The Magistrate: Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Chapter 21

Senior Magistrate Finch

The day after Tobias's report arrived, Lower Magistrate Yun ordered Tobias to appear before him first thing in the morning. The tone of his letter showed his displeasure, so Tobias arrived at his office just after dawn. To his surprise, he was invited to share breakfast at his desk.

Lower Magistrate Yun sighed as his servants walked off with their dirty dishes and closed the doors. "Are you aware of what you have done?"

Tobias was more than aware but chose to play dumb. "I've fulfilled my duty as Mist Sect's state assignment hall liaison."

Lower Magistrate Yun scowled. "The Three Kingdoms haven't seen this many dead cultivators in a single year in centuries. Even in war, there have never been so many killed in just three days. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Tobias bowed. "This one thanks you for praising his efficiency."

"That wasn't praise."

"Have I failed to perform my assignment?"

Lower Magistrate Yun gritted his teeth. "No."

"Have I gone outside the bounds of my assignment?"

"No."

"Then this one must assume that your words are praise. Unless Lower Magistrate Yun believes that those rogue cultivators might have been something more than they appear."

Lower Magistrate Yun scowled and changed the subject. "The governor has approved my request to make you a senior magistrate. You've been permanently assigned to Cloud Sect."

Tobias relaxed, cupped his hands and bowed. "Thank you, Lower Magistrate Yun."

Lower Magistrate Yun reached into his desk drawer and retrieved an ornate box. "This is your new mark and the governor's approval for your promotion. You no longer answer to myself or Lower Magistrate Han but Sect Minister Bon." He pulled out another box. "These are his instructions."

Tobias took both boxes but didn't open them. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Lower Magistrate Yun paused. "You've failed to achieve your way into obscurity. Those equations are too valuable and interesting to let you fade as you wish. Your seniors are nervous and would let you fade, but the governor has taken a personal interest in you. You would have already been summoned to appear before him, except he's given your equations to the 2nd Emperor, and he's waiting to see if the Emperor claims you first."

Tobias listened to what was left unspoken. Lower Magistrate Yun didn't like him, but he didn't want to be his enemy. He was offering his support in minor matters.

Tobias decided to accept his offer and bowed. "Thank you for sharing your insights."

Lower Magistrate Yun's past actions could be interpreted as a test, as he claimed. He might have really been allowing Tobias to prove himself, and Tobias may have overreacted, but he didn't think so. The man was ambitious and was leaving himself room to push his failures on someone who wasn't one of his people.

Lower Magistrate Yun paused. "You should consider relocating your family to Cloud City. Even rogue cultivators have allies and friends, and they will be the obvious target of their anger."

Lower Magistrate Yun wasn't the first person to point this out to Tobias. A dozen crippled cultivators were currently living with his family, waiting for a chance to kill those who came seeking revenge. They were martial artists and wanted to die fighting, now that they were crippled. Tobias saw no reason to deny their request, so his family was well protected. However, it had broken his heart to discover that the pretty Disciple Shen, who had guided him through the sect when he first arrived, was among them.

The once cheerful woman had lost her joy when she lost her arm and had given him nothing but a hollow-eyed stare when she had asked him for the opportunity to die the way she lived after he assessed her cultivation potential for her. She was destined to reach the core realm before her injury. Tobias wasn't sure if that was the case. She had lost part of her meridian networks when she lost her arm, and her foundation would never be as strong as it once could have been.

"I'm aware of the danger," Tobias replied.

Lower Magistrate Yun nodded. "Has Mist Sect identified the cultivators that were involved?"

Tobias nodded. "They were rogue cultivators. Some came from other states, but many came from outside The Three Kingdoms. They found no connections between any of them beyond their status as rogue cultivators. However, many once served the khans, which is to be expected given their hordes on our southern border. I've submitted all this in my reports."

Lower Magistrate Yun sighed.

Tobias understood his reaction. It would be simpler if they could blame a single sect or nation. But that wasn't possible. They came from too many locations, and whoever had pulled them together had been incredibly discreet and had a staggering amount of resources. The rogue cultivators had been well-equipped and provisioned, and everyone involved in hunting them down had earned a fortune from selling their belongings to the sect.

Lower Magistrate Yun motioned for Tobias to leave.

Tobias picked up his boxes, bowed, and then left the office. Disciple Xi fell in beside him as they made their way through the building and exited onto the main road. They crossed the street into the noodle shop and ordered several bowls.

