《The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm [Cozy Fantasy] [Farming LitRPG] [Stubbed]》


 Chapter 1 – Transported into the world of Adventure Incarnate

    I have become the Child of Fate, Hero of Ages, Healer of Worlds, Deathless Seeker, and Harbinger of the Dawn.


    It happened in a flash. One moment I was clicking on the login button for Adventure Incarnate, my favorite Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, when I was blinded by a flash of light. The next thing I knew, I had been transported into the world of the game.


    That was several weeks ago. Of course, I was shocked and confused at first, and I went through several cycles of denial and acceptance before I settled down enough to figure out what I should do next: find a safe place to stay.


    My current quest, given to me by the Adventure Incarnate game System, was simple.


    [Beginner Quest: Build a House]


    I¡¯d already finished two beginner quests, [Tutorial] and [Farmer Certificate]. Now that I had received a land grant from the local government, all I had to do was to clear a space in this forest to build my new home.


    Today my goal was to cut down a few trees. I was in an old growth forest filled with towering cedar, hinoki cypress, larch, oak, and maple trees along with some fruit trees like wild cherry, plum, and peach. However, to the System, everything was just a ¡°tree,¡± so I just picked an oak tree at random. Using the hatchet tool from my System toolbox, I swung at its trunk.


    ¡°Timber!¡± I yelled.


    The tree shook and leaves rained down on me. Around half of the tree¡¯s crown had mysteriously disappeared. One more swing and all that was left was the trunk.


    The next one should do it.


    ¡°For real this time. Timber!¡± I yelled again. There was no one around, but yelling like a cartoon character made me feel more excited about my first woodcutting session. This was actually the first time that I was using a game skill.


    I swung at the tree trunk with my hatchet and, sure enough, after I hit it with a resounding thwack, all that was left of it was a tree stump. Then I hit the stump with my ax one last time, making it disappear completely.


    ¡°It¡¯s like magic!¡± I said.


    Checking my inventory, I noticed that two slots now had wooden logs and tree branches in them. Just like in the game, cutting down trees gave me several pieces of wood.


    I cut down three more trees nearby.


    ¡°Why do I feel tired?¡± I said out loud to nobody in particular.


    With a bit of mental effort, I willed the game menu to appear. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t have to physically press any of the buttons on the System screen that only I could see. As my eyes moved over the screen, it was as though the game system could read my mind as it switched to the right tab just when I wanted it to.


    On the settings tab, I turned the guide mode on. A glowing yellow grid superimposed itself on the ground. To set down a farm, I needed to clear a 4 x 4 area. That was my priority because I was tired of doing my ¡°business¡± in the bushes. I wanted a flush toilet and a proper bed to sleep on.


    ¡°One more to go,¡± I said to encourage myself.


    I could hardly lift my arms anymore, but I forced myself to swing my ax until the last tree was cleared.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m a woodcutting goddess!¡± I dropped the ax and danced a jig.


    ¡°You are?¡± said someone from behind me.


    ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Bear! Bear!¡± I¡¯d been so sure that I was totally alone here deep in the forest that I was unable to stop myself from screaming when someone unexpectedly appeared behind me. A dark, hairy figure loomed over me. Though I was a beat too late, I plucked the pink plushie dangling from my waist and flung it at the newcomer, shouting, ¡°Kill!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a bear. I¡¯m from the White Tiger Clan,¡± said the figure. He¡¯d caught the plushie.


    I backed away a step, and the person took a step forward, into the light. It was definitely a person, but he was huge and bear-like, with a thickly muscled figure, brown beard, and long shaggy hair. His legs were like tree trunks, and his arms were brown and brawny, but underneath his bushy eyebrows, his eyes were lively and intelligent.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t calling you a bear. That¡¯s my bear,¡± I said, pointing at the teddy bear in his hand.


    Floating above the newcomer¡¯s head were the words [Farm Guide], and a transparent box had popped up in my field of vision with the words [Unable to Attack Farm Guide].


    It¡¯s a good thing that the System had stopped me from attacking this person. The Farm Guide was a very important NPC in the game who helped the player with events, farm upgrades, weather reports, and so forth.


    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± he said.


    He handed the plushie back to me, and I put it back on my belt via the hook on its back. My character was a puppeteer, and this little stuffed toy was the beginner puppet. It looked harmless, but I could use it to cast basic magic like Fireball. Thank goodness I hadn¡¯t actually attacked. The last thing I wanted was to offend my Farm Guide. In fact, players should give their guides a gift every time they meet, so I had prepared one in advance. I handed him a purple crocus I¡¯d picked up earlier. ¡°Sorry about that! I was just surprised. I haven¡¯t seen another person here all day.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± he said as he accepted the flower and put it on his belt. Like me, he was wearing pants and a long-sleeved robe with an overlapping Y-shaped collar, like a character from an ancient Chinese martial arts movie. Now that I looked at him closely, I saw that he had slightly pointed ears, which meant that he wasn¡¯t human. I hadn¡¯t noticed because his hair mostly covered the sides of his head. Most of the people on this continent were humans, but the feudal lords and ruling family were all God Beasts who were descendants of the offspring of humans and gods. They were called God Beasts in the game because they looked human, but could shapeshift into a giant beast form. They called themselves Yaozhen in their language.


    ¡°Welcome to Emberstone Farm. I¡¯m Violet, a new settler from Mai-i island,¡± I said.


    Emberstone Farm was the name that was automatically generated by the System when I was assigned this spot in the forest.


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m Shuye, the person in charge of this area. Welcome to the Ancient Hills Forest,¡± he said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I wanted to be hospitable, so I took out a plate of cookies from my inventory. The people of this world were quite used to magic, and many people had a small magical space that they could use to store items. I''d spent the last of my money on buying the cookies in town.


    ¡°No, thank you. We of the White Tiger clan don¡¯t eat human food,¡± he said. ¡°Do you need anything? I see that you¡¯ve set up a tent. I could show you a cave nearby that¡¯s safer.¡±


    ¡°A cave? Yes, I¡¯d like to see it,¡± I said.


    Not that I planned to use it, since the house that I could build using the System was undoubtedly much better than a cave. Nonetheless, it would be nice to know a place where I could seek shelter if I was caught outside in bad weather.


    Without further ado, I put the cookies and hatchet back in my inventory and followed his lead. We spent an hour hiking through the woods while we chatted. He gave me a few tips about how to survive in the wilderness and asked me about my life back ¡°home.¡± Of course, he was asking about my background in this world.


    I didn¡¯t tell him my real life story. The truth was that back on Earth my parents had died a year ago, a few days before I turned eighteen. I was studying up for my college entrance exams when I decided to play Adventure Incarnate, a moderately popular and very strange Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. It started off as a social farming simulation before being bought up by a Chinese video game company.


    The new owners had an RPG that they had been developing, and some smart guy had the bright idea of taking advantage of the existing player base by merging the two games together, forming a new MMORPG. The result was a uniquely weird hodgepodge of farming, crafting, and combat content set in a fantasy medieval-Europe-meets-magitech-Asia world.


    The moment I joined my guild chat, one of my online friends messaged me about ¡°something cool¡± that he wanted to show me.


    GodIAm or GIA, as I called him, was one of the first friends that I had made in the game. He was notorious for being a nolifer, hacker, and bug abuser. Half a dozen of his characters had been banned because of this.


    Nonetheless, he was a very smart and witty guy that I enjoyed chatting with. He told me he had found a way to spawn infinite items, though it was only visible in the character''s own inventory. He showed me a few screenshots, but those were easily faked, so he offered to let me log into the character. That was when I was transported into the game.


    What I told Shuye was the player character¡¯s backstory. I gave him the old song and dance about how I was an orphan who had been found washed ashore after a shipwreck at Mai-i island. I was just a baby then, and no one came forward to claim me, so I grew up in an orphanage with no knowledge of who my parents were.


    Shuye was sympathetic to my plight.


    ¡°It must¡¯ve been hard for you,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s all in the past. I¡¯m looking forward to my future here,¡± I said.


    That was the truth. At first, it had been difficult for me to accept that there was no log-out button I could use to return to Earth. However, I eventually accepted the fact that I was stuck here, and that I had to make the most of what I had, which was a lot.


    My dear friend GIA had really done it! I¡¯d only half-believed him when he¡¯d shown me the screenshots of his inventory that had billions of valuable items in it. Now I could see for myself that he was telling the truth. My inventory was full of everything that a player could need, and each bank slot had the maximum number of items: 2,147,483,647.


    I¡¯m no programmer, so I didn¡¯t quite understand why 2,147,483,647 was a significant number. I believe it had something to do with 32-bit code or integers, or something like that.


    The point was that I had 2,147,483,647 mythril bars, 2,147,483,647 rainbow trout, 2,147,483,647 Phoenix feathers, 2,147,483,647 green dragon leathers, 2,147,483,647 buckets of living soil, and so forth.


    I had all of the important farm items, crafting materials, armor, weapons, accessories, and cash shop cosmetics in Adventure Incarnate in my inventory.


    With an inventory that was full of legendary items, I was surely destined for greatness in this world.


    Of course, nothing in life could really be that easy. There was just one small problem with me using the items.

 Chapter 2 – There’s just one small problem with my cheat

    The items themselves were fine, but¡­


    I¡¯m a freakin¡¯ level 1 noob. I can¡¯t use the good stuff!


    Yet.


    I¡¯ll have to level up if I want to use or equip the better items. At the moment, the only things I could utilize were the newbie level 1 items, cosmetic packs, and holiday joke items.


    The reason why this character is level one was because GIA said he would get caught by the Adventure Incarnate admins if he used anything. The items were purely for bragging rights. That¡¯s why I was really nervous the first time I took out some gold from the System inventory. Fortunately, the skies remained clear, and I wasn¡¯t struck down by divine lightning for my temerity in using duped gold.


    So it seems I was okay for now. Also, I should really stop thinking of myself as ¡°this character¡± since ¡°this character¡± was now ¡°me.¡±


    ¡°This is it,¡± said Shuye, interrupting my thoughts. He showed me the cave, which was quite large and reasonably comfortable-looking. Someone had carved an alcove on one wall, and there was a stone bed that only needed a bit of cleaning before it could be used.


    ¡°A human wanted to settle here and lived here temporarily for a few weeks before giving up and joining a farm up north,¡± said Shuye. ¡°I hope you¡¯re here to stay.¡±


    ¡°I am. This cave looks almost cozy.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to camp here?¡± asked Shuye.


    ¡°I prefer the site you saw me in. It¡¯s closer to water,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good point.¡±


    On our way back to my campsite, Shuye showed me a few points of interest, like some good fishing spots and animal paths. It was late afternoon by the time we got back.


    ¡°Goodbye. I¡¯ll drop by now and then to see if you need anything,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°Goodbye and thank you,¡± I said.


    I was exhausted!


    After he left, I sat down on a tree stump and drank some water while I opened the System menu and browsed through my house options.


    My farming level was 1, so the only homes I could use were the starter farmhouses.


    The world of Adventure Incarnate was large and multicultural. The original game was vaguely medieval fantasy Europe, but there had been several expansions since then. The continent I was in was based on the Chinese legend of the Four Auspicious Beasts - the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North. There was a fifth, central area, but that game expansion hadn¡¯t been released in Adventure Incarnate yet.


    I was in the White Tiger¡¯s territory. The people here had Asian-sounding names, and the food, clothing, language, and architecture were Chinese-inspired.


    So my choice was between the Western-looking log cabin or cottage versus the traditional Chinese courtyard house. Each one had its pros and cons. The log cabin was very low-key since it looked like something that could be assembled on site. The cottage was very pretty, and it was the smallest of the three. The courtyard house, on the other hand, needed double the space of the cottage since it featured a central courtyard surrounded by four buildings. It definitely didn¡¯t look like something I could¡¯ve made with my own hands.


    I¡¯d only cleared a small space today, so I had no choice but to build a log cabin or a cottage. Since the log cabin was bigger, it was my best choice for today.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I mentally chose the starter cabin, then clicked on the build button.


    A glowing magic circle filled with runes and mystical symbols appeared on the ground. Moments later, the house appeared, looking as though it had always been there. The house was built of logs that were notched at the ends and laid one upon another, with the spaces between them filled with moss and dirt.


    [Congratulations! You have completed the Beginner Quest: Build a House]


    The reward was a furniture pack, which I quickly applied to the cabin by clicking on the ¡°use furniture pack¡± option.


    [Furniture pack used.]


    Now the cottage should have all the basic furnishings.


    Crossing the fingers of my left hand, I used my right hand to open the door. The inside was just one big room with a wooden floor partially covered with colorful patterned rugs. There was one small window opposite the door, and a stone fireplace to my right. On the left were empty shelves, and there were only two pieces of furniture in the room, a bed and a rocking chair.


    Oh no! There was no toilet.


    I threw myself down on the very comfortable bed. I wanted to cry. Curse those game developers who never think about basic human needs! I suppose they thought it wouldn¡¯t be cute to have a toilet in the cabin.


    I opened the System menu again to check the house settings and turned on all the privacy and security options because the last thing I wanted was for people to barge into my place or snoop around.


    While I was looking through the house tab, I noticed that there were several outbuildings that I could build, but when I selected the outhouse, I got an error saying ¡°no space.¡± I guess I needed to cut down a few more trees if I wanted to build a few more things.


    My energy bar should refresh itself after a nap. I put the puppet down on the bedside table, took a sandwich out of my inventory, then ate it while lazily doodling various plans for the farm in my notebook.


    The most important thing was the proper placement of the various buildings I planned to use. I decided to clear a path from my new home to the nearby river.


    In the future, I plan to use the river for faster transportation because this place was quite isolated, and I¡¯d had to trek through dense virgin forest to get to my chosen spot. My building skill was tied to my transportation items, as well as the usual houses, barns, sheds, greenhouses, and so forth. I could only use the lowest level canoe right now. However, I¡¯d walked here because I wasn¡¯t confident about using it, since the one time I¡¯d tried a paddleboat back on Earth, I¡¯d only spun around in circles instead of getting where I wanted to go. Feet were a lot more reliable.


    The real kicker was that I had a lot, and I do mean a lot, of transportation items that I was too low level to use.


    How exciting to think that perhaps sometime soon, I would be able to use a flying sword! Forget about higher-level boats, the real thrill was using flying tools.


    Nonetheless, the river would definitely be crucial for transporting crops and other items, even if I wasn¡¯t comfortable using it to travel.


    Once I was done eating, I put down my pencil and lay down for a good, long nap. The bed was tiny, but not uncomfortable.


    A vague thought flickered through the back of my mind, telling me that I¡¯d forgotten something important, but when I looked around, I saw that everything seemed fine.


    If I couldn¡¯t remember it, then it probably wasn¡¯t worth worrying about.


    Right?


    But the moment I woke up, I remembered the important thing that I¡¯d forgotten.


    Wasn¡¯t it always that way? I only remembered what I had forgotten after it was already too late. I picked up my puppet, who I¡¯d named Bob, from the bedside table. Then I walked outside and threw it up on the roof, activating its ¡°guard mode.¡± I should¡¯ve done that before I went to sleep. Now it would have a good view of my surroundings, and it would alert me if anything dangerous came too near the cabin.


    It was already late afternoon, so I only had about an hour and a half of daylight left. Whistling merrily, I cut down a few more trees so I could clear more ground for planting later on.


    According to the System calendar, it was planting season. I had two weeks to prepare the place and plant crops. After that, based on the game mechanics that I was familiar with, I wouldn¡¯t be able to plant during the growing season, which lasted for two months. Harvest season lasted for two weeks. All in all, it was a very tidy calendar where spring, summer, autumn, and winter each lasted three months.


    Therefore, I was going to be really busy clearing land for me to plow. I expected that I would only be able to plant a few crops this spring.


    ¡°Oh, yes!¡± I said after I finished clearing enough land for me to place an outhouse.


    I chanted a mantra as I nervously approached what I hoped was the long-awaited flush toilet. ¡°Don¡¯t be scary. Don¡¯t be scary. Please don¡¯t be scary. Please¡­¡±


    The moment I opened the door of the outhouse, I was greeted with the worst possible outcome.


    ¡°Nooooooooooo!¡±


    I fell to my knees in despair. It was a composting toilet.

 Chapter 3 – I did not cut down any demonic trees!

    The next morning, after dreaming of a dragon''s egg, I awoke to the sunlight streaming through the curtains. The sounds of the forest - the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, the buzzing of insects, and the gentle murmur of water from the nearby river - accompanied me. The air was filled with the fresh, intoxicating smell of spring. I leapt to my feet, walking to the window to take a deep breath, smiling inwardly as I felt the joy of having a place of my own, a place that had become my home.


    Outside, the forest floor was covered with a sea of green moss and dead leaves that crunched under my feet. Delicate wildflowers peeked out from between the trees and bushes, their colorful petals contrasting harmoniously with the brown and green hues of the forest. The sun was still low on the horizon, bathing the forest in a golden glow and enveloping everything in a magical golden light. The air was fresh and invigorating, stimulating all my senses. I felt like I was in a fairy tale, and it was hard to believe that this place was really mine.


    After a long, restful night of sleep, I decided that the toilet situation wasn¡¯t really that bad.


    I mean, humans lived for hundreds of thousands of years without flush toilets, right? I would survive. At least, it was better than doing it in the bushes. Every time I did that, I was worried that one of the plants I couldn¡¯t recognize was this world¡¯s version of poison ivy. So after just one night, I reconciled myself to the thought of using the outhouse.


    Nonetheless, I put ¡°make a much bigger house¡± at the top of my list. To level up my building skill, I needed to level up farming, since that was the basic requirement needed to unlock all the farming-related skills. Once I had leveled up to at least ten, I would be able to build a ranch house, a much bigger dwelling that most likely had better facilities.


    The usual progression for houses was: Cottage > Ranch > Mansion > Palace > Castle > Fortress. There were various options for each level, like the current choice of log cabin, cottage, or courtyard house. Regarding the courtyard house option, the progression was modular: one courtyard house > two courtyards > three courtyards > four courtyards > five courtyards, and so forth.


    The log cabin proved to be comfortable enough, but the accommodations were rather basic. The bed was cozy, and I could cook food in the cauldron that was hanging over the fire in the fireplace, but I wouldn¡¯t be truly at ease until I had all the modern conveniences in my house ¡ª a flush toilet, hot and cold running water, refrigerator, air conditioner, heater, and a modern kitchen.


    With this in mind, I spent the next nine days cutting down as many trees as I could. I also dug a well because a nearby source of water was absolutely essential for farms. I thought that I would be able to place a pump well, but it was the more primitive rope and bucket type. Hauling up buckets of water for my use was definitely my least favorite activity of the day.


    Five days before the end of the planting season, I decided I needed to start tilling the soil.


    The pathetic level 1 hoe could only till one grid square big enough to plant three seeds. All I had to do was use a little bit of force to strike the ground in front of me with the hoe, and the System would do the rest. Though it seemed easy, every time I did it I felt myself growing weaker until, at last, the energy bar in the System menu was almost empty.


    Farming using the system used up my energy. This mysterious ¡°energy¡± was something almost every culture on Earth had a name for like ¡°chi,¡± ¡°qi¡±, ¡°mana,¡± ¡°orenda,¡± and so forth, but in Adventure Incarnate it was just called energy. When a player leveled up, they naturally got more energy to use.


    As I tilled the soil, energy flowed from my body down to the soil, so it was quite tiring. Using my sleeve, I wiped the sweat away from my forehead. I had only managed to till twelve squares, meaning I would only be able to plant thirty-six seeds. Browsing the inventory for plant seeds only told me what I already knew. The best spring crops that I could plant right now were: cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and potatoes. All of them took roughly two months to grow before they were ready for harvest.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The reason why they were so weird was because they weren¡¯t the usual cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and potatoes from Earth that I was familiar with. These crops were all ¡°spiritual plants.¡± In other words, they were special, magical crops.


    I had already decided to plant potatoes.


    [Potato:


    Typically planted in the spring, potatoes grow best in areas with full sunlight and moist but well-drained soil. The potato plant is a herbaceous perennial with small, white flowers, and it grows to around two feet height. A single potato plant produces two to five tubers, the edible part of the plant.


    Potatoes are easy to grow even for beginners.]


    The System offered a basic description of each crop, and the one about the potatoes sounded good to me. I figured they were the best crop to plant right now because they were easy to cook, and they could be used in a variety of recipes.


    When I took out the seeds, I noticed that they were quite peculiar. They had a strange luster to them like that of a pearl. Besides, weren¡¯t potatoes usually cultivated using seed potatoes that have buds? I guessed that the seeds from the game weren¡¯t the usual ones.


    With my energy running dangerously low, I hurriedly planted the potato seeds. I poured the potato seeds in a seed dispenser, and when I placed it near the tilled soil, three seeds flew out from the tip and embedded themselves in the soil. Once again, I felt the strange sensation of energy flowing outwards from my body.


    The next time I moved my arm towards the ground, I tried to mentally stop the energy from leaving me. Nothing happened. The seeds did not fly out. I was somewhat reassured to know that the mysterious energy I was using was under my control. Whistling happily, I continued to plant more potato seeds until I ran out of space.


    Sprinklers were beyond my level, so I manually watered the plants using a watering can, refilling it at the well twice before I was finished.


    It was only after I examined my newly-planted potato crops that I realized I had skipped an important step.


    [This farming patch contains a potato seed. It has been watered. The soil has not been fertilized.]


    Oh no! It¡¯s true that using fertilizer was optional, but I had plenty in my inventory, so I should¡¯ve done it.


    ¡°I was in too much of a rush¡­¡± I had gotten into the habit of talking to myself because I was all alone. ¡°I¡¯ll remember that tomorrow.¡±


    On the other hand, it wasn¡¯t all that bad. Though it was unintentional, the fact that I had twelve plots that hadn¡¯t been fertilized meant that I could compare the growth of fertilized versus unfertilized crops. I could just think of this as the control group.


    Cheered up by the thought of the upside of my forgetfulness, I went back inside the house to prepare my lunch.


    The log cabin didn¡¯t have a dedicated kitchen. The only place that I could cook was the fireplace, which had a shelf of pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils above it. I hung a cauldron on the hook above the fire and filled it with water. A simple vegetable stew was my goal for today.


    I sat down on the cabin¡¯s only chair and took out a kitchen knife, cutting board, and two pieces each of turnips, parsnips, leeks, onions, and cabbage which I placed on the only table in the house. The vegetables were perfectly formed and blemish-free. I believe this was because these were also ¡°spirit plants¡± which meant that they were much better than normal vegetables. In fact, whenever I cut one into bite sized pieces, they released a soft, gentle glow. Was it a sign of spiritual energy being released?


    Back on Earth, my parents had taught me how to cook basic stuff like rice, fried eggs, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and prepare sandwiches and salads. Here, however, my cooking skills went for naught as I was only level 1, and it seemed as though I burned everything I cooked.


    Once the water in the cauldron was boiling, I added the vegetables. I was supposed to add oats in later, but, alas, I once again burned the stew. One would think that it was difficult to burn stew, however, burning food was almost all I did because of my low cooking level.


    Glumly, I once again put the burnt food, along with the cauldron, in my inventory with the other failures. Thank goodness, I already had cooked food in my inventory. Otherwise, I might have starved to death.


    GIA had only bothered to dupe valuable items, which meant the food that I could eat was either food ingredients like raw vegetables and fruits or the most expensive food item in the game, the Five-Star Luxury Bento. The bento was a three-layered one filled with three dozen different types of food, only some of which I could identify. There were sweet rolled omelets, vegetable tempura, pickled lotus root, onigiri, red bean mochi, rice balls, and many other delicious foods. The problem was that I had been eating this for weeks, so I was already bored with it. Not to mention, it was vegetarian.


    I want meat! Lots and lots of juicy meat!


    My mouth watered at the thought of steaks and hamburgers, but my puny cooking level meant that it was impossible for me to cook those, even though I had plenty of raw meat.


    I mentally put ¡°fix the food situation¡± as my number two priority after building a better house.

 Amazon and Audible Book 1 Release and Stubbing Announcement!

    Dear readers,


    Happy New Year, and thank you for reading my story on Royal Road!


    I am thrilled to announce that Aethon Books (https://aethonbooks.com/</a>) will be publishing The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm on Amazon in ebook and audiobook formats. There will be a new (non AI art) cover that''s really amazing. I''m also working with their in-house editor to fix all the errors and typos.


    Due to Amazon''s Kindle Unlimited''s exclusivity requirement, this means I will have to remove most of the Book 1 chapters in two weeks, so please read or reread everything you want to before that time.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I''m honestly giddy with excitement over this! I''m keeping my fingers crossed that I will have a successful launch on Amazon, as this will most likely determine whether I can have a real writing career or not.


    Right now, I am focusing on finishing book 3.


    Cheers,


    Lin Meili


    P.S. I just got what I think is COVID. The symptoms weren''t too bad, except for the weird thing where I smell smoke all the time.


    P.P.S. Also, I was weak as a newborn foal, and my legs felt like noodles when I tried to walk anywhere.


    P.P.P.S. I did keep most of my sense of taste.

 Chapter 104 - Start Book 2

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 104 - Prosperous Boss-terous Start</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    [System Announcement: World Boss Event


    Prepare for the coming of the Demon Monarch


    Countdown: 300 Days]


    How annoying!


    I was woken up from my dream of playing with a dragon child by the loud blaring of the System¡¯s emergency announcement. Yawning, I stretched my arms over my head and sat up. Then I read the System text before closing the popup screen.


    Wasn¡¯t the event a bit early? I should have had the entire year to prepare for it. Well, it¡¯s not like it was a big deal.


    Last year, I, a normal human from planet Earth, transmigrated to the world of Adventure Incarnate, a farming/cultivation-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game. I still have no idea how that happened. All I know is that this world is quite similar to the world of Adventure Incarnate and I could use the game¡¯s System.


    Because I¡¯m a ¡°player,¡± people call me the Healer of Worlds, Bringer of Life, Child of Fate, and Harbinger of the Dawn. I¡¯m the prophesied savior who lifted the ancient curse that blighted the White Tiger clan¡¯s once-fertile lands.


    Though I wouldn¡¯t go around calling myself ¡°Supreme Protector of the Five Continents¡± or anything like that, I was nonetheless fairly confident that I could handle myself in a Boss fight. After all, I¡¯d leveled up a bit since I came to this world, and my inventory was full of legendary items.


    The upcoming battle against the Demon Monarch, despite the awesome name, was nothing more than a simple World Event in Adventure Incarnate in which all of the players came together to one-sidedly beat up the Boss.


    Seeing as I had 2,147,483,647 each of almost every useful item in the game, I should be fine, right?


    I threw back the covers and got up from my bed. My brain was still sluggish because I hadn¡¯t had my breakfast and coffee yet.


    Yawning again, I padded across my bedroom to my small kitchen, enjoying the feeling of the plush carpet under my bare feet. I had decorated my house in a rustic country style, with warm earth tones and royal blue accents. The best part of the house was the large wooden bed covered with crisp white cotton bedding and a colorful quilt. The headboard was carved with an intricate dragon design, and the mattress was supremely comfortable.


    My house wasn¡¯t very big, but it had everything I needed: a cozy sitting area with a cushy armchair and small table, a tiny kitchen with a bit of counter space, and a dining area with a small farmhouse-style table. Not to mention, I had a lovely modern flush toilet and bath. Luckily, the System¡¯s Cash Shop had everything I needed.


    Three days ago when we were in the desert, we celebrated the New Year with a big party that lasted for such a long time that we needed another day just to recover. Yesterday, we had flown back to the Ancient Hill Forest, and I had rebuilt the [Courtyard House], [Ranch House], and [Mill]. The other members of my household were currently at the [Courtyard House] while I stayed at the [Ranch House]. I liked having my own place, even if it was smaller than the [Courtyard House] since I felt more at ease living alone.


    Using a coffee maker from the Cash Shop, I brewed myself a cup, added lots of milk and sugar, and then thought about the World Boss.


    First of all, I only knew the info from the game, which may or may not be accurate since this was the real world.


    Secondly, the event was easy in Adventure Incarnate because there were always thousands of players attacking the Boss at any given time. However, I was the only ¡°player¡± here.


    Thirdly, the Boss was the Demon Monarch, who was something of a glass cannon in the game. He had a healing skill, very high HP, low defense, and slow but powerful attacks.


    Fourthly, there was no permadeath in the game. That was not true of this world.


    Lastly, the best way to win was definitely through zerging. This was normally achieved by the game devs giving the players a nice reward for joining the fight to encourage everyone to attend the event. Would this be a good strategy to use now?


    By the time I finished my coffee, I thought of a few ways to ensure victory in the coming event. I checked the System¡¯s Event Calendar to verify the important dates to confirm that I had plenty of time and that it wasn¡¯t the right moment for me to make a move.


    Yet.


    Things were bound to get intense in a few months, but for now, I had to focus on my current task, the spring planting.


    Humming merrily, I showered and dressed in practical brown and black boots, trousers, and a short robe before going out. My destination was the [Courtyard House] which looked exactly like a traditional Chinese dwelling, with rectangular buildings arranged around two central courtyards. The sloping roof was adorned with vibrant ceramic tiles, and the imposing height of the surrounding walls was meant to give the residents a sense of security and seclusion. The house was divided into two parts, the outer courtyard where my apprentices and staff lived and worked, and the inner courtyard which was the space reserved for the house owner, i.e. me.


    Everything was arranged in perfect geometrical symmetry, from the orderly way the red stone tiles lined the courtyard floor, to the flower baskets that hung in neat rows on the western and eastern roof eaves. With the help of my housekeeper, Fengying, I had furnished the house with simple and comfortable traditional furniture, most of it made of Fragrant Rosewood.


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    When I walked inside, the heavenly scent of freshly cooked food made me smile. I saw that breakfast had already been set up in the outer courtyard.


    "Good morning," I said to my apprentices who greeted me in return.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo were likewise dressed in working clothes and looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.


    Lari filled my water glass. Kharli served me the hot, sweet tea that I liked for breakfast while Mo filled my bowl with rice. They knew me well enough by now to guess which dishes I preferred, and they used their chopsticks to place choice pieces of ham and mushrooms in my bowl.


    We were mostly silent while we ate. The ham was tender and had a complex flavor that thrilled my taste buds. The stir-fried dish was made using the mushrooms I had foraged myself from the underground cave system in the Southerlands. I¡¯d specifically requested that the Demon Chef make this for me today since I was in the mood for eating something I had gotten after a lot of hard work. It was absolutely divine. Dessert was sweet red bean soup, one of my favorites.


    When I finished eating, I sat back and sighed. ¡°Are we all done? Let¡¯s go.¡±


    As we walked to the field that I had designated for today¡¯s activity, I gave them the rice seeds and fertilizer that they would be using later.


    "Teacher, how much of the [Purple Orchid Rice] will we plant this time?" asked Kharli. The oldest of the three, she had grown by two inches in the last year and was filling out quite nicely. When I had hired the girls from the orphanage last year, they had been quite thin and short for their age. Like the others, she had brown hair and brown eyes, but with roses blooming in her cheeks and a healthy glow around her, she was becoming quite pretty.


    "I hope it''s not a lot. I still don''t like black rice," said Lari. The boy was starting to look more mature now. The fat was starting to melt into muscles, and he''d also grown around two inches, but he was still shorter than the other two.


    "It''s not really for us to eat," I said. "I made a mistake last time and caused a diplomatic incident. When we planted the rice varieties, I didn''t know that the Fox Clan regarded the [Purple Orchid Rice] as a sacred crop for their goddess. But it''s all sorted out. I just talked to Prince Baiyu. This time, I''ll send them the unmilled rice which they can use as seeds."


    "It''s not your fault, Teacher!" said Mo. She hadn''t changed much in the past year. She grew a little taller and was now normal weight, but the biggest change was her attitude. Though she was still a bit shy with strangers, she no longer looked down on the ground when she spoke to people.


    "Of course, it''s not my fault! Ha!" I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, I offered to sell fifty percent of the [Purple Orchid Rice] harvest to the Fox Clan at a premium price. That way, they can plant their own crops, too, and not bother us about it after this spring."


    The desert quest had shown me that the clans were able to grow spirit plants and raise spirit animals, though not as well as I could. Most of the spirit animals and plants had died off during the demon invasion generations ago, but it was different now that I was here. The important part was that I had made an effort to help the Fox clan with the sacred rice and wouldn''t be blamed if they failed.


    ¡°They¡¯re not still claiming that all of the rice belongs to them, right?¡± asked Lari.


    I smiled. ¡°I believe that the incident with the teleportation stone put a lot of pressure on them, so they were forced to compromise.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing though, is it? This puts them in our debt,¡± said Kharli.


    I nodded, and the three of them looked delighted. When we got to the field, we moved to our designated piece of land and got to work.


    I took out the hoe from the System toolbelt and, with one downward swing, tilled nine tiles in the shape of a square. Each tile was around three feet square. I continued tilling the soil, keeping a close eye on my energy bar. When it was three-quarters empty, I took out a sack of fertilizer from my inventory. I only had to wave the sack towards the tilled ground, and the contents flew out to cover nine tiles at a time.


    With that, I was ready to plant the seeds. Of course, most farmers did not plant rice seeds. They planted seedlings. The System, however, always used seeds for crops instead of seedlings, cuttings, or grafts. I filled my seed dispenser with rice seeds and then held it over the tilled soil. The seeds flew out of the tool and embedded themselves in the ground in neat rows. When I had used up all the seeds for the day, I took out my watering can and watered the tiles.


    It didn¡¯t take long before I completed my task, but Lari, Kharli, and Mo were already waiting for me. They had less energy, so they always finished before I did.


    ¡°Oh, that was great! I always enjoy planting time,¡± I said to them as we started walking back to the main house.


    Lari put a hand on his left shoulder and rotated it. ¡°Am I the only one whose arms feel tired?¡±


    ¡°I feel fine,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°My arms do feel a bit sore,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal to feel tired after using up all your energy. I feel like tilling the soil is hard work,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna soak longer in the hot spring this time,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Me, too!¡± Mo turned around to face us. Now she was walking backwards. ¡°Teacher, are you going to join us?¡±


    Yesterday I had used the bathtub in my Ranch House instead of the Hot Spring facility in the Courtyard House. Unfortunately, the bathtub did not have the same energy restoration feature as the spring.


    ¡°I¡¯ll join you girls this time,¡± I said.


    I made a detour to check on my pet before going back to the house.


    ¡°Who¡¯s a good little slime baby?¡± I cooed as I lifted my slime pet up in the air and hugged her.


    Cutie, as I had named her, was a golden angel slime. I¡¯d built a cute little [Slime House] for her, but her water bowl needed to be refilled every day. I emptied it and filled it with fresh water. Golden Slimes ate flowers and I inspected the flowerpots to see if she had eaten any. Everything seemed to be in order, so I just petted her for a few minutes before saying goodbye.


    For some reason, my three apprentices always had weird looks on their faces whenever they saw my pet, but no matter how many times I asked them what was wrong, they always said that everything was fine.


    Was it because Cutie was technically a ¡°demon¡±?


    This time, I decided to try to make them see that she was quite tame. Still holding her in my arms, I gestured towards Lari, who was always the best at dealing with animals, and said, ¡°Come here and say hello to her.¡±


    Lari shot Kharli a pleading look, as though asking her to intervene, but she just shrugged. Dragging his feet, and with a look of horrible reluctance on his face, Lari came closer and mumbled a nervous, ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.¡± I took his hand and moved it close enough for Cutie to touch.


    The slime strand on top of Cutie¡¯s head formed the shape of a question mark. ¡°Chu!¡±


    ¡°This is Lari. He¡¯ll take care of you when I¡¯m away,¡± I said to my pet.


    ¡°Chuuuuu,¡± said the slime.


    I waited to see if Cutie would try to touch him, but she didn¡¯t so I put her down after a while and we left her in the [Slime House].


    ¡°You¡¯ll see, there¡¯s really nothing to be afraid of,¡± I said to my apprentices.


    It was only three days later when I found out why the three of them were acting that way, and boy did I feel silly when I realized it was all my fault!

 Chapter 105 - Year 2 Spring Planting

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 105 - It was mint to be</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The next day, I had my coffee out on my porch. It was the first week of spring, and it was cold, but I enjoyed spending the first hour after dawn looking out into the Ancient Hill Forest.


    In this part of the Westerlands, there was moderate rainfall all year round, and the winter was mild. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what type of forest this would be categorized as if it was on Earth, but the trees were mostly fir, pine, oak, elm, ash, beech, birch, maple, and poplar, along with plenty of fruit trees.


    Taking a deep breath, I smelled an intoxicating mix of floral notes from blooming wildflowers, the earthy undertones of ferns and moss, the refreshing coolness of a nearby stream in the forest, and the faint smell of smoke from the kitchen fire in the main house.


    I could hear a symphony of chirping crickets and buzzing insects, as well as the rustling of leaves and the swaying of tree branches, which all combine to create a very soothing symphony.


    There really was no place better than home.


    After finishing my coffee, I went to the main house for breakfast then stopped at the [Slime House] to play with my pet and change her water bowl before going to the rice field to plant more seeds. My three apprentices and I watered yesterday¡¯s crops before we did our tilling, fertilizing, seeding, and watering while I kept an eye on my xp and stats.


    Last winter season, we had planted a lot of trees and grass, but they didn¡¯t give a lot of exp, so I hadn¡¯t leveled up Farming, though I was now close to a milestone level.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 19, Fishing Level 12, Woodcutting Level 19, Cooking Level 5, Herblaw Level 15, Foraging Level 6, Hunting Level 6, Mining Level 4]


    My apprentices were doing well for non-players who got less xp compared to me.


    [Apprentice Name: Kharli


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 14 ¡ú15, Fishing Level 6, Woodcutting Level 11, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 6 ¡ú7, Hunting Level 5]


    [Apprentice Name: Lari


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 14 ¡ú15, Fishing Level 10, Woodcutting Level 10, Cooking Level 1, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 4, Hunting Level 8 ¡ú9]


    [Apprentice Name: Mo


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 14 ¡ú15, Fishing Level 4, Woodcutting Level 11, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 10 ¡ú11, Hunting Level 4]


    ¡°Yes! We finally finished planting the [Purple Orchid Rice],¡± I said.


    ¡°We¡¯re planting the white rice tomorrow?¡± Kharli looked happy about that.


    The kids always liked the fluffy white rice, while I liked all kinds of rice.


    ¡°We¡¯ll plant a bit of red rice for me, then the white rice,¡± I said.


    I had an ongoing contract with the White Tiger clan to supply them with three sacks of white rice every day. The supply had been cut off when I disappeared due to the teleportation accident, but they didn¡¯t hold it against me. Nonetheless, I was going to plant more white rice this year in order to keep up with the demand and have some stored just in case I had to take a break or something.


    ¡°Then we plant the vegetables? What if we don¡¯t finish everything on time?¡± asked Mo.


    I reached out with one hand and tried to smooth out the frown from her forehead with my thumb. ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to eat more rice and meat!¡±


    ¡°I like that,¡± said Lari. ¡°Meat is better than vegetables.¡±


    Mo rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Are you a farmer or a hunter?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m both,¡± said Lari, miming hoeing the soil and then throwing a spear. ¡°I¡¯m Lari the Great, hunter-farmer of Emberstone Farm!¡±


    I gave him a thumbs up. ¡°That¡¯s cool. I don¡¯t think any of us should stay at the farm all the time. It¡¯s good to have other skills.¡±


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    Adventure Incarnate was primarily a farming simulation, but it was fun to level up all the skills.


    ¡°Yes, but farming is the best. I love planting crops! The only thing I like better is harvesting,¡± said Mo. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how easy it seems now.¡±


    ¡°Remember the first time we used our skills? I was so terrified I would fail,¡± said Kharli. She and Mo hooked their arms together.


    ¡°My knees were knocking together,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°And I started crying that time because I thought I was going to be sent back to the orphanage¡­¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I cried, too, when you cried,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°You did? I don¡¯t remember that,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°No more crying, okay?¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve all gotten used to our work.¡±


    ¡°Our work is seriously the best. Teacher, did I tell you that no one back at the orphanage could recognize me?¡± Lari smirked. ¡°They all said stuff like, ¡°Who is this young man?¡¯ or ¡®What brings you here, young master?¡¯ when they saw me.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I looked up and down. ¡°But you¡¯re still the same, mostly.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m a lot taller and handsomer now,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°You¡¯re a lot more boastful now, you mean,¡± said Mo. She and Kharli giggled.


    We stopped at last autumn¡¯s rice field. A few months ago, we had used the [Wild Seed Mix] as a cover crop. This spring, after the plants had died out during the winter freeze, a few hardy seeds were already sprouting.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at what¡¯s happening here,¡± I said.


    I knelt down and examined the tender green sprouts and seedlings. We hadn¡¯t needed to sow the [Wild Seed Mix] again because of the soil¡¯s ¡°seed bank.¡± Living soil contains a good variety of seeds in it which can remain viable for years or decades. I learned this from Adventure Incarnate.


    ¡°It looks like the wild spirit plants from last year dropped quite a lot of seeds which have now sprouted,¡± I said.


    ¡°So we don¡¯t need to plant more this year?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Looks like it,¡± I said.


    ¡°But, Teacher, aren¡¯t we going to use this field this year?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the classroom and I¡¯ll explain everything,¡± I said.


    Though I planned to live in the Ranch House, I put a spare bedroom in the Courtyard House¡¯s inner courtyard to have more storage space for my stuff, along with several work and leisure rooms that we could use.


    We¡¯d only been back a few days, so this was their first time seeing the classroom.


    The Cash Shop had different styles of classrooms, ancient and modern. I had chosen the modern one, of course.


    The walls were painted with vivid primary colors and decorated with posters of cartoon versions of the White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Black Turtle, and Vermillion Bird. At the northern wall was a large whiteboard with a teacher¡¯s desk beside it.


    I gestured at the three wooden student chairs with desks, and the three of them sat down, not without some grumbling from Mo, when she saw that I had placed writing sets on Lari and Kharli¡¯s desks. Mo was dyslexic and had gotten a lot of grief about it when she was in the orphanage.


    ¡°We have some time before lunch, so we will have a planning session,¡± I said. ¡°Last year, this was Emberstone Farm.¡±


    I drew a large square in the middle of the whiteboard and three wiggly lines below it representing the river.


    ¡°This year, my talents were recognized by the White Tiger clan, and I was granted more land. The farm has now doubled in size.¡± I drew a bigger square with the first square in the middle of it and with the wiggly lines bisecting the lower third of the big square. ¡°As you can see, part of the river now runs through the farm.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you own that part of the river?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°No, people can¡¯t own a river, but we are allowed to use it for irrigation and I can build a bridge across it,¡± I said. ¡°However, for now, we will leave it and the southern part of the farm alone. Check your System map and turn on the wind mapping. You will see that the prevailing wind is from the northwest part of the farm to the southeast.¡±


    I waited until the three of them nodded before drawing an X mark on the upper left corner of the big square. ¡°In the future, I will move the house here so that it will be upwind. That¡¯s important because this year I plan to raise poultry and livestock.¡±


    Lari cheered. ¡°I was wondering when we were going to raise animals.¡±


    Mo looked less than pleased. ¡°It won¡¯t be [Lizardwings], right?¡±


    Lari burst out laughing. ¡°Of course not! I¡¯ll bet you my shoes that Teacher definitely won¡¯t raise stinky [Lizardwings] on the farm.¡±


    My lips twitched. ¡°Correct. We won¡¯t be raising [Lizardwings].¡±


    I moved to the right side of the whiteboard and started listing animals: chickens, geese, ducks, quail, rabbits, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, and cattle. ¡°These are, as you may have guessed, all spirit animals, rather than the mundane type of animals that you would normally see on a farm.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. The animals that we¡¯re going to raise are going to be weird ones,¡± Kharli whispered to Lari and Mo, who both laughed.


    ¡°They might be a little weird,¡± I conceded. ¡°Before we can raise animals, we need to prepare a space for them.¡±


    I drew another X, this time near the middle of the right side of the big square.


    ¡°After we finish the planting season, we¡¯ll have to do a lot of woodcutting to clear this area of the farm. Then we have to plant [Spirit Grass] and wait for it to grow before we hatch the eggs,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll start off with the easiest animal, chickens.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to eat the chickens, or raise them for the eggs?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of selling the chicks to other people who will raise them for us. Later we can raise some for the eggs,¡± I said.


    ¡°I wonder what spirit animal eggs taste like¡­¡± Lari leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to that.¡±


    ¡°And now for the most important part of today¡¯s lecture! Now that it¡¯s our second year of farming, we have unlocked a new type of crop to farm.¡± I erased the drawing that I had made and then wrote the title of my next topic: Immortal Herbs.

 Chapter 106 - Immortal Herbs

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 106 - Slime-ly Dill-lighted to Meet Your Pet</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    My apprentices¡¯ eyes grew wide.


    ¡°Immortal Herbs!¡± said Kharli. ¡°You mean like the herbs that cultivators use for making Immortal Pills?¡±


    In this world, "cultivators" didn''t refer to farmers who cultivated crops, but rather to people who practice various forms of martial or mystical arts to become stronger and extend their lifespan.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I smiled proudly at the three of them. ¡°So far, we¡¯ve only grown food, but now that we are in our second year, the System has unlocked Immortal Herbs.¡±


    Lari and Kharli hurriedly opened their notebooks and started taking down notes when I wrote the names of some herbs on the whiteboard - [Immortal Essence Lingzhi], [Golden Elixir Ginseng], [Five-flavor Spirit Fruit], [Thousand Leaves Void Vine], [Awakening Clarity Dew Lily], [Insightful Invocation Peony], [Ruby Whisper Spirit Blossom], and [Treasure Jade Plant].


    ¡°Of course, as you can imagine, it won¡¯t be easy.¡± Underneath the list, I wrote down the word ¡°Permaculture,¡± and underlined it. ¡°Our regular crops die out at the end of the harvest season. These Immortal Herbs, on the other hand, live for years or even decades, and we can harvest them several times a year.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, does this mean that they aren¡¯t actually immortal?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Correct.¡± I was talking a lot more than I normally did, and my mouth was feeling dry, so I took a sip from a glass of water that I got from my inventory. ¡°They aren¡¯t literally immortal, but before a mature plant dies off, it propagates itself. I mean, it leaves behind its offspring. When we plant our garden of Immortal Herbs, we won¡¯t need to replant it unless we want different herbs.¡±


    The three of them exchanged puzzled looks.


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯ll get less exp?¡± Mo looked less than pleased at that.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said.


    ¡°But I am very interested in Immortal Herbs,¡± said Lari. ¡°It might give less exp, but they¡¯re much more valuable than vegetables or rice, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are. This second year of our farming expansion, we will still focus on planting and harvesting the usual plants because it gives the most exp,¡± I said. ¡°However, during the time when the crops are growing and we have a lot of free time, we can focus on other things.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Mo nodded her head. ¡°That makes sense.¡±


    ¡°As I said before, apart from planting Immortal Herbs, we can also raise animals. We have enough space now, though we need to clear the land first,¡± I said.


    My farm was in the middle of the Ancient Hill Forest, which was in the southern part of the Westerlands. We always had to cut down a lot of trees in order to have more space to use.


    I erased the list of words and drew a large square once again. In the upper right corner, I drew a house, and then a few squiggly lines for the river. At the center, I drew a circle and labeled it ¡°Immortal Herbs.¡± Then I drew another circle on the right side above the river and labeled it ¡°Farm Animals.¡±


    ¡°Well, it looks like we''re going to be busy!¡± said Kharli. She and Lari copied my drawing in their notebooks.


    I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not finished yet.¡±


    Smiling, I covered the perimeter of the square with lots of dots.


    ¡°What are those?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Trees, of course! We didn¡¯t plant them before because I was expecting to expand the farm, and I want them to surround the house and the farm.¡± With that, I put down my marker since the lecture was now finished. ¡°That¡¯s the plan. I¡¯ll give you more detailed instructions about the requirements for planting the Immortal Herbs later. Any questions?¡±


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    Mo coughed and Lari scratched his head while giving Kharli a meaningful look. Kharli sighed and said, ¡°Teacher, we don¡¯t have any questions, but we did ask Lord Shuye to visit this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What for?¡± These days, Shuye, my Farm Guide, had a pregnant wife to look after, so he had been sending letters through a messenger instead of meeting me himself.


    My three apprentices looked everywhere but at me.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Er, um, you see¡­¡± Kharli seemed unable to reply properly.


    ¡°Just spit it out,¡± I said.


    ¡°We asked him to talk to you about your demon pet!¡± Mo burst out, then covered her mouth with both her hands.


    ¡°Ah, what she means is that, um, we¡­ Maybe Lord Shuye should talk to you about it¡­?¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°You told on me?¡± If I was still on Earth, I would probably say something like ¡°Snitches get stitches¡± or ¡°Nobody likes a squealer,¡± but I refrained because I didn¡¯t want them to get the idea that I was doing something wrong. I had already told Shuye about my pet.


    ¡°Lord Shuye said that he would explain everything,¡± said Kharli.


    I shook my head and said, ¡°If you have some concerns about my having a demon as a pet, you should have just told me instead of Shuye.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Kharli looked guilty.


    ¡°Never mind, it¡¯s fine.¡± I sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see if lunch is ready.¡±


    ***


    After lunch, Shuye appeared.


    My Farm Guide was a big, shaggy-haired person who had a bearish look about him, but he was a member of the White Tiger clan, not the Bear clan.


    We exchanged the customary greetings, and I inquired about the health of his wife. She was thriving and in good spirits, according to Shuye. I thanked him profusely for joining the search party that had gone looking for me when I went missing, and I gave him the gifts that my housekeeper had prepared, a few dozen bolts of fine silk and cotton.


    Once the pleasantries were finished, he got straight to the point. ¡°I heard you have a new pet. Can I see it?¡±


    ¡°For sure! She¡¯s really cute, and I think you¡¯ll like her.¡± I led the way to the [Slime House].


    Thankfully, based on his blas¨¦ attitude, it seemed that he wasn¡¯t overly concerned about my keeping a demon on the farm.


    When we got there, I opened the door with a flourish and said, ¡°Here you go! A cute pet living in a cute house.¡±


    Shuye¡¯s eyes swept the interior of the [Slime House]. ¡°I see the problem. Your pet must have a very advanced stealth skill. I can¡¯t see it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t see it? It¡¯s right there.¡± I pointed at my pet who was bouncing around excitedly.


    ¡°I mean exactly what I say. I can¡¯t hear or see anything that looks like a pet,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°What?! But that¡¯s impossible. My apprentices can see it.¡±


    ¡°No, they can¡¯t. That¡¯s why they asked me to talk to you,¡± said Shuye.


    I held up a hand to ask him to stop. ¡°Wait, how can that be? They acted like they could see it, and they never said anything to me.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t say anything to you, because you were acting¡­ strange. They thought that your recent adventure might have been more stressful than the healers realized.¡±


    I was speechless.


    Shuye continued to explain. ¡°They¡¯re just kids, and they weren¡¯t sure what to do, so they sent word to me that you were playing with something that they couldn¡¯t see.¡±


    In other words, they thought I was crazy?


    ¡°But you believe me? There really is a pet inside the house,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure there is. Why don¡¯t you try to see if you can turn off its stealth skill?¡± Shuye suggested.


    ¡°Okay, give me a bit of time. I¡¯ll have to figure this out.¡± I got two chairs from my inventory and put them down near the entrance of my pet¡¯s house. ¡°Can you please not look at me while I¡¯m thinking?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure what sort of expression I made when I was interacting with the System, and I didn¡¯t want Shuye to think that I was actually insane.


    ¡°Certainly.¡± Shuye turned the chair away from me and sat down.


    The Adventure Incarnate User Interface was extremely cluttered. There were dozens of main tabs that had tabs on their own. I checked the pet tab and everything under it, but I couldn¡¯t find anything regarding stealth, invisibility, or camouflage.


    I was almost at my wits when I remembered that GodIAm was very strict when it came to game optimization. Had he done something to the visual settings? I checked the various add-ons he had installed, but came up with nothing. Then I checked the display settings.


    Oh my gosh! There it was.


    I had forgotten to toggle the option to ¡°Hide Followers.¡± The moment I switched it off, Shuye sprang up from his chair and stared wide-eyed at my pet.


    ¡°That¡¯s a demon!¡± he said.


    ¡°Nooooooooo,¡± I said, placing my body between him and the door. ¡°Let me explain. You went to the mines, right? You know that the bottom levels are sacred spaces that were dedicated to the god of the place?¡±


    ¡°This is the first that I¡¯ve heard of it,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°You can take my word for it. The god of that place had a golden slime as a pet, and this is one of its descendants,¡± I said. ¡°I know that technically people regard it as a demon, but really it¡¯s a sacred beast.¡±


    Shuye said nothing more and simply continued to observe my pet. I went inside the [Slime House] and picked Cutie up to show that she was quite tame.


    ¡°Okay?¡± I gave Shuye an anxious look.


    He nodded. ¡°All right, I trust you.¡±


    Phew!

 Chapter 107 - A very important visitor

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 107- A Tail of an Un-fox-gettable Visit</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The next day, we woke up before dawn to start our work planting more crops. Spring had just begun, and the first wildflowers were starting to blossom. The air was pleasantly cool, filled with the scent of damp earth and the organic fertilizer that we used. With the pet situation resolved, we were all in a fine mood.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s worse, Teacher hallucinating, or her having an invisible demon pet,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Are you kidding? Obviously, it would have been better if Teacher was just joking around,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°The worst would be if she was¡­¡± Mo made circular gestures with her index finger on the right side of her head to indicate someone going bonkers.


    ¡°No, the way it happened was really nothing much. We could have just easily gone along with her hallucinations,¡± said Lari. ¡°Even if she went crazy, it would be fine.¡±


    I let the kids chatter as much as they liked while we tilled the soil. All we had to do was hit the ground lightly with our hoe, and the System used our energy to loosen and turn over the soil, making it ready for planting.


    ¡°Teacher, half my energy bar is gone,¡± said Lari.


    My other two apprentices said the same thing, so I gave them the assorted vegetable seeds that we had decided to plant. Yesterday, we had finished planting the rice. This season, it was mostly white rice and [Purple Orchid Rice], with a little bit of red rice. The white and purple rice was for us to sell, while the vegetables were for our house pantry. Fengying had hired more staff which meant that we had to plant more vegetables this time.


    ¡°Potatoes?¡± I asked Lari.


    ¡°Potatoes!¡± Lari held his hand out and I poured the seeds into it. Potatoes were one of our favorite crops since they were easy to grow, yielded a lot of food relative to the space they took, and tasted great when they were cooked.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to plant the [Three Sisters] again,¡± said Kharli.


    [Companion Planting: The Three Sisters


    The Three Sisters is a Native American method of planting corn, beans, and squash together in the same mound. The corn grows tall and provides support for the beans to climb. The squash spreads along the ground, providing ground cover and preventing weeds from growing. This method of planting results in a bountiful harvest of all three crops.]


    ¡°Good choice,¡± I said as I handed her the corn, bean, and squash seeds.


    ¡°Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and spinach, please,¡± said Mo. Those were the vegetables that she particularly liked that gave good exp.


    Before planting the seeds, we fertilized the soil. We were only using the basic organic fertilizer, which only gave us a small chance of yielding bigger or more crops.


    I planted a good assortment of vegetables from the list that the Demon Chef had requested. Of course, there were the basic ones like garlic, onions, ginger, bell peppers, chilies, and peppercorns, but he also requested a few greens that I had not planted last year such as gai choy (Chinese mustard greens), gai lan (Chinese broccoli), and chrysanthemum.


    I hummed a little as I used the hand-held seeder to plant the seeds. I wanted to plant these vegetables because they gave good exp relative to my farming level and because there was something very satisfying about growing, harvesting, and cooking your own food. Not to mention, I was the only one who could use the items in my inventory, excluding the simple farming items my apprentices could access. If I wanted my chef to cook spirit vegetables that were superior to mundane vegetables, I had to grow them myself.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Or did I? I had an idea that might work.


    It didn¡¯t take long at all until we finished today¡¯s planting.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Let¡¯s go back to the house and soak in the hot spring to replenish our energy. Then I¡¯ll see you at lunch,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that we have an important visitor coming.¡±


    ¡°How could I forget? Lari hasn¡¯t stopped talking about it for days,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo just rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Dress nicely and be on your best behavior,¡± I said.


    I had received a request from the head of the Fox clan, Lady Hoshi, to tour the farm. She wanted to bless the Purple Orchid Rice and dedicate it to the Fox Goddess. Of course, I had no objection to her doing the ritual if it got the rest of her clan off my back, but I was quite surprised to learn that she would join us for lunch. That was highly unusual behavior. Long ago, there had been a widespread famine and the clan members stopped eating ¡°human food¡± though there was an exception made for the children, sick, and elderly. Nowadays, they only ate demon meat from the Southerlands. It was a point of pride for clan members that they were never seen eating human food in public.


    ¡°Teacher, can you please tell Lari not to wear his fake gold accessories?¡± said Kharli. ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll rust if it rains.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not made of iron; it won¡¯t rust,¡± Lari protested.


    ¡°I¡¯ll present you to her, but, otherwise, you guys are to remain quiet and walk behind me as etiquette dictates. Only talk if she talks to you first. Don¡¯t worry too much though.¡± I gave them a short, last-minute lecture about manners, which they took in good humor.


    Kharli gave me a sidelong look. ¡°Teacher, you¡¯re not worried, right?¡±


    ¡°Nooooo. I¡¯m not.¡± I had placed Cutie back in my pet inventory and demolished the [Slime House], which meant that there wasn¡¯t anything for me to worry about. Probably.


    Back at the house, we bathed and got dressed in simple but elegant silk robes for the occasion. Not long before noon, the delegation from the Fox clan appeared.


    At least, I expected it to be a delegation, but when I went to the front gate to greet them, only Lady Hoshi and her attendant Meihui were there.


    ¡°Hello! Hello! I¡¯m here! What is this cursed house?¡± asked Lady Hoshi.


    The little girl looked just as I had seen her last - cute and lively, with bright brown eyes, and reddish-brown hair. Sadly, however, she didn¡¯t have fox ears and tails in her complete human form.


    Meihui, on the other hand, was a revelation. A tall, voluptuous woman with red hair and green eyes, today she was a vision of a perfect aristocratic lady. She was wearing an elaborate black and gold silk gown, and her towering coiffure was pierced with at least half a dozen golden hairpins. Waist accessories made of jade pendants and gold disks, designed to keep the skirt of one¡¯s clothes pressed down, hung from her belt and made a pleasant tinkling sound whenever she moved.


    ¡°Welcome to my humble home. It isn¡¯t cursed. It¡¯s a property that was handed down through my bloodline inheritance.¡± Since it was an informal occasion, I simply clasped my hands and bowed slightly from the waist. Then I introduced my three apprentices to Lady Hoshi.


    After the greetings, the irrepressible girl grabbed her attendant Meihui by the hand and pointed up at the wooden sign above the front gate. ¡°What¡¯s that? What¡¯s that? What¡¯s that?¡±


    What was she so excited about? ¡°It¡¯s a wooden sign.¡±


    She rolled her eyes at my cluelessness and said, ¡°I know it¡¯s a sign! Why can¡¯t I read it? What is that language?¡±


    Oh. ¡°Er, it¡¯s, um, something that came with the house. It says ¡®Flower and Jade Pavilion,¡¯ that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Ew!¡± Lady Hoshi cringed and then turned to Meihui and, covering her mouth with one hand, whispered loudly, ¡°Does this mean she¡¯s already living together with that ugly?¡±


    Of course, I knew she was talking about Prince Baiyu. Some of her clan elders were agitating for Lady Hoshi to marry him because he was the sole heir of the ruler of the Westerlands. Lady Hoshi strongly opposed the match and always referred to the Prince as ¡°that ugly.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not,¡± said Meihui. She raised an eyebrow and gave me a look as though to silently ask, ¡°Are you?¡±


    ¡°This has been the name of this house since it was built, before I met Prince Baiyu.¡± My lips twitched. Their reactions were understandable since the Prince¡¯s name meant ¡°white jade.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I want to go inside a cursed house,¡± said Lady Hoshi. ¡°Are you a witch?¡±


    ¡°A witch? Me?¡± This was the first time that I even knew that there was such a concept in this world.


    ¡°I heard witches live in the deep dark woods in a cursed house and brew poisonous potions in their cauldrons,¡± said Lady Hoshi.


    ¡­ Wow, that did sound like me!


    I mean, my Herblaw level wasn¡¯t high enough for me to use a cauldron yet, but her description was right on point.


    I burst out laughing. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I am! Are you scared? It¡¯s okay, you can go back home if you like.¡±


    ¡°Well, it depends! Are you a good witch or a bad witch?¡± Lady Hoshi didn¡¯t seem scared at all. Rather, she looked excited about meeting a witch.


    ¡°You¡¯ll just have to find out, won¡¯t you?¡± And with that, I led her and Meihui inside.


    At least I tried to.

 Chapter 108 - Poetic Interlude

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 108 - The witch''s hex-traordinary banquet</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The main house was surrounded on all four sides by tall stone walls, and the main gate was at the southeastern corner. Directly behind the main gate was a spirit wall. According to folklore, evil spirits couldn¡¯t turn around corners, so they would be blocked by the solid stone block spirit wall which was carved with dragons.


    I thought everything was in order, but I hadn¡¯t thought about an unimportant factor.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you have a proper menkan?¡± Lady Hoshi gave the door a horrified look.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The menkan, or threshold, looked fine to me.


    ¡°Something like this won¡¯t protect the house.¡± Lady Hoshi held her hand around six inches above the current doorsill. ¡°It¡¯s way too low! It should be at least this tall.¡±


    Was she talking about the jiangshi or hopping zombie of folklore? The menkan was supposed to be built high enough for them to be unable to hop over. I wouldn¡¯t have thought that they had that type of belief in this world. I made a soft noncommittal sound since I wasn¡¯t the superstitious type who cared about that.


    The little girl gave me a look and then reached into her sleeve. Taking out a strip of yellow paper, she held out her hand to Meihui who handed her a brush dipped in vermillion ink. She wrote a few characters in cursive script. I jumped back in alarm when a loud crackling sound and yellow sparks appeared when she flung the talisman up to the lintel of the door.


    ¡°I did it! I blessed the cursed house!¡± Lady Hoshi flung her arms up in victory and did a little dance. She was almost unbearably cute, and I wish I still had my smartphone so I could record it.


    ¡°Can I touch it?¡± I pointed at the talisman. When Meihui nodded, I poked the piece of paper with a finger and stealthily tried to use the System¡¯s [Examine] command, but nothing happened. Mostly, only Adventure Incarnate items could be examined in order to view their descriptions. ¡°Wait a minute, it doesn¡¯t seem to be attached to the door.¡±


    The piece of paper was floating a fraction of an inch in front of the top of the door.


    ¡°What?!¡± Lady Hoshi stopped dancing and looked more closely at her talisman. ¡°Oh no, did it fail?¡±


    ¡°It activated,¡± said Meihui.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I guess it did work,¡± said Lady Hoshi though she looked a little uncertain about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it did. That was very impressive,¡± I said.


    ¡°Our little clan leader is very gifted,¡± said Meihui. She patted her little girl on the head. ¡°You did a great job.


    Lady Hoshi giggled and shot me a victorious look. ¡°Now your house is properly protected!¡±


    ¡°Wonderful. Thank you very much. Shall we enter?¡± I gestured towards the doorway. We passed through it into the outer courtyard where the household staff lived and then through the second gate, also called the flower-hung gate, into the inner courtyard.


    ¡°Why is your house full of dragon decorations?¡± asked Lady Hoshi.


    ¡°I just like it that way,¡± I said.


    ¡°Your house is much bigger and nicer than I thought it would be,¡± said Lady Hoshi.


    The type of house and the number of buildings that one could build on their farm in Adventure Incarnate was limited by their farming levels. I could only build a Two-Courtyard House at the moment. At higher levels, I could build Three, Four, Five, and Even Six-Courtyard Houses.


    During our stay in the southern desert, we had gotten used to living in a much bigger place, and I didn¡¯t want to downgrade, so I had rebuilt the main house to twice the size that it had been last year and added a large garden on the eastern side.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said.


    There had been a bit of a debate over where we should host our guests. My apprentices favored the inner courtyard, and Fengying suggested the main hall, but I wanted it to be held in the garden for a more casual experience.


    Unlike the main house, which was composed of straight angles and perfect geometric symmetry, the garden was the opposite. A long, winding path offered half a dozen pretty views of the flowers, decorative bushes, weeping willows, and a small but very picturesque pond.


    I wasn¡¯t a particular fan of scholar''s rocks, but an Asian garden was incomplete without them, so I placed three towering rocks strategically around the pond along with some bamboo. People liked the way that the limestone rocks had been sculpted into interesting asymmetrical curves. My household had dubbed the smallest one ¡°Flying Fish Leaping over the Waves¡± while the two bigger ones were a set called ¡°Lion Playing with an Auspicious Cloud.¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Of course, I added plenty of rose bushes since I was particularly fond of that flower that reminded me of my mother.


    ¡°How elegant!¡± said Lady Hoshi. She hopped over to a nearby rosebush and smelled the flowers. She reached for the nearest blossom, then drew her hand back with a yelp. ¡°Ow!¡±


    [Hearts Garden Rose:


    A deep burgundy red rose with ruffled petals and a heart-shaped center. Beware of its sharp thorns. Not poisonous.]


    ¡°Let me see.¡± Meihui examined her finger. ¡°It¡¯s fine, just be careful next time.¡±


    ¡°I should¡¯ve known better than to touch flowers that were grown by a witch!¡± said Lady Hoshi.


    ¡°Hey, now, they¡¯re just regular thorns. Let¡¯s not exaggerate, okay?¡± I took a pair of scissors from my inventory and cut off the rose that she wanted, making sure to remove the thorns as well. ¡°Here, a present for you.¡±


    All of the System items in my house were bound to the house unless I modified them in some way. For example, the wooden tables couldn¡¯t normally be taken out of the house unless I cut them up. Then the wooden planks could be used by other people. The rose bushes functioned the same way.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Lady Hoshi. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a flower like this.¡±


    I cut another one for Meihui and we continued walking towards the center of the garden where lunch had been set up with pretty white tables and chairs, lace tablecloth, elegant silverware, crystal glasses, and fine white porcelain.


    The food was served Central Region-Style. The four God Clans of the Western, Eastern, Southern, and Northern regions had their own culture and cuisine, while the Central continent which was ruled over by humans was considered the most advanced. I heard that Central was currently undergoing a mini industrial revolution while the Westerlands was still stuck in the feudal agricultural era.


    Thus, the Demon Chef who ruled over my kitchen decided to show off by preparing Central cuisine. He wasn¡¯t an actual demon, but he was called that for some reason. Today he and his assistants had cooked a dozen dishes, all of them small servings, beautifully and ornately decorated on a large plate, that featured seasonal flavors. Right now that meant lots of fresh spring vegetables like bean sprouts, amaranth leaves, red toon shoots, kai lan, malantou, bamboo shoots, three-leaf clover, and so forth, which have mostly been foraged from the forest.


    ¡°I hope you like the food,¡± I said.


    As was usual while in this hierarchal society, Lady Hoshi, Meihui, and I dined at a separate table from the rest of my household. Lari, Kharli, and Mo were waited on by the new maids and serving men that Fengying had hired while Fengying herself supervised the service at my table with our older, more senior staff. I noticed with approval that my three apprentices had all mastered their table manners, which was a nice change from all the whining I had to endure last year when they claimed that this type of etiquette was unnecessary for them to learn.


    ¡°Everything looks wonderful!¡± said Lady Hoshi as she admired the artfully arranged wild mushrooms, confit leek, and grilled demon pig belly.


    Every time a new dish was brought out, Meihui tasted it before handing it over to Lady Hoshi. This was not to check for poison, but rather to investigate whether the qi it contained was gentle enough for a child to eat since everything that we served was, of course, full of spiritual energy.


    They were all praises for the quality of the food and the picturesque setting. All in all, I would say it was quite successful. Afterward, I led them to the paddy where the [Purple Orchid Rice] was growing.


    Lady Hoshi''s eyes widened in horror. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! The Fox Goddess¡¯ rice is cursed, too!¡±


    Though I couldn¡¯t feel it myself, there was apparently some sort of force field that prevented outsiders from touching my crops. Shuye described it as an ¡°aura of ominous qi.¡±


    ¡°The plants that grow on my farm are all protected by my bloodline inheritance,¡± I said.


    ¡°Your ancestors must be quite formidable,¡± said Meihui.


    ¡°Hmm. As you can see, this means that the rice is safe here,¡± I said.


    ¡°The qi in the air all around your farm is quite intense,¡± said Meihui.


    ¡°That¡¯s how I¡¯m able to grow spiritual plants,¡± I said.


    Meihui and Lady Hoshi exchanged a glance of mutual understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly like the Legend of the Witch of the Woods,¡± said Lady Hoshi.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I shrugged.


    The two of them simply shook their heads and then started on the blessing ceremony which consisted of them circling the field waving a small incense burner full of sweet-smelling tree resins and herbs which they held between their hands.


    Before they left, they gave me a few bolts of fine silk as a gift, and I handed them a box of [Dewy Glow Potions].


    Then Meihui took out a blank scroll and wrote a short poem on it in beautiful calligraphy. From the way the others reacted, this was obviously her showing me great honor, and that they were extremely impressed by her action.


    Autumn''s fiery red,


    A fox dances through the woods,


    Leaves rustle with secrets.


    ¡°Wonderful! Thank you very much for the poem,¡± I said.


    Not to be outdone, I took out a silk fan and wrote something of my own. I had prepared a poem in advance since Fengying had told me that this was a tradition among the Fox clan. On Earth, I was considered pretty good at calligraphy myself, though it was not a very popular art form for people my age. Here, however, calligraphy was a basic skill, therefore I was considered just competent.


    Nonetheless, I thought I did pretty well.


    Underneath moon''s glow,


    Night whispers, a lullaby,


    Blossoms unfurling,


    Leaping birds in azure sky,


    Overcoming shadows,


    Cascading dreams take flight,


    Keys to new worlds unlock.


    Meihui picked up the fan and read the poem. She frowned and, suddenly, her eyes started glowing red. ¡°What is the meaning of this? These characters you wrote¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what she was talking about, but I took a step back as her entire body stiffened, and the temperature around her dropped.

 Chapter 109 - Breaking through to the next cultivation level

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 109 - Cultivation insight farm-ulae</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Lady Hoshi covered her mouth with her hands, wide-eyed with shock. Two cute fox ears popped up on top of her head, and a fluffy tail appeared behind her. Her control of her human form tended to falter when she was excited. ¡°She¡­ She¡¯s gained an insight, and she¡¯s breaking through to the next cultivation level!¡±


    I took her by the hand and drew her away from her attendant. ¡°Maybe we should give her some space? This is a good thing, right?¡±


    ¡°This is a very good thing! She¡¯s been stuck in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment for ages,¡± said Lady Hoshi.


    Of course, I knew that almost all the members of the god clans, and a few lucky humans, were cultivators, though half of them were quite low-level. In this world, ¡°cultivation¡± was what they called the process of growing more powerful by cultivating or growing qi.


    The cultivator levels or ranks were, from lowest to highest, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul. In ancient times, people had ascended to higher levels, but these days the highest ranks were Nascent Soul cultivators.


    That was the case only for other people. I myself had a different way of leveling up using my System.


    Meihui seemed to regain her consciousness for a few seconds. She gestured towards Lady Hoshi, motioning her to move farther away. We obliged, then Meihui sat down on the ground in a lotus position and closed her eyes. She was clearly meditating.


    Moments later, I heard a commotion as some sort of fast-moving blur streaked toward us, and when it came to a stop beside Fengying, I saw that it was her husband Deming.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, dear,¡± said Fengying.


    Deming looked her up and down, then nodded. He didn¡¯t say a word and simply stood beside her silently.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s him, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lady Hoshi whispered to me while pointing at Deming.


    ¡°Yes? That¡¯s my chef, Deming,¡± I said.


    Now that it seemed that we weren¡¯t in any actual danger, my apprentices and the members of my household staff, who had been quiet thus far, started chattering.


    ¡°An insight! Is it because of the poem that Teacher wrote?¡± Kharli asked the others excitedly.


    ¡°I saw her practicing writing that yesterday, and I didn¡¯t notice anything unusual,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re not a cultivator,¡± said Lari.


    Lady Hoshi, meanwhile, seemed quite interested in Deming. ¡°Is it true what they say about him?¡±


    ¡°That he¡¯s a demon in the kitchen? Yes, it¡¯s totally true. I hardly dare even step inside when he¡¯s working there,¡± I said.


    The little fox girl rolled her eyes. ¡°No! I mean, the part about him being extremely handsome!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I whipped my head around to check out the object of Lady Hoshi¡¯s curiosity. No matter how I looked, he seemed just like an ordinary gray-haired old man.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? You really don¡¯t know? I can¡¯t believe it,¡± said Lady Hoshi. ¡°Everybody knows that it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°What? How come?¡±


    She giggled and gestured for me to bend down for her to whisper in my ear. ¡°He fled from his old job because the lady of the house fell in love with him. Ever since then, he¡¯s disguised himself as an old man.¡±


    ¡°No way. Wait, what about Fengying, his wife?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not a cultivator, so that¡¯s what she looks like,¡± said Lady Hoshi. ¡°Actually, she looks ten years younger than before. That¡¯s because of your [Dewy Glow Potion], she says.¡±


    Huh? I hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but now that she pointed it out, Fengying definitely looked younger than before.


    ¡°That, and the fact that she eats spiritual food every day,¡± added Lady Hoshi. ¡°Do you think that there¡¯s a chance that your chef will show us his real form?¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    I straightened up and glanced again at Deming. ¡°I¡¯m definitely not going to ask for you. You can ask him if you like.¡±


    Lady Hoshi pouted.


    I expected Meihui¡¯s meditation to take at least an hour, maybe even half of a day, but after a mere fifteen minutes, she opened her eyes. Lady Hoshi hopped over to her and gave her a hug.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± asked Lady Hoshi.


    ¡°I¡¯m about to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment,¡± she said. The expression on her face was one of amazement. Meihui was always good-looking, and now she was almost blindingly beautiful because she practically seemed to be glowing with delight.


    ¡°Yay!¡± Lady Hoshi hugged her tighter.


    Meihui got up and bowed deeply to me. ¡°Thank you very much. You¡¯ve given me a great treasure. Could you please sign this?¡±


    She held out the fan to me and I signed the other side of it with a flourish.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± I said.


    We exchanged a few more pleasantries and goodbyes, and they left.


    ¡°Phew! That was exhausting,¡± I said to my apprentices. ¡°It¡¯s nice to have visitors now and then, but I still prefer the quiet life.¡±


    ¡°They were nice,¡± said Kharli.


    The others nodded.


    Fengying approached me and said, ¡°Deming would like a copy, too.¡±


    ¡°Of the poem? You guys know it¡¯s just a regular one. You saw me practicing my calligraphy,¡± I said.


    Fengying shrugged.


    ¡°Well, okay.¡± I wrote the same poem down on another scroll, signed it with my name, and gave it to her. ¡°Meihui was probably very close to a breakthrough and it was just a coincidence that it happened here. They told me that the qi here is quite intense. It had nothing to do with the poem.¡±


    ¡°May I have a copy, too?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡­ And that was why I spent an hour making two dozen copies of the poem. Everyone seemed convinced that it was going to be extremely valuable in the future, so I made a lot of extras in case I needed to give someone a gift later on.


    ***


    Once the excitement of the Fox clan¡¯s visit had died down, I went right back to work.


    Last winter, I explored the Mines, also called the Chitinous Caverns, in the Southerlands where I had managed to unlock both the [Mushroom Cave] and [Mini Hydroponic Farm].


    I went back to my [Ranch House] and changed into shorts and a T-shirt before using the [Portal Door] that I had affixed to the northern side of my living room wall. The portal had appeared as a buildable option, with a limit of one per house, when I rebuilt the farm. Of course, at the moment the only place that I could go to was the Mines, but it was a very convenient item indeed. I simply stepped through the door and emerged at the lowest level of the Mines.


    Though I probably didn¡¯t need to do it, I still put my puppet, Mr. Bear, on [Guard Mode]. Mr. Bear was looking particularly spiffy today since I had recently washed and dried his plush toy body and tied a new black ribbon on his neck. The contrast between the black ribbon and pink plush fabric was really cute.


    Since I had ¡°conquered¡± the Boss, it no longer gave me any trouble. I didn¡¯t see it around much. With my puppet guardian by my side, I took the elevator up to level 90.


    The use of the hidden elevator was another reward that I got for reaching the lowest level.


    Whistling happily, I went to the [Mini Hydroponic Farm] first. This deep underground, level 90 should¡¯ve been a gloomy, scary place, but this specific area was an ancient temple of healing. Pure white tiles covered the walls and floor, and giant luminous pearls as big as my head were mounted on marble pedestals all around the perimeter of the cave.


    I checked the [Hydroponic Kit] I had set up. The nutrient level, temperature, and plants were doing okay, and I didn¡¯t need to do anything yet. In fact, this place wasn¡¯t particularly valuable, since my farming level was still low. I was simply growing ordinary crops like strawberries, tomatoes, chili peppers, mint, rosemary, and carnation flowers in it.


    Next, I went to the [Mushroom Cave]. In contrast to the other rooms, this one really was dark, damp, and gloomy, but I didn¡¯t care. It was filled with mushrooms of every shape, size, and color, many of which glowed like something from a fairy tale. I had set up mushroom growing shelves in this cave, and I was quite excited to see that there were plenty of mushrooms ready to be harvested today.


    There were so many different varieties of mushrooms here that it was dizzying. All of them were rare gourmet ingredients, though they were only low-grade. Deming loved them since they were like truffles in this world, a food ingredient that gave dishes an earthy and refined taste.


    [Celestiaspore:


    A button cap mushroom whose light blue cap seems dusted by sparkling silver. Has a delicate, ethereal flavor and aroma.]


    The [Mini Hydroponic Farm] gave Farming exp while the [Mushroom Cave] gave Foraging exp. It wasn¡¯t a lot, but I was able to get the exp with very little effort. One could think of it as the player¡¯s reward for beating the Boss. I should be able to harvest mushrooms every three to four days, while the stuff I was growing on the hydroponic farm should be ready in half the time it took on the farm.


    ¡°What a haul!¡± I said to my puppet as I held up a basket full of yummy mushrooms. Somehow, being here again made me revert to my habit of talking to Mr. Bear.


    I returned home in great spirits and had a lively dinner with my apprentices who were making fun of me by repeatedly reciting the poem I had written, complete with dramatic gestures and ridiculous expressions on their faces.


    ¡°Underneath moon''s glow,¡± intoned Kharli in a sepulchral tone while crossing her eyes.


    Mo pushed Kharli¡¯s shoulder down and ¡°whispered¡± loudly in her ear, ¡°Night whispers, a lullaby.¡±


    ¡°Blossoms unfurling.¡± Lari crouched down and then got up fast, spreading his arms and twirling like a ballerina.


    ¡°Leaping birds in azure sky,¡± they chorused as they hopped around like demented rabbits.


    My lips twitched. The maids lost it and started laughing like crazy at their antics.


    ¡°Overcoming shadows, Cascading dreams take flight, Keys to new worlds unlock,¡± they said, while being in horrible sync and making a series of poses like martial artists, except they kept comedically bumping into each other and falling down.


    ¡°Great, you guys are ready for the circus!¡± I said, laughing until my stomach hurt.


    There''s never a dull moment at Emberstone Farm!

 Chapter 109.5 - The ancient principles of the flow of cosmic qi

    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    I have a healthy respect for geomancy. A lot of the principles they follow make good sense. For example, my house is oriented on a north-south axis, with a hill to the north and flowing water to the south, exactly as prescribed by the ancient principles of the flow of cosmic qi currents.


    But I was tempted to tear up the report I received from Lady Meihui of the Fox Clan. I understand that she¡¯s from a famous family of diviners and geomancy experts, but ¡°Ancient Profound Five Elements Soaring Divine Formation¡±? ¡°Empyrean Dragon Gate Secret Primordial Decree Pattern¡±? ¡°Evil Repelling Mystical Essence Convergence Resonance Matrix¡±? ¡°Sacred Infinite Spiritual Gathering Array¡±? ¡°Nine Palaces Millennium Convergence Cipher¡±?


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    I could hardly make sense of the thirty pages of gobbledygook. Thank goodness Lady Meihui at least wrote a summary of her findings at the end of the report.


    Apparently, the lines and proportions of Baroness Violet¡¯s house are in perfect harmony, echoing some esoteric heavenly mystery, and there are myriad hidden dragon patterns all over its walls which serve to gather qi.


    Could Baroness Violet be the descendant of one of the Azure Dragon¡¯s royal families?

 Chapter 110 - Experimental Crop

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 110 - Crop-perating in an ex-pear-iment</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The cloudless sky was the color of the Microsoft Windows¡¯ Blue Screen of Death. I hoped it wasn¡¯t a portent of things to come.


    I got up off my bed and yawned, stretching my arms above my head before walking to the large picture window that I had set on the northern side of my bedroom.


    The main house was the traditional kind that was like a fortress. The inhabitants of that type of house looked inwards and enjoyed the security provided by the four walls enclosing them.


    The [Ranch House] where I lived, on the other hand, was designed with a different philosophy in mind. The indoor and outdoor areas blended together as seamlessly as I could make them.


    Last year, I had painstakingly decorated my backyard, but this year I removed all the walls around my [Ranch House] and simply enjoyed the view instead of making my own garden. Perhaps my long underground adventure had given me a taste for open skies and unmanicured wilderness.


    Taking a cup of piping hot coffee from my inventory, I sipped it while enjoying the view of the Ancient Hill Forest right outside my house. The ecology of this world was different from that of Earth, and I was hardly an expert on forests, so I couldn¡¯t classify what type of forest I was in except that it had moderate rainfall during all the seasons except for winter.


    Actually, did oak, beech, maple, and the scholar tree even grow in the same type of forest on Earth? I had a vague idea that they definitely didn¡¯t, but the trees here were not exactly the same as they were on Earth. Things here grew partly through the power of qi, and strange life forms could be found in unexpected places.


    I looked out at the stand of beech trees near my house, and I thought that the tall, straight trunks were quite graceful and beautiful. According to Shuye, they were a special variety that had been planted here by his ancestors for their forked branches which were used for divination ceremonies. Oak trees were considered the king of the forest, while the beech tree was the queen. I could see why. Their delicate green canopies in early springtime looked like fine lace.


    I enjoyed the view for a few more minutes before taking a shower, putting my work clothes on, and heading out for breakfast at the main house.


    ¡°Good morning, Teacher,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said. ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°They went on ahead to start planting, and left me behind here to let you know that they had started,¡± he said. ¡°Teacher, may I go now?¡±


    I looked up. It was nearly midmorning already because I had slept late today. ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡±


    The kids all knew what to do anyway. I ate a leisurely breakfast before joining my apprentices at the field east of the house and north of the river.


    ¡°Did you guys finish watering the plants?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± they chorused.


    ¡°All right. What do you think about the soil in this field?¡± This was the very first place where I had started farming. Back then, I planted potatoes here.


    ¡°It seems the same as the others,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see any difference,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yes, cultivators can sense qi, but normal humans like us cannot. Shuye reassures me, however, that the energy here is quite good, better than the other parts of the farm,¡± I said.


    ¡°I wish I could sense it,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°So do I! But it¡¯s fine. The reason why this soil is the best is because I planted cover crops thrice here. Once after the spring harvest, then the summer harvest, and, finally, the autumn harvest,¡± I said.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°And cover crops make the soil quality better,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Yes, theoretically we should be able to grow the more difficult crops here because I prepared for it,¡± I said. ¡°The [Wild Seed Mix] I used is meant to make the nutrients the soil easier for plants to use.¡±


    [Wild Seed Mix:


    Contains a mixture of seeds, mainly wildflowers, grasses, and legumes that are used as cover crops, which are plants grown to cover the soil surface to protect it from erosion, improve soil structure and add nutrients to the soil.]


    My apprentices nodded to show that they understood.


    ¡°I¡¯m excited. Let¡¯s do it!¡± I said.


    Then we got to work plowing the soil, spreading fertilizer on it, planting tea seeds, and then watering them.


    [Tea Plant Seeds:


    The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) contains spiritual energy that potentially offers health benefits and may boost cultivation slightly.]


    Spiritual tea was a rare and prized substance in this world. Growing it was difficult, but I really wanted to do it.


    ¡°Teacher, will the tea give us more exp?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Yes, but not by that much,¡± I said.


    In truth, the choice of tea was more of a cultural thing rather than to raise our farming levels. Socially, tea farming was on a higher level compared to rice farming. It would be nice for me to be able to grow my own tea that I could serve to guests. Furthermore, I knew for a fact that cultivators prized it above all else, except for Cultivation Pills.


    ¡°Madam Fengying is already predicting that all the human cultivator clans will be going wild for our tea,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, harvesting is only one part of tea production. It has to be dried and stuff.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t quite certain about the details, but one didn¡¯t just pluck tea leaves and call it a day. There were many steps to producing various types of tea. Fortunately, I should be able to build a [Tea Machine] soon.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the chef knows how to do it,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°For sure,¡± I said. ¡°Still, my plan is for us to just use the first harvest for ourselves. I¡¯ll only sell after we produce at least medium-grade tea. I don¡¯t want us to be known as anything less than the best tea producers in the world.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we the only ones who grow spiritual tea?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Not quite.¡± When I first transmigrated into this world, I was told that I was the only spiritual farmer here. That was true, since no one was actively planting spiritual crops. However, there were some human families and clans that had spiritual plants, trees, and animals that they had inherited from their ancestors. The Fox clan was one example. They had a spiritual tree that they used for purification rituals. ¡°I heard there are some clans that are secretly hiding their precious tea plants from outsiders.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just a rumor though, Teacher. No one has seen publicly available spiritual tea in generations,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Maybe. One more thing that I have to add is that the best tea is generally grown in the mountains where it¡¯s wet and there¡¯s a mist that covers the plants every morning,¡± I said. ¡°Here we will have to cover the plants right before harvest so that the leaves don''t get too dried out in the sunlight.¡±


    ¡°Cover them? With magic?¡± Kharli looked confused.


    ¡°No, I mean like with a cloth.¡± I pointed at some nearby trees. ¡°We¡¯ll hang them from there and there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I thought it was some sort of System magic,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Sorry, no. Just a mundane cloth is enough. Are we all done? Energy bar empty?¡± I asked. When they nodded, we returned to the rice fields where I inspected the seedlings. ¡°These are big enough. Let¡¯s flood the fields.¡±


    We carefully opened the irrigation gates to allow the water to slowly trickle into the rice fields. We spent the rest of the day keeping a close eye on the process. It wouldn''t do to wash away our crops through our inattention.


    ¡°Are we going to plant more tea tomorrow?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°It¡¯s the last day of planting season,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Why? Do you guys have something else that you want to plant?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We were just thinking about the crocus flowers that you gift to Lord Shuye,¡± said Kharli.


    I could tell by the way that the other two were looking closely at her that this was something they had all decided to say. Kharli was their leader in many things, especially when it came time for them to speak up as a group.


    ¡°What about it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we grow a field of those? One of the most expensive spices in the world is made from the crocus,¡± said Kharli. ¡°That¡¯s what Haoran said.¡±


    Haoran? Oh yes, he was one of Deming¡¯s assistants, the one who worshiped bees.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what they were talking about.


    ¡°Saffron!¡± said Lari. ¡°They call it red gold!¡±


    ¡°Well, do as you like,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll plant more tea.¡±


    If Haoran said the crocus flower I had was the same one that produced saffron, then no doubt he was correct. Saffron wasn¡¯t in Adventure Incarnate, however, so I was reluctant to try it and potentially lose one whole day¡¯s planting time. The crocus flower was normally planted as food for the bees on the farm and sold or given away as a gift to the Farm Guide. There was no in-game mechanic where one harvested saffron from the flower.


    Still, I decided that it would be best to give the kids my permission because I was curious to know if they could successfully produce something that was not in the System.


    Wouldn¡¯t that be awesome?

 Chapter 111 - Not a very good fruit ninja

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 111 - Triple 1''s! Cheers to the ''unattached'' - may your spirits stay ''unmatched''!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The next day, everything went without a hitch. I planted more tea while the kids planted crocus flowers. At this point, normally we would go back to the main house for a lavish feast to mark the end of the planting season. However we''d just had a feast with the head of the Fox clan, and I thought that it would be ridiculous to have two in the same week.


    That¡¯s why I decided to let the kids go on a shopping trip to Anwei instead. They deserved it after working hard last year. Before they left. I asked them an important question. ¡°Tell me, do you feel that anything has changed? Do you have more energy? Something like that.¡±


    The three of them exchanged looks. Lari scratched his head and said, ¡°I noticed that even when my energy bar is almost empty, I don¡¯t feel exhausted anymore.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I haven¡¯t felt like I¡¯m about to collapse,¡± said Mo, who was the one who often had problems regulating her energy.


    ¡°Is it because we leveled up?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s because of the mushrooms that I gave the chef to use,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re supposed to boost our stats slightly, but I haven¡¯t seen any indication of it in the System.¡±


    When the cave mushrooms had been added to the game, they had status effects like Clarity, Regeneration, Bravery, Stone Skin, Haste, etc. but that had been removed later because it made combat too unbalanced. Nonetheless, the mushrooms should still give a small boost to a player''s stats.


    ¡°We ate magic mushrooms?¡± Kharli¡¯s eyes widened.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Can we have more tomorrow?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Why not? I¡¯m afraid that by telling you about it now, your imagination might run away with you and we won¡¯t be able to know for sure if the mushrooms work,¡± I said. The placebo effect could be quite powerful. ¡°I notice that I have a little bit more energy, but really not a lot. It could just be that I had a good night''s sleep.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really noticed anything,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Never mind, it¡¯s fine. Maybe the mushrooms I had were just too low-level,¡± I said. ¡°Go and have fun in the city. Remember, don¡¯t go over your budget.¡±


    Fengying and I had already discussed the amount of money that they could use, and what they could use it on, which was primarily new clothing.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± They bowed and then left, chatting merrily about all the things that they wanted to buy in the city. Kharli wanted some new skirts. Mo wanted more trousers. Lari wanted nicer jackets.


    As for me, I planned to spend my afternoon using my inventory to replenish our pantry. Most of the items in my inventory were bound to me and, therefore, couldn¡¯t be used by other people unless I processed them first. I believe the reason behind this was that, for example, the [Strawberries] in my inventory were different from [Sliced Strawberries]. All I had to do was use my knife on the fruits and I could then give the sliced fruits to the Demon Chef for him to use however he saw fit.


    I had been unable to do this before until my ¡°cooking curse¡± was resolved by a quest. Due to my low cooking level, I still sometimes failed in slicing fruits, but it was worth a try.


    ¡°It¡¯s just you and me, Yinuo,¡± I said to the head maid. We were in the large industrial kitchen that I had set up in the inner courtyard. Unlike the other rooms which were exquisitely decorated, this part of the house was purely functional. Three huge refrigerators dominated the southern side, while the western side gleamed with stainless steel cooking ranges and ovens. The northern side was full of shelves containing every sort of kitchen supplies one might need, such as pots, pans, knives, mixing bowls, whisks, measuring cups, etc. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay with staying here instead of going on the shopping trip with the others?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Baroness. I¡¯m saving my money for my dowry,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh, who¡¯s the lucky man?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t found one yet,¡± she said.


    Yinuo was a tall, bony woman of around thirty. She had long black hair down to her knees and large brown eyes. I thought she was rather pretty.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get to work. I¡¯ll slice the fruits, and you will put them in these containers.¡± I gestured at the porcelain bowls, small glass jars, and large clay pots piled up beside my workspace. There was plenty of counter space on the island in the middle of the kitchen where I had decided to work.


    She nodded. Without further ado, I took out a dozen [Strawberries] from my inventory and a knife from my System toolbelt. Yinuo was used to how my apprentices and I seemingly pulled out items from nowhere. Clan members and cultivators in this world had a ¡°soul space¡± where they could use the stored items, so this wasn¡¯t something too unusual.


    The System guided my hands in cutting the fresh strawberries into quarters.


    ¡°Oops.¡± Instead of turning the [Strawberries] into [Sliced Strawberries], they somehow turned into [Burnt Strawberries]. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how these could have gotten burned.¡±


    ¡°The chef said that cursed ingredients are hard to cook,¡± said Yinuo.


    I sighed. ¡°These aren¡¯t cursed. Can you try touching them?¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I pushed a [Strawberry] towards her. She reached out her hand towards the fruit then withdrew it.


    ¡°There seems to be a force that is preventing me from touching it,¡± she said.


    ¡°It figures,¡± I said. That was the effect of the item¡¯s bound status. The natives of this world perceived it as a ¡°cursed item.¡± I tried three times more and produced three bunches of [Burnt Strawberries] which my maid placed into a trash can. Thankfully, I was able to make some [Sliced Strawberries] on my fifth try. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±


    Yinuo clapped.


    Was she mocking me? I examined her expression. Maybe?


    ¡°One down, fifty more to go!¡± I said.


    Slicing fruits was an extremely monotonous activity, and my maid was with me not just to help with organizing the fruit, but also to keep me company and entertain me.


    ¡°Shall I begin reading this book out loud?¡± She held up a copy of ¡°Secrets of the Ruler¡¯s Court, Volume VII, Illustrated Edition.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°Why not?¡±


    Yinuo started reading it out loud to me. ¡°Courtly love among the nobles of the Vermillion Bird clan is a highly mannered and elegant affair full of poetry, drama, and public displays of extravagance. The twenty-fifth king, known for his thousands of lovers, once said ¡®A day without courtship is to be avoided at all costs.¡¯ Chivalric romances are not complete without at least a dozen stories of destined lovers, amorous adventures, and humorous erotic entanglements.¡±


    ¡°Erotic? Wait, how spicy is this book?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually rather dry. This volume is about historical romances,¡± she said.


    ¡°Okay, continue.¡±


    The first story was about the legend of the Peony Maiden and the Prince of Eagles.


    Yinuo read the story to me as I continued slicing more [Strawberries].


    ¡°When the world was young, the Prince of Eagles was soaring through the sky in search of adventure when a flash of color caught his eye. At the edge of a cliff, was the most beautiful flower in the world, the Crimson Pearl Peony. Awestruck by its magnificent color, gracefully furled petals, and ravishing scent, he fell madly in love at first sight.¡±


    ¡°Oh my,¡± I said as I failed my cooking task yet again.


    Yinuo dutifully slid the [Burnt Strawberries] off the counter and into the trash can before continuing the story. ¡°The Prince of Eagles, eager to prove his devotion, flew East of the Evening Star and West of the Dawn to collect fresh morning dew from the Parasol Tree to water the flower every day for ten thousand years.¡±


    ¡°Ten thousand years?¡± I raised an eyebrow while I continued making more [Burnt Strawberries] and [Sliced Strawberries].


    Yinuo shrugged. ¡°These stories always say ¡®ten thousand years,¡¯ but I think it just means a long time.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Millennia passed while the Prince waited patiently for his beloved to respond to his affection, but she remained silent. At last, the Prince¡¯s long lifespan came to an end and he died.¡±


    ¡°What? He died? What kind of love story is this?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more!¡± Yinuo turned the page and continued reading. ¡°Even in death, the Prince of Eagles¡¯ great love didn¡¯t falter. Blood from his heart continued to water the flower, turning the soil around the peony red. Finally, the Crimson Pearl Peony was moved. Transforming herself into a lovely young human maiden, she gathered up the Prince¡¯s bones and heart and sought to return him to Grandmother Eagle¡¯s home East of the Evening Star and West of the Dawn. She walked so far that she wore out ten thousand iron shoes.¡±


    I made a sound of appreciation.


    ¡°In those days, the world was still young, and Grandmother Eagle could be found chasing the sun dogs or at home roosting on the Parasol Tree. The Peony Maiden showed Grandmother Eagle the bones and asked for her help.¡± Yinuo showed me the beautifully illustrated page where the Peony Maiden, clad in gorgeous blood-red robes, knelt in front of a giant tree. ¡°Grandmother Eagle said, ¡®His blood flows because his heart still beats for love of you. If you wish for him to return, all you need to do is to bury his heart in the place he loves the most.¡¯ The Peony Maiden understood and immediately ate the heart.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Cannibalism?! This story is hardcore!¡± I said.


    ¡°Her belly swelled and nine moons later she gave birth to a boy as fair as the sun and as gentle as the moon. And they lived happily ever after.¡±


    ¡°That was a very weird story.¡± I was going to ask her to read the next one when I heard the chiming of the doorbell.


    ¡°My lady, I¡¯ll go see who that is,¡± said Yinuo. She left and returned with a small box and an official-looking scroll in her hands. ¡°A messenger from the Fox clan asked me to give this to you.¡±


    The velvet-lined wooden box contained a seed and the message on the scroll read, ¡°Hey, Witch, I found this Crimson Pearl Peony seed in a treasure room. Why don¡¯t you try growing it?¡±


    It was unsigned, but obviously it was from Lady Hoshi.


    The System pinged me with a popup notification.


    [New Quest Available: Curing Infertility Part 2]


    Yinuo, who was standing beside me reading the scroll, too, looked incredulously at me and said, ¡°Baroness, this is related to the story I was just reading!¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded absentmindedly and picked up the seed.


    [Crimson Pearl Peony Seed:


    A legendary seed that has been passed on for generations since time immemorial. The long-extinct Crimson Pearl Peony was said to be the main ingredient of the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill, the ultimate fertility drug.]


    Whoa, that sounded pretty awesome. I mentally clicked on the [Accept Quest] button.


    [Curing Infertility Part 2:


    Plant the Crimson Pearl Peony seed.


    Requirements: Black Soil, Spirit Water, and Mysterious Goo.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    The soda water I got from the Mines was the same thing as [Spirit Water]. I would have to create [Black Soil] on the farm and unlock the [Mysterious Goo] by using the recipe when I unlocked the ingredients.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t you think that¡¯s strange?¡± asked Yinuo. Her eyes darted around the kitchen as though looking for something. ¡°I read the legend of the Peony Maiden and this seed appeared¡­ Was someone listening?¡±


    ¡°Who? There¡¯s no one but us here.¡± That didn¡¯t make sense. Even if someone had heard, they would¡¯ve had to report it to Lady Hoshi and return with the seed while running at the speed of light.


    Yinuo bit her lip and then pointed up at the ceiling.


    I automatically looked up, but, of course, there was nothing there.


    Yinuo gave me an agonized look.


    ¡°Someone¡­¡± She pointed up again then clasped her hands as though in prayer.


    ¡°Oh, you mean, um, I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a weird coincidence,¡± I said. Come to think of it, in the game things always happened this way, didn¡¯t they? I mean, the player would talk to an NPC about a certain legend or rumor and then receive a related quest right after that. It wasn¡¯t until now that I realized how bizarre that would be in real life.


    Yinuo did not look convinced. ¡°If you say so, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should put the book away and just chat about something,¡± I suggested as I sat down to cut more [Strawberries]. I¡¯d barely managed to fill one bowl.


    Yinuo shot one more scared look at the ceiling before standing beside me at the kitchen counter once again. ¡°Yes, that might be for the best.¡±


    ¡°Hey, at least we were only talking about a love story. Just think what might have happened if you had read the story about¡­¡± I took the book and leafed through it. ¡°The Black Beast of Drakmorth.¡±


    Yinuo took the book from me, turned the pages to chapter nine, and showed it to me. ¡°How about I read the story about the most handsome man in the world?¡±


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°Prince Arjun of the Vermillion Bird clan. They say he¡¯s so gorgeous that red flowers spring up wherever he walks.¡±


    ¡°Wow! But I already have someone¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Yinuo looked up and said, ¡°If someone¡¯s listening, please I would like to see a man so stunningly beautiful that the birds in the sky fall down when they catch sight of him.¡±


    Seconds later, the doorbell chimed again.

 Chapter 112 - Fun mushrooms

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 112 - This lil mushroom dude looks like a fungi to be around!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Yinuo and I practically ran to the front door, but it was only my household staff who had returned early from their shopping trip.


    ¡°Welcome back, everyone!¡± I smirked at Yinuo, who had a difficult time hiding her disappointment that it wasn¡¯t the most beautiful man in the world waiting for us at our doorstep.


    After greeting everyone, I went back to the kitchen to slice more [Strawberries] until dinner time. The more fruit that I cut, the better I got at it until I eventually stopped producing burnt food. Phew! That was a relief. Once I had enough of the [Strawberries], I moved on to [Apples], which were harder to process because I had to remove the cores. I filled a few of the smaller containers before taking a break for dinner and then continuing until bedtime.


    ***


    The next day, I woke up before dawn. I took my time showering, dressing, and drinking a cup of coffee before using the portal to the Mines to collect the day¡¯s harvest from the hydroponic and mushroom caves.


    Seeing that the mushroom substrates that I had placed now had spores growing on them, I examined each one to see if there was anything useful I could take with me.


    Jackpot!


    [Naughty Mushroom:


    When dried and ground into a powder, this can be mixed into hot water and drunk to increase men¡¯s stamina during XXX. Slightly increases fertility.]


    Giggling to myself, I removed that part of the substrate and stored it in my inventory. The clans had a problem with dwindling fertility, so they were sure to love this particular mushroom.


    When I returned to my [Ranch House], I saw that it was raining. Spring rain tended to be quite light, but was still cold, which would make it unpleasant to be outdoors today. Nonetheless, I need to work on the farm, so I put on a raincoat and waterproof boots, and collected an umbrella before heading to the main house.


    ¡°Teacher, we won¡¯t get exp from watering the crops today,¡± said Mo after the usual greetings at the breakfast table.


    ¡°I know. I planned for us to clear the land for the animals, but if the rain doesn''t stop soon, we can just clear more land around the house instead. We¡¯ll need more space in the future when we expand the house.¡± I helped myself to the piping hot tea, fluffy white rice, fried salmon, and stir-fried mushrooms. Dessert was a sweet egg custard bun.


    ¡°We¡¯re getting a bigger house?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Definitely!¡± I said. "We can''t do it just yet, but maybe next year we can upgrade the house and get a wine cellar."


    ¡°Wine? But I heard the chef is already planning to make some apple wine,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never actually had apple wine,¡± I said. ¡°I wonder what it tastes like.¡±


    I was intrigued by this new bit of information. What kind of wine would the Demon Chef make with the apples I sliced yesterday? Would it be some sort of really precious spirit wine? Or maybe a really strong liquor?


    ¡°I bet Teacher¡¯s wine cellar will be better. The chef will just be making regular wine, but we''ll be using the System,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Right, but that is for the future. For now, let¡¯s concentrate on Woodcutting,¡± I said.


    When Fengying came to check if breakfast was satisfactory and ask if we wanted something, I gave her the mushroom-growing substrate that contained [Naughty Mushroom] spores.


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    ¡°Shuye sends one of his staff to visit us every day, right? Please give this to them,¡± I said. ¡°It has spores that will grow mushrooms that will be useful to the clan.¡±


    ¡°May I look at it?¡± asked Mo. Out of my three apprentices, she was the one who was best at foraging and was, therefore, the most familiar with wild mushrooms.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do you one better. Here is what the mushroom will look like when it¡¯s grown.¡± I took out half a dozen [Naughty Mushrooms] from my inventory.


    Lari quickly covered the girls¡¯ eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t look! Teacher! How could you?!¡±


    I burst out laughing. ¡°What? It¡¯s just a mushroom.¡±


    ¡°It looks like a...¡± said Lari.


    Fengying coughed and took the items. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Mo pushed Lari¡¯s hand away and peered at the mushroom. ¡°What is it? It¡¯s just a mushroom?¡±


    Kharli also moved Lari¡¯s hand away from her eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw them. ¡°Those look exactly like-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± Lari rolled his eyes. ¡°Just don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Look like what? What are you guys talking about?¡± asked Mo, with a confused look on her face.


    ¡°Never mind. It¡¯s nothing.¡± I nodded to my housekeeper, who left with the items. Then I changed the subject. ¡°Is everyone finished eating? Let¡¯s go and do a bit of Fletching while we wait for the rain to subside.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I love Fletching,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo still looked confused. She sidled to Kharli and whispered, ¡°What was that about the mushroom?¡¯


    ¡°Shh. I¡¯ll tell you later when we¡¯re alone,¡± said Kharli, darting a nervous glance at me and Lari.


    We finished off the last bits of our breakfast and then moved to the inner courtyard. Ever since my sojourn at the Mines, I realized that certain things were different from the game. In Adventure Incarnate, one could only place a single furnace inside the house, but through experimentation I found out that eight was my current maximum.


    When I was first transmigrated into this world, I didn¡¯t really worry much about leveling up or creating more wealth since I had billions of useful items. I simply ¡°played the game¡± normally.


    However, my experience with the [Potato Cannons] opened my eyes to the System¡¯s potential. Sure, leveling up in the normal way was fun, but using item cheats was even more enjoyable! Today I planned to make full use of the maximum number of furnaces.


    ¡°All right, we¡¯ll start this year¡¯s Fletching the right way. Last year, I let all of you familiarize yourselves with how to make arrows. How do you feel about Fletching?¡± I asked them as we walked into the workroom.


    Our designated workspace was dominated by a large, sturdy wooden table that had benches on both sides. One wall was covered by shelves filled with various tools while the inner wall had a window that opened up into the courtyard.


    ¡°I love it! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m a magic artisan!¡± said Lari.


    My other two apprentices nodded vigorously to show their agreement.


    ¡°Good. Now we have to discuss the division of labor,¡± I said. ¡°Of course, you all know that a higher crafting level is better than a lower one.¡±


    They all nodded.


    ¡°Therefore, logically we shouldn¡¯t all do all the tasks equally. Rather than having three people who are level 15 in Fletching and Smithing, it would be better to have one person who is level 30,¡± I said. ¡°So I want you guys to pick which one of you will specialize in Smithing. The other two will work on their Fletching.¡±


    ¡°I like to work with wood, so I would like to do Fletching,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I want to do Smithing,¡± said Lari. ¡°But we¡¯re not able to use the metal bars. How can we train it?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m the fastest at Fletching,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Okay, so Mo and Kharli will fletch while Lari will smith. I will also do smithing. I have a lot of ores that I can smelt into metal bars that Lari can use,¡± I said. ¡°Come to the other room and I¡¯ll show you how it¡¯s done.¡±


    We walked over to the northern room which was totally bare except for a large metal furnace.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple to use.¡± I pointed at the left side of the furnace which was open. ¡°I¡¯ll put the ores inside through this opening.¡±


    I took out twelve [Tin Ores] and twelve [Copper Ores] and put them inside the furnace.


    Then I pointed at the space below the opening. ¡°Now, you guys open this small door and fill the empty area behind it with wood.¡±


    I waited until they finished loading the furnace with wood before pressing the red [Start/Stop] button. Lari, Kharli, and Mo jumped back in surprise when the furnace roared to life, with bright red flames leaping from the wooden logs. In seconds, the air inside the room became hotter, and we could see the ores melting inside the furnace. After a few minutes, molten metal poured down from one side of the furnace into the waiting molds.


    ¡°It¡¯s so fast!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yes, it melted fast, but won¡¯t it be too hot for us to use?¡± asked Kharli.


    Mo hovered over the molds where the molten metal was rapidly hardening into bars. ¡°No, it¡¯s magic. Look, they¡¯re already cooling down.¡±


    ¡°The System is so convenient,¡± I said. ¡°When it¡¯s ready, you can just take out the metal bars and use them to smith [Bronze Arrowheads].¡±


    From start to finish, it took around ten minutes for the furnace to produce twelve [Bronze Bars].


    Or so I thought.


    ¡°Teacher, these aren¡¯t bronze!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Oops. I think we can still use these¡­¡± I said. ¡°Probably.¡±

 Chapter 113 - Smithing is a fun activity when using awesome materials

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 113 - Forging ahead and copper-mitted to having a blast!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    They looked like bronze bars, but the System information told a different story.


    [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars:


    Imbued with intricate runic engravings and infused with the essence of powerful dragons, these bars possess an otherworldly aura.]


    ¡°You know how the System always has a lot of awesome-sounding items? I¡¯m sure these bars are like that,¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher, what do you mean?¡± Kharli, who was looking down at the bronze bars that were etched with glowing runic script, frowned.


    ¡°I mean, like, you know how a lot of our System stuff has fancy-sounding names, but they aren¡¯t particularly useful or rare. Like the [Radiant Sunburst Paddlefish] and [Midnight Nightmare Sardine]. They look pretty, that¡¯s it,¡± I said.


    ¡°But rare spirit fish could be sold for hundreds of gold pieces!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I suppose these fancy metal bars could be sold for a lot of money, but when we use the System these will function exactly the same as regular [Bronze Bars],¡± I said.


    ¡°Then can I try smithing it?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go back to the workshop. I¡¯ll put an anvil there,¡± I said.


    My apprentices collected the [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars] from the furnace and followed me to the anvil.


    I smithed a set of [Bronze Arrowheads] while giving them instructions on what to do. ¡°All you need to do is put a bar of metal on the anvil and use a hammer from your System toolbelt on it. Then a System menu will appear. Mentally choose the [Arrowheads] options and the System will guide your movements. Don¡¯t fight it. Just loosen your arm muscles and let it do what it needs to do.¡±


    They watched unblinking and with their mouths half open as I expertly smithed the regular [Bronze Bar] I took from my inventory. It took fifteen blows of the hammer until the metal bar shimmered and turned into five [Bronze Arrowheads].


    ¡°It¡¯s magic!¡± said Lari. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a legendary magic blacksmith!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair! Can I please try, too?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Okay.¡± It seemed that even though we had already discussed that it would be better if only one person leveled up Smithing, they simply couldn¡¯t bear to not do it. I could understand that. Though it wasn¡¯t the most efficient way to train, it should be fine for all of them to train smithing for now since any skill below level 20 was easy to level up. We¡¯ll have to discuss it again after level 20. I stood outside and watched as they each smithed [Bronze Arrowheads].


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I smith them into Dragon Arrows or something like that?¡± Lari gave the [Bronze Arrowheads] a disappointed look.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because you¡¯re too low-level,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°We¡¯re all level 1,¡± said Mo. ¡°I don¡¯t think people can make magic arrows at level 1.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I was talking about! Armor, weapons, and other types of equipment can be Common, Uncommon, Rare, Heroic, Epic, Legendary, or Mythical. We¡¯re just starting out, so we can only make the most common and ordinary stuff,¡± I said.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Will we ever be able to make Mythical items?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Only the highest level artisans can make those,¡± I said.


    ¡°It would probably take a lifetime to master smithing,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°All right, you¡¯ve all tried it out. Let¡¯s go back to the furnaces since we¡¯re gonna need a lot of metal bars for you to work on,¡± I said.


    We spent the rest of the morning going from furnace to furnace, loading them with wood and ores in order to produce more [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars]. Since we had eight of them, we didn''t need to wait for the ores to melt. Instead, we loaded one furnace and then went to the next one, repeating the process until all eight were loaded. Then we went back to the first, retrieved the metal bars, and loaded it up again.


    At noon, Fengying informed us that lunch was ready, and we took a break.


    ¡°Over five hundred bronze bars!¡± I said. ¡°I think this is enough for now. Let me know when you finish smithing these.¡±


    Lari and the others nodded.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s have lunch,¡± I said.


    The Demon Chef must¡¯ve been experimenting because the main dish this time was something called a ¡°bitter sausage¡± that was made of pork and bitter herbs. It was supposedly good for your health, but it was an acquired taste. I ate a bit of it then loaded my plate with wild herb salad, braised demon chicken with cowpea, and salt-and-pepper pork. The dessert was a simple dish of sliced apples in light syrup.


    After we finished eating, I said, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s not raining anymore. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Outside, the fallen leaves squelched underneath our feet. There was a distinct chill in the air, and the smell of wet earth and the forest combined with the chill in the air, made every breath quite bracing. We walked over to the side of the house and started clearing a path to the eastern part of the farm.


    ¡°Woodcutting is so easy and fun. I can¡¯t believe we can cut down trees like this,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°If we get higher level Woodcutting, will we be able to do this faster?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I know that it will make our energy consumption less, but I don¡¯t know about it being faster,¡± I said.


    All we had to do was to use a hatchet from the System toolbelt to hit a tree. The two first blows on the trunk took off half of the tree¡¯s crown. The next two took care of its trunk and roots. Every hit resulted in us obtaining a [Log] and [Tree Branch] that we could use to fletch.


    I whistled cheerfully as we worked. The fresh air and moderate amount of exercise I was getting was giving me a natural high.


    ¡°Cutting down a huge tree with only a few swings of this axe makes me feel like I¡¯m a powerful cultivator,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I wonder if we¡¯re comparable to cultivators,¡± said Kharli. ¡°I heard that not all of them are actually that strong.¡±


    ¡°But we can¡¯t use our Woodcutting skills on anything but trees. Imagine if we could use this hatchet on demons¡­¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Did you guys forget about archery? Have you been training it at all?¡± I shot them an enquiring look.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been training it,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°She¡¯s gotten really good at it,¡± said Mo.


    I understood this to mean that only Kharli had been practicing her archery. Mo didn¡¯t have any talent in it, and Lari had the [Lazy] attribute which meant that he wasn¡¯t the type to train on his own time.


    ¡°We should go and hunt some [Horned Rabbits] when the weather is good,¡± I said. That would give them some motivation since the rabbit meat was quite tasty.


    ¡°I¡¯d love that,¡± said Kharli.


    We discussed the details while we continued cutting down trees. My apprentices¡¯ energy bars emptied faster than mine, so I instructed them to fletch the wooden logs that they had gotten today.


    Fletching was quite simple. They simply used a knife on a [Log] and chose the [Arrow Shaft] option in the System menu. Then [Feathers] and [Bronze Arrowheads] were attached to the [Arrow Shaft] to make [Bronze Arrows].


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m out of energy. Let¡¯s visit my pet before we go back to the house. I have something to show you guys,¡± I said.


    I spent some time playing with Cutie while the others watched. They were still nervous about the ¡°demon¡± even though I had repeatedly assured them that my golden slime pet was quite tame. Afterwards, I took them to a clearing on the eastern side of the house where I took out a special item from my inventory.


    ¡°What do you think this is?¡± I asked them.


    They peered at the two wooden boxes piled on top of each other. Each one was a foot square and they were mounted on four wooden legs so that they were a foot above the ground.


    ¡°Can I open it?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± I said.


    Lari carefully removed the lid of the topmost box. It was empty.


    ¡°Take it off and open the next box,¡± I said.


    He put the lid back then removed the top box and placed it on the ground before opening the lid of the lower box.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Mo screamed shrilly and backed away from the box, a look of utter horror on her face. ¡°Not that! Anything but that!¡±

 Chapter 114 - I changed my mind, we won’t be raising chickens on the farm&#x1F423;&#x1F425;&#x1F424;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 114 - Those with arachno-fear-bia are safe.</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    ¡°What?!¡± I knew the creatures inside of the box were a little icky, but Mo¡¯s reaction was too much. ¡°It¡¯s cool, these are a special spirit variety. They don¡¯t have teeth or bite or anything. No attack capabilities at all, I promise.¡±


    I paused to eye Mo who was still cowering behind Kharli. ¡°Well, actually if you handle them too roughly they will exude a foul-smelling liquid. I think it¡¯s a defense mechanism. The liquid is disgusting but it won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    My three apprentices remained silent.


    ¡°These are an important resource for farmers. We¡¯re gonna need this for the Immortal Herbs. What¡¯s the matter?¡± I asked


    Kharli scratched her head and then said, ¡°It¡¯s not that she thinks they¡¯re dangerous. Mo just really hates worms.¡±


    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s a strange thing to dislike. What happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell her!¡± Mo shrieked.


    I frowned a little. ¡°Well, okay. I won¡¯t force you to tell me. I¡¯ll excuse you from this particular task, but you¡¯ll miss out on all of the xp.¡±


    ¡°Does this give a lot of xp?¡± Lari bent down and peered at wriggly worms inside the box.


    ¡°Not a lot, but every little bit counts.¡± I patted Mo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to tell me? I mean, if you can¡¯t trust your teacher, then who can you trust?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not even a big deal,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°You should tell her,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo fidgeted with her sleeves for a few minutes while I patiently waited for her reply.


    ¡°Think of the xp!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Ah! Okay, you tell her then,¡± said Mo. ¡°But no laughing!¡±


    Kharli¡¯s lips were already twitching. ¡°Of course, we would never make fun of your fear of worms.¡±


    Lari and Kharli exchanged glances then burst into peals of laughter.


    ¡°You guys are terrible friends.¡± Mo folded her arms across her chest and pouted, but we could all tell that she wasn¡¯t really upset.


    After the laughter died down, Lari explained it to me. ¡°Teacher, you know how the orphanage is funded by the clans? So our food is okay, but not really that good except for special occasions. Sometimes, rich merchants or nobles will donate food to celebrate the birth of a new heir or a wedding.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice of them,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, we always loved it when they threw a celebration party. That was the only time that we got to eat meat. A few years ago the Anwei Cooper¡¯s Guild arranged a feast for us to commemorate their 100th Founding Day, and they served Four Joy Meatballs,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°They tasted great, and the donation was so generous that we all ate as much as we wanted,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Mo ignored all of the other dishes and ate one whole plate of the meatballs.¡±


    Where was the story going? I couldn¡¯t figure out what it had to do with earthworms.


    ¡°I had three plates of it, too.¡± Lari smiled at the memory. ¡°They were just so good that all sorts of stories were made up about them. Someone spread the word that the meatballs were made of worms instead of pork.¡±


    ¡°Unlikely. Worm meat would cost way more than pork, especially minced pork which doesn¡¯t use the best parts of the animal most of the time,¡± I said.


    ¡°So we''re going to raise these worms for their meat?¡± Kharli gave the [Red Wrigglers] a dubious look.


    [Red Wriggler:


    A type of spirit earthworm that is a dull red color and around 2 to 4 inches in length. Its segmented body is moist and slimy. The Red Wriggle is commonly used for vermicomposting, which is the process of using earthworms to decompose organic waste into nutrient-rich compost. Their castings are rich in nutrients and beneficial microorganisms, making them a valuable resource for enriching the soil and promoting plant growth.]


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I shook my head. ¡°No. Continue the story, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Most people didn¡¯t believe it, but it was a running joke for a long time. I mean, we rarely got to eat meat, and it was a big event for us,¡± said Kharli. ¡°But one of the others took it way too far.¡±


    ¡°That was Muchen,¡± said Lari. ¡°He was always playing pranks on the younger kids.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this time he sneaked into the girl¡¯s room while we were napping and put an earthworm in Mo¡¯s mouth,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°A dirty earthworm! Oh, it still makes me mad when I think about it,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°He picked Mo because she snores a lot and sleeps with her mouth open,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°What do you mean she snores a lot? You snore louder than everyone in the entire orphanage combined,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°The point is, Muchen put an earthworm in Mo¡¯s open mouth while she was sleeping. She woke up and spat it out¡­ half of it anyway,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I did not! I spat out the whole thing,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I saw you close your teeth on half of it and spit out the other half,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Everyone called her ¡®Worm Eater¡¯ for a few months,¡± said Lari.


    I gave my apprentice a sympathetic look, then patted her on the shoulder again. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s all in the past and no one cares about childish nicknames like that. Are you saying you don¡¯t want to take care of these worms?¡±


    ¡°I really hate worms,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°What did it taste like?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I said I didn¡¯t eat it!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°But it was in your mouth, right? You must have tasted it,¡± I said.


    ¡°It was really slimy and gross. I think it tasted like soil,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Hahaha, slimy and gross? I¡¯m pretty sure worms could be cooked in a delicious way. Do you want me to ask the chef?¡± Mo¡¯s expression was so funny that I couldn¡¯t help but tease her a bit.


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to eat or take care of worms.¡± Mo pouted.


    ¡°Aw, don¡¯t be such a baby. Think of the xp,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°...¡± Mo looked unconvinced.


    ¡°No problem, Lari and Kharli can take care of them,¡± I said. ¡°Have you examined the box yet? If not, do it now.¡±


    [Worm Bin:


    Status: Healthy


    Vermicompost: 0/3]


    I put the lid back on and then put the upper box over the lower box before taking out some table scraps from my inventory to show my apprentices. ¡°These worms eat all sorts of food scraps like rinds, seeds, cores, stems, and so forth, as well as most other types of organic matter like dead plants.¡±


    Taking out a table and knife, I put the food waste on it and then chopped it into smaller pieces. ¡°We just have to cut these up like this. When they¡¯re small enough, activate the System¡¯s [Use] command.¡±


    I gave them each half a handful and said, ¡°Now, use [Trash] with [Worm Bin].¡±


    After a moment, Kharli said, "That was easy.¡±


    I waited until all three of them had finished. Despite her protests, Mo obediently did as I instructed. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it. These are spirit animals, so they don¡¯t need a lot of looking after. However, take note that you can''t just put any old thing inside the [Worm Bin]. Don¡¯t ever put any citrus or acidic stuff inside, and no meat or grease. Also, try not to remove the lid or disturb the worms too much. They like quiet and darkness.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, what is this [Vermicompost]?¡± asked Kharli. ¡°You said we¡¯re going to need this for the Immortal Herbs?¡±


    ¡°[Vermicompost] is the product of this [Worm Bin]. It¡¯s basically the worm¡¯s excrement and decayed organic matter along with the worm¡¯s bedding materials. By the way, when we gather the [Vermicompost], I¡¯ll have to add more [Worm Bedding] which is made of shredded brown cardboard. The System has plenty of it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Poop again? Why is it always poop?¡± Mo poked a corner of the box and gave it a disgusted look. ¡°I bet it will be smelly.¡±


    ¡°All this time that we¡¯ve been farming, we¡¯ve used the fertilizer from the System, but for Immortal Herbs, that won¡¯t be enough. We¡¯ll have to use [Mysterious Goo] which is made by combining [Vermicompost] and Cutie¡¯s [Goo],¡± I said.


    I wanted to make [Mysterious Goo] for my quest.


    [Curing Infertility Part 2:


    Plant the Crimson Pearl Peony seed.


    Requirements: Black Soil, Spirit Water, and Mysterious Goo.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    ¡°Then I hope we get a lot of [Mysterious Goo] soon,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Lucky for us, we don¡¯t actually need a lot. I already have plenty of it.¡± In fact, I had 2,147,483,647 [Mysterious Goo] in my inventory courtesy of GodIam.


    Lari looked puzzled. ¡°Why do we need to make it if you already have a lot of it, Teacher?¡±


    ¡°My ancestors, the ones responsible for my bloodline inheritance, have provided me with plenty of materials, but a lot of them need to be ¡®unlocked¡¯ first,¡± I said.


    ¡°Unlocked?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only used the most basic materials from the System. The more advanced ones need to be unlocked first. Think of it as a treasure chest. We need a key to open it, and for a lot of them, the key to unlocking the chest is to complete a task such as crafting an item.¡± Since we were finished with the [Worm Bin], I started walking back to the house. It was time for an afternoon snack, and I had asked the Demon Chef to prepare dim sum and tea for us.


    ¡°Your ancestors sound like they were strict,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Then all we need to do is to make a few [Mysterious Goo] then you can use the ones from the System?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s easy, isn¡¯t it? We can use the ones from my inventory on the farm, and the ones we produce from the [Worm Bin] can be sold to others,¡± I said.


    When we came within sight of the house''s front gate, we spotted one of the maids waiting there. She quietly slipped inside when she saw us, no doubt to inform the kitchen staff that we were on our way.


    ¡°It¡¯s funny that the first type of animal that we are raising on the farm are those worms. I thought we were going to raise chickens first,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°We won¡¯t be raising animals on the farm,¡± I said.


    ¡°No animals? Why not? I was really looking forward to it,¡± said Lari.

 Chapter 115 - The Rise of the Feathered Fiends

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 115 - Why did the chicken go to the seance? To talk to the other side.</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    ¡°Wait a moment. I¡¯m tired. Let¡¯s eat first, then discuss it later,¡± I said.


    In the outer courtyard, the Demon Chef was waiting for us with a truly magnificent spread. Our mouths fell open when we saw a large round table full of colorful and delicate dim sum dishes, including steamed dumplings, pan-fried dumplings, spring rolls, pork buns, sweet custard buns, water chestnut cake, eggs tarts, sesame balls, and a few other items I couldn¡¯t identify. The only thing missing was the more hearty fare like meatballs and spareribs.


    I chose a light chrysanthemum tea and started eating. ¡°Oh my gosh, I bet emperors don¡¯t eat this well.¡±


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo didn¡¯t say anything because they were busy stuffing their faces.


    There were three tricolor dumplings I couldn¡¯t identify. The green, white, and red ones turned out to be stuffed with some sort of sweet bean, while the yellow, blue, and white ones were savory chicken dim sums. The orange, violet, and white ones were my least favorite since they were filled with minced carp and vegetables.


    Though the spring rolls were the best I had ever eaten, with a crunchy skin and scrumptious meat filling, I stopped myself from eating too much because I knew for a fact that dinner tonight was going to be steak. Prince Baiyu¡¯s men had delivered a whole demon cow to the house last month. The meat was now fully aged and it would undoubtedly be a meal to remember.


    Half an hour later, the four of us leaned back on our chairs, happily full and feeling happy with the world at large.


    ¡°Teacher, what was that about us not raising animals on the farm?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°You might think that it¡¯s weird, but I honestly can¡¯t bring myself to raise animals for their meat,¡± I said.


    It¡¯s true that I''m a meat lover, but I was used to buying meat at the supermarket, not slaughtering animals myself.


    ¡°But we¡¯re farmers.¡± Lari folded his arms across his chest.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I spoke to our chef, and he told me that he knew a farmer who raises the best pigs in the Westerlands,¡± I said. As expected of a Demon Chef, he always knew where to get the best ingredients. ¡°He suggested that I sell a few piglets to that farmer, and it got me thinking about the [Lizardwings].¡±


    Mo wrinkled her nose at the mention of the smelly animals. ¡°What do the [Lizardwings] have to do with pigs? The pigs won¡¯t be as smelly as the [Lizardwings]... Will they?¡±


    Kharli laughed at that. ¡°Nothing could possibly be as smelly as the [Lizardwings]!¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. You¡¯ve got the wrong idea. It¡¯s not about being smelly at all. My point is that I was able to sell the young [Lizardwings] to the clan members and most of them survived." The items from my inventory were all bound to me, which meant that I couldn¡¯t give them away or sell them to other people. However, items that I grew or crafted could be sold. For example, I couldn¡¯t sell [Lizardwing Eggs], but if I hatched them on the farm, I could sell the [Lizardwings] babies or adults.


    ¡°But why would we sell animals instead of raising them ourselves?¡± asked Lari.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°You know that we have a limit on how many animals we can have on the farm, right?¡± I waited until the three of them nodded before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s all about mathematics. At my current farming level, we can have a maximum of six animals on the farm. The smaller animals like the chickens take around two months to grow before they can be slaughtered for their meat. How many chickens would we be able to raise in a year?¡±


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo exchanged looks full of alarm. They hated it when I asked them to do calculations like this. The orphanage had given them a proper basic education, but like most peasants in this era, they had difficulty counting stuff after they ran out of fingers.


    They furrowed their brows, scratched their heads, and argued about it for some time before coming up with the wrong answer.


    I burst out laughing. ¡°One hundred? How did you even come up with that number?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot, that¡¯s what matters!¡± said Kharli with a cheeky grin.


    ¡°And how much tax would you owe?¡± When they just shuffled their feet and refused to look at me, I said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough of that. I know you guys said you didn¡¯t want a tutor, but you need one. I asked Fengying to get one for you. The tutor will arrive in the summer.¡±


    All of us glanced at Mo, who sighed but didn¡¯t object to it. She had some sort of reading disability, either dyslexia or some related learning disorder. Thankfully, she could use the System to read things out loud for her, but she''d had a bad experience with formal education in the orphanage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure to hire a good tutor who can deal fairly with everyone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried. I¡¯d pity the person who tried to bully me nowadays,¡± said Mo, raising a fist.


    The rest of us chuckled at her reply.


    ¡°Good! Anyway, on the topic of raising animals, if we raised chickens ourselves, we would be able to raise around thirty-six in a year, but if we sold the chicks right after they hatched, around every five to six days, we could have three hundred sixty-five to four hundred thirty-eight a year,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot,¡± said Lari.


    I had the distinct impression that they couldn¡¯t really grasp the numbers I was talking about.


    ¡°The point is that we will be able to produce a lot more if we outsource the task of raising the animals,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of signing a contract with the White Tiger clan and the chef¡¯s friends. I¡¯ll supply the animals while they do the work of taking care of them. Deming already agreed that I should ask for half of all profits and produce in return.¡±


    ¡°But, Teacher, no one else has spirit grass and forage like we do,¡± said Lari.


    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good point. We¡¯ll just have to accept that the quality of the meat and produce won¡¯t be as good as it would have been if we had raised them here on the farm ourselves. It¡¯s worth it considering how much more meat and animal produce we¡¯ll get.¡±


    Lari seemed to accept this while Kharli and Mo frowned a bit.


    ¡°We were going to wait until the spirit grass grew more before hatching the eggs. Does this mean we won¡¯t wait anymore?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°I think we should still wait a few more days. The original plan was to have at least half of the area covered in spirit grass, but now that we¡¯re only going to have piglets and chicks, we won¡¯t need that much grass,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right, Teacher,¡± said Lari. ¡°Can I see the eggs, please?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I forgot I haven¡¯t shown them to you. Here you go,¡± I said.


    Taking out a few [Chicken Eggs] from my inventory, I handed them one each.


    ¡°Teacher, why is the System¡¯s item information a bit weird?¡± Lari rubbed his thumb over the pale blue spots on an egg.


    [Chicken Egg:


    A wonderful item full of hopes and dreams! What kind of chicken will hatch from this egg?]


    ¡°Why are they all different? This one is black!¡± Kharli gave her egg a distrustful look.


    ¡°Mine is just pure white!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°...Is there a gold egg?¡± asked Lari.


    I laughed and poured dozens of [Chicken Eggs] into three baskets for them to marvel at. Each one was a different size and color, and many of the shells had markings like stripes, spots, and stars. We talked about the eggs a little bit more before going to our bedrooms for a nap before dinner.


    Of course, in Adventure Incarnate, the chickens were shown with the same old in-game sprite, just with their colors swapped. How was I to know that things would be different in this world?


    The rise of the Feathered Fiends three years later shouldn¡¯t be blamed on me!

 Chapter 116 - A seed is full of potential

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 116 - A hot spring that looks very a-peeling</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The next day, we had an early breakfast, and I exited my [Courtyard House] as the last golden rays of dawn were lighting up the eastern sky. Just like when I first got out of The Chitinous Caverns and returned to the forest, I reveled in the fresh, sweet air that smelled of smoke, pine, earth, water, and wildflowers. Sunlight, filtered through the lattice of leaves and branches of the tree canopy, cast a warm glow on the forest floor where insects and tiny animals scurried here and there. I heard the croaking of frogs and the melody of bird calls mingling with the buzzing of a nearby bee.


    Today we decided to work individually on separate fields. Though I was glad to be back home with my apprentices, I didn¡¯t always want them peering over my shoulder at what I was doing. Making my way to the farthest field that was planted with red rice, I inspected the seedlings.


    It had rained last night, which meant that we wouldn''t need to water the plants, but we still needed to check them for weeds and disease.


    I knelt on the ground and gently touched the tender green leaves of a seedling. Though my favorite time of the season was when the crops were ready to harvest, the time when the seeds sprouted was also very special. Seeing the new growth after the cold, barren winter made me think of new beginnings.


    Wasn¡¯t that just like me?


    Back on earth, I had a very unsatisfying life after my parents died. Now, things were so much better after I started a new life in this world.


    Smiling, I plucked out a few stray weeds. The crops were growing well, and I was in a great mood.


    When I finished inspecting the field, I went to the [Slime House] to get my pet. The day was far too nice to spend indoors, so I got a packed lunch from the kitchen and walked to the forest. My sensible walking boots were made of buttery soft leather, and I enjoyed the feel of my feet sinking into the soft carpet of leaves covering the forest floor.


    This was Cutie¡¯s first time outside of the farm, and she was very excited about it. She bounced along beside me noisily and I almost fancied I could see a ¡°boing boing boing!¡± sound effect overhead. As she bounced, she kept making delighted ¡°Chu¡± sounds and using the slime strand on top of her head to touch random things like large rocks, grass, tree trunks, and especially wildflowers. She must have spent her entire life in the Chitinous Caverns, so everything here was new to her.


    Once I was well out of sight of the house, I made Mr. Bear grow larger and then climbed up to sit on his shoulders. Then I put Cutie on his head. This was my puppet¡¯s [Travel Mode]. He levitated two feet off the ground and flew off to the destination I chose using the System map. This way of traveling looked weird, but I was past caring. Everyone already thought I was a weirdo and a witch, so I didn¡¯t really need to take care of my image anymore.


    I¡¯d told my apprentices that I was going foraging, but the truth was I was just going to reacquaint myself with the forest¡¯s interesting spots.


    My first stop was the vernal pond. For most of the year, the pond was just a hole in the ground, with maybe a little bit of water at the bottom, but during the spring, right after the snow melted, it filled up with water. I smiled nostalgically as I remembered how this had been the place where I had caught my first fish.


    I never would have thought that a pond that was dry for most of the year would be teeming with life in the spring, but this one was full of tiny shrimp, crustaceans, tadpoles, and the like. Mr. Bear shrunk until my feet touched the ground, and Cutie hopped down from my puppet¡¯s head. I sat down on a large rock at the edge of the water and took out my fishing rod. This was the only place in the game where one could catch [Killifish].


    [Killifish:


    The killifish is a small, freshwater fish that is found in many parts of the world. The name killifish comes from the fact that they are often found in small, stagnant pools of water that are about to dry up, and they are able to survive in these conditions by burying themselves in the mud at the bottom of the pool.]


    Fishing was a very relaxing activity. When a player started, they normally caught a dozen fish before there was a short lull. This was explained as the time it took for the fish to respawn in the game. Thanks to the [Easy Fishing Hack], all I had to do was slowly and steadily lift the fishing rod above the water when I got the fishing notification pop-up. The fish was automatically stored in my inventory.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    During the quiet times, I watched the leaves from the trees gently floating down to land softly on the water''s surface and the dragonflies darting gracefully here and there, their iridescent wings shimmering in the sunlight.


    After an hour, I put my fishing rod back in my inventory. It was time to move on, but before leaving I circled the pond to check if there was anything I could forage. To my surprise, it was actually my pet who found something interesting.


    Cutie bounced over to an insignificant-looking plant with small yellow flowers. The slime strand on top of its head then formed itself into the shape of a spade and started digging around the plant¡¯s roots. I knelt and checked the plant¡¯s information.


    [Sunshine Glue-Flower:


    One of the very first flowers to bloom in spring, the Sunshine Glue-Flower plant has small yellow flowers that ooze a white glue-like fluid that contains its pollen. When the stem is wet it becomes sticky.]


    When my pet finished digging the plant up, she used her slime strand to offer it up to me. I obligingly took out a plant pot from my inventory and placed the [Sunshine Glue-Flower] in it. Golden Angel Slimes ate flowers, so I guessed she wanted me to bring this back to her house for her to eat later. She dug up half a dozen more plants before she was satisfied.


    ¡°Hmm, it makes sense that a slime likes sticky plants,¡± I said.


    With that, we continued exploring. Seated on Mr. Bear¡¯s shoulders, I had a nicely elevated view of the forest, and our speed was much faster than I could have managed on foot. Even stopping every few minutes to gather berries, nuts, mushrooms, herbs, and spring vegetables, we made such good time that by noon we were already at a northern part of the Ancient Hill Forest that I had never been to.


    The sun was already high in the sky, and I was hungry. Checking the System map, I chose the nearby Ripplewood Creek as a destination since it sounded like a good place to settle down to eat my lunch.


    As we near the creek, a yellow dot appeared at a certain spot in the System map.


    ¡°Wow, I discovered a new spot!¡± I said.


    [Golden Harvest Banana Grove:


    Wild banana trees are growing haphazardly in this corner of the forest. The tropical microclimate here is caused by a magical hot spring.]


    When we got there, I got down from my puppet and marveled at the sight of a mini jungle. The tall, slender trees with yellow trunks and vibrantly green leaves were hung with large clusters made up of dozens of golden bananas growing in tiers, at the bottom of which grew the banana flowers, which were also edible. I mean, the banana plant was called a tree, but I knew from my biology lessons in school that they were actually gigantic herbaceous plants. The ¡°trunk¡± wasn¡¯t made of wood. It was a giant stem!


    [Banana:


    Rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber, the banana grows year-round in tropical climates. The golden peel hides soft, creamy flesh that is sweet without being cloying. Finely chopped banana peels can be placed at the base of a plant to repel aphids.]


    ¡°Incredible! This is like my own mini banana plantation¡­¡± I walked among the plants, marveling at the lush landscape. Under the shade of the banana plants grew edible [Vegetable Fern] and [Ginger] that I gathered with a smile though the big prize for today was definitely the bananas themselves. I quickly used the System to harvest the bananas. There were so many ripe fruits that I could¡¯ve filled a truck with them, and I leveled up my Foraging.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 19, Fishing Level 12, Woodcutting Level 19, Cooking Level 5, Herblaw Level 15, Foraging Level 6¡ú7, Hunting Level 3, Mining Level 4]


    I made my way to the center of the grove, with Cutie bouncing beside me until I found a small pool of water that warmed the air around it. This must be the source of the energy of the grove. I dipped my hand in the water to test the temperature. Cutie imitated me using her slime strand.


    ¡°Hot!¡± I blew on my fingers to cool them.


    Beside me, Cutie turned bright red and made a ¡°Chuuuu¡± sound like air escaping from the spout of a water kettle. Her slime strand formed the shape of a flame and she keeled over, her eyes rolling back as if suffering from a heat stroke.


    Oh no! I got a bucket of water from the System inventory and poured it over her. When that didn¡¯t work I used a small bucket of ice.


    ¡°Chu.¡± This time, my pet sounded tired rather than in distress. I picked her up and found a reasonably soft patch of grass to spread my picnic blanket on. She bounced down from my arms and lay on the blanket quietly, with her eyes closed. I waited a few moments to make sure she was fine before I started eating.


    My packed lunch today was vinegared rice with pickled ginger, red braised pork, sauteed spring vegetables, and fresh sliced strawberries in honey.


    There was so much food that I really should have eaten only half of it, but I couldn¡¯t resist the Demon Chef¡¯s delicious cooking. By the time I finished, I felt almost uncomfortably full and sleepy. I took out a [Mosquito Net] from my inventory and set it up above the picnic blanket.


    Time for a nap.


    ***


    An hour later, I was awoken by the sound of someone laughing. I bolted upright and then scooted backward in alarm when I saw the source of the noise. The [Mosquito Net] fell and I got tangled up in it. As I was flailing around with the netting, Cutie woke up and screamed a high-pitched ¡°Chu! Chu!¡± at the intruder and looked like she was ready to attack. I grabbed her and retreated, dragging the [Mosquito Net] with us. My heart was pounding wildly in alarm as I mentally called up the System menu, navigated to the Equipment tab, and put on my [Lunarite Plate Armor] for protection.


    Mr. Bear was on [Guard Mode] but stood inert. Nor had he warned me that an enemy was approaching. Why? How was this creature not a threat?!

 Chapter 117 - They hatched! &#x1F423;&#x1F425;&#x1F424;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 117 - An egg-ceptionally good day for yolking around at the farm</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The golden-furred monkey that was almost as big as I was peered up at me curiously. I held my breath and waited for its next move. Though not all breeds of monkey were aggressive, I was in its territory, and I could be in trouble if it did decide to attack. I knew from nature documentaries back on Earth that monkeys were quite strong for their size, and a full-grown one could rip a human''s face off.


    We stared at each other for a few minutes.


    Should I walk away?


    Just as I was about to make a move, the monkey turned its back on me and scampered off. I waited until it was out of sight before putting the picnic things back in my inventory and using Mr. Bear to fly away as fast as I could. We didn¡¯t stop until we reached home.


    It was with great regret that I decided that I would never bathe in the hot spring in the [Golden Harvest Banana Grove]. I might die of a heart attack if one of those monkeys dropped by to join me!


    Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t get to see the monkey¡¯s name or stats. There was no System information about it. So maybe it really wasn¡¯t a threat?


    Perhaps mundane wild animals were not included in the System. That seemed like quite a large flaw to me, but there was precedent for it in the game. Adventure Incarnate had quite a lot of animals that were seen in the background such as pets like cats, dogs, rabbits, etc. that the NPCs had in their homes or towns. Those were definitely not attackable by players.


    Would my combat skills even activate if the other party was not an enemy in the game?


    Well, I knew that I could use my armor, at least. Therefore, logically speaking, I should also be able to use my axe. I decided not to worry about it for now.


    ***


    My apprentices and I spent the next few days tending to the crops and cutting down trees to clear a big enough space for the animals.


    ¡°Is everyone out of energy?¡± I asked. When they all answered in the affirmative, I handed them one bottle of [Kola-Kola Soda] each. ¡°Drink this. Let me know if it replenishes your energy.¡±


    We were in the middle of the clearing that we had just made.


    They uncorked the bottles and Kharli sniffed hers suspiciously while Lari and Mo drank theirs right away. Kharli made a face before drinking it. I took out a bottle and drank it with relish.


    I waited until they had all finished their bottles before asking, ¡°How was it?¡±


    ¡°It tastes like medicine,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I like it,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°My energy bar is still the same except for a tiny amount that was refilled,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°It refilled your energy bar?¡± I asked them.


    They all nodded.


    ¡°Great,¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher, does this mean you have more energy now?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Yes, but only a little bit.¡± My energy bar had only refilled around 10%. Initially, it was more, but I had developed a tolerance for it the way that people who drank caffeinated drinks developed a tolerance for caffeine, making it less effective. Nonetheless, it was more than what the kids got, which made sense because the System was mostly focused on giving the player, not the farm hands, bonuses and interesting items.


    The girls both looked excited.


    ¡°Then you can work on the farm all day long?¡± asked Mo.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°No, no. You misunderstood. I can only drink one bottle a day,¡± I said.


    ¡°What happens if you drink more than one?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Nothing bad, just I don¡¯t get any additional energy,¡± I said. ¡°Wait a bit, I¡¯ll cut a few more trees.¡±


    When I was finished, I leaned against the beech tree that we had singled out as the central spot for the animal pen. It would provide shade and shelter for the animals.


    ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll sow this clearing with [Spirit Grass] and [Wild Seed Mix]. We¡¯re just going to sell the animals, so this much is enough, but if we were going to raise them ourselves, we would need a bigger area,¡± I said.


