The Magistrate: Chapter 20 (Patreon)

Chapter 20

The State of Shen

Knowing which products the state required from Mist Sect was only half of Tobias's job. The other half was understanding how quickly Mist Sect could produce them. His first ten days on the job involved organising the state assignments and clearing time-sensitive assignments. The previous magistrate had only left his assignment the day before, so there wasn't a significant backlog. However, the apparent mismanagement meant Tobias had very little wiggle room in his budget.

Tobias looked up as an exhausted Disciple Wo entered his office. His training only took place during the mornings, but once it was over, Disciple Wo was so exhausted that he could do little more than stroll around and chat with Mist Sect's disciples. With how handsome he'd become and how pretty the disciples were, he didn't miss a single day, no matter how exhausted he was.

"Do you have the list?"

Disciple Wo trudged over to the desk and flopped into the chair. He reached into his robe and handed over a list of names. "Ten teams of five, all in the foundation realm, with one tracker, two ranged, and two close combatants. All of them have family in the relevant territories."

Tobias read the list.

It didn't take a genius to notice that someone was funnelling cultivators into the state and disguising them as bandits just to kill off members of the Mist Sect. The groups of bandits were scattered and inconsistent, but the number of bandits who could cultivate was too high to be anything but intentional.

Intentional meant planning, which meant having backup, which meant having ways to escape. Hitting one or two bandit camps would only cause the cultivators to withdraw and return later. Tobias wasn't planning to do that. They were killing innocent people, not just cultivators, and that had to be stopped.

They were worse than the bandits who had killed his brother. They weren't doing this to survive. They were doing it for profit. With his brother's death still fresh in his mind, Tobias wasn't feeling merciful.

Tobias took the list and went to the assignment hall archives to check each member's record. Tobias was creating a three-day operation where no one would sleep, so those involved needed to be dependable, hardworking, and skilled. Tobias wasn't interested in those who were cultivation geniuses, only those who were gifted. He wanted women who had the potential to be core realm cultivators but had to work to achieve it. They were more likely to succeed.

The names on the list all met Tobias's requirements, so Tobias sent out letters asking them to get a good night's sleep and come to his office at dawn the following morning.

***

Tobias's new office was larger than is one in Cloud Sect, but when you filled it with fifty women, it seemed small. The women were all martial artists, warriors in their own right. They sat in rows of ten, with a gap down the middle. They had no idea why they had been summoned, but every one of them had come, likely receiving a quiet prompting from their elders.

Tobias unrolled a map of the State of Shen. It was marked with every bandit territory the state had found and offered an assignment for. There were mortal, initiate, and foundation realm cultivators among the camps and each one was marked with a different ink.

Tobias turned to the room. "In the past few years, Mist Sect has lost fifty-two disciples to rogue cultivators. The territory around this sect is crawling with bandits, and I've invited you here to help rectify this. You will work in teams of five. Each team will have a tracker, two ranged specialists, and two close combat specialists and will be assigned to the territory where they were born. When you leave this room, the assignment will begin. You will have three days to eliminate every bandit group on your list. Any group that successfully eliminates all its targets will receive a private meeting with me to discuss their cultivation potential in addition to the state assignment rewards."

News of his discovery had spread through Mist Sect within days of Tobias officially handing over his equations, and Tobias had been turning down hundreds of requests for private assessment for this exact reason. He needed leverage to make his plan work. The price the state was willing to pay for the death of a rogue cultivator wasn't enough to intrigue anyone who could do so easily, and it wasn't large enough for groups to take them on, so weaker individuals were left to hunt them down. It was why so many cultivators had died.

Tobias wasn't sure if the state was working against Mist Sect or if someone truly didn't see the pattern, but the results were the same. People were dying.

Tobias noticed the room go from bored amusement to intense interest as his announcement sank in. He collected copies of each team's assignments and walked down the centre of the room, passing them to each group to study. The paperwork listed their targets and compensation, along with maps and the location of anyone useful to speak with.

Tobias walked back to the front and let them read through the information. The three-day limit on this assignment was essential. They needed to hit the rogue cultivators and bandits hard and fast and return to the sect before whoever was behind this could retaliate. The time limit also made his offer more appealing. Spending three days trying to obtain a meeting with him was a reasonable sacrifice, even if they failed.

"Are there any questions?" Tobias asked.

No one had any questions.

"Is anyone not interested in participating?"

Again, there was silence.

"Is everyone appropriately equipped?"

Tobias had been told that those in the foundation realm usually carried everything they needed on them. They were part of the sect's defence, carrying storage rings filled with everything they needed to protect it or wage war.

Everyone nodded that they were appropriately equipped, so Tobias went from group to group with contracts to get their seals. The entire meeting took less than an hour.

