The Magistrate: Chapter 33 (Patreon)

Chapter 33

Majordomo Wo

Accepting Cultivator Wo as his majordomo was different to becoming the Nang Clan's lord. Cultivator Wo wasn't accepting a contract to serve Tobias for a specific length of time. He was swearing his allegiance to him and his descendants. He was becoming a member of Tobias's household. Accepting his word as law. Handing over the power to dictate his life in every way that mattered.

On the surface, the concept seemed insane, but due to the nature of The Three Kingdoms, Cultivator Wo's decision was perfectly rational. Alliances, prestige, and family connections were how The Three Kingdoms operated. If your own family didn't have these connections, then you had to serve under one who did.

Cultivator Wo wanted a business empire that spanned The Three Kingdoms. He couldn't obtain that as a former disciple of Cloud Sect. His very act of leaving would tarnish his reputation. However, if he left the sect to serve a worthy master, then breaking faith with Cloud Sect could be overlooked because he would not be operating with his own reputation, but with Tobias's.

Tobias placed the ritual dagger on the floor before him and checked that the other ritual items were appropriately organised. The master servant ritual wasn't complicated but did require attention to detail. Each item held meaning, indicating the types of service that were required and expected.

The ritual dagger symbolised violence, the contract in the other room represented business oversight, a cup of his grandfather's tea stood for managing his household, an empty page embodied discretion, a jar of wine meant friendship, and the two bamboo shoots planted side by side indicated Tobias's wish that they grow together.

Tobias had learned many rituals like this one as part of his royal magistrate training, and the ritual was considered more legally binding than a contract.

A shadow fell across the far door.

Tobias gave everything one last look and decided to move the wine jar slightly closer to him, indicating he valued it more.

He took his folding fan from his belt, flicked it open, and began the ritual. "Who stands at my door?"

"One in search of a master," Cultivator Wo replied.

"Does your heart beat with the loyalty of a good and honest servant?"

"In all ways it can."

"Then, you may open my door and end your search."

Cultivator Wo slid open the door and bowed before gracefully walking forward with his head low, and presenting the contract. Tobias took the contract and placed it the furthest from him, indicating it was the least valuable of the services he was looking for. Cultivator Wo then lowered himself into the empty cushion, kneeling rather than sitting to symbolise his place as a servant.

Cultivator Wo studied the placement of the ritual objects. His training for this ritual was far more extensive than Tobias's, and he understood their meaning in moments. He took his folding fan from his belt and tapped his thigh, indicating he was ready to proceed.   

Tobias picked up two bamboo shoots, which sat closest to him. "I require a servant who is willing to grow beside me," Tobias said, before handing the pot over to Cultivator Wo.

Cultivator Wo blinked, obviously surprised by Tobias's choice of first items. He examined the pot carefully before placing it down before him, but further from him than Tobias had.

"I am a servant who can grow beside you."

Tobias picked up the wine jar next. "I require a servant who can speak openly as a friend."

"I am a servant who can speak as your friend."

Cultivator Wo placed the wine jar slightly closer to himself than the bamboo shoots.

Tobias picked up the ritual dagger. "I require a servant who is willing to protect everything I hold dear."

"I am a servant who can protect everything you hold dear."

Cultivator Wo placed the ritual dagger furthest away.

Tobias wasn't surprised by this, but the fact that he would fight if necessary was all that mattered. Cultivator Wo's first rule was don't die for reward, so this was a significant concession.

Tobias picked up the blank sheet of paper. "I require a servant who is discreet."

"I am a servant who is discreet."

Cultivator Wo placed the blank paper in front of his knees, surprising Tobias. Placing it so close would require him to take his own life if he ever failed to act discreetly in an important matter.

Tobias picked up the cup of his grandfather's tea. "I require a servant to manage my household."

"I am a servant who can manage your household."

Cultivator Wo placed the teacup just behind the ritual dagger.

Tobias picked up the last item, the business contract. "I require a servant to manage my finances."

"I am a servant who can manage your finances."

Cultivator Wo placed the contract next to the blank sheet of paper.

Tobias took his time examining the placement of the items, reading the meaning behind where they sat. The two of them had shared many frank discussions on what his job would involve, but that was layered behind their relationship of assistant and employer and the fact that they were watched over by the Imperial Family.

Cultivator Wo had trained under one of the Three Kingdoms' most respected majordomos, and his understanding of this ritual was much more profound than Tobias's. This was his opportunity to speak frankly.

