The Magistrate: Chapter 49 (Patreon)

So, four hours after I posted my message that yesterday's chapter would be late, I got woken in the middle of the night because of a gout flare-up. It's the second time in a month, so I probably need to see my doctor about it, but that will take a few weeks at this time of year. Anyway, I didn't get any work done yesterday because I only had 3 hours of sleep and was in a lot of pain. I managed to get my doctor, who is 8 hours away, to send the local pharmacy prescriptions for gout medication, despite not technically being diagnosed yet. (Dad had it, so I know what it looks and feels like.)I've never been on gout medication, but I've also never had a flare-up when I need to be places and do things. I was given three medications for short-term relief. My mum took a look at one of the medications, then sighed... dramatically. Apparently, I was a complete terror when I was on it as a child...I didn't sleep and ran around like I'd been given a redbull coffee. I was in too much pain to pay attention to what she was saying, so I was very surprised when it took me seven hours to fall asleep last night. Anyway, that's why this chapter is late.

Now, the reason this chapter isn't edited quite as well is that I've discovered my grandma's house is in a deadish zone for my phone's internet. I can't use Grammarly to check anything. So this chapter and the one on Friday will be more raw than the others. Don't worry about reporting grammar mistakes for these two chapters. Since I have gout and I'm running on very little sleep, I'm not going to force myself to finish the Unorthodox Farming chapters this week. Instead, I'll do a double post next Tuesday and Thursday. Merry Christmas, everyone! Chapter 49

An Exercise in Relationships

Majordomo Wo was responsible for the Finch family’s cultivation training. However, sourcing the equipment for proper body tempering had been impossible. The first trade caravan Tobias hired to transport exercise equipment was waylaid by bandits. When the local magistrate looked into the caravan’s disappearance, he and his guards vanished too. Tobias got the message. Anything he tried to send his family would never reach them.

Majordomo Wo had done the best that he could with what they had on hand which were mostly large rocks, so his family were significantly stronger and fitter than when he’d last seen them, but they were far from their peak.

The following morning, Tobias led his family in a gruelling run around the compound. Each member wore a weighted vest as they pushed their aerobic capacity to its limits. His training regimen had drastically improved over the years, so their high intensity interval training was far more punishing than in the past. Cultivators did not need as long as mortals did to recover but giving them that time caused their bodies to adapt faster. There was a sweet spot for how long the low intensity portion should last and it was different from person to person, which was what Tobias was hoping to teach them by the end of the day.

With the increase in divinity and the natural expansion of Tobias’s meridians, his body was no longer tempered to its peak, so participating wasn’t to show support, but out of necessity. As Tobias passed his middle-aged cousin Na, he could hear her heartbeat.

“Na, you need to run faster,” he wheeze.

She put on a little more speed, glaring at him as he went by. The glare didn’t carry any hostility. It was the sort of look everyone gave their personal trainers when they pushed them to their limits. Majordomo Wo, Lingling, and Xu Ling were all receiving the same look whenever they commented on someone’s performance.

Wanting to set a proper example, Tobias was the last to arrive at the main banquet hall for lunch. He staggered into the building clutching his sides and gasping for breath, only remembering how much weight he was carrying when the floorboards began to creak.

Tobias stepped outside and dumped his ankle and wrist weights on the ground, beside everyone else’s, before peeling off his weighted vest. The vest thumped loudly as it struck the paving stones, leaving Tobias feeling 1,000 pounds lighter.

Tobias’s breath and heartrate immediately slowed, coming back under control. Servants rushed over with water and a towel. Tobias took the offered cup and gulped it down.

“Thank you.”

He placed the empty cup on the tray and accepted three more, before he felt comfortable enough to wipe away his sweat and find his seat to eat.

His family were seated on the polished wooden floor, with small tables in front of them. His servants had tried to seat them based on their relationship to him, with those more distantly related to him further away. However, anyone who didn’t like where they’d been seated had picked up their lunch and moved, which was exactly what Tobias had told Uncle Nang to expect, so none of the servants were trying to make them return to their assigned places.

