The Magistrate: Chapter 80 (Patreon)

Chapter 80

Disciples, Friends, and Lovers

Most assumed that Tobias had used Peace Master So's ability to read the memories and intentions of the lower officials to purge corruption. However, his intention was to discover talent. The Divine Council didn't completely trust one another, so none of them would ever agree on who to appoint as interim ministers. This job, like so many others, had been placed on Tobias's shoulders.

Tobias had used Peace Master So to discover which magistrates had the right interests and dispositions to fill these ministerial roles. They had to be hard-working and competent without a greedy nature, but they did not need to know everything about their future position. Tobias had collected the names from Peace Master So and sent his clone to interview them, getting to know them personally, before sending them away for closed-door cultivation.

A very competent mortal could outperform an initiate realm cultivator in many ways, but they could not outperform a foundation realm cultivator. The improvements to the mind and body were simply too drastic. Anything that took mortals years of hard work to master could be mastered by foundation realm cultivators in only a few months, so Tobias did not allow these magistrates to leave closed-door cultivation until they were foundation realm cultivators. Only after reaching this state were they ready to begin their education to perform their future duties.

The ministry building was filled with laughter as Tobias hosted a party to celebrate their new positions. Most of the new ministers were still in shock. He'd left them with the impression that they would become the personal aides to the future ministers. That was a major promotion in itself. They had never heard of lower magistrates and magistrates being appointed to such high positions. Tobias had checked, but there was no law against what he had done.

Tobias wandered around the room, offering words of encouragement and reminders of the responsibilities they now carried, allowing the ministers to pour him a drink and toast him if they wished.

He stopped beside the new Minister of Roads and Bridges. The man had a fascination with The Three Kingdoms road network and knew every road there was. Before the Great Plague, this network had been built and maintained by a small team from the Imperial Sect. It was so well constructed that it only needed maintenance every few centuries. The roads were currently in disrepair, but that would soon change.

The Minister of Roads and Bridges bowed. "Is it true you are reinstating the Imperial Sect, under the name Civil Sect, 1st Minister?"

Tobias confirmed this with a flick of his fan. "Your department will have some of the support it requires within a decade. Within two decades, I expect there will be core realm cultivators maintaining The Three Kingdoms roads once again. I've changed their cultivation method, so the resources they need to grow will be slightly different from what they were before. You will find these requirements in your office tomorrow morning."

The Minister of Roads and Bridges offered his jar of wine, and Tobias held out his cup so the man could toast his health.

The minister lowered his empty cup. "I understand you have already performed a road inspection. Do you have any thoughts on where I should focus our efforts until my ministry is fully restored?"

"We will be focusing our efforts on increasing The Three Kingdoms' production capacity. Speak with the Minister of Commerce to learn which cities will benefit from having their roads repaired the most and put your efforts there."

Tobias sensed Servant Ho enter the building through his aura and excused himself from the conversation. The man knew this was an important celebration and would not have come here unless something more had come up. He found his servant waiting in the main entrance.

Servant Ho bowed. "Your first disciple has arrived at your compound with your younger sister, Finch Lihua. They wish to speak with you."

"Inform 2nd Minister Yun that I need him to host the party for me in my absence. It shouldn't be a problem. The ministers are much more comfortable around him than they are around me."

Tobias removed his sword from his storage ring. He quickly crossed what was left of the Outer Imperial Palace to where he was staying. A servant was waiting at the gate to let him in. Tobias made his way to his garden, where he found the two women waiting for him.

Lingling rushed over, saturated in the dao of food and hospitality and tried to crack his ribs with the force of her hug. Her body now carried a monstrous amount of muscle. "Why haven't you come to visit?"

Tobias smiled as he hugged her back. "I've been too busy. I should have some time in the next season or two to visit."

"You'll have to come to The Three Step Hills. Cousin Ping and the others have finished building our new home. They are testing whether we can maintain our private gardens with chi-gathering arrays. We're going home after we finish transferring our spirit gardens to the other noble clan, whether or not they succeed."

Tobias smiled and held her at arm's length. "I heard you turned down Patriarch Lee's offer to marry into his family."

Lingling dropped her gaze. "My teachers informed me that my cultivation path doesn't align with theirs. Marrying into his family would reduce my potential. Patriarch Lee accepted my explanation."

A stack of manuals and manuscripts appeared in her hand a second later.

"They've all approved me as their first disciple. I need you to consolidate their methods and techniques into a single cultivation method."

Tobias took the books and stored them in his ring. "Is this the only reason you came to visit me?"

Lingling smirked.

Tobias ruffled her hair.

Her smirk vanished.