The placement of the contract and blank sheet meant that Cultivator Wo thought of their relationship as a business relationship first and foremost. However, it was a relationship where Cultivator Wo would never break Tobias's trust, because that was the type of person he was. If it were because of friendship, then the wine jar would have sat next to the other two items.

The placement of the wine jar also indicated that everything else he accepted was out of friendship, not out of any personal interest to perform these duties. The placement of the bamboo shoots was also interesting. In Tobias's mind, they represented Cultivator Wo's willingness to grow with Tobias, but not to slow his own growth for Tobias to keep up. It was a clear sign that Tobias was not allowed to get in the way of his cultivation. The fact that the ritual dagger was furthest away wasn't surprising, but Cultivator Wo had chosen to place it down with the handle facing Tobias, instead of side on, like Tobias had. Cultivator Wo was stating that he did not want to fight, but Tobias's enemies were now his enemies.

Finally, the most crucial detail of the presentation was that he had placed all the items closer to him than Tobias had, symbolising he was more committed to his choice than Tobias was.

After Tobias made that realisation, he spent several minutes studying the layout, seeing if he'd missed anything else. He noticed other details, like the fact that the longer of the two bamboo shoots was closer to Cultivator Wo, reinforcing the fact that he would not limit his growth for Tobias. The blank page and the contract sat perfectly parallel symbolising his discretion in everything, but especially in business.

The longer Tobias looked, the more subtle details he found, most he understood. Some he did not, like the wine jar being placed along an imaginary line between their hearts. It had to have a secondary meaning, but Tobias didn't know what that meaning was.

Tobias decided it didn't matter. Not because it was unimportant, but because if he let it matter, they would be stuck there all night.

Tobias lifted his gaze. "You are a servant worthy of my household.

Cultivator Wo kept his gaze down. "You are a master worthy of my loyalty."

"You may serve in my household."

Cultivator Wo lowered his body and began the first of three kowtows. "This servant greets his master."

Tobias waited for the final kowtow. "You may rise, my majordomo and look upon the face of your master."

Cultivator Wo rose and briefly met his gaze before lowering it to his shoulder. "This servant is ready to serve. What are your orders, Patriarch?"

Tobias relaxed, letting go of the tension. "Let's start with you using my name when we're alone."

Cultivator Wo sighed as he changed how he sat. "I would prefer not to, Patriarch."

"Why not?"

"My teacher instructed me not to. He said our friendship would make it easier for me to act overly familiar with you, and actions that I might take in private could become actions I take in public. To prevent this habit from forming, I need time to familiarise myself with being your majordomo before I begin using familiar terms. Alternatively, I can make myself so well respected that not referring to you as Patriarch while I am in public could not be viewed as a slight."

Tobias considered Cultivator Wo's explanation and decided it was more than reasonable. "Would you be able to call me, My Lord, instead? Patriarch feels a little grandiose."

Cultivator Wo shook his head. "There is a clear hierarchical distinction between servants who use the term My Lord and those who use the term Patriarch."

"There is?"

"Those who refer to you as My Lord serve outside your household. Those who serve within refer to you as Patriarch."

"Why do the Nang family refer to me as 'My Lord', then?"

"They serve in your secondary residence. This is considered to be outside your household."

Tobias scratched his jaw as a question came to mind. "Is it okay if I call you Majordomo Wo?"

Cultivator Wo winced. "While it is allowed, I would prefer you to call me Servant Wo."

"Why?"

"I deeply respect the man who trained me, and I don't wish to claim such a prestigious title until my duties meet the requirements for it."

"I can respect that. However, I don't want people viewing you as a typical servant. Would you accept Steward Wo instead?"

"It would confuse matters, but no more than claiming to be a mere servant, so I have no reason to object."

"I want your actual thoughts on the matter."

He smiled. "Steward Wo is fine. Do you require anything else from me?"

Tobias motioned towards the door. "You know your duties better than I do. We can discuss them once you're fully aware of my affairs. Aunty Nang will provide you with anything you need."

***

After a long day of catching up on state assignments, Tobias walked into Steward Wo's office at his residence to see him going over Aunty Nang's accounts. Tobias stopped in the door, tucking the designs for the weightlifting equipment under his arm, and let himself relax.

He had to constantly remind himself that he wasn't in the Imperial Palace. That he wasn't living at the whims of the 1st or 2nd Prince. Otherwise, a feeling of dread overwhelmed him, making him feel like he was living on borrowed time.

