Chapter 95
A Fetch Quest
Immortality wasn't offered via letter, so Tobias set out to speak with those on his lists. There was no rush, no threat of powerful cultivators capturing him, so he took his time to find them, exploring The Three Kingdoms at his leisure, travelling through cities and towns he only knew by name. Decades of being trapped by circumstances meant he wasn't in a hurry.
By the time he arrived in Mist City, Elder Tan had already contracted the plague and was tucked away in her sect's hidden realm. She had left her clone to manage her duties. Her clone thanked him for the offer and gave him permission to approach their sect's crippled disciples with his offer.
None of the crippled women had been allowed to participate in the war, but thanks to Disciple Shen's efforts to develop a technique to create replacement clone limbs, they were able to assist with the plague. Despite being the former pride of their generation, Mist Sect hadn't placed them anywhere too dangerous, so they had come through physically fit but mentally exhausted.
They had already given up too much in pursuit of their cultivation to turn back, so none rejected his offer. Tobias escorted them to his clan, then set out for the Shen State Capitol, where he discovered bad news.
Lower Magistrate Park, the kind old magistrate who had once taken him under his wing to prepare him for life at Cloud Sect and the political manoeuvring that came with his post, was dead. He'd been dead for over a year. Tobias had heard that he had outlived his wife and children, but only learned he regretted accepting the cultivation resources Tobias sent him from his neighbours.
He'd apparently thrown himself against the plague, stemming the tide, and always in the heart of an outbreak. His actions had saved hundreds of lives, but cost him his own, a price Tobias was told he'd gladly paid.
Tobias understood Lower Magistrate Parks actions. He understood his despair. Moving on from the loss of his own wife and children had been one of the hardest experiences of his life. Finding a new purpose was not easy, and there were moments in the early days when death would have been a welcome relief. Those darker feelings were in the past, but he still found it difficult to think about his wife and their children, even after so long.
Time might heal all wounds, but those wounds could still leave scars, scars that didn't fade. Perhaps one day he would look back and only see the joy they had shared, but for now, he only wished they could have shared in the life that he lived.
When Tobias arrived at Cloud City, he didn't announce his presence. He entered his sister's restaurant in the entertainment and shopping district he still owned, using a shroud, intending to surprise her. She had refused to come home, too enamoured by the dao path she had chosen to go into seclusion, or so Tobias thought.
Tobias stopped in the doorway of her massive pantry and leaned against the doorframe as Lingling made with his majordomo. Majordomo Wo hadn't entered seclusion either, citing that he needed to maintain their businesses, which was true, but clearly wasn't his only reason.
Tobias dropped his shroud, fighting a smile and watched as the two adults sprang apart. The youngest of them was in her forties, but you would think they were teenagers, based on their reactions.
"Now I see why my favourite sister refuses to come home," Tobias said.
Lingling blushed while Majordomo Wo stammered. "It's not what it looks like."
Tobias did his best to appear upset. "Were you trying to reach the butter and slipped?"
Lingling suddenly glared at Tobias. "I'll be a core realm cultivator soon, so you can't stop me from marrying him."
Majordomo Wo had always been attractive, so the divine beauty pill hadn't worked as well on him. However, he was still incredibly attractive. However, Tobias doubted that this was the reason for Lingling's interest.
"As his Patriarch, so I have the last word in who he marries, which means I may not be able to stop you, but I can certainly stop him. It would be scandalous for our clan's only natural cultivator to marry a servant."
Majordomo Wo winced.
Tobias smirked. "But then our clan could do with a little scandal."
A smile exploded across Lingling's face. "You're not upset."
"Do I look upset? You're both adults. And I know you made the first move."
Lingling's smile vanished. "How do you know that?"
Tobias snorted as he stepped forward and ruffled her hair. It felt perfectly back in place. "My majordomo is far too respectable to make advances on my sister, no matter how interested he might be."
Lingling blushed, which told him he was right. "Why are you here?"
Tobias flexed his aura, making his next words private. "Our clan is going into seclusion for the next few centuries, so I'm taking you both home." Tobias turned to his majordomo. "Prepare your servants to take over the management of our businesses. My orders extend to your entire household."
Majordomo Wo had carefully vetted his family for threats, and any problems had long since been removed. Their businesses might take a hit due to their absence, but Tobias doubts they would lose money. Their core businesses were too profitable.
Majordomo Wo cupped his hands and bowed. "This one thanks Patriarch Finch for his generosity."
"No more of that. You're about to become my brother-in-law. Sage Finch is fine."
Lingling scowled.
Tobias laughed.
Majordomo Wo sighed.
Tobias got down to business. "Do you know if Elder Xi has been allowed to enter Cloud Sect's hidden realm?"
