The Magistrate: Chapter 39 (Patreon)

Chapter 39

A Sect in Motion

A letter sat on his desk when Tobias arrived at his office. It wasn't like the letters the state typically sent. The paper was finer, and the edges were trimmed with gold. Tobias gave it his full attention because he no longer liked surprises. The seal on the letter declared that it was from the Imperial Palace.

Tobias scowled as he recognised the seal but picked it up and opened it anyway. The scowl vanished as he realised that it was just another assignment. The requested item was a Dancing Cloud Meditation Fleece, and its budget was larger than the combined sect budget for most years.

Tobias didn't know what the requested item was.

He spent the next three hours searching the archives, but came up empty, which meant he needed to speak with Elder Po.

Elder Po was sitting in his usual spot in the sect assignment hall, fast asleep with his eyes open, or so Tobias thought, until he flipped the page of the book he was reading.

Tobias bowed. "Magistrate Finch greets Elder Po."

Elder Po nodded back, too caught up in his book for formalities. "What do you need?"

"The state has requested an item I cannot find in the library."

Elder Po snapped his book closed. "Are you sure?"

Tobias nodded.

"Is the budget significant?"

"The most significant I've ever worked with by a large margin."

Elder Po stood up. "We shouldn't speak about this in public. Come with me to my office."

Tobias blinked. "You have an office?"

Elder Po nodded as he turned and led Tobias behind the desks in the assignment hall. "It's where I keep my books."

They went through a door into a hallway, passing rooms filled with sect assignments that had been handed in but not authenticated, before arriving at an office twice the size of the one Tobias had. The room was crammed full of books to such an extent that they would have to carefully place their feet.

Elder Po closed the door behind Tobias and then activated an array. "Now that we can't be overheard, what is the name of the item or pill you need?"

"A Dancing Cloud Meditation Fleece."

Elder Po chuckled. "One of the emperor's field marshals must be on the edge of enlightenment again. I'll get you the book you need."

"What is it?"

"It is an item made from the fleece of a core realm cloud ram that is layered with formations crafted by a nascent soul realm formations expert. Meditating while sitting on it provides mental clarity, making it easier to achieve enlightenment, study cultivation, or gather dao insights. It's a peak core realm item, but it can be used by anyone at any stage of cultivation. If the user's cultivation exceeds the items, the item is damaged during use. There used to be hundreds of them, but then it was discovered that you could enhance the effects and induce enlightenment by breaking the formations in a controlled manner. Now, there are only a handful outside the sect."

"The emperor is spending this much on a single moment of enlightenment?"

"A moment of enlightenment that will likely push a field marshal into forming another layer of their nascent realm core. The emperor wouldn't need one otherwise."

Tobias had learned from his library that cultivators received a cultivation boost from each layer they formed around their core. Each layer doubled the concentration of a cultivator's chi, doubling chi gathering speed and increasing their strength by half. That was a massive boost to their capabilities.

Tobias immediately understood why the emperor was willing to spend so much. "Why don't you keep information like this in the archives?"

Elder Po sighed as he searched through a stack of books for the one they needed. "For those with enough knowledge, knowing how to authenticate one would be enough to recreate them. The usefulness of these mediation mats is not to be understated, and there was a time when the sect almost hunted the core realm cloud ram into oblivion to make them."

"Won't others just grow stronger to take their place?"

"It takes a cloud ram a century to reach the peak of the core realm, and it requires other peak core realm rams to do so that quickly. It's closer to three centuries if they can't find other cloud rams to guide them. So, the old sect leader found everyone who knew how to make them and beat them into compliance. We still haven't recovered to the levels we were at before the discovery. Ah, here it is."

Tobias took the book Elder Po handed him. "If this is controlled information, I assume I can't publicly announce what I'll need."

"That's correct."

"Can I publicly announce that I have an assignment for a Dancing Cloud Meditation Fleece and that I'm accepting bids for its completion?"

Elder Po frowned. "You can announce the name of the item, but how would the bidding work?"

"The elders get together and work out who is doing what, and then they figure out how much they could do that work for. They send a list of who is involved, along with their bid, and then I take the lowest bidder's offer if I'm certain that those involved have the skill to pull it off."

Elder Po smiled. "That's very civilised and much simpler than how we normally do this. I'll get you a list of who knows how to make one."

***

The news that the state wanted a Dancing Cloud Meditation Fleece spread through the sect within a day. Disciples were gossiping on every corner, insisting that this or that elder would be part of the group to make it. State assignments for core realm products were scarce, as core realm products were only required once a decade, so everyone was interested. Whoever won the bid for the assignment would surely see their cultivation progress.

A week after sending out the invitations to bid on the assignment, Tobias sat in his office composing a letter to Sect Minister Bo. Tobias had finally admitted that the complexities of authenticating something so advanced were beyond his capabilities. No amount of study could bridge the gap between what he could do and what he was required to do. He needed help.

There was a polite knock on his door while he wrote.

Tobias looked up and sighed. Disciples never knocked on his door. Only the elders knocked on his door. Recently, that always involved them trying to bribe him. Tobias put down his brush and walked to the door.

Elder Kang strode in with a rolled-up piece of lambskin under one arm. He marched over to Tobias's desk, waved his hand, and floated everything to the shelves before unrolling a map onto his desk. One side showed his entertainment and shopping district. The other showed the residential areas where the cultivators lived. "I've finished the designs."

Tobias chose not to point out that he hadn't asked for any designs and that Elder Kang hadn't even expressed interest in working on his project. He was familiar with how the man operated because of their work on Cloud City. "I appreciate your hard work."