Tobias opened the box with his new senior magistrate mark and swapped it with his old one.

Disciple Xi smiled. "Congratulations on your promotion."

Tobias returned the smile. "Thank you."

Tobias read the document promoting him to a senior magistrate before opening the second box from Sect Minister Bon. There was a letter inside. The minister invited Tobias to visit him the next time he was in the State Capitol and encouraged him to keep up the good work. It was a very short letter, and the invitation to visit him when he was next in the state capital couldn't be interpreted as a request to change his plans and visit.

Tobias put the letter back in the box.

It seemed the minister was taking a page from the governor's books and keeping Tobias at arm's length until he knew who was interested in him. Either that, or he didn't want to interfere with someone performing so well.

Tobias sat back and folded his arms.

Disciple Xi raised an eyebrow. "Anything interesting?"

"My assignment here can end whenever I choose. Are you interested in leaving early?"

"It would probably be for the best."

"That wasn't what I asked."

Disciple Xi shook his head. "I'm learning a lot."

"You would prefer if we remained for the rest of my assignment."

"I would."

Tobias smiled. "Xu Ling will be happy."

Disciple Xi sighed. "Be careful with her."

Tobias stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "I'm not doing anything inappropriate."

"That's not what I mean. She's a prodigy. That means she has gifts that the rest of us don't."

"And that's a problem?"

"It can be. Have you noticed she knows who she will like and who she won't before she speaks with them? How she adapts her use of formality effortlessly?"

Tobias nodded. "Why's that a problem?"

"Prodigies have the ability to know who someone is when they meet them. They don't know anything beyond what type of person they are, but that is often enough for them. One day, Xu Ling will meet someone who makes her skin crawl, and the thought of leaving them alive a moment longer will be too much for her to bear. She will kill them, or she will die trying, but whatever the outcome, she will pull you into her conflict."

Tobias finally understood why Xu Ling was so sure she wanted to marry him. It wasn't to upset her father or get the Great Clans to leave her alone. It was his personality. She had taken one look at him and realised they would be friends. Tobias had only taken an evening in her company to realise the same.

With his face and her beauty, that made one of the least shallow people he had ever met. It also explained their relationship. She wasn't in love with him. She needed a husband and had settled for a friend.

Tobias considered Disciple Xi's advice. "Would you consider Xu Ling to be a righteous person? An individual who will do what is right despite the personal consequences?"

Disciple Xi paused. "I do not know her well enough to make such a judgment."

"Neither do I. But she gives me the impression she's a righteous person. And if that impression is true, any conflict she will pull me into will be a righteous cause, and supporting a righteous cause is never a problem."

"Even if it kills you?"

"Yes. The alternative is living with regret. And as a cultivator, that could be a very long time."

"What makes you think you will regret it?"

"Because you always do. Every time you fail to do what's right, a piece of you dies. Those little deaths build up until one day, you're not the person you want to be. You look at yourself and see a coward. Someone who stands by when others do evil. The only response is regret, regret for who you are and what you failed to do."

The owner arrived with their noodles and placed their bowls on the table with a bow.

Disciple Xi picked up his chopsticks. "We're taught that with enough time, you can make peace with any negative experience."

"Regrets don't give you time to make peace. The self-loathing pushes you to self-destructive behaviours before you can."

"Where is your evidence?"

"Nine out of ten disciples die before the age of forty-seven."

"You said they die because they take risks to progress their stalled cultivation."

"Cultivators sacrifice the present for the promise of immortality. They leave their family, the ones they love, all because the heavens await them. When you fail to progress, regret begins to sink in. You regret not visiting your family. You regret not marrying the girl from your village. You regret not having children. So, what do you do? You can accept your failings or double down on your path, taking greater risks to progress your stalled cultivation and deny your failure. Who cares if you die? You've already ruined your life."

Disciple Xi ate his noodles in silence, considering Tobias's words. He drank the remaining soup, placed the empty bowl on the table, and bowed. "I wish we could have met in my youth. Perhaps, I would be a man without regret."

"Everyone has regrets, even those who try to live a life without them. All you can do is learn from your regrets and rob them of their power over you."

"That sounds like the harder path."

"The path of change and growth always is."

***

Later that evening, Tobias sat at his usual table on the third floor of The House of Sound, listening to a performance by one of the state's premier talents. She was a foundation realm musician with the ability to weave music like a spell. Even Xu Ling, who usually chatted through performances, sat in silence, captivated by what she heard. The musician had given no warning to anyone. She'd arrived in the afternoon and informed Xu Ling's father that she would give a performance.