Majordomo Wo shook his head. "Less than half the sect's elders have been replaced by clones, so I do not believe they have the necessary sage realm spirit herbs to support them all. As one of the most recent elders, he was not given the honour."
"I'll need to speak with him then." Tobias turned to Lingling. "When do you want to get married?"
Lingling glanced at Majordomo Wo. "How soon would it be possible for us to marry?"
"I can do it now if you like. I'm technically still a senior magistrate."
Lingling frowned. "You are?"
Tobias nodded. "Senior magistrates hold their position for life. We can't be removed from our position unless you can prove corruption, and we can't be reassigned against our will. When the ministry closed down the state assignment halls, I was offered a new position and declined, which means I'm still assigned to it and receive my full pay and authority."
"You get paid for doing nothing."
Tobias chuckled. "I have to get back some of the taxes I pay."
"I will not be getting married without mama and papa there."
"Then your future husband will have to restrict his guest list to only those joining him in our hidden realm."
"We have a hidden realm."
"A lot has changed while you've been here smooching with my majordomo.
Majordomo Wo blushed as he bowed again. "I will manage the guest list, Patriarch."
Majordomo Wo knew he had overstepped the lines of decency, so he was doing everything he could to curry favour without making it obvious. Tobias wanted to mess with him a little more, but knew Lingling would soon start yelling, so he held back. "I'll be back in a few days. We can discuss the details then."
***
Elder Xi hadn't changed, but for once, Tobias didn't care about hours of small talk. It had been years since they had seen one another, and they had much to catch up on. They laughed their way through the night, sharing jars of spirit wine that left them dizzy, expressing their struggles through the plague, and the progress they had made in their understanding of cultivation and alchemy.
It wasn't until noon the following day that they began talking about why Tobias was there. "Are you interested?"
Elder Xi swept his gaze around his garden as if saying goodbye. "When you say I can bring anyone I want, how many people would that be?"
"You could bring your entire sect if you truly wanted to, but this would undoubtedly create a turbulent future, so I'm asking you to limit yourself to only bringing those who will peacefully cultivate to immortality."
Elder Xi hardened his aura further and groaned. "You've been keeping secrets again."
"Life has taught me it's necessary. So, who do you want to bring?"
Elder Xi didn't hesitate. "There are my direct disciples, the friends I've made among the gatherers, along with many others whom I have trained over the years."
"What about your siblings?"
Though he looked like a man in his late twenties, Elder Xi was in his nineties. His parents had passed some time ago, but the last time they'd spoken, he still had a handful of younger siblings who were alive.
His cousin had been kicked out of the sect decades ago and had ended up fighting on the wrong side of the war. He'd managed to survive the final battle, but Field Marshal Kang had executed him when he'd tried to escape from the Shattered Fortress.
"My family was never as kind and caring as yours. It has been over a decade since I have seen my remaining siblings, and I do not feel their absence. I have done what filial duty I could and have peace with parting ways."
Tobias couldn't understand his mentality but accepted the answer. "I have enough room for those you wish to bring."
***
Lu Nang was the great-grandniece of the woman Tobias still called Aunty Nang. When Tobias arrived at Aunty Nang's residence, Lu Nang was sitting out front, enjoying the sun while stitching together a tear in a robe. She smiled when she saw him, but didn't move from her spot. She was the only one in her clan who treated him with indifference and the only one who could keep Aunty Nang in check.
Tobias walked over, making sure not to block her sun. "How's she doing?"
Lu Nang smiled. "She tried to split firewood while I was out yesterday and has been on her back moaning all morning."
Tobias has spent over a decade trying to convince Aunty Nang to accept cultivation resources before finally giving up. Like him, she had seen the lonely path to immortality and wanted nothing to do with it. Their clan was also the most loyal and well-respected of Cloud Sect's servant clans, having served the sect since its founding, so accepting becoming a cultivator would have required her to leave.
Tobias understood her decision, but it still meant that this might be his chance to see her in the flesh. Going forward, he would only be able to visit through his clone. He wasn't here to catch up. He was here to say goodbye.
Centuries were going to pass before he could return. The current generations of the Nang Clan would be nothing but a memory by then. This was the natural drawback of getting involved with mortals, but Tobias didn't regret it.
"I'll see what I can do to help her," Tobias promised.
Lu Nang nodded, motioning with her towards the room where Aunty Nang was resting.
As Tobias turned to leave, Lu Nang added, "She knows you are going into seclusion. She knows you are here to say goodbye. Don't waste your time talking around the subject. Our clan may be mortals, but we understand the ways of cultivators better than they understand themselves. Don't waste your final moments together. Say what you want to say, so you can move forward in peace."
Tobias looked back and smiled. "I hope you know, you're my second favourite Nang."
Lu Nang looked up and grinned. "Only because I never made you rich."