Tobias closed his door as the last teams filed out. This was the start of three days of bloodshed. Secrecy was key here. The teams were instructed to move in pairs with someone they didn't know. No one was allowed to be alone, and everyone was only allowed to discuss their current target. The possibility of a mole in the sect was all too real in Tobias's mind.

Tobias walked back to the state map and rolled it up. Although he had no interest in politics, he would stand up to anyone who harmed the nation he'd been born into for personal gain. Tobias put the map away and returned his desk to its proper place before reviewing his assignment list.

The reward for killing the rogue cultivators was only a third of what Tobias would usually offer because it wasn't the true reward. His budget had grown significantly and was about to grow even larger due to Disciple Xi. The flood of spirit herbs the gatherers had given him before the auction had catapulted his skills so much that making the simpler pills for cost was a valuable use of his time, given the experience it offered. He'd gone around all the gatherers and offered to make pills for them if they paid for his time in the alchemist workshop.

This meant the gatherers could take pill assignments, and Tobias could offer them a lower reward. The only people who lost out on the deal were the apprentice alchemists. Still, the young women didn't think they were losing out because Disciple Xi freely shared his thoughts and secrets, giving invaluable lessons to the apprentice alchemists while he worked.

This left Tobias with only one major problem: talismans. The disciples who regularly left the sect had been buying them up to protect themselves from bandit threats. This raised the price, which caused disciples to produce more until they ran out of ink.

The talismans they had produced weren't the type of talisman the state needed, so removing the bandit threat wouldn't solve the problem. Disciple Xi was no help. He'd told Tobias that ink, unlike pills, rarely failed during production. It wasn't an inefficient profession, except when someone was learning to craft a new talisman.

That meant Tobias had no simple solution for the lack of supplies. All he could do was offer more sect. Tobias sat considering his problem for several hours before an idea began to form. It wasn't a quick solution. It might not even be a good solution. But he needed to do something.

Tobias decided to subsidise the production of ink. He made a list of the ingredients the inks needed and of what was in short supply. He cross-referenced prices for the different ingredients and their alternative uses before settling on the amount he was willing to subsidise.

Ingredients with broad uses received lower subsidies than those with narrow uses, and ingredients with longer production times received larger subsidies than those with shorter ones.

It was late afternoon, Tobias went to place the open assignment on the wall outside his office. It was an open, ongoing assignment that would last three years.

Elder Tan walked over as he placed the assignment on the wall and paused to read it. "I don't understand your intent behind this assignment."

"It's a subsidy."

"I recognise that, but why are you offering it on the state's behalf?"

"Mist Sect is The Three Kingdoms' primary source of talismans, but your production barely covers the basic needs."

"Our production matches the state's requirements."

"That's only because the state had stopped trying to offer more talisman assignments. Every time they have, those assignments have failed to be fulfilled. I have the records to prove it."

Elder Tan scowled. "Show me."

Tobias took her to his office and showed her centuries of records, pointing out every time the sect was offered additional assignments and how they failed. They never failed to fulfil the first assignment, but they were unable to complete the follow-up assignments due to an inability to provide the additional materials. The standard price of talismans then rose, and the entire industry became unstable for the next two years.

This occurred every other decade, and nothing ever changed.

Elder Tan stared at the records Tobias had compiled with open disgust. "You're telling me our sect could have been receiving twice the amount of contribution points."

"It's closer to two and a half times."

"Do you know why we haven't adapted?"

Tobias paused. "I believe it's the yellow root. To increase production, you need to take a cutting from it in the Spring and plant it in the Winter. The following year, the plant sulks but produces harvestable growth. It's only during the third year that it begins to produce consistent harvestable growth. By the time the yellow root is ready for full production, the state has finished offering additional talisman assignments. Most wait a year or two before turning the new yellow root into mulch, but it is all usually gone by the time the additional assignments appear again."

Elder Tan pushed the records away and leaned back. "Wouldn't it make more sense to only subsidise the yellow root?"

"The state hasn't given me the budget to support the long-term growth of your sect. The best I can do is a 20% increase."

"Your offer allows our sect to triple production."

"That would require every gatherer in your sect to harvest all their remaining growth for increased production. This would prevent them from producing ink this year and prevent your sect from contributing to the state. Those who do so also won't profit substantially until the final year, making it a substantial investment."

"And a choice few will make."

"I believe so."

Elder Tan changed the subject. "I have not forgotten your offer to provide Mist Sect's disciples with accommodation in Cloud City. I've taken the matter before the sect leader. She has decided to wait and assess your progress with disciples from Cloud Sect. If the results are favourable, be prepared to move quickly and on a large scale."

"How large?"