    ¡°How big should it be?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°The smaller animals like the chickens don¡¯t need as much space as the big ones like the cows. They will need at least three to ten tiles of open space per animal,¡± I said. A ¡°tile¡± was a unit of measurement in Adventure Incarnate that was a square with a width of around three feet. ¡°But that is the absolute minimum. In my opinion, it¡¯s cruel to put animals in a space that¡¯s too small for them.¡±


    ¡°That seems like a lot of space to me,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Hmm. If we were not selling the chickens, what I would do is raise them here for one year, and then move them to a different place. Then I would use this area to plant crops,¡± I said.


    ¡°Why is that, Teacher?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°I know why! It¡¯s because of the chicken¡­ product. That fertilizes the soil,¡± said Mo.


    We all laughed. By this time, we were all used to the concept of animal manure being good for the farm and knew exactly what she was talking about.


    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll do it now.¡± I mentally navigated the System¡¯s [Animal Husbandry] tab and selected [Small Pen] which I placed on the ground in the spot we had chosen.


    ¡°May I take a look at the eggs again?¡± asked Lari.


    I already anticipated that they would want to choose the eggs, so I handed them a basket full of the requested items.


    [Chicken Egg:


    A wonderful item full of hopes and dreams! What kind of chicken will hatch from this egg?]


    ¡°I like the shiny ones!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Still hoping for a golden chicken that lays golden eggs?¡± Mo poked the white egg with yellow spots that Lari had chosen.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lari handed me the egg.


    Kharli picked a pure white one, while Mo handed me a blue and green striped one. I randomly grabbed three more and then placed them all inside the [Small Pen] along with some water and [Animal Feed]. In real life, the eggs should¡¯ve been put in an incubator, but this was how it worked in Adventure Incarnate.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. They should hatch in three days,¡± I said.


    ***


    Three days later, we set up chairs and a canopy beside the pen to watch the chickens hatch. All of the staff had taken the day off, and we were munching on snacks and drinking while we waited.


    ¡°Look! There! That one¡¯s hatching.¡± Mo jumped up from her seat in excitement and ran to the side of the pen.


    Lari and Kharli ran beside her and the rest of the staff followed suit while I remained seated. I doubted that there would be much to see. There wasn¡¯t much to the hatching process. A few cracks in the egg appeared, then a small hole which slowly became bigger and bigger until a chick emerged from it.


    ¡°Amazing! It''s our first chicken,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°It¡¯s so cute!¡± Kharli made cooing noises at the chick.


    In the next thirty minutes, all six eggs hatched.


    ¡°Can I touch them?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°They¡¯re still newly hatched chicks. We probably shouldn¡¯t touch them,¡± said Fengying. Beside her, the Demon Chef nodded.


    Fengying let the maids and kitchen staff watch for a few more minutes before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work.¡±


    I had the impression that they had been expecting something more spectacular even though I had told them that it was just a few chickens. My housekeeper, chef, and the rest of the staff left while I stayed to examine the animals¡¯ information using the System. All but one of them were the same.


    [Chicken:


    A rare breed of spirit hen that lays high-quality eggs. Its feathers can be used to make arrows. Mostly gentle.]


    The sixth one was a surprise.


    ¡°Teacher, this one isn¡¯t a chicken!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yes, it seems like it.¡± The System information was quite clear about that.


    [Red Junglefowl:


    This is not your ordinary chicken. In fact, it¡¯s not a chicken at all. The Red Junglefowl is the wild ancestor of all domesticated chicken breeds. The males are larger than the females and have more colorful feathers.]


    Unlike the other chicks that were just balls of white or yellow fluff, the [Red Junglefowl] was covered in red fluff and a few tiny red feathers on its wings.


    When I was living in Singapore, one of my classmates lived in a housing estate that had lots of wild chickens living behind it. We used to joke about catching and eating them, but the red junglefowl was a protected species. Also, those non-chickens never crossed the road. They flew over it.


    However, I was pretty sure the junglefowl chicks in Singapore were brown, not red. This [Red Junglefowl] must be a special spirit animal. I even fancied that I saw a hint of intelligence in its beady black eyes.


    ¡°This one is male, right?¡± I asked.


    Lari nodded. ¡°The fluff is bright red, so I think it is.¡±


    ¡°But we don¡¯t want these to breed since the chickens might become wild,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo wrinkled her nose. ¡°It¡¯s the only male.¡±


    ¡°The only male of this batch of eggs. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get more,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll give these five days before putting them in the inventory. Deming said that five-day-old chicks should be big enough to sell.¡±


    That¡¯s what I said, but I should¡¯ve known better. I should never have sold the [Red Junglefowl].

 Chapter 118 - Rice-Fish Culture System

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 118 - Holy Carp! That''s Rice on the Money!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Since I had decided to sell livestock, there wasn¡¯t an urgent need to expand the clearing that I had designated for the animals, so the next day we went to the site that I had earmarked for the Immortal Herbs.


    As we cut down the trees to make space for the herbs, I told my apprentices about the requirements.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just plant the seeds without preparing the soil first. The seeds wouldn¡¯t grow,¡± I said. ¡°We''ll need to use the [Mysterious Goo] and green manure on the soil before we can get started.¡±


    ¡°Green manure?¡± Mo gave me an inquiring look.


    Today we were all dressed in our simple work clothes: unadorned black or brown pants and robes made of plain cotton. The one thing that set us apart from peasant farmers was our fine custom-made leather boots made of the softest doeskin available.


    As far as I was concerned, life was too short to wear lousy shoes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really manure. People just call it that because it serves the same purpose as animal manure. What we will do is to plant some fast-growing crops that will enrich the soil. Before it becomes fully mature, we¡¯ll plow it back into the soil,¡± I said.


    ¡°I think I understand. The spiritual plants will go into the soil and enrich it with their energy,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°And nutrients. We¡¯ll have to do that several times until the soil becomes [Black Soil],¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, let me guess! [Black Soil] is black because it¡¯s very rich in energy. Did I get it right, Teacher?¡± Mo looked pleased with herself.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The soil will turn black when it has a large amount of decomposed organic matter. This would normally take a long time, but we have the System to help us,¡± I said.


    ¡°So all we have to do is to plant some crops and take care of the worms and your demon pet? That doesn¡¯t sound so hard,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°It¡¯s not hard at all. We just have to be patient,¡± I said.


    ¡°How long do you think it will take before we can start planting Immortal Herbs, Teacher?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Hmm. I have no idea. The first thing we¡¯ll do is to plant [Buckwheat] We normally can''t plant seeds outside of the planting season but since the System gave me a quest to create [Black Soil], it''s allowed for now, but we can''t harvest these. They will have to be plowed back into the soil.¡± I gave them some [Buckwheat] to examine.


    [Buckwheat:


    A fast-growing herbaceous plant with heart-shaped leaves and delicate white or pink flowers that bloom in clusters. The roots of the buckwheat plant grow deep into the ground and break up compacted soil, improving soil structure. The plant¡¯s nutrient-rich grain has a hearty, nutty flavor and can be ground into flour.]


    ¡°Bear in mind that we won¡¯t be harvesting this, okay?¡± The three of them nodded, and I continued my explanation. ¡°We¡¯ll also plant [Spirit Grass], [Wild Seed Mix] and [Soybeans].¡±


    I let them examine some [Soybeans] from my inventory.


    [Soybean:


    An important legume plant that produces protein-rich beans that is used to make a wide variety of products such as oil, soy sauce, tofu, soy milk, tempeh, miso, etc. Soybean plants also help improve soil productivity by enriching the soil with nitrogen.]


    ¡°We have soybeans? Why don¡¯t we grow some in summer and give it to the chef? I¡¯d love some soy sauce made from spirit soybeans,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m waiting for my level 20 Farming. I¡¯ll unlock some new machines, and then I¡¯ll make soybean products myself,¡± I said.


    ¡°I feel a little discouraged that Teacher doesn¡¯t need the harvest anymore, now that she can cook,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Cheer up. I never actually needed to farm¡­¡± That was a fact. From day one, I¡¯d had tons of useful items in my inventory. I patted Mo on the shoulder. ¡°I want to farm.¡±


    ¡°Me, too!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I love farming,¡± said Kharli. ¡°And Lari loves the money we make from farming.¡±


    We all laughed, even Lari.


    ¡°You girls love money, too,¡± said Lari. ¡°You spend as much time shopping as I do.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t love gold as much as you do. I bet you would sleep in a pile of gold coins if you could.¡± Kharli gestured vigorously with her woodcutting ax which almost flew out of her grasp, but she got hold of it in time with her other hand. She gave Lari a sheepish look. ¡°Oops.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it, this discussion is over. Let¡¯s focus on woodcutting now.¡± That was my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have had such a long conversation that took our attention away from our task.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± my apprentices chorused.


    In the next five days, we cut down as many trees as we could after watering and weeding the crops. Once we had a decent-sized open field, we planted [Spirit Grass] and [Wild Seed Mix] in alternating rows. Then we spent five more days cutting down more trees and planting [Buckwheat] and [Soybeans].


    The next day, the chickens were sold. The next batch of animals that hatched included a special chicken breed.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    [Black-Boned Silkie:


    A striking breed of chicken known for its fluffy plumage that is silky soft to the touch. Silkies are docile and have a strong maternal instinct which makes them a great choice for taking care of their own as well as other breeds¡¯ eggs and chicks. Though its egg-laying ability is not as good as most other chickens, its black meat and bones are considered gourmet ingredients with curative properties.]


    ¡°This seems quite valuable,¡± I said.


    Fengying, who had come with the rest of the staff to watch the hatching, nodded. ¡°My lady, you should keep this in your storage for now. You should sell this to whoever manages to raise the best chickens.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Based on what I had been told about spirit animals, they were quite difficult to raise. It would be a waste to give this [Black-Boned Silkie] to someone who might not have the ability to take care of it properly.


    ¡°Lord Shuye sent word this morning that the [Red Junglefowl] was auctioned off to the Raccoon Clan,¡± said Fengying. ¡°They have a wild population of junglefowl in their territory in a place called Emerald Hill. Of course, the [Red Junglefowl] will be kept in a special enclosure and fed with the [Animal Feed] you¡¯re providing until it grows to maturity before being introduced to the flock.¡±


    ¡°Nice. I hope our little chick has a great life,¡± I said.


    ***


    One week later, the rice seedlings had grown tall enough that it was time for the next step.


    ¡°Now for something fun! It¡¯s time for us to start our Rice-fish Culture System.¡± I was excited because I was close to a Farming level and the quest reward would probably make me level up.


    [Two-In-One:


    Develop a Rice-fish Culture System on your farm.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    I read the quest information out loud for my apprentices.


    [Rice-fish Culture System:


    The water in a rice paddy can be used for more than just growing rice. Farmers can also stock it with fish in order to secure an easy source of protein. Furthermore, the fish will improve soil quality by softening the soil and providing nutrients via their excrement. It is also good for pest management since fish eat insects, snails, fungus, weeds, etc.]


    When I finished reading the System¡¯s explanation out loud, I showed them the [Rice Carp] and [Cleaner Shrimp].


    [Rice Carp:


    A special fast-growing variety of carp that has been bred to grow in the shallow water of rice paddies. It eats aquatic insects, insect larvae, algae, weeds, and snails. One fish can eat up to 1,000 snails a day. Growing these fish alongside rice will increase crop yields and quality.]


    [Cleaner Shrimp:


    A tiny freshwater red shrimp that glows in the dark. These hardworking scavenger shrimp are very useful because they eat algae and detritus, as well as ectoparasites from fish.]


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that amazing?¡± I beamed at my apprentices.


    ¡°Amazing,¡± echoed Mo.


    ¡°Teacher, we know about a similar system,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You know that the White Tiger clan¡¯s primary source of wealth is silk production?¡± asked Kharli.


    I nodded. Prince Baiyu told me about that. The reason why he was always wearing fine silk robes was because it was a good advertisement for the clan¡¯s products. They raised silkworms and had a whole silk industry including weavers, dyers, embroideries, tailors, and so forth.


    The most prized type of silk was Ironblood Silk, made from the cocoons of the Ironblood Silkworm, which had a strong defensive power akin to that of the finest enchanted steel. I asked Prince Baiyu why it was called Ironblood instead of Steelblood, but he just shrugged and said it was just what it was called.


    ¡°Farmers grow mulberry trees and have fish ponds on their farm. They feed the mulberry leaves to the silkworms and the silkworm pupae and excrement to the fish.¡± Kharli smiled at my startled expression.


    ¡°Wow, that''s very interesting. Yes, we¡¯ll be doing something similar. Wait a moment while I prepare the paddies for the fish.¡±


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo watched intently as I used the System¡¯s building tools to build [Fish Refuges] around the paddies.


    [Fish Refuge:


    A deeper area in the Rice-fish Culture System that serves as a refuge for the fish in case the water level drops. It can take the form of trenches, ponds, or pits, but trenches are preferred since they also provide the fish with passageways for feeding in the rice field.]


    Glowing golden lines and magical runes appeared on the ground. I adjusted the lines to fit the area better. The water in the paddies was currently elbow deep, and the System guided me to dig trenches to twice that depth. The glowing lines and runes disappeared in a flash of light and the loud percussive sound of a jackhammer, leaving behind empty trenches dug on the ground.


    ¡°Done. Now we have to open the irrigation water gates to flood the trenches.¡± I theatrically wiped my forehead with a crisp white handkerchief even though I hadn¡¯t sweated at all since the System did all the work for me.


    ¡°Me! I¡¯ll do it.¡± Mo eagerly volunteered for the task and ran off without even waiting for my permission.


    ¡°She¡¯s quite lively today.¡± I raised an eyebrow at my other apprentices.


    Kharli smiled. ¡°She drank that coffee drink you like so much, Teacher. It makes her restless.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t even like the taste of coffee,¡± said Lari. ¡°She only drinks it because she wants to imitate you, Teacher.¡±


    I was a bit flattered by that. ¡°You never know, she might develop a taste for it.¡±


    ¡°Tea is more refined,¡± muttered Lari beneath his breath.


    I waited until Mo came back before setting up chairs, a canopy, and a small table beside the rice paddies. We had to watch over the process of filling the trenches to make sure that the water flowed slowly enough that it didn¡¯t wash away the crops.


    Before we sat down to eat some snacks, I took out baskets of fingerling [Rice Carp] and [Cleaner Shrimp] and half-submerged them in the water of the paddies.


    ¡°The baskets are watertight at the bottom, but the top part will let in a little water. I¡¯ll put this in to gradually balance the water temperature inside and outside the basket. That way, the fish will get acclimated. When the basket is full, it will sink and the fish will swim out by themselves,¡± I said.


    ¡°The System is so clever,¡± said Kharli.


    Lari was walking around the trenches with a frown on his face. When he finished his inspection, he joined us at the table and said, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m afraid that the water will overflow if it rains. Shouldn¡¯t we raise the ground around the trenches and put some drainage holes?¡±


    ¡°We had a pond in the orphanage that always overflowed whenever it rained,¡± said Mo. ¡°But the staff were too lazy to fix it.¡±


    ¡°...I hadn¡¯t even thought of that. Okay, I¡¯ll do that.¡± I used the build tools on manual mode to modify the trenches as Lari had suggested, adding some drainage pipes for good measure.


    We spent an hour playing Connect Four and chatting about this and that while munching on the Demon Chef¡¯s excellent pastries and drinking tea or coffee.


    When the water level reached the desired height, I added the [Fish Feed Box] to each rice paddy that would automatically release [Fish Feed] as needed. The fingerlings probably wouldn¡¯t need it, but as the fish grew, the [Fish Feed] could supplement their diet and make them grow bigger and fatter for the fish harvest.


    The moment the last fish swam out of the last basket, I received the System notification that I had been waiting for.


    [Two-In-One: Quest Complete


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    The System¡¯s fireworks exploded around me.


    [Congratulations you just advanced a Farming level!]


    [Your Farming level is now 20.]

 Chapter 119 - Level 20 Farming Milestone and Rewards

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 119- Serenely Steeped, Remarkably Relaxing and Positively Brew-tiful</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    ¡°Yes! Level 20!¡± I jumped up from my chair and pumped a fist into the air. ¡°This is great! You guys stay here and watch the water, okay? Close the water gate when you¡¯re done. I have to go do some System stuff.¡±


    My apprentices congratulated me and I left for my [Ranch House] where I checked all the new things I unlocked by reaching the level 20 Farming milestone.


    The first thing I did was to take out the puppet upgrades that I got as a reward.


    ¡°Mr. Bear, here''s a treat for you,¡± I said as I took the three ruby hearts from the System¡¯s reward tab. My puppet already had a ruby heart on its chest, and when I placed the three new ones on it, the heart sucked them in and grew slightly lighter in color. ¡°You¡¯re much stronger now!¡±


    [Puppet Name: Mr. Bear


    A magical plushie unlike any other. This cute and cuddly bear is made of a special type of plush cloth and magical stuffing that gives it special powers. When its owner is in danger, this bear will come to life.


    Though Mr. Bear is a wizard type, this puppet is also equipped with hidden metal claws and teeth.


    Type: Magic


    Base spell: Fireball


    Upgrades: 4/99]


    In addition to the puppet upgrades, I also got a few other goodies.


    Players could normally unlock the first three levels of house upgrade at level 20 Farming, but I had completed a quest previously that gave me access to them. I was hoping that I would unlock the fourth one, the [Palace], but no such thing happened.


    The System menu still showed the same types of houses that were available for me to build, which were the European styles of [Cottage], [Ranch House], and [Mansion], as well as the traditional [One Courtyard House], [Two Courtyard House], and [Three Courtyard House].


    Hmm, maybe it was time to add a third courtyard? I hadn¡¯t seen a need for it last year, but my household was bigger now and more people might visit me. It would be useful to have a separate place to entertain guests.


    That was all very well and nice, but the most important thing was that the limit for the number of buildings I could place on the farm had increased by one. Now I could add a [Greenhouse] in addition to the [Ranch House], [Two Courtyard House], and [Mill].


    I also unlocked a boat upgrade.


    And last, but certainly not least, my limit for animals increased from six to eight.


    The increase in my building limit was the most significant reward.


    Technically speaking, I didn¡¯t actually need to have two houses. No pro player would have two houses on their farm because it was a waste of resources. However, for me, it was very important to have a place that was solely mine, where I could have privacy.


    The [Rice Mill] was important because I had a contract with the White Tiger clan to supply them with the three sacks of rice it produced every day.


    What should I make for the fourth building? The [Greenhouse] was truly a no-brainer, but it was the standard operating procedure for players to constantly build, destroy, and rebuild every few days because of the limitation on the total number of buildings. For example, when one wanted to make [Flour], they would build a [Mill] until they had enough made. Then they would destroy the building to make way for whichever processing machine they needed next.


    During the endgame, the most valuable building was the [Winery]. That was a building where fruit was put in [Casks] and turned into wine which could then be sold as is or aged for 60 to 90 days. Aged wine sold for a very high price, but the [Winery] was not an option for me at this time because it could not be built, destroyed, and rebuilt like the others. Destroying it ejected the wine from the casks, interrupting the aging process so that one had to start from day one again.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Of course, I knew the list of buildings by heart, but I browsed the System¡¯s building type anyway to refresh my memory and maybe get some ideas about what I should do next.


    I had previously built a [Smelter] which was great as a set-and-forget way to automatically smelt ores, but I could do it faster with multiple furnaces, albeit I had to smelt ores manually with furnaces.


    Another [Mill] was a good idea. I could use it to make more [Rice] or [Flour].


    Last year, I had built a [Sugar Mill], and we still had plenty of sugar left, not to mention the honey we got from the beehives.


    The [Creamery] was also a good idea. It made butter, cream, and cheese, which didn¡¯t feature in the local cuisine much, but they would work as premium luxury products.


    I wasn¡¯t sure, but I reckoned the [Mayonnaise Factory] that made [Mayonnaise] from eggs wouldn¡¯t be too useful since I hadn¡¯t seen mayonnaise in my entire year spent in this world.


    The [Oil Press] and [Sausage Maker] should generally be okay, though I wasn¡¯t excited about it. We had plenty of lard and sausages that the Demon Chef had made from the spirit animals that we hunted and the demon animals that Prince Baiyu sent.


    Another thing I wanted to build was the [Soy Machine] that made soy milk, tofu, soy sauce, miso, and tempeh.


    I wasn¡¯t in a rush, so I took my time to think about it and browsed more of the System buildings. There were quite a lot of them, including some novelty ones like the [Chocolate Factory] and [Candy Paradise]. My best bet was probably the [Textile Loom] and [Tea Machine] followed by the [Creamery], [Soy Machine], and another [Mill].


    When I was done with all the production buildings, I would build the [Greenhouse].


    Once I made up my mind, went back to see my apprentices and brought them with me to an open spot beside the [Rice Mill].


    ¡°Watch me. I¡¯m going to do something exciting,¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher, shouldn¡¯t we tell the others first?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°You think so? I didn¡¯t think about that,¡± I said. ¡°Okay, go to the house and tell them I¡¯m building something new.¡±


    These days I was much more comfortable using the System in front of other people.


    Mo ran off and I waited until everyone had arrived before choosing the [Tea Machine] in the System¡¯s building tab. A large glowing magic circle appeared on the ground. It pulsed with a bright light three times then my chosen building appeared.


    The [Tea Machine] was a one-story wooden building with a vaguely Japanese-looking design, with sliding screens that looked like shoji that were made of bamboo and thin, translucent white silk on the front wall. The cambered roof was sharply inclined and covered in gray clay tiles. Lari whistled loudly when we entered and he saw that the interior walls were covered in gold paint. The coffered ceiling was gilded and decorated with luminous golden pearls as big as my fist.


    ¡°It¡¯s so fancy!¡± said Mo.


    Lari didn¡¯t say anything because he was busy trying to use a small pocket knife to scrape off the gold from the walls.


    ¡°Stop that! It¡¯s obviously just gold paint, not real gold,¡± said Kharli.


    I ignored them in favor of examining the huge industrial steel machine in the middle of the building. At one end was a small leather bag with a large opening labeled ¡°Input.¡± On the other end was a metal chute labeled ¡°Output¡± and there was a wooden container under it. In the middle of the machine was a red button with white text on it that read ¡°Start/Stop.¡± Below the red button were smaller ones labeled ¡°Black Tea,¡± ¡°Green Tea,¡± ¡°Yellow Tea,¡± ¡°Oolong Tea,¡± "Jasmine Tea," and ¡°White Tea.¡±


    The central part of the machine was made of glass, and we peered into it to see what was inside. I saw a conveyor belt, rollers, fans, mesh screens, cutters, and other parts that I couldn¡¯t identify.


    ¡°Okay, why don¡¯t I mix some [Black Tea] for us first?¡± I wasn¡¯t really asking for anyone¡¯s opinion, so I immediately climbed up the ladder and filled the ¡°Input¡± container with [Tea Leaves] from my inventory. Then I went to the ¡°Start/Stop¡± button and pressed it.


    Our ears were assaulted by a loud grinding noise as the machine started up. The [Tea Leaves] gently fluttered down into a conveyor belt and then disappeared into the bowels of the machine. I waited to see if anything would happen, but nothing did. Machines generally took almost the entire day to finish processing raw materials.


    ¡°Hey, guys, I¡¯m not going to stay here and watch. Please send someone to collect the tea at the end of the day.¡± I pointed at the container at the other end of the machine. ¡°It will be deposited there.¡±


    ¡°Spirit tea! They say it can greatly boost cultivation,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°It won¡¯t have any effect on us since we''re not cultivators,¡± I said. ¡°Whoever wants to stay here can do so. I have stuff to do, so I¡¯ll return to my house.¡±


    I gestured to my three apprentices and we left the building.


    ¡°We¡¯ve done very well so far. I remember that last year I promised to bring the three of you to hunt [Horned Rabbits]. Let¡¯s go tomorrow,¡± I said.


    ¡°They''re so tasty,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Thank you, Teacher! I¡¯ve been looking forward to that. I¡¯ll show you my archery skills,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°She¡¯s been practicing a lot,¡± said Mo, who looked less than enthused. Of the three of them, her archery skills were the worst by far.


    ¡°Great. I think we¡¯ll have a lot of fun,¡± I said.


    Alas, it was not to be. The next day, when I woke up, I was shocked by the sight of a sea of blood.


    ¡°What?! How could this happen?¡±

 Chapter 120 - A sea of blood

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 120 - Rice as rain and barn to be wild</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    I had a visitor whose name was Aunt Flo. She hadn¡¯t visited me the whole time I was in this world, so I had, perhaps naively, thought she didn¡¯t exist for me here. I threw off the blanket and ran to the shower to wash off the blood. Most people would¡¯ve washed the sheets, too, but I simply put the entire bed, sheets included, into my inventory and then dragged the item into the System trash bin. Then I placed a brand new bed in its place.


    Adventure Incarnate was not the sort of game that included feminine hygiene products for that special time of the month, so I had to improvise my own by cutting up a cotton nightgown into strips and roughly sewing them together to make some pads.


    Thankfully, Yinuo was waiting right outside my house with my breakfast, and when I told her my problem, she promptly offered to help.


    ¡°My lady, I¡¯ll tell your apprentices that you¡¯re indisposed. Don¡¯t worry about a thing! I¡¯ll bring some supplies over to your house,¡± said Yinuo.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and load the [Tea Machine] with more [Tea Leaves],¡± I said.


    ¡°The [Black Tea] was already collected earlier. The chef said it¡¯s low-grade,¡± said Yinuo.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll make [Green Tea] this time,¡± I said.


    I loaded the [Tea Machine] as quickly as I could and pressed the [Green Tea] button. I personally preferred coffee to tea, but I did have a fondness for jasmine tea.


    Yinuo was fast. By the time I returned to the house, she was already waiting at the gate for me with a dozen ancient ¡°moon pads,¡± as they were called here. They were bulky things made of linen cloth rags and stuffed with spongey, highly absorbent moss. She also gave me a belt that was used to hold them in place and a belly wrap that was meant to keep my stomach and back warm.


    I gave the items a dubious look. ¡°Er¡­ these are reusable?¡±


    Yinuo frowned. ¡°No, I mean the belt and wrap are, and I guess you could reuse the cloth, but the moss has to be discarded, of course.¡±


    ¡°...Yes, of course!¡± I tried to look knowledgeable, but I must have failed because she offered to show me how to use the items.


    Ever since I built the [Ranch House], I hadn¡¯t let anyone else inside because I valued my privacy. However, I reckoned that I did need to learn the ins and outs of this world¡¯s common sense, so I invited Yinuo inside. I would¡¯ve liked it better if Prince Baiyu was my first visitor.


    ¡°Common peasants and the like use rougher stuff, and they do reuse those items. My lady, as a wealthy noblewoman, you don¡¯t need to do that. Just use as many of these as you need then discard them,¡± said Yinuo.


    ¡°That seems a little wasteful,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s how things are done in noble households,¡± she said.


    She showed me how to put the belt and pad on, but when I tried to walk, it felt somewhat uncomfortable.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little too bulky, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I can sew smaller ones for you, but¡­. They might leak,¡± said Yinuo. "May I suggest that you wear pants and a thick skirt over it, just in case?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s a good idea,¡± I said. ¡°I mean making smaller ones and me wearing more layers.¡±


    ¡°How do you feel, my lady? Do you have a headache or cramps?¡± asked my maid.


    ¡°Yes to both.¡±


    ¡°I asked Madam Fengying to brew the herbal tisane for women¡¯s moon time troubles. It should be ready by now.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be watering the crops,¡± I said.


    Yinui fake coughed gently into her hand. ¡°Is that wise? A woman¡¯s qi is unbalanced during these times. Perhaps my lady should refrain from tending to spiritual crops.¡±


    I waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just for regular people. My bloodline inheritance balances my energy for me.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll return with the tisane,¡± said Yinuo.


    There was still a slight chill in the air this early in the spring season, which meant that I didn¡¯t look ridiculous wearing a thick pair of pants and skirt. I wondered what I should do in the summer.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I finished eating a hearty breakfast of demon pig bacon, wild quail eggs, toast, and strawberry jam before going out to the fields.


    The first thing I did was to check the rice paddies and carp. The water level was fine and didn¡¯t need adjustment. When Yinuo returned, I drank the herbal drink she gave me. It tasted like grass and earth.


    ¡°Eugh!¡± I made a face.


    ¡°Have a honey candy.¡± Yinuo handed me a sticky piece of candy made of peanuts and honey.


    ¡°That¡¯s much better.¡±


    ¡°The tisane will take around an hour or two to take effect. I¡¯ll return at noon for your next drink. The effect would have worn off by that time.¡±


    I really hoped the tisane would be effective. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Yinuo left, and I went to water the other crops along with my apprentices. This activity only consumed one-fifth of my energy, so we used the rest of it by cutting down trees near the main house since I wanted to expand it.


    ¡°Bad news, kids. I don¡¯t want to go hunting today since my stomach hurts,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve taken some medicine, but I expect it will last a few more days.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, you¡¯re sick? Did you eat something bad you foraged?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that,¡± I said.


    Kharli and Mo grabbed Lari by the shoulder and hustled him a few steps away from me. What followed was a hushed discussion. I could hear a few words here and there like ¡°shut up,¡± ¡°that time,¡± ¡°tactful,¡± and ¡°moon.¡±


    They walked back to me, Lari scratching his head.


    ¡°Do I need to explain the ¡®facts of life¡¯ to you kids?¡± After all, it was my duty as their guardian to educate them.


    ¡°Teacher, we already know about it,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Are you sure? Do you have any questions?¡± I asked them.


    Kharli and Mo exchanged looks while Lari bent his head and looked down at his boots as though they were the most fascinating thing in the world right now.


    ¡°Teacher, wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for us to ask Madam Fengying? Since you¡¯re almost the same age as us. This is your first time, right?¡± Kharli smirked at me.


    ¡°Well, yes, that does make sense.¡± I had to admit my housekeeper knew a lot more about it since I was a newcomer to this world. ¡°Okay, since we won¡¯t be going hunting, what do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go foraging,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Smithing!¡± was Lari¡¯s answer.


    ¡°Wait, I want to change my answer to smithing!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Why? Just go foraging, it¡¯s what you love to do,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re planning to use up all the [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars],¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Everyone already agreed I was going to raise Smithing while you two do Fletching.¡± Lari pouted and looked to me for confirmation.


    This was a real problem. For efficiency¡¯s sake, we should really divide the labor such that each person specializes in something different instead of all three of them raising all their crafting skills at the same time.


    On the other hand, my apprentices weren¡¯t NPCs in a game. They had their own preferences, and it would be hard for me to force them to give up Smithing since they really liked it.


    ¡°It would be better if only one of you did Smithing, but I¡¯ll allow everyone to work on it until you reach level 10. We should know by that time which one of you three has the most skill in Smithing.¡± I thought that was a good compromise. ¡°You know what this means, right? I¡¯ll have to smelt three times more than I was planning to this week.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡± Mo was overjoyed and impulsively flung her arms around me. ¡°You¡¯re the best.¡±


    ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll trust you all to Smith by yourselves. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll be resting in my house.¡± The cramps weren¡¯t that bad, but they weren¡¯t fun either.


    I gave each of them one-third of the [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars] and left.


    Back at my [Ranch House], I realized I could make a hot water bottle by filling a [Rubber Chicken] with water and wrapping it in cloth to avoid triggering its effect.


    [Rubber Chicken:


    This rubber chicken toy is no ordinary chicken! It''s a super fun, interactive toy that will keep you entertained for hours on end. This chicken has a movable head and wings, and makes realistic chicken sounds when you squeeze it. It''s also durable and easy to clean, making it the perfect toy for both indoor and outdoor play.


    Magic -1 (every three seconds)]


    Why did a [Rubber Chicken] have a valve for water anyway? I puzzled over this until I realized that it wasn¡¯t for water, it was for inflating it with air.


    Mystery solved, I sprawled on a window seat and put my improvised water bottle on my stomach. The heat really helped with the pain. I spent the rest of the morning reading storybooks and finishing off the box of chocolate that came with the Cash Shop¡¯s [Romantic Valentine] costume set.


    At lunchtime, Yinuo knocked on my gate carrying a large, multilayered lunchbox, a pot of hot soup, and more of the tisane. I had to tell her that the herbal brew wasn¡¯t working, and she said to try another cup first. If that didn¡¯t work by dinnertime, she would ask Fengying to make a different, stronger tisane.


    ¡°My lady, the guard that Lord Shuye sent to accompany you and your apprentices to the Horned Rabbits¡¯ Valley has offered to supervise the hunt,¡± said Yinuo.


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s a good idea. I know the kids were looking forward to it.¡± The Horned Rabbits weren¡¯t that dangerous, especially compared to a warrior of the White Tiger clan. ¡°Tell them they can go.¡±


    Yinuo went off to give the kids the good news while I ate mushroom soup, sweetcorn rice, roast pork belly, stir-fried garlic sprouts, and more of the honey candy as dessert.


    After a bit of rest after lunch, I went back to work. Since I still had a lot of energy left, I decided to clear some of the trees on the west side of the main house since I wanted to expand it to a [Three Courtyard House].


    I had just finished Woodcutting and was on my way back to my house when, to my surprise, my three apprentices returned with their White Tiger clansman guard.


    ¡°Teacher! We had to run away!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°They were so savage. I can¡¯t believe Teacher hunted those monsters,¡± said Mo with a wide-eyed expression of awe on her face.


    ¡°No, I think we went to the wrong place somehow. Those weren¡¯t [Horned Rabbits],¡± said Kharli.


    The clan member, who was a tall woman with long auburn hair and piercing gray eyes, silently handed me a leather bag. My mouth fell open in shock when I opened it and saw what was inside.


    ¡°This is amazing! Let¡¯s go and hunt some more of them,¡± I said. ¡°We should get at least one for each of us.¡±


    One was definitely not enough since it was a rare item that gave a Hunting skill boost.

 Chapter 121 - Proof of your skill as a Hunter &#x1F407;&#x1F407;&#x1F407;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 121 - Ewe are o-fish-ally fin-tastic</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    ¡°Unbelievable! Are you seeing what I¡¯m seeing?¡± I asked my apprentices as I held up the trophy they showed me.


    [Jackalope Antlers:


    Proof of your skill as a Hunter. Can be displayed in your house.


    +1 Hunting]


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lari smiled. ¡°We all got one.¡±


    The three of them then took out one set of antlers each from their inventory.


    ¡°Oh my gosh. How did you get these?¡± I examined each of the antlers in turn. They were of different sizes and shades of brown and red, but they all had the +1 Hunting bonus.


    ¡°Teacher, we went to the [Horned Rabbits¡¯ Valley] on the map, but they had all evolved to [Armored Jackalopes]. The rabbits weren¡¯t small and cute like you said, and their horns became antlers. They had some weird bony armor over their vitals,¡± said Lari. ¡°Our arrows couldn¡¯t pierce their armor, so the Commander killed one for each of us.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much,¡± I said to the clan member who had been introduced to us as the Commander of the Ancient Hill Forest¡¯s Tiger Spirit Division. ¡°Uh, I hope you kept some for yourself?¡±


    That was the deal. We got an escort from the clan to protect us from any unforeseen dangers, and they got to hunt the spirit beasts with us. They kept half of whatever game they killed.


    ¡°Yes, I did. I¡¯ll hand over your share of the meat and parts to the staff,¡± said the Commander.


    ¡°Oh, right, let¡¯s go inside. Would you like to wash up and have some tea?¡± I wondered if jackalope meat would taste more like rabbit or venison since they had deer-like antlers.


    We walked into the main house where I asked Fengying to take over the hostess duties since I was still feeling slightly unwell from my ¡°moon time.¡± I made my excuses and hustled my apprentices to our quarters. We went to Kharli¡¯s room first.


    ¡°We just need to display the trophies in our rooms. Kharli, put it back in your inventory then right-click [Use] on it. Pick a space on a wall and [Use] it there,¡± I said.


    She quickly got the hang of it though she wasn¡¯t satisfied with the placement until she tried out all four walls. In the end, she chose the space above her door.


    ¡°It looks very fierce,¡± said Kharli. ¡°I don¡¯t want people to see it when they enter.¡±


    I looked up at the antlers and then at Kharli¡¯s bedroom whose wooden walls were painted mint green and furnished with delicate wooden furniture. Her bed was covered with a colorful patchwork quilt. ¡°It does look out of place, but the Hunting bonus is worth it!¡±


    ¡°Can I remove it when I¡¯m not hunting?¡± asked Kharli.


    I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I guess so. I¡¯m just afraid you¡¯ll forget to put it back when you need it.¡±


    Lari, Mo, and I then went to our bedrooms and placed the [Jackalope Antlers] above our doors.


    ¡°Were you scared when you saw the [Armored Jackalopes]?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°Naw, they were down in the valley and couldn¡¯t reach us since we stood in the high place the System showed us,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Teacher, Kharli¡¯s arrows hit every single time!¡± said Mo. ¡°I hit a few, too.¡±


    ¡°No, no, I missed a few, and all my arrows glanced off the armor anyway,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Hey, I hit almost as many times as Kharli did,¡± said Lari.


    Mo rolled her eyes while Kharli hid a smile behind her hand.


    ¡°Hmm, since you guys can¡¯t handle those spirit animals, we should avoid that area of the forest for now,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t train you guys up only for you to become the jackalopes¡¯ dinner.¡±


    ¡°The Commander said she¡¯ll send some of her people there to thin the colony,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll have to ask her to map their territory. That place is north of the farm, right? Let¡¯s avoid that place until the Commander says it''s okay,¡± I said.


    ¡°She said that if they¡¯re too dangerous, they¡¯ll kill half of the jackalopes and relocate them to a more remote area where they won¡¯t bother people,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be happy if they do! Teacher, they had really scary eyes that glowed red. And their feet thumped like this.¡± Mo lifted her right knee and stomped on the ground repeatedly, making a loud thumping sound.


    ¡°Huh? Why would they be thumping their feet?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Maybe to scare off rival animals? Like the way gorillas do.¡± Lari beat his chest and roared the way he imagined a gorilla would.


    ¡°Don¡¯t yell, we have a guest,¡± I said. ¡°So now they have antlers like a deer. Do they also look like deer?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re just big brown rabbits,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Big, mean, scary rabbits,¡± said Mo. ¡°They really put up a fight against the Commander. She said their antlers are hard like steel.¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°They might not be mean, you know. We¡¯re the ones who invaded their territory and started killing them,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± I said. ¡°Animals can¡¯t be blamed for defending themselves from hunters. Anyway, go and have dinner with the Commander. Be nice, okay? I¡¯ll stay in my [Ranch House.]¡±


    Mo and Kharli made shooing motions with their hands and Lari took the hint. They waited until he left before speaking.


    ¡°Teacher, we¡¯ll bring you a hot water bottle after dinner,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s a good idea,¡± I said.


    ¡°It helps with the cramps. I heard the tea isn¡¯t working?¡± asked Mo.


    I sighed. ¡°It helps a little with the headache, but not with the cramps.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your stomach get cold, Teacher. That makes it worse,¡± said Mo.


    They spent a few more minutes commiserating with me before we parted ways.


    ***


    On the fourth day, I woke up to the welcome feeling of the absence of cramps. I thanked my lucky stars that my period was over and felt glum about having to suffer it every month.


    I had no idea why I hadn''t had my period last year. Perhaps my body was still adjusting to this new setting? I knew that stress could make women skip a month or two, but surely one entire year was excessive? Then again, I had no idea what was going on with this body. On the one hand, it looked like my original body from Earth. On the other hand, I had modified my looks via the Cash Shop several times. I only changed my eye color, hair, skin, nails, and other such superficial things, but the mere fact that I could magically change my body meant that it was different from before. Filing that thought under the mental folder labeled "mysterious things that aren''t urgent," I watered the plants with my apprentices.


    Since I had been stuck on the farm for many days now, I was feeling a little antsy. It was time to go and check out the new [Boat] that had been unlocked when I leveled Farming up to 20.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I said to Lari, Kharli, and Mo as Fengying handed us our packed lunch.


    Today we were dressed in colorful spring robes and pants. My robes were patterned with a green bamboo design, but my apprentices¡¯ clothes were much more lively. Mo had chosen a butterfly design while Kharli¡¯s robes featured birds perched on branches covered in peach blossoms. Lari¡¯s robes were covered in cheerful golden yellow honeybees surrounded by honeycombs and flowers.


    We made our way to the river while chatting about this and that. When I first arrived here, the river was south of my farm, but now that I had been granted more land, it now ran through the middle of Emberstone Farm.


    Sunlight danced through the branches of the trees above us that had sprouted fresh green spring leaves. The whole forest was painted in a warm golden hue by the morning sun and the air was scented with the fragrance of wildflowers, wet earth, and decaying leaves.


    ¡°What a wonderful day for an outing,¡± I said to no one in particular.


    When we arrived at the banks of the river whose crystal-clear waters glittered like diamonds, the Commander and two of her men joined us. The Commander looked quite dashing with her sword slung across her back. Like her men, she was in plain black pants and robes. The two of them were tall, muscular men though the younger had sharp, ferret-like features and the older one had a very square jaw and broad forehead. The younger clan member bore a staff while the older one had a sword like the Commander. All three of them looked ready for action.


    We exchanged bows and courteous greetings.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll summon the boat,¡± I said to my waiting audience.


    The [Boat] the player unlocked was a simple one-person wooden canoe that could bring the player to any place on the river and its tributaries. However, the Cash Shop had tons of riverboats. In the game, they functioned exactly the same way that the basic canoe did, except that they looked a lot more flashy. There were colorful dragon boats, silver swan paddle boats, fantastical monster ships, ornate Venetian gondolas, modern catamarans, stately Mississippi paddle-wheelers, and so forth. Though the [Boat] in the game was for only one person, I thought that the bigger Cash Shop items should allow more than one passenger.


    In keeping with the setting, I chose the [Chinese Traditional Ship].


    [Chinese Traditional Ship:


    A pleasure boat that has a single mast and crimson sails. Its shallow keel ensures smooth passage through shallow waters. Passengers can relax on opulently cushioned benches, and enjoy unobstructed views of the scenic surroundings.]


    The Commander and her men gasped when a large magic circle covered in glowing runes appeared on top of the water. It flashed with a bright white light thrice then disappeared, replaced by the [Chinese Traditional Ship].


    The Commander¡¯s men were shocked.


    ¡°A flying ship!¡± said the younger one who had sharp, ferret-like features.


    ¡°What a strong and sinister qi! Where did this ship come from?¡± asked the older one.


    ¡°Incredible. It¡¯s like something from the Central Continent.¡±


    ¡°They have flying ships now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but they cost more than a palace.¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± I smiled proudly at them.


    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s too big for the river!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Um¡­ it should be fine since it''s floating above the water.¡± I walked closer to examine my new mode of transportation.


    The river was rather narrow here, only around ten feet wide whereas the ship was around 36 feet wide and 100 feet long. Rather than settling down in the water, the [Chinese Traditional Ship] floated six feet above it. Fortunately, there was a gangplank with rails that we could use to board the ship.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± I said as I gestured to the gangplank.


    ¡°Teacher, can we bring the others along?¡± asked Mo. ¡°Or at least let them see the boat, I think they¡¯ll want to see it.¡±


    I thought about it. ¡°They can come, but they have to be quick. If they can get ready in half an hour, they can join us. Otherwise, we¡¯ll have to leave them behind. There will be other trips, anyway.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go tell them!¡± Lari whooped and then ran back to the house, Kharli and Mo trailing behind him.


    I smiled indulgently at their high spirits then realized I hadn¡¯t asked the Commander if that was okay with her. ¡°Commander, do you think I can bring a few more people along?¡±


    I knew her name was Chuzeche, but I had difficulty pronouncing it since it was very close to the Mandarin word for taxi and I kept accidentally mispronouncing it, so I called her ¡°Commander¡± instead.


    She shrugged. ¡°It depends on how many of them want to come.¡±


    That made sense.


    I cleared my throat and gave her men a meaningful look. ¡°We don¡¯t have to tell other people about my boat, do we?¡±


    ¡°A blanket cannot hide the light of the moon. My men certainly won¡¯t gossip, but we¡¯ll pass through several families¡¯ territories.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I guess there was no helping it since I was planning to use the boat a few more times this month.


    ¡°This river is a public waterway that¡¯s considered neutral territory. Just don¡¯t fly your ship over land, and you should be fine,¡± she said.


    Fengying, Deming, and the other household staff arrived and exclaimed over the sleek and elegant design of the ship. I didn¡¯t have the heart to insist on my timetable and allowed them to tour it.


    The deck benches were lined with plush embroidered cushions. The Commander and her men settled down on them while the rest of us examined the cabins. There were five of them. Rich golden wood paneling and paintings of seascapes adorned the walls. The beds and chairs were small but well-made. The others were shocked to see that the cabins all had modern flush toilets and showers with hot and cold water. After around an hour, my household staff had their fill of gawking at the ship and left.


    As the owner and captain of the ship, I had prepared my lines ahead of time. I mentally clicked on the System¡¯s map to choose our destination and said, ¡°All hands, prepare to set sail! Cast off the lines and secure for departure. To new horizons, my crew! Let the adventure begin.¡±

 Chapter 122 - Hunting wild animals&#x1F410;&#x1F410;&#x1F410;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 122 - Merely an odor-inary hunting adventure</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Of course, my ¡°crew¡± didn¡¯t actually need to do anything after I clicked on the System map. The gangplank automatically retracted and a strong wind came out of nowhere to fill the ship¡¯s crimson sails. The [Chinese Traditional Ship] flew so fast that the surroundings became a blur. It only took three minutes and fifty seconds for us to reach our destination, part of the river nearest the [Lunar Forest].


    This was my first time going to that place, so I turned on the map¡¯s [Guide Mode]. Bright yellow arrows, visible only to me, appeared on the ground. I followed them and the other six followed behind me, my apprentices chatting about mundane things while the clan members scanned the vicinity, constantly on the alert.


    Soon, the normal trees gave way to white-trunked [Lunar Trees] that had broad silver and green leaves. The yellow arrows faded away and I received the usual System notification.


    [You have arrived at your destination.]


    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot! Guys, come here and see if you can put this on.¡± I handed each of my apprentices a full set of [Training Armor] that included a helmet, breastplate, gauntlets, and platelegs. I should have given it to them when we were on the boat, but the trip had been so fast that I had forgotten.


    Last year, Shuye had told me there were no dangerous animals in the Ancient Hill Forest, so I hadn¡¯t bothered with any protective gear, but now that I knew that animals had mutated into more dangerous forms, I thought it would be good to give them the armor.


    Thankfully, the System allowed my farm hands to use them, maybe because they were training gear. They definitely couldn¡¯t use the [Steel Armor]. We¡¯d tried. They knew enough to use the System¡¯s equip tab instead of manually putting all the items on.


    The Commander and her men looked surprised but made no comment when the armor disappeared and then materialized on their bodies.


    ¡°What kind of armor is this, Teacher?¡± It¡¯s so light!¡± Kharli rotated her elbow, marveling at the smoothness of the movement despite the heavy-looking steel plate covering her arm.


    ¡°It weighs almost nothing, too!¡± Mo jumped up and down then did a cartwheel.


    ¡°Thank you very much, Teacher. Can I keep this armor?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s yours. Make sure you put it on when you go hunting,¡± I said.


    As for me, I put on my [Studded Leather Armor] and slung a quiver of [Orichalcite Arrows] on my back. [Orichalcite] was Adventure Incarnate¡¯s name for steel mixed with enchanted platinum. With my [Goldenwood Longbow] in my hand, I asked the others, ¡°Ready?¡±


    I waited until they nodded before politely bowing and gesturing for the Commander and her men to precede us. They spread out and walked in front of us to scout the [Lunar Forest] while we followed behind them.


    It wasn''t long until we saw them.


    [Lunar Goats:


    These goats have luminous, silver fur that glows in the moonlight, and their milk is rumored to have mystical properties. When threatened, they can phase partially into the ethereal plane, becoming momentarily insubstantial and allowing them to pass through obstacles or evade danger.]


    I put a finger to my lips and retreated a few feet away until the [Lunar Goats] were out of sight. The others followed me.


    The Commander frowned and held a whispered consultation with her men. I didn¡¯t catch most of it, but I did hear a few phrases like ¡°never seen anything like it,¡± ¡°it¡¯s just like he said,¡± and ¡°extremely valuable.¡± The words ¡°impossible¡± and ¡°crazy¡± also seemed to be repeated a lot.


    When they finished their discussion, I asked them if everything was alright.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that these goats are very unusual,¡± said the Commander.


    They looked ordinary to me. I mean, apart from looking cleaner than most wild animals, they looked exactly like goats. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a herd of spiritual animals here, and even if there was, wild herds normally only have one or two animals that have spirituality, unlike this one where all of them are brimming with powerful qi,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh. Is it okay if we set up traps for them?¡± I asked.


    She frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t sense anyone¡¯s zidan over this place which means it shouldn¡¯t be anyone¡¯s territory, but that is very strange. These spirit animals are valuable.¡±


    ¡°Aw, does that mean we can¡¯t hunt here?¡± We¡¯d come so far just to try to level up our Hunting skill on the [Lunar Goats]!


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°...It¡¯s probably fine.¡± The Commander held a whispered conversation with her men, and one of them trotted off. ¡°He¡¯ll inform the nearest village.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I huddled up with my apprentices and whispered instructions to them. ¡°Go to your Hunting tab and get one [Steel Cage] and [Lunar Lure Lantern].¡±


    [Lunar Lure Lanterns:


    Magical Lanterns fitted with a special light source that emits a calming, moon-like glow. Place these inside a [Steel Cage] to trap a [Lunar Goat].


    One use item.]


    ¡°Done? Okay, now right-click on the [Lunar Lure Lantern] and [Use] it on the [Steel Cage]. Lari, find us the best spots to place the traps.¡± I was only level 6 Hunting since I hadn¡¯t trained it much while Lari was level 9 and had a real knack for it.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± said Lari. He looked around and shook his head. ¡°Not here, it¡¯s too close.¡±


    Lari looked around thoughtfully and then led us away from the herd. Somehow he found a small watering hole and pointed out some good places for us to place the traps. He seemed quite proud of being trusted with this task and gave the clan members several sideways glances as though to check if they were impressed.


    I hid a smile and said, ¡°Good work. Thank you, Lari.¡±


    He puffed his chest out with pride. ¡°It was nothing.¡±


    The [Steel Cages] turned out to be quite large, with the top two feet higher than my head and the walls were ten feet long. One side had a door that could be swung open, which we did. It should close by itself when the cage was full. The lantern shone with a soft white light but otherwise, it seemed unremarkable. We placed them twenty feet apart from each other.


    ¡°Okay, now let¡¯s go to the next place I want to show you,¡± I said.


    Turning on the map¡¯s [Guide Mode], I once again followed the arrows. This time it took us over an hour to find the [Dewdrop Dell].


    ¡°How pretty,¡± said Mo.


    A brook meandered through the dell, a tiny natural depression in the landscape that was surrounded by small slopes on the eastern and southern sides. The grass was a soft green, dotted here and there with colorful wildflowers and moss-covered rocks. The trees here were mostly oaks.


    ¡°I see them!¡± said Lari. He pointed at a brown animal.


    It was too far away for me to see the details, but the System gave us plenty of information about the animal.


    [Crystal-Eyed Skunk:


    These skunks have eyes that emit a mesmerizing light, which they use both for communication and to hypnotize their prey, which are mainly mice, voles, and small snakes. Beware of the skunk¡¯s Spray attack.]


    Most importantly, I could see their Battle Rating or BR.


    [Crystal-Eyed Skunk:


    Type: Ranged


    Element: None


    BR: 129]


    In other games, the combat level was the most important thing, but in Adventure Incarnate, that was just the base stat. The BR took into account the equipment, bonuses, passive skills, potion boosts, and so forth to give a number to signify the threat level of a particular person or enemy.


    With my items equipped, my Battle Ranking was 403 for archery.


    I set an arrow on my bow and was about to loose it when the Commander made a sound of protest.


    ¡°My lady, why don¡¯t you let us take care of them?¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you or your apprentices to lift a finger.¡¯


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did you bring a bow? These are skunks. I¡¯m sure none of us want to be sprayed¡­¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to hunt them? Skunk meat is technically edible, but no one would eat it unless they had to,¡± said the Commander. ¡°Why don¡¯t we leave them alone? I¡¯m sure we can find better game animals for you.¡±


    ¡°I just want to kill these.¡± Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t tell her the real reason which was that only System animals gave exp. ¡°I know, why don¡¯t the two of you stand in front of me to intercept any that I don¡¯t manage to kill? You can protect me from the ones that try to rush me.¡±


    ¡°Very well. These don¡¯t seem dangerous,¡± said the Commander.


    I put one foot in front of the other, perpendicular to the target, and instinctively assumed the proper archery stance with my head level and my knees slightly bent.


    The combat screen came to life in front of me, overlaying itself over my field of vision.


    [Archery Skills:


    Piercing Shot


    Rapid Fire


    Escape]


    This time, I only needed to use [Piercing Shot].


    [Piercing Shot:


    Imbue the arrow with your energy, allowing it to pierce through enemies. The shot is incredibly powerful, and can often take down multiple foes with a single arrow.


    Cooldown: 5 seconds]


    I drew the bowstring and released the energy-imbued arrow which streaked towards the target almost faster than my eyes could see. It sank into the head of the [Crystal-Eyed Skunk] Lari had spotted.


    ¡°Beautiful shot!¡± said Lari.


    Kharli and Mo clapped while the Commander gave me an approving nod.


    The noise of the attack must have alerted the other skunks who emerged from a hollow tree and from under a nearby rock pile.


    ¡°Would you like to try?¡± I asked my apprentices. They had been training their archery for months.


    Lari and Mo pushed Kharli forward.


    ¡°Teacher, Kharli can do it,¡± said Mo with a cheeky grin.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± said Kharli.


    The System considered the three of them as farmhands, therefore, their System menu didn¡¯t have a combat tab. Unlike me, they couldn¡¯t use combat skills like [Piercing Arrow]. Nonetheless, they could equip the bow and arrows that we fletched ourselves.


    Kharli had a look of extreme concentration on her face as she loosed an arrow which hit a skunk on its side. I was on standby and was able to hit the same skunk on the head, finishing it off. We then took turns shooting more arrows, killing five more, until the skunks fled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not chase them, okay?¡± I said.


    Everyone nodded or voiced their agreement.


    ¡°Now, you two gather the kills.¡± I pointed at Lari and Mo.


    ¡°Have fun with the dirty, stinky skunks!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the killing next time, and you can pick up the kills,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°You can hardly hit your target half the time,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Says the one who can¡¯t hit the target more than once in five times,¡± said Lari.


    The Commander went with them to get the skunk bodies while the other clan member stayed with me and Kharli.


    Lari and Mo had just walked to the center of the [Dewdrop Dell] when the Commander suddenly pushed them behind her.


    ¡°Run back to the others!¡± she said in a no-nonsense tone, drawing her sword and striding forward.

 Chapters 123 and 123.5 - Monster battle

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 123 - Flying ship: This season''s musk-have item</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Lari and Mo didn''t need to be told twice. They turned and ran to me. A second later, we found out why the Commander had ordered them to flee. A [Giant Crystal-Eyed Skunk] three times larger than the normal ones, appeared from the underbrush.


    [Giant Crystal-Eyed Skunk:


    The Matriarch of the tribe. Beware of her powerful Miasma Whirlwind attack.]


    ¡°Maybe we should flee!¡± I said, but it was too late. As I was shouting, the Commander sprang towards the skunk and cleaved it in two with her blade.


    Unfortunately, the skunk¡¯s specialized scent glands activated in death.


    Even from a distance, my eyes watered as I was assaulted by the foul smell of its Miasma Whirlwind. I could only imagine how the Commander felt.


    We all ran away as fast as we could and didn¡¯t stop running until we reached the river where the [Chinese Traditional Ship] was.


    The Commander immediately flung her outer robe off and started washing herself in the river.


    ¡°Hey, did anyone bring soap?¡± I asked the others.


    Kharli obligingly handed it to the Commander who thanked her politely and used it to scrub herself free of the skunk¡¯s scent.


    ¡°It¡¯s not gonna work. She needs to immerse herself in an herbal bath. Or at least wash with vinegar and water,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Gosh,¡± I said. ¡°I think I have something that might help.¡±


    Something that was called ¡°Miasma Whirlwind¡± was probably poisonous, which meant that my [Antipoison Potion] should probably work on it. I took a small [Striped Circus Tent] from the Cash Shop and placed it near the river¡¯s edge. The Commander was quite tall, so I took the time to look for the biggest claw-footed bathtub in the Cash Shop that had an autofill with hot water function. Once the steaming hot water filled the tub, I poured in five potions just in case one was not enough before inviting the Commander over to cleanse herself of the nasty skunk smell.


    ¡°I¡¯ve set up an herbal bath inside, please make use of it,¡± I said to her.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, her nose twitching in a cute way


    ¡°Why are there so many stinky animals?¡± Mo asked me.


    ¡°Did you ever think that maybe to the animals, we are the ones who smell wrong?¡± I smiled at her and tweaked her nose.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe you¡¯re the stinky one,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°No, you are!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Shut up, I hear people coming.¡± Kharli pointed at the spot in the forest surrounding the river.


    The splashing sounds from inside the tent became louder for a few minutes until the Commander emerged. I winced when I saw that her hair was still wet. I forgot to provide towels!


    ¡°Sorry! Here you go,¡± I said as I handed her a large, fluffy pink piece of drying cloth.


    ¡°Thank you. Let¡¯s go and greet them,¡± she said as she vigorously rubbed her hair dry.


    We walked to the side of the ship nearest the spot in the forest where the noise was coming from. Three people emerged from the forest, one of them was the clan member who had set off earlier to inform the nearest village that we were hunting the [Lunar Goats]. The others turned out to be representatives of the nearest village who were of the Deer Clan.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    We exchanged bows and courtesies. The Deer Clan people, who were dressed in simple cotton pants and robes, seemed very high-strung, their movements quick and jerky. Their eyes kept darting to the [Chinese Traditional Ship], but when I invited them to a tour of my ship, they recoiled, wide-eyed. Not only did they refuse, they even took a step back and kept on walking backward until they were out of sight while mumbling excuses about having chores to do back at the village.


    ¡°Er, what was that? I¡¯m not that scary, am I?¡± I asked the others.


    ¡°It¡¯s not you, Baroness, it¡¯s the flying ship. They¡¯ve never seen anything like it,¡± said the Commander.


    ¡°They¡¯re just simple country folk,¡± said Lari.


    I gave him a disapproving look. ¡°We¡¯re simple country folk, too.¡±


    My apprentice seemed to realize that his words had sounded condescending. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, Teacher!¡±


    ¡°Okay, but please mind your words next time.¡± I turned to the Commander and said, ¡°Ready? Shall we go back to the [Lunar Goats]? I assume the villagers didn''t object.¡±


    The Commander nodded and we set off for the [Lunar Forest].


    When we caught sight of the [Steel Cages], I saw that they were all full except for Mo¡¯s. Mo¡¯s cage had one goat in it while the rest of ours had five goats crowded inside licking the [Lunar Lure Lanterns].


    ¡°Wow, we got so many of them!¡± I mentally clicked on the [Steel Cages] and received a large amount of exp.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Hunting level!]


    [Your Hunting level is now 7.]


    Lari frowned. ¡°Teacher, I think we got too many. The herd is too small for us to take ten goats.¡±


    He was probably right. ¡°You think so? How many should we take?¡±


    ¡°Just one,¡± he said.


    ¡°No, we need at least two since we have to share half of our kills with the clan,¡± I said, nodding in the direction of our White Tiger Clan escort.


    ¡°We can butcher a goat and take half of the meat,¡± said the Commander.


    ¡°Right, let¡¯s do that then,¡± I said.


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it make more sense to capture a breeding pair?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°These spirit animals are wild. I¡¯m not sure they can be tamed or relocated that easily,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, and I wouldn¡¯t recommend that you try it yourselves. I¡¯m sure the surrounding villages will be looking for someone with a taming skill,¡± said the Commander


    ¡°It¡¯s okay for hunters to hunt for meat,¡± I said. ¡°Unless you plan to become a vegetarian?¡±


    Lari shook his head. ¡°I was just thinking of how to make the most of this discovery.¡±


    ¡°We can raise domesticated goats on our farm though! We don¡¯t need the [Lunar Goats],¡± I said.


    ¡°And I bet our goats will be nicer,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Or maybe stinkier,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°No way, they won''t be stinky!¡± I said. ¡°Go and get your exp.¡±


    My apprentices went to their hunting spots, and Kharli advanced to level 6 Hunting, too. Lari said he was close to a level. We removed the lanterns and opened the gates of the cages, but the goats seemed dazed, and it took a while before they all walked out.


    Now that the main task of the day was finished, we leisurely walked back to the river, with my apprentices chatting about this and that and asking the clan members about good fishing and hunting spots nearby.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay near the river and fish for the rest of the day,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°May I forage on the riverbanks? I¡¯m not good at fishing,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll escort you,¡± said the Commander to Mo.


    Since I had been granted a piece of land to farm in the Ancient Hill Forest, we had permission to hunt, fish, and forage there, but it was a different story when it came to other territories. Half of our kills or gathered items were given to our escorts as payment for their services, and also for them to use as payment for any fees we incurred by using other clan¡¯s resources.


    The ground here was rather soft, covered in moss and fallen leaves. I took off my sturdy boots and replaced them with soft slippers, the better to feel the springiness of the forest floor under my feet.


    I whistled as I walked, enjoying the clean, crisp air and the sight of butterflies flitting from flower to flower, their wings displaying colorful patterns. I saw squirrels darting from branch to branch, bushy tails trailing behind them cutely. When we broke free of the forest, we were greeted by an azure sky dotted by fluffy white clouds and the soothing sound of water rushing over the pebbly riverbed.


    We ate our lunch and then spent a perfect afternoon fishing and foraging.


    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 123.5</h2>


    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    The whole of the Westerlands is gossiping about the appearance of a ¡°cursed flying ship from the underworld,¡± and Prince Baiyu will have to visit dozens of villages himself to assure them that Baroness Violet¡¯s new toy is harmless.


    It¡¯s going to be a busy few weeks, since my men will have to investigate dozens of reports of new monsters and strange plants springing up along the river where the ship traveled. They¡¯ll have to do it without me since my child will be born soon.

 Chapter 124 - Sensational Slime Shindig

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 124 - The slime''s favorite ooze-ic</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The next day I woke up bright and early. I¡¯d told my household that I was taking a break today, but there was no time to waste, so I rushed through my morning rituals and grabbed Cutie from the [Slime House] before stepping through the portal to the mines.


    Today was harvest day for both the [Mushroom Cave] and [Mini Hydroponic Farm]. I used the System to gather the ripe fruit, herbs, and flowers that I was growing hydroponically. Though I got a decent amount of Farming exp, I didn¡¯t level up. The same was true of the Foraging exp I got from the cave, but I wasn¡¯t about to complain since these two locations didn¡¯t require much upkeep on my part.


    The real reason I was excited was the [Sunshine Glue-Flower]. I¡¯d gathered a few of them from the forest and placed them in plant pots at the [Slime House]. Cutie liked them so much that it gave me an idea I wanted to try today.


    ¡°Shall we visit your family?¡± I said to my pet.


    Cutie bounced up and down sluggishly. She always liked the outdoors much better than the mines. I guess that was why she went with me and left her home.


    I led her to the secret elevator and pressed the button for the slime level.


    Though these slimes were called monsters or demons, according to game lore, their ancestors were the treasured pets of the god of the mines. The god had left millennia ago, but these creatures still lived a carefree life in the bowels of the Chitinous Caverns with no predators to bother them.


    The elevator door opened into a huge cavern whose earthen walls were covered in glowing flowers blooming in riotous profusion. The flowers were the slimes¡¯ primary food source. In the middle was an open space where hundreds of bright yellow, blue, green, red, orange, violet, white, black, and multicolored slimes bounced around. At the far end was a white stone platform decorated with white crystals and boulders painted with psychedelic flower patterns. In the game, this place was used for the ¡°Slime Wonderland Event.¡±


    My eyes, which had become accustomed to the elegant, refined, and subdued colors of the [Courtyard House], were delighted by the bold design and vivid colors of the place.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so lively,¡± I said to my pet.


    The last time I had been here, I had been in too much of a hurry to go home to try to get the slime event¡¯s reward.


    I strolled straight to the center of the platform and took out the potted [Sunshine Glue-Flower]. Then I went to the jukebox that was on one side and turned it on by feeding [Spell Stones] to it. A bouncy dance version of the Adventure Incarnate theme song blasted out of hidden speakers all over the cavern. Spotlights and disco balls descended from the cavern¡¯s ceiling, making myriad spots of light dance all over the place.


    ¡°Chu! Chu! Chu!¡± The slimes exclaimed in delight and started bouncing in time with the song. The slime strands on top of their heads shaped themselves into hearts or lightning bolts.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    A few of them came over to check us out. Cutie rubbed her body on theirs, so I guessed they were probably her family and friends. She lifted the flower pot and offered it to them.


    The slimes probed the flower with their slime strands and made pleased ¡°Chu!¡± sounds.


    ¡°Do you guys want more?¡± I smiled down at them and took out two more [Sunshine Glue-Flowers].


    ¡°Chu!¡± My sluggish pet perked up and she and her friends started dancing around the flower pots until the song came to an end. The disco balls and spotlight retracted back into the ceiling.


    [The slimes are pleased by your offering.]


    [Congratulations, you have received the title: Slime Friend


    Effect: You can use the Slime Cavern facilities.]


    Facilities? In the game, the player received a slime tiara or hairpin that boosted the slime pet¡¯s stats. I turned on the System¡¯s minimap which showed the newly opened secret features of the slime cavern.


    ¡°Oh my gosh!¡± I said when I pressed on the hidden panel that made a door slide open to reveal an amazing discovery. ¡°This wasn¡¯t in the game.¡±


    I stepped into a large open space filled with large, medium, and small swimming pools lined with colorful porcelain tiles. At first, I thought it was simply a bathing area for the slimes, but as I walked deeper into the cave, my mouth fell open in awe. There were play areas with water toys, slides, fountains, water jets, waterfall curtains, and even a lazy river. It was a slime water park!


    Only a few dozen slimes were playing in the pools and water features. I circled the entire place, looking for more hidden panels, and hit the jackpot once again when I spotted a lever. When I pushed it up, a section of the cave wall opened up into a bland brown and gray corridor. At the end of it were two rooms, both with metal plumbings. Was this a maintenance area?


    Two spots were marked on the System minimap, and I was quite pleased to find that I could collect ten buckets of [Goo] and ten bottles of soda water to make more [Kola-Kola Soda].


    When I tried to take more than ten of each, I got a popup message from the System.


    [A mysterious force prevents you from taking more. You may only collect from this place once a week.]


    That was fine. [Goo] and soda water weren¡¯t particularly valuable anyway. It was nice to know where I could get more, but I had plenty in my inventory.


    I retraced my steps and decided to have fun with Cutie at the water park. Perhaps the place had a special effect when a player used it?


    Even though there was no one around except for me and the slimes, I still put up a tent and used it to change into my bathing suit before cautiously dipping a toe into one of the smaller pools that none of the slimes were currently using.


    ¡°Ahh~¡± The water in it was cold as ice! No wonder none of the slimes were using it.


    Cutie poked at my foot with her slime strand to get my attention, then bounced off to a bigger pool that had lukewarm water in it. I sat on the underwater bench to relax. Cutie pressed a red tile at one corner which made bubbles rise and dance around me, turning the water into a frothy, effervescent wonderland. It was pure magic, and I couldn''t help but laugh in delight as the bubbles tickled my skin. I stayed in that pool for a while before trying out the pools, which had interesting features like hydrotherapy jets. My favorite was the tiled bed where I could lay down while multiple nozzles above me released streams of warm water that massaged my whole body.


    Cutie, on the other hand, was a big fan of the slides and lazy river where she played with her friends.


    We stayed there until noon time. The water park was nice, but not nearly nice enough for me to miss one of the Demon Chef¡¯s meals.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this again next week,¡± I said to Cutie right before we stepped into the portal back to the [Ranch House].


    It would have been nice to bring some people with me, but the rest of my household disapproved of my slime pet.


    Maybe next time I could bring a certain Prince with me.

 Chapter 125 - Farming with [Mysterious Goo]

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 125 - Worm-brace the present and goo with the flow</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    I returned to the [Ranch House] in good spirits. My day got even better when my apprentices excitedly swarmed me the moment I showed my face at the main house and told me the news.


    ¡°The worm box is full!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°We can harvest it now, but we waited for you, Teacher,¡± said Lari.


    Mo simply took me by the hand and tugged me outside to where the [Worm Bin] was.


    [Worm Bin:


    Status: Healthy


    Vermicompost: 3/3]


    ¡°Awesome, I¡¯ll get the [Vermicompost] right now.¡± Putting my words into action at once, I mentally clicked on the [Worm Bin] and selected the [Yes] option when the popup asked me if I wanted to harvest it. I showed the others the three brown paper packages with the [Vermicompost] inside.


    [Vermicompost:


    Also called Nature¡¯s gold. It¡¯s a mixture of decomposed organic matter and the waste products of earthworms. Boosts plant growth.]


    ¡°Nature''s gold? I like it,¡± said Lari.


    Kharli took the package from my hand and opened it, revealing a dark, almost black crumbly soil-like substance. ¡°It¡¯s still moist and it smells very earthy. I thought it would stink more.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s worm poop. Don¡¯t touch it,¡± said Mo, who was keeping her distance from the [Worm Bin] due to her phobia.


    ¡°Okay, here¡¯s where the magic happens.¡± I put the open package of [Vermicompost] on the ground and added [Goo] to it. The [Goo] was quickly absorbed by the [Vermicompost] which glowed bright green for a second and then was dissolved.


    We all looked down at the resulting [Mysterious Goo] that was a bright, fluorescent green.


    [Mysterious Goo:


    An extraordinary blend of slime excreta and worm-made compost, this potent fertilizer fuels flora with a potent cocktail of nutrients. Can only be applied to soil once a year. Do not touch with your bare hands.]


    Mo gave it a suspicious look. ¡°Teacher, it dissolved the soil? I knew that slime [Goo] was dangerous!¡±


    ¡°Shhh, the slime is right here.¡± Lari pointed to Cutie. ¡°She heard you.¡±


    Kharli grabbed Mo and the two of them slowly retreated without turning their backs on my slime pet. Meanwhile, Cutie bounced over to the open brown paper package and used her slime strand to probe the contents.


    ¡°Chu~¡± Cutie lost interest after a few seconds and bounced away in the direction of her home, the [Slime House].


    ¡°This is great. Now that I¡¯ve made [Mysterious Goo], I¡¯ve unlocked the ones in my inventory. It¡¯s too late for the spring planting, but this will definitely boost our summer harvest,¡± I said.


    I also had two of the three things I needed for my quest.


    [Curing Infertility Part 2:


    Plant the Crimson Pearl Peony seed.


    Requirements: Black Soil, Spirit Water, and Mysterious Goo.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    Once I had [Black Soil], I could finish the quest and hopefully get enough exp for another Farming level.


    ***


    The next day, when I opened the gate of my [Ranch House], I was engulfed in a warm embrace.


    ¡°I hate this!¡± said Prince Baiyu into my ear. ¡°I wish I could just elope with you and leave everything else behind.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡± My brain had short-circuited so all I could do was make a soft sound of pleasure as I hugged him back. I barely stopped myself in time from saying ¡°Oh yes, muscles!¡± out loud. The brush of his fingers against my back sent ripples of warmth that spread through my body, and I could feel the steady rise and fall of his breath, a calming cadence that slowly synchronized with my own. We stayed like that for a few minutes until we heard the sound of people giggling.


    I reluctantly pulled away from Prince Baiyu¡¯s embrace and gave my three apprentices a warning look. ¡°Good morning.¡±


    Smirking, the three of them bowed to us, and we exchanged polite greetings.


    ¡°Please go to the house and let Fengying know that we have a visitor. Prince Baiyu, would you like a tour of the fields?¡± I looked up and winked at him.


    ¡°I would love a tour,¡± he said.


    The prince was dressed in a set of white and blue silk robes and pants embroidered with a wave motif. His long white hair was tied in a high ponytail held in place by a silver crown with a hairpin, both items decorated with iridescent blue kingfisher feathers. Tiny silver and pearl pendants hung down from the hairpin and made pleasing tinkling sounds whenever he moved his head. His bangs partially covered the purple lotus in the middle of his forehead.


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    I was glad to see that his blue eyes were bright and his skin had a rosy glow since I was always a little worried about his health because of his qi overload problem. Thankfully, it had been mostly cured last winter.


    Though I was hungry, breakfast could wait. I wanted to spend at least a few minutes alone with Prince Baiyu. Also, this delaying tactic would give my household staff time to prepare to receive royalty. Even though the prince didn¡¯t insist on the formalities, I was sure that Fengying would appreciate the advance warning so that she could tidy up and set a more impressive table. The staff would probably put on finer clothes, too.


    The vegetable garden was a fine sight, with lots of spiritual plants that were now a vivid green with a slight glow around them.


    ¡°Impressive, as usual,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°You know about the fish?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, I remember it from your letters.¡±


    ¡°Tada! Here it is.¡± I led him to the nearest rice paddy and proudly waved an arm at the Rice-Fish integrated cultivation method I had going on.


    The rice plants were not the same as regular ones. Rather, they were striped blue and pink with golden edges. They were still small at the moment, but they still looked very mystical. The [Cleaner Shrimp] were too small to be visible from above, but we could see a few of the [Rice Carp] which were small but had brown and gray scales that flashed gold when the sunlight hit them at the right angle. I couldn¡¯t quite see it from where I stood, but I knew that the fish should have whisker-like barbels protruding from both sides of its mouth.


    ¡°This is quite extraordinary.¡± The prince knelt at the edge of the paddy, heedless of his fine robes, and bent down to peer into the muddy water. ¡°The mulberry farms we grow for our silkworms also have fishponds with carp, but this is the first time that I¡¯ve seen demonic carp.¡±


    ¡°What?! Demonic? Nooooo, these are just regular spirit carp, right?¡± I knelt beside him, trying to see what he was talking about, but no matter what I did, I simply couldn¡¯t figure out what made these fish ¡°demonic.¡±


    Prince Baiyu stood, pulling me up, too. ¡°Sometimes I forget that you can¡¯t see qi. These carp have quite strong demonic qi.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? How come some animals are called demonic, anyway?¡± I¡¯d always wondered about that. For example, the demon pigs from the Southerlands looked exactly the same as the regular pigs the Demon Chef bought from the Anwei market.


    He smiled and bent down to brush some dirt away from my trousers. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not bad.¡±


    We spent a few moments shaking the dirt from our clothes.


    I frowned down at the rice paddy. ¡°It¡¯s not? Wait, that¡¯s not true, is it? I¡¯m pretty sure demonic animals are bad.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re not aware of the different forms of qi?¡± When I nodded, Prince Baiyu explained what he meant. ¡°Classifying the different types of qi isn¡¯t easy. According to philosophers, there are thousands of forms that it can take. However, the common folk simplify it into two basic types: spiritual and demonic. Your rice paddy contains spiritual plants and demonic fish.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. If the fish are bad demonic ones, should I remove them from the water?¡±


    ¡°The two types of qi can work together. They are opposing forces that can spur each other¡¯s development.¡±


    I still didn¡¯t get what he meant.


    Seeing as I was still confused, he continued his explanation. ¡°Think of it this way. The plants have a gentle qi while the fish have an aggressive qi. The fish stimulate the plants while the plants calm the fish down. It¡¯s beneficial for both of them. I¡¯ve rarely seen such a good blend of qi.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that does sound good!¡±


    ¡°Yes, a lot of people who work with qi like to pair opposing forces such as creation and destruction, birth and death, growth and decay, and so forth. For example, they say that the legendary fountain that contained the Water of Life was surrounded by the True Celestial Flame.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°This is just a rice paddy, not a mythical land of enchantment.¡±


    We turned away from the field and started walking to the main house.


    Prince Baiyu took my hand in his and said, ¡°To me, this is a paradise because you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I suppose that¡¯s why I haven¡¯t seen you for such a long time?¡± I pouted. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s rude to kiss a girl on New Year¡¯s Eve then disappear for weeks at a time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I had to catch up on my work because I was away during winter fixing my qi overload problem.¡±


    ¡°How have you been? No more overloading?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the therapy seems to have worked. I haven¡¯t had any problems, but I still have to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Do you need more potions? Here, take this.¡± I tried to hand him a [Rubber Chicken].


    [Resilient Rubber Chicken:


    This rubber chicken toy is no ordinary chicken! It¡¯s a super fun, interactive toy that will keep you entertained for hours on end. This chicken has a movable head and wings and makes realistic chicken sounds when you squeeze it. It¡¯s also durable and easy to clean, making it the perfect toy for both indoor and outdoor play.


    Magic -1 (every three seconds)]


    ¡°No, thanks.¡± He gave the toy a baleful look.


    It was a joke item that players could equip in Adventure Incarnate to play fight each other. Its effect of draining qi was helpful with Prince Baiyu¡¯s qi overload, but it looked extremely goofy. I squeezed it, activating the bwak bwak bwaaak sound effect.


    Unfortunately, the joke was on me as I forgot to put on gloves before handling it.


    ¡°Oops,¡± I said as I swayed a little, dizzy from the rubber toy¡¯s magic-draining quality.


    ¡°Drop it!¡± Prince Baiyu grabbed me by the waist.


    I put the item back into my inventory.


    ¡°My bad, I didn¡¯t think it would work so quickly.¡± The item description said it only drained 1 Magic level every three seconds, and I¡¯d only held it for a very short time. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°You look pale,¡± said Prince Baiyu. He lifted me into his arms and ran to the house before I could reply.


    We were met at the gate by my maid, Yinuo, who made a huge fuss over me even though I said I was all alright. I was carried to my bedroom in the inner courtyard and told to lie down. I was vigorously refusing to drink a foul-smelling herbal concoction that Yinuo offered me when one of the prince¡¯s guards came to inform him that it was time for them to leave.


    ¡°Already? It hasn¡¯t even been an hour,¡± I said.


    Prince Baiyu sighed. ¡°I have a morning meeting with my parents and some of the clan elders. I only stopped by to see your face.¡¯


    ¡°Aw! I know you¡¯re busy, but when will you have time to visit me again?¡±


    ¡°In a few days, the Spring Hunt will start. I should have a bit of free time after that.¡±


    ¡°How much time?¡±


    ¡°Not a lot,¡± he admitted. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished my training, and I have to catch up on a lot of paperwork.¡±


    In addition to helping his mother, the ruler of the Westerlands, he also had his own territory to govern, and he hadn¡¯t finished his education. Prince Baiyu was roughly the same age as I, and if I were to compare it to human terms on Earth, he was basically in college, in that he had finished basic education and was now being given more advanced training.


    I sighed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you move in here after the Spring Hunt?¡±


    Yinuo dropped the cup of herbal medicine.


    The bodyguard stepped backwards so fast that he stumbled over his feet and fell in a heap on the floor.


    Prince Baiyu turned red as a tomato and stammered out a few incoherent words. ¡°You-You- I¡­¡±

 Chapter 126 - Demonic Fish &#x1F41F;&#x1F3A3;&#x1F420;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 126 - A truly un-corn-vincing display of reluctance</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    I burst out laughing. Oh my gosh, I knew he would react that way, but his blushing, embarrassed expression was too cute! I couldn¡¯t resist the urge to tease him mercilessly. ¡°Why is your face red? I meant as a guest. I¡¯ll build a separate courtyard for you so you can have your own residence.¡±


    Yinuo giggled. I handed her a piece of cloth from my inventory to clean up the spill.


    The bodyguard got up, bowed, and retreated to the door, which he left open.


    ¡°But I, I, I, how can I¡­¡± Prince Baiyu was still stammering over his response. We all waited until he calmed down, which took quite a while. Eventually, he managed to blurt out a complete sentence. ¡°You want me to move into your farm?¡±


    ¡°I want us to spend more time together. You visiting me every few weeks isn¡¯t working out for me. We¡¯ll never get to know each other properly that way,¡± I said.


    ¡°Well¡­I¡­¡± Prince Baiyu was still dithering over his answer.


    I smirked. ¡°You can bring a chaperone to stay with you if needed.¡±


    He turned his face away and mumbled something I couldn¡¯t make out.


    Luckily for Prince Baiyu, he was saved by the appearance of Fengying who came over to check if there was a problem.


    ¡°My lady, what happened?¡± asked Fengying.


    ¡°I accidentally touched a cursed item that drained my¡­ energy. I¡¯m fine.¡± It was actually my magic level that was drained, but I didn¡¯t feel like talking about the difference between qi and magic level.


    ¡°Ah, I have just the thing for that,¡± said Fengying. She gave Yinuo instructions about fetching a box from the storeroom.


    Prince Baiyu¡¯s face was still red and he fidgeted uneasily whenever someone glanced his way.


    I took pity on him and said, ¡°Dear Prince, why don¡¯t you leave now? Don¡¯t you have an appointment?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t possibly leave you when you¡¯re unwell.¡± His brows knitted together in a tight, furrowed line and the corners of his mouth turned down. The tone of his voice told me that he felt insulted at the suggestion.


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± I allowed Yinuo to fuss over me while Fengying left to get medicine. ¡°I¡¯m fine, really!¡±


    When Fengying returned, she held a wooden box. Inside it, nestled in the red silk, was a small brown pill about half an inch in diameter. ¡°This qi pill should help.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that kinda looks valuable. I don¡¯t think I need it,¡± I said.


    Though the System didn¡¯t recognize this item, the fact that it was kept in an expensive-looking wooden box meant that it was most likely not a run-of-the-mill pill.


    ¡°My lady, this is barely worth half of one of your beauty potions. Please take it,¡± she said.


    Beauty potion? Oh, she must mean the [Dewy Glow Potion].


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I got a glass of water from my inventory and took the pill. I was expecting to swallow it with the water, but the moment I put it in my mouth, it immediately dissolved into a thin liquid and smoothly went down my throat, leaving behind a cool, minty feeling and a weird aftertaste of dirt and pepper. A warm feeling spread from my stomach to the rest of my body. My fingers and toes tingled.


    ¡°Good. The color has returned to your face,¡± said Prince Baiyu in a relieved tone. ¡°Please don¡¯t play with that cursed item again.¡±


    ¡°Mmmm.¡± I threw back the blankets and sat up in bed. ¡°I suddenly feel great, like I could run all day long.¡±


    Prince Baiyu gave me a long-suffering look. ¡°Will you please promise me you won¡¯t handle that cursed item again?¡±


    ¡°I promise,¡± I said and then got up from the bed. Walking over to where Yinuo was, I hooked my arm with hers and said in a softer voice that I knew the prince could still hear, ¡°I think he¡¯s playing coy, but I¡¯m not worried. I know he¡¯s going to say yes. Did you see his expression?¡±


    Fengying cleared her throat loudly and ushered us all out of my room. I had the distinct impression that it was considered unseemly for me to have a gentleman in my bedroom. Yinuo and I giggled.


    ¡°I, I, can¡¯t, I mean, uh¡­¡± Prince Baiyu was back to stuttering.


    I patted his shoulder and said, ¡°You can send me your reply later.¡±


    ¡°I will¡­¡± He took my hand in his and kissed it.


    ¡°No worries. If you really can¡¯t move in then I¡¯ll just get a cat,¡± I said.


    ¡°What? No! Not a cat!¡± Prince Baiyu looked horrified. ¡°Please don¡¯t get a cat.¡±


    ¡°Why not? Cats are nice and they hunt mice.¡± I hadn¡¯t actually seen any rats or mice around, but that was beside the point. A cat or dog pet was a must on a farm.


    ¡°Anything but a cat.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because people will make fun of me.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Make fun how?¡±


    Prince Baiyu bit his lip. He looked adorable. ¡°You know¡­ people will ask if it''s our baby.¡±


    Yinuo¡¯s eyes and mine met and we both burst out laughing.


    ¡°That¡¯s so random and silly! Why would that even happen?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe he was worried about it.


    Prince Baiyu looked down on the ground and sighed. ¡°I have this uncle whose friend is married to a human, and when we visited their house, they had a cat in a basket.¡±


    ¡°Oh, lemme guess, and you made fun of him by asking if that was his baby, huh?¡± I pinched his waist. ¡°Now you¡¯re afraid people will tease you like that, too. Isn¡¯t that your fault?¡±


    ¡°Not a cat, please?¡± Prince Baiyu¡¯s eyes locked onto mine, wide and beseeching, like a hopeful kitten seeking a treat.


    I couldn¡¯t resist that look. ¡°Alright.¡±


    With that settled, we said our goodbyes and he left.


    ***


    As expected, two days later Prince Baiyu sent a letter accepting my invitation for him to spend the rest of the spring season at my farm. The kids and I got busy tending to the crops and cutting down trees to clear space for the third courtyard.


    ¡°Do these fish look demonic to you?¡± I asked my apprentices. We were at the eastern rice paddy.


    ¡°No,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°No,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°No!¡± said Lari. ¡°These look like very good spirit fish. Look at how shiny they are.¡±


    The others nodded.


    "Okay, examine all the plants properly and make sure everything is as it should be," I said.


    The rice paddy smelled of damp earth, and the plants were growing well. The insects were out in force today, especially the damselflies and dragonflies that flitted gracefully here and there with their gem-colored iridescent wings. I carefully examined the paddy to see if there were any pests, but there were only the usual harmless bugs. Below the surface, the fish swam merrily, and no matter how much I looked at them, I couldn''t see anything out of place about the fish.


    Later that day, I asked Fengying about it. ¡°Has Deming looked at the [Rice Carp] recently?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he has high hopes that they will go very well with the rice and vegetables growing on the farm,¡± said Fengying. She was serving my morning snack, corn baba, also called baogu baba, a steamed cake made of ground corn. It was soft and chewy, with a fresh, sweet taste, and a nice golden color.


    ¡°This is delicious,¡± I said as I bit into the corn cake. ¡°So the carp look okay? Do they look¡­ demonic?¡±


    Fengying nodded and poured some corn juice for me. ¡°Yes. Deming says that, based on the demonic qi they are giving off, they will grow fast.¡±


    ¡°The carp are not bad then?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be excellent food ingredients.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Whew! If Deming wasn¡¯t worried about the demonic fish, then neither was I. He was the expert, after all. ¡°Please let me know when the carriage arrives.¡±


    I was making two quick trips today, one to Wukan to buy as many astrology books as I could, and one to Hongzhen to spend money in town and increase my favorability with the townspeople.

 Chapter 127 & 127.5 - An uncontroversial chapter in which the MC does something silly

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 127 - I have it on good au-thority that there will be no pun-alties</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Since I was going shopping, I put on my favorite [Noble Scholar] set that made me look refined and elegant without being overdressed. It was made of fine cotton, not silk, and was embroidered with a green bamboo design. The white jade pendant that hung from its belt was in the shape of two dragons chasing each other and had green tassels. Comfortable flat ballet shoes completed the outfit.


    The flying carriage arrived right on time, three hours before noon. I was hoping to finish everything I needed to do today before dinnertime.


    Wukan town was an hour away, and I spent the time inside the carriage going over my plans. I¡¯d asked Yinuo and my apprentices if they wanted to go with me. They were willing to accompany me to Wukan, but, for some strange reason, when I said I was going to Hongzhen, too, they all looked at me blankly and then said they didn¡¯t want to go.


    My apprentices must still be upset that we lost the Mid-Autumn Festival contest. I admit it was unfair that the Hongzhen judges favored their own people over outsiders, but that was exactly why I told them we should visit the town and befriend the locals.


    Adventure Incarnate had a hidden mechanic where the contest judges would rate the player¡¯s entry not only based on the stall¡¯s contents, but also based on the player¡¯s favorability rating. Favorability could be easily increased by buying clothes from the silk shop and books from the bookstore as well as donating money to the temple.


    Before that though, I would stop by Wukan to use the two Astrology starter book coupons I got and buy as many books as I could. The most unpopular skill ever introduced in Adventure Incarnate, Astrology, was learned by reading books, which almost every player, including myself and GodIAm, considered deeply, tragically lame.


    To be fair, the skill was created in order to curb the game¡¯s rampant inflation problem. Every day, more and more gold coins were added to the game via farming, mining, crafting, etc. which caused the value of the players¡¯ existing gold to plummet.


    That¡¯s why the Astrology skill was created. It functioned as a money sink to remove gold from the game, by making players buy expensive books from an NPC. Just getting a few basic Astrology levels cost ten million gold and leveling it up to 99 meant spending two hundred million gold.


    Truly, the Adventure Incarnate developers were sadistic imps!


    I was still mentally fuming over the perfidy of people who took the easy way out instead of creating a proper skill when the flying carriage arrived at Wukan.


    A female White Tiger clan member helped me down from the vehicle and I looked around with interest. This was the first time for me to visit the town. The carriage had landed on top of a small hill and I could see that behind us was the hilltop observatory that was my goal.


    Crafted from brown local stone, the tower stood tall, perhaps around 40 feet, and was crowned with a blue dome-shaped roof made of some shiny metal. A heavy wooden door, carved with mystical symbols, was at the base of the tower.


    Below us was the town, which was rather small and consisted of only a few dozen wooden houses clustered together. All around the town were paddy fields dotted here and there with small farmhouses.


    ¡°How pretty,¡± I said to my escort.


    ¡°We sent word ahead of time, so the family is expecting you,¡± said the clan member as she gestured towards the tower.


    Sure enough, a few seconds later the door opened and three old men wearing blue and gold robes embroidered with star symbols appeared. They were senior members of the astrologer clan. We exchanged greetings, and we all went inside.


    The tower¡¯s interior was a little musty though brightly lit by smoking torches. The lowest level was a large reception room, but we took the central spiral staircase all the way to the top where they proudly showed me their telescope.


    ¡°Incredible!¡± I was sincere in my praise.


    The ancient telescope was a marvel of craftsmanship. The brass frame, adorned with silver inlay with an intricate abstract design, had been lovingly polished so that it shone brightly in the dimness of the main chamber. The lenses, I was told, were magical ones that never cracked or needed to be cleaned. I made more sounds of admiration when they showed me how the roof could be retracted to allow them to use the telescope to view the heavens.


    Once the tour was done, they led me to an office where we got down to business.


    ¡°I have these coupons for starter books,¡± I said as I gave them the System items.


    ¡°Oh, excellent! My nephew gave a few of these away during the winter festival five years ago. I''m glad to see that people kept them,¡± said the oldest one who seemed to be in charge. He took the coupons and handed them to one of the others who went off, presumably to fetch the books.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The office was a small stone chamber with one tiny window near the ceiling that let in a good amount of light. Flickering oil lamps provided more light. The wooden desk and chairs seemed old, their carvings worn smooth, but they were sturdy and made of good-quality rosewood.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to buy more books.¡± I read the list of the required books from the System¡¯s Astrology tab.


    [Celestial Insights: Navigating Your Destiny Through the Stars]


    [Astrology and the Human Psyche: Understanding Your Inner Universe]


    [The Zodiac Code: Decoding Your Cosmic Blueprint]


    [Planetary Patterns: Discovering Your Life''s Cosmic Design]


    [Stars and Serendipity: A Guide to Astrological Timing]


    [The Astrologer''s Handbook: Mastering the Art of Celestial Interpretation]


    [Cosmic Connections: Exploring Relationships Through Astrology]


    [Astrological Almanac: Your Guide to the Celestial Cycles]


    [Mapping Your Destiny: Astrological Insights for Personal Growth]


    [The Astrology of Wellness: Nurturing Body and Soul with the Stars]


    The astrologer frowned. ¡°We have all of those, but they''re quite valuable.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I brought a lot of money with me,¡± I said. ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°I can give you a ten percent discount since you¡¯re buying ten.¡± He picked up an abacus from his desk and started calculating the price while muttering figures under his breath. ¡°Eight million plus three million twenty thousand¡­ thirty million¡­ minus the discount¡­ taxes¡­¡±


    It took him quite a while and when he finished, he put the abacus down with a sigh.


    ¡°One hundred million coins. I¡¯m sorry but the last two books that you listed are extremely valuable. Without those, I could give you the other eight for only two million,¡± he said.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go outside then,¡± I said.


    ¡°I understand,¡± said the senior astrologer.


    We all got up and went outside. They handed me my free books.


    ¡°Thanks. Here¡¯s the payment then,¡± I said.


    The office was just too small for me to withdraw one hundred million gold coins from my stack, so we had to go outside for me to take them out. I waved a hand and the coins appeared on the ground at the foot of the hill. One hundred million coins was quite a lot, so it made a small hill of its own.


    ¡°Holy stars!¡± said the senior astrologer. His eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.


    ¡°G-gold,¡± said the youngest one. He fell to his knees and reached a trembling hand towards the glistening heap of gold coins below us.


    The other astrologer¡¯s mouth fell open and he put a hand on his chest as though he was about to have a heart attack.


    Even I was taken aback by the size of the stack of coins. I thought it would fill an area around the size of an Olympic swimming pool, but this was more than quadruple that.


    I coughed and said, ¡°I assume this is fine? Can I have the books now, please?¡±


    The White Tiger clan member, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, ¡°My lady, when they said one hundred million coins, I believe they meant copper coins.¡±


    ¡°Whaaaat?¡± I was shocked. ¡°But I don¡¯t have one hundred million copper coins!¡±


    This was a disaster!


    Wait, no it wasn¡¯t! Wasn¡¯t this an insane discount compared to the expected price of buying all the books for level 99 Astrology?


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll accept gold coins. One gold coin can be exchanged for four hundred copper coins,¡± said the clan member.


    My mind reeled at the thought of paying four hundred times less money than I thought I would need. How amazing! I used the System calculator and then turned to the senior astrologer. ¡°Is that acceptable? One hundred million copper coins is equivalent to¡­ two hundred fifty thousand gold coins, right?¡±


    He nodded. It seemed he was in shock and unable to speak just yet.


    I put the coins back in my inventory and said, ¡°Do you have a chest or something I could put the coins in?¡±


    They led me back inside where I placed the coins on their kitchen table.


    ¡°Thank you. It was great doing business with you!¡± I said once they handed me the ten books I needed.


    We said our goodbyes and left the tower.


    ¡°Pardon me, my lady,¡± said my escort after helping me board the flying carriage. ¡°Something¡¯s come up, and I¡¯ll need to stay here. The driver will bring you back to your farm.¡±


    ¡°What? But I was going to Hongzhen,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said.


    ¡°Aw, it¡¯s okay. The trip isn¡¯t urgent anyway, I was just gonna go shopping,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll go back home then. Is something wrong? Are you going to be alright?¡±


    ¡°I''ll be fine, thank you for asking. Have a safe trip,¡± she said.


    I wondered what had happened. She didn''t seem to want to talk about it, so I dropped the subject and just left.


    It was only after I had already returned to the farm that I realized that I had made a huge mistake.


    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter 127.5


    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    When Violet informed me that she wanted to buy books from the astrologer clan, I sent her off with a driver and guard.


    Who knew that she would conjure up a literal mountain of gold coins?


    Thankfully, the guard I assigned to her had the presence of mind to send an emergency signal immediately, before there was a riot. The local branch of the clan swiftly arrived to keep watch and protect the tower and its residents. The two hundred thousand gold coins Violet left behind were spirited away by two dozen warriors who safely deposited them in the nearest clan bank.


    Many people from Wukan town saw the gold, and word somehow spread that there was a hidden magical treasure trove under the hill. Hundreds of people formed gangs and started digging for gold.


    I¡¯ve sent people to try to persuade them that the mountain of gold was just an optical illusion caused by a rare solar phenomenon.


    And next time, I''ll send a higher-ranking guard with Violet, someone senior enough to advise her and speak up when she''s about to do something outrageous. Hopefully, someone who is able to protect her not just from danger, but also from her own lack of common sense.


    Could Violet come from a place where there are mountains of gold lying around?

 Chapter 128 - Insane leveling speed

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 128 - No need to star-ess about reading more books!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    I forgot to haggle!


    What a noob mistake!


    I shuddered to think what my mother would say if she knew. Mentally apologizing to all of my Chinese ancestors back on Earth for my lack of street smarts, I swore to myself that I wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake the next time I made a big purchase. Dang it, two hundred fifty thousand gold coins was the price of a house in Anwei, right? And I missed my chance to haggle the price down because I was too eager to get the books.


    My staff were surprised to see me back so early, but it wasn¡¯t a problem for the Demon Chef to prepare lunch for one more person. I collected a tray at the main house and took Cutie with me before retiring to my [Ranch House] for the rest of the day.


    The front garden was now full of assorted colorful flowers from the Cash Shop, mainly peonies, tulips, and primroses. I left Cutie there to play among the blossoms that she loved with Mr. Bear in [Guard Mode] watching over her while I went inside my house to change into a T-shirt and cutoff jeans. Since I knew that I would be reading for quite some time, I had prepared a cozy window nook with a comfortable cushioned bench and pretty throw pillows.


    Yawning a little even though I hadn¡¯t even started studying Astrology yet, I curled up on the window seat and cracked open the first book. Soft, golden sunlight streamed through the window bathing me in warmth.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± I said out loud when I leafed through the pages of [Celestial Insights: Navigating Your Destiny Through the Stars] and saw that it was full of star maps and complex mathematical formulas. ¡°Astrology is the worst!¡±


    Math, in Adventure Incarnate? This was exactly why people hated Astrology. Of course, in the game all that happened was that the player¡¯s avatar was frozen in one place with a book in its hands, but this was real life and I had to read it for real. I wished that this was more like the cheesy comics I read where the main character only had to smash the book on his head to learn the techniques written on it.


    What was the title of that comic? As I tried to remember which story had that scene, I absently rested my forehead on the top part of the book.


    I could hardly believe it when a System popup appeared.


    [Would you like to learn these Astrology concepts?]


    [Yes] [No]


    Was this for real? Reflexively clicking on the [Yes] button, I had a split second of regret when I suddenly remembered that in the comic, the main character¡¯s mind was overwhelmed by a flood of information. I winced as I expected a torrent of foreign ideas to invade my brain, but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the System¡¯s fireworks exploded around me and nine popups appeared with the same message: [Congratulations, you just advanced an Astrology level!].


    I could hardly believe the final System message.


    [Your Astrology level is now 10.]


    [Bonus: +2% Farming exp and +1% all other skill exp]


    Was this for real?


    I mean, I was happy that I leveled up, but I still knew nothing about Astrology. This seemed almost too good to be true. Randomly opening a few pages of [Celestial Insights: Navigating Your Destiny Through the Stars], I verified that I still couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the technical terms, drawings, maps, and formulas it showed.


    [Celestial Insights: Navigating Your Destiny Through the Stars:


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Unlock the secrets of the cosmos with Celestial Insights. Discover how the stars hold the key to understanding your destiny. Filled with ancient occult wisdom and esoteric equations, this book could change your life.]


    My mind was definitely not filled with ¡°Celestial Insights.¡±


    The fact that I leveled up without actually understanding or even reading the book didn¡¯t seem like a bad thing, but I was a little worried. I made some tea and nibbled on a biscuit to calm myself. After a few minutes of contemplation, I concluded that the skill¡¯s weirdness was probably because it was meant to be just a money sink. Maybe the System only cared that I had used my gold to buy the books.


    I finished my cup of tea and bonked myself on the head with the other nine books, smiling at all the [Congratulations, you just advanced an Astrology level!] messages. When I got the final popup, I whooped for joy and did a little dance.


    ¡°Twenty percent! Mighty twenty! Tremendous twenty!¡± I yelled.


    [Your Astrology level is now 99.]


    [Bonus: +20% all skills exp]


    I also received ten upgrades for Mr. Bear as a special one-time bonus for getting my first max level skill. I put my robes back on and ran outside, grabbing Mr. Bear and excitedly shoving the ten ruby hearts from the System¡¯s reward tab into its chest. The red heart at the center of the plushie¡¯s torso sucked in the ruby hearts and grew lighter in color.


    [Puppet Name: Mr. Bear


    A magical plushie unlike any other. This cute and cuddly bear is made of a special type of plush cloth and magical stuffing that gives it special powers. When its owner is in danger, this bear will come to life.


    Though Mr. Bear is a wizard type, this puppet is also equipped with hidden metal claws and teeth.


    Type: Magic


    Base spell: Fireball


    Upgrades: 4¡ú14/99]


    Was it my imagination or did Mr. Bear somehow look cuter now? I fancied that his little black button eyes were shinier and his smile was a little wider. I kissed him on his little nose, and we did a little dance together with me holding him up in the air.


    ¡°Twenty percent! Can you believe it, Mr. Bear?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t get over it. How awesome was this? What a huge bonus! Giggling, I went to my front porch and sat down on my rocking chair where I relaxed and browsed the Cash Shop for some festive items. After all, I just got my first max skill and this called for a celebration. I took out lots of fireworks and decorated my porch with colorful balloons, bunting, and a festive banner with ¡°Congratulations¡± written on it. I lit the fireworks and drank [Kola-Kola Soda] to replenish my energy bar.


    Then I went outside to cut down some trees, giggling and mentally chanting ¡°Twenty! Yes, twenty!¡± whenever I got some Woodcutting exp.


    I spent the next few days in a euphoric haze, amazed at how much extra exp I was getting every time I watered the plants or cut down trees.


    ¡°Why does Teacher keep smiling creepily?¡± Lari asked Mo as we were all watering the plants five days later. ¡°She¡¯s been like that for days now!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious, isn¡¯t it? She¡¯s happy Prince Baiyu is moving in soon,¡± said Mo.


    Mo and Kharli playfully elbowed each other, wordlessly daring one another to say something more.


    ¡°Soon it will be loooooovey-doooooovey time at the farm,¡± said Kharli in a singsong tone of voice.


    ¡°Ew!¡± Lari moved away from us, to the other side of the field.


    With a twinkle in her eye, Mo turned to me and said, ¡°Will there be a banquet when Concubine Bai joins your family, Teacher?¡±


    I recoiled in mock horror and pretended to slap her cheek. She cooperated by whipping her head around as though she had been struck and falling to her knees dramatically.


    ¡°How dare you! Don¡¯t call my honey bunny Concubine Bai!¡± I said, arms akimbo.


    ¡°Forgive me, Teacher!¡± said Mo.


    Mo cowered and Kharli bent over her protectively. Lari just rolled his eyes at our little play.


    ¡°You¡¯re forgiven. Get up and finish watering the plants,¡± I said.


    Kharli helped Mo get up and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe Teacher is so bold. Making a prince of the ruling White Tiger clan move into her side chamber¡­¡±


    The two girls sighed.


    ¡°Hey now, I forbid you guys from referring to the Prince as Concubine Bai. As I have said at least a dozen times before, he will be moving here with some family members.¡± It went without saying that those family members would serve as his guards and chaperones. ¡°He actually visits various families a lot, so this is just routine.¡±


    That was true. Prince Baiyu often spent a weekend or two at the homes of various clans as his job as his mother¡¯s only heir required him to meet with many people as her representative, and many clan villages were in far-flung places.


    The kids continued to tease me about my romance with Prince Baiyu while I vigorously denied that we were moving in together ¡°that way¡± until Yinuo came by with some news.


    Yinuo ran over to me and said, ¡°My lady! My lady! Prince Baiyu has sent his dowry over.¡±


    Mo screamed, ¡°I knew it! They¡¯re getting married!¡±

 Chapter 129 - Crafting more ranged weapons and ammo

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 129 - Arrow-mazing crafting bow-nanza</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Yinuo was just joking, of course. It wasn¡¯t Prince Baiyu¡¯s dowry. It was just three flying ox carts loaded up with his and his staff¡¯s luggage as well as some furniture.


    Shaking my head at the way my apprentices and staff were all making fun of me, I made my way to the front of the main house where the prince¡¯s people were waiting. We all greeted each other, and then I left them in Fengying¡¯s capable hands.


    The third courtyard was ready for Prince Baiyu. He had sent a letter accepting my invitation last week, and his butler had visited us to make the necessary arrangements. Since Prince Baiyu was making this place his new headquarters, he needed a full staff of secretaries, guards, maids, etc. Therefore, I made his courtyard the size of two of mine. The original outer and main courtyards were in the eastern part of the house while the third courtyard was in the west, with the garden in the middle.


    ¡°See? It¡¯s just some normal furniture,¡± I said to my apprentices.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t furniture part of one¡¯s dowry?¡± Mo¡¯s eyes were still sparkling.


    I shook my head and warned them to mind their manners since we had people from the White Tiger clan supervising the placement of the prince¡¯s household effects.


    They were mostly stuff for a training hall like floor mats, weapon racks, wooden training weapons, and so forth. He must have thought my house was unlikely to have those. Most of the rooms in the third courtyard such as the bedrooms, front hall, staff rooms, kitchen, and side halls had already been furnished with the best items from the Cash Shop.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the inner courtyard. I¡¯ll smelt more bars for you guys to use,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yay! I love Smithing!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stick to Fletching since I¡¯m the best at it,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°When will I be able to smith swords, Teacher?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°We¡¯re only at the level of using [Bronze Bars]. I think we should wait until we can use at least [Steel Bars],¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± Lari looked down at his feet and then scratched his head bashfully. ¡°...Can I please practice making a dagger? Even if it''s just bronze.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re getting bored of making [Arrowheads]? Okay, you can try making other stuff along with the [Arrowheads],¡± I said. A small compromise seemed called for since I didn¡¯t want the kids to burn out grinding the same thing every day.


    Lari couldn''t contain his joy and shouted ¡°Yes!¡± loud enough to startle the nearby clan members who recoiled a little at the sudden noise.


    ¡°Hush, don¡¯t be noisy inside the house. And also, Teacher, that goes for all of us?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll think of what else you guys can make.¡±


    We went inside the workrooms and I smelted more bars for them while they Smithed and Fletched. My Smithing level was level 14 now, and with the +20 percent bonus from Astrology, I should get level 20 in a few days, depending on how much time I spend on it.


    I looked over the options for Smithing and Fletching.


    Fletching was pretty much limited to making ranged weapons and ammo. The items we were making now were meant to be donated to the cause of the upcoming World Event where all the clans and human cultivators fought the Demon Monarch. One¡¯s rewards depended on how much they contributed to the war effort, thus I was preparing a ton of arrows in advance. I reckoned the best rangers of this world probably had their own magic heirloom weapons based on what I knew of the setting, but more ammo was definitely always welcome. The [Bronze Arrows] we were making weren¡¯t that useful, but once we all leveled up we would make [Iron Arrows] and then [Steel Arrows], which were good enough to donate.


    The other things one could make by combining Smithing with Fletching were stuff like crossbow bolts, javelins, throwing axes, darts, and cannonballs.


    After smelting more bars, I stood in front of an anvil and demonstrated how to make the other items. Using a smithing hammer from my toolbelt, I banged it on a [Bronze Bar] from my inventory. When the System menu popped up, I mentally chose the [Spearhead] option and relaxed my arm, letting the System guide my movements. Eight hammer blows later, the metal bar shimmered and turned into a [Bronze Spearhead].


    ¡°Now, you see we have a [Spearhead], but not the spear itself. Take out a wooden log from your inventory and use a Fletching knife on it. Choose the [Javelin] option,¡± I said.


    The three of them took out regular logs from their inventory and then exchanged confused glances.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Teacher, these are too short to make into javelins,¡± said Kharli, holding aloft a log that was only two feet long.


    ¡°Just do it,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°I guess we can make really short javelins,¡± said Kharli in a doubtful tone of voice, giving her wooden log a dubious glance.


    I covered my mouth with a hand to conceal my smile and simply waited while they Fletched. Sure enough, after they had shaved off the bark and some slivers of wood, the logs shimmered and stretched out until they were seven feet long. I took a [Wooden Shaft] from Kharli and used the System menu to attach the [Bronze Spearhead] to it, forming a [Bronze Javelin].


    ¡°Can I try throwing it?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Later,¡± I said. ¡°For now, let¡¯s practice making a few different types of ranged items. How about we make throwing axes, darts, and crossbow bolts? Let¡¯s aim to get level 20 before Prince Baiyu arrives. We can show him all these different items and he can tell us which ones will be more in demand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be level 20 first,¡± said Lari. ¡°I¡¯m the fastest.¡±


    ¡°No way, I have way more stamina than you,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo looked downcast. I knew she was slower than Lari and had less stamina than Kharli, so I pulled her aside and gave her some advice. ¡°I know it¡¯s boring, but if you focus on making just one item, you might be able to get level 20 first.¡±


    I¡¯d told the other two the same thing, but Lari got bored easily and Kharli liked both Smithing and Fletching.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll make [Arrow Shafts] all day long,¡± said Mo.


    I patted her on the shoulder and then waved at the others. ¡°Work hard, everyone! I¡¯m off to my house to do Herblaw. Make sure you take a snack break before lunch.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± they chorused.


    ***


    Back at the [Ranch House], I started training Herblaw right away.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 20, Fishing Level 12, Woodcutting Level 20, Cooking Level 5, Herblaw Level 15, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 7, Mining Level 4]


    Last year, I had planned to level up my Herblaw skill during winter, but that unfortunate accident with a teleportation stone put paid to my skill training strategy. This spring, I had prioritized Woodcutting because I needed to clear more land and Smithing because I needed contribution points.


    Enough was enough!


    My apprentices weren¡¯t the only ones who were bored with doing the same thing every day. I also wanted a break, so I decided to work on my favorite skill.


    It was time to make more [Strength Potions]!


    Two ingredients were needed, [Mountain Flamewort] and [Harpy¡¯s Claw]. I sat down on a comfortable overstuffed armchair and took out one hundred [Mountain Flameworts] from my inventory, putting them in a neat pile on my worktable.


    [Mountain Flamewort:


    A type of plant that can be found growing on the slopes of mountains. The plant has long, slender leaves that are covered in small red flowers that resemble flames. When the fresh, tender leaves are picked, they can be used as a potion ingredient that temporarily boosts strength. It is also a key ingredient in many fire-based potions.]


    In order to cast spells, players, who were canonically magicless non-cultivators in the game, needed [Spell Stones].


    [Spell Stone:


    A beautiful, hand-crafted spell stone that has been infused with powerful magic specifically for use in spell-casting. Made of natural, clear crystal, it has been polished to a shine. It is thumb-sized and smooth to the touch.]


    I took out one hundred [Spell Stones] and cast the [Clean Herb] spell using the System¡¯s menu.


    Cleaning the herbs wasn¡¯t strictly required, and many players skipped it when making low-level potions, but I liked casting the spell.


    The moment I activated the [Clean Herb] spell, the System guided my hand to hover over the pile of herbs. A leaf levitated itself to just below my hand, and it was enveloped in a green ball of light. The leaf sparkled with gold specks, then the ball of light dimmed until it went out and the leaf fluttered gently down to the table¡¯s surface. A [Spell Stone] flashed with a white light that quickly extinguished itself and the crystal stone crumbled into dust.


    I found myself smiling again, and not just because I was getting twenty percent more exp than before. No, the whole process was just very magical. I missed this!


    Cleaning all one hundred herbs didn¡¯t take too long since each spell only took a few seconds. When I finished cleaning the [Mountain Flamewort], it was time for the [Harpy¡¯s Claw]. I made a pile of one hundred of them on the table then took out a mortar and pestle from the System toolbelt.


    [Harpy¡¯s Claw:


    A deep red and black claw taken from a harpy. It has an unmistakable earthy smell and a distinctive texture that is both smooth and slightly oily. Before it can be used, the claw must be ground into a fine powder. The spiritual energy contained in the claw enhances a potion''s efficacy.]


    Grinding them into powder would normally be quite a tedious process, but I had help from the System. All I had to do was press the pestle down for two seconds or so and the job was finished. I didn¡¯t even need a [Spell Stone].


    Just like the [Clean Herb] spell, this part was optional since just using [Create Potion] by itself was enough, but doing this extra step increased mastery and gave the player a better chance of getting a [Perfect Potion].


    Once the claw was reduced to a fine powder, it was time to make the potion. Lining up vials of water on the table, I mentally selected the [Create Potion] spell in the System menu. I smiled in delight as a glowing ball of soft pink light appeared between my raised hands. A vial of water and the two ingredients flew up into the light.


    ¡°Wow,¡± I breathed softly. I never got bored of casting this spell.


    The water inside the vial glowed white and then the leaf flew into it. The magic dissolved the leaf into the water, turning it a bright green. Then the powder floated up and poured itself into the vial, turning the liquid inside a dark yellow. Approximately three seconds later, the ingredients fully melded together, yielding one [Strength Potion].


    I spent the entire day making potions, resting, eating, and playing a game of hide-and-seek with Cutie and Mr. Bear.


    The next day, I went to Hongzhen and found out something important about my origins.

 Chapter 130 - The highest level mind control skill: Cognitive Modification

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 130 - Chai-sing a tea-rific origin story</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The last time I went out, I was supposed to go to Hongzhen, but my bodyguard had to attend to some emergency, so I went straight home.


    I asked my apprentices if they wanted to go shopping with me, promising them some new silk robes from the clothing store in Hongzhen town, but, weirdly enough, they all refused with blank expressions on their faces.


    Perhaps they were still mad that we only got ninth place in the Mid-Autumn Farming Contest? I tried to explain that I was going to spend some money in town to raise my favorability with the locals, but they still weren¡¯t interested.


    Thus, I went off alone on the flying carriage which had recently been upgraded to include a small window that I could look out from and a device that functioned like an intercom that I could use to communicate with the driver. As usual, Shuye sent a bodyguard-companion along with the driver.


    ¡°Okay, now please turn to the west and the town should be right there,¡± I said through the intercom. The driver said he was unfamiliar with the town¡¯s location, which wasn¡¯t a problem since I had the System map. I looked down to see paddy fields and scattered farms turning into clusters of houses then to small villages, and, finally, we flew past a small walled town. ¡°Excuse me, you flew past it. Can you turn back and land the carriage please?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see it, Lady Violet,¡± said the driver.


    ¡°You can land a little bit east of here,¡± I said.


    After a bit of wrangling, we managed to successfully bring the vehicle down in reasonably close proximity to the town. Once I alighted from the carriage, however, I was very surprised when my designated companion said she wasn¡¯t going with me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here,¡± she said.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I tried to give her and the driver a packed lunch and a bottle of water, but they refused the items. ¡°I¡¯ll be back after lunch!¡±


    Shrugging at the strangeness of a bodyguard who wanted to stay with the carriage, I walked to the town gates which were wide open. There weren¡¯t even any guards.


    Hongzhen was nestled between rolling hills to the north and south, with open farmland east of it and a river to the west. Within the confines of its walls, the wooden houses stood shoulder to shoulder, most of them single-storey. Though they were architecturally alike, with gracefully curved tiled roofs with upswept eaves, each house bore a unique touch of character and individuality such as colorful door carvings, distinctive planters, or colorful lanterns.


    The narrow streets winding through the town were paved with well-trodden cobblestones, worn smooth by the countless footsteps of residents and visitors alike. I made my way north to the town square via the main street that was lined with scholar trees.


    The last time I had been here, the town square had been full of stalls since it was a festival. Today, it was full of people strolling around or bustling about their business. The only stalls set up were selling tea, with a dozen chairs in front of them where customers sipped tea, played board games, or chatted with each other.


    My first stop was the bookstore, a small two-storey building filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with scrolls and books. The wizened old man in charge of the place seemed pleased to see me and recommended some popular fiction and gossip books. I handed over a third of the cash I had and went my merry way.


    My second target for the day was the clothing shop. The proprietor was a young lady with bright orange hair done up in a towering beehive decorated with flower hairpins whose tassels swayed as she moved. Her shop had a lot of ready-to-wear clothes, which I thought was quite surprising since I thought ancient people mostly bought cloth that they made into robes themselves. I bought three of the most expensive sets, which made the owner¡¯s smile widen.


    Lastly, I walked over to the temple, which was a triple-gabled pagoda with walls and blue roof tiles. The only person there was a bored teenager in wrinkled and dusty priestess robes. I left a small pouch of silver coins as an offering.


    Mission accomplished! This should be enough for the spring season. I¡¯d return during summer for another round of spreading money around.


    I was almost at the gate when the Mayor, an apple-cheeked man with a bushy beard, along with the book and clothes shop owners, approached me.


    ¡°Ah, Baroness Violet! We¡¯ve been waiting for you,¡± said the Mayor. ¡°Please come and have tea with us.¡±


    A glowing yellow question mark appeared on top of his head, and a System Message popped up.


    [New Quest Available: Discover Your Origins


    Have tea with the Mayor


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    What? My origins? Was it information about how I came to this world from Earth? I mentally clicked on the [Accept Quest].


    ¡°Tea? I¡¯d love to,¡± I said.


    The three of them led me back to the town square where we sat down at a small round table. The tea stall waiter took our orders and returned with a fresh pot of jasmine tea and two plates of bite-sized dumplings, buns, and spring rolls. We spent the next few minutes simply drinking tea and eating the dim sum while exchanging polite small talk about the weather and tea. Once the pot of tea was finished, the Mayor cleared his throat and exchanged meaningful glances with the other two.


    ¡°Lady Violet, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering what this is about. Let me ask you a question. Have you noticed anything strange about this town?¡± asked the Mayor.


    ¡°No, not really,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m new to the Westerlands in general and as for Hongzhen, well, it seems like a nice place¡­¡±


    The Mayor smiled. ¡°You came here via flying carriage. Did your driver have any difficulty finding the town?¡±


    ¡°Yes, actually! That was strange, now that I think about it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Our town is protected by an extremely powerful ancient blessing. We call it the Lion God¡¯s protection,¡± said the Mayor. ¡°People from the outside can¡¯t find this town or any of its inhabitants.¡±


    ¡°Eh? But I found it,¡± I said. ¡°And also last Mid-Autumn Festival I brought my household here.¡±


    ¡°Which means that you must be one of us!¡± The Mayor beamed at me.


    ¡°Wha¡­ what¡­¡± My brain stuttered to a stop.


    ¡°You were able to bring people here because your family is from here. Haven¡¯t you noticed that other people don¡¯t seem to know what you¡¯re talking about when you mention Hongzhen?¡±


    That was true, everyone had a blank expression on their faces whenever I said I was going to Hongzhen. ¡°What does that mean? They visited here. Do they not remember that?¡±


    ¡°With a bit of effort, you can bring others with you here, but they will forget what happened a few days later,¡± said the Mayor, stroking his beard.


    ¡°Wait¡­ when I tried to talk to them about the contest, they remembered we lost.¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you remind them of the town, they will recall some memories, but they will immediately forget again after a few minutes.¡±


    Amazing! That was basically a very strong mind spell, right? I was curious about the reason for it. ¡°That¡¯s, um, quite a strong effect. May I ask how Hongzhen got this blessing?¡±


    ¡°Thousands of years ago the local warlords raised taxes so much that the common people were starving. That is when our priestess prayed to the Lion God, and the blessing was the result. Now we don¡¯t have to pay taxes to the local authorities.¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Did Shuye know about this?


    ¡°The town council has decided to invite you to live among us. The blessing extends to the nearby farms and villages. We could give you some land to farm, and you wouldn¡¯t need to pay taxes to the White Tiger clan anymore.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but I already have a farm,¡± I said.


    The Mayor smiled again. ¡°We understand that you¡¯re an orphan from the island of Ma-i?¡±


    I nodded. That was the player character¡¯s background in Adventure Incarnate, and when I had transmigrated to this world, I had identity papers that said the same thing.


    ¡°Twenty years ago, one of the Chen family¡¯s sons ran away from home. We believe you might be his offspring.¡±


    The clothes shop owner shook her head and gave the Mayor a warning look. ¡°That part is pure speculation.¡±


    The Mayor frowned. ¡°The timing is right.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t look like him at all. I knew him well,¡± said the bookshop owner.


    They continued to bicker for a bit longer, but I had a hard time paying attention because I was distracted by a System message.


    [Discover Your Origins: Quest Complete


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    I only got a very small amount of exp, but I was mentally staggered by the implications of my quest being completed. Did this mean that the Mayor¡¯s speculation was correct and that the Chen family¡¯s son was my parent in this world?


    ¡°It¡¯s too bad that his parents are dead, and he had no siblings,¡± said the Mayor. ¡°They say blood will recognize blood. They might have been able to shed some light on this matter.¡±


    ¡°Did he never return to the town?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He sent word to a house we own in Oak Ridge. It¡¯s the place we use to send and receive letters and packages. He said he had run away to be a sailor and would return in five years, but three years later we got the news that the ship he was on sank.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s no actual evidence that I¡¯m his daughter.¡± It sounded pretty dubious to me.


    The three of them exchanged rueful looks.


    ¡°Yes, but whether he is your father or not, we accept that you are one of us because you were able to find the town twice and even bring other people with you,¡± said the Mayor.


    ¡°I¡¯m very confused by this,¡± I said.


    ¡°I understand. Lady Violet, you might not want to accept our invitation to live here, but if you ever need a refuge, we will welcome you with open arms,¡± said the Mayor. ¡°The Lion God¡¯s protection is powerful, and if you stay with us, no one will ever be able to find you.¡±


    We chatted a little more about the town and its unique characteristics. The Mayor ordered another pot of tea and three more plates of dim sum.


    I was very amused to find out that, in fact, the people in Hongzhen did pay taxes. The town council needed the money to pay for essential services and infrastructure maintenance, ensuring that the streets were well-paved, the public spaces were well-maintained, and so forth. They just didn¡¯t pay taxes to the White Tiger clan.


    ¡°How does trade work when people can¡¯t remember you when you leave?¡± I asked the clothes shop owner. I knew she probably didn¡¯t make the cloth herself.


    ¡°With cash. Everything outside of town has to be paid for right away with cash, or else I can¡¯t get any supplies,¡± she said.


    I laughed. ¡°If you make an order for later, will they forget it?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me,¡± said the bookstore owner. ¡°I can only buy whatever the book merchants in other towns have in stock.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fascinating, but I think maybe I have a different kind of blessing,¡± I said. ¡°People definitely remember me even when I¡¯m out of their sight.¡±


    ¡°We believe that¡¯s because you haven¡¯t lived in town yet. There have been people who left and whose blessing weakened when they were away from town for too long but returned to full strength when they returned to Hongzhen,¡± said the Mayor.


    Did this mean if I stayed in Hongzhen for a long time, everyone outside of town would forget about me? This thought was so alarming that I quickly finished my tea and said my goodbyes. The moment I was out of sight of the town square, I practically ran out of town like a bat out of hell.

 Chapter 131 - Its being attacked by pests and needs treatment

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 131 - Turf-rific Ant-venture</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    After that terrifying encounter at Hongzhen, I stayed home for a few days to recover my equilibrium. On the one hand, my purported parentage didn¡¯t impact my day-to-day life, but, on the other hand, it was pretty scary to find out that there was a global mind-control spell that made everyone forget about a whole town and its people. It gave me the shivers whenever I thought about it. It felt as if I had uncovered a secret room in a house everyone thought they knew, like finding a hidden nook that had escaped the notice of all its previous occupants.


    Creepy! Maybe I¡¯ll just stay at the farm and forget about the Mid-Autumn Festival Contest.


    ¡­Though it should be safe, right? Nothing bad happened last year, and it would be nice to get another trophy and an additional exp bonus.


    I put those thoughts in the back of my mind for the meantime and continued taking care of the crops. It was now mid-season, and most of the plants were growing very well, except for the spinach plants.


    ¡°Look, the System says it''s being attacked by pests and needs treatment!¡± said Kharli, pointing at the patch of young spinach plants.


    At this stage of its growth, the plants were less than a handspan tall and had vibrant green leaves. The stems were also green blended with a pretty pink color at the edges.


    ¡°Wait a sec, let me check it.¡± I knelt and peered at the plant. ¡°I see them.¡±


    There were lots of beetle-looking insects crawling around the stems and undersides of the spinach leaves.


    ¡°I think I can catch them!¡± said Mo.


    The three of them got busy catching the beetles and crushing them in their hands, but I knew we needed a more robust solution. I went to the System¡¯s Farming tab and browsed until I found the item I needed.


    ¡°Guys, let¡¯s fix this. Take this and sprinkle it on the earth around the plants. Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth, and make sure you don¡¯t breathe it in. This should kill the pests in a few days.¡± I handed them the metal [Energized Diatomaceous Earth Powder Duster].


    [Energized Diatomaceous Earth Powder Duster:


    Press the button on the side to release a fine dusting of Energized Diatomaceous Earth. Diatomaceous Earth is a natural powder made from fossilized diatoms. It works on plant pests by dehydrating and disrupting their exoskeletons, leading to their desiccation and death.]


    I had no idea what this item was. Diatoms? Diatomaceous? It sounded like gobbledygook to me, but it should work.


    ¡°Me! I want to use it, please!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Let me try it, too,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Okay, okay, you guys can take turns. Remember to be careful,¡± I said.


    I took a few steps away from the plants and covered my mouth and nose with a face veil from the Cash Shop while they sprayed the powder. To our disappointment, the beetles didn¡¯t die out at once. The kids wanted to continue manually removing the insects, but I wouldn¡¯t allow it since the patch had been sprayed with the natural pesticide.


    ¡°But, Teacher, this powder should be safe,¡± said Kharli. ¡°It¡¯s from the System, after all.¡±


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s safe to use on the crops, but that doesn''t mean you should get it all over you. Let¡¯s just wait for the pesticide to do its work,¡± I said. ¡°Everyone, go and inspect the other plants to see if they¡¯re okay.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, should we spray this on all the other plants, too?¡± asked Mo, gesturing at the [Energized Diatomaceous Earth Powder Duster] Kharli was still holding.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s excessive. A lot of bugs don¡¯t do any harm and could even be beneficial. We don¡¯t wanna kill all of them,¡± I said. ¡°This powder could kill the pollinators we need, you know.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Mo looked longingly at the powder duster. ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Did you get a lot of exp or something?¡± I gave her a suspicious look.


    Kharli laughed and handed me the device. ¡°Not a lot, but exp is exp.¡±


    I shook my head at their greed for exp. ¡°If you guys want more exp, how about moving to the desert farm with me? I¡¯m thinking of staying there for a few weeks.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Planting trees gives a lot more exp!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°But someone needs to stay here to take care of the plants,¡± I said. We all knew that the person who stayed at the farm would get all the exp for watering and tending the crops, which was a lot, but still less than what we would get planting trees all day at the desert farm. ¡°Who did I leave behind last time?¡±


    ***


    Three days later, we waved goodbye to Mo and boarded the flying carriage.


    ¡°Now, now, don¡¯t be upset. You¡¯ll all get the same exp.¡± I hugged her. We were going to spend fifteen days on the southern desert farm, with Lari, Kharli, and Mo taking turns so that they each spent five days at the main farm and ten days in the desert.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Watch out for pests,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much and get a stomachache,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I¡¯m not you! I wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Teacher, maybe you should bring Mo with you. I can stay behind,¡± said Kharli. ¡°I¡¯m not sure she¡¯s ready to stay at the farm by herself.¡±


    ¡°I know what to do. I can do it.¡± Mo pouted. ¡°Shoo!¡±


    ¡°She can do it. I¡¯ve added more protections over the farm while we¡¯re gone.¡± Meaning, I had turned on more of the privacy settings using the System. ¡°Goodbye. Keep an eye on your energy and don¡¯t exhaust yourself.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye! Stay well!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°See you in five days,¡± said Lari.


    The three of them hugged and we left. Fengying, Deming, and half of the household staff were going with us using the flying ox carts that I rented whenever I needed them. Cutie was in the System''s pet tab, while Mr. Bear had been shrunk and attached to my headband as a cute yet dangerous decoration.


    The trip took a few hours because I was a little scared of flying and asked the driver to use a moderate speed. My apprentices had all made some quick trips to the desert farm to check on the [Lizardwings] and replenish their water and food every seven days. They reported that at the top speed, they could go there and back in under three hours, but it was a wild, thrilling ride that made the carriage shake like it was going to fall to pieces at any second. Since I wasn¡¯t in a rush, I decided on a more sedate pace and smoother ride.


    We were on our way to the ¡°desert¡± which was a total misnomer because it wasn¡¯t a sandy desert but rather a semi-arid grassland.


    According to the Adventure Incarnate lore, a cataclysmic disaster in the form of a giant meteor fell in the capital city of the Vermillion Bird clan, wiping out all its inhabitants. That was also the origin of the so-called ¡°demons¡± who were actually alien lifeforms that now infested the Southerlands.


    The Westerlands were also affected, and the southern part of their territory became a cursed land where almost nothing could grow. The grass only grew as long as it was literally watered by the blood of the clan members who hoped to reclaim their former home.


    Last year, I started on the epic quest [Greening the Desert], which somehow has broken the curse. Plants can grow there now, and various families whose ancestors used to live in that area have begun their own desert reclamation projects.


    ¡°Teacher, look down!¡± said Lari, gesturing for me to move closer to the window.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I wasn¡¯t exactly afraid of heights, but the thin glass that covered the windows on either side of the carriage seemed rather fragile, so I sat in the middle of the seat, as far away from the windows as I could.


    Kharli looked out at what Lari was pointing at and gasped. ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Okay, please move aside and let me look.¡± I peered down at the scenery below. ¡°What the heck! When did that happen?¡±


    Below us, instead of the cracked dry land covered in brittle brown grass that I was expecting to see, was an undulating sea of grass varying in shades from deep green to pale olive that moved with the wind. Clusters of wildflowers interrupted the endless green carpet.


    Lari and Kharli exchanged looks.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t someone tell you, Teacher? They did it with blood. Lots and lots of blood,¡± said Kharli.

 Chapter 132 - A perfectly ordinary farm in the middle of the desert

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 132 - Beak-utiful desert animals</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    I put a hand on my stomach, feeling queasy at the thought.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we don¡¯t have to water our plants with blood,¡± said Lari.


    Kharli snorted dismissively. ¡°Clan members are way stronger than humans. Donating blood doesn¡¯t hurt them at all, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Actually, according to modern science back on Earth, donating blood has health benefits for humans, such as reducing the risk of heart attacks. I knew that because my dad regularly donated blood to the Red Cross. This thought steadied my stomach and I sat back on my seat with a sigh.


    ¡°They must be really desperate or something,¡± I said, knowing that blood and qi were closely linked to each other in this world. ¡°Is something going on?¡±


    ¡°We should ask the clan members when we land. I know all their names,¡± said Lari.


    My apprentices were quite familiar with the people looking after the farm since they took turns traveling to the desert every seven days to plant trees and replenish the animals¡¯ water and feed.


    As we continued flying south, the sea of green gradually faded in color until it became the sparse, unhealthy-looking grass that we were familiar with from last year.


    ¡°They have been trying to reclaim the desert starting from the parts nearest the forest,¡± said Lari.


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, that makes perfect sense.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be doing the same, Teacher?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°No, we already started our desert farm, so I¡¯ll see it to the end,¡± I said.


    Lari was right. If the desert farm was nearer, we could visit it more often. However, I liked having a more isolated place to farm where I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about neighbors or borders.


    ¡°I like our farm,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Me, too. Wake me when we¡¯re near.¡± I detached Mr. Bear from my headband and made him big enough to sleep on. Placing him beside me on the carriage bench, I straightened the pink bow around his neck and said, ¡°Let¡¯s sleep, Mr. Bear.¡±


    I put my feet up on the other side of the bench. Laying my head on Mr. Bear¡¯s lap, I closed my eyes and rested, trying to ignore the way the carriage rattled whenever its magical stabilizer was overwhelmed by an unexpectedly strong gust of wind. Sleep was impossible, but I was able to relax a bit.


    Some time later, Kharli said, ¡°Teacher, look! We¡¯re almost at the farm.¡±


    Yawning, I got up and looked down at the scenery. In the middle of the sea of brown was a tiny green oasis where a hill covered in green grass and trees rose above the surrounding land that had a few small but vibrantly alive patches of verdant flora.


    Soon the carriage began its descent, and I felt my stomach lurch. I leaned back and hugged Mr. Bear for comfort until we touched ground. One would expect something as non-aerodynamic as a flying carriage to land with a thump and maybe bounce a bit, but no such thing happened. The vehicle¡¯s various enchantments made it land as gently as a butterfly on a flower.


    The carriage was faster than the ox carts, so we arrived first at Blossom Valley which was at the foot of Skyfang Hill. I opened the carriage door and we alighted. It felt like entering an oven because of the heat. I put a hand on my forehead to shade my eyes and looked up at the cloudless blue sky.


    Lari unbuttoned his collar. ¡°It¡¯s so hot!¡±


    Kharli and I couldn¡¯t say anything in reply because we both started coughing. The air was epically dry and dusty, which was a shock after the cool, wet air of the Ancient Hill Forest area. It took us a while to adjust.


    When I finally stopped coughing, I leaned against Kharli¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Look at that.¡±


    I pointed at the horizon. The land in front of us seemed to go on forever until the earth met the sky.


    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°This is why I don¡¯t want to farm near the forest. I like this view! No, I love it! It¡¯s like I can feel my soul expanding when I¡¯m here,¡± I said.


    Kharli nodded solemnly. ¡°I feel it, too.¡±


    I turned to look at Lari. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, I think we should prepare the house for the others,¡± he said.


    ¡°There¡¯s no romance in your soul!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll build the house.¡± I navigated to the System¡¯s [Build] tab and chose the [Three Courtyard House] option. An enormous magic circle appeared on the ground in front of us and flashed with a bright white light three times before it was replaced by the house.


    The driver, a white-bearded man who was a member of the White Tiger clan, looked stunned, his eyes widening and jaw slightly dropping in surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s so big!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not finished yet,¡± I said as they moved to enter the house. ¡°Watch closely as I show you a spectacular sight!¡±


    This time, I selected the [Custom Garden] that I had designed using Cash Shop items. The base item I used was the [Elegant Chinese Garden], but I had extensively modified it with lots of water-and-flower-themed items.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    A magic circle three times the size of the first one appeared around the [Three Courtyard House]. The building and magic circle both flashed white then disappeared and were replaced by a new, much bigger structure.


    The original house was now divided into three separate courtyard houses within a walled compound that was my customized garden.


    [Elegant Chinese Garden


    The character for garden contains four symbols that must all be present to capture the essence of a classic Chinese garden: the majesty of mountains or the ruggedness of rocks, the tranquility of water, the beauty of buildings, and the life of plants.]


    The outer courtyard house was placed at the southeast corner of the garden. It was the largest of the three houses since it was meant to house the staff. The reception room, elegantly furnished with carved lacquer tables and chairs made of fragrant rosewood, was elegant and grand enough to please Fengying. Since this part of the compound was where visitors and messengers would enter, I used the [Stardust Silverwood Door] as the main gate.


    [Stardust Silverwood Door


    A door made of white wood that shines softly as though it''s covered in stardust.]


    In the middle of the garden was the second courtyard house where my apprentices would stay. Apart from the main hall, which eclipses the reception room in both scale and opulence, the middle house was much less decorative and more functional in design since this was where we had our workrooms. No frilly curtains, plush carpets, or cute bric-a-brac could be found there. Instead, it had plenty of sturdy hardwood worktables, benches, chests, and shelves for our equipment and crafted items.


    The third courtyard house was in the northwest corner, and that was where I would live. I¡¯d designed it to be charming and inviting, with smaller, cozier rooms and furniture that was chosen for comfort, such as stuffed armchairs and cushy sofas.


    Smiling, I turned to my apprentices and said, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Lari and Kharli both screamed wordlessly in approval and ran to the main gate, only to be stopped short by my words.


    ¡°Wait. We need to check on the [Lizardwings] first,¡± I said.


    ¡°I forgot about them,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°May I place the eggs, Teacher?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Sure, you can both place half,¡± I said. ¡°Let''s go.¡±


    The [Lizardwings] were a type of desert animal that we were raising here because their manure was incredibly helpful in increasing soil fertility. Alas, their manure was also incredibly stinky.


    I looked up at the sky to check if the ox carts were close, but there was no sign of them yet. We made our way to the southern part of the valley to a walled enclosure. We were still a mile away when the stench hit us hard, and I gagged even though we had all covered our noses and mouths with wet cloths and even pinched our nostrils shut with wooden clothespins.


    ¡°Remember, when we get there, we put the [Lizardwings] in the cages, and walk out of there as fast as we can. And no talking!¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna inhale any more of this stinky air than is strictly necessary.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, why don''t you and Kharli stay here while I get the animals?¡± said Lari.


    ¡°How gallant! Thank you, but no. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to make you do all the undesirable jobs,¡± I said.


    We entered the [Lizardwing] habitat, and I was pleased to note that the spirit animals had done their work. Or, rather, their manure had. The ground in this place was wetter and the grass was green.


    The [Lizardwings] looked like small dinosaurs with bright orange scales and feathered but useless wings. Their vaguely chicken-like heads were small and rounded, with brown beaks and beady little black eyes.


    Thankfully, we didn¡¯t need to touch the animals. We only had to walk near them in order to store them in our inventories. Once they were safely stored in the System, we only had to click [Use] on some bamboo cages and the animals to place them inside the cages, ready for selling to the clans.


    I removed the walls of the enclosure and the [Lizardwing¡¯s] pen. Then we half-ran and half-walked away to the south until we could no longer smell the manure. I removed the veil and clothespin from my face. ¡°Aw heck! That was worse than I remember.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m getting used to it,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Teacher, is it really worth it?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Look at that.¡± I pointed at the patch of green grass where the enclosure used to be. ¡°Look how green it is compared to the rest of the land around it. And the [Lizardwings] were only there for two weeks. The stench will fade away soon enough, but the effects on the soil will remain.¡±


    ¡°If they¡¯re so good, why don¡¯t we use them on the other farm?¡± asked Lari.


    Kharli gave him a look of sheer horror. ¡°Is your nose okay? You must be crazy!¡±


    ¡°We can use them here since the land I was given is huge. The farm is much smaller, so the stink would be inescapable,¡± I said.


    Lari looked unconvinced.


    ¡°Fengying and Deming would probably quit,¡± I said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that then!¡± said Lari. He loved Deming¡¯s cooking as much as I did, or maybe even more.


    Our conversation was interrupted by the appearance of two clan members who came running up to us from the house.


    ¡°Lady Violet, welcome back!¡± said the taller of the two. He was a handsome man with long gray hair and hazel eyes. I could tell from the way he spoke first that he was the senior clan member.


    He and the other clan member, who was a young man with brown hair and eyes, bowed to us. We all exchanged polite greetings and bows, which took quite some time since there were six of us and everyone had to have their say.


    When we were done with the courtesies, I said, ¡°We have the [Lizardwings]. Should we give them to you now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady. The clans are all excited about reclaiming these lands, and they will pay good money for the animals,¡± said the senior clan member.


    ¡°So what¡¯s been happening while I was away?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The Lady of the Westerlands has been busy giving permits to all the newcomers who want to settle new lands in the desert. The families who have been taking care of this region have first claim, of course,¡± he said.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I echoed his words and smiled. Most clans had left this place when it was cursed, but a few, such as Prince Baiyu¡¯s paternal family, continuously tried to revitalize the land since it was where their ancestors had lived. Now that the curse was no more, they were due for a reward.


    ¡°This is a great opportunity for everyone who has the manpower and money to expand,¡± he said.


    ¡°Wonderful,¡± I said.


    We handed over the bamboo cages with the [Lizardwings] inside, and the clan members left to make arrangements for the sale of the animals. Then we walked a bit farther until we reached a good spot for the new animal pen.


    ¡°This is far enough from the house, and the wind is blowing in the opposite direction,¡± I said.


    Using the System¡¯s [Build] function, I raised ten-foot high stone walls to enclose an area that was 100 feet across. The [Small Pen] from the [Animal Husbandry] tab went in the middle, and we filled the pen¡¯s automatic feeder with animal feed, and the automatic bell drinker with water.


    ¡°May I choose the eggs, please?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Sure, you guys can pick the ones you want. Three each.¡± I took out a basket of [Lizardwing Eggs].


    ¡°I want the pretty ones!¡± Kharli put three pastel-colored and speckled eggs inside the pen.


    ¡°These look strong.¡± Lari did the same to three brown and black eggs.


    ¡°As for me, I want to try these out!¡± I showed my apprentices the four eggs I had picked beforehand. ¡°Go on, examine them.¡±


    [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens Eggs:


    The Prairie Chickens that will hatch from these eggs will be perfectly ordinary and unremarkable.]

 Chapter 132.5

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 132.5</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    It¡¯s finally happened. My child, my precious daughter, was born yesterday.


    The clan gave me three whole days to celebrate in peace before sending word that there was a troubling new situation.


    The Emberstone Farm seems to have disappeared.


    No one, not even those who had been there many times, such as my messengers, could find it. Of course, we already knew that it was impossible for people to find it unless someone who already knew where it was showed it to them. Now, however, even those who had previously been allowed to visit it, could no longer do so.


    Including me.


    I hated to leave my newborn child and wife even for a moment, but my people were quietly panicking, so I had to check the situation with my own eyes. No matter how much I tried, I simply couldn¡¯t find the farm anymore.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Logically, the zidan in that area should be chaotic since the clan had lost some land, but none of us felt any change at all. I ordered a dozen people to patrol the area where we thought the farm should be, and three days later, Haoran, one of the farm¡¯s staff, was spotted foraging for mushrooms. Three of my people watched over him and called for a clan messenger who Yinuo knew. The messenger asked Haoran to accompany him to Emberstone Farm, and he was able to follow the human into the farm where he gave Fengying the letter I sent asking Baroness Violet to allow me and five of my hand-picked subordinates access to the farm.


    Mo, the apprentice farmer, informed the messenger that Baroness Violet had ¡°increased the security¡± of the farm since most of the others were away.


    Thankfully, my wife wasn¡¯t mad that I was working during her lying-in period. She found the whole thing hilarious and teased me about losing a part of my territory to a little human girl.


    Our family, friends, and neighbors, who dropped by to bring food and gifts, help with the chores, and meet the new member of our family, often joined in the teasing. I was told I was getting soft and losing my grip on my right to rule the Ancient Hill Forest.


    What they didn¡¯t know, or pretended not to know, was that this type of stealth shield was something that the Azure Dragon clans customarily used to fend off an enemy attack.


    Was there something dangerous nearby? I doubled the patrols just in case.

 Chapter 133 - [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens]

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 133 - Don''t worry the chickens will be real tweet-hearts</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Kharli bent down to look at the items more closely. ¡°What¡¯s strange about these eggs?¡±


    With a perfectly straight face, I said, ¡°Nothing. These are perfectly ordinary eggs.¡±


    ¡°They are definitely going to hatch some extremely unusual chickens,¡± said Lari.


