The Magistrate: Chapter 51 (Patreon)

Chapter 51

Elder Xi

As the mid-summer heat reached the Cloud Mountains, Tobias began practising simple techniques and spells which allowed him to manipulate elemental chi. Lighting candles, removing water from his clothing, reducing or increasing the breeze, causing flowers to bloom, and blades to sharpen in his grip were all now within his realm of possibilities. These were not the sort of feats that would cause shock and awe among cultivators, but they offered Tobias, at first, a glimpse and then a deeper understanding of how chi behaved.

However, understanding chi didn't bring him closer to understanding dao or the core realm. This would have frustrated him more if practising techniques and spells hadn't brought a much bigger problem to his attention.

Chi was intuitive.

It responded to the cultivator's focus, intentions, and emotions. It was part science, imagination, and faith. How you cycled chi through your meridians mattered. How you shaped the chi with your thoughts mattered. How you imagined the results mattered. How much you believed it would all come together mattered. Your emotional state mattered.

And, at the same time, none of it mattered.

If you understood the results you wished to create, you could forgo the correct cycling of chi through your meridians, replacing it with better focus or imagination to achieve the results you wanted. Alternatively, you could completely ignore imagination by cycling correctly and focusing more intently.

Worse than this, you could cycle chi using all the steps to boil water, but if you had the right focus and imagination, you could produce ice. Tobias had found that if he believed hard enough and had enough faith, he could ignore every step and still produce the same results, but only in small ways.

Everything mattered, and none of it mattered, which meant someone somewhere screwed up and the cultivator world's fundamental understanding of chi was wrong. Tobias's understanding of chi was wrong.

As Tobias sat in his dojo with a small ball of fire between his palms, conjured from nothing but ambient chi and the faith that he should be able to do so, Majordomo Wo slid open the side doors and bowed. "Patriarch, Elder Xi wishes to speak with you about an urgent matter."

The flames between his fingers vanished in a wave of uncontrolled heat as Tobias sat speechless. He remained motionless for several seconds before turning to his majordomo. "Disciple Xi ascended to the core realm?"

Majordomo Wo allowed himself a momentary lapse in his public emotional control, sharing a warm smile with Tobias. "That's certainly what it felt like when I greeted him at the gate."

Tobias returned the smile, forgetting his studies, ready to celebrate his former assistant and friends' success. "Collect the best of my grandfather's tea, prepare my garden, and inform the kitchens we have an honoured guest, and they need to prepare a feast."

"I've made the arrangements against Elder Xi's wishes. The urgent matter I spoke of seems extremely important to him, and he wished us to forget etiquette."

Tobias leapt to his feet, cooling the air around him with his chi. "If the matter is that grave, then bring him to my garden."

Tobias marched out of his dojo and through his palace, then to his storage room, where he collected a large teapot, cups, water, and a box of Three Towns Tea. The tea set had been given to him by his grandfather. It wasn't ostentatious or refined, but it represented his roots and was crafted by his cousin. The meaning wouldn't be lost on Elder Xi.

Tobias carried everything through the palace to his garden and laid it on the table before conjuring water into the teapot. He placed his hand against the side of the teapot, heated the water, added the leaves, and left them to steep.

By the time Majordomo Wo arrived with Elder Xi, Tobias had three cups of tea ready. Tobias rose to his feet as Elder Xi entered the pavilion, clasped his hands in front of him, and bowed. "Magistrate Finch greets Elder Xi of Cloud Sect and congratulates him on his breakthrough."

Elder Xi clasped his hands before him and bowed. "Elder Xi greets Patriarch Finch."

Tobias sat and motioned for his old assistant to join him. "You give me too much praise, Elder Xi. My family hasn't officially met the qualifications to become a noble clan yet. Technically, my highest honour is still that of a royal magistrate."

Elder Xi chuckled as he picked up his cup, examined the artwork and maker's mark for a moment, before taking a long drink. He placed it down with a smile on his face. "In that case, one would think you would be going by Sage Finch instead. Your contribution to the cultivation world has made you more than deserving of the title."

Tobias picked up his cup, cooled it slightly with his chi, and then drank. "A sage must be recognised by another sage to use the title."

Elder Xi stared at Tobias's cup. "I must commend you on your extraordinary display of chi control. I'm not sure I could replicate such a controlled change in temperature. When did you begin developing your skills?"

"In the Spring."

"This Spring?"

"I'm a fast learner."