Elder Kang grunted. "You won't once you see them. This is going to cost a fortune."

Tobias frowned as he stared at the massive project before him. "How large a fortune?"

Elder Kang handed him a ledger. "Try not to faint."

Tobias scanned the map of the residential area. There were numerous parks and green spaces. Each one had a small building next to it and was surrounded by hundreds of manors. Tobias did some rough maths and estimated there were almost eight thousand manors and nearly a thousand mansions. Either Cloud Sect was planning for centuries or growth, or they intended to take every one of The Three Kingdoms' disciples who had reached the end of their natural path.

"What's this large building here?" Tobias asked.

"It's a stadium. I'm still trying to convince the sect to lease you the land for it."

Tobias heard what was left unsaid. The sect was going to take care of the stadium. Tobias moved to the smaller buildings next to the parks that currently didn't exist. "What are these for?"

"Cloud Sect and Mist Sect have decided that our disciples should not be allowed to invite each other to their residences. The rule makes it difficult for them to interact outside of the areas where they practice their professions or train, so I thought of a solution. Teahouses and parks."

"Teahouses and parks."

"Simple and efficient."

That suited Tobias's plans perfectly, so he didn't complain. He opened the ledger to check the price estimates and blanched, reassessing whether or not he should move forward with the project. The cost of the teahouses was significantly higher than they should have been, and so were the renovations to his entertainment and shopping district.

It appeared that the sect wished to claw back the money he had earned from their disciples. This wasn't entirely unexpected. None of his work justified how much he was earning from them.

However, the prices they were charging him would eliminate the profit from the following four auctions. Five auctions if Tobias continued to supply his family with pills, which he intended to do, and that included if the number of pills continued to increase at a similar rate.

The ledger he'd been handed painted a picture where his free ride was over. The sect finally had a plan, and that plan didn't involve him making a fortune so they could save face. They weren't leaving him penniless. The profit from the teahouses and the entertainment and shopping district would be his compensation for what he'd done for them. However, his auction would likely be over the moment he finished paying for everything.   

"I'll need five years to pay for this," Tobias said. "Can you wait that long?"

Elder Kang glanced in his direction before returning to look at his designs. "No. I'll need to bring in outside builders, and the sect won't allow them to be here that long. If you need money, approach your friend Disciple Xi. Between the two of you, you're wealthy enough to fund this project."

Tobias shrank his five-year timeframe down to two years and understood how Cloud Sect wished to push him out of control of his auction. Disciple Xi would own the most valuable portion of the shopping part of his district, and Tobias would own the least valuable portion along with the entertainment part.

"Which business would you suggest I offer him for his investment?"

"The auction house, pill shop, artifact shop, and array shop should suffice. They'll account for the majority of the district's profits and are worth his larger investment."

Tobias opened his mouth to disagree and then shut it again. Those stores wouldn't account for the majority of the district's profits, just the profits generated by the sects.

Tobias pointed to four large buildings, each opposite the gate of his district. "What are these?"

"They're expensive accommodations for travellers who wish to visit your district. They are fine enough that you could host even the head of one of the Great Clans."

"What's this massive compound in the housing district?"

It occupied a large section of the southern area and could accommodate hundreds of manors within. It was by far the largest structure in the entire city.

"That's your new residence. I was informed your sister was staying with you and figured you needed more space."

Tobias swallowed his excitement at the implications. Cloud Sect was publicly declaring that his family were under their protection. That to attack his family was to attack the sect. They were also saying they wanted him out of the sect now that his cultivation had improved, but that they intended for him to maintain his position.

A wave of relief washed through him. "That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you for your consideration."

Elder Kang smiled, showing he knew that Tobias understood what the sect was doing. "I hold you in high regard, Magistrate Finch. Think nothing of it."

***

Later that day, Tobias sat in Disciple Xi's residence, sharing tea. Tobias rarely visited his home, preferring to meet him in their place of work, because Disciple Xi was a stickler for propriety. He followed his etiquette training to the letter, which meant any serious conversation required an hour of polite conversation before they got down to business.

Tobias placed his most recent empty cup down, fulfilling his obligations as a guest. Disciple Xi signalled the servant waiting in the corner of the room to take everything and leave.

Once she was gone, Disciple Xi relaxed. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Magistrate?"

"Elder Kang has finalised the designs for my shopping and entertainment district. The cost of the renovations is far beyond my means, and he wishes to move ahead quickly. When I told him of this, he suggested I approach you about investing in the district."

Tobias handed over the contract.

"This contract lists the businesses that you will receive from your investment, along with a non-compete clause that I cannot attempt to enter those markets within the district."

Disciple Xi gave Tobias a thoughtful look but didn't unroll the contract. Tobias knew he had heard everything that was being left unspoken, understanding that the sect had finally decided how they wished to intervene. The nature of the business he would receive from his investment would have explained that, but Tobias didn't want to leave anything to chance.

"Are you happy with the contract?" Disciple Xi asked.

Tobias considered the question.

Was he happy with it? Compared to the loss of the auction, the loss of the other businesses was financially insignificant. However, the nature of the shopping and entertainment district remained the same. It would be a thriving urban area with an exciting nightlife.

The businesses there would earn him enough money that he would want for nothing, and the fortune he had made until now had given him the ability to turn his family into initiate realm cultivators, ensuring they lived long, healthy lives.

It was more than he'd ever hoped for in this life.

Tobias smiled. "I am very happy with this contract."