    I laughed. ¡°You¡¯ll find out in a few days.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, you said the [Lizardwings] are the best animals for the desert, so why are you hatching these incredibly abnormal eggs?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°These are very normal eggs.¡± I pointed to the southeast and started walking to the spot I had chosen which was upwind of the [Lizardwings] habitat. ¡°Well, you see, I¡¯ve also been thinking that maybe the [Lizardwings¡¯] smell is too much. The System info says they are the best, but we might as well test it out. The prairie chickens are the second-best animals for [Greening the Desert].¡±


    ¡°Yes! No more stinky animals!¡± Kharli pumped a fist in the air triumphantly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too soon. We¡¯ll only use the prairie chickens if they do well enough,¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher, what do you mean by ¡®well enough¡¯?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Sometimes the difference between the best and second-best isn¡¯t a lot. I¡¯ll place these eggs in another pen, and we¡¯ll check the condition of the land after two weeks. If they¡¯re similar, then we can replace the [Lizardwings] with the chickens,¡± I said.


    ¡°If the new, super strange chickens don¡¯t do well, what will you do with them?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Just sell them as usual. Why do you ask?¡±


    Lari smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t think people will like unbelievably unusual chickens¡­¡±


    I smirked back at him. They knew me well. ¡°I told you, they¡¯re perfectly ordinary!¡±


    When we reached the right spot, I built the walled enclosure and put the eggs in a pen with plenty of stored animal feed and water.


    ¡°Okay, you guys still have almost all your energy, right?¡± I waited until they both nodded before continuing. ¡°Last year we planted fertilizer trees. They are the best for enriching the soil. However, now that I unlocked the [Mysterious Goo], we have another option: fast-growing desert trees.¡±


    ¡°Do they also enrich the soil?¡± asked Kharli.


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, all trees pretty much do, but they aren¡¯t as good as the fertilizer trees.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re fast,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yes. These will grow to maturity in only one year, compared to two years for the fertilizer trees, The thing is, these need the nutrients and energy from the [Mysterious Goo].¡± I showed them the tree seeds. ¡°These trees grow fast, have many leaves, and even regrow fast.¡±


    [Desert Ralga:


    A tree known for its hardy resilience in arid environments. With distinctive blue-green foliage, the tree typically stands at a moderate height, featuring a spreading crown that provides ample shade in the harsh desert landscape.]


    The others were mostly the same, except for the [Plains Grazia].


    [Plains Grazia:


    A tree with deep roots and lush green leaves that serve as a reliable source of fodder. Despite the arid conditions, the tree thrives, and its leaves emit a subtle, sweet fragrance carried by the winds.]


    ¡°We¡¯ll also plant some plants for fodder.¡± I showed them the [Dryland Pigeon Pea], [Desert Comfrey], [Sweet Potato Vines], [Birdsfoot Trefoil], and [Nomad Sage]. Though they were all different, they all had three things in common: they were drought resistant, could be used for feeding animals, and grew fast.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Kharli took a seed and examined it closely. ¡°This one seems similar to our fertilizer trees.¡±


    [Dryland Pigeon Pea:


    A hardy, perennial legume known for its resilience and fast growth. With slender green stems and pinnate leaves, this drought-tolerant plant produces clusters of pale yellow flowers that give way to elongated pods containing edible protein-rich seeds that can be eaten by both humans and animals. Its deep roots enrich the soil by capturing and converting essential nutrients from the air, boosting the overall fertility of the soil.]


    ¡°Exactly.¡± We arrived at our destination, and I took out my hoe from the System toolbelt. ¡°Let¡¯s get to planting then!¡±


    I let the kids pick their own spots, and we worked mostly in silence. We plowed the ground, spread [Mysterious Goo] on it, watered it, and then used the [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers] to plant the seeds.


    The [Dendrological Cultivation Chamber], despite its fancy name, was simply a cardboard box filled with water with a wick at the bottom. It was designed so that water would slowly transfer to the soil via the wick. Of course, the box had a hole in the middle where the seed was planted in the soil. It also had small holes on the concave lid which allowed rainwater to replenish the water inside the box.


    I was tired and sweating a lot by the time we finished. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s so hot. I think I¡¯m going to overheat. Let¡¯s rest in the shade for a bit.¡±


    Wiping the sweat from my forehead with a handkerchief, I browsed the Cash Shop for a large lounge tent and took out the chairs that I had earmarked previously as something I wanted to try.


    [Thermoclinique Recliner:


    A reclining chair that is the epitome of sophisticated comfort. Its plush upholstery is made of temperature-regulating foam and the recliner functionality allows users to easily adjust the chair to their preferred position, whether it''s a gentle recline for reading or a fully extended position for napping.]


    We went inside and I added a small table and filled it with [Kola-Kola Soda] bottles, a pitcher of water, an ice bucket, glasses, and a plate of fried plantains Fengying had given me beforehand as a snack. Lastly, I placed a large cooling fan that sprayed a fine mist of water along with the air.


    Kharli stood directly in front of the fan and moaned in pleasure while Lari and I sat down and started eating and drinking the stuff on the table.


    ¡°Resting in comfort after a hard day¡¯s work is the best.¡± I leaned back on the chair and reclined, putting my feet up for added comfort.


    After luxuriating in the cool mist for some time, Kharli joined us at the table. To my surprise, she pulled out a plate of roast pork buns. ¡°I asked Madam Fengying to make a snack for us.¡±


    ¡°Nooooo, I don¡¯t want to fill my stomach up too much. Lunch should be good. I saw the kitchen prepping roast duck yesterday. I love that crispy skin!¡± The dish was similar to Peking duck on Earth, which was roasted duck with a caramelized crunchy exterior. Slices of the skin and meat were served on thin pancakes with a heavenly sauce and sliced scallions.


    ¡°Am I the only one who likes the more meaty roast duck? Crispy skin is nice, but I want more of the meat,¡± said Lari.


    He and Kharli got to discussing their favorite duck dishes while I listened in amused silence. I really had turned my apprentices into foodies!


    ¡°Oh, wait, I almost forgot Cutie,¡± I said, interrupting their spirited debate on the merits of braised vs roast duck. ¡°I think I¡¯ll take her out now, but we need to keep an eye on her because I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯ll be okay in this heat.¡±


    My slime pet¡¯s natural habitat was an underground cavern where the temperature was always the same. They did have hot water baths though, so she could probably tolerate the heat, but that was wet heat. How would she fare in the hot, dry air here?


    The moment I took her out of the System storage, Cutie started bouncing around with a boing-boing sound like a demented rabbit high on caffeine. Perhaps the prolonged stay inside the System made her bored? Using the slime strand on top of her head, she lifted a side of the tent and then let out the loudest ¡°Chu!¡± sound I had ever heard from her.


    ¡°Wait! Come back!¡± I yelled as she bounced outside.


    ¡°Chu! Chu! Chu!¡± came the sound of my pet. She was bouncing away really fast.


    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ll go after her.¡± Lari ran towards the ¡°Chu¡± sounds.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± I hastily put away the tent and the items inside and then followed behind them with Kharli. It didn¡¯t take long since my pet ran out of steam pretty quickly. ¡°Oh, you little troublemaker!¡±


    I picked Cutie up to hug her but immediately put her down again because she was really hot!


    ¡°Teacher, I think your demon is smaller,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°What?¡± I examined Cutie anxiously.


    ¡°She shrank!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Oh dear, oh dear¡­¡± She did look smaller. Was it dehydration? I got a bucket of water from my inventory and poured it over her. Then I put the tent back over us and placed a few more buckets of water for my pet along with some potted flowers.


    Cutie immersed herself in a bucket, and when she emerged, she was her normal size and temperature.


    Wait¡­ was she larger?


    ¡°Now she grew.¡± Lari looked amused at my fussing.


    ¡°She must be adapting herself to the environment,¡± I said. ¡°Her body is mostly water, I think.¡±


    We waited a few minutes to see if Cutie needed more water, and when she just bounced around the tent, I decided it was fine.


    ¡°The ox carts must be close. Let¡¯s go back to the house.¡± I put the things back once again and we set off for the house in good spirits with Cutie bouncing along beside us.


    Suddenly, my pet sprouted a new appendage.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Kharli stopped dead in her tracks and pointed at Cutie.


    ¡°The demon is evolving!¡± Lari took several steps back, away from my pet.

 Chapter 134 - Continuation of the Epic Quest [Greening the Desert]

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 134 - A dessert quest is no snackrifice</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    ¡°Oh, my little Cutie is so clever!¡± I cooed at her.


    A large umbrella-like slime appendage had sprouted on top of her head beside her slime strand. ¡°Chu!¡±


    We walked back to the house in companionable silence, with my two apprentices trailing behind me and my pet. When we got there, I placed as many [Nirvana Lotus Ponds] around the perimeter of the walls as I could in hopes that the water from the ponds would seep down to replenish the groundwater. Evaporation from the ponds also cooled the air around the house by a few degrees. A few picturesque crescent-shaped bridges and stepping stones placed strategically among the ponds made them look more charming and romantic.


    I kinda wished I had a camera and could post a picture of me on Instagram. If my mother and father were still alive, we would make a pretty picture posing on a bridge over a lotus pond.


    Sighing at the thought, I led everyone to Skyfang Hill to check on the trees.


    "The grass here is so green. Teacher, I think this might be a tree seedling that we didn¡¯t plant." Lari pointed at a delicate, slender shoot emerging from the soil at his feet.


    ¡°Whoa! I think you¡¯re right. It¡¯s a good sign that the native plant life is taking root here.¡± Looking around, I saw plenty of new growth such as native prairie grasses, bushes, and wildflowers. ¡°The contour swales have done their work!¡±


    ¡°Who knew that digging trenches would work this well?¡± Kharli bent down to pluck a white flower and twirled it around her fingers.


    The System was the one who suggested using contour swales, strategically designed earth channels that follow the natural contours of the landscape, for the hill. The shallow trenches captured and directed rainwater, which greatly helped with absorbing and retaining precious water in the soil. The same principle of slowing water runoff and reducing soil erosion, as I understood it, was used for terraced crops like rice, tea, grapes, etc. in hilly areas around the world.


    ¡°I bet we won¡¯t need to add water to the [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers]. The clan members told me that rainfall this year has been double last year¡¯s,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yes, but double a tiny amount is still a tiny amount,¡± I said.


    The hill was low but wide. It only took an hour to walk to the top, but we had to go around it, checking every tree to see if they were alright. We were currently working on number ten of the epic quest [Greening the Desert].


    [Epic Quest: Greening the Desert


    Turn the cursed desert into fertile land.


    <ol style="text-align: left">


    <li>Improve watershed by using water harvesting methods by digging contour swales. - done</li>


    <li>Improve watershed by using water harvesting methods by digging a lake reservoir.</li>


    <li>Plant the berms with one hundred fruit trees and one hundred berry bushes.</li>


    <li>When the lake is full, plant a riparian buffer of one hundred trees.</li>


    <li>Plant one hundred fertilizer trees. Use a cultivation box. - done</li>


    <li>Graze spirit animals. Sow wild grass and flowers on the grazed land.</li>


    <li>Plant one hundred fruit trees. Use a cultivation box.</li>


    <li>Plant one hundred nut trees. Use a cultivation box.</li>


    <li>Plant one hundred trees. Use a cultivation box.</li>


    <li>Create windbreaks to protect the crops.</li>


    <li>Plant one hundred perennial crops.</li>


    <li>Create a food forest made of a diverse array of one hundred fruit trees, one hundred shrubs, one hundred vines, one hundred grasses or herbs, and one hundred root crops.</li>


    </ol>


    Progress: 2/12]


    Just a few months ago, I used the [Empyrean Earth Transformer] to dig the swales and we planted fertilizer trees. I¡¯m not sure how or when the ¡°curse¡± on the land was lifted. It seemed to have happened automatically. Perhaps it was silently triggered when the one-hundredth tree was planted? I was in the demon lands at the time due to a teleportation accident, so I wasn¡¯t there when it happened.


    ¡°The trees look great, and Lari¡¯s right. The water boxes are all full,¡± I said.


    ¡°It must have rained recently. The soil is still a little damp,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Teacher, this tree looks amazing!¡± Kharli was standing in front of a sapling that was higher than her waist. Its heart-shaped leaves were an iridescent green.


    [Elderwood Tree:


    An enigmatic tree with roots entwined in arcane mysteries whose leaves whisper wisdom to the wise.]


    ¡°I prefer the [Dragon''s Eye Tree],¡± said Lari. He walked a bit higher and pointed at a tiny sapling that was only knee height with fire-red leaves and black and red branches like molten lava.


    [Dragon¡¯s Eye Tree:


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    A tree named after the eye-like burls that sometimes form on the trunk or branches. Though ominous in appearance, with red and black leaves, trunk, and branches, the Dragon¡¯s Eye Tree is said to bring good luck to the area it is growing in by absorbing and purifying harmful energy.]


    ¡°They¡¯re all like that. I think when the trees are grown this will be a very magical place,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Yes¡­. imagine walking under the shade of these trees in two years¡­¡± I looked up dreamily at the top of the hill, thinking of the paradisiacal forest farm I used to have in Adventure Incarnate. ¡°It¡¯ll be great!¡±


    We continued inspecting all the trees until I was satisfied that there were no sickly ones.


    ¡°I think one hundred of these aren¡¯t enough. Let¡¯s plant more after we finish planting one hundred fast-growing desert trees.¡± I got ahold of Cutie and put her in a bucket of water. She was looking smaller again. ¡°The lower slopes will be planted with fruit trees in the future, but I think the upper part of the hill needs more trees to make it more stable.¡±


    ¡°We should plant a peach forest! There are so many legendary tales set in peach forests.¡± Kharli was so excited that she moved closer to me without considering that Cutie was right beside me. She jumped a foot in the air and screamed when my pet bounced near her, almost touching her side.


    I shook my head at her and said, ¡°Relax, she¡¯s very tame. A peach forest sounds nice. We can plant a cluster of peach trees on the side of the hill facing the house.¡±


    A sound came from the north and we all turned to see that the ox carts were finally in sight.


    ¡°I hope lunch will be served soon. I¡¯m hungry,¡± said Lari.


    We made our way back down the house. Since I was getting tired of walking, I made Mr. Bear grow to human height and leaned on him for support. The staff were inside the outer courtyard house getting settled in by the time we got there. I let them be and told my apprentices to come with me to the northwest corner of the garden where my house was located. I made Mr. Bear shrink down to palm size and attached him to my belt.


    We exited the outer courtyard and into the [Elegant Chinese Garden] which was like something straight out of a fairytale, with lush, meticulously landscaped greenery, meandering pathways, intricately designed moon doors, and a small lake spanned by a zig-zag bridge. We didn¡¯t stop to admire the view, however, until we reached the spot I wanted to show them.


    ¡°Behold! I call it the Walkway of One Hundred Fountains.¡± I gestured at the walkway that was shaded by mature acacia trees from the Cash Shop. ¡°Isn¡¯t it magnificent!¡±


    The three-tiered north wall featured more than one hundred spouts that were fed by three canals. The topmost canal had fountains that sprayed water in a fan shape while the lower ones were simple spouts or waterfall curtain fountains. The water from the fountains of the first canal spilled down into the second and then the third. Colorful bougainvillea and jasmine vines cascaded down the terraces. The whole thing was inspired by the fountains of Villa d''Este back on Earth.


    ¡°Wow, the water is cooling the air here a lot, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kharli dipped her hand on the lowest water trough. ¡°The water is so clear and clean, too.¡±


    ¡°Chu.¡± Cutie bounced up and balanced herself precariously on the rim of the trough. She cautiously dipped her slime strand in the water to test it first before jumping into it and bouncing around, splashing water everywhere.


    ¡°Teacher, may I climb up there?¡± Lari was peering up at the fountains at the top.


    ¡°Why? There¡¯s nothing up there but water.¡± I shrugged. ¡°But, okay, go ahead.¡±


    He and Kharli climbed up and stood at the top of the wall, waving down at me. I waved back and they descended.


    ¡°I just wanted to see the view from up there. Everything looks amazing when you¡¯re looking at it from a high place,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I bet it''s nice! I¡¯m too tired to climb it though. Come, I¡¯ll show you one last thing.¡± I led them to the end of the walkway where there was a long, seemingly unbroken, expanse of shoulder-high hedges.


    Lari and Kharli clapped in admiration when I pressed on a certain spot in the wall and part of the hedge fell to the ground, revealing that it was only a very realistic painting.


    I went inside and waved them in. The painting automatically sprang back into place a few seconds later. ¡°Our secret spot!¡±


    It was a small, cozy space meant for picnicking or meditating, with a soft carpet of grass underfoot, and a canopy of acacia trees overhead. It was empty except for the [Dragon Pearl Spring], a small fountain with a marble statue of a dragon with a flaming pearl in its claws.


    ¡°This is for¡­?¡± Kharli spun around, looking for something to do.


    ¡°A quiet spot where we can relax,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you for showing us this place, Teacher,¡± said Lari.


    Cutie bounced around, poking her slime strand at everything. Lari and Kharli circled the place.


    ¡°Well, we can relax here later. Let¡¯s get settled into our rooms for now,¡± I said.


    They nodded.


    I went to the third courtyard house while they went to the middle one. Equipping Mr. Bear with a cute pink paper parasol, I set him in [Guard Mode] at the gate of my house. Then I took a nap in my bedroom until Mr. Bear alerted me via a System notification that Yinuo, my maid, was knocking at the gate.


    ¡°It¡¯s duck for lunch, right?¡± I was so hungry that I was tempted to run to the outer courtyard.


    Yinuo nodded, and I tried to hurry her along by walking as fast as I could. When I arrived at the courtyard, I found that I was the last one there, and lunch was served immediately after I sat down.


    Deming had outdone himself with a duck-themed meal. The whole roast duck was served in eight different ways. The sliced crispy skin was paired with thin wheat pancakes, a sweet, tangy sauce, and finely sliced green onions. Lari loved the duck meat that was glazed with plum sauce and served in warm, pillowy steamed buns. There was also duck soup, duck bone broth, and duck fried rice. The dish I liked the best was duck meat shredded and stir-fried with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. It was absolutely mouth-watering! I couldn¡¯t get enough of the duck spring rolls, too.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind working hard all day if this is my reward,¡± said Lari.


    Kharli and I murmured our agreement. We were too busy stuffing our faces to talk much.


    Afterward, I think I fell into a food coma because I didn¡¯t remember what happened the rest of the day. The next thing I knew, it was dinner time.


    I thought that lunch was something special, but dinner showed me that there was an even higher level of gastronomic delight that I had yet to experience. The Demon Chef really pulled out all the stops. There were heavenly braised meats, exquisite soups made with rare herbs and bird¡¯s nest, delicate dumplings filled with a medley of meat and vegetables, crispy fried fish, sea cucumber with shrimp roe, abalone with lettuce, and large platters of exquisitely crafted pastries and fresh fruit slices.


    The high I got from eating such great food came crashing down with shocking abruptness by a horrifying announcement the next day when Fengying told me that Deming was leaving.

 Chapter 135 - The Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens Hatched!

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 135 - Eggs-pecting an egg-cellent plot twist, but it''s perfectly ordinary</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    My mind was going, ¡°Nooooo! I¡¯ll die!¡± while Fengying explained that when cooking yesterday¡¯s meals, Deming had experienced a minor insight and needed to go into isolation training to integrate his new knowledge into his cultivation path. This involved going to his secret hideout and meditating there for a few days.


    Seeing my worried expression, Fengying reassured me with a few well-chosen words. ¡°Deming will be back soon, and his cooking will be better than ever.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I understand. Thanks for letting me know.¡±


    Fengying¡¯s news explained why the food at lunch and dinner had been so amazing.


    The kitchen would be fine since Deming¡¯s three assistants were there to take care of our meals, but, obviously, the food wasn¡¯t as good as it was when Deming was there.


    I was not going to freak out over this!


    At least, not publicly. Inwardly, I was a mess, but I had to keep my composure for the sake of my household.


    ¡°Well, we won¡¯t starve,¡± I said to my apprentices when we set out after breakfast. The meal was great, perhaps on par with the best food I¡¯d had on Earth, though it wasn¡¯t up to the Demon Chef¡¯s level.


    The two clan members from yesterday showed us around. Today the cloudless sky was an unbroken expanse of blue, and the sunlight was particularly bright and glaring. We humans sweated buckets even under the shade of our parasols though the clan members seemed unaffected.


    ¡°Here¡¯s a new tree sapling. It just showed up here one day. This little bush here will have tiny white flowers in summer. It¡¯s called ¡®Tiger¡¯s Breath.¡¯ Have you noticed that the spirit grass you planted is spreading? This is almost twice the size it was last year.¡± The older clan member kept up a running commentary as he led us to some points of interest.


    ¡°How are the clans¡¯ reforestation efforts coming along?¡± I asked.


    Both of the clan members smiled. ¡°Almost every single family has pledged to plant trees. Everyone¡¯s very enthusiastic about it, especially the families whose ancestors used to live here. We get first pick of the land, provided we plant trees in it.¡±


    ¡°Awesome!¡± I listened closely as he mentioned the names of the prominent families who were taking the lead. Apparently, there was one large-scale project that the Lady of the West was overseeing, which was meant to benefit the clans as a whole, and tons of smaller projects where specific families were claiming a territory and working to improve it.


    Eventually, the conversation got around to the Spring Hunt in the demon-infested Southerlands.


    ¡°They say the demons are very lively this season,¡± said the senior clan member.


    ¡°I feel bad when we have to slaughter the babies, but we have to thin their numbers, you know,¡± said the younger one. ¡°If we don¡¯t, they¡¯ll swarm the Westerlands.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t tell her that!¡± said the older one. ¡°Lady Violet, would you like to know what Prince Baiyu is doing?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°He¡¯s hunting? What else would he be doing?¡±


    My apprentices elbowed each other and moved closer to listen to our conversation. How come all my apprentices were huge gossips?


    The younger clan member raised a hand to cover his mouth to hide his smile, and the older one said, ¡°He could be running away from all the cats that have been showing up in the hunting camps.¡±


    My eyes met his and we both burst out laughing.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± I said, wiping away tears of laughter.


    ¡°People started coming up to him with white kittens and asking him if he lost his babies when the hunt started. Everyone thought they were being so clever with that joke, but everyone had the same idea, so it¡¯s played out by now,¡± he said.


    It seemed that jokes and pranking were time-honored traditions of the Spring Hunt, and people were eager to be crowned the king joker of the season. As my apprentices and I planted as many trees as we could, the two clan members regaled us with tales of elaborate pranks that had become legendary in the history of the Spring Hunt, such as the time when the Weasel clan created a massive shadow puppet show that scared their younger members witless and convinced them that their camp was infested with fictional Shadow Imps.


    We laughed and shook our heads over the crazy shenanigans that bored youths concocted when they were away from their families.


    While we were planting, Lari suggested we try something he had heard of from some story. ¡°Teacher, why don¡¯t we bury a fish under the tree seeds we plant?¡±


    Kharli nodded her agreement. ¡°I know about that! They bury fish under fruit trees before planting them to make the fruit tastier, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not? We have plenty of fish. Let¡¯s try it with half of the trees we plant today to see if it works.¡± I took out a knife and [Steelhead Trout] and was going to cut it into pieces when the two clan members made twin exclamations of surprise.


    Kharli giggled.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Lady Violet, isn¡¯t that fish too valuable to use as fertilizer?¡± The older one''s eyes bulged in surprise. Along with his gaping mouth, it made him look like a startled fish.


    ¡°Oh, do you want it? I have lots.¡± I put the fish in a bucket and tried to hand it to him, but he backed away, raising his hands defensively. ¡°Okay, let me know if you guys want some fresh fish. This one isn¡¯t that rare.¡±


    [Steelhead:


    A freshwater fish with a distinctive band of color along its sides.


    The Steelhead, a type of rainbow trout, is a popular fish for cooking because of its delicate flavor and flaky texture. When cooked, the flesh of the rainbow trout is pinkish-white with a slightly oily consistency and a delicate, yet distinct flavor.]


    Lari and Kharli also took out some of the fish they had caught and we continued to chop them up. Then we dug twelve deep holes and put the fish into them, covering them with compost and soil. We debated whether we should water it before or after spreading the [Mysterious Goo], and settled on trying both. The last step was to water the soil before planting the tree seeds with the [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers].


    These days I could plant a maximum of sixteen trees before my energy ran out compared to the eight that was my limit last year, but that was only if I spent all my energy on planting new trees. I often had to use energy to water or tend to the existing greenery, in addition to cultivating more spirit grass and other flora.


    My apprentices could plant half as many as I could.


    All in all, I figured we should be able to complete our goal of planting one hundred trees in fifteen days.


    ¡°I think burying the fish will help a lot.¡± Lari looked smug that he had thought of it first. He gave Kharli a triumphant look.


    Kharli played it cool and refused to rise to the bait. ¡°Good job. It¡¯s nice to know you have more than gold on your mind.¡±


    I put fish pieces and shoveled compost down over the deep hole I had just made. ¡°I hope it works.¡±


    When we finished planting, we checked on the eggs, which looked okay, and spent the rest of the morning exploring the land to see what changes it had undergone now that the curse was gone.


    At noon, we returned to the house for lunch. It was a huge relief to get out from under the hot sun. Fengying met us at the gate with small towels soaked in cool water which we used to wipe our faces as we walked inside into the blessed shade and cool air of the house¡¯s air-conditioned dining room.


    ¡°I love electric fans,¡± said Kharli and she sat down in front of one.


    ¡°Me, too.¡± I leaned back on my chair with the cool towel on my forehead. It dripped water down my face and hair, but I enjoyed the feeling nonetheless.


    Lari wiped his hands and forearms with his wet towel. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay indoors today.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we finished today¡¯s outdoor chores, so we can stay inside and craft.¡± I instructed the kids to get some rest and do some Fletching and Smithing this afternoon while I did Herblaw. While we were discussing the day¡¯s activities, Fengying came with a letter from Shuye.


    ¡°Will there be a reply, my lady?¡± asked Fengying.


    ¡°Can I send a verbal reply instead of a letter?¡± Writing a letter here involved a lot of fuss with grinding ink, composing a letter with the proper greetings, using a seal, taking great care with the calligraphy, and so forth.


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    ¡°Then please let Shuye know that I have done as he requested.¡± I navigated to the appropriate System tab and lowered the forest farm¡¯s security settings to the usual level.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let the messenger know.¡±


    Fengying left, and I turned to the others and asked, ¡°Do you know what we¡¯re having for lunch?¡±


    Deming¡¯s assistants were doing their very best, and this time I was impressed by some of their more creative dishes like the Moonlit Silverfish Cascade, a platter of fish filets arranged in a cascading display, drizzled with a sweet and spicy sauce and adorned with delicate edible white flowers, and Tiger''s Roar Spicy Sichuan Seafood Stew, a tongue-blisteringly spicy dish that made me feel like the top of my head had exploded. It was way too hot for me, but after they saw me sweating and drinking two glasses of milk, the kitchen staff made a new seafood hotpot dish that was a lot less spicy.


    I had to rest after lunch, and Fengying worriedly sent me cups of ginger tea twice to help my stomach settle down. I felt like a spoiled baby, but was it really my fault that my stomach had become used to the Demon Chef¡¯s food and had difficulty eating anything else? It was probably all psychological because I had eaten street and restaurant food before without any ill effects.


    ***


    The next day, the [Lizardwings] and [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens] hatched. The [Lizardwings] were exactly as we expected. As for the chickens, I smiled when the kids found out what kind of animal they were.


    ¡°I knew it! I knew they were going to be crazy-looking!¡± Kharli stared wide-eyed at the chickens.


    ¡°They¡¯re hard to even see.¡± Lari circled the pen, looking at the animals from all angles.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you guys are fussing about. They¡¯re just [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens], and they don¡¯t smell bad like the [Lizardwings]!¡± I was quite pleased that the chickens smelled fine. That is to say, they smelled like chickens, not like stink monsters from hell like the [Lizardwings]. ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait and see if they can make their habitat healthy the way the [Lizardwings] can.¡±


    [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens:


    Prairie chickens are smaller and require less water than most breeds. They do not produce many eggs, typically having only one breeding season per year, and laying only ten to fifteen eggs per clutch. However, they are quite hardy and have an efficient metabolism that allows them to thrive on modest amounts of food.]


    ¡°Teacher, even if these strange chickens aren¡¯t stinky, I think people will still prefer the [Lizardwings],¡± said Lari.


    Kharli nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I think they look interesting!¡± I said.


    Cutie seemed to agree with me since she was energetically bouncing near the pen with her eyes locked on the chickens, her slime strand forming the shape of an exclamation mark.


    Kharli frowned. ¡°But no one can see what they actually look like¡­¡±


    The thing is, I knew because of Adventure Incarnate where they had the same 3D model as regular chicken, except they were semi-transparent. Here, in the real world, they were invisible except for a slight haziness in the air at the edges of their body. We could easily know where they were because of the System, but even without it, if one looked closely at the ground inside the pen, they could see the grass being disturbed by the animal¡¯s movements.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Teacher, but I don¡¯t think the clan would want to buy an animal they can¡¯t see,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yeah, what if you were doing laundry at the river when something invisible tries to peck your eyes out?!¡± Kharli said, covering her eyes and flailing dramatically at the air as though to ward something off to demonstrate her point.


    ¡°Oh dear. Well, let¡¯s at least see if they help the environment here,¡± I said.


    That was a real bummer though I personally thought the chickens were a really cool animal. Maybe I could sell them off to a collector who liked unusual pets?


    I consulted the clan members who recommended that I sell them off to Shuye, so I sent off a letter, and was quite pleased when Shuye accepted my offer.


    ***


    Three days later, Mo replaced Lari at the desert farm, and three days after that, Deming returned to great rejoicing. The others crowded around him.


    I trembled all over and nearly fainted from the shock. ¡°You¡­ your face¡­.you look¡­¡±

 Chapter 136 - Milestone level up

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 136 - Tweet-tely adorable and cutely charming</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Several people had told me before that Deming was a cultivator who used a special technique to hide his true face, but this was insane! He normally appeared to be a middle-aged man in his early fifties with graying black hair that was thinning on top and watery brown eyes, but now he looked radically different.


    I couldn¡¯t believe Fengying liked the cute and adorable type!


    Who knew that the terrifying Demon Chef¡¯s real face was that of a charming little cherub? His doe-like eyes, the color of warm honey, were framed by perfectly arched brows. His little nose was pert, with a slight upturn, that gave his face an endearing quality, and he had a pretty little rosebud mouth. To top it all off, he even had a mole on the corner of his left eye which drew attention to his eyes and made him look even more enchanting.


    I put a hand on my chest and turned to Fengying. ¡°Your husband-¡±


    Fengying gave me an amused look. ¡°You can see his true face?¡±


    ¡°Yes? Didn¡¯t he turn off his technique?¡± I scanned the others¡¯ faces and realized they hadn¡¯t reacted, which meant that Fengying and I were the only ones who could see Deming¡¯s true face. ¡°How come I can see it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Fengying took her husband by the hand and led him away.


    When they came back to the outer courtyard, Deming had his old look back, and I breathed a sigh of relief.


    Mo and Kharli were immensely curious about what Deming really looked like and bugged me endlessly for details until I gave in and told them that Deming looked really adorable, which they refused to believe. Mo, in particular, was completely convinced that Deming looked like a dreadfully villainous but strikingly handsome man.


    ¡°Maybe he also has a special skill that makes his face look different depending on the viewer¡¯s preferences,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying Teacher likes the cute type? What about the prince?¡± Kharli giggled.


    I shook my head at their preoccupation with people¡¯s looks and continued plowing the soil. Today we were going to plant our one hundredth tree. Tomorrow, Lari was going to replace Kharli, and I planned to spend the rest of our stay in the desert planting more fast-growing fodder plants and [Wild Seed Mix], plus hatching another batch of [Lizardwings].


    It was hot, as always, but the sky was pleasingly overcast, and it looked like it was going to rain soon. The gray clouds cast shadows that drifted across the landscape, providing us with a fleeting but welcome respite from the sun. Since our trees were but mere saplings, our view was unobstructed and the prairie landscape extended endlessly in every direction, giving me a feeling of freedom and limitless possibilities.


    When we finished our work, I impulsively decided to go for a run. I unclipped Mr. Bear from my belt and made him grow until he was big enough for me to sit on his shoulders, which I did.


    I looked down at my apprentices from my perch and said, ¡°I¡¯m gonna run with Mr. Bear! Who¡¯s with me?¡±


    ¡°Me!¡± Mo didn¡¯t wait for my signal and just ran off immediately


    Kharli followed right behind her, yelling, ¡°Me, too!¡±


    I freed my hair from its ponytail. Mr. Bear levitated a foot off the ground and started flying after the girls.


    ¡°Chuuuuuu!¡± Cutie was not one to be left behind and bounced along with us with her adorable little slime umbrella.


    I raised my face to the sky and enjoyed the feel of the wind in my hair.


    ¡°Having my own desert farm is the best!¡± I said into Mr. Bear¡¯s ear.


    After the run, we all felt tired and spent an hour in the hot spring to replenish our energy. Then we had lunch and, after resting for a bit, went to the middle courtyard¡¯s blacksmithing workshop.


    Standing in front of the line of furnaces, I gave my apprentices a double thumbs up. ¡°Level 20, here I come!¡±


    They fed wooden logs to the bottom opening of the furnaces where the fire was while I placed the ores inside the waiting chambers above. The furnaces made the room too hot, so I turned up the air-conditioning and removed the outer wall, leaving it open to the elements on that side. Once the bars were ready, I used the System to automatically place them in my inventory.


    ¡°I¡¯m close! I think the next one will do it.¡± I moved to the next furnace and harvested the bars.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The System¡¯s confetti showered down on me. I¡¯d changed the level-up display since I wanted to see if it was prettier.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Smithing level!]


    [Your Smithing level is now 20.]


    Kharli and Mo clapped.


    ¡°Congratulations!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations!¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you. Let¡¯s cheer for my milestone level!¡± I gave them glasses of [Kola-Kola Soda] and taught them how to gently tap the glasses together and say ¡°Cheers!¡±


    We had a whole mini-celebration going with a cocktail table that I loaded up with plates full of pretty little pastries like osmanthus cake, rolled honey pancakes, and red tortoise cakes, a popular pastry in Singapore that was made of soft, sticky rice flour skin wrapped around a sweet mung bean filling.


    ¡°Shall we smelt some iron now?¡± I asked them when we finished eating and drinking.


    ¡°I wonder what sort of metal Teacher will make this time?¡± Kharli asked Mo.


    ¡°Something amazing, I bet!¡± said Mo.


    At level 20 Smithing, I could now smelt iron bars. This time, after they filled the furnaces with wooden logs, I placed iron ores inside. I expected the furnaces to produce [Iron Bars], but what I got were [Dragonfire-Forged Iron Bars].


    [Dragonfire-Forged Iron Bars:


    Born in the heart of an ancient forge fueled by Dragonfire, these iron bars possess an eerie, flickering darkness. The bars seem to absorb and reflect ambient light, creating an illusion of dancing shadows.]


    I was starting to notice a trend here. Was my System made by dragons?


    There were tons of dragon-themed items in Adventure Incarnate, but I always thought that was just because dragons were a very popular fantasy creature, much more so than tigers, turtles, and birds. As a video game, it made sense that the Azure Dragon-themed content sold better than the Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger items. Therefore, the developers made more dragon stuff.


    As far as I knew, the player character had no special connection to dragons. Also, the people of Hongzhen town claimed that I was one of their own, and their patron god was a lion.


    Though I pondered the idea the whole afternoon as we smelted iron bars, I couldn¡¯t make up my mind one way or another.


    ¡°We¡¯ll stop now, since it¡¯s getting dark.¡± I took out the last of the bars from the furnaces and extinguished the fires. ¡°See you at dinner.¡±


    ¡°There was a delivery of fresh meat from the Spring Hunt today,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Dinner is going to be grilled demon venison skewers,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Have we ever had that before?¡± Mo looked intrigued.


    Food seemed to have become a big part of my apprentices¡¯ interests. I guess growing up in an orphanage made them appreciate meat more since they rarely got to taste it before.


    I left the two of them in the middle courtyard and went to my favorite place right now, the Walkway of One Hundred Fountains. Cutie jumped into the lowest water trough and started swimming up and down its length like a fat yellow swan. The top part of my pet glided gracefully and serenely atop the water while the bottom part that was submerged had grown two large paddles as pseudo-feet and churned the water frantically.


    I amused myself with some idle thoughts about my pet.


    Was Cutie a demon who had evolved?


    The skill of forming new slime parts was definitely new. Perhaps she got the idea when she saw my apprentices and I putting up parasols, and she thought they were parts of our bodies that we extruded. After all, the parasols appeared in our hands like magic because we had gotten them from our inventories.


    Did Cutie think that our clothes and shoes were parts of ourselves? Would she be shocked if she saw someone getting their hair cut?


    I reckoned she probably didn¡¯t understand that the portal in my room was special. To her, all doors lead somewhere else, and having a door opening into the Chitinous Caverns probably seemed normal.


    Cutie got tired of swimming in the water trough and started jumping up and down the three levels of fountains.


    Maybe I should teach her some tricks? I browsed the pet tab to see if there was anything there I could use. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t find anything that could teach a pet new tricks, but I did find a pet trampoline. I called Cutie over and brought her back to her [Slime House], placing the trampoline outside for her to play with.


    Her mouth opened wide and she let out a loud ¡°Chu~¡± when she jumped into the bouncy item and soared into the air, fell down, and bounced up again and again.


    I watched her for a few minutes, laughing at the way she stretched herself out when she was at the top of her trajectory, as though to make the moment last, then pulling herself back together when she was on the way down. The sound of the water was quite soothing, so I sat down on a bench and let my mind wander. It was nice to relax under the shade of the trees with nothing to do. Then I went to my [Ranch House] to do some more Herblaw before dinner.


    ***


    Two days later, Lari replaced Kharli. Three days after that, we inspected the [Lizardwing] and [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chicken] pens. The result of my little experiment was clear to everyone.


    ¡°The [Lizardwings] might be smelly, but their pen is very green,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I hate the smell, but the [Lizardwings] win,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°The chicken pen was almost the same as it was before,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°You see! You guys always complain about the stink, but the [Lizardwings] are great. We¡¯ll be able to green this desert with their help much faster than without them,¡± I said.


    We had put the animals in cages, ready to sell to whoever wanted them, and made new habitats with eight [Lizardwing Eggs] inside.


    ¡°I never thought they weren¡¯t useful. I just wished they weren¡¯t so smelly.¡± Lari turned in the direction of the [Lizardwing] pen and instinctively pinched his nose shut even though we were too far to smell them.


    I covered my nose with my hand. ¡°Stop, there¡¯s no stink here. You¡¯re gonna trigger me, too!¡±


    They both laughed at me.


    ¡°Hey, listen, tomorrow night will be our last here and I wanna do something.¡± I giggled a little.


    ¡°Oh no, Teacher has a crazy look in her eyes!¡± Kharli pretended to be shocked and ducked behind Lari.


    I waved a hand in an ¡°oh, it¡¯s really nothing!¡± type of gesture. ¡°This is what I want to do¡­¡±


    I explained the concept to them in more detail.


    ¡°Destroying stuff?¡± Lari grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    Mo was less enthusiastic. ¡°It¡¯s too bad Kharli won''t be there. She¡¯s the best at archery, and she would love the explosions!¡±

 Special - Chapter 888: Mystical Dream Conjuration: Materializing objects

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Christmas Special</h2>


    That night, I dreamed of finding a cute little log cabin in the jungle and settling there with my dragon. He was now a lively toddler with a vocabulary of a few hundred words. In the way of dreams, the cabin had everything we needed and restocked itself with clothes, shoes, linens, and so forth. It also had electricity, modern plumbing, and a fully-equipped kitchen which wasn¡¯t of much use to me since I burned everything I tried to cook.


    Every morning, woodland animals left an offering of fruit, nuts, and herbs at my doorstep. Those were for me since Eggy only ate fish.


    One morning we were doing our usual morning routine when something strange happened. I was lying in bed on my back with my knees up. Eggy was clinging to my calves and urging me on.


    ¡°Up, Mom, up!¡± Eggy squealed in delight when I lifted my feet up until he was parallel to the floor. He spread his arms out in the flying position. I was only able to hold him up for a few seconds. ¡°More!¡±


    I tickled his sides and made him laugh. Then I continued my weight exercise. He was small and light enough for the leg exercises to work, but heavy enough that I had to stop after eight lifts.


    ¡°No more, mom¡¯s tired now.¡±


    ¡°Me, me, me!¡± Eggy hopped off me and stood beside the wooden bench that was his designated exercise ¡°machine.¡±


    I lay down on it, holding on to the sides, and Eggy lifted the whole bench with me on it with both his hands. ¡°Good boy!¡±


    He gently put the bench down and then lifted it a few more times. ¡°Up, Mom!¡±


    ¡°Wow, my baby is so strong.¡± I got off the bench and lifted him up for a few kisses. I was going to suggest that we go for a bath in the nearby hot springs when a System message unexpectedly popped up. It was in an eye-watering flashing rainbow font.


    [MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!]


    Christmas? There was Christmas in the dragon jungle? That made no sense.


    Eggy turned into his dragon form which was three handspans long and flew up to the pop-up screen, poking it with his claws curiously.


    The message disappeared and reappeared two more times.


    What was this about?


    I was still scratching my head when Eggy suddenly screamed. ¡°Mom, look!¡±


    He was pointing at the window. I looked outside and saw an amazing sight. Dozens of [Christmas Crackers] had appeared outside. They were on the grass, bushes, vines, rocks, and even nestled among the branches of the trees.


    I ran outside as fast as I could. ¡°Eggy, get them! I want those crackers.¡±


    Using my skirt as an impromptu basket, I gathered as many of them as I could. Eggy helpfully flew everywhere and dropped the crackers on my skirt. We got eighteen of them before they disappeared.


    Eggy turned back to human form and looked up at me with his huge blue eyes. ¡°Gone?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, baby, they¡¯ll be back.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Once I saw the [Christmas Crackers], I realized what was happening. It was the Adventure Incarnate Christmas event. The crackers should appear twice more today.


    I went back inside and dumped the crackers on the dining table. ¡°Here baby, let¡¯s play!¡±


    Moving our chairs to face each other, I put Eggy¡¯s hand on one end of the cracker and told him to hold on. Taking the other side of the cracker, I pulled until it fell apart with a loud snapping sound, leaving us with half a cracker each.


    ¡°Merry Christmas!¡± I said.


    ¡°Kri mas?¡± Eggy gave me a quizzical look for a second before nudging the items that had fallen from the cracker. There were four paper items, one box, and one magician''s wand.


    I unrolled the blue paper party hat and put it on his head. Then I smiled and handed him the box with a big red button on it that had ¡°Press Me¡± written on it.


    Eggy nearly jumped out of his chair when the box expanded, turning into a [Christmas Coupon Machine]. It was made of plastic and was in the shape of a red and green box with a festive wreath motif. Eggy opened the box and peered inside, but it was empty. ¡°Huh?¡¯


    ¡°This is a magic box. Watch¡­¡± I put the coupon labeled ¡°Food¡± inside the box and put the lid on before waving the magic wand over it. ¡°Abracadabra!¡±


    There was the sound of a firecracker going off, and when I opened the box, there was a [Christmas Pudding] inside in place of the paper coupon.


    ¡°Magic.¡± Eggy¡¯s eyes became even bigger and sparklier than before. ¡°Mom magic.¡±


    He took another coupon and handed it to me, watching with great excitement when I did more ¡°mom magic¡± for him.


    Putting the pudding on the kitchen counter for later, I placed the ¡°Drink¡± coupon inside the [Christmas Coupon Machine] and waved the wand again.


    ¡°Me, me, me!¡± said Eggy when I moved as if to open the lid of the box.


    ¡°Okay, you open it.¡±


    There was a [Hot Chocolate] drink inside.


    Eggy clapped.¡°Yay! Magic.¡±


    I put the drink on the counter, too. ¡°One more time?¡±


    ¡°More!¡±


    The third coupon was the ¡°Toy¡± one. When I took off the lid, I was enchanted by the sight of a cute wind-up tin snowman toy. I set aside the box and showed Eggy how to wind it up and watch it walk across the table.


    ¡°No.¡± Eggy wasn¡¯t interested in it at all. ¡°Want magic.¡±


    I picked him up and twirled him around. ¡°Oh no, I¡¯ve created a monster who can¡¯t be pacified unless I do more magic.¡±


    ¡°Yes, magic!¡± The boy unrepentantly asked for more.


    I put him down and saluted him. ¡°Sir, yes, sir.¡±


    He saluted me back saucily and we sat down again to pull more crackers. The next time we did ¡°magic¡± I had him do the magic himself by waving the magic wand and saying ¡°Abracadabra¡± over the box. I also showed him that just putting the coupon inside the box did nothing without the wand and magic word.


    Eggy magicked us up a ton of drinks, food, and toys. The drinks were mostly tea, coffee, chocolate, and fruit juices since wine and other alcoholic beverages were deemed inappropriate for Adventure Incarnate. The food was a lot more varied. We got roasted turkey, ham, beef Wellington, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, mince pie, roasted chestnuts, Christmas pudding, a Yule log, and a gingerbread house.


    The toys were super cute, but Eggy ignored the wind-up car, wooden building blocks, teddy bear, spinning top, marionette, dolls, tin soldiers, music box, jigsaw puzzle, coloring book, crayons, and kaleidoscope in favor of the magician¡¯s wand, which he waved all over every single item in the house, waiting for some magic to happen.


    As for me, I liked the steak and mince pies. I ate them while Eggy played with his new favorite toy. He was a little bundle of energy the whole day.


    When the next System message appeared, he flew out of the house and roared. Dozens of birds and animals came out of the jungle picked up all of the Christmas crackers and dropped them at my doorstep.


    ¡°This is insane! There are like two hundred crackers,¡± I said after the birds and animals left.


    ¡°Moooooore magic.¡± Eggy grabbed my hand and waved his wand around.


    ¡°Gosh.¡±


    We spent the whole day gathering the event drops, pulling crackers, and magically making Christmas food, drinks, and toys appear.


    By bedtime, I was exhausted but happy.


    I lifted him up and swung him around while singing the directions together so he would learn all the right words. ¡°Up, down, left, right, and round and round!¡±


    Then I put him on the bed and counted his toes, kissing each one as I said the words. ¡°One little dragon, two little dragons, three little dragons¡­¡±


    Eggy screamed in delight when I tickled his foot after I finished all ten. We counted his toes together, and then I lay down beside him and I pulled the blanket over us. ¡°Merry Christmas!¡±


    ¡°Merry Christmas.¡±


    I turned off the bedside lamp and we fell asleep.

 Chapter 137 and 137.5 - Preparing for a decadent destruction party

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 137 - The countdown to a blastastic party begins now!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    That night, I once again dreamed of my dragon child. The tropical jungle we lived in was a paradise where we frolicked in crystal-clear streams and animals brought me fruits, nuts, and spirit herbs to eat. My little dragon boy liked to dive into the ponds and turn into his dragon form underwater to fill his belly with brightly-scaled fish.


    I woke up with a profound sense of peace and well-being.


    That morning, it rained. It was a proper, full-on downpour, not the misty drizzle we were used to here in the arid grasslands.


    ¡°Lovely, just lovely,¡± I said as I enjoyed the cooling effect of the rain.


    Courtyard houses were perfectly designed to enjoy this type of weather since all of the buildings were connected by beautifully decorated roofed pathways, which meant none of us needed to get wet.


    ¡°We don''t need to refill the [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers] or the pots.¡± Lari was a little [Lazy] and enjoyed it when there was less work.


    The pots were a local irrigation substitute for the [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers]. Made of unglazed clay, they were porous and were buried in the ground, filled with water, and covered with a lid. When the surrounding soil was dry, water was pulled out of the pores of the pot. However, when the soil was wet, the water stayed inside the clay pot. One only needed to refill the water via a small hole every week or thereabouts, depending on the rainfall. The pots were a local irrigation technique and it worked extremely well.


    I poured myself another cup of lychee and strawberry juice sweetened with honey. It was tart and refreshing. ¡°Let¡¯s wait inside until the rain stops. Then we¡¯ll plant more trees and fodder plants.¡±


    The rhythmic sound of the water falling on the roof and courtyard tiles was soothing, especially when I thought about how every little droplet was revitalizing the land around us. We spent a lazy morning discussing our plans for the orgy of destruction I was organizing for tomorrow night while I chopped up some fruit from my inventory for the kitchen staff to use later at the party. Our supplies of rice, meat, and vegetables were always plentiful, but the mushrooms, fruits, and other foraged items became perilously low sometimes. Also, everyone loved the tea so much that I was still using the [Tea Machine] instead of moving on to the [Textile Loom].


    The rain stopped at midmorning, and we went out to plant seeds and check on our plants and animals. The [Lizardwing Eggs] were undamaged and so were most of the plants, except for a few whose [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers] had tilted a little to the side. We fixed those and returned to the house in good spirits to prepare for the upcoming decadent destruction party.


    As a special treat for the kids and staff, I set up two restaurants in the garden for them to use as a snack room. I showed them items from the Cash Shop and they chose the ones they liked. I personally would have chosen the [American Diner], but the kids preferred the [Big Ears Bites], an elephant-themed kid¡¯s restaurant, while the staff picked the [Bloom Bistro], a cozy little garden restaurant with orchids cascading from the walls.


    Though they were called restaurants in the Cash Shop, they weren¡¯t real ones. They had no kitchens, for one thing. Rather, they were just garden decorations that had tables and chairs and had two or three walls like a fake movie set. I put up a [Fluff & Stuff Boutique] which was a fake plush toy storefront for my own amusement.


    Cutie loved the orchid restaurant, and I had to restrain her several times when the staff ran away because she bounced toward them. In the end, I placed another restaurant just for her to play in. This made the garden really crowded, but it was worth it to see her bouncing up repeatedly to try to touch each and every single orchid flower with her slime strand.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Since we were leaving soon, I asked the clan members to give us an aerial tour of Blossom Valley and Skyfang Hill on one of the ox carts.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay low and move really, really slow. Extremely slow. Like a snail!¡± I said to the driver.


    The flying carriage was enchanted with a type of stabilization magic that made its flight smooth. The ox cart had the same enchantment, but since it was an open cart, we would be buffeted by the desert winds as well as the wind of our passage.


    ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± said the driver.


    He was as good as his word. My stomach only lurched a little, and the flight was only as scary as a Ferris wheel would have been.


    Below us, the land spread out in a patchwork of green and brown. Skyfang Hill was a bright emerald spot in the landscape that was still mostly brown, but I was delighted to see the visual evidence of our efforts. Large strips, squares, and rectangles of Blossom Valley were now green. It wasn¡¯t just us though, the native flora had also claimed a few spots. I believed they were the wetter parts of the land where rainwater tended to accumulate.


    ¡°This was all dry and brown last year when we first came here!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Seeing is believing. Look at that!¡± I pointed at a spot where the rain had filled a small depression in the ground. ¡°That¡¯ll be a great place to plant some seeds.¡±


    The driver obligingly landed the cart there, and I drank some [Kola-Kola Soda] to refill my energy bar a little and planted some [Wild Seed Mix] near the water.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± I asked my apprentices. ¡°Did the tour inspire you?¡±


    Lari nodded. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s wonderful, but when we were in the air, I couldn''t help noticing how much more work we need to do.¡±


    ¡°One day this entire valley will be all green!¡± Mo waved her hand at the land around us.


    I hooked arms with them and led them back to the cart. ¡°This will be our paradise! It will take a long time, but, eventually, this will be full of fruit trees, farm animals, and valuable crops.¡±


    We flew back to the house in high spirits and spent the rest of the day relaxing and decorating our [Training Armor]. Of course, we could have smithed ourselves sets of bronze armor, but it was a party and the kids said they liked the look of the [Training Armor] better. The staff had some white paint which they used around the house for miscellaneous items, and different colored dyes for cloth. We mixed the dyes with the paint, with little success, and a lot of failures, but we still managed to make the armor look festive.


    ¡°Party armor ready!¡± I held up a leg piece that was painted pink, purple, and yellow. ¡°Let¡¯s go outside and pile up some logs for the bonfire tomorrow.¡±


    Lari rubbed his hands together. ¡°I can hardly wait to destroy everything tomorrow!¡±


    Even Mo¡¯s eyes were sparkling with excitement. ¡°Let¡¯s compete to see which one of us can make the loudest noise!¡±


    I chuckled. There was no way they could make a louder explosion than me.


    ***


    The next morning we woke up early and rushed through our chores before walking to the designated area in the middle of nowhere that the clan members deemed was far enough from our house and their camp to not disturb anything. There I set up three large tents and rolled up their sides. They were for cooking, dining, and partying.


    Items that I placed outside would disappear after I or my farmhands stopped interacting with them, but that took hours, so it should be fine to leave them while we rested inside the house during the hottest part of the day.


    I left the cooking tent empty since the kitchen staff would take care of it later. I placed plenty of electric fans, tables, chairs, rugs, and colorful decorations, though I refrained from adding the lights just yet since they would make the place hotter. The kids helped me with the selections and arranged the items for me.


    Near noontime, I stepped out of the tent and verified that my surprise was on its way.


    ¡°Guys, look up at the northern sky. I have a present for you,¡± I said to Lari and Mo.


    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 137.5</h2>


    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    If I¡¯d known this was going to happen, I would never have auctioned off those two pairs of Vanishing Fowl.


    The highest bidder was a respectable scholar who specialized in rare spirit birds. He was vetted by my staff beforehand, and we had every reason to think that he was simply going to breed the chickens to study their unique characteristics.


    I didn¡¯t learn until too late that the Raccoon clan had bought the Vanishing Fowl from the scholar using the simple method of offering him a ton of money and the opportunity to study them in the wild. They plan to breed them with the native population of junglefowl in their territory.


    The Raccoon clan already owns the junglefowl from Emberstone Farm.


    It doesn¡¯t take a genius to know that this is a very bad idea, but it¡¯s not my territory, so it¡¯s not my problem.

 Chapter 138 - Field testing my explosive power

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 138 - insert explosion here: my pyrotechnic joke blew their minds, but the title burned out</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Mo and Lari looked up and saw the flying carriage headed towards the house.


    Mo gasped and asked me, ¡°Is it¡­?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡± Mo ran off.


    Lari and I walked instead of running since we knew it would take the carriage some time to arrive. We got there just as the vehicle landed.


    ¡°Kharli, you¡¯re just in time to prep for the big party. I¡¯m calling it the Explosion Extravaganza!¡± I said.


    ¡°This is great! I was worried you were going to miss it.¡± Mo gave Kharli a hug.


    I gestured that we should all go inside the house. ¡°No way, I need my best archer here to show off to the clan members.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, we need to decorate Kharli¡¯s armor,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Decorate?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll prepare my own stuff, see you guys later.¡± I waved goodbye to the kids and went back to my courtyard.


    ***


    ¡°An explosion party?¡± The senior clan member gave me a look I couldn¡¯t interpret.


    The two clan members who were in guard rotation at Blossom Valley agreed to participate in tonight¡¯s event as safety officers. I also wanted them to witness our firepower and analyze if the arrows we crafted were good enough for the clan to buy and use.


    I cleared my throat and thrust the kids forward, presenting them to the clan members. ¡°These three are my apprentices. We¡¯ve been making some weapons and ammo. It¡¯s time to test them out. Please let me know if you think the clan would be interested in buying our wares.¡±


    This was all meant to prepare us for the upcoming World Boss Event, the hatching of the Demon Monarch from its egg. I needed to establish that our crafted items were useful.


    ¡°We can¡¯t make buying decisions, but we can certainly send a report to the clan elders,¡± said the senior clan member.


    The two guards were brothers, both tall, handsome fellows with high cheekbones and aquiline noses, giving them a look of proud severity. The only big difference between the two was that the older one had darker blue eyes.


    We all made some small talk about the weather, and they joined us at the dining tent, although they politely refused to eat anything. They did have a few cups of ice water though, since proper hydration was very important in this hot climate.


    The sun had gone down two hours ago. Here in the desert, with no trees to block out the view, the night sky was like a black velvet tapestry strewn with myriad glowing jewels. The silvery moon cast its light on the earth below, giving everything a romantic air. Or, at least, it would normally look that way. Tonight, I had installed plenty of lampposts and floodlights, so the whole place was lit up like a sports stadium when the home team was playing.


    Deming and his assistants had prepped most of the food beforehand, but they were grilling some skewers at the cooking tent. The smell of it made my stomach growl. They kept the food coming, placing the cooked food on the buffet tables in the dining tent. We spent another hour eating and drinking before getting on to the main attraction of the party.


    When everyone was done eating and the staff were putting away the dinner things, I got up to announce the start of the show. ¡°Shall we get started then? Follow me to the weapons tent!¡±


    Of course, it would have been too hot to party during the daytime, which is why I took pains to arrange a nighttime event. The air was pleasantly cool and dry.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    The kids and I equipped our colorfully decorated [Training Armor]. Mine was red and purple. Lari had painted his yellow and red, while Mo had chosen blue, red, and green. Kharli¡¯s was white with a few streaks of red and black. We looked like circus performers.


    ¡°Here, please try out our bows and arrows.¡± I distributed the regular [Wooden Longbows] and [Bronze Arrows] to the staff and the clan members. Then I waved a hand at the [Training Dummies] I had set up in front of the tent. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    Though these were System items, they were the lowest-level ones, so they weren¡¯t very powerful. Bronze, even System bronze, was pretty soft, after all.


    Still, the arrows made satisfying thwack thwack sounds as they hit the dummies and ricocheted off. The [Training Dummies] were impervious to damage, so I wouldn¡¯t need to replace them after they were shot.


    Archery was a basic skill in this world, and half the staff participated. Deming seemed particularly good at it.


    We did a few rounds of archery, then I took out a very special arrow from my inventory. ¡°Not bad, huh? But this hardly qualifies as an Explosion Extravaganza. Please stay here while I demonstrate.¡±


    I walked forward to put some distance between my audience and the explosion I was about to unleash, the two clan members beside me.


    However, before I could even string my bow, the older brother cleared his throat meaningfully. ¡°Baroness, is this the first test? May I have the honor of the first explosion?¡±


    Oh no, I really wanted to do it!


    I reluctantly handed over the arrow. I suppose he felt it was safer if he tested it first. Since I had asked the clan members to attend the party to keep everyone safe, it would be churlish of me to refuse since they were only doing the task I¡¯d asked them to do.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I explained how to use the item. ¡°This is an explosive arrow. It won¡¯t activate until you draw the bow and notch the arrow. It will cause an explosion when it strikes the target.¡±


    Regular arrows could be enchanted using explosive talismans that could be bought from an NPC in Anwei. My careful questioning of Fengying had yielded the information that weapon stores did indeed sell talismans in this world, but they were extremely expensive and were under the White Tiger clan¡¯s strict control. One couldn¡¯t just waltz into a store and buy them, unlike in Adventure Incarnate.


    Fortunately, I had 2,147,483,647 of them.


    [Fury of the Fire Dragon Talisman:


    A glowing piece of yellow paper inscribed with mystical runes in vermilion ink. This item contains within it the explosive might of a fire dragon''s wrath. Consumable. Can only be used on ranged ammo.]


    I simply clicked [Use] on the talismans in my inventory and then clicked on some [Bronze Arrows] to produce [Bronze Arrows +E]. This type of item combination gave no exp, but it was fast. The game graphics used the same image as the basic [Bronze Arrows], which meant that players had to carefully check the item¡¯s name before using it.


    ¡°Lady Violet, please stand a little further away,¡± said the younger clan member.


    We went back to the front of the tent where the others were and watched from there as the older brother strode forward, planted his feet apart, and let fly the first arrow.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The arrow hit the farthest [Training Dummy] and exploded, bursting into a flash of red fire and white smoke with a loud booming sound that echoed across the desert. The arrow disintegrated completely. It was pretty impressive.


    The audience clapped.


    Kharli rushed towards me. ¡°Me! Me! Can I please go next?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s both try it.¡±


    We both walked forward and waited until the two clan members were in place beside us before shooting at the [Training Dummy].


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    We hit the dummies at almost the same time, and the sound of the twin explosions seemed to go on for a very long time.


    I turned to the others. ¡°Who else wants to give it a try?¡±


    I was a little shocked when everyone cheered and half the household staff practically tripped over themselves to be the first to get the arrows.


    ¡°Hey, hey, no worries, I have plenty!¡± I chuckled as I handed out the arrows to my staff.


    ¡°Thank you, my lady! I can¡¯t believe I can use enchanted arrows!¡± said Haoran, one of Deming¡¯s assistants.


    Yinuo, my maid, said, ¡°Shooting arrows worth their weight in gold is such a thrill. This must be how rich people feel.¡±


    The party was a great success!


    Half of the staff shot arrow after arrow, while the rest lit a bonfire and sat around it on the picnic blankets I provided. They munched on snacks while they watched the show and joked around. Alcohol flowed freely among the watchers and, as the night wore on, they lost their inhibitions.


    ¡°I can make a bigger explosion!¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°By farting!¡±


    Everyone burst into laughter. Someone went back to the house and returned with some drums, a flute, and a pipa. I tried my hand at the drums, beating them in time to the explosions. Music, laughter, and jokes filled the air.


    After midnight, when the archers were tiring, I banged on a large gong I got from the Cash Shop to get everyone¡¯s attention. Then I stood on a chair and said, ¡°And now for the climax of today¡¯s party! Stand back, please!¡±


    The ones who had been horsing around settled down, and everyone obediently walked back to the front of the tent.


    I put the [Training Dummies] back in my inventory and then placed the tallest garden decoration that I could find, the [Scorching Spire], a wooden tower decorated by a red dragon coiling around its exterior, as far away from my position as I could.


    Then I took out a cannon.

 Chapter 139 - Time for a sweet harvest of explosions!

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 139 - Steep-ly tea-lightful explosions</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    ¡°Lady Violet, you¡¯re using explosive shot?¡± asked the older clan member.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I showed him the cannonball I was using which was made of two wooden hemispheres held together by bronze rings. Cannonballs were hollow and could be filled with explosive talismans. I had placed five in each one. ¡°I¡¯ll load this into the cannon now.¡±


    ¡°But surely this cursed cannon is extremely dangerous,¡± said the younger brother, who gave the weapon a look of consternation.


    ¡°Nah, it''s safe if you know how and aren¡¯t careless.¡± Of course, I had used the potato cannon before instead of this one, but the principle was the same.


    [Potato Cannon:


    Happy Adventure Incarnate Anniversary!


    This magical autocannon can rotate 360¡ã. Guaranteed to never hit a human.]


    The cannon I was using tonight was a regular, non-rotating one since I was pretty sure the others would be scared of having cannonballs going off in all directions, even if they never got hit.


    ¡°Here I go.¡± The cannon was a System item that I could load with the explosive cannonballs using my inventory, but I made a show of loading it manually. All I had to do was place the ammo at the mouth of the cannon, and it automatically went inside. I aimed it at the tower, adjusting it as needed by getting feedback from the clan members regarding the angle.


    Then I lit the fuse.


    I expected the cannon to roar to life with a thunderous sound and the scent of gunpowder to fill the air, but no such thing happened. There was only a soft, almost gentle sound as the cannonball was launched.


    The explosion that was produced by the cannonball hitting the wood of the [Scorching Spire] sent shockwaves of sound in all directions and caused an impressively large ball of flames to erupt at the spot of the collision. The intense heat transformed the structure into a towering inferno, with the dry wood of the tower swiftly consumed by the hungry flames. In minutes, the tower collapsed on itself with a loud crash. The crackling of burning wood and the scent of charred debris filled the air.


    I looked behind me and saw that awe lit the faces of my apprentices and staff.


    ¡°Not bad, huh?¡± I said.


    There was a belated cheer and a dozen people rushed towards me to congratulate me on my success.


    ¡°That was amazing!¡±


    ¡°Spectacular! Just one shot destroyed that whole tower.¡±


    Another person chimed in, "The precision was incredible. It''s as if that cannonball had a homing instinct for the weakest point in the tower."


    ¡°Teacher, that was incredible!¡± Mo¡¯s eyes were shining.


    My other two apprentices echoed her words.


    Unfortunately, other people couldn''t fire my cannon since it was bound to me.


    I let everyone gawk at the destroyed tower for a few more minutes before I turned off all the lights and set off a ton of pretty fireworks from the Cash Shop. Afterward, I nodded to Fengying, who announced that the party was over for all the young people under the age of thirty. That meant me and the kids. The older people were staying until late to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves some more.


    Since the tent and other items might disappear, I put them back in my inventory, including the destroyed tower, which I dragged into the System trash can for disposal.


    My apprentices and I said our goodbyes, and when the clan members gallantly offered to escort us back to the house, I graciously accepted.


    ¡°What do you think? Would the clan want to buy the explosive arrows and cannonballs?¡± I asked them. ¡°How does it measure up your skills?¡±


    The night was dark, and we were some distance from the house. I hadn¡¯t bothered to light this area, so I was happy enough to accept the older clan member¡¯s arm when he offered it.


    ¡°My lady, it¡¯s hard to tell. I could easily generate a force greater than the explosions, but that is only to be expected. We don¡¯t normally use enchanted arrows or cannonballs when we fight,¡± said the older, more senior clan member. ¡°I¡¯m not an expert on these things.¡±


    ¡°Hey, did you forget? Every family has warehouses full of magic items!¡± said the younger clan member.


    I covered my mouth with a hand to hide my smile when my escort sent his younger brother a quelling look.


    ¡°To answer your other question, Lady Violet, your arrows seem to be around middle grade. The cannonballs as well,¡± said the senior clan member.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! I will send a letter to Shuye now that I¡¯ve field-tested the items,¡± I said.


    If these simple [Bronze Arrows +E] were middle-grade in this world, that meant that the better arrows we should be able to produce when the kids leveled up to 30 would probably be high-grade ones.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Tonight was the first step in showing people that I would be useful during the World Boss Event.


    I went to bed in high spirits.


    ***


    The next day, just as the sun rose and there was enough sunlight to see where we were going, we flew back to the forest farm. I was anxious to return in time to water the plants in the morning since I felt that leaving them until later in the day was not as good as watering them at sunrise. I didn¡¯t want the crops to dry out. Thus, I asked the driver to go faster this time.


    ¡°This ride is too rough!¡± I said to my apprentices when the sides of the carriage rattled.


    ¡°Should I ask the driver to slow down?¡± asked Mo.


    I yelped when the jolting of the carriage made my elbow hit the side of the carriage. ¡°No, we¡¯re in a rush.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, if you¡¯re that worried about the crops, why don¡¯t we land? You can rest with Mo while I fly to the farm at top speed,¡± said Kharli. ¡°The carriage can return for you later.¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s horrifying to fly like this but I can bear with it. Thanks for the offer,¡± I said.


    We¡¯d gone to bed a little after midnight and gotten up before sunrise. I was feeling tired from the lack of sleep, but the two girls looked lively. Lari was with the others who were using the flying ox carts. I made Mr. Bear bigger so that he formed a plush cushion between me and one side of the carriage. Cutie was safely stored in the System¡¯s pet tab.


    One hour of spine-jarring travel later, I collected a few bruises, and we arrived at the forest farm. I shrank Mr. Bear until he was small enough to hang from my belt.


    ¡°Home sweet home!¡± I jumped down from the vehicle and spread my arms, blissfully inhaling the wet, earthy, and green scent that I loved so much.


    Mo and Kharli got down from the carriage after me.


    I laughed when I saw that the soil under our feet was very wet. ¡°We didn¡¯t even need to rush home since it looks like it rained here this morning.¡±


    All those bruises were for nothing! Thank goodness that my body here healed much faster than my old body on Earth.


    Mo untied her hair from its updo and shook it loose. ¡°It¡¯s so nice to be back home.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t relax yet, Mo. We have to inspect the crops with Teacher,¡± said Kharli.


    Kharli was being her [Bossy] self again, but I kinda liked it.


    I checked the sky for the ox carts but saw no sign of them yet. ¡°Should we wait for Lari?¡±


    Kharli and Mo exchanged glances then shrugged.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start with the rice paddies,¡± I said.


    Just as we started walking, the staff came out from the house to greet us. Haoran, one of Deming¡¯s assistants, asked if we wanted to go inside for tea first, but I declined. Before we started our work, I got Cutie settled into her [Slime House] with plenty of flowers and fresh water.


    I got my pet settled and then my apprentices and I started our inspection. The rice plants had grown quite fast and were almost waist-high now. Many of them had small white flowers already. The carp had likewise grown a lot and were around five to six inches long now. I dug the trenches deeper to give them more space.


    [Fish Refuge:


    A deeper area in the Rice-fish Culture System that serves as a refuge for the fish in case the water level drops. It can take the form of trenches, ponds, or pits, but trenches are preferred since they also provide the fish with passageways for feeding in the rice field.]


    We were adjusting the water level when Haoran arrived with a bunch of rice balls and tea eggs, a boiled egg that was cracked slightly and re-boiled in a sauce made of tea and spices. Of course, he also brought tea with him. Everyone at the farm was crazy about tea ever since I built the [Tea Machine].


    We sat down on picnic blankets and waited for the water to rise to the proper level while eating the snack and drinking tea. Lari arrived just in time to join us.


    ¡°These tea eggs are amazing! I can''t wait until we have eggs from the spirit chickens. That should be something,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I prefer duck eggs,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Duck eggs are great. I also liked those quail eggs we had before,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Quail eggs aren¡¯t bad but they¡¯re too small.¡± Lari gestured with a hand that was holding a teacup and splashed some of the liquid on me. ¡°Sorry, Teacher!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± The robes I was wearing were Cash Shop items so I could easily replace them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    By the time we finished eating, the water was at the appropriate level, and so we moved on to the vegetable fields. We carefully inspected every single plant and the soil around them. Thankfully, no bugs were attacking the plants today. The crocuses were still small since they never really grew that high, but they were disease-free and healthy.


    The field of tea plants was our last stop. A System pop-up told me what I needed to do.


    ¡°Guys, I told you before that we would hang cloth from the trees to cover the tea plants, but I¡¯ve changed my mind.¡± The System now offered me a better choice, probably since I was higher level now. ¡°Stand back.¡±


    They obediently retreated a few paces while I mentally clicked on the System¡¯s [Build] tab. Two seconds later, they were ooh-ing and aah-ing over the results.


    I smiled proudly even though I hadn¡¯t done anything myself. ¡°Nice, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, why do the tea plants need this?¡± Mo pointed up at the canopy of reeds and straw above us that was held up by bamboo poles.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but when tea is grown under shade, the tea leaves develop a sweeter, richer, and more mellow taste.¡± At least, that was what the System claimed. ¡°Let¡¯s check if there are any bad bugs.¡±


    Lari walked beside me and whispered, ¡°Teacher, this structure seems a little flimsy, will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I grabbed a bamboo pole and shook it gently. Though I used very little force, the whole canopy swayed alarmingly. ¡°Oh dear, it does seem like it. Well, if it falls, I can just [Build] a new one.¡±


    Lari used his foot to probe a pole¡¯s stability. ¡°I could ask the others to reinforce the bamboo framework.¡±


    ¡°Good idea!¡± I was very pleased that Lari was showing some initiative. ¡°You can go to the house and let Fengying know.¡±


    Lari left on his errand. The girls and I inspected the plants for problems, and I was relieved to see that everything was alright. Beneath the shade of the canopy, the air was perfumed by the tea leaves, giving it an invigorating and captivating quality. I felt refreshed and the fatigue from last night¡¯s lack of sleep melted away.


    The last thing we did before going to the house was to check on the animals. This time, at the Demon Chef¡¯s request, I had placed pig eggs in the pen before I left for the desert. The staff had been amused by the idea of mammals hatching from eggs, but that was just how all the farm animals in Adventure Incarnate were born. The kids had reported that the piglets were normal-looking. The chef knew a farmer who raised the best pigs in the Westerlands and these piglets were going to be sold to him.


    ¡°What do you think we should hatch next, guys? More [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens]?¡± I laughed at Kharli and Mo¡¯s reactions. ¡°Just kidding.¡±


    I let them choose three chicken eggs each while I picked two. We placed them inside the pen and parted ways. I went to collect Cutie before going to my [Ranch House] while they went to the courtyard house.


    Once at my house, I took off my shoes and put on my most comfortable pair of slippers. My work was not yet done.


    ¡°Time for a sweet harvest!¡± I cackled merrily as I took Cutie in my arms and stepped through the portal into the Chitinous Caverns.

 Chapter 140 - Growing a legendary flower

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 140 - Stag-eringly awesome deer-stined quest</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Since I had been away for so long, I was sure to get a larger amount of exp than normal from the [Mushroom Cave] and [Mini Hydroponic Farm]


    I let Cutie bounce around wherever she wanted while I collected the crops and mushrooms. I couldn¡¯t help but exclaim over and over, ¡°Oh, yes! Twenty!¡± every time I got exp. I was only halfway done when the System¡¯s colorful confetti exploded around me.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Farming level!]


    [Your Farming level is now 21.]


    ¡°Yes!¡± I did a little jumping dance before harvesting the rest of the crops. The [Naughty Mushrooms] I collected reminded me that I had a quest I should finish before the spring harvest.


    [Naughty Mushroom:


    When dried and ground into a powder, this can be mixed into hot water and drunk to increase men¡¯s stamina during XXX. Slightly increases fertility.]


    I checked the [Quest] tab and saw that I had all the required items except for [Black Soil].


    [Curing Infertility Part 2:


    Plant the Crimson Pearl Peony seed.


    Requirements: Black Soil, Spirit Water, and Mysterious Goo.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    I was creating [Black Soil] on my farm, but that would take several seasons. Since I only needed a very small amount of soil for the quest, just enough to fill a plant pot, it should be fine to take some from an existing source.


    The most convenient place I could think of was the Dancing Deer Summit. I¡¯d encountered the Deer clan before when I alerted them to the presence of [Lunar Goats] near their village. They would probably be inclined to return the favor.


    Once I finished harvesting the mushrooms, I returned to my house and dashed off a quick letter to the clan asking for permission to visit their territory to get some soil. I gave the letter to Fengying who would give it to Shuye¡¯s messenger who would then pass it on to the Deer clan.


    ***


    Three days later, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I wouldn¡¯t need to make a trip to the mountain after all. The clan had sent me the item I needed.


    ¡°So this is [Black Soil].¡± Mo moved the open paper bag closer to her face and sniffed it. ¡°It smells the same as regular soil.¡±


    Lari poked the contents of the bag. ¡°It really is black.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ll pour it into the pot.¡± Kharli waited for my nod before filling a plant pot with the soil.


    Next, it was my turn. ¡°I¡¯ll add the [Mysterious Goo].¡±


    The others watched as I covered the top of the soil with the glowing goo. It was quickly absorbed.


    Mo beamed when I handed her the seed. ¡°I get to plant it!¡±


    [Crimson Pearl Peony Seed:


    A legendary seed that has been passed on for generations since time immemorial. The long-extinct Crimson Pearl Peony was said to be the main ingredient of the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill, the ultimate fertility drug.]


    All Mo had to do was to use a finger to make a hole up to the first knuckle and then place the seed in it.


    Lastly, I gave Lari a glass of soda water from the Mines.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    He held the glass up to the light and admired the liquid. ¡°This bubbly water is [Spirit Water]? It looks very mystical.¡±


    After he watered the seed, I got the expected System message.


    [Curing Infertility Part 2: Quest Complete


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    To my surprise, I got quite a lot of exp, almost enough to push me over to level 22. I also got another quest.


    [Forming the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill:


    Visit the Venerable Immortal Sage. Learn the secret of alchemy and form your first elixir.


    Requirements: Crimson Pearl Peony seed, Harmony Whisper Moss, Revitalizing Essence Fern, Twilight Green Orchid, and Blooming Milkthistle.


    Reward: Herblaw Exp and access to the Alchemy sub skill]


    Of course, I immediately clicked on the [Accept Quest] button.


    Now we¡¯re talking! Herblaw was the art of making potions, but it had an Alchemy sub-skill. Players could use an alchemy cauldron to create immortal elixirs and upgrade items. As to why there were two such similar skills, it was because Adventure Incarnate was originally a social farming simulation game where Herblaw was a part of farming. When the game was sold to a Chinese video game company that had an RPG that they were developing, they decided to merge the two games together to take advantage of the existing player base. That¡¯s why the in-game world was an interesting mix of fantasy medieval-Europe-meets-magitech-Asia.


    In short, the devs had simply grafted Alchemy into the Herblaw skill. It worked quite nicely. Potions and pills were very similar, and many complained about the two skills being redundant, but I had always been of the opinion that when it came to money-making stuff, more items were always better.


    The Alchemy cauldrons could also be used to enchant items, which was their main use.


    I was jolted out of my reverie when Lari cleared his throat.


    He lifted the plant pot and said, ¡°Teacher, shouldn¡¯t we put this under the sun?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Yes, we should.¡± I led them outside to the courtyard, and we debated where to place it.


    ¡°We can''t put it there, someone will trip over it,¡± said Kharli when Mo wanted to put it in the center.


    ¡°Hang it from this central pillar?¡± Lari pointed at the spot he liked.


    ¡°Not enough sun,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°How about the roof?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°That would be too hard to water,¡± said Mo.


    In the end, we placed it in the sunniest corner of a plant stand along with some other pots.


    ¡°I hope a beautiful fairy girl appears when this flower blossoms,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I hope it''s a male fairy,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°That¡¯s just a fairy tale. Don¡¯t get too excited, everyone. These immortal plants normally take a very long time to grow,¡± I said. ¡°It might flower by autumn.¡±


    But I was wrong. Not even an hour later, my apprentices ran up to me as I was playing with Cutie at her [Slime House].


    ¡°Teacher, look!¡± In her excitement, Mo thrust the pot right up to my face. ¡°It sprouted.¡¯


    ¡°What? That was fast.¡± I was confused.


    Mo lifted the pot high in the air and twirled it around like it was a child. ¡°This must be the flower from the fairy tale. Teacher, can I please watch it? I want to see the fairy!¡±


    Kharli tried to take the pot from her, but Mo refused to let go.


    ¡°Let me have a turn with it. I wanna be the first one the fairy sees when it¡¯s born,¡± said Kharli.


    I shook my head at their antics. ¡°Put the plant back in the stand and stop fighting over it. You may both watch. Where¡¯s Lari?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s at the tea field,¡± said Kharli.


    The tea field, with its canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight, had quickly become our favorite outdoor resting and picnic spot.


    I was sure that Lari would also like to watch the peony grow. ¡°Don¡¯t leave him out of this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± the two of them chorused.


    It was only midmorning and I had some more chores to do. The sky overhead was a dull grayish blue with lots of dark clouds. I hoped the reinforced tea canopy was strong enough to withstand the upcoming storm. I went all around the farm placing lightning rods and put Cutie back in her house before going to check on the [Crimson Pearl Peony].


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo were watching the post very closely when I arrived at the courtyard. They all jumped up and screamed, ¡°It¡¯s gonna bloom! It¡¯s gonna bloom!¡±


    ¡°Let me see.¡± I went to the plant stand and saw that, amazingly, the peony was already three inches tall. ¡°This is incredible. It¡¯s only been like 2 hours.¡±


    We all watched over the plant¡¯s amazingly fast growth. By the third hour, it was six inches tall. By the fifth hour, it was a foot tall. By the sixth hour, it began to bud. Eight hours later, the bud blossomed into a flower with large, deep red petals with a pearly luster. Ten hours later, the flower began to wilt. Twelve hours later, the flower died and I gathered twelve seeds from the seedpods. At midnight the plant withered to ashes.


    ¡°No fairy?¡± Mo was extremely disappointed.


    ¡°No fairy.¡± I patted her on the head. ¡°Do you want to plant another seed?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Mo cheered up, probably because she wanted more exp.


    ¡°I wish we had more [Black Soil] so we could plant more seeds,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Maybe Teacher can ask the Deer clan for more?¡± Lari suggested.


    ¡°Nah, this is fine.¡± I didn¡¯t want to look greedy by asking for more.


    Lari spread the goo while Mo planted the seed and Kharli watered it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it here and go to bed. With luck it will have grown a lot by the time we wake up,¡± I said.


    Before going to bed, I wrote a letter to Lady Hoshi informing her that I had successfully grown the Crimson Pearl Peony and another letter to Shuye asking for an escort to Cloud Terrace Peak where the Venerable Immortal Sage lives.

 Chapter 141 - Testing Spirit Roots at the Soaring Crane Sect

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 141 - Finding out if Violet is talon-ted in cultivation</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Five days later there was a big commotion in the house. My apprentices woke up three hours before dawn to finish watering, weeding, and tending the crops, and give the maids enough time to prepare them for the upcoming visit to the Venerable Immortal Sage¡¯s Pavilion. Lari, Kharli, Mo, and I were scrubbed, perfumed, groomed, coiffed, and attired in splendid robes hung with numerous accessories of the finest jade.


    I thought it was all a bit much. If it was up to me, I would¡¯ve dressed them in plain cotton robes to denote humility and simplicity, but Fengying assured me that it would be a mistake to look too ordinary when visiting the Dawn Skyblade Sect. They were said to be a poor sect who were always looking for ways to make more money. Therefore, it would behoove us to look like people they would want to curry favor with.


    ¡°Can I wear boots? I mean, it¡¯s a mountain, you know!¡± I showed Yinuo and Fengying a pair of deerskin leather ankle boots. They didn¡¯t quite go with the [Butterfly Beauty] costume set from the Cash Shop, but I wanted to wear something practical.


    ¡°My lady, I¡¯ll find something better.¡± Yinuo rummaged in a wooden chest until she found a pair of embroidered silk shoes. ¡°These are new, and they¡¯re very comfortable.¡±


    I eyed the shoes askance. The problem with the footwear of this world was that they hadn¡¯t figured out arch support. The soles were completely flat.


    Still, they were really pretty.


    I gave in and tried them out. ¡°They do go well with my outfit.¡±


    ¡°Lady Violet, you won¡¯t be walking much,¡± said Fengying.


    ¡°Hmm. True. Okay, I¡¯m convinced!¡± I twirled in front of a full-length mirror from the Cash Shop.


    It took the maid three hours to prepare Kharli, Mo, and me for the visit. Thankfully, we were allowed to eat and drink while the ladies styled our hair into elaborate updos with a sweet-smelling mixture of beeswax, camellia seed oil, and perfume. Lari was allowed to simply tie up his hair in a high ponytail on top of his head secured by a tiny crown-like hair accessory with a hair stick inserted into it. I opted for a single hairpin with dangling pearls and gold ornaments while the girls got more hairpins as well as silver combs inlaid with iridescent blue kingfisher feathers.


    ¡°I¡¯m making a lot of sounds when I walk,¡± I said to the others.


    We all did. The various hanging hair and belt ornaments we wore made tinkling sounds whenever we moved. Kharli wore lavender silk while both Mo and Lari were wearing blue silk robes.


    ¡°That¡¯s the sound of wealth making itself heard,¡± said Lari.


    Kharli nodded. ¡°This is the sound the merchants listen for!¡±


    ¡°It also lets commoners know when they should move out of the way for the nobility,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Ah.¡± They didn¡¯t get what I was saying at all. The tinkling sound of jade and other precious gems striking each other was poetic shorthand for a literary masterpiece or a person of outstanding talent. Weren''t poets always writing about exactly this type of melodic chiming when a beauty was walking by?


    Shuye met us at the main hall.


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± I said after everyone had exchanged greetings with my Farm Guide. ¡°When can I visit your baby?¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Shuye smiled. He was wearing a beautiful silk brocade robe embroidered with storks, but his long hair hung freely and was as shaggy as ever. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t visit just yet. Babies are very delicate. Traditionally, they are kept at home and only family and close friends can visit.¡±


    ¡°Aw, that¡¯s too bad. Why don¡¯t you tell me about her?¡± This question of mine unleashed a torrent of words from a doting father who told us all about how adorable and sweet the baby was with her soft little cheeks, perfectly formed fingers and toes, shining brown hair, cute button nose, and sparkling eyes. I nodded and made the appropriate sounds of agreement whenever he stopped for breath, enjoying how blissful and content Shuye seemed.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    I gave him a few rolls of white cotton cloth that had already been cut into rectangles and hemmed for use as diapers as well as some swaddle blankets. He thanked me for the gifts and, since we were leaving for Cloud Terrace Peak, we left the items in the main hall to be delivered to his house by his messengers later.


    We set off for the Three Great Fortunes Mountain range, with me, Kharli, and Mo in the flying carriage while Shuye and Lari opted for an ox cart. I would¡¯ve thought Shuye would be more comfortable in the carriage, but, like Lari, he preferred the carts that were open to the air rather than the closed carriage. I guess the cart was better for sightseeing, and it was enchanted to shield its passengers from being buffeted by the wind, but I thought it was scary.


    ¡°Teacher, look, I think I see the three sacred lakes!¡± Kharli pushed the window curtain back and pointed at the glittering water below.


    The Three Great Fortunes Mountain range was named after the three lakes whose waters were said to grant various blessings. They were the Easing Pain, Revealing Insights, and Granting Good Fortune Lakes.


    ¡°Lovely. I hope we can visit the [Heaven¡¯s Eye Grotto].¡± That was a place where one could fish, but I mostly wanted to visit because it was a really pretty place in Adventure Incarnate.


    ¡°I have never heard of [Heaven¡¯s Eye Grotto],¡± said Kharli.


    Mo scrunched her face up in a very adorable way. ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s not in the System map.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s a secret, hidden place. No, don¡¯t ask me for any details. I¡¯ll tell you later if I spot it. By the way, for now, don¡¯t mention it to anyone,¡± I said.


    A few minutes later, we arrived at Cloud Terrace Peak where the Venerable Immortal Sage lived. I was hugely disappointed when I saw that the fabled Divine Elixir Pavilion was simply a group of small wooden houses. Sure, they had a great view of the surrounding granite peaks, but in Adventure Incarnate, the place was surrounded by sparkles and a glowing mist, giving it a wonderfully fantastic appearance.


    ¡°I thought the Sage¡¯s house would look more¡­ otherworldly,¡± I said to Shuye after he helped me down the carriage.


    He gave me a strange look. ¡°I always forget that you can¡¯t see or sense qi. The Divine Elixir Pavilion has a strong immortal aura around it.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± I was impressed. For Shuye to say that the aura was strong must mean it was exceptionally powerful for a human cultivator¡¯s abode. After all, in this world, humans were much weaker than clan members.


    Shuye, as the highest-ranking person among us, led the way. I followed right behind him with my apprentices trailing in my wake. We made a very pretty procession if I do say so myself. I was surprised when the door to the nearest house opened and disgorged two old men with long white hair and snowy beards. They were both wearing the stereotypical white robes and loose-fitting pants that actors wore in ancient martial arts movies. Even though I couldn¡¯t sense qi auras, I could tell from his bearing that the older man was the Venerable Immortal Sage himself.


    We all cupped our hands and bowed deeply, even Shuye, and started the lengthy process of formal introductions and greetings. I almost had to wipe away a tear on seeing my three little apprentices behaving with grace and perfect manners.


    Was this how a proud parent feels when they show off their kids?


    The other elderly person was the Sage¡¯s great-grandnephew, the current Sect Master of the Soaring Crane Sect. They welcomed us inside one of the inner pavilions which served as their main hall where we seated ourselves according to rank and had tea which was served by the Sect Master himself.


    After the expected small talk in which I did my best to wax poetic about the gorgeous mountain scenery, I got down to business.


    ¡°Venerable Immortal Sage, I¡¯ve brought some gifts for you.¡± I took out the first of the required quest items, the [Harmony Whisper Moss]. The System text said that I only needed one, but I¡¯d bought eight from the Cash Shop since I figured more was better.


    ¡°That¡¯s- By the gods, it¡¯s Silken Veil Moss! Quick, get the jade boxes!¡± The Sage¡¯s eyes widened and a look of great horror flashed across his face as he jumped up and grabbed the items from me.


    We stayed seated and exchanged looks of confusion as the two old men rushed outside, doubtless to get the aforementioned jade boxes.


    They returned shortly, without the items. The Sage sat down and gazed across the room at me with a broad smile and a twinkle in his eye. ¡°Young lady, thank you for the moss, but such precious things must be stored in special jade boxes. They will quickly deteriorate if left out in the open too long. You kept them in your soul space?¡±


    A soul space was, in immortal cultivation terms, a pocket dimension within the cultivator''s consciousness, serving as an interspatial storage where weapons, treasures, and artifacts could be safely housed.


    When I nodded, his voice softened and he assumed a benevolent yet condescending air. ¡°Good. You¡¯ve offered me quite a valuable ingredient. Is there anything I can do for you?¡±


    Eh? So easily? I hadn¡¯t even given him the rest of the stuff. ¡°Venerable Immortal Sage, I¡¯d like to offer you these items. I hope you can make the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will.¡± The Sage smiled and stroked his beard.


    ¡°And also¡­ Venerable Immortal Sage, I wonder if it would be possible for me to learn the basics of alchemy from you?¡± I asked.


    The Sage stroked his beard and nodded to the Sect Master who got a small wooden chest from the side of the hall and placed it on the table beside me. He opened the lid to reveal the transparent crystal sphere inside it.


    ¡°Please put your hand on this Soul Essence Stone. It will show us whether or not you have a Spirit Root and assess your potential for cultivation,¡± said the Sage.


    Incredible! This was exactly the way it was shown in Chinese fantasy TV shows, wasn¡¯t it?


    I placed my hand on the crystal.

 Chapter 142 - Spirit Roots test results at the Soaring Crane Sect

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 142 - Beak-on, negativity! Come, root-iful life</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    As expected, it remained inert.


    ¡°It seems you do not have a Spirit Root,¡± said the Sage. ¡°I can¡¯t take you as my disciple.¡±


    Adventure Incarnate lore was quite clear on the fact that the players¡¯ special powers were different from the cultivation path that both humans and clan members used in this world. I would¡¯ve been shocked if the Soul Essence Stone had been able to detect my skills.


    Even if it had, I¡¯m guessing it would have shown that I had the All-Attributes Spirit Root since I was able to cast all types of elemental spells, which would be considered trash, since the fewer attributes a person¡¯s spirit root had, the better their cultivation potential was. Or the Soul Essence Stone could detect that I had a very strange spirit root, such as a Mutated Spirit Root that was unsuitable for cultivation.


    I simply smiled and said, ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t presume to ask for that, sir. I only ask to watch you while you work and learn from you this one time. I have a few more ingredients with me.¡±


    However, when I moved my hand, the Sage jumped up.


    ¡°Stop!¡± he shouted.


    The Sect Master approached me and, with a trembling voice, asked, ¡°Young lady, how many of these items are you offering?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-five,¡± I said.


    ¡°Please wait here. I will return with the boxes.¡± The Sect Master left.


    The Sage drew a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead with it. ¡°I¡¯m too old for this¡­¡±


    I leaned towards Shuye who was sitting beside me and whispered, ¡°Did you know there was a special storage requirement for alchemy ingredients?¡±


    ¡°No. There are only two clan members who practice alchemy in the whole of the Westerlands,¡± said Shuye. He was doing his best to keep a poker face, but his lips kept twitching, so I could tell that he was amused.


    The Sage overheard our exchange and sighed deeply. ¡°It is indeed a dying art. I once had three genius disciples, but they all died before me. Now my lifespan is almost over, and there¡¯s no one to take over the alchemy furnaces in my Divine Elixir Pavilion.¡±


    Shuye cleared his throat and gave me a meaningful look before turning to the Sage and saying, ¡°Venerable Immortal Sage, Baroness Violet has three apprentices who are able to share her bloodline inheritance. Would you like to test them, too?¡±


    ¡°I''ve heard of this bloodline inheritance. Yes, go ahead and try your luck with the crystal,¡± said the Sage.


    Lari and Kharli looked like they were going to explode with excitement, but they kept silent and waited for my approval before moving. Mo acted blas¨¦ but I knew she must be eager to try it, too.


    I gestured towards the crystal and watched as, one by one, they put their hands on it.


    Of course, nothing happened.


    Shuye looked thoughtful. My apprentices were too well-tutored in manners by Fengying to say anything, but their downturned mouths and slumped shoulders spoke volumes.


    The Sage gave my apprentices a sympathetic look. ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged, young ones. Only one out of a thousand people have Spirit Roots, and of those, only one in twenty have good potential.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, sir,¡± I said.


    Just then the Sect Master arrived, bringing the jade boxes which he set down on a side table. His hands were trembling.


    The boxes were made of translucent white jade and were carved with mystic runes.


    This time, I handled the items with more care, taking them out one by one and placing them in a jade box instead of pulling out bunches of them from my inventory.


    The Sage watched closely as I worked. With each item that I took out, his smile grew bigger and bigger. ¡°Yes, yes, these will do nicely. I will make the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill for you, but that is too difficult for a beginner. I¡¯ll show you how to make the most basic nourishing qi pill.¡±


    I bowed as gracefully as I could. ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°I can only do this much. You may not call me your teacher and I cannot take you as a student since the sect¡¯s laws forbid it. Mortals cannot be admitted into the sect.¡± He sighed and looked as though he wanted to pat me on the head. ¡°It¡¯s a great pity.¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Even if he had offered, I would have refused.


    ¡°I¡¯m not suited for immortal cultivation, but I¡¯m glad I can practice alchemy using my bloodline inheritance,¡± I said.


    ¡°Stay here, please,¡± the Sect Master instructed the others.


    Shuye frowned and my apprentices looked disappointed though no one made any objections as I followed the two old men out of the main hall and into another simple house.


    This one had clay brick walls and floor tiles. The interior was a single open space with cauldrons lining one wall. The cauldrons, made of sturdy bronze, varied greatly in size and design. The Sage waved his arm and one flew up and settled itself in the center of the room.


    The cauldron was made of a bronze-colored metal and stood on three legs. The center of the lid was shaped in the form of a lotus bud. Intricately engraved lotus flowers adorned its aged surface that had a patina of great age and constant use.


    The Sage sat down cross-legged in front of the cauldron and the Sect Master and I sat behind him on either side to watch. I didn¡¯t need to be told not to talk since I knew the Sage needed to concentrate.


    He started by putting a whole bunch of [Spell Stones] under the cauldron. There were at least fifty of them! He seemed to pull them out of thin air. Fascinating! This must be what it looks like to other people when I do Herblaw.


    Then the Sage used the [Spell Stones] to light a magical blue fire under the vessel. The heat from the fire was intense and I had to use a handkerchief to blot the sweat from my face. I hoped I wasn¡¯t going to stain my fancy robes. The Sect Master seemed to notice my discomfort and quickly whispered a few unintelligible words under his breath. When he finished, a faintly visible white mist enveloped us, cooling the air. I cupped my hands and bowed from the waist in my seated position, silently thanking him.


    When the cauldron was white-hot, the Sage removed the lid and put herbs inside it. The [Twilight Green Orchid] was first, followed by the [Blooming Milkthistle]. I thought they would burn to ashes, but instead, they glowed green and white before becoming liquid. The last item he put inside was the [Crimson Pearl Peony Seed].


    Moments later, the liquified herbs swirled together and became brown.


    The Sage put the lid back on and the fire roared even higher and more intense for a few minutes before dying down.


    The Sect Master sighed deeply, a slight smile making the lines on his face deepen. ¡°Congratulations, Venerable Immortal Sage!¡±


    It was finished?


    Moments later, a thick, cloying medicinal scent filled the air.


    The Sage got up and we all crowded around the cauldron. When he opened the lid, steam came out of it, and there were brown lumps at the bottom of the vessel. The Sage held his right hand up and the brown lumps flew up to it, suspended in the air a few inches above his palm.


    ¡°Three usable pills. Not bad.¡± The Sage stroked his beard. It seemed it was a habit of his.


    The Sect Master produced a glass bottle from thin air. The pills flew into it and he capped it with a jade stopper. He bowed and offered it to me, ¡°Young lady, here are the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pills.¡±


    I bowed back and took it, storing it in my inventory for safekeeping. ¡°Thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°Now I¡¯ll show you how to make a beginner pill.¡± The Sage waved his hand at the wall of cauldrons, and one of them flew beside the one he had used. ¡°Sit down.¡±


    I obediently sat down in front of the other cauldron. It was a smaller version of the first, except it was much more plain, with only one big lotus flower etched on the lid. The System helpfully sent me a popup message when I sat down cross-legged in front of the cauldron.


    [Start Tutorial?]


    I mentally clicked on the [Yes] button and then used the System while copying the Sage¡¯s actions.


    [Place 10 Spell Stones under the cauldron.]


    As I carefully piled the crystals, the Sage chuckled and said, ¡°I hope you have enough money to buy more of those. You¡¯ll be using a lot of them. This is why my Sect has a bad reputation for being full of money grubbers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that alchemy is the type of crafting that costs a lot and needs rare ingredients,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the life of an alchemist,¡± said the Sage.


    The next System message came as a huge relief.


    [Activate the cauldron.]


    I had been worried about how to generate the fire that the Sage lit, but it was easy as pie. All I had to do was to mentally examine the cauldron then click on the [Activate] button that the System provided and a small flame appeared under the vessel.


    There must be a passive skill involved since the heat of the flames no longer bothered me once we started heating the cauldrons. Or maybe because the flames we both used were smaller.


    ¡°Take these.¡± The Sage handed me a small bunch of spirit grass and a piece of ginseng. ¡°Put a little bit of water inside your cauldron. It helps beginners with blending the ingredients.¡±


    [Pour one glass of Soda Water inside the vessel.]


    I took the items and did as the System instructed.


    The Sage nodded approvingly.


    [When the water starts boiling, add the ginseng.]


    ¡°Put the ginseng in now.¡± The Sage put his piece of ginseng in his cauldron.


    I carefully dropped the ginseng into the boiling water, trying not to make a splash. I noticed that the Sage himself was not using water. The ginseng and water in my pot glowed and the ginseng dissolved.


    ¡°Good, now add the grass,¡± said the Sage.


    [When the ginseng dissolves, add the spirit grass.]


    Behind us, the Sect Master made a sound of approval.


    The grass I added made the water sparkle as it dissolved.


    I was surprised to see that the ginseng in the sage¡¯s cauldron had somehow dissolved into a green liquid. He added grass to his pot which dissolved and merged with the dissolved ginseng.


    As for my cauldron, the water turned green, and the Sage handed me a silk sachet. I opened it and sniffed the contents, which was a white powder.


    ¡°It¡¯s arrowroot pearl powder. Add the powder to the water little by little. It will thicken the mixture,¡± said the Sage. ¡°You can also use rice powder if you like.¡±


    [Add arrowroot pearl powder to the liquid.]


    ¡°Gosh.¡± This must be the penultimate stage of alchemy. I knew from watching Chinese fantasy TV shows that coalescing the pill was the final step. After adding the powder, I held my breath, waiting for the pills to form.


    The contents of the sage¡¯s cauldron seethed and he put the lid on. To my surprise, he turned to me and said, ¡°You¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done?!¡± The liquid in my vessel had thickened until it had a jelly-like consistency, but it hadn¡¯t formed into pills.


    Was it a failure?

 Chapters 143 and 143.5 - Alchemy Tutorial Result

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 143 - Exploring a roe-mantic cave</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    [Deactivate the cauldron.]


    I mentally clicked on the [Deactivate] button which turned off the fire.


    [Use two silver spoons to form the mixture into balls and wrap them with wild betel leaves.]


    What the heck? Was I doing alchemy or cooking a dessert?


    The Sect Master stepped forward and handed me two silver spoons. ¡°Young lady, congratulations on making your first pill. Use this to form them into balls. Here are some leaves you can use to wrap them.¡±


    I did as I was instructed. The finished product looked like white mochi balls.


    [Forming the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill: Quest Complete


    Reward: Herblaw Exp and access to the Alchemy sub skill]


    I was very close to an Herblaw level, so I had turned off the System confetti effect before we left the farm.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced an Herblaw level!]


    [Your Herblaw level is now 16.]


    It was hard to keep a poker face while I inwardly rejoiced at the good amount of exp I got from the quest. I was nearly level 17 now.


    ¡°Well done. These pills are basic nourishing qi pills. It¡¯s very gentle and popular among elderly mortals since it can temporarily soothe their aches and pains.¡± The Sage looked quite gratified by my success.


    The Sage lifted the lid on his cauldron, revealing eight perfectly formed white pills. He put them inside another glass bottle which then disappeared into his inventory.


    ¡°Thank you very much!¡± I thanked both of them effusively as the sage put the cauldrons away.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t thank me. This was the least I could do after you gave me the herbs I¡¯ve been looking for.¡± The Sage led us outside and we walked to another small wooden building. Gesturing for me to stay outside, he entered and emerged a few minutes later with a neatly wrapped brown paper package. ¡°Take these beginner alchemy books. The books themselves are nothing special. You could buy them at specialist bookshops, but these particular copies were annotated by my master.¡±


    I could tell that the books were rare and valuable from the way he insisted that they were nothing special. ¡°I¡¯m greatly honored, Venerable Immortal Sage, but I can¡¯t accept these. They¡¯re far too valuable.¡±


    ¡°No, no, these are just common books. I insist you take them.¡±


    ¡°How could I? I¡¯m unworthy of such treasures.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so stubborn. Take them.¡±


    ¡°Is it really okay for me to take them?¡±


    ¡°You must.¡±


    We did the whole rigmarole where I refused to accept it three times to show that I wasn¡¯t greedy. This sort of thing was tiring, but it was the proper thing to do, and I guessed that the Sage was the traditional type of person. Eventually, I accepted and thanked him profusely.


    Our business done, we walked back to the main hall.


    The Sage seemed to be in a very good mood. ¡°Tell me, young lady, why did you approach me instead of the two alchemists from the clans?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell him that he was the System¡¯s choice. ¡°I don''t think the clans use the same alchemy method as humans, do they?¡±


    ¡°They do.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°In the future, if they need more Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pills, the clan members can make them.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to make more, Venerable Immortal Sage?¡±


    ¡°I will be unable to. My lifespan is at its end. The viridian unity moss and invigorating qi fern you gave me are the last two ingredients I need for my farewell party. With them, I can make the Sovereign Vitality Awakening Pill.¡±


    ¡°Um.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say, so I made a soft, noncommittal sound because I couldn¡¯t tell if he meant what he said literally. For all I knew, the old man would have decades more of lifespan left. Who knew how cultivators counted time? I¡¯d asked Fengying and she said that the Venerable Immortal Sage was at least three hundred years old, which was far beyond a normal cultivator¡¯s lifespan. That was why he had outlived his three disciples. He seemed to be waiting for my reaction, so I said, ¡°The Sovereign Vitality Awakening Pill?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Ah, the pill that will bring back my youth! It will be my masterpiece.¡±


    ¡°Wow, it''s a youthening medicine?¡±


    ¡°A temporary one. I¡¯ll make at least two, one for me, and one for my junior martial brother, that old-¡±


    Here the Sect Master interrupted the Sage with a loud cough.


    The Sage seemed a little abashed at being caught almost cussing in front of an outsider like me. He cleared his throat. ¡°... That old rival of mine, is what I was about to say. It will be an event that people will talk about for centuries afterward!¡±


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    ¡°Wow! I¡¯m sure it will be amazing.¡± I had no idea what he was talking about though I was tickled pink at the mention of a junior martial brother. That should refer to someone who was a fellow disciple who studied under the same master. And they were rivals? I sensed that there was a long, dramatic story behind this rivalry.


    I must''ve looked quite interested because the Sage misinterpreted my expression as curiosity about the event.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, young lady, but you can¡¯t attend. It¡¯s only for me, my junior martial brother, and one witness. We¡¯ll have to bring a poet with us.¡± The Sage chuckled. ¡°One who can hold his liquor! The pill will bring back the vitality of youth, and we¡¯ll compete in twelve contests of skill and stamina.¡±


    ¡°It sounds fun.¡± ''Not a bad way to spend your last days'' was what I wanted to add, but I didn¡¯t want to seem morbid.


    The Sage counted it off with his fingers. ¡°Wrestling, archery, horse riding, boat racing, running, swimming, chess, poetry, philosophical debate, painting, musical composition, and kite fighting.¡±


    By the time he finished his recitation, we were near enough to see the main hall, so he stopped talking. Shuye and the kids saw us arriving and met us at the door. They seemed impatient to see what I had made during my first alchemy session.


    ¡°Teacher, this looks great! May I eat it?¡± Lari was the first to react when I showed them the mochi-looking ¡°pills.¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± I gave my apprentices one each.


    ¡°It¡¯s sweet,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I like how it''s soft and chewy,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°The pill is very filling,¡± said Lari.


    Even Shuye ate one when I offered it to him. I suppose alchemy items were not considered human food and were therefore not taboo for clan members to eat.


    ¡°Delicious,¡± said Shuye.


    We thanked the Sage and Sect Master one last time and said our goodbyes.


    At the flying carriage, I used a wooden twig I picked up to draw a crude map on the ground and instructed the driver to go to the spot I indicated. ¡°That¡¯s where the [Heaven¡¯s Eye Grotto] is located.¡±


    I really wanted to go cave fishing!


    The drivers of the flying carriage and ox cart were very skilled, so it took them only half an hour to find the little valley between two peaks that I marked on the map. Once we were on the ground, the cave opening was easy enough to spot.


    ¡°How mysterious!¡± I said. ¡°This place is called the [Heaven¡¯s Eye Grotto]. According to the map from my bloodline inheritance, there should be a small subterranean lake inside where we can fish.¡±


    The entrance of the cave was large and the ground was surprisingly even except for two large white rock formations. The top of the entrance had a large quantity of white mineral deposits. Were those stalactites? I wished I knew more about geology.


    The side of the mountain where the cave was located was covered in a very interesting black moss and red lichen. Above us, two especially large circular clusters of red lichen stood out. The System didn¡¯t identify the moss or lichen which meant that they weren''t herblaw ingredients, so I left them alone.


    This place must have been discovered by people before since there were some characters carved on the mountain wall written above it, but they were too old and worn for me to read.


    The air smelled like sulfur. Was there a hot spring inside?


    I was about to enter when Shuye pulled me back.


    ¡°Wait.¡± He gazed at the cave entrance with furrowed brows.


    ¡°Oh, right, I should send Mr. Bear inside first, right? It should be safe, but there¡¯s no reason not to be careful.¡± I detached Mr. Bear from my belt and made him human-sized.


    We watched outside as Mr. Bear entered the cave. After a few minutes, I shrugged and turned to Shuye. ¡°My puppet hasn¡¯t reported anything.¡±


    Remembering a certain incident with a bunch of monkeys, I added, ¡°But my puppet doesn¡¯t recognize local wildlife as dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want to go inside?¡± Shuye sounded a little upset. ¡°Perhaps we should send word to the clan that we found this place. They can send explorers inside first.¡±


    ¡°No way! This is my discovery! Besides, it looks safe. Can you hear anything from out here?¡±


    ¡°The only thing I hear is the sound of water.¡±


    ¡°No bats, huh? That¡¯s great.¡±


    I once again moved forward, but Shuye shook his head and gestured for me to step back.


    He moved in front of me protectively. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you!¡± I wasn¡¯t a daredevil.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo looked nervous, probably because of Shuye¡¯s overcautious behavior. I just grinned and waved at them to let them know they should follow me.


    Inside, the cave was quite dark, but it was not a problem because the Cash Shop had plenty of cute lanterns that I could use. I took out a portable dragon-shaped camping lantern with 360-degree illumination and lifted it high to one side to allow the light to help Shuye and the rest of us see where we were going. The light cast dancing, looming shadows along the walls of the cave.


    ¡°Watch your step,¡± I said to the others.


    The ground was fairly even except for a few rocks scattered here and there that might trip up the unwary person because they were covered with black and red moss, and quite difficult to see.


    Thankfully, it didn¡¯t take long for us to find the underground lake, presumably the one called Heaven¡¯s Eye.


    ¡°There it is!¡± I put the lantern down and moved forward to stand beside Shuye. ¡°I thought there would be a big eye-shaped opening in the cave¡¯s ceiling.¡±


    ¡°Be careful,¡± was all Shuye said. He seemed quite tense.


    I held the lantern high and looked up, but the ceiling was so high that all I saw was darkness. Keeping Mr. Bear in [Guard Mode], I went around placing more lanterns.


    ¡°Teacher, are there truly fish here?¡± Lari knelt beside the lake¡¯s edge and peered into the water.


    I understood why he was dubious since the water was completely clear and there were no fish visible. ¡°There should be fish there. Since they¡¯re spiritual fish, perhaps they have a stealth skill.¡±


    ¡°Stealth fish?¡± Shuye gave me a disbelieving look.


    I shrugged. ¡° Well, there¡¯s only one way to find out.¡±


    We spread out a little and my apprentices took out their fishing rods while Shuye paced back and forth, a look of unease on his face. The others cast their lines, and I approached Shuye first to ask him if he was okay.


    ¡°Do you not like caves? You can wait for us outside if you like.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay here to guard you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I went back to the lake and started fishing. It didn¡¯t take long before I caught the first [Cavefish].


    ¡°See? There¡¯s fish here. We just can¡¯t see them,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a weird fish!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it?¡± I expected it to be pale and translucent, but instead, it had black scales streaked with molten red, as though it was a [Lava Fish], not a [Cavefish]. Its bulging eyes glowed crimson and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth like a shark. When I put it in a bucket of water, I saw that there were bioluminescent, ghostly tendrils extending from its body. ¡°Let¡¯s continue fishing.¡±


    ¡°I got one!¡± yelled Lari from the other side of the lake.


    A few minutes later, Kharli got her fish, too. I waited until Mo got hers before putting away my fishing rod. The [Cavefish] could only be caught here in Adventure Incarnate, so I wanted to give it a try. If the place had been as pretty as I thought it would be, we would¡¯ve stayed longer, but since it wasn¡¯t very nice in the cave, I decided to leave. It¡¯s not like the [Cavefish] was anything special, after all.


    Shuye seemed extremely relieved when I announced that we were leaving.


    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 143.5</h2>


    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    I did not enter the legendary Hellmouth. I did not see a cave entrance in the shape of a mouth with jagged teeth and two glaring red eyes above them. There is no such thing as a Hellmouth. Neither were my eyes assaulted by a verse written in the language of the underworld that I somehow understood. The verse written above the nonexistent cave did not warn intruders not to enter the land of eternal suffering. I did not see the Lake of Invisible Hellfish that serves as a passage to the Underworld.


    I¡¯ll have to get myself ritually cleansed by a priestess before I go home, and I¡¯ll have to think of a good excuse to refuse if Baroness Violet asks me to sell the Hellfish for her.

 Chapter 144 - Item alchemy upgrades

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 144 - Witch-eresting alchemy books</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    When we got home, the first thing I did was unpack the alchemy books.


    ¡°I hope this works. I hope this works! Please work. Please work.¡± I bonked myself on the head with a book.


    Nothing happened.


    I tried again.


    Nothing happened again.


    I tried the other books, but it was useless.


    Although I was very disappointed, it made sense that it was only the Astrology books that worked that way. Astrology was a skill that was half-heartedly made as a money sink, and neither the players nor the devs ever took it seriously. Alchemy, on the other hand, was a very important skill. Therefore, it was only logical that one couldn¡¯t level it up via a silly method like bonking oneself on the head with a skill book.


    On the other hand, I was very pleased that the other Alchemy sub-skills had likewise been unlocked. Immortal Pills were nice and all, but weapon and armor upgrades were even better!


    I went outside to the back garden of my [Ranch House] and set up the [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron]. Then I put the [Spells Stones] under it the way that the Venerable Immortal Sage had shown me and activated the cauldron using the System. When the temperature was right, I took off the lid and threw in a [Firebird Feather].


    [Firebird Feather:


    A bright red feather from the mythical Firebird, known for its dazzling and radiant plumage. This exquisite plume, shimmering with an otherworldly intensity, is said to embody the essence of fire. Crafting with this feather can imbue items with the mythical creature''s fiery spirit.]


    This time, the feather flew out of the cauldron on its own after a few seconds, and I got a small amount of Magic and Herblaw exp. The enhanced item was now a [Firebird Feather +1 Air].


    Air was good because it worked well with Fire, but +1 was the lowest possible enhancement. I tried it again with another feather. This time it became a [Firebird Feather +3 Water]. The next one I made was a [Firebird Feather +1 Earth]. Obviously, those two were no good since they were not very compatible with the fire element.


    ¡°I wish there was an item that boosts luck.¡±


    Unlike other skills, this particular type of Alchemy was totally random. Creating the perfect +9 full set of weapons, armor, and accessories was a real pain in the neck, but players who didn¡¯t have the patience to make their own could simply buy the items they needed from other players. After an outcry from the player base, the Adventure Incarnate developers modified the skills somewhat to improve gameplay by allowing players to load the cauldrons with items that would automatically alchemize them.


    I took out one hundred feathers from my inventory and placed them in the cauldron¡¯s inventory. Then I simply turned on the [Automatic Alchemy] function. All I would have to do now was to wait until they were all finished before collecting them.


    As for the Immortal Pills, I believed that it would be best to wait until I had harvested my first Immortal Herbs before selling any since it would be extremely strange for me to suddenly start producing pills out of nothing.


    Herblaw potions were what players used to boost their stats. The pills produced by Alchemy were meant for cultivators and were therefore useless to players. Despite the importance of such pills in a cultivation world, in the game world, they were simply another product created to sell to the NPCs. It was the same mechanic as the milk that was produced by farm animals and was made into cheese which sold for a higher price than milk. Likewise, herbs were grown on the farm and made into pills simply to make more money.


    I knew it would be different in this world because the cultivators here were not NPCs but real people. There was sure to be a big commotion when the farm successfully grew Immortal Herbs. Shuye would have his work cut out for him, that was for sure!


    ***


    The next day. I handed Fengying a bunch of mochi. ¡°These are basic nourishing qi pills. Please distribute them among the staff.¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Congratulations on learning alchemy, my lady.¡± My housekeeper was all smiles as she went about her way.


    Now that I was literally using a cauldron, I wondered if there would be more legends of the Witch of the Forest in the future. The thought made me smile as I ate breakfast. After I finished eating, I put my chopsticks down and said, ¡°Kids, it¡¯s time! I think the [Spirit Grass], [Wild Seed Mix] and [Soybeans] are ready.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± they said.


    We all went outside and headed straight for the place where I was trying to create [Black Soil]. During the planting season, we had sown the field with plants that were not meant to be harvested but rather plowed back into the soil to nourish it. Today the field was a riot of colors where flowers, grasses, and foliage had grown without the need of any human intervention.


    [Wild Seed Mix:


    Contains a mixture of seeds, mainly wild flowers, grasses, and legumes that are used as cover crops, which are plants grown to cover the soil surface to protect it from erosion, improve soil structure, and add nutrients to the soil.]


    ¡°Teacher, do we have to plow these back into the soil? It seems like a waste of good crops,¡± said Lari.


    I just smiled and shook my head at his reluctance. ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®delayed gratification.¡¯ When we incorporate these plants into the soil, it will decompose and release a lot of nutrients that the Immortal Herbs will need.¡±


    Increasing soil organic matter would also improve the soil structure, but I didn¡¯t want to go into lecture mode, so I simply circled the field, looking for pests or diseases that I would have to take care of first.


    The plants were all surrounded by a faint glow which was strongest around the [Spirit Grass]. Seeing that there were no problems, I gestured to the others to start plowing.


    ¡°Yay! More exp!¡± Mo was in heaven. Watering, weeding, and tending to the plants only gave a minuscule amount of exp, whereas plowing gave a decent amount.


    ¡°I can hardly wait for the harvest,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Me, too!¡± said Lari.


    When we were finished, the soil gave off an earth and green scent. When we used our hoes to plow, the System did the work of turning the soil and chopping the cover crops into small pieces that were incorporated into the soil.


    Kharli took a handful of soil and inspected it. ¡°I see what we did. The grass is like soil food, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Right. Now we just have to wait until all the green matter decomposes. Then we can plant more cover crops here until the soil turns into [Black Soil],¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not hard, is it? We just have to be patient and trust the process.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, how long will it take for the green stuff to decompose?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. In any case, there¡¯s no rush. First, we have to focus on the upcoming harvest. Then we have to do the planting. We¡¯ll get back to this field after that. Now let¡¯s take care of the other crops.¡±


    The vegetable patches were spectacular. Most of the vegetable plants had burst into flower and the bees were busily buzzing around them. A few early blooms had already been pollinated and were developing into fruits.


    ¡°The vegetable harvest will be so good this season,¡± said Lari.


    The rice paddies with the carp looked very promising, too. Small, white flowers had appeared on the rice plants, and soon we would start slowly draining the paddy to make the carp move into the deeper waters of the fish refuge where they could be easily caught during the harvest.


    ¡°The chef said he would make a nice fish stew,¡± said Kharli.


    The tea plants growing under the shade of the canopy were my favorite. Yinuo told me that one of the kitchen assistants had even seen Deming almost smile when he looked at them. Almost. The scent of the tea leaves was invigorating and the glow around the plants could be seen much clearer there because of the shade.


    ¡°When we start selling spiritual tea, everyone will want some,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Ha! I bet they will.¡± This current batch of tea would be for our personal use, with the excess given as gifts to our suppliers and the people working with us to raise the animals. Only when the tea was mid-grade would we start selling to the public. I smirked, knowing that I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the desperate merchants. That would be Shuye¡¯s task. ¡°We¡¯re done here. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m gonna replace the [Tea Machine] today.¡±


    ¡°No, Teacher! Tea is the best.¡± Mo gave me a horrified look.


    ¡°We have enough tea already, and we¡¯re going to get more during the harvest. Trust me, you¡¯re gonna thank me later for making better soy sauce and tofu for the chef to use. The harvest banquet this time will be legendary!¡±


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo all looked skeptical, but I paid them no mind as I walked to the place where the [Tea Machine] was and destroyed it. The [Soy Machine] building that I put in its place was a whimsical, cute thing that wouldn¡¯t have looked out of place in a Barbie town or Hello Kitty amusement park. From the outside, it looked like a storybook cottage with a steep roof, dormer windows, and two whimsical turrets. Painted white and pink, it had a rounded door that I opened to reveal the interior that was also painted pink and white.


    The [Soy Machine] itself was made of glass and metal painted white. I poured [Soybeans] from my inventory down into the waiting chute. There was only one large pink button labeled Start/Stop, which confused me because the machine was supposed to make soy milk, tofu, soy sauce, miso, and tempeh. I would have thought there would be separate buttons for each product.


    Lari stepped forward. ¡°Me, please can I press the button?¡±


    ¡°No, I want to do it!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°People, no quarreling! Let¡¯s play rock, paper, scissors for it.¡±


    I squared off with Mo, whose rock lost to my paper. Then I played with Kharli who had won her match with Lari.


    ¡°I won!¡± Kharli gleefully rushed to the side of the machine and pressed the button.


    A loud, grinding sound started up, and we waited a few minutes to see if anything unusual would happen. When nothing did, we left.


    ¡°We¡¯ll return tomorrow morning to collect the products,¡± I said.


    However, instead of the expected soy products, the machine produced something extraordinary instead.

 Chapter 145 - [Soy Machine] and [Creamery] products

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 145 - Life is soy much more exciting with spices</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    [Dragonflame Glaze:


    A soy-based sauce infused with mythical spices and the essence of dragon peppers, offering a fiery kick balanced by a sweet and savory undertone.]


    ¡°What the heck happened? I didn¡¯t add any chili peppers or spices!¡± I poured a bit of the sauce into a spoon and tasted it. ¡°Hot! Hot! Hot!¡±


    I made the spoon vanish into my inventory and got a piece of bread that I ate in a vain attempt to put out the fire inside my mouth. It wasn¡¯t until I finished drinking two glasses of milk that I felt better.


    My apprentices, along with Deming and his assistants, were sampling the other goods. There was one crate each of soy milk, tofu, soy sauce, miso, and tempeh, which were packed in jars or wrapped in waxed paper or banana leaves. There were even several types of tofu: firm, medium-firm, soft, silken, and fried tofu. I was quite surprised to note that the [Soy Machine] also produced a dozen different types of soy sauce. Of course, I knew about light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, but there was stuff like double black soy sauce and white soy sauce that I was not familiar with.


    The Demon Chef and his assistants tried everything.


    ¡°Not bad.¡±


    ¡°This ¡®miso¡¯ is good.¡±


    ¡°I could make better fried tofu using this firm tofu.¡±


    ¡°Try this soy milk, it''s delicious.¡±


    ¡°This silken tofu will go well with the miso. Do we have seaweed?¡±


    Deming seemed happy enough, even though he did assess everything as low-grade, which was because the quality of products was tied to the player¡¯s Farming level. The Demon Chef was particularly interested in the [Dragonflame Glaze]. He glanced at me and raised two fingers, which Fengying told me meant that he wanted two more batches of food items from the [Soy Machine].


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s no problem,¡± I said.


    Fengying then handed me a letter from Shuye.


    ¡°Observers?¡± I frowned. ¡°But I won¡¯t have time to babysit visitors during harvest season. Can I refuse?¡±


    ¡°It would be slightly rude,¡± said Fengying.


    ¡°Well, okay, as long as it¡¯s just slightly rude. Please let Shuye¡¯s messenger know that I would prefer not to have observers during harvest season. Shuye can come himself if he wants to.¡± I was about to leave when I remembered I wanted to ask Fengying something. ¡°By the way, why can¡¯t I visit Shuye to see the baby?¡±


    ¡°My lady, clan member¡¯s babies develop at a far slower rate compared to humans. Shuye¡¯s child will be considered a newborn for around a year or so.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I knew that the Chinese had a cultural tradition of postpartum confinement for as long as 100 days. Women who had just given birth were supposed to stay indoors, preferably in bed, and given special nourishing food. Visitors were forbidden until a certain time, though I couldn¡¯t remember how long, and newborns were not supposed to be taken outside, especially in crowded places where they could be exposed to too many germs. I guess the traditional confinement was longer in this world.


    ¡°You see, my lady, clan members are long-lived and have a different view of time compared to us humans.¡± Fengying patted me on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s something that those who live or work with them have to adjust to.¡±


    That sounded ominous. ¡°Just say what you want to say, no need to be roundabout. Is this about Prince Baiyu?¡±


    Fengying smiled. ¡°You said that he¡¯s asked his parents for permission to live here on the farm. Don¡¯t be too disheartened if it takes a few more months.¡±


    ¡°Months?! Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fast for clan members.¡±


    I pouted a little, but I got her point. Prince Baiyu wrote to me in a letter that he would be arriving ¡°soon,¡± which apparently didn¡¯t mean the same as what I thought of as ¡°soon.¡± The fact that I was feeling impatient and looking forward to it this much was eye-opening for me. I must like him a lot more than I thought I did. I handed the letter back to her and said, ¡°Okay, I understand. It¡¯s all over once he moves into the third courtyard anyway.¡±


    Suddenly I heard excited squealing from behind us. I turned around and saw that Lari, Kharli, and Mo were staring at us.


    Mo covered her blushing face and said, ¡°Wha- what does she mean by ¡®it¡¯s all over¡¯? What is she planning to do?!¡±


    ¡°What do you think? Obviously, she¡¯ll make him unable to leave!¡± said Kharli.


    Lari gave the other two a disgusted look when they embraced each other and started making high-pitched sounds of delight.


    I ignored them and continued sampling the soy products with Fengying.


    ***


    Two days later, I removed the [Soy Machine] and replaced it with the [Creamery]. In Adventure Incarnate, the [Creamery] was a giant cow building with a large wooden ¡°Moo¡± speech bubble. Here it was a square wooden building painted white with black spots like a spotted cow. The giant figure of a friendly cartoon cow was placed on top of the roof, complete with the ¡°Moo¡± sign. It was very cute!


    Inside it was a huge metal vat connected to six separate but identical machines, one in each corner and the middle of the walls. Each machine had a control lever that could be pulled up and down, with each slot labeled with a different milk product: Butter, Cheese, Cream, Buttermilk, Yogurt, and Ice Cream.


    I mentally clicked on the buckets of [Cow¡¯s Milk] in my inventory and then [Used] it on the vat to fill it up. Then I let Lari set the levers on the machines to make one of each item and Mo pressed the Start/Stop button.


    ¡°Teacher, I don¡¯t know what some of those things are,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I know, but don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re all good. You¡¯ll be able to taste them tomorrow when the machine is finished making all that stuff,¡± I said.


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    Most of these milk products were unfamiliar to them because Chinese cuisine didn¡¯t use a lot of cream, butter, or cheese. Some parts of the Westerlands used ghee, which was clarified butter, but as for the rest, they didn¡¯t use it much except for when a high-class restaurant or noble kitchen was making Central cuisine. Nonetheless, I wanted to build a creamery because I liked dairy products.


    While I waited for the [Creamery] to finish one production cycle, I tried my hand at baking an apple pie.


    ¡°I know, I know! It¡¯s not normally made that way, but this is how my bloodline inheritance makes it,¡± I said when my maid, Yinuo, protested at what I said I was going to do.


    ¡°...I¡¯m just worried it will be tasteless with no spices,¡± said Yinuo.


    ¡°Me, too!¡±


    We had finished watering and tending the crops earlier, and now I was free to train my Cooking skill while my apprentices were Hunting and Foraging in the forest.


    Yinuo prepared everything I was going to need in the kitchen in the inner courtyard that was reserved for my use. The Demon Chef¡¯s domain was the kitchen and storerooms in the outer courtyard. My maid placed a cutting board, knife, and bowl of water in one corner of the central kitchen island.


    ¡°Okay, here goes nothing.¡± I got a bunch of [Apples] from my inventory and let the System guide my hands in cutting them up with the knife. ¡°Noooooo! How can I burn apples by cutting them?¡±


    I stared mournfully at the burned apple that now looked like a lump of coal.


    Yinuo was used to it and simply threw the evidence of my failure in a trashcan.


    Eight more [Apples] were burnt before I managed to slice one properly. The System recipe called for just one [Apple] per pie, but I had to make at least a dozen uncooked pies since I would probably burn a few when I tried to bake them.


    ¡°At least cutting them is fast,¡± I said.


    Yinuo put the [Apple Slices] in the bowl of water to prevent them from browning.


    Eventually, we had enough slices to start the second part of the baking process. Yinuo put away the knife and cutting board before flouring the counter.


    ¡°My lady, are you sure you only need flour and water?¡± Yinuo looked worried. ¡°I can get salt and whatever you need from the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. You¡¯ll see,¡± I said.


    Yinuo put two pots on one side of the counter which I filled with [Flour] and [Water] from my inventory. Using the System¡¯s Cooking tab, I selected [Pastry Dough]. I tipped the pot of [Flour] onto the counter then poured the [Water] from the pot over it. I burst into laughter at the ridiculousness of what happened next. The two ingredients seethed and combined without me having to lift a finger. Then¡­


    We smelled smoke and I got some [Burnt Pastry Dough].


    Yinuo just shook her head while I lamented my disastrous Cooking skill.


    ¡°I just burned flour and water without even using a stove or oven!¡± I said.


    ¡°You can do it if you try again, my lady,¡± said Yinuo. Her lips were twitching.


    Unless I was very much mistaken, Yinuo actually enjoyed it when I burned food.


    It only took five more tries until the [Flour] and [Water] properly combined into a smooth and elastic ball of dough. I took out a [Pie Pan] from my inventory and pressed half of the slightly tacky dough onto it.


    Or at least, I tried to.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be real¡­¡± I was shocked when I burnt the dough. My fingers felt a little hot, and I immersed them in ice water for a few minutes before trying again. Again I got more burned dough.


    Yinuo couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. ¡°My lady, perhaps I can help?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± I thought about it before answering. Other people couldn¡¯t touch my inventory items until I processed them, so Yinuo couldn¡¯t touch the [Apples] but she could touch the [Apple Slices]. The same was true of the [Pastry Dough]. ¡°Okay, you can assemble the pies once we have enough items for twelve of them.¡±


    Most of the Cooking exp came from the final step of baking the [Apple Pie], so it should be fine to have someone help with assembly. I kept on using the [Water] and [Flour] with each other until I had twelve more [Pastry Doughs] while Yinuo went to the Demon Chef¡¯s kitchen to ask for pie pans since she couldn¡¯t touch the ones I had.


    She returned with the Demon Chef in tow along with the requested items.


    I thought Deming would offer to help, but all he did was watch as I instructed Yinuo to press half of the [Pastry Dough] onto the pie pan then place the [Apple Slices] on top of the dough crust. Lastly, Yinuo deftly created a lattice crust for the pie using the other half of the dough. Taking strips of [Pastry Dough], she carefully wove them over the apple slices, creating an intricate pattern.


    She did that twelve more times while Deming watched and I turned on my industrial-sized oven to preheat it. When Yinuo finished, Deming picked one up and examined it closely. He sniffed it a few times, then put it down and left.


    Yinuo and I exchanged a glance.


    I shrugged. ¡°I guess he just wanted to see what we were doing. Time to bake these suckers.¡±


    Waiting for the pies to bake was pleasant enough since I had a new gossip book we read and giggled over. According to the latest scuttlebutt, no fewer than eight noble gentlemen of the Magpie clan were fighting over the same lady. There were duels, elaborate courtship displays, and a series of grand gestures to win her favor. I noted that the hunting of ferocious animals and offering them to the lady figured prominently in the tales.


    When I got the System message that the pies were cooked, I held my breath until I removed them from the oven and saw that, miraculously, only ten of the twelve were burned.


    ¡°Yes! I baked two!¡± I quickly stored the [Apple Pies] in my inventory for later and thanked Yinuo for her help. ¡°Let¡¯s eat these tomorrow.¡±


    ***


    The next day, my fears that the [Creamery] would produce something weird like the [Soy Machine] were put to rest. Each machine produced a normal product. My apprentices and I let Deming and his assistants look over the [Butter], [Cheese], [Cream], [Buttermilk], [Yogurt], and [Ice Cream] first.


    Except for the Demon Chef, they seemed puzzled by the items. I guess they weren¡¯t as expert as Deming was in Central cuisine. The [Cheese] was a wheel of simple, soft, and creamy cheese like Brie without the rind, or maybe triple cream cheese. If I wanted a harder, more mature cheese, I would need to age it in a [Cask]. The [Creamery] also made regular vanilla-flavored [Ice cream] which could then be mixed with various ingredients to make whatever flavor the player wanted.


    I waited until everyone was done sampling all the goods before snagging a jug of [Cream] and a tub of [Ice Cream].


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go to my kitchen, Yinuo and I will prepare a special treat for you,¡± I said to my apprentices.


    They followed me to my kitchen while discussing the strange new items from the [Creamery].


    Lari had a slice of cheese and was eating it. ¡°Teacher, this is very nice.¡±


    ¡°I like it,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°It¡¯s not too bad,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°The [Butter] is just cow milk fat, isn¡¯t it? I remember Teacher used it to make [Toast],¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Yes, and we had [Ice Cream] before,¡± said Lari.


    Once we arrived at the kitchen where the [Apple Pies] were already cooling on a rack, Yinuo got a whisk and a bowl into which I poured some of the cream. I also tried to make whipped cream with a mixer from the Cash Shop, but, as expected, I burnt it instead. While Yinuo was making whipped cream, I asked the kids to set the kitchen table with dessert plates and forks for everyone.


    ¡°No chopsticks?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°No chopsticks.¡± I mentally laughed at the idea of eating pie with chopsticks.


    Ten minutes later, Yinuo was done and we served the kids with two tiny slices of pie topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.


    ¡°Et voila! Apple pie ¨¤ la mode. That¡¯s the one with the [Ice Cream].¡± I pointed at the slice of pie topped with ice cream. Since this recipe wasn''t in the System, I could easily add the toppings without burning them. ¡°The other one is topped with whipped cream. Tell me which one you prefer.¡±


    Yinuo had been surprised at the smell of warm, cinnamon-spiced apples that came from the pie since she knew very well that I hadn''t used any spices or seasoning, not even salt. I told her to just chalk it up to my witch magic.


    My fork cut through the slice and I lifted a forkful of apple filling, golden crust, and ice cream to my mouth. Each bite offered a mix of textures and temperatures ¡ª the soft apple slices in a velvety sauce contrasted with the flaky crust, while the coldness of ice cream and warmth of the pie warred delightfully with each other. I especially enjoyed how the tartness of the apples melded with the buttery crust and the sweet ice cream.


    It wasn¡¯t nearly as good as something Deming would have made, but I was still proud of it.


    ¡°I love the one with the [Ice Cream]!¡± said Mo. ¡°But the whipped cream is good, too.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said Lari.


    Yinuo nodded her agreement, too.


    ¡°I would like to have both toppings on my pie,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea,¡± I said. ¡°Anyone want another serving?¡±


    I had coffee with mine while Yinuo and the kids had [Soy Milk] with theirs. When we finished, we went back to the outer courtyard to find out what Deming had decided to make with the new products, but Haoran suddenly burst into our midst, wild-eyed.


    ¡°The bees! The bees!¡± he said.

 Chapter 146 - There’s thousands of them

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 146 - Let''s all bee positive and make the world a sweeter place.</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    I was tempted to go ham and yell, ¡°No, not the bees!¡± like Nicolas Cage from The Wicker Man, but refrained.


    When we went outside, I saw why he was alarmed.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a living carpet of bees,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s thousands of them. Keep your distance.¡±


    The vegetable field was covered in bees, their constant buzzing creating an eerie soundtrack to the normally tranquil scene. The ground itself seemed to undulate with the rhythmic movements of thousands of restless bees.


    Of course, bees were pollinators, so this shouldn¡¯t be bad. Half of the plants still had flowers while the other half had started fruiting a few days ago.


    To my surprise, Lari seemed pleased by the sight.


    ¡°A bee swarm¡­ I heard about these. Teacher, can I take care of it?¡± he asked.


    I was confused. ¡°What? How?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in the [Hunting] tab,¡± he said.


    It was? This wasn¡¯t in Adventure Incarnate! I browsed the tab, and when I couldn¡¯t find it, I used the search function.


    ¡°Wow, there really is a bee swarm resettlement activity.¡± I guess smoking bees to sedate them and then using a tool to vacuum them up and place them in a new bee house was similar to trapping animals, which was the main Hunting activity. ¡°Okay, you can do it since you have the highest Hunting level.¡±


    It was great to see Lari volunteering and taking the lead. All this time, I had thought of him as an indolent fellow because of the [Lazy] trait that the System showed me when I first saw them at the orphanage. However, today¡¯s events showed that I should rethink that. Lari no longer seemed [Lazy], just as Mo was no longer as [Shy] as she used to be.


    My apprentices were maturing at an incredible rate!


    ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll help you put the suit on,¡± I said.


    I got the beekeeping suit from the System toolbelt and he put it on while we helped with buttoning it up. On Earth, the sturdy white coveralls would probably have zippers and velcro, but here it was fastened with buttons in keeping with the low-tech setting.


    He put on the helmet with the mesh veil and the gloves himself while I lit five sticks of [Bee Incense] before handing them to him.


    ¡°Put these near the bees. The smoke should make them calmer,¡± I said.


    Lari went to the vegetable field and planted the incense around the plants while we waited at a distance.


    ¡°Should we help him, Teacher?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°I think he can do it easily enough. Do you think he needs our help?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He¡¯ll get all the Hunting exp,¡± said Mo.


    Kharli suddenly looked excited. ¡°Oh, do you think he¡¯ll get exp per bee? We should take turns!¡±


    ¡°My dear, dear disciples, you should already know that exp is hard to get. I doubt he¡¯ll get exp per bee. More likely the exp will be granted when he finishes putting the swarm in a new [Bee House],¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s ask him to signal us if he gets exp using the [Bee Vac].¡±


    I waved an arm and Lari walked back to us after setting up the incense.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t keep all the exp to yourself. If you get exp when you use the [Bee Vac], wave your arms, and we¡¯ll go help,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I thought you girls were scared of bees,¡± said Lari. ¡°Fine, but wear the suit now. I don¡¯t want to wait too long.¡±


    Kharli and Mo put on their beekeeping suits.


    I handed Lari the [Bee Vac], which was simply a large wooden box with a handle on top and a flexible hose with a nozzle at the end. ¡°To use this, just press this red Start/Stop button. Try it.¡±


    Lari pressed the button and marveled at the way the air was sucked into the hose. ¡°What a great item! The bees will have no chance against this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and when all the bees are in the box, come back and we¡¯ll put the bees in their new house,¡± I said.


    We could see that the incense had done its work since the bees were now quite sluggish, as though they were half asleep.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± Lari saluted me and then went back to the vegetable plants where he turned on the tool and started vacuuming up the bees.


    ¡°He¡¯s not waving, so he¡¯s not getting any exp,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I knew it,¡± I said.


    ¡°This is a bother, but at least Lari will get his Hunting exp, and all the flowers got pollinated,¡± said Mo.


    The girls took off their bee suits.


    As I was looking around for a good place to put the new beehive, I realized that we were missing a person. ¡°Wait, where¡¯s Haoran?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s checking the other beehive to see if they also swarmed,¡± said Kharli.


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    ¡°Looks like this is going to take a while. Let¡¯s sit down.¡± I took out some chairs and a table from my inventory and we sat down. ¡°We still have a lot to do after this.¡±


    Lari returned with a full box of somnolent bees. Thankfully, transferring the bees to their new house was as simple as clicking [Use] on the [Bee Vac] and the [Bee House]. I wondered how exactly the System did that. Did it create a mini-portal for every bee to teleport them into their new habitat?


    ¡°Nice exp.¡± Lari grinned. ¡°I got almost as much as I did from the [Lunar Goats].¡±


    ¡°I wanna do the next one,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°They¡¯re all yours. I don¡¯t like bees,¡± said Kharli.


    I coughed loudly.


    Mo looked abashed. ¡°I mean the one after Teacher gets her turn.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for thinking about me.¡± I pinched Mo¡¯s cheek. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we have a lot to do.¡±


    Now that the bees had been handled, it was time to do our daily farm chores. Our first stop was the field where I was making [Black Soil].


    I bent down and scooped up a handful of soil. ¡°Wow, the plants decomposed fast.¡±


    That must be System magic since I was sure that the plants we had plowed back into the soil would have taken at least a few weeks to decompose back on Earth.


    My apprentices were very excited.


    ¡°The soil is a lot darker,¡± said Kharli. ¡°We''re making great progress.¡±


    ¡°Yes! It looks ready for planting,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I thought we could only plant during planting season?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°No, the rules are different for cover crops. We can plant them any time,¡± I said. ¡°The soil was already plowed, so I¡¯ll start by spreading the [Mysterious Goo] as fertilizer.¡±


    We hadn¡¯t made enough [Mysterious Goo], so I used the ones from my inventory that only I could use. Once I was done, we each planted [Spirit Grass], [Wild Seed Mix] and [Soybeans] seeds on one-fourth of the field and then watered the soil. The exp was pretty nice, especially with the twenty percent bonus I got from my 99 Astrology skill.


    ¡°Teacher is giggling to herself again,¡± said Kharli to the others.


    ¡°She¡¯s just happy we''re getting Farming exp,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s thinking of the Prince,¡± said Mo.


    Lari grimaced. ¡°Ew.¡±


    Kharli sidled over to Mo and playfully elbowed her on the side. ¡°When we grow up, let''s both get a tall, handsome, and rich man to giggle over.¡±


    I turned a blind eye to their antics and continued working. When we finished, we walked over to the rice paddies.


    Now that the rice was nearly ready to harvest, we had to drain the water and remove the carp. I opened the water gates and we settled down to watch over the process to make sure that the [Rice Carp] safely swam down to the [Fish Refuge].


    [Fish Refuge:


    A deeper area in the Rice-fish Culture System that serves as a refuge for the fish in case the water level drops. It can take the form of trenches, ponds, or pits, but trenches are preferred since they also provide the fish with passageways for feeding in the rice field.]


    ¡°As far as I know, using the nets to capture the fish won¡¯t give any exp. Do you want to try using the fishing rods? We might get fishing exp, though I doubt it. It¡¯s worth a try anyway,¡± I said.


    Of course, they wanted to try it, but, as expected, even using the fishing rod didn¡¯t give exp.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. What¡¯s more important is that the rice plants look healthier this time. I hope we get more Farming exp,¡± I said.


    ¡°What a pity the [Cleaner Shrimp] are too small to eat,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Teacher, look that poor fish is flopping around in the mud!¡± Kharli pointed to a carp that hadn¡¯t swum fast enough and was stuck in the too-shallow water.


    ¡°Quick, Kharli, use a net to capture it before it damages the plants,¡± I said. ¡°The rest of us will walk around the perimeter with our nets and look for others like that.¡±


    Lari caught another fish that was also stuck, but that was it. All of the other carp managed to swim to the fish refuge where we scooped them up and put them in large wooden barrels filled with water that Shuye had provided. The clan wanted to buy the live fish from me for use in their own fish ponds.


    Bending down repeatedly to haul up a heavy load of fish was quite tiring. Wiping my forehead with a cotton handkerchief that Yinuo had embroidered with a peony design, I said, ¡°We¡¯re done here. I¡¯m gonna rest for a bit. Someone go back to the house and let them know the barrels are ready.¡±


    Kharli, who was still full of energy, ran off to the house while I spread a picnic blanket and lay down to relax. Lari and Mo continued dipping their nets in the now muddy water to check if there were any left. There were none.


    I got up when Kharli came back with three clan members who picked up the barrels as though they were light as air and carried them to the ox carts that the clan had prepared for transport. The clan members made quick work of loading the barrels and thanked us profusely for the fish which they called ¡°legendary spirit fish¡± even though they were just regular spirit carp.


    Of course, we kept some for ourselves. Deming picked the barrel that he wanted and promised us a wonderful treat for tonight¡¯s dinner.


    To be honest, I much preferred meat to fish, but I was tired and hungry enough to look forward to it.


    That night, as the Demon Chef promised, we had a carp-themed meal.


    Instead of courses being served separately, this time the staff set up a round table full of dishes where we sat around and served each other choice tidbits, as was the custom in family-style meals.


    The hot and sour fish broth was amazingly tangy and refreshing. There was a steamed carp wrapped in lotus leaves made of tender carp meat mingled with fragrant chives, ginger, and a dash of soy sauce, but the others¡¯ favorite dish was the crispy carp with a spicy glaze. I personally preferred the carp in ginger and sesame sauce. Deming waited until we were all finished eating before serving the dessert. Thankfully, it wasn''t fish, but a wonderful ball of fried dough that turned out to have ice cream inside it.


    ¡°What a decadent meal!¡± I leaned back on my chair and put my hands on my stomach, fearing that I had overeaten. ¡°Carp is delicious.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the clans will be successful in adding the carp to their fish ponds?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°I have no idea whatsoever. Fengying told me most of the animals we gave to other farmers to raise are mostly okay¡­¡± The pigs and junglefowl were healthy so far, but half of the chickens had died. The [Lizardwings] must be an exception since all of them were thriving in the desert. ¡°The carp we sold are full-grown. They should be quite hardy.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange that some of your items can be easily grown by others but some frequently die off?¡± asked Kharli. ¡°The clan members have grown a lot of [Dusk Dandelions], but the potato seeds we sold to them never sprouted.¡±


    That was a bit of an exaggeration. The seeds from the fruits and vegetables we ate were sold on the open market, and Shuye told me that, based on the feedback from the buyers, only one in eighty seeds were viable. However, he also said that many families would probably keep it secret if they did manage to grow spirit crops for their own consumption, in order to avoid the additional taxes.