Now that they had both shared their first cup, Tobias motioned for his majordomo to join them.

Majordomo Wo took a seat and smiled. "The Patriarch is too modest. His progress is beyond even his own ability to measure."

"Do you believe that is the reason for his depth of insight?" Elder Xi asked.

"Who can say. His talent, while impressive, is not completely unique, so one must assume that it is not the root of his wisdom."

Elder Xi turned to Tobias. "Why the sudden interest in cultivation? For as long as I've known you, you've only ever shown an academic interest. And that came from necessity."

Tobias sighed. "Shortly after I entered the foundation realm, I became so annoyed that the air around me grew hot enough to injure a mortal. My realm and poor chi control made me a threat to my family and servants, so I began taking steps to correct my shortcomings. I'm happy to discuss my progress, but I don't believe that's why you're here."

Elder Xi nodded. "Cloud Sect needs your family's assistance."

Tobias paused, selecting his next words carefully. "I was assured by the leader of Cloud Sect that we would not be required to participate in the war. I have his missive if you need to see it."

"It's not that sort of help."

Tobias frowned. "What sort of help do you need?"

"Elders are expected to manage an aspect of the sect. As there is already an Elder in charge of teaching alchemy, I requested that I be allowed to manage the retired disciples living in Cloud City. I felt that it was the place where I could best serve the sect."

Tobias motioned for him to continue.

"Cloud Sect has copied and distributed your cultivation manuals to every disciple in the sect. They are required reading. Because of this, we've been experiencing enlightenment and breakthroughs at ten times the previous rate, even with the majority of our warriors absent from the sect. Many disciples who previously couldn't make progress now can, thanks to you. On my own authority, I decided to distribute copies to the retired disciples. They began experiencing similar enlightenments and breakthroughs, and the spirit gardens are showing signs of neglect."

"Intentional neglect?"

Elder Xi shook his head. "Cloud City's spirit gardens have grown so numerous over the years that they cannot be maintained without the constant care of all the disciples who remained behind."

"Disciples who are currently undergoing enlightenment and breakthroughs at a previously unheard-of rate."

"Which is why I've come to ask your family for their assistance in taking care of the spirit gardens. The mortal realm herbs are the most prolific and the most in need of assistance. Your family has the necessary cultivation to keep them from dying, and that is all they will be required to do."

"Why's this matter so urgent?"

"It will take time to teach your family what they need to know, and every day we lose more disciples to enlightenment or breakthroughs. By the time your family is competent enough to help, the need will truly be urgent."

Tobias understood. "Elder Xi, please inform Majordomo Wo of the cultivation skills they will need to perform their duties. He's more aware of the recent progress my family has made in their cultivation education."

Elder Xi frowned as he handed over a scroll to Majordomo Wo. "How long have you been teaching your family cultivation?"

"Since my initial mortal and initiate realm exercises and manuscripts were ready."

Elder Xi's frown deepened.

"I needed to test the exercises to gauge their effectiveness. The trials Majordomo Wo ran improved the final version, which everyone now practices."

Tobias's family had so little divinity that reducing it wouldn't harm them in a meaningful way. It was also much safer for them to practice his methods than letting them learn cultivation from his majordomo.

With such low divinity, Cloud Sect's methods would have led dozens of them to suffer from chi deviation. For many of them, that would have been lethal.

Majordomo Wo finished reading Elder Xi's guidelines and failed to keep his face from twitching as he tried not to laugh. "Patriarch, based on Cloud Sect's needs, your family can begin tending the mortal spirit gardens within the next few days. The initiate spirit gardens will take a little longer, but not that much longer, so perhaps we should begin speaking of the price of our assistance."

Elder Xi glanced between the two of them. "Why do I feel like you've been waiting for me to make this request?"

Tobias chuckled and finished his tea, happy there wasn't a real emergency to deal with. "My manuals came at no small cost to your sect. In a few years, my family will have spirit gardens that produce hundreds of initiate realm cultivators each year. Majordomo Wo and I have prepared for when those gardens arrive. You were just lucky our interests aligned. Now, what are you offering us for our assistance?"

Elder Xi tapped his finger to the rim of his cup. "I take it that accommodation credits won't be enough?"

Tobias began conjuring water to brew another pot. "That depends on how long you need my family for."

"Potentially until the end of the war."

"Accommodation credits won't be enough."

"What do you want?"

