. Lower Magistrate Yun was allowing him to go to the sect and see if he really did need the extra time, while giving him enough rope to hang himself with. If Tobias succeeded, Lower Magistrate Yun would take credit for his success, and if he failed, Lower Magistrate Yun would point out that Tobias had ignored his direct orders.

The man was significantly more competent than Lower Magistrate Han, and Tobias wasn't sure how he should react to the circumstances he'd found himself in.

Tobias grabbed his umbrella at the door and stepped out. He crossed the rainy street to the restaurant on the other side and joined Disciple Wo and Xi at their table.

Disciple Wo raised an eyebrow. "That was quick."

"Lower Magistrate Yun is a professional. He saw me immediately and told me to report to Mist Sect tomorrow morning."

Disciple Xi finished eating his noodles and put down his bowl. "Did he give you accommodation?"

Tobias shook his head. "We're on our own."

"That's unfortunate. I'm ready to find somewhere more permanent."

Continuing to stay at the inn was an extravagance Tobias didn't want to continue. Disciple Xi knew this and was being polite.

Disciple Wo grinned. "There's an inn near the House of Sound."

Disciple Xi smiled. "That could be a good place to start. The magistrate does like to be scandalous."

Tobias chuckled.

***

After lunch at their new inn, Tobias went to his suite to think. He had just as much space as the previous inn, but the quality of the furniture was lower. Incense sticks filled his rooms with a pleasant smell as he moved to the study and sat at his desk.

Lower Magistrate Yun's advice on remaining in obscurity had been bothering Tobias ever since he left the man's office. The reason it bothered him was that the man was right. A man who lacked ambition would be used by those who had it. He'd seen and done that enough in his past life to know that was true. Without family and connections, the only way to keep them at bay was to show them he had ambition and skill. He had to turn himself into a threat.

Tobias had gone from being a peasant farmer to a member of the highest caste in the space of a day. That was too fast a change for his mind to cope with, as becoming a magistrate and escaping poverty had been his goal for over a decade. The problem with that goal was that Tobias hadn't thought about what he would do once he was on the other side.

He had no plans beyond escaping poverty. He had no ambitions. All he had was fear —fear of losing his position, fear of going back to his old life. So, he'd been a good little magistrate, doing his job to the best of his ability, so no one could take his position from him.

The problem was that raising his station and moving to a higher caste had left him at the bottom of a new hierarchy. Those at the bottom were all too frequently trodden on. If he wanted security, he would need to be somewhere in the middle, with the ability to move higher if he chose to, so others would prevent him from doing so.

Tobias took a sheet of paper, his inkstone, and a brush and began forming his thoughts. He needed power, privilege, and security. He began listing out his options under those headings.

Power came in many forms. There was cultivation, position, family, military, and alliance power. Tobias crossed out cultivation, family, and military power. There was a small chance he could build a private army with his wealth, but that was not something he could achieve quickly. That left him with position and alliance power.

He needed to be more than a mere magistrate, but he wouldn't be able to hold the position of lower magistrate without allies. Becoming a senior magistrate would be preferable, as senior magistrates had job security. It would give him his job for life, anonymity, and a pay increase to just below that of a lower magistrate.

Gaining such a promotion would be difficult.

Tobias would need to impress people who weren't easily impressed and have allies actively whispering in their ears. Tobias's list of allies with influence started and ended with Disciple Xi. Patriarch Lee was someone he now considered a friend, but they weren't close enough for him to call on. He didn't know enough about Elder Tan to know if he could call on her yet, either. Xu Ling had her father wrapped around her finger, but seeking his help would require him to marry his daughter.

His shortlist was not helpful.

Tobias needed better allies.

Tobias pulled out another sheet of paper and began listing everything he had that might intrigue others. There was money, pills, tonics, spirit herbs, and spirit beast meat, but none of those were entirely under his control. The only thing on his list that was his was the Finch Equations. It was also possibly the most useful, judging by Elder Tan's reaction.

The question was, who should he give them to?

Tobias made a list of names and realised he was asking the wrong question. The right question was, who could he give them to? That narrowed everything down to just three names. Cloud Sect, Mist Sect, and the state.

Each sect already knew about the equations, so formally presenting them wouldn't be particularly meaningful, but it would still be significant. It was also necessary. His equations enabled anyone to evaluate the effectiveness of cultivators with their specific cultivation methods. They would inform all the nobles about the effectiveness of their family's cultivation methods and techniques, as well as their military prowess. If Tobias didn't hand the equations formally over to the sects, the state might execute him to keep them secret when he handed them over to them. Such occurrences were all too common throughout Earth's history.

Tobias went to his luggage and fished out his notes from Cloud and Mist Sect. He had a comprehensive guide on how effective their cultivation methods were, based on the divinity and talent of their disciples. It went up to the nascent soul realm, though that information wasn't as accurate, because so few reached it. Having this information could be classed as spying on their sect, but it also gave him an excuse to hand over the equations to them.

Tobias pulled out more paper and ink and began formally laying out his equations and categorisation sheets, explaining how everything could be used to estimate how far an individual's divinity and talent would take them. It wasn't a long or complex document, but Tobias rewrote it several times to ensure clarity before being satisfied. With this document and enough records, any educated individual could accurately predict the natural end of someone's cultivation path.

Tobias pulled out three blank scrolls and made three copies of the documents, including his discoveries about divinity and talent from the Cloud and Mist Sects at the end of each one. The sects needed to know he had handed the information over to the state, and this was the politest way to do so. It also meant that the state would not argue with the fact that he had to hand over the equations, as such delicate information could not be freely acquired.