    I shrugged. ¡°Some plants and animals are just more delicate, I guess.¡±


    The staff started clearing the table, and we said our goodnights.


    ***


    I woke up with one thought in my mind. I lifted Mr. Bear and whispered into his ear, ¡°Harvest time.¡±


    Today was the first day of the two-week harvest period, and we were all excited. Everyone woke up before dawn, and by the time I arrived at the tea field, Lari, Kharli, and Mo were already there.


    ¡°Good morning, Teacher!¡± they all said.


    The tea plants under the shade of the canopy stood in orderly rows, vibrant green leaves ready for the harvest. They were now waist-high, the branches densely packed with foliage. Hand-plucking the finest quality tea meant taking only the uppermost leaf bud and the next two leaves. The older, mature leaves were not good enough. Some of the highest quality teas even picked only the topmost new buds!


    ¡°Let¡¯s harvest right before dawn,¡± I said to the others.

 Chapter 147 - Year 2 Spring Harvest

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 147 - Boun-tea-ful harvest</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    They nodded, and Fengying handed us some fluffy white bread rolls and slices of cheese to eat. The soft, sweet cheese from the [Creamery] was a big hit in the household. By the time we finished eating, the sky had lightened and the first rays of the sun were peeking over the horizon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± I tied a bandana around my head to keep my hair from my face and reached out to the plant at the head of a row. The System helpfully made the parts of the stem where I was supposed to pluck glow red to highlight the exact place where I should snap it off. A delicate pinch and a satisfying snap marked my first tea harvest. I dropped the twig onto the basket that Yinuo held out for me.


    The household staff all clapped, and I nodded at my apprentices to start their harvest, too.


    Carefully, I repeated the process, moving along the row without missing any plants. The exp was good, especially with the added Astrology bonus, and I loved how each snap of the stem released a subtle herbal fragrance. The basket gradually filled as the sun rose higher, painting the dawn sky with hues of soft pinks and oranges that cast a soft and gentle glow over the fields of tea, rice, and vegetables. Looking around, I saw that Kharli was already finished with her first row while the other two were almost done with theirs, too.


    ¡°How does it look?¡±


    Yinuo gave the almost full basket to the Demon Chef, who stepped out from under the canopy to see better. He sniffed the leaves and examined them closely before giving his pronouncement. ¡°Fresh green tea leaves, low grade.¡±


    It was exactly as I expected. We would probably only be able to harvest middle-grade crops by next year. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The reason why Deming just called the harvest ¡°tea leaves¡± was because all the different varieties of tea were made from the same plant, and the only difference was in the post-processing and how the farmers plucked the plant. One could pluck only the bud, or the bud and two leaves, or the bud and three leaves, and so forth.


    I was thinking of simply handing over the leaves to be processed in a tea-making town, but Deming strongly suggested that he supervise the other staff in processing the tea leaves. They would spread the leaves out to dry in the sun before being roasted, cooled, and then rolled.


    Well, if my household wanted to go through all that trouble themselves, who was I to stop them?


    The tea field wasn¡¯t that large, so we only had to harvest two rows each. When I was done, I went over to where the others were seated on the grass and showed them my haul, which was two large baskets of leaves. It wasn¡¯t a lot of tea since they would shrink after they were dried, but everyone happily lifted the baskets to their faces and smelled the invigorating scent of our first harvest.


    ¡°Heavenly.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s spirit tea.¡±


    ¡°The scent is making my head swim.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re getting drunk on the scent of tea.¡±


    ¡°Give it back, I want to smell it again.¡±


    My apprentices finished harvesting, too, and we sent most of the staff off with Deming to process the leaves.


    ¡°I have a little bit of energy left. How about you guys?¡± I asked my apprentices.


    All of them only had a tiny fraction of their energy bars remaining, so I gave them bottles of [Kola-Kola Soda] to drink.


    The mushrooms from the Chitinous Caverns seemed to work by making our energy replenish faster, but I didn¡¯t want to risk the kids collapsing from overwork, so I felt it was best to continue harvesting alone.


    ¡°I¡¯m very close to a level! I wish I could harvest more today,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°We¡¯re all close, I think,¡± said Kharli.


    I stretched my back since it was a little stiff from bending down over the plants repeatedly. ¡°I still have some energy left, so I¡¯ll harvest the potatoes today.¡±


    ¡°Fresh potatoes! I hope we can have fried potato chips at lunch today,¡± said Lari.


    We trooped to the potato patch. Unlike the tea plants, the potato plants looked like they were dying, with withered yellow foliage. This was the sign that the tubers were ready.


    I took gardening gloves out from the System toolbox and put them on. ¡°Are you guys watching? Maybe you should go and rest.¡±


    Kharli spoke for all of them when she said, ¡°Teacher, we¡¯d love to watch because harvesting crops is fun!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I knelt in front of the plants and used my spading fork to loosen the soil under them before lifting the potatoes from the ground. ¡°Oh, we got big ones this time!¡±


    The kids crowded around me as I brushed the clods of dirt from the tubers. This time, we didn¡¯t need the Demon Chef to tell us that they were [Alabaster Spirit Potatoes], low grade. We could already identify the more common vegetables from experience.


    ¡°Teacher, are you close to a level?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Yes, three more should do it.¡± I put the potatoes in a basket and continued harvesting more. After the third one, I got the expected System message.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Farming level!]


    [Your Farming level is now 22.]


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    The three of them showered me with praise and congratulations.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you! Settle down, I still have energy left.¡± I chuckled at their enthusiasm and waved them away to give me space to work. They retreated a few paces and I went on harvesting more potatoes until I had half a basket full of them. ¡°That¡¯s it. Ugh, I¡¯m exhausted!¡±


    ¡°Teacher, drink some soda,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I will.¡± I gulped it down like a woman dying from thirst. ¡°That hit the spot! Let¡¯s go to the main house to rest.¡±


    ***


    The next day, we started on the vegetable harvest. The rice plants would be left for last to give them more time to mature.


    ¡°This is different from last year. I know which vegetables to harvest now!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Me, too! I can tell which ones are at their peak. Like this one.¡± Kharli pointed at an eggplant.


    ¡°Yes, so since everyone knows which ones should be harvested today, I¡¯ll let you work on your own. Let¡¯s start.¡± I moved to the potato plants and the others scattered.


    Somehow, digging in the dirt for food was a little more satisfying than plucking leaves. I¡¯m not sure why.


    It was definitely much better than buying vegetables in a grocery store back on Earth, that was for sure!


    I smiled as I harvested the potatoes, thinking of how easy I had it on Earth. I could¡¯ve bought whole sacks of potatoes for very cheap. Heck, I could fill an entire room with food by clicking on the items on a grocery store¡¯s website and ordering a home delivery.


    Humming as I worked, I harvested two sacks of [Alabaster Spirit Potatoes]. They were a humble crop, but I liked them.


    Yinuo followed behind me. She was my maid, and a lady¡¯s maid didn¡¯t have to do this type of farm work, but she said she wanted to help me, and she seemed to enjoy it. I pulled up the potatoes, and she took them to the wheelbarrow.


    I was handing a bunch of potatoes to Yinuo when I heard Mo scream and I saw the System¡¯s fireworks display blooming around her.


    Mo ran to me. ¡°Teacher! I leveled up! Level 16!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± I embraced her and patted her on the back.


    Lari and Kharli rushed over to us and joined the hug. Even Yinuo got in on the group hug action.


    Kharli was the first to break off from the hug. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be next to level up.¡±


    We all reluctantly separated.


    I gave Mo one last pat on the back and said to Kharli, ¡°You¡¯re close?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll level up today. I¡¯ll go get more exp!¡± Kharli smiled and gave Mo another hug before walking back to where she had been harvesting cabbages earlier.


    Lari also went back to work.


    ¡°Mo, shall we celebrate tomorrow? What do you want to eat?¡± I nodded to Yinuo to let her know it would be her task to tell the Demon Chef about it.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I know they¡¯re making cheese egg tarts with strawberries tonight. I don¡¯t want anything else,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Yeah, that sounds delicious, but I¡¯ll ask them to make your favorite red braised pork belly tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡± Mo hugged me again before going back to her part of the vegetable field.


    I continued digging up potatoes. The scent of the damp loam and the feel of my spading fork meeting the soil made me feel a connection to the earth. This was the place where I belonged.


    The morning sun cast a pale light over the field. I looked up from my work and saw rows and rows of plants heavy with fruit and covered with vibrant green foliage. A few were still in flower, scenting the air with their sweet perfume.


    ¡°This is a nice day, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said to Yinuo as I handed her the last of the potatoes.


    ¡°It¡¯s wonderful.¡± She took the plants from me and loaded them onto the wheelbarrow.


    After it was filled, the staff would take the wheelbarrow to the main house for cleaning and storage, setting aside the parts of the plant that were inedible. Those would be used to make [Animal Feed] later.


    The System only harvested the most commonly used parts of the plants. For example, we harvested the fruit of the chili pepper plant using the System, but we could also manually pluck the chili pepper leaves which were delicious to eat. Likewise, the tomato, carrot, garlic, cucumber, pumpkin, etc. plants had edible leaves, too. Deming had told us in advance which parts of the plants were edible and should be set aside. For example, we were told not to try to eat the other parts of the potato except for the tuber itself since the rest of the plant was poisonous.


    Of course, this made me wonder why all plants were suitable for making into feed when some of the parts were poisonous. The System probably detoxified them.


    I went over to the bell peppers. We had planted a lot of them this time since most of us liked to eat them and we had more staff this year. The plants were three to four feet tall and had clusters of red, green, yellow, orange, and purple fruit that ranged from small ones that were around two inches in length to large ones bigger than my closed fist. I wondered why bell peppers were always the same size when I bought them in grocery stores on Earth. What happened to the ones that were too big or too small? I hoped they weren¡¯t thrown away.


    Yinuo came back with a basket, and I placed the bell peppers in it since they were a lot more delicate compared to the potatoes.


    In the past, I kept a lot of the harvest in my inventory, but today all of these vegetables would be sent to the house. Now that my household was living in a [Three-Courtyard House], there was a lot more space for food storage. The larder even had a timestop function which meant that anything stored in it never went bad.


    ¡°Look at this lovely color.¡± I held up a red bell pepper for Yinuo to see. ¡°It¡¯s like an edible ruby.¡±


    Yinuo took the fruit from my hand. ¡°This is probably worth as much as red jade would be.¡±


    ¡°Nah, back when Shuye tried to sell my produce, no one was that interested until I sold rice.¡±


    ¡°That was before, when the merchants didn¡¯t know about your farm.¡±


    ¡°Eh? People know about the farm now? I mean, people in general, not just the clan members I work with.¡±


    Yinuo sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. ¡°My lady, I can assure you that if you sold your vegetables, they would be in high demand.¡±


    ¡°Great! That¡¯s good news.¡± I rubbed my hands in delight. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who needs to earn money for a dowry.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have any trouble with that.¡±


    I laughed and continued harvesting the vegetables.


    A few minutes later, Kharli yelled, ¡°Level 16!¡±


    We all rushed towards her and embraced her.


    After we finished congratulating her, Kharli asked me, ¡°Teacher, can I also have my favorite dish tomorrow?¡±


    Thankfully, I remembered what her favorite dish was. ¡°Twice-cooked pork?¡±


    Kharli smiled mischievously. ¡°No. I mean the Anwei Cooper¡¯s Guild¡¯s famous Four Joy Meatballs!¡±


    Mo screamed wordlessly and playfully shoved Kharli. ¡°You! You! You¡¯re bad. You promised you wouldn¡¯t make fun of me.¡±


    Kharli shoved her back. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Of course, I meant twice-cooked pork.¡±


    Lari shook his head at their antics. ¡°But those meatballs are great.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°You wanna try making them with worms?¡±


    ¡°No worms! Stop it¡­¡± Mo stuck her lower lip out, pretending to be upset. ¡°Teacher, they¡¯re bullying me. I¡¯m sad. Can I have two of my favorite dishes instead of one? I also like lotus seed ginseng pork rib soup.¡±


    ¡°How much pork are you guys planning to eat? Take care or you¡¯ll get a stomachache!¡± I shook my head at their silliness. ¡°We can¡¯t have three pork dishes in one day. Fine, Yinuo, tell the chef to make all of our favorite dishes, but spread out over the week and with a good balance of ingredients.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± said Yinuo.


    My apprentices went back to work, but I was very curious about their shared meatball experience, so I whispered to Yinuo, ¡°I want to try those famous meatballs. Please ask Deming if he knows the recipe. You can secretly bring it to me at the [Ranch House] without the others knowing.¡±


    She nodded and I went back to work. To my surprise, I got two quests.


    [Congratulations, you have harvested 1000 items!]


    [Bonus Quests Available:


    1. Four Joy Meatball Mystery Challenge


    2. Potato Field Mystery Challenge


    Choose One]

 Chapter 148 - Uncovering the secrets hidden beneath the lush potato plants

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 148 - Rice and shine, it''s time for the harvest!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Just one? That was new. Normally, the quests in Adventure Incarnate weren''t choice-locked. Sure, there were options during the quest which were multiple choice, like when the player had to choose between which factions to support, but for quests themselves to be multiple choice was strange.


    What was the System up to?


    Oh well, it was only a bonus quest. Those were easy to do and only gave a small amount of exp anyway. I read the quest descriptions before making my choice.


    [Four Joy Meatball Mystery Challenge:


    Harvest the vegetables needed for the Four Joy Meatballs: garlic, onion, carrot, and sweet potato.


    Give them to the Demon Chef and request a Four Joy Meatball dish.


    Find out what the secret ingredient is.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    That seemed easy enough, but the other quest seemed more interesting.


    [Potato Field Mystery Challenge:


    Uncover the secrets hidden beneath the lush potato plants.


    Dig under the potato field.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    There was something hidden under the potato field?!


    I clicked the [Accept] button right away.


    Who cared about the meatballs when there was a mystery buried under my feet, waiting for me to uncover it?


    Besides, we promised Mo we wouldn¡¯t tease her about the worm meatballs.


    Yellow glowing dots and arrows appeared on the ground behind me when I turned on the map quest guide. Since the mystery item was under it, I went to the spot the System indicated and harvested all the potatoes there until my energy ran out. Then I waved to my apprentices who had also finished their work for the day and said, ¡°Guys, come over here!"


    When they were at the correct spot, I pointed at our feet. ¡°There! Right there is a mystery item. The System told me to dig there.¡±


    ¡°Is it a treasure?¡± Lari took out a shovel from his toolbelt and started enthusiastically digging. The System made the ground soft like tofu, so it was easy.


    Mo and Kharli likewise started shoveling away.


    ¡°What else could it be?¡± Kharli ¡°accidentally¡± covered the other two in dirt.


    ¡°It could be¡­ your mom!¡± Mo swiftly retaliated by shoveling soil on Kharli, but the latter dodged it.


    Kharli smiled triumphantly. ¡°No, it''s your mom.¡±


    Wow, they had ¡°your mom¡± jokes in this world, too?


    We made quick work of the digging and I was the one who found it.


    I motioned for them to move. ¡°Wait. Stand back, my shovel hit something.¡±


    This time I dug more carefully in order to not damage the item, which could be valuable.


    However, I needn¡¯t have worried because what I uncovered was a large, rectangular wooden chest. It was exactly the type of thing one would expect when one thought of a pirate treasure chest, with weathered, brass-bound edges and a heavy, rusted iron padlock securing its mysterious contents. The wood bore the scars of time and was decorated with intricate carvings of fish, dragons, and crabs. It was around two feet in width and six feet long.


    ¡°Help me dig it out, but do it slowly and don¡¯t damage it,¡± I said.


    ¡°I bet it¡¯s full of gold coins,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Ha! I bet it¡¯s full of [Black Soil],¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I bet it''s full of worms,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t look like a coffin,¡± I said.


    The others stopped digging and looked down at the wooden chest.


    Me and my big mouth! Did I just jinx it?


    The kids whispered amongst themselves before turning to Yinuo as one with pleading expressions on their faces.


    My maid got the hint. ¡°My lady, it does appear to be the size of a coffin¡­.¡±


    ¡°No, surely not!¡± It did look like a treasure chest, except somewhat larger and longer than I would have expected.


    ¡°Perhaps we could call a clan member, just in case?¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s necessary?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I threw my hands up in surrender. ¡°Fine, okay, call someone then.¡±


    She left to get a clan member while we continued digging up the chest.


    ¡°That was a joke. I¡¯m sure this isn¡¯t a coffin,¡± I said to my apprentices. Adventure Incarnate was partially developed in China, which meant it was culturally taboo to show skulls or skeletons. ¡°And next time, don¡¯t cover each other in dirt. What will the clan member think?¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Mo shook her braid, trying to get the dirt off it.


    The girls frantically brushed the dirt off each other¡¯s clothes and used their handkerchiefs to clean their faces. Lari also made a desultory effort to clean himself.


    A few minutes later, the clan member appeared. Lari beamed and walked over to greet him right away. They exchanged back slaps and jokes. I¡¯d noticed before that one of Lari¡¯s strengths was his ability to easily befriend people.


    We all exchanged polite bows and the traditional courteous words of welcome.


    ¡°Baroness, I heard you found a dead body?¡± The clan member raised an eyebrow like Spock from Star Trek. He even kind of resembled the USS Enterprise¡¯s first officer, with his pointy ears and sharp features.


    ¡°No, not a corpse. We discovered a secret buried treasure. It¡¯s quite exciting.¡± I nodded at the chest.


    ¡°May I examine it?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    The clan member knelt in front of the item and sniffed it. ¡°I don¡¯t smell a dead body.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful. I¡¯ll open it!¡±


    ¡°Allow me.¡± The clan member ripped off the padlock.


    I tried to play it cool, but my hands trembled as I lifted the lid. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this?¡±


    The others crowded around me and peered at the contents of the treasure chest.


    [Vineheart Fairy House:


    The home of playful guardian fairies. Farmers who can build a harmonious relationship with these spiritual beings will enjoy increased yields and other benefits.


    Status: Inactive]


    Whoa! I knew this item!


    The fairy house was a late-game item for max level players which they received as a reward for selling every crop to their Farm Guide. It was a tiny wooden item that looked like a dollhouse, complete with a pyramidal stand made of white marble veined with swirls of gold and azure and a glass dome to protect it. The dollhouse was in the shape of a tree with vines winding around it, so I guess I could call it a doll treehouse instead.


    ¡°Shall I lift it out of the chest, Lady Violet? The marble looks too heavy for you,¡± said the clan member.


    ¡°Yes, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Shall I carry it to the house?¡±


    ¡°I think it should be fine here.¡±


    They got busy arranging the [Vineheart Fairy House] on level ground. I was going to see if the dollhouse¡¯s roof was detachable when I got another quest notification.


    [Fairy Summoning:


    Activate the Vineheart Fairy House by preparing a proper environment for the forest spirits.


    Plant eight Mini Parasol Trees - 0/8


    Plant three Evening Primrose Plants - 0/3


    Place nine Spell Stones - 0/9


    Reward: Magic Exp]


    Magic exp! Quests that give magic exp were few and I was amazed that the requirement for this one was simply to plant the trees, not to grow mature ones. I checked my combat stats.


    [Violet


    Level 42


    HP: 4,200/4,200


    MP: 35/35


    Strength: 30/99


    Attack: 31/99


    Archery: 42/99


    Magic: 3/99]


    My magic level had been neglected in favor of Melee and Archery. I had been training it via Herblaw spells, but it was slow going, so it was a relief that I had a quest that might let me level it up faster. Since the [Vineheart Fairy House] was a high-level item, the quest reward should be substantial.


    The [Mini Parasol Trees] were a special decorative quest item that one could get from the village on Peach Blossom Isle for five silver taels. Since I had a boat, it should be easy enough for me to sail there once the harvest and planting seasons were over. The evening primrose plants could be bought in Anwei. I mentally jotted down a reminder to myself to ask Fengying to order some when I was violently jolted out of my thoughts by the grating sound of glass scraping across a marble surface.


    ¡°Oh, my ears! Please stop rotating that.¡± Kharli moved Mo¡¯s hands away from the glass dome.


    ¡°Sorry, I just wanted to see if that would activate it.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯ve changed my mind. Would you mind moving it to the house? I think it will be in the way if we keep it here,¡± I said to the clan member.


    We followed behind the clan member who easily carried the bulky marble stand. Mo insisted on carrying the glass dome while Kharli took charge of the dollhouse. Once we got to the house, Fengying offered us refreshments and sent off the clan member with our effusive thanks and a small cotton bag of tea. I anticipated his refusal given the clan''s tradition of refraining from both human food and drink. However, it appeared that spirit tea was regarded as a special herb exempt from these precepts.


    We placed the new item in the middle of the outer courtyard where all of the staff marveled at both the clear glass dome and dollhouse.


    ¡°It''s very cute, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said to my apprentices.


    The one side of the [Vineheart Fairy House] could be swung open to allow a view of the interior. Everything was glued quite firmly in its place, and the furniture was exceedingly detailed.


    ¡°Look, the tiny little kitchen has a cupboard with tiny little wooden food items! They look so real,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°The bookshelf even has books in them. I can read the titles. They¡¯re storybooks about fairies. ¡± Kharli tried to remove the books, but they were stuck inside the bookcase.


    One of the maids chimed in, "Oh my, even though these chairs and tables are minuscule, I can see the details of the flower carvings. Who could have made this?¡±


    ¡°This wardrobe door opens and there are lots of fancy clothes inside,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Is it magic?¡± asked Haoran.


    ¡°Should we make some dolls that will fit inside?¡± Yinuo wondered.


    I let them play around for a while before reminding the kids to go and soak in the hot spring facility to restore their energy. ¡°The dollhouse will still be here after you bathe and rest.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± they chorused.


    I asked Fengying to order the flowers for me and instructed the staff to cover the dollhouse with the glass dome when the household retired for the night. Then I let them be and returned to my [Ranch House] for the day.


    During the next few days, we harvested the vegetables and my apprentices and I leveled up. My household eventually got bored of playing with the [Vineheart Fairy House], but not until I took out three different dollhouses from the Cash Shop. They particularly liked the colorful [Fantasy Dollhouse] which was four feet tall, with three levels, three child dolls, and five pet figurines of a dog, cat, sheep, rabbit, and turtle. Crucially, the dolls, furniture, and other items in the [Fantasy Dollhouse] could be removed and played with, unlike the ones in the [Vineheart Fairy House].


    Nonetheless, no one forgot about the treasure we had dug up.


    ¡°Teacher, why does the item¡¯s System info say ¡®Status: Inactive¡¯?¡± asked Kharli.


    We had just finished harvesting the last of the vegetables and stood in the storage room which was packed full.


    ¡°It means I have to do something to activate it. When we¡¯re done planting the summer crops, I¡¯ll go to Peach Blossom Isle for the items I need. But first, let¡¯s discuss the harvest,¡± I said. I waved an arm at the bounty before us. ¡°The chef says we have more than enough food for the summer and autumn season. I¡¯m thinking of planting only rice and tea next time.¡±


    ¡°No vegetables?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°No vegetables. There¡¯s no point in growing more than we need. I¡¯d rather sell rice and tea which are more in demand.¡± I picked up an eggplant and admired its plumpness and deep purple, almost black color. It would remain fresh as long as it stayed inside the storage room. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    We all agreed that if the chef said we had enough, it meant we should focus on selling rice and tea.


    ¡°Okay, get some rest today and sleep early. Tomorrow, we will harvest the rice.¡±


    We said our goodbyes, and I went to play with Cutie. In the middle of us playing fetch with a sand-filled ball, I felt the ground convulse beneath my feet, sending shockwaves through the earth.

 Chapter 149 - The Aftermath of the Earthquake

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 149 - I''m the heroine, not a grain-stander</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    It was the earthquake event! This probably meant that the mountain pass was now open, and I could access Cypress Town, which was a magical place full of immortals¡­


    Or, rather, their ghosts!


    Shivering at the thought of seeing a bunch of ghosts in real life, I waited until the earthquake subsided before going back to playing with my slime pet.


    ¡°Good girl!" I petted Cutie on the top of her head. She was now proficient in forming appendages that she could use to pick up objects.


    ¡°Chu!¡± Cutie extruded another slime ¡°arm¡± and used it to hold my hand and rub it against her head until she was satisfied. ¡°Chuuuuu.¡±


    Maybe I should bring Cutie with me when I visit the ghost town. Her cuteness might help me deal with the scary stuff.


    ¡°Lady Violet!¡±


    I saw Yinuo running towards me with a worried look on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯m here. I¡¯m fine,¡± I said.


    ¡°My lady, I was worried you might have been frightened by the White Tiger¡¯s rumblings.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, the earthquake. Yeah, it was a little alarming, but there¡¯s no harm done. Was anything in the house broken?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it was only a few pots with nothing important inside. We lost some flour and pickles.¡± Yinuo smiled mischievously. ¡°The wine is all safe. That was the first thing the men checked!¡±


    ¡°And my apprentices?¡±


    ¡°All unhurt.¡±


    ¡°Great. How is your search for a husband, by the way?¡± I picked Cutie up and started walking back to her [Slime House].


    ¡°The first matchmaker I went to refused to take me on as a client because she said I was too old. I know I¡¯m twenty-eight, that¡¯s why I¡¯m spending a lot of money on a matchmaker!¡± Yinuo¡¯s voice rose in indignation. ¡°The second and third ones¡¯ fees were too much. The fourth agreed, but¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°She said I should give up on finding a handsome husband!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?! Why would a matchmaker say that?¡± I gave her a horrified look.


    ¡°She told me that other qualities were more important.¡±


    ¡°Well, to be fair, I guess they are. Personality is very important.¡±


    Yinuo rolled her eyes. ¡°I told all the matchmakers I don¡¯t need someone who has money since I¡¯m working for you. All I want is a husband to work with me here.¡±


    I gave her the thumbs up. ¡°Yes, Fengying has been complaining that we need more staff. We could definitely use a footman or two.¡±


    ¡°So I stood firm on wanting a handsome man. He doesn¡¯t have to be a world-class beauty.¡± Yinuo raised both her hands to the heavens in a pleading gesture towards fate or whoever might be listening. ¡°Just someone decently attractive. I¡¯ll be meeting two people after the planting season.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°But I can tell from what the matchmaker told me that they¡¯re not good-looking. ¡®They¡¯re both nice people¡¯ is what she said when I asked her what they looked like.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, you never know, you might like them when you meet them.¡±


    Yinuo sighed. ¡°I hope so. This is taking a lot of time and money¡­¡±


    I commiserated with her and tried not to act smug about my situation. It was nice to have a handsome boyfriend, even if we did have a long-distance relationship right now.


    Once I got Cutie settled in her house, Yinuo and I went to the outer courtyard which was in chaos as everyone was running here and there checking on all the rooms to see if anything might fall if there was an aftershock. The things on the shelves and tables were all put down on the floor.


    Not wanting to add to the hullabaloo, I left after making a plausible excuse. ¡°It looks like Fengying has everything in control here. I¡¯ll check my [Ranch House].¡±


    I went to my house and tidied up as I thought about the pros and cons of going to the mountain pass. My place was mostly unscathed by the earthquake. A few things had broken when they fell off the kitchen shelves, but it was easy for me to drag and drop the items into the System trash can.


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    On the one hand, I was very fond of the cute jewelry the player got from Cypress town.


    On the other hand, how scary were the ghosts likely to be?


    I decided to focus on farming for now and go to the town when Prince Baiyu returned, which was likely to take some time, unfortunately. He had sent a letter to me saying that his mother had taken one of the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pills and was with child. This was a top-secret piece of information since it was very early in her pregnancy. He was unable to come and visit me since he feared upsetting her since folk beliefs said that emotional distress could cause a miscarriage.


    He didn¡¯t say so directly, but the fact that he wrote that his coming to live with me might cause emotional distress obviously meant the Lady of the West was not in favor of further progressing our relationship. Prince Baiyu did promise that he would at least visit ¡°soon¡± though he didn¡¯t name a specific date.


    These thoughts made me feel a little depressed though he did say that his father, Lord Yulin, was on his side and had hired an expert marital tutor to instruct Prince Baiyu on how to become a good husband to a human.


    I wanted to see him soon to tease him about the lessons. Was the tutoring structured like university classes back on Earth? I smiled at the thought of Prince Baiyu going to a lecture on ¡°Love Languages 101¡± or ¡°Financial Partnership Strategies¡±.


    Thinking of Prince Baiyu¡¯s letter reminded me that I should let Shuye know that the farm was okay after the earthquake, so I quickly wrote a short note to reassure him that everything was fine, then I spent the day resting and planning my next moves.


    ***


    The following morning, I woke up bright and early and greeted the dawn with my apprentices at the westernmost rice paddy.


    ¡°Rice day is the best day!¡± I hugged everyone. ¡°We¡¯re gonna get so much exp.¡±


    It was nearly summer but the air was still cool. In the rice paddy which had been drained of water, the mature plants stood tall, their slender stalks swaying gently in the breeze. Each plant bore an abundance of heavy, golden-hued grains, hanging in dense clusters, that promised our biggest rice harvest ever. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of ripe rice. The rhythmic rustling of leaves brushing against one another was pleasant to the ear. I put a hand on my chest, overcome by a feeling of quiet contentment and belonging.


    Mo took my other hand in hers, and in that moment I could see in her eyes that we were both filled with the same emotion. We shared a moment of silent communication before the household staff arrived.


    ¡°Good morning, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Good morning!¡± I greeted everyone. They were all here to watch the first rice harvest of the year and had brought food and drinks with them.


    We ate toast with herbed butter and soft, sweet cheese, along with some demon pork sausages, washed down with either water or tea. I stood on the sidelines as Deming and his assistants walked around the perimeter of the field waving a bundle of flaming herbs while praying. The smoke from the burning leaves was supposed to spiritually purify the rice.


    I thought it was weird that they were doing this now when they had ignored it before, but Fengying explained that they simply hadn¡¯t known what ritual to perform seeing as my farm was different from others. Now that they had consulted some wise women, they appeared confident that these prayers would help.


    I figured there was no harm in keeping the staff happy, so I permitted them to conduct the ritual.


    They completed circling the field and bowed to us before going to the other rice field. We had three of them. The biggest one was for the white rice and two smaller ones for the purple and red rice varieties.


    ¡°Guys, shall we start?¡± I said to my apprentices.


    ¡°Yes! I love rice!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± Mo scampered off to the far side of the field.


    The rest of us scattered. I also went to the other side since I didn¡¯t want to work with the rest of the household watching my every move. Yinuo followed behind me though I¡¯d told her earlier that I wouldn¡¯t need her help since I would be using the System¡¯s automatic harvest mode.


    I bent down to touch the rice panicles. They were the only thing we needed, but the System would uproot the entire plant for me automatically. I mentally clicked on the empty sacks in my inventory and took out a sickle which I then swung at a rice plant. The nearest plants disappeared, and a sack of rice and a pile of crop residues appeared in two previously empty spaces in my inventory. The crop residues, meaning the rest of the rice plant excluding the rice grains, could be used for various purposes, but we used them in making [Animal Feed].


    My energy bar was partially drained.


    Manual harvesting was much more satisfying but also much more physically tiring. The vegetables were pretty okay to harvest by hand, but rice was a different matter. I didn''t want my household staff to have to do all of the threshing, winnowing, drying, etc. when I could separate the grains from the plant myself quite easily.


    Of course, before the rice grains could be eaten they had to be milled. This time, however, the clans had requested rice seedlings and unmilled seed rice for planting instead of milled rice for eating because they wanted to try growing their own spirit rice.


    I continued swinging my sickle until I ran out of energy. The System did all the work and I didn¡¯t feel tired at all though my energy bar indicated that I was running out of energy very quickly. After only a few minutes, I was out of energy.


    ¡°I¡¯m done. Let¡¯s go to the ox carts,¡± I said to Yinuo.


    My apprentices waved at me and pointed in the direction of the house. It seems that none of us had leveled up today. We all started walking back to the house where we put the sacks of rice in the carts for the clan members to transport to Shuye¡¯s warehouse.


    As usual, the Demon Chef identified our crop as [Miracle Pearl Rice], low grade.


    Lari opened a sack and took out a handful of the grains. The short-grained rice was a light brown color since they still had their husk, and were slightly rough to the touch. I picked up a single grain and peeled off the outer layer, revealing a smooth brown rice grain with a subtle pearlescent sheen. This was what white rice looked like before the brown rice bran was polished off the grain. I¡¯d tried to convince my household staff to switch to brown rice, which had more nutrients and fiber compared to white rice which had the bran removed, but I was mostly unsuccessful. Everyone still liked fluffy white rice rather than the chewier brown or red rice.


    ¡°Teacher, no one leveled up today,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you guys are close, right?¡± I smiled when they all nodded. ¡°Me, too. I think tomorrow all of us will level up!¡±

 Chapter 150 - Sailing on a [Viking Longship]

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 150 - Turtley awesome journey</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    That night, I dreamed of finding a log cabin with my dragon child. When I asked him if he wanted to go on a quest with me to the Cypress town, he was willing to go until I told him about the ghosts. He hated the idea of us going to a place full of dead people and made me promise I would stay away.


    He couldn¡¯t pronounce the word ¡°ghosts,¡± so he kept on repeating, ¡°No goes, no goes!¡±


    I woke up with a strong feeling of contentment as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, grateful for the decision not to venture to the Cypress town. Who cared about the tiny amount of extra exp the quest would give me when I had a 20% bonus from Astrology?


    ¡°Say no to ghosts!¡± I said to Cutie as we ventured into the portal to the Mines. ¡°Let¡¯s enjoy life and forget doing the creepy quests.¡±


    I knew that a lot of my friends from Adventure Incarnate would¡¯ve made a different decision, especially GodIAm, but I was never a completionist. I only liked to play the fun parts of the game and never managed to complete all of the quests or obtain all the items.


    The [Mini Hydroponic Farm] wasn¡¯t ready for harvesting yet, so I had to content myself with picking mushrooms from the [Mushroom Cave] instead. Then I played with the slimes for a few minutes before returning to my house in high spirits.


    This time, I didn¡¯t bother to put Cutie back in the [Slime House]. The others were used to her presence by now, so I brought her with me to breakfast.


    ¡°Oh my gosh, is the chef going to break through to another level again?¡± I said as soon as I entered the outer courtyard and smelled the food.


    The table was full of serving dishes and my mouth watered when Fengying pointed at each one and told me what they were. I sat down and ate chicken with bird¡¯s nest and pine nuts, succulent roast duck with plum sauce, wild herb salad, spinach stir-fried with chicken, steamed rice with lotus roots, and fluffy buns filled with savory minced pumpkin and pork. Dessert was fresh plantains in sugar syrup.


    It was extremely heavy for breakfast, but Fengying said one of her husband¡¯s most promising assistants had had a burst of inspiration. It might have been harmful to his cultivation to stop him, which is why we had all these fancy dishes.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never had chicken with bird¡¯s nest and pine nuts. I like it!¡± I gave her the thumbs up, forgetting that it was a rude gesture here, then awkwardly hid my hands under the table when I remembered.


    Fengying covered her mouth with a hand to hide her smile and bowed.


    ¡°Teacher, have some more of the buns, they¡¯re great.¡± Lari offered me the last bun.


    I waved it away. ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯m full.¡±


    After we finished breakfast, I almost fell into a food coma, but I was able to resist the urge to lie down and rest. We harvested more of the white rice.


    The next few days, we kept on harvesting the rice and leveled up once more.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 22¡ú24, Fishing Level 12, Woodcutting Level 20¡ú22, Cooking Level 5¡ú6, Herblaw Level 16¡ú22, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 7, Mining Level 4]


    My apprentices also leveled up Farming and Woodcutting, but not the other skills in the Farming tab since we had been hyper-focused on Smithing and Fletching arrows this entire spring season.


    [Apprentice Name: Kharli


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 16¡ú18, Fishing Level 6, Woodcutting Level 11¡ú16, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 5]


    [Apprentice Name: Lari


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 16¡ú18, Fishing Level 10, Woodcutting Level 10¡ú16, Cooking Level 1, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 4, Hunting Level 9]


    [Apprentice Name: Mo


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 16¡ú18, Fishing Level 4, Woodcutting Level 11¡ú17, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 11, Hunting Level 4]


    I looked down at a lone rice plant. ¡°This is the last of it¡­¡±


    ¡°The rice looks heavy.¡± Kharli straightened the stalk that was bent under the weight of the rice and then let it droop down again. ¡°Feel this. The rice is heavy like gold!¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Lari crouched down to check it. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Mo and I also examined the plant. Kharli was exaggerating. Though the rice was heavier than normal, it definitely wasn¡¯t the same weight as gold.


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    ¡°Okay, I shall do the honors.¡± I took out my sickle and swung it at the plant, using the System¡¯s automatic mode.


    The others clapped.


    I bowed deeply like an actor on stage making his curtain call. ¡°Thank you! Thank you! The banquet will be delayed until after the end of the planting season, but I do have a special treat for everyone. Let¡¯s go on a magical journey by boat!¡±


    ¡°Magical?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, where will we go?¡±


    ¡°Do we need to pack?¡±


    I laughed at their enthusiastic reaction. ¡°I just want to test the ship¡¯s maximum speed. We¡¯ll go out to sea and come back.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯ll go Fishing?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Of course!¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go get a packed lunch.¡±


    I had already sent word to Shuye''s people that I was going on a little trip, but didn''t need any guards this time. I simply had to tell them the exact route I was going to take until I went out to sea. They were treating my magical ships like airplanes, asking for a sailing plan just like pilots file flight plans.


    ¡°If we go on land, I want to go Foraging,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Sorry, we probably won¡¯t go Foraging on land,¡± I said.


    Fengying met us at the main house and gave us food, drinks, and spare clothing. We changed into sturdier pants and robes, and I got Cutie from her house.


    I picked her up and petted her. ¡°Cutie, baby, we¡¯re going on your first adventure!¡±


    She had no idea what I was talking about but could probably tell from my tone of voice that I was excited. ¡°Chu.¡±


    ¡°Onwards, my crew!¡± I pointed in the direction of the river that ran across the southern portion of the farm. There I took out a [Viking Longship] from the Cash Shop. ¡°Fold your sleeves and trousers up, it¡¯s time for an adventure.¡±


    [Viking Longship:


    A long and sleek wooden ship with a dragon design, it features a single mast that supports a square sail. Suitable for fast river and sea travel.]


    Unlike the traditional Chinese ship I had used before, this one was built for speed, not comfort. It had no cabins or any other amenities. It was modeled after a Viking warship, with a red and black dragon-headed prow that looked quite fierce. Long, sweeping oars extend from the sides, with pairs of benches placed for the rowers.


    Lari was the first to board. ¡°It¡¯s a rowboat? Teacher, do we have to row?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°No, the System will take care of it.¡±


    Lari sat down on the middle bench. ¡°The other ship was grander.¡±


    ¡°Move over to the other bench, we need to balance it out symmetrically. Two people per bench.¡± Thanking the System for my waterproof boots, I boarded, the boat swaying alarmingly as I spread my arms out and struggled to balance myself before gingerly sitting down.


    The others sat down on the benches based on weight, with Lari and I diagonally positioned, and Kharli beside me. Mo was beside Lari. Cutie was in the middle. She only bounced a little, but each movement made the boat sway from side to side.


    ¡°Oh dear, I think I had better put Cutie back in her house. What do you think?¡± I asked the others.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Lari volunteered.


    ¡°Really? Thank you!¡± I handed my pet to him, and he ran back to the house with Cutie in his arms.


    While we waited for him to return, I took out the trade goods I had asked Fengying to prepare beforehand, and Kharli and Mo helped me securely arrange them on the boat.


    ¡°Freshly butchered pigs?¡± Kharli used the rope I gave her to lash them together.


    Mo peered into a sack before carefully placing it behind her. ¡°Teacher, why are we bringing three legs of ham? I thought we were fishing.¡±


    ¡°Yep, we¡¯ll be fishing. This is bait for a big sea turtle.¡± Well, it was actually for the people with the turtle, but I wanted to surprise them. I couldn¡¯t wait to see the expressions on their faces when they saw Peach Blossom Isle for the first time.


    ¡°Teacher, I thought you never ate turtles,¡± said Kharli. ¡°You threw the ones we fished back into the sea.¡±


    ¡°Correct. I do not eat turtles, and neither should you.¡± The sun was shining quite brightly in a clear blue sky, so I put on big sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat that I tied under my chin with a ribbon. I patted Mr. Bear who was attached to my belt with velcro.


    We waited patiently until Lari returned alone and settled down on his spot on the boat.


    ¡°Put your hats on and roll your sleeves and pants back down. I don¡¯t want anyone to get sunburned,¡± I said.


    They did as I told them to, and I used the System map to choose our destination.


    ¡°Hang on to your hats. We¡¯re off!¡± I mentally clicked on the [Start] button. ¡°I¡¯ll use the slowest speed setting and gradually turn it up.¡±


    We had traveled by boat before, but this time the boat was much smaller and we were closer to the water. The [Viking Longship] moved swiftly and gracefully through the gentle currents of the river, carving a smooth path as it navigated the waterway. The oars stayed motionless.


    ¡°Oh, this is nice. I love the breeze.¡± I smiled at the way the wind lifted the hair from the back of my neck.


    Gradually, the [Viking Longship] picked up speed, its prow cutting through the water with increased vigor as I turned up the settings. The lovely riverside scenery, with willow trees gracefully dipping their branches, white birch trees standing sentinel, stately sycamore trees, and other flora started to meld into a vibrant blur of colors.


    ¡°It¡¯s fast!¡± Kharli looked a little green.


    Was she seasick? The boat was moving up and down in a rather nauseating way. I turned the speed down to medium, and Kharli heaved a sigh of relief.


    I waited fifteen minutes or so for us to get used to the boat¡¯s motion before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s try going a little faster again, okay?¡±


    The others nodded, and this time I took my time increasing the velocity.


    ¡°Look, is that the sea?¡± Kharli regained her normal cheerfulness and pointed at the wide blue expanse in front of us.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mo took Kharli¡¯s hand and squeezed it.


    I slowed the boat down to let us enjoy the moment as we burst out of the river and into the sea. The transition was like stepping into a vast, sunlit embrace. The sea stretched endlessly in front of us, its sparkling surface gently undulating. The warm breeze set my heart aflame with the scent of salt and adventure. We drifted forward, the sail billowing above us. The sound of its flapping was loud yet oddly soothing.


    Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes in contentment. ¡°This must be why sailors love the sea.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, may I?¡± asked Lari.


    When I opened my eyes, I saw that he had a [Cast Net] in his hands. I nodded, and he stood and threw it in a circular motion on the right side of the boat while holding onto the handline. The small weights attached to the edge made the net sink down into the water.


    ¡°How did you know how to use that?¡± Mo frowned.


    I could tell from her expression she was using the System¡¯s text-to-speech function to read the Fishing tab.


    ¡°It¡¯s a net, what else could you do with it?¡± Lari held on to the handline and peered into the water.


    Though I couldn¡¯t see it myself, I knew that the System had sent him a popup informing him that the net was full when he pulled on the line to bring the net up.


    Seeing that the net was full, I saluted Lari. ¡°Nice catch!¡±


    The net and fish vanished into Lari¡¯s inventory. ¡°Thank you, Teacher. My energy is almost gone though¡­¡±


    I smiled. ¡°We harvested crops today, so there¡¯s no helping that we haven¡¯t got a lot of energy left. Today is just a trial anyway. Let¡¯s continue sailing, okay?¡±


    They all agreed, and we set off into the wide blue yonder. I could hardly believe my luck when we caught sight of Peach Blossom Isle less than half an hour later.


    Kharli screamed and Mo jumped to her, nearly capsizing us with her swift and forceful movement. I hurriedly took Mo¡¯s place on her side of the bench to keep the boat¡¯s balance while the two girls embraced and stared fearfully at the sight in front of us.


    Lari¡¯s face was white as he pointed a trembling finger at the source of their alarm. ¡°That-that-¡±

 Chapter 151 - The Mythical Peach Blossom Isle

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 151 - Peach and harmony go hand</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it cute? That¡¯s where we¡¯re headed!¡± I turned down the boat¡¯s speed to the lowest setting and then allowed it to drift with the waves when we reached a spot a mile in front of the giant sea turtle. ¡°No more screaming. We¡¯ll wait here until someone from the island sails out to greet us.¡±


    Lari gripped the side of the boat with white-knuckled hands and kept his voice down to a whisper. ¡°It- it¡¯s looking at us¡­¡±


    [Archelon:


    A giant sea turtle with a leathery carapace and large flippers. She bears a human village on her back. When half-submerged, the earth she carries on her shell looks like an island.]


    Archelon tracked us with her beady, black eyes that resembled vast, dark oceans. The nearest foreflipper waved at us cheerily, and she even turned to face us when our boat drifted away.


    I waved back. ¡°Hey, she seems friendly. Use the System to examine her.¡±


    Though in Adventure Incarnate, the mystical turtle was a cute cartoon animal, here she was very, very realistic-looking, and I could understand why the kids were scared. Her mouth could swallow ten ships whole. Her wrinkled, leathery skin, weathered by centuries of sea and underwater travel, was covered in barnacles and algae. As the turtle loomed before us, we could see that there were trees growing on her colossal shell.


    Nothing happened for almost an hour, and the kids relaxed.


    ¡°I can see trees on her back,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lean too far out, you¡¯ll fall into the water,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Are we going to throw the meat into the water for her to eat?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Nope. It¡¯s for the people who will be coming to get us. Remember to be polite and respectful.¡± I gave them packets of our spirit tea. ¡°Use these if someone offers you a gift. Isn¡¯t this exciting?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of an island like this, but this is incredible.¡± Lari started pulling random things out of his inventory. ¡°Teacher, are we allowed to trade for things?¡±


    I eyed the assortment of trinket boxes, porcelain tea cups, silver spoons, and wooden carvings. ¡°Sure, why not?¡±


    Mo and Kharli also started retrieving handkerchiefs, fans, bead bracelets, and hair decorations from their inventory.


    ¡°Maybe they have some mythical items or herbs.¡± Mo suddenly looked excited.


    Lari gave the turtle a thoughtful look before turning to me and saying, ¡°Teacher, can I have some money now? You were going to give us some coins after the planting season, right?¡±


    I laughed and gave them three silver coins each. ¡°Fine, but you won¡¯t get a shopping trip to Anwei later.¡±


    They all accepted the coins and thanked me profusely. It took another half hour before we sighted a small canoe with three young men on it.


    ¡°Hello there! Are you here to visit Peach Blossom Isle?¡± asked the man in the middle when they were close enough for us to hear them.


    The three men were in their mid-to-late twenties, and their hair and eyes were dark brown. We got quite an eyeful of golden brown skin because the only thing they were wearing were short wraparound skirts like a sarong.


    ¡°Yes, we are!¡± I waited while they rowed until they were alongside our boat and then pointed at my cargo. ¡°I brought some meat as gifts.¡±


    They were all smiles then and instructed us to follow after their boat. Archelon waved her flippers at us one last time as we sailed out of her sight. On her side was a small pebble beach shaded by palm trees. A small crowd of people were waiting for us there. Lari¡¯s face turned red as a tomato when he saw that there were women in short skirts and scanty tops, too.


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    I smiled when I read the System information about the island.


    [Peach Blossom Isle:


    A mysterious island known as the place where the Assembly of Immortals took place, in which the 88 Sages and 888 Kings of the Dawn Age issued the Ascension Edict. Secluded from the world for over 10,000 years, the location of the fabled Peach Blossom Isle cannot be found on any map.]


    Peach Blossom Isle, though it was carried on the back of the great turtle Archelon who liked to swim around, was easy for me to find since it was on the System map. As for the Assembly of Immortals, I wouldn¡¯t have known about it from Adventure Incarnate, but due to buying fiction novels in this world, I had read about it before. That was a legendary gathering where the most powerful children of the gods decided to leave this mortal plane and ascend, which explained why there were no longer any powerful demigods around.


    The men on the canoe got out and carried their vessel up the beach, and the crowd parted to let them put their canoe down among the trees. The kids and I rolled up our trousers once again and took off our shoes to disembark. A few people went forward to help us unload the hams and pigs. Then I put the boat away.


    The people watching gasped when the [Viking Longship] disappeared. We were inundated with questions.


    ¡°Where are you from?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re from the Ancient Hill Forest.¡±


    ¡°How did the boat disappear? Are you a witch?¡±


    ¡°I have a bloodline inheritance.¡±


    ¡°How did you find us?¡±


    ¡°I just saw the island.¡±


    ¡°How long are you staying?¡±


    ¡°A few hours.¡±


    The men who had unloaded our cargo came back and shooed away the onlookers.


    ¡°Let them through. Let them through! I¡¯m taking them to the chief,¡± said a young man wearing a brightly patterned sarong. Like everyone else, he had a thin, wiry build and radiated good health from the top of his head down to his bare feet.


    Along the beachfront were small wooden huts which seemed to be for the fishermen and canoe makers, since I saw fishing nets and half-finished canoes nearby. As we walked further away from the beach, I saw bigger houses with stone foundations, wooden walls, and roofs thatched with grass and leaves. The village was very neat, with straight paths cutting through tiny but well-maintained gardens filled with vibrant tropical flowers. Vivid tropical flowers like hibiscus, pretty anthuriums, and white jasmine predominated.


    The weather was pleasingly hot, with a cool wind blowing from the sea. I took a deep breath of air and smiled at the people who were lining the path towards the biggest house in the center of the village. Everyone was beaming, and the kids ran here and there, chattering excitedly about the upcoming feast.


    Inside the chief¡¯s house, an old lady with a lined face and long, white hair greeted us. Her clothes were woven with an intricate pattern, and, unlike the others, she was wearing a full dress with a high neck, long sleeves, and a wide skirt that went down to her ankles. Perhaps the more clothing a person wore, the more distinguished they were.


    Two middle-aged women sat on either side of her. They were dressed in similar clothes, but their sleeves were shorter and their skirts were not as full as the chief¡¯s.


    We sat down on wooden stools while young ladies arrived and served us peach-infused water in clay cups. Like the rest of the villagers, they were wearing short skirts and sleeveless crop tops. Three of them sat down on the wooden floor and used palm fans to cool the air around us.


    Lari kept his eyes on the ground, unable to look at the young women who were scantily-clad compared to the people of the Westerlands.


    We exchanged introductions, though I was told that the villagers¡¯ names were not for outsiders to know. Therefore, we should just call people by their titles or nicknames. The chief, for example, was to be called ¡°the chief¡± and her children were ¡°the chief¡¯s youngest¡± or ¡°the chief¡¯s second son.¡±


    We drank the tea and I complimented the chief on the beauty of the island and the tidiness of her house before going straight to the point. ¡°I hope the day finds you well and prosperous. I¡¯ve come from the nearby Westerlands to trade with your people. We¡¯ve brought you some meat as a gift, and we can pay for the local products with silver.¡±


    The chief¡¯s smile made her face crease and her eyes twinkle. ¡°And I thought you were here in answer to my prayers.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡±


    ¡°Can you help us with a small problem?¡±


    Her words made a System notification pop up.


    [Quest Available: Recover the Sacred Offering Bowl]


    I quickly read the quest information and then clicked the [Accept] button. ¡°Sure, I would be glad to help.¡±


    [Recover the Sacred Offering Bowl:


    Find the Sacred Offering Bowl that the chief¡¯s youngest grandson dropped in the Enchanted River.


    Sacred Offering Bowl: 0/1


    ???: 0/1


    ???: 0/1


    Rewards:


    1. Eight Mini Parasol Trees


    2. ???]


    The chief chuckled. ¡°Wonderful! You must be the answer to my prayers. How good a swimmer are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ okay at it.¡± I mean, I could swim fairly well, though I wasn¡¯t world-class or anything.


    ¡°My naughty little grandson took the Sacred Offering Bowl from the temple and dropped it in the Enchanted River. We are forbidden to swim there, so we would be in your debt if you could get it back.¡±


    That sounded easy enough. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    The chief nodded at one of the young women who went out of the house and quickly returned with a large cloth sack.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have something here that can help you.¡± The chief opened the sack and took out a familiar object.


    No way! Why did the chief have a Cash Shop item?

 Chapter 152 - Is this a scam quest?

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 152 - For exp growth and peach-sperity</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The chief showed us the transparent bowl. ¡°This is a magical item that we found washed up on our beach one day.¡±


    [Diving Helmet:


    Going on an exciting adventure under the sea? Use this item to enable you to breathe underwater.]


    In Adventure Incarnate, the helmet was a novelty fashion item given away during a summer event. It had no actual use in the game, but in this world, I was able to use it to escape from a sticky situation in the Chitinous Caverns. I couldn¡¯t believe that I would have to wear that fish bowl-looking thing on my head again.


    The lady to the chief¡¯s right showed us the [Diving Helmet¡¯s] features. There was a button to tighten the neck ring to seal the helmet, and a small red doohickey at the top of the device replenished the air when it was fed with [Spell Stones], or spirit stones as they called it here.


    I tried it on. ¡°Does this make me look fat?¡±


    Everyone laughed, especially the chief who burst into riotous laughter, slapping her thighs and doubling over in sheer amusement. I thought my joke was pretty lame, but it seemed this was a very appreciative audience, maybe they didn¡¯t get out much.


    The chief, her attendants, and dozens of villagers both young and old went to accompany me and my apprentices to the river. We made a colorful procession to the Enchanted River as Kharli and Mo walked beside me, giggling at the handsome village youths, while Lari, his face still red as a tomato, hid behind them. Along the way, we passed the famous Peach Blossom Forest. Hundreds of trees were covered in thousands of delicate pink and white blossoms that scented the air with an intoxicating fragrance.


    One of the young men, who was introduced to us as the chief¡¯s eldest grandson, acted as my tour guide. He was a foot taller than me and had long black hair down to his waist that was intricately braided and decorated with painted wooden and glass beads.


    ¡°It¡¯s so lovely! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m here.¡± I bent to pick up a fallen peach blossom and marveled at its perfect symmetry and exquisite color.


    The chief¡¯s grandson smiled, showing a flash of pearly white teeth. ¡°The Great Turtle rarely allows strangers to approach her. Do you happen to have a mysterious ancestry?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an orphan¡­¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t know who your parents are?¡± He and the other villagers who were listening in to our conversation nodded their heads. ¡°A lot of the youths who live here like to explore the world before returning, often with spouses or the families they formed outside the island. Could your parents¡­?¡±


    The villagers looked at me up and down and voiced their opinions.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s too pale.¡±


    ¡°Maybe one of her grandparents was from here.¡±


    ¡°We have a family that used to have blue eyes three generations ago.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s short.¡±


    ¡°Her hair is the right texture.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s one of ours because the Turtle waved to her.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she has to be.¡±


    The chief¡¯s grandson rolled his eyes and whispered to me, ¡°Don¡¯t mind them, they¡¯re excited because we get very few visitors.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I whispered back.


    He stopped under a particularly tall peach tree that had a ladder leaning against its trunk. ¡°Look at that branch up there. Do you see that perfectly circular hole in it? That was caused by the Monkey King¡¯s staff. Do you know the story?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I know about the Monkey King and that he had a legendary sandalwood staff.¡±


    ¡°They say that he boasted that his staff could grow to such a length that it reached the heavens. When the others in the Assembly of Immortals asked him to prove it, the Monkey King planted his staff right here.¡± He pointed at a spot directly below the hole in the branch. ¡°And his staff pierced the branch before it struck the vault of heaven.¡±


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    ¡°Wow!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try putting your eye up against the hole? You might see something extraordinary.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡±


    Of course, the branch was too high for me to reach, so I climbed the ladder while he held it steady. I mentally patted myself on the back for wearing trousers instead of skirts today. Grabbing onto the branch to maintain stability, I put my eye up against the hole, but all I saw were more leaves and branches of the peach tree.


    ¡°Teacher, did you see anything?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Nope. Just the tree. You guys try it.¡± I stepped aside and gestured for the others to take their turn.


    Sadly, none of my apprentices saw anything out of the ordinary.


    ¡°What do people normally see?¡± I asked the chief¡¯s grandson.


    ¡°Oh, children sometimes see random things, but adults never see anything much,¡± he said.


    A cute little gap-toothed girl ran up to us and said, ¡°I saw a fish!¡±


    This started a clamor when the other kids started yelling about their visions. I couldn¡¯t tell if they were joking or not.


    ¡°I saw an eye!¡±


    ¡°I saw a turtle!¡±


    ¡°My mother saw my father!¡±


    ¡°There were moons in the hole.¡±


    ¡°I smelled a fart.¡±


    ¡°Cuz you farted!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who farted, you farty girl!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna fart on you!¡±


    Everyone burst out laughing at that.


    The chief shook her head and scolded them. ¡°Stop it, don¡¯t fart in front of our visitors.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± ¡°She started it,¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± they said before running away.


    We put the ladder back in place and chatted a bit as we walked through the Peach Blossom Forest. I found out that their main trade products were peach wine, peach wood bows, and peach wood wands, which were used in various temple rituals.


    ¡°What about the Peaches of Immortality?¡± I asked.


    He chuckled. ¡°Sorry, they don¡¯t grow here.¡±


    By the time we reached the Enchanted River, my feet were beginning to hurt from all the walking. The Peach Blossom Isle was a lot bigger than it looked when we were on the boat. There was no way that all this land would fit on the back of the giant sea turtle that we saw. This place must be in some kind of pocket dimension.


    I thought that the Peach Blossom Forest was as beautiful as a picture on a postcard, but when we got to the Enchanted River, I was even more amazed.


    ¡°This is incredibly beautiful!¡± I peered down at the crystal clear waters of the river.


    ¡°Be careful.¡± The chief¡¯s grandson pulled me back from the railing. ¡°Don¡¯t bend down that far. You might fall off.¡±


    I continued to make admiring noises as my eyes swept the expanse of the river. The water at the edges was a lovely aquamarine that shaded into deep sapphire in the middle. The colors were so vivid that they seemed unreal. If I had seen a photo of this, I would¡¯ve thought it was color-enhanced. The water was so clear that I could see the entirety of the riverbed, even the deepest part, though it was hard to judge its depth.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird. I feel dizzy looking down¡­¡± I gripped the wooden railing as I cautiously bent down and tried to look for the Sacred Offering Bowl. ¡°Going into the water must be like swimming inside a jewel. Is the water sparkling?¡±


    ¡°The rocks on the river bed have some quartz and agate in them.¡±


    ¡°How deep is it?¡±


    ¡°The open area is only forty man-heights, but there is a subterranean cave system there. Before swimming in the river became taboo, some cave divers used the enchanted item to breathe underwater and explore the caverns and tunnels. They say the tunnels go down into unfathomable depths.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s called the Enchanted River because¡­?¡± I smiled, anticipating yet another cute story about the Assembly of Immortals.


    The chief¡¯s grandson crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. ¡°Fairies live in the river and love to abduct beautiful mortals. My great-great-grandfather went swimming one day and never came back. His body was never found.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Was the river more dangerous than it looked?


    ¡°There¡¯s an old story about the youngest child of a chief who disappeared into the river in ancient times. He came back a hundred years later, looking the same as he looked when he disappeared, and wearing a pearl ring.¡±


    ¡°Where did he say he went? What happened?¡±


    ¡°He said a fairy princess fell in love with him and took him to her palace made of coral and jade where they got married and had seven children. He returned to bring his parents back to the underwater palace, but he fell in love with a beautiful maiden from the village, and decided to divorce his fairy wife.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, I don¡¯t think I like where this story is going.¡±


    ¡°You know how these old stories are. I think the ancients loved tragedies.¡±


    I shook my hand and turned away from the river, leaning back against the railing. ¡°Let me guess what happened next. He died, right?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°He somehow convinced the head priest to hold a ceremony where he waded into the river and declared that he was divorcing his wife. When he threw the ring back into the river, his hair turned white and he started aging rapidly.¡±


    ¡°Because he was gone for one hundred years?¡±


    ¡°His unending youth must have been a gift from his fairy wife, and when he divorced her she took it back, or maybe the ring was a magic item.¡±


    I was about to comment that he kind of deserved it when three white-robed men appeared on the other side of the river and started ringing bells. A large school of golden-scaled fish then came into view from out of nowhere.


    ¡°The priests will be feeding the fish now,¡± said the chief¡¯s grandson.


    The men threw buckets of rice, minced fish, fish guts, and so forth into the water. I was very surprised to see that the fish took turns eating. First, the golden fish ate the food, then they disappeared and another school of fish, this time with silver scales, swam up near the surface to partake of the meal. The third group of fish had silvery-gray scales, and the last one had brownish-blue scales.


    ¡°What kind of fish are those?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re all different kinds of piranhas.¡±


    ¡°Pi-pi-piranhas?!¡± Was this quest a scam? No wonder the bodies of the drowned people never surfaced. The river was full of man-eating piranhas!

 Chapter 153 - Swimming with the piranhas!

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 153 - Dive-ine river treasures</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The chief¡¯s grandson laughed. ¡°They just got fed. They won¡¯t bother you.¡±


    That was easy for him to say; he wasn¡¯t the one who would be swimming with the piranhas!


    Correctly interpreting my expression as one of doubt, he smiled and gestured upstream. ¡°It won¡¯t be too hard, you¡¯ll see. I¡¯ll show you where the bowl is.¡±


    We walked further up the river, still followed by the chief and a bunch of villagers. I saw what he meant. The stone bowl was in the middle of the river, caught between two large rocks. It was difficult to judge how deep the rocks were, but the water seemed fairly shallow there, perhaps ten feet.


    ¡°Do I even need the magic item to breathe underwater?¡± I wondered aloud.


    He shrugged. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it. It¡¯s just that if one of our villagers was allowed to swim there to retrieve the sacred item, he would probably want to search for treasures, too.¡±


    ¡°I see. One moment, please.¡± I gestured to my apprentices to follow me and we walked away from the crowd to get some privacy to talk.


    ¡°Teacher, are you really going to swim in the river?¡± Mo looked extremely worried.


    Lari shook his head. ¡°I think I should do it.¡±


    ¡°Or me. I¡¯m a good swimmer,¡± said Kharli.


    They hadn¡¯t known how to swim last year, but they had taken lessons from some clan members. I hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to test their skills yet.


    ¡°I want to try using that magic item,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Are you sure? What about the piranhas?¡± Mo still looked worried.


    ¡°The villagers said they hardly ever attack humans,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Wait.¡± I held up my hand. ¡°Let me think about it.¡±


    On the one hand, it didn¡¯t look dangerous. Adventure Incarnate always gave the players a warning if a quest involved combat.


    On the other hand, would getting bitten by a fish count as ¡°combat¡±?


    While I was dithering, Mo took the initiative to pull me aside, away from the other two, and whisper her concerns to me. ¡°Teacher, please promise me you won¡¯t wear that ¡®swimsuit¡¯ when you look for the bowl.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I gave her a questioning look. I knew that people here considered the normal Earth swimsuit to be scandalous, but surely she didn¡¯t expect me to go into the water fully clothed. ¡°I can¡¯t possibly wear my robes and pants to swim. It would be a safety hazard.¡±


    ¡°Then Lari should do it.¡±


    ¡°I have some swimsuits that give more coverage.¡±


    I was about to show them to Mo when she frantically grabbed my wrists to stop me and then used a jerk of her head to summon Kharli to join our whispered conversation.


    ¡°Teacher, please don¡¯t let the public see those shocking things!¡± Mo gave me a pleading look.


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± I walked them further away from the crowd and hid behind some trees before showing them an assortment of swim trunks, skirts, rash guards, and tops. ¡°See, these tops are long-sleeved and the skirts go down to my knees. I can wear the trunks under them. Anyway, the people here are wearing less!¡±


    The two girls exchanged a look of long-suffering tolerance.


    Kharli was more diplomatic than Mo. ¡°Teacher, we understand what you mean, but the bowl seems easy to get. Why don¡¯t we let Lari do it?¡±


    I threw my hands up. ¡°Fine, you win! I¡¯ll wear my robes and pants.¡±


    After all, it¡¯s not like I wanted to go diving in waters teeming with piranhas!


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Lari can do it. I¡¯ll go into the water too, in case he needs help. And yes, I¡¯ll wear my regular clothes.¡±


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    I rolled my eyes dramatically at their insistence that I maintain proper decorum at all times. On the other hand, did it matter? After all, as long as the quest was finished, it was fine if I wasn¡¯t the one who dived into the water. If I recall correctly, the diving helmet was quite uncomfortable. So, if Lari wanted to do it himself, let him!


    We walked back to where the others were and told them of our plans. The Chief''s grandson helped Lari put on the magical helmet. I felt it was rather unfair when no one even blinked an eye when Lari took off his robes and rolled up his pants. I, of course, had to keep on all of my clothes. I took off my shoes and waded into the water at the shallow end of the river. There was no need for me to equip my own diving helmet, since the sacred bowl happened to be nearby, and the water only went up to my waist. I watched as Lari, to the cheering of the crowd, walked into the river and dived right in. A few minutes later, he emerged with the requested item and more.


    ¡°Congratulations, you did it!¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± said Lari.


    The chief and her family were effusive in their thanks.


    ¡°Teacher, I also got these items,¡± Lari showed me a pearl ring and a piece of coral that had a small diamond-like faceted gem embedded in it.


    I took them and smiled as the System¡¯s quest information automatically updated itself. As expected, I only had to get the items, and it didn¡¯t matter if Lari or I retrieved them.


    [Recover the Sacred Offering Bowl:


    Find the Sacred Offering Bowl that the chief¡¯s youngest grandson dropped in the Enchanted River.


    Sacred Offering Bowl: 1/1


    Pearl Ring: 1/1


    Coral Diamond: 1/1


    Rewards:


    1. Eight Mini Parasol Trees


    2. ???]


    ¡°What are those?¡± I asked the chief.


    The chief shrugged. ¡°A lot of items have fallen into the river over the years. Sometimes, people throw in offerings to the fairies, especially when someone in their family is sick.¡±


    ¡°Oh, should we throw these back in?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, I think you should,¡± she said.


    I did as she suggested, and was quite pleased to see the System pop up.


    [Recover the Sacred Offering Bowl: Quest Complete]


    Now I only had to wait for the reward to be given. We walked back to the Chief''s house, making my feet hurt even more.


    While we were gone, some villagers had prepared the trade goods for us. The tree seedlings were given to me as a reward for finding the sacred offering bowl, along with a lovely little figurine carved out of sacred koa wood.


    [Wooden Monkey King Figurine:


    ??????]


    The item¡¯s description was just a row of question marks, meaning I was too low-level to use the small wooden carving of a monkey with a fierce expression. He was wearing a circlet on his head and standing on a cloud holding a mystic staff.


    ¡°What a great statue!¡± The kids and I made more admiring remarks before we moved on to examining the trade goods. I bought sacks of dried peaches, peach wine, bananas, mangoes, coconuts, and dried fish with a handful of silver. I explained that the fresh meat and ham were gifts.


    ¡°With your permission, ma¡¯am, I¡¯d like to visit again,¡± I said.


    ¡°All who are welcomed by the great turtle are our treasured guests,¡± she assured me. ¡°Everyone here will treat you well and never harm you.¡±


    ¡°Are there any particular items that you would like me to bring next time?¡±


    ¡°Since we¡¯re close to land this time, we¡¯ve sent some of our men to buy what we need from the Westerlands.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s nothing in particular that you need?¡±


    ¡°Fresh meat is always welcome.¡±


    That made sense. After all, I learned from the chief''s son that they grew cassava, sweet potato, yam, taro, rice, and vegetables on the island, so they didn¡¯t need more food, especially since the islanders were all skilled fishermen. However, since it was forbidden for them to raise large farm animals for meat due to the possible environmental effects it could have, the one thing they always wanted to buy was meat, specifically fresh red meat.


    I could understand how they felt! Meat was life! Although fish was technically a type of meat, it didn¡¯t satisfy my cravings the way that red meat did.


    Before we parted, the people all pressed a variety of welcome gifts into my and my apprentice''s hands. I received a lot of shell and wooden bead jewelry, flower bouquets, leis, and some coconut products, like coconut utensils, oil, vinegar, sugar, flower syrup, and so forth.


    I summoned the ship once again, and we sailed back to the river, then up the river to the farm, waving our goodbyes to the turtle until it disappeared out of sight.


    ¡°What did you think about the village?¡± I asked my apprentices.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go fishing next time,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°They said I can¡¯t go foraging because I''m an outsider,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°We should bring some more trade items next time,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Meat?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Milk, cheese, and tea,¡± suggested Kharli.


    ¡°Yes, I agree about the tea. They trade it a lot since they consider it a luxury item,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I think we should all learn their fishing techniques. The men told me about spearfishing,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Sounds like a plan!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll tell our housekeeper to prepare more meat and other delicacies.¡±


    I sped the ship up a little more, eager to return to the farm to complete the fairy quest. Fengying had sent someone to buy what I needed in Anwei this morning, so she should have the Evening Primrose Plants ready for me.


    [Fairy Summoning:


    Activate the Vineheart Fairy House by preparing a proper environment for the forest spirits.


    Plant eight Mini Parasol Trees - 0/8


    Plant three Evening Primrose Plants - 0/3


    Place nine Spell Stones - 0/9


    Reward: Magic Exp]

 Chapter 154 - Farm Fairies&#x1F9DA;?♀?&#x1F9DA;?♂?&#x1F33A;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 154 - Having a fairy exciting time</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    Back at the farm, we washed up and changed into our work clothes. It was already evening when Fengying handed me the flowers I had requested.


    I put the [Vineheart Fairy House] on its stand and set the whole thing down in the middle of an empty field. Then I planted the evening primrose and mini parasol trees in two neat rows behind the fairy house. The nine [Spell Stones] were buried in the soil around the stand.


    [Fairy Summoning: Quest Complete]


    The System notification was a welcome sight, as was the Magic exp I got as a reward.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Your Magic level is now 11.]


    I wanted to dance around in sheer joy when I got the system notifications. Eight whole levels! My Magic level was quite low, which meant that the quest reward of Magic exp made me level up a lot.


    [Violet


    Level 42


    HP: 4,200/4,200


    MP: 35/35


    Strength: 30/99


    Attack: 31/99


    Archery: 42/99


    Magic: 3¡ú11/99]


    Many spells in Adventure Incarnate were not easy to cast. Spells had a chance of failure unless the player was at least 10 levels higher than the requirement. Now that I was level 11, I could cast the most basic spells without fear of them failing, which was my requirement for me to use Magic in combat. After all, I only had one life and I didn¡¯t want to die if a spell failed to cast while I was fighting. That would be a lame way to go!


    I was lost in my thoughts, scrolling through my inventory for the equips I could use now that I leveled up magic, when Fengying cleared her throat loudly, making me start in surprise.


    ¡°Sorry, I was thinking of something.¡± I looked around and saw that my apprentices and staff were all giving me questioning looks. Even Cutie was looking up at me with her slime strand in the shape of a question mark. ¡°Uh, stand back and stay calm. Remember not to scream or try to touch them if they come out, okay?¡±


    I waited until they all nodded or said ¡°Yes, my lady¡± before turning back to the item in front of us.


    [Vineheart Fairy House:


    The home of playful guardian fairies. Farmers who are able to build a harmonious relationship with these spiritual beings will enjoy increased yields and other benefits.


    Status: Inactive]


    Now, when I examined it, there was an [Activate] button. I removed the glass dome that was covering the wooden fairy treehouse and then mentally clicked the button.


    Everyone gasped when the wooden dollhouse lit up with a soft golden glow. The side and roof of the house swung open, and three balls of light flew out of it, each one stopping in front of one of my apprentices.


    The first ball of light coalesced into a shining figure. The male fairy who appeared did not have wings and was stout and sturdy, with long red hair and a bushy beard that was intricately braided. His dark eyes were keen and discerning, and he was wearing brown robes and a leather apron with lots of pockets full of various crafting tools like a chisel, hammer, carving knife, wooden saw, etc.


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    We barely had time to see the fairy before it dove into Kharli¡¯s forehead, leaving behind a red mark shaped like a triple spiral.


    Kharli touched her forehead. ¡°What happened?¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time to reply because the ball of light in front of Mo flashed thrice and turned into a cute little yellow puff ball with a green leaf on its head. That one dove into Mo¡¯s hand, leaving behind a leaf-shaped green mark on the back of her hand.


    ¡°Teacher, look!¡± Mo held up her hand for me and the others to see.


    However, I didn¡¯t have time to comment because the ball of light in front of Lari started pulsing. It dimmed slowly and we all held our breath, waiting for the fairy to appear.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Lari exclaimed when a little animal appeared.


    It was the size of my palm and had four long legs like a deer, but the head had tusks like a wild boar, and its fur was striped white and black like a zebra. Was it a chimera? This fairy opened its mouth in a silent roar and then leaped into Lari¡¯s left eye.


    Lari reared back in shock and fell flat on his butt, one hand covering his eye.


    ¡°Wait, let me see.¡± I pried his hand away and looked into the affected eye. There was now a faint golden spot in his iris. ¡°Okay, take a look.¡±


    Taking out a mirror from my inventory, I held it up for Lari and Kharli to look at their new fairy marks.


    Lari turned to the staff. ¡°I have a fairy eye!¡±


    While the others congratulated him, Kharli traced the mark on her forehead. ¡°It¡¯s pretty, right?¡±


    Mo and I rushed to assure her that it was very attractive. We were so busy looking at and discussing Mo and Kharli¡¯s marks that I almost missed it when the [Vineheart Fairy House] glowed again and two golden balls of light appeared.


    ¡°There¡¯s more?!¡± But why? I only had three apprentices. As far as I knew, in Adventure Incarnate, only three fairies appeared, one for each farm hand.


    One ball of light flew out of the house and turned into a little chibi girl wearing a French maid outfit. She was holding a broom in her right hand and had a pair of knuckledusters equipped in her left hand. Her long blonde hair was gathered into two ponytails on either side of her head, and her blue eyes were quite lovely.


    The fairy looked around until her eyes met Fengying¡¯s, and I felt honored to witness how a fairy fell in love at first sight with a human.


    ¡°Oh my¡­¡± I breathed.


    When she flew out of the house in Fengying¡¯s direction, her path was blocked by Deming.


    The Demon Chef only said one word. ¡°No.¡±


    The fairy¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she tried to fly over him, but Deming jumped up and his flying kick hit the fairy on the side of her head, driving her back several feet. She was no pushover though and what followed was an epic high-speed battle of Fairy vs Demon Chef. Of course, the fairy had the advantage because she could fly, but it wasn¡¯t of much use since her goal was Fengying. Every time she came close to her target, the chef drove her away with powerful punches and kicks.


    Lari whispered, ¡°Teacher, didn¡¯t you say we shouldn''t offend the fairies?¡±


    I covered my mouth with a hand and whispered, ¡°Do you wanna be the one to tell Deming to stop?¡±


    Lari shook his head and we continued to watch the battle in silence. The fairy was swinging her broom to good effect. When she got in a good punch with her knuckledusters on Deming¡¯s side, Fengying reached the limit of her patience.


    ¡°Enough, you two,¡± she said.


    Fengying rarely raised her voice, and we all instinctively recoiled at her fed-up tone of voice. Deming and the fairy lowered their hands reluctantly.


    Husband and wife exchanged a few words, too low for the rest of us to hear, and he stepped back. The fairy raised her arms in a victory pose and then dove into Fengying¡¯s body, leaving behind an abstract mark of two curved lines at the base of her throat. Deming immediately took out a handkerchief and tried to wipe it away as though it was dirt, but gave up when nothing happened.


    "The mark should fade soon," said Fengying.


    Deming nodded.


    The battle had been so exciting that I had forgotten about the last ball of light that was still in the fairy house. Mo tugged on my sleeve and wordlessly pointed at it. ¡°There¡¯s one more left. I wonder who it will bless?¡±


    A few minutes later, the ball of light flew down. To my surprise, it stopped right in front of Cutie.


    ¡°Chu?¡± Cutie poked it a few times with her slime strand.


    The light coalesced into a familiar figure.


    ¡°Wow!¡± I said.


    My staff were also bewildered by this strange turn of events.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Is that even a fairy?¡±


    ¡°Could it be a monster fairy?¡±


    ¡°Impossible.¡±


    I could understand their confusion because what appeared out of the ball of light was a golden slime. It was a mini version of the Boss Monster I had fought in the Chitinous Cavern, the [Winged Golden Slime Queen]. Golden in color, it seemed to be made of squishy jelly and had white feathered wings on each side and a tiny slime strand on top of its body.


    After poking it a few more times, Cutie seemed to decide it was a new type of food and opened her mouth wide to swallow it.


    I was about to stop her when the slime fairy swelled to ten times its size and chomped down on Cutie, swallowing my pet whole.


    ¡°No!¡± I screamed, but it must have been an illusion because Cutie was unharmed. The fairy had disappeared, leaving behind two wing-shaped markings on Cutie¡¯s sides. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s okay.¡±


    I picked my pet up and examined her closely, but everything seemed normal. We were about to leave when the [Vineheart Fairy House] glowed brightly and rained down beams of light on everyone there except for me.


    My staff all got fairy markings which were tiny golden marks on the skin. Most of them were on the hands or forehead.


    I waited for a few more minutes but nothing happened, so I put the glass dome back and we left to eat our evening meal.


    Lari kept blinking rapidly and looking around. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who got one in my eyes. I wonder if it means I¡¯ll be able to see fairies now?¡±


    ¡°Check your System. I got a five percent exp bonus!¡± Mo''s face lit up with pleasure. Her eyes sparkled and a wide smile played across her lips.


    Kharli didn¡¯t say anything, but her expression was radiating happiness and satisfaction.


    ¡°Sweet,¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher, did you also get an exp bonus?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Not directly, but the item gives ¡®increased yields¡¯ when it¡¯s active so we¡¯ll all get more exp during harvest time.¡±


    ¡°I wonder what Madam Fengying and the rest got? They couldn¡¯t have gotten an exp bonus,¡± said Lari.


    Yinuo, who had been listening to us, said, ¡°According to legends the fairy blessing gives a person ¡®good fortune.¡¯ I hope it gives me a charmed love life. I¡¯m still looking for a handsome husband.¡±


    ¡°Good fortune? That sounds nice.¡± I joined arms with Mo and Kharli as we walked back to the house in the moonlit darkness. ¡°Let¡¯s eat and go to bed early. Tomorrow we have to harvest the crocus flowers and go back to Peach Blossom Isle.¡±

 Chapter 155 - Party on the back of a Giant Turtle

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 155 - I hope Archelon is a veg-aturtlian</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The next day, we were all in high spirits because of the fairy blessings that we received. My apprentices reported that they got a 2% Farming exp bonus plus a special 5% bonus for one extra skill. Mo¡¯s bonus skill was Foraging, Lari¡¯s was Hunting, and Kharli seemed to have hit the jackpot because she got bonuses on both Fletching and Smithing.


    I got up before dawn and was out of the house just as the first rays of sunlight were peeking over the horizon. The first thing I did was to check on my pet to make sure she had everything she needed. Then I went over to the rice paddies and used the System¡¯s [Build] tab to drain them of water. Today¡¯s main task was to clear out the remnants of the harvest to prepare for the upcoming planting season in three days. I also removed the shade canopy over the tea field. When my apprentices arrived, we sowed the bare soil with the [Wild Seed Mix].


    I gestured for them to move to the next field. ¡°Now for the last one, our experimental crop!¡±


    Last planting season, the kids had decided they wanted to produce saffron by planting [Crocus] flowers. Thus far, apart from the [Wild Seed Mix], all the seeds we had used were food crops. In Adventure Incarnate, the flowers like [Crocus], [Sunflower], [Poppy], etc. were purely for display. Yes, they could be sold for gold, but they weren¡¯t used for Herblaw or Cooking, which was strange because some of the flowers, like [Dandelion], were edible.


    Since the game was now real, there should be room for improvisation, so it should be okay to extract saffron from the [Crocuses].


    The flower field was small but lovely. Each [Crocus] stood tall, with each slender stem supporting a single bloom. The smooth and velvety petals were a heartbreakingly vibrant purple, its petals forming a delicate cup shape that gently caught the early morning sunlight. The sweet scent of the flowers had attracted bees, butterflies, and one iridescent hummingbird that hovered over the flowers. I felt a little sorry about destroying all this beauty, but the plants would wilt after the harvest season anyway, even if I left them alone.


    ¡°They¡¯re so pretty and fresh!¡± Mo put on her gardening gloves and used scissors to snip off a flower.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting an incredible amount of bonus exp each time!¡± Kharli¡¯s face flushed red and her eyes sparkled.


    Lari and Mo both nudged her with their elbows while rolling their eyes and giving me sidelong glances.


    I mentally chuckled at them trying to be considerate of my feelings since I hadn¡¯t gotten a fairy blessing. They didn¡¯t know I was getting a 20% bonus exp because of my level 99 Astrology.


    We finished harvesting the crocus flowers and prepared a portion of a new field for the planting season by clearing it of all trees, rocks, and weeds. This took up almost all of our energy, but we did leave a little bit unused for the day¡¯s trip to the Peach Blossom Isle. We drank some [Kola-Kola Soda] before going to the house for breakfast.


    ¡°Let¡¯s store the flowers for now and take out the saffron threads later,¡± I said after we finished eating. The ¡°threads¡± were the flower¡¯s stigmas, and they were quite valuable. ¡°The Turtle swims all around the world, and they say we might not get another chance to see it again in our lifetime. Is everyone ready?¡±


    They nodded, and we set off for the main house where we got our packed lunch and snacks. Then we loaded the [Viking Longship] with more ham and freshly butchered meat that the Demon Chef prepared for us yesterday. There was also an expertly roasted whole ox and five suckling pigs, along with a dozen assorted chicken dishes. They were all wrapped in banana or lotus leaves and packed in wooden boxes.


    ¡°It smells amazing!¡± Lari bent down to sniff the food before tying it down to the benches.


    I pretended to wipe some drool from my mouth. ¡°I¡¯m actually drooling, even though the chef gave us some choice cuts earlier.¡±


    Of course, the staff we left behind had roasted a pig for us, too, and we ate some at breakfast.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Kharli stacked two small food boxes and tied them together before storing them under a bench. ¡°Teacher, why did you tell the chef to put an apple in the pigs¡¯ mouths?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°The apple makes it look more festive!¡±


    We put everything on the ship even though it would¡¯ve been easier to store the food in our inventory because I wanted to keep my System inventory low-key. Shuye had sent word that the local community was abuzz with the news of a trade delegation that had been sent by the chief of the Peach Blossom Islanders.


    Even I knew that the island was impossible to find unless the Great Turtle allowed you to see it. Those who had ships ready to sail yesterday tried to follow the islanders back to their home, but no one was successful except for me and the kids. I expected that the shore today would be full of small watercraft, all looking to follow me to the legendary isle. Therefore, I wanted the public to see that my [Viking Longship] was loaded with boxes of stuff, as a normal farmer¡¯s ship would be.


    ¡°Teacher, please put this on. Madam Fengying said we should all wear these.¡± Kharli took out four veiled hats from her inventory and handed them out to us.


    Lari took one and shook out its semi-transparent folds of fine silk before placing the hat on his head. ¡°How old-fashioned! Even grannies from the noble houses no longer wear these veils.¡±


    ¡°She said it¡¯s to protect us from the sun.¡± Kharli frowned at her hat before putting it on and sitting down on a bench beside Mo.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go!¡± The sun was shining quite fiercely today, so I put wraparound sunglasses on under the veiled hat. Mentally activating the [Viking Longship], I set it on the lowest speed first before very gradually moving the speedometer up to a moderate setting.


    I took a deep breath when we sailed out to sea. The air was hot and smelled of the sea, a wet, salty, and slightly fishy tang that invigorated my senses while the ship gently rocked to the rhythm of the waves and wind. The sound of water splashing against the hull and the creaking of the sail was quite soothing.


    We¡¯d hardly sailed more than ten minutes away from the mouth of the river when we spotted the first half dozen watercraft. The people on the boats started waving at us and shouting stuff we couldn¡¯t hear. A few shot off signal flares, doubtless to alert the other boats that they had sighted us.


    ¡°Er, how do they know it¡¯s us?¡± I wondered out loud.


    ¡°The [Viking Longship] has a distinctive silhouette.¡± Kharli frowned thoughtfully at the other ships. ¡°Should we slow down to give the others a chance?¡±


    It had only been a day, but the news of what my ship looked like must have spread near and far. I chuckled a bit at the thought of a gossip mill that was as fast as the internet. ¡°Okay. We might as well help them out. Archelon will choose whoever she wants to meet. ¡±


    Slowly, I turned the speedometer down but continued to sail in the direction that the System map indicated. Soon we were joined by a few dozen water vessels of every type and size.


    ¡°Look, Teacher, there¡¯s Ruolin!¡± Mo flung her veil back and stood up to wave at a tall figure at the prow of a luxurious leisure boat that I recognized as the one we had used when we did [Trawl Fishing] at the Emerald Cove last year.


    ¡°I hope they can join us on the island,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo sat down. ¡°Yeah, they were nice.¡±


    Alas, it was not to be. An hour later, we sailed through a slight distortion in the air like a heat haze, and the others disappeared from our sight as we found ourselves sailing near a giant sea turtle who was carrying an island on her back. Soon a canoe full of lively young people rowed out to greet us, and we followed them to the beach where the islanders helped us unload our cargo and carry it to the chief¡¯s house.


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought a feast! Let¡¯s eat it together,¡± I said to them. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the food will spoil if we don¡¯t eat it right away.¡±


    They just smiled and pushed me and my apprentices to the door of the chief¡¯s house, where we took our veiled hats off. Lari was once again red-faced and unable to lift his eyes from the ground because of all the scantily-clad women.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, miss, we¡¯ll take good care of the food,¡± said a lovely woman who seemed to be in her late twenties. She had long, shiny black hair cascading down to her waist, large brown eyes, and luscious cherry-red lips that were either entirely natural or the result of an amazing lip stain.


    Looking around, I saw that the people around us were all dressed up in brightly colored sarongs and wearing bead jewelry or flowers. ¡°Is it just me, or does everyone look more gorgeous than before?¡±


    ¡°The traders came back with a lot of fresh meat, and we¡¯ve been cooking since last night! Today is a feast day,¡± she said.


    The chief¡¯s attendants greeted us with great good humor, their blindingly white teeth flashing and their wrinkles creasing as they seated us and gave us cool fruit juices served in clay cups.


    ¡°Oh, how could you be so modest yesterday! You should¡¯ve told us that you¡¯re a famous spirit farmer,¡± said a little old lady with long salt-and-pepper hair.


    The other old ladies, all dressed in colorful sarongs, nodded their heads in agreement and surrounded us like a flock of chattering tropical birds.


    ¡°You look hot, why don¡¯t you take those robes off and put on some sarongs?¡±


    ¡°We cooled the juice in the ice cave, but we¡¯re saving the ice for the feast later.¡±


    ¡°Young lady, why don¡¯t you join us? You and your apprentices can live here. I have a very handsome grandson you should meet.¡±


    I simply smiled and enjoyed the fuss they made over us. Eventually, we finished the juice and the ladies decided we should prettify ourselves for the party tonight.

 Chapter 156 - Underwater Adventure Time!&#x1F422;&#x1F30A;&#x1F3DD;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 156 - Water you waiting for? Let''s make a splash at the party!</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">??????</h2>


    The chief¡¯s attendants sent one lady-in-waiting for each of us and told them to help us prepare.


    ¡°You can call me Dawn. I¡¯m the eldest child in my family¡¯s generation and I was born at dawn,¡± said the tallest one, a real beauty with charming dimples that showed when she smiled, which she did frequently.


    ¡°Please call me Day,¡± said the shortest lady-in-waiting. She must come from a wealthy family because, unlike the others, her necklace was not made of flowers but of colored glass beads and baroque pearls.


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken the nickname Dusk,¡± said the third lady, the one who had led me to the chief¡¯s house, the one with the cherry-red lips.


    Lari went off to the men¡¯s baths while I, along with Kharli, Mo, and the ladies-in-waiting, were loaded onto ornate wooden sedan chairs hung with brightly-colored bark cloth. This was considered necessary for us since the men¡¯s baths were near, but the special VIP-only baths were quite a distance from the chief¡¯s house.


    The sight of the tall-strapping young men bearing the sedan chair¡¯s poles on their shoulders gave me pause, and I was about to protest, but Kharli and Mo climbed in before I could say anything.


    Was this normal in this world? As a person from modern-day Earth, this felt a little inappropriate though I at least knew that there were no slaves here, so the men were presumably paid for this job.


    ¡°I could just walk¡­?¡± I tentatively suggested.


    ¡°You¡¯re our honored guest!¡± said one of the men.


    Shrugging, I got in, mentally vowing to tip the bearers generously. Silver and gold coins weren¡¯t used much on Peach Blossom Isle, where bartering was the norm. Thankfully, I had planned ahead and had Fengying buy a few good gift items from Anwei.


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    I leaned back against the back of the sedan chair and relaxed. The day was hot and humid. Once we left the village and into the forest, I drew back the curtains to view the scenery. At first glance, it looked like we were traversing a path through an overgrown tropical jungle, but when I used the System to identify the vegetation around us, I realized that this was a food forest containing fruit trees, lumber trees, food crops, medicinal plants, and quite a few interesting nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs. This must be a jungle that the islanders planted and managed.


    There were so many lovely plants that I hardly knew where to look.


    [Pink Powderpuff:


    A drought-tolerant shrub with striking pink fuzzy flowers and delicate, feathery foliage.]


    I liked its cute pink pom-pom-like flowers and wondered if it was worth it to ask for seeds or cuttings since it seemed that it was pretty but not super useful. Likewise, I thought the flame tree looked majestic though perhaps not special enough to pay silver for. Adventure Incarnate had a lot of ornamental plants that completionist players collected, but I was always too lazy to do that.


    [Phoenix Flame Tree:


    A tree commonly grown for its shade and beautiful bright red flowers that bloom year-round.]


    The plants that did seem useful were the ones I already had in my inventory, like the banana, coconut, and papaya trees.


    I decided to stop thinking of work and just enjoy the ride as we ascended. I reckoned we were climbing up a small mountain or a steep hill. The jungle was fragrant with the scent of water, wild orchids, and the earthy aroma of damp foliage. It must have rained recently. Sunlight filtered through the dense tree canopy, casting long shadows across the tree-lined path we were traveling. Shafts of golden light illuminated patches of moss-covered rocks and vibrant bromeliads nestled in the crooks of trees. Exotic birds darted here and there, their iridescent feathers flashing like jewels.


    About an hour later, we arrived at a stone marker where we all got down from our sedan chairs. I handed the bearers a dozen rolls of silk cloth as a tip, and the ladies instructed them to return in time to take us to the feast at sunset on Tranquility Bay.


    We continued on foot until we reached a set of stone stairs and I finally saw the ¡°VIP baths¡± that were our destination.


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    I took out a folding fan from my inventory and tried to use it to cool myself. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a house? I thought we were just going to bathe in a natural pool.¡±


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    The ladies ushered us in without further ado. The house was surrounded by a solid stone fence made of some white marble-like material that had a faint blue glow.


    Dawn smiled when she saw me touching the wall. ¡°Ah, you noticed? This place is a very special one where the shyer female demigods used to bathe before the Immortal Assembly. Legend says that the Verdant Sovereign with a Crown of Blooming Orchids and Vestments of Eternal Spring magicked up a hot spring and built the wall for privacy.¡±


    ¡°The house was built later,¡± added Dusk.


    Inside, the house turned out to be a series of small buildings scattered on the side of the hill. The one we first entered was a simple cube with a thatch roof and walls made of latticework wood that were designed to let the cool air circulate. The western door had been slid open to allow us to take in the view. On the opposite side of the hill we were on was another hill with a magnificent waterfall. Below us was a curved three-layered infinity pool. Water cascaded down its sides into a stream that flowed further down the hill.


    I whistled in admiration. ¡°Wow, that is some bathing pool!¡±


    ¡°That''s the soaking and relaxation pool. We need to go to the cleansing pool first,¡± said Dawn.


    They led us down to a small pool on the lower part of the hill. All of the pools here were fed by one hot spring, so each area on the hill was reserved for a specific purpose. The highest point was used for drinking and cooking water. The middle part was for bathing, and the lowest part was for people to cleanse themselves and do laundry.


    We scooped up buckets of hot water to wash ourselves and the ladies showed us how to make a natural cleanser using the bark of a vine called gugo. Rubbing the bark¡¯s fibers together created a foam that we used as soap and shampoo. I contributed a few [Dewy Glow Potions] to add to the soap.


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    We finished quickly and donned sarongs to walk back up to the relaxing pool. I slowly waded into the biggest pool until I was submerged up to my chest.


    ¡°This pool is very soothing,¡± said Dusk. ¡°The one your other apprentice went to is an invigorating one.¡±


    I put my arms on the side of the pool overlooking the waterfall and laid my head down sideways on it. ¡°That¡¯s great, I like being soothed.¡±


    Kharli and Mo were splashing around at the highest, hottest level of the pool with Dawn and Day while I was down on the coolest one with Dusk.


    ¡°We arranged private sessions because we heard that you mainlanders are quite shy. The best bathing pool is quite large, but it''s out in the open for everyone to use,¡± she said.


    I smiled at the thought of mixed open-air bathing in this world. My apprentices would faint in shock!


    ¡°The water feels great.¡± I took out several inflatables from my inventory and offered them to the others. Then I used an inflatable ring to dreamily float on my back, drifting away into blissful tranquility.


    An hour later, near noon, more ladies arrived, bringing food packed in multilayered lunch boxes. I was going to get out of the pool, but they told me to stay put. The reason became clear when they arranged the dishes on top of a bed of leaves and flowers in a large floating basket and served the food to us in the pool.


    I couldn¡¯t believe how pretty it looked. ¡°A floating meal! What a delightful way to eat! Thank you, this looks awesome.¡±


    Mo was too overwhelmed to say anything, so Kharli spoke for both of them. ¡°Thank you very much!¡±


    The food was served on leaves and coconut shell cups. Instead of chopsticks, they used wooden spoons and forks. Knives were not provided, but the food was cut into small pieces, so we didn¡¯t need any. There was rice cooked in coconut milk, ginger pork, fish stew, and an excellent spicy grilled chicken coated with a sauce made of garlic, ginger, chili, shrimp paste, and a dozen other herbs and spices whose names I didn¡¯t recognize. Dessert was sliced fruits. I was famished and finished everything I was given, washed down with papaya juice and spring water.


    ¡°That hit the spot.¡± I rubbed my tummy. If I had been wearing a belt, I would¡¯ve had to loosen it.


    We rested for a while after lunch then emerged from the water and went inside the beauty pavilion where Dawn, Day, and Dusk proceeded to treat us to a bewildering array of traditional skin and hair treatments. Using natural ingredients like fragrant oils, herbs, and clays, they coated our skin with a clay mask. Next, they massaged us to ¡°balance our qi¡± and applied a hair tonic and nourishing oils to our hair.


    It was so good that I almost wanted to just stay in the pavilion and sleep, but I didn¡¯t want to miss the feast.


    Kharli, Mo, and I put on our summer robes and rode the sedan chairs back down the hill to Tranquility Bay, which was an expanse of azure waters that was open to the sea on one side and was cradled between lush green hillsides. The sun was about to set, but it was still light enough for me to see that a dozen large wooden tables full of food were spread out in the open.


    I turned to Dusk to remark that I was still quite full from the earlier meal when I heard the loud ringing of a bell. The people who had been sitting on picnic blankets all jumped up and everyone exclaimed a variation of ¡°She¡¯s diving!¡± or ¡°She¡¯s going to dive!¡±


    Dusk put an arm around my shoulders and said, ¡°Brace yourself, the Great Turtle is about to dive underwater.¡±

 Chapter 157 - Party on an island on the back of a turtle

    ¡°What? Won¡¯t we get stuck on the island then?¡± There was no danger of drowning even if we went underwater, of course, but I and my apprentices wouldn¡¯t be able to sail home.


    ¡°She¡¯s only diving for a few minutes or hours,¡± said Dawn. ¡°When she dives for real and swims underwater for longer than that, we always get plenty of warning.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± It seems the turtle was a very thoughtful guardian.


    ¡°Teacher, there¡¯s Lari.¡± Kharli pointed at a group of young men, all dressed in sarongs and flower necklaces.


    To my surprise, Lari was dressed like the locals. One could easily pick him out from among the others because he was white as snow while everyone else was tanned. He waved at us then walked over and handed us a spear each. ¡°Teacher, these are the spears they use for fishing! I thought they were going to bring me out on a boat to spear fish, but they don¡¯t fish outside much. The fishponds they tend are enough to feed everyone on the island. We just speared fish in a barrel.¡±


    ¡°I see. Looks like you had fun.¡± I guessed that what they did was this world¡¯s version of shooting fish in a barrel.


    He used a spear to mime the motion of spearing fish while Kharli, Mo, and I tucked the spears into our inventories for safekeeping.


    ¡°There! At the horizon!¡± said Dusk.


    My mouth fell open when I saw the waterline at the horizon suddenly rise until, in moments, the entire sky was full of blue water. Everyone clapped or hooted.


    I put a hand on my chest because my heart had almost leaped out of my body. ¡°Amazing.¡±


    Mo suddenly bent over and put her hands over her mouth, but it was in vain as she couldn¡¯t stop herself from vomiting.


    Kharli held her hair away from her face and I rubbed her back sympathetically. I did feel a sort of jolt in my stomach and perhaps a momentary sense of vertigo when the turtle dived, but Mo seemed to be more sensitive.


    ¡°Ugh. I¡¯m¡­ okay now.¡± Mo straightened herself slowly, her face pale. ¡°I just felt a little queasy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better now, yes?¡± Dusk patted her on the shoulder. ¡°It only feels like that the first few seconds of the dive.¡±


    The ladies escorted us to a small, round table that had been set up under a large scholar tree. We sat down and a bevy of beauties, male and female, served us drinks. We refused all the alcoholic beverages and stuck to iced water and fruit juices. I was told they had a special cave behind a waterfall that produced ice all year round which had been enchanted by the Sage of the One Hundred and Eight Paths.


    ¡°The Sage was very fond of iced peach juice.¡± Day smiled as she poured more of her special tropical fruit punch. It had ice with slices of peaches in it.


    ¡°It¡¯s so sweet and refreshing!¡± said Lari.


    He had gotten over his previous shyness and was no longer blushing or looking at the ground.


    ¡°Miss, try these cookies, I made them myself.¡± A handsome young man handed me a small, leaf-wrapped package.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I opened it and popped the cookies in my mouth. ¡°Yummy!¡±


    Dusk gently poked my side with her elbow. ¡°This is my cousin Vasa. Isn¡¯t he handsome?¡±


    Vasa was around the same age as me and had long, silky black hair down to his waist. His eyes were a lovely shade of brown, and I had to admit he was quite a looker.


    Prince Baiyu had way better abs and pecs though. I wondered how he would look dressed only in a knee-length sarong.


    Mmmm.


    Perhaps Dusk mistook my expression because she grinned and poked me with her elbow. ¡°He¡¯s single.¡±


    ¡°Er.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how to say it delicately, so I could only be blunt. ¡°I have someone¡­¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± Dusk exchanged a look with her cousin who shook his head. ¡°Too bad.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, shall I go get food for us?¡± Lari was looking at the food tables longingly.


    All around us were islanders talking animatedly with each other. The children were being looked after by their parents, but the rest of the people were in large same-age groups, with the chief at the biggest table with the oldest people. The teenagers occasionally darted here and there to serve drinks and snacks to their elders.


    ¡°No, it looks like the main event hasn¡¯t started yet,¡± I said.


    ¡°Are you feeling more relaxed now?¡± Day asked Mo. When my apprentice nodded, Day said, ¡°I¡¯ll show you something good!¡±


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    She and the other ladies got up and gestured for us to follow her. Vasa followed behind us.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± said Day.


    ¡°You¡¯ll love it,¡± said Dawn.


    Dusk just smiled mysteriously.


    We walked away from the lights of the party area. Above us was blue water, softly lit by some magical device, no doubt. The air was cooler now that the hot sun was no longer shining down on the island. We walked for quite some time until we reached the edge of the bay where a wall of water extended up into the sky.


    ¡°We¡¯re surrounded by a dome of water. The turtle¡¯s protection also extends all around us. Like so.¡± Day walked into the water.


    I stumbled back in shock, and Kharli and Mo screamed when Day¡¯s body was sucked in with a loud squelch. Our alarm was short-lived, however, as her head and shoulders immediately reappeared, horizontally suspended around waist-high. She was facing downwards and seemed unharmed though the rest of her was still inside the wall of water.


    ¡°What the heck?!¡± I knelt and grabbed her shoulders. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Day laughed. ¡°I¡¯m swimming! It¡¯s fun. You should try it.¡±


    Vasa gently nudged me aside and put his hands on Day¡¯s shoulders. He slowly pulled her out of the water, and I was amazed to see that she emerged from it dry, with not a drop of water on her body.


    Day smoothed her hair back down. ¡°The turtle puts our heads back out when we go into the water. Children love to play this game.¡±


    ¡°Try it,¡± said Dusk.


    ¡°I will!¡± said Lari.


    Before I could stop him, he ran into the wall of water. In a thrice, his head appeared outside of the water, perfectly dry.


    ¡°What does it feel like?¡± Mo bent down and pinched his cheek.


    ¡°The water feels great.¡± Lari¡¯s tone of voice was blissful and dreamy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s draw a turtle on his face.¡± Kharli took a paintbrush out of her inventory.


    Lari gave them both a smug look. ¡°If you do that then I¡¯ll draw a turtle on your face when you go swimming, too.¡±


    Kharli hesitated. While she was dithering about whether to do it or not, Lari pulled half his torso and his arms out of the water and made freestyle swimming motions which looked weird since only part of his body was underwater.


    ¡°It looks fun! I¡¯ll do it.¡± I hastily put on swimming shorts under my skirt and dove right into the water.


    There was one moment of cold wetness as my body hit the water, and then it was as though a giant hand picked me up and set me down with my head out of the water.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s a strange feeling.¡± I let my body float as I analyzed the experience. The water was clearly surrounding my body, and I was floating in it, yet somehow I was dry. The best I could figure was that there was a thin aura or force field around me. I kicked my legs and moved my arms in a breaststroke which made half my torso emerge from the water. I was swimming yet not swimming. ¡°Weird. Weird but good!¡±


    Kharli and Mo took that as permission and dove right in.


    ¡°Woohoo!¡± Mo yelled as she jumped into the water.


    ¡°Woohoo!¡± Kharli echoed her and shoved one arm in.


    ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you going in?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like swimming. Also, someone needs to watch over you guys,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Oh no, we can¡¯t have that,¡± said Day.


    Kharli turned to her and said, ¡°What do you me-¡±


    Her words were cut off when Dusk shoved her in. It happened too fast for her to react, and moments later her head reappeared out of the water.


    ¡°This is fun!¡± I did a freestyle swimming motion. There was a bit of a splash when my arms emerged from the water, and my whole body moved back and forth by two feet when I tried to swim.


    ¡°Strange¡­ I don¡¯t think I like it.¡± Lari pulled his arms out of the water. He turned his head towards Vasa and said, ¡°Can you please pull me out?¡±


    Vasa got Lari out of the water.


    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ll go back to the party!¡± Lari waved goodbye and left when I nodded.


    ¡°I love this, I¡¯ll be swimming here for a while, is that okay?¡± I asked the others.


    ¡°Enjoy yourself as much as you like,¡± said Day.


    Vasa, Dawn, Day, and Dusk sat down on the ground to watch over us.


    I tossed my head to see how my hair moved when it was half in the water. ¡°I will! This is a new and unique experience.¡±


    Kharli and Mo loved it, too.


    ¡°I¡¯m swimming underwater on a legendary island on the back of a turtle!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Look, I can do a somersault!¡± Kharli tucked her head down and then spun her body in a full circle before emerging with a triumphant smile.


    Mo and I copied her and we all attempted several other acrobatic maneuvers like rolls and flips, not always successfully. They were quite impressed when I showed them how to do a dolphin kick. We got tired after about an hour, and after that, I spent a long time with my body fully relaxed and floating in the water. I almost fell asleep.


    ¡°This is super nice. Thank you,¡± I said when we had all had enough.


    They helped us out of the water and we walked back to where the feast was being held.


    Vasa smiled, showing pearly white teeth, and gallantly offered me his arm. Behind us, I could hear everyone else giggling, and I didn¡¯t want to embarrass him by refusing, so we walked together with my hand in his arm.


    ¡°Look up,¡± he said.


    I tilted my head up to gaze at the dome of luminous water.


    ¡°It¡¯s not always visible, but we are always surrounded by the Turtle¡¯s protection. Unlike the outside world, there is no war, famine, or plague here. I think you should come and live with us.¡± He turned back to speak to my apprentices saying, ¡°All of you.¡±


    Kharli and Mo simply looked at me, waiting for me to reply.


    ¡°This island is like a paradise. If this had been last year, when I was alone, I would¡¯ve jumped at the chance to live here. But now¡­¡± I waved my hand out, a gesture that encompassed everything in the world. ¡°I would never leave my farm.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Our people can leave and return, you know. My cousin returned last year. Do you know what he told me when I asked him why he came back after only a month outside?¡±


    ¡°Was it the lack of good, fresh fish for cheap?¡±


    He laughed. ¡°No. He said he was in this small hunting village and one of the hunters broke his leg. My cousin was shocked when no one in the village except for his wife tended to him.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Isn¡¯t that normal?¡±


    Vasa frowned down at me. ¡°Here, if you break a leg, everyone helps. His wife would hardly need to lift a finger since everyone would help with cooking, cleaning, fetching water, and caring for the sick. That¡¯s how it should be.¡±


    Dawn said, ¡°I heard about that. In the outside world, the only people who take care of each other are family and close friends, not the entire town.¡±


    ¡°Gosh.¡± This information was almost enough to give me second thoughts, but I really couldn¡¯t leave my farm, my household, and my boyfriend.


    We were mostly silent during the rest of the walk until another bell started tolling.


    ¡°She¡¯s going back up!¡± said Dusk.


    It was fast. One moment we were under a dome of water, a few seconds later, we felt a slight lurching movement and then there was nothing but sky above us. Another bell tolled.


    ¡°That¡¯s the signal to prepare for another dive,¡± said Day.

 Chapter 158 - Handsome husband

    ¡°Again? Is something happening?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. I guess maybe she¡¯s just giving you time to sail away,¡± said Day. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not staying?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. We¡¯d better hurry.¡±


    We half-walked, half-ran to where the others were. Lari met up with us, and the islanders crowded around, handing us leaf-wrapped packages of food.


    ¡°Teacher, we have to leave before the Turtle dives again,¡± said Lari. His arms were full of cloth-wrapped bundles.


    I gave the food to Kharli and Mo while I went over to the chief¡¯s table to say our goodbyes. Before we left, I took out boxes of tea and fine silk as a parting gift.


    ¡°Goodbye! I had a wonderful time!¡± I said to the ladies. Dawn, Day, and Dusk kissed me on the cheek and we hugged. They tried to refuse, but I pressed bottles of [Dewy Glow Potion] into their hands, explaining that it was an herbal skin elixir.


    Then we swiftly made our way to the beach where the items I had asked to buy were in crates, ready for me to put into my inventory. I paid the waiting islanders with sacks of spirit rice. When my business was done, I summoned the [Traditional Chinese Ship] since I felt that the [Viking Longship] was too difficult to use at night with poor visibility. From a distance, the ship looked like a sailing ship, but it was actually a flying ship that hovered six feet above the water. Hollers and cheers of amazement echoed from the islanders upon seeing our magnificent mode of transportation.


    [Traditional Chinese Ship:


    A pleasure boat that has a single mast and crimson sails. Its shallow keel ensures smooth passage through narrow waters. Passengers can relax on opulently cushioned benches, and enjoy unobstructed views of the scenic surroundings.]


    We boarded using the gangplank and stood at the rails waving goodbye at the people on the beach until they were out of sight.


    ¡°What an incredible adventure!¡± Impulsively, I hugged my three apprentices. ¡°Did you have fun?¡±


    While we chatted about everything we experienced today, we went to the dining room and put down the gifts the islanders had given us.


    Lari had spent most of the day touring the island with the other teenagers, and he told us all about what he had seen. ¡°They have fishponds that are open to the sea except for a stone wall that lets the small fish in and keeps the big fish out. They have a lot of clever things like that. Their farms are small and they use fish scraps as fertilizer a lot. Teacher, we should do that more! Didn¡¯t we plant a tree with fish under it once?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it grew the same as the ones we planted with regular fertilizer,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°The fertilizer from the System isn''t ¡®regular fertilizer.¡¯ It¡¯s clearly magic,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat while we talk.¡± I led them to the elegant formal dining room which was paneled with golden wood and had a large crystal chandelier hanging above the round table that was large enough for twelve people. I opened the port holes so we could enjoy the sea breeze and then sank into a plush seat in the ship¡¯s dining room. ¡°Hand me some of that roast pork! Did they give us any crunchy skin?¡±


    Lari opened a food package and handed it to me.


    The aroma hit me first and made my mouth water in anticipation. As I pierced the bronze, almost caramelized pork skin with my fork, it crackled enticingly. I took a bite and the crunchy skin shattered into delicious shards of flavor.


    ¡°That hit the spot!¡± I said.


    We got busy opening all the packages and plating the food before eating it. I poured us glasses of ice and peach juice.


    ¡°Not as good as the chef¡¯s,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Still great though,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo nodded.


    ¡°The ribs are to die for.¡± I cut some pieces of the roast pork ribs and put them on my apprentices¡¯ plates along with some rice and vegetables.


    ¡°The men packed some of the prime cuts for us.¡± Lari took another rib and placed it on his plate. ¡°They told me the ribs are nearest to the herb stuffing, so they absorb more flavor.¡±


    I made a sound of pure contentment as I continued eating.


    The girls told Lari about our spa day while he regaled us with tales of his adventures. He claimed that there was a shortage of eligible men on the island and that he had received a dozen marriage proposals.


    ¡°Everyone is related to everyone else, you know.¡± He drank some juice and smiled smugly as he opened one of the cloth-wrapped bundles and showed us an embroidered vest. ¡°The women gave me a lot of presents. I could¡¯ve had a harem if I had stayed.¡±


    Kharli rolled her eyes. ¡°So could I! Mo, too. And Teacher could probably have the biggest harem in the world!¡±


    ¡°No, not me. I don¡¯t like harems.¡± I laughed and continued eating as they chatted.


    ¡°I loved the coconut and coconut water,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°The System has seeds for coconut trees, but they need to grow in good soil in a sunny place,¡± I said. ¡°We can plant tropical fruit trees after we finish transforming the desert into a green land.¡±


    Kharli placed the last pork rib on my plate. ¡°The crates you got from the people at the beach were full of seeds and cuttings, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I plan to sell them to others. They¡¯ll go for a good price since they¡¯re from the mystical island. Hand me the rice platter, please.¡±


    By the time we arrived at the farm, it was almost midnight, and we went straight to our bedrooms. Tomorrow was the last day of the harvest season and we had a lot to do.


    ***


    The next day, I woke up from a dream of a baby dragon. The two of us were having fun when, in the way of dreams, I thought of turning into a rabbit. I used the System to do it, of course. The fact that I could suddenly use the System in my dreams felt natural. Using a holiday item, the Easter Bunny Token, my real body became invisible, and an illusionary form of a cute little white bunny with red eyes appeared in front of me. The rabbit form copied whatever I did. We played around like that, with me hopping around, and him flying in his dragon form for a few days. The animal transformation was fun, but not a useful thing to do since the spell was broken whenever anything touched either my invisible body or the rabbit illusion.


    Yawning, because I had gotten home late last night, I tried using the Easter Bunny Token in real life, but I got bored of it pretty quickly. I guess that was the difference between reality and dreams. It was already midmorning by the time I left my house to eat breakfast.


    ¡°Teacher, I saved some crunchy pork skin for you!¡± Mo took out a plate of food from her inventory.


    We were eating, or, rather, pigging out on the leftovers from the feast last night.


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    ¡°Oh my goodness, this is almost too good.¡± I made a sound of pure bliss.


    The savory meat, slathered with a sweet and vinegary gravy, and paired with fluffy white rice, was amazingly delicious. The crunchy pork skin, of course, was everyone¡¯s favorite. We washed it all down with glasses of iced peach juice. The three plates of mixed vegetables and assorted side dishes were untouched until I reminded the kids that they needed to replenish their energy by eating more of the special mushrooms I had ¡°Foraged.¡± None of them knew that I periodically went back to the Chitinous Caverns to gather supplies and harvest crops.


    ¡°By the way, I have bad news for you. The chef says that the [Kola-Kola Soda] is unhealthy.¡± I raised my hand in a ¡°what can I do¡± gesture. ¡°I know, I know! It¡¯s very good for replenishing our energy, but I don¡¯t want our health to suffer. From now on, we can only use it once a week.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Mo looked horrified. ¡°I was counting on using the soda to get more exp!¡±


    The others nodded.


    I shrugged. ¡°You have the bonus exp from the Fairy Blessings.¡±


    That pretty much brought the conversation to a close since they were still feeling guilty that they got a bonus that I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Anyway, we still have the mushrooms and the hot spring. Those are very good at restoring energy,¡± I said. ¡°Now, eat your dessert, and let¡¯s get going. I want to finish our work before noon.¡±


    I would have said that the Demon Chef outdid himself with today¡¯s dessert, peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream, but his desserts were always excellent so¡­ he just did himself.


    Each forkful enveloped my taste buds in the sweet embrace of juicy baked peaches and buttery pastry. The coldness of the ice cream contrasted with the warmth of the filling in the most pleasant way imaginable. We all had seconds.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said when we finished eating.


    Outside, the air was sweet with the scent of blossoming flowers and the earthy aroma of the freshly turned soil where we had planted the [Wild Seed Mix] a few days ago. As we walked through the fields to clear any random rocks and tree stumps that were in the way, a gentle breeze tousled my hair. We inspected the bees, worms, and chicken eggs. Everything was in order.


    I led them to the field we were going to plant rice on and took out a [Hoe]. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s the last day of the harvest season. Let¡¯s spend four-fifths of our energy plowing a field to prepare for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± they said.


    The kids and I scattered to the four corners of the field and started tilling.


    Of course, seeds could only be planted during the planting season, but we could plow a field today. I made Mr. Bear as big as a real bear and had him hold a cute pink umbrella with a teddy bear design over me as I worked.


    ¡°This is fun! I never get tired of this!¡± I said to Mr. Bear.


    All I had to do was lightly touch the ground with my [Hoe] and the ground was tilled. It was like magic. When my energy bar was half empty, I put my gardening gloves on and fertilized the soil with the [Mysterious Goo].


    [Mysterious Goo:


    An extraordinary blend of slime excreta and worm-made compost, this potent fertilizer fuels flora with a potent cocktail of nutrients. Can only be applied to soil once a year. Do not touch with your bare hands.]


    We were done in no time.


    ¡°Alright, are your energy levels okay?¡± I waited until they nodded before discussing the next order of business. ¡°Now we have to say goodbye to our beloved [Soy Machine]. It¡¯s time to build another [Greenhouse].¡±


    ¡°Yes! More exp!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°We¡¯re planting more tree seeds for the desert farm?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll spend all of summer and autumn preparing for our winter in the desert,¡± I said.


    ¡°I like the desert,¡± said Lari. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯d like to volunteer to do all the desert trips from now on.¡±


    That surprised me. I knew Lari was the most social of my three apprentices and got along very well with the clan members at the southern farm, but he never asked for more work. ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    Lari gave the other two a look. After a few seconds of fidgeting and avoiding my eyes, Mo elbowed Kharli.


    Kharli rolled her eyes dramatically before she finally spoke up. ¡°None of us except Lari likes traveling back and forth to the desert. Especially during the summer! It will be extremely hot, won¡¯t it, Teacher?¡±


    She did have a point, but still¡­


    I frowned at the girls. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair to dump all the hard work on Lari? Don¡¯t worry, I will be reducing the number of trips anyway since the clan members can feed the [Lizardwings] and it seems the demand for more [Lizardwings] is waning.¡±


    This year, I sold a lot of baby farm animals to other farms and found out that both humans and clan members could take care of them after they hatched. I had already modified the System¡¯s privacy settings to allow the public to enter the [Lizardwing¡¯s] habitat, so all I had to do was send them more [Animal Feed].


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised people don¡¯t want to buy those stinky poop machines!¡± Lari laughed and made a big show of pinching his nostrils shut with his hand. ¡°Whenever I think about them, I remember that terrible stench.¡±


    Mo wrinkled her nose. ¡°Stop, you¡¯ll make me puke!¡±


    Using the System''s [Build] tab, I destroyed the [Soy Machine] and replaced it with a [Greenhouse]. We planted as many tree seeds as we could in the [Greenhouse] until we were almost out of energy. Then we walked back to the house to take care of one last task.


    We went to the crafting room in the inner courtyard which was full of shelves stocked with every crafting tool imaginable and had a large wooden table in the middle.


    ¡°Here we go!¡± I covered the surface of the table with a fine white cotton cloth then placed four plates in front of our chairs before dumping the [Crocus] flowers in the middle. They made quite a pile of vibrant purple petals atop slender green stems, providing a cheerful contrast against the pristine tablecloth.


    ¡°They¡¯re so pretty.¡± Mo picked up a single blossom and took a deep breath, enjoying its sweet, delicate scent. She yawned.


    ¡°All we have to do is to gently pull out the crimson stigmas from the flowers. Those are what are sold as saffron.¡± I carefully reached into the mound of flowers, and, one by one, I plucked the ¡°threads¡± from the center of each blossom, placing them on the plate in front of me. Each flower only had three threads.


    The others were silent as they concentrated on their work. Once the stigmas were dried, they would become spirit saffron, an extremely valuable spice that cost more than thrice its weight in gold.


    When we were around halfway through the pile, Lari frowned at the plate in front of him. ¡°Teacher, there are so few! Can this be sold?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I finished pulling out the threads from the flower I was holding before replying. ¡°We¡¯ll have to hand this over to the chef and see what he thinks.¡±


    Mo moved her plate closer to her face and tried to smell the saffron. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem that special.¡±


    ¡°It will be special when it¡¯s cooked,¡± I said.


    I examined a thread, but no System information appeared. We had successfully produced something new without using the System directly. We continued working, and when we were done, Lari groaned in dismay when he saw the pitiful quantity of saffron we had. There was barely enough to fill a teaspoon.


    ¡°This is impossible! There are too few to sell,¡± he said. ¡°Even if it does cost more than gold by weight, it¡¯s useless since this must weigh less than a teaspoonful of water.¡±


    I carefully stored the spices and flowers in my inventory. ¡°Saffron is rare, that¡¯s why it¡¯s expensive. Never mind the gold price, the important thing is that the chef will surely create a masterpiece for us with this!¡±


    Kharli flicked Lari in the forehead. ¡°Stop whining! Don¡¯t you know this is an ingredient only the richest people use? We¡¯ll be feasting like kings tomorrow.


    ¡°No, no, not tomorrow. This has to be dried first. We¡¯ll have a feast right after the planting season is over. Go and soak in the hot spring and rest. We need to refill our energy bars.¡± I shooed the kids away and went to the kitchen to offer the saffron to the chef.


    Then I went back to my [Ranch House] to relax, but Yinuo accosted me as I was about to step through the front door.


    ¡°My lady, I¡¯d like to take a few weeks off,¡± she said.


    ¡°Have you told Fengying?¡± Though I had the final say on everything, Fengying was my housekeeper and was the one who was really in charge of day-to-day matters regarding the staff.


    ¡°Yes, she said I could go with your permission, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Sure. What is this about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting married!¡± Yinuo grinned at me with a very smug expression on her face. ¡°The matchmaker finally found me a handsome husband. Look!¡±


    She handed me a portrait. It was painted with colored inks on canvas and was the size of my palm, showing a very handsome man with striking features. He had high, chiseled cheekbones and a strong, square jawline. His dark brown eyes were piercing and seemed to stare right through the viewer. Thick, dark brows arched over his eyes, and his hair was a tousled mane of black locks that fell to his shoulders. Though the portrait was small, the artist had captured the man''s charisma and an air of confidence that commanded attention.


    ¡°Whaaaat¡­? Where did the matchmaker even find a person this handsome? Why is he still unmarried? Oooooh, you better watch out, this one looks like a heartbreaker!¡± I couldn''t help but tease Yinuo mercilessly.


    She still had a smug expression on her face. ¡°He¡¯s unmarried because his family is in debt. I will have to buy him from the family he¡¯s indentured to, but it will be worth it if he¡¯s as handsome as this picture.¡±


    In this world, indenture was a type of contract labor in which a person worked for someone without pay in order to repay a loan. Local laws and customs were very strict about the proper treatment of indentured workers, so it wasn''t too bad, but it was hardly an enviable position to be in.


    "How much?" I asked.


    "It''s a secret," she said.


    "Hmmm." Yinuo was older than me, but I felt it was my duty as her friend to lecture her a little bit about how good character was more important than good looks. ¡°You won¡¯t rush into this, right? A handsome face is one thing, but a good heart is more important.¡±


    She just pooh-poohed my concerns and took the portrait back before leaving. ¡°My lady, remember the wedding gifts¡­¡±


    I only realized I should¡¯ve asked for more details when she returned weeks later with a big surprise.

 Chapter 159 - Summer Planting Year 2 - Stats

    The next day, the entire household got up before dawn and waited in front of the main house for the sun to rise. Once the first rays of light showed above the horizon, Haoran and the other chef¡¯s assistants started the blessing ritual. The whole thing was mercifully brief. They simply circled the farm while chanting prayers and burning sweet-smelling herbs and incense. Then we all gathered in front of the [Vineheart Fairy House] and everyone, except for me, took turns burning spirit offerings which took the form of paper money or small fabric items painted, sewn, glued, etc. to resemble luxury goods like miniature robes, silver taels, gold ingots, potion bottles, furniture, horses, and immortal pills.


    When it was over, we trooped back to the house for a simple, light breakfast of oatmeal with honey and hot tea or coffee. The main morning meal would be eaten after we finished planting.


    The kids and I went back to the field we had plowed yesterday and planted the [Rice Seeds]. After watering them, we still had a lot of energy left, so we continued to till, fertilize, plant, and water the rest of the field until our energy bars were almost empty.


    The next two weeks followed the same pattern. We met at dawn and planted rice and tea seeds. On the last day of the spring planting season, we drank [Kola Kola Soda] to replenish a fraction of our energy bars and went to the fairies¡¯ house to plant a few sunflowers, lavender, marigolds, and petunias.


    ¡°I think the fairies love flowers,¡± said Mo as she watered the seeds.


    I chuckled a little at that. ¡°What, even the gangster fairy?¡±


    Mo shook her head. ¡°Teacher, how could there be a gangster fairy?¡±


    I pinched her cheek. ¡°You¡¯re only saying that because you forgot what happened. There was a brawler fairy. She even got into a fight with the Demon Chef.¡±


    For some reason that I couldn¡¯t figure out, everyone except me forgot all about the fairies¡¯ appearance. The marks of the Fairy Blessings faded after a few days, and now they treated my story about what happened as a tall tale. They still remembered they had blessings, and my kids still kept their bonus exp, but their minds seemed to have created a different memory.


    ¡°No, the fairies were in the form of beautiful and gentle princess-like winged beings made of light,¡± said Mo. ¡°There was no fighting.¡±


    ¡°There was just one fairy and she was a grandmother goddess with golden wings and a bright golden halo,¡± said Lari.


    Kharli was having none of it. ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re both wrong. They were cute children with white, feathered wings wearing white robes. They smelled like honey and milk!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s weird that we all saw different things¡­¡± I put away my watering can and wiped my hands with a handkerchief. When the others finished watering, I said, ¡°That¡¯s not important though. It¡¯s the last day. How are your stats?¡±


    I had leveled up once.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 24¡ú25, Fishing Level 12, Woodcutting Level 22, Cooking Level 6, Herblaw Level 22, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 7, Mining Level 4]


    My apprentices also leveled up Farming.


    [Apprentice Name: Kharli


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 18¡ú19, Fishing Level 6, Woodcutting Level 16, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 5]


    [Apprentice Name: Lari


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 18¡ú19, Fishing Level 10, Woodcutting Level 16, Cooking Level 1, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 4, Hunting Level 9]


    [Apprentice Name: Mo


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 18¡ú19, Fishing Level 4, Woodcutting Level 17, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 11, Hunting Level 4]


    I took out a clipboard and ballpoint pen from my inventory and noted their levels down. ¡°Things are shaping up nicely! Do you remember our agreement when I took you on as my apprentices?¡±


    Lari and Kharli went to either side of me and tried to read what I was writing, but it was all in my ¡°secret code¡± aka English.


    ¡°The profit sharing agreement?¡± Lari rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ¡°That¡¯s not until we reach level 25 Farming, right, Teacher?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Right. At level 25 you¡¯re considered a farmer in your own right, and we can split the harvest 70-30 in my favor. At level 50 you¡¯ll be a master farmer, and we¡¯ll raise your share to 50 percent.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll be incredibly rich!¡± said Lari.


    I gestured in the direction of the house, and we started walking. ¡°Do note that when you graduate from your apprenticeship, you¡¯ll be responsible for your expenses.¡±


    Kharli and Mo exchanged alarmed glances while Lari continued beaming and counting off things on his fingers. We could barely hear him muttering stuff like, ¡°my own carriage, gold robes, silver plates, a jeweled belt¡­¡±


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    ¡°Teacher? What does that mean?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°It means you¡¯ll have to keep your own account books, and you won¡¯t get an allowance anymore. Your money will be your share of the farm¡¯s profit.¡± I patted the girls on their backs and smiled at them benevolently. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll have more than enough!¡±


    ¡°A white horse, no, two white horses, or maybe a sedan chair¡­¡± With a dreamy look on his face, Lari continued enumerating the things he wanted to buy.


    Once we got to the house, we went to the kitchen to get some food then I led them to the inner courtyard where I wanted to discuss our plans for the summer. The room I chose had a whiteboard on one side and a large glass table in the middle with four wooden chairs. My apprentices put down plain white cotton table mats and coasters while I arranged the food in Dresden porcelain plates that were edged in gold and painted with a lovely landscape scene of rolling hills, tranquil lakes, and red-billed cranes. The kids also placed the glasses and silverware in the proper location as dictated by this world¡¯s table etiquette. I was gratified to note that they had fully mastered the art of ¡°Central style¡± dining.


    We ate a hearty meal of rice, sauteed mushrooms, red-braised pork, fish filets in black bean sauce, and abalone bean curd soup.


    Lari ate with a good appetite like the rest of us, but midway through the meal, he seemed to be struck by a worrying thought. He frowned and asked me, ¡°Teacher, when we graduate, will we have to pay for our meals?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Mo jostled his arm playfully. ¡°You¡¯ll be charged more than us because you eat twice as much as we do.¡±


    Kharli laughed at Lari¡¯s horrified expression. ¡°I¡¯m sure Teacher won¡¯t charge us for the food.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure of that.¡± Laughing at their expressions, I waved my fork at the table and said, ¡°Remember your etiquette. Let''s finish eating before we talk about business.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just joking,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Hush, you. Pass me the mushroom dish,¡± I said.


    By the time we finished eating, I was in a great mood. The kids cleared the table and I took out my clipboard.


    ¡°Time for a serious discussion.¡± I put the clipboard down on the table. ¡°Household and farm expenses, such as the staff¡¯s salaries, food and other supplies, transportation, and so forth are taken out of the money we get from selling the crops and other farm products. Profit means the money that is left over after expenses and taxes are deducted from our income. Do you follow so far?¡±


    My three apprentices nodded. There were no jokes this time and they were listening attentively to every word.


    ¡°The household expenses aren''t as much as you might think since a lot of things we use are items taken from my bloodline inheritance. You probably won¡¯t graduate until next year, so we¡¯ll discuss the details then. We¡¯ll have to go over the account books together, but right now what you need to do is to prepare for it. You¡¯ll need to learn the basics of keeping records and how to calculate expenses, taxes, salaries, and so forth.¡± They looked quite overwhelmed, but I continued speaking. ¡°This summer, I¡¯ve hired a special tutor that Prince Baiyu recommended. She''ll teach you reading, writing, arithmetic, and, eventually, accounting. Questions?¡±


    I waited, but no one said anything. ¡°Okay, I currently pay for all your living expenses. When you graduate you can set up your household, in which case you wouldn¡¯t have to pay for this household¡¯s expenses.¡±


    Lari looked alarmed. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that we wouldn¡¯t be eating here? Would the chef cook for all our households?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it very much.¡± I laughed out loud at my apprentices¡¯ looks of consternation. ¡°Deming is training apprentices though. Let¡¯s hope they¡¯re ready by the time you guys need your own chef.¡±


    I allowed them a moment of silence as they all thought about it. Finally, Mo spoke up. ¡°Can I please just stay here even after I become a master farmer?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but would you really want to? It¡¯s okay, you have a lot of time to think about it and make your plans.¡± I picked up my clipboard again and started ticking off the items on my list. ¡°That¡¯s for the future. For now, let¡¯s talk about the summer season.¡±


    I put a checkmark on the first item. ¡°Rice fields. Check. We just need to wait for the seedlings to grow big enough before flooding them and adding the fish.¡±


    ¡°The fish we grew ourselves are especially delicious, I think,¡± said Kharli. ¡°And the rice grew better.¡±


    I went on to the other items on the list. ¡°Tea field. Check. We will add the shade canopy later on when it¡¯s needed. Bees?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re healthy and giving lots of honey,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Okay. Bees and honey. Check. Worms?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve been reproducing a lot. I think we need to add another box layer,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Great. Worms, add another box. Check. What about the [Black Soil] project?¡±


    ¡°I think the soil has improved a little, but it can¡¯t be compared to the soil samples we got,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Hmmm, so it¡¯s a little slow to develop. Let¡¯s try [Cowpea] and [Alfalfa] after the [Wild Seed Mix].¡±


    They nodded. Unlike me, who grew up on modern-day Earth and needed to write down a lot of things in case I forgot them, the kids were used to memorizing long lists. Paper was readily available from many sources, but it was too expensive for the children in the orphanage to use just to write down lists of things to do.


    I wrote down the new plan. ¡°[Black Soil]. Check.¡±


    ¡°Is [Cowpea] good for cows?¡± asked Kharli. ¡°Are we hatching cow eggs?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that is the next item on the list. Farm animals. The chickens and pigs have been¡­¡± I tapped my lips with the pen while I searched for the right words. ¡°Half successful. The ranchers and farmers who are raising the animals seem satisfied, but I¡¯m concerned about the number of animals that died. It seems cruel¡­¡±


    Lari simply shook his head while Kharli and Mo exchanged baffled looks.


    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s not more cruel than hunting animals, is it?¡± asked Lari.


    He had a point.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it seems to me like sending off newly hatched animals to die is a bit heartless. I¡¯m thinking of stopping the selling of newborn animals after we¡¯ve fulfilled the agreements we¡¯ve made so far.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, how many animals died?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Around half. It seems like a waste. Let¡¯s raise them here until they¡¯re at least a month old before sending them off.¡±


    Mo frowned slightly and whispered something to Kharli before turning to me and saying, ¡°But there will be a lot of noise and maybe a foul odor. What about when the prince moves in?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to talk to you about. Why don¡¯t we clear a new area south of the river for the animals? That should be far enough. Check?¡± When they nodded their agreement, I ticked that item off my list. ¡°Next, fruit tree planting. We¡¯ll probably expand the house and farm to the east and south, so it should be okay to plant orchards on the north and west sides of the main house.¡±


    ¡°More exp!¡± Mo put her arm around Kharli and squeezed her excitedly. ¡°Sweet fruits and sweet exp.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll start by planting apple trees.¡± I handed them packets of apple seeds. ¡°Check. We¡¯ll also use the [Greenhouse] to prepare tree seedlings for the desert farm. Check.¡±


    The kids examined the apple seeds, but there was nothing much to see. They were just regular seeds.


    ¡°Now, as for our crafting work, the White Tiger clan will buy our explosive arrows. We¡¯ll continue to make them. Everyone okay with that?¡±


    They nodded.


    ¡°Explosive arrows, check. Last item¡­. a new project!¡± I got up and went to the whiteboard. Using a marker, I drew a large square with a circle in the middle and four diamond shapes.


    ¡°Teacher, the lines are crooked. Do you want me to fix it?¡± Kharli giggled naughtily.


    Rolling my eyes, I handed her the marker. I was expecting the cheeky girl to fail, but, alas, her shapes were perfect and symmetrical.


    ¡°Okay. This is our new project this summer, an [Herb Garden]. I¡¯ll teach you how to make no-till raised beds, and we¡¯ll plant the special herbs in them.¡± Without further ado, I handed them packets of [Herb Seeds].


    [Herb Seeds:


    A mystery assortment of herb seeds ranging from the familiar to the exotic. Each one will grow into a culinary, medicinal, aromatic, or ornamental herb. Can only be planted in an Herb Garden.]

 Chapter 159.5 - Ridiculously Strenuous, Absurdly Relentless, and Insanely Demanding

    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    This is a mess. I should be on vacation, tending to my newborn, but now I¡¯m buried in a mountain of paperwork. The messengers who have to carry the sacks of scrolls to my house have joked about using a cart to carry all the messages. Every day my hands ache from writing hundreds of replies.


    It all started when Baroness Violet gave me a small amount of spirit tea from her farm.


    She apologized for the quality of the product and promised that she would be able to produce much better tea in a year or two.


    The thing that kills me is that I believed her!


    I¡¯m not particularly fond of tea, so I gave most of it away. I should have known better. The people I gave it to either drank it or gave it away to someone else. Somehow, a small amount of tea found its way to the tea aficionados of the Wolf and Leopard clans.


    Most of the tea drinkers said it was very ordinary spirit tea, but one person, a three-hundred-year-old member of the Wolf Clan who was born blind, fell into a coma when he drank it. Another, a respected scholar from the Leopard Clan, went into convulsions and then likewise fell unconscious. When they woke up around an hour later, they both claimed to have developed a new sense, as if they could now see the warmth emanating from living beings and objects, even in the darkest of nights. It was as though their eyes had become attuned to the unseen energies of the world, revealing secrets hidden from ordinary sight.


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    My wife says this could all be a scam. The Wolf and Leopard clans could be making these claims to drive up the price of the tea that was gifted to them by a friend of a friend.


    I drank the tea myself, as did dozens of others, and nothing happened to us, but now the wolves and leopards are all convinced they need to drink the tea to check if they can also acquire this strange new ability. Word spread swiftly to the other clans and now everyone wants it. The doctors, herbalists, and alchemists have been especially insistent about asking for samples to study.


    The rice and vegetables from Emberstone Farm are in my care, but everyone knows that I¡¯m merely the middleman for those items and that the choice of who to sell it to is out of my hands. The tea, on the other hand, was a personal gift, so people think I can get more of it without going through the White Tiger Clan.


    Lady Violet promised to send me one more package of tea. Until then, I might just run away with my wife and baby to a faraway land to escape the endless sea of scrolls that''s threatening to bury me alive.

 Chapter 160 - Planting a no-till [Herb Garden]

    ¡°These are, of course, ordinary spirit herb seeds. I mean, they won¡¯t grow into Immortal Herbs that are used for making miraculous pills.¡± Opening a seed packet, I poured the contents on the table. The seeds were of various shapes and sizes, from normal-looking brown ones to large pearly glowing ones that smelled of mint.


    In the game, these mostly grew into herbs that I knew like mint, basil, and chamomile, but there were also a few that were unknown on Earth like whispering thistle, sundew blossom, pearlstem grass, echoreed, strange vines, etc.


    The funny thing was that the [Herb Garden] was old content, and when the herbs grew, they all looked the same since the developers just copy-pasted the same graphics. Only the color palette was changed to distinguish between the different types of plants. I was looking forward to seeing their real appearance outside of a computer monitor.


    ¡°Teacher, why are we only making an [Herb Garden] now?¡± asked Kharli.


    The three of them were busily sorting the seeds, which wasn¡¯t an easy job since a lot of them were quite similar to each other.


    ¡°This is the first time we have enough space. What do you think?¡± In fact, there were other garden and house features players could add. They weren¡¯t always very useful or valuable, but they were fun. For example, one could add a small fishing pond, hydroponic greenhouse, rain garden, weather monitoring tower, petting zoo, astrology observation platform, perfumery, etc. Even in Adventure Incarnate, players had trouble finding enough space for all of them. ¡°I also had to wait until we had enough energy to manage everything.¡±


    ¡°We do have a lot more energy now, and we don¡¯t need much during the growing season since the rice paddies don¡¯t need watering.¡± Mo stirred the pile of seeds in front of her. ¡°Are these rare seeds?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ll have to plant them and find out!¡± I gave them a few more packets. ¡°Isn¡¯t this fun? Pick the seeds you like.¡±


    I pointed at the design I had drawn on the whiteboard with Kharli¡¯s help. ¡°We can each take a square and plant the seeds we think are good. The middle circle will be planted with random seeds. Whoever has the best square will be crowned the king or queen of summer this year!¡±


    For the first time, Lari looked interested. ¡°Is there a prize, Teacher?¡±


    ¡°Yes, whoever ¡®wins¡¯ will be feasted with all of their favorite dishes, and I¡¯ll give them this.¡± I showed them a circlet made of silk leaves and flowers. Fengying had bought this for me when I asked her to buy a prize that was suitably tasteful.


    ¡°May I?¡± Lari held out his hand.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I gave him the circlet.


    He inspected the circlet closely. ¡°The beads in the middle of the flowers?¡±


    ¡°Ivory beads.¡±


    ¡°The wire?¡±


    ¡°Silver-plated alloy only. It¡¯s not that valuable since this is just a fun little contest.¡±


    Kharli, Mo, and I laughed at his disappointed pouting.


    ¡°I like it,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Give it to me, I wanna try it.¡±


    Kharli and Mo took turns putting it on.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± said Mo.


    She handed it to Kharli.


    ¡°I¡¯m a pretty princess!¡± Kharli put it on and then sat up straight, lifted her chin, and waved regally as though she was in a procession.


    We talked a little more about minor matters then parted ways. I went to play with Cutie for a while before going to my house to train my Alchemy a little. The staff really liked the mochi, aka basic nourishing qi pills, I made. I also used the System¡¯s wood chipper, shredder, and mulcher to prepare wood chips, shredded leaves, and green mulch for the [Herb Garden].


    ***


    Summer had come, and I chose a bunch of lightweight cotton robes and thin trousers to wear. The kids liked to wear sleeveless tops, while I preferred the loose long-sleeved ones since they protected my skin from the sun.


    It was pleasantly warm today. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees in the Ancient Hill Forest, carrying with it the sweet fragrance of wildflowers and the scent of the river to the south.


    My apprentices and I inspected the tea and rice plants, weeding where needed, and watering the crops. The seeds had sprouted overnight, and in each field, the delicate green shoots reached tentatively toward the sunlight. A few already had tiny little leaves that were still furled.


    Once we finished watering the crops, we gathered together east of the main house.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to put up the walls of the [Herb Garden] first, okay?¡± I said to my three apprentices and my household staff, who had asked permission to watch. They just never got tired of the System¡¯s magic. A glowing magic circle appeared on the ground in front of me. ¡°Stand back, please.¡±


    The people behind me sighed in wonder. Seconds later, the magic circle flashed twice and disappeared, leaving behind the [Herb Garden]. Everyone except for me clapped.


    I bowed. ¡°Thank you, thank you! Let¡¯s go inside.¡±


    I opened the ornate iron gates adorned with white and red climbing roses, their velvety petals brushing against my fingertips and releasing a sweet, lingering fragrance into the air. My staff all filed inside the garden, but there wasn¡¯t much to see yet. Four stone walls encircled an area that was roughly 25 feet by 40 feet.


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    Yesterday, I had arranged the garden the way I had shown my apprentices. As visitors entered, their eyes were drawn to the raised beds meticulously arranged within. Four diamond-shaped plots flanked the garden''s perimeter, their edges lined with weathered stone. At the garden''s center lay a circular plot, also lined in stone, as well as a small marble fountain where water flowed from a playful fairy¡¯s upraised wand. At her feet was a sleeping dragon made of blue ceramic mosaic tiles. Grass-lined pathways tiled with elegant white marble veined with blue and gray crisscrossed the garden, and at the far end was a small roofed area with a comfortable bench designed for relaxation. Ivy and climbing roses decorated the walls, here and there, adding splashes of color to the gray stone.


    Deming and his assistants took a quick look around and then left. The rest milled around for a few minutes checking to see if there was anything interesting until Fengying told them to go back to their work.


    ¡°It looks lovely, my lady, and I¡¯m sure it will look even better when the herbs start growing,¡± said Fengying. Today there was a little bounce in her step and her cheeks were rosy with health. Ever since she got the fairy¡¯s blessing, she seemed to be aging backward.


    ¡°We¡¯re sending the wedding gifts to Yinuo today, right?¡± My maid had sent word she was getting married as soon as possible, and I¡¯d asked Fengying to arrange for some silver to be sent to her.


    ¡°Yes, and the staff all contributed money to buy a few sets of good quality bed linens,¡± she said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to meet her husband.¡± Yinuo had sent word that the matchmaker¡¯s promise of a handsome husband had exceeded her expectations. ¡°I heard he¡¯s really, really handsome! Yinuo boasted that I could die of shock when I see who she married.¡±


    Fengying didn¡¯t quite roll her eyes, but I got the distinct impression she was exasperated. ¡°That girl! I told her to beware of good-looking men. She shouldn¡¯t have married in such a rush.¡±


    ¡°She was probably afraid someone else would snatch her gorgeous betrothed away from her if she didn¡¯t work fast.¡±


    Fengying shook her head and gave me some demon pork dumplings wrapped in banana leaves for a morning snack before leaving. I shared them with my apprentices before we started our work.


    ¡°Now for some fun! Did you all remember to bring your chosen seeds?¡±


    They all took out the seed packets from their pockets or inventory.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start. Watch what I do.¡± I went over to the Western plot of land and laid down a layer of cardboard on it. ¡°This time, we won¡¯t till the ground. Instead, we¡¯ll add layers of materials over the soil to make a raised bed. First, we will cover the ground with this cardboard. This will suffocate the weeds and grass. Now I¡¯ll wet it.¡±


    I used the watering can from the System to thoroughly soak the cardboard.