Tobias made his way to the position of prominence at the head of the hall and took a seat beside his grandfather. The old man’s hair was still completely grey, but his skin was a smooth as a teenager’s radiating health.

His grandpa scowled at him as he sat, before swallowing his mouthful. “After that horrible morning, I might have to rethink who my favourite grandson is.”

Tobias chuckled back. “You can now run faster and longer than you could this morning, so I’m certain it’s me.”

His grandfather continued to scowl. “I’m more than fast enough on my feet.”

“But are you fast enough while carrying one of your grandchildren or great grandchildren to safety? You’re not doing this for you. You’re doing this for them. And next time there might not be powerful cultivators to keep us safe”

His grandfather sighed. “I thought we were safe here.”

“We’re only safe so long as the war goes our way. We need to be ready in case it doesn’t.”

His grandfather looked at all the unhappy faces. “Is that why you’re doing this to us?”

Tobias nodded. “We’re not real cultivators. We’ll never be real cultivators. It will take three of use to safely overcome a cultivator with the same cultivation. But that can only happen if we’re at our peak. So, I’m going to make sure we’re ready.”

That wasn’t true for Tobias, but he didn’t feel the need to point that out.

“We’re not warriors.”

“No one is asking you to be warriors. I’m asking you to run and lift weights.”

“And when that’s over?”

“Then you go back to your lives. Majordomo Wo has already taught you all how to use a bow. He knows who has the skill to go further and who doesn’t. Those with the potential will be invited to train, but they can refuse if they want to.”

“There are other weapons beside the bow.”

“Anyone who knows enough to teach you is fighting in the war. Mortal instructors won’t suffice.”

His grandfather ate several bites. “Why not?”

“If you draw a sword on a cultivator and you only know how to fight like a mortal, the cultivator will cut you down. It’s better to run in that situation.”

“We aren’t cowards.”

“You just told me we weren’t warriors.”

His grandfather’s expression soured. “I must be getting angry in my old age.”

“It has nothing to do with old age. You’re angry you had to leave your plantation behind.”

His grandpa groaned. “You never got to see it.”

“I’ll see it eventually.”

“You haven’t been home in almost a decade”

“It was too risky. You know that.”

“Yes, you were concerned about these phantom assassins.”

Tobias turned to his grandpa, hearing the bitterness in his tone. “Do you think that’s a lie I made up, because I was ashamed of you.”

“You live in a grand palace. You have hundreds of servants. The respect of the rich and powerful. We offer you nothing but disappointment and shame. The only one who can hold a candle to you is Lingling and you made sure she couldn’t come home. The rest of us are just dressed up peasants in everyone else’s eye.”

Tobias stared at his grandpa and softened his gaze. “I’ve never been ashamed of any of you, but I have lied to all of you about the threat that hung over you.”

“I’m fully aware there were no assassins.”

“The assassins were real, but they were not the reason I could never visit. For the past five years, the 3rd Emperor has been trying to kill me. And he was more than willing to kill all of you to draw me out.”

His grandpa frowned. “Go on.”

“Nine years ago, the 1st Prince summoned me to his palace to entrap the 2nd Prince. He held me there as his guest, under the pretext of rewarding me for the equations I developed. During the years I was there, I studied to become a royal magistrate, which was one of my rewards. The day I passed the exam I was released from being his guest. The 2nd Prince immediately summoned me to his palace and demanded that I work as his agent to steal Cloud Sect’s cultivation methods and techniques. He did not know that I had just become a royal magistrate and that I could not accept his orders. In his fury and fear, he had his guards break every bone in my body, and then break them again, and then again, because he could not kill me out of hand without forcing his father to investigate my death in his palace. He likely would have eventually killed me, but before he could work up the courage the 1st Prince visited him and formally requested a meeting with me. The 2nd Prince was forced to claim me as his guest and then dismantle his network that was spying on the sects, removing any trace of his involvement. Hundreds of government officials and distant relations were assassinated during this purge, including my superior Lower Magistrate Hun and several of his underlings. Three months later, the 2nd Prince released me, because despite his declaration to me there was no longer any evidence to support it. Ever since then, he’s been trying to kill our family to draw me into the open, and I’ve been doing everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. I have never been ashamed of any of you. I have spent every moment I’ve not seen you doing everything I can to keep you safe.”