Once the ink had dried, Tobias rolled up the scrolls and placed them in decorative cases and then sealed them with wax. He called a servant to his room and had them prepare two changes of clothes and load them onto the rickshaw. With that done, Tobias called for Disciple Wo.

Disciple Wo walked in a few minutes later. "What do you need?"

Tobias placed a scroll on the desk. "I need you to take this to the ministry building and inform the clerk at the front desk that this scroll is state property and that I will be personally delivering it to Lower Magistrate Yun tomorrow morning. Tell them you are delivering it to them for safekeeping and that you are required to stay and guard it."

Disciple Wo frowned. "Why not do it yourself?"

"You're a member of Cloud Sect, and I'm a lowly magistrate. They won't break the seal if you deliver it, but they will if I do."

Disciple Wo frowned and picked it up. "We heading to the House of Sound later?"

Tobias shook his head. "I've got work to do tonight."

***

Without Disciple Wo slowing him down, Disciple Xi could run much faster. It only took a few hours to journey to the Embassy to deliver the scrolls to Elder Cloud and Elder Mist. Officially delivering the scrolls to the two elders was the easiest way to avoid showing favouritism to either sect. It also meant they were both there to keep each other in check if one of them decided to kill him.

Tobias watched the elders experience a range of emotions as they read his equations and notes. Both began with amusement, which became interest, shock, and anger as they reached the end.

Disciple Xi sat in the corner of the dining area, eating a bowl of noodles. When he didn't stop, Tobias took it as a good sign. Cultivators could sense violence, and Disciple Xi wouldn't be happily eating if that was about to occur.

Elder Mist rolled up her scroll. "Do you know how valuable this knowledge is?"

Tobias nodded.

"Yet, you hand it over without a care."

"The knowledge exists in both your sects. This is just a formal handing over of my equations."

"Is there a reason you need to flaunt our knowledge?"

"The state will undoubtedly ask me for this information, and I will hand it over. To pretend otherwise would be an insult to everyone involved. I felt it only fair that both your sects knew what the state knows."

Elder Cloud stroked his long white beard. "Who gave you these equations?"

"No one. Deaths during assignments were one of the most common reasons for state assignments being unfulfilled. I was trying to determine the commonality between cultivators who died on state assignments. My goal was to not fail to complete state assignments due to death, as my predecessor had. Once I noticed a connection between talent, age, the number of open meridians, and death, it was easy to discover that these cultivators were prone to reckless behaviour because of their difficulty in progressing. I then refined the equations further to ensure I didn't assign these individuals dangerous tasks. Those refinements provided me with accurate equations that showed how far a cultivator's talent and skill would take them with general cultivation pills. I didn't even realise that equations were so important until I reached Mist Sect."

Elder Cloud nodded. "Why give them to us now?"

"I met with my superior today. He asked me if I was ambitious. I told him I wished to live in obscurity. He advised me that the only way to live in obscurity was to prove to those in power that you were a threat if you were not allowed to do so. These equations are how I plan to live in obscurity."

Elder Mist nodded. "These equations are not a small matter. Providing us with a complete understanding is worth our sects offering you assistance. What do you want from us?"

"I want your support to retain my position as the state liaison for Cloud Sect and receive a promotion. Becoming a senior magistrate would secure the position for life and not allow anyone to remove me without being able to prove corruption before the Imperial Minister of Magistrates. This would give me the security I want and remove me from political matters."

Elder Cloud paused. "We'll consider your request."

Elder Mist smirked. "If Cloud Sect will not secure you as their state liaison, Mist Sect will be more than happy to do so. We know your value."

***

Lower Magistrate Yun kept Tobias waiting until noon as a sign of his displeasure. Demanding a meeting during his first day on the job was not how things were done. It didn't matter that Tobias had said the matter was urgent.

He should have waited.

Tobias rose from his bow and placed the scroll case on his desk.

Lower Magistrate Yun pressed his lips together and motioned toward the scroll case. "What is this?"

"They are the Finch Equations. What you said yesterday resonated with me. You can think of this scroll as my intent to show my ambition."

Lower Magistrate Yun broke the seal, opened the case, and began to read the scroll inside. It was a short document, so he finished in ten minutes. He immediately rolled it back up. "Is this the only copy?"

"No. Cloud and Mist Sect each have one."

Lower Magistrate Yun frowned. "You gave a copy to the sects."

"Yes."

"Who told you to do that?"

Tobias smiled. "You did. When you advised me to be ambitious. I suggest you pass the scroll along to your superiors shortly. Records show that it has been in this building for nearly a day and was intended to be presented to you at dawn. The governor might ask why the leaders of Cloud and Mist Sect received their copies before he did."

Lower Magistrate Yun scowled. "You set me up."

"After you set me up first."

"I gave you an opportunity to impress me."

"I gave you an opportunity to show me you were a superior worth impressing. You decided to keep me waiting outside until noon."

"You'll regret this."

Tobias shook his head. "Lower Magistrate Yun, I meant what I said to you yesterday. I wish to live in obscurity. I have no interest in clawing my way to the top unless you make it necessary."

Lower Magistrate Yun paused. "Why should I believe you?"

"Why believe me when you can push me into a position with little opportunity for growth or advancement? My record as a state assignment hall magistrate is impeccable, and my contribution to the state through these equations means it wouldn't be unreasonable to put me forward for a senior magistrate position, letting me retain my assignment in perpetuity."

"You're too young."

"Hardly. Senior magistrate titles are a matter of skill and state contribution, unlike lower magistrate titles. Nowhere in the magistrate guidelines does it stipulate an age restriction."

"Fine. I'll consider it. Now get out of my office."