    ¡°Next, we will add brown and green stuff in alternating layers. There should be twice as much brown stuff as green stuff. This is the brown stuff. It¡¯s made of shredded old leaves, wood chips, twigs, straw, and corn stalks.¡± I took out buckets of the material I had prepared beforehand. ¡°Help me pour it over the cardboard please.¡±


    We dumped the stuff on the cardboard and I spread it around to make an even layer four inches deep. Then I took out buckets of compost and manure. ¡°Add this. Be careful, don¡¯t just throw it in willy-nilly or you¡¯ll get it on your clothes.¡±


    The smell was incredibly bad, but it had to be done. When we finished, I took out more buckets. ¡°These are the green materials. I put green leaves, grass, vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds through a mulcher to make it.¡±


    We quickly poured the green mulch over the compost and manure. I wiped my forehead. The summer heat was making itself felt though it wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable yet since it was still early in the season.


    ¡°And so we¡¯re one-third of the way done. We need to add two more sets of brown material, compost, manure, and green material layers.¡± I expected them to groan or complain about it, but they reacted stoically. ¡°Then we need to do the four other areas.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, please put this hat on.¡± Kharli handed me a conical farmer¡¯s hat made of rice straw.


    I put it on and said, ¡°Thanks, the sun was burning the top of my head.¡±


    We were mostly silent as we worked. My back started aching when we were halfway through.


    ¡°Teacher, why don¡¯t we just fill it all with soil?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question. In the future, when you make your garden away from Emberstone Farm, you can do that.¡± I continued to pour buckets of compost. ¡°However, the [Herb Garden] is a special place for using this technique. Notice that the stuff we are using is mostly made of waste materials that would otherwise be thrown away.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lari¡¯s eyebrows furrowed slightly.


    He seemed skeptical, so I explained a little more. ¡°Not every place has good soil. What about the desert? We could use this method there.¡±


    Lari was silent as he thought about it. Eventually, his furrowed brows relaxed, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. ¡°We could add some chopped fish parts, too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we can experiment later on,¡± I said.


    Mo straightened up and put a hand on her lower back. ¡°My back hurts from bending down too much. This is more tiring than plowing a field, but my energy bar isn¡¯t depleting.¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re using muscle power, not System energy,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Teacher, why don¡¯t you sit down and rest? We can finish the rest.¡±


    She must have noticed I was slacking off a little. ¡°Thanks, but four will work faster than three.¡±


    By the time we finished, our clothes were soaked in sweat and covered in dirt. I looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled. Though I was worn out, it was a good kind of tired, the type where one had worked hard all day and accomplished something good. ¡°Finally! We¡¯re done here. Let¡¯s wash up and have lunch.¡±


    ¡°But, Teacher, aren¡¯t we going to plant the seeds before we leave?¡± asked Kharli.


    I stretched my arms above my head and rotated my head from side to side before answering. This kind of work was tough on the back and neck. ¡°I almost forgot to tell you. These layers will need to decompose before we can plant the [Herb Seeds]. Outside of this [Herb Garden], you would probably have to wait a few months, but our garden is special. It should be ready before the end of the day.¡±


    Mo¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°System magic!¡±


    ¡°System magic,¡± echoed Kharli. She wrapped her arm around Mo¡¯s and they walked off together.


    Lari and I followed behind them.


    ¡°It¡¯s past noon. Thank goodness we had those dumplings or I¡¯d be starving,¡± said Lari.


    I rolled my shoulders. They felt stiff. ¡°I¡¯ll clean myself up at my house. See you guys later.¡±


    I picked up Cutie on the way and brought her into the [Ranch House] with me. As I showered, I wondered why my body ached. Surely a young, fit woman shouldn''t be this tired after a bit of garden work?


    After some thought, I decided that it was probably because I had pushed myself too hard in the past month. Two weeks of harvest and two weeks of planting in which I used up all but a sliver of my energy meant that my fatigue had accumulated. Therefore, I resolved to take the day off tomorrow.


    Lunch was a delight. The freshly harvested vegetables were made into a salad drizzled with a roasted sesame sauce, and the Demon Chef had made an incredible beef bacon with the demon cow Prince Baiyu had sent over last week.


    ¡°Teacher, you look tired. Why don¡¯t you rest before we return to the [Herb Garden]?¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I look tired?¡± Was it really that obvious? ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s finish up today and I¡¯ll rest tomorrow.¡±


    When we went back to the [Herb Garden], we saw that the raised beds looked the same as when we left earlier, so we settled down on the bench and chatted about this and that until I got a System popup.


    [The Herb Garden is ready for planting.]

 Chapter 161 - Special cultivation technique

    The kids exclaimed in surprise when a bright green light flashed all around the sky above the garden three times.


    ¡°My energy bar is draining!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Mine, too!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Same here,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Uh-huh, stay calm.¡± Though I kept my voice even, I also felt a little concerned when my energy bar started to quickly deplete, worried that I might not have enough left to complete today¡¯s task.


    ¡°It stopped?¡± Mo put a hand on her chest and looked relieved. ¡°I still have a fifth of my energy left.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. What about the rest of you?¡± I asked the others.


    They said they also had one-fifth of their energy bar left.


    ¡°We have no choice but to chug more soda,¡± I said. ¡°This will be our last drink for this week, okay?¡±


    They nodded their agreement, and I distributed bottles of [Kola-Kola Soda] and glasses full of ice.


    ¡°Cold soda is so good.¡± Lari frowned at his empty glass. ¡°May I have another?¡±


    Kharli elbowed him. ¡°Teacher just said this bottle is the last one!¡±


    ¡°I love soda,¡± said Mo. ¡°I wish we could drink it every day.¡±


    ¡°Noooooo. You guys are getting addicted!¡± I shook my head. ¡°Maybe I should ban soda for the rest of the year.¡±


    We bantered a bit more while I slowly sipped my drink, relishing the sweetness and savoring the effervescent bubbles that danced on my tongue. My energy recovered a little. ¡°Okay, everyone go to your designated spot.¡±


    The level of the layered materials in the raised beds was now much lower than before and it had turned into what looked like crumbly, moist loam with tons of organic stuff in it. We all grabbed a handful and examined it closely.


    [Growing Medium:


    Made of decomposed organic materials, this growing medium provides an excellent environment for plants. Its porous texture ensures excellent drainage while retaining enough moisture for optimal plant development. Ideal for containers, raised beds, or garden plots.]


    I dropped the handful of [Growing Medium]. ¡°Oh good, it doesn¡¯t stink. Everyone, plant your seeds.¡±


    Lari ran over to me. ¡°Wait, Teacher, I have an idea.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Since the [Herb Garden] makes this special [Growing Medium] for us, it must be great for plants. Why don¡¯t we remove it and layer more stuff again? We can use the garden to make more every day.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I was taken aback by his suggestion at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he had a point. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a genius idea. Give me a minute to think about it.¡±


    I mentally weighed the pros and cons while Kharli and Mo congratulated Lari for coming up with an interesting new tactic.


    ¡°Alright, here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. I believe that there is a good chance it won¡¯t work, and none of us would want to miss out on growing what could potentially be valuable herbs.¡± I checked their expressions and saw that they agreed with me. ¡°However, there is an extra area that we can use for the experiment. Let''s plant the seeds in our allotted spaces and experiment on the fifth, circular space in the middle.¡±


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    ¡°Yes! I want to plant my seeds and grow amazing medicinal herbs!¡± Mo went back to her place, the eastern side of the garden.


    The rest of us did the same. Using the hand-held seeder from the System, I finished in no time at all. Watering the [Growing Medium] was likewise easy. The last step was to carefully place plant markers with labels to identify which seed I had planted.


    ¡°I hope I get something good,¡± I said.


    There was a wiki that I could have checked if I were still on Earth, but here, alas, there was no such thing. Yesterday, when we sorted the seeds, we took one of each and put it in a packet that was given a random number which we wrote on the markers so that we would have a record of which seeds produced which herb.


    ¡°Teacher, please sit down and relax,¡± said Lari. ¡°Since it was my idea, I¡¯ll do the work.¡±


    I waved his suggestion away as though it was a gnat. ¡°No, no. Of course, I¡¯ll help.¡±


    We shoveled the [Growing Medium] into buckets which I stored in my inventory and then we once again layered materials in the central raised bed.


    ¡°This takes a lot more effort than what we normally do.¡± Mo was panting slightly from the exertion.


    Kharli, on the other hand, seemed full of energy. She poured another bucket of green materials on top of the brown layer. ¡°Do you think it will work?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Mo looked down at herself and frowned. ¡°We¡¯re all dirty again.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have to wash up one more time.¡± I flicked a bit of manure off my skirt. ¡°Farming can be tough on clothes. I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t have to do the laundry myself.¡±


    There were modern washer-dryer machines in the laundry room which were good enough to use on our work clothes. Fengying and the others liked them though constant use tended to damage the more delicate clothes. The more valuable clothes made of silk, lace, embroidered cloth, etc. all had to be hand-washed, which wasn''t too hard since we had large sinks and plenty of hot and cold running water in the house. The weird thing was that a few of the maids said they missed doing the laundry in a river like they used to do in other places.


    ¡°Our new summer robes are nice,¡± said Lari. ¡°I removed all the sleeves on mine. Madam Fengying said it was fine. Anyway, they can be sewn back on if I change my mind.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not even that hot yet, but I might do that, too,¡± said Mo.


    Kharli nodded. ¡°I¡¯m shortening my trousers by two inches, too.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I took out a string of pearls from my inventory and clutched them. ¡°How shocking!¡±


    The kids just rolled their eyes or shook their heads. None of them understood the pearl-clutching joke, but I thought it was funny.


    ¡°Done. Now we just need to wait for the [Herb Garden] to create the [Growing Medium].¡± I yawned, accidentally smearing dirt on my face when I used a hand to cover my mouth. ¡°Ew, yuck. Kids, let¡¯s clean ourselves up and meet back here later.¡±


    Lari rubbed his hands together. ¡°I hope it works.¡±


    ¡°Me, too, kid. Me, too.¡±


    ***


    The next day, after we finished weeding and watering the crops, we returned to the [Herb Garden] to check on its progress.


    ¡°Uh-oh,¡± I said.


    ¡°Tsk tsk,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo shook her head. ¡°Ahhh¡­¡±


    Lari''s disappointment was all too easy to read in the downturn of his lips and the dimming of his usually bright gaze. ¡°It didn¡¯t work.¡±


    The layers of materials hadn¡¯t been changed into [Growing Medium].


    I patted his back comfortingly. ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s give it one more day. At least our herbs are growing nicely.¡±


    We watered our herbs, marveling at the different colors and shapes of the stems and cotyledons.


    ¡°One of my seeds hasn¡¯t germinated.¡± Mo frowned down worriedly at a spot in her garden plot that was bare [Growing Medium].


    ¡°It¡¯s only been a day, give it time,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°This is black!¡± Lari was kneeling on the ground and grinning at a particularly strange seedling. ¡°Could it be one of those mythical demon plants?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°No way! I told you guys, these are mostly just ordinary herbs.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so exciting to plant seeds without knowing what it will grow into!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s like a funny little mystery. I can¡¯t wait to find out what herbs I planted,¡± said Kharli.


    I hummed a little as I inspected my plants and watered them. Unlike the regular fields on the farm, the seeds in the [Herb Garden] were planted very close together. Each of us had chosen 28 seeds, though some of them were the same ones, which made for a total of 100 types of seeds. I was glad that the seedlings didn¡¯t look like the color-swapped graphics in Adventure Incarnate. It would be funny if the dandelions, lavender, rosemary, etc. all looked like a generic plant. The graphics in the game looked like something a child would draw¡ªa plant with a single five-petaled flower and a few oval-shaped leaves growing on a green stem.


    Mo was watering her plot when she suddenly froze and stared wide-eyed at a seedling. With a trembling finger, she pointed at something below her. ¡°Everyone, look! There¡¯s a ghost!¡±

 Chapter 162 - The one where Mo said she saw a ghost

    We all rushed towards her, and Lari was the first to see what she was pointing at. ¡°A pure white fairy¡­¡±


    Kharli peered down at it. ¡°You scared me, I thought you meant a real ghost!¡±


    ¡°It looks like a beautiful spirit, doesn¡¯t it? Imagine this fluttering around the plants at night.¡± With her head tilted, Mo''s expression was one of thoughtful delight, her gaze sparkling with curiosity, and a gentle smile playing on her lips. She must¡¯ve been teasing us with her dramatics earlier.


    ¡°Gosh.¡± I stood watching the insect for a while.


    In the dappled sunlight of the garden, the white insect, a moth, if I wasn¡¯t mistaken, drifted like a specter, its ghostly pallor stark against the dark brown of the [Growing Medium]. With each delicate flutter of its wings, it seemed to shimmer and scatter silver dust around it that cast an eerie glow as it moved through the air despite the brightness of day.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go fetch Haoran, he¡¯ll know what type of bug this is!¡± Kharli hastily shook off the dirt from her sleeves and then ran off to the house.


    The rest of us continued watering while keeping an eye on the white moth.


    When Haoran, one of Deming¡¯s assistants, arrived, he seemed quite pleased that we were consulting him about the insect. He was a good-looking youth of around twenty years old, with a square face and a large nose.


    After examining the insect, he bowed to me and said, ¡°My lady, this is a moth. I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know the exact name for it. They say there are over a million different types of insects.¡±


    ¡°Is it a spirit insect? Does it look harmful?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just a regular insect without any spirituality. Adult moths are not generally harmful to plants, but the caterpillars might eat leaves and such.¡±


    ¡°Should we leave this one alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thank you for your help.¡±


    He bowed again. ¡°It was my pleasure.¡±


    Haoran left, and I said to the others, ¡°Let¡¯s finish up and take a break. The moth is harmless and very pretty, so we¡¯ll allow it to stay in the garden.¡±


    ¡°I thought for sure it was a spirit insect. Look at how white it is. It even seems like it''s glowing,¡± said Mo.


    I smiled. ¡°Well, a lot of regular animals are beautiful and strange. Things don¡¯t have to be demons or spirit animals to be lovely.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s call it ¡®ghost moth¡¯ since that¡¯s what Mo called it,¡± said Lari.


    Kharli shook her head and took out her watering can. ¡°I¡¯ll get back to work. I can¡¯t believe Mo scared me like that.¡±


    Lari stepped behind her and made eerie sounds. ¡°I¡¯m a ghost, the ghost of¡­ lost socks! You¡¯ll never find a matching pair again.¡±


    Mo and I burst out laughing while Kharli rolled her eyes.


    ***


    During the next few days, we took care of the crops and herbs during the morning and rested during the afternoons. I forbade outdoor activities and indoor crafting for the meantime since we were all exhausted and needed a long break.


    Nonetheless, we still started our day before the sun rose.


    From the window of my [Ranch House], I watched a new day dawn over the farm while I drank a cup of coffee. The sun cast its golden rays across the fields of rice and tea, its warm glow spreading over every blade of grass and leaf. It was as if the world itself was waking up and stretching its arms out wide.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I emerged from my cozy house in great spirits, taking deep breaths to fill my lungs with the fresh air that was full of the earthy scent of tilled soil and the herbal aroma of dewy morning grass. With a contented smile, I waved to my apprentices who were likewise making their way to tend to the crops.


    The nearest rice field was a vast expanse of freshly turned earth. The soil was a rich, deep brown that was full of life, and the newly sprouted rice plants were emerging from the ground in long, straight rows. Drops of morning dew still clung to them, glistening like clear jewels. I knelt and placed a hand on the ground beside a plant, closing my eyes to try to feel the pulse of the energy that ran beneath the ground. Today, I didn¡¯t feel anything, but that was okay. I normally sensed it when the plants were more mature.


    Fengying said that I was most likely feeling the energy channels or ¡°tiger veins¡± running beneath our land. This was quite amusing to me since there was a similar idea on Earth, but they were called ¡°dragon veins.¡± Since I couldn¡¯t sense anything outside the farm, this was probably related to the System.


    Perhaps there was an ebb and flow of energy, and it was stronger during harvest season.


    My apprentices knew what to do, so we each worked on our own, silently and methodically moving between the rows to tend to the young crops with practiced hands. Carefully watering each tender rice shoot and diligently plucking weeds, I inspected the emerald stalks for any worrying signs like discoloration, spots, or pests.


    I paused for a moment to wipe the sweat from my forehead, enjoying the warm summer breeze playing across my face and lifting the hair from the back of my neck. I took out a wide-brimmed hat from my inventory and waved it at the others to let them know they should put on some headgear to protect themselves from the sun, too.


    We finished tending to the rice and went on to the tea fields.


    On Emberstone Farm, the fields were bordered by old trees which served as great windbreaks and were aesthetically pleasing because I didn¡¯t want my land to be just open fields. Since it was now midmorning, I made sure to walk on the tree-lined paths to avoid the worst of the sun¡¯s heat.


    I stopped under a majestic oak tree to rest for a minute and drink some water. When I looked up, I saw that there was a nest made of dried grasses and leaves hanging from a tall branch. Iridescent orange and black feathers peeked out of the nest¡¯s interior as a pair of orioles flitted about, tending to their soon-to-be hatchlings.


    It seems we weren¡¯t the only ones who were busy today.


    There were two tea fields, so we separated into two groups to tend to them. Kharli and Mo went to the farther one, while Lari and I worked on the one nearer the house. Like the rice fields, the tea fields were full of tiny green shoots no thicker than a toothpick emerging from the soil.


    ¡°Lovely day, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said to Lari as we started working.


    ¡°Hot, but not too bad,¡± he said.


    The work was simple but satisfying, and when we were done, I waved to the others and left. This was our daily routine, and I didn¡¯t need to tell them that I was going back to my house to freshen up and change my clothes. My boots were caked in mud and my robes were stained with sweat.


    Now that the farm layout was more or less permanent, I had laid down a gravel path from my [Ranch House] house to the main house, but that lasted less than a day. Though the gravel looked more natural, I replaced the paving with proper tiles when I slipped and fell in the wet gravel, badly bruising my elbow and knee. The most expensive outdoor paving material in the Cash Shop, the [Galaxy Tiles], were not just pretty, with a lovely design of swirls of multicolored stars in a dark gray background, but they were also safer to walk on even when wet.


    [Galaxy Tiles:


    Colorful and elegant anti-slip outdoor tiles engineered to enhance safety and style in your outdoor spaces. Crafted with advanced grip technology, these tiles provide unparalleled traction, even in wet conditions, reducing the risk of slips and falls.]


    I took Mr. Bear from my pocket and made him big enough to hold an umbrella over us. It would¡¯ve been great to have my puppet use a cute parasol, but the only one big enough to cover both of us was a large, ungainly-looking patio umbrella. It was an unconventional yet effective solution. I removed my hat and made my way back to my house, my boots tracking mud over the pretty tiles. Once I entered the gate, I took off my dirty boots and sweaty socks, storing them in my inventory for cleaning later. Barefoot, I crossed the grass of my lawn and sighed gratefully as I entered my air-conditioned haven.


    After a long, hot shower to rinse off the grime and sweat, I slipped into a pretty little cotton sundress with dainty spaghetti straps and a playful strawberry print. I fixed myself a tall glass of lemonade and ice cubes and slowly sipped it as I relaxed and put my feet up on my lounge chair. I picked up a history book about the Northern clans, but only read bits and pieces of it, spending most of the time daydreaming. At noon, I changed into a more demure dress and watered the plants in the [Herb Garden] with the others before going to the main house for lunch.


    Since it was hot outside, we had the meal in the indoor dining room with the air conditioner on. The sour, spicy cold noodles were amazingly refreshing, and they went nicely with the hearty braised beef and vegetable side dishes. We still hadn¡¯t gotten tired of the peaches from Peach Blossom Isle, so we all had cr¨ºpes with caramelized peaches.


    I had just gotten up from the dining table when Fengying announced a visitor. ¡°My lady, Scholar Wu is here with her staff.¡±

 Chapter 163 - Celestial Harmony Martial Arts

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 163 - Classes will be farm from boring</h2>


    ??????


    Scholar Wu was the person Prince Baiyu had recommended. Fengying and I met her at the gate. I was expecting a nerdy type since she was a scholar, but she was a tall, powerful-looking clan member who reminded me of Shuye. Her figure was ample and a cascade of silvery blonde hair framed her square face. Her eyes were a deep, dark blue.


    ¡°Welcome to Emberstone Farm!¡± I cupped my hands and bowed deeply. ¡°This is my housekeeper, Fengying.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet the famous Baroness Violet.¡± She returned the bow and introduced her staff to us.


    With her was a lady¡¯s maid, a butler, two housemaids, two footmen, and three other assorted staff members whose roles weren¡¯t readily apparent. All of them were Prince Baiyu¡¯s people. I mentally thanked my lucky stars that I had a housekeeper who would take care of all staff matters, including coordinating with the other household and seeing to their needs.


    Fengying led the staff to the third courtyard while I brought Scholar Wu to the second courtyard where I had furnished a large, airy room with study tables and comfortable chairs along with a good assortment of scrolls, books, paper, inkstones, brushes, and so forth.


    Tea had already been set up for us.


    ¡°These are my three apprentices, Lari, Kharli, and Mo. Children, this is your new tutor, Scholar Wu.¡±


    The three of them cupped their hands and bowed from the waist, just as I had.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sit down,¡± I said to the scholar.


    My apprentices all kowtowed and said, ¡°Thank you for agreeing to teach us, Scholar Wu.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    With that, the ritual was finished, and we all had tea. I was extremely surprised to see that Scholar Wu ate and drank with us, since clan members normally refused to eat. Was this also part of the ritual?


    We made small talk about the weather until Lari suddenly blurted out a startling question. ¡°Scholar Wu, you¡¯re from Wu village. Are you part of the Wu family? The one whose ancestor created the Celestial Harmony Arts.¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± Kharli¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°Esteemed Scholar, could you teach us martial arts forms?¡±


    Scholar Wu hid her smile with her cup. ¡°Certainly.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Kharli embraced Mo. ¡°We¡¯re going to be taught by a real martial artist.¡±


    Hey, wait a minute, are you saying you¡¯re not satisfied with my teaching?


    I pouted a little, thinking of all the time I had spent teaching them archery using the beginner equipment from the System. ¡°Great, but don¡¯t slack off learning your letters and numbers, okay?¡±


    ¡°You can rest assured I¡¯ll get them ready to manage their finances,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    I pushed a plate of food nearer to her. ¡°Have some more of these green bean cakes; they¡¯re to die for.¡±


    When we finished our tea, I took her to the third courtyard.


    Gray tiled roofs with upturned eaves contrasted nicely with the white walls. In the center was a large space open to the sky with a pocket garden that featured a valuable Shanshui-style penjing. This was the sort of thing my mother liked, though I thought it was lame to make things smaller instead of bigger. Penjing was the precursor of the more well-known bonsai art of Japan. In this world, these miniature landscapes were called ¡°pearl gardens¡± after a folktale about a cultivator who had shrunk a mountain range until it was small enough to fit inside a hollowed pearl.


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    As expected, Scholar Wu stopped in front of it and spent quite a long time admiring the intricate miniature landscape within the shallow tray. Small but interesting moss-covered scholar¡¯s rocks formed the bulk of the penjing, with dwarf trees and shrubs precisely placed here and there. The whole composition mimicked a mountain range in compact form.


    Scholar Wu was almost too overcome to say anything at first, but managed to contain her delight eventually to say, ¡°This is one of the best I¡¯ve ever seen, and I¡¯ve been to the Garden of Seven-Colored Flowers in the Western Palace.¡±


    I smiled proudly. ¡°You like it? I would give it to you, but items from my bloodline inheritance are mostly impossible to take away from the farm.¡±


    Scholar Wu smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling at the corners as her lips curved upwards. The hint of laugh lines around her mouth suggested a lifetime of smiles and joyous expressions.


    "I wouldn''t dream of taking this penjing. Which expert is tending it?" she asked, her gaze drifting back to admiringly study the intricately arranged miniature landscape.


    ¡°Well¡­ it actually tends to itself, believe it or not.¡±


    ¡°I believe it. People say that your house is full of magical treasures. I feel extremely lucky to be able to stay here.¡±


    I gave her a tour of the third courtyard, showing her all the common areas and then the guest rooms I had prepared for her. Before I left, she asked to have a private word with me, so I joined her in her room for a chat. I waited patiently while her maid prepared a plate of cookies and tea for us.


    ¡°Thank you, we¡¯ll serve ourselves,¡± said Scholar Wu to her maid.


    The maid bowed to us and left.


    ¡°Lady Violet, I need to discuss a somewhat delicate matter with you.¡± She took a sip of tea. ¡°I know that you¡¯re a foreigner, but you¡¯ve had some contact with clan members, so you know that we typically refrain from eating.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware.¡± What was she getting at?


    ¡°There is, of course, a permanent exception for children and elderly.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡±


    ¡°What you perhaps don¡¯t know is that there is a temporary exception for those who take care of children. This means parents, nannies, teachers, and anyone else who looks after minors.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay.¡±


    Seeing my confusion, she elaborated. ¡°Kids and even adult students learn by example. Eating with students helps train them in manners and socialization.¡±


    ¡°Oh! I get it.¡± Yeah, I remembered there were schools I had attended where mealtime was considered part of the curriculum where we were taught social skills and healthy eating habits. Due to my dad¡¯s globe-trotting ways, I had gone to many schools in many countries.


    ¡°Also, it helps in forming a closer bond between the teacher and students.¡±


    I tilted my head to show my agreement. ¡°It sure does!¡±


    ¡°In addition¡­ the taboo is not as all-encompassing as you might think.¡± She looked away and sighed. ¡°I ask for your understanding if you see food being cooked and eaten by the clan members here. You see, not everyone has a strong enough inner qi to completely refrain from eating.¡±


    My mouth fell open.


    She continued explaining. ¡°The butler will be telling your housekeeper about this. Many lower-ranked clan members do eat every day. We ask that you and your household turn a blind eye to it. Since the ability to fast for long periods is limited to the strong, it would be humiliating if someone pointed it out, especially publicly.¡±


    Uncertainty tinged my voice as I asked, "Doesn''t this mean I should have prepared supplies for the new staff?"


    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not helpless! We can arrange for our own food.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Because of the taboo, this is the only time we can discuss it. From now on, please never make any sign that you know about the staff eating regular meals.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, even as I made a mental note to tell Fengying to sneak food supplies into the third courtyard¡¯s kitchen. Since talking about it was taboo, that meant they wouldn¡¯t be able to reject it. A thought struck me. ¡°Wait, what about the spirit rice? I thought only kids were eating it. Does this mean adults also want my rice?¡±


    She pursed her lips. ¡°You know that the original taboo was because there was a famine?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Spirit rice is rare and there¡¯s not enough for everyone. The taboo is precisely for such an occasion. Right now, only children and the sick or elderly are eating it.¡±


    ¡°So if I harvest enough, everyone will eat it¡­¡±


    ¡°I look forward to that time.¡±


    We ate the cookies and drank the tea in silence for a few minutes. When we finished, I got up and bowed.


    ¡°One last thing.¡± Scholar Wu handed me a small package wrapped in decorative silk cloth. ¡°This is from Prince Baiyu.¡±

 Chapter 164 - Planting an apple orchard

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 164 - Lari used to be addicted to bacon, but he''s cured now</h2>


    ??????


    I opened it immediately and found that it contained an elegant silver filigree hairpin hung with cascades of small sapphire and amethyst beads. ¡°How lovely! Excuse me, I must go and write a thank you letter.¡±


    Scholar Wu then reached into her sleeve and took out a letter that she gave to me. ¡°From Prince Baiyu.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    I stood up and bowed politely. ¡°Will you join us for dinner?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you. It¡¯s customary for tutors to join their pupils during the meals, but today the evening can be skipped. We all need to rest at the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow then.¡±


    I left and hurried to my study in the second courtyard where I read the letter which was short and to the point. He was coming to see me next week. I dashed off a quick reply and gave it to Fengying while also informing her of Prince Baiyu¡¯s upcoming visit. The letter had made me forget about the clan member¡¯s food situation, but Fengying was on top of things and asked for my permission to send food to their kitchen.


    "Of course, Deming knows all about it," she said, her lips curling into an enigmatic smile. There was a glint in her eye as if she was privy to some great secret or inside joke that she didn''t intend to share. Her expression seemed to say there were layers to the situation. ¡°The three staff the butler didn¡¯t introduce properly are the chef and kitchen staff.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Wow, so they really are mostly human, just like Shuye always says.¡± My mention of my Farm Guide reminded me of an important matter. ¡°By the way, you sent more tea to Shuye? What did Deming say about it?¡±


    ¡°He thinks it¡¯s a scam. The tea is just regular spirit tea.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­ that¡¯s too bad.¡± Deming was a cultivator and I trusted his identification skill over the rumors. It would have been nice if our tea actually gave people superpowers, but I guess it was not to be. ¡°Shuye says people are going crazy over it. I guess it''s because people are afraid they¡¯re missing out on something good.¡±


    This was very Singaporean of them! Back on Earth, my mom, who was from Singapore, was always decrying the "kiasu" mindset¡ªthat compulsive fear of missing out that drove people to hoard opportunities and resources out of anxious competitiveness rather than actual need.


    Fengying and I clicked our tongues in unison then laughed when we realized what we had done.


    ***


    The next day, we admitted defeat and removed the layers of materials from the central area of the [Herb Garden]. Clearly, they were never going to be turned into a proper [Growing Medium]. I replaced it with potted flowers for Cutie to enjoy. The [Growing Medium] that had originally been there was sent to Shuye to sell.


    ¡°It was worth a shot,¡± I said to the crestfallen Lari. ¡°I like how you think out of the box and don¡¯t just follow the normal System procedures.¡±


    The way he thought of ways to circumvent the rules kind of reminded me of my old friend GodIAm.


    After tending to the herbs, we went outside to take care of the crops and get started on the orchard planting.


    "Teacher, what do you mean we won''t fertilize the soil?" Lari asked, his brow furrowing into a puzzled frown. His eyes squinted slightly as he tried to make sense of what I had just said.


    ¡°In the past week, our energy bars have been slow to fill. I believe it¡¯s because we¡¯ve been working too hard and eating mushrooms and drinking cola to artificially replenish our energy. I think we shouldn¡¯t do unnecessary stuff.¡±


    We had just finished watering the crops. North of the main house, we cordoned off a portion of land by tying a rope around the trees at the perimeter of the place where we were going to plant the apple orchard.


    It was a beautiful golden afternoon in the Ancient Hill Forest. The searing heat of the summer sun was filtered through the tree canopy and a mild breeze carried the scent of wildflowers and fresh earth. The sounds of the forest bathed us in sweet noise, the trilling of the birds, the buzzing of the insects, and the rustling of the leaves, combining in a sweet harmony.


    Inside the area we had just cleared of all rocks and grass, I leaned against a beech tree and said, ¡°I know, I know. You feel fine. Still, let¡¯s not push ourselves by working too hard. My knowledge from my bloodline inheritance tells me that all we need to do is to plant the apple seeds and water them.¡±


    I knew this from playing Adventure Incarnate. Trees were a hands-off type of thing.


    ¡°But we used fertilizer on the desert farm,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Oh, right. You were there two days ago. Did you notice any difference with the trees we planted with fish parts?¡± I asked.


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    ¡°The trees are doing great. I haven¡¯t noticed any difference.¡± Lari looked a little discouraged.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything¡¯s good as long as the plants and animals are healthy. I heard that sales of the [Lizardwings] have slowed down. Maybe we should bring them here to boost the soil¡¯s quality.¡± I burst out laughing when I saw my apprentices¡¯ appalled expressions. ¡°I¡¯m kidding.¡±


    Kharli raised her eyes and hands to the heavens as though begging the gods to have mercy on us. ¡°Teacher, please don¡¯t even joke about bringing those stink machines here!¡±


    I pinched her cheek. ¡°Okay, okay, back to what we were talking about. We can plant five seeds with fertilizer and fish parts to check if it helps, but my gut feeling says it won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, is it because the soil quality is better here compared to the desert?¡± Mo asked.


    ¡°Yes. Our trees are very special and strong. They grow much slower than the crops, but the tree seeds just need to be planted and left alone. It will grow to maturity after one year.¡± I stretched my arms above my head before taking out my hand-held seeder. ¡°Let¡¯s start. Remember to keep your energy bar above fifty percent.¡±


    The way that the seeds shot out of the seeder and embedded themselves in the ground never failed to captivate me. Each time I planted a seed, some of my energy was used up, though I felt nothing. That was the insidious part of farming. I only felt tired when most of my energy bar was gone, and if it were to completely empty I would collapse.


    After planting the seeds, we watered them. It was a real piece of cake and we didn¡¯t even break a sweat.


    ¡°This time next year, we¡¯ll be able to eat fruit from our own orchard,¡± I said to the others. ¡°Before we go our separate ways to wash up, take a look at these pages.¡±


    I handed them a book on fruit farming, with a red ribbon marking the pages I wanted them to read. The printing press had been invented some time ago, but that didn¡¯t mean that information was freely available everywhere like on Earth. Here, guilds and clans were secretive about their crafts, and a book like this was only available to us because of Emberstone Farm¡¯s good reputation.


    We moved away from the orchard area and settled down on a picnic blanket under the shade of an oak tree while the kids read the relevant information. It took some time because they turned the pages over again and again, rereading the same words repeatedly.


    ¡°Do you want me to explain?¡± I finally asked.


    Kharli put down the book with a relieved sigh, and Mo said, ¡°Yes, please, Teacher. I was able to use the System to read it aloud, but I don¡¯t understand it.¡±


    Kharli held the book up and shook it. ¡°This can¡¯t be true. I¡¯m sure all of the apple trees we plant will grow the best apples in the world.¡±


    Lari nodded his head vigorously in agreement. He took the book and read some of it, probably using the System¡¯s help. ¡°In the cultivation of apple trees from their seeds, one must contemplate the phenomenon of heterozygosity, wherein the offspring manifest a plethora of diverse traits compared to their progenitors.¡±


    Mo plugged her ears with her fingers. ¡°Stop! I hate textbooks. I can¡¯t understand a word of that.¡±


    ¡°Well, the text is a little bit technical, but the gist of it is that apple trees grown from seed can turn out quite different from their parent trees. That¡¯s basically it.¡± I yawned. Somehow, all this academic-style talk made me feel bored. ¡°You see, each seed is the child of two different trees so it contains a mix of traits from both parents. When those seeds grow into trees, their fruit will have different characteristics like taste, appearance, texture, etc.¡±


    My apprentices exchanged confused looks.


    ¡°But the fruits will all be good?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Yes, I think so. There are many different types of apples, right? Some will turn out sweet, some tart, some crisp, some mealy, some will be red, some golden¡­ it¡¯s like a lottery.¡± I took back the book and stored it in my inventory. ¡°Did you read the second part, the one about grafting?¡±


    They nodded.


    ¡°Farmers can insert a piece of the tree they like into the rootstock of another tree. That will grow into the tree they like,¡± said Kharli.


    I gave her a thumbs-up and a smile. ¡°Exactly! When the trees are grown and produce fruit, we can cut off a few branches and sell those to others who want to grow fruit trees, too.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, doesn¡¯t this mean some fruit trees will be better than others?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°If a particular fruit variety becomes more popular than the others, we can grow more of it by grafting. There is no way of doing that using the System though. We can only grow from seed if we use the System.¡±


    In fact, I wasn¡¯t quite sure that the apple trees would be that different from each other since they all looked the same in Adventure Incarnate. Deming was the one who had sent me the book, expressing his concern through Fengying that I wasn¡¯t aware of these facts about growing apple trees from seed. He also said that most wild trees that grew this way produced crabapples instead of the sweet red apples I had in my inventory.


    I continued explaining this to my apprentices. ¡°Or¡­ this book could be all wrong since we¡¯re using the System instead of ordinary methods.¡±


    ¡°I think the book is wrong,¡± said Mo instantly.


    Kharli enthusiastically agreed with her. ¡°Very wrong! We¡¯ll definitely grow the most delicious red apples, just like the ones Teacher uses to make apple pie.¡±


    ¡°I think so, too,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Only time will tell. I wouldn¡¯t mind if we grew a good variety of different apples,¡± I said. ¡°Okay, I think we¡¯re done. Let¡¯s meet again at lunch.¡±


    Their first class will be held this afternoon. Prince Baiyu¡¯s butler had delicately broached the subject of Scholar Wu¡¯s additional fee for teaching the kids the basic martial arts form of the Wu family¡¯s Celestial Harmony Arts, and I had agreed to hand over a rather enormous sum of money.


    I had half-expected the System to give me a quest to learn martial arts, but since no such thing appeared, I thought I should observe the classes first before deciding if I wanted to try it out, too.


    From what I could tell, the Celestial Harmony Arts was similar to Tai Chi on Earth. People used it to learn better balance, flexibility, posture, and a sense of calmness and inner harmony. In short, it was practiced for its health benefits and meditative aspects, not its combat effectiveness. Nobles particularly liked it, and being taught by a master from the Wu family was the ultimate sign that one was wealthy and well-connected.


    We got up, and I put the picnic blanket away. Together we walked south.


    ¡°Scholar Wu will be eating with us, so mind your manners,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh no, we¡¯re having pork ribs for lunch. I like to munch on it,¡± said Lari.


    Mo and Kharli laughed.


    ¡°No gnawing on the bones today for you,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Poor Lari. He does love his pork ribs,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Maybe I could take a plate and eat it in my room later.¡± Lari frowned, his lips pursing slightly as he pondered his predicament.


    I shook my head. ¡°Nope. The whole purpose of eating lunch with your tutor is to learn to eat gracefully and converse in a refined manner.¡±


    When the kids reacted with horror, I shrugged and said, ¡°Relax, Scholar Wu seems easygoing. You¡¯ll get used to it.¡±


    We reached the front of the main house and we said our farewells as they went to their rooms and I walked on to my house.


    ¡°Your class will start right after lunch. Wear good clothes, but don¡¯t put on any jewelry. It¡¯s not a party. See you later,¡± were my parting words.

 Chapter 165 - The Great Underground Slime Cavern

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 165 - Violet''s having the slime of her life in the Mines</h2>


    ??????


    Lunch was superb. The Demon Chef and Fengying had pulled out all the stops for Scholar Wu¡¯s first meal with us. The normally simple and elegant tableware we used every day had been replaced with gold-edged china, gold and silver utensils, and crystal glasses. The centerpiece was an extravagant arrangement of summer blooms¡ªpeonies, roses, lilies, hollyhocks, and morning glories.


    ¡°Everything looks wonderful,¡± said Scholar Wu when we sat down at the table.


    ¡°This is your welcome meal. Thank you for agreeing to tutor my apprentices,¡± I said.


    The first dish was a refreshing starter, lotus leaves stuffed with rice, diced sausage, mushrooms, and lotus seeds, delicately flavored with rice wine and soy sauce.


    Next was a cold cucumber soup. One spoonful immediately cooled and invigorated my senses with its wonderful blend of flavors. The gentle sweetness and crunchy flavor of the cucumbers were perfectly complemented by the yogurt, dill, and the slight tang of garlic.


    The fish course was grilled red sea bream with lemon and herbs. To be honest, I never liked fish much, but it was pretty good.


    I was shocked when the meat course was served.


    Beef Wellington?!


    That was one of my mother¡¯s favorite dishes, though she only ate it once or twice a year since she said it was too high in calories. My memories were full of birthday dinners in which my mom always ordered it.


    Fengying, who was supervising the lunch service, seemed to mistake my surprise for unfamiliarity with the dish, so she explained what it was to me. ¡°My lady, it¡¯s beef tenderloin wrapped in mushrooms, onions, and herbs that¡¯s been baked in pastry.¡±


    ¡°Looks delicious.¡± However, I knew from experience how heavy this dish was. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can eat this much though. Could you give me a half serving instead?¡±


    They took my plate away and returned it with a half slice of what was called ¡°Secret Golden Treasure Beef¡± instead of Beef Wellington, since obviously there was no Britain or Duke of Wellington here.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said.


    My mouth watered as I sliced a bit of the golden-brown pastry crust and beef tenderloin that was covered by a rich layer of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots, and herbs saut¨¦ed in butter. It was quite decadent.


    As I chewed, the exquisite flavors made me feel a pang of bittersweet longing when I thought of how my mother would¡¯ve loved it. The beef was amazingly tender, and the earthy mushroom duxelle elevated the dish with its rich flavor profile. The flaky pastry crust added wonderful textural contrast.


    ¡°This is almost too incredible,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°A dish fit for a princess,¡± said Scholar Wu with a twinkle in her eye as she gave me a sidelong glance.


    ¡°Save some room in your stomach for dessert,¡± I said to the others, pointedly ignoring Scholar Wu¡¯s teasing.


    ¡°I can''t stop eating,¡± said Kharli.


    My apprentices had been nervous about eating with their tutor at first, but as the meal progressed, they relaxed, and now we were chatting freely.


    After we finished with the main dish, three maids came up to our table with three dessert dishes. One was a peach chiffon cake, the top adorned with fresh peach slices fanned out in a radiant pattern. The second was a plate of roasted pears, and the third was a tub of honey ice cream with an accompanying set of sauces one could drizzle over it. There were raspberry, peach, and strawberry sauces.


    Lari chose all three dessert dishes, while the rest of us picked one or two that we preferred. I was a little bloated from everything we ate, so I only had a tiny slice of cake and a small scoop of ice cream.


    ¡°Wow, I think you¡¯re all too full to go to classes right after this, right?¡± I said to the others.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°I think a bit of rest after lunch would be appropriate. Let¡¯s start at mid-afternoon,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am!¡± said Lari. ¡°Then I can have another serving¡­¡±


    ¡°Is your stomach okay?¡± Kharli gave him a concerned look. ¡°Don''t eat too much! You might get a stomachache.¡±


    Lari hesitated. ¡°Yeah, maybe you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°For once, it''s not Lari¡¯s fault. The food is just too good,¡± said Mo. She was on her second serving of cake.


    Lari turned to Fengying and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have just one more slice of cake, please.¡±


    Scholar Wu smiled indulgently at the kids and patted her belly. ¡°Ha! I¡¯ve eaten a lot, too. Alright, let¡¯s postpone our classes. We can start tomorrow.¡±


    The kids cheered.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have more roasted pears,¡± said Kharli.


    I couldn¡¯t believe it when my apprentices all had third servings of dessert. ¡°Deming is just too good!¡±


    ***


    Six hours later, when I was no longer too stuffed to move, I decided to pay a visit to my [Mini Hydroponic Farm] in the Chitinous Caverns. I changed into a comfortable pair of Slime-themed shorts and T-shirt from the Cash Shop and used the [Portal Door] to the mines.


    With Mr. Bear walking beside me in [Guard Mode] and my slime pet Cutie in my arms, we made our way to the elevator and then rode it to level 90.


    Previously, I had grown a variety of colorful flowers, vegetables, and fruits in the [Mini Hydroponic Farm], but that was a pain because they all had different growth rates. Now I had removed everything and planted [Strawberries]. I added more nutrients and adjusted the water level and grow lights.


    The [Mushroom Cave] was right next to the [Mini Hydroponic Farm], so I went there to forage more mushrooms. Today I found a new item.


    [Lion¡¯s Mane Mushroom:


    A rare and mystical fungi with ethereal powers. Its cascading tendrils resemble a mane fit for a mythical beast, inspiring awe and wonder to all who gaze upon it. Consuming this legendary mushroom bestows the eater with enhanced focus and mental clarity needed for casting magic spells.]


    ¡°Nice!¡± I said to no one in particular.


    Reading between the lines of the item description, it seemed that this mushroom gave players a higher success rate of casting spells. Spells in Adventure Incarnate were finicky things that tended to fail unless the player¡¯s magic level was at least 10 levels higher than the spell¡¯s level requirement.


    I was therefore in a great mood when we left level 90 and used the elevator to go to the slime level. We went straight to the huge cavern where the slimes liked to hang out. Its earthen walls were covered in colorful, glowing flowers. I was just going to pass through the cavern to go to the place where I collected [Goo] when Cutie unexpectedly left my side and bounced all the way to the white stone platform on the far end of the open area.


    Cutie then jumped up to a boulder on the side of the stage and fiddled with something I couldn¡¯t see. Her purpose became clear when a trap door opened and a lectern rose from beneath the stage.


    I put a hand on Mr. Bear¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°What¡¯s this? Is she going to give a speech?¡±


    ¡°Chuuuuu! Chu. Chu.¡± Cutie¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the cavern.


    She had a microphone?


    I had pumped in music through hidden speakers in the cavern before, so I knew they had a sound system, but I was nonplussed to find out that the lectern had a microphone, and that Cutie knew how to use it. She was smarter than I thought.


    ¡°Chu chu chu. Chuuu.¡± Her speech went on for a few more minutes. Only a few of the slimes seemed to be paying attention. However, that changed when Cutie suddenly grew a few appendages.


    Slimes, of course, had what was called a ¡°slime strand¡± on the top of their heads which they used to touch or hold things, but Cutie was the only one I knew who could grow additional slime tendrils.


    The other slimes reacted in various ways. Some of them recoiled in disgust, while others bounced closer to Cutie to check what she was doing. Most of them seemed puzzled, their bodies swiveling from Cutie to the other slimes as though to say, ¡°Did you see that? What is that?¡±


    Cutie went on with her speech, and a few minutes later, the cavern erupted with sound. Slimes crowded around Cutie when she got off the lectern, and it seemed everyone was either excited, curious, or disapproving. I even saw one tiny slime, clearly a child, get reprimanded by an adult for daring to copy Cutie by growing two additional appendages.


    As I was looking around in alarm, a System popup appeared.


    [Change your pet¡¯s name to ¡°The Resplendent Architect of Evolution with Eyes of Gold and Luminous Aura¡±?]


    What the heck?!


    Was this a new name the other slimes had given Cutie, or had she renamed herself? I had no idea pets could change their name without input from the player.


    This was yet another reminder that this was real life now, not a video game.


    Shrugging, I mentally clicked on the [Yes] button though I would, of course, continue to call her Cutie. It was rather nice to have such an unusual pet.


    While I had been messing around with the System, the disapproving slimes had gradually become more and more agitated. Their cries of ¡°Chu,¡± it seemed to me, were becoming rather warlike.


    I didn¡¯t wait for things to come to a boil. I went to get Cutie and hustled her out of there at once. She made no protest, and many of the other slimes looked relieved.


    As we walked to the elevator, I thought about the implications of Cutie¡¯s little display. Would the slimes in the cavern learn to use limbs like Cutie did? Would they start using tools to build things and eventually form a slime civilization? Could it be that I had just witnessed the start of the Great Slimean Underground Empire?


    ¡°Cutie, can you transform into a human?¡± I asked her.


    We hurried back to my [Ranch House] and used a large sheet of cardboard and colorful markers to draw a slime turning into a cute girl. I showed the drawing to her and said, ¡°Look, Cutie, can you do this?¡±


    I waited with bated breath for her reply.


    Cutie used her slime strand to pick up a marker.

 Chapter 166 - The best summer ever

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 166 - Everyone knows marriage is a wife sentence</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Yes?¡± I gave my pet slime an expectant look.


    ¡°Chu!¡±


    With an air of concentration, Cutie scribbled on the cardboard the way she had seen me do it, but she didn¡¯t produce anything coherent.


    Nor did she transform.


    Oh well, I guess it was fine that she didn¡¯t turn into a cute human slime girl.


    ***


    Over the next few days, the kids were on their best behavior as they did their farm chores in the mornings and had their classes in the afternoons. On the day Prince Baiyu was to visit the farm, I put on the hairpin he sent and a nice set of peach-colored robes. I waited for him in my reception room in the second courtyard while munching on some sweet bean cookies and drinking peach tea.


    When I heard footsteps, I put the food down and checked for any crumbs before hurriedly opening the door to welcome him inside.


    The moment I laid eyes on him, my breath caught in my throat. I hadn¡¯t forgotten how handsome he was, but seeing him again after a long absence, I was struck speechless by his gorgeous features. As he approached, his confident stride and alluring smile sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. He was wearing a magnificent set of blue and silver robes.


    I waited until he was close before dramatically putting both my hands on my chest and exclaiming, ¡°Be still, my heart!¡±


    Then I placed a hand on my forehead and fake swooned. He caught me in his arms, just as I planned. The maids, kitchen staff, and my apprentices were all loitering in the courtyard, not-so-subtly spying on us, so we couldn¡¯t do anything, but I enjoyed the feel of his arms around me.


    ¡°Hello, stranger,¡± I said. ¡°Come into my room¡­¡±


    He let me go, and we entered my suite, though I had to leave the door open for propriety''s sake.


    ¡°My father sends his regards and wishes to make it known that he supports our relationship. He gave me these robes which he says he was wearing when my mother fell madly in love with him at first sight,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh, I one hundred percent believe it.¡± I sat down.


    Prince Baiyu remained standing and spread his arms out, long sleeves swaying. He turned in place, so I could get a good 360-degree view of him wearing the robes. ¡°What do you think? Have you fallen madly in love with me yet?¡±


    I smirked at him. ¡°Perhaps if you took it off¡­¡±


    We laughed together and he sat down.


    ¡°I can''t. My father made me swear I won¡¯t take off my robes to sweep your house¡¯s path clean.¡± He sighed.


    Last year, Prince Baiyu used to take off his robe and sweep the paths around the house wearing only his pants and boots. He told me that his parents had heard of this and scolded him for being immodest.


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡± I wordlessly offered him a teacup and a plate of cookies, which he refused, as usual. ¡°How are your parents?¡±


    ¡°My mother¡¯s condition has progressed to the point that the baby¡¯s qi can be felt. The family has publicly announced her pregnancy, and I¡¯ve been given permission to live and work nearby.¡±


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    ¡°Great!¡±


    Prince Baiyu cleared his throat. ¡°I said ¡®nearby.¡¯ My parents don''t want me living here.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said your father approved?¡± Of course, I did notice that he didn¡¯t say anything about his mother.


    ¡°He said that moving to your guesthouse is premature. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be living in Shuye¡¯s village.¡± He took my hand and kissed it. ¡°We¡¯ll see each other almost every day.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but jump up from my seat and hug him. ¡°I missed you so much.¡±


    From the open doorway, I could see the kids and staff giggling at us, but I didn¡¯t care and continued embracing my boyfriend for as long as I wanted. Eventually, we both sat back down, and we chatted about what we had been doing in the past month. I finished my tea and gave him a tour of the farm, especially the [Herb Garden] which was new to him.


    He bent down to inspect an herb plant. ¡°You call these ordinary spirit herbs?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re used for cooking and stuff, not for making Immortal Pills.¡±


    ¡°The qi in your farm has greatly increased in intensity.¡±


    ¡°You say that every time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true every time.¡±


    We didn¡¯t talk about anything of much importance. I was simply content to walk by his side and listen to his voice. After a while, he took my hand in his and we walked together that way. His fingers and palm were pleasingly rough and calloused from wielding a sword. We ended up sitting on a picnic blanket under the shade of a majestic oak tree and chatting.


    The gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating a soothing melody, and the warm sunlight filtered through the branches, casting dappled patterns on the two of us. Birds chirped merrily in the distance, adding to the tranquil ambiance.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind if I do use your guesthouse to store some of my things. During the day, I could use the study to do paperwork,¡± he said.


    ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°My butler will also stay there to support Scholar Wu and the other staff.¡± He paused and gave me a sidelong glance. ¡°You know, Scholar Wu is living with you to keep an eye on things for my mother.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°She¡¯s here to chaperone you?¡±


    Prince Baiyu threw his head back and guffawed. This was one of the very few times I saw him laugh so unrestrainedly. Eventually, he used a handkerchief to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes and said, ¡°I almost forgot to tell you. My mother wanted to send a few people to chaperone me, but my father said no.¡±


    I mentally rolled my eyes a little at the thought of a grown man having a chaperone for real, but I guess the people in this world were much more old-fashioned compared to modern-day Earth. ¡°Did he say why?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He covered his mouth with a hand as though to physically hold back another bout of laughter before composing himself and saying, ¡°He said to my mother¡­ ¡®You know quite well that chaperones are useless.¡¯ Then they exchanged this look.¡±


    He burst out laughing again, and I had to smile at his story. He and I had a lot in common. My parents were always saying stuff like that, too.


    ¡°Did he waggle his eyebrows like this?¡± I waggled my eyebrows while smirking suggestively.


    Prince Baiyu couldn¡¯t resist and took me in his arms. He kissed my forehead and said, ¡°No, but he told me they wanted at least another half dozen kids.¡±


    I pulled away a little and sat down right beside him. He put an arm around me and I leaned against him.


    ¡°My father told me to ask you if you like me the way I am.¡± His smile faded a little, and he looked up at the leafy canopy above us for a few seconds before looking back down into my eyes.


    I pulled his head down and kissed the purple lotus birthmark in the middle of his forehead. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I like you just the way you are.¡±


    He kissed my forehead, too. ¡°I won¡¯t change much in the next hundred years. You should know that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect!¡± Was my lifespan the same as a human lifespan in this world, or did I have eternal, unchanging youth the way players did in Adventure Incarnate? I had no way of knowing. ¡°...I don¡¯t want to worry about what I¡¯ll be like a hundred years from now. Besides, who knows, we could both die tomorrow.¡±


    Look at my parents. They died young.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t say that!¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    He frowned, and I smoothed the lines on his forehead until he stopped.


    ¡°Let¡¯s pinky promise that we¡¯ll always have fun in the future!¡± I held up my hand, and we hooked our pinkie fingers together. ¡°There! We promised. I¡¯m just glad we¡¯ll be spending more time together. Let the future take care of itself. I¡¯m sure our future selves will handle it just fine.¡±


    We laced our fingers together and talked until sunset. We parted with a kiss, and he said he would visit me again tomorrow afternoon.


    ¡°This will be the best summer ever,¡± he said.


    ***


    The next day, right before noon, Yinuo arrived with her surprise. She¡¯d had her wedding in her hometown, and she was back to stay at the farm with her groom.


    Or so I thought.


    ¡°But you¡­ that¡¯s¡­ no way.¡± I turned to Fengying, who was smiling, and asked her, ¡°Did you know about this?¡±

 Chapter 167 - The Blissful Newlywed Life

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 167 - Lettuce commence the wedding feast celery-bration</h2>


    ??????


    Adventure Incarnate wasn¡¯t a harem game!


    Yinuo smirked at me and introduced her husbands. ¡°My lady, these are my husbands, Muchen and Yichen. Muchen is an artist while Yichen is a hunter. Thank you for allowing us all to stay here.¡±


    ¡°Welcome to Emberstone Farm,¡± I said. ¡°Congratulations on your marriage.¡±


    I did have a somewhat vague idea that polygamy was rare but allowed in this world, so I tried to play it cool.


    Muchen and Yichen were identical twins dressed in the same way. They were indeed extremely handsome, with dark brown eyes and high cheekbones. Their long, glossy black hair fell to their waists, with half of it tied in black ribbons in low ponytails at the backs of their necks. I remembered that Yinuo said her husband was in debt and she had to buy him from the family he was indentured to. Now that I knew she married two husbands, I wondered how much she had spent. She had to be almost broke now.


    Standing beside the twins was a cute girl of around five or six years old dressed in pink. The strong family resemblance let me know that she must be their sister.


    Yinuo introduced her spouses to the others and then made as if to enter the main house¡¯s gate, but I stopped her.


    ¡°Hey, why aren''t you introducing this cute little girl?¡± I bent down and said to the girl, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Violet.¡±


    The little girl ran behind her brothers. I straightened up and smiled at her when she peered at me from behind them.


    ¡°My lady¡­¡± Yinuo and her husbands exchanged a confused look.


    ¡°Come inside, it¡¯s too hot here.¡± I waved a hand as a signal, and we all went inside into the blessedly cool, temperature-controlled house.


    Except for the little girl who stayed outside the gate looking up at something.


    ¡°Hey, come in, come in!¡± I said to her.


    Yinuo, Muchen, and Yichen turned to look.


    ¡°She¡¯s not coming in?¡± Muchen frowned.


    ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°We call her Shufen,¡± said Muchen.


    ¡°Oh, all your names rhyme!¡± I took the little girl by the hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I think you¡¯ll like the house.¡±


    ¡°That-¡± Yinuo seemed about to say something, but Yichen grabbed her hand and whispered something in her ear.


    I helped the little girl step over the threshold. ¡°You¡¯re so cute. I can¡¯t believe we have a cute-¡±


    Suddenly, the girl¡¯s body blurred and turned into a glowing golden mist that flew upward into the sky.


    I screamed in shock.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± The voice reverberated in my head.


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    A System popup appeared.


    Seriously?! A quest? Now?


    Shouldn¡¯t I have gotten the quest before the girl disappeared?


    [The Mystery of the Twin¡¯s Sister:


    Find out Shufen¡¯s true identity.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    Dang, well, I was going to do that anyway, so I mentally clicked the [Accept] button.


    ¡°Did you hear that? She said ¡®thank you¡¯ to us!¡± said Muchen. He was looking around as though searching for the source of the voice.


    ¡°I heard it!¡± said Yichen.


    They turned to Yinuo, who shrugged. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±


    The brothers then bowed to me as one.


    ¡°Thank you for helping my sister,¡± said Muchen.


    ¡°I believe she¡¯s been laid to rest now,¡± said Yichen.


    I still had no idea what happened. ¡°Wha-what-why did she just disappear into thin air?¡±


    ¡°My lady, why don¡¯t we go inside? You should sit down and have a drink of water,¡± said Yinuo.


    I put a hand on my chest. My heart was beating fast like I was running a race. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I need to calm down.¡±


    We went to the outer courtyard where a lovely post-wedding banquet had been prepared.


    ¡°Uh, can you hold the banquet for a while? We have something to talk about,¡± I said to Fengying. ¡°I¡¯ll try to make it fast.¡±


    Fengying nodded, and Yinuo, Muchen, Yichen, and I sat down in the main hall. I drank some water then said, ¡°Okay, please sit down and explain.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain as best as I can, Baroness, but we don¡¯t know for sure what happened.¡± Muchen fiddled with a loose thread on his sleeve. ¡°Could you please tell us what you saw?¡±


    ¡°I saw a little girl that looks like you guys. She was dressed in pink, and, after I helped her enter the house, she turned into a golden mist that flew up and disappeared.¡±


    Yinuo reached out and took the brothers'' hands in hers. I patiently kept silent while they wordlessly communicated.


    ¡°A year ago, our mother died. Her last wish was that we should take care of our sister Shufen. Of course, we promised. She was insistent and we wanted her to depart in peace,¡± said Muchen.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said.


    ¡°Except we didn¡¯t have a sister. We never have,¡± said Muchen.


    The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt cold all over. I opened my mouth to speak several times but closed it again because I was too afraid to ask more.


    Muchen said, ¡°Since then we¡¯ve been plagued with minor mishaps almost every day. They were mostly harmless things. For example, my brushes might be moved to a different location or there would be cold drafts on a hot summer day.¡±


    ¡°Nothing harmful?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nothing harmful,¡± said Muchen. ¡°Eventually, we consulted a shaman, and he advised us to marry.¡±


    ¡°Marry? Why?¡± Wasn''t their problem a ghost? How would marriage exorcize a ghost?


    ¡°The shaman was right, marriage did solve your problems!¡± Yinuo was taking it in stride.


    Was I the only one who was scared of ghosts?


    ¡°The shaman just said that was the solution. That is all we know,¡± said Muchen. ¡°Our sister, he said, was simply a mischievous but harmless spirit who was attracted to our family.¡±


    ¡°Mother had the second sight, you forgot to tell her that,¡± said Yichen.


    I was confused. ¡°Gosh, so she¡¯s not your actual sister?¡±


    Muchen and Yichen exchanged a look and shrugged at the same time and in the same way.


    ¡°Maybe mother saw her and adopted her,¡± said Muchen. ¡°That¡¯s all we know. We¡¯re sorry for inconveniencing you. Thank you for helping us.¡±


    [The Mystery of the Twin¡¯s Sister: Quest Complete


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    The Farming exp wasn¡¯t much, but it had been easy to get. Checking my stats calmed me down, and I decided to just forget all about ghosts and enjoy the banquet.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Do you mind leaving me alone with Yinuo for a few minutes? I would like to talk to her.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Girl talk, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, baroness,¡± said Muchen.


    The brothers bowed to me and left.


    I left my chair in the center of the hall and sat beside Yinuo. Today, she was dressed in festive red robes and looked unbearably smug.


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Twins? Really?¡±


    She looked very satisfied with herself. ¡°It¡¯s double the fun.¡±


    We both let out high-pitched screams of delight and hugged each other, looking extremely undignified.


    ¡°Women have greater endurance anyway, so two is just right for me!¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh my gosh! You! You!¡± I couldn¡¯t articulate my thoughts.


    Yinuo whispered in my ear. ¡°Imagine if there were two Prince Baiyus.¡±


    ¡°No! My imagination is running away with me!¡± I covered my blushing cheeks with my hands. ¡°Stop it¡­ we have to go to the banquet. But you have to tell me all the details later.¡±


    Giggling, we got up from our seats and joined the rest of my household in the courtyard.

 Chapter 168 - Monkey Business

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 168 - A-nutter hot summer</h2>


    ??????


    Summer was the best season back on Earth since it was my school vacation time and my family and I always had the most awesome overseas trips.


    On Emberstone Farm, summer was the season of scorching hot weather and I was a sweaty mess all day long.


    ¡°It¡¯s not my imagination that it¡¯s hotter this year, is it?¡± I said.


    ¡°Last year''s summer was cooler,¡± said Prince Baiyu. ¡°We¡¯re calling these the dog days of summer since astrologers say that the dog star is on the rise, causing the fire element to be in the ascendant.¡±


    We were in the reception room of the second courtyard.


    The house¡¯s temperature controls made it much cooler inside compared to the furnace-like heat of the outdoors. I had also added plenty of mist fans in the rooms which made things pleasantly cool, and the scholar tree in the middle of the courtyard that I had placed in honor of Scholar Wu gave plenty of shade.


    Scholar Wu was currently holding classes in one of the rooms. The kids were all getting individualized tutoring and seemed happy enough, though I had heard them complaining about their homework several times.


    Earlier, I had peered into the room and saw them all busy reading books or practicing their writing on cheap paper.


    Prince Baiyu and I were waiting for them to finish so we could go out to Forage in the [Golden Harvest Banana Grove]. The last time I had visited it, I had been chased off by the monkeys and my own cowardice, but this time I had backup in the form of Prince Baiyu and his bodyguards.


    Meanwhile, we made small talk about the weather and its effect on the crops.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I had to place a canopy over the tea plants so early.¡± Shaking my head in disbelief, I took another sip of the iced lemonade with honey. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the tea won¡¯t be of good quality this time either.¡±


    Prince Baiyu smiled. ¡°That¡¯s just as well. Your tea is already in great demand. I fear the consequences if it becomes even more popular. Shuye has been threatening to run away to the mountains with his family.¡±


    ¡°What? People are still asking him for more tea?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve asked the clan to send more clerks. They¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    ¡°The demand should die down soon since no one but those two people got any skills from drinking the tea.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it very much. The clan doctors have certified that they do have the skills they claim. Everyone will want to try it even though the odds are low.¡±


    While we were talking, the kids finished today¡¯s class and called out to us as they exited their classroom.


    ¡°Teacher, we¡¯re ready to meet the monkeys!¡± said Lari.


    Prince Baiyu and I joined them, and together we walked to the front gate where the flying carriages were waiting. Normally, we would just walk to the grove but Prince Baiyu arranged for more comfortable transportation because of the incredible heat.


    It was a tight squeeze inside the carriage with me, my apprentices, Prince Baiyu, and Scholar Wu inside. The prince¡¯s guards flew beside the carriage. There was a moment of hilarity when Prince Baiyu told me I could sit on his lap. I opted to sit on Scholar Wu¡¯s lap instead for propriety''s sake, and he spent the entire twenty-minute trip pouting. The trip would¡¯ve been a lot faster, but I asked them to move as slow as a snail when taking off and landing since it was scary for me when the carriage flew too fast.


    As usual, the clan members claimed there was no such place as the [Golden Harvest Banana Grove]. I reckoned the place was in stealth mode, so I had to help them out by guiding them there.


    ¡°There it is!¡± I pointed at the right spot below us.


    The driver saluted me and started the descent.


    ¡°I see something,¡± said Scholar Wu. She sounded extremely surprised.


    ¡°You get used to new places popping up now and then when you travel with Violet,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    We alighted one by one and marveled at the mini jungle in front of us.


    [Golden Harvest Banana Grove:


    Wild banana trees are growing haphazardly in this corner of the forest. The tropical microclimate here is caused by a magical hot spring.]


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The dense jungle was a verdant maze of towering tropical trees, their broad leaves casting dappled shadows on the damp earth below. It was quiet the last time I was here, but today the jungle was alive with the raucous chatter and acrobatic antics of the monkeys who were swinging from branch to branch or resting under the shade of the canopy, with mothers cradling their young in their arms.


    ¡°My lord, we¡¯ll cast a shield over the group. Please, everyone, stay close to me.¡± The head of Prince Baiyu¡¯s guard took out a crystal from his interspatial storage bag and activated it. A hemisphere of light surrounded us, and he demonstrated that he could move the shield by waving his pacing back and forth with the crystal in his hand.


    The monkeys eyed us warily but did not approach. We circled the mini jungle and Foraged what we could. Mo, with her uncanny knack for finding more than the rest of us, was able to get [Yam], [Lemongrass], and [Taro] in addition to the [Bananas] that the rest of us Foraged. I remembered where the [Vegetable Fern] and [Ginger] grew and gathered that.


    Of course, the bulk of our haul was bananas of every shape and size.


    [Banana:


    Rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber, the banana grows year-round in tropical climates. The golden peel hides soft, creamy flesh that is sweet without being cloying. Finely chopped banana peels can be placed at the base of a plant to repel aphids.]


    We finished quickly since the place wasn¡¯t large, and ended up at the hot spring in the middle of the grove.


    Prince Baiyu and Scholar Wu dipped their hands in the hot spring and pronounced it the perfect temperature for outdoor bathing.


    ¡°This is a wonderful find. The nearby villages will be pleased,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°I reported the location ages ago, but people are calling it the ¡®disappearing jungle¡¯ because they say it''s really hard to locate,¡± I said.


    Scholar Wu looked around thoughtfully. ¡°These monkeys are rather high level for wild spirit animals. They probably instinctively set up barriers to defend their home.¡±


    Prince Baiyu and the others nodded.


    ¡°That makes perfect sense,¡± I said. ¡°Primates are known to be smart.¡±


    Lari politely waited until the adults were finished talking before saying, ¡°Teacher, may I fish here?¡±


    ¡°What? The water is way too hot, there can¡¯t be fish here,¡± said Mo.


    Lari gave me a pleading look and I nodded. I thought Mo was right, but there was no harm in trying.


    Lari, Kharli, and I cast our lines while the rest just watched.


    ¡°I got one!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Mo scoffed.


    But she was wrong.


    When Lari pulled up the item he had fished everyone burst into laughter.


    ¡°Oh my gosh!¡± I laughed so hard I could barely stay upright.


    ¡°Some poor girl must have lost that when she was bathing here,¡± said Mo. She was red-faced from laughing.


    Kharli put a finger on her lips and pretended to shush Mo. ¡°...Didn¡¯t Teacher say she bathed here?¡±


    Lari screamed wordlessly and dropped the bright red piece of clothing on the ground as though it had scalded him.


    I picked it up. ¡°It¡¯s not mine!¡±


    Scholar Wu took it from me and examined it. Her lips were still twitching when she said, ¡°This piece of underwear seems to be from a lady of the Monkey clan. Look, there¡¯s the character for monkey embroidered here.¡±


    Now Lari seemed interested. ¡°Maybe I should go and try to find the owner?¡±


    We could all see that he was thinking, ¡°I hope she¡¯s pretty.¡±


    He immediately regretted saying that because throughout the walk back to the carriage and the ride back to the farm, the girls teased him about being a monkey boy who was getting married to a monkey girl and having monkey babies.


    ***


    The days grew hotter and hotter until I declared that there would be no work in the house during the day. The kitchen stoves and ovens were only used during the night and whatever housework had to be done was postponed until the sun set. The household slept during the day and worked at night, except for the farm chores, of course. We did those at dawn when the heat was still bearable.


    The clan members proved to be quite hardy and hardly seemed to notice the heat. Scholar Wu explained that they were born with a greater ability to control their body¡¯s temperature compared to humans.


    Today, the rice had finally grown tall enough for us to flood the rice fields, turning them into proper rice paddies. Then we added the [Rice Carp] and [Cleaner Shrimp].


    [Rice-fish Culture System:


    The water in a rice paddy can be used for more than just growing rice. Farmers can also stock it with fish in order to secure an easy source of protein. Furthermore, the fish will improve soil quality by softening the soil and providing nutrients via their excrement. It is also good for pest management since fish eat insects, snails, fungus, weeds, etc.]


    ¡°Oh, thank goodness we¡¯re done!¡± I shielded my eyes from the sun with a hand and looked up at the tree we were standing under. ¡°The leaves look so wilted. Do you think we should start watering all the trees here, not just our crops?


    Lari frowned. ¡°Scholar Wu said it wasn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    ¡°She said that a week ago. They might need it now.¡± Kharli plucked off a leaf from a low-hanging branch. ¡°Look, the edges seem almost burnt.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go ask her,¡± suggested Mo.


    ¡°How are your classes going?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°It¡¯s fun!¡± Mo looked surprised. ¡°It¡¯s not like the classes we had at the orphanage because Scholar Wu lets us learn on our own and she doesn¡¯t mind if we¡¯re slow.¡±


    ¡°Great. Okay, ask her about the trees, but rest and cool off for the rest of the day. If we need to, we can water the trees tomorrow.¡± I used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off my face. ¡°See you later!¡±


    We parted ways, and back at the [Ranch House] I cooled off with a long shower and put on comfortable shorts and a T-shirt. Then I turned the air conditioning to full blast since I was going to start preparing for the [World Boss Event] again today.


    Of course, I had already established an explosive arrow production line with my apprentices and enhanced a lot of [Firebird Feathers] using [Automatic Mode]. Now that I had enough of them to fill a room, it was time to take those [Firebird Feathers] and turn them into [War Fans].


    [War Fan:


    A magical weapon favored by the Vermillion Bird clan. Its base is made from lightweight wood, providing a sturdy structure for the magnificent Firebird Feathers. The fan greatly amplifies a mage''s power in battle.]

 Chapter 169 - Mercy Mode: Theres an upcoming demon war, this is still a cozy farming fantasy

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 169 - A Fan-tom Menace</h2>


    ??????


    I removed most of the furniture in my living room and then placed a large worktable in the middle of the open space. Taking out the [Fan Skeleton], which was made of the fan sticks already bound together, I piled them on one side of the table and made another pile of [Firebird Feathers] on the other side.


    Then I mentally clicked [Use] on the [Firebird Feathers] before clicking on the [Fan Skeleton].


    The items then glowed a candy apple red and flew to the middle of the table where the [Firebird Feathers] started gluing themselves to the [Fan Skeleton].


    ¡°Yes!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but cheer the process on.


    In almost no time at all, the [War Fan] was complete.


    Made of vivid red feathers and pale polished wood, the fan sparkled like the legendary object it was. It was hard to imagine that something this lovely could wreak havoc on the Vermillion Bird¡¯s enemies.


    I picked it up and practiced opening and closing it in the most elegant way possible. I even put on a red outfit to match it and pranced around the room, using the fan to gesture or flirtatiously cover half my face. The way that it sparkled with every movement was almost hypnotic, but I did eventually get tired of playing around with it and went back to work making more [War Fans].


    The [Firebird Feathers] had been enhanced using [Automatic Alchemy] and though I didn¡¯t use a cauldron while making the completed [War Fan], I still got Alchemy exp, and it was a lot! Since Alchemy was a sub-skill of Herblaw, this exp was reflected in the parent skill. I was definitely going to level up Herblaw soon.


    Creating the items in the quantity I needed was an easy but long and tedious process. Every half an hour, I got up and stretched or walked around the room to soothe my stiff muscles.


    Though [War Fans] are the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s iconic and best weapon, they were extremely easy for players to make because the World Boss Event was meant for everyone to enjoy, so even low-level players could make this key item.


    As I continued crafting the weapons, I went over my memories of the event in Adventure Incarnate. Of course, I knew it wouldn¡¯t be exactly the same in this world, but surely my knowledge would be useful nonetheless.


    The game¡¯s first cooperative event was a huge deal when it was first held. We were all excited to fight a boss together with everyone on the server, and the event did not disappoint. It was laggy, as expected, but the game developers had added a [Hide Players] button for those who had no patience with lag or had older computers or slow internet connections.


    [Hide Players] reduced the graphical lag and let the players screenshot their big hits. The boss was low defense but extremely high HP, so it was basically just a big punching bag. Players considered it a great chance to try out various combinations of armor, weapons, accessories, buffs, and so forth.


    I chuckled out loud when I remembered the incident that made GodIAm famous in the game.


    Somehow, by testing various joke items that gave players stats, he found out that there was a special ¡°Mercy Mode¡± or ¡°Pity System¡± that was meant for low-level players. If a player did zero damage 99 times, the game heavily boosted the player¡¯s 100th hit.


    There was an outcry in the forums when GodIAm posted lots of screenshots of him hitting enormously high damage on the boss. Many claimed it was impossible to hit those numbers even with max stats and the best items in the game, and GodIAm admitted it was true.


    Stolen story; please report.


    I laughed again when I recalled how everyone had abused Mercy Mode when GodIAm revealed his method.


    The devs were very good-natured about it and declined to nerf the damage players did. Instead, they gave the boss even more HP and an automatic self-healing skill.


    I took out a pen and paper and jotted down everything I knew about the event, then continued making [War Fans] the whole day, with short breaks for lunch and dinner with Prince Baiyu.


    That night, I stayed up late until I got the System popup that I was waiting for.


    ¡°Come on, sweet exp!¡± I was a little hyper from drinking coffee to keep myself awake past midnight.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced an Herblaw level!]


    [Your Herblaw level is now 23.]


    ¡°Yes!¡± I did a little victory dance with Mr. Bear.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 25, Fishing Level 12, Woodcutting Level 22, Cooking Level 6, Herblaw Level 22¡ú23, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 7, Mining Level 4]


    I went to bed in a wonderful mood and woke up in an even better one. Flinging the bed sheets aside, I jumped up and blazed through my morning routine.


    ¡°Good morning!¡± I said to Prince Baiyu.


    He had been waiting for me at the gate to my [Ranch House]. We met each other almost every day, either very early in the morning or in the evening after his work was done.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± he said.


    He took my hand in his, and we walked in comfortable silence to the nearest rice paddy where he stayed by my side as I inspected the crops.


    It was a warm summer day with the rice paddy glistening in the dappled sunlight, a sea of emerald green punctuated by the occasional ripple caused by a breeze. The rice and fish were growing well, and Prince Baiyu and I admired how they worked together harmoniously.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have another bountiful harvest this season,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°Looks like it,¡± I said.


    We walked to the other rice paddies. Everything was in order.


    Then we entered the shaded area under the protective canopy I had placed over the tea field. Here the air was deliciously scented by the tea plants.


    I took a deep breath and savored the delicate, invigorating aroma. ¡°Smell that. I never get tired of this.¡±


    ¡°Smell this?¡± Prince Baiyu leaned down and sniffed my neck. ¡°Wonderful. I never get tired of it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you!¡± I playfully swatted his head away. ¡°Stop it! I¡¯ve been sweating.¡±


    Shaking my head at his teasing, I went back to work.


    I made my way through the rows of plants, my eyes meticulously scanning each one for any signs of disease or pests. I knew that the System would probably be able to identify any problems for me, but I still manually checked each one, just in case there were things from this world that the System wasn¡¯t equipped to deal with.


    Crouching down, I peered intently at the stems and undersides of the leaves, searching for any discoloration or abnormalities such as the yellowing of the leaves or the tell-tale webbing of spider mites. The dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy cast intricate patterns on the ground, guiding my path as I diligently inspected each and every tea plant.


    ¡°Here, drink some water.¡± Prince Baiyu handed me a bamboo water flask.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I took a drink and handed it back to him.


    To my surprise, he took the lid off and lifted it to his lips, making sure to touch the exact spot I had drunk from.


    An indirect kiss?!


    What for, when we could just kiss directly?


    Smiling, I stood up on tip-toes and put my hands on the back of his neck. We were just about to lock lips when I heard people squealing in excitement. The corners of Prince Baiyu¡¯s lips twitched and we both burst out laughing.


    ¡°You guys ruined the mood!¡± I complained to my apprentices who were still some distance away and probably couldn¡¯t hear me. I reluctantly disentangled myself from Prince Baiyu.


    Kharli and Mo were embracing each other and still shrieking shrilly. Lari was looking away from us into the distance, pretending to be disinterested, but I had heard him cheering along with the other two.


    I waved at them to join us, and they walked over and greeted us.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to work,¡± I said to them. ¡°These plants aren¡¯t going to water themselves.¡±


    ***


    I continued to take care of the farm and make more weapons until the fateful day I was waiting for arrived.


    [System Announcement: Advent of the Demon Monarch


    Countdown: 10 days]

 Chapter 170 - Quest: Witness an Era-defining Event

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 170 - Air-rific High-Flying Adven-tour</h2>


    ??????


    [Witness an Era-defining Event:


    Go to Samsara''s End Peak of the Great Western Mountain to observe the descent of the Demon Monarch.


    Reward: Attack Exp]


    The Attack skill was the ¡°aiming¡± or ¡°accuracy¡± stat that determined whether the player could hit something while the Strength skill determined how much damage the player dealt. Obviously, players were absolutely addicted to hitting big numbers and preferred to level Strength over Attack, but I wasn¡¯t going to complain if the quest gave me exp just for watching something happen, even if it wasn¡¯t my preferred stat.


    In the game, this "descent of the Demon Monarch" event was a simple cutscene, and I thought it would be amazing to view it for real.


    I quickly went to the main house and sent off letters to Shuye, Prince Baiyu, and the Commander inviting them to join me for a ¡°viewing party recommended by my bloodline inheritance.¡± Then, after some thought, I also invited Lady Hoshi.


    ¡°You all should come with me!¡± I said to Fengying. ¡°I mean the whole household. You wouldn¡¯t want to miss this; it will be the show of the century, or maybe even the millennium!¡±


    Fengying gave me a thoughtful look. ¡°My lady, what will happen?¡±


    ¡°An earth-shattering event.¡± I gave her my best mysterious smile, but she just shook her head and left, presumably to inform the others.


    Prince Baiyu arrived shortly, which was a surprise since he didn¡¯t normally visit during the early afternoon since he had a lot of work to do.


    ¡°I need more details. What do you mean ¡®bring your parents¡¯? What should I tell them?¡± He sat down beside me on the loveseat I had placed in the reception room.


    ¡°Tell them my bloodline inheritance alerted me to an important event.¡± I used a finger to smooth out the frown lines on his forehead.


    He took my hand and kissed it. ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous?¡±


    ¡°If it was dangerous, my bloodline inheritance would tell me to flee, not go and watch it.¡±


    We held hands as we talked. He kept on asking me for additional details. I was tempted to tell him more, but I didn¡¯t even know if the information I had from the game was accurate.


    Finally, I got tired of going over the same thing over and over again.


    ¡°Just inform your parents of what I said. It¡¯s up to them whether they want to go with us or not,¡± I said. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m bringing my whole household with me. Come, let¡¯s pick which ship we¡¯ll use.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re not using your regular flying ship?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too small. I¡¯ll be bringing all the staff, plus guests.¡±


    We stopped at the outer courtyard where I asked Fengying to help me choose, too. She asked Deming to come with us, and when the others found out we were going to try out new ships, they asked to come, too.


    ¡°Sure, sure, let¡¯s all go,¡± I said good-naturedly. There weren¡¯t any easy entertainment options here like televisions, radio, or internet, so the natives of this world were always on the lookout for something new and exciting to experience.


    The kids were extremely excited.


    ¡°Something bigger than the ship? But the ship is already huge!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Teacher, you said the Lady of the West could be coming with us? You should pick the most luxurious one,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°No, it should be the most comfortable one,¡± said Mo.


    Though I knew the transportation options from Adventure Incarnate, apart from the few ships that featured in quests, players could only see the outside of the vehicles, so I didn¡¯t know which one to use for the [Witness an Era-defining Event] quest.


    Once we arrived at the wide spot on the river where we usually started our travels, I said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s try this one.¡±


    Without further ado, I took out the [Skywhale] from the Cash Shop.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Lari stared up at the enormous wooden gray whale floating three feet above the water.


    ¡°It¡¯s a [Skywhale]. Shall we go inside and check it out?¡± I mentally clicked on the [Board] button and a door opened on the side of the wooden whale and a gangplank with rails was automatically deployed. ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡±


    Inside, the [Skywhale] was Roman-themed and the unfurnished rooms were small but plentiful, the walls decorated with Roman frescoes of mythological scenes and pastoral landscapes. Kharli covered Mo¡¯s eyes when we saw a forest scene of scantily clad nymphs and fauns.


    ¡°It¡¯s spacious enough,¡± said Fengying. ¡°We could add furniture and cover the more¡­ risque decorations with curtains and it would look decent.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s big, but I don¡¯t think a big gray blob would impress anyone,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to impress anyone though.¡± I looked up at Prince Baiyu, wordlessly asking for his opinion.


    He shrugged, but I could tell from his expression that he agreed with Lari.


    Scholar Wu sidled closer to me and whispered, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to make a great first impression on Prince Baiyu¡¯s parents?¡±


    ¡°What? You guys don¡¯t like it?¡± I was astonished that they seemed to dislike the [Skywhale].


    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s a viewing party, and there aren¡¯t many windows,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Good point.¡± A lot of the rooms were windowless and there was no side deck for us to use since the [Skywhale¡¯s] only openings were the door on its side and the eyeholes that were covered in a glass-like transparent material. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine. I have others.¡±


    We all exited the ship and I took out the [Auspicious Elephant].


    This one was a lot smaller than the [Skywhale], but it was much more flashy. Inspired by the elephant from the Moulin Rouge movie, the wooden elephant was three stories tall and was covered in bright yellow LED lights, lacy gold accents, large white pearls, and scarlet crystals. A door opened in one of its legs and we went up the gangplank. There was a lovely staircase inside the leg which we ascended while admiring the wooden elephant''s intricate woodwork.


    ¡°Now this is something!¡± said Lari.


    Prince Baiyu used his sleeve to cover his mouth when he saw the interior of the [Auspicious Elephant]. The upholstered walls were covered in rich cream leather, crimson velvet, and cloth-of-gold. Rooms were divided by bead curtains and the main bedroom looked like a messy lady-of-the-night¡¯s boudoir.


    The bedroom''s centerpiece was an imposing four-poster bed, its canopy dripping with heavy silk curtains in a deep crimson hue. The sheets lay in a rumpled mess, pillows scattered carelessly across the plush duvet. Against the far wall stood an antique vanity, its polished surface a chaotic display of crystal perfume bottles, compacts adorned with precious gems, and ornate silver-backed hair brushes.


    Scholar Wu said, with a wink at me and Prince Baiyu, ¡°This flying vehicle is rather romantic, isn¡¯t it? More fit for a wedding trip than a group outing.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°Maybe¡­¡±


    Prince Baiyu blushed. While he was always acting flirtatious towards me when we were alone, he tended to keep his mouth shut around Scholar Wu. I suspect she sent regular reports to Prince Baiyu¡¯s parents about us.


    I pretended not to see Lari pocketing a few of the gem-encrusted compacts. His efforts were doomed since items taken out of the house or ship always disappeared after a time.


    Our tour was short since the place was smaller than I expected.


    ¡°Well, this one does have a good viewing platform,¡± I said when we climbed up to the gold howdah on top of the elephant. ¡°But there are too few rooms.¡±


    Mo seated herself on the howdah¡¯s silk cushions. ¡°It¡¯s so comfortable here though. The view would be great.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it wouldn¡¯t be so comfortable with everyone in here,¡± said Fengying.


    ¡°Yeah, this one¡¯s a bust again. Let¡¯s try something else,¡± I said.


    We descended and I once again summoned a flying vessel, the [Floating Solarium].


    There were gasps all around me when they saw the floating rock topped by a giant maple tree whose roots were enclosed by a crystal dome.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it would be this big,¡± I said.


    ¡°I have a feeling this one will do nicely,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°Me, too.¡±


    The tree in the game was only regular tree-sized, small enough for the player¡¯s head to almost touch its lowest branches, and the solarium bit was just a glass-walled room beside the tree. The ship that I summoned, on the other hand, had a gigantic tree on top of a large floating rock and the glass-walled structure was two stories tall.


    Since the vehicle was so big, instead of a gangplank the [Floating Solarium] disgorged two escalators, one going down and another going up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s gooooooo!¡± I grabbed Prince Baiyu and pulled him up beside me though I was careful not to pull him onto the escalator itself. Safety was important.


    We held on to the rails as we ascended with the others right behind us. The escalator brought us to a foyer that featured a grand double staircase. We discovered that the glass dome of the [Floating Solarium] had two levels. The ground floor was full of bedrooms, each with its own tiny shower and lavatory, while the level above was a large, airy open space full of hanging pots of plants and vines. There was lots of natural light since the walls and dome ceiling were made of plate glass and cast iron, though the harshness of the sunlight was filtered by the leaves of the large red maple tree.


    I made a soft sound of satisfaction as we wandered around the central area around the giant red maple.


    The moment Deming laid eyes on the small open-plan kitchen, he and his assistants started rummaging through the kitchen shelves and storage areas, checking for supplies.


    Several areas seemed to be designed for various activities. There were small and large dining tables with chairs, assorted seating areas, a children¡¯s playground full of toys, a library nook, and a party or picnic spot with colorful blankets spread out on the floor with plenty of cushions to sit on. I checked the library¡¯s shelves but, alas, as usual, they only had books with blank pages.


    One part of the dome was slightly elevated and when we climbed up the steps, we found ourselves in a viewing platform protected by a huge expanse of seamless glass. Sofas and chairs were grouped together, facing the view.


    ¡°Magnificent!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°This is the one,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I liked the elephant a lot, but this is better,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°This one suits you best.¡± Prince Baiyu squeezed my hand slightly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll use this one then,¡± I said.


    The [Floating Solarium¡¯s] decor was very simple and soothing, which would help in case the Demon Monarch was scarier than I expected.

 Chapter 171 - Shuyes Transformation

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 171 - A pilot-entially fun soar-prise</h2>


    ??????


    Since the Demon Chef wanted to familiarize himself with the flying ship¡¯s kitchen, we decided to spend the rest of the day on the [Floating Solarium]. Fengying made lists of what we would need since I was bringing the whole household along, plus some very important guests.


    The kids went back downstairs to call dibs on the bedrooms they wanted while Prince Baiyu and I sat on the viewing platform.


    ¡°Do you think your parents will come with us?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°I sent them a letter strongly urging them to accept your invitation. I¡¯m pretty sure at least my father will come, but my mother¡¯s very busy and will have to cancel quite a few appointments.¡±


    Prince Baiyu ¡°casually¡± stretched an arm on the back of the sofa we were on and placed his hand on my shoulder. I snuggled closer, and we stayed there like that until Fengying arrived to announce that Shuye was here.


    ¡°So fast?¡± I¡¯d only just sent the invitation to my Farm Guide. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll meet him at the seating area in front of the kitchen.¡±


    That was the slightly more formal area that could serve as a reception room.


    Prince Baiyu and I reluctantly pulled ourselves apart and made our way to the lower level where Shuye was already waiting for us.


    ¡°Shuye! What happened to you?¡± I ran towards him and circled him while examining his new look. ¡°Your hair! Your clothes! Your shoes! You¡¯re wearing accessories!¡±


    Shuye crossed his arms on his chest and shook his head at my theatrics. He and Prince Baiyu greeted each other politely, while I continued to marvel at how different Shuye looked. His long, shaggy, and slightly disreputable hair had been cut into a neat short layered style. Instead of the plain brown cotton robes and pants he always wore when he visited, this time he was wearing a deep blue outer robe made of rich silk, with an intricate abstract pattern embroidered on it. The wide sleeves and hem were bordered with silver, and his inner robes and pants were a lighter shade of blue and likewise made of silk. Jade ornaments hung from his belt, and even his boots were clearly made of expensive leather.


    I gave Shuye a [Crocus] flower as a gift as was customary with Farm Guides in Adventure Incarnate. Then we sat down and the maids served us tea and snacks. Since Shuye and Prince Baiyu kept up their image by refusing the food and drink, I was the only one who ate and drank heartily while Shuye explained his makeover.


    ¡°When I was single, I used to wander in the forest alone, with only the animals for company. The blue sky above was my ceiling and the green grass was my bed. It was only when I got married that I settled down.¡± Shuye smiled. ¡°My wife has never been the fussy type, so we were both satisfied with living a simple life in the village.¡±


    ¡°Did something happen to change that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My child was born! A few weeks ago I looked around my house and thought ¡®This isn¡¯t good enough for her¡¯ and since then I have been busy making sure that my daughter will have the best of everything. That includes my image in the community.¡±


    ¡°Wow. You look like a prosperous city merchant now,¡± I said. ¡°Wait, did you do something to your face? You seem younger.¡±


    Shuye scratched his head bashfully and looked away. ¡°I¡¯ve been using your beauty elixir.¡±


    He must mean the [Dewy Glow Potion]. I smiled and said, ¡°Good for you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also building a new, better house.¡± Shuye sighed in a melancholy yet satisfied way. ¡°Now I know why people are ambitious. This is the first time that I¡¯ve felt the hunger for more.¡±


    This was fascinating. To think that Shuye had changed so much because he had become a father was eye-opening. ¡°For your child?¡±


    ¡°And all my future children. My wife and I plan to have more kids.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure. At least three, I think.¡±


    Prince Baiyu said, ¡°It would be good if we could replenish our numbers in a few generations. Many villages are in danger of dying because of our fertility problems.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to Lady Violet, our problems are solved,¡± said Shuye.


    I chuckled. ¡°Does this mean I¡¯ll get a tax exemption?¡±


    Prince Baiyu smirked at me. ¡°No.¡±


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    I playfully tried to flick him on his forehead but he dodged.


    Shuye patiently waited until we were done playing before saying, ¡°I came to tell you in person that I can¡¯t go with you to the Great Western Mountain.¡±


    ¡°Because of your newborn? Okay. What about the Commander?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If the Lady of the West is coming, she¡¯ll bring her guards along and you won¡¯t need the Commander,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I need her. I just thought she might like to watch the event with us,¡± I said.


    Shuye¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°What event is that?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s a secret.¡± I took a sip of tea.


    Shuye gave Prince Baiyu a questioning look, but the latter shrugged to indicate that he didn¡¯t know about it either. They both tried to get me to tell them more, but I resisted because I felt it would be unwise.


    After that, Shuye left, and Fengying asked my permission to use some of our more precious supplies, such as the saffron, to use during the trip. She also gave me a list of things she needed to buy in Anwei in order to properly prepare for the royal visit. I winced a little at her estimated expenses but approved it. Apparently, we needed better clothes for the staff, incense for the bedrooms, a gong to summon people for meals, folding screens, carpets, and so forth.


    Oh well, even if it costs a lot, it will be worth it for sure. I pitied Shuye for missing the upcoming epic game event.


    ***


    During the next few days, we took care of the crops and animals while I secretly made more [War Fans]. The plants in the [Herb Garden] grew big enough for us to identify using the System.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m the winner!¡± Lari raised a fist in a victory pose.


    ¡°No way, the Chef won¡¯t make his judgment until the plants are fully grown. I could still win if your plants die.¡± Despite her words, Mo gave Lari¡¯s garden plot an envious look.


    Kharli gave her a sly grin and fake-whispered, ¡°You¡¯re not saying you¡¯ll make his plants die, right?¡±


    ¡°Stop that,¡± said Lari. ¡°Don¡¯t be a sore loser.¡±


    Scholar Wu and I let the kids banter while we inspected the herbs. Lari had five rare plants while Mo had three, and Kharli and I had only two each.


    Most of the plants were simply spirit versions of ordinary kitchen or medicinal herbs like [Mint], [Basil], [Oregano], [Rosemary], [Thyme], [Dill], [Lavender], [Chamomile], [Ginger], etc. There were one hundred of them, and the System helpfully provided the details.


    Yarrow, for example, was something I was unfamiliar with, but the item description made it clear how it could be used.


    [Yarrow:


    A healing herb that has been used for centuries to treat wounds by stopping bleeding, reducing inflammation, and speeding up healing.


    To use yarrow for wound care, the leaves and flowers can be crushed and applied to cuts and scrapes, or made into a tea to wash the wound.]


    Lari was crowing because he had lucked out by growing [Ginseng], the rarest and most expensive plant in the garden.


    [Ginseng:


    A valuable herb used to enhance physical and mental performance, reduce fatigue, and support overall well-being. It is believed to strengthen the immune system, improve cognitive function, and promote longevity.


    The herb can be consumed as a tea or added to foods.]


    ¡°I think I can say the [Herb Garden] is a success,¡± I said to Scholar Wu as we strolled through the paths examining the plants.


    ¡°Yes, and it¡¯s quite lovely, too. By the way, I think this is a good time for a writing project about the garden,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°To record the results? Yes, that would be very useful,¡± I said.


    ¡°And good practice for them. I¡¯ll bring the materials,¡± she said.


    Scholar Wu left and then returned shortly with a box containing inksticks, inkstones, and bamboo slips. The narrow strips of bamboo were around ten inches long and half an inch in width.


    ¡°Use as many strips as you need for each herb,¡± Scholar Wu instructed the kids. ¡°Put the number on top and then write the name of the herb and the description.¡±


    We retired to the shaded area on the northern side of the [Herb Garden] where I set up writing desks and chairs. Lari and Kharli went back and forth from their desks to the garden beds to write down the information while Mo and I checked each one for accuracy. Scholar Wu helped Lari and Kharli write the characters when they didn¡¯t know the order of brush strokes, which happened a lot, and showed them how to correct their errors by using a small knife to scrape off the ink from the bamboo slips.


    It took us two days to finish, and at the end of it, Scholar Wu used an awl to make holes in the bamboo slips and then bound them together with silk thread.


    ¡°Then I will fold the strips into ¡®pages¡¯ like so.¡± Scholar Wu demonstrated this by folding the long scroll into sections to create ''pages'' of fifteen strips each.


    ¡°It¡¯s a book! We made a book!¡± said Kharli.


    Scholar Wu unfolded it again and said, ¡°Here are two plain wooden boards. They will be the book covers. What shall we write as the title of the book?¡±


    My three apprentices went into a huddle and discussed it among themselves. Finally, Kharli said, ¡°Teacher, how about calling it ¡®The Emberstone Farm Herb Guide¡¯? It¡¯s simple but good.¡±


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s call it that,¡± I said.


    Kharli, who had the best handwriting of the three, wrote down the title on the front cover while Lari wrote on the back cover.


    ¡°Congratulations, you three have written your first book.¡± Scholar Wu wrote our names on the inner cover. ¡°You all did a great job.¡±


    Mo didn¡¯t look as thrilled as the rest of us did. Though she didn''t say anything, I knew she was fretting because she hadn¡¯t written anything on the bamboo slips.


    I went over to Mo and put an arm around her. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re not thinking that you didn¡¯t write the book, are you? Dictation is a perfectly acceptable way of writing.¡±


    Scholar Wu said, ¡°Mo, do you remember the book by the Sage of the Xinmao Forest that we read?¡±


    Mo nodded.


    ¡°The Sage was illiterate.¡± Scholar Wu smiled at our reactions. ¡°The book of his teachings was written down by his disciples.¡±


    I squeezed Mo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°See? The Sage is the author because what matters is that the thoughts were his.¡±


    Mo didn¡¯t look quite convinced, but she did seem to perk up a little. ¡°I understand. Thank you, Teacher. Thank you, Scholar Wu.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± I took the book and said, ¡°I shall put this on display in the main hall. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    We had a lot of fun in the main house where everyone loved the first Emberstone book. The kids promised to make copies for the staff to read, and we spent a lovely afternoon reading the highlights of the book out loud to an appreciative audience.

 Chapter 172 - Preparing for the Royal Visit

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 172 - A fun adventure is hair!</h2>


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    The next few days were quite busy for all of us. My apprentices and I took care of the farm while Fengying organized the upcoming trip, taking care of all the little details such as the new uniforms, packing cleaning supplies and other essentials, making a schedule for the staff to do all their duties, and even creating a seating plan in which the diners were arranged according to precedence. Deming mobilized his apprentices and sent word to his network of fellow chefs and suppliers to gather the rare ingredients he wanted to use, like bear paws, bird¡¯s nests, abalone, fish maw, rare hams, and so forth.


    I kept out of their way and prioritized taking care of the farm. The rice plants proved to be heat-resistant, which was a relief, but the tea plants were suffering from the excessively high temperatures this summer.


    Yinuo, who was often seen with an extremely smug and self-satisfied expression on her face, helped me choose the clothing I should pack, though we did get Fengying''s input. It was only an overnight trip, so I only had to choose two sets of traveling clothes that were the right mixture of elegance and simplicity.


    Today, I decided to add a salon room to the main house to help people prepare for the royal visit because I felt bad that the girls didn¡¯t have access to hairstylists and makeup artists since we lived in the middle of a forest.


    I closed the door of a room that we were using as a spare guest bedroom and then used the System to change the room configuration. There was the sound of pots and pans banging, then when it was over I opened the door and we walked into the [Bambi Dream Salon].


    The Adventure Incarnate developers hadn¡¯t bought the license to use Barbie, but that didn¡¯t stop them from making the [Bambi Dream Salon] an unsubtle homage to the iconic doll.


    ¡°This does not look like a salon.¡± Scholar Wu looked around the place in bewilderment.


    I covered my mouth with a hand to smother a laugh. ¡°The things from my bloodline inheritance tend to be a little¡­ out of this world.¡±


    The entire space was a whimsical explosion of pink, from the bubble-gum colored walls adorned with Bambi doll posters and large mirrors framed in rose quartz crystals, to the plush, cotton-candy seating areas. The chairs were molded into the shape of high-heeled shoes, complete with sparkly rhinestone accents. Overhead, chandeliers dripped with dangling crystals that cast a shimmery glow over the salon.


    ¡°It¡¯s very whimsical.¡± Scholar Wu wandered around the room marveling at a large shelf full of Bambi dolls in various fashion styles such as pink goth, faerie princess, ballerina, superstar diva, biker gal, astronaut, etc. in glass cases.


    ¡°Teacher, may I be excused? I don¡¯t want to change my hairstyle,¡± said Lari.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Kharli and Mo, of course, looked excited to try out everything. They were already seated on the chairs.


    ¡°Can I go first, Teacher?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go next! Please give me long hair like a princess!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Yes, Lari, but are you sure? It should be fun. Girls, wait a sec and let me find the controls.¡± In the game, there was an interface.


    Everyone helped me and we eventually found a plastic book that had pages and pages of hairstyles and hair colors that we could pick. The girls spent half an hour pouring over the book and, since there were so many hairstyles, I let them pick three that they could try today.


    ¡°Okay, Mo, sit on a chair and I¡¯ll change your hair into [Cloud Tresses].¡±


    Mo sat on the shoe-shaped chair and I used the numeric keypad on its side to enter the code written in the stylebook. Then I pressed the [Start] button.


    There was a soft tinkling sound, like bells chiming, and a large plastic hood dropped down from the ceiling and onto Mo, covering the top, back, and sides of her head while leaving her face uncovered. The hood made a soft series of sounds like chiming bells again and then retracted back to the ceiling.


    ¡°Is that a wig?!¡± asked Kharli. ¡°Your hair is so big!¡±


    I handed Mo a mirror and she smiled at her new hairdo. Soft, wispy strands framed her face while most of it had been pinned up in a frothy, cloud-like updo.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s my hair!¡± Mo laughed and tugged at a curly lock of hair on the side of her face.


    ¡°What did it feel like?¡± asked Scholar Wu.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°My turn, please!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Uh, Teacher, I¡¯ll leave now¡­¡± Lari stopped short of rolling his eyes since Scholar Wu was with us, but I knew he was bored.


    ¡°Okay, you may go. Kharli, sit down and relax.¡± I inputted the code for [Peony Petals] and we were not disappointed when we saw the result.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so fancy! This would take all day to make,¡± said Kharli. Her hair had been fashioned into an intricate bun surrounded by looped coils resembling peony petals.


    ¡°Teacher, may I go and show it to my maid?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Sure, you girls go and ask Madam Fengying if the maids can come and get their hair done, too,¡± I said. ¡°The more, the merrier!¡±


    After the girls left, I turned to Scholar Wu and wordlessly gestured at the chairs to ask her if she wanted to try it.


    ¡°No, thank you. I¡¯m not the adventurous kind,¡± she said.


    Minutes later, Kharli and Mo arrived with Fengying and the maids.


    Fengying declined to try the device, but the maids all tested new styles. Most of them picked the more classic or fancy styles, such as elaborate braids, long and wavy hair, or regal updos. They all laughed when I used the salon to give myself a towering blue beehive ¨¤ la Marge Simpson.


    ¡°You could hide a sword in there!¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Teacher, you won¡¯t be able to go through the doors,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I can.¡± Strolling over to the door, I bent my back as though I was playing a game of limbo and walked through it with my new hairstyle intact. ¡°See!¡±


    Everyone clapped or hooted my performance, and we spent a pleasant day primping ourselves.


    At first, the menfolk pretended we were being too frivolous, but they eventually tried it out, too. Yinuo¡¯s twin husbands, Muchen and Yichen, got identical [Sword Prince] hairstyles which featured long topknots with two braids on either side of the head that were also gathered into the ponytail, while the others mostly picked short or spiky hairstyles.


    I modeled a bunch of weird styles for Prince Baiyu, who was amused and slightly alarmed when the machine shaved my head bald and tattooed it with a flower and vine pattern. Eventually, I undid all the work the salon had done on my hair and continued using the same long brown hair I had chosen from the Cash Shop.


    ***


    Two days before the trip, we had finished all of our preparations when my plans hit a snag.


    ¡°What do you mean we won¡¯t be allowed to go to the mountain?¡± I asked Prince Baiyu.

 Chapter 173 - The Goat Clan &#x1F410;&#x1F410;&#x1F410;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 173 - A Goat-rageous rejection and disaster!</h2>


    ??????


    The prince sighed and massaged his temples. ¡°The Goat clan head who is the titular guardian of the Great Western Mountain range sent word that there will be an important ritual held there during the time you plan to visit, and they don¡¯t want to be disturbed.¡±


    Scholar Wu said, ¡°The strange thing is that the flight plan you sent doesn¡¯t even go near the Great Western Mountain range.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t? Can I see it on a map?¡± I thought about it and realized it was probably the usual System shenanigans. The System map was not the same as the map of the world. ¡°My bloodline inheritance is old, and place names change a lot. Maybe I don¡¯t need to go to the Goat clan¡¯s territory at all.¡±


    ¡°I have a map in the classroom,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    We trooped over to the second courtyard. Scholar Wu had decorated the walls of the classroom with some lovely calligraphy scrolls and paintings depicting seascapes and mythological scenes as well as one large map.


    She unrolled the flight plan map I had given her and compared it to the wall map.


    ¡°This location you marked is here.¡± She put a finger on the map on a spot. ¡°The Great Western Mountain range is here, north of where you want to go.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s okay then. It doesn¡¯t matter if the Goat clan doesn¡¯t want me in their territory since we¡¯re going to a different site,¡± I said.


    Prince Baiyu examined the world map and said, ¡°But the area you want to fly to doesn¡¯t have a mountain in it.¡±


    I put a finger on my chin. ¡°Maybe my ancestors named it the ¡®Great Western Mountain¡¯ ironically, the way people will call a giant tiger ¡®Little Fang.¡¯ Or something like that.¡±


    Scholar Wu shook her head at my joke. ¡°If you say so.¡±


    ¡°There shouldn''t be a problem since the location you want isn¡¯t claimed by any clan,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    After some more discussion, we left it at that and I asked them if they wanted to join me at my workroom while I cut some fruit and other food ingredients.


    ¡°Is it true you can burn food by cutting them?¡± asked Scholar Wu.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± I said.


    Yinuo was waiting for me. She had already covered the worktable with a clean white tablecloth, and there was an empty trashcan beside it. She recited the food ingredients Deming wanted me to send. ¡°Oranges, pineapples, melons, mangoes, and he would like truffles if you have any.¡±


    ¡°Aye, aye ma¡¯am!¡± I saluted her before sitting down on the bench.


    Scholar Wu and Prince Baiyu remained standing to observe the process.


    First, I took out a truffle grater and two plates. Second, I filled one plate with truffles. Third, I used the grater on a truffle. Fourth, the truffle turned into a charcoal-like burned truffle.


    ¡°Incredible. This is truly a rare talent,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    I could almost imagine her pushing up her glasses, even though she didn¡¯t wear any.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a form of qi overload,¡± said Prince Baiyu. He took the piece of burnt food and examined it. ¡°Your qi control might be lacking.¡±


    ¡°Practice makes perfect,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll try again.¡±


    Though it was annoying that I burned eight out of ten truffles, I did eventually grate enough to give to Deming. Yinuo dumped the failures in the wastebasket before bringing the plate to the kitchen, and Scholar Wu tactfully made her exit, leaving me alone with Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°Alone at last,¡± he murmured as he sat down beside me.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    He took my hand and kissed my knuckles before twining our fingers together.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± I said.


    ¡°You look so beautiful today that I can hardly keep my eyes off you.¡±


    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking. Tell me, how many hearts have you broken?¡±


    ¡°Zero.¡±


    ¡°Lies.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. People don¡¯t like me much.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t they say you have perfect conformation? Clan members must find you extremely attractive.¡±


    ¡°No. Perfect conformation is¡­ Imagine a circle. One is a perfect circle; the other is not.¡±


    I thought about it. ¡°Surely people prefer the perfect circle?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s debatable. Perfection can be less attractive than something interestingly flawed,¡± he said with a wry smile. ¡°A perfect circle is precise, symmetrical, predictable. But a shape that deviates ever so slightly from the ideal¡­ I believe that is where true beauty lies.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Didn¡¯t you say I¡¯m beautiful to you? Then are you saying I¡¯m flawed?¡± I smirked at his consternation. ¡°Would you care to enumerate my no doubt numerous physical imperfections?¡±


    He was speechless for a moment, but recovered quickly and said, ¡°No! You didn¡¯t let me finish my talk. I was going to say that perfection is boring except when it¡¯s you.¡±


    I chuckled and hugged him. ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m fine with being flawed!¡±


    We were still laughing over it when Yinuo returned.


    ¡°Back to work,¡± I said. ¡°This is all preparation for the upcoming royal visit. I hope your parents like the food.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they will,¡± said Prince Baiyu. ¡°They¡¯re not particularly picky.¡±


    The Lady of the West was pregnant, which meant that she regularly ate food. Her husband was likewise exempt from the custom of refraining from enjoying meals since he had to provide for her, and he could hardly be expected to cook or serve food to her if he wasn¡¯t allowed to eat.


    Therefore, Deming and his assistants had to whip up several meals fit for royalty.


    ¡°We all want to make a good impression on them. Right, Yinuo?¡± I said to my maid.


    ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± she said.


    Soon Fengying arrived with lists of more stuff we needed, along with a few bills.


    Thus, we had a busy but pleasant day, and I totally forgot about the Goat clan¡¯s refusal until the next day when the farm was rocked by another strong earthquake.


    Not only did the earth violently convulse several times, but the sky lit up with an ominous red glow in the south. It must be the start of the descent of the Demon Monarch.


    The entire household was alarmed by these events, and Shuye, Scholar Wu, and Prince Baiyu came to see me to discuss it.


    I met them in the formal reception room.


    ¡°Tell me, Violet, when I told you that the Goat clan had refused your request, did you feel angry about it?¡± asked Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Angry? No,¡± I said. ¡°Actually, I forgot all about it until you mentioned it just now.¡±


    The three of them exchanged meaningful looks. Shuye and Scholar Wu seemed to be waiting for the prince to say something, but he remained silent.


    Eventually, Shuye, who seemed somewhat uncomfortable, cleared his throat and said, ¡°We ask because this morning the Goat clan¡¯s territory was struck by heavenly lightning one hundred and eight times.¡±


    That was terrible news, but I failed to see what that had to do with me. ¡°What? Are they okay?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re¡­ not fine. They¡¯re physically unhurt, but their zidan was badly shaken,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°Ouch,¡± I said. Though zidan was merely an abstract concept to humans like me, I knew that clan members valued it above everything else.


    Scholar Wu raised her eyes and hands to the sky. ¡°I pray they recover soon.¡±


    Shuye solemnly nodded his agreement and continued explaining. ¡°That¡¯s not the only thing that happened. During the lightning storm, the Great Western Mountain was teleported south of its original location.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me? Teleported? A whole mountain range?¡± I could hardly believe my ears. This world had magic, but this sounded crazy.


    Scholar Wu unrolled the flight plan I had given her and traced a line with a finger. ¡°This is where the Great Western Mountain is located now.¡±


    We could all see that my flight plan ended right in the middle of the mountain range¡¯s new location.


    I laughed nervously. ¡°What a weird coincidence!¡±


    Shuye raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes¡­ a coincidence.¡±


    Did the System do that?! It seemed a bit extreme. More likely, it was the Demon Monarch who was messing around with the local topography.


    ¡°Wait a minute, why did you ask me if I¡¯m angry at the Goat clan? You can¡¯t possibly think I had something to do with this?¡± I said to the three of them.


    Prince Baiyu shrugged. His face was expressionless when he said, ¡°I¡¯m sure it''s a coincidence, as you said. Since the Goat clan¡¯s zidan was rendered ineffective by the upheaval, they don¡¯t currently have the right to refuse visits. We can proceed as planned.¡±


    I noticed that he was now speaking more formally. He must be in prince mode.


    ¡°Okay, but please let me be clear. I don¡¯t know what happened, and I didn¡¯t have anything to do with it,¡± I said.


    Shuye sighed and shook his head. ¡°Of course.¡±


    I pouted. ¡°What do people think happened?¡±


    ¡°No one knows,¡± said Scholar Wu. ¡°But that hasn''t stopped people from speculating.¡±


    ¡°What do they say?¡± I asked, intrigued.


    ¡°The rumor mill has been working overtime.¡± Scholar Wu counted off the rumors on the fingers of one hand. ¡°The Goat clan is hiding an ancient secret teleportation weapon and it misfired. Or the magic circle they prepared for the ritual was struck by lightning and overloaded, causing more lightning and the teleportation. Or the local god is punishing them for some sin. Or the Azure Dragon clan did it.¡±


    ¡°That last rumor is silly,¡± said Prince Baiyu. ¡°The Azure Dragon clan¡¯s teleportation magic is blue, not red.¡±


    ¡°Gosh,¡± I said.


    I hardly knew what to say as they discussed various outrageous theories.


    But it definitely wasn¡¯t my fault!

 Chapter 174 - Witness an Era-defining Event: Quest Started

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 174 - Mom-entous Dad-venture in the Sky</h2>


    ??????


    The night before our trip, I dreamed of a blue dragon boy. We found a deep, shaded part of the river where he liked to immerse himself in his dragon form and wait for the fish to swim into his open mouth. He had several forms. His human form was much like a human toddler but with blue hair and pointed ears, and he had two distinct dragon forms. One was Chinese-style, a long, serpentine creature with intricate scales, flowing whiskers, and antler-like horns. The other was Western-looking, with a reptilian body, bat wings, and spiked tail. Both of those were normally very small and cute, but in my dream, after he finished eating fish he turned himself into his serpentine form and became so big that he could circle the whole world with his body.


    I was busily trying to get him to bite his own tail like the World Serpent or Ouroboros when I woke up.


    Dragon dreams the night before a trip? This had to mean it would be great fun!


    I hummed happily as I rushed through my morning routine and then went outside to summon the [Floating Solarium]. The staff immediately started bringing my flying ship up to scratch by placing more decorative elements and polishing every surface until it shone. Fengying organized everything while I went to tend to the crops with my apprentices.


    We would leave at noon and arrive at our destination in the evening. The Advent of the Demon Monarch should commence the next day, and I wanted us to be in place well before it happened. Once the event was over, which I thought would only last a few minutes at most, we could return to the farm.


    Traditionally, momentous events happen during midnight or dawn, right?


    So we should be home by afternoon on that same day, just in time to do the daily chores. Though morning was the best time to water the crops, the rice didn¡¯t need it, and the tea plants would survive a delay of a few hours.


    ¡°Do you think the queen will be beautiful?¡± Lari asked Kharli.


    ¡°She¡¯s the Lady of the West, not a queen,¡± said Kharli. ¡°And yes, I bet she¡¯s amazingly beautiful!¡±


    ¡°She could be scary,¡± said Mo.


    We were on our way to the ship after finishing our farm chores and changing into light silk summer robes. Cutie bounced along beside us, and my puppet hung from my belt along with a white jade pendant. I had given Mr. Bear a cute little straw hat from the Cash Shop, making him look even more adorable than before.


    ¡°Kids, please be careful what you say when we board the ship. The Lady¡¯s guards are already there,¡± I said.


    ¡°I heard the maids complaining that the advance guards were poking around everywhere. They even opened and checked all the chef¡¯s ingredient bottles and containers,¡± said Lari.


    Kharli nervously looked around and tried to shush him. ¡°Lari, that¡¯s exactly the sort of thing you shouldn¡¯t say! Don¡¯t complain about them.¡±


    ¡°Relax, they won¡¯t eat you¡­ but do be more discreet,¡± I said. ¡°Watch your step, we¡¯re going up.¡±


    Inside the [Floating Solarium], I headed to the bridge where the controls were located and then checked and rechecked that the correct flight plan had been loaded onto the map. I sat down on the pilot¡¯s seat and dismissed my apprentices. ¡°Go ask Fengying if there¡¯s anything you guys can help with.¡±


    The next few minutes were spent changing the control bridge¡¯s setup by adding bigger screen displays to the default configuration and changing its dark gray and white color scheme to a more friendly navy blue and silver one.


    Since I was the only person who could manage the ship, I would have to stay on the bridge or nearby at all times. Therefore, I arranged some furniture for me to use like a small dining table and two chairs as well as a comfortable convertible sofa bed. Prince Baiyu arrived as I was adding colorful throw pillows.


    Prince Baiyu was casually dressed in loose cotton robes and pants. He kissed my hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re looking very cheerful today. I guess the event really isn¡¯t anything dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be sure what it is, but I think it will be something we¡¯ll remember for years to come!¡± I smiled up at him, but I did feel a little guilty because it might be scary for the others. ¡°I can¡¯t wait until we¡¯re soaring above the clouds.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Above the clouds?¡± Prince Baiyu¡¯s smile faded a little. ¡°The ship is going that high?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m not afraid of heights when I¡¯m in a large vehicle.¡±


    After all, I was used to flying on airplanes back on Earth. This should be a piece of cake for me.


    I led the prince downstairs to show him the three bedrooms I had combined into one and configured into a suite of rooms for his parents.


    ¡°Very nice,¡± he said politely as we dodged the staff who were still setting up more decorations.


    ¡°Can you check if the shower is big enough, please? And I¡¯d like to show you how to use it,¡± I said.


    I thought that the Lady and her consort could probably figure out how to use the taps, faucets, and temperature controls, but it would be better to teach Prince Baiyu about them so he could help them if needed.


    ¡°This is the maximum? Clan members like it hotter,¡± he said.


    I backed away from the water splashing from the shower. ¡°Yes, that is as high as it goes. That¡¯s nearly scalding temperature for humans.¡±


    ¡°My apologies.¡± He turned it off.


    After that brief tour, we went back up to the upper level, where the kitchen staff were busy preparing our food. Deming was in full Demon Chef mode, with glowing red eyes and an expression of intense concentration on his face. Prince Baiyu thanked them for their efforts, while my mouth watered and my stomach growled from breathing in the delightful aromas.


    Fengying and I took care of a few last-minute details until an hour before the estimated arrival time, when I excused myself and went to my designated room downstairs where I washed my face and did some primping until the guests¡¯ arrival was announced.


    Everyone from Emberstone Farm gathered in the foyer. Meanwhile, Prince Baiyu and some members of the royal guards waited at the foot of the escalators.


    ¡°I¡¯m so nervous,¡± Mo whispered to Kharli.


    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Kharli.


    Lari was hiding behind the two girls who were standing beside me, to my right. Fengying was on my left. We were on tenterhooks until the royal couple arrived.


    Lord Yulin, whom I had met before, was a more muscular and mature version of Prince Baiyu. Today he was wearing simple dark blue robes and pants.


    Lady Yuying, on the other hand, was exactly as her son had described her: a regal and imposing woman with an Amazonian figure and piercing blue eyes. Her long white hair was gathered in a high bun, and she was likewise wearing plain blue clothes with no ornaments. Though humans weren¡¯t supposed to be able to sense it, I could see what they meant when they said she had an extremely strong zidan. She exuded an undeniable magnetism, such that in a room full of people, she would always be the one to draw the eye. She moved with a feline grace, her body language exuding a supreme self-assurance. Her posture was straight yet relaxed, positioned as if she belonged on a throne.


    Since this was an informal meeting, we all bowed from the waist instead of kowtowing, and then Prince Baiyu introduced us one by one according to our rank. I, as the host, was first, followed by Scholar Wu, and then my three apprentices.


    We didn¡¯t shake hands since that wasn¡¯t the custom here.


    ¡°What a splendid ship. Thank you for inviting us,¡± said Lady Yuying.


    I was utterly overcome by the force of her presence and barely managed to say a few words. ¡°It was my pleasure.¡±


    Lord Yulin and I also exchanged greetings, and I noticed he seemed amused by my reaction.


    When the introductions were over I said, ¡°You must be tired after your journey. Please allow me to show you to your rooms.¡±


    It was actually the royal guard who led the way, and we trailed after them.


    Lady Yuying glanced down at me and smiled. She said, ¡°This is an impressive ship. I see that your bloodline inheritance is quite powerful.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she seems to be a mortal without any cultivation,¡± said Lord Yulin. ¡°But she has hidden depths.¡±


    I laughed nervously. The Lady of the West¡¯s attitude was surprisingly friendly, but I was still a little on edge. Her guards, who numbered a dozen in total, were all tall, fierce-looking clan members clad in leather and steel armor and armed with either swords or scary-looking clubs. Even her maids looked intimidating.


    Fengying took over once we got to the guest suite. She was in her element as she ushered the Lady and her consort to the living room and then demonstrated the room¡¯s various features to the maids such as the sink, shower, mini kitchen, and so forth.


    It was a relief when we left them to their rest.


    ¡°I think my mother likes you,¡± said Prince Baiyu as we walked back to the control center.


    ¡°Really? How can you tell?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Her body language.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice. I couldn¡¯t tell.¡± I sat down on the pilot¡¯s chair. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    Prince Baiyu stepped beside my chair and nodded his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go. The Goat clan is anxiously waiting for my mother to arrive.¡±


    My three apprentices crowded behind my chair, straining their necks to check what I was going to do.


    They couldn¡¯t see it, but the first thing I did was to go to the farm settings and turn on all of its privacy and security features since no one had been left behind to take care of the farm.


    Then I went to the [Floating Solarium¡¯s] System tab.


    The physical control panel in front of me, with its plethora of dials, switches, levers, buttons, knobs, multicolored lights, and electronic chart displays, was merely for show. I flipped a couple of switches, pressed a few buttons, and adjusted a few knobs while I mentally clicked on the System¡¯s [Start] button.


    ¡°And we¡¯re off!¡± I swiveled my chair around and beamed at Prince Baiyu.


    Yinuo was on hand with glasses of iced peach juice which she distributed among us. I lifted mine and said, ¡°To a smooth flight and fair winds! May this ship''s first voyage be the start of many memorable adventures.¡±

 Chapter 175 - Witness an Era-defining Event: Quest Complete

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 175 - Don''t forget to add a pun here</h2>


    ??????


    The others raised their glasses and cheered as we felt a slight jolt and the [Floating Solarium¡¯s] maiden voyage started.


    The ship steadily rose into the air until we were around eight miles above sea level, at which point I put her on the fastest speed setting. Those of us on the ship felt a slight vibration and a few lateral and vertical movements now and then, but it was no worse than flying on an airplane on Earth.


    ¡°Our estimated time of arrival is three hours and twenty-five minutes from now,¡± I said to Prince Baiyu.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo were at the viewing platform along with some of the maids. The kitchen staff were busy preparing our lunch, and the heavenly smells coming from their part of the ship made my mouth water.


    The royal couple stayed in their rooms. Prince Baiyu confided that his mother was tired from the journey from the clan headquarters to my farm. Pregnant clan members were advised to keep their qi levels up for the sake of the child, so she needed to rest.


    In half an hour, Deming sent his staff downstairs to the guest quarters with huge platters and tureens of food, enough for a small army. Lady Yuying, of course, was exempt from the ban on eating regular food since she was in the family way.


    ¡°Good grief, does your mom have an enormous appetite?¡± I asked Prince Baiyu.


    He glanced at the nearest guards then leaned down to whisper in my ear. ¡°It¡¯s for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I forgot that clan members liked to hide their food consumption. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s time for me to eat, too.¡±


    I got up from the pilot¡¯s chair and stretched before going over to the dining table where Prince Baiyu joined me.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you eat with your parents?¡± I asked him.


    He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need to eat.¡±


    I covered my mouth with a hand and gave him a look of exaggerated shock. By this time, I could tell that his statement was pretty much a boast. Fluttering my lashes at him, I crooned, ¡°You¡¯re so strong¡­¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± He smirked at me. ¡°I could lift you over my head with one hand.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°One finger, even.¡±


    ¡°No way! You¡¯re too much!¡±


    Yinuo arrived with a tray of food and we stopped talking, but Prince Baiyu took a cup and twirled it around on his forefinger as though to demonstrate what he could do with me.


    I burst out laughing. ¡°Hush, you! Behave¡­¡±


    He settled down after Yinuo served the food. Everything was delicious, especially [Lion¡¯s Mane Mushroom] stew and the Eight Treasure Dumplings made with [Purple Orchid Rice], abalone, shrimp, salted egg, caviar, roasted duck, pork belly, and scallops.


    The glass wall of the dome showed us a pretty blue sky and white clouds streaming by. Though we were high above the ground, I didn¡¯t feel scared at all since the ship was large and felt solid under my feet.


    After I finished eating, I went to the edge of the wall and looked down. From this height, people looked as small as ants. I gazed down at the tapestry of forests, cultivated fields, and small villages stretched out below. The vibrant greens of deciduous trees blended with the deeper emerald hues of conifers, occasionally broken up by winding rivers that snaked across the landscape like silvery ribbons. The tiny houses and buildings that made up the scattered villages appeared like delicate toys from this lofty vantage point. Puffy white clouds drifted lazily across the sky, casting moving shadows on the land below.


    Alas, I couldn¡¯t stay to enjoy the view since I had to stay at the ship¡¯s control center. Prince Baiyu stayed with me for a few more minutes before excusing himself to spend some time with his parents.


    When we neared our destination, I sent Yinuo to tell the others that we would be landing soon.


    The Great Western Mountain loomed in front of us, its rugged peaks and granite spires stretching out in every direction. The vast wilderness of the mountain range was covered in dense forests, with small mountain villages scattered here and there. Shimmering alpine lakes winked up at me from deep crevices carved by ancient glaciers.


    In the distance, a massive rock face loomed, and I saw that our designated landing zone was a relatively flat shelf with sparse vegetation surrounded by soaring pinnacles.


    The ship slowed gradually and we descended as daintily as a butterfly on a flower, not even disturbing the dust on the ground as we landed. I went to the main door with my apprentices and when I opened them, the escalators deployed automatically.


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold!¡± said Mo.


    Kharli and Lari nodded their agreement.


    ¡°I think we should get our jackets and cloaks before going down,¡± I said.


    We went to our rooms and got what we needed. On the way back, Lord Yulin hailed us. I noticed that Prince Baiyu¡¯s father was now dressed much more formally, in blue and gold silk robes.


    ¡°Lady Violet, we¡¯re going down the mountain to meet with the Goat clan. They¡¯re anxious to see if my wife¡¯s zidan can fix theirs,¡± he said.


    ¡°I hope she can help. Was lunch to your liking?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It was splendid!¡±


    We made a bit of small talk until we got to the doors, and I saw that the other clan members, including Prince Baiyu, were already waiting below at the foot of the escalators for Lord Yulin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait up for us. We might have to spend the night in the Goat clan¡¯s village,¡± said Lord Yulin. ¡°I¡¯ll send word about our plans once we find out what we need to do.¡±


    ¡°Good luck!¡± I said.


    My apprentices and I bowed to him, and he went flying down without using the escalators.


    Lari, Kharli, Mo, and I made our way down in a more sedate manner. Before we got to the bottom, the clan members went flying away to the east, presumably to where the Goat clan village was.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Teacher, there¡¯s nothing here,¡± said Kharli.


    The landing area was only big enough for the ship, and we couldn¡¯t fly like the clan members, so we couldn¡¯t explore the mountain.


    I shrugged. ¡°I know. The event hasn¡¯t started yet.¡±


    ¡°What is the ¡®event¡¯ about?¡± asked Mo.


    Putting a finger on my lips, I gave them all a mysterious smile, which only made them roll their eyes. We circled the area but found nothing interesting.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back up and play Connect Four,¡± said Lari.


    Nothing much happened the rest of the day. We simply passed the time playing Connect Four and chatting inside the [Floating Solarium] while the kitchen staff kept us well provided with drinks and snacks. The open area upstairs became quite lively because everyone let their hair down in the absence of our distinguished guests. The staff brought out musical instruments and had an impromptu concert.


    The sunlight streaming through the glass dome cast a soft, almost ethereal light on us. Deliciously cool and fresh mountain air wafted through the windows that I had left open, and the hanging plants and vines swayed lazily in the gentle breeze.


    Also, the view outside was spectacular.


    Lord Yulin sent word that they had nearly settled the Goat clan¡¯s problem and would be back in time for dinner. I guessed that the Demon Chef¡¯s food was much better than the food in the village.


    I told the others to nap since the System countdown was showing that the event would happen at midnight, and asked Deming to prepare a late supper instead of dinner. Now that we had landed, I no longer needed to stay at the control bridge, so I went to my bedroom downstairs and settled in for some shut-eye since I wanted to be fresh and energetic for the Descent of the Demon Monarch.


    By the time I woke up, it was two hours before midnight. I put on a set of casual robes and a jacket.


    ¡°Hey, are you guys ready for the event?¡± I asked my apprentices.


    ¡°Yes! I hope it¡¯s fun,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Teacher, shall I fill a plate for you?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯ll get my own food.¡±


    The staff had set up three large tables full of food, and we took what we wanted ourselves, buffet style. There were soups, stews, noodles, rice, dim sum, stir-fried vegetables, roasted meats, hams, and so forth in chafing dishes. I was filling a plate when our guests returned.


    ¡°My dear, you look lovely,¡± said Prince Baiyu as he kissed my forehead and then sat down beside me at the dining table.


    ¡°How was the Goat clan?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My mother managed to soothe their zidan, but it will take time to stabilize. We¡¯ll have to stay here for a few more days.¡±


    ¡°I hope everything works out for them,¡± I said.


    Prince Baiyu gave me a searching look. Unlike Shuye and Scholar Wu, he hadn¡¯t tried to interrogate me about my possible involvement in the Goat clan¡¯s troubles, but that didn¡¯t stop him from looking worriedly at me from time to time when we talked about it.


    I continued eating, and, after Deming and his assistants finished sending food to the guest quarters, Prince Baiyu left to join his parents downstairs. Kharli, Mo, and I chatted while savoring our chosen desserts. Mine was sweet osmanthus soup with red beans while the girls had fried dumplings stuffed with sweet beans. Lari was off hobnobbing with the royal guards.


    After the meal, I went up to the elevated viewing deck and sat down on the space that the staff had reserved for me and my apprentices. I was at the front, on the lowest level, while our guests had seats on the upper levels behind us.


    As midnight neared, everyone finished whatever they were doing and sat down, ready to spectate.


    I really hoped that the System was right. Otherwise, I would be left with egg on my face if nothing happened.


    The royal couple, with Prince Baiyu in tow, sat down together on the topmost chairs with their retinue. I waved to them, and Prince Baiyu waved back. Scholar Wu, on the other hand, sat with us.


    ¡°Here, try these,¡± I said as I handed out binoculars to everyone. ¡°It might not be near enough for us to see without help.¡±


    Scholar Wu and I showed the kids how to use the binoculars.


    ¡°Something¡¯s happening,¡± murmured someone from above us.


    ¡°How exciting!¡± I got popcorn from the Cash Shop and started munching on it while the others ate watermelon seeds and peanuts.


    At first, I couldn¡¯t see anything, but when I used the binoculars I could make out that the sky south of us gradually became lighter and lighter, until I could see dark clouds roiling around a certain spot. Jagged forks of lightning danced across the heavens, doubtless accompanied by the sound of thunder, though we were too far away to hear it.


    I regretted that there was no sound system on the ship. I would¡¯ve liked to play something suitably dramatic like O Fortuna or Beethoven¡¯s Symphony No. 5.


    Nine pillars of light appeared in the sky. I held my breath as a massive black object became visible in the turbulent clouds, descending slowly toward the earth. As it drew closer, I could see that it had sickly red streaks crisscrossing its surface like throbbing veins.


    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± I shrieked excitedly.


    My eyes were glued to the spectacular event unfolding in front of me, and I hardly dared to blink as the demon egg, larger than the greatest mountain, made its slow descent.


    Some of the staff screamed as the ground began to tremble. Brilliant arcs of crimson lightning snaked forth, both from the clouds above and the surface of the egg itself, casting an eerily flickering red glow. Soon the sheer size of the egg made the use of binoculars unnecessary.


    The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as tendrils of black smoke billowed outwards when the egg broke through the cloud layer. I paid no attention to the murmuring around me as I waited with bated breath for the climax of the event.


    [Witness an Era-defining Event:


    Go to Samsara''s End Peak of the Great Western Mountain to observe the Descent of the Demon Monarch.


    Reward: Attack Exp]


    When the demon egg touched the ground, the concussive force of the landing triggered a towering cyclone of red fire that surrounded it. The pillars of light in the sky grew brighter and pulsed like a heartbeat. The shockwave reached us seconds later, making the ship shake violently.


    I clapped my hands in excitement. ¡°Wow! What an amazing sight!¡±


    The whole thing was very satisfying, especially when I leveled up.


    [Witness an Era-defining Event: Quest Complete]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced an Attack level!]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced an Attack level!]


    [Your Attack level is now 33.]


    The exp wasn¡¯t much, but I wasn¡¯t one to complain when I got it quite easily.


    [Violet


    Level 42


    HP: 4,200/4,200


    MP: 35/35


    Strength: 30/99


    Attack: 31¡ú33/99


    Archery: 42/99


    Magic: 11/99]


    I thought the event was over, but just as I got the quest reward, dazzling bursts of heavenly pyrotechnics began erupting in the skies to the south of us. Coruscating auroras of emerald, violet, and gold danced and swirled amidst flashes of lighting and multicolored arcing plasma. Coronas of blinding incandescence blossomed outward, only to be swiftly devoured by encroaching swathes of absolute blackness punctuated by rivers of vermilion light.


    The heavenly light show went on for a few more minutes before dying down, leaving the midnight sky as black and impenetrable as it was before the event. I leaned back on my chair and put a hand on my chest, overcome by the sheer awesomeness of the event. Viewing it in real life was a lot better than just watching a cutscene on my computer!


    ¡°We¡¯re all going to die!¡± someone to my left shrieked.


    As I turned towards the speaker in confusion, someone else burst into tears, which set off a chain reaction of crying, screaming, and even fainting.


    I stood up and tried to calm them down. ¡°Good grief! Why are you all freaking out? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing too dangerous, I promise.¡±


    Kharli tugged on my sleeve, and when I looked down at my apprentices, I saw that Kharli was holding on to Mo whose head was buried on Kharli¡¯s shoulder. Lari was white-faced but otherwise appeared composed.


    ¡°Teacher, are we going to die?¡± asked Kharli in a trembling voice.


    ¡°No! Ha, that big demon¡¯s just a big wussy. I''m going to fight it myself,¡± I said. Raising my voice, I said to the crowd, ¡°It¡¯s just an egg that hasn¡¯t even hatched. It¡¯s not dangerous.¡±


    My words didn¡¯t seem to reassure them, and I was at my wits end when Deming and Fengying stood up. Fengying said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Come, we need to clear the supper dishes before we leave.¡±


    I think ¡°before we leave¡± was the key phrase since it triggered the staff¡¯s need to flee, so that they realized they needed to wipe away their tears and go back to work.


    Since Fengying was taking care of the staff, I did my best to calm my apprentices. ¡°Guys, relax. I promise this is nothing much.¡±


    Lari gave me a disbelieving look and said, ¡°Teacher, there''s a giant demon egg!¡±


    I waved my hand dismissively. ¡°The clan members, with a little help from me, can easily deal with that.¡±


    Looking up, at the higher seats, I lifted my hand to beckon Prince Baiyu, but that was when I realized that I had been so busy dealing with my staff that I hadn¡¯t noticed that all of the clan members were nowhere to be found.

 Chapter 176 - Testing the Farm’s Boundary Shield

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 176 - Hay, we''re homeward bound after a flare-velous fireworks spectacle</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Where did they go?¡± I asked the others.


    ¡°They flew off right away when the heavens opened up. Teacher, you didn¡¯t see it because you were watching the skies,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°The clan members must have gone to check it out.¡± I should¡¯ve realized they would need to see it close up. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll send word to us soon.¡±


    Kharli and Mo, who had been trembling while hugging each other earlier, exchanged a look whose meaning I couldn¡¯t decipher and then disentangled themselves.


    ¡°You''re not worried about the prince?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°It¡¯s just an egg. What can it even do?¡± I shook my head at their hysterics. ¡°Please pull yourself together. Look at Deming and Fengying.¡±


    ¡°Is he cooking?¡± Mo looked shocked that the Demon Chef was treating this as a normal day.


    ¡°Baking bread for tomorrow, I think,¡± I said.


    That did it. The color returned to their faces and they looked greatly relieved.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad¡­¡± Mo glanced at the demon egg and then looked away quickly.


    ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t have fangs,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°How do you know? Maybe we just can¡¯t see the fangs from here,¡± said Lari, but we could all tell his heart wasn¡¯t in it. He cheered up even more when Yinuo came by with a tray of snacks.


    We were munching on sesame balls when Scholar Wu returned with one royal guard.


    ¡°Lady Violet, I would like to speak to you in private,¡± she said, without even bothering with a greeting, which was strange since she was normally a stickler for proper etiquette.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my suite downstairs,¡± I said.


    The guard and my apprentices followed us to my small drawing room where Scholar Wu waited until we all sat down before saying, ¡°Please tell me everything you know about this ¡®event¡¯ as you call it. I know you didn¡¯t want to talk about it before, but the Lady needs more information.¡±


    ¡°Where are they? What¡¯s going on? Should we wait for them before leaving?¡± The rice plants would be fine, but the tea plants should be watered every day, so I didn¡¯t want to delay our trip back.


    ¡°We all instinctively flew towards the¡­ disturbance in the sky.¡± Scholar Wu paused and gave me a searching look. ¡°You must have expected that?¡±


    ¡°Er, I thought you all would just watch from the ship, but now that you mention it, I do feel that was a natural reaction.¡±


    Yinuo arrived with the tea, but Scholar Wu waved her off a bit impatiently when my maid tried to serve her first.


    ¡°Nothing for me. I will be leaving as soon as we finish since the Lady is expecting my report,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving again?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. One of the guards will stay with the ship to make sure everyone is alright. You may leave as soon as the dawn breaks,¡± she said.


    I had tried to explain earlier that the ship had a safe automatic navigation function, but the clan members were adamant that we not fly in the darkness. Nodding my head, I assented to her plan and said, ¡°Okay, now about what I know about the event, please make sure that you include in your report that I don¡¯t actually ¡®know¡¯ anything. This is all information from my bloodline inheritance which I trust, but I can¡¯t promise it will be one hundred percent accurate.¡±


    ¡°My lady, whatever happens, you won''t be blamed for it, and we''ll try to verify your information before acting on it.¡±


    Taking out my notes, I explained the event to her as best as I could.


    ¡°The egg will be absorbing ambient energy until it''s time for it to hatch, which should be sometime in summer next year. The demon will be quite large, obviously, but not particularly dangerous. The only thing we need to watch out for are its special attacks,¡± I said.


    Scholar Wu frowned. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®we¡¯? Lady Violet, you¡¯re not planning to join the demon extermination, are you?¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I held a hand up.


    ¡°Hear me out first. My bloodline inheritance should allow me to see the demon¡¯s life force, which is important for knowing when it will use its deadly skill.¡± The concept of hit points or HP was way too hard for me to explain, but ¡°life force¡± was a good enough alternative. ¡°The monster will cast special magical attacks when it¡¯s at 75, 50, and 25 percent of its life force. You need me to be there to know when it''s imminent.¡±


    Scholar Wu softly expelled air through her mouth in a not-quite sigh while the others, especially Mo, looked alarmed.


    To be precise, the boss would also heal itself completely after casting Area-of-Effect spells, though only three times.


    The first time, when it was at 75 percent HP, it would use its [Dark Nova] to attack and heal to 100 percent HP.


    The second time, when it was at 50 percent HP, it would use [Fury Vortex] and heal to 75 percent HP.


    The third time, when it was at 25 percent HP, it would use its strongest spell, [Meteor Storm], and heal to 50 percent HP.


    After that, it should be easy-peasy for everyone since it would be out of spells.


    Continuing my explanation as best as I could, I said, ¡°The special attacks will cover a wide area and have to be dodged since they could be deadly.¡±


    ¡°You know what the attacks will be like?¡±


    ¡°Possibly a shadowy explosion, a tornado of energy, and a rain of meteors.¡±


    My explanation finished, I took a glass of chamomile tea from Yinuo and sipped it as Scholar Wu peppered me with questions, most of which I couldn¡¯t answer since they were about the cause of the event, and I had no idea why it happened.


    There was probably a lore explanation in Adventure Incarnate, but I couldn¡¯t remember it, and I didn¡¯t have access to the game wiki anymore.


    ¡°One last thing,¡± I said when Scholar Wu said she was leaving to make her report. ¡°I think you should emphasize that I don¡¯t think the demon is intelligent. I mean, it might have a certain animal cunning, but I doubt it''s much smarter than, say, a squirrel or a pigeon.¡±


    ¡°Squirrels are not dumb, as a matter of fact, not compared to similar animals,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Okay, but what I mean is, the demon will probably just be on the same level as a giant hamster, not like a giant super-powered human or clan member.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡± She got up and bowed to us. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at the farm soon. Have a safe trip back.¡±


    ¡°See you soon.¡± I got up, too, and returned her bow.


    After she left, I told the kids to go to sleep since we were leaving at dawn and reassured them once again that everything was going to be alright.


    ¡°If the System says it won¡¯t hatch until next year, then I can sleep soundly tonight!¡± Lari looked quite relieved.


    Kharli and Mo nodded.


    ¡°Teacher, we¡¯ll share a room,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Brush your teeth before you go to bed,¡± I said to them as I walked them to the door.


    Yinuo bustled about laying out my nightgown on my bed and checking to make sure I had everything I needed for the night before leaving.


    I fell asleep moments after my head hit my pillow and woke up a few hours later feeling refreshed. The trip back was uneventful. The kids and staff kept on nervously glancing over their shoulders at the southern sky where the demon egg loomed but otherwise acted normal.


    ¡°Yes! Thank all the gods we¡¯re back!¡± Lari ran off to the tea field.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get ahead of Teacher!¡± Despite her words, Mo ran off, too.


    Kharli and I laughed and followed them at a sedate walking pace.


    ¡°Slow down, the crops aren¡¯t going anywhere,¡± I called out to them.


    ¡°Teacher, Teacher, look!¡± Mo yelled. She was jumping up and down and waving to us, urging us to walk faster.


    ¡°What the heck?!¡± I said in shock when I was close enough to see what she was excited about. ¡°What happened while we were away?¡±


    The tea plants, which had been drooping and had brown-edged leaves because of the heat, were visibly rejuvenated, standing tall and proud, with vibrant green leaves. Even their scent was richer and more intense.


    ¡°Maybe we should go away more often if this is the result,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Gosh.¡± I shook my head, bewildered but happy. ¡°Let¡¯s water them and hope we get a good harvest this summer.¡±


    After watering and tending the tea plants, we inspected the rice paddies where we found that both the crops and fish were growing well. We were walking to the main house when we stumbled upon a sight that piqued our curiosity.


    Deming and his three assistants were repeatedly pacing back and forth a few paces, with Fengying watching them. They all had expressions of extreme concentration on their faces, as though they were doing something momentous. Occasionally, they looked south and frowned.


    ¡°I can tell they¡¯re up to something!¡± I said to the others.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go ask them,¡± said Lari, who suited his actions to his words.


    He returned with Fengying.


    ¡°My lady, they¡¯re testing the farm¡¯s boundary shield,¡± she said.


    ¡°Shield?¡± We had a shield? This was the first I had heard of it.


    ¡°Not being a cultivator, I can¡¯t sense it myself, but Deming says the whole farm is covered by very strong qi.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I thought they were talking about a force field-style shield, but it was just the same old thing about qi being very intense inside the farm.


    Suddenly, I remembered that when we left, I had turned on all of the farm¡¯s security and privacy settings. Now that we were back, that wasn¡¯t necessary, therefore I turned most of them back off. I explained what I had done to Fengying who went over to the Demon Chef to inform him about it.


    The kids were uninterested.


    ¡°We¡¯ve always had a shield, haven¡¯t we?¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Yeah, a lot of the clan members I spoke to said they had a lot of trouble finding the farm,¡± said Lari.


    Mo just yawned.


    Unlike them, I knew something was up, and so we waited for Fengying to return with more information.


    ¡°They said that the demon egg in the south is giving off an extremely powerful demonic qi, but they can¡¯t feel it inside the farm,¡± said Fengying.


    ¡°Wow, so our farm¡¯s qi is shielding us from the demonic qi? That¡¯s a good thing, right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very good thing,¡± she said. ¡°Also, Deming says the farm¡¯s qi has increased by at least fivefold since we left.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    Fengying glanced southward. ¡°To balance out the qi from outside.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, is that why the tea plants are revived? If so, this is wonderful!¡± I clasped my hands together in delight and beamed at everyone.


    I knew the event was a good thing!


    Fengying simply nodded.


    I turned to my apprentices and said, ¡°You see, guys? There¡¯s nothing to worry about, our farm even got stronger.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll get a better harvest,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I think we will,¡± I said.