Tobias threw his head back and laughed before moving forward with a lighter heart.
***
Tobias spent a month closing down his residence in Cloud City and sending the thousands of former eunuchs that loyally served his family to The Three Step Hills. The spirit gardens he kept in Cloud City had long since been plundered for the best spirit herbs, and those which remained behind were now of little consequence. The Cultivation Academy would maintain them until their contracts ended, and then they could have them, as far as Tobias was concerned.
Commercial spirit gardens and techniques that drastically improved success rates were driving down the value of spirit herbs year after year. By the time he handed them over, they would be more useful as materials for a budding alchemist to practice their craft than as a financial investment.
Once that was done, Tobias set off to speak with Xu Feng.
Xu Feng was not happy that he found him.
Tobias was not happy with how long it took him to find.
Tobias entered an expensive teahouse on the other side of The Three Kingdoms. Xu Feng was wearing another man's face and listening in on a conversation between two cultivators from the Shen Clan. Tobias could tell with a glance that one of them was the son of a senator, which meant Patriarch Lee had lied about not knowing where Xu Feng was.
Tobias sat down across the table from him and flexed his aura, giving them privacy. The two cultivators from the Shen Clan immediately noticed his presence. They cupped their hands and bowed before quickly leaving the establishment. They left three times what their bill should have cost them on the table in their haste to leave.
Xu Feng frowned. "How did you find me?"
"You're dao leaks when you are not impersonating a minstrel."
Tobias's great discovery was that Xu Feng did not walk the path of the wandering minstrel but that of the wandering spy, and that he had been a core realm cultivator for centuries. His cultivation path was nearly identical to the one he imitated, but with a few key differences. Xu Feng's master had either died during the Great Plague, preventing him from receiving his full inheritance or never had one to begin with. Tobias had never asked, because Xu Feng obviously didn't want to talk about it.
Xu Feng sighed. "Is it obvious?"
"Not even if you know what you're looking for. I've been searching for you for three seasons."
Xu Feng perked up at the news. "Are you saying that to make me feel better?"
"No. Tracking you down has been very annoying."
"Good. Now what do you need?"
"I'm creating an immortal clan. I would like you to join me in immortality."
Xu Feng paused. "What will immortality cost me?"
"You will have to become my spymaster."
Tobias didn't mention that he was only making the request to help. A spy without a master wasn't a spy. It was more like an eavesdropper. Xu Feng would find it impossible to progress beyond the core realm without a master because he wouldn't be able to integrate his dao.
"I like my freedom."
"You love your daughter more, so I doubt you want to make her face immortality alone."
Xu Feng folded his arms, which was a strong sign that Tobias had got under his skin. "I know you don't need my services, so why are you setting a price?"
"The price will help you. You cannot pursue the dao of a spy without serving a master."
"Why wasn't that in the manual you gave me?"
"Because you weren't ready to hear the truth. You thought you weren't making progress because something about your cultivation method was wrong. It was, but you also weren't making progress because you weren't pursuing your dao in the way it requires. You've had enough time to see that the first was not the answer to your problems, so I'm certain you are ready to try the second."
"You're gatekeeping my cultivation."
"Are you upset that I'm treating you like a child, or upset that it's necessary?"
Xu Feng unfolded his arms and sighed. "I've spent centuries pretending to be someone I'm not. Putting down the mask isn't as easy. And letting others in and giving up my secrets has never come naturally to me."
"Which is why I'm here to remind you of what's important. Xu Ling needs you. She doesn't have many friends or people she cares about, but those she has are more important to her than life. She's holding back her cultivation because she's afraid to be alone."
"You're going for the throat today."
Tobias smiled. "Only because I have to. If memory serves, your daughter also once left me with no options, and that worked out well for her."
Xu Feng chuckled, likely remembering her constant complaints about Tobias not marrying her and forcing her to be his disciple. When the two of them began their slander campaign over the Divine Council's actions, Xu Feng had mentioned that he'd seen the same thing Tobias had. He knew Xu Ling was not in love with Tobias, but the freedom she would have in their marriage.
He had also recognised that Tobias saw her as a friend and little more, which was why he had no issue with them spending so much time together. A long life had let him understand that his daughter would eventually workout her feelings and that Tobias would be grateful when she did.
"You may bring anyone you wish with you, but Peace Master So will be vetting anyone he can," Tobias added.
"I'll make a list."
Tobias nodded. "Speaking of lists." He pulled out a list of names. "I need to find out if these people can be trusted with immortality. We'll be going into seclusion for centuries, so I want to surround my clan with people who can help them grow their skills and won't pose a threat to others when they gain power."
Xu Feng took the list and began crossing off names. "It's going to take me over a year to figure out if the rest of these people can be trusted."
"Why do you think I'm so annoyed it took me so long to find you?"