His grandfather’s lips trembled, and his eyes grew misty. He struck his chest hard, sucking a deep breath, holding back his emotions. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t want you to live in fear of what tomorrow might bring. The first assassins and the rogue cultivators were enough to make you stay in the Three Step Hills, and Mist Sect was enough protection to make you feel safe. If you had known, you needed another five core realm cultivators living nearby to keep ensure that safety none of you would have known a moments peace. I did it to spare you unnecessary concerns.”

“Carrying it all by yourself.”

Tobias reached out and placed his hand on his grandpa’s shoulder. “Our family has had to pay for consequences of both our actions. And I know for a fact that you have done everything you could to bear the brunt of it, so how could I be any different. You cast a long shadow.”

His grandpa reached up and patted Tobia’s hand. “I’ve missed you.”

Tobias threw his arm his grandpa’s shoulder. “I’ve missed you too.”

“It’s been hard without you around. Our family doesn’t see the world the way we do. The young one are beginning to, but the rest of them are too stuck in their ways. They were born serfs. They never knew another life. They have no passion, no drive for more. Your majordomo has done the work of ten men guiding them down paths that will let them flourish. Without him, they wouldn’t have achieved a fifth of what they have.”

Tobias squeezed his grandpa’s shoulder. “Don’t put your expectations onto others. That only leads to misery. Let them live a simple life if that’s what they want.”

His grandfather sighed. “You sound like we’ll be going back.”

“You will be if the war goes our way.”

His grandfather frowned. “You don’t intend for us to stay here?”

Tobias shook his head. “There is nothing here for most of them. There might be a future for some, but they will have to earn it.”

“You don’t intend to continue supporting the family, do you?”

“I never did. Once you were self-sufficient your fate was going to be in your own hands.”

His grandfather smiled. “Good. Did your friend tell you about our first harvest?”

“He said you earned a small fortune.”

His grandfather groaned. “Of course, he would focus on the money. I’m talking about the quality of the tea.”

Tobias smiled. “No. That he failed to mention that.”

His grandfather slapped his knees and grinned. “I hope you’ve got nothing to do, because I’m going to be talking about this all afternoon.”

Tobias chuckled. “Then it will have to wait for dinner, because we’re going back to running the moment lunch is over.”

His grandfather chuckled. “Very funny.”

Tobias laughed with him. “I’m not joking. You should eat up. It’s going to be hungry work.”

***

For the next month, Tobias forced his family to run all day and studying the Weary Disciples Body Cultivation manual in the evenings. Due to varying sizes in meridians, everyone reached the peak of fitness on their own schedule. There was no cutting corners or hurrying the process. They were already progressing as quickly as they could.

Tobias stood in front of the first group to have reached the peak of fitness. The only member from his immediate family was his mother. She had a competitive streak with Tobias’s aunts and when everyone else went to bed, she would be out there training beside him so that she could prove to her husband’s sisters that she was better than them.

She sat at the front of the group of twenty with her copy of his manual resting on her lap. The others were all giving her space, showing varying levels of respect, because of her position as his mother. They were not standoffish, but there was a clear divide between them.

Tobias folded his hands behind his back. “You’ve all reached the peak of fitness because of the effort you’ve put in over the last month. Due to your cultivation, if you never run another day in your life, you will still be able to run just as fast and as far as you do now. That is the true benefit of cultivation. Starting today, we will begin working on developing your strength. In some ways this will be harder than the previous month. In others it will be easier. Because of the weighted vests you’ve been wearing, you’re all significantly stronger than you were a month ago. Another month from now, you will be significantly stronger than that. Technique is key to building strength, so today you will be learning about the equipment you’ll be using and how to perform the exercises needed to gain strength.”