    And I was right.

 Chapter 177 - Harvesting the Seed Capsules

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 177 - What did the banana say to the doctor? I''m not peeling well.</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°You see? The crops are all flourishing!¡± I waved a hand at the nearby tea field and the rice paddies in the distance.


    I was with Fengying and the kids, showing Shuye all the changes to the farm.


    Right after the Descent of the Demon Monarch event, we received advice from Prince Baiyu to stay put inside the farm since the demonic qi was everywhere except for the farm and might cause the forest animals to act up.


    The staff was jumpy during the first few days, but when they saw Deming and his assistants experimenting with cooking inside and outside the farm¡¯s ¡°shield,¡± they felt reassured that everything was fine.


    Meanwhile, the kids and I enjoyed the increase in qi that made the crops grow faster than ever before.


    Today, the summer heat was enough to fry our brains if we walked outside without sun protection, so I had Mr. Bear walk behind me with a large patio umbrella while the others were using parasols.


    Shuye had already finished viewing the apple orchard and the animal pen.


    ¡°The tea plants are growing an inch each day?¡± asked Shuye.


    I missed the old shaggy-haired, slightly disreputable-looking Farm Guide, but I had to admit that Shuye looked quite spiffy in crisp white robes and soft deerskin boots. The [Crocus] flower I gifted him was tucked into his twisted leather belt studded with agate stones set in silver.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve been measuring it!¡± I stopped walking when we reached the tea field and waited for Shuye¡¯s verdict.


    Once we were under the shade canopy, umbrellas were redundant, so we put ours aside while my Farm Guide closely inspected the rows of plants, sometimes kneeling and sniffing them, sometimes poking at the soil they were growing in.


    ¡°They still seem a little dried out, but the qi in the plants is impressive,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s too bad they dried out! If it wasn¡¯t for the unreasonably hot weather, we could¡¯ve had at least medium-quality tea.¡± I sighed, but there was really no helping it. ¡°Guys, come. Let¡¯s take the seed capsules off.¡±


    I reached out to the nearest plant and used gardening scissors to harvest the ¡°fruit¡± of the plant. It was originally green, but now it had turned brown and split open, revealing the seeds. The System only harvested the tea leaves at the end of the season, so when we manually snipped off the seed capsules, we got zero exp.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo followed my example, and in a few minutes, we filled a basket with the product that Shuye had come to receive directly from our hands as soon as possible.


    Fengying took the basket and poured the seed capsules into a drawstring cloth bag which Shuye took.


    ¡°I thought the furor over the tea had died down,¡± I said to Shuye. ¡°Why did it reignite?¡±


    ¡°Because people are desperate to get stronger.¡± Shuye turned his head to the south. ¡°Because of that.¡±


    There was so much doom and gloom in his voice that I hastily changed the topic of conversation to his child. Shuye happily told me all about how adorable his baby was, with her cute dimples and tiny, perfect fingers until we reached the area where we were growing rice and carp.


    ¡°We¡¯ll harvest it in five days,¡± I said.


    We silently circled the field once to allow Shuye to see how lush the plants were and how large the fish had grown. The way the plant¡¯s stalks were bowed under the weight of the rice grains was quite pleasing to my eyes. The plants looked normal, but the changes in the fish were new.


    Covering my smile with one hand, I said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it fascinating? The carp¡¯s eyes turned red three days ago.¡±


    Shuye shrugged. ¡°They look fine to me. As long as they¡¯re edible, the red eyes shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Deming said they were fine.¡± I was a little disappointed that Shuye wasn¡¯t surprised by the newly demonic-looking carp with red eyes and glowing crimson scales. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the main house so you can take a look at the [Herb Garden].¡±


    Along the way, Shuye stopped to inspect the new clay ovens and stone grills that the kitchen staff had built on both sides of the farm border.


    ¡°They¡¯re cooking outside the farm?¡± Shuye asked Fengying.


    ¡°Deming says they¡¯re experimenting with the different types of atmospheric qi,¡± said Fengying.


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    For the first time today, Shuye looked surprised. ¡°What was the result?¡±


    ¡°The experiments are ongoing, but the current results are interesting,¡± said Fengying. ¡°Water boils at a lower temperature outside the farm. Depending on the type of wood used, a few burn faster inside the farm. Sugar caramelizes faster outside. The meat of the animals slaughtered inside tends to retain more qi. Rice spoils faster outside, but not fish or meat. The differences are most pronounced during noon and midnight.¡±


    ¡°I wish I had time to experiment, too,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°Are you very busy?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Extremely.¡±


    We chatted a bit more about Deming¡¯s findings as we walked to the [Herb Garden], but there wasn¡¯t much more to it. I, for one, couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between the dishes cooked inside and outside the farm.


    ¡°Here it is! The herbs are growing normally, as far as I can tell,¡± I said. ¡°Deming and his assistants say that the qi is thicker here, but it hasn¡¯t affected the garden much.¡±


    The [Herb Garden] was filled with a diverse array of foot-high plants neatly planted in symmetrical raised beds. I showed Shuye around, which took very little time since there were only four small areas to check.


    ¡°When will these be ready for harvest?¡± asked Shuye.


    ¡°Different times. The first ones should be ready right before the autumn harvest,¡± I said.


    The maids were waiting for us with basins of water and towels at the northern shaded area of the garden. Fengying supervised the staff as they took our outer robes off and helped us wash our hands and splash water on our faces to cool off before we sat down on the comfortable sofas and chairs. The staff had drinks and snacks ready for us, too, of course.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that there have been no adverse effects on the farm,¡± said Shuye.


    The kids sat at a table apart from us. Fengying supervised them as they read the books that Scholar Wu had sent over for them to study while she was away.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been great. Have some cookies.¡± I pushed a plate over to him.


    This time, since the ban on eating had been lifted for all clan members because of the current emergency, Shuye did not refuse. We nibbled on cookies and ate some fruit slices while we talked.


    ¡°I came for a visit to let you know what we¡¯ll be doing at the Ancient Hill Forest,¡± he said. ¡°The Lady of the West has declared a state of emergency, and all able-bodied clan members are expected to contribute to the demon extermination campaign. This means everyone. For example, the construction crew has stopped working on my new house. I¡¯m training them to fight.¡±


    Forced conscription? This was alarming news. ¡°But you have a newborn! Surely, you¡¯re exempt?¡±


    ¡°I could be, but my men need me. I¡¯ll be in command of the local team.¡±


    I frowned. Though I didn¡¯t think the demon boss was particularly dangerous, this was alarming news. I hadn¡¯t realized my Farm Guide would be involved. ¡°Will you be okay? What about your family?¡±


    ¡°I thought you would be worried.¡± Shuye smiled and sipped his tea. The porcelain teacup looked exceedingly dainty when held in his massive hand. ¡°Every clan member receives basic martial arts training. I¡¯m simply taking my men south to train them on how to fight together more effectively.¡±


    In perfect unison, we both looked south where there was a darkness in the sky along the horizon.


    Seeing my anxious look, Shuye shrugged and said, ¡°We''ll be fine. You know that Scholar Wu is an academic, right? But she knows her family¡¯s martial arts. Most people are like that.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I knew Prince Baiyu was a good fighter, therefore, it was logical that he would be fighting in the demon extermination, but to think that even construction crews would be drafted! This campaign was going to be larger than I expected. In Adventure Incarnate, only a dozen or so of the elite clan members appeared during the boss fight.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just fighters. Everyone will have to contribute. The farmers, smiths, potters, weavers, herbalists, and so forth will be working to provide the army with the supplies they need,¡± said Shuye.


    ¡°What?! The army? How many people are going?¡±


    Shuye laughed at my reaction. ¡°Everyone! No one who¡¯s anyone would miss this chance.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°You know zidan is mostly inborn?¡± Shuye waited for my nod before continuing his explanation. ¡°For the Lady of the West and the clan rulers and elders, zidan is the virtue of a ruler and territorial instinct. We¡¯re bound to the land we live in because of zidan.¡±


    I listened carefully as Shuye spoke. ¡°I get it. Humans can¡¯t sense zidan but when I met the Lady, I felt¡­ something.¡±


    ¡°Yes, humans can feel it like a strong force of personality and charisma. Well, for those who don¡¯t lead, zidan is also prestige. Those who are viewed favorably by the other clan members can slowly increase their zidan throughout their life by working hard and strengthening their local community and clan.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± I said. ¡°So are you saying this demon extermination mission is a good way to increase your prestige or zidan?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s also why I can¡¯t stay at home. Zidan can also decrease, you know.¡±


    ¡°Oh no.¡±


    Shuye made a dismissive gesture with his hand. ¡°This is a good opportunity for many, like how your farm is thriving under the onslaught of demonic qi.¡±


    ¡°It is? And, by the way, how has the demonic qi affected the forest?¡±


    ¡°Qi has become turbulent, but stronger. It¡¯s very good for cultivation. A few of the animals have become aggressive, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Then can I and my apprentices go out to forage again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll send a few guards to you soon.¡±


    ¡°Well, we won¡¯t go out until after the autumn planting season.¡± I turned on a mist fan since It was getting hot because it was getting closer to noon.


    ¡°Anyway, as I was saying, No one likes that there¡¯s a demon egg in the south, but now that it¡¯s here, I¡¯m not wasting my time lamenting the situation,¡± said Shuye. ¡°I¡¯m hoping that my zidan will be strengthened if I work hard.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be.¡±


    ¡°The Lady¡¯s composure and level-headed plans have made people admire her even more than before, and her zidan has reached unprecedented levels.¡±


    ¡°Good for her.¡±


    ¡°So don¡¯t worry about it,¡± said Shuye. ¡°You remember how the Goat clan¡¯s zidan was in disarray? It¡¯s fixed now, and they¡¯re even claiming that their mountain territories were teleported because their god wanted them closer to the south to make it easier for them to participate in the demon-killing campaign.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    Since it was almost time for the noon meal, I invited Shuye to join us, but he refused, saying that he was too busy and needed to return to his village. He called Fengying over and we discussed a few mundane matters like who would be coming over to collect the crops and when. The regular guards and messengers were going south, and the regular villagers, mostly the elderly and teenagers, were doing double duty as errand boys to make up for the lack of manpower.


    Before he left though, Shuye gave my apprentices a mischievous grin and said, loud enough for them and the staff to hear, ¡°Are you and Prince Baiyu planning to take advantage of the reward for pregnant women?¡±

 Chapter 178 - Year 2 Summer Harvest

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 178 - Expecting Hilarious Deliveries</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Shuye! Please don¡¯t joke about something like that!¡± I turned to the others and made sure they heard my next words loud and clear, ¡°I¡¯m not pregnant and I¡¯m not planning to get pregnant any time soon.¡±


    The maids just smiled and Kharli covered her mouth with one hand before turning to whisper something in Mo¡¯s ear that made her blush. Lari rolled his eyes and pointedly ignored us as he continued to read his textbook. Fengying didn¡¯t even react and just excused herself to return to the main house to oversee the maids'' other chores.


    Shaking my head at Shuye¡¯s uncharacteristic joke, I escorted him to the edge of the farm while I peppered him with questions about the whole ¡°reward¡± thing.


    ¡°The Lady announced an emergency status for all clans, which means we are in battle mode, and it¡¯s traditional for all communities to raise funds for a special mass wedding grant before battle to encourage all the young clan members to reproduce,¡± he said.


    ¡°I get it. You guys are doing that to avoid a population decline in case of losses, right?¡± I took a drink of water from my inventory as we walked. Though Mr. Bear was shielding me from the sun, I was still sweating a lot.


    ¡°Yes, and young people are naturally more fertile.¡± Shuye smiled down at me, showing two rows of even white teeth. ¡°I wasn¡¯t entirely joking. If you want to reproduce with the Prince, now¡¯s the perfect time. Courting and marriage timelines are accelerated during times of war.¡±


    ¡°Oh, stop it, you!¡±


    ¡°The Lady only has one heir, which means a wedding would be quite welcome at this time. The sooner, the better, if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Nooooo! I don¡¯t want to rush into anything. Marriage can wait until we¡¯re good and ready!¡±


    He teased me about it for a few more minutes until I broached a more serious topic.


    ¡°Shuye, am I taking this issue too lightly? You seem worried¡­¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ how sure are you that this isn¡¯t too dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Very sure. Everything that has happened so far is something my bloodline inheritance foresaw. I guess¡­ maybe around 98% sure.¡± Though I still had no idea what made the System tick, I was certain that it was extremely powerful, and, after all, it had never been wrong about anything yet.


    ¡°That¡¯s very good to hear.¡± Shuye took a deep breath and when he let it out, his shoulders relaxed and he smiled again. ¡°No, don¡¯t suddenly start worrying about it. Keep your spirits up, and your household will function better.¡±


    ¡°How worried are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leading my men into battle, which is why it¡¯s good for me to worry. I certainly wouldn¡¯t want the Lady to be happy-go-lucky about all our fates.¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re different. You have nothing to worry about since your farm is quite far from the front lines. Even if there was a disaster, you have your flying ship.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t come to that. So you don¡¯t think I¡¯m being insensitive?¡±


    Shuye dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand and a sharp exhalation of disdain. ¡°No. I like your confidence in us. It would be worse for everyone if the humans started panicking.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    We said our goodbyes, and I went back to the main house to ask Fengying about the clan¡¯s ¡°marriage fund.¡± I found her supervising the laundry.


    At first, she had insisted on handwashing the more delicate fabrics we used, but after seeing that the [Automatic Washing Machine] never damaged our clothes or linens, Fengying fully embraced modern laundry methods. We talked as the maids got the garments from the [Drying Machine] and neatly folded them.


    ¡°The news about the mass wedding scheme has been making the rounds,¡± said Fengying. ¡°Matchmakers have been asking about Lady Kharli and Lady Mo.¡±


    ¡°No way! They¡¯re both too young,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes. I refused them all on your behalf.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised Shuye was joking about it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a sign that he¡¯s feeling much more comfortable with you these days.¡± Fengying stopped a maid who was folding a robe¡¯s long, wide sleeves and showed her how to do it right. When she was finished, she turned back to me and said, ¡°Or¡­ perhaps he really does want you to commit to your relationship with the Prince.¡±


    I went over to the table and picked up a pair of trousers which I started folding by copying what the maids were doing under Fengying¡¯s watchful eye.


    ¡°Good grief! Getting pregnant for fear of the upcoming battle is definitely not for me,¡± I said.


    Fengying didn¡¯t say anything, but I could tell she agreed with me.


    ¡°How exactly would it work?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Lord Shuye¡¯s villages have nine youngsters who will be participating. Matchmakers are looking for young human men and women from good families, preferably with more than one daughter or son who can marry into a clan because each clan member will marry three or more humans.¡±


    ¡°What? Why so many?¡± I lowered my voice a little, and I could almost see the maids straining to hear our conversation. ¡°Are they expecting to lose that many people in the demon extermination?¡±


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    Shuye had seemed cheerful enough, but maybe the rest of the clan members were worried.


    Fengying shrugged. ¡°Who knows? The humans don¡¯t care; everyone in Anwei is very excited about it, and I heard the bribes to the matchmakers have been sky-high.¡±


    I shook my head at the thought of me or my apprentices taking part in this community-approved harem-forming activity. ¡°I¡¯m not joining this scheme because I prefer to take my time and let things develop naturally.¡±


    ¡°I think you should.¡± Fengying smiled. ¡°A sweet courtship should be slowly savored.¡±


    I spent the rest of the day gossiping with the staff about the who¡¯s who of Anwei who had thrown their caps in the ring. Fengying left to take care of other matters while Yinuo joined us. The ironing boards and sewing baskets were taken out, and the clothes were mended or ironed as we chatted.


    According to the maids, only a few of the young clan members looking to marry were of high rank. The rest were tradesmen who wanted husbands or wives who were not just comely but also had useful skills.


    ¡°You see, my lady, I was right to snap up my twins,¡± said Yinuo. ¡°If I had waited, they would¡¯ve been earmarked for some clan member since they¡¯re both so handsome.¡±


    ¡°There she goes again! All you do all day is boast about your husbands,¡± complained a maid. She was one of the younger, prettier staff members who had been using my [Dewy Glow Potions] every day. Her previously pimply complexion had turned smooth and flawless, which made her sought after among the other young people in her village. She and Yinuo had a rivalry going on about who had the handsomer beau. Obviously, Yinuo was winning.


    ¡°You¡¯re jealous? I can send you to the same matchmaker I used,¡± said Yinuo.


    We all laughed at that.


    ***


    The next day, we fished out the carp and drained the rice paddies to prepare for the harvest. Most of the fish were collected in barrels of water which some clan members carried away in flying carts, but not without Deming picking the best fish for us first.


    On harvest day, we were at the tea field at sunrise. The morning air was hot but fresh, filled with the earthy scent of dew-kissed grass and the intoxicating fragrance of the tea plants. Birds chirped melodiously from the trees, their songs mingling with the buzzing of insects and the sound of the wind on the leaves of the trees in the forest surrounding us.


    ¡°Harvest day is the best day, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said to the kids.


    ¡°It¡¯s my favorite time!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I love the exp,¡± said Lari.


    Mo nodded.


    The staff, led by Deming, circled the fields with a thurible filled with rare incense to bless the upcoming harvest as the sun¡¯s warm golden rays cast a soft glow across the landscape. As we waited for them to finish their ritual, I lay down on the ground between the rows of plants and closed my eyes. Breathing in slowly through my nose and breathing out through my mouth in the meditative manner that Scholar Wu had taught me, I tried to empty my mind and concentrate on the ground below me.


    There was a soft, gentle, and rhythmic movement under my body. Was it the pulse of energy beneath the earth or just my imagination? Was I just feeling the throbbing of the blood in my body? I didn¡¯t know what it was exactly, but I liked to think that there was a mystical dragon vein under the farm through which energy flowed as the river water flowed into the sea.


    When Deming and the others finished the harvest ceremony, I stood up, and the kids and I took our places on different rows of tea plants. We plucked off the topmost bud and the two leaves below it manually, dropping our harvest into small baskets. We could have used the System to do it, but this was more fun, and it would allow us to sell the tea for a higher price since it was handpicked. Tea connoisseurs were fussy about details like that.


    Our energy bars were emptied in an hour; therefore, we stopped before we collapsed from exhaustion.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t level up today.¡± The corners of Mo¡¯s mouth were turned down a little, and her brow was furrowed. ¡°I hope I level up soon.¡±


    ¡°You will.¡± I lifted a tea leaf to my nose and inhaled deeply, savoring the herbal aroma. ¡°This is wonderful.¡±


    ¡°The tea seems as good as the spring tea,¡± said Lari. ¡°I was afraid it would be worse because of the heat.¡±


    ¡°The chef thinks the quality improved because of the increase in qi,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Teacher, did you know that the kitchen staff are meditating just outside of the farm?¡±


    ¡°Huh? I see them outside a lot, but I didn¡¯t know they were meditating.¡±


    ¡°They say that the qi outside is more turbulent, which is good for cultivation,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I feel that if I could sense qi, I would prefer the calm qi inside the farm,¡± I said.


    ¡°Quiet qi must be nice,¡± said Mo. ¡°I bet that¡¯s what helped our crops.¡±


    I looked the tea field over and said, ¡°I think we¡¯ll only need to spend one more day harvesting here. Let¡¯s go eat and rest to recover our energy.¡±


    We handed our baskets of tea leaves to the staff for further processing and then trooped back to the main house for a hot breakfast since we had only eaten rice balls earlier.


    Deming supervised the staff as they spread the leaves out to dry in the sun. Later, they would be roasted, cooled, and then rolled. Since the kitchen staff were busy, we had a simple but delicious meal of fish congee, steamed pork dumplings, century eggs, and stir-fried mushrooms from the Chitinous Caverns.


    ¡°Eat more mushrooms; they help replenish energy,¡± I said to the others.


    ¡°And they¡¯re delicious,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°The eggs are great, too. Did you know they aren¡¯t actually a hundred years old?¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the eggs would hatch if they were buried for a hundred years,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Only if they were spirit eggs,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Teacher, can we make century eggs out of the System [Eggs]?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Maybe? But they seem hard to make, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯d burn most of them,¡± I said.


    ¡°Can we please not make scary black eggs when everyone is being troubled by that?¡± Kharli gestured southwards.


    ¡°Oh? If you don¡¯t like black eggs, give me yours.¡± Lari pretended to snatch the century egg plate, but Kharli playfully swatted his hand away.


    We passed the rest of the meal in pleasant banter and the kids retired to their rooms afterward while I spent the morning playing with Cutie in the Mines. The slimes¡¯ bathing pools in the Chitinous Caverns were a great way for me to kick back and unwind. When I emerged from the pools and portaled back to my house, I found a pleasant surprise waiting for me at my front door.


    I hastily sprayed on some cologne and rushed outside to meet my boyfriend. ¡°Sweetheart!¡±


    Our embrace was warm and lingering, two lovers reunited after being apart. His strong arms enveloped me as I melted into his comforting smell and familiar touch. At that moment, all was right in the world. The stresses of the day melted away as we held each other close, content just to be together again.


    Alas, we eventually had to part. We murmured sweet nothings to each other as we walked to my [Ranch House]. Once we were inside, he pulled out a red and gold box from his interspatial storage and wordlessly presented it to me. I opened it to find that it contained a complete set of red robes, red shoes, red veils, and a red and gold headdress.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I put my hands on his shoulders and went on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.


    The past few days had made a mark on him. Prince Baiyu looked gorgeous, as always, but there were dark eye bags under his blue eyes and when I touched them, his shoulders seemed thinner.


    Prince Baiyu returned the favor with a lingering kiss on my hand. Then he unfolded a sleeve of the red outer garment and showed me the character for ¡°double happiness¡± embroidered on it. ¡°My parents have given us permission to marry. This is their wedding gift.¡±


    I knew that his father supported his courtship of me, but this was the first time he said that his mother also approved. ¡°Is it because of the upcoming battle?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Shall we set our wedding date for next week?¡±


    ¡°Next week?¡± Why was he in a rush? His attitude was less romantic than I was used to, but that was understandable because he was under a lot of strain. I smiled mischievously. ¡°What do you think?¡±

 Chapter 179 - Enchanting Wedding Gift

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 179 - Groom for Improvement</h2>


    ??????


    I gave him an innocent smile. ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    Prince Baiyu planted a kiss on my forehead and sighed in an overly dramatic manner. ¡°You know¡­ I was told that a lot of women would jump at the chance to marry me next week.¡±


    I drew away from him. ¡°Are you saying you got a lot of offers? You¡¯re not planning to form a harem next week, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡±


    Our eyes met and we both burst into laughter.


    ¡°My poor, poor prince.¡± I put a hand on his shoulder and pressed down to let him know I wanted him to bend towards me, and then I patted his head when he obliged. ¡°Is everyone telling you to get married right away?¡±


    I led him inside the house where we sat side by side on the couch in the living room. Since the taboo had been lifted, I offered him some tea and a plate of dumplings.


    In between sips and bites, he regaled me with tales of his most recent trips with his parents. Since the last time I had seen them, they had gone to all the major clans to calm them down and discuss their plans.


    ¡°My mother¡¯s been pushing herself too hard. Father and I were only able to force her to take a break after she felt dizzy when we were flying to the Wolf clan¡¯s headquarters.¡± He made a sound of pure exasperation. ¡°We¡¯re taking three days off.¡±


    ¡°Just three days? Is that even enough time to recover?¡±


    Prince Baiyu shrugged. ¡°Clan members have greater stamina than humans¡­ but you¡¯re right. A pregnant lady shouldn¡¯t overwork herself.¡±


    ¡°Will I see you tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and the day after.¡±


    I took out three more plates of food from my inventory. ¡°Eat more and recover your strength. Try this apple pie, I baked it myself.¡±


    This time, we stopped talking about serious matters and just enjoyed each other¡¯s company by feeding each other sweet morsels of apple pie and pastries.


    ***


    The next day, Prince Baiyu met me at my door with a smile and a kiss on the cheek, which put me in a great mood for the rest of the day.


    At sunrise on the farm, the morning dew on the grass sparkled like diamonds, and I noticed that the breeze was cooler today than yesterday. Perhaps Yinuo was correct when she said that we were due for a break from the summer sun¡¯s oppressive heat. From my house I could see the fields of crops. The rice fields were a sea of golden-brown stalks, heavy with grain and rustling gently in the morning breeze, which made a nice contrast with the vibrant green color of the tea fields.


    Prince Baiyu was impressed by the beauty of the farm and complimented me on the thriving crops. We were chatting merrily when we reached the tea field, where my apprentices were already waiting for us.


    ¡°Good morning!¡± I greeted the kids.


    I was met with a chorus of ¡°Good mornings!¡±


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo were dressed in simple cotton trousers and the usual cross-collar top. The girls, possibly because their maids knew that Prince Baiyu would be with us today, were wearing modest, long-sleeved tops, but Lari had cut off his sleeves and was bare-armed.


    We quickly got to work plucking tea leaves, and it wasn¡¯t long before Lari threw his arms up and yelled, ¡°Level up!¡± and did a victory run around the tea field.


    The rest of us clapped and congratulated him.


    There weren¡¯t that many tea plants, so we finished the harvest before running out of energy.


    ¡°Shall we continue by harvesting the rice? Do you guys have enough energy?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± said Mo.


    The others nodded.


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    ¡°I¡¯m very close to a level,¡± said Kharli.


    The tea had to be picked by hand to get the best price, but there was no such requirement for the rice. Thus, we used the System instead of harvesting it manually.


    Taking out a sickle from my System tool belt, I mentally clicked on the empty sacks in my inventory, and when I swung the sickle at a rice plant, the System did the work for me. Half a dozen plants disappeared from the field while a sack of rice and a pile of crop residues simultaneously appeared in my inventory. The crop residue could be used in making [Animal Feed] later, while the sacks of rice would be sold as seed rice for the farmers who wanted to try growing their own spirit crop.


    Once I started harvesting, the others followed suit.


    It took no time at all for both Kharli and Mo to level up one after the other.


    ¡°Congratulations, you two!¡± I hugged them both.


    ¡°This is all thanks to you, Teacher.¡± Mo beamed and hugged me and Kharli back.


    ¡°Thank you for always taking care of us.¡± Kharli¡¯s voice was giddy with delight.


    ¡°Aw, get it in here, too!¡± I pulled Lari into the group embrace.


    We were all smiling from ear to ear.


    ¡°Harvest time is the best time!¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±


    We harvested a few more sacks of rice until we ran out of energy.


    ¡°Teacher, we¡¯re going to put flowers in front of the [Vineheart Fairy House] as offerings,¡± said Kharli. ¡°We want to thank them for the bonus exp.¡±


    ¡°Good idea,¡± I said. ¡°Gather the flowers from inside the farm though. They say the qi outside the farm is still in disarray.¡±


    ¡°The animals really have been acting strangely. Last night, I was taking a walk when I saw a deer with glowing yellow eyes,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°No way!¡± I said. ¡°Did it attack or anything?¡±


    ¡°It was just eating some grass,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°That¡¯s just normal. Some animals have eyes that seem to glow in the dark,¡± said Prince Baiyu. ¡°Deer are one of them.¡±


    ¡°In any case, yes, you guys can go offer flowers to the fairies as long as you stay inside the farm,¡± I said.


    My apprentices scampered off on their errand, and I felt grateful because I knew that was just an excuse they made to give Prince Baiyu and me some much-needed privacy.


    ¡°Do you want to stay indoors or outdoors?¡± I asked Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°I¡¯d like a day outdoors where I just sit and do nothing. I¡¯ve spent all the time since I was on your ship either madly dashing here and there to put out fires or indoors all day listening to elders drone on and on.¡± Prince Baiyu imitated an elder by loudly humming in a sonorous tone.


    ¡°Oh, you poor thing!¡±


    ¡°People don¡¯t know how tiring it is to just sit in one place for hours at a time while doing nothing until it¡¯s happened to them. I¡¯m not even allowed to talk because I¡¯m too young, you know.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least the monotonous elder talk must be better than excited yapping.¡± I tried to imitate a chatterbox by flapping my hands and making rapid, high-pitched, nonsensical sounds.


    He laughed, and we hooked our arms together as I guided him to the [Herb Garden] where we spent a pleasant day talking about this and that. We went to the main house for dinner, and he only left after midnight.


    I was yawning when I retired to my [Ranch House] to work on my gift to the prince. Since his parents had sent me such a magnificent present, I needed to return the favor as best as I could. The only valuable things that I had were crops, which I had a contract to sell to the White Tiger clan, and gold coins, which would be crass to give. Most of the other really good items in my inventory were untradeable, except for the [War Fans] which were meant for a different purpose.


    Of course, if my crafting skills were higher, I could theoretically smith some good armor and weapons, but all I could make at the moment were simple steel items, which would be pretty lame. I wanted to give the Lady of the West something that would wow her and show everyone that I was a proper match for a prince.


    The only thing I could think of that was good enough were [Diamonds]. Not the plain ones, of course. Those wouldn¡¯t do at all. What I needed were enchanted gems.


    Clearing my living room of its furniture, I placed the [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron] in the middle of the now empty space and put [Spell Stones] in the cauldron¡¯s inventory to power the [Automatic Alchemy] function before loading it up with as many [Diamonds] as it could hold.


    I went to bed with the cauldron quietly humming away in my living room, and when I woke up, I put three perfect [Diamonds +9 Air] in a fancy jewelry box. The [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron] had produced more than three, but I thought it would be ridiculously over-the-top to gift all of them.


    The day was a repeat of yesterday, except for the fact that Prince Baiyu and I had to say our goodbyes at midnight. I walked him over to the gate, and Prince Baiyu put his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you so much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you more,¡± I said.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll miss you more.¡±


    We continued in the same vein for a while, until the prince¡¯s royal guard coughed, and I knew he had to leave. Reluctantly, we broke apart, and I handed him the jewelry box.


    ¡°Here, a gift for your parents,¡± I said.


    ¡°May I open it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡±


    The [Diamonds +9 Air] in their red velvet-lined box sparkled brilliantly under the soft light of the moon. Prince Baiyu gave me a quizzical look. ¡°Gems?¡±


    ¡°Diamonds. Sorry, I can¡¯t sew or embroider very well.¡± Fengying had told me that the traditional gift for the groom¡¯s family was embroidered shoes and a bronze mirror, symbolizing togetherness and harmony. I could have had the staff buy them from Anwei, but I thought that something I crafted was more meaningful.


    ¡°No, no, I wasn¡¯t complaining. I meant¡­ where are these from?¡± Prince Baiyu picked up a jewel and held it up to the light of the nearest wall light.


    When the royal guard moved closer to get a look at it, too, Prince Baiyu gave him a forbidding look and put the gem back in the box, which then disappeared into the prince¡¯s interspatial storage.


    ¡°I used my Alchemy skills from my bloodline inheritance to enhance those gems,¡± I said.


    This would¡¯ve been an amazing thing back on Earth, but here Alchemy wasn¡¯t too uncommon at all.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m sure my parents will love them.¡±


    He took my hands in his one last time and kissed me before flying away, leaving me forlorn.


    Maybe I should¡¯ve taken him up on his offer of a wedding next week.

 Chapter 179.5 - The Diamond Monopoly

    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    When Prince Baiyu knocked on my door an hour past midnight, full of apologies for disturbing my infant daughter¡¯s rest by visiting at such a late hour, and holding a wooden box that radiated an overwhelming qi, I knew immediately that Violet had done something outrageous again.


    I¡¯m no alchemist or gemologist, but even I could tell that the so-called ¡°diamonds¡± Violet had enhanced were not regular enchanted gems. My wife suggested they could be the Sacred Enlightenment Spirit Crystals from the legend of the Millennium Queen, the ones that had been created to capture the light of the First Star.


    Prince Baiyu showed us how the qi from his heirloom treasure sword paled in comparison to the gems. According to him, the gemstone¡¯s qi aura was stronger than that of the fabled Celestial Tempest Sword, which was the crown jewel of the Westerlands¡¯ ruling family¡¯s Eight Sacred Treasures.


    Thankfully, most clan members weren¡¯t strong enough to wield power of this magnitude, but still¡­ everyone would want one.


    He had come in the middle of the night to warn us to strengthen the guard around the Ancient Hill Forest in preparation for the hordes of requests and visitors that would undoubtedly arrive once word spread about the crystals.


    I was both overjoyed and worried.


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    On the one hand, if Violet could make enchanted gems of this caliber, then the demon egg might truly be no threat to us. On the other hand, knowing how greedy people were, clearly this would create great unrest.


    Prince Baiyu relieved me of my other duties in the meantime, saying that he would send a seasoned warrior to oversee my villages¡¯ defenses and training, and wished me luck in dealing with the aftermath of Violet¡¯s revelation that she was the best alchemist since the Dawn Age.


    At least I got another raise.


    ***


    Three days after Prince Baiyu visited me, the Lady of West and her consort appeared in public wearing diamond crowns that shimmered with an otherworldly brilliance and staggeringly powerful qi aura.


    The Lady declared that there would be a lottery every month that every clan member who didn¡¯t have a gem yet could join.


    Theoretically, this should have made it unnecessary for people to bother me about it, but clan members, especially the older ones, were famous for being stubborn.


    Delegations from the Guild of Artificers, Smiths'' Guild, Enchanters'' Guild, Jewelers'' Guild, and Alchemists'' Guild came to confirm that I wasn¡¯t selling more gems outside of the auction and to complain that they were being forced into the poorhouse by the release of the new gems.


    I calmed them down as best as I could by promising that there was a limited supply of gems and that business would surely pick up once the auctions started. They would probably have even more customers than before since Violet was only selling loose gems that would need to be set into weapons, armor, or accessories.


    Thanks to Prince Baiyu¡¯s early warning, I was prepared, and, with the help of quite a number of royal guards, my people were able to turn away most of the gawkers and ordinary petitioners. The more high-ranking nobles, who were convinced they were too important to wait for the auction, needed a more delicate touch, so I was kept busy placating them.


    I should¡¯ve asked for a bigger raise.

 Chapter 180 - Year 2 Autumn Planting Season

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 180 - Blooming Marvelous</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± I pumped a fist in the air to hype up the last day of the harvest season, and the maids cheered and clapped politely.


    ¡°Exp!¡± yelled Kharli.


    ¡°Exp day!¡± echoed Mo more softly.


    ¡°Level up day for me!¡± Lari pumped a fist, too.


    It was a lovely morning with a fresh breeze from the forest that was noticeably cooler than the day before, reminding us that autumn was right around the corner.


    There were only a few rice plants left, therefore, despite Lari¡¯s confident words, he didn¡¯t level up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be disappointed. You¡¯ll level up soon,¡± I said to Lari.


    Since we still had some energy left, we plowed a field for tomorrow, the start of the two-week planting season.


    ¡°Okay, time to rest and recover our energy,¡± I said.


    We put away our farming tools. Yinuo and the other maids handed us soft, fluffy towels to wipe our sweat off, and we were about to walk back to the main house when I finally got the System pop-up that I had been waiting for.


    [Quest Available: Create an Insectary Garden]


    I quickly clicked on the [Accept] button and raised a hand to stop the others from walking off.


    [Create an Insectary Garden:


    Using the Insectary Seed Mix, plant an insect-friendly sanctuary to encourage beneficial bugs that will help control pest populations.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    Yes! More exp for me! This quest was only available during the player¡¯s second year when the farm had expanded enough that there was plenty of space for the garden.


    ¡°Guys, wait up! We have a new quest.¡± I read the System text out loud for them, including the description of the [Insectary Garden].


    [Insectary Garden:


    A special garden that attracts pollinators and beneficial predator bugs that eat aphids, thrips, white flies, and other pests. Tough native plants that have flowers bloom for a long time and are full of readily available nectar are the foundation of this valuable part of the farm that boosts yields and improves the quality of crops. Using the Insectary Seed Mix will ensure that flowers will be in bloom all year round.


    More than one Insectary Garden can be planted on the farm.]


    ¡°We can¡¯t plant it now since it¡¯s not the planting season yet, so let¡¯s go have breakfast while we think of where to put it.¡± I gestured for everyone to start walking.


    Fengying met us at the gate of the main house where she was supervising the tea and rice handover. The clan members in charge of the crop loaded the sacks of rice and tea into their ox carts, merrily congratulating us on another good harvest, and noting that many clan farmers had successfully used the rice we sold them in the spring to grow their own spirit rice crop. We added the sacks in our inventory to the pile and went on our way.


    After a scrumptious meal of fried eggs, honey ham, spiced sausages, grilled tomato, sauteed mushrooms, baked sweet potatoes, salad, and steaming hot buns fresh from the oven, we settled down into the workroom with a map of the farm and a plate of fruit slices.


    Kharli frowned as she held the map up. ¡°How about the exact middle of the farm?¡±


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    ¡°I think we should put it beside the [Vineheart Fairy House]. The fairies will love it!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Great idea! Who knows, they might be so pleased they give us more blessings.¡± Lari rubbed his hands together and grinned at the prospect of even more bonus exp.


    Kharli put the map down and the three of them bent their heads over it while pondering the perfect location for the garden.


    I handed over the [Insectary Seed Mix] and two more seed packets. ¡°We will primarily use this, but we can also plant other flower seeds. How about adding [Sunflowers] and [Fairy Rose]?¡±


    ¡°I love [Fairy Rose]!¡± said Mo.


    Lari rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve never even seen one.¡±


    ¡°Hey, are you saying we shouldn¡¯t use it even though it¡¯s called [Fairy Rose]?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying that,¡± said Lari.


    I let the kids bicker for a few more minutes while I opened another [Insectary Seed Mix] to reveal a dozen packets inside. ¡°Guys, check these out and sketch a garden plan.¡±


    Unlike the mystery seeds for the [Herb Garden], these were all properly labeled with the names of the plants. Smiling, I pushed the [Goldenrod] packet to Lari.


    ¡°Teacher, are you giving me this because I like gold?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t like gold anymore?¡± I asked in turn.


    ¡°No, I love it!¡± he said.


    We all had a good laugh.


    [Goldenrod:


    A flowering plant that, with its bright yellow blossoms, is a magnet for pollinators. Blooming in late summer to early fall, its large clusters of tiny flowers provide a good source of nectar for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.


    Perennial. Self-Seeding.]


    ¡°If you click on the words ¡®perennial¡¯ and ¡®self-seeding¡¯, you¡¯ll get the System definition of it,¡± I said. ¡°The garden won¡¯t be too much trouble since ¡®perennial¡¯ means the plants will live for several years and they drop seeds that can grow on their own.¡±


    My apprentices were silent for a few minutes as they read all the descriptions and definitions.


    Kharli held up a red packet of seeds. ¡°That [Goldenrod] seems nice, but this is the real prize.¡±


    She read the System information out loud for us.


    [Treasure Lily:


    A stunning plant whose inflorescence is made of hundreds of tiny pink flowers with exposed nectar-producing glands that attract many beneficial insects. According to legend, the Treasure Lily was a gift from a benevolent forest spirit, who blessed it with the power to attract wealth and good fortune.


    Perennial. Self-Seeding.]


    ¡°That¡¯s nice, very nice.¡± I held up a seed packet for them to see. ¡°But I think this could be my favorite. Check out this [Sugarbell].¡±


    [Sugarbell:


    A plant whose orange bell-shaped flowers emit a sweet, candy-like fragrance. The bees that feast on its nectar will produce honey with a rich, caramel-like floral flavor.


    Perennial. Self-Seeding.]


    ¡°Wow, I can hardly wait.¡± Kharli took three large notebooks from the workroom shelves and said, ¡°Let¡¯s plan the garden.¡±


    My apprentices'' long exposure to my use of Earth slang had rubbed off on them, and they now used "wow" and "okay" a lot.


    With my help, they drew a plan for a tiny garden with winding paths and an apple tree in the middle that would be great for picnics. We also went over the diagram for tomorrow¡¯s work that we had previously made.


    ¡°Teacher, can we go out and pick a good place for the garden?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°One near the fairies,¡± added Mo.


    ¡°Sure, go ahead. I¡¯ll see you at lunch.¡± I wasn¡¯t going with them since I had my own plans.


    Back at my [Ranch House], I withdrew the finished [Diamonds] from the [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron]. Now that Shuye had asked me to make more enchanted gems for the clans, the cauldron was running on [Automatic Alchemy] mode night and day, half the time with [Firebird Feathers] and the other half with [Diamonds].


    Of course, I knew that the clans would like more enchanted gems, but I hadn¡¯t expected them to order one max enchanted [Diamond] for each noble family. I mean, I could do it, and I did want to help equip everyone for the demon extermination event. However, it hurt my player¡¯s sense of efficiency when Shuye said they only wanted the best gems for now.


    Just like how Adventure Incarnate had level requirements for equipment, in this world the most advanced items also needed a high level of skill and cultivation to use, which is why I offered to sell the lower-level gems first to help out the ones who needed it most. Not everyone was an elite warrior, after all!


    This idea was decisively rejected by both Shuye and Prince Baiyu since they both claimed that nobles would be too embarrassed to be seen at the auction buying the inferior [Diamonds]. It would also be helpful to the Lady of the Westerlands because she needed the nobles¡¯ support in the demon war. The auction of "legendary class items" would keep them happy, not to mention distracted by a sparkly new thing that they could show off.


    Thankfully, this state of affairs was only temporary. Prince Baiyu expected that once the aristocratic clan members had a max-leveled gem to keep in their family vault as a treasure, they would be more open to buying the lesser ones for everyday use, and the other clan members would follow their lead.


    Well, if they wanted to empty their wallets and give me lots of money to buy my [Diamonds] as collectibles, who was I to protest?


    ***


    The next day, I unexpectedly received another quest.


    Had it been triggered by my doing so much Alchemy?


    [Quest Available: Grove of the Harvest Goddess]

 Chapter 181 - The Gangs of Anwei

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 181 - Sprout-standing Performance at Planting Season</h2>


    ??????


    I hastily accepted the quest but put it out of my mind for now since I wanted to focus on the all-important planting season. The grove could wait.


    We finished plowing a small field and fertilized it with [Mysterious Goo].


    ¡°Vegetables are fun,¡± said Kharli. ¡°I know rice and tea are important, but I prefer growing vegetables.¡±


    ¡°Rice is great but boring,¡± said Lari.


    Mo and Kharli unrolled the scroll we had made that had the companion planting diagram on it.


    ¡°The [Cucumbers] and [Nasturtiums] are mine!¡± said Kharli.


    The System said that [Nasturtiums] should repel cucumber beetles, which would obviously be good for the [Cucumbers] if they were planted close to each other.


    I nodded. ¡°Do it.¡±


    Meanwhile, I got started planting the [Corn], [Beans], and [Squash] together in a mound in the Three Sisters method. Lari took care of the [Carrots] and [Onions] that each repelled pests that bothered the other plant, while Kharli planted [Eggplant] and [Marigold] together. According to the System, [Marigolds] help surrounding plants by releasing allelopathic chemicals that inhibit weed growth and attract pollinators. This sounded plausible, but also perilously close to gobbledygook to me. I longed to access the internet to check the facts, but, alas, this world was probably one thousand years behind Earth¡¯s technology. I guess one could simply think of it as ¡°spirit plants doing magic things.¡±


    I got into position and smiled as seeds shot out of my hand-held seeder and buried themselves two inches into the ground. This part looked easy, but it consumed a lot of energy, so I kept a close eye on my energy bar. When it was four-fifths empty, I watered the seeds.


    ¡°That was almost too much,¡± I said to Yinuo.


    ¡°Do you feel dizzy? Lean on me, my lady.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna sit down.¡± Taking out a folding chair from my inventory, I almost collapsed into it. ¡°I regret doing too much today.¡±


    Though I didn¡¯t think I was going to faint, I decided that this was an emergency and drank a bottle of [Kola Kola Soda] despite the fact that the kids and I had collectively decided we needed to wean ourselves off it.


    After resting for a time, I went to the main house to soak in the [Hot Spring] which gave me enough energy that I felt a lot livelier. Since the kids were a little worried about me, I invited them to spend the day with me in my [Ranch House] where we tested the different styles of [Zero Gravity Chairs] and chatted.


    [Zero Gravity Chair:


    Designed to evenly distribute weight and reduce pressure points, this chair offers a supportive and relaxing place to unwind.]


    ¡°I feel weird since it¡¯s so tilted.¡± Mo frowned and wiggled her bare toes. The default position put her feet up so that they were above her head.


    I wiggled my toes, too. ¡°Press the buttons on the sides to adjust the chair''s recline. I kinda like it though!¡±


    We tried out the buttons and eventually settled on more normal positions. Yinuo arrived with lunch, and we ate out on the patio. The weather was cooler today and there was a refreshing breeze. As we were enjoying the meal, Fengying came by with a letter from Scholar Wu.


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    The kid¡¯s tutor wrote that I could tell the others the news, so I read bits of the letter out loud. ¡°Guys, listen to this. ¡®The demonic qi from the egg has been dispersing into the atmosphere at a steady rate, and they expect it to be at a level that the egg can be approached by summer next year.¡¯ Wow, I was right!¡±


    Kharli frowned. ¡°Is that good news?¡±


    ¡°The egg isn¡¯t increasing its qi. That has to be good news?¡± Lari frowned into his soup.


    ¡°Yes, I think it''s good. I mean, as good as one can expect.¡± I shrugged and continued spooning the fish congee made with the [Miracle Pearl Rice] and [Carp] we harvested into my mouth. ¡°And also she writes that we should continue making the [Bronze Arrows +E].¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m close to leveling up and making [Iron Arrowheads],¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Then we can make [Iron Arrows] that Teacher can make into explosive arrows,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Are they really going to pay less for them?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Yeah, because all the weapon makers are manufacturing and selling them in bulk now and the clans expect a discount.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just a small decrease. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    The plan was for us to focus on farming since we were the only spirit farmers in the whole Westerlands while there were plenty of crafters who could make weapons, armor, and supplies, but, of course, the kids could craft [Bronze Arrows] during their spare time.


    Fengying and the others left, and my apprentices asked to see how I made the [Diamonds]. I let them come inside with me to the living room and showed them how I used the cauldron to make the enchanted gems.


    ¡°It¡¯s so magical!¡± Mo¡¯s eyes were opened wide.


    ¡°May I?¡± Lari leaned forward, his forehead wrinkled in curiosity and his hand hovering over a [Diamond] that I had placed on the table in front of us.


    Kharli was silently circling the [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron] and running her fingers along its blue-green surface carved with majestic dragons.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I handed Kharli a few [Diamonds] which she showed to the others. They oohed and aahed over the sparkly gems, claiming they could sense how mystical they were.


    ¡°Remember, you guys can¡¯t use this. Fengying said it¡¯s way too dangerous to wear something so valuable,¡± I said.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it,¡± said Lari. ¡°People have been killed over less in Anwei, I¡¯m sure. They say criminal gangs use a strong acid to dissolve bodies.¡±


    Kharli and Mo shuddered.


    ¡°The Bone Melting Powder? Do you think that¡¯s true?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°Do you remember the silversmith who went missing? His body was never found!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I thought they said he was a drunk who ran away because he went bankrupt and owed people a lot of money,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo and Lari exchanged a conspiratorial look.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the story? A few days after he went missing, the city guards found a suspicious spot in an alley¡­¡± Lari lowered his voice. ¡°It smelled like strong acid and there were¡­ residues of human bones and flesh.¡±


    I stopped listening because, to my surprise, I got a quest.


    [Quest Available: The Gangs of Anwei]


    Reading the quest text made my stomach drop.


    [The Gangs of Anwei:


    Join the Black Arm Gang to learn the secret recipe for Bone Melting Powder.


    Reward: Herblaw Exp and a Thieving Book]


    That¡¯s a no from me!


    I quickly clicked on the [Reject] button, shivering at the thought of actually meeting up with criminals in real life, especially the ones who like to dissolve people¡¯s bodies with Bone Melting Powder.


    Adventure Incarnate added this quest as a way of introducing the upcoming Thieving skill, which was supposed to allow players to pickpocket NPCs, break into bank vaults, loot treasure chests, and so forth. However, after a few months, the skill was canceled because the beta test server showed that there were a lot of bugs, including a game-breaking item duplication exploit. The [Thieving Book] became rare and valuable for a time until the developers introduced a new NPC that sold it for a mere one gold coin.


    My mind raced as I tried to remember everything I knew about the Black Arm Gang.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo, seeing that I was preoccupied, left after lunch, and I quickly wrote down the information I recalled. The [Thieving Book¡¯s] popularity made the NPC seller¡¯s location quite memorable, so that particular detail should prove useful. I wrote a letter to Prince Baiyu to let him know that I had some new, perhaps important, insight from my bloodline inheritance.


    Three days later, I got a message from the prince saying that the Anwei guards would look into it.


    Three days after that, Shuye sent word that the gang¡¯s headquarters had been discovered and over fifty gang members had been arrested.


    Despite my refusal of the System quest, I found myself rewarded for my efforts with a special prize. Just as I had requested, I got the item I wanted from the Black Arm Gang raid.

 Chapter 182 - Thieving Quest

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 182 - It''s a pun-demolition now that I''ve exhausted my pun supply.</h2>


    ??????


    ...Wait a minute! Isn''t it strange that some random ex-gang member was selling this thing to every player in Adventure Incarnate? Well, I guess in this world he only had this one copy, which makes a lot more sense.


    Unwrapping the cloth-covered package, I grinned when I saw a mysterious leather-bound book with a combination lock on it. This was the book that was sold by the NPC in Anwei, and, fortunately, I remembered the secret code. I rubbed my hands together and chortled as I turned the dials on the lock to read 31415, which was the first five digits of pi. Once unlocked, the mysterious book turned into a [Thieving Book].


    [Thieving Book:


    A book from the Black Arm Gang¡¯s hideout that contains the locations of their hidden treasure caches and vaults, with instructions on how to unlock them, and a collection of their recipes.]


    ¡°Yes!¡± I picked Cutie and Mr. Bear up and twirled them both around. ¡°I hit the jackpot!¡±


    The ¡°treasures¡± were gold coins and gems which I didn¡¯t want to bother finding, so I copied the maps on a few pages of paper and gave them to Fengying to send to Shuye, who would pass them on to the Anwei guards. The information about the treasure locations would be credited to an ¡°anonymous informant¡± since I was keeping my involvement a secret.


    The recipes in the book were much more interesting. In addition to the [Bone Melting Powder], which could be added to certain pills and potions to make them more dangerous, there were harmless cooking recipes for [Jellied Eel], [Black Pudding], and [Stargazy Pie].


    But the real treasure was the book¡¯s leather binding. Using a sharp crafting knife, I cut into its spine to reveal a small piece of folded paper that had been inserted into the space between the cloth and leather book cover. Written on it was the recipe for the [Five Elements Pill].


    There was a loud pinging sound and I got a notification saying that I had learned the recipe which now appeared as an item on my Alchemy menu.


    [Five Elements Pill:


    Crafted from potent herbs, it harmonizes with the wielder''s aura to strengthen its elemental defenses against earth, fire, water, wood, and metal magical attacks.


    Duration: 15 minutes]


    Acquiring the pill recipe unlocked the item in my inventory.


    I picked my puppet up and hugged him in excitement. ¡°Mr. Bear, isn¡¯t this great? This will be very useful!¡±


    Not wanting to waste more time to test it, I immediately sat down at my work table and piled up the ingredients and empty vials. This particular recipe didn¡¯t need a cauldron.


    When I mentally selected the System menu item, my hands were guided by the System to move in front of my shoulders, and the water from the vial rose just above them. One by one, the [Jadeheart Vine Leaf], [Earthstone Root], [Silvershield Fern], and [Moonshadow Algae] floated into the water and disintegrated. After the four herbs had mixed together into a thick liquid, the [Blazing Fireblossom] gracefully glided into the liquid. The flower merged with the herbal concoction and a flame appeared that dried it out until I was left with eight small pills. The pills, each one irregularly shaped and no bigger than a grain of rice, then neatly flew into the vial.


    ¡°Herblaw is the greatest!¡± I lifted the vial to my nose to sniff it, but the strong medicinal fragrance made me sneeze.


    I made a few dozen more and then went to the main house to add a few pills to the letter I had asked Fengying to send.


    ***


    The next few days passed in a whirlwind of plowing, fertilizing, sowing, and watering fields.


    On the last day of the planting season, I looked over the vegetable, rice, and tea fields with satisfaction.


    Dawn¡¯s first light was shining on the farm, making the dew on the leaves of the trees and plants sparkle prettily. The air was cool and crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and the faint aroma of wildflowers from the forest and woodsmoke from the kitchen fires. The bees were busily buzzing around, and I could hear the distant melody of a songbird. The air was crisp and cool, invigorating yet comforting, as I met with my apprentices at the chosen location.


    ¡°Good morning, Teacher!¡± they chorused as I walked over to them with Cutie and Mr. Bear in tow. This time, the sun¡¯s rays were gentle, so there was no need for an umbrella. Our working clothes were back to the regular long-sleeved ones since it was cooler now.


    ¡°Good morning! Did you remember to bring the garden plan?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± Kharli took out the plan from her inventory.


    Using small wooden sticks and string, we delineated the boundaries of the garden beds and paths before plowing the appropriate spaces and adding the [Mysterious Goo] as fertilizer. The first thing we did was to plant the [Apple Tree] in the middle. Then we planted the seeds in the manner that we had worked out earlier, arranging the plants in such a way that each side of the paths would always have a few flowers in bloom every season.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    [Create an Insectary Garden: Quest Complete


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Farming level!]


    [Your Farming level is now 27.]


    The exp was just enough to push me over the edge to level 27, a welcome development indeed!


    The others congratulated me, and, since we still had a bit of energy left, we planted a few more [Fairy Rose] plants near the [Vineheart Fairy House].


    ¡°That¡¯s it for the planting season then,¡± I said. ¡°How are your levels?¡±


    We read our stats out loud and Kharli volunteered to write them down in our farm diary. I had leveled up my Farming once during the summer harvest and once today after getting the quest reward.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 25¡ú27, Fishing Level 12, Woodcutting Level 22¡ú23, Cooking Level 6¡ú7, Herblaw Level 23, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 7, Mining Level 4]


    We¡¯d spent most of the summer indoors doing crafting or studying books, so there wasn¡¯t much change in our Foraging, Hunting, and Fishing, something we planned to rectify this autumn season as soon as the forest¡¯s qi became more stable.


    My apprentices had leveled up Farming and Woodcutting, too.


    [Apprentice Name: Kharli


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 19¡ú21, Fishing Level 6, Woodcutting Level 16¡ú17, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 7, Hunting Level 5]


    [Apprentice Name: Lari


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 19¡ú21, Fishing Level 10, Woodcutting Level 16¡ú17, Cooking Level 1, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 4, Hunting Level 9]


    [Apprentice Name: Mo


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 19¡ú21, Fishing Level 4, Woodcutting Level 17¡ú18, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 11, Hunting Level 4]


    ¡°Wonderful, we all got levels!¡± I gave the kids two thumbs up. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the house and you kids can get your allowance from Fengying.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, why don¡¯t you go shopping with us tomorrow?¡± Mo turned around to face me and started walking backward.


    ¡°Nah, I need my rest.¡±


    I covered my mouth to hide my smile when Lari snuck up behind Mo to try to trip her, but Mo knew he was trying to do something and nimbly hopped sideways and continued walking backward.


    ¡°But, Teacher, you always want to hear about the latest gossip. You should come with us and chat with all the ladies at the shops,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°And Teacher could try the new chicken noodle bowl at the Golden Pagoda Restaurant,¡± said Lari, who had given up trying to trip Mo and was now competing with her to see which one of them could walk backward faster.


    Kharli rolled her eyes at them and asked me if I wanted them to buy anything for me. I suggested that they buy some nice snacks and sweets for the whole staff, and gave her a small gold coin to spend.


    ¡°Guys, slow down! You don¡¯t want to fall and hurt yourself today. I know the chef has something spectacular planned for tonight¡¯s summer harvest feast,¡± I said to Lari and Mo.


    Lari stopped walking backwards at once and Mo followed suit.


    ¡°Let¡¯s relax now. I¡¯ll go back to my house and I¡¯ll see you guys at dinner,¡± I said.


    We parted ways, and when we met at dinner, we were all eagerly anticipating the lavish banquet food that the kitchen staff had been preparing for us in the last three days.


    First up were three appetizers. I started with the Caramelized Onion and Apple Bites. The crisp bread slice provided a satisfying crunch as I bit into the sweet and savory topping. The onions, deeply caramelized, offered a rich sweetness that went well with the tartness of the apple slices and the drizzle of balsamic glaze added the perfect tang to it. Then I ate the Stuffed Mushrooms, made from a species of button mushrooms that had white caps striped with blue. They had been stuffed full of a heavenly mixture of butter, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, and thyme. The Apple and Walnut Salad was refreshingly crunchy and bright-tasting though Lari and Kharli, two voracious meat-eaters, turned up their noses at it and only ate a few of the mushrooms.


    The next dish served was a Pepper Spice Soup made of chicken, onions, pepper, curry, ginger, and over a dozen other vegetables and spices.


    I lifted the spoon to my lips, inhaling the aromatic steam before tasting it. The tender chicken melted in my mouth, while the curry and ginger provided a warm, spicy undercurrent. Each spoonful unveiled new layers of taste: the sweetness of the onions, the tanginess of the tomato, the creaminess of the coconut milk, and the spiciness of the curry.


    Next on the menu were the two main dishes. The first was Roast Beef with Vegetables. The second was Poached Carp Stuffed with Herbs and Smelt.


    I cut through the tender carp with my fork, revealing a fragrant interior stuffed with lemon, thyme, oregano, and parsley along with dried smelt, a small silvery fish. The delicate fish melted on my tongue, its mild flavor complemented by the aromatic herbs and the salty smelt stuffing. The flavor combination was strange and novel. Perhaps it was an acquired taste?


    I preferred the Roast Beef which was both familiar and more hearty. Slices of roast beef were artfully arranged on a platter with a medley of vegetables: roasted carrots, green beans, and potatoes. Brussels sprouts added a charred, nutty flavor, while mashed parsnips provided a creamy texture. Each bite of the tender beef, combined with the varied textures and flavors of the vegetables, created a satisfying meal.


    By this time, I was almost full, but I did save some space in my stomach for the dessert, an amazing Eight-layer Trifle. It came in a large crystal bowl with whipped cream on top sprinkled with chocolate dust. The layers of sponge biscuits, sweet custard, fresh fruit slices, and sweet cheese looked very pretty.


    A smiling Yinuo scooped up a good portion for me and I dove right into it with my dessert spoon. It was a simple sweet treat that hit all the right spots with its sweetness, freshness, and balance of different textures. The peach slices that had been soaked in wine were particularly good.


    We all had second servings of the dessert.


    ***


    Before I went to bed, I reread the quest text. I had put off thinking about it until after the planting season, which meant that I should deal with it now.


    [Grove of the Harvest Goddess:


    Acquire a Miracle Flower from the Dawn Skyblade Sect.


    Find and restore the Sacred Grove of the Harvest Goddess.


    Requirements: 2 Jades, 2 Pearls, and 2 Peridots.


    Reward: Alchemy Cauldron, Farming Exp]

 Chapter 182.5 - The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm

    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    Wasn¡¯t it enough that Baroness Violet gave Prince Baiyu a set of ¡°diamonds¡± more valuable than the ruling family¡¯s greatest treasures?


    My staff were all alarmed when I received a package from Emberstone Farm that radiated an intense qi. Violet wrote in the accompanying message that she wanted to sell more of the pills which should be useful in the upcoming demon extermination.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    I sent my staff away and opened the package to reveal a vial of luminous pills that were irregularly round like baroque pearls and shimmering with a kaleidoscope of colors¡ªred, blue, yellow, black, and white. Their surfaces swirled with intricate patterns, each hue blending into the next.


    Clearly, these pills were another rare treasure.


    I went to see the Dawn Skyblade Sect¡¯s Venerable Immortal Sage who identified it as the Supreme Celestial Dragon Shield Aura Pill, a legendary pill second only in its protective properties to the Black Tortoise''s Immortal Blessing Pill. He promised to keep the pills¡¯ existence to himself for three days to allow me time to send a message to the Lady of the West.


    How many times does Violet plan to upend the economy?

 Chapter 183 - Slime Pet body modification

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 183 - Does this quest seem like a reel phony?</h2>


    ??????


    I awoke refreshed after dreaming about hiking in a mountain forest with a cute little dragon child. We had lots of fun, and he taught me how to use a leaf whistle to call down the birds from the sky.


    My morning coffee always tasted better after one of my dragon dreams, and this morning was especially nice since the kitchen staff were experimenting with adding powdered mushrooms to the brew. It made coffee a little muddier in taste, but it added a certain zest to it that was hard to describe. I think it somehow enhanced the effects of the caffeine.


    Outside the [Ranch House], tender green shoots were emerging from the freshly turned soil, unfurling tiny green leaves. The air was cool and sweet. According to Fengying, her husband had theorized that the weather had been extremely hot during the summer because the continent¡¯s qi was affected by the descent of the demon egg, and now that the qi imbalance had abated, the weather had returned to normal.


    My eyes wandered over the rows of sprouting seedlings, looking for any problem spots such as weeds or pests, but everything looked great. I waited a few minutes for the kids to arrive before we watered the plants. I took charge of the tea field, while the others divided the work of the rice and vegetable fields.


    I made my way to the field, watering can in hand and Mr. Bear by my side. The morning dew still clung to the grass, dampening the sides of my simple cotton shoes and Mr. Bear¡¯s feet as we walked.


    The air filled with the earthy scent of wet soil as I carefully watered the tea seedlings. This quiet, simple daily ritual was very soothing, and as I worked, I found myself humming tunelessly. When I finished watering the last row, I stepped back and surveyed my work.


    All done!


    The plants glistened with droplets from the recent watering, each leaf reflecting the soft morning light. The soil, damp and rich, felt cool to the touch. I wiped my brow with a handkerchief and felt a quiet pride in the sight of the tidy rows of crops in the fields.


    I put the watering can back in my System inventory and went off to visit Cutie, secure in the knowledge that Lari, Kharli, and Mo knew what to do and didn¡¯t need me to watch over their shoulders.


    Cutie was outside her house in the small plot of land I had designated as her playground. Cutie was using her slime tentacles to bounce here and there like a demented eight-legged spider-slime. Though it was rather uncute, I did appreciate that my pet was somehow leveling herself up in terms of body modification. Her control over her appendages was very fine, and I often saw her carefully plucking leaves and flower petals off the plants one by one.


    ¡°Cutie, let¡¯s go walk around the farm!¡± I gathered her into my arms, and we set off with Mr. Bear trailing behind us.


    Soon we would be able to leave the farm to Fish, Hunt, and Forage, but today Cutie and I simply strolled south. I put her down so we could both have some exercise, and I was amused to discover that Cutie could now move on two tentacle ¡°legs¡± like a human. ¡°Sweetie, are you copying me? Aw, who¡¯s a clever girl?¡±


    Soon enough, she got tired of walking like me and started bouncing around like normal. As we ventured south, the path wound around the fields we had cleared which were planted with the [Wild Seed Mix]. The edges of the fields were full of mature trees that we hadn¡¯t chopped down in order to provide a windbreak and for the aesthetic value.


    In this part of the farm, the fields were picture-perfect, full of wild green grasses and colorful wildflowers that swayed gracefully in the breeze. We walked under the shade of the trees, leaves crunching wetly underneath my boots and Cutie making a squishy-sounding ¡°boing boing¡± sound until we reached the riverbank, where crystal-clear waters flowed gently over smooth stones. I sat down on a large rock and, taking out a fishing rod from the System tool belt, placed the bait on the steel hook then cast it towards the spot in the water that was sparkling.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    [Easy Fishing Hack Activated]


    This spot was the nearest and most convenient location for Fishing, but only beginner fish that were pretty cheap could be found here. However, now that it was the fall season of the second year, there was a common but seasonal item I wanted to catch.


    [Whisperfin:


    A small and agile fish with fins that emit a faint, soothing hum when they swim. Fishermen believe their presence brings calm to the waters.]


    A System notification screen popped up after a few minutes, indicating that a fish had taken the bait.


    [Hit!]


    Normally, a little mini-game would appear right about now. It involved a fish icon bobbing up and down whose movements I had to match with the movements of my fishing rod, but with the [Easy Fishing Hack], all I had to do was steadily lift my rod above the water and the fish I had caught automatically appeared in my inventory.


    Surrounded by the peaceful ambiance of rustling leaves and the occasional splash of a leaping fish, I spent a lovely morning Fishing along the tranquil riverbank.


    ***


    I missed my boyfriend a lot in the next few days, but I was comforted by the return of Scholar Wu, who arrived with two flying ox carts full of gifts from Prince Baiyu and his parents.


    One cart was full of demon kills that Deming and his assistants quickly took charge of. They dragged the animal carcasses away to process them by butchering and portioning them for cooking or later use. Most of the meat would be refrigerated or frozen while other parts would be salted, dried, smoked, cured, pickled, and so forth.


    The second ox cart held various treasures and household items of symbolic significance, such as a tea set, signifying a wish for longevity and happiness, and kitchenware that signified abundance and prosperity, as well as being practical and beautiful.


    The maids and my apprentices, like a flock of magpies drawn to shiny things, crowded over the chests of silk cloth, jade jewelry, and gold trinkets.


    Yinuo pulled out a length of cloth from a box and showed it to us. ¡°Look at this bolt of silk brocade! This shade of red is perfect for a bride.¡±


    Lari held up a pair of gold bracelets set with pearls. ¡°I bet these are worth more than a three-story house in Anwei.¡±


    Kharli poked a set of earrings. ¡°White jade¡­¡±


    ¡°Prince Baiyu¡¯s name means white jade!¡± Mo elbowed Kharli who giggled and elbowed her back.


    ¡°It has a note saying that it¡¯s from him. The prince is sending her a symbol of his love.¡± Kharli sighed.


    I let them talk while Fengying and I checked the list of things sent, comparing it to the contents of the boxes, and making sure every item was undamaged by the journey. When we were done doing inventory, I sent Yinuo to store the items in my bedroom in the main house.


    Scholar Wu, Fengying, and I discussed our schedule for the next few weeks.


    The Wu family had assigned Scholar Wu some tasks that she needed to complete before winter, but she should have plenty of time to teach the kids. She also wanted to join us during our Foraging and Hunting trips.


    Regarding the [Grove of the Harvest Goddess] quest, I needed Fengying¡¯s help to organize it.


    ¡°Wonderful,¡± I said as I noted down the dates we agreed on. ¡°Please buy what we¡¯ll need in Anwei.¡±


    ¡°My lady, is this going to be the same as last time?¡± asked Fengying.


    ¡°Last time? What do you mean?¡± I tilted my head and gave her a quizzical look.


    ¡°When the household flew south to witness the descent of the demon.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I looked away and laughed awkwardly. ¡°No, no, this is just the restoration of a derelict temple. There¡¯s nothing dangerous or weird about it, I promise.¡±


    Ever the professional, Fengying simply nodded, her face expressionless.


    Scholar Wu, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow so high it nearly disappeared into her hairline.


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± I shook my head and gave Fengying a letter. ¡°All I need is the [Miracle Flower] from the Dawn Skyblade Sect.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that flower. They¡¯re not too hard to grow,¡± said Scholar Wu. ¡°The sect should have a few they can sell to you.¡±


    She turned out to be right. Three days later, the Venerable Immortal Sage sent the flower, and I sent the payment, a few gold coins, via the White Tiger clan¡¯s bank.


    We were all set for another simple and fun adventure!


    But first, I needed to use the [Curious Cloth Contraption] to make more gifts since Prince Baiyu¡¯s family had sent me a lot of good things.

 Chapter 184 - Wondrously Whimsical Workshop

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 184 - Jest in time: Beware, don''t clown around in there!</h2>


    ??????


    My original plan had been to use the [Curious Cloth Contraption] that I could use to turn raw [Fiber], an item that randomly appeared when cutting grass, into [Cloth], but Fengying nixed the idea since the White Tiger clan derived most of its wealth from silk. I didn¡¯t want to rock the boat.


    Also, when I raised the question of giving presents in return, Scholar Wu told me not to give more since the [Diamonds] had been more than enough, and adding to it would just burden Prince Baiyu¡¯s family.


    However, when we were talking about it, I jokingly mentioned the [Wondrously Whimsical Workshop], and my apprentices begged me to let them see it.


    How bored were they?!


    I did as they asked and temporarily replaced a [Rice Mill] with the requested building. Everyone in my household recoiled when they saw the monstrosity I had unleashed.


    [Wondrously Whimsical Workshop:


    Come one, come all! Enter a mysterious world in which your unwanted items are turned into treasures!]


    The workshop building looked like a circus funhouse and the front was designed to look like a clown¡¯s face, with large, colorful swirling patterns for its eyes, a bulbous red nose, and an open mouth ringed with yellowish square teeth as the door.


    Lifting the striped red and white cloth covering the entrance, I took a peek inside and then smirked at my apprentices, gesturing for them to go inside first.


    Kharli was the first to enter.


    ¡°How cute!¡± Kharli exclaimed.


    That triggered the crowd to all rush inside, and they saw a very normal-looking large square room with wooden walls. In the middle was an enormous wooden table with a glass dome on it that covered half a dozen colorful, elaborate contraptions with tons of small moving parts. I racked my brain for a long time before I remembered the correct term for them. They were Rube Goldberg devices.


    The normality of the room decor was unexpected. Of course, in the game the player just clicked on the buildings and didn¡¯t physically enter, so I thought the interior would also be circus-themed. Instead, the space inside was colorful but restrained and tasteful compared to the tawdry exterior.


    When a player clicked on the building in the game, a circus-themed interface popped up where one could load items and choose from one to eight levers to pull up, down, or sideways. Pushing the [Start] button would then make the player¡¯s items disappear and a new one take its place.


    It was inevitable that people tried all sorts of lever combinations until it was proven that the outcome was random.


    The [Wondrously Whimsical Workshop] was theoretically a recycling machine that turned trash items into sellable ones. For example, [Burnt Food] could be loaded into it and turned into one of the hundreds of items the workshop made. In reality, the building was so overused that when one tried to sell its products, either in the player auction house or to the NPC stores, one was rewarded with exactly zero coins.


    In this world, it could only be used as a source of entertainment since I doubted people would actually want to buy stuff like [Bottle of Sand], [Bag of Seashells], [Paper Coin], [Grey Stone], [Ant Eaten Bread], [Empty Capsule], and so forth, though there were a few rare items that might be pretty enough to keep such as the plushies, key rings, and figurines.


    ¡°Okay, here¡¯s how it works. Put some items from my bloodline inheritance here.¡± I went to the part of the table that had the leaf-and-flower-themed Rube Goldberg device and dropped [Burnt Strawberries] into the chute below it. ¡°Kids, help the others by putting the junk inside. This building takes the junk and turns it into¡­ you¡¯ll see.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I grinned at the others, not hiding my glee at what was to come.


    ¡°Now pull the lever any way you want.¡± Demonstrating that the levers beneath the table could move, I placed them in the Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, and Right positions. ¡°When you¡¯re satisfied, press this big red button.¡±


    Everyone waited with bated breath.


    A marble dropped into a tiny wooden bucket that fell on its side, triggering a spring. The spring''s force rotated wooden gears, which turned a wheel. The wheel tugged on a string attached to a lever, which tipped over a cup of water. The water poured into a funnel, filling a small weight. As the weight grew heavier, it pulled down a pulley, releasing a ball. The ball rolled down a track, hitting a series of dominoes. The last domino nudged a tiny wooden car, which rolled forward and bumped into a lever. The lever swung upward and struck a bell, ringing it loudly.


    A few of the others screamed and jumped back in shock when a clown doll popped out of a concealed opening beneath the table. The sound of hysterical laughter came from above, no doubt from hidden speakers.


    Laughing merrily, I took the gift box the doll had in its hand. The clown popped back into its hidden compartment, and I said to Kharli, ¡°Feeling lucky? This is the prize.¡±


    I handed her the brightly wrapped box.


    Unlike children from Earth, the people here valued paper, so they didn¡¯t tear the wrapping. We all waited patiently as Kharli painstakingly removed the box¡¯s paper covering that was printed with colorful clowns.


    Kharli¡¯s brow furrowed as she turned the item over and over in her hands. ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ [Piece of String]?¡±


    I burst out laughing. ¡°Sorry, better luck next time. Half the time, the machine¡¯s ¡®prizes¡¯ are junk items.¡±


    Kharli pursed her lips, but Mo and Lari turned to me with sparkling eyes and expectant expressions.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the stuff. Help the others and don¡¯t quarrel, okay?¡± Putting down a dozen buckets of burnt food for the kids to use, I circled the table to check what was on offer. The device I had set off was painted with flowers and leaves, while the others had interesting dragon, rocket ship, octopus, pirate, dinosaur, robot, unicorn, and clown themes.


    Grabbing a bucket, Lari put a piece of [Burnt Dough] in the chute below the dragon-themed device. ¡°I¡¯m next!¡±


    What followed was a time of flashing lights, ringing bells, clown laughter, and the groans of disappointed players, punctuated by cheers from time to time when the prize turned out to be something good.


    ¡°I got a tiger toy!¡± The lucky Haoran held up the plushie for everyone to see.


    ¡°I want one! Why do I keep getting junk?!¡± lamented Yinuo.


    Fengying let them play with the machines for the rest of the morning, until she made the staff leave to prepare lunch, promising that they could return after the meal to play some more until dinner. The kids and staff got so addicted that they returned to playing the junk game after the evening and after the kids left, the adults made a party of it, bringing chairs, tables, food, drink, and musical instruments to mockingly accompany the clown¡¯s ever-present and annoying cackling. This was helped by the discovery that the machines could be operated by adding back the junk items it disgorged, which I think was a bug, but it was harmless, so I ignored it.


    Deming got hooked on the game, obsessively playing the pirate-themed part of the table for hours at a time, his eyes red and glowing with gambling fever. Yinuo told me that Fengying had to drag him away from the table at dawn.


    The same pattern of behavior continued for the rest of the week. I was supposed to put the [Rice Mill] back the next day, but it took six whole days for them to finally get bored of it.


    An unexpected and unwelcome result of my unadvisedly letting people use the [Wondrously Whimsical Workshop] was the sudden proliferation of clown-themed items in the house.


    Lari even suggested that we ask Muchen to paint a clown on our front door!


    ***


    ¡°My lady, are you sure there won¡¯t be a demon there this time?¡± Scholar Wu peered worriedly at the map I was holding.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure! It¡¯s just a forest shrine I want to clean up.¡± I turned to the flying carriage¡¯s driver and pointed at what I thought was the proper location on the map. ¡°It should be somewhere around here. Please look for a landing place nearby.¡±


    The temple was roughly twenty minutes away by flying carriage if my guess was correct.


    ¡°Yes, my lady. I¡¯ll show it to the others.¡± The driver took the map and went off to consult the drivers of the flying ox carts that we would also be using.


    Scholar Wu, Fengying, Deming, and half of the staff were coming with the kids and me to help with the temple restoration. The Commander of the Ancient Hill Forest¡¯s Tiger Spirit Division was also coming with us, along with a few guards. We made quite a sizable party, and I used my inventory to bring along as much food, supplies, and cleaning tools as Fengying thought we would need.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± My step was light as I walked to the carriage with Scholar Wu and my apprentices. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to work hard today.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s nothing dangerous there?¡± asked Scholar Wu again.


    I entered the vehicle and settled down on the plush seats. ¡°I really think it will just be a simple cleaning-up errand. The Harvest Goddess¡¯ temple should be a nice and peaceful place.¡±


    And so we set off on our next fun adventure.

 Chapter 185 - Quest: Grove of the Harvest Goddess

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 185 - Grove-y Times with the Harvest Goddess Quest</h2>


    ??????


    With the Commander and her men flying ahead of us, we traveled to the site, a densely wooded area of the Ancient Hill Forest, without incident. We alighted from the flying carriage, and I walked a little away from it to check the map¡¯s [Guide Mode]. Glowing yellow dots appeared on the ground, visible only to me.


    Raising an arm to indicate the direction that the System showed me, I said, ¡°It¡¯s that way.¡±


    We started walking, with the Commander and the guards taking point. Along the way, I managed to Forage some [Acorns], [Wild Raspberries], and some lovely [Autumn Berries], the red silver-dotted fruit of the [Autumn Olive] tree.


    ¡°I see it!¡± one of the guards yelled back at us. He was standing in the middle of an oak grove, in front of a large mound of brown leaves which he had brushed aside to reveal white marble.


    ¡°That must be it!¡± Waving at the helpful guard, I strode forward knowing that it was the right place because the line of yellow dots ended at the mound.


    [Grove of the Harvest Goddess:


    Acquire a Miracle Flower from the Dawn Skyblade Sect.


    Find and restore the Sacred Grove of the Harvest Goddess.


    Requirements: 2 Jades, 2 Pearls, and 2 Peridots.


    Reward: Alchemy Cauldron, Farming Exp]


    I already had the flower, so all I needed to do was to clean up the Goddess¡¯ open-air temple and make it ready to receive offerings.


    We cleared the wet leaves, rotting twigs, and other forest debris from the altar, which turned out to be a small pedestal made of white marble shot through with pink and gold strands of color. I quickly took out the tools and cleaning materials that Fengying had asked me to bring, along with dozens of buckets of water from my inventory. Further work with a rake around the base of the plinth uncovered a patch of ground that had been covered by a low wooden platform, whose boards were now too rotten to repair.


    Fengying and the others discussed how they should restore the place while the kids and I explored the area looking for the Sacred Grove¡¯s six pillars. Though I had done this quest in Adventure Incarnate a long time ago, I still remembered some details since it was a very scenic spot close to the farm.


    Mo¡¯s talent for Foraging came in handy as she found tons of mushrooms and [Acorns], but the real find was a rare [Harvest Bloom]. Though it had no practical purpose, it was delightful to look at and was a collectible.


    [Harvest Bloom:


    An exquisite little flower that grows only in the shade of the oldest sacred groves, and only when the moon is full. Its petals shimmer in hues of gold, amber, and deep crimson, the colors of ripened grains and autumn harvests.]


    ¡°Well done!¡± I took the proffered flower and inhaled its scent before giving it back to her. ¡°This is a sacred flower. Let¡¯s plant it in our [Insectary Garden] at home.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, may I Forage later when we¡¯re done?¡± Mo looked around at what the others were doing. ¡°If we finish early.¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Seeing that Fengying and Deming were supervising the other staff¡¯s cleaning-up efforts, I picked up the pace and stopped looking around for mushrooms, concentrating on finding the pillars instead. My efforts were rewarded shortly when I stumbled across a fallen pillar made of the same marble as the pedestal. ¡°Step back, please.¡±


    Scholar Wu, who had been silently observing us since we found the grove, raised a hand and said, ¡°One moment, my lady.¡±


    She bent down to brush leaves and dirt from the marble and examined it closely before allowing us to approach. ¡°It appears to be an ordinary standing stone.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I thought it was a pillar based on its graphics in the game, but it must be a standing stone in this world since that was what Scholar Wu called it. Using the System¡¯s [Build] tool, I raised the stone and placed it upright. The others, who were quite used to me moving things around, barely reacted. ¡°What a large standing stone!¡±


    The stone was carved like a Greek or maybe Roman pillar. I didn¡¯t know the difference between them, but it was pretty much like what I would have expected a pillar in the Parthenon to look like. It was around ten feet tall and too wide for me to circle with both arms. At around waist height was a small groove in which I tried to place the gems I had in my inventory. It rejected the [Peridot] and [Jade] but the [Pearl] slid in and locked into place.


    I dusted off my hands with a clean handkerchief. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s one. We need to find the other five.¡±


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    Perhaps because we now knew what the standing stones looked like, finding the other ones was a piece of cake. In just under an hour, I was able to find all six, place them upright, and insert the gems without any problems.


    Our job finished, we went back to the tree in the middle of the grove where the staff was cleaning the pedestal and sanctuary area where, according to Scholar Wu, worshippers would kneel down and offer gifts to the goddess.


    ¡°The wooden planks are too rotted to use,¡± Fengying reported. ¡°We¡¯re clearing the ground and placing a thick carpet on it. The altar and statue are being washed and polished. The work should be done in around one hour.¡±


    I could see for myself that the staff were all busy. When I offered to help, Fengying waved me along and told me they had more than enough people working on it.


    Shrugging, I turned to my apprentices and Scholar Wu. ¡°Let¡¯s go Foraging then.¡±


    I waved to the Commander and her guards, who were standing watch over the grove, and told her what I wanted to do.


    The Commander cut quite a gallant figure today in her black clothes and leather armor, with two swords slung on her left side. She had cut her long auburn hair short, and the new style suited her angular face very well, reminding me of a younger, more muscular Tilda Swinton.


    ¡°This part of the forest should be safe enough. I¡¯ll go with you and leave the guards here,¡± she said.


    We set off in the opposite direction from which we arrived. Leaves crunched underfoot, and the air was bracingly cool and fresh. Our voices were merry as we chatted while keeping a lookout for anything edible.


    Autumn was a great season for Foraging and we managed to collect a few ripe [Blackberries] which we ate as we walked. A copse of [Persimmon Trees] provided us with plenty of Foraging exp. Like harvesting crops, Foraging could be done either manually or by using the System. Since we were rushed for time, we simply mentally clicked on the tree and Foraged that way, with the fruit automatically appearing in our inventories.


    ¡°There are so many [Persimmons]! Each tree must have at least a hundred!¡± Mo gazed up at a tree with adoring eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t wait until our orchards can be harvested.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll level up fast.¡± Kharli nudged Mo¡¯s shoulder with hers. ¡°Come one, let¡¯s continue or Lari will get all the exp.¡±


    ¡°No one is getting all the exp.¡± I smiled indulgently. ¡°Two trees for each of us, no cheating!¡±


    Lari gave the girls a reproachful look. ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t mean me, right? I never cheat! You¡¯re just mad that I always win at Connect Four.¡±


    The [Persimmon] harvest was the highlight of our walk. After that, we walked back to the grove and found that the staff had indeed finished their work. The marble pedestal was spotless and the statue of the goddess, which Scholar Wu told us was made of sardonyx, was glossy and looked brand new.


    The statue of the Harvest Goddess was deceptively simple and plain, made of stone and without any additional accessories like gold or gems. The sardonyx¡¯s natural banding of red, brown, and white lent it a sense of depth and texture to the figure, enhancing the details of her draped robes. The statue¡¯s face was masterfully crafted in a minimalist way to suggest a slight smile and serene expression.


    I knelt on the carpet set in front of the pedestal and dug a small hole in the ground in front of it. Then I watered the dirt and planted the [Miracle Flower] there.


    [Grove of the Harvest Goddess: Quest Complete


    Reward: Alchemy Cauldron, Farming Exp]


    [Congratulations you just advanced a Farming level!]


    [Your Farming level is now 28.]


    A new [Dragon¡¯s Pearl Cauldron of Unrivaled Mastery] appeared in an empty spot in my inventory. I was itching to examine it, but as I stood up, the six standing stones began to glow softly with a pink light which then slowly shot up, merging in the spot in the sky right above the Harvest Goddess¡¯ statue.


    The process was slow, and clearly not dangerous though the Commander and her men put their hands on their swords, adopting attitudes of alert readiness, their eyes scanning the surroundings for any unexpected threats.


    In contrast, Scholar Wu made several exclamations of delight and wrote down a few notes on a clay tablet. The others, including my three apprentices, enjoyed the light show.


    ¡°We should offer something,¡± said Kharli.


    Fengying, ever the thoughtful and efficient housekeeper, was way ahead of her. ¡°My lady, we brought rice balls for everyone. Rice products are what people most often offer to agricultural deities.¡±


    Leaning back on a tree for some rest, I nodded. ¡°Thanks, I think that would be good to use.¡±


    As the light from the pillars slowly intensified and then just as slowly died down, the others knelt in front of the pedestal and left rice balls on the ground in front of it. We waited a few minutes after the light disappeared, and then left when nothing else happened.


    ¡°Could you please tell Shuye what happened?¡± I said to the Commander as we walked back to the flying carriage.


    ¡°Certainly. I¡¯ll send a report,¡± she said.


    Turning my head to look behind me at Scholar Wu, I said, ¡°You see? There¡¯s no demon or anything bad here.¡±


    Scholar Wu chuckled.


    ¡°And it was fun, wasn¡¯t it?¡± I added.


    ¡°Yes, it was.¡±


    Scholar Wu walked forward to my side, and the Commander made way for her.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay here. I¡¯d like to monitor the qi levels at the grove,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    I gave her an astonished look. ¡°What? By yourself?¡±


    She chuckled again. ¡°I¡¯d like the Commander to leave one of the guards here.¡±


    We both looked at the Commander, who nodded her agreement.


    Scholar Wu and the Commander went over the details, and when they were done, I asked them if there was anything strange about the qi levels in the grove.


    ¡°Not at all. The qi level is very normal. That¡¯s why I want to monitor it,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Huh? Well, suit yourself.¡± Shrugging, I browsed my inventory and pulled out some items that would help her camp out in the forest tonight. Most of my items had the [Bound] status and could only be used by me, but I did have a few things she could use, like spare clothes and a blanket. However, she refused since she said that her maid could bring her what she needed from her rooms at the farm. ¡°Okay, take care of yourself.¡±


    We parted ways, and when we got back to the farm, the ever-capable Fengying took charge of making sure that Scholar Wu¡¯s maid had everything she needed. Thus, I was free to return to my [Ranch House] to check out my quest reward, the [Dragon¡¯s Pearl Cauldron of Unrivaled Mastery].


    ¡°Oh my gosh!¡± I put a hand on my chest and sank down onto my couch after I checked the cauldron twice to make sure I wasn¡¯t imagining things. ¡°This is crazy!¡±

 Chapter 186 - A breakthrough in alchemy

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 186 - Elixir-ating Alchemy Progress</h2>


    ??????


    At first, I thought my new cauldron was faster than the old one, but I was wrong. The [Dragon¡¯s Pearl Cauldron of Unrivaled Mastery] upgraded items at the same speed as the [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron], but it could handle three items at a time, effectively tripling the output of [Automatic Alchemy].


    With the new cauldron, I also unlocked the compounding function, which was a way to combine two or more pills or potions into one, thereby making them stronger or last longer.


    For example, five [Dewy Glow Potions] could be compounded to make one [Ageless Beauty Essence], with a corresponding difference in their text description, and, presumably, a stronger effect on the skin.


    [Dewy Glow Potion:


    This Dewy Glow potion is formulated with natural ingredients to help improve your skin¡¯s appearance.


    To use, simply apply a few drops of the potion to your face and body after cleansing. Gently massage it into your skin until it¡¯s fully absorbed. You can use this potion morning and night for best results.]


    While the original potion simply improved the skin, the upgraded one allegedly makes the skin look younger.


    [Ageless Beauty Essence:


    This potion is formulated with natural ingredients to restore your skin''s youthful vitality.


    To use, simply apply a few drops of the potion to your face and body after cleansing. Gently massage it into your skin until it¡¯s fully absorbed. For best results, use this potion morning and night.]


    However, combining five [Five Elements Pills] simply turned them into a [Supreme Five Elements Pill], with the only difference being the duration of the effect and a slight boost in its defensive capabilities. The basic pill lasted for fifteen minutes, while the compounded one was good for one hour.


    [Supreme Five Elements Pill:


    Crafted from potent herbs, it harmonizes with the wielder''s aura to strengthen elemental defenses against earth, fire, water, wood, and metal magical attacks.


    Duration: 60 minutes]


    In the game, using this item resulted in a minimum of a 20% damage reduction and up to a maximum of 90%, depending on the player''s and enemy''s levels, which was 10% higher than the basic [Five Elements Pill].


    ...But I would really hate to get even 10% damaged in the real world!


    Remembering my fight with the demon rats last year, I shuddered.


    I definitely needed to take advantage of my prior knowledge of the fabled [Diamond Shield] and its power. My mind raced as I thought of a plan to get my hands on the shield. While I was thinking it over, I cleared more space in my living room and set down the cauldron in the center.


    That night, I loaded the cauldron up with the maximum number of [Five Elements Pills] it could hold and turned it on. When I woke up, I had a few handfuls of [Supreme Five Elements Pills] which I sent off as a gift to Prince Baiyu. Then I Ioaded the [Dragon¡¯s Pearl Cauldron of Unrivaled Mastery] with [Strength Potions] to make [Mega Strength Potions], and with [Antipoison Potions] to make [Fortified Antipoison]. Both were slightly more potent and doubled in duration, which was a little disappointing because using five potions should''ve logically resulted in a product that was five times as powerful. I also compounded [Dewy Glow Potions] and gave the resulting [Ageless Beauty Essence] to Fengying for testing.


    ***


    Over the next few weeks, Scholar Wu visited the Grove of the Harvest Goddess every day to check the qi levels. For some reason, she seemed shocked that whenever she measured the qi in the grove, it was always normal.


    The rice plants grew tall enough for us to flood the rice field and release fingerling [Rice Carp] and [Cleaner Shrimp] into the paddy¡¯s water. Due to the increased qi levels on the farm, the tea plants grew fast and developed a strong fragrance that boded well for this season¡¯s harvest. The vegetables seemed to be thriving, too.


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    As the leaves on the trees in the forest turned brown and red, we harvested some of the plants in the [Herb Garden].


    ¡°The prize is yours. Congratulations!¡± I crowned Lari with a circlet made of silk leaves and flowers. ¡°You can tell Fengying what you want to eat for your winner¡¯s banquet next week.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lari cheekily bowed to me and the others.


    Kharli and Mo clapped as Lari cleared his throat and started a winning speech in a mock-serious tone.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± Lari strutted about with his chest puffed out and his chin up. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have done this without the help of [Kola Kola Soda] and [Tea]. Thanks to the sun for shining down on me and the moon for lighting up my nights and the-¡±


    Kharli cut his speech short. ¡°Oh shut up and harvest the [Rosemary] already! We have homework to do!¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m going out to Forage today,¡± said Mo.


    The qi levels in the forest had finally stabilized enough that the animals had stopped behaving weirdly. Lari, Kharli, Mo, and I, like wild animals just released from their cages, were absolutely raring to go outside the farm to Forage, Fish, and Hunt.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s start,¡± I said.


    Not all of the plants in the [Herb Garden] were ready for harvest yet. The [Ginseng] in particular, though it was an extremely valuable item, wouldn¡¯t be ready for another year, maybe two. Most of the plants were perennials that could be harvested more than once, like the [Mint], [Thyme], and [Sage], but a few like the [Ginseng], [Sweetroot], and [Scarlet Yam] had to be dug up and replanted.


    The work was easy and pleasant enough, with the autumn sun shining down on us and a cool breeze lifting the hair away from my face.


    We finished plucking leaves, digging up roots, and cutting off stems laden with flowers, fruit, and seeds in less than an hour since the [Herb Garden] wasn¡¯t that large.


    Stretching my aching back by bending backward at the waist, I sighed and put down my basket full of herbs. ¡°Let¡¯s hand these over to Fengying, shall we? She¡¯ll know what to do with them.¡±


    I had the vague idea that the herbs needed to be dried or otherwise processed before storing them in our shared medicine cabinet.


    ¡°Yes, teacher, I¡¯ll give these to her before leaving.¡± Mo grabbed all our baskets and ran off.


    The girl was really in a rush!


    ¡°She¡¯s so eager.¡± Shaking my head, I turned to Lari and Kharli. ¡°Shall we have a snack before we leave?¡±


    ¡°I would like to go now, please.¡± Lari looked at the gate of the [Herb Garden] longingly and was off like a shot the moment I nodded my agreement.


    Kharli waved goodbye to him before saying to me, ¡°This has to be the first time Lari said no to food!¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t blame him. Yichen and the other hunters must already be waiting for him at the meeting place.¡±


    We walked to the rear of the garden where a small open-air dining area and lounge had been set up under the shade of a tall, decorative [Jade Rain Tree] I had bought from the Cash Shop. Kharli sat down on a wooden chair while I chose to sit on the sofa beside it.


    ¡°Tea or coffee?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Tea, please,¡± said Kharli.


    I put the tea kettle and other tea things on the coffee table for her to brew her own beverage while I poured myself a cup of hot coffee from a thermos that I had filled this morning from my coffee machine.


    ¡°So Lari will go Hunting with the others and Mo will be Foraging with her maid, while you will go Fishing with Scholar Wu?¡± I raised a cup and took a sip.


    Delicious.


    ¡°I¡¯m the last she went with! I can¡¯t believe Scholar Wu went Foraging with Mo and Hunting with Lari before me.¡±


    Kharli pouted a bit but cheered up when I offered her a plate of honey cookies from my inventory.


    I chuckled at her fake outrage. ¡°Isn¡¯t that because she already observed us Fishing in the river on the farm? Anyway, I heard you¡¯ve been doing very well with your studies.¡±


    ¡°We all have. Mo¡¯s really smart, too, and Lari would do much, much better if he wasn¡¯t so lazy.¡± Kharli suddenly slapped her mouth shut with a hand and gave me a horrified look, shocked at her own words. ¡°Teacher... Please forget I said that.¡±


    I waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s forgotten.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to say that.¡± She hastily stuffed her mouth with food to cover her embarrassment.


    The kids, of course, joked a lot about each others¡¯ shortcomings, but they would normally never speak ill of one another for real.


    ¡°Remember when you guys used to groan and complain about me hiring a tutor?¡± I smiled into my cup. ¡°Now you all love your classes.¡±


    ¡°We thought it would be like the classes in the orphanage.¡±


    ¡°One-on-one personalized tutoring is much better.¡±


    ¡°Yes, now I know why nobles are always boasting about being learned. Academics are much easier for them than commoners!¡±


    ¡°Of course. Rich people have the best tutors. Here, try these oatmeal cookies.¡±


    There wasn¡¯t much serious talk after that. We spent a few more minutes finishing off the cookies before leaving on our separate errands.


    ¡°See you at dinner!¡± I said to Kharli.


    ¡°See you at dinner, Teacher!¡±


    Now that the kids and Scholar Wu were gone, I had an important experiment to do at the Chitinous Caverns. I went to get Cutie and set off for the Mines.


    ¡°Time to use this thing!¡± I said to Mr. Bear as we stepped into the portal and arrived at our destination.


    Activating my puppet¡¯s [Guard Mode], I equipped my full set of [Aurite] melee armor which consisted of plate legs, plate body, helm, and gauntlets.


    [Aurite] was a fictional alloy from Adventure Incarnate made of steel and enchanted gold. A few older items were called [Luminite], but they were essentially the same thing. The only difference was that in the game, the newer items had updated graphics while the old ones lacked detail. In this world, it was the same, the [Luminite Armor] had slightly worse stats and their design was bulky, unlike [Aurite] items which were sleek and had fancy gold engravings.


    Sprinkling [Bone Melting Powder] on my [Aurite] sword using the System¡¯s [Use] command should temporarily give it a [Poison] effect. I was unsure of the strength and duration of the [Poison], so I wanted to test it out on some mobs.

 Chapter 187 - Combat Training using the [Bone Melting Powder]

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 187 - Mine-blowing combat arc</h2>


    ??????


    Though I really wanted to relax and have fun by leveling up my Foraging, Fishing, and Hunting like the kids were doing today, I needed to prepare myself for the World Boss Event by leveling up my combat stats.


    [Violet


    Level 42


    HP: 4,200/4,200


    MP: 35/35


    Strength: 30/99


    Attack: 33/99


    Archery: 42/99


    Magic: 11/99]


    I was basically still newbie-level!


    My Battle Rating, sometimes also called Battle Ranking, or BR for short, was abysmal. It was literally on the same level as an insect.


    [Violet


    Level 42


    HP: 4,200/4,200


    BR: 202]


    Taking the elevator up to level 95, I quickly drank a [Strength Potion] and ran to the ladder, which was a safe zone.


    [Insectoids:


    A strange insect-like creature that seems to be made of blue crystal.]


    This floor was full of [Insectoids] that had leveled up since last year when I had gotten lost here. I suspect that the cause was the coming of the Demon Monarch which has raised the qi level nearby.


    [Insectoids:


    Type: Melee


    Element: None


    BR: 296]


    With Mr. Bear in [Attack Mode] beside me, I placed a [Potato Cannon] down in front of us and loaded it with explosive potatoes. The noise it made when I set it off made all the spiders come running to me.


    While the cannon gave me Archery exp and Mr. Bear cast [Fireball] and gave me Magic exp, the combat screen showed me the Melee skills I could use, and I swung my blade with practiced ease though I wouldn¡¯t call it mastery just yet.


    [Sword Skills:


    Thrust


    Slash


    Blade Flurry]


    In time, I should be able to learn more advanced skills, but this was good enough for now. What I needed wasn¡¯t more skills, but, rather, to master the basic skills and increase my speed and stamina.


    [Slash:


    Swing an energy-infused sword in a powerful arc, dealing damage to an enemy. This ability has a small chance to knock back or stun the target.


    Cooldown: 5 seconds]


    The System guided my movements and I tried to put my weight behind it as I planted my feet apart and swung my sword down on an [Insectoid] with as much force as I could. Though it looked like it was made of crystal, its body felt like flesh as my sword cut off one of its front legs.


    Mr. Bear, seeing that this particular mob was my target, didn¡¯t need a command for me to tell him to hit it with a [Fireball].


    The ladder area was quite a good cheat since the shield around it blocked the monster¡¯s attack.


    [Mandible Smash:


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The insectoid delivers a quick snap with its mandibles, dealing significant damage in a rapid attack.]


    The monster struck, but it was bounced back by an invisible force field.


    In the game, the player¡¯s avatar wasn''t shown going up or down ladders. Instead, when a player clicked on a ladder, they simply reappeared on the level below or above it, depending on whether they selected the up or down button.


    In real life, the Chitinous Cavern used to be a mine before it was infested by aggressive monsters. The shield around the ladders must have been put there by the Mines¡¯ original owners to protect the workers. I theorized that they had tried to clear the caverns, but had obviously failed. Nonetheless, they left behind these few safe, shielded areas that I was now taking advantage of.


    Wasting no time, I lunged forward, piercing the monster with the tip of my sword.


    [Thrust:


    Lunge forward with the mana-infused sword, dealing damage to an enemy. This ability can break through enemy shields or armor, dealing a large amount of damage.


    Cooldown: 5 seconds]


    The [Insectoid¡¯s] HP bar was half empty, and I finished it off with my strongest sword skill.


    [Blade Flurry:


    Slash the enemy with a flurry of quick and powerful strikes. This ability is often used as a finishing move, as it can deal a large amount of damage in a short period of time.


    Cooldown: 30 seconds]


    Slashing diagonally at the enemy, my blade flashed with blue light as it cut deeply into the [Insectoid¡¯s] side. The second diagonal slash hit the other side, and the last stroke, a vertical slash, finished it off, almost bisecting it.


    My heart was pounding from the adrenaline as another monster rushed towards me and I dealt with it the same way. The [Potato Cannon] continued to fire, killing off the weaker ones before they reached me, and giving me a good amount of Archery exp in the process. However, since Mr. Bear wasn¡¯t that high-level, the Magic exp from his spells was negligible.


    When I had fought these monsters before, they didn¡¯t have any skills, but now some of them could use [Mandible Smash] and, shockingly, [Metamorphosis].


    [Metamorphosis:


    The monster transforms into a more powerful form temporarily, increasing its speed and strength.]


    ¡°What?! How come these trash mobs have a sick skill like that?¡± I said to Mr. Bear. ¡°It¡¯s so unfair when monsters have cooler skills than players!¡±


    After killing a few more [Insectoids], I switched to a regular sword that didn¡¯t have [Bone Melting Powder] on it.


    ¡°Ah! There¡¯s no difference!¡± I complained out loud to no one in particular.


    The mobs here were simply too low-level for me to really check the [Poison] effect since I killed them too fast. Therefore, the next time an [Insectoid] came up to me, I used the poisoned sword on it a few times without using a skill. The mob did get the [Poison] status after I hit it three times with my sword, but it bled out and died before the [Poison] had any real effect.


    Since the [Bone Melting Powder] didn¡¯t seem to be helping me, and I couldn¡¯t test on stronger monsters because I wasn¡¯t feeling suicidal, I decided to put it out of my mind. It was better to concentrate on training Melee.


    Half an hour later, my arms were getting tired, so I took a break and drank some water while I rested on a folding chair. It was quite funny to see the [Insectoids¡¯] futile efforts to attack me through the barrier.


    ¡°Let¡¯s work hard,¡± I said to Mr. Bear when I felt ready to continue.


    I killed monsters there until noon when I took another break to eat my lunch before continuing my training until I was too tired to continue. When it was time for me to leave, I took out [Staircases] from my inventory and set them down on the ground in front of me.


    [Staircase:


    A one-use item that instantly creates a way down a floor of the Chitinous Mines.]


    I had unthinkingly used these items a lot last year since I was in a pinch, but these days, I thought it was pretty weird to have an item that makes temporary staircases when placed on solid ground. I¡¯d tried to use a [Staircase] outside of the Mines, but the System wouldn¡¯t let me put them down anywhere else.


    Sighing at the thought of what could have been, I put Mr. Bear in [Guard Mode] and climbed up to sit on his shoulders so that he could run down the staircases down to the lowest level where the portal back to my [Ranch House] was located. I was pretty sure that [Staircases] were also a safe spot, but I lived by the motto that discretion was the better part of valor, so I took no chances and had my puppet run as fast as he could. We weren¡¯t attacked.


    Once we were on the bottom floor, I relaxed and went to harvest the [Mushroom Cave] and [Mini Hydroponic Farm] before returning to my home.


    The next day, I switched to an [Aurite Battle Axe] and wreaked havoc on the [Insectoids]. Somehow, possibly because I used an axe to Woodcut a lot, this was the weapon that I was most comfortable with. The chopping movements just felt more natural to me. Unfortunately, though the axe was great, and I still trained it to master its skills, it was slower than the sword, which meant I got less exp, so I didn¡¯t use it as my primary training weapon.


    [Aurite Battle Axe:


    This two-handed war axe was crafted from Aurite, a legendary metal known for its near-indestructibility and exceptional sharpness. A slow but remarkably powerful weapon.]


    My axe skills were basic, but effective.


    [Battle Axe Skills:


    Slash


    Chop


    Frenzy]


    The [Slash] and [Chop] skills were the usual energy-infused strikes, but [Frenzy] was a lot more powerful and could hit more than one enemy, though it was exhausting to use.


    [Frenzy:


    Unleash a whirlwind of destruction by swinging the battle axe in wide, powerful arcs that will send your enemies reeling.


    Cooldown: 35 seconds]


    In fact, the heavy axe was overall more tiring to train with compared to the sword.


    ¡°Mr. Bear, you never get tired, but I do.¡± Sinking into a chair, I ignored the [Insectoids] around me and took off my helmet to wipe my sweaty face with a handkerchief.


    Was it time for me to leave?


    Yes, I decided. These monsters were low-level, yet I shouldn¡¯t be careless by staying until I was too tired to fight them properly.


    ¡°It¡¯s cool, Mr. Bear. We¡¯ll come back tomorrow and kill more of them!¡±


    I put my helmet back on and killed off the remaining monsters before putting down the [Staircases] and making my way back home.

 Chapter 188 - Combat training in the Mines

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 188 - Quest-ionable tactics</h2>


    ??????


    This became my daily routine for the rest of the autumn season. Of course, I was keeping the existence of my portal to the Mines a secret, so as far as my apprentice and household staff were concerned, I was holed up in my house crafting items like [Diamonds], [Five Elements Pills], and [Antipoison Potions].


    A welcome side effect of all the physical training I did was that as my Strength and Attack levels increased, so did my stamina. Day by day, the time I could spend training became longer and longer until I could fight for half a day, albeit with long breaks to rest.


    Six weeks later, I leveled up so much that I could now equip the next tier of armor and weapons.


    [Violet


    Level 50


    HP: 5,000/5,000


    MP: 40/40


    Strength: 30¡ú50/99


    Attack: 33¡ú48/99


    Archery: 42¡ú46/99


    Magic: 11¡ú12/99]


    This time, with my [Sylvanite] equipment, my Battle Rating rose enough that I was no longer as weak as an insect.


    [Violet


    Level 50


    HP: 5,000/5,000


    BR: 352]


    Battle Rating was the official measure of a player¡¯s combat effectiveness that included all weapons, armor, buffs, and combat stats, but this time I had trained so much that I didn¡¯t need the System to tell me that I had grown a lot more powerful. Compared to the first time I fought the [Insectoids] this year, nowadays I only had to swing my sword once to cut the monsters in half as easily as a hot knife through butter, due in no small part to my new [Sylvanite Sword].


    [Sylvanite] was a mythical alloy made from steel and enchanted platinum. I have no idea why the resulting metal was a very pretty shade of leaf green, but I liked it. GodIAm and I agreed that though it wasn¡¯t high-level, the green [Sylvanite] armor was the best-looking non-Cash Shop equipment in the game along with the special [Voidforged] black armor that only the champions of the Black Tortoise clan could wear.


    Level 50 was a milestone level that unlocked better, stronger Melee skills.


    [Sword Skills:


    Thrust - Piercing Lunge


    Slash - Cross Slash


    Blade Flurry - Whirling Blades]


    With a big smile on my face and a spring in my step, I went off to fight [Insectoids] again.


    ¡°Hello, insects! The exterminator is here!¡±


    With a loud, joyous laugh, I turned on my [Potato Cannon] and loaded it with ammo. The monsters came running to me, and this time I no longer needed to hide in the ladder¡¯s safe zone. Stepping forward to meet the first [Insectoids¡¯] attack with the side of my sword, I cleaved a monster in half with one [Slash]. The next one fell to a mighty [Piercing Lunge].


    [Piercing Lunge:


    Execute a swift, forward thrust with an energy-charged sword, piercing through the target and dealing significant damage. This ability has a chance to ignore the enemy''s defense, maximizing the damage dealt.


    Cooldown: 8 seconds]


    It was a simple skill in theory, but in practice, I had to extend my arm and body further forward compared to using [Thrust], which was a very tricky thing to do. I definitely needed more practice.


    Next up, I did a [Cross Slash] which messily cut an insect into four pieces.


    [Cross Slash:


    Unleash a powerful cross-shaped strike with your energy-infused sword, dealing damage to an enemy. This ability has a chance to deal additional critical damage and slow the target''s movement speed.


    Cooldown: 7 seconds]


    The new [Cross Slash] skill was even harder to execute well since it relied on more speed and brute strength than [Slash].


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    It was a good thing I was over-leveled for this area since it gave me a good opportunity to practice my moves. I waited for three [Insectoids] to approach before hitting them with my ultimate sword attack, [Whirling Blades].


    [Whirling Blades:


    Unleash a rapid series of strikes with your energy-charged sword, hitting multiple enemies in quick succession. This ability increases the number of strikes and boosts the user''s attack speed for a short duration, enhancing overall combat effectiveness.


    Cooldown: 10 seconds]


    I focused and launched into Whirling Blades, my blade cutting through the air and slicing across an [Insectoid''s] head. The second swing back drove my sword deep into a monster¡¯s chest. That was when I hit a snag. My weapon got stuck, so I had to spend a few seconds getting it free, which canceled the skill.


    ¡°Oh dear,¡± I said to Mr. Bear as I fell back to the ladder''s safe area.


    I rolled my shoulders and tried again.


    This time, I managed to land the first strike properly, slicing across an enemy''s front legs. The second swing was better, catching another foe off guard and driving the blade into its side. I stumbled slightly as I pivoted for the third blow, awkwardly hacking through an [Insectoid¡¯s] side. My fourth strike swept low, successfully cutting another monster¡¯s legs. As my confidence grew, the fifth and sixth diagonal slashes were more controlled and effective. By the seventh blow, I was slightly speeding up and the eighth strike was the finisher, a strong horizontal slash that knocked back three [Insectoids] at once.


    A few [Thrusts] and [Slashes] took care of all the enemies, and I was alone with only Mr. Bear and my [Potato Cannon] for company. The mobs in Adventure Incarnate always respawned endlessly, but in this world, nothing was endless and my constant battles with the [Insectoids] had depleted their numbers. Fewer of them were attacking me these days which meant that my exp rate had plummeted drastically.


    It was time for a break to let the monster population recover.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll go do something else,¡± I said to Mr. Bear as we walked back down to the elevator.


    ***


    I spent the next few days at home resting, doing the daily farming chores, and planting trees for the farm orchard.


    ¡°Lovely day, isn¡¯t it?¡± I greeted my apprentices.


    ¡°Cold,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°But nice. I like the cold better than the heat,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t that cold,¡± said Mo.


    We were all in our autumn work clothes made of sturdy, thick cotton, and today we were testing new wooden shoes, kind of like clogs, that might be good for keeping our feet dry in wet weather.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± I gestured at the open field in front of us that we had recently cleared of all trees, grass, and large rocks.


    They nodded, and I distributed the [Orange Tree Seeds] to everyone. We had finished planting groves of [Apple], [Peach], [Cherry], [Pear], [Apricot], and [Pomegranate]. The exp was pretty good! After today, we would plant [Mango], [Banana], [Lychee], [Lemon], and [Dragonfruit] to complete the process.


    I knew that, logically speaking, all these trees shouldn''t be growing on the same farm since they needed different climate and soil conditions. However, the System allowed it, so they must be either versatile variants, or, since they were spirit trees, they used qi to grow. Now was the perfect time to plant them since the qi levels on the farm were unusually high.


    ¡°Great! Let¡¯s do this!¡± I stretched my arms above my head and bent my torso sideways a few times before I started since I was a little stiff from my training in the Mines.


    Planting tree seeds was fun though energy-intensive since we had to dig a hole, add the [Mysterious Goo] and fish parts, plant the seeds, and water them. Still, it really was a lovely day.


    The sunlight this morning was warm and golden, filtered through a sparse canopy of fiery crimson and burnt umber leaves. Most trees had lost all their leaves this late in the season and their bare branches glistened with morning dew, some caught in delicate spider webs. Each crunch underfoot released a wave of the earthy wet scent of fallen leaves. The wooden shoes were uncomfortably rigid, and leather boots would¡¯ve probably been better for today since there wasn¡¯t a lot of mud to worry about.


    I straightened from planting the last seed and looked around me as I watered it.


    Around me were the newly planted fruit trees north of the house, in what we had designated as the orchard area. There were separate groves of each kind of fruit tree, delineated by ropes we had tied to wooden stakes and stretched out over the borders of the plantings.


    Of course, we did also keep some strands of mature trees in between the groves in order to protect them against storms.


    The smallest trees in the orchard were mere seedlings while the tallest were already up to my waist.


    Next year, in spring, we would add living walkways of low-growing or creeping grasses to improve the soil and prettify the place. I also hoped it would be better to walk on than mud. If not, then I might replace them with tiles. Flowers would also be planted both for their aesthetic appeal and to attract pollinators. The year after that, when the trees were fully grown, we could even maximize the usage of the orchard space by growing vegetables in between the trees.


    ¡°Teacher, that one is done.¡± Kharli pointed at the ground beneath my feet, which was wet.


    My watering can was still tilted down though water wasn¡¯t coming out anymore. ¡°Oh, thanks for telling me. I was lost in thought. Let¡¯s check the [Insectary Garden].¡±


    Theoretically, the garden didn¡¯t need tending as it was full of hardy, perennial flower species that were left alone to grow by themselves in Adventure Incarnate. They didn¡¯t even need to be watered. However, Scholar Wu suggested that we occasionally remove the smaller, stunted plants to make more space for the ones that were growing well. By removing the weak ones, we would give the stronger plants better access to sunlight, water, and nutrients from the soil.


    Though it wasn¡¯t a System-mandated chore, I figured it made sense.


    Mo sighed in contentment when we reached the [Insectary Garden]. ¡°This is going to be soooo gorgeous when it''s in full bloom.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of moving the fairy¡¯s house here when it starts to flower.¡±


    Over two months, most of the flower beds had grown lush, with plants around one to three feet tall. A few, however, were slow growers that were only four to seven inches tall. Those were the ones that we inspected to see if there were any scraggly ones we should remove.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± I put a finger on my chin as I peered down at the [Treasure Lilies].


    ¡°Let¡¯s pull up the tiny ones that barely sprouted.¡± Kharli pointed at the ones that were less than three inches tall.


    ¡°I guess we should.¡± I knelt down and watched as my apprentices carefully uprooted the unwanted plants and put them in plant pots. If they did grow big enough, I could place them around Cutie¡¯s house for her to enjoy, but their present state made that unlikely. There were always a few seeds that didn¡¯t grow properly.


    They gave me the pots and I made them vanish into my inventory.


    I stretched my torso by bending sideways, forward, and back before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the house where I¡¯ve prepared a special and very secret event for you guys!¡±


    My apprentices were highly excited by my words, of course, but I refused to answer their questions until we got to our workroom in the second courtyard, not forgetting to change into clean clothes first, of course. There, we sat down around our worktable and I filled its surface with [Caskets].


    [Casket:


    A small, ornamental wooden box used for storing jewelry, precious items, or valuables. It must be opened with an unlocking spell.]


    I took out the most flamboyant magic wand from the Cash Shop. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to open these chests and find some treasure!¡±

 Chapter 189 - Opening the Treasure Chests

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 189 - Coin-vincingly full of sweet, sweet treasures!</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Teacher, we¡¯re opening treasure chests?¡± Kharli¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement.


    Mo clasped her hands in front of her as though in prayer and Lari leaned forward, his eyes scanning the myserious chests.


    I smiled at their enthusiasm. ¡°Exactly! These are the chests that we got from Fishing last year. I can now cast the spell that will open them.¡±


    I waved the wand over the chests to demonstrate its magic. Intangible trails of sparkly gold dust followed its every movement. The wand wasn¡¯t the biggest or most ornate one, being made of carved oak covered with intricate gold filigree and topped with a heart-shaped amethyst crystal, its deep purple hue shimmering with an inner light. It was definitely the most theatrical one!


    Lari¡¯s forehead creased in a frown. ¡°But which ones are the ones I Fished?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all mixed together,¡± I said. ¡°You can each pick one [Casket] at a time and I¡¯ll open it for you.¡±


    ¡°First!¡± Kharli grabbed one and presented it to me with a smile.


    ¡°No, I should go first!¡± Lari grabbed one, too, and held it out to me.


    ¡°Play rock-paper-scissors. Winner goes first, then the two losers can play again to get the second and third rankings.¡± I waited until they finished playing before I added, ¡°But first, refreshments and snacks.¡±


    Kharli, who had won first place, jumped up from her chair. ¡°I¡¯ll get a tray of dim sum from the kitchen. Lari, you set the table. Mo, you make the tea!¡±


    We went to the small side table where the kids prepared our morning snacks. I had coffee while they had tea. The chef sent us three steaming baskets filled with translucent dumplings with juicy shrimp filling, open-faced pork buns, and crispy spring rolls filled with savory vegetables. Lunch was not too far off, so I only had a few bites. The others, however, managed to polish off all three baskets.


    I wiped my mouth with a white handkerchief and we all returned to the worktable where Kharli, carefully picked a [Casket] and put it down in front of me.


    ¡°This one, please!¡± she said.


    Just like how Herblaw used [Spell Stones] and gave magic exp, albeit only a small amount, unlocking [Caskets] with a spell was an expensive endeavor. Most players didn''t bother with it at all, but I was close to leveling up, so I wanted to show off to the kids a little.


    [Enchanter¡¯s Golden Key:


    A simple spell for unlocking treasure chests, doors, and forbidden books.]


    I hadn¡¯t done this earlier in public since spells had a chance to misfire unless the player¡¯s Magic level was ten points higher than the spell¡¯s base requirement. Now that I was level 12 Magic, I could cast it without fear.


    The wand was already charged with the energy from one hundred [Spell Stones]. All I had to do was to cast the [Enchanter¡¯s Golden Key] using the System¡¯s menu.


    My hand made a series of movements, drawing a small pentacle in gold dust in the air above the [Casket]. The symbol flashed brightly twice, and then the dust fell onto the wooden chest, which silently opened, revealing a piece of jewelry.


    [Gold Ring:


    A plain thin band of polished gold.]


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty!¡± Kharli put it on right away. She was in ecstasy at her newfound treasure. ¡°I love it!¡±


    ¡°Lucky! By the way, some of the [Caskets] may contain junk items or nothing,¡± I said.


    ¡°Me next!¡± Lari was very excited and pushed his chosen one towards me.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s open it. Abracadabra!¡± The spell didn¡¯t need any magic word to activate it, but saying ¡°Abracadabra¡± was fun.


    This time, the chest contained a miniature statue].


    [Decorative Dragon Figurine:


    A tarnished silver dragon figurine with sharp fangs and claws bared in a fierce battle pose.]


    Lari sighed in contentment as he reached into the wooden chest and took out his prize. ¡°A treasure for me! Fishing is the best!¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Teacher, here¡¯s mine.¡± Mo looked nervous as she placed her chosen treasure chest in front of me. ¡°I hope I get something.¡±


    Once again, I waved my wand and opened the [Casket] to reveal a square of folded fabric.


    [Premium Silk Handkerchief with Gold Detailing:


    A luxurious handkerchief, crafted from high-quality silk, embroidered with gold and silver thread in an elegant gilded vine design.]


    ¡°I got something! I¡¯m so glad it wasn¡¯t empty¡­ I¡¯m always unlucky¡­¡± Mo pressed the handkerchief to her chest and sighed in pure contentment.


    ¡°Bah, what do you mean ¡®unlucky¡¯? I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not true.¡± I gave Mo a hug before picking a chest at random. ¡°Okay, now it¡¯s my turn.¡±


    So far, Lari has gotten the most valuable item, but I easily surpassed that when I opened mine and got one of the three rarest items one could get from a [Casket].


    [Crimson Codex:


    A forbidden magical tome sealed with a spell. Bound in crimson dragonhide, this grimoire radiates an unsettling aura.]


    The description was a lie since it looked like a tiny, ordinary-looking notebook bound in ripped red leather. I stored it in my inventory for safekeeping. ¡°This will do quite nicely. Guys, if you get books, they¡¯re mine, okay? You can keep the other treasures.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± said Kharli.


    The others nodded. I guess they were more interested in gold and treasures rather than books.


    Kharli pointed at the door. ¡°Someone¡¯s outside.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I frowned. Now that she mentioned it, I did hear some faint sounds from behind the door, as though some people were there having a whispered argument. ¡°Why haven¡¯t they knocked? Open it.¡±


    I hastily cleared the table by putting all the [Caskets] back in my inventory.


    Outside were Fengying and Deming with his three assistants.


    ¡°My lady, they say they felt a surge of strange qi from this room.¡± Fengying¡¯s disapproving glance at her husband clearly showed that she didn¡¯t think they should be disturbing us.


    Deming looked away from her, to the side, pretending that it had nothing to do with him. His assistants squirmed under Fengying¡¯s scathing look.


    ¡°We, uh, were opening some sealed chests.¡± I figured it was better to just come clean instead of being too mysterious since I didn¡¯t want any wild rumors to get around.


    My words made Deming¡¯s head whip back and he and his wife''s eyes met in some sort of silent communication. The assistants'' eyes brightened and after a few seconds, Fengying¡¯s expression relaxed into one of resigned tolerance.


    ¡°My lady, may we watch?¡± asked Fengying.


    ¡°Give me a sec.¡± I retreated back into the workroom and closed the door.


    The wand I had used was too flashy to show to the staff. I quickly browsed the Cash Shop until I found the plainest one that looked like a conductor¡¯s baton. It had no special effects. I charged it with [Spell Stones] and then put one [Casket] on the table before opening the door to allow them inside.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you guys the spell this one time, but please keep this a secret from people outside the house, okay?¡± I said.


    They all nodded and watched closely as I cast the spell to open the [Casket]. The onlookers all clapped or exclaimed in amazement when I lifted a polished gemstone to the light.


    [Star Ruby:


    A red gemstone with a faint, six-pointed star nestled within its depths.]


    ¡°Nice, isn¡¯t it?¡± I handed the gem to the kids so they could examine it closely, then gestured for them to pass it around.


    Deming and Fengying silently inspected it, but Deming¡¯s assistants were a lot more vocal about their amazement.


    ¡°I''ve never seen anything like it,¡± one assistant breathed, his voice filled with awe. ¡°The qi in this gem is amazingly intense but still gentle.¡±


    ¡°It''s a natural qi gemstone,¡± another exclaimed, his eyes wide with wonder. ¡°There''s actually a star captured in the stone.¡±


    ¡°The color is extraordinary,¡± a third chimed in. ¡°Dark red like a pigeon''s blood. This is the most valuable color for a ruby.¡±


    As they passed the gem among themselves, their murmured exclamations filled the room: ¡°Look at the way the light of the star glitters when you move it!¡° ¡°It''s almost as if it''s alive.¡° ¡°I''ve never felt such a powerful energy from a gemstone.¡°


    Fengying let them talk for a while before decisively taking the gem away from them and saying, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s lovely. Now let¡¯s get back to our work and let the lady and her apprentices continue theirs.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no bother,¡± I said just to be polite as I took back the jewel.


    They were, in fact, keeping me from leveling up!


    With the minimum of fuss, Fengying herded her wayward husband and his kitchen staff outside. I let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Shall we continue?¡± I said.


    We sat back down and I opened chests until I got the expected message.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Magic level!]


    [Your Magic level is now 13.]


    The System fireworks exploded around me and the others congratulated me on my latest achievement.


    ¡°Magic is so cool!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°We have the best teacher in the world!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°And the prettiest!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± I laughed good-naturedly and hugged the kids. ¡°Let¡¯s open more treasure chests. This is my leveling-up gift for you guys.¡±


    We happily spent the rest of the morning in the same way. Of the rest of the [Caskets], we got plenty of copper, silver, and gold nuggets as well as a few cheap semi-precious gems and more figurines, handkerchiefs, rings, bracelets, and hairpins. The kids were disappointed that we got many duds - chests that had nothing in them or only contained worthless items like cracked marbles, dirty chicken feathers, bent needles, and tarnished buttons.


    The kids didn¡¯t know, because I didn¡¯t tell them, that my ¡°magic wand¡± was activated by energizing it with [Spell Stones] which they called spirit stones in this world. I let them enjoy their little prizes though, obviously, using one extremely expensive [Spell Stone] to get one silk handkerchief or gold ring was hardly a fair exchange. The books and the ruby were the most valuable things we got.


    Right before we left to eat lunch, we gathered the treasure in four piles in front of each of us and traded the ones we didn¡¯t like with the ones we wanted.


    Lari traded the female jewelry he got for coins. Mo got all the handkerchiefs in exchange for her two silver rings, and Kharli was content to trade her single topaz gem for a cute butterfly hairpin.


    As for me, I gave away my pile to the others since I still had 2,147,483,647 [Caskets] in my inventory left after we finished opening the ones we had Fished.


    After lunch, the kids studied while I opened more chests and managed to collect all three books from the [Caskets]. The [Crimson Codex], [Black Codex], and [Azure Codex] each had one part of the recipe that I needed to unlock the blueprint for the Black Tortoise clan¡¯s signature weapon.

 Chapter 190 - The [Thunderbolt Wave] spell

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 190 - An agrarian, a grainarian!</h2>


    ??????


    Or, rather, weapons.


    [Diamond Scepter and Thunderbolt Bell:


    Unbreakable as a diamond, irresistible as a thunderbolt! The Diamond Scepter allows the user to cast a shield, while the chiming of the Thunderbolt Bell emits a wave of power that cleanses demonic energies.


    Casts Diamond Shield and Thunderbolt Wave.


    Comes as a set. Usable only by the Black Tortoise Clan.]


    Mentally clicking on the spell names brought up the relevant information about them.


    [Diamond Shield:


    Can only be cast by high-level Black Tortoise clan members by using the Diamond Scepter. Blocks all physical and magical damage for ten minutes.]


    There was no mention of cooldown or range, but the graphics and animation from the game showed the shield covering the Black Tortoise caster and the clan members standing on the giant tortoise¡¯s shell.


    [Thunderbolt Wave:


    Can only be cast by high-level Black Tortoise clan members by using the Thunderbolt Bell. Debuffs demonic entities for one hour.]


    This one was like a sonic boom that could be only heard by demons and lowered the demon enemies¡¯ physical and magical defense stats. Again, no range was given but it should be usable for the demon boss fight.


    The two spells were pretty overpowered, which was just one of the many reasons why I was confident that the clans would easily handle the Demon Monarch when it hatched out of its egg. My plan was for me to hunker down behind a Diamond Shield while abusing the pity mechanic.


    Of course, in Adventure Incarnate, players couldn¡¯t do that since it would take all the fun out of the world event. In the game, we had to play as frontline fighters and zerg rush the demon boss, but this was real life. I was pretty sure I could bribe the clan members with the [Diamond Scepter and Thunderbolt Bell] and allow me to join them in combat despite the fact that I was weaker than most of the warriors who would be there.


    With the blueprint unlocked, I was able to take the raw materials from the existing stock in my inventory and create a few dozen sets of [Diamond Scepters and Thunderbolt Bells] by melting [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars] and pouring them into the proper mold, both of which I had plenty of courtesy of GodIAm¡¯s duplication cheat. Strangely, although it was called a ¡°Diamond Scepter,¡± the weapon had no diamonds in it. I guess it was metaphorically diamond-like instead of literally a scepter with diamonds in it.


    I sent a letter to Prince Baiyu asking him to come for a visit soon since I had some important news to share with him.


    ***


    A day before the autumn harvest season, I surveyed the fields with great satisfaction. The rice paddies had been drained and the fish sent to Shuye, and the crops looked the best they had ever been.


    ¡°We¡¯re in for a wonderful harvest, with plenty of exp for all!¡± I said to the others. We had ended our daily farm chores at the tea field. ¡°It¡¯s too bad the chef said the tea is still low grade. I was hoping for a better grade of tea this time.¡±


    Scholar Wu smiled and shook her head at me. ¡°Don¡¯t be disappointed. The grading for spirit tea is different from the normal ranking. Your ¡®low grade¡¯ spirit tea is still better than the best in the world right now.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, may I go? I¡¯m sewing winter clothes with the maids.¡± Mo looked longingly at the main house.


    I nodded my permission, and she was off like a shot, eager to spend the rest of the day warm and comfy indoors while drinking tea, eating snacks, and gossiping with the maids.


    Lari raised a hand silently and again I nodded to tell him he could go. Scholar Wu accompanied him since they were going to a nearby clan to socialize. Lari, along with the girls, had received quite a few marriage proposals, but, unlike Kharli and Mo, he liked the attention a lot. Scholar Wu said it was okay to visit some clans, so I let him go since she offered to chaperone him.


    Meanwhile, I went for a walk with Kharli. We were supposed to be Foraging, but most of the spots near the farm had already been picked clean of wild berries, mushrooms, herbs, etc., so that was just an excuse for us to get out of the house and enjoy the lovely autumn day together.


    ¡°Is Lari seriously thinking of accepting a marriage proposal?¡± I asked Kharli.


    ¡°He did, but Madam Fengying told him that a high-level spirit farmer with his own farm should be able to have a better chance of getting a noble title,¡± said Kharli.


    We exchanged a look of understanding.


    ¡°And, anyway, you guys are too young,¡± I said.


    Kharli covered her mouth with a hand and giggled. ¡°Teacher, that¡¯s easy for you to say! You¡¯re matched with the most eligible bachelor in the Westerlands!¡±


    I bumped her shoulder with mine. ¡°I am indeed!¡±


    We were all bundled up in pants, long-sleeved robes, thick vests, and warm cloaks. Our feet were snug in new leather boots that had been enchanted to stay warm and dry. Mine were a gift from the Venerable Immortal Sage, and when the staff saw how good they were, I ordered one for all the people in my household who did outdoor work. They were expensive but worth it.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Cutie bounced beside me while Mr. Bear walked behind us in [Guard Mode].


    A crisp breeze carried the earthy scent of fallen foliage and ripe berries. Squirrels scurried about, gathering acorns, and a family of deer cautiously emerged from the underbrush, their soft steps barely disturbing the carpet of fallen leaves. Distant bird calls resounded in the air while a gentle breeze rustled the autumn foliage that was a blaze of reds, browns, and ambers.


    ¡°Strange, but I feel like time has passed so quickly. I can¡¯t believe that spring and summer are already over and autumn is just about to end.¡± I plucked off a few blue harebell flowers, also called fairy bells or witches¡¯ thimbles, and added them to my basket. They were not System items, so I didn¡¯t get any exp, but they were very pretty, and Cutie seemed to like them.


    Kharli pointed at mushrooms growing on tree branches above our heads. ¡°Could those be edible?¡±


    I turned to look at them and then I shook my head though they did seem to be regular wood ear mushrooms. ¡°No idea! Let¡¯s not pick random stuff we¡¯re not sure about.¡±


    Kharli turned away from the tree. ¡°We have enough mushrooms anyway.¡±


    ¡°They seem old and this place is pretty close to the path, so the others would¡¯ve seen them. The fact that they haven¡¯t been harvested probably means they aren¡¯t edible.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±


    ¡°Oh well, even if we don¡¯t find anything to Forage, we can decorate our rooms with flowers.¡±


    Kharli and I walked mostly in silence punctuated here and there with a few words about the weather and wildlife. Despite the lateness of the season, I did manage to Forage a few mushrooms that must have sprouted overnight.


    We returned to the house an hour before sunset where I was met with a nice surprise.


    ¡°Well, hello there handsome stranger!¡± I walked into my boyfriend¡¯s arms and kissed his cheek.


    ¡°My dear, it¡¯s so good to see you again.¡± He squeezed me tight and planted a kiss on the top of my head.


    Looking around, I saw that my three apprentices as well as a good number of the household staff and Prince Baiyu¡¯s royal guards were watching us. I took him by hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to my house.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to.¡± Prince Baiyu made a gesture with one hand to signal his guards, some of whom followed us at a discreet distance while the rest stayed put.


    Inside my [Ranch House], I poured us some tea and we munched on baked sweet potato slices as we chatted. Prince Baiyu told me what he had been doing these past weeks, which was honestly a bit of a yawn since it was all politics and economics, but important for me to know as a human landowner with the rank of baroness. My own recounting of what we had done was equally boring.


    After we got caught up, I told him I was thinking of going to the Northern continent.


    ¡°What do you think of the Black Tortoise clan?¡± I asked as I took a sip of jasmine tea sweetened with honey.


    Prince Baiyu¡¯s even white teeth flashed in a quick smile. ¡°They are a very noble and intelligent people. Did you know that when the clans go to battle against an enemy, we look to the Black Tortoise clan to lead us?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t know that. It¡¯s not the White Tiger Clan who leads? Why is that?¡±


    ¡°All of the clans have different roles in battle. The Azure Dragon clan are frontline melee fighters. They are physically strong and have great defense and healing powers.¡±


    ¡°How is their attack strength?¡±


    ¡°They mostly do physical attacks which are around as strong as the White Tiger clan.¡± He smiled again. ¡°But we¡¯re much, much faster. We function as scouts and have mid-range attacks. On the battlefield, we are the quickest and most nimble fighters, so we normally aim to target the enemy¡¯s weak spots.¡±


    ¡°Hmm wait, so if you and the dragons are the same strength, but you¡¯re faster, doesn¡¯t that mean the White Tiger clan is much better?¡±


    ¡°Not really. The dragons have a very strong defense, you see. We do not.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I put a hand on my chest and pretended to swoon. ¡°Are you guys fragile?¡±


    Prince Baiyu laughed. ¡°No, think of it like this - a dragon isn¡¯t fast enough to catch a tiger to hit it, but the tiger can¡¯t win either since the dragon will just shrug off attacks.¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­classic stalemate then?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much, provided that they are of equal strength and skill. This is theoretical since we¡¯re not allowed to fight each other. Our clans are at peace.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. This is fascinating. Please continue.¡±


    ¡°In large-scale battles, we also keep an eye on the whole picture and come to the aid of whoever is in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so the dragons are the frontline fighters, and the tigers are the midrange ones. I¡¯m guessing the Black Tortoise clan members are the rearguard?¡±


    ¡°Correct. The Black Tortoise clan stays at the rear and casts spells from there. They¡¯re good at shielding and weakening spells.¡±


    ¡°Not strengthening spells?¡±


    ¡°Sadly, no.¡±


    The [Strength Potion] I made gave +5 to my Strength stat, but when Prince Baiyu tried it out, he said there was no effect on him. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°The tortoises are not slow, by the way. They¡¯re faster than humans. Perhaps they¡¯re slower than the other clans, but not by much, and they are very deep thinkers. They live in the cold mountains in the north and spend their nights stargazing and philosophizing.¡±


    ¡°You seem to admire them a lot.¡±


    Prince Baiyu leaned back on his chair and sighed in a contented sort of way. ¡°I do like them a lot. They¡¯re a very solid and dependable people, unlike the dragons and us, who are mercurial and temperamental. It¡¯s like solid rock versus restless water and unpredictable wind.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡± I ate a few more sweet potato slices as I pondered this. The Azure Dragon clan was water-aligned while the White Tiger clan was air-aspected. The Black Tortoise clan, on the other hand, was of the earth. Then, as I was thinking of the classical elements, I realized that Prince Baiyu had missed out on one. ¡°What about the Vermillion Bird clan?¡±


    He made a face. ¡°A disgusting clan. Let¡¯s not talk about them.¡±


    I gave him an innocent look. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to understand how the clans function on the battlefield. Their aspect is fire, so I¡¯m guessing they must be powerful.¡±


    Prince Baiyu snorted most inelegantly. ¡°Powerful? One tiger could kill eight birds, maybe more!¡±


    ¡°No way, that has to be an exaggeration!¡± My eyes widened when I saw that he was smiling in a very smug, self-satisfied manner.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. They basically have no defense to speak of. We¡¯re so fast they wouldn¡¯t even see us coming before they died.¡± His smile grew even wider.


    ¡°Wow, you really don¡¯t like them.¡±


    ¡°They have no zidan,¡± he said, as though that explained it all, and maybe it did to him. ¡°It¡¯s only because the Black Tortoise clan took pity on them that they weren¡¯t all killed.¡±


    To the clans, zidan was an extra sense they had which let them measure a clan member¡¯s virtue, honor, and reliability. To have no zidan was basically the same as being a completely worthless clan member in their eyes.


    ¡°Well, I have to tell you, I have news regarding them.¡± I showed him a set of [Thunderbolt Scepter and Bell] and then told him my plans.


    He protested quite vigorously, especially when I showed him the [War Fans], but in the end, I managed to persuade him that I knew what I was doing.


    ¡°Thank you, my love, I appreciate your support,¡± I said.


    When he agreed to help me, I navigated to the Quest tab and activated the one I wanted.


    [Finding the Fertile Fields Enchanted Enclave:


    Craft a Thunderbolt Scepter and Bell and get it appraised.


    Sell it to the Black Tortoise clan.


    Ask the Duke of the North for permission to explore the Snowcrest Mountains.


    Locate the fabled lost secret garden of the Black Tortoise clan.


    Plant 12 different Frost Flowers in the garden.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    We sat down on a sofa side by side and held hands as we hashed out more detailed plans.

 Chapter 191.1 - The real villain appears! &#x1F4A5;&#x1F4A5;&#x1F4A5;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 191 - Claim of Thrones</h2>


    ??????


    The next day was harvest day, and I woke up bright and early after a sweet dream of teaching my dragon child how to play Cat¡¯s Cradle, but we kept tangling up our fingers on the string.


    This time, since it was cold outside, I set up a large glamping tent for us to stay in while we waited for the chef and his assistants to finish circling the fields with incense burners while chanting prayers in the usual harvest ritual.


    Though the tent wasn¡¯t exactly snug since the entrance was rolled up to allow us to view the ritual, I had set up a few space heaters to ward off the worst of the upcoming winter¡¯s chill. More importantly, the tent was on a wooden platform, so our feet stayed warm and dry.


    Since Prince Baiyu was eating breakfast with us, the staff had prepared a nice little buffet with hot soups, steamed eggs, stir-fried meat and vegetable dishes, fresh fruit, and, of course, rice. I thought it would be okay to have one large table for us to eat together, but Fengying said the others wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable dining with the prince, so instead we had several smaller round tables, with me eating with Prince Baiyu and Scholar Wu while the others seated themselves freely.


    We ate heartily while chatting about this and that. Soon enough, the ritual was completed and the kids and I set off to harvest the rice.


    ¡°Each plant has an enormous number of grains! I can¡¯t wait to see how much exp I¡¯ll get!¡± Mo rubbed her hands together as we walked to the rice field that we had planted first and was thus the first to be harvested.


    The plants stood in orderly rows, each one lush and with stems bent under the heavy weight of countless ripened grains. The once-green leaves had turned a golden hue, indicating their readiness for the harvest. As a gentle breeze swept through the field, the plants swayed in unison, creating a lovely rippling effect across the landscape.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get those levels!¡± I said.


    The kids went to their places and I took out a sickle. After mentally selecting a stack of empty sacks in my inventory, I waved the sickle at the plants which then disappeared as if by magic. Simultaneously, a sack of rice and a pile of crop residues were automatically added to my inventory. The sack of rice would be sent to the clan later while the crop residues were the remains of the rest of the rice plant, which I could later use to make mulch, compost, or animal feed.


    Each swing of the sickle drained my energy bar, and I stopped when it was nearly depleted, which only took a few minutes.


    Job done, I waited until the others were finished and we returned to the tent together. There, Demon Chef and his assistants were making a special harvest day treat for all of us: fresh crepes with chocolate, fruit, nuts, whipped cream, and honey.


    ¡°By the way, beware of eating dairy products from outside,¡± said Scholar Wu as we ate our crepes.


    I got a strawberry and cream crepe while most of the others opted for peach crepes, except for Lari who got a pure chocolate one.


    ¡°Because milk spoils easily?¡± Kharli frowned. ¡°Other places don¡¯t have refrigerators like Teacher¡¯s house, but rich people have ice boxes.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. You see, children can easily digest milk. Adults cannot. The three of you came of age this year which means you might not know.¡± Scholar Wu smiled mischievously. ¡°Drinking regular milk as an adult causes¡­¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    She bent to the side and whispered into Kharli¡¯s ear.


    ¡°No!¡± Kharli¡¯s eyes widened and she quickly whispered something into Mo¡¯s ears.


    ¡°What is it? Tell me!¡± Lari turned to Mo, but after Mo whispered in his ear, he drew back and made a face. ¡°A stomach ache is bad enough, but diar-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it out loud! People are eating!¡± Mo rolled her eyes. ¡°Mind your manners, can¡¯t you see there¡¯s a royal here?¡±


    Prince Baiyu, meanwhile, was looking up at the tent¡¯s ceiling, while eating his peach crepe pretending not to hear.


    ¡°Our milk is special since it¡¯s probably from spirit animals,¡± I said to the kids. ¡°No need to worry about digestive problems.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Prince Baiyu. He gestured with a fork. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare eat this outside of Emberstone Farm. Cream and milk are just for children in the clans.¡±


    Shaking my head at the inelegance of the conversation, I got up to request another crepe. They were just too good!


    Alas, when breakfast was over, Prince Baiyu had to leave. I walked him to the edge of the farm where we said our goodbyes. This time, my household and the royal guards had the decency to give us a little bit of privacy.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in twelve days. I¡¯m missing you already,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± I threw my arms around his neck and we kissed.


    When we drew apart, he brushed a stray lock of hair from the side of my face. ¡°Twelve days will feel like an eternity.¡±


    Unable to speak, I nodded, squeezing his hand one last time before letting go.


    With one last lingering look he took the skies, the royal guards following behind him.


    The kids approached me after they saw him leave and cheered me up by keeping me company until lunchtime when I went back to my [Ranch House] for a nap to replenish my energy.


    During the next few days, we harvested the rice and then moved on to the vegetable fields before hand-picking the tea. Prince Baiyu came by for another visit and left after a few hours, but not without bringing some good news with him. His parents had not only given permission for him to accompany me for the [Finding the Fertile Fields Enchanted Enclave] quest, but they were also coming with us.


    In addition, the Lady of the West and her consort sent us the supplies we would need for a winter trip to the frozen mountains of the northern continent. These included quilted jackets, woolen socks, gloves, hats, scarves, warm boots, and quite a number of white fur-lined garments which Fengying identified as made of rare and expensive demon ermine.


    Two days before the end of the harvest season, we finished bringing in all the rice, tea, and vegetables, which gave us some time to rest before the winter season started.


    After finishing today¡¯s work, I was sending the kids off to Anwei with their allowance along with the staff so they could spend their money on whatever they wanted.


    But first, we would use up our energy by planting [Rice] in the [Greenhouse]. Now that I had cleared more land, the space around the [Greenhouse] was much prettier because I had put down some lovely stepping stones to make a winding path around it that also went to the main house. Decorative rose bushes and camellia trees lined the path, and there was a charming white lattice arbor with sweet peas climbing over it, all from the Cash Shop, so they were always in full bloom. We all trooped inside and went to the shelves full of seedlings.


    The interior of the [Greenhouse] was alive with plant life and sunlight that filtered through its glass panels. At the center was an area full of top-grade garden soil in which tree saplings for the desert farm were growing, while on the sides of the building were separate areas for seedling trays and plant pots, all of which were full of rice plants. In one corner was a delightful tea nook with a round table and comfortable, overstuffed armchairs, though our current favorite spot for snacks was the [Herb Garden].


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll miss the desert,¡± said Kharli, apropos of nothing.


    I could tell from her frown that she had been thinking about this a lot. Unfortunately, I was convinced that there were more important things I had to do.


    Due to the looming demon extermination event, I had decided to spend the winter this year drumming up more support from the Black Tortoise and Vermillion Bird clans instead of planting more trees in the desert. In her last visit, Kharli had picked up the last of the [Lizardwings] and sold them to the clans.


    ¡°The trees and plants in the desert can survive on their own now that the rainfall has increased,¡± I said. ¡°We need to focus on defeating the demon.¡±


    My apprentices all visibly shuddered.

 Chapter 191.2 - The real villain appears! &#x1F52A;&#x1F967;&#x1F352;

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 191 (Part 2/2) - Claim of Thrones</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Teacher, you said it was going to be easy to defeat,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Yes, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can just ignore it. I think it will be easy enough to kill if we have the right people there,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll be in the North this winter.¡±


    Kharli still looked a little unhappy but nodded. It was hard to argue with my logic. After all, would there even be a desert project if the clans fail to kill the demon?


    I handed them the plant pots and we got busy planting the seed rice in them.


    ¡°Done? Okay, let¡¯s water them and put them on the shelves,¡± I said.