As the performance ended, everyone woke from the spell they were under. Tobias joined everyone in offering a polite round of applause, even though he wanted to cheer.

As the performer walked off the stage, Xu Ling sighed.

"What's the matter?" Tobias asked.

Xu Ling sighed again. "It's a private matter."

Tobias did his best not to laugh. She obviously had gossip to share. "That's fine."

Xu Ling raised a single eyebrow. "I mean, I could upset a lot of people if I told you."

Tobias kept his face impassive. "I hear you. I won't bring it up."

"Almost no one knows this information."

"Then you definitely shouldn't say anything."

Xu Ling nodded her agreement as she leaned forward and whispered. "There is a rumour going around that Mist Sect has a method for accurately predicting how far cultivation, divinity and talent will take you."

Tobias chuckled.

Xu Ling scowled. "I'm not making this up. My father heard it from friends who aren't prone to fabrication or exaggeration."

Tobias continued to chuckle. "It's not a rumour. It's-"

Xu Ling slammed her hand across his mouth.

Tobias pulled her hand away. "It's real."

The colour drained from her face. "What have you done?"

Tobias immediately realised why she was afraid. She thought he'd given away a sect secret, and with his connections and position, that would mean death. "It's fine. They can't be upset. The method we are talking about is one that I invented. It isn't a secret. It's just not widely known yet."

Xu Ling frowned as the colour returned to her face. "You invented it?"

Tobias nodded.

Her eyes darted to his new mark. "Is that why you received a promotion?"

"It is."

Xu Ling smiled. "We won't mention this to my father. Otherwise, he'll expect you to begin courting me properly. The only reason he's let this go on for so long is that he thinks you don't have enough standing to marry me."

Tobias glanced at the surrounding tables, which were all waiting for an opening to speak with him about his auction. "I thought it was because I was making him so much money."

The more Tobias ignored her comments about marrying him, the more Xu Ling brought it up. He liked her, but he liked her for who she was and the social freedom spending time with her offered him. He had no interest in marrying her. She'd only recently turned twenty, and despite her intellect, there was too much of a difference in age and life experience for him to take any thought of marrying her seriously, no matter how beautiful she was.

Xu Ling rolled her eyes. "He'll claim that, but he doesn't mean it. The House of Sound is a recognised establishment across The Three Kingdoms. My father owns over one hundred branches and is nearly a peak foundation realm cultivator. The premium he charges for the surrounding tables is a minor matter."

Tobias paused. "You never mentioned your father was so influential."

Xu Ling shrugged. "I didn't want to scare you off."

"What changed?"

"You did. Marrying a magistrate, even a senior magistrate, would have caused issues for my father. He would have allowed it, but he would have expected a lot from you in return. However, as the creator of the method for predicting how far divinity and talent will take you, you will have so much prestige that it's no longer an issue."

Tobias frowned. "How influential is your father?"

He'd never asked.

"Unofficially, we're equal to the greatest second-tier noble clans in all three states. The unofficial part is because we lack a core realm cultivator."

Tobias suddenly felt like a frog in a well. Here, he was casually chatting with the daughter of one of the most influential people in The Three Kingdoms, treating her like an equal instead of someone so far above him.

Sixteen years of being a peasant caused an uneasy feeling to rush through him. Tobias took hold of it and quashed it, stopping it from influencing his thoughts. Xu Ling and her father hadn't taken offence at his actions. They had even gone out of their way to encourage it. The least he could do is continue being himself, not the man he pretended to be.

Tobias took a deep breath. "Is the lack of core realm cultivators the reason your father is interested in my auction?"

Xu Ling relaxed. "Yes and no. My father has an eye for talent and is patient. The scale of your auction is something that hasn't been seen outside the Great Clans since before the Great Plague. He believes that one day, you might be able to help our family break into the core realm. However, my father also holds the allegiance of the musicians you've seen perform here. He would like access to more pills to help them progress their cultivation to improve their performances."    

Memories of walking around the abandoned shopping and entertainment district in Cloud City surfaced in Tobias's head. The House of Sound would make a wonderful addition, because it would attract other prestigious entertainers.

The number of cultivators who wished to be his guests was about to explode, and the amount of money they had to generate was about to explode with them. Watching his two assistants had taught Tobias a lot about cultivators. Outside of the demands of their sect, they were no different from everyone else. They enjoyed good food, entertainment, and creature comforts.