It pushed him to begin doing everything he could to secure the Great Clan's protection, which was why he'd spent his lunch break making the designs he carried. However, Tobias did not want to let his fear get the better of him. He did not want to let it control his actions.

"Find anything interesting?" Tobias asked.

Steward Wo didn't look up. "I'm learning I can be intimidated by someone else's bookkeeping, Patriarch."

Tobias chuckled because he'd said the same thing when he went over the accounts for the hosting business. "What's intimidating you?"

"Aunty Nang connections, to get these sorts of prices in Cloud City is unbelievable."

"She buys directly from the sect at cost."

"She lists the merchants, though."

"She lists the merchants to remember who to complain to in case their products aren't up to her standards."

Steward Wo groaned and looked over. "Well, it appears that I've wasted my afternoon trying to find insights into something that didn't need my attention. How can I help you, Patriarch?"

Tobias walked over and handed him the designs. "I need you to organise a blacksmith to make these for me."

Steward Wo placed the drawings on his desk and started examining the designs. "What am I looking at?"

Tobias was certain that his friend was looking at the future of body cultivation. His time examining the Great Clans' records had offered him insights into cultivation that suggested the cultivation world had overlooked several key aspects of the field. If he was right, he might be able to use that information to convince them to publicly protect him and his family.

"It's weightlifting equipment," Tobias replied. "Now that we aren't in the palace, I plan to develop my fitness and strength."

Steward Wo gave him a very frank look. "You've trained your body to be capable of running as fast as your body will allow from dawn to dusk. You can't get any fitter or faster without cycling chi while you move."

"You're correct that I can't run faster, but you're wrong that I can't get fitter."

Steward Wo frowned. "How do you know that?"

"My heart rate is too slow while I'm running. If I really was pushing my body and cultivation to its limit, my lungs would be in the back of my throat, and my heartbeat would be thundering in my chest."

"You have a disturbing amount of insight for someone with so little training."

"I just think more than most," Tobias lied.

"How will these help you?"

Tobias tapped the drawing to the right with his fan. "The weighted vests will make running more difficult. Once my body adapts, I'll wear a heavier one. Eventually, my body will stop adapting, and that's when I'll know I'm at my limit. The other designs are for cast-iron weighted equipment to build up strength. The escalating sizes will allow me to move up in weight whenever the previous weight is no longer enough."

"Usually, we use stones for strength training."

"The stones you use throw off your balance, which prevents you from lifting heavier weights as quickly as you should be able to. These won't do that."

In his first life, Tobias had taken up resistance in his early sixties. He'd seen the data showing how vital muscle was in your later years and done everything he could to get himself ready. He'd never been a bodybuilder or powerlifter, but he'd been stronger than throughout most of his life due to that training.

Steward Wo frowned. "Why are you suddenly interested in gaining strength?"

"I noticed an interesting pattern when examining the Great Clans records."

Steward Wo's mouth dropped open. "You made another discovery?"

"Two discoveries."

"Two discoveries?"

"Yes. The first was much more straightforward than this one."

"May I ask what it was?"

"Cultivating beyond the mortal realm, before the age of twenty-five, hindered your progress. The younger you are, the more it affects you."

"What you say goes against everything I was taught."

"I'm aware of that."

Tobias had let his assistants read his study guide, and despite discussing cultivation with them over the years, the men had still been astounded by what they read. When it came to a general understanding of cultivation, they both now deferred to him.

"How does it hinder you?" Steward Wo asked.

"As you grow older, your body and mind change. These changes are how you develop. Young men and women are more prone to emotional outbursts and find it difficult to plan long into the future. Cultivating beyond the mortal realm slows down these changes that your body undergoes or perhaps prevents them entirely. I believe cultivation treats your current development as your final form and begins enhancing you with your current limitations. I believe it's why many cultivators seem naive and willing to follow directions. They cultivated too far too young and behave like children, deferring to adults or those with more authority. These mental changes they lack are important, because they provide you with deeper ways of thinking which are required when you reach the foundation realm."

"How did you figure this out?"

"The Great Clans' records showed me they push their youth and offer them more support than the sects do. This means they grow quickly when they are younger, but their progress through the foundation realm is significantly slower than that of the members of the sects, despite the additional resources. Once their progress stalls, they receive less attention, so they have significantly more failed gifted and genius cultivators than the sects do."

"Would you advise I wait before opening my energy meridians then?"