    Kharli held up a grain of rice and said, ¡°Scholar Wu said rice is a symbol of prosperity because this one grain can grow hundreds of more grains, and each of those grains can also grow hundreds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true for all seeds though.¡± Lari pursed his lip. ¡°If I plant one apple seed, it will grow into a tree that will have dozens of apples that will each have a dozen seeds. And those can grow into more trees which will also have a dozen seeds.¡±


    ¡°Apples only have like 5 seeds per fruit,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Yes, but Lari is correct, the principle is the same. I think rice is a symbol of prosperity because it''s the preferred staple food in this region.¡± I handed them more pots. ¡°How¡¯s your energy? Can you plant a few more?¡±


    They each took as many pots as they needed, and I observed that Mo could plant one more seed compared to the others. A player¡¯s maximum energy was dictated by the player¡¯s Farming level, but in real life, it was also greatly affected by a person¡¯s physical condition. Mo must have gone to bed earlier than the others last night.


    Once we were done, I gave my apprentices small cloth purses full of silver coins, and they left to have fun in the city.


    I was a bit bored alone at the farm, therefore, I went to get my pet and decided to amuse myself by removing my [Ranch House] and replacing it with a winter-themed Cash Shop house theme.


    [Snowballer¡¯s Paradise:


    Welcome to Snowballer''s Paradise, the ultimate winter retreat! This whimsical abode boasts cozy interiors and enchanting ice sculptures. The snow here is impeccably soft and perfect for crafting the finest snowballs and building the most delightful snowmen. Enjoy thrilling snowball fights and then warm up by the roaring fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa.]


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    The house itself was very pretty, designed like a rustic log cabin, but the ¡°logs¡± were made of a material that looked like white ice threaded with blue lines. Icicles hung from the steeply pitched white roof adorned with snowflake patterns, and a blanket of freshly fallen snow covered the ground around the house, even though the snow hadn¡¯t fallen yet.


    A path edged with softly glowing lanterns led up to the door, winding through a garden of frosted evergreens and whimsical snow sculptures.


    ¡°Chu!¡± Cutie bounced around an angel ice sculpture and licked the curves of its gown.


    ¡°No! Stop, your tongue will get stuck!¡± I picked her up and went inside the house, which had rooms decorated with a winter wonderland aesthetic, from the icicle chandeliers to the snowflake curtains. The soft carpets and cozy sofa draped in thick, warm blankets were particularly nice.


    I removed some of the furniture to make a large open space for my pet to use and added some pet toys, like the bouncy [Boing Ball] that was her favorite, and the [Magnetic Marble Run], a toy with marbles moving on magnetic rails. ¡°Cutie, you can play here.¡±


    There was plenty of time for me to kill, so I added a bunch of winter flowers in every color imaginable from the Cash Shop and placed them around the porch, which made a pleasing contrast to all the white design elements.


    Then I went to the winter-themed kitchen, which had cabinets painted white with intricate silver snowflake decals scattered across its surface. The backsplash was a frosty ice-blue color, and there were white poinsettias in a pot on the windowsill. It was a bit too much! I replaced the icy white marble-topped island with a wooden table and added a few cozy touches to warm up the space. The deep blue knitted runner draped over the table and the large, lush fern in a woven basket in one corner of the kitchen made it more inviting. I also hung a few copper pots and pans on a vintage-style rack above the island for a nice, homey effect.


    Then I went to the other rooms and likewise added my personal touch to the decorations.


    When the place was sufficiently relaxing enough for me to use, I took out the [Dragon¡¯s Pearl Cauldron of Unrivaled Mastery] and made more [Ageless Beauty Essence]. Fengying had tested the potion for me and pronounced it perfect, and much better than the [Dewy Glow Potion].


    I sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of the cauldron, while eating chocolate truffles made by the Demon Chef, as the [Automatic Alchemy] did its work. The [Ageless Beauty Essence] should sell for a pretty penny, and I could also give some of them away as gifts or use them as trade goods since it should be less problematic than giving away [Tea] like last time. I put a dozen of them in a small box and when the staff returned from their shopping expedition, I asked Fengying to send the potions to Shuye as a sample and received a reply from my Farm Guide okaying their use as an official Emberstone Farm product.


    Since Yinuo¡¯s husband was an artist, I hired him to help me make a nice logo and luxurious packaging for the potion. I was pleased that the staff liked the decorative changes I had made, and I gave the members of my household lots of bottles of [Ageless Beauty Essence]. With our luxurious winter clothes and flawless skin due to the liberal application of the beauty potion, we were sure to make a splash in society when we visited the frozen North.


    Everything was going swimmingly until I got the official Notice of Tax Due from the authorities.


    ¡°The tax is how much?!¡± I yelled in despair when Fengying read the official document to me.

 Chapter 192 - Preparing the [Herb Garden] for the Winter Frost

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 192 - Time waits for snowone</h2>


    ??????


    I sank down in my chair in despair. ¡°Fifty-five percent? But why?¡±


    Fengying explained that the clans had increased the tax rate this year to raise funding for the demon extermination campaign. There were exceptions for commoners and poor people, of course. I was a wealthy noble, therefore, I was taxed at the highest rate.


    Unfortunately, the moment I unrolled the scroll, the System¡¯s stats tab updated itself with the new, higher tax. It¡¯s not that I was hurting for money; it¡¯s that the year-end evaluation was coming up and one of the factors it assessed was the farm¡¯s finances. With a tax rate this high, the total profit from selling crops would be lower than I wanted. I could get a C grade, maybe even a D.


    Other people might think I was doing very well, but the New Year¡¯s Ghost was a different matter. His standards were extremely high.


    Last year, I had tried to stay up all night to avoid the game event where the player fell asleep and was berated by the ghost for not living up to his expectations. I was forced to fall asleep by the System so that I could receive the yearly evaluation, but I couldn¡¯t remember the dream I had.


    Ghosts are too scary!


    ¡°There¡¯s no helping it, I guess.¡± Shaking my head at my plight, I asked Fengying to ask Yinuo to bring me a slice of honey cake from the kitchen. That should cheer me up.


    Maybe it would help if I was able to harvest a really good crop this winter.


    ***


    On the first day of the winter planting season, I pulled down the hood of my fur-lined cloak over my head and then, on second thought, removed the entire cloak altogether. It wasn¡¯t really needed. My thick robes and pants, along with my padded jacket, should be enough to keep me warm this winter morning while I work.


    Looking around me as I descended from my front porch, I yawned as I took stock of the seasonal changes in the quiet landscape. Just a few days ago, the fields were teeming with lush plant life as we harvested the crops. Now the fields were brown and bare, and mist rose from the ground, blurring the edges of things, giving the farm a tranquil, almost ethereal quality.


    Beyond the farm was the forest whose once vibrantly red, gold, and brown canopy was now a skeletal framework, the trees¡¯ bare branches stark against the pale winter sky. The occasional evergreen tree or shrub provided deep green accents to the view, and moss-covered logs lay scattered about, their damp surfaces glistening in the weak sunlight that filtered through the canopy.


    I met the kids along the way and we walked over to the center of the farm which we had earmarked for the future planting of Immortal Herbs. The prerequisite for that was [Black Soil].


    I knelt and poked a finger into the soil. ¡°It¡¯s still not black.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s much darker than before.¡± Kharli knelt beside me and used a trowel to dig a small hole in the soil. ¡°It looks fertile.¡±


    Lari and Mo made sounds of agreement.


    ¡°Based on the color, it could take another year before we can plant Immortal Herbs.¡± I took out my hoe. ¡°Let¡¯s get to plowing then.¡±


    The day after the harvest season ended, whatever System crops were still on the ground showed up as generic brown leaves in the farm tiles, presumably to indicate that the plants had died and wilted. Here in the real world, the plants turned into brown crumbly matter which we plowed into the soil to enrich it.


    Once we finished plowing, I gave the kids buckets of [Mysterious Goo] which we spread over the land before planting the [Winter Seed Mix].


    [Winter Seed Mix:


    A mixture of seeds, mainly frost-loving wildflowers, grasses, and legumes, that are used as winter cover crops. These plants protect the soil from erosion, improve soil structure, and add nutrients to it. The flowers also attract pollinators, and the grass is good for pasturing animals.]


    Adventure Incarnate¡¯s graphics showed the [Winter Seed Mix] plants as a palette-swapped icy white and blue version of the colorful [Wild Seed Mix] plants, which should look quite pretty. I looked forward to seeing the farm turn into a winter wonderland of frost flowers and snow grass.


    The best thing about the cover crops was that they were totally hands-off. We didn¡¯t need to water or weed them since they would grow on their own without any help from us.


    I ripped the seed packet open and poured its contents into my hand. Then I flung the seeds towards the waiting field. It was quite amusing to see the seeds shoot out from my hand and helpfully embed themselves into the soil. I used up a few more packets until the entire area was planted before using my watering can on them.


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    ¡°This winter is going to be epic.¡± I gave the kids two thumbs up when they finished their work and joined me at my part of the field.


    My apprentices exchanged worried looks. They held a whispered conversation and Kharli, as usual, was tasked to convey their thoughts to me. ¡°Teacher, is it going to be epic like when we went to see the demon egg?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all! I told you, we¡¯re going off to find a long-lost sanctuary in the North.¡± One by one, I pinched their rosy cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m excited! Imagine exploring the frozen North and farming in a lovely valley full of ancient treasures.¡±


    Kharli looked at the other two and shrugged as if to say, ¡°I asked; she answered.¡±


    I hooked arms with Kharli, and the four of us started walking to the vegetable field.


    ¡°The legends say if you drink the water there, you get ten extra years of life! And if we find the islands we can eat fresh seafood every day.¡± I smiled at the thought. Deming and his staff were already making plans for a plethora of scrumptious dishes.


    We had some energy left, so we went to the vegetable field to plant more of the [Winter Seed Mix].


    ¡°Let¡¯s check the [Herb Garden],¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher, we went there first. Half of the plants wilted, but the rest look fine,¡± said Mo. Today she looked very cute in a set of red robes and with a big red bow on the top of her head. She reminded me of a Christmas present.


    ¡°The wilted plants should return in spring. They¡¯re self-seeding, after all.¡± I felt a little cold, so I picked up the pace.


    When we arrived at the walled garden, Lari immediately went to his favorite plant. ¡°I hope the winter snow won¡¯t kill my [Ginseng].¡±


    I bent down and peered at it. The plant looked normal. ¡°It looks good to me. Let us cover the more delicate plants with mulch.¡±


    The generic mulch from the System was made of a mixture of [Compost], sawdust, and shredded leaves. We spread it over the soil of the raised beds and then called the staff to help us cover everything over with frost cloth.


    The cloth was not from the System, but, rather, a material that gardeners and workers used in this world to protect plants from temperature extremes by helping the area retain the heat from the soil. It was a white and gauzy woven material that sunlight and rain could penetrate, but just heavy enough to keep the soil warm. Made from spider silk, it was a gift from Lady Hoshi of the Fox clan. I¡¯d sent her a lot of [Ageless Beauty Essence] in return.


    I was eager to see if it would help with the [Herb Garden] in the winter even though covering the plants with cloth wasn¡¯t a function of the System.


    Fengying arrived with the staff and they built bamboo arches over the raised beds of plants which they then covered with the spider silk material.


    ¡°I wish we had more cloth,¡± said Mo. ¡°I¡¯d like to cover the [Insectary Garden], too.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, we could buy just regular garden cloth,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be as good as the spider silk, but it should work,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Oh, good idea!¡± I went over to Fengying to ask her to buy the necessary supplies.


    When the staff were done with their work, we all went to the main house for lunch.


    In the next few days, we planted all of the fields with cover crops and covered over the [Insectary Garden] with more garden cloth. We also organized everything we would need for the trip to the Northern lands. The staff prepared the supplies and when Prince Baiyu sent word of how many people were coming with us, I summoned the [Solarium] and Fengying and I went over the room configuration.


    Prince Baiyu, his parents, and the royal guards needed to have bedrooms on the ground floor, where the kids and I would also be staying. The staff could also stay there, but it would be a tight squeeze, so my housekeeper supervised the maids in setting up folding screens on the upper floor to make them into temporary staff quarters. I suggested putting proper beds there, but Fengying nixed the idea and had bedrolls put in.


    Thus, the large open space on that level would function like a traditional Japanese house with futons set up during the night and put away during the day. The folding screens would also be unfolded for privacy when people were asleep and then closed and put away when they woke up. I added more toilets and shower rooms on that floor, too.


    The days passed pleasantly as we sowed our winter seeds, and most people were excited about visiting the North for the first time, except for Fengying and Deming who had been there many times.


    Scholar Wu gave us some books to read about the northerners¡¯ culture.


    I found out that the southern parts of the continent had a cold but relatively milder climate with a short growing season. Their main crops were barley and winter wheat, though they also grew other grains like millet and vegetables like carrots, turnips, cabbage, kale, etc. Further north, where fruit and vegetables were scarce, people relied on the sea for their food needs. All kinds of fish were eaten, and Deming told us that ingredients that were rare in the Westerlands, like seal, walrus and whale meat were commonly on the menu there.


    Finally, we finished planting, and I woke up bright and early during the day of our departure. Outside, the day had just dawned a soft pinkish light and the morning mist bathed everything in a soft glow which made my chest feel tight.


    ¡°Home is so beautiful,¡± I said to Mr. Bear, who was wearing a limited-series premium [Winter Herald] outfit from the Cash Shop. He looked like a Santa Claus Bear with his red suit and fake white beard.


    My first stop was to fetch Cutie from her house. Then I went to the main gate of the courtyard house where the others were waiting for me.


    ¡°Wow, you all look great!¡± I said.


    Since it wasn¡¯t bitterly cold yet, there was no need for furs. Instead, we were all wearing layered, heavy silk robes in deep jewel tones, sturdy leather boots, and thick cloaks. Lari was in yellow with black embroidery, while Kharli was in crimson and Mo in deep blue. We were exchanging morning greetings when a royal messenger appeared and quickly handed me a note before flying off again.


    ¡°Oh my.¡± After reading the contents of the note, I showed it to Fengying and smoothed my collar as I thought of what we could do to make more room. ¡°Kharli, I think you might have to share your room with Mo. Or maybe I¡¯ll move in with you. We need another set of guest quarters for an unexpected royal guest.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, may I?¡± Kharli gestured to the note I was holding.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I handed it to her.


    My apprentices crowded around it and their eyes went wide when they read the message.


    ¡°The Silver-eyed Prince is coming?!¡± Mo clasped her hands together in excitement.


    ¡°They call him the Earthshaker!¡± said Lari.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s Earthbreaker!¡± said Kharli.

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    I''ve been hardly working working hard this entire time! What do you think about these two covers? Should I change the current cover? Which one do you prefer?


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    Second one, a typography style cover made with Kittl using Kittl graphics/art.


    Why are the covers different sizes? IDK, I''m an amateur.


    Note: Other than being a customer/user, I have no relationship with Kittl and Depositphotos.

 Chapter 193 - Moving North for the Winter

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 193 - Hoping for an ice time on my winter vacation</h2>


    ??????


    The three of them turned to Scholar Wu, who was wearing a set of simple and elegant white and black scholar robes trimmed with maroon. ¡°Prince Muyang, Duke of the North, had many monikers. You may address him as ¡®sir¡¯ or ¡®Lord Muyang¡¯ in conversation.¡±


    Scholar Wu gave us a quick crash course in etiquette for foreign royalty. After some discussion, it was agreed that I would take over Kharli¡¯s rooms while she bunked with Mo because the girls would feel more comfortable staying together than having one of them move in with me.


    When all was ready, I used the System¡¯s [Build] tab to remove all of the buildings on the farm, and we waited inside the [Solarium] for the guests to arrive. I settled myself and the kids down on a cream-colored couch in the reception area tastefully decorated with a few of our best jade vases, calligraphy scrolls, and tapestries.


    Scholar Wu¡¯s gift, a traditional Chinese ink wash painting of the Heavenly Terrace Mountain Range, took pride of place in the center of the western wall of the [Solarium]. On Earth it would have been called a ¡°shan shui¡± painting, meaning a traditional ink-wash landscape painting. It wasn¡¯t meant to be a photographic or realistic painting, but rather it depicted mountains and water in a poetic and philosophical manner. It was very profound and sophisticated, and not something I would¡¯ve chosen myself since I tended to like the more colorful and vibrant style of room decorations. However, the painting was sure to impress the guests, which was important since I needed their help.


    I was nervously nibbling on an apricot when they finally arrived. The whole household went out to greet them at the entrance of the flying ship.


    ¡°I heard he¡¯s single,¡± one of the maids whispered from behind me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look into his eyes; they say any woman who meets his eyes will fall madly in love with him,¡± said Yinuo.


    Fengying shushed them, and I covered my mouth with a hand to hide my smile. The next ten minutes were spent bowing and exchanging polite greetings with the Lady of the West, Lord Yulin, Prince Baiyu, and Prince Muyang.


    The Northern prince was a clan member of average height and ordinary looks, except for his silver-gray eyes. To the Black Tortoise clans, who were classically black-haired and black-eyed, this was a terrible flaw for a member of the ruling family, but his mother, the king¡¯s consort, declared that it was a mark of beauty. Thus, he was nicknamed the Silver-eyed, and he customarily dressed in crisp white and icy blues to further emphasize his unique eye color, all of which contrasted nicely with his warm brown skin tone.


    His six bodyguards had hair, eyes, and skin of various brown shades, from the lightest caramel to the deepest mahogany. They were all short and stocky compared to the clan members that I was familiar with. Their clothes were similar to what we were wearing, except that they featured more colorful abstract patterns and were lined or edged with leather, presumably made from seal or reindeer skins, which were the traditional materials used for the cold-weather garments in the frozen north.


    Once the greetings were finished, I led them to my quarters. My reception room, furnished with minimalist wooden furniture and a few glass vases filled with colorful pansies, felt crowded with all the royal guests and the guards filling it. The others must have felt the same way since they dismissed everyone else, leaving us alone with just me, Lady Yuying, Lord Yulin, Prince Baiyu, and Prince Muyang. The three members of the Westerlands¡¯ royal family seated themselves on my couch while Prince Muyang and I sat on the chairs on either side of them.


    I turned towards the tea set that was on a side table. ¡°Would you care for some tea?¡±


    Lord Yulin shook his head and I put it away.


    ¡°I¡¯m very eager to see the items.¡± Prince Muyang leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. ¡°Do you really have the Starforged Scepter and Celestial Bell?¡±


    ¡°Here you go!¡± The northern prince seemed to be a straightforward type of person, so without further ado, I took out the [Diamond Scepter and Thunderbolt Bell] from my inventory and placed it on the coffee table in front of us.


    Prince Muyang snatched the items up and examined them closely, his face shining with awe. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such incredible weapons!¡±


    The rest of us patiently waited while the prince, his eyes shining with a fierce intensity, kept muttering things like, ¡°What is it made of?¡± and ¡°Could it be the twelfth evocation?¡± while turning the items over and over in his hands. At one point he conjured a magical ball of light in one hand and used that to examine the inside of the bell. Then he took out a magnifying glass to pore over every inch of the items.


    At that point, I once again turned to the side table and served tea and cookies to everyone except Prince Muyang who shook his head without looking away from the artifacts when I asked if he wanted some refreshments.


    I drank my tea and nibbled on the cookies while we all maintained a respectful silence because it looked like the northern prince was caught up in a fervor. After all, it¡¯s not every day that a person was handed mythical treasures!


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    Eventually, Prince Muyang sighed in ecstasy and pressed the [Diamond Scepter and Thunderbolt Bell]. ¡°They¡¯re genuine. I¡¯d stake my life on it.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful! Please test which of your clan members can use it, and I will make more for them, on the condition that they join the demon extermination mission, of course.¡± I beamed at him and handed him the silk-lined wooden case that Fengying had bought for me.


    He reverently placed the items in the case which then vanished into his interspatial storage. ¡°And the payment?¡±


    Lord Yulin and the prince did a bit of haggling before settling on a price equivalent to one year¡¯s output from the iron mines in Prince Muyang¡¯s territory, to be paid in installments over twenty years. Gold was not mentioned at all, rather, the payment would be in iron, copper, and tin ores, along with gems like garnet, jasper, malachite, etc. Though the most valuable product of the northern mines was spirit stones, there was no mention of them since they would be needed to fuel the clan members¡¯ skills when they fought with us against the demon boss.


    ¡°We always meant to help out, but the sudden reappearance of the legendary weapons will embolden more people to join the fight.¡± Prince Muyang smiled, showing even white teeth. ¡°This is a sign from the heavens that our endeavor is blessed.¡±


    Lord Yulin put down his teacup and said, ¡°I say this calls for a celebration. How about something stronger?¡±


    The northern prince chuckled. ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask! Ladies, would you excuse us? Baiyu, come with us. I¡¯ve brought a few bottles of the red wine from the east that you like.¡±


    Lady Yuying nodded her permission, and the three men left together. The Lady of the West, of course, couldn¡¯t drink alcohol because she was pregnant. Expressionless, she glanced sideways at me and said, ¡°Baiyu told me of your plans. If you can do as you say, I¡¯ll feel more confident that we can kill the demon that emerges from the egg.¡±


    Though her face showed no emotions, her tone of voice was neutral enough that I figured she was skeptical but not dismissive of my rescue scheme.


    ¡°I hope it will go well.¡± I offered her a plate of chocolate chip cookies. ¡°Would you care for more of these, ma¡¯am?¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you. I have some questions about what you plan to do about the Vermillion Bird clan.¡±


    I had explained it all to Prince Baiyu, but I guessed that she wanted to hear it straight from the source, so I walked her through what I wanted to do.


    In the end, she shook her head and said, ¡°That seems rather far-fetched, but my son has convinced me to try it. You¡¯ll have our full support.¡±


    Wow! I would¡¯ve been satisfied if she said she wouldn¡¯t stop me. ¡°Full support¡± was more than I expected.


    ¡°Thank you very much! I just need the clans¡¯ protection,¡± I said.


    We spent a few more minutes discussing the details until it was time for me to go upstairs to start our journey. The last time I flew the [Solarium], I used its full speed. This time, I got permission from the authorities to go even faster using the [Speed Boost] from the Cash Shop. I went over the map with Scholar Wu and, based on the distance that the ship would cover in the time that the [Speed Boost] indicated it would take, It was likely that our passage would result in a sonic boom. A few clan members had speed skills, so they were familiar with the idea of faster-than-sound travel. Therefore, it was easy enough to ask Prince Baiyu to spread the word about it to ensure that the people under our flight path wouldn¡¯t be scared by the noise.


    The upper level had been cleared of most of the hanging plants, decorations, and furniture since it was where the staff would sleep at night. The winter sunlight, filtered through the [Solarium¡¯s] glass dome roof, softly illuminated the open space that was dominated by the giant central tree. I rather liked it this way. The numerous plants had given it a lush greenhouse look, but now that they were gone, the upper floor was bright and airy. The open kitchen was on one side with a large dining area and a few light benches were scattered here and there.


    The Lady and I went up to the viewing platform. Since this time we weren¡¯t here to spectate anything, I didn¡¯t need to maximize the space for everyone to stay in, so I was free to place the control panel here where I had the best view.


    I set the destination and used the ship¡¯s speakers to make an announcement. ¡°Please sit down, we are about to depart for the northern continent.¡±


    My apprentices came running to the viewing platform but stopped short when they saw I was with Lady Yuying.


    ¡°Here, come sit beside me.¡± I gestured to the empty seats on my other side.


    Fengying arrived with Yinuo and some of the other maids, but not Deming. I suppose he was busy in the kitchen. I waited for Scholar Wu, Prince Baiyu, Prince Muyang, and Lord Yulin to show up before I pressed the big red [Start] button in the System menu. The control panel¡¯s buttons, lever, and dials were just dummy ones. As the ship rose slowly from the ground, I did not forget to set the farm¡¯s privacy and security settings to the maximum while we were gone.


    When the [Solarium] was eight miles above sea level, a height that no sane clan member would use for flying, I applied the [Speed Boost].


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re off! It will take us half an hour,¡± I said out loud to the others.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredibly fast,¡± said Prince Muyang. ¡°How many spirit stones will this use up?¡±


    ¡°Not that many! I mean, it¡¯s a lot but my expenses will be covered by the sale of the [Diamond Scepter and Thunderbolt Bell].¡± That was a lie since the ship didn¡¯t use fuel at all, it used the [Speed Boost] which was bought using Cash Shop credits. I frowned at the view outside. ¡°Hey, does it look like we¡¯re going fast?¡±


    ¡°It does not,¡± said Prince Baiyu. ¡°If anything, we seem to be going slower than last time.¡±


    ¡°Oh my.¡± I mentally checked the System menu again which still showed an estimated time of arrival less than thirty minutes from now. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just waiting for us to be further away from the farm before going all out.¡±


    ¡°You talk as though this ship is alive.¡± Prince Muyang looked up at the tree. ¡°Is it-¡±


    His words were cut off by a loud booming sound.


    The clan members moved towards the glass as one and peered outside, highly excited, but there was nothing to see at all.


    I got up from the pilot¡¯s chair and peered over the control panel screens at the blue sky and white clouds outside. ¡°Wait, we¡¯re still not going faster!¡±


    The clan members were having a whispered conference, most of them with frowns on their faces.


    Scholar Wu turned away from the others and walked back to talk to me. ¡°Lady Violet, we didn¡¯t speed up to faster-than-sound. We cut through space, and now the Black Tortoise clan members don¡¯t know where we are. They say there¡¯s no place like this in the northern continent.¡±

 Chapter 194 - it’s highly addictive!

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 194</h2>


    ??????


    What? That made no sense!


    I mentally checked the System map to confirm that we were on the flight path I had chosen and that we hadn¡¯t suddenly jumped forward on it. Then I looked around to check everybody¡¯s expressions. The kids looked bored, the staff were bustling about doing their work without even glancing at us, and the clan members had intrigued or alarmed expressions.


    ¡°Lady Violet?¡± Scholar Wu gave me a concerned look.


    I shrugged. ¡°Everything seems fine on my end.¡±


    To allay her concerns at least a little, I fiddled with some dials on the dummy control panel and pointed to the map display that showed our location.


    In the middle of our conversation, Scholar Wu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°We just did it again! We teleported!¡±


    Tapping the screen, I said, ¡°Look at the map, the ship¡¯s icon didn¡¯t jump forward. Also, I didn¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    Scholar Wu simply shook her head and excused herself. When she rejoined the others at the glass wall, she pointed to my control panel, and a few of them walked over to silently stand behind me while the rest continued to look out at the blue sky and wispy white clouds.


    A few days ago, I added a few external magical cameras from the Cash Shop. I had overlooked this item the last time I used the [Solarium] because there was no need for it in Adventure Incarnate since the game showed the ship flying on the map screen without really showing the actual journey. I suppose it would¡¯ve been annoying to have a cutscene every time the player traveled.


    I used the lowest ship camera to look at the scene below us and noticed that we were flying over uninhabited land, which was no surprise. The North was vast, easily twice the size of the Westerlands, but the land was sparsely inhabited, except the southern part of the continent which had warmer weather.


    ¡°We¡¯re halfway there,¡± I announced over the ship¡¯s speakers. ¡°Please finish what you¡¯re doing and head over to the viewing area.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want the others to miss their first sight of the mystical land that was our destination.


    Prince Baiyu extricated himself from the other clan members and went to stand beside me. ¡°The first teleport sent us to an unknown place. Now we keep teleporting over long distances.¡±


    He seemed unconcerned, but that was his normal expression when other people were around. As a member of the ruling family, he was always taught to keep his emotions under control, in public at least.


    However, I could tell he was slightly worried.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even feel a thing. Anyway, since the place we¡¯re going to isn¡¯t on any of the Black Tortoise clan¡¯s maps, obviously it will be unknown territory!¡± I chuckled a little. ¡°That¡¯s why they gave me permission to search for it.¡±


    Prince Baiyu''s forehead creased a little in a small frown. ¡°I came to tell you that the zidan here feels¡­ strange.¡±


    Uh-oh. That sounded ominous.


    I put a hand on my chest and gave him an inquiring look.


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    ¡°No, it¡¯s not bad,¡± he hastened to say. ¡°It feels¡­¡±


    He paused as he searched for the words to explain it to me. Zidan was always difficult to understand since it was a sixth sense that only clan members had. Humans had no frame of reference for it.


    Prince Baiyu said, ¡°You know, when I¡¯m in the Westerlands, zidan is welcoming. I feel like I¡¯m home where I belong. When I¡¯m in the North, it¡¯s like being away from home. I know humans feel homesickness, right?¡±


    He waited for me to nod before continuing his explanation.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a similar feeling. It grows stronger the longer and farther away I am from my home territory,¡± he said. ¡°Right now, I should be feeling that, but I don¡¯t.¡±


    I was, as usual, confused by his explanation of zidan. ¡°You don¡¯t? Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡±


    ¡°This is the North. I should be feeling like I¡¯m very far from home. Instead, I feel¡­ like I¡¯m at sea, far away from home but traveling towards it.¡±


    Interesting.


    We sat in silence while we both mulled over the implications of that until the map showed that we were very near our destination. The ship icon was less than an inch from the X on the map.


    ¡°Hold that thought, we¡¯re almost there!¡± I turned on the speakers and announced, ¡°Look to the north, the island should be coming into view.¡±


    Sure enough, less than a minute later, there were exclamations of surprise from the clan members. They could see farther than a human could, so they caught sight of it first. I poked Prince Baiyu¡¯s side with a finger. ¡°Go, go! Check it out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± He kissed me on the cheek and left to join the others.


    I stayed at the control panel since I could see the view from the cameras, and we were too far for me to see any details even using the zoom function since we were flying as high as airplanes did on Earth. The chatter from the clan members rose and I was able to make out a few words like ¡°island,¡± ¡°Black Tortoise,¡± ¡°apotheosis,¡± ¡°legend,¡± etc.


    Suddenly, the oldest of the clan members fell to his knees and started sobbing. That triggered something and a few of the Black Tortoise and White Tiger clan members also got down on their knees, all of them either crying or praying.


    Kharli rose from her chair and made her way to me. She didn¡¯t look worried at all. In fact, the sides of her mouth kept twitching as though she was trying to stop herself from smiling. ¡°Teacher, what happened?¡±


    I gestured at the clan members. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the mythical isle; clearly they like it.¡±


    The ship arrived at the destination, and I mentally sent the [Solarium] to drift further north to the other side of the island.


    Time for a break! I wanted to see the land with my own eyes instead of through the camera, so my apprentices and I joined the others at the glass wall. Looking down, I could see a landmass that, according to the System, was probably the size of Britain back on Earth.


    I stood beside Prince Baiyu and we held hands as I peered at the landscape below us. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s lovely.¡±


    The island unfurled like a living tapestry of beaches, forests, lakes, and rivers. Unlike a natural island that had an irregular coastline, this one was in the precise shape of a turtle outlined in black sand beaches with a snake, whose body was a long, winding river, coiled on its back. I could only see the whole of it with the camera, but I could make out the partial outline of the turtle¡¯s lower half from where I stood.


    Prince Muyang, who had been silently staring at the scenery below, abruptly turned to me and bowed deeply from the waist, his hand cupped in front of him. ¡°Lady Violet, thank you for leading us to the Blessed Isles.¡±


    I bowed back. ¡°You¡¯re very welcome!¡±


    He said nothing more and turned back to the view. The clan members who were crying and praying gradually quieted. I noticed that Prince Baiyu¡¯s parents were also holding hands while watching the scenery whiz by at high speed.


    From this high up, I could see that the southern part was dominated by green forests and golden fields with rivers, like veins of silver, running throughout the land. As we moved north, I saw the middle and upper part of the island which made up the Black Tortoise¡¯s ¡°shell¡± was dominated by a rugged mountain range whose snow-capped peaks no doubt held many secret caves and tunnels. That was where I could train a bit of mining. On the northwest part were two large inland lakes that were the ¡°eyes,¡± which should be a great place for fishing.


    Our landing area, however, was on the largest of the three northern islands.


    [Tranquil Tide Treasure Isles:


    These three tiny islands are lush paradises, brimming with vibrant vegetation and pristine beaches.


    One-time limited event: Players may create a small farm for one season with permission from the Black Tortoise clan.]

 Chapter 195 - A flying beast?

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 195</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°There it is!¡± I said when the [Tranquil Tide Treasure Isles] appeared below us. They were just three small dots in the azure water, but I was excited at the thought of unlocking this region¡¯s special crops. I raised my voice and told the others, ¡°I¡¯ll prepare for landing.¡±


    Back at the control panel, I sat down and pushed some buttons while mentally using the System to set the [Solarium¡¯s] speed to gradually decrease. The menu showed that it would take 22 minutes, so I asked Yinuo to let the clan members know, but Lari volunteered to do it.


    Kharli and Mo stood beside me as the ship smoothly descended.


    ¡°Teacher, the islands are smaller than I thought they would be.¡± Kharli bent forward to peer at the map display. ¡°Aren¡¯t they larger on the map?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I thought they would be bigger.¡± I took out a parasol from my inventory and shrugged my jacket off, wishing that I had worn thinner clothing. The weather on the island was sunny, which was strange since we should be quite far north of the farm.


    ¡°It looks like we won''t be able to plant much,¡± said Mo.


    There was a slight jolt as we landed on the biggest island.


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± I gave my two girls parasols, and we all made our way to the ship¡¯s entrance, which was already open.


    The clan members flew down while my apprentices and I, followed by my household staff, used the escalators. The biggest island was only 60 acres while the two were half that size. A long sandbar linked the smallest two islands to each other.


    ¡°The sky and sea are so blue.¡± I smiled up at Prince Baiyu. ¡°What would you call that shade?¡±


    ¡°Cerulean.¡± He took the sunshade from me and opened it, holding it above both our heads to shield ourselves from the bright sunlight.


    The beach was a pristine stretch of fine black sand which contrasted sharply with the deep turquoise color of the sea. Palm trees, their fronds swaying languidly, lined the beach. From above, we had seen that the island was totally covered in dense vegetation except for a small hill area near this beach which I could use to plant crops. The place was so tiny that I didn¡¯t want to chop down the trees for more farm area in case it damaged the island¡¯s fragile ecosystem.


    I took a deep breath of the bracing sea air.


    ¡°This beach is so picturesque!¡± This thought gave me an idea, and I waved at Muchen, my maid¡¯s handsome young husband who was a painter. ¡°Baiyu, let¡¯s commission a few paintings.¡±


    With Fengying¡¯¡¯s help, I negotiated a fee for Muchen to paint the scenery for us. Yinuo was delighted at the prospect and fiercely haggled on her husband¡¯s behalf, but this only stimulated Fengying¡¯s competitive spirit.


    I reeled back in an overly dramatic way when Yinuo named her price. ¡°That¡¯s highway robbery!¡±


    Yinuo merely raised an eyebrow. ¡°No, my lady, highway robbery is when a group of bandits take all your belongings by force. You wound me deeply with your low offer.¡±


    Fengying shook her head and hauled her off to the side where they held a whispered conversation punctuated by waving hands. Even from afar, I could tell that Yinuo was being bested by Fengying.


    Meanwhile, Prince Baiyu¡¯s parents were in deep discussion with Prince Muyang while the other Black Tortoise clan members were all kissing the ground, crying, and praying. Prince Baiyu and I leisurely strolled towards the palm trees where I set up a picnic blanket that we sat on. The kids and the staff either followed our lead and rested or took their shoes off and played in the water.


    ¡°So how¡¯s your zidan now?¡± I asked Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to describe. Now that I¡¯m here, I feel like I¡¯m home, but it¡¯s not my own home¡­¡± He smiled and put an arm around me. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s like when I¡¯m at my grandparent¡¯s house. I know I¡¯m very welcome there though it¡¯s not my personal territory.¡±


    ¡°A welcoming feeling, but also a feeling that you¡¯ll eventually have to leave? That makes sense. This is a great vacation spot, but not a place for us to settle down.¡± I leaned on him and we silently cuddled like that while we waited for the clan members to finish making plans.


    After a few minutes, Scholar Wu came to tell us that Prince Muyang wanted to speak to me. All of us crowded around the prince at the landing area to find out what they planned to do, but first, the Black Tortoise clan members all bowed deeply to me and formally thanked me for my efforts.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Lady Violet, you will forever be known as the explorer who discovered the hidden location of the Blessed Isles that our people have spent centuries searching for.¡± Prince Muyang took a jade amulet off his belt sash and offered it to me. ¡°With this, I grant you all the privileges of a Benefactor of the clans.¡±


    I solemnly accepted the token and bowed back. As we had previously discussed, this item also symbolized the clan''s permission for me to use the islands while we were here. Everyone clapped, and the prince told us that he and his men would be leaving immediately to explore the main island. They would be gone for at least three days to make a preliminary survey of the newly discovered land.


    We bid them farewell, and Fengying arranged for them to take tents, blankets, food, and so forth from the ship before they left.


    Since they were in a rush to leave, Scholar Wu explained the details to me.


    ¡°There are a lot of legends about the Blessed Isles, and there could be a lot of treasure here.¡± Scholar Wu, capable as always, started off with the most important piece of information. ¡°According to tales passed down by the elders, this is where the Black Tortoise gathered all her children and ascended.¡±


    I actually already knew that from the books that Scholar Wu had given us before we left. ¡°Yes, I get it. Are they salivating at the thought that the demigods probably left behind some good stuff?¡±


    ¡°My lady, ¡®salivating¡¯ is a somewhat inelegant term to use¡­ but, yes.¡± Her eyes twinkled. ¡°Is there any chance that your bloodline inheritance has information about the White Tiger¡¯s Enlightenment Temple?¡±


    She was referring to the mountaintop temple where the White Tiger ascended with her progeny.


    Prince Baiyu laughed. ¡°If she did, she would¡¯ve led us there first, right?¡±


    He kissed the top of my head.


    ¡°Hey, behave yourself, I think your parents are watching!¡± I looked around, but Lady Yuying and Lord Yulin were nowhere to be seen. They must have gone to the ship with Prince Muyang. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know about the temple.¡±


    ¡°Your housekeeper also wanted me to tell you that lunch will be served on the ship shortly,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Oh, we better get going then. I want to change into better clothes for planting the crops today.¡± I looked around for my apprentices and then waved them over.


    ¡°Right now? Shouldn¡¯t you eat first?¡± asked Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°It might be too hot later on,¡± I said.


    The kids joined us and we went back up to the [Solarium] where we changed into plain cotton robes and pants. Prince Baiyu and Scholar Wu walked with us to the small bald spot on the hill. The sun beat down on our heads with great ferocity, and I was sweating like a pig by the time we got there.


    ¡°This area is very small. We¡¯ll get very little exp,¡± said Mo.


    I surveyed the nondescript open field which was covered in some type of soft, creeping grass. ¡°It¡¯s small but the regional crops we can grow on this special patch of land will be ready to harvest in five days.¡±


    ¡°Five days?! Amazing!¡± Kharli grinned and took out her hoe.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s start. I want to plant everything before noon, otherwise this won¡¯t count as day one.¡± I began plowing the land while Prince Baiyu and Scholar Wu watched.


    Tilling the soil took only a few minutes since the space was tiny. At the end of the task, we had only thirty-six square tiles that we could use.


    ¡°Nine for each of us,¡± said Kharli while Mo and Lari were still counting out the number of tiles on their hands.


    ¡°Correct.¡± Scholar Wu patted Kharli¡¯s shoulder, proud that her pupil could do mental math so fast.


    We then added [Mysterious Goo] to the soil and I gave them nine seeds of each type of crop.


    ¡°These will grow at an accelerated rate on this island, and when we get back home, we can plant them on Emberstone Farm though they will grow at the usual rate there.¡± I poured the seeds into their waiting hands.


    ¡°[Dragonfire Pepper]? The chef will love this,¡± said Lari.


    The aptly named Demon Chef was very fond of spicy ingredients, but he was very professional and always made less mouth-burning versions of the dishes that I liked. I asked Lari to read the description of the seeds out loud for the prince¡¯s and scholar¡¯s sake.


    [Dragonfire Pepper:


    Blazing red and impossibly hot, this pepper is rumored to bestow courage and strength upon those who can endure its fiery heat.]


    ¡°Don¡¯t take the given texts too seriously,¡± I said to Scholar Wu. ¡°Practically all of my bloodline inheritance items have bombastic item descriptions.¡±


    Scholar Wu made a noncommittal sound that signified neither agreement nor disagreement. Prince Baiyu just smiled.


    Next was [Mermaid¡¯s Kiss Cacao]. Using the System¡¯s text-to-speech function, Mo recited the description out loud.


    [Mermaid''s Kiss Cacao:


    A delicate pink plant whose beans have a sweet, floral taste. The ancient immortals used to brew a sweet Vitality Nectar whose main ingredient was the Mermaid¡¯s Kiss Cacao.]


    ¡°Do you know anything about Vitality Nectar?¡± I asked Scholar Wu, who shook her head. ¡°Okay, now the last one.¡±


    It was Kharli¡¯s turn to recite next.


    [Ocean¡¯s Heart Coffee:


    A coffee plant that produces deep blue coffee beans with a salty tang, providing a surge of energy and enhancing mental clarity.]


    The description made me remember my school days back on Earth. ¡°Kids, let me tell you a secret. When you have an exam, you can drink coffee with chocolate and lots of honey to energize your mind.¡±


    ¡°I would like some if it can keep me awake and alert during patrols,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    He and the other clan members were often called on to do patrol duty at the site of the demon boss¡¯ egg since it was important to monitor the qi in that area.


    I shook my head. ¡°Noooo, it¡¯s highly addictive! You can only have the super sweet honey chocolate coffee when it¡¯s really important, like if there¡¯s a big event.¡±


    ¡°Too bad,¡± he said. Then the naughty prince leaned down and whispered into my ear, ¡°But you¡¯ll still give me something sweet, right?¡±


    I blushed and playfully swatted him away without answering. ¡°Please just stand aside for now. We¡¯re almost done.¡±


    My apprentices and I planted the seeds and watered the tiles. Just as we finished our work, a large shadow passed over us.


    Shading my eyes with one hand, I looked up and saw an enormous flying beast.

 Chapter 196 - Holy cow, its a sacred beast!

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 196</h2>


    ??????


    One thought flashed through my brain: I wish my dad was here to see his favorite saying come true.


    My mouth fell open. ¡°Oh my gosh, it¡¯s true! Pigs really can fly!¡±


    ¡°Is anyone else there? Do you see the celestial pig herder?¡± Mo was almost jumping up and down in excitement.


    Kharli pointed at the southern part of the sky. ¡°It¡¯s a group of smaller pigs.¡±


    ¡°The big one must be their mom.¡± Lari shaded his eyes with a hand and scanned the skies. ¡°I wonder if Hunting them is allowed?¡±


    Scholar Wu shook her head. ¡°Though zidan is neutral here, the North is the Black Tortoise clan¡¯s territory, and they probably wouldn¡¯t allow us to hunt the sacred herd.¡±


    I had never heard of a sacred herd of flying pigs, and, judging by the kids¡¯ surprised expressions, neither had they. ¡°They¡¯re sacred?¡±


    Prince Baiyu put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°I forgot that you can¡¯t sense their qi. Even from here, I can sense their divine power.¡±


    I almost wanted to roll my eyes, but it would be rude. ¡°Divine power? From pigs?¡±


    The corners of the prince¡¯s lips twitched up in a fleeting smile. ¡°I also find it strange. This whole adventure has been full of bizarre things. Mid-air teleportation without a magic circle. The Blessed Isles. Now¡­ flying pigs with divine energy. They could be the descendants of a god¡¯s pet.¡±


    This reminded me of the Angel Slime that was supposed to be a descent of the god of the Mines¡¯s pet.


    Scholar Wu and Prince Baiyu were surprised but not shocked, so I guessed that gods having pets that they left behind after they ascended was not unheard of.


    There was a chorus of loud oinking from above, and we watched with open-mouthed disbelief as the smaller pigs dive-bombed the beach and made off with a seagull. They flew away to the north, doubtless to find a safe location before feasting on the sea bird.


    Where did they live? Did flying pigs have nests?


    Scholar Wu pulled out a notebook from a pocket in her sleeve and started writing on it. ¡°They¡¯re carnivorous. Fascinating. My lady, do you mind if I commission your painter, too? If he¡¯s good at zoological illustrations.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my maid¡¯s husband, but he¡¯s not an employee, so he¡¯s free to take whatever commissions he wants,¡± I said.


    I was disappointed that I didn¡¯t get a quest related to the pigs. Perhaps they were simply part of the background wildlife here and not something that we could Hunt. Birds could normally be trapped in nets or snares, but were flying pigs birds or mammals?


    Since we were done planting, we went back to the [Solarium] for lunch. Deming and his assistants had prepared a hearty five-course meal of lobster bisque, fern salad, chicken steak with mashed potatoes, peach sorbet, and chocolate cake. Though the clan members ate downstairs in the privacy of their suites, Lord Yulin approached Fengying after the meal and was effusive in his praise of the chef¡¯s skill.


    Prince Muyang and his men had already left to explore the main island.


    We packed up our stuff in the [Solarium] after the meal and I went back outside to the beach where I placed the [Crystal Waters Resort] for us to live in.


    [Crystal Waters Resort:


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The ultimate in over-water villas! Perched above crystal-clear turquoise waters, each luxurious villa is a masterpiece of design, blending modern comforts with traditional island aesthetics to create a truly elegant retreat. Featuring private decks that offer direct ocean access, the latest modern amenities, glass floors, sun decks, and infinity pools, all of the floating sanctuaries have expansive windows that offer unparalleled views of the surrounding marine paradise.]


    When I went on vacation last year, I was able to choose from different hotels and resorts, but this was a special place, and the [Crystal Waters Resort] was the only option since it was the one that had the biggest fishing platform.


    An enormous magic circle appeared over the water and flashed with bright green, blue, and yellow lights for three heartbeats before disappearing. Ten large villas, connected by a winding wooden boardwalk, as well as a large, circular platform at the other end farthest from the beach appeared in its place.


    Unlike an over-water resort on Earth, this one magically floated over the water instead of being supported by wooden or concrete pilings driven into the seabed. This was undoubtedly to avoid damaging the environment, since this was a sacred place.


    The clan members kept their expressions impassive, but my apprentices and household clapped and cheered when they saw the resort appear. They were quite used to seeing this sort of stuff, but I was nonetheless taken aback when Lari, with the exuberance of youth, yelled, ¡°I¡¯ll be the first to Fish!¡± and ran off. This triggered a race between me and my apprentices. Kharli, being the fastest, won.


    ¡°Winner!¡± Kharli did a victory pose by raising both her arms above her head with fingers touching forming a diamond shape, which was supposed to symbolize either wealth or mastery.


    Lari refused to admit defeat. ¡°Never mind, even if you got here first, the real victor is the one who gets the first fish!¡±


    I watched in amusement as the kids cast their lines out towards the sea, wondering if they would figure out how to do it here. After a few minutes of seeing them catch nothing, I went back to the other end of the boardwalk to see to my guests.


    Fengying and I helped usher the Lady of the West¡¯s household into one of the biggest villas. The other one was for Prince Muyang and his staff when they returned. I showed them how to use the modern facilities, such as the dials for the temperature controls and the privacy toggles for the rooms and outdoor areas. When the privacy switch was flipped, people outside could neither see nor hear the occupants, which was convenient since it would allow me to use the pool in my villa, the third-largest one, without worrying what others might think. Entry to each place could either be open to all or controlled by the use of three keycards specific to each villa.


    We all got settled, and I went to the fishing platform with Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°Catch anything?¡± I asked my clueless apprentices.


    They all shook their heads, and I approached Mo and turned her body around until she faced away from the open sea.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you guys were Fishing in the wrong place!¡± I gestured at the water inside the circular platform. ¡°This is where you will find the fish, but you need to look for a special spot in the water. Look closely for the sign.¡±


    The three of them spread out and scanned the area, which was only around fifty feet across.


    ¡°Your apprentices seem quite eager,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    I put a beach chair down for him to relax on. ¡°Yes, because I told them that this is the only place where we can Fish [Chameleon Sea Bass].¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a simple collectible fish that has a stealth skill. It¡¯s almost invisible in the water.¡± I put on a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. ¡°Do you see the spot?¡±


    ¡°I do not.¡± He frowned.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s only visible to people who share my bloodline inheritance,¡± I said.


    ¡°Teacher, It¡¯s there!¡± Mo pointed at a small spot in the water that was sparkling with a soft silver light.


    ¡°Yes, you found it!¡± I took out my fishing rod and cast my line.


    A few minutes later, we all caught some fish, but only Lari managed to get the real prize.


    [Chameleon Sea Bass:


    A master of disguise, this is a saltwater fish that effortlessly blends into its surroundings with its adaptive coloration. Found in coastal waters, the fish''s firm, white flesh is celebrated for its mild, buttery taste and subtle sweetness, ideal for a variety of gourmet dishes.]


    I got a [Mahi-Mahi] while both Mo and Kharli got [King Mackerel].


    ¡°Guys, look. The spot isn¡¯t sparkling anymore,¡± I said. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to Fish there. Watch out for the next one!¡±


    We kept on Fishing while I chatted with Prince Baiyu, and I called it a day when I caught a [Chameleon Sea Bass]. I was far from a completionist player, but since we were here, I wanted to acquire as many of the region¡¯s special items as I could.


    ¡°Kids, I¡¯m going to my villa!¡± I called out to them.


    They waved goodbye at me while barely looking up from their Fishing.


    ¡°Alone at last,¡± I whispered to my boyfriend as we walked side-by-side to my rooms. ¡°Here, you can use this later.¡±


    I slipped a keycard into his hand.


    He kissed the top of my head. ¡°Thank you, I will.¡±

 Chapter 197 - Harvesting the Strange Fruit

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 197</h2>


    ??????


    The next day, I was less busy so I gave myself more time to enjoy the scenery. The sky was an endless expanse of cerulean blue as I stepped down from the boardwalk and onto the powdery black sand of the beach. I inhaled deeply, the salty sea air filling my lungs and invigorating my senses. The crystal-clear turquoise water stretched as far as the eye could see, occasionally broken by the graceful leaps of playful dolphins in the distance. The island¡¯s palm trees swayed gently in the breeze, their fronds rustling softly overhead.


    Prince Baiyu was having breakfast with his parents, so I walked up the narrow dirt path to the farming site alone, to the rhythmic sound of waves lapping at the shore and the cries of the seabirds. I was halfway there when the kids and Scholar Wu appeared and I waited for them to join me before continuing my walk.


    We were all wearing our lightest summer clothing because of the tropical heat. Lari, Kharli, and Scholar Wu had chosen sleeveless cotton tunics and pants, while Mo and I were in breezy long skirts and high-necked, wide-sleeved tops. My skirt wasn¡¯t the most practical outfit for farming, but it was cooler than pants and the sleeves protected my skin from the intense sunlight. I had on a big floppy straw hat and Scholar Wu was bareheaded, as were the kids.


    When we arrived at the right place, we were shocked to see that the crops had grown over a foot tall during the night. However, so had the weeds!


    Scholar Wu took out a measuring rope and took notes on the plants¡¯ unusual growth rate. ¡°You say these will be ready to harvest in five days?¡±


    ¡°Four days,¡± I corrected her. ¡°Yesterday was day one.¡±


    ¡°Coffee plants grow up to fifty feet,¡± she said. ¡°Any idea how tall these will be by that time?¡±


    ¡°Fifty feet?! No way, surely it won¡¯t be that tall.¡± I put on my gardening gloves and started weeding.


    ¡°This is fascinating.¡± Scholar Wu wandered off to take measurements of the other plants.


    ¡°Teacher, why don¡¯t you rest? We can tend to the plants,¡± said Mo when she saw that I was frowning.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine! I can do it. I just hate that these weeds are so tough!¡± I said as I tugged on the deep-rooted plants.


    The weeds were really difficult to remove, but with all of us working hard, we managed to finish the chores in an hour. I noted that the weeds and the crops were the only ones exhibiting unusual growth rates since the other plants around the farming patch seemed normal.


    ¡°That was harder than I expected, but everything seems to be good,¡± I said. ¡°Has anyone noticed any plant that looks out of the ordinary compared to the others here?¡±


    Since they were three different plants, I expected them to look different, but weirdly enough, they all looked the same, with brownish-gray main stems, silvery branches, and dark green heart-shaped leaves. I could only tell which was which by using the System information.


    ¡°Look, this plant grew one inch from the time we arrived.¡± Kharli pointed at a [Mermaid''s Kiss Cacao] plant. ¡°It¡¯s the same as the others, but it¡¯s growing faster.¡±


    Lari dusted his hands off. ¡°I wonder how tall they will be tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Their growth is highly accelerated. It must be because this was a god¡¯s island. Do you think this is the god¡¯s own garden plot?¡± I asked the others.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s because this land was fertilized by the flying pigs,¡± said Kharli.


    Lari looked up at the clear sky and made a face. ¡°Do you mean we have to watch out for huge droppings?¡±


    Mo and I laughed.


    ¡°Yes, if you hear oinking from above, run away!¡± said Kharli.


    We all looked up. Thankfully, the skies were clear of divine flying beasts.


    My lips twitched. Based on the flying pigs we saw earlier, it was entirely possible that this place was right under their usual flight path when they hunted seabirds. ¡°You know what? Kharli¡¯s probably right! I think we should stop talking about that though, since I want to go back to the central villa for some snacks.¡±


    That very same afternoon, the pigs flew above the beach and deposited some of their digestive byproducts very near the farming patch. Thankfully, the droppings were very magical and disappeared into the earth mere minutes after they landed, in the same manner that the [Mysterious Goo] did when we used it.


    That night, before we went to sleep, Scholar Wu measured the plants again and discovered that they were already four feet tall.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The next day, the crops grew seven feet tall and grew white flower buds. The day after that, the flower buds opened and the white blossoms released a soft, sweet scent like jasmine. The day after that, the fourth day, we woke up to find that the flowers had fallen and fruits were already starting to develop. Scholar Wu frequently measured the crops and took copious notes as well as cuttings which she asked us to store in our inventories so that they would be preserved.


    On the fifth day, everyone gathered to watch us harvest the fruits which all looked identical despite the System identifying them as [Dragonfire Pepper], [Mermaid¡¯s Kiss Cacao], and [Ocean¡¯s Heart Coffee].


    I had the honor of picking the first fruit from our crop. Reaching up on tiptoes, I plucked a big, juicy-looking fruit from one of the [Ocean¡¯s Heart Coffee] plant¡¯s lower branches.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you.¡± I bowed to the royal couple and to the others.


    The teardrop-shaped fruit was the size of two of my fists and had a hard pink outer skin. When Prince Baiyu broke it open for me, we found that their insides were full of transparent globes of pulp that contained the coffee beans that I was looking for.


    The kids each plucked a fruit from a different plant and we found that the identical fruits contained either cacao beans, coffee beans, or bright red peppers inside them.


    ¡°Strange, very strange,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    Actually, in terms of weirdness, I thought this was pretty tame compared to the fact that we had discovered a huge island in the shape of the Black Tortoise. I smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fun! Maybe the god of these islands liked it this way? It¡¯s like a lottery; you don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll get when you cut open a fruit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to study the plants more, but my hypothesis is that these three are hybrids,¡± said the scholar.


    ¡°Yes, that does seem reasonable,¡± I said.


    Fully harvesting a plant using the System made it wilt within the day, so we took a lot of cuttings before that. They should sell for a good price, and I was sure that the people in the Northern and Western lands would greatly enjoy these newly rediscovered foods.


    Fengying had informed me that Deming thought that the [Dragonfire Pepper], [Mermaid¡¯s Kiss Cacao], and [Ocean¡¯s Heart Coffee] were the ingredients for the mythical Ahoma, a mythical spicy elixir or brew that the Black Tortoise and his follower gods loved. I was really looking forward to the spicy mocha drink the Demon Chef planned to make for us. We handed over the ingredients to the chef, who once again proclaimed that they were all low-grade and that it would take him three weeks to process the chocolate and coffee beans.


    ¡°These seem high-grade to me.¡± Scholar Wu held up a [Dragonfire Pepper] to the light.


    Kharli sighed. ¡°Our chef has extremely high standards.¡±


    Lari and Mo nodded their agreement.


    I held up half of a broken fruit to Prince Baiyu, who closely examined and sniffed the item before handing it over to his parents who politely pretended to be interested in it, too.


    Grinning, I moved closer to my boyfriend and whispered, ¡°Wow, your parents look so happy. Their faces are glowing. It must be all those early nights and late mornings in bed.¡±


    He elbowed me on my side and I elbowed him in return before I went back to harvesting the rest of the crops. Since the farming patch was small, I only got a small amount of exp, but because we could plant and harvest every five days, the total amount of experience we would get this winter season should be a lot more than what we would have if we had stayed in the desert like last year.


    ¡°We got a lot more fruit than I expected,¡± I said to the prince.


    In Adventure Incarnate, fruit trees only gave twenty-eight fruit each, but each of the special trees here yielded forty to fifty-five.


    Kharli approached me with a halved fruit in her hand. ¡°Teacher, can we try eating the fruit? The chef says it''s edible.¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± I took out a wooden spoon from my inventory and scooped up some of the flesh. The beans and pepper inside the fruits had System uses, but the outer fruit itself was normally discarded. It was nice to know it was edible. ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡±


    The fruit¡¯s soft and juicy flesh was absolutely delightful, with a sweetness balanced by a slightly acidic tang that reminded me of papaya and mango. It was as if the best qualities of both fruits had been combined into one perfect bite.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing! Try this!¡± I scooped up another spoonful and fed it to Prince Baiyu.


    He made a face. ¡°It¡¯s very sweet.¡±


    The White Tiger clan were descended from carnivores, so one could expect them to greatly prefer meaty or savory dishes, but this wasn¡¯t a universal preference. Scholar Wu, for example, had a sweet tooth.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo tried the fruit next.


    ¡°The prince is right. It¡¯s too sweet¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Oh? Give me that fruit then.¡± Mo tried to take Lari¡¯s fruit, but he refused to relinquish it.


    ¡°Stop it, don¡¯t fight. We have plenty of fruit.¡± I laughed good-naturedly. ¡°Fengying, let¡¯s offer our guests a taste if they want to try it later. For now, let¡¯s toast!¡±


    I took out a table and put the bottles of wine and pitchers of iced tea that we had prepared beforehand, along with crystal goblets. The kids helped me pour the drinks which Yinuo and the other maids distributed to our guests and the staff. I waited until everyone had their drink in hand before saying, ¡°Lady Yuying, would you like to propose a toast?¡±


    The Lady of the West lifted her glass of iced tea and said, ¡°May we always be grateful for the blessings of the land and the bounty it provides.¡±


    ¡°Cheers!¡± I lifted my glass in salute and drank the sweet tea.


    The kids and I were receiving everyone¡¯s congratulations when a group of flying clan members were spotted in the northern sky. It was Prince Muyang and his men, back from exploring the mainland.


    ¡°Time for the next phase of your plan,¡± said Prince Baiyu as he looked up at the sky in the direction of the clan members.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I checked the System Quest tab. ¡°Let¡¯s talk to the prince and suggest that we find the Snowcrest Mountains tomorrow, after my apprentices and I finish planting.¡±


    [Finding the Fertile Fields Enchanted Enclave:


    Craft a Thunderbolt Scepter and Bell and get it appraised. - done


    Sell it to the Black Tortoise clan. - done


    Ask the Duke of the North for permission to explore the Snowcrest Mountains. - done


    Locate the fabled lost secret garden of the Black Tortoise clan.


    Plant 12 different Frost Flowers in the garden.


    Reward: Farming Exp]

 Chapter 198 - The Sacred Cattle

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 198</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Can you really find the mountain sanctuary?¡± Prince Muyang frowned as he gazed at the [Solarium] control station¡¯s display screens. ¡°The location isn¡¯t shown on your maps.¡±


    We were on our way to the main island on my flying ship. Since our destination was the Black Tortoise clan¡¯s legendary secret garden that had been lost for centuries, Prince Muyang requested that we restrict the expedition members to only the necessary personnel. Thus, all the White Tiger clan members were left behind, along with the rest of the household staff, but I did bring my three apprentices with me. Prince Muyang, of course, brought all of his staff.


    ¡°I know the area where it should be. I¡¯ll be relying on your clan members¡¯ keen eyesight to find the cave opening,¡± I said.


    The Snowcrest Mountains were in the northern part of the island and from the air they looked like the ridges on the Black Tortoise¡¯s shell. Though the ship¡¯s screens didn¡¯t show the place we needed to go to, the System map had a big yellow X on it that marked the spot.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo, who were seated beside me at the control station craned their necks to gawk at the view outside of vast jungles and snow-capped mountains. They were so intimidated by the foreign prince¡¯s proximity that they kept completely silent.


    ¡°Very well, please let me know when we¡¯re near and we¡¯ll scan the area,¡± said Prince Muyang.


    ¡°How was your exploration trip, sir?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Call me Muyang. It was quite gratifying to see that the land is teeming with life. We found the herds of sacred cattle, too.¡±


    ¡°Sacred cattle?¡±


    ¡°They say the Black Tortoise¡¯s favorite daughter had a beloved pet cow which had many descendants.¡±


    Wow, so they were literal sacred cows? And there are also flying pigs. What''s next? A unicorn circus?


    The thought made me smile, and I was lost in thought about what I would see in the secret garden when I heard a beeping sound from the System.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re here!¡± The [Solarium] automatically stopped when we reached the end of the flight path I had set her on. ¡°Let¡¯s look for it.¡±


    All of us went to the glass walls on the side overlooking the mountain, and we tried to search for the cave entrance. When we couldn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary, I set the [Solarium] to descend at its slowest speed to allow us to check the lower areas of the mountain.


    Surprisingly, given that clan members had better eyesight, it was Lari who found it first.


    ¡°There! I see it!¡± Lari pointed. ¡°The cave entrance is right there!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher, do you see that? There¡¯s a path,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I see it!¡± Mo was almost jumping up and down with excitement.


    Prince Muyang¡¯s eyebrows were knitted together in a frown. ¡°Where? I don¡¯t see anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll land the ship and we can walk up to the cave using the path we saw,¡± I said.


    ¡°What path?¡±


    ¡°Uh, these secret areas tend to be in stealth mode, you should be able to see it when we get there,¡± I said.


    ¡°Baiyu told me of this, but it''s very strange to experience it in person,¡± he said.


    I laughed. ¡°It¡¯ll be fun, Your Highness!¡±


    ¡°Muyang.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fun, Muyang!¡± I turned to my apprentices and said, ¡°Ready? It seems we¡¯ll have to lead the clan members to the cave.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± Kharli answered for all of them.


    Once the ship landed on the nearest flat land on the slopes, we disembarked and made our way on foot to the hiking trail we had seen from the air.


    Shading my eyes from the sun¡¯s rays, I looked up at the side of the mountain. ¡°It¡¯s an hour¡¯s hike, I think.¡±


    Prince Muyang, with his royal guards and companions, walked behind us as we made our way through the jungle. The sun beat down on us mercilessly and I was glad of the DIY sunscreen I had made using the [Ageless Beauty Essence] potion and pearl powder.


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    Fengying had gotten the idea of the sunscreen from one of the maids who had returned from a shopping trip in Anwei with a tiny vial of powder which the merchant she bought from claimed was made of crushed pearls from Mai-i. Since I had [Golden Pearls] in my inventory, I crushed a few using a mortar and pestle and compared them to the vial¡¯s contents. Happily, we concluded that the merchant hadn¡¯t been lying. Fengying then suggested that we try combining the pearl powder with the potion, which I had to do manually since it was not a System recipe.


    The result was a watery white cream. Subsequent testing proved that the cream provided protection from the elements and was an effective treatment for sunburn, though it did nothing for insect bites and other skin irritations.


    ¡°Guys, did you remember to use your sunscreen?¡± I asked my apprentices.


    ¡°I forgot!¡± Mo hurriedly applied it to her face, neck, forearms, and hands.


    ¡°Good. And it¡¯s hot, so stay hydrated,¡± I said.


    In addition to the heat, the jungle was also quite humid, which added to my discomfort despite the loveliness of the trail we were using. After five minutes, my face was sticky with sweat.


    The mountainside was covered in towering trees and thick undergrowth. Some trees boasted broad leaves the size of small boats, while others had aerial roots that formed twisting, living curtains.


    Vibrant green ferns unfurled their fronds in the dappled sunlight that filtered through the leaves above. Colorful orchids clung to tree trunks, their delicate petals a stark contrast to the rough bark. The ground was a mosaic of fallen leaves, moss-covered logs, and the ever-present roots that snaked across the trail.


    Thank goodness there was a path because it would¡¯ve been quite hard for us to navigate the jungle otherwise.


    Kharli walked beside me and said, ¡°We must be the first humans to walk on the island since the demigods ascended.¡±


    ¡°There must be lots of treasure hidden away here!¡± Lari grinned mischievously at the clan members.


    We all knew that Prince Muyang considered this place the ruling Black Tortoise clan¡¯s private property. All the members of our expedition had sworn to keep the island¡¯s location a secret until the prince and his family announced its rediscovery to the world.


    The trail we had been following was a narrow one, possibly an animal trail. At the end of it was the cave mouth.


    ¡°Do you see it now?¡± I asked Prince Muyang.


    ¡°I do not.¡±


    The kids and I exchanged baffled glances. I shrugged and we walked to the cave single file, with me in the lead.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Prince Muyang held up a hand just as we were about to enter. ¡°I sense something.¡±


    My apprentices and I froze in place and waited patiently as the prince and his attendants stroked their beards and felt the air around us with their hands as though trying to touch the air.


    ¡°There seems to be a formation in place. Please go inside and then come back out for us,¡± said Prince Muyang, his silver eyes alight with excitement and the corners of his lips turned up in a slight smile. It was a very attractive expression, and I could well believe the rumors that he was a real heartbreaker.


    The cave was very ordinary, simply a natural-looking hollow side of the mountain, with rough, uneven walls that bore the marks of centuries of erosion. The entrance was narrow, just wide enough for two people to squeeze through, and inside, away from the hot sun, the air was cooler and drier. Scattered pebbles and small stones littered the floor, and a few patches of lichen clung to the walls.


    We went back out and told the clan members what we had found. According to them, from their point of view, we disappeared into the side of the mountain.


    ¡°I know what to do! Hold my hand, I¡¯ll lead you inside,¡± I said to the prince.


    He shook his head. ¡°No, we can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± This was the method I used to bring Prince Baiyu inside the [Mysterious Grove] when he was unable to enter by himself.


    ¡°Because someone will get jealous.¡± Prince Muyang laughed at my expression.


    ¡°Teacher, let me do it,¡± said Lari.


    I doubted very much that Prince Baiyu would be jealous of such a thing, but I said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Lari took the clan members inside the cave one by one. Once they entered, we found that they were able to come and go as they pleased, but they were still puzzled over one thing.


    ¡°Lady Violet, this mysterious cave does radiate a strong divine energy, but where is the secret garden?¡± asked Prince Muyang.


    Pointing at a nondescript spot on the cave floor, I smiled and said, ¡°This heavenly Black Tortoise¡¯s hidden garden has more than one layer of secrecy. Can you unlock the entrance from there?¡±


    Before we left, when I told Prince Baiyu about this quest, he advised me to let the clan members try the puzzles first. They would be more pleased if they could accomplish this themselves than to have us walk them through it right away.


    ¡°A puzzle? Very well, we¡¯ll try to discover how to open the entrance.¡±


    While the clan members poked and prodded the floor and walls of the cave, not confining themselves to just the spot I indicated, I placed a small table inside the cave and took out basins of water that we used to refresh ourselves. We were drinking iced lemon tea and fanning ourselves when Prince Muyang finally admitted defeat.


    ¡°We can¡¯t seem to find the secret,¡± he said.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for us to get to work, kids!¡± Taking a shovel from the System toolbelt, I walked over to the center of the cave and started digging.


    My apprentices mimicked my actions.


    Thankfully, the System¡¯s tool cut through the hard-packed earth as easily as a hot knife through butter. We dug six feet deep before we found the trap door made of black metal etched with glowing red stars and silver crescent moon symbols.


    ¡°Would you like to do the honors?¡± I asked the prince.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯d like to go first, too.¡± He effortlessly opened the heavy metal door, revealing a set of stone steps leading down. ¡°This looks very promising. Please wait for us up here.¡±


    The clan members went down the stairs together, leaving one of the guards behind with us. Due to the steep incline of the steps, I couldn¡¯t see where they ended, but there was a light coming from below, so I guessed it was an open space. It didn¡¯t take them long to reach the bottom.


    ¡°We found it! The garden is here!¡± Prince Muyang shouted up to us.


    I was just about to yell down to ask if we should follow when we heard screaming from the people below.


    ¡°Stop it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a monster!¡±


    ¡°Get it off me!¡±


    What?! But the garden wasn''t supposed to be dangerous!

 Chapter 199 - Snowcrest Mountains Hidden Garden

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 199</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Do you need help?¡± yelled the guard who was staying with us.


    ¡°No! Stay there with the lady!¡± shouted a guard from the area beneath us.


    Below us, the commotion continued, but the clan member¡¯s tone of voice gradually became less alarmed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt it!¡±


    ¡°Try to push it away.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not trying to eat you; it wants to lick your face.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, its breath stinks!¡±


    ¡°I think it''s the Ten Thousand Scaled Nine-Headed Divine Immortal Serpent King!¡±


    ¡°What? The Ten Thousand Scaled Nine-Headed Divine Immortal Serpent King?¡±


    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t have nine heads.¡±


    ¡°Look at it. It must be a descendant of the immortal beast.¡±


    After a few more minutes, we got the go-ahead to descend. At the bottom of the stairs, we found the clan members chilling with a three-headed hydra.


    ¡°Oh, what a cutie!¡± I patted its soft, scaly heads which made all three heads hiss in a pleased manner.


    The hydra, which was a three-headed snake, was around seven feet long. Standing on four stubby legs, it was roughly four feet tall, with soft brown scales that shaded to black at its feet and pinkish on its head. Its brown eyes were large and round, which gave it a very innocent appearance.


    ¡°Yes, this is a sacred mythical beast,¡± said Prince Muyang. ¡°My lady, please stay here while we explore the rest of the valley.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem!¡± I said.


    The prince left one guard behind while the rest scattered in all directions. My apprentices carefully approached the hydra and started petting it. I looked around while scratching the hydra¡¯s necks.


    To my surprise, the valley seemed quite ordinary. The trees, plants, and even the insects looked exactly the same as the ones in the tropical jungle outside. A small waterfall was in the west and a stream burbled merrily beneath it. Except for the hydra, nothing looked unusual.


    [Finding the Fertile Fields Enchanted Enclave:


    Craft a Thunderbolt Scepter and Bell and get it appraised. - done


    Sell it to the Black Tortoise clan. - done


    Ask the Duke of the North for permission to explore the Snowcrest Mountains. - done


    Locate the fabled lost secret garden of the Black Tortoise clan. - done


    Plant 12 different Frost Flowers in the garden.


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    One of the hydra heads started licking Lari¡¯s face, which made him try to get away, but it pursued him while the rest of us watched in amusement.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity we¡¯re not allowed to Fish or Forage here,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°This is holy ground for them. It¡¯s enough that we can Farm and Fish on the islands,¡± I said.


    Mo eventually rescued Lari by giving the hydra a tiger plush toy from the [Wondrous Whimsical Wonder Workshop] to chew on. This started a fight with the three heads, who all wanted the toy, so we had to give them more. I contributed a rabbit toy, while Kharli gave them a reindeer one.


    Kharli gave the sacred beast a thoughtful look. ¡°I wonder what the hydra eats.¡±


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    ¡°Snakes eat mice and small animals, I think.¡± Since it seemed we were going to have to wait for a long time, I took out some chairs and a small table. ¡°Let¡¯s have a snack. It¡¯s almost lunchtime and I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    We settled ourselves comfortably and had tea and cookies. When the clan members didn¡¯t return at noon, we ate the sandwiches that the staff had packed for us. It was mid-afternoon by the time the clan members returned. They looked like they were in great spirits, with big smiles on their faces and their eyes sparkling with joy.


    ¡°Lady Violet, I can take you to the place with the flowers you wanted to go to,¡± said Prince Muyang.


    ¡°Did you find anything interesting?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There is a small herd of sacred beasts, which is a great blessing for my clan. Legend says that the Serpent King only appears during the reign of a heroic ruler.¡±


    ¡°Where do they live? What do they eat?¡±


    ¡°There is a glen downstream.¡± The prince gestured at the stream north of us. ¡°After we finish dealing with the troubles in the Southernlands, I¡¯ll bring scholars here to study how they live and what they eat. I also want to collect their discarded skin. They could be used for many things¡­¡±


    ¡°They shed their skins like snakes?¡±


    ¡°I saw a few snakeskins! Let¡¯s go to the place you¡¯re looking for while we talk.¡± Prince Muyang led the way, and we chatted while we walked, with the clan members surrounding us to keep watch on the environment, even though nothing really seemed dangerous.


    The three-headed hydra followed beside us playing with my apprentices by tossing the soft toys back and forth between the three heads and my three farmhands.


    Soon we arrived at a small clearing which had a black and green marble altar at its center that had a lovely statue of the Black Tortoise on it. The altar and statue had both been covered in moss and dirt when they discovered it, but the clan members had cleaned it up as best as they could. Dozens of pretty lily-like white flowers were blooming around the altar.


    ¡°These should be the flowers that you described, Lady Violet,¡± said the Prince.


    [Frost Flower:


    A sacred flower indigenous to the Snowcrest Mountains that blooms all year round. Its scent is described as reminiscent of freshly fallen snow, hence its name. Planting one of its seeds is said to grant a person a year of good luck. Honey made from its nectar has strong wound-healing properties.]


    I rubbed my hands together in delight. The HP-recovery food and medicine recipes were almost within my grasp! ¡°Yes, this is it! Kids, look around for seeds.¡±


    The clan members stood guard over us as we searched the ground for seeds. Once we gathered enough, I went up to each clan member and gave them one. ¡°Plant one for good luck.¡±


    Since this was not a farm, we didn¡¯t need to plow the land. Instead, we simply poked holes in the ground with a stick and placed the seeds inside and then covered them with soil before watering them. When twelve seeds were planted, I got the expected System message.


    [Finding the Fertile Fields Enchanted Enclave: Quest Complete


    Reward: Farming Exp]


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Farming level!]


    [Your Farming level is now 29.]


    Awesome! I was very close to level 30, too.


    Wiping the dirt off my hands with a handkerchief, I looked around and noted the location of the waterfall. It was cliche, but the Adventure Incarnate developers were the traditional type who always loved to hide something behind every cascade of falling water. I vaguely remembered some sort of minor quest in this area.


    ¡°Is there a legend of a hidden treasure here?¡± I asked the clan members.


    ¡°There are tons,¡± said the youngest, a dashing-looking man with thick eyebrows and an aquiline nose. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to explore every nook and cranny.¡±


    ¡°I have a feeling there could be something behind that waterfall.¡± I pointed at it. ¡°Can we take a look?¡±


    Prince Muyang looked up at the sky. ¡°It¡¯s noon. Do you want to eat your midday meal first?¡±


    ¡°We already had a snack,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d like to check it out first.¡±


    ¡°It would be faster if we flew you there.¡±


    I put a hand on my chest and sighed, knowing he was right.


    Flying was the worst!


    The prince picked me up and flew off. I kept my eyes tightly shut while we flew to the waterfall, trying to take deep breaths and stay calm. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t far.


    While we were still in the air, the clan members stopped and floated near enough to the water that I could feel the moist spray on my face. Prince Muyang ordered one of his men to scout ahead, and when he returned with news that there was indeed a space behind the waterfall that had a door carved into the side of the mountain, they flew us there.


    We got awfully wet, of course, and I took out a lot of fluffy towels which we used to dry off. The door, made of plain black wood, opened easily, and I let the clan members go inside first before the kids and I entered.


    The System notification chime sounded as soon as I went through the door.


    [Quest Available: The War Scroll]


    I read the System¡¯s description before accepting the quest.


    [The War Scroll:


    Open the nine doors by solving all the puzzles. Discover the ancient War Scroll.


    Reward: Farming Exp and ???]

 Chapter 200 - Level 30 Farming Milestone

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 200</h2>


    ??????


    The reward that the System display showed as three question marks was some sort of mystery item, probably junk since this wasn¡¯t a major quest. Only the big events or main quest lines had mystery rewards that were worth keeping.


    Having accepted the quest, I checked my surroundings and found myself in a large chamber with an earthen ceiling and floor, with walls made of the same plain black wood as the door. At the far side was another door identical to the first one. The area was lit by what looked like light bulbs to me, but the people of this world would probably call them glowing pearls or something like that.


    The clan members quickly went through the other door, and we followed after them when they said it was safe. The room behind the door was enormous, easily fifty feet across, with thirty-foot high ceilings, and it was a maze of corridors made out of wood.


    Prince Muyang conferred with the other clan members before turning to me and asking, ¡°Shall I fly everyone to the other side?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I think we¡¯re supposed to solve the maze. Why don¡¯t we give it a try?¡±


    Though I wasn¡¯t opposed to cheating, why borrow trouble when the maze probably wasn¡¯t that hard to traverse?


    ¡°Uh, who is good at mazes?¡± I asked everyone.


    One of the clan members raised his hand. It only took half an hour to get to the door on the other side.


    The next room was empty except for a square-shaped puzzle on the wooden wall made up of nine squares, each with nine squares inside them. Some of the smaller squares had tiles with numbers written on them in white paint, and on either side of the big square were numbered tiles hung on metal hooks driven into the walls.


    Clearly, I was supposed to put the numbered tiles on the empty squares.


    Prince Muyang frowned. ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, I must commit Sudoku! Give me a few minutes, please. I have to solve this puzzle.¡± I stood in front of the puzzle and took out a pencil and paper from my inventory to draft the answer.


    Finding the solution took a while since I was no Sudoku expert, but I eventually figured it out.


    The prince gave me a questioning look. ¡°How do you know what to do?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a common puzzle?¡± Suddenly I realized what the problem was. The numbers were from Earth! This world, naturally, used different characters for their number system. ¡°Uh, well, it¡¯s just a mathematical formula I have to solve.¡±


    I explained the rules of Sudoku to them and wrote down the numbers for them in their language.


    ¡°Then these are just magic squares, but written in your bloodline inheritance¡¯s language?¡± Prince Muyang raised an eyebrow. ¡°Could your bloodline be related to the Black Tortoise?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a mystery to me.¡±


    The door automatically slid open when I finished placing the last tile. The other puzzles in the other rooms were equally easy to solve. There was a memory game, jigsaw puzzle, crossword puzzle, spot the difference, and connect the dots, but the one that gave me the most trouble was the hidden object game. No matter how I tried, I simply couldn¡¯t find the cloverleaf in the extremely intricately detailed carving of a fantasy forest. Kharli was the one who found it for me.


    ¡°Good work!¡± I gave her a hug. ¡°I¡¯ll give you an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert tonight!¡±


    ¡°But I always get an extra scoop! How about a whole bowl of ice cream this big, Teacher?¡± Kharli cupped her hands together to show the size of the bowl she wanted.


    ¡°No can do, kid. You¡¯ll get a stomach ache like last time. Let¡¯s go. Something tells me the next room is the last puzzle we have to solve.¡±


    Prince Muyang and the other clan members reacted to that piece of information in different ways.


    ¡°What is that ¡®something¡¯?¡± murmured the prince.


    ¡°None of us can read these strange writings.¡±


    ¡°The qi here is quiet but intense. I¡¯ll be glad to see the end of these rooms.¡±


    ¡°The maze is one thing, but these ¡®puzzles¡¯...¡±


    ¡°I think they¡¯re very interesting! The jigsaw puzzle was fun.¡±


    ¡°But why aren¡¯t they in our language?¡±


    I scratched my head and said, ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t the Black Tortoise supposed to have a weird sense of humor? This seems like a very playful place.¡±


    ¡°No, I heard the gods have no sense of humor. That¡¯s something only humans have,¡± said the prince.


    After that brief discussion, Prince Muyang, who had never complained or expressed frustration at not understanding the puzzles, ordered his guards to go ahead to the next room.


    I gasped in horror when I saw the last puzzle. ¡°No, no, no! This is impossible. Let¡¯s just give up. There¡¯s probably nothing good in the prize room anyway.¡±


    The prince looked down at the floor which was full of colored tiles. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I hate sliding puzzles, and it¡¯s way too big! Look, there are like hundreds of tiles. We could be here for days.¡±


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    ¡°I think ¡®days¡¯ is an exaggeration. I¡¯m sure we can finish in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Do you know the saying ¡®Pride goeth before a fall¡¯?¡±


    ¡°We can do it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Since he was determined to complete the puzzle, I gave in.


    We all circled the floor tiles and tried to figure out what the drawing on the tiles was supposed to be, but it was too jumbled up. Prince Muyang suggested sliding a few tiles around, but our big break came after the one-hour mark when the System took pity on us and a notification popped up.


    [Buy a hint for 30 gold coins?]


    I never clicked on the [Yes] button so fast in my life!


    The System was stingy and only gave a partial drawing of the upper right corner of the illustration, but it was enough to give us a good head start. Once we finished that bit, the System offered another hint for more gold, and I kept on buying until we finally finished the puzzle four hours later.


    I leaned on the wall and put a hand on my forehead as though I was an actress on stage who was about to faint. ¡°That was way too hard for me!¡±


    Lari flashed a smile. ¡°Teacher, this should mean the prize will be really good. No one would put so many obstacles if the treasure isn¡¯t spectacular.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡± I almost had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying that the best treasures were always guarded by boss monsters. That would¡¯ve raised a flag.


    The most senior guard went inside what I expected to be the prize room first. There were no screams, so the rest of us followed behind him right away.


    The treasure room was vast and circular, its earthen walls bare except for patches of moss. Pillars of white stone, set with globes of glowing glass, were set here and there along the perimeter, brightly illuminating the massive oak chest dominating the center of the room, its iron-bound lid closed tight. Ornate runic carvings adorned its surface and it rested on a low black stone platform. Scattered loosely around the chest were three golden objects: a goblet, a ring, and a small statuette. The air inside was stale and carried a faint, earthy scent. Other than the chest and the few treasures, the room was empty.


    We fell into a reverent silence.


    ¡°This probably isn¡¯t dangerous, but please stay behind us,¡± said Prince Muyang¡¯s chief bodyguard.


    The kids and I obediently stood behind the clan members as one of the more junior guards undid the iron clasps and opened the chest. He smiled and took out a scroll case from the inside of the chest. It was made of dark wood and brown leather.


    We all crowded around him and I used the System to check the item¡¯s info.


    [War Scroll:


    An ancient scroll containing the original text of the Divine Strategist¡¯s sermons to his disciples on the art of warfare and logistics.]


    With this, I got a tiny bit of exp, which was enough to push me over the edge to my Farming milestone level.


    [The War Scroll: Quest Complete


    Reward: Farming Exp and Mustard Seed]


    [Congratulations you just advanced a Farming level!]


    [Your Farming level is now 30.]


    Yes!


    I was so excited by leveling up that I barely paid attention to the others when they took all the treasures. They would all be sent to Prince Muyang¡¯s father, the ruler of the northern clans, and the scroll case was put back in the chest for now, since they feared the contents might be too delicate for us to touch, much less unroll and read.


    We quickly went back outside where my flying ship was and returned to the islands. I went directly to my villa where I secluded myself in order to check on all the new goodies I received for reaching my level 30 Farming milestone.


    There were lots of rewards: more energy, house unlocks, five puppet upgrade gems, an extra building slot, and the limit for farm animals was increased from eight to ten.


    The five ruby hearts went into the gem on my puppet¡¯s chest.


    [Puppet Name: Mr. Bear


    A magical plushie unlike any other. This cute and cuddly bear is made of a special type of plush cloth and magical stuffing that gives it special powers. When its owner is in danger, this bear will come to life.


    Though Mr. Bear is a wizard type, this puppet is also equipped with hidden metal claws and teeth.


    Type: Magic


    Base spell: Fireball


    Upgrades: 14¡ú19/99]


    While treating myself to a slice of osmanthus cake and a [Kola-Kola Soda] to celebrate my level up, I browsed the [Build] tab and saw that the [Palace] and [Four Courtyard House] were both unlocked.


    Maybe I would build a [Palace] when it was time for my wedding, but at the moment, I felt that using that much land for a house was too much. The added building slot would be filled by another [Rice Mill] since it was needed for the war effort.


    When I finished checking all the new goodies, I went to visit Prince Baiyu and we spent the rest of the night together.


    The next day, I visited Prince Baiyu¡¯s parents at their villa.


    The royal couple were enjoying a honeymoon of sorts and kept to themselves. According to Scholar Wu, clan members¡¯ babies were considered ¡°newborns¡± for a longer time than human babies and needed a lot of care and attention because clan members grew and aged at a slower rate. Thus, the time when a female was pregnant was considered a very special time since the parents would probably not have much time alone together for a few years. That was why Lady Yuying and her husband spent all their time at their villa and even ate their meals separately.


    Everyone thought it was hilarious when they had to ask Fengying to replace some of the furniture they broke. I tactfully changed the more fragile wooden furniture with sturdy metal ones.


    Whenever they did emerge, the two of them looked bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, and today was no exception. They sat side by side on a loveseat while Baiyu served us tea, looking quite pleased with themselves. We exchanged the ritual greetings and made some small talk before Lady Yuying got to the main point.


    ¡°We¡¯ve decided to hand over Baiyu¡¯s inheritance. We¡¯ll be too busy to handle it after the baby is born,¡± said Lady Yuying.


    ¡°There are some gold and household items, but most of them are in the form of properties such as agricultural lands, undeveloped forests, houses and shops in towns and cities, and so forth,¡± said Lord Yulin. ¡°There are a lot of taxes and documents that need to be filed when we transfer the deeds to Baiyu.¡±


    Prince Baiyu¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°I¡¯m sure I can handle it.¡±


    My head started spinning when they talked about all the details of the contracts and legal papers that would be needed, but the important part was that this conversation signaled that they were getting ready for the time when their son married out of their family.


    We parted with lots of smiles and mutual good wishes. Prince Baiyu was on cloud nine now that we got a concrete sign of approval from his parents, and we had a party that night to celebrate. Deming whipped up a scrumptious feast of fresh fish and seafood dishes served with the produce from the farm. After the kids went to bed, Prince Muyang contributed his alcohol stash and the staff spent a boozy night of stargazing and singing around a bonfire at the beach. Prince Baiyu hustled me off to my villa when our drunk guests dared each other to go skinny dipping.


    ***


    The days of vacationing at the beach and planting strange fruit trees passed in a sweet haze of romance. It wasn¡¯t until the winter season was almost over and we were packing for our return to the Emberstone Farm that I remembered to check the [Mustard Seed].


    [Mustard Seed:


    Plant this at the appropriate time on your farm to unlock a pocket dimension.]


    What???

 Chapter 201 - Planting the [Mustard Seed]

    I caught my breath and my heart pounded wildly in my chest.


    A pocket dimension?


    That was a proposed Adventure Incarnate expansion that went into beta testing but was never released!


    Years ago, the developers made a ¡°farm within a farm¡± which was supposed to be a much more ¡°high fantasy¡± land where farmers made an army of earth golems to work on the land for them. There, one could also cast magic spells with the help of¡­ I couldn¡¯t remember if they were called fairies or spirits, but they were summoned creatures. It even included a training portal!


    The idea had been scrapped due to the player community¡¯s vocal disapproval of the bright, cartoony graphics which they hated because they thought they looked too childish.


    How come I had access to this piece of scrapped content?


    Thinking of all the possibilities made me feel giddy, and I had to calm myself down a little before I mentally clicked on the ¡°appropriate time¡± part of the item description. According to the System text, I needed to use the Astrology skill to find an auspicious date, hour, and minute for planting the seed. I took note of all the details and went outside that night to check.


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s not years from now,¡± I said to Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°There might be more than one auspicious day,¡± he said. ¡°Astrology normally works like that.¡±


    We were stargazing at the fishing platform, as far away from the lights of the villa as we could be. The sea breeze was warm and the night sky was cloudy, which made it harder to use my telescope since we had to wait for the section of the sky I was charting to clear.


    Thankfully, this type of Astrology was easy enough. All I had to do was to use the [Telescope] to find the stars indicated in the [Star Map] and note down their coordinates which I then entered into the [Cosmic Fortune Finder Machine¡¯s] numerical keyboard.


    [Cosmic Fortune Finder Machine:


    A mystical machine used to find both auspicious and calamitous dates for important events. Type in a question and the machine will output a star map. Find the coordinates of the stars on the map and input them into the machine to reveal the answer you desire.]


    If you had asked me back on Earth, I¡¯d have said that Astrology was all mumbo-jumbo, but it seemed to be a legitimate skill in this world.


    I typed in the question "When is the best time to plant the Mustard Seed?" and pressed the enter button. Then I collected the [Star Map] from the output chute.


    The telescope was a digital one with a control panel. I fed the [Star Map] into a slot and the telescope rotated until it was facing the right area of the sky, but I did have to manually adjust the angle. I peered into the telescope''s eye piece and kept adjusting it up and down until the System pinged me that I found the right star. Prince Baiyu wrote down the numbers for me. We continued working like this until I located all the stars I needed.


    ¡°Okay, here goes nothing¡­¡± I punched the last set of numbers on the Cosmic Fortune Finder Machine] which spit out a card with the information I wanted. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m so lucky! The next auspicious date is thirty minutes after midnight on New Year¡¯s Day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy for you. So you¡¯re done with astrology tonight?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I put the equipment away.


    "Can you ask this machine any question?"


    "What? No, not really. I can only ask the questions that my bloodline inheritance asks."


    "Pity, but never mind that." Prince Baiyu took my hand in his. ¡°Shall we go to your villa or mine?¡±


    I turned to face him, my heart quickening at his proximity. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I felt the warmth of his body through the silk of his robes. I went on tiptoe, my lips brushing against his ear as I whispered, ¡°Oh my, what a saucy question. You''re becoming really bold.¡±


    He blushed and stammered, ¡°Well, y-you, I-¡±


    I put a finger on his lips to silence him. ¡°No, no, don¡¯t explain. Let¡¯s go to your villa.¡±


    He took me in his arms and bent down until our foreheads touched. His breath was warm on my face as he said, ¡°Now who¡¯s the saucy one?¡±


    This time I stopped him talking by covering his lips with mine.


    ***


    Two days after that we harvested the last of the fruits and I removed the [Crystal Waters Resort], leaving the islands as pristine as we had found them. Since Prince Muyang and his people were staying here, we said our goodbyes and I gifted them with a large box of Emberstone Farm [Tea]. The rest of us got on the [Solarium] and flew off. I stopped to drop off Prince Baiyu, his parents, and Scholar Wu at Anwei City before returning to my house. New Year¡¯s Day was tomorrow, and it was a major holiday for clan members. Due to their long lifespan, clan members could forget even important memories if they weren¡¯t revisited every now and then. Therefore, at the end of each year, they came together as a family to talk and record the significant events in their lives and that of their community in the past few years.


    Though I was sad that we couldn¡¯t be together, I didn¡¯t whine because, after all, we had spent the entire winter season in each other¡¯s company.


    Travel via the [Solarium] was fast, so we arrived at Emberstone Farm in under an hour.


    ¡°It¡¯s a cliche, but there¡¯s truly no place like home!¡± I flung my arms around my apprentices. ¡°I can¡¯t wait for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to be back,¡± said Kharli. ¡°The islands were nice, but it was so hot.¡±


    Mo nodded her agreement. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to the spring planting season all week long.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, do you think the [Ginseng] is ready yet?¡± asked Lari.


    I shook my head. ¡°I doubt it grew much in winter. Do you want to go and check it now?¡±


    ¡°No, Teacher. I don¡¯t want to miss the magic!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Everyone loved it whenever I made the buildings appear out of thin air, so I waited until the staff finished disembarking with all of our luggage before going to the System¡¯s [Build] tab and summoning the [Three-Courtyard House], [Greenhouse], [Ranch House], and the two [Rice Mills]. They all clapped.


    ¡°We¡¯re back!¡± Kharli ran off to the main house with the other two trailing behind her.


    The staff followed behind them at a more sedate pace while I stopped to inspect the fields before heading to my house.


    The air was cold but not freezing on the last day of winter. I pulled my thin cotton jacket closed, shivering. The plants from the [Winter Seed Mix] we¡¯d planted at the start of the season had grown shoulder-high. They were brown and dry-looking. By midnight, they would have fully wilted and by morning the kids and I would plow them into the soil where they would further decompose into nutrients that the crops could use in the future. I knelt and picked up a few fallen leaves which I crumbled in my hands. They released a pleasantly earthy, damp scent.


    After my walk, I went to the [Herb Garden] which was in quite a messy state since we¡¯d left it alone for so long. My apprentices and I got busy tending to the plots and sweeping the paths clear. We finished at lunchtime and went to the main house where the staff were all busy preparing for the feast tonight.


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    ¡°Don¡¯t eat a lot now, reserve your stomach space for the New Year¡¯s Eve party!¡± I said.


    ¡°Except for Lari, he has plenty of space,¡± said Kharli.


    Lari just smirked and continued shoveling rice and meat into his mouth.


    ¡°Today I¡¯m gonna soak in the hot spring for an hour at least,¡± said Mo. ¡°My bathroom in the [Crystal Waters Resort] was good, but nothing beats the hot spring at home.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to dress up for tonight?¡± asked Kharli.


    I yawned and said, ¡°A nap is my first priority. I¡¯ll put a bit of effort into dressing up later, but you don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, I think we should wear matching clothes next year. I remembered that too late this year,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s a thing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Back in Singapore, families liked to wear new matching clothes for the Chinese New Year. My parents and I always wore red. The thought made me feel a little melancholic, so I finished eating as quickly as I could and left.


    At the [Ranch House] I slept until late afternoon and put on a comfortable but elegant set of red robes with tiny white snowflakes painted on them. A simple green jade hairpin in an abstract wavy shape completed the look. With a spring in my step, I went to the courtyard house where Fengying and the others had set up the main hall with festive decorations made of pinecones, pine needles, bamboo cuttings, and plum blossoms. Pine, bamboo, and plum were called the Three Friends of Winter because they were evergreen plants that thrive even in the coldest season.


    ¡°My lady, please sit here.¡± Fengying directed me to the seat of honor at the center of the hall.


    The maids then brought in a wooden chest containing the traditional New Year¡¯s gift of lucky money. Last year, I didn''t know enough about local customs to arrange this, but this year, Scholar Wu¡¯s books had educated me on what a good employer should do for her staff.


    Everyone lined up and I handed each of them a string of one hundred copper coins strung with red thread. The coins were round, with a square hole in the middle, and weren¡¯t worth much, but since they were given as a gift on New Year''s they were said to be lucky. Tonight we would wear them on our necks while we feasted and put them under our pillows before we slept.


    I exchanged pleasantries and good wishes with everyone.


    ¡°Happy New Year!¡±


    ¡°May this year be filled with peace and harmony.¡±


    ¡°Wishing you a year filled with joy and happiness.¡±


    When I handed out the last of the coins, Fengying, as the oldest person around, gave me my share.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s eat and drink our fill to welcome the New Year!¡±


    As I requested beforehand, we all dined together at one long table in the outer courtyard, so it was very festive. The house¡¯s climate control was turned on, so it wasn¡¯t too cold, and there were lots of pretty fairy lights and winter-themed decor. Above us, the sky was a glorious blaze of stars and a gibbous moon.


    For this New Year dinner, the chef and his assistants had prepared a whole steamed fish, crispy pork belly with pickled vegetables, roast duck, double-boiled ginseng with pork ribs, and vegetables in abalone sauce. Since the celebration was for everyone, the maids served all the dishes and drinks in one go instead of having separate courses. In the middle of the table, they put a large Eight Treasure Auspicious Bowl full of nuts, seeds, and fruits whose names were homophones for nice things. For example, this world¡¯s word for ¡°apple¡± sounded similar to the word for ¡°peace.¡±


    I sampled every dish and drank sweet peach juice. The steamed fish¡¯s delicate flesh seemed to melt on my tongue and the roast duck, with its crisp, caramelized skin and juicy meat was incredibly flavorful and delightfully textured. In my opinion, the pork belly was the star of the show. I loved the taste of the succulent meat and the way the crackling skin sounded when I bit into it. By the time I got to the vegetables, I was stuffed and only had a few bites of it before finishing off my meal with the double-boiled ginseng soup which was perfect for fortifying me against the cold winter wind outside.


    ¡°Another excellent feast!¡± I said to my apprentices.


    Mo and Kharli were to my right, while Lari was to my left.


    ¡°I can¡¯t eat too much or I won¡¯t be able to go out later,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stuff yourself silly,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Planting the [Mustard Seed] seems very important.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if farm hands were allowed in the pocket dimension, but I¡¯d told the kids about it because I didn¡¯t want them to worry if I suddenly disappeared from the farm tonight.


    ¡°The System probably has a huge surprise for us,¡± said Lari.


    Mo placed a choice morsel of fish on my plate. ¡°Teacher, you should eat more since you¡¯re getting married soon.¡±


    I pinched her waist. ¡°You¡¯re the one who needs to eat more. You need to build some of that good fat!¡±


    Mo leaned towards me and whispered, ¡°Teacher, did you notice Yinuo is getting plump? Could she be¡­.?¡±


    ¡°She is a newlywed,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Hush, you. We don¡¯t know anything yet,¡± I said.


    Could it be that this time next year we would have a baby on the farm?


    We finished eating well before midnight, of course. The staff put the leftover food away. It was traditional to leave a lot of food uneaten until the next day since having a surplus was a symbol of plenty. Tables were pushed to the side and Fengying, Deming, and the older staff started drinking in earnest. The younger ones like me and the kids took out a few musical instruments. Lari, ever outgoing, regaled us with a short tune on his flute that he had been practicing. Yinuo and the maids taught us some folk songs, but mostly we chatted and enjoyed the break from work.


    As the night wore on, I felt sleepy and retired to my bedroom in the main house, with the kids keeping watch over me. They were given strict instructions to wake me up ten minutes after midnight.


    ¡°Teacher, will you really meet the New Year¡¯s ghost in your sleep?¡± Mo tucked her string of coins under my pillow. ¡°Maybe this will help.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking. I¡¯ll put mine, too.¡± I took the necklace of coins from my neck and shoved it under my pillow for good luck.


    The others did the same with their coins and I washed my face, put on my pajamas, and went to bed. No sooner did I lie down that I fell into a deep sleep and dreamed of my little dragon boy. He was wearing a red onesie with the character for good fortune embroidered on gold thread on its front and "Happy New Year" on the back. I couldn''t help but kiss his cute face dozens of times.


    When I woke up from my dream of a dragon child, I was in my bed, but I realized it was a false awakening because the dream continued with me receiving the evaluation that the player received at the end of every year in Adventure Incarnate.


    However, instead of seeing an actual ghost, a bearded old man with blue eyes and hair, what I saw was something very different. There was no personal visit from a scary apparition. Rather, what I saw was a scrolling screen filled with text, presumably written by the ghost.


    [My dear girl, we haven¡¯t seen each other in such a long time! Though my body may have vanished from this world, my heart and spirit will always be with you. You¡¯ve been here two years now, and you haven¡¯t made much progress, but that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m happy as long as you¡¯re enjoying yourself.]


    Then there was a short pause before another screen popped up with the actual evaluation.


    [You haven¡¯t accomplished much. Couldn¡¯t you have tried harder to improve the farm?


    Maybe I should have given the farm to someone else.


    It¡¯s a pity, but there¡¯s nothing I can do. The future of Emberstone Farm is in your hands now.]


    Lastly, the ¡°screen¡± in my dream showed my current stats. The only interesting thing was that there were some hidden values that couldn¡¯t normally be seen in the System.


    [Grade: D]


    [Fighter Reputation: 5/99]


    [Magical Reputation: 55/99]


    [Social Reputation: 92/99]


    It made sense that my fighter reputation was low because people hardly ever saw me fight, and my social reputation must be high because I helped fix the desert. However, what had made my magical reputation rise this much?


    The System, it seemed, couldn¡¯t handle GodIAm¡¯s shenanigans with the inventory, which made the Achievements part of the screen flicker crazily. One moment the ¡°Crops Shipped¡± showed 2,147,483,647 but the next it became -2,147,483,647. The same thing happened with the other stats.


    I had assumed that GodIAm had simply duplicated the items, but based on what the System screen showed, he had actually changed the player¡¯s data so that it showed that the items had been bought, gathered, crafted, harvested, fished, etc.


    ¡°Teacher, wake up!¡±


    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s time!¡±


    ¡°Time to wake up, Teacher!¡±


    I woke up to the sound of my apprentices'' voices. ¡°Oh, that was such a weird, weird dream.¡±


    Kharli and Mo helped me put on thick robes over my pajamas and we went outside for the most important thing we had to do today.


    Now that it was past midnight, it was the first day of the spring planting season. The actual crops could wait until after dawn tomorrow, but the [Mustard Seed] had to be planted now.


    Lari plowed one tile of land a few steps away from the main house¡¯s door and Kharli spread the [Mysterious Goo] over the plowed soil. I waited until it was exactly thirty minutes after midnight to plant the [Mustard Seed], then Mo watered it.


    I shivered a little in the cold night air. ¡°Is anything happening?¡±


    Mo frowned down at the patch of land we were all staring at. ¡°I think it¡¯s wiggling!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Heedless of the fine set of red silk robes he was wearing, Lari knelt and put his head closer to the ground to peer at the seed more closely. ¡°It¡¯s already sprouted!¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh, it¡¯s so exciting!¡± I held the girls¡¯ hands and squeezed them. ¡°Lari, step back a little and give it room.¡±


    He obeyed and we watched as the tiny seed grew into a seedling that rapidly shot upward. The plant grew with frenzied urgency, trunk thickening and branches multiplying before our disbelieving eyes. Branches unfurled and leaves sprouted at an astonishing pace. In mere moments, an enormous mustard tree towered above us, its yellow flowers already beginning to bloom.


    There was only one thing wrong with it.


    I blinked rapidly three times and rubbed my eyes. Was I seeing things wrong because of lack of sleep? I¡¯d only napped a few minutes and it was after midnight right now, way past my usual bedtime.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo were bewildered.


    ¡°...Teacher, why does it look like that?¡± asked Kharli.

 Chapter 202 - Book 2 End! (No break before Book 3!)

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter 202</h2>


    ??????


    ¡°Well, um, you know, it¡¯s a mysterious door¡­Technically, it is a tree, right?¡± I circled it, but the other side was the same. ¡°Check out the System info.¡±


    [Mustard Tree Pocket Dimension:


    A tree grown from a special mustard seed. The tiniest thing can grow into a mighty force of nature. Enter the door into space and time for a whole new adventure!]


    We had expected a real plant to grow from the seeds, but what we got was a two-dimensional drawing of a tree with a wooden door on its trunk. It was flat like a piece of paper and the drawing was not realistic at all. It looked like a child''s crayon drawing.


    Furthermore, I knew that mustard seeds didn¡¯t actually grow into stereotypical trees with woody trunks because the mustard plant was actually a shrub.


    But hey, in a magical world, there are no rules!


    ¡°This looks strange but interesting,¡± said Kharli. She gingerly poked the paper-like substance with a finger. ¡°It¡¯s real!¡±


    ¡°Gimme a sec.¡± I mentally right-clicked on the item which brought up its settings and I made it three times bigger. Now the door was big enough to allow all of us together to walk through.


    The others jumped back in alarm.


    I gently stroked the material of the tree with my fingertips. It looked like paper but felt like plastic. ¡°Let me try opening the door.¡±


    The door swung open without a sound, and the three of us sighed in unison when we saw what was inside the door. It was a vast, open land, perfect for farming. Unlike Emberstone Farm where it was midnight, the sun was shining high in the sky in the pocket dimension. In the distance, hills stretched out under a clear blue sky. The ground was covered in many different kinds of grasses and wildflowers, but a few bare patches showed rich, dark soil. A river wound through the valley on the left side of the portal, and small groves of trees were scattered here and there. A gentle breeze carried a clean, earthy scent to us.


    We stepped through and my field of view was immediately covered in so many System popups that only the first nine could even be read.


    [Quest Available: Awaken the Spirits of the Land]


    [Quest Available: Clear the Cursed Thicket]


    [Quest Available: Totem of the Seasons]


    [Quest Available: Rekindling the Emberstone]


    [Quest Available: The Great Aviary Initiative]


    [Quest Available: Let Food Be Thy Medicine, and Medicine Thy Food]


    [Quest Available: Legends of the Living Earth]


    [Quest Available: Paradise Earth Primordial Origin Dream Soul Path]


    I closed all the popups and scrolled through the list of newly available quests. There were dozens, but they were all easy ones, except for [Paradise Earth Primordial Origin Dream Soul Path].


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    Mo tugged on my sleeve, concern etched on her face. ¡°Teacher, why is your expression so weird?¡±


    I blinked twice and stopped reading all the quest descriptions. ¡°Gosh, I forgot you guys don¡¯t get quests. Kharli, maybe you should take out your notebook and write this down.¡±


    She did as I asked. Brushes and ink were the usual writing tools in this world, but I had, of course, given them blank notebooks and pencils. Kharli wrote everything down as I read the System text aloud, which took a while. I had to stop when I got to the part where the System gave instructions about the golems.


    ¡°The golems cost how much?!¡± Lari sounded outraged, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in disbelief.


    ¡°This is making my head spin,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Teacher, can we take a break? My hand is cramping,¡± said Kharli.


    I laughed good-naturedly. ¡°Sure. There¡¯s actually no rush, and I think we should go to bed soon. Tomorrow is the first day of the spring planting season.¡±


    The three of them nodded.


    ¡°But, let¡¯s spend a little time exploring! It¡¯s not every day that we discover a new mystical land to farm.¡± I gestured at the distant hills covered in dense forests. ¡°Don¡¯t try going that far. It¡¯s late and we¡¯re all too tired. Stay close for now, and we¡¯ll meet back here in half an hour.¡±


    All of us went our separate ways, Lari and Kharli to the river, while Mo and I walked to the nearest open field. Tall grasses brushed against my legs, and bees buzzed among the poppies, buttercups, daisies, star lilies, and other flowers whose names I didn¡¯t know. The ground was quite level, and when I examined the soil, I was elated to find that it was [Black Soil].


    This was huge progress!


    [Black Soil] was a prerequisite for planting Immortal Herbs. I¡¯d tried to make it on the farm, but in the back of my mind, I was always worried about how the clan would react when they saw I was growing priceless, legendary crops. Planting them here would eliminate that problem, since non-farmers wouldn¡¯t be able to enter this space without my permission. I wouldn¡¯t have to ask Shuye for more guards around the farm.


    However, apart from the soil, there were no other special features I could see since all of the dimension''s functions had to be unlocked by doing the quests the System listed. I met up with Mo, and we collected some of the prettier blooms to make ourselves bouquets of wildflowers that I tied with a white ribbon.


    At the door, we met up with the other two and gave them flowers.


    ¡°This is such a lovely place,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Did you guys find anything interesting?¡± I asked Lari and Kharli.


    ¡°Yes! Teacher, the river is full of wonderful spots for Fishing,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I think I saw a place where I can place bird traps on the other side of the river, but it was too far to check,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°We can explore more later. Today, we need to prioritize the exp we will get from the planting season,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher. But after the planting at dawn, we¡¯ll go back here and start working on the new quests?¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Naturally!¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s have a toast for the New Year and today¡¯s discovery of a new farm! I shall name it¡­ Grand View Garden.¡±


    I had racked my brain the whole day thinking of a properly majestic but not too pretentious name for the new farm subspace. In the end, all I could think of was the name of the garden in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo clapped politely, and I distributed glasses of lemonade.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve got our work cut out for us!¡± I lifted my glass. ¡°A toast to working hard and playing hard!¡±


    Kharli lifted hers and offered her toast. ¡°To the magic of life!¡±


    Lari gave us a mischievous smile. ¡°To mastering the art of looking busy while doing absolutely nothing!¡±


    We all laughed.


    Mo whispered something in Kharli¡¯s ear before turning to me and lifting her glass in my direction. ¡°To love and romance!¡±


    I playfully nudged her with my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll drink to that!¡±


    They clinked their glasses with mine the way I had taught them, and we all drank our lemonade.


    After that, we exited the pocket dimension and I closed the tree¡¯s door behind us, making sure that all the security settings were set to the maximum.


    I was in a great mood as I walked towards my [Ranch House] where I got a welcome surprise in the form of a certain prince.


    ¡°You said you had to spend the day with your parents!¡± I hugged him.


    ¡°The day is over and midnight has come and gone.¡± He kissed the top of my head. ¡°Shall we spend the rest of the night together?¡±


    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡±


    Our eyes locked and my hands found their way to his face, gently guiding him closer to mine. The moment our mouths connected, I realized this was the ideal way to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.


    THE CHRONICLES OF EMBERSTONE FARM BOOK 2


    THE END


    THE STORY CONTINUES IN BOOK 3

 Emberstone Book 3 - What has gone before

    Previously on Emberstone Farm¡­


    It all started with Adventure Incarnate. Originally a simple multiplayer farming game, it was bought by a Chinese video game company who turned it into a full-fledged MMORPG with Eastern-flavored fantasy martial arts on top of the original core farming mechanics.


    Violet, a veteran player, was chatting with her old friend in the game, GodIAm, when he offered to let her log into his hacked Adventure Incarnate character. GodIAm claimed to have duplicated every useful or valuable item in the game.


    The moment she logged into the game on GodIAm¡¯s character, she was transported into the world of Adventure Incarnate that had somehow become real.


    Fortunately, she had 2,147,483,647 of every item she could ever need. However, many items could only be used by a player of the appropriate level and she started off as level 1 in all skills. The items she produced herself were tradeable, but the ones GodIAm had duplicated were not.


    Armed with a mysterious System, Violet set out to build her farm in the western continent ruled by the White Tiger clan.


    The world of Adventure Incarnate was large and multicultural. The original game was vaguely medieval fantasy Europe, but there had been several expansions since then. The continent Violet was transmigrated to was based on the Chinese legend of the Four Auspicious Beasts - the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North. There was a fifth, central area, but that game expansion hadn¡¯t been released in Adventure Incarnate yet.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The people in the White Tiger clan¡¯s territory had Asian-sounding names, and the food, clothing, language, and architecture were Chinese-inspired.


    She recruited several people to help her out: three farm hands named Lari, Kharli, and Mo, who share her access to the System. She also hired staff to run her household. Fengying, her housekeeper, is married to Deming, a celebrated maestro in the kitchen who is also called the Demon Chef because of his fiery passion for the culinary arts.


    Her life is simple and satisfying, and she enjoys her recurrent dreams of a cute blue dragon who calls her "Mom."


    Violet regards the local warlord, Shuye, as her Farm Guide, the friendly local leader who helps the farmer in Adventure Incarnate with settling in and selling her crops and other items.


    Throughout the two years she has been farming, Shuye has been shocked by the many strange things that happen around her and Emberstone Farm.


    Her odd but extremely powerful abilities are greatly valued by the White Tiger clan, and the farm¡¯s products are highly sought after, especially the pill she made that cured the clan member''s fertility problem.


    She saved Prince Baiyu, the only child of the ruler of the Westerlands, from a chronic illness, and they are currently dating.


    She has a second farm in the southern part of the continent, which is partly desert. There, she and her three apprentices practice regenerative farming. A secret portal in her living room connects her to the Chitinous Caverns, also called the Mines.


    An upcoming World Event is the battle with the Demon Boss.

 Chapter 203 - Year 3: The first day of Spring

    A transparent rectangle hovered in the air in front of me, displaying a System notification.


    [Quest Available: Paradise Earth Primordial Origin Dream Soul Path]


    Below that message were buttons labeled [Accept] and [Reject].


    Instead of choosing a button, I mentally clicked on the quest name which brought up the quest information screen.


    [Paradise Earth Primordial Origin Dream Soul Path:


    An epic quest that will answer all your questions about the meaning behind your life in Adventure Incarnate.


    Build a three-story Bell Tower and ring the bells 108 times every morning and night for 108 days.


    Time Remaining: 108 days]


    Though I couldn¡¯t remember the specifics, 108 was a special number in numerology that represented spiritual enlightenment or something similar.


    The requirements seemed easy enough to do, but it was classified as an epic quest since it took so long to finish, and building the tower cost a whopping 108 million gold coins. Though the description of the reward was unclear to me, the fact that completing the quest cost a prodigious amount of time and money meant that I should receive an equally epic prize at the end of it.


    I accepted the quest, switched off the System display, and turned my attention to the breakfast table. It was an hour after dawn on the first day of the spring planting season, and I had been browsing the available quests while waiting for my apprentices to join me.


    My household staff bustled around me in the outer courtyard of the house, a square open space surrounded on all four sides by low buildings in the Chinese style. Two trees, one a pine, and the other a plum, were on the west and east sides. My housekeeper, Fengying, had bought a few plants in large pots that were considered lucky, with names like jade fern, money plant, peace lily, heartleaf, and so forth. They added a nice splash of color and vibrancy to the courtyard.


    ¡°Have they woken up yet?¡± I asked my maid, Yinuo.


    ¡°No, my lady. Should I send their maids to their rooms?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Give them another hour and tell the others they can start the ritual whenever they want. In the meantime, I think I¡¯ll take a walk around the farm.¡±


    Before going outside, I tied my hair up in a high ponytail and changed into more practical cotton pants and a short robe. Sturdy black work boots completed the outfit. Yinuo offered to accompany me, but I turned her down since I wanted to enjoy the peaceful quiet of a solitary walk.


    Outside, I paused for a moment to take in the beauty of the clear blue sky and the forest that surrounded the farm. In the nearby field, I could see smoke from the incense burners my most senior household staff were using as they held the yearly ritual to thank the gods for the end of winter and the start of spring.


    It wasn''t necessary for me to join them since I was an outsider to this land, but I still bowed in their direction to show my respect.


    Then, with my puppet, Mr. Bear, in my pocket, I headed straight to my pet golden slime¡¯s house. Cutie was already awake and excited to see me. She bounced around as I refilled her water bowl and added more flowerpots to her food supply.


    I picked her up and squeezed her, enjoying the feel of her elastic skin. Then I shook her gently, making her wobble like a bowl full of jelly. ¡°Who¡¯s a little cutie slime? You are, yes you!¡±


    ¡°Chuuuuu!¡± said Cutie. The slime tendril on top of her head formed a heart shape.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go for walkies!¡± I put her down and she bounced beside me as I made my way north of the main house where we had planted an orchard last year.


    The morning air was pleasantly cool, and the weak sunlight streamed through the branches and newly sprouted leaves of the trees, gilding everything in a soft golden light and making lacy patterns on the ground.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Each type of fruit tree was grouped together. Right now, the smallest fruit trees were only knee-high while the fastest-growing ones were well past my waist. They weren¡¯t much to look at yet, but I looked forward to when they would be in full bloom next year.


    In the middle of the orchard space was the [Insectary Garden], full of lovely spring flowers and buzzing with insects.


    [Insectary Garden:


    A special garden that attracts pollinators and beneficial predator bugs that eat aphids, thrips, white flies, and other pests. Tough native plants that have flowers bloom for a long time and are full of readily available nectar are the foundation of this valuable part of the farm that boosts yields and improves the quality of crops. Using the Insectary Seed Mix will ensure that flowers will be in bloom all year round.


    More than one Insectary Garden can be planted on the farm.]


    It was a delightful sight, and I was on my knees inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers when I finally heard my apprentices¡¯ footsteps. I straightened up and waved at them. ¡°Good morning, you sleepyheads!¡±


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo, all wearing simple cotton work clothes and looking slightly the worse for wear because of staying up until the early morning after the New Year¡¯s party yesterday, waved back at me.


    We exchanged greetings and while we were chatting, Cutie got bored, so I let her bounce off southward. The people on the farm were used to my pet monster by now and would leave her alone or play with her if they felt like it.


    Kharli sighed and said, ¡°Teacher, my energy bar didn¡¯t fill up all the way!¡±


    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Lari.


    Mo nodded. ¡°Mine is really low today, too.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s take it easy today.¡± I gestured at the surrounding orchard. ¡°We can start with planting creeping grasses on the pathways.¡±


    Lari looked around and scratched his head. ¡°Maybe we could drink some [Kola-Kola Soda] to replenish our energy?¡±


    I thought it over for a while before saying, ¡°The chef says the soda is unhealthy if we drink too much of it. I can give you a bottle if you really want it, but I think it would be better to let your energy bar refill itself naturally.¡±


    Lari discussed it with the others and the three of them collectively decided to have some soda.


    When they were done drinking, I handed them packets of [Evergreen Walkway Seed Mix].


    [Fragrant Evergreen Walkway Seed Mix:


    A mixture of seeds that include chamomile, creeping thyme, and resilient, low-growing grasses that give a small boost to soil health. Once planted, it thrives effortlessly, drawing from the earth''s energies to sustain itself even with minimal rainfall and no fertilizers. It¡¯s perfect for creating green paths that are delightful to walk on. With every step, a sweet fragrance will fill the air around you. These seeds will grow into plants that will suppress weeds by outgrowing them and will also help keep the soil from washing away.]


    ¡°I think planting grass will be much better than paving the paths with stone tiles,¡± I said. ¡°And it will look prettier for sure!¡±


    Mo yawned. Her eyes were a bit puffy and had dark circles underneath them. She said, ¡°[Chamomile] flowers are edible, too.¡±


    ¡°So is [Thyme]! The other grasses could also be useful,¡± said Kharli. In contrast to the other two, she looked quite chipper today, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm and a wide smile lighting up her face.


    ¡°That sounds good.¡± Lari opened a seed packet and inspected the contents. Of my three apprentices, he looked the worst, which was only to be expected since I knew he had stayed up all night partying with the staff instead of getting a few hours¡¯ sleep like the girls.


    Everyone already knew what to do, so we scattered and each did one small section of the orchard area. Since it was our first time, and I wasn¡¯t exactly sure if the benefits of the green walkways exceeded the amount of energy we were going to use on it, this season we were only going to sow a few of the shorter paths with the seed mix.


    Using the hoe from the System toolbelt, I tilled three tiles with one downward swing. The paths were winding, and the System only worked in straight lines, squares, or rectangles. Therefore, I had to till a few squares at a time.


    I had lost count of how many times I had done this, but I never got tired of how the soil magically turned itself over with one swing of my hoe.


    Though the seed mix¡¯s item description said that fertilizer wasn¡¯t needed, I still used [Mysterious Goo] on the ground to enrich it with more nutrients.


    Then I filled my seed dispenser with the seeds. All I had to do was wave it over the area and the seeds flew out of the tool and embedded themselves in the soil.


    The last step was to take out a watering can and water the seeds.


    Each activity depleted my energy bar, which was half empty by the time I finished. When I worked, I didn¡¯t feel tired until my energy was almost fully depleted, which was nice.


    I hummed to myself as I cordoned off the newly planted walkway with ropes that I tied to the nearest trees. It wouldn¡¯t do for people to trample all over my hard work!


    Having finished the first task of the day, the kids and I went to a field near the river south of the main house.


    ¡°[Potato] time!¡± I said as I distributed the seeds.


    [Rice] was our main crop, but we would also plant a few other hardy vegetables like [Potatoes] that would store and travel well. They would be needed to supply the armies that were gathering to deal with the Demon Boss.


    I checked the event timer.


    [System Announcement: World Boss Event


    Prepare for the coming of the Demon Monarch.


    Countdown: 146 Days]


    I put the event out of my mind and concentrated on planting [Potatoes].


    There was plenty of time to tackle that little problem.

 Chapter 204 - Spend 12 Dragon Scales to buy a [Tapper]?

    We each took a corner of the field and sowed as many seeds as we could. Since I was much higher level than my apprentices, I was able to plant a larger area. We kept part of the field free so that we had room to walk and tend to the crop.


    I used my hoe, fertilizer sacks, seed dispenser, and watering can to good effect as usual. This was my third year on the farm, and my hands moved with practiced ease.


    Once we finished, I wiped nonexistent sweat from my brow and said, ¡°Done! Let¡¯s all go back to our rooms to rest. I need a few more hours of sleep.¡±


    Kharli and Mo giggled.


    ¡°Someone didn¡¯t let someone rest last night,¡± said Mo in a singsong tone.


    Kharli fluttered her eyelashes in a comically flirtatious way. ¡°They must have been too busy to sleep.¡±


    Lari just rolled his eyes and pretended he didn¡¯t hear anything.


    I pinched the girls¡¯ cheeks lightly. ¡°Oh, you!¡±


    ¡°Teacher, when is the prince coming back to visit you?¡± asked Kharli.


    ¡°No idea, but he¡¯ll send word soon.¡±


    Prince Baiyu and I were now going steady. One might even call it an unofficial engagement though that seemed to me an oxymoron. Due to the current state of war that the Westerlands were in because of the descent of the Demon Monarch, most celebrations were put on hold. The money that would have been spent on elaborate weddings, anniversary parties, reunions, etc. was supposed to be donated to the upcoming demon extermination campaign. This meant that we didn¡¯t have any big announcement, but his parents had privately indicated their approval, so we were in the process of getting to know each other better in preparation for a life together.


    During wartime, clan members, who normally took a slow approach to relationships, preferred a much faster pace, but I still wanted to take my time and enjoy the sweetness of a slow romance.


    ¡°May I have another soda, please?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°No, you guys already had one today! Just sleep¡­¡± As I was talking I realized that the [Kola-Kola Soda] was caffeinated. Would they even be able to sleep right now? ¡°Or soak for a bit in the hot spring before resting.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, can you give me a few more [Ageless Beauty Essence]? I ran out,¡± said Kharli


    ¡°How can you run out? What are you doing with it?¡± I asked her.


    [Ageless Beauty Essence:


    This potion is formulated with natural ingredients to restore your skin''s youthful vitality.


    To use, simply apply a few drops of the potion to your face and body after cleansing. Gently massage it into your skin until it¡¯s fully absorbed. For best results, use this potion morning and night.]


    ¡°I pour a vial of it into my bath.¡± Kharli held up her arm for me to inspect. ¡°Look, my whole body has soft skin like a baby now.¡±


    ¡°What? I¡¯ve only been using a few drops like the instructions say!¡± I said.


    ¡°One of the maids gave me the idea,¡± said Kharli. ¡°She¡¯s too lazy to massage it into her skin, so she puts a few drops into a dipper of water and pours that over herself. I thought soaking in it would be better.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± I handed her more vials.


    Come to think of it, this was a great idea if it worked for me since I was also too lazy to use the beauty potion every day.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The vials vanished into Kharli¡¯s inventory. ¡°Teacher, what about the pocket dimension we unlocked? I thought we were going to go back there after we finished?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too tired¡­¡± I yawned again. ¡°Tomorrow should be soon enough.¡±


    We walked back to the house while chatting about this and that.


    ***


    The next day, we planted another field with assorted root vegetables - [Carrots], [Sweet Potatoes], [Beets], [Parsnips], [Turnips], and [Cassava]. It was pleasant work and our energy bars were now back to normal.


    ¡°Ready for some adventure?¡± I asked my apprentices when we finished planting the seeds. ¡°Shall we go to the tree?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Mo was the first to reply with an enthusiastic exclamation.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for it. Last night, I could hardly sleep because of the excitement,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Race you!¡± With that, Lari ran off.


    The girls ran after him, but I took my time walking to the tree¡¯s location. They wouldn¡¯t be able to enter without me anyway, since I had locked the door in the System settings.


    ¡°So who won the race?¡± I asked when I got there.


    We stood in front of the so-called "tree." It looked like a paper cutout of a child¡¯s crayon drawing of a tree with a wooden door on its trunk.


    [Mustard Tree Pocket Dimension:


    A tree grown from a special mustard seed. The tiniest thing can grow into a mighty force of nature. Enter the door into space and time for a whole new adventure!]


    Kharli raised her hand. ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to go first?¡± I put a hand on the door¡¯s handle and pushed it open. Though it looked like paper, it felt like plastic to the touch.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Kharli stepped through right away.


    Lari, Mo, and I followed behind her.


    We found ourselves in a vast land of open fields covered in wildflowers and green grass, with the occasional stand of trees scattered here and there. The blue sky above us was dotted with fluffy white clouds, and in the distance were green hills. To my left was a winding river.


    ¡°Wow.¡± After saying that one word, I fell into a reverent silence.


    This was going to be awesome!


    The pocket dimension I had mysteriously acquired was huge, and as I browsed the System tabs related to this space, I saw more and more outrageous functions that would be available to me once I completed a couple of quests, starting with the introductory one, [Awaken the Spirits of the Land].


    [Awaken the Spirits of the Land:


    Find the five bells, mallet, and frame. Ring the bells to awaken the Spirits of the Land.


    Reward: ???]


    That sounded easy enough!


    We wouldn¡¯t even have to fight any monsters or spend a lot of money.


    The kids wandered off to check the nearest open field. Mo daringly plucked some flowers while Lari and Kharli poked at the soil to check its condition. I joined them, and we explored the nearby area, examining the plant life, insects, and soil more closely. Everything seemed normal but of the highest quality.


    Kharli reached up and pulled a tree branch down closer to her eye level. ¡°Teacher, please take a look at this tree. The leaves have no brown spots or any flaws. It¡¯s like something from a dream¡­¡±


    We all went over to check.


    ¡°No, look!¡± Mo pointed at a spot. ¡°The two sides of this leaf are uneven.¡±


    Lari nodded, his expression solemn. ¡°You¡¯re right, but it¡¯s very slight.¡±


    I made a sound of agreement. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s look around a little more, but we should return to the house at least an hour before lunchtime and rest. We have plenty of time to plan our future farm in this place. You know what they say, ¡®haste makes waste!¡¯ and I want to map this place out before we start.¡±


    ¡°The area right in front of the door should be kept clear,¡± said Kharli. ¡°That way, we get a good view of everything, and we¡¯ll be able to see the crops¡¯ condition at a glance.¡±


    ¡°We should keep an eye out for a good place to put the house,¡± I said. ¡°The planting season comes first, and then we should take care of the [Greenhouse] and [Herb Garden] before we take care of the quests here.¡±


    ¡°I never imagined I would be impatient for the planting to finish!¡± Mo smiled, her expression softening as a soft flush of excitement colored her skin.


    ¡°No way!¡± I shook my head. ¡°Except for the harvest, this is the best time to get Farming experience.¡±


    ¡°Mo isn¡¯t close to leveling up. That¡¯s why she¡¯s not excited,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Mo, Lari, let¡¯s go offer some flowers to the [Vineheart Fairy House] later. Maybe the fairies will give us another bonus.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pick more flowers!¡± Mo scampered off in the direction of a patch of white starflowers.


    ¡°Meet up at the door one hour before lunch!¡± I said to her departing back.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± she yelled back in acknowledgment.


    We each went our separate ways. I headed north to a small grove of birch trees that I thought looked interesting. I was shocked when I examined a tree and got a System popup asking if I wanted to insert a [Tapper].


    [Would you like to use a Tapper on this tree to receive Mystic Tree Sap?]


    Of course, I clicked on the [Yes] button and mentally sighed in disappointment when I got another popup.


    [Spend 12 Dragon Scales to buy Tapper?]


    Who even had [Dragon Scales] in this day and age?! They were replaced with credits years ago!

 Chapter 205 - Oh no, not that! Anything but that!

    However, when I tried clicking on the [Yes] button, I triggered yet another popup.


    [Error. Not enough Dragon Scales. Spend 100 credits to buy a Loot Box?]


    Wow, if this was still real life and this was the game, I would be majorly annoyed.


    The [Mustard Tree Pocket Dimension] was an expansion that was beta-tested, but never officially released in Adventure Incarnate after it was negatively received by the players. The [Loot Boxes], in particular, were a sore point.


    But wait¡­ weren¡¯t [Loot Boxes] bought with [Dragon Scales]? This made no sense!


    I tapped my feet as I thought.


    On the one hand, I had never used [Tappers] in this world because all they did was give cheap items which wasn¡¯t very useful. These trees should give [White Birch Water] which I didn¡¯t even have in my inventory since GodIAm didn¡¯t deem them necessary for playing the game.


    On the other hand, this was a special area full of unreleased content, and it was quite possible that [Tappers] gave something different here.


    It was worth a try!


    My mind made up, I bought 10 [Loot Boxes] and opened them. I got 67 [Dragon Scales] and a bunch of cosmetic skins, emotes, victory poses, name cards, and icons. This was enough for five [Tappers] which the System helpfully drilled into the trees for me. Using the [Examine] option on them only yielded the information that the [Tappers] were empty, with no indication of how long it would take for them to fill.


    I was amusing myself by testing the cosmetic items from the [Loot Boxes] when Kharli came running up to me with an expression of wide-eyed wonder on her face.


    ¡°A fairy! Teacher, you¡¯re being blessed by a fairy!¡± She tugged on my sleeve and pointed above my head where a little fairy with green-colored hair, butterfly wings, and a crystal wand was sprinkling silver fairy dust on my head.


    The [Fairy Icon] in the game was just a little graphic beside the player¡¯s name, but here it was an actual fairy who hovered over me. I lifted my hands, palms up as though receiving a blessing. ¡°I think this is a good omen.¡±


    Then I deactivated the icon since it was way too flashy.


    ¡°Oh, she left.¡± Kharli let go of my sleeve, but she was still looking above my head. ¡°She was so pretty!¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t a real fairy. It was an illusory magic from the System. Like a decoration.¡± I suddenly had an amusing idea. ¡°Do you want one, too? I have another one I can give you.¡±


    The icons were low value and could be gifted to others, unlike most other Cash Shop items. I clicked on the [Gift] setting and typed in her name because I knew she would say yes.


    ¡°Th-th-that-¡± Kharli stuttered, her eyes bulging and almost falling out of her face.


    I burst out laughing at her funny expression. ¡°Hey, why are you so shocked? Just click on [Accept] then equip it.¡±


    ¡°But the System said it¡¯s a Mythical grade item!¡± Kharli looked like she was about to faint.


    I put a hand on her back just in case. ¡°That¡¯s just because it¡¯s extremely rare, but it doesn¡¯t really matter. It¡¯s just an illusion that doesn¡¯t do anything, so just accept it.¡±


    After a moment of thought, I added, ¡°And don¡¯t expect too much. You¡¯ll just get something funny floating over your head, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Both of us grinned when we saw the result when Kharli activated the icon. A huge slice of strawberry cake, spun above her head throwing off pink sparkles.


    ¡°It¡¯s so cute!¡± Kharli reached up and tried to touch it, but, of course, her hand passed right through the cake slice. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to show the others!¡±


    I smiled indulgently and let her marvel over the icon before inviting her to walk with me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go over there.¡± I gestured to the river.


    We left the grove of trees and walked through an open field. The grass there went up to our shoulders, and it was a bit tough to see where we were going.


    ¡°You know, I think the ground here is sloping towards the river,¡± I said. ¡°We should check how water flows through the land before we plant.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it will rain soon,¡± said Kharli.


    Tilting my head up, I scanned the skies. ¡°You¡¯re right. No rush though!¡±


    The riverside was dotted with smooth, large stones, with a Fishing spot we could use in the future. The river''s gentle, clear stream meandered through, lined with tall reeds and cattails.


    The other side was full of willow trees. Occasionally, a willow branch would sway low enough to brush against the river, creating ripples that spread outward before vanishing. The ground beneath the trees was carpeted with fallen leaves and twigs, and birds fluttered between the branches, chirping merrily.


    Kharli sighed. ¡°Everything here is so beautiful and unspoiled.¡±


    ¡°I think we could be the first humans who have ever set foot in this land. Have you seen anything man-made at all?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Kharli absentmindedly took out her fishing rod then smiled and put it back in her inventory. ¡°I almost started Fishing!¡±


    ¡°Check the time. We¡¯re going to be late for lunch. Let¡¯s walk back to the meeting place.¡±


    As expected, the other two freaked out when they saw Kharli¡¯s icon.


    ¡°Why do you have a magic item? What does it do? Where did you get it?¡± The rapid-fire questions came from Lari who kept on trying to touch the cake icon. ¡°Why is it food? Do you have others?¡±


    Mo was just making incoherent sounds of both appreciation and awe as she tried to catch the pink sparkles.


    ¡°This is nothing,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Teacher has one, too, and it¡¯s a fairy!¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Mo made a noise like a scalded cat, and Lari¡¯s head swiveled toward me so fast I was afraid he was going to do an Exorcist-style head spin. I activated the [Fairy Icon] and was almost deafened by their screams, but they quieted down when I gifted them their own icons. Lari¡¯s was three gold coins that tumbled around each other making a ka-ching noise like a cash register and Mo¡¯s was a Rubik''s cube that continuously solved and unsolved itself.


    ¡°A magic cube!¡± Mo was beside herself with joy.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna be rich!¡± Lari jumped up and down and imitated the ka-ching noises.


    Did he know what the cash register sound meant? Probably not, but he seemed to love the ¡°mysterious noise¡± anyway.


    I was going to instruct them on how to activate and deactivate the icons, but they were all very good at using the System and figured it out themselves. Lari wanted to show it off to the household staff, but the rest of us convinced him to show the icons to either Shuye or Scholar Wu before revealing them to the others, which was great because when we went back to the house, Shuye was there waiting for us at the main hall with Fengying and the maids serving him tea and snacks.


    My Farm Guide was as big and burly as ever, but he no longer looked much like a bear. He gave off the air of a noble warrior instead of looking like the shaggy-haired denizen of the woods dressed in leather and rough brown cotton I had met when I first came to the Ancient Hill Forest. His hair was short and neat and his silk robes elegant. In the past, he used to wear trousers and the usual knee-length top worn by commoners which overlapped in the front and was tied on the right side. Nowadays he had swapped that attire with a long robe that reached his ankles, with long, flowing wide sleeves, richly decorated with intricate embroidery.


    ¡°Happy New Year!¡± I said. ¡°How have you been? How is your family?¡±


    He got up from his chair and we bowed to each other. All of us, including my three apprentices, exchanged greetings and New Year gifts. We gave Shuye lucky coins, bolts of cloth, and packets of tea and he said that the kitchen staff were already dismantling the wild game and demon monsters he had hunted for us. In addition, he handed over Scholar Wu¡¯s gifts of paintings, writing tools, and books.


    ¡°Oh, how lovely and thoughtful!¡± I suddenly felt a little bad. Weren¡¯t my gifts too common and bland? Thinking quickly, I handed him a large box of [Ageless Beauty Essence]. ¡°Here¡¯s my new product. I think it will be a big hit.¡±


    The kids waited impatiently as Shuye and I made small talk. Finally, I took pity on them and asked the staff to leave so that Lari, Kharli, and Mo could show Shuye their new icons.


    Shuye laughed heartily when he saw the illusory items over my apprentices¡¯ heads. ¡°Cake, coins, and a cube? What will you think of next?¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s okay to show them to other people?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little strange, and they may get a lot of unwanted attention if they go to Anwei wearing those illusions, but it shouldn¡¯t cause any problems if you wear them on the farm.¡± Though Shuye knew they weren¡¯t real, he still couldn¡¯t resist trying to touch the icons. ¡°They aren¡¯t giving off much of a qi aura, so they should be safe.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I nodded to my apprentices, who took the hint and took their leave.


    After they left, Fengying returned with fresh tea.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you in good spirits,¡± said Shuye to me. ¡°I was afraid you would be depressed because the prince had to leave for the training camps.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is tough, but I¡¯m not the sort of woman to pine away because of something like that!¡± I took a sip of the tea. Coffee was my preferred beverage, but tea was what was traditionally served to guests. ¡°How is the war effort going?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I came here to talk about. I¡¯ll be leaving for the camps myself in a month, but we¡¯ve arranged it so that you won¡¯t be left here alone. Scholar Wu will stay with you here while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°Gosh! Please take care of yourself, and don¡¯t worry about us. We¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will.¡± Shuye leaned back on his chair. ¡°I should also tell you that a few of the sites you discovered that we couldn¡¯t find without your help have now become accessible.¡±


    ¡°Which places?¡±


    ¡°The Lunar Forest where you hunted goats, the Heaven¡¯s Eye Grotto where you caught the cave fish, and Golden Harvest Banana Grove with all the monkeys and banana plants.¡± Shuye paused and frowned. ¡°But not the lake.¡±


    My lips twitched. ¡°You guys still can¡¯t find an enormous lake in the middle of your territory?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very strange.¡± Shuye seemed to contemplate this idea for a few minutes before saying, ¡°But what¡¯s stranger is that these hidden locations suddenly became exposed. Do you know why?¡±


    I frowned and thought it over while nibbling on a sugar biscuit. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of the higher level of atmospheric qi?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. Has anything changed with your bloodline inheritance or the farm?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Oh, right! I almost forgot because the stuff with the icons distracted me too much. Yes, I need to show you something.¡±


    ¡°I can hear your stomach rumbling. Why don¡¯t you show me what you¡¯ve been doing to the farm after you eat?¡±


    ¡°Yes, come eat with us. The chef¡¯s special today is spring vegetables.¡± I turned to Fengying and asked her. ¡°Did they catch anything today?¡±


    Deming¡¯s assistants often went out to hunt or fish, which were both integral parts of their training to be master chefs.


    ¡°They caught plenty of trout this morning, and it will be served at lunch.¡±


    Shuye and I exchanged looks of anticipation.


    I rose and gestured for Shuye to follow me. ¡°Yes, I think we can do the farm tour after lunch.¡±


    This time, Fengying set up lunch for us in the dining room which was a small but elegant room with large windows, a round table with mother-of-pearl inlay, rosewood chairs, and silk wall hangings depicting serene mountains. In honor of our guest, the chef had prepared a greater variety of dishes than normal and Fengying had set the table with fine china, crystal glassware, and silver utensils.


    Shuye was a large person, with a large appetite to match, and the maids quickly filled the space in front of him with a mountain of rice and huge platters and tureens of pan-seared trout, red-braised pork, spicy vinegar chicken, steamed eggs, hot and sour lemon duck, all cooked with fresh spring vegetables. Dessert was a sweet snow fungus soup with lotus seeds.


    The meal was a great way for Lari to learn from Shuye¡¯s example. My Farm Guide ate a massive amount of food but did so in a neat and efficient way while following the rules of proper table manners.


    I loved all the dishes, but the vinegar chicken was a revelation. The vinegar and chili pepper were the first things I tasted, followed by ginger and spring onions. I think there was also a hint of sesame oil in there. The flavor was light yet complex, and I finished off a large portion of it myself before I even tried the other dishes out.


    At the end of the meal, I declined a serving of dessert and had a few slices of apple instead.


    ¡°I envy you for being able to eat like this every day,¡± said Shuye. He leaned back on his chair, contentment written across his face.


    ¡°That was absolutely delightful,¡± I said.


    ¡°The pork was amazing,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°I liked the trout better,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°The steamed egg is so simple, but it¡¯s so soft, silky, and delicious,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I think we need to rest for a bit before going out. My stomach needs time to digest the food.¡± I nodded to the maids who cleared the table and poured tea for us. ¡°Shuye, can you tell us news about the clans?¡±


    It was time for a good gossip session!


    Shuye smiled and shook his head at me. ¡°There have been tons of new developments since we last met. Have I told you about the Goat clan?¡±


    ¡°The one whose mountain got teleported?¡±


    ¡°Yes, them. They¡¯ve gotten eighteen challenges for their territory, but everything is on hold until after we defeat the demon.¡±


    ¡°Are they likely to win or lose?¡±


    ¡°It depends on their performance in the war. They shouldn¡¯t lose as long as they make a good showing.¡±


    ¡°Have some of this.¡± I pushed a plate of honey candy towards Mo who was eying it longingly but too shy to speak up and ask someone to pass it to her.


    There was a short pause in our conversation as we nibbled on sweets and drank more tea.


    ¡°So the preparations are going well?¡± I asked Shuye.


    ¡°It¡¯s been much better than I expected. Even the Venerable Immortal Sage and the master of the Dawn Skyblade Sect will be joining us with their elite disciples,¡± he said.


    The rest of his news was similar. Everyone who was anyone was busy training, raising funds, manufacturing weapons or supplies, etc. After about an hour of Shuye bringing me up to speed, we finished our tea and went outside where I proudly showed him my newest accomplishment, the [Mustard Tree Pocket Dimension].


    ¡°It¡¯s a paper drawing? I can¡¯t feel any qi from it.¡± Shuye looked at me quizzically. ¡°What is this?¡±


    I covered my mouth with a hand to hide my smile. ¡°Try to open the door.¡±


    The kids and I had tested it, and I was the only one who could open it, so we were all shocked when it swung open for Shuye.


    ¡°What is that?!¡± I exclaimed when I saw what was beyond the door.

 Chapter 206 - Is the System trolling him?

    Behind the door was¡­


    Another door?


    I poked it with my finger. Like the original, this one looked like a crayon drawing on paper but felt like plastic. However, it was not identical to the first one because it had a cartoon drawing of a bear on it.


    ¡°Shuye, I think maybe you opened it wrong. Do you wanna try again?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Why not? It doesn¡¯t seem dangerous, and I still don¡¯t feel any qi from it.¡±


    He pushed the door open again.


    ¡°A duck?¡± I said.


    This time the door had a drawing of a yellow duck on it.


    Shuye smiled. ¡°One more time?¡±


    I nodded, and he tried it several more times, revealing doors with drawings of a pig, horse, chicken, sheep, goat, and rabbit.


    Shuye scratched his chin and smiled. ¡°This looks like it was drawn by a child. Is your bloodline inheritance playing with me?¡±


    ¡°This is all rather whimsical, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said, grinning.


    ¡°It obviously doesn¡¯t want to open for me,¡± he said.


    ¡°My turn then!¡± The door easily swung open when I touched it, revealing the pocket dimension.


    ¡°It¡¯s huge!¡± Shuye bent down and peered inside it, looking left, right, up, and down to try to take everything in. ¡°This looks bigger than Emberstone Farm. The qi is¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The way his voice trailed off was alarming.


    ¡°It¡¯s very strange because I can¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    I folded my arms together on my chest and mock-glared at him. ¡°You scared me! Maybe you can¡¯t feel it because all the qi is kept inside.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    He circled the tree and inspected it from all sides until he was satisfied there was nothing more he could learn from it. Then I closed the door and walked him to the edge of the farm where we bid each other farewell.


    ¡°Do you remember this spot?¡± I asked him. ¡°This is where we first met.¡±


    We looked around. Two years ago, this was all virgin forest. Now I had fields of crops, gardens, farm animals, orchards, and two houses, but on the other side of the farm where the forest was, the scene was unchanged. The branches of the trees surrounding the farm were blanketed in moss and new spring growth, their delicate green leaves creating a verdant canopy. Sunlight filtered through in gentle, golden patches, warming secluded areas of the forest floor where tiny wildflowers and mushrooms nestled between ferns and lichen-encrusted rocks. The air felt damp and rich with the earthy, sweet scent of decomposing leaves and new growth.