Tobias spent the day explaining each piece of equipment, before guiding everyone through the exercises they needed to perform. They stopped to eat frequently, because bulk eating protein sped up the process, and they needed to understand how much they would be expected to eat while training. Thankfully being able to achieve weeks of progress in a single day did not require weeks of food, but it did require a substantial amount. By the end of the day, no one wanted to eat.

Tobias’s mother broke the silence as he walked her back to the residence she shared with his father. “Do you intend to marry your disciple?”

Tobias hadn’t expected the question. “Would you object if I did?”

“I have no thoughts on the matter.”

Tobias frowned. “Why bring it up then?”

“Your disciple has made it very clear that she intends to become your wife, and her father approves of the union, so I’m curious if you will do as she wishes, or if you will continue to leave me without grandchildren.”

“You have dozens of grandchildren.”

“I can always use more.”

Tobias supressed a chuckle. “I cannot marry my disciple mother.”

“So, it is as I feared. You prefer men.

Tobias finally laughed. “I don’t prefer men, mother. It’s etiquette. A master cannot marry their disciple while they remain their disciple.”

“So, you intend to marry her.”

“If she will have me, but not before our relationship as master and disciple is over.”

“And when will this happen?”

“When I’m certain she won’t kill herself through chi deviation.”

“I’m not sure what that is.”

“Can you sense the chi flowing within you?”

His mother nodded.

“Can you sense the nature flow and path it takes through your body?”

His mother nodded again.

“That flow is perfect for maintaining your body, so as you expand and strengthen your meridians your body grows stronger. However, there is a natural limit to how much your meridians can be expanded and strengthen with this natural flow of chi. To go beyond this point, you must change the shape of the path that chi flows through your body. This can be done to enhance your body, perform advanced techniques and spells, or allow your cultivation to progress further. However, there are only so many ways this flow can be changed without it harming your body. When you make a change that harms your body, it is known as chi deviation.”

His mother walked in silence for a moment to digest the information. “How do these changes harm you?”

“For example, you might be making a change which allows you to perform a fire elemental technique. The technique might result in you forming a flame above your palm. The deviation that might occur in this situation would be one where your pathways try to form the flame within your body. If you’re lucky, you’ll just burn your hand off. If you’re unlucky, your body will begin to heat up and as it heats up, you will cook yourself alive.”

His mother frowned. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“It’s not just possible, but common.”

“Majordomo Wo told me that prodigies are peerless cultivators.”

Tobias shook his head. “My majordomo is misinformed. Prodigies possess such a high divinity for cultivation that they cannot accidently create chi deviations before they reach the core realm. Because of this, many never learn how to cultivate properly, which leads to their demise.”

“Why?”

“In the core realm, there is so much chi flowing through your body that almost any deviation is lethal, which means most prodigies reach the core realm quickly and then die just as quickly.”

His mother smiled.

Tobias raised an eyebrow. “Why are you smiling?”

“I didn’t realise my son was so romantic.”

“Romantic?”

“Xu Ling is a peerless beauty. Any man would make a betrothal offer if he thought he had a tenth of your chance, yet you put off your marriage to protect her from her fate. How can I think of your actions as anything less than romantic.”

“I had no marital intentions for Xu Ling when I took her as my disciple. Please do not confuse my intentions.”

“My son. You do not go to so much trouble for a stranger. You may not have been in love with her or had marital intentions, but you still cared deeply enough to give her so much of your time. To care that deeply for someone and then develop personal feeling is still romantic.”

Tobias stared at his mother, finally understanding what was going on. “Xu Ling asked you to wait to talk to me about this didn’t she?”

His mother turned and examined the nearby flowers as they walked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”