Without the sect's demands, all of these were going to become necessary at some point to prevent them from getting bored or upset. Working on their cultivation couldn't make them progress, so they would have a lot of free time on their hands. Free time, they could spend buying things from his shops.

Xu Ling reached out and waved her hand in front of his face, causing Tobias to flinch.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought."

She laughed. "I can see that."

Tobias shook his head. "Why did the rumours about my method intrigue you so much?"

"I imagine that it's the same reason it would intrigue any cultivator. Knowing how far your divinity and talent will take you is invaluable."

Tobias sighed. "Sadly, my method won't help you for two reasons. I need enough examples to assess how effective a cultivation method is for a given divinity and talent, and your divinity is literally off the scale, so I can't compare it with anyone else."

"It's not a device?"

"No. It's a set of equations."

"Can you tell me anything?"

"Cultivation is easier when you're younger. The older you get, the harder it becomes to progress."

"Everyone knows that."

"It's the difference between the middle and peak of a realm."

Xu Ling's mouth dropped open. "It makes that much of a difference?"

Tobias nodded. "Your talent for cultivation has an even larger effect. That can be the difference between the bottom and the peak of a realm."

"So, start cultivating young and do it well."

"Also, don't use anything other than cleansing pills until you have to. General meridian opening pills seem to damage your divinity more than they appear to when tested. The best method seems to be to take your cultivation as far as it will naturally go and then build out your foundation."

"You're supposed to build a strong foundation, then progress?"

"Strengthening your foundations is only necessary for those who are approaching the end of their natural cultivation path. That's when things become difficult, and you need the strength and stability to progress without causing chi deviation."

"What you're saying runs against what I was taught."

"I know. But the evidence speaks for itself. Open a meridian without pills, clear it with pills, practice cultivation methods until you are exceptional, and moving on until things become difficult is the best way to progress."

"And starting young," Xu Ling added.

Tobias smirked. "Yes, but everyone knows that."

Xu Ling stuck her tongue out at him. "You're basically saying I should begin cultivating."

"No. I'm saying you should have begun when your first meridian opened."

She giggled. "It's a little hard to learn how to cultivate when you don't even know how to walk or talk."

Tobias's mouth dropped open. "Were you born with a meridian open?"

She continued to giggle. "Yes, I had at least one greater body meridian open when I was born."

"How many did you have?"

"All of them. My father says they're the reason my mental development is twice as fast as everyone else's and why I don't get along with anyone my age."

"You get along with me and I'm younger?"

"That's because you're strange."

Tobias leaned in a little closer to get a better look at her face, ignoring her comment. "You don't show the normal signs of having opened your meridians."

She leaned a little closer. "I haven't started cleansing them yet."

Tobias paused, open and uncleansed meridians were an entirely new concept to him. "Is it normal for prodigies to be born with all their meridians open?"

"It's what makes us prodigies."

"Do prodigies always wait before they start to cultivate?"

Xu Ling shook her head. "By the time I was old enough to cultivate, I was more interested in music and dance. After that, it was painting and business. It was during that time that the Great Clans set their sights on betrothing me to one of their sons, and my father brought me here."

Tobias realised how close they now were and leaned back. "How long ago was that?"

"Eleven years."

"That's a long time to be away from home, or is this home?"

Xu Ling shrugged. "Before we came here, my father and I would travel from branch to branch. The House of Sound has always been my home. But we're getting off topic. You think I should cultivate."

"Yes."

"I don't want the matriarch of my family."

"I'm sure someone has pointed out that you can reach the peak of the foundation realm without being forced to become a noble."

"That will only take a couple of years, based on what I've been told."

"Cultivators tend to do the bare minimum they need to progress. I doubt prodigies are any different. Those couple of years are just what prodigies need to do to enter the core realm. You could easily spend another decade stabilising and expanding your foundation, before entering the core realm."

"For someone without any divinity, you seem to know a lot about cultivation."

Tobias laughed. "I assure you that I know very little about cultivation. I just know a lot about cultivators and the differences between those who are successful and those who aren't. It's a useful skill, but only for those I work with."

"When are you leaving?"

"When I finish my work. I've decided to stay to see out my assignment."

"Will you come and see me?"

"No?"

"No. That's improper since we're not courting. However, I'll come and watch the performances, and if you happen to be here, I'll let you keep me company."

Xu Ling stuck out her tongue again.