Tobias had thought about this a lot. "You're the right age for there to be no effect from progressing, but I haven't been able to investigate the matter properly. Waiting a little longer before continuing would not have significant negative consequences. You won't see a substantial drop in your divinity with your current cultivation until you reach forty, so there is little risk. Opening and cleansing your body meridians has slowed the decline."

"Is your other discovery as big as this one?"

"I'm not sure. It might be bigger."

"You're not sure."

"It's much more complex."

"Would you like my thoughts on the matter?"

"Not particularly, what I think I've discovered runs counter to much of what the sect taught you, so your thoughts won't help me."

Steward Wo gave a fake sigh. "You're going to make me beg, aren't you?"

Tobias chuckled at the falsehood and took a seat. Not living with constant pain made life more enjoyable and laughter easier. "I was considering it."

Steward Wo moved his work to the side. "Then you realised you desperately needed my help?"

Tobias snorted. "You think too highly of yourself for someone who doesn't even know why most cultivators are unnaturally slim."

Steward Wo scratched the back of his head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'll tell you if you answer my question."

"It's because they're cultivators."

Tobias shook his head. "That is a terrible explanation, even for you and is exactly why I don't need your help. You can't even answer the most basic question."

"Fine, I'll admit I can't help you, but I won't beg you to tell me what you think you know, because you clearly want to tell someone."

"I do. Which is the only reason we're going to discuss this."

"So why are cultivators unnaturally slim?"

"Because muscles shrink when they're not used."

Steward Wo scowled. "Every day the sect made me train refutes your statement."

Tobias chuckled at his outrage. "It would, except once disciples reach the initiate realm, Cloud Sect only pushes them when it's trying to improve their fitness and strength. Once they're close to the limit of what their cultivation can support, the sect stops pushing them. By this point, disciples are left with several times a mortal's natural fitness and strength. That is so much fitness and strength that from then on, their training barely counts as them challenging their body. Because of this, a properly trained cultivator's body gets about as much exercise as a bedridden mortal, despite daily training."

"And like a bedridden mortal, their muscles shrink."

Tobias nodded.

The willow-thin appearance of cultivators had bothered Tobias when he first arrived at Cloud Sect, but that had quickly vanished when he'd seen what they were capable of. He'd mistakenly assumed it was a supernatural change rather than a natural byproduct of their lifestyle, paired with the changes they had undergone through cultivation, assuming their physique was both normal and natural.

The only reason he'd realised it wasn't was because of discrepancies in the Great Clans' records.

Steward Wo folded his arms. "I can follow your logic, but why is this important?"

"It's important because cultivators look down on muscular cultivators."

Steward Wo frowned. "Why does that matter?"

"It matters because their prejudice blinds them to what lies before their eyes."

"And what is that?"

"I'll get to that. First, tell me how cultivators can become muscular?"

"The same way as mortals, by pushing their bodies."

"Wrong. To start with, a cultivator has to develop their fitness and strength to the limits of what their cultivation can support and find that they are incapable of expanding and strengthening their body meridians further. Then, they must discover they are more concerned with growing stronger than receiving the respect of their peers. Why? Because in order to grow muscle, they must be willing to walk around with their shame on display, openly declaring their lack of ability to progress their cultivation."

Steward Wo winced. "They lose face."

"Yes."

"I never thought of it like that."

"But you instinctively understood it was not something to be respected, because others didn't respect them."

"Yes."

"Now, to answer your early question. What were they blind to? The answer is simple. Cultivators who grow muscular expand and strengthen their body meridians more than their divinity and talent suggest they should be able to."

Steward Wo's mouth dropped open. "Are you saying, you might have found a way to transcend divinity and talent?"

"No. Not at all. However, I do believe it might be possible to raise the limit of how far your divinity and talent can take you when it comes to body cultivation."

Steward Wo pointed at the drawings in front of him. "And you think these can do that?"

"I think that with this equipment and the help of some of the sect's disciples, I'll be able to test if I'm correct."

"I'd be interested in helping you find out."

"Why?"

"You're strange running method worked better than the way I was taught, so this shouldn't take up too much of my time."

"I mean, why are you interested. You're far from reaching the limits of your ability to progress through cultivation."

"You don't know," Steward Wo said, clearly happy to know something Tobias didn't.

"I don't know everything."

"If this works for a cultivator at their limits, it will be more effective for a cultivator who isn't there."

"Are you sure?"

Steward Wo nodded. "It might even increase the effectiveness of the cultivation pills the Great Clans promised you."

"Really?"

"I'm not sure. But it sounds right, so it's worth trying."

Tobias agreed.