"Xu Ling thinks you're old enough to cultivate, I take it."

Lingling nodded.

"I'll assess you tomorrow morning." Tobias turned to Xu Ling and smiled. "How has my first disciple been?"

Xu Ling returned the smile. "Busy. Very busy. And for much longer than we agreed. You were supposed to release me from your service over a year ago."

"I told you to come find me when you were ready, so I must assume that has finally happened."

Lingling leaned over and stage-whispered. "She's worried you'll send her away."

Xu Ling scowled. "I told you that in confidence."

Lingling leaned closer. "She loves managing your academy more than anything she's ever done and is terrified you'll take it away from her if she's no longer your first disciple."

Lingling giggled as Xu Ling's scowl grew.

Tobias smiled. "I have no objections to you continuing as the headmaster. I may have funded it and created the framework for the academy's existence, but you're the reason it functions. The position is yours as long as you want it."

Xu Ling's face lit up with pure joy. It was a brighter smile than Tobias had ever given her, which made him happy. Xu Ling had many interests, but none which Tobias would have said she was passionate about. It seemed that had changed. He was curious to find out why. He knew she had enjoyed teaching and had found studying spirit herbs fascinating, but this was not this intense. Something had happened while he was gone, something he would need to learn about.

***

When Tobias returned from the party a second time, he caught up with his sister. Then he performed the ceremony needed to release his first disciple. After it was over, the two of them lay in his private garden watching the stars in silence, not as master and disciple, but as friends.

Xu Ling broke the silence. "Growing up, studying new subjects or art forms always made me feel like I was expanding my world. It felt like I was growing my potential, but I never experienced that feeling while learning cultivation. Cultivation has always been something I had to pursue rather than something I wanted to. Then your disciples became scholars, and I watched where their interests took them once they were free to choose their path. They don't use their interests to pursue their cultivation. They use their cultivation to pursue their interests. And it made me think about my interests. It made me wonder if there was more that I could learn, so I went searching for answers...Did you know that you can sense when a trade is fair or unfair through dao?"

Tobias didn't. "How would that work?"

"Each person comes to the negotiation with wants and needs, and the heavens can tell if they act with fairness or greed. The heavens assess these intentions and the outcome and reveal their judgment on what took place. It's fascinating and exciting and fills me with the feeling that my world is expanding again."

"Being surrounded by others who share this feeling must be fulfilling?"

Xu Ling smiled. "I've learned that there is nothing I love more than seeing others expand their world while I expand mine."

Tobias smiled. "It's nice to have peers. And I'm sorry, I couldn't be that for you."

Xu Ling turned her head to smile at him. "I saw how hard you tried to bring me into your world. How much you wanted me to walk beside you. And I wanted to be that person who walked beside you, but I can't be. Even after everything you have taught me, I cannot do what you do."

"I never expected you to."

"I know, which makes it worse."

"That wasn't my intention."

"That was never in doubt, but you're still the only man who has ever made me feel inferior. The only man who I've ever been three steps behind, no matter how hard I push myself to catch up. When I witnessed Peace Master So call you Senior, I finally realised I never will."

Tobias bit his tongue, so he didn't interrupt her.

Xu Ling continued to smile. "I have known who you are since the moment I saw you sitting alone at our worst table in Mist City. You are a man who will only marry a woman who you consider your equal. That woman will never be looked down upon or made to feel inferior. She will have the freedom to choose her path, but the path you want her to choose is the one that walks beside you." Xu Ling sighed. "I've come to realise I'm not that woman."

Tobias nodded.

"You know."

"You were always vocal about your wishes to marry me, but nothing you said while we were in Mist City ever suggested you were in love with me. Everything you said made it sound like you were in love with the idea of how happy you would be in our marriage. That changed in Cloud City as we got to know each other, but it never truly went away."

"Your mother said you wanted to marry me."

"Only because you wanted to marry me."

Xu Ling frowned.

"I respect you. You are my best friend. You're very attractive. And I have always enjoyed spending time with you. That was enough for me to accept your wishes and become your husband, because it was more than I expected from marriage. Now that you no longer wish to marry me, I am happy to live my life."

"You don't intend to marry?"

"I spent my childhood trying to escape poverty, and I am still dealing with the ramifications of doing so. Until now, my life has been little more than a series of reactions to the circumstances that I have found myself in. I have never found the path I wish to take. So, no. I don't intend to marry. Not yet, at least. Not until I find what I want this life to be. You are the only one whom I would have made an exception for."

Xu Ling smiled. "But I will not marry you."

Tobias nodded. "So, I am free to find what I want this life to be."