"Specific body meridian opening and cleansing pills. Disciples who can teach my family bow, sword, and spear martial arts. And for you to tell me how you suddenly became an elder."

Elder Xi scowled. "Those pills are needed for the war."

"Those pills will not be able to be produced without my family's assistance, so everyone will understand if some of what we produce is redirected to us as payment."

"I disagree. And Cloud Sect may force the matter if I can't resolve this quickly."

Majordomo Wo leaned forward and placed a friendly hand on Elder Xi's shoulder. "I know that wasn't a threat, but you need to be more careful with your words. It was the patriarch's insights that led to the 2nd Emperor's untimely death. His family is under the protection of all the Great Clans and sects, and there are currently two nascent soul realm cultivators watching over this compound."

Elder Xi frowned. "You caused the 2nd Emperor's death?"

Tobias nodded as he finished heating the water and added the tea leaves. "My enlightenment manual caused him to experience enlightenment. Apparently, when a prodigy experiences enlightenment, they undergo an enlightenment tribulation. This tribulation causes the 2nd Emperor to no longer be able to suppress his advancement to the immortal realm, triggering a second tribulation immediately after. This tribulation killed him."

"I will have to speak with the other elders about what is fair compensation for your family's assistance. As for the second request, that is no problem, so long as you are comfortable with your family being taught common martial art forms."

"That will be fine. And my last request?"

Elder Xi smiled. "Your book on enlightenment was as enlightening for me as it was for the 2nd Emperor. I meditated on its teaching for three days and nights. On the fourth morning, I removed the mental blocks holding me back and experienced the end of the enlightenment you triggered all those years ago. My divinity rose enough for me to form the eighth spiritual droplet my lower dantian needed to compress a core that has a chance of birthing my nascent soul."

A core formed by compressing eight spiritual energy droplets eventually allowed a cultivator to form an eight-layered core. An eight-layered core was the weakest core that had ever successfully birthed a nascent soul. Elder Xi's chances of reaching immortality were low, but he was still on the path.   

Tobias returned his friend's smile as he filled his cup. "I'm glad I could assist you as much as you've assisted me."

Elder Xi drained the cup. "I am in your debt."

Tobias shook his head. "Cloud Sect bought and paid for those manuscripts. You owe me nothing."

"I'm certain the sects and Great Clans did not pay you what your insights were worth. Otherwise, there would now be six Great Clans in The Three Kingdoms. My debt remains."

"If that is your feelings on the matter, then I will not try to dissuade you."

Elder Xi rose to his feet. "I apologise for my abrupt visit and departure, but I must see that this is taken care of."

Tobias rose and nodded. "You are always welcome here, Elder Xi. I'll have my family ready to assist the moment we've concluded the negotiations."

***

The sun had set when Elder Xi returned to discuss their compensation. While he was gone, Tobias had informed his family that they would be taking a break from tempering their bodies to begin learning the art of gathering to assist Cloud Sect. There had been a few unhappy grumbles until they discovered they were being paid more than he'd earned as a magistrate. Silver and gold meant little to Tobias now, but access to pills to form a household guard during the civil war was irreplaceable.

Tobias had already informed the Great Clans and sects that the delivery of the spirit herbs they promised him could wait until after the war was over. Forcing them to deliver them in the current situation would only weaken their position and make it harder for them to replace lost troops, leaving Cloud Sect's request as his only chance to improve his family's security. 

Majordomo Wo escorted Elder Xi to Tobias's garden, joining them at the table.

Tobias got straight to the point. "What are their terms?"

Elder Xi pulled out two scrolls and placed them on the table. "Cloud Sect requires your household to supply two hundred initiate realm gatherers. This first contract offers you family, half the pills made from the spirit herbs they manage. This other contract offers your family no pills, but every sprout, cutting, and seed produced in the spirit gardens that Cloud and Mist Sects retired disciples cannot care for, along with the education needed to take care of them."

Majordomo Wo hungrily stared at the second contract. "Is that for any realm of spirit herb or just mortal and initiate realm spirit herbs?"

"Any realm, so long as we cannot care for them."

Tobias tapped the second contract with his fan.

He would have loved to get his hands on pills to improve his family's security, but the second offer wasn't something he could turn down. Spirit herbs didn't produce shoots, cutting, or seeds every year, but Cloud City's gardens were now so numerous that his family would likely be able to make their own industrial gardens with this offer alone. Outside of wartime, no one would ever receive an offer like this. It was literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Cloud Sect would happily turn those resources into compost if he didn't take it.