"Our investigation of our sect's divinity and talent using your formulas shows that fourteen hundred have reached the end of their natural path. Their divinity ranges between five and six, and they come from various professions."

"I'm only willing to take gatherers, talisman makers, and alchemists?"

"Would you consider extending your invitation to formation artists and spirit stone infusers?"

Each of those professions required the cultivator to be in the foundation realm, but neither was profitable before the core realm. Not when you compared their earnings to the cost of the resources they needed. However, both had practical skills.

"I can extend the invitation to up to forty formation artists and as many spirit stone infusers as you like, but I cannot promise they will make progress."

She nodded. "We have eleven hundred disciples who fit your criteria."

Tobias glanced at the window, gauging his time. "Let me get you the information on what I'll require to facilitate your people."

Elder Tan smiled. "I have other matters to attend to."

Tobias nodded. "I'll deliver what you need before I leave then."

***

Three days later, Tobias and his assistants arrived at the assignment hall to find the street filled with hundreds of dead bodies. They were wrapped up in white cloth that showed multiple bloody stains. The smell of death and decay lingered in the air.

Disciple Wo covered his nose. "There is no way this many rogue cultivators appeared naturally."

Tobias slowed his step. "Disciple Wo, keep your opinions on this matter to yourself. The state says these are rogue cultivators, so they are rogue cultivators."

Disciple Xi caught Tobias's shoulder and turned him around. "You knew this would happen."

Tobias stared the other man in the eye. "I don't know what you mean. The state gave me assignments to track down rogue cultivators, and I used the most efficient and effective means to ensure that happened."

Disciple Xi turned to Disciple Wo. "You will remain with Magistrate Finch while we are in the sect from now on, and I will remain with him outside. He is never to be left alone."

Disciple Wo nodded. "I'll inform Elder Cho immediately." He turned and raced off, happy to be free from his gruelling morning training.

Disciple Xi released Tobias's shoulder. "Whoever is behind this is going to send assassins after you."

Tobias nodded. "I'm aware."

"Why did you do it then?"

"It was the right thing to do."

In Tobias's mind, that was enough.

Disciple Xi searched his face for a moment and then nodded. He was following Tobias around to keep him safe for the exact same reason, so he understood where he was coming from, even though it made his job harder.

The pair parted ways, and Tobias entered his office, where fifty battered, bruised, injured, or crippled foundation realm cultivators sat in five rows of ten, waiting to hand in their assignments. They looked like a thousand miles of bad road, with torn robes and missing limbs. More than a fifth had come back permanently crippled, but considering how many they had killed, that was a very low amount.

Tobias was glad he'd chosen to send the sect's best foundation realm martial artist. If he'd sent anyone else, they would have lost people. 

Tobias could sense their anger as he made his way to the front of the room, collecting their paperwork. He took a seat at his desk, pulled out paper and his inkstone, and prepared what he needed in silence. They had all completed their assignments, taking out every bandit group he had asked them to. They had done so fast enough that Tobias had not even been able to send his weekly report stating that the assignments had been handed out.

Tobias placed his seal next to each completed assignment, making note of any additional cultivators who had appeared.

When that was done, he tallied the list of the dead.

Tobias finally looked up. "Collectively, you have removed 227 foundation realm, 394 initiate realm, and 584 mortal realm rogue cultivators from the state." He stood up, took his fist in his palm and gave them a deep bow. "Magistrate Finch thanks the disciples of Mist Sect for protecting the State of Shen."

The intense anger faded from the room.

As he rose, each woman cupped her fist in her palm or mimicked the action even if she had lost a limb. They bowed at the waist even deeper than Tobias, before speaking in one voice. "We thank the magistrate for this opportunity to represent Mist Sect."

They all knew that someone was actively working against their sect and that Tobias had allowed them to deliver a substantial blow that removed the problem. His actions gave them revenge on those who had done their sect harm without them having to work against the state.

Tobias looked down and picked up the paperwork. "Would everyone kindly vacate my office? I'm going to need more space to examine all these bodies. If you all wish to remain until the conclusion of the assignment, I will begin with the team that has the most seriously injured."

Everything began to move much quicker after that. Bodies were brought inside, linked to specific locations, and the reward was distributed. The bodies were then carried into the main assignment hall, where elders and cultivators who had visited sects both inside and outside The Three Kingdoms examined faces and tried to find identities.

Tobias had sixty-three wanted posters that he matched against the rogue cultivators. They were all from within The Three Kingdoms, and their bodies had to be returned to the state for the reward.

It was the others who Mist Sect were interested in. Did they come from a single sect or many? Were they known rogue cultivators, or were they cultivators pretending to be rogue? Their identities would help the sect figure out who was working against them, and their bodies would help fertilise their spirit gardens. 

Those who had harmed them would not be shown kindness.