Elder Xi unrolled the scroll and passed it to Majordomo Wo to read.

"Who suggested you make this offer?" Tobias asked.

This level of generosity would likely come with strings attached and could even constitute a bribe. Tobias wanted to know whom he might owe and who could blackmail him, before agreeing.

"I did."

"Why?"

"The shoots, sprouts, cuttings, and seeds are valuable, but only if Cloud Sect can care for them. Due to the war, we can't, so all we can do is turn them into compost. Under those circumstances, it makes sense to offer your family something more valuable which the sect cannot use for something it can. I approached Elder Po and Elder Kang with the idea, and they agreed that it was a reasonable offer given our situation, which allowed me to send a message to the sect leader. He sent his reply accepting the proposal, and a short time ago, his administrator prepared these contracts."

Majordomo Wo looked up. "This contract specifically states Cloud Sect's retired disciples will not teach the Patriarch's family martial arts."

Elder Xi winced. "The prestige associated with the Finch name means Cloud Sect does not want its name associated with any inferior martial arts that would be passed along to Magistrate Finch's family. I was reprimanded for agreeing to that matter without permission."

Tobias frowned. "You need permission for something like that?"

"It's complicated."

"Why?"

"Our relationship allowed me to approach you as a friend rather than the head of the most prestigious family in The Three Kingdoms. I also came to your door the way a friend would, rather than an elder of Cloud Sect. While our personal relationship allows this, your prestige and my position as an elder of Cloud Sect don't."

Tobias understood what had happened. "You breached Cloud Sect's internal etiquette and protocols."

"It was unintentional."

"There was never a doubt in my mind, but how did this happen?"

Tobias remembered his etiquette training on how he needed to operate in Cloud Sect, and his position was far beneath that of an elder. Elder Xi's training should have been much more stringent.

"Because of the civil war, no senior elder was appointed to oversee my decisions. No one thought that I could cause problems overseeing the retired disciples. However, the way I approached you and my offer to have retired disciples teach your family martial arts made the sect leader notice the oversight. Elder Kang is now overseeing my actions, and my authority is limited to overseeing the retired disciples. I've been told to make it clear that this offer is from Cloud Sect, not myself."

Tobias realised that their earlier conversation was why the sect leader had noticed the oversight. He'd been monitoring their conversation to ensure his safety and overheard one of his elders making offers he shouldn't.

"I withdraw my request."

Elder Xi inclined his head. "Elder Kang suggested that if you are still looking for martial arts instructors, contact the defectors from the 3rd Emperor's army."

"They claim to be neutral."

"They are. However, Elder Kang is Field Marshal Kang's twin brother. He's the one who convinced him to sit out the war with the 5th Imperial Army and is the reason why Field Marshal Kang has taken his most trusted men to the Shattered Desert border fortress to secure the border against invasion."

"Why would he help my family then?"

"He has many instructors who lack recruits to teach. If you were willing to teach these instructors personally, they would be more than willing to teach your family in return." Elder Xi placed his hand above the table, and another scroll appeared. "This is a letter of introduction from Elder Kang to his brother."

Tobias took the scroll. "Thank you for your assistance in this matter."

Majordomo Wo put down the contract. "This contract has stipulations about the quality of your family's work, which I don't like, but everything else is acceptable."

Tobias nodded and then turned to Elder Xi. "If this clause is to remain, then I will choose the instructors who teach my family how to care for spirit herbs."

Tobias was well acquainted with the best of Cloud Sect's gatherers, so he knew exactly who he wanted to teach his family.

 Elder Xi nodded. "That's acceptable."

"The instructors will have the authority to remove any member of my household from the spirit gardens who does not meet their standards."

"This is expected, but if you cannot supply the two hundred gatherers that we need, you will only receive half the compensation."

Tobias's father had fifteen brothers and sisters. As Tobias's prestige rose, more and more of his father's sisters returned to the Three Step Hills with their children and grandchildren to take advantage of his new wealth and the education their family now received. This required their husbands to give up their family name, but any resistance had vanished the moment they understood they would become cultivators.

With most of his father's siblings having over a dozen children and many of those children now having adult children of their own, close to a thousand members of his family were initiate realm cultivators.

Tobias was confident they would meet Cloud Sect's standards to ensure full payment. "I accept those terms."

Tobias took the contract, read it through twice, and then stamped it with his seal, happy to have something to keep his family busy while the war played out.