    ¡°I remember I showed you a cave where you could live temporarily.¡± Shuye¡¯s expression softened. ¡°I was very worried about you living alone in the forest.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know how strong my bloodline inheritance is!¡±


    Shuye shook his head in wonder. ¡°I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you build a house in such a short period of time.¡±


    ¡°Those were the days! Everything was simple and new. It was very peaceful.¡± I turned back to look at the main house. ¡°Now the farm is so large and there are many people I have to take care of.¡±


    ¡°You miss the solitary lifestyle?¡±


    I turned back to face him. ¡°Only a little bit. You know, I''m really grateful that you were there for me in those first days when I knew nothing about this land.¡±


    I handed him a [Crocus] flower, the traditional gift for a Farm Guide.


    He twirled it around his fingers. ¡°The same flower you gave me back then.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ I just want to say, please take care of yourself. You know I would be devastated if anything happened to you.¡± I meant every word of it.


    Shuye tucked the flower into his belt. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take any unnecessary risks. After all, I have a newborn. My wife would never forgive me if I didn¡¯t do my share of taking care of the baby.¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a promise! You have to return safely and without a scratch!¡± Impulsively, I hugged him.


    He hugged me back and patted my head. ¡°I promise everything will be fine.¡±


    In the game, the demon extermination was a World Event that was so easy, even newbies could participate. Shuye should be fine as long as he didn¡¯t do anything reckless.


    ¡°See you when it¡¯s over,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a banquet and give you a hero¡¯s welcome!¡±


    The thought cheered me up and we both smiled as we waved goodbye to each other.


    ***


    The next day, I got up at dawn and did a few stretches in my bedroom before showering and dressing in my usual sturdy farm clothes. I took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air as I stepped out of my [Ranch House].


    Since it was still a little dark, I made Mr. Bear grow to human size and attached a miner¡¯s helmet to his head which illuminated the path to the main house. The sun was peeking over the horizon, spilling rays of orange, pink, and golden light across the sky. The ground beneath my boots squelched wetly with every step when I got to the fields where we had planted the [Potatoes] and assorted root vegetables. Most of the seeds had already sprouted and all I had to do was to pluck a few stray weeds since it had rained last night.


    I rinsed the mud off my hands in a water bucket, and I made a mental note to heat water beforehand. Then I walked to the field we were working on today. My apprentices were already there waiting for me, along with Yinuo and two other maids who handed me my breakfast - freshly steamed buns filled with sweet and smokey slow-roasted pork. I washed it down with hot tea.


    ¡°Ready?¡± I asked my apprentices when I finished eating.


    ¡°The [Three Sisters] for me, please,¡± said Kharli.


    [Companion Planting: The Three Sisters


    The Three Sisters is a Native American method of planting corn, beans, and squash together in the same mound. The corn grows tall and provides support for the beans to climb. The squash spreads along the ground, providing ground cover and preventing weeds from growing. This method of planting results in a bountiful harvest of all three crops.]


    I gave her the seeds she needed and the rest of us divided the other vegetable seeds. These were the plants that were for the household¡¯s consumption. Therefore, there was a good variety of different kinds of leafy vegetables, tubers, cruciferous vegetables, beans, legumes, berries, and so forth.


    Lari made a sound of disgust as mud flew up and splattered his face when he swung his hoe down into the soil. Yinuo held up a towel for him to use, but he waved it away.


    This was the unglamorous part of farming.


    It was the System that did the actual work of turning the soil when we swung our hoes, but that didn¡¯t mean we could just tap the ground with our tools. We still had to put a bit of force on it, enough to bury the hoe at least an inch or two into the ground. Otherwise, the System ignored it.


    Farmers wouldn¡¯t normally be working in these conditions since working in the mud was likely to cause the soil to be compacted. However, luckily for us, the System partially dried out and loosened it for us automatically.


    ¡°Think positive,¡± I said to the kids. ¡°We can plant more since we don¡¯t need to water the plants today.¡±


    Mo nodded. ¡°More exp is always good.¡±


    In silent unison, we worked as swiftly and efficiently as we could. None of us wanted to work in the muddy field longer than was necessary. I tilled my part of the area, swinging my hoe as delicately as I could to avoid getting too much mud on my face, and then fertilized the tilled soil with [Mysterious Goo]. Sowing the seeds was the easiest part of today¡¯s work since the seeds simply flew out of the seeder and embedded themselves in the soil.


    ¡°I knew it, good exp today!¡± I said to the others when we all finished. ¡°Let¡¯s wash up a little here before we go to the house.¡±


    I took out buckets of water and we cleaned our hands and faces.


    ¡°My lady, a hot breakfast is waiting for you at the house. The chef made that fried bread that you like.¡± Yinuo handed me a towel.


    ¡°I love that!¡± Yu char kway was one of my favorite unhealthy breakfast treats when I lived in Singapore, and I couldn¡¯t wait to dust it with sugar and eat it with a nice, hot cup of coffee. There was a spring in my step as I walked to the main house, dreaming of all the airy, donut-like yu char kway I was going to enjoy. ¡°Guys, let¡¯s shower quickly! I¡¯ll meet you in the outer courtyard.¡±


    Fifteen minutes later, I was seated at a table with a lovely set of dishes in front of me. In addition to the plain yu char kway I had requested, the kitchen staff also prepared congee, sliced ham, and vegetable wontons. Mo and I had coffee while Lari and Kharli had soy milk sweetened with honey.


    I leaned back on my chair and stretched my arms above my head, yawning inelegantly. ¡°I don¡¯t mind working in the cold mud if there¡¯s great food waiting for me when I finish.¡±


    ¡°Cold and wet is better than scorching hot, like last summer,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Our plants wilted, and I think we got less exp during the harvest.¡±


    ¡°Does this mean you don¡¯t want to go to the desert farm?¡± I said teasingly.


    Kharli smiled and shook her head. ¡°I want to go!¡±


    ¡°I like the desert farm,¡± said Mo. ¡°Teacher, we added water and feed for the animals earlier.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± I said.


    We discussed the rest of the farm¡¯s every day business before going back into the pocket dimension to explore and plan what we wanted to do next.


    ¡°Help me prepare the stuff for the [The Dragon''s Den Doorway],¡± I said.


    [The Dragon''s Den Doorway:


    A mysterious doorway has appeared within your farm that leads to a pocket dimension that¡¯s perfect for farming. However, the doorway is currently sealed and guarded by powerful enchantments. To open it, you must perform a ritual.


    Place a mirror and diamond in front of the door and recite this incantation:


    A verdant path, a mystic way,


    Unlocks its secrets, come what may


    With every leaf, a hope I see


    To journey forth, wild and free.


    Then bow three times in the four directions.


    Close the door and open it again. It will then be open for visitors.


    Reward: Visitors will be allowed inside the Mustard Seed Pocket Dimension]

 Chapter 207 - Year 3 End of Spring Planting Season

    The rest of the planting season passed in the same way. This was farm life the way I liked it: full of fulfilling work, delicious food, and exciting adventures in another dimension.


    We planted a small field of tea, which was in high demand these days, and lots of rice that we were growing alongside [Rice Carp] and [Cleaner Shrimp].


    [Rice-fish Culture System:


    The water in a rice paddy can be used for more than just growing rice. Farmers can also stock it with fish in order to secure an easy source of protein. Furthermore, the fish will improve soil quality by softening the soil and providing nutrients via their excrement. It is also good for pest management since fish eat insects, snails, fungus, weeds, etc.]


    On the last day, I gave my apprentices and staff a nice little bonus for their hard work, but, to my surprise, they all said they weren¡¯t going for their usual fun shopping trip to the nearest big city, Anwei.


    ¡°I¡¯ll save my coins for later,¡± said Lari.


    We were at the breakfast table eating barley dishes. One of Deming¡¯s chef friends had sent over a few sacks of barley, the variety that was called adlay or Chinese barley on Earth, and so we were having barley water, barley soup, and fried barley rice with chicken and mushroom. The kitchen staff were also making beer with it.


    ¡°What?¡± I put a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. ¡°Are you sick?¡±


    ¡°No, Teacher. I want to have more money to buy something better for next time,¡± he said.


    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Kharli. ¡°Madam Fengying told me to look at my purchases last year and decide.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we haven¡¯t even touched those things since we bought them!¡± said Mo. ¡°The trinkets we bought aren¡¯t as good as the things Teacher provides.¡±


    The money I gave them was enough to purchase things like fans, handkerchiefs, hairpins, etc.


    ¡°But you can still go and check out the new restaurants,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe buy some candies and snacks.¡±


    ¡°Our food is much better!¡± said Lari.


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Okay¡­ but what will you guys buy when you¡¯ve saved up your money then?¡±


    Kharli and Mo elbowed each other and grinned in a conspiratorial manner.


    Lari put a finger on his lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s a secret!¡±


    No matter how much I asked, they wouldn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Fiiiiine, keep your secret then.¡± I waved my chopsticks in the air to indicate my lack of interest in the matter. ¡°It¡¯s the end of the season. Tell me your stats.¡±


    During our first year, the kids had varying Farming levels due to small differences in their individual energy levels, but now that they were higher level, the experience needed was exponentially higher. Thus, that tiny bit of variance was no longer significant and their Farming levels were now the same.


    [Apprentice Name: Kharli


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 25¡ú26, Fishing Level 15, Woodcutting Level 22, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 12, Hunting Level 6]


    [Apprentice Name: Lari


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 25¡ú26, Fishing Level 17, Woodcutting Level 21, Cooking Level 1, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 4, Hunting Level 12]


    Stolen story; please report.


    [Apprentice Name: Mo


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 25, Fishing Level 4, Woodcutting Level 21, Cooking Level 2, Herblaw Level 1, Foraging Level 17, Hunting Level 4]


    The kids had not yet unlocked the mining skill, so their stat sheets were not the same as mine.


    [Player Name: Violet


    Farming Skills:


    Farming Level 30¡ú31, Fishing Level 17, Woodcutting Level 26, Cooking Level 8, Herblaw Level 30¡ú31, Foraging Level 11, Hunting Level 8, Mining Level 8]


    Now that I had unlocked [Automatic Alchemy], which was a subset of the Herblaw skill, I had over-leveled. Farming skills had a level cap, which was the Farming level, so even if I could run [Automatic Alchemy] all day long, even when I was asleep, my Herblaw level could never be higher than my Farming level.


    ¡°Very nice!¡± I put down my chopsticks and had one last sip of the barley water. ¡°Shall we go to the classroom and write it down in our book?¡±


    The kids enthusiastically agreed, and I knew why. Scholar Wu was due to return today, and they wanted her to see them hard at work practicing their calligraphy when she arrived. We went to the study room inner courtyard, a large and airy place full of natural sunlight. Students in this world often sat on the floors and wrote on low tables, but I had chosen more comfortable chairs for them to use, and the shelves were full of books, scrolls, ink stones, ink sticks, brushes, paper, and bamboo slips.


    There Lari and Kharli wrote down everything we had done this season on bamboo slips which they would later sew together to form a book of records. Mo had some form of dyslexia, so she used the System to read the characters aloud to her in her head. The others wrote while she and I did the error-checking.


    We were in the middle of our task when Fengying arrived with Scholar Wu, a tall clan member with a wrestler¡¯s build. She had long white hair and dark blue eyes, which was the classic coloring of the members of the White Tiger clan. Fengying led some maids inside who served tea while my apprentices and I exchanged greetings and small talk with Scholar Wu.


    In this world, leaders were those who were born to rule. That was what people thought of when they were asked about the social hierarchy. However, there was another type of ranking based on a person¡¯s occupation, and ¡°warrior-scholars¡± were at the very top. The other three major occupations were, in descending order of prestige, farmers, artisans, and merchants.


    It was a great honor for Emberstone Farm to have a scholar from the Wu family, who were renowned for their Celestial Harmony Arts, tutor my apprentices, and Scholar Wu¡¯s treatment reflected that. The whole of the third courtyard where she stayed was filled to the brim with the most elegant and luxurious furnishings I could get from my System inventory, and we all treated her with the greatest respect.


    ¡°How were the training camps?¡± I asked her.


    The corners of her lips turned up in a lovely smile. Her pearly white teeth were a tad too large for her mouth, and she had prominent incisors. ¡°I can¡¯t complain. It¡¯s not too bad since we have plenty of support staff. We even get hot water every other day!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back.¡± I added honey to my tea and enjoyed the sweet and fresh taste. ¡°We explored the dimension on foot, but we waited for you before activating all its features.¡±


    ¡°I can hardly wait to see it!¡±


    After tea, we led her outside to the [Mustard Tree Pocket Dimension]. Scholar Wu wasted no time and set up a dozen special tools to examine the tree. She did explain what they did, which was mostly to measure the quality and quantity of qi in an artifact, but I couldn¡¯t understand the terms she used like ¡°qi flux resonance,¡± ¡°vital essence saturation,¡± and ¡°etheric potential.¡±


    ¡°This is fascinating,¡± she muttered to herself as she wrote down the measurements on bamboo slips. ¡°Negative readings on the vortex dynamics? Normal field coherence¡­¡±


    We stood back and let our expert work on it undisturbed.


    In this world where there was no Wikipedia or Google, I valued Scholar Wu¡¯s breadth of knowledge. We had all agreed to wait until she arrived because we wanted her to advise us on the best possible way to develop the farm dimension.


    Scholar Wu was all smiles when she finished using her measuring tools. ¡°Everything looks normal.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then we will go inside and finish the quest for opening the dimension to other people,¡± I said.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll measure again after that¡¯s done.¡±


    I opened the door and we entered single file. Since we wanted Scholar Wu to see everything, we stayed a few steps away from the door while I completed the [The Dragon''s Den Doorway] quest. The player was the only one who needed to do the ritual, but I did it with my apprentices so we could all have fun together. Lari took out a full-length standing mirror opposite the door. Kharli put a [Diamond] on the ground equidistant from the mirror and door.


    Then we all recited the incantation in harmony, as we had practiced before.


    A verdant path, a mystic way,


    Unlocks its secrets, come what may


    With every leaf, a hope I see


    To journey forth, wild and free.


    In unison, we bowed three times north, west, south, and, finally, east.


    I shut the door and then opened it right away, but instead of seeing Emberstone Farm and Scholar Wu on the other side, we saw something completely different.


    ¡°What?¡± I took a step back. ¡°I must have opened it the wrong way. Let me try again.¡±

 Chapter 208 - Quest: Awaken the Spirits of the Land

    ¡°Why is it like that?¡± Mo frowned at the doorway that was full of a soft blue light. Glowing silver runes were raining down on it.


    I poked the light with a finger. It was solid, and its appearance reminded me of the Matrix code from the movies, which raised a lot of questions in my mind. Could this be a visual representation of Adventure Incarnate¡¯s code? Was I living in a simulation?


    This thought made me decide to start the [Paradise Earth Primordial Origin Dream Soul Path] quest sooner rather than later


    ¡°I would¡¯ve put black leather pants on if I¡¯d known it was time to enter the Matrix!¡± I said.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo exchange baffled looks.


    Kharli tentatively flattened a palm on the shining surface. ¡°It feels cool and slick, like glass.¡±


    Lari and Mo followed suit, poking, prodding, and running their fingers on it.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s a slight vibration,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel it,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Check the System,¡± I suggested.


    After a few seconds of browsing the System tabs, I finally found the new settings that just got activated. I toggled some features on, and the silver runes disappeared from the blue light filling the doorway, replaced by square portraits of the people in Emberstone farm. Their names were written under the portraits.


    ¡°I can use this to choose who can enter,¡± I said.


    Kharli¡¯s brow furrowed, showing a hint of concern and uncertainty. ¡°The System knows everyone¡¯s name! Do you think¡­ Do you think it listens to us?¡±


    Mo shuddered. ¡°Please stop making it sound creepy. The System is just trying to be helpful.¡±


    ¡°Guys, Scholar Wu is waiting for us. Let me open the door for her,¡± I said.


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo stepped aside, and I touched Scholar Wu¡¯s portrait. There was a popup that asked me to confirm that I wanted her to access the dimension, which I affirmed. The blue light then died down to reveal the farm on the other side, with Scholar Wu waiting excitedly for us with her instruments in hand. I waved my hand in a ¡°come here¡± gesture, and she stepped right through without any hesitation.


    ¡°How lovely! The zidan here is the same as on Emberstone Farm.¡± She slowly spun around, taking in everything. ¡°I¡¯ll measure the qi now.¡±


    She set her tools up on this side of the door and got busy.


    ¡°Zidan only matters if you¡¯re a clan member, right?¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Yes, it doesn¡¯t concern us at all. When Scholar Wu finishes, we¡¯ll get started with the [Awaken the Spirits of the Land] quest. That should be the first one we do,¡± I said.


    [Awaken the Spirits of the Land:


    Find the five bells, mallet, and frame. Ring the bells to awaken the Spirits of the Land.


    Reward: ???]


    The text was uninformative but, thankfully, I remembered this particular quest and its importance.


    When Scholar Wu finished her work, she put her tools away into her personal interspatial storage and said, ¡°All the qi levels are normal.¡±


    ¡°You said zidan is normal, too?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, I can very clearly sense that this land belongs to you,¡± she said.


    Zidan was a sixth sense that only clan members had. As far as I could tell, clan members could see an energy field that surrounds everything, similar to how people on Earth who claimed to be psychics claimed to see auras.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    For land and other inanimate objects, its zidan could indicate ownership and information about its past. For living things like animals and plants, zidan could additionally show their health and emotions. Humans and clan members had a more complex zidan which seemed to be related to their charisma, reputation, physical and mental strength, etc. In many ways, zidan was the real indicator of social standing among the clans.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that zidan isn¡¯t weird here,¡± I said. ¡°Now we need to walk around to ring the bells I told you about. My bloodline inheritance has a map guide that we can follow to find them.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need to do these quests? Your bloodline inheritance gave you this land, but won¡¯t allow you to use it until you find some bells? I have never heard of such a thing,¡± she said.


    ¡°A lot of the quests are for finding stuff that are scattered everywhere. I reckon it¡¯s just to force me to explore the entire area before I start Farming.¡±


    The System was in [Guide Mode] which allowed me to see a path made of glowing yellow arrows on the ground which were visible only to my eyes.


    We walked at a comfortable pace. The landscape was a gorgeous patchwork of fields of emerald grass, wildflowers, and groves of trees. The hills in the distance were a soft, undulating green, and the river wound through the land in silver ribbons. A gentle breeze rustled through the tall grasses, creating ripples across the fields. The sky was a clear, brilliant blue, with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily above us.


    Scholar Wu stopped every now and then to measure qi and take samples of the soil, rocks, and water, as well as taking cuttings of various plants and trees.


    The kids had already written down the texts of the quests in scrolls, and Scholar Wu read their work while we walked, praising them for their hard work, but also pointing out a few errors and sloppy work here and there.


    I stopped at the end of the path the yellow arrows made. We were in an open field. ¡°The map says it¡¯s right here. Time to start digging, I guess!¡±


    Five minutes¡¯ work with a shovel unearthed a bronze bell the size of my hand. I was half-expecting a vision to unfold when I found the bell because there was a cutscene for this quest in Adventure Incarnate, but nothing happened. I couldn¡¯t remember the exact details of the scene. Was it a story about the Harvest Goddess falling asleep? However, this didn¡¯t seem to be the case here in this world.


    I handed the item to the others to examine.


    [Dragon King¡¯s Bell:


    Part of a set of bells used to make music.


    A small bronze bell, its surface intricately decorated with coiled dragons. The bell''s shape is classic, with a wide mouth and a tapering body. Its handle is adorned with a delicate dragon motif.]


    ¡°A normal bronze bell,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    Lari took it and tried to ring it. ¡°Teacher, it doesn¡¯t have a clapper and doesn¡¯t make any sound.¡±


    ¡°Look at the System¡¯s text. It says this is part of a set. We probably need all of them before we can ring the bells,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Should we clean it up?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°I believe the green patina is considered artistic.¡± I looked at Scholar Wu, who nodded. ¡°But we should clean the dirt off.¡±


    ¡°A soft cloth should do the trick.¡± Scholar Wu took the bell and wiped the dirt off with a handkerchief.


    ¡°On to the next one?¡± I asked.


    They all agreed, and this time we picked up the pace a bit instead of leisurely strolling without a care in the world. Finding the first bell had excited everyone, and we wanted to get all of them faster.


    The second bell was hanging from a branch in a grove of oak trees. The third bell was under a rock in the river. The fourth was tangled in the roots of a patch of wild roses. The fifth was buried right smack in the middle of the open field in front of the door, where we also found the framework and mallet.


    We quickly wiped them clean and assembled the bells by hanging them on the wooden frame. I placed the whole thing on a table and picked up the mallet. ¡°Time to play some music!¡±


    I struck the smallest bell, but as I was about to move on to the next one, a glowing symbol in the shape of a musical note appeared on the fourth bell. Then the musical note started hopping from bell to bell.


    Noooooo!


    It was a rhythm game! I sucked at those.


    Grimacing, I tried to follow the notes as best as I could but failed several times.


    I pulled out a chair from my inventory and sat down in front of the table.¡°Guys, I need some time to learn how to ring the bells.¡±


    ¡°Lady Violet, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Scholar Wu.


    I explained the problem to them. ¡°The bells need to be rung in a certain order to play the right melody. I need to practice.¡±


    ¡°Good luck, Teacher!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I hope the melody is easy,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°The System wouldn¡¯t make her do something too difficult,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Okay, here goes nothing!¡± I tried again, and this time I realized that the song I was playing was quite familiar.


    It was the Super Mario Bros. theme!


    This made me chuckle and cemented my current hypothesis about the origin of this dimension.


    GodIAm was a well-known cheater, hacker, and bug abuser in Adventure incarnate, and I thought it was likely that this dimension was an illegal mod he added since there was no way on Earth that the game developers would¡¯ve added the Super Mario Bros. theme to the official expansion.


    Shaking my head and chuckling to myself at the thought of GodIAm being dragged to court by Nintendo, I set out to learn how to play the famous theme song on the bells. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t need to play the whole thing. The first twenty-eight notes were enough.


    As the sound of the last chime sounded in the air, ripples of green light emanated from the bells and spread outward.


    [Awaken the Spirits of the Land: Quest Complete


    Reward: Dowsing Pendulum]


    [Quest Available: Rekindling the Emberstone]

 Chapter 209 - Quest Chain

    I quickly clicked on the [Accept] button and explained the concept of a quest chain to the others.


    When it was beta-tested in Adventure Incarnate, the player response was lukewarm. Two years later, epic quests were introduced instead since people said they liked to do one big task at a time rather than ten small ones in sequence.


    ¡°To sum it up, each mini-quest unlocks the next one. We simply have to do a few more to unlock the real reward.¡±


    Scholar Wu wrote it down on her scroll. ¡°And these mini-quests are all about fetching items from all over the land?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I read the text out loud for her.


    [Rekindling the Emberstone:


    Using the Dowsing Pendulum, find the five fire artifacts and combine them to form the Emberstone.


    Reward:???]


    ¡°Teacher, may I try it?¡± Lari tentatively extended his hand towards the [Dowsing Pendulum], which was a red crystal suspended on a red string.


    ¡°Sure, give it a go!¡± I gave him the item. Seeing the girls eyeing it, too, I said, ¡°You can take turns.¡±


    Lari held the crystal by the string and let it swing free. It spun around in circles for a few seconds before floating up with its pointed tip indicating the direction we should go. Lari, Kharli, and Mo ran off to find it, and a few minutes later, the pendulum pointed straight down at an ordinary-looking fist-sized rock which I put in my inventory for safekeeping.


    ¡°Me next!¡± Kharli held her hand out for the pendulum and no sooner did I hand it to her than they were off, gamboling like excited goats and chattering like magpies.


    Once again, we walked all over the place. Scholar Wu kept on taking samples and writing notes. Thanks to the [Dowsing Pendulum] we easily found all the rocks in no time. When I put them all together, they fused into a larger but still nondescript rock.


    [Rekindling the Emberstone: Quest Complete


    Reward: Emberstone]


    [Quest Available: Clear the Cursed Thicket]


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo held the [Emberstone] up and examined every inch. Lari scraped it with a fingernail while Mo dribbled some water on the stone¡¯s surface to see if it would react. No matter how we looked at it, the item was just a regular stone.


    [Emberstone:


    A life-giving stone.]


    Lari turned to me and asked, ¡°Teacher, what about the embers that should be inside it? Shouldn¡¯t it be a burning rock?¡±


    ¡°There might be a reaction when we finish getting all of the items for all of the quests,¡± I said.


    The new pendulum we got was identical to the first one but with a green crystal and string.


    [Clear the Cursed Thicket:


    Collect water from the five sacred spots. Mix them together and pour into the cursed thicket.


    Reward:???]


    We set off once again to find all the required quest items, collecting glasses of water from various spots in the river.


    ¡°See what I mean? The quest is making us walk over the entire length of the river to force us to explore it,¡± I said to the others.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll send these samples to a better-equipped laboratory,¡± murmured Scholar Wu.


    Since I had been the one to merge the rocks, this time I let Kharli pour the water mixture into the so-called ¡°Cursed Thicket¡± which was just a small but dense clump of bamboo. A [Bamboo Flute] materialized in the spot where she had poured the water.


    [Clear the Cursed Thicket: Quest Complete


    Reward: Bamboo Flute]


    [Quest Available: Totem of the Seasons]


    ¡°A flute! Who wants to play it?¡± I held out the musical instrument.


    Lari and Kharli both looked alarmed and backed away, so I offered it to Mo who tried to blow on it. She produced some discordant sounds, but nothing else happened.


    ¡°May I?¡± Scholar Wu took it from her and played a simple tune on it. She shook her head when she finished and gave it back to me. ¡°It¡¯s well made, but I don¡¯t sense anything else from it. If I hadn¡¯t seen it magically appear with my own eyes, I wouldn¡¯t have thought there was anything special about it. What next?¡±


    I read the System information about the new quest and raised an eyebrow. ¡°It seems like we¡¯ll just be repeatedly walking everywhere.¡±


    ¡°What do we have to do this time?¡± asked Scholar Wu. She was in her element, and her expression spoke volumes about her enthusiasm for finding more of the mundane materials the System requested.


    ¡°We need to gather five branches from five special trees and they will merge to form the totem.¡± I leaned on the bamboo. ¡°There are three more quests after that - [Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Thy Food], [The Great Aviary Initiative], and [Legends of the Living Earth].¡±


    ¡°Teacher, if you¡¯re bored, we can do it ourselves and bring you the items when we¡¯re done,¡± said Mo.


    I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not bored. This is rather nice, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Scholar Wu took out a very large sword from her interspatial storage. ¡°How about I liven things up by flying us around?¡±


    ¡°Oooh!¡± I walked to her side to look at the sword more closely. It was like an absurdly huge anime sword, seven feet long and a foot wide. ¡°A flying sword! I¡¯ve only heard about that in legends.¡±


    The other clan members I had seen liked to fly, but they didn¡¯t use swords. Either they used a flying vehicle like an ox cart or carriage, or they flew without using tools.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as comfortable as your carriage, but this is the traditional flying sword of the Wu clan,¡± she said with a proud smile.


    ¡°I want to fly! I want to fly on this awesome sword!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Me, too!¡± said Lari. ¡°But how will we all fit on it?¡±


    ¡°Scholar Wu means one by one, I¡¯m sure,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°With your permission, Lady Violet?¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°This is an amazing opportunity. Thank you.¡± I smiled to see how eager they were. ¡°Go ahead, the kids can take turns while the rest of us stay here.¡±


    ¡°Who wants to go first?¡± asked Scholar Wu.


    Kharli¡¯s hand shot up faster than the others, so she went first. Scholar Wu let go of the sword which floated two feet above the ground. Scholar Wu stepped on it, her feet diagonal on the blade, but her torso twisted so that she faced forward. We helped Kharli step on it and position herself in the same way.


    ¡°You can hold on to my arms,¡± said Scholar Wu. ¡°I¡¯ll use qi to keep our bodies steady, and I won¡¯t fly too high or fast. Please give me the pendulum.¡±


    Lari handed the item to her, and she activated it to find the direction they should fly.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Scholar Wu asked.


    Kharli nodded, and the sword flew up slowly and steadily, as straight as an arrow to the north. I hadn¡¯t even bothered asking if it was safe since I was confident that the kid¡¯s tutor knew what she was doing. We followed them with our eyes. They were about ten feet high and the speed was only as fast as I could run full tilt. A few minutes later, they descended into a small grove of pine trees and disappeared from our sight. They soon reappeared and flew back to us.


    ¡°We found it!¡± Kharli waved a green branch full of leaves and weird-looking black fruits at us.


    She stepped down, and Mo replaced her on the sword. This time, they flew east to fetch a branch.


    ¡°These fruits look like apples, but they¡¯re black!¡± Kharli handed me the branch. ¡°I found it lying on the ground.¡±


    Lari¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°May I try one?¡±


    ¡°No way, we need this for the quest!¡± I was curious about the fruits, too, but this was a key item. Who knew what would happen if it wasn¡¯t intact? ¡°Just wait until we finish everything. You¡¯ll see that this black apple isn¡¯t worth jeopardizing the final reward.¡±


    Mo and Scholar Wu returned with a branch with green apples. Lari and Scholar Wu then went south to retrieve a tree branch with red apples.


    It should have been my turn next.


    ¡°Um, I think I¡¯ll pass. I¡¯m not good with heights,¡± I said. ¡°The kids can take turns until we finish all the quests and we should also walk towards the door now. I promised the staff they could see today¡¯s results.¡±


    ¡°Lady Violet, I¡¯d like to measure the qi here one last time before you complete all of the quests,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°No problem,¡± I said.


    I walked back to the doorway with whichever of my apprentices was currently earthbound.


    Kharli and Mo then went with Scholar Wu to get the last two branches that had white and golden apples, which completed the set of all the items we needed. I spread a picnic blanket on the ground and placed the branches on it. They all dissolved into green, red, white, black, and golden lights which merged together to form the [Totem of Seasons].


    I had expected the totem to be a carved wooden pillar, but it was a small, fist-sized statue of a dragon.


    [Totem of Seasons:


    A small wooden statue of a dragon symbolizing power, wisdom, and protection.]


    ¡°It¡¯s cute, isn¡¯t it?¡± I showed it to the others.


    ¡°I think this is a child dragon,¡± said Mo. ¡°Look at those big round eyes!¡±


    ¡°Yes, the proportions do seem childlike,¡± said Scholar Wu. ¡°I can¡¯t sense anything unusual from it.¡±


    After everyone got a chance to look at it, I took the statue back and put it in my inventory. ¡°The items we got right now don¡¯t look like much, but I think this chain of tasks will have a spectacular finish.¡±


    We continued with the rest of the quests. [Let Food Be Thy Medicine, and Medicine Thy Food] asked us to find five wild berries and [The Great Aviary Initiative] was a search for five feathers. Lari, Kharli, and Mo went fearlessly whizzing off in all directions and returned with the stuff we needed. The items combined into a [Five-Colored Pill] and [Feathered Scepter].


    ¡°Okay, this is it! Someone tell the others in the house to come, and I¡¯ll fix the settings to allow them to enter. Scholar Wu, it¡¯s time for your last reading,¡± I said when we arrived at the spot in front of the doorway.


    ¡°This is the last task?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    My three apprentices went out to fetch the staff while Scholar Wu got new qi measurements again.


    [Legends of the Living Earth:


    Draw this symbol on the ground and place the Bamboo Flute, Totem of the Seasons, Five-Colored Pill, and Feathered Scepter on the four corners and the Emberstone in the middle.


    Reward:???]


    The runes were simple enough to draw, but I had trouble drawing a perfect circle until I used a makeshift compass made of two sticks and a string to do it.


    Fengying, Deming, and the other staff arrived as I was putting the finishing touches on the symbol.


    ¡°My lady, this place is so beautiful! The air is so fresh and the fields are full of flowers!¡± Yinuo¡¯s eyes darted from place to place, her face glowing with unrestrained wonder.


    The others also complimented me on acquiring such a magical and lovely piece of property.


    ¡°It¡¯s much bigger than I thought it would be.¡±


    ¡°They say the gods had doors to incredible pocket dimensions.¡±


    ¡°The one in Mount Deer was supposed to lead to a land where everything was made of white smoke.¡±


    ¡°I like this one better.¡±


    ¡°There was one with a lake made of wine and trees made of meat.¡±


    They gathered around the circle I had drawn and chatted about this and that as I waited for Scholar Wu to finish. When she gave me the go-ahead, I gestured for my apprentices to join me by my side and said, ¡°Gather round, everyone! You¡¯re about to witness a momentous occasion.¡±


    One by one, I put the [Bamboo Flute], [Totem of the Seasons], [Five-Colored Pill], [Feathered Scepter], and [Emberstone] in their proper places. The five items and the symbol I had drawn glowed a bright white for a split second before disappearing. I had expected them to combine to form a new item, but they dissolved into thin air.


    I almost stumbled as the earth beneath our feet began to shake, and my hair whipped around my face as the wind picked up, carrying with it the scent of ozone.


    Looking up, my breath caught in my throat. There, suspended in the darkening sky, a vast circle of light blazed into existence. Intricate runes and symbols traced themselves in burning gold against the clouds, their patterns spreading outward like a blooming flower. The circle must have been hundreds of feet across.


    By this time, my people were all used to such heavenly phenomena and weren¡¯t rattled. They whooped with excitement and pointed up at the sky.


    The very air seemed to hum with power, making my skin tingle and the fine hairs on my arms stand on end. As the final symbols locked into place, pulses of energy rippled outward from the circle''s center, sending waves of color cascading across the sky and then down into the earth.


    The tremors intensified, and we all watched in fascination as the earth itself began to rise and take shape. Five humanoid forms three times my height pushed up through the soil, their bodies a patchwork of stone and rich earth. I couldn''t help but smile as the nearest one turned toward us, its "face" a simple arrangement of smooth rocks that somehow managed to convey curiosity.


    The glowing symbol in the sky pulsed thrice more than died down.


    [Legends of the Living Earth: Quest Complete


    Reward: Five Golems]


    I was just about to explain what they were and call for a celebration when I got a System notification. The popup box was outlined in a scary red color and had skulls on all four corners.


    [Warning: Wild Golems]


    [Golems in the area have become agitated. If not tamed quickly, they may break free and cause significant damage to your property. Tame them before it''s too late!]


    [Combat Alert]


    [A hostile force is approaching! Prepare for battle. Equip your weapons, and armor, and gather necessary supplies.]

 Chapter 210 - [Golems Gone Wild]

    [Quest Available: Golems Gone Wild]


    Oh no, it was a combat quest?!


    I raised a hand to get everyone¡¯s attention and said, ¡°Everyone, stay back! I need to subdue these creatures!¡±


    Scholar Wu appeared by my side in a flash. ¡°Lady Violet, it would be a real shame to damage these rare magical creatures, but if they¡¯re a danger, I¡¯ll dismember them.¡±


    ¡°Give me a minute, I¡¯ll check their information using my bloodline inheritance.¡±


    [Golems Gone Wild:


    The ancient golems have begun to malfunction due to their age. Their codestones, the hearts of their being, are no longer functioning properly, causing them to behave erratically.


    To restore these golems to their former state, you must replace their malfunctioning codestones with new ones.


    Smash the codestones: 0/5


    Create new codestones: 0/5


    Replace the codestones: 0/5


    Reward: ???]


    That sounded easy enough.


    I mentally clicked on the [Accept] button which triggered the combat screen to overlay my field of vision. The spots on the golems¡¯ bodies where the [Codestones] were located were highlighted and the nearest one was automatically set as the target. The spots were either the golem¡¯s forehead or the center of the chest. I read the text to Scholar Wu and said, ¡°I think I won¡¯t even need to do anything. Mr. Bear, I choose you!¡±


    [Puppet Name: Mr. Bear


    A magical plushie unlike any other. This cute and cuddly bear is made of a special type of plush cloth and magical stuffing that gives it special powers. When its owner is in danger, this bear will come to life.


    Though Mr. Bear is a wizard type, this puppet is also equipped with hidden metal claws and teeth.


    Type: Magic


    Base spell: Fireball


    Upgrades: 14/99]


    My puppet expanded until he was twice the size of a human, and I equipped him with a basic [Magic Wand] but used the absolutely adorable [Butterfly Bear Dreamweaver] Cash Shop cosmetic override because I didn¡¯t want to scare the kids with a real battle.


    [Butterfly Bear Dreamweaver:


    Turn your puppet into a bear with butterfly wings and a wand. As the puppet moves, shimmering butterflies will flutter around it, and the wand will shoot pink and silver butterfly dust.]


    The costume would make combat look cute instead of dangerous.


    Mr. Bear ran off, with me staying six feet behind him.


    As for me, I only had level 12 Magic, and all combat equipment had a level requirement. This meant that the only things I could use were the [Spider Silk Robes] set and [Spider Wand], but I used a matching [Butterfly Dreamweaver] cosmetic set override. The Cash Shop item made my robes pastel-colored and gave me large illusory pink and yellow butterfly wings. My attacks were followed by sparkly dust and a twinkling sound effect.


    [Violet


    Level 50


    HP: 5,000/5,000


    MP: 40/40


    Strength: 50/99


    Attack: 48/99


    Archery: 46/99


    Magic: 12/99]


    A player¡¯s level was only the base stat. What mattered was his or her Battle Rating.


    [Battle Rating:


    The Battle Rating (BR) of a character in a video game is a number that represents that character''s overall power and fighting ability. The higher the BR, the stronger the character is. The BR is determined by a variety of factors, such as the character''s stats, equipment, puppet, bonuses, and abilities.]


    Since I had equipped only low-level stuff, my BR was low though it didn¡¯t really matter for this quest since all I had to do was to destroy the [Codestones].


    [Violet


    Level 50


    HP: 5,000/5,000


    BR: 105]


    ¡°Are the codestones those round rocks with the writing on them?¡± asked Scholar Wu, who was keeping pace beside me. ¡°I can take care of them for you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but Mr. Bear can handle it.¡±


    The words were barely out of my mouth, and then my puppet cast his first [Fireball] which hit the target dead center. However, the force of the flames was not enough to crack it. The golem swung its arms down ponderously, slow enough for Mr. Bear to dodge easily.


    In the combat screen, my action bar showed three available skills.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    [Magic Bolt


    Magic Claw


    Magic Explosion]


    I followed up my puppet¡¯s [Fireball] with a [Magic Bolt].


    [Magic Bolt:


    Using a wand or staff, channel a Spell Stone¡¯s magic into a focused beam of energy that explodes upon contact.


    Cooldown: 5 seconds]


    A [Spell Stone] crumbled into dust.


    In Adventure Incarnate, players were humans with no innate magical abilities or energy. Mr. Bear and I could only cast spells using the [Spell Stones] in our inventory which functioned kind of like a magic battery.


    My [Magic Bolt] attack hit the [Codestone] and cracked it. The golem stopped moving and the slight glow in its eyes died.


    I really wanted to use my strongest skill, [Magic Explosion], but it was an area-of-effect attack and I didn¡¯t want to damage the golems.


    [Magic Explosion:


    Focus the power of a Spell Stone through your wand or staff to unleash a devastating explosion of magical energy in a targeted area, damaging all enemies within its radius.


    Cooldown: 10 seconds]


    Likewise, [Magic Claw] couldn¡¯t be used because it didn¡¯t have pinpoint accuracy.


    [Magic Claw:


    Unleash the energy of a Spell Stone to conjure three destructive beams that shoot forth from your weapon, tearing at enemies like claws.


    Cooldown: 5 seconds]


    Thus, I continued to cast [Magic Bolt] and Mr. Bear cast [Fireball] while we dodged the golems¡¯ slow attacks.


    Scholar Wu stayed beside me and seemed highly amused by it all.


    ¡°How cute!¡± she cooed whenever Mr. Bear cast a spell. ¡°I wish I had a sweet and charming sidekick like him, too.¡±


    A few spells later, all the golems were deactivated, and it was time to create the new [Codestones] for them.


    Scholar Wu, Mr. Bear, and I walked back to where the others were.


    ¡°Kids, can you get five smooth river stones for me?¡± I said to my apprentices. ¡°The System says I need them to make the new [Codestones].¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± they chorused.


    [Creating Codestones:


    Find 5 smooth stones from the river bed.


    Carve the pattern on them using a chisel.


    Sprinkle Diamond Dust on the stones.]


    While they were looking for the materials I needed, I took out a hammer from my toolbelt and used it on a [Diamond] to make [Diamond Dust] which I then stored in my inventory.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lovely day, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said to Yinuo when I was done. ¡°Should I set up some tables and chairs for us to use? It¡¯s almost lunchtime.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to finish the quest first?¡± asked Scholar Wu.


    ¡°No rush. When the quests are all done this place will no longer be like an unspoiled paradise.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Besides, I assumed you wanted to examine the place more closely before I make radical changes.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I didn¡¯t think you would wait for me to do more tests.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in no rush. Take your time, especially since the kids and I have only a little energy left after today¡¯s farm work.¡± I turned to my maid and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell the staff they can explore after lunch? There¡¯s a lot of fish in the river if they want to catch some for our dinner.¡±


    The staff helped me set up tables and chairs under the shade of an oak tree. Since it was noon and quite hot outside, I put a few large misting fans around the perimeter. The kids came back with the stones which they placed a few feet away under the direct sunlight to dry.


    The demon chef and his assistants went back through the portal and returned with platters and tureens full of salads, vegetable soups, sliced fruits, and other fresh produce previously harvested from the farm or Foraged from the Ancient Hill Forest.


    After winter, people normally got tired of preserved meats and picked vegetables and craved fresh ingredients. This wasn¡¯t exactly true of us since we had spent last season on a tropical island, but the chef still wanted to feature the traditional spring dishes.


    Also, he had expressed his concern that we were eating too much meat. Therefore, today the food was mostly vegetables with a little bit of chicken or fish mixed in for more flavor.


    ¡°Lady Violet, how much time can you give me to test this area?¡± asked Scholar Wu.


    We were seated at one round table with Lari, Kharli, and Mo. Scholar Wu¡¯s household staff and mine ate separately from us since I had given up asking them to dine together with us. They said they felt more at ease that way, which I guess meant they didn¡¯t want to spend their break with their boss. My apprentices piled their plates with choice morsels from the various dishes as Scholar Wu and I chatted.


    ¡°Well, you see, right now is too close to the planting time on the farm and that¡¯s no good. If the pocket dimension and the farm have the same planting and harvest times, the kids and I will run out of energy.¡±


    Scholar Wu made a humming sound as she thought about that. ¡°Then are you planning to start mid-season?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that seems to be the most logical way to go about it. So you should have enough time for all the tests you want to do.¡±


    ¡°Perfect!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for the crops, but we will start on the other things first.¡±


    We spoke a bit more about the details while we ate, and she also filled me in on the most recent gossip among the clans.


    ¡°Whatever they¡¯re doing in the training camps, I bet they don¡¯t have food as good as this.¡± I took a bite of the spicy eggplant and shivered with delight at the hot and sour flavor. I followed it up with a spoonful of bitter melon soup to savor the contrasting tastes. These dishes were really the type to wake one¡¯s senses up after a long, dull winter season.


    Scholar Wu shook her head and smiled. ¡°Most people are subsisting on jerky and dried fish, but a few of the wealthier clan members brought their own chefs to the camps!¡±


    We all laughed, and I smiled a bit smugly when I thought about how I had luckily snapped up the best chef in the continent, possibly the world.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m having lunch in a world inside a magical portal!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Scholar Wu, has Teacher told you about the mythical animals yet?¡± Kharli refilled my bowl with more soup.


    Lari poured tea for everyone whose cups were empty and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to learn how to ride them as soon as I can.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t count your chickens before they hatch!¡± I said.


    ¡°What? They are chickens? I thought they were magical horses,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually all sorts of animals!¡± I said.


    ¡°But I was talking about the pretty horses,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°There are also giant chickens and toads,¡± I said.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Mo scrunched up her face adorably. ¡°Teacher, please. No one wants slimy, ugly giant toads.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t say that. You¡¯ll make the Toad clan cry.¡± I was just teasing her, of course.


    ¡°I still think the tiger is the better idea,¡± said Lari. ¡°Think of it, we could enter the city riding on a golden carriage drawn by giant white tigers.¡±


    Scholar Wu and I smiled indulgently as the kids discussed their dreams of riding mythical beasts.


    After lunch, I took the stones and used an inkbrush and black ink to draw the runes on them. Then I used a chisel to carve the shapes and sprinkled [Diamond Dust] on them which turned the river stones into [Codestones].


    ¡°We¡¯ll add these to the golem when we¡¯re ready,¡± I said to the others who were watching me work.


    ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± said Fengying.


    Most of the staff went exploring, fishing rods in hand. My apprentices and I showed Scholar Wu the land¡¯s boundary.


    ¡°When we saw those hills in the distance, we all thought this place was huge, but as you can see, we can only walk up to this place.¡± I waved a hand at the open field in front of us. ¡°Only the fields and river in front of the door can be used.¡±


    I estimated that the total land area was roughly 1,200 acres, but not all of that was usable since around a third of it was taken up by the river and wild stands of trees which I had no intention of cutting down.


    Scholar Wu probed the air in front of her with a stick device for measuring qi. ¡°It¡¯s like there¡¯s a solid but invisible wall here.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll fly up and see how far it extends.¡±


    She flew higher and higher until she was a mere black speck in the sky and returned with the news that the invisible wall went up as far as she could fly.


    ¡°This is the most fascinating thing I have seen in my entire life! I almost wish I could spend a decade studying it.¡± Her eyes were glowing with excitement as she waved a device in front of her.


    I smiled and shook my head. ¡°Sorry, but no can do. Anyway, I¡¯m sure this place will be just as fascinating after I activate the golems.¡±


    ¡°It will probably be even better!¡± she said. ¡°Excuse me. Let¡¯s part ways here. I¡¯d like to fly all over the land.¡±


    ¡°Sure, see you later.¡±


    She flew off and we waved our goodbyes to her.


    ¡°Time to rest,¡± I said to my apprentices. ¡°We¡¯ll be quite busy tomorrow.¡±


    ***


    Three days later, when Scholar Wu finished analyzing the land, I slotted the [Codestone] into the empty spots on the golems¡¯ bodies.


    [Golems Gone Wild: Quest Complete


    Reward: All Farm Modes Activated]

 Chapter 211 - The farm in another dimension

    ¡°Yes!¡± I threw my hands up and did a little dance of celebration.


    Everyone cheered and cheered. Kharli and Mo hooked their arms together and spun around doing a few folk dance steps that involved bending the knees then kicking their feet up.


    The next System popup didn¡¯t even give me pause.


    [Golem Initialization Cost: 108, 000 gold coins per golem]


    Yinuo handed me a golden goblet studded with rubies, and Scholar Wu poured apple juice into it. Everyone got their drinks, juice for the younger people, and rice wine for the older ones, in fine crystal glasses.


    I took out a large, futuristic-looking control panel and placed it on a table for them to see. It was, of course, merely a dummy, since the actual settings were in my System tabs, but it should serve as a good visual representation for the others.


    ¡°Okay, guys, this is it! Get ready for the awesome unveiling of the Grand View Garden!¡± I lifted my goblet and pressed a big red button on the fake control panel while simultaneously paying the price to mobilize the golems. ¡°Now!¡±


    They all lifted their glasses and cheered, but most of us, including me, forgot to drink because a huge magic circle appeared in the sky and rained green light down on us.


    ¡°Run!¡± yelled Scholar Wu.


    She grabbed me and Yinuo, who were closest to her, and flew out of the magic circle¡¯s radius. There was mayhem as my apprentices and household staff ran as fast as they could. Deming picked Fengying up and raced off, moving almost as fast as a clan member. Scholar Wu dumped us just outside the glowing area and flew back to pick people up two by two.


    I was about to run back inside to help the more high-strung maids who had started screaming when Fengying shouted at us, ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Deming says it''s not dangerous!¡±


    ¡°You heard her! Stay calm!¡± I walked, not ran, to the others.


    ¡°Evacuate, but don¡¯t be afraid! The light seems to be a gentle shower of qi!¡± Scholar Wu called out to us. She waited until we were all outside before flying up to inspect the magic circle in the sky.


    ¡°Is everyone all right?¡± I went around to check if anyone had been injured or was freaking out, but they all relaxed once Deming said it was fine.


    Lari sidled up to me and whispered, ¡°Scholar Wu isn¡¯t used to how the System works. That¡¯s why she was alarmed.¡±


    Kharli, who had overheard, said, ¡°The magic is rather scary when you¡¯re not from Emberstone Farm.¡±


    ¡°Okay, now quietly watch the System make changes to the landscape,¡± I said. ¡°You might want to write down your observations, too.¡±


    ¡°Nothing seems to be different¡­¡± Lari walked over to the edge of the circle and put his hand inside, palm up. ¡°The light doesn¡¯t even tickle.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± I knelt and examined the ground more closely. ¡°Something seems to be happening to the edges of the blades of grass.¡±


    It was hard to see, but the grass was gradually dissolving into nothing, starting from their edges.


    ¡°Teacher, the golems are moving!¡± Kharli pointed at the nearest one.


    I stood up and watched. The golems were very slowly changing their positions. It took ten minutes for them to turn their head to the center of the circle, and another ten for them to assume an upright position. By the time they started walking to the center of the area, the magic circle¡¯s glow had intensified, filling the ground below with a green mist that made it hard to see what was inside it. After another ten minutes, Scholar Wu flew out. It was now impossible to make out anything in the area covered by the mist.


    ¡°I must record this!¡± said Scholar Wu.


    She went to her work table that she had set up beforehand and started furiously drawing the magic circle on a large piece of vellum using a quill pen, which was quite unusual since people here normally used a brush to draw or write. Mo wandered over to watch her.


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    The mist roiled and flashed with arcs of lightning. I spread a picnic blanket below an oak tree and sat down to watch the show. Kharli and Lari joined me and we ate French fries while we waited. Fengying, Deming, and the rest of the household staff followed suit and we had a little party with tea and snacks.


    Only the middle of the pocket dimension was being modified. The rest of the land, including the part directly in front of the portal, was left untouched. A long stretch of the river which was great for fishing, and some groves of trees were also outside the area of influence.


    ¡°It¡¯s still smaller than Emberstone Farm, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked the others.


    ¡°Maybe it will expand when you level up, Teacher?¡± said Kharli.


    Lari leaned against the tree, his eyes glazed over with boredom as he idly twirled a small wooden branch between his fingers. ¡°How long will this take? May I go Fishing?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t know. It could take all day, or it could be over in a few more minutes. Go ahead and Fish if you want to,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll join you in an hour if the new farm isn¡¯t ready by then.¡±


    Lari went to talk to Yinuo¡¯s husbands, and they all left through the portal and returned with fishing rods. I waved at them as they left for the river.


    ¡°Wow, and I remember when Lari used to lie in bed all morning because he was too lazy to do anything,¡± said Kharli.


    I nodded. ¡°He¡¯s much more mature now.¡±


    Twenty minutes later, the mist started to thin and Lari came running back just in time to see the transformation.


    I jumped up and squealed in delight. ¡°It¡¯s ready!¡±


    I vanished the picnic things into my inventory and gestured at Mo and Scholar Wu to join us.


    ¡°Lady Violet, I¡¯d like to fly over the area to see what has changed,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Okay, the rest of us will go to the center on foot. How exciting!¡± I said.


    With Lari, Kharli, and Mo walking beside me, I made my way to the center of the Grand View Garden.


    What we saw when the green mist and magic circle in the sky disappeared was four flat, bare fields in the north, south, west, and east, ready for sowing. The golems all stood in a row like unmoving statues in the middle of the southern field.


    The river had been diverted and now flowed from southeast to northwest and southwest to northeast, neatly dividing the fields into four distinct sectors. At the center of the area, the water flowed into a circular moat.


    I knew it was a moat rather than just a wide ditch because the System map called it that.


    We walked up to the very edge and looked down at it. The water was clear enough for me to see the sand and rocks at the bottom of it.


    ¡°We could stock this with fish,¡± said Lari.


    I made a sound of agreement. ¡°Later.¡±


    I looked around for Scholar Wu and found her flying towards us, so I waited for her to land near me before saying, ¡°This area is for the house. Give me a few minutes while I fix it up.¡±


    The System¡¯s [Build] tab gave me a few options. The one I actually liked best was the cute [Fairytale Cottage], but I wasn¡¯t actually going to live in this place. Therefore, the one I picked was the biggest one possible, the [Castle of the Swan Knight].


    I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers, and chanted, ¡°Please don¡¯t be weird. Don¡¯t be weird. Please be a normal castle.¡±


    When I opened my eyes, I saw that once again, a magic circle had appeared. This time it was on the ground and much less showy than the big one in the sky earlier. Scholar Wu immediately started drawing its design on a wax tablet. It flashed a few times and when it disappeared, a lovely castle stood in its place, along with a bridge over the moat.


    The castle was made of a lovely cream-colored and cherry blossom pink stone, with cornflower blue roofs. It was not a fortification made to withstand sieges. Rather, it was a Disney-style fantasy structure with lots of crenelated parapets, slim towers, ornamental turrets, Juliet balconies, decorative chimneys, fancy stained-glass windows, and golden spires.


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s not weird at all!¡± I threw my arms around my apprentices. ¡°This is great, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s wonderful, Teacher. This castle is just what you need since you¡¯re marrying a prince,¡± said Kharli.


    All of us were grinning from ear to ear.


    ¡°Teacher, were you scared it was going to be a flat castle, like the mustard tree?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s a real castle!¡± I let go of the kids and patted my chest twice to calm down.


    ¡°Is this where the magical creatures live?¡± asked Lari.


    ¡°We have to hatch those later¡­¡± I looked towards Scholar Wu and, seeing that she was still busy writing or drawing her notes, gestured to Fengying and Deming to join us.


    ¡°My lady, Deming says the castle doesn¡¯t give off any dangerous qi,¡± said Fengying.


    ¡°Perfect! We¡¯ll enter with Scholar Wu and my apprentices to check everything before letting the rest of the household explore, okay?¡± I said.


    She nodded and walked back to where the others were to tell them to wait. While she was talking with them, I tried to estimate the size of the [Castle of the Swan Knight]. It wasn¡¯t small, but neither was it as large as, say, Buckingham Palace. As best as I could tell, it was only theme park castle-sized, perhaps a little larger than Shanghai Disneyland¡¯s Enchanted Storybook Castle.


    ¡°They¡¯re excited, but they¡¯ll stay put for now,¡± said Fengying when she returned to us.


    ¡°I wonder what the inside looks like.¡± Leading the way across the stone arch bridge, I appreciated how the drawbridge automatically lowered itself for us. We entered the gatehouse and then a small courtyard. The main door of the castle was made of fine redwood, with a jade sculpture of a medieval knight standing on a boat drawn by a large swan. I pushed the door open and boldly entered, only to see an unexpected sight. ¡°Huh? Why is it not a castle inside?¡±

 Chapter 212 - The most valuable part of the farm in the other dimension!

    What happened to my Sleeping Beauty-style castle from Disney?


    Instead of the arched ceilings, marble floors, grand staircases, stained glass windows, tapestries, chandeliers, and other opulent furnishings I was expecting, what we found was a gloomy rectangular room with no windows and a bare concrete floor. Its only saving grace was the numerous light fixtures on the walls and ceiling that made it as bright as the day outside.


    ¡°Dang it, I wanted to see a majestic castle hall!¡± I walked further in and spotted a welcome sight. There was a plain wooden staircase leading down to what should be the cellars, which were the main feature of the house in the pocket dimension. ¡°There seems to be nothing on this level. Let¡¯s go down.¡±


    ¡°My lady, can you decorate this the way you did the house?¡± asked Fengying.


    ¡°Yes, but you know that costs money. I was hoping the castle would already be furnished. Before we go down, do you see anything that looks valuable?¡±


    We all turned our heads here and there to look at everything, but the room was empty. The lights, as Scholar Wu pointed out, were magical ones that should be expensive if they were sold. However, as with all things provided by the System, they only really worked inside the farm. If they were taken out of their proper place, they would work for a time and then disappear.


    Scholar Wu went down to the cellars first even though I knew it wasn¡¯t dangerous.


    ¡°Now this is more like it.¡± I beamed as I patted the nearest oak barrel. Called a [Cask] in the game, they were the key to making a lot of cash in Adventure Incarnate. Putting [Wine], [Beer], or [Brandy] in them to age for a few months made their quality and price triple.


    It was cool in the cellar because it was probably temperature-controlled for maximum quality. Oak barrels stacked three high on steel racks stretched out in front of me and the brick ceiling was around twelve feet overhead, with exposed wooden beams and lights that cast a soft golden glow over everything.


    ¡°These spell formations are incredibly complex.¡± Scholar Wu gingerly touched a wall. ¡°I know you can¡¯t see it, but every inch of this place is inscribed with extremely elaborate arcane symbols.¡±


    Watching raw amazement wash over her face, I felt goosebumps rise on my arms. She wandered off to explore, sometimes kneeling to examine the floor more closely or flying up to the ceiling, presumably to check the symbols there.


    I turned to Fengying and Deming and raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking what they thought.


    The Demon Chef and his wife turned to each other and exchanged some form of communication that others couldn¡¯t hear.


    These days, Fengying looked a lot younger because of all the potions and spiritual food she had eaten ever since she came to work for me. When I first met her, she looked like a sixty-year-old woman with gray hair, but now she looked like a well-preserved forty-year-old, mostly due to her improved skin condition. I knew for a fact that she now dyed her hair black. Deming had altered his appearance to fit hers, and they matched each other perfectly.


    ¡°Deming says he can see the formation, too, but he doesn¡¯t understand them. They¡¯re like nothing he¡¯s seen before,¡± said Fengying.


    ¡°Does he want to inspect the [Casks] before I put the wine in them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, my lady. Since he can¡¯t make sense of the spell formations, it¡¯s best for him to leave them alone.¡±


    ¡°Okay, well, I¡¯ll get started.¡± I turned to my apprentices who were politely keeping quiet while the adults were talking. ¡°Watch. You won¡¯t be able to see anything, but I¡¯ll be right-clicking [Use] on the wine bottles in my inventory and then clicking on these [Casks]. That will fill the [Casks] with the [Wine].¡±


    There were various types of alcoholic goods that could be made on the farm in Adventure Incarnate. The most basic was [Wine] made from grape juice but there was also [Brandy] made from fruit and [Beer] made from hops. [Wine] was the most valuable one, therefore, I planned to age it in the cellar.


    The cellar had 33 [Casks] in them, but more could be added, so I added 92 more, for a total of 125. Exactly 300 bottles of [Wine] were needed to fill one oak barrel. I walked down the line of shelves, filling all the containers until I reached the end. Since the shelves could stack three barrels at a time, they could hold 123 max, but there were two empty spaces at the end where I could place the last two barrels.


    I turned to the others and said, ¡°You know, I could actually fill this entire space with barrels. We wouldn¡¯t have any space to walk on, but it doesn¡¯t matter since it¡¯s not like we need to tend to the wine.¡±


    Lari, Kharli, and Mo all frowned.


    ¡°But, Teacher, isn¡¯t that excessive? I thought you wanted Scholar Wu to investigate what makes the cellar work,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll ask her if it matters or not.¡±


    We went back to the middle of the cellar where Scholar Wu looked down from the ceiling and said, ¡°That would make the formations on the floor unreadable. I don¡¯t know if it matters though, because I can¡¯t make heads or tails of this, and every square inch of the space here has at least two formations in it.¡±


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    She paused and flew down to where I was standing.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to see with the naked eye, but I can tell each of the symbols in those formations are also made of formations,¡± she added.


    ¡°Wait, the formations are made of formations?!¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a very advanced technique that only the most expert formation masters can use.¡± Scholar Wu pointed at one particular point in the ceiling. ¡°This one spot here seems to be the center point of the whole thing, and I estimate it would take twenty years to make.¡±


    ¡°Wow, so the cellar would take people twenty years to make after you record all the formations?¡±


    ¡°Ah no, you misunderstood. The center formation there, which is three inches by three inches, would take twenty years to create. The entire thing¡­¡± She folded her arms across her chest and tapped her feet as she became lost in thought. ¡°Three hundred years at least, and that is assuming they use the highest quality spirit stones.¡±


    ¡°Could this be replicated elsewhere?¡± That was the crux of the matter. Could we build more cellars?


    She looked at me as though I was insane. ¡°Even if they could, no one would spend three hundred years of their life to make wine better!¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I scratched my head sheepishly. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°We could learn something from these formations that could help with other things,¡± she said. ¡°The qi-gathering formations are quite valuable, for example.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Then it seems you have no objections to me filling the entire floor space with [Casks], right?¡±


    ¡°It should be fine.¡±


    Starting from the farther end from the door, I placed as many barrels as I could and filled them all with [Wine], for a total of 189 [Casks]. ¡°I¡¯m done. Time to start up the golems!¡±


    We all went back up the stairs and outside the castle where, at my request, Scholar Wu flew up the battlements to find the best view of the northern quarter of the farmable land. While she was doing that, I read the System tabs about the features I could use now, and Fengying and Deming went to fetch the household staff. They guided the others to where we were waiting at the outer courtyard of the castle.


    When Scholar Wu found a good place on the northern side, I suggested using a telescoping ladder from my inventory to climb up there, but they found it too scary. Instead, Scholar Wu flew us up one by one. I could tell she was quite amused by my fear of heights. However, she was nice enough to fly very slowly for my sake.


    ¡°Such a great view!¡± I said.


    Thankfully, the parapet was quite high which made it a lot less scary than I feared. To the north, I could see the green hills in the distance. The open fields, dotted with trees, spread out below us.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with planting grass on the northern field for the animals,¡± I said to Scholar Wu. ¡°Our goal is simply to see how it works with the golems since we¡¯ve never seen, much less used, them before.¡±


    ¡°Will we really get no exp from it?¡± asked Mo.


    We had already discussed this, but I guess she was feeling uncertain now that it was actually going to happen.


    ¡°No exp from this, but we will when we plant the Immortal Herbs,¡± I said. ¡°Relax and watch.¡±


    Using the golems to till the fields and sow them with spirit grass cost one thousand gold coins. With a simple command from me using the System interface, the golems ponderously walked north and tilled the soil with their bare hands.


    ¡°They can use magic!¡± said Kharli, her voice a hushed whisper as she leaned forward against the parapet, her eyes sparkling with excitement.


    The golems merely had to lightly touch the ground with their fists to loosen and overturn the soil. Once it was tilled, they scattered the seeds in a shower of green light.


    ¡°I¡¯m not even disappointed even though I¡¯m not getting exp,¡± said Mo. Her eyes were glued to the scene and she was frowning with concentration as she watched. ¡°It¡¯s amazing to think Teacher has these magical creatures helping her.¡±


    Lari nodded his agreement, his eyes never leaving the spectacle, too.


    Though the golems looked slow, in reality, they were nimble and fast. Their bodies were made of rocks and soil which looked crude even from this far away. However, their limbs moved smoothly and could bend every which way for maximum efficiency. The planting was done in half an hour, whereupon I turned on the rain function.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredibly powerful!¡± said Scholar Wu, her eyes fixed on a spot in the sky. ¡°I know you can¡¯t see it, but a formation in the sky was just activated.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just regular rain though, right?¡± I asked her.


    Scholar Wu tore her eyes away from the sky and said wryly, ¡°Yes¡­ because rain normally falls on command whenever you want it.¡±


    I laughed and threw my hands up in surrender. ¡°You have a point.¡±


    Once the job was finished, the golems walked back to the field in front of the castle which was in the south.


    ¡°The last thing we¡¯ll do today is to place the [Animal Pen] and eggs,¡± I said.


    Scholar Wu flew us all back down, and we trooped to the northern field. I chose a spot near a stand of apple trees and placed the pen there.


    ¡°There¡¯s a limit of six animals in the pocket dimension,¡± I said as I handed a basket of twelve identical white eggs to Kharli. ¡°Pick one. They all look the same, but the animals that hatch will have different colors and characteristics.¡±


    We put the eggs in the pen.


    ¡°Okay, there¡¯s nothing more to do today, so everyone can explore or go back to the farm if they want,¡± I said to the others.


    Most of the staff wandered off to explore the castle grounds, leaving me to decorate the interior as I pleased. Scholar Wu went back to the cellar to study the spells.


    My apprentices and Yinuo, since she was my maid, stayed by my side along with Fengying.


    I rubbed my hands together with glee. ¡°It¡¯s time to decorate the ever-loving heck out of this thing! Shall we go for the most outrageous decor this time?¡±


    Without waiting for their reply, I clicked on the [Bambi¡¯s Dream Castle] furniture pack. The Adventure Incarnate developers seemed to be fond of Barbie because even the fact that they couldn¡¯t get the license from Mattel didn¡¯t stop them from making their own version. Instead of Barbie, it was named Bambi, and her castle was suitably cute, with a pink, white, and gold color scheme.


    Then we entered the castle''s main door.


    The soaring ceiling above us was white with gilded moldings and a grand chandelier made of gold and pink crystals hung from its center, with smaller chandeliers in silver and white crystals around it. The floor was a marble mosaic with fairytale scenes of Bambi with various woodland creatures. I particularly liked the one where Bambi was a ballerina dancing with a bevy of swans. On the far side was a cozy fireplace with plush armchairs in front of it, and long, elegant tables, laden with silver platters and crystal goblets, lined the room. The east side was full of floor-to-ceiling windows and on the west side was the reason why I was in a hurry to decorate.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± I pointed to the west wall where a large circle of glowing light had appeared. ¡°It¡¯s the skilling portal!¡±

 Chapter 213 - Through the portal to another worlds minigame

    My three apprentices immediately ran over to the portal, followed by Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Hey, wait for me!¡± I sprinted after them, and they made way for me.


    Kharli poked the glowing circle with a finger which passed right through it. ¡°Teacher, let¡¯s gooooooooooooo!¡±


    Lari and Mo ran their fingers on it, too.


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll go first.¡± I put my right arm through the portal and waved it around on the other side. I couldn¡¯t feel anything but air. ¡°Patience is a virtue, okay? Don¡¯t enter until I say so. Scholar Wu, I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    I knew from Adventure Incarnate that this was a safe minigame with no combat content, but I still equipped my melee armor and sword before stepping through the circle of light.


    What I found on the other side was a large square room stretching twenty feet on each side. Three sides were made of opaque glass, but the wall with the portal on it was made of white wood that was covered in writing. The ceiling and floor were both wooden, too. In the middle of the room was an empty stone platform and beside it was a [Potter¡¯s Wheel] and [Kiln].


    Everything was just as I expected based on my memories of the game, except I had somehow forgotten that this place was whimsically designed by the Adventure Incarnate artists who had decorated the walls, floor, and ceiling with eye-wateringly intense pink, blue, green, and yellow neon-colored abstract patterns of magical runes. Even the writing on the wall was made of bright yellow characters outlined in electric blue.


    I checked the System which had a new tab front and center with some information on the game and a [Start] button.


    [The Divine Sculptor''s Arcane Atelier:


    The Divine Sculptor''s Arcane Atelier is a cooperative game where players work together to create a magnificent Divine Sculpture. Players gather Blessed Clay Shards from various locations on the map, utilizing their skills in Woodcutting, Fishing, Hunting, Foraging, and Mining.


    Points, which can be exchanged for exp, are earned based on the number of Blessed Clay Shards deposited at the base.]


    The writing on the wall was the same as the System text but with a few tips added, like ¡°Create tools using the Potter¡¯s Wheel and Kiln to speed up collection¡± and ¡°Only one spawn point is active at any given time.¡±


    Seeing as there was no danger, I took off my armor and put away my weapon. Then, dressed in my regular robes and trousers, I stepped back through the portal. ¡°It¡¯s exactly what I thought it was. Scholar Wu, can you enter?¡±


    She shook her head and showed me how her hand couldn¡¯t pass through the circle of light. ¡°No, it seems I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Too bad. The kids will write up a very complete report on it for you.¡± I gestured to my apprentices to let them know they should enter. ¡°Scholar Wu, Fengying, Yinuo, we¡¯ll be inside for a while, so you needn¡¯t wait for us.¡±


    They all nodded, and I went back in where I saw that Lari and Kharli were already busily writing and scribbling on their notebooks.


    Mo, who was dyslexic, would use the System''s text-to-voice function to check their report for errors when they were done. In the meantime, she wandered around the room looking at all the runes. ¡°Teacher, doesn¡¯t this rune look like an eye?¡±


    I went over to where she was pointing at a spot on the floor. ¡°Yes, I guess it does just a little.¡±


    ¡°And this one looks like a nose.¡± She pointed at two more runes. ¡°This is like an open mouth, so it¡¯s like a face drawn using runes.¡±


    I squinted at it, but I thought her idea was too far-fetched. The runes just looked like random curved lines and dots to me. ¡°Maybe? You should show them to Lari and Kharli.¡±


    She did just that, and I let the kids work while I placed a comfortable chair in a corner. There, I relaxed with a sweetheart cake, a flaky pastry with a sweet filling made of winter melon, almond paste, spices, and the Demon Chef¡¯s secret ingredient. I washed it down with a cup of mushroom coffee, an earthy blend of ground dried mushrooms and coffee beans.


    Once they were done, I put the chair back in my inventory and waved the kids over to join me at the southern wall. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna click on the [Start] button. You all know what to do. Any questions before we begin?¡±


    They shook their heads.


    ¡°Remember, time is of the essence, but don¡¯t run! You won¡¯t get any exp if you trip and hurt yourself.¡± With that said, I mentally sent the command to begin, and the glass walls slid open, revealing the game area. I pointed at a glowing tree in the distance.¡°There!¡±


    The entire place was dark and gloomy, but my eyes gradually adjusted as we walked to the active spawn point. The area was larger than I expected, and the spawn points must be quite a distance from the base and each other since I could only make out their vague shapes in the darkness. Thankfully, the floor, which was made of earth, was smooth and mostly free of rubble though there were a few large and small rocks scattered around here and there. Above us was darkness, but I expected there was an earthen ceiling there since this place felt like it was underground. The air was cool and dry, with a slight scent of water and electricity.


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    We all gasped when we saw the tree up close. It was a transparent, ghostly-looking oak tree, outlined in golden light, and tiny sparks flew up from the earth around it and then disappeared into its crown.


    I tentatively reached forward. My hand passed through its trunk, and I tried to grasp one of the sparks, but it was too fast for me. Then I used both hands to attempt it again. The others followed my lead, and Kharli was the first to succeed.


    ¡°I got one!¡± She triumphantly showed us a small piece of glowing clay in her hand.


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± said Mo without stopping. ¡°Now we only need three more.¡±


    Not to be outdone by my own apprentice, I redoubled my efforts and was rewarded with a System notification.


    [You''ve found a valuable relic! Blessed Clay Shard obtained.]


    ¡°Yes! I did it! Two more to go!¡± I seem to have gotten the knack of it since I quickly gathered the required amount.


    [You''ve found a valuable relic! Blessed Clay Shard obtained.]


    [You''ve found a valuable relic! Blessed Clay Shard obtained.]


    ¡°Kharli, give me your clay. I¡¯m going back to the base, guys! Keep working on it.¡± I took her piece and walked back as fast as I could. At the base, I sat down in front of the [Potter¡¯s Wheel] and mentally clicked on the pile of [Blessed Clay Shards] in my inventory which made the System¡¯s crafting interface pop up. I chose the axe.


    My body¡¯s movements were guided by the System. I used my feet to work the pedals and my hands to mold the clay on the wheel until it shimmered and turned into an [Unfired Clay Axe] which I shoved into the [Kiln]. Then I went back and made three more [Unfired Clay Axes] while I waited for the clay to bake.


    A few seconds later, I used the System interface to remove the finished [Clay Axe] from the [Kiln] since I was afraid it would be too hot to touch. ¡°Oh wow.¡±


    I put in another unfired clay item and equipped the completed woodcutting axe, marveling at its shiny gold and silver appearance. By the feel of it, the axe was really made of clay, but the exterior had been painted to make it look nicer, which was very strange since paint had not been added during its manufacturing process. I figured it was just the usual System shenanigans.


    Once all four axes were finished, I walked to the others as fast as I could and distributed the tools to my apprentices.


    ¡°This should help,¡± I said.


    We all used the clay axes to ¡°cut¡± the tree.


    ¡°It¡¯s so much faster now! I¡¯m getting clay every swing.¡± Kharli was obviously tired since her hands, one holding the axe, and the other barehanded were much slower than before. After a minute or so, she decided to use only one hand, the one with the axe.


    ¡°What? I just got two in one swing.¡± Lari grinned at us. ¡°I did it again!¡±


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try swinging faster. Try using more force instead,¡± he said.


    ¡°Nice tip.¡± I did as he suggested and got two pieces of clay.


    Unfortunately, that was when the tree¡¯s golden glow died. Another spawn point to the west lit itself up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what it is first,¡± I said.


    We walked towards it until Kharli, the one with the keenest eyesight of us four, could make out its shape.


    ¡°It¡¯s a big rock!¡± she said.


    ¡°Okay. Kharli, you¡¯re next. Go to the base and make pickaxes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±


    She walked briskly back to the base while the rest of us went to the rock. As part of our strategy to maximize clay collection, each of us would take turns to make tools.


    Just like the tree, the rock was immaterial and outlined in gold light. Once again, we used our hands to try to collect the golden sparks flying up from the rock¡¯s bottom.


    Lari made a face. ¡°This is horribly slow!¡±


    ¡°Think positive. It¡¯s kinda cute here, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said. ¡°These little sparks look very mystical.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t blame Lari. I also feel impatient. I want more clay! More exp!¡± said Mo.


    ¡°I wonder how much exp we¡¯ll get? What have you decided to spend it on?¡± I asked the others.


    ¡°Mining,¡± they said at the same time.


    It was their lowest stat since there wasn''t a nearby Mining site they could use.


    ¡°Good choice,¡± I said.


    In Adventure Incarnate, there were three major schools of thought regarding what to spend bonus exp on. One set of players always used the exp on their lowest-level skill, because it was an easy way to level up. The other set of players regarded this as a huge waste since the exp bonus scaled based on the skill¡¯s current level. In other words, the higher the skill¡¯s level, the more exp the player gets.


    I explained all this to the kids beforehand. Though I didn¡¯t know the exact exp figures for this game, I gave them the following example: If they used the minigame bonus on a level 1 skill, they could level it up at least once, probably more. However, if they used it on a level 50 skill, they should get five times that amount of exp¡­ but that exp was only one percent of the exp needed to level up.


    As for the last set of players, they preferred to use bonus exp on Herblaw, the most expensive skill.


    While I was silently mulling this over, Kharli returned with the [Clay Pickaxes].


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± I exclaimed in delight. ¡°Let¡¯s work hard.¡±


    Since Lari, Kharli, and Mo had low Mining levels, they got very little clay, so they greeted the demise of this spawn point and the rise of a new one with cheers.


    The next spot to light up was a small pool of water.


    ¡°Yes! I want to Fish!¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go make the [Clay Harpoons] since my Fishing level is the lowest,¡± said Mo.


    And so it went. We Fished in the pool with the [Clay Harpoons], Foraged golden apples from an apple tree with [Clay Fruit Pickers], and Hunted golden birds with [Clay Nets].


    I was so engrossed in gathering [Blessed Clay Shards] that I almost forgot to check the time. When I did finally remember, there were only ninety seconds left on the clock. ¡°Hurry, we need to go back to the base and deposit the clay!¡±


    We made it just in time. Once we started depositing the clay pieces on the empty stone platform, they glowed and merged together in an amorphous blob of golden light. When the timer got to zero, a magic circle with dozens of complicated runes appeared on the floor of the rooms.


    Kharli hurriedly took out her notebook and pencil. ¡°Lari, help me sketch it!¡±


    Alas for them, the magic circle quickly faded, leaving behind the [Divine Sculpture].


    Mo screamed and hid behind me. A blushing Kharli covered Lari¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 214 - A special prize

    I laughed until my stomach hurt. ¡°Come on, you guys, open your eyes. This is art.¡±


    ¡°Face the walls,¡± said Kharli to Lari and Mo.


    They obediently turned away from the sculpture.


    Shaking my head, I stifled another laugh and said, ¡°Okay, give me a minute. I¡¯ll cover it with a blanket.¡±


    [Divine Sculpture:


    A timeless masterpiece, frozen in clay. Two figures, entwined in an eternal embrace, radiate an otherworldly energy.]


    It looked like Rodin¡¯s The Kiss which showed a man and woman embracing. Unlike the original, these figures were both modestly clothed, but Lari, Kharli, and Mo simply weren¡¯t used to seeing such a passionate scene depicted in a sculpture. Lips twitching in amusement, I draped a large bedsheet over it.


    ¡°You can take a look now.¡±


    They turned around. Kharli was grinning, while the other two looked extremely embarrassed.


    ¡°More importantly, how many points did you all get?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°Fifteen,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Seventeen,¡± said Lari.


    We waited, but Kharli didn¡¯t say anything. She looked up at the ceiling and pretended to ignore us until Mo pinched her arm.


    ¡°What did you get?¡± Mo gave Kharli a suspicious look. ¡°Did you get like twenty?¡±


    Kharli moved behind me and said in a mock-terrified tone of voice, ¡°Teacher, please save me! It¡¯s not my fault I got thirty points.¡±


    I put both my hands up in a ¡°stop and calm down¡± gesture. ¡°Guys, you know as well as I do that Kharli has the best stamina out of all of us.¡±


    It was true. By the last ten minutes of the game, Lari, Mo, and I were too tired to do more than slowly swing our tools with a little bit of force. Meanwhile, Kharli was still hacking away with great gusto at every spawn point.


    ¡°That¡¯s because of the Wu family martial arts training I do every day.¡± Kharli stepped out from behind me and did the White Crane Spreads its Wings pose. ¡°You two should practice the forms Scholar Wu taught us if you want more points.¡±


    Lari and Mo rolled their eyes and groaned.


    Kharli followed it up with Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain pose, and they did a mock battle with various martial arts forms like Part the Wild Horse¡¯s Mane, Grasp the Bird¡¯s Tail, Cloud Hands, etc.


    I waited a few minutes and said, ¡°I think we should allocate our points now.¡±


    They all stopped what they were doing, and their facial expressions turned into looks of deep concentration as they exchanged their points for exp.


    I had eighteen points and used all of them on Cooking.


    [Congratulations, you just advanced a Cooking level!]


    [Your Cooking level is now 10.]


    My other skills were more useful, but Cooking was the hardest for me to level up since, for some unknown reason, I tended to burn stuff instead of cooking it properly.


    ¡°Three Mining levels,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Mo.


    ¡°Four levels for me.¡± Kharli grinned at the others¡¯ envious looks.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Wonderful! I got one Cooking level,¡± I said. ¡°Shall we go back out of the portal? Are your reports done?¡±


    The three of them huddled together and had a whispered conversation. When they were done, they all turned towards me, and Kharli said, ¡°Teacher, we have a question about the Vermillion Bird clan. Scholar Wu won¡¯t tell us anything because discussion about their zidan is taboo.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°What question?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to the North in two days, and we¡¯re worried. Why do the clan members think you can¡¯t get the Vermillion Bird clan to join the war?¡±


    ¡°Pfft. There¡¯s no need to worry. I won¡¯t fail, and even if I did, I wouldn¡¯t be blamed for it since they think it¡¯s an impossible task.¡±


    Prince Baiyu¡¯s mother, the Lady of the West, said it was hopeless, but had agreed to my plan simply because I had done so much for the clans that it was hard for them to refuse.


    Kharli frowned. ¡°But why is it impossible?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s many things. You know how they lost their zidan, right? That part is taboo to talk about, too, but there are many stories about it anyway.¡±


    My apprentices nodded.


    ¡°They say the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s ruler was called the Red Hand because he liked to butcher babies,¡± said Mo. ¡°He was trying to determine if the saying ¡®an innocent person¡¯s heart has seven apertures¡¯ is literal.¡±


    ¡°I heard he made a Forest of Corpses and a Lake of Blood in his palace garden,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Scholar Wu said those were exaggerations,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I wasn¡¯t too sure about that. A lot of the literature from that era had the same stories in them. ¡°In any case, the fact that most of their population was killed in a disaster and the survivors lost their zidan is considered heaven¡¯s judgment. Only another equally powerful sign from the heavens would cancel it out.¡±


    Lari chuckled. ¡°Isn¡¯t the upcoming demon war enough of a sign?¡±


    I put my arms around Mo and Kharli¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s a negative omen. They seem to think it¡¯s further proof that the Vermillion Bird clan is cursed. But why are you guys asking me this?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, when you asked us to stay here to look after the farm while you go North, we wanted to stay, but¡­¡± Kharli¡¯s eyes flickered nervously, darting around the room as she struggled to find the word to express what she wanted.


    ¡°We all want to go, too!¡± Mo burst out, her eyes sparkling with excitement. ¡°It will be a historic event.¡±


    ¡°And there will be a huge feast,¡± added Lari.


    I laughed. ¡°Okay, but one of you has to stay and take care of the crops and animals. Mo, are you sure you don¡¯t want the exp?¡±


    To my surprise, Mo stood firm. ¡°Yes, Teacher, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Lari grinned and said, ¡°They heard there will be a lot of handsome, half-dressed male clan members there to ogle.¡±


    Mo rolled her eyes at him. ¡°We all know you¡¯ll be the one ogling people the most!¡±


    ¡°Half-dressed?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°Traditional formal wear for the Vermillion Bird clan looks like this.¡± Kharli took out a book from her inventory and showed me some drawings. ¡°The Southerlands isn¡¯t a desert, but it¡¯s very hot, so they don¡¯t wear much.¡±


    In the drawings, men and women wore loose trousers and long, fitted linen tunics held up by two shoulder straps. The caption at the bottom noted that these were the basic garments and that clan members also covered themselves in tons of heavy, intricate jewelry. The clothing was not particularly immodest by modern Earth standards, but I could see why the kids thought it was too revealing, especially the part about the tunics being thin and, in some parts, transparent.


    I handed the book back to Kharli. ¡°No comment. We¡¯ll draw lots to see who will stay.¡±


    We went outside where the kids gave their tutor their written reports. I wrote the kids¡¯ names on three pieces of paper and folded them. I wanted the kids to draw lots themselves, but they insisted that I do it.


    ¡°Lari and Kharli,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Lari did a little dance.


    ¡°Too bad, Mo,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Cheer up,¡± I said to Mo. ¡°Think of all the exp you¡¯ll get.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll bring you back some jewelry,¡± said Lari. ¡°The market there is famous for it.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have time to shop.¡± I patted Mo¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯ll give you double the usual pocket money next time you guys go to Anwei.¡±


    Though Mo wasn¡¯t as concerned about acquiring wealth as Lari, she did like to shop, so this cheered her up a bit.


    ¡°And if there¡¯s a next trip, I¡¯ll bring you along,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s leave. Scholar Wu is waiting.¡±


    The kids stepped through the portal before me without incident, but when I went through, I got a surprising System notification.


    [You¡¯ve won a Special Prize for completing The Divine Sculptor''s Arcane Atelier minigame.]


    [Would you like to collect your prize now?]


    I immediately clicked on the [Yes] button and examined the prize that appeared in my inventory.


    [Ancient Wisdom Garden Seed Mix:


    A special prize you won from a minigame.


    This packet contains the seeds of five Ruling Plants.]


    Mentally clicking on the ¡°Ruling Plant¡± part of the item description yielded a System text that made my heart beat faster in excitement.


    [Ruling Plant Seed:


    Just as humans have rulers, so do spiritual plants. This packet contains five random seeds that will grow into a supreme being with dominion over a specific plant species. It possesses the ability to influence and control the growth and development of its subjects.


    Effect: Boosts crop growth and quality for its species]

 Chapter 215 - Rulers of the Plant World

    I hurriedly tore open the packet and poured the seeds into my hand. ¡°Guys, check this out! I got a special prize.¡±


    Scholar Wu and the kids crowded around me.


    ¡°Wait, lemme put these in a box for safekeeping.¡± I headed to the nearest table, took out a small velvet-lined jewelry box, dumped its contents on the table, and safely deposited the seeds into the box. ¡°There are five of them. Let¡¯s check the info on each one and write them down for Scholar Wu.¡±


    I gently picked one up and held it up for everyone to see.


    [King of Ginseng:


    A seed that may grow into the supreme ruler of all ginseng plants in the world. Once bonded with a person, it will bestow its blessings upon the person¡¯s ginseng crops, significantly boosting their growth rate and quality.


    Note: There is only one King of Ginseng in the world.]


    With trembling hands, Scholar Wu took out a magnifying glass and held it in front of her right eye, squinting to examine the seed¡¯s most minute details.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this in legends,¡± she said in a hushed voice filled with wonder. ¡°When the gods walked the Earth, they had both plant and animal companions who were the rulers of their kind. Folktales say the White Tiger was fond of the Peach Girl.¡±


    I had read a lot of these stories from books, too. ¡°And the White Tiger¡¯s other companion was the Mountain Witch.¡±


    Scholar Wu laughed and put the magnifying glass back into her interspatial storage. ¡°Yes, but I doubt a seed could grow a witch!¡±


    ¡°Hey, you never know,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s check the other seeds.¡±


    The description for the other plants was the same as the one for the [King of Ginseng]. The kids and I were delighted to see the [Lord of Rice], [Queen of Tea], [King Corn], and [Lady Wheat] seeds. Of course, we intended to grow all of them.


    Alas, there was no Peach Girl seed in the packet.


    ¡°I was going to wait until after I returned from my trip to the North before planting crops in the pocket dimension, but I don¡¯t think I can wait.¡± Looking around, I saw everyone¡¯s eager expression and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and sow these seeds right now!¡±


    We all went to the western field, which we all agreed was the most auspicious site for planting the special plants. I made the golems till the field and by testing out the seeds, we found that they each needed lots of free space around them.


    ¡°Looks like these five seeds will take up the entire western field,¡± I said. ¡°I expect it will be worth it to sacrifice one season¡¯s crop.¡±


    Scholar Wu said, ¡°I¡¯m not surprised that they need more space. There¡¯s a saying that ¡®One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.¡¯ I wonder if they will be as powerful as the Peach Girl.¡±


    I gave her an alarmed look and shook my head vigorously. ¡°No, no way! I¡¯m sure the plants won¡¯t be strong enough to level mountains with one flick of a finger.¡±


    Kharli frowned, a thoughtful expression on her face. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Peach Girl a big troublemaker? I don¡¯t care if our plants aren¡¯t powerful, but I hope they will be nice and tame.¡±


    ¡°I bet they will be cute!¡± said Mo.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°And worth a lot,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Okay, pick one and plant it. I¡¯ll take the last two.¡± I held out the box of seeds.


    Lari picked the [King of Ginseng]. Kharli took the [Lord of Rice], and Mo chose the [Queen of Tea]. That left me with [King Corn] and [Lady Wheat].


    This time, the seeds flew from our hands with a soft whooshing sound and a trail of glowing green sparkles, which made it seem quite magical. Watering the soil with our watering cans, on the other hand, went quite normally.


    ¡°They should be mature by summer, and maybe our crop yields will be boosted starting this fall,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go our separate ways now. I need to prepare for my trip north.¡±


    Scholar Wu went to study the spell markings in the cellar again while the kids went off to Fish in the river. I went back to my house to check all the last-minute details for my grand scheme to get the Vermillion Bird clan to help with the upcoming World Boss Event.


    Last year, we witnessed the Descent of the Demon King Event. This year, the Boss Monster was due to hatch from its egg, and I meant to secure a front-row seat for myself.


    The Demon Chef was busy preparing for the banquet. Since Lari and Kharli were coming with us, I asked Yinuo to tell the kitchen staff to give the finished dishes to my two apprentices. The food would be kept warm and fresh in their interspatial storage.


    I summoned my flying ship, the [Floating Solarium], or [Solarium] for short, and made all the necessary modifications for the grand reveal later on which involved the [War Fans] I had been crafting.


    [War Fan:


    A magical weapon favored by the Vermillion Bird clan. Its base is made from lightweight wood, providing a sturdy structure for the magnificent Firebird Feathers. The fan greatly amplifies a mage''s power in battle.]


    They were the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s iconic weapon in the game and were rather easy to make since the World Event was designed for everyone to join. Thus, even the newest, lowest-level players could craft them in great numbers.


    The showcase would be on the second floor, with our living area on the first floor. I added a third floor to the ship which housed the control room and viewing platform.


    This kept me busy for the entire day, and I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.


    That night, I dreamed of a cute little dragon boy. We were in a pretty little meadow full of pink and white wildflowers. The day was nice and warm, and we were both wearing white sneakers, plain blue T-shirts, and brown shorts.


    ¡°Mom, I found something fun!¡± he said.


    The child held his arms up for me to pick him up, which I did with some difficulty since he was getting pretty heavy.


    This little fellow was someone who had hatched from an egg I found in the jungle. I raised him up from a baby to a toddler to his current form which was identical to a human five-year-old, albeit with blue hair, blue eyes, and cute little dragon horns. These days, he could speak in complete sentences in my dreams except when he was in dragon form. I called him Eggy.


    I kissed the top of his head. ¡°What did you find?¡±


    ¡°The fairies showed me a house where the owner lives!¡± He pointed in the direction of the forest.


    ¡°The owner? Of what?¡±


    ¡°The owner of this.¡± He spread his arms wide. ¡°The owner of everything.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I blinked thrice in confusion. ¡°This land is owned by someone? Is it a dragon?¡±


    He giggled. ¡°Silly Mom.¡±


    ¡°No, seriously, is it a dragon?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a white tiger.¡±


    He made a face. ¡°The fairies said the owner lives in the house. Tigers don¡¯t live in houses.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my baby is smart.¡± I kissed his cheek.


    He kissed my chin and said, ¡°Do dragons live in houses?¡±


    ¡°You live in a house with me.¡±


    In my dragon dreams, we often stayed in a nice little house in the woods, though its location and appearance changed constantly.


    When I got tired of carrying him, Eggy turned into his dragon form and flew beside me. His snake-like body had horns, too, and four little arms with five clawed fingers, but no wings. I loved his scales which were the color of a clear blue sky on a sunny summer¡¯s day.


    ¡°Cheep!¡± said Eggy before flying down to my knee level and then turning to his human form. He took my hand and tugged me forward. ¡°Mom, run with me.¡±


    We ran to the wooden cabin made of roughly-hewn pine logs, with a simple tin roof. There was a single rectangular window on one side and the roof, and it was so small that it was probably a single-room house.


    I knocked on the door, but no one answered.


    Eggy ran to the side of the house and tried to peer inside the window, but it was too high for him. He then ran back to me and said, ¡°Mom, please carry me!¡±


    He looked up at me with wide eyes and a big smile, revealing an even row of small white teeth.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I picked him up again and walked him to the window. Normally, I would tell him not to peek, but this was a dream, so it should be fine, right?


    The two of us looked through the open window and saw the owner of everything.

 Chapter 216 - The Royal Decree

    I saw something quite unexpected when I looked through the window. Instead of a small, rustic room, Eggy and I saw my bedroom back at the [Ranch House] on Emberstone Farm, with me sleeping in my bed.


    ¡°Mom?¡± Eggy couldn''t believe what he saw, and his head swiveled from the windows to me three times. ¡°Two Moms!¡±


    I pointed to my sleeping form and then to myself. ¡°That is me sleeping, and this is me in my dream.¡±


    ¡°Your dream?¡±


    My child gave me a quizzical look, but before I could answer, the person inside the cabin stirred and started to open her eyes.


    I woke up in my bedroom.


    Yawning, I stretched luxuriously beneath the sheets before sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The sun was shining through my bedroom window¡¯s curtains-


    Wait, the sun was shining?


    I was supposed to go to the main house before dawn!


    I threw the covers off and hurriedly showered, brushed my teeth, and put plain cotton robes on before half running, half walking to the courtyard house, and then changing course to the river when I encountered one of the maids walking to the river. She informed me that everyone was already working on the ship, so we went there together. The [Floating Solarium] was a large rock with a giant maple tree in the middle whose roots were topped by a crystal dome. Though it was technically a ship, it was so big that a gangplank was too small to use. It had two escalators, one going up and one going down, instead. The interior was full of natural light, courtesy of the plate glass walls and ceiling, and was elegantly furnished with fine wood and natural fabrics.


    Fengying hustled me inside the salon area the moment she saw me. ¡°My lady, do you mind eating breakfast while we dry your hair? We wouldn¡¯t want you to catch a cold.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s everything going?¡± I asked as I sat on a barber chair.


    The room was full of modern items like full-length mirrors, vanity lighting, styling stations full of makeup kits, curling irons, hot rollers, facial steamers, and so forth. A maid came at me with a hairdryer in her hand while another put a basin of warm water at my feet and got started with the foot spa treatment.


    ¡°The staff should be finished with all the last-minute preparations in an hour. Please take your time eating.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Fengying left to take care of the details while I sat back and let the maids do their thing.


    Since we were off to attend two royal ceremonies and one royal banquet, it was important that we looked our best. Therefore, I had temporarily converted half of the living area of the [Solarium] into two large salons, one for the men and the other for the women. The other half contained the state rooms for the Lady of the West and her entourage.


    Yinuo came by with a breakfast tray and I feasted on a light congee with chicken and ginger. It was amazing how the Demon Chef could make such simple fare taste like it should be a celebrated dish in a three-Michelin-star restaurant. The warming and savory flavors danced on my tongue and I sighed in contentment as I filled my belly once again with world-class quality food.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen the chef and kitchen staff. What¡¯s happening?¡± I asked Yinuo.


    She gave me a short rundown of the morning¡¯s events as the maids did my hair and dressed me in silk court robes suitable for my rank as a Baroness. Intricately embroidered with gold and silk threads, it was red and had a motif of a flowering plum tree and a crane. The ornamental collar was white with a repeating pattern of waves and mountains. Though the robes looked spectacular, it was surprisingly comfortable since the body was loose and the long sleeves were not too wide.


    The headdress was another matter. I was afraid it would fall off if I moved my head too quickly because it was too big and heavy. The crown was in the style of a ¡°flower tree crown¡± with branches made of gold and flowers of pearl and jade.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty, but I don¡¯t think I can wear it,¡± I said to Yinuo.


    ¡°We¡¯ll try to stabilize it,¡± she said.


    They removed the crown and redid my hair using hot combs and some kind of horribly thick gel. I grimaced when they showed me the result. The towering hairstyle didn¡¯t suit me at all! The crown was more stable, but It looked like I had two clouds sticking to the side of my head.


    The maids had worked hard, and I didn¡¯t want to hurt their feelings, so I said, ¡°Let¡¯s ask Fengying what she thinks.¡±


    My housekeeper smiled when she saw the problem. ¡°No, you¡¯re not using the crown properly.¡±


    She delicately unpinned it from my hair and showed us how the gold branches could be removed from the silver trunk.


    ¡°Oh, so the branches should be pinned to my hair directly!¡± I said.


    ¡°The headdress can¡¯t be used in this form.¡± Fengying shook the crown, demonstrating the inherent instability of its narrow base and broad top.


    My housekeeper gave more detailed instructions before leaving to take care of the other staff. The maids had to start over again. They washed off the stiff gel, dried my hair, and styled it into a large bun on top of my head to which they pinned the branches. The result was much better.


    I turned my head in front of a mirror to view it from all sides. ¡°I loooooove it! Thank you.¡±


    We all hugged, triumphant, and I decided to retire to my assigned bedroom to rest. The maids¡¯ work wasn¡¯t done since they had to take care of Kharli and Lari next.


    ¡°Good luck!¡± I said.


    However, when I put my feet up on a supremely comfortable reclining chair in my living room, I got bored with no one there to talk to and nothing to do, so I went back out to check on the others. I bumped into Scholar Wu, resplendent in deep blue robes, in the eastern corridor.


    ¡°Good morning, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    She chuckled softly. ¡°Have you come to check on what the chef is cooking?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wasn¡¯t he finished cooking last night?¡±


    Since I was holding a banquet for around 300 people today, my small kitchen staff had to prepare everything beforehand and use my apprentices'' interspatial storage to keep them fresh.


    Scholar Wu and I had been very amused at my apprentices¡¯ shock and dismay when Deming served us the banquet food.


    Northern banquet cuisine was known for its delicate, fresh flavors, with high-end menus featuring lots of crunchy green vegetables which were prized in the wintry lands that had a short growing season. Rich families showed off their wealth by importing vegetables and fruits from the Western continent, and my apprentices did not appreciate eating mostly salads.


    Had the chef suddenly changed the menu?


    Scholar Wu said, ¡°Last night, word came from the White Tiger clan that the Lady has started eating tofu thread soup with quail eggs at every meal. Pregnancy cravings, you know.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see!¡±


    We walked to the kitchen together where I saw Deming, his eyes glowing red and steam coming out of his nose as he breathed, slicing a large block of tofu with two knives, one in each hand. The blades glittered as they moved too fast for me to see and made scary kachunk kachunk sounds.


    I slowly backed away from the kitchen¡¯s open door and whispered to Scholar Wu, ¡°Looks like they¡¯re busy.¡±


    Our eyes met and we retreated.


    ¡°That was too intense.¡± I wiped my forehead with a fine cotton handkerchief.


    ¡°Your chef is a formidable cultivator.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this tofu thread soup anyway?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a dish that requires an exquisitely precise cutting technique to slice tofu, eggs, and vegetables as thin as hair or thread. The taste is mild and delicate, which I suppose makes it suitable for invalids, the elderly, and pregnant women,¡± she said.


    I invited her to my room where we rested and chatted until it was time for us to depart.


    My apprentices, household staff, and I all went up to the viewing platform. During our earlier trip to the Northernlands, I had applied a [Speed Boost] from the Cash Shop which I assumed would make my flying ship go to faster-than-sound speeds, but I was wrong. The [Speed Boost] simply opened up a portal in the sky that brought us near our destination. Since I now knew what the item did, I had no qualms about using the most expensive item this time, the [Hyper Speed Boost].


    We poured ourselves crystal glasses full of either wine or fruit juice and toasted each other when I said, ¡°Onwards, to another wonderful adventure!¡±


    The onlookers all cheered, and I mentally pressed the big red [Start] button in the System menu. There was a loud booming sound and everyone laughed when I said, ¡°And it¡¯s five minutes before we arrive at the Southern camp.¡±


    Our ultimate destination was the Northernlands, but we had to pick up Prince Baiyu and his parents in the Southerlands first.


    We finished our drinks and went to the reception area. The [Solarium] flew on with astonishing smoothness, and we barely felt a jolt when it landed. I used the System to open the doors, and it wasn¡¯t long until the Royal Herald, dressed in gorgeous golden robes, arrived with a small retinue of lower-ranked heralds.


    The men among us bowed, while the women curtsied. Actually, female nobles could either bow or curtsy, but, seeing as I was wearing a heavy crown, curtsying was more practical since I wouldn¡¯t be in danger of my headdress falling off.


    The Royal Herald held up a large ornate scroll and said, ¡°Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! By order of the Lady of the West, I bring you greetings and a royal decree!¡±

 Chapter 217 - The King of Vermillion Bird Clan

    We all bowed or curtsied once again.


    ¡°Baroness Violet of Emberstone Farm is honored to receive this proclamation from the Lady of the West,¡± I said.


    With a flourish, he unrolled the scroll and read from it. ¡°For her exceptional service to the Westerlands, and her outstanding contributions to agriculture, alchemy, and magical technology, Baroness Violet of Emberstone Farm is hereby elevated to the rank of Duchess in her own right. Let her title henceforth be: Her Grace, the Duchess of Emberstone.¡±


    Everyone except for me cheered. ¡°Long live the Duchess!¡±


    The rank of duchess was the highest noble title, only one step lower than royalty. This proclamation meant that I was skipping over the intermediate ranks of Viscountess, Countess, and Marchioness and going directly to the top.


    The Herald rolled the scroll back up and handed it to me before continuing. ¡°And as a token of the Lady of the West¡¯s esteem, the Duchess is bestowed eight boons, known as the Eight Bestowments.¡±


    ¡°She shall receive the Scholar¡¯s Quill, a gift of a fine quill, parchment, and ink, recognizing her wisdom and literary prowess.


    ¡°She shall receive the Healer¡¯s Cauldron, a gift of medicinal herbs and alchemical tools, honoring her compassion and dedication to healing.


    ¡°She shall receive the Guardian¡¯s Shield, a gift of a finely crafted shield and sword, acknowledging her courage and unwavering defense of the realm.


    ¡°She shall receive the Artisan¡¯s Tools, a gift of a master craftsman¡¯s tools, celebrating her creativity and skill in the arts.


    ¡°She shall receive the Diplomat¡¯s Ring, a gift of a precious jade ring, recognizing her diplomacy and ability to forge alliances.


    ¡°She shall receive the Farmer¡¯s Plow, a gift of a sturdy plow and fertile land, honoring her connection to the earth and her support of agriculture.


    ¡°She shall receive the Engineer¡¯s Compass, a gift of a set of drafting tools and a celestial compass, recognizing her innovative spirit and contributions to technology.


    ¡°And finally, she shall receive the Leader¡¯s Crown, a gift of a jeweled crown, symbolizing her rightful place as a leader and her unwavering commitment to the people.¡±


    More people filed into the foyer of the [Floating Solarium] carrying the aforementioned items that were all packed in wooden chests wrapped in red and gold silk.


    ¡°Duchess Violet of Emberstone Farm is honored to receive these gifts from the Lady of the West,¡± I said.


    Once again, the others cheered. ¡°Long live the Duchess!¡±


    While everyone crowded around me to congratulate me on my promotion, Fengying gave all the heralds a handful of gold coins each as a tip, as was traditional in this type of ceremony.


    ¡°Congratulations! What a pity there¡¯s a war. You should have been proclaimed as a new duchess at court, with all the clan chiefs, elders, and nobles watching,¡± said Scholar Wu.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I heard that you''ll get your fill of pomp and majesty when you meet the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s king-in-exile,¡± I said.


    She made a face but said nothing.


    None of the clan members considered the Vermillion Bird king to be a legit ruler since he had no zidan, and the king knew that. The reason why I was holding the banquet was to curry favor and put him in a good mood.


    The heralds left, and Lady Yuying and her husband, Lord Yulin, arrived with Prince Baiyu and a small retinue of royal guards.


    The Lady of the West was a formidable woman who exuded an intense, almost tangible, charisma that drew all eyes to her. She was a few months pregnant, but you wouldn¡¯t be able to tell from looking at her since she hadn¡¯t gained any weight yet. Lord Yulin was a man in his prime, tall, muscular, and devastatingly handsome. They were both wearing magnificent royal robes of blue and gold silk, with matching tiger crowns on their heads, which set off their white hair, pale skin, and blue eyes perfectly.


    Prince Baiyu, on the other hand, was a more youthful but no less handsome version of his father. Unlike his parents, he was dressed quite simply in a plain and practical black and white outfit consisting of loose trousers and the typical cross-collar robe top. His long hair was gathered up in a ponytail. I thought the dark color and elegant minimalism suited him.


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    The next few minutes were spent exchanging greetings and congratulations, but soon the courtesies were finished and I ushered the royal party to the viewing platform.


    ¡°Is it true that it will only take a few minutes to fly to the Northernlands?¡± asked Lord Yulin.


    ¡°Yes, we can teleport there at full speed.¡± My hand hovered over the control panel that was full of buttons, switches, and levers. ¡°Shall I?¡±


    Lady Yuying nodded and I flipped a few dummy switches and pressed a few buttons. The real controls, of course, were in the System¡¯s menu in my head. The escalators were drawn back up into the ship, the doors and windows closed, and the ship smoothly flew up vertically. Then, with a loud booming sound that echoed in the sky, we were off.


    Twelve minutes later, we landed in a clearing outside the Northern King¡¯s palace complex.


    ¡°Such a fascinating way of travel.¡± The Lady of the West smiled and rose. ¡°I shall retire to my quarters until the meeting.¡±


    She and her retinue went downstairs to the state bedroom, leaving Prince Baiyu behind.


    ¡°One moment, please,¡± I said to my boyfriend.


    Scholar Wu gave us an arch look. ¡°Lady Violet, I can take care of things. Why don¡¯t you rest?¡±


    During formal occasions, I would be addressed as ¡°Duchess,¡± but in everyday casual conversation, either Ma¡¯am or Lady was sufficient.


    ¡°Just a sec, I¡¯ll see if my apprentices are okay,¡± I said.


    The original plan was for me to store all of the banquet dishes in large containers in my System inventory. I was going to take them out at the ship for the kitchen staff to transport to the banquet hall in the Hall of Great Benevolence. There, they could plate the dishes as needed.


    However, now that my two apprentices were coming with me, they wanted to check out the Northern Palace instead of staying at the ship. Scholar Wu volunteered to escort them, so now the new plan was for them to go to the hall and take out the already-plated dishes. They could also watch the banquet from behind the scenes.


    Prince Muyang, the son of the current ruler of the Black Tortoise clan and a good friend of Prince Baiyu, was going to play the host in my place. I should really attend the festivities, but I felt it would be too awkward since I didn¡¯t know anyone there except for Prince Muyang.


    ¡°Lari and Kharli, are you ready?¡± I asked them.


    My apprentices were both dressed in elegant but comfortable robes. Kharli was in green and pink, while Lari was wearing black with orange and gold accents.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡± Kharli grinned and didn¡¯t look nervous at all.


    Lari took a deep breath. ¡°Yes, Teacher, I can do it.¡±


    I patted them on their shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t fret, you just need to deliver the food.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take good care of them,¡± Scholar Wu promised.


    ¡°Okay, see you tonight!¡± I said.


    The three of them left, along with Deming, Fengying, and the majority of my household staff. Prince Muyang¡¯s servants would be the ones serving the guests, who were all royals and high-ranking nobles of the Black Tortoise and Vermillion Bird clans.


    ¡°Alone at last.¡± Prince Baiyu took my hand and raised it to his lips.


    I made a sound of pure contentment. ¡°Let¡¯s go to my room.¡±


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask.¡±


    ***


    Lari, Kharli, and Scholar Wu returned to the ship with the others an hour past midnight. They reported that our guests were tipsy but not drunk, something I had asked Prince Muyang to make sure of during the feast because I wanted them to be more friendly and less wary of me.


    My people freshened themselves up and then either went upstairs to the showrooms to prepare my surprise, or joined me at the foyer where I was waiting to receive the guests. The Lady of the West and her husband stayed in the upstairs reception room.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so nervous,¡± I whispered to Prince Baiyu, who was standing beside me.


    He squeezed my hand. ¡°I know what to do. I¡¯ll help if you need it.¡±


    Prince Muyang arrived with a few guards, and our guests from the Vermillion Bird clan. The last time I had seen the prince, he was dressed in traveling clothes. This time, he was clad in sumptuous furs, silks, and fine leather. A wreath of golden oak leaves, which had been awarded to him by the ruler of the Northernlands for his discovery of the Blessed isles, was the only piece of jewelry he was wearing.


    I was the one who had helped him find the islands, which is why he owed me a few favors.


    ¡°Well met, and congratulations!¡± he said.


    We exchanged the usual greetings and chitchat and he introduced the Vermillion Bird clan members to us.


    King Surya was a tall clan member with long, free-flowing bright red hair. He was wearing a long sleeved outer coat with pearl buttons and trousers, with a large golden amulet hanging on a silver necklace in the middle of his chest. The amulet, worn only by the kings of the Vermillion Bird clan, featured eight gemstones representing eight gods - diamond (representing the supreme being), pearl (the moon god), yellow topaz (the sun), sapphire (the sky god), emerald (the earth god), coral (the sea god), ruby (the god of war), and jade (the god of prosperity). The king was reasonably good-looking, but he definitely did not give off the same aura of authority that the Lady of the West did.


    The other clan members who accompanied King Surya were likewise adorned with precious gemstone jewelry. The men wore the same style of coat and trousers while the women wore long wrap-around tops over trousers. Most of them had hair of different shades of red, but their skin color ranged from fair to dark and their eyes were either crimson or vermillion-colored.


    After the introductions were finished, I showed them upstairs where our guests had to politely exchange greetings with Lady Yuying and Lord Yulin.


    Finally, the time came for me to present my gift to the king.


    ¡°Your Majesty, please accept this as thanks for agreeing to meet me.¡± I nodded to Yinuo who stepped forward with a long wooden box draped in silk brocade in her hands. With theatrical slowness, I removed the cloth and lifted the lid to reveal the item I had crafted.


    There was a loud thudding sound as two of the Vermillion Bird clan members fainted. The others, who had been merrily chatting earlier, were shocked speechless, their mouths hanging open.


    King Surya¡¯s face first turned white then red and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He was barely able to stutter a few syllables. ¡°This-this-what?¡±

 Chapter 218 - With this, I could conquer a kingdom!

    I picked the [War Fan] up and spread it out to show them the Firebird feathers. ¡°You like it?¡±


    [War Fan:


    A magical weapon favored by the Vermillion Bird clan. Its base is made from lightweight wood, providing a sturdy structure for the magnificent Firebird Feathers. The fan greatly amplifies a mage''s power in battle.]


    The king¡¯s hand trembled as he reached out and took it.


    I waited, but no one said anything. They all just stared at the [War Fan], many of them with tears in their eyes.


    One of the king¡¯s sons, who had been eyeing the item with an intense avariciousness, broke the silence. ¡°Father, don¡¯t you think you should give this to the strongest warrior who can make the best use of it?¡±


    Another prince elbowed the one who had spoken. ¡°Are you implying that you¡¯re the strongest? Dream on!¡±


    ¡°We need to hold a tournament for it,¡± said another member of the Vermillion Bird clan royal family, a woman this time.


    I smiled and signaled the maids. ¡°Oh no, there¡¯s no need to fight over this little thing. I have enough for everyone here.¡±


    This snapped the king out of his trance. ¡°You have given me a gift beyond measure. I am deeply grateful, and I will not forget this kindness.¡±


    ¡°Sire, this is but a small token of my esteem,¡± I said.


    The maids arrived with more wooden boxes containing [War Fans] and I was showered with thanks from the whole party while Prince Muyang, Prince Baiyu, and his parents looked on with regal indifference.


    My guests, who all seemed somewhat tipsy from the good alcohol that had been served at the banquet earlier, playfully fought each other over the weapons which were all identical.


    ¡°Look, I got the best one!¡±


    ¡°Give it to me.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll take yours. I could use two.¡±


    ¡°One in each hand? Good idea.¡±


    King Surya inspected a few of the items and verified that none of them were better than the one I had given him first. ¡°Lady Violet, these are all incredibly powerful. I would never have dared to dream I would one day wield a weapon as good as those from the legendary Age of Heroes.¡±


    The eldest prince smirked at Prince Baiyu as he waved his fan slowly in front of his face. ¡°This is stronger than the White Tiger clan¡¯s fabled Claw of the Wind sword.¡±


    Prince Baiyu raised an eyebrow. ¡°The Claw of the Wind is less of a weapon and more of a religious artifact used during the Sacred Rite of the Ruler¡¯s Divine Ordination.¡±


    I hastily changed the subject to forestall problems. ¡°I have some merchandise I would like to show you all. Would you be interested in a few of my wares?¡±


    King Surya and his family were no dummies. They immediately caught the gist of what I was saying.


    ¡°Lady, you have more fans?¡± asked the king.


    I nodded and led them to the upper floor¡¯s reception room where I offered them drinks and snacks, but they preferred to view the items first.


    ¡°Very well.¡± I once again signaled the maids who slid open a hidden door on the east wall, revealing a room full of piles of [War Fans] six feet high.


    The royal family ran inside, pushing each other out of the way in their rush to claim the best fans.


    The first [War Fans] I had given them for free were the ones with a +1 Fire bonus. Fire was the traditional element of the Vermillion Bird clan, but, of course, many of them had other elemental strengths, and these piles of items were +2 of either Fire, Wind, Earth, or Water.


    ¡°Father, please buy this one for me,¡± said a young princess with crimson eyes and blonde hair to King Surya. She held up a +2 Earth [War Fan].


    ¡°I want this one,¡± said another princess who had chosen a +2 Fire item.


    This triggered a wave of pleading from the other royal children.


    King Surya raised his arms defensively. ¡°Simmer down. You¡¯re being rude to our hostess.¡±


    I knew what the problem was. The Vermillion Bird clan had lost their ancestral land and now worked as miners and merchants in the North. Through their hard work, they had recovered a fraction of their former wealth, but it was obvious that these weapons were definitely not cheap, and the king had dozens of wives. The total number of his offspring was over 100 at the last count, though many of them were babies or not warriors.


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    ¡°But these are just some of my wares,¡± I said to the king. ¡°Perhaps you should take a look at the others first. Follow me, please.¡±


    I led them back to the reception room.


    Behind me, I heard some discontented mutters from some of the royal children.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask my mother to sell my inheritance,¡± said a prince with mousy brown hair.


    ¡°Lucky you,¡± said a princess. ¡°I¡¯ll never be able to buy one.¡±


    A few of them had some interesting ideas on how to acquire the item.


    ¡°Brothers,¡± said an older prince. ¡°Do you think we should pool our money and buy one fan? We could share it.¡±


    ¡°Share it how?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not ideal, but we could get a craftsman to disassemble it and use the feathers to make new fans.¡±


    ¡°That would weaken it! We should just rotate ownership. One person could use it for a week then pass it to someone else.¡±


    Their fears and schemes would come to nothing, however, since they were all playing into my hands.


    ¡°Here are a few more!¡± I said as a maid opened another secret sliding door on the west wall of the room.


    This time, I showed them smaller piles of [War Fans] with +3 of every element.


    King Surya held up his hand to stop his children from rushing forward. He gave me a shrewd look and said, ¡°Lady Violet, are these the best ones?¡±


    I smiled and shook my head. Wordlessly, I pointed to the north side of the reception room.


    Everyone fell silent for a few breaths.


    ¡°I have a few more that might interest you, Sire.¡± With that, I grinned at the maids who solemnly opened the north door.


    King Surya was the first to enter. He picked up a +4 Fire [War Fan] and stared at it for a while.


    ¡°You know, with a weapon, this powerful, one man could conquer a kingdom.¡± He waved the fan at the piles of items around him. ¡°With this many? An army could conquer the world.¡±


    I realized then that he didn¡¯t know about the [Diamonds] I had enchanted for the WhiteTiger clan and the [Diamond Scepter and Thunderbolt Bell] I¡¯d give to the Black Tortoise clan.


    ¡°Sire, you haven¡¯t even seen the best yet,¡± I said.


    He turned to me with a disbelieving expression on his face. ¡°That can¡¯t be. This fan is already past the limit of the most powerful legendary weapons.¡±


    I just smiled and the maids once again slid open a hidden door. This time, I didn¡¯t bother with too many theatrics. Instead, I slowly led them past four more rooms filled with fans until we reached the last one. I loved the looks on their faces as we walked past stacks of increasingly powerful weapons.


    My guests were quite vocal in their admiration.


    ¡°The qi emanating from them makes me shiver.¡±


    ¡°These fans are the most spectacular things I have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°And they¡¯re so beautiful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too much. It feels like I¡¯m in a dream.¡±


    As we traversed the upper floor rooms, the fans noticeably dwindled in number. Instead of piles of fans, the farthest room had display shelves showing two dozen +9 elemental [War Fans]. This time, a few of them were dual-element types, where complementary elements such as Wind and Fire amplified each other''s strengths.


    ¡°I can hardly believe my eyes,¡± said the king. ¡°Lady Violet, if I had a kingdom, I would offer it to you in exchange for one of these fans.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you can all have this for free!¡± I waited for their funny reactions but was disappointed by my royal guests¡¯ composure as they waited for the other shoe to drop. ¡°Everyone who agrees to use them to fight the demon in the south can have one for free.¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± was the king¡¯s immediate reply. ¡°Name your price and I¡¯ll do my best to pay it.¡±


    Dang it, I was hoping this would be easy!


    ¡°May I ask why?¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s taboo for us to go to our former home,¡± he said.


    Prince Baiyu and Scholar Wu had both warned me of this, but I thought it was worth a try. When the Vermillion Bird clan fled to escape the catastrophe that stripped them of their zidan hundreds of years ago, many of them had chosen to return once they settled their children in the Northernlands. It was said that none of them ever returned and died miserable deaths with no one to retrieve their bodies and hold the funeral rites for them. Therefore, it was taboo for clan members to go to the Southerlands.


    Suddenly, one of the princes tugged on the king¡¯s arm and said something in his ear. The two of them walked a little away from me and held a whispered discussion. When they finished speaking, King Surya walked back to me with a big smile on his face.


    ¡°Lady Violet, I have a proposal for you. Money seems insufficient payment for such wonderful weapons.¡± He turned to his eldest son and put an arm on his shoulders. ¡°How about you marry my son and heir? I don¡¯t mind stepping down from my position. You¡¯ll be a queen.¡±


    I recoiled and Prince Baiyu stepped forward to place his body between myself and the prince.


    ¡°Sire, that¡¯s inappropriate,¡± I said. ¡°The whole realm surely knows that I already have someone I like.¡±


    King Surya just smiled. ¡°You can marry both of them.¡±


    Prince Baiyu made a sound of disgust.


    I didn¡¯t dare look at my boyfriend¡¯s face as I said, ¡°Sorry, but no.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± asked the king.


    ¡°This is my type.¡± I patted my boyfriend¡¯s arm. ¡°You have to admit that¡­¡±


    I gestured at King Surya¡¯s eldest son who had red hair, red eyes, and brown skin.


    ¡°... is the exact opposite of my type.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just the coloring. The two of them were contrasting types of male beauty. Prince Baiyu was tall and slim, but the Vermillion Bird clan prince was shorter and more muscular. Likewise, my boyfriend was the ¡°cool beauty¡± type while the other prince had what a romance book would probably be called ¡°smoldering good looks.¡±


    King Surya laughed. ¡°Lady Violet, hasn¡¯t anyone ever told you that variety is the spice of life?¡±


    ¡°No, no, I could never be unfaithful to my prince!¡± I said.


    ¡°You might change your mind later. I¡¯ll send one of my sons to fetch the payment. I think you¡¯ll like it,¡± said the king.


    One of the princes left, and we all went back to the reception room for drinks and snacks. I noted that some of my guests returned the fans in the proper piles, but others held on to the [War Fans] they had picked up earlier.


    ¡°I would never,¡± I whispered to Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°I know,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not mad.¡±


    That was... not quite a lie. I could tell from his expression that he was less than calm.


    As I drank peach juice and nibbled on some cookies, I tried to play the gracious hostess. Thankfully, King Surya proved to be quite a wonderful raconteur with an endless well of droll witticisms and interesting anecdotes from which to draw. It seemed as though he had seen and done everything, from hunting the great Kraken to wooing a princess of the Sunset Islands.


    When the king¡¯s son returned with the promised payment for the fans, Prince Baiyu covered my eyes with his hand as the King and his offspring burst into laughter at the look on my face.

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    <h3 style="text-align: center">Emberstone Farm: A Cozy Fantasy LitRPG (The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm Book 1)


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 Chapter 219 - The birth of a new king and queen

    The Lady of the West and her husband stepped forward to stand beside Prince Baiyu and me in a show of support, but they did not speak.


    ¡°Come now, let the girl look,¡± said King Surya with a smirk.


    His sons, daughters, and retainers all laughed or slapped each other in the back and made jokes or bets about the newest arrival, Prince Arjun.


    We all rose, and the king introduced his son to my other guests first before turning to me and saying, ¡°Lady Violet, meet the jewel of the royal house of the Vermillion Bird clan. If you agree to supply us with the fans, I will grant you his hand in marriage.¡±


    Even before he came of age, the prince of the Vermillion Bird clan was famed far and wide throughout the continent for his beauty. Poets said that he was so lovely that red flowers sprang up wherever he walked.


    ¡°Baiyu,¡± I murmured as I pulled my boyfriend¡¯s hand down. Looking up, I saw that his expression was one of resigned acceptance rather than pique.


    Our eyes met.


    Of course, this was all part of our strategy, and if King Surya hadn¡¯t called for Prince Arjun himself, we would have asked to see him. According to Prince Baiyu, who had met him a few times, Prince Arjun was a good-natured person, known more for his looks than his brains, which was perfect for our plan.


    I waited until Prince Baiyu nodded before turning to the newcomer. Cupping my hands, I bowed and said, ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.¡±


    Prince Arjun inclined his head regally and said, ¡°Lady Violet, the honor is mine.¡±


    I thought I detected a certain arrogance in his manner, but, to be fair, he really was quite handsome. If he were walking down a street on Earth, people would wonder if he was a movie star. He had that sort of classic good looks, with a strong jawline and chiseled features. His long red hair and red eyes were more of a reddish brown than the crimson color I had expected. I must¡¯ve been staring at him because Prince Baiyu once again moved as though to cover my eyes with his hand, which made Prince Arjun laugh. I caught Prince Baiyu¡¯s hand in mine and squeezed it.


    Prince Arjun, with a mischievous smile, said loud enough for the entire party to hear, ¡°Baiyu, don¡¯t worry. When I marry Lady Violet, I promise I won¡¯t despise or mistreat you for being a mere concubine.¡±


    The others of the Vermillion Bird clan burst into raucous laughter.


    Before I could respond to this outrageous provocation, Prince Baiyu put one arm around Prince Arjun¡¯s shoulder and the other around mine. ¡°Is that so? We¡¯ll discuss this in private.¡±


    Thus physically connected, we were hustled out of the reception room and into the western corridor by my boyfriend. Prince Muyang winked at me in a conspiratorial manner and helped out by opening the door for us. My apprentices were bewildered by this since they didn''t know what was happening, but they could tell we had things under control, so they cheekily waved goodbye at me as though to say ¡°take your time, see you much later.¡±


    Behind us, King Surya called out, ¡°My son, remember not to do anything with them until after the wedding!¡±


    Prince Baiyu steered us to the room I had prepared beforehand. He let go of us and opened a door into a dark room. We both pushed Prince Arjun through it while he was still too confused to protest. I took out a torch from my inventory and lit it, revealing that the ¡°room¡± was actually a cave.


    ¡°That was just a joke! And my mother hasn¡¯t even given her permission for us to marry,¡± said Prince Arjun.


    It seemed like he was about to say something more, but then he frowned and looked around.


    The door we had through was actually a portal into the Chitinous Caverns located in the Southern lands that was in the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s ancestral territory.


    Just as I was wondering if my plan had failed, Prince Arjun suddenly clutched his chest and fell to his knees.


    His face went blank with astonishment, and then his expression slowly transformed into one of awe and ecstasy. After a few minutes of silence, he said, ¡°Baiyu, what did you do? I feel¡­.¡±


    My boyfriend ignored him and said to me, ¡°Success. I never doubted you even for a moment.¡±


    Based on Adventure Incarnate lore, the Descent of the Demon King event heralded the return of the Vermillion Bird clan to heavenly favor. All they had to do was to return to the Southern Lands to restore their zidan. Then they were supposed to fight in the World Event to regain some of their former glory. We knew they would refuse to travel south because of the taboo, which is why I suggested tricking someone into stepping through a portal to the Southern lands as proof to the others of what they should do.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I said triumphantly. ¡°They can¡¯t refuse to join the war now.¡±


    Prince Baiyu nodded and helped the other prince to stand. ¡°Arjun, what you¡¯re feeling is zidan.¡±


    ¡°Zidan!¡± He leaned against the cave wall and clutched his chest again. ¡°Do you feel this way all the time?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± I asked.


    I was getting tired of holding the torch, so I took out a floor lamp. Unlike the torch, it looked out of place in the cave, but it gave off more light. I put the torch away with a glad sigh.


    While I was doing that, Prince Arjun answered my question by muttering a series of increasingly enthusiastic sentences.


    ¡°Like I¡¯m where I belong. Like I was born with a purpose. Like the god himself came down from heaven and told me to live. Like I¡¯m invincible. Like everything will be alright, always.¡± By the end of this little recitation, his smile became wider and wider, and he looked like the cat who had swallowed the cream and was looking for more.


    ¡°Congratulations, King Arjun,¡± said Prince Baiyu. ¡°You¡¯re the first of your clan to regain your zidan.¡±


    I detached Mr. Bear from my belt and made him grow to human size. He was dressed in fancy red and silver court robes embroidered with cute chibi bears. We bowed to the new monarch in unison, and I took out a crown made of red gold, intricately wrought with a design of feathers and flame, on a velvet cushion which I offered to him. ¡°All hail King Arjun!¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Was it a little over the top? Not at all. The way I figured it, a little flattery never hurt anyone. By virtue of being the only one with zidan, at least until the others went south and regained theirs, Arjun was now effectively the ruler of the Vermillion Bird clan.


    King Arjun straightened up and took the crown with trembling hands. ¡°How did this happen?¡±


    Prince Baiyu explained it all to him.


    At the end of their discussion, King Arjun put the crown on and bowed deeply to me. ¡°Lady Violet, thank you! I am forever in your debt.¡±


    I smiled. He was, wasn¡¯t he?


    ¡°Your whole clan is in her debt,¡± Prince Baiyu corrected him. ¡°And now we must return and tell your family the good news.¡±


    I took out a +9 [War Fan] and gave it to King Arjun. ¡°Everyone will be overjoyed.¡±


    ¡°Return? I can¡¯t leave. This is where I belong now,¡± said King Arjun.


    ¡°What?!¡± I exclaimed.


    We needed him to return with us through the portal to persuade the others to travel south and fight the Demon Boss with the rest of the clans.


    ¡°Arjun¡­¡± Prince Baiyu gave him a disappointed look. ¡°What about your mother?¡±


    His mother was another reason we had chosen Arjun for our plan. She was one of King Surya¡¯s wives, known to all as the most ambitious one who was always jockeying for position with the others of his harem.


    ¡°Mother?¡± King Arjun sighed. ¡°I could write her a letter for you to take to her.¡±


    ¡°What seems to be the problem?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My zidan is here!¡± said King Arjun. ¡°I can¡¯t leave. What if¡­ what if my zidan disappears if I go back through the portal?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t happen,¡± said Prince Baiyu. ¡°Extend your senses to me. You should be able to feel my zidan. Leaving your territory won¡¯t affect your zidan.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He seemed only half-convinced.


    ¡°Just think, if you return with us in person, you can order the others to stay in the north for a few days to prepare food and other supplies,¡± I said. ¡°Your mother can join us on my ship, and I¡¯ll fly you both to the southern camps. She¡¯ll be the first woman of the Vermillion Bird clan to regain her zidan.¡±


    Prince Baiyu took his clue from me and said, ¡°You¡¯ll both go down in history as the first of the new monarchs. Think of everyone in your family calling your mother Queen Chandra.¡±


    Only King Surya¡¯s first wife, the mother of his heir, was given the title of ¡°Queen.¡± The others, such as Arjun''s mother, were called ¡°Noble Consorts.¡±


    King Arjun cursed under his breath then asked with a worried frown on his face, ¡°Are you sure I¡¯ll be fine?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me shove you through the portal by force.¡±


    ¡°How dare you! I¡¯m a king now.¡±


    The two of them playfully punched each other, and King Arjun allowed Prince Baiyu to gently push him through the portal. I shrank Mr. Bear back to his palm-sized form and attached him to my belt before following behind them.


    Back at the ship, King Arjun unexpectedly fell to his knees and kowtowed three times to me. ¡°Lady Violet, you are my savior. Words cannot express my gratitude. I and my family are eternally indebted to you. Please call on me or any member of the Vermillion Bird clan if you are ever in need.¡±


    I bowed back to him and said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Your Majesty. Now let¡¯s go and show the rest of the clan their future.¡±


    He stood up and said, ¡°Please call me Arjun.¡±


    With that, we returned to the reception room which immediately erupted in pandemonium.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I can feel it. I don¡¯t know how, but I can feel it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s zidan.¡±


    ¡°Zidan¡­¡±


    ¡°Zidan¡­¡±


    One by one, the Vermillion Bird clan members, including King Surya, fell to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the floor. The room echoed with the words ¡°King Arjun!¡± and ¡°Long Live the King!¡±


    ¡°Rise,¡± said Arjun.


    The royal family rose and stepped forward to kiss Arjun¡¯s hands. Most of them were openly sobbing or had tears in their eyes.


    The first thing he did was to ask the fastest flyer among his brothers to send a message to his mother. Then, as we had discussed, he ordered the others to disperse and spend three days gathering as much food and camping supplies as they could for the upcoming demon extermination campaign before joining him in the Southerlands.


    All of Arjun¡¯s subjects left, and I made sure they took the [War Fans] with them. They would be needed later for the war.


    Arjun¡¯s brother arrived with a message from his mother.


    ¡°My king, your mother said she¡¯ll be here as soon as she fixes her makeup,¡± he said.


    ¡°What?¡± Arjun was flabbergasted. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell her about my zidan?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°I told her, but she said she never goes out without looking her best.¡±


    Arjun lowered his face into his hand. ¡°Why is she so vain? Alright, thank you. I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait.¡±


    The messenger grinned and left.


    ¡°Is this going to take long?¡± I whispered to Prince Baiyu.


    Arjun overheard me and said, ¡°Hopefully it will only take an hour.¡±


    I laughed and gestured to Fengying who directed the maids to bring fresh snacks and drinks.


    This time, the mood was far more relaxed when we sat down with the others. Arjun regaled everyone with the tale of how he had regained his zidan. I hadn¡¯t seen a chorus of heavenly beings in the cave, but maybe Arjun had had a vision that Baiyu and I hadn¡¯t been privy to.


    Two hours later, a beautiful lady with bright red hair and red-brown eyes, clad in the finest silk brocade and laden with ropes and ropes of pearls and jade beads around her neck, shoulders, and hips, arrived. Noble Consort Chandra, unlike the others, didn¡¯t bow down to Arjun. Instead, she simply nodded and said, ¡°I knew from the first moment I held you in my arms that you would bring the greatest glory to the clan.¡±


    ¡°Mom.¡± Arjun embraced her and formally introduced her to everyone.


    After the usual polite chit-chat, I excused myself, went to the control panel at the viewing platform, and set course for the White Tiger clan¡¯s main camp in the Southerlands. With the ship going at full speed, it took less than an hour for us to get there.


    While the rest of us either flew down to land or used the escalators, Lady Chandra had to be coaxed down by her son.


    ¡°She must be afraid she won¡¯t be blessed with zidan when she steps foot on the Southerlands,¡± said Lady Yuying.


    ¡°One can¡¯t blame her. What happened to King Arjun was a miracle. It¡¯s hard to believe it will happen twice.¡± Lord Yulin put a hand on his chin and gave me a thoughtful look. ¡°But since Violet says it will happen, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll witness the birth of a queen today.¡±


    Prince Baiyu put an arm around my waist. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of my lady.¡±


    ¡°I thought her finding the Blessed Isles for us was amazing, but what she did today is beyond incredible,¡± said Prince Muyang.


    King Arjun must have been feeling exasperated because he suddenly grabbed his mother and flew her down. The moment her feet touched the ground, her expression transformed into one of pure joy.


    I couldn¡¯t feel the change myself, but it must have been evident to the clan members because they all bowed to her and said either ¡°Congratulations, Your Majesty¡± or ¡°Hail, Queen Chandra.¡±


    That was my cue to take out another crown and step forward to offer to her.


    Arjun took it and placed it on her head. ¡°Long live Queen Chandra!¡±


    We all cheered.


    Moments later, the White Tiger clan¡¯s elders appeared with an invitation to Arjun and his mother to rest at the camp. At my request, a magnificent tent had been set up for them the day before. There they could wait for the others to join them.


    ¡°Mission accomplished,¡± I said to Prince Baiyu. ¡°I¡¯ll return to the ship.¡±


    ¡°This day will surely go down in history, and you''ll soon be hailed as the greatest benefactor of the Vermillion Bird clan,¡± said Prince Baiyu.


    ¡°Hmm? Is that all you have to say?¡± I raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. ¡°Babe, this girl just rejected two princes and the title of queen for you. You are going to reward me, right?¡±


    ¡°My dear, once we have the time, I''ll show you exactly why you made the right choice.¡±


    Alas, since we were in public, all he could do was to kiss me on the forehead and give me a look promising all sorts of nice rewards.


    "Oh my, I would certainly enjoy that," I said.


    ¡°I wish I could escort you back to your farm, but I have a lot to do now that we know we¡¯ll be training with Arjun and the others.¡±


    He kissed my forehead again and we bid each other goodbye.


    When I was walking away, Queen Chandra called out to me, so I went to her to see what she wanted.


    She looked me up and down then nodded to herself as though she had decided something. ¡°Lady Violet, where are you going? There¡¯s no time to lose. You must marry Arjun today and become the queen of the Vermillion Bird clan.¡±

 Chapter 220 - No harem! Kings Proposal: Rejected

    Thankfully, I didn¡¯t need to reply to this since Lord Yulin took matters into his own hands and made it very, very clear that his son was not my concubine and that we were to be married.


    I made my escape as quickly as I could with my household. It wasn¡¯t until we were all safely back at the farm that I relaxed.


    As I sank down onto my most comfortable overstuffed chair, Scholar Wu asked to speak to me and my apprentices in private.


    ¡°Sure, but let me rest for a bit and change into something less formal.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady. I¡¯ll change, too,¡± she said.


    She left with my apprentices.


    The maids helped me take the pins out of my hair and combed it out for me. I breathed a sigh of relief as I took off the heavy robes and put on the [Spring Fling] outfit, a pretty little white frock with a cherry print, and a leaf green cardigan from the Cash Shop.


    The kids and Scholar Wu returned in their everyday clothes just as I finished putting on the vintage-looking Mary Jane shoes that came with the set.


    ¡°Waaaiiiiiit!¡± I held a hand up and stopped Scholar Wu before she could speak. ¡°Please.¡±


    She closed her mouth and raised an eyebrow.


    I put my head in my hands in mock despair. ¡°Why is your expression so serious? Can¡¯t I have one day to relax and enjoy my elevation to the top rank of the nobility?¡±


    Scholar Wu could tell I was joking and played along. ¡°Alas, Lady Violet, now that you are a Duchess, the things you must take care of have multiplied, both in number and importance.¡±


    ¡°Oh my.¡± I leaned back on my chair. ¡°Kids, take this as a lesson. Never try to rise so high. It¡¯s a huge pain in the neck!¡±


    Lari and Kharli rolled their eyes while Mo seemed to be mentally taking notes.


    ¡°The Lady of the West and I had a long discussion while we were waiting for Noble Consort Chandra. I¡¯ve been asked to apprise you of certain details you are probably not aware of,¡± said Scholar Wu. ¡°A few days ago, a small, secret group of Vermillion Bird clan members joined the camp at the Southern Lands.¡±


    ¡°What? But I thought it was taboo for them to return to their homeland.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°It is taboo, but some people still do it.¡±


    I leaned forward. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Their zidan was not restored?¡±


    ¡°It was not.¡±


    ¡°But-but that means¡­¡± My voice trailed off as my mind raced. The implications of this new piece of information were astounding! ¡°I need caffeine.¡±


    This time, instead of the usual [Kola-Kola Soda], I took out a bottle from the [Majestic Oceanfront Sanctuary¡¯s] vending machine during my first year in this world.


    [Mermaid Mist:


    Soda with a citrus flavor and a hint of seawater.]


    I only had a few precious bottles of these, but this was a special occasion. I gave the others a choice of either [Kola-Kola Soda], [Mermaid Mist], or [Grimoire Grape].


    [Grimoire Grape:


    Grape-flavored soda.]


    I drank the sweet beverage while asking Scholar Wu more questions and pondering the recent events.


    According to her, the Lady of the West had people watching the Vermillion Bird clan members who were already in the south, and after my ship landed with King Arjun and Queen Chandra, they reported that there was no change in their status.


    ¡°That makes no sense!¡± I said.


    ¡°Everything you have predicted has always come to pass. Therefore, Lady Yuying trusts all the clan members who will be traveling south soon will have their zidan restored. She will also be advising the people already there to travel north and re-enter the Southerlands.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ as far as I know, it should work.¡±


    The plan was based on my knowledge of game lore which, as far as I remembered, showed that since the descent of the Demon Monarch, the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s zidan was restored. All they had to do was to return to the Southern lands to reclaim it.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    However, Scholar Wu¡¯s news meant that this wasn¡¯t entirely true.


    On our journey home, I¡¯d explained the recent events to my apprentices. The kids were no dummies and immediately grasped the meaning behind our words.


    ¡°Teacher, you said that their zidan was already restored, but if it was only restored when you helped Prince Arjun, does that mean the System did it?¡± asked Kharli.


    They understood that part, but if the System was doing more than simply predicting events that would have happened anyway, did they also realize that this could mean that the System was also the one behind the Demon Monarch?


    I could be blamed for everything that goes wrong from now on!


    Terrible visions of clan members accusing me of causing storms, drought, plague, and who knew what made me shiver.


    ¡°Not to worry, Lady Violet.¡± Scholar Wu put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it before letting go. ¡°The Lady of the West asked me to speak to you since she was afraid you wouldn¡¯t comprehend what your success will lead to.¡±


    I shivered again. ¡°What will it lead to?¡±


    ¡°Temples made for worshipping you.¡± Scholar Wu chuckled at my reaction.


    ¡°Because everyone will think she restored the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s zidan?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Will Teacher be worshipped like a goddess?¡± Lari¡¯s eyes shone with delight.


    ¡°All this.¡± Scholar Wu waved a hand to indicate the farm. ¡°Is a great accomplishment. This made you into a duchess.¡±


    She smiled at the kids, then at me before continuing. ¡°But you should understand that what you have just done is beyond mortal ability.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me? I honestly didn¡¯t do anything at all!¡± I said.


    ¡°Lady Violet, it¡¯s one thing to grow spirit plants, create legendary potions, rediscover ancient lost islands, and forge mythical-grade weapons. It¡¯s quite another to resurrect dead zidan!¡±


    I threw my hands up in exasperation. ¡°I swear I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡±


    She obviously didn¡¯t believe me.


    I frowned. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen now? You were joking about the temples, right?¡±


    ¡°Lady Yuying asked me to tell you that you may want to stay inside the farm in the meantime. I know you have a protective shield over it that no one can penetrate.¡±


    ¡°Why? Is she expecting trouble?¡±


    ¡°Not trouble, no. Just gawkers and overeager clan members who will want to meet you.¡± She wasn''t too much of an elegant and well-mannered scholar to tease me, and her grin showed a lot of even white teeth with prominent incisors. ¡°Also, tons of suitors will want to join your harem.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    The kids laughed and started teasing me about Prince Arjun and Prince Baiyu fighting each other for my favor. The serious topics were dropped from our discussion, and we moved on to chatting about the celebration banquet tonight.


    That night, I lay awake in bed hugging Mr. Bear while I thought about Scholar Wu''s words. What was that all about? The System could be more powerful than I thought, but I had a strong feeling, deep down inside, that the System was like a friend to me.


    "I wish GodIAm or someone would log in and tell me what this is all about," I said to Mr. Bear.


    Yawning, I checked the System''s friend list tab, but all the names were still greyed out.


    ***


    A few days later, everyone was tired from partying all night, and we all agreed it was time to return to our regular schedule.


    Kharli, Mo, and the maids got started on their dowry chests, which were richly decorated cedar boxes containing clothing, linens, and household items that a bride was supposed to bring with them when they got married. Fengying declared that the girls were now of an age to use their allowance on useful things rather than fripperies.


    I, as their mentor or employer, was expected to provide a few precious items, but the bulk of the chest¡¯s contents should be made by the bride herself as a show of her skills and industriousness.


    To my surprise, Lari was also expected to prepare a chest, though his was a bridal chest meant to be given to his future wife. He declined to learn sewing or knitting and declared he was going to save up money instead.


    ¡°Then you will use the money to buy the linens and things?¡± I asked Lari.


    We were at the northernmost rice paddy adjusting the water level for the [Rice-fish Culture System]. The spring rains had come and we didn¡¯t want the water to overflow and wash the [Rice Carp] away.


    [Rice-fish Culture System:


    The water in a rice paddy can be used for more than just growing rice. Farmers can also stock it with fish in order to secure an easy source of protein. Furthermore, the fish will improve soil quality by softening the soil and providing nutrients via their excrement. It is also good for pest management since fish eat insects, snails, fungus, weeds, etc.]


    ¡°Yes, or I could use a much smaller chest.¡± He measured out the dimensions with his hands, indicating a palm-sized box. ¡°I¡¯d fill it with silver, gold, and jade.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡± I bent down and patted Cutie on the head. Today, I¡¯d given her free run of the farm, but she mostly preferred to follow either me or Lari.


    It was a lovely day. The sun cast a warm golden light over the farm, its light dancing on the shimmering surface of the rice paddies. The ground under our boots was muddy with rain and squelched wetly with every step, but I was used to it by this time. The air was cool and fresh. Somehow, ever since I had opened the [Mustard Seed Pocket Dimension] for others to visit, the farm¡¯s air smelled more flowery. Normally, there was a faint scent of manure and animals from the [Chickens] I was raising, but these days their scent had faded to almost nothing. Scholar Wu said it was because the otherworldly qi was spilling over into Emberstone Farm.


    ¡°I think this is enough.¡± Lari closed the irrigation channel''s water gates.


    ¡°Yes, I think so. To the orchard then.¡±


    Kharli and Mo were waiting for us in the area north of the main house. Our daily chores consisted of taking care of the crops and animals before using up all our energy on planting fruit trees.


    ¡°Apricots today.¡± I handed over the seeds and we started planting.


    The System did most of the work. We hit the ground lightly with a [Spade] and a hole appeared with a lump of loose soil beside it. After applying [Mysterious Goo] to the hole and throwing in the seed, we used the [Spade] on the soil and covered the hole with it. That was the end of it since fruit trees didn¡¯t need to be watered.


    We worked in a companionable silence broken only by birdsong and the rustling of leaves as a gentle breeze played among the trees around us. It was easy though muddy work, and I didn¡¯t mind since I could see in my mind¡¯s eye how the orchard would look this time next year when the trees were fully grown. The thought of harvesting baskets and baskets of fruit made me smile.


    The kids finished before I did since they had less energy.


    ¡°Yuck, this mud is all over my dress,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t complain. It could be worse,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Yeah, it could be raining!¡± said Mo.


    A shadow fell over us as a cloud passed over the sun. We all looked up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that! You¡¯ll jinx it,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo covered her mouth with a hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± said Lari.


    Mo ran over to me and tugged on my sleeve. ¡°Teacher, look!¡±


    I dropped my [Spade]. ¡°Cutie! Nooooo!¡±

 Chapter 220.5 - They are addicted to absurdly long names

    An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:


    Her latest escapade is beyond my comprehension.


    The news of Lady Violet somehow restoring the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s zidan spread like wildfire, but I didn¡¯t believe it at first. It was only when I saw King Arjun and Queen Chandra with my own eyes that I could accept that, yes, she had in fact accomplished something that only the gods can do.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The Vermillion Bird clan is calling her an avatar of the Goddess of Mercy, and they¡¯ve made hundreds of amulets and lucky charms with her name carved on them. I heard that in the upcoming demon extermination, they will be using a new battle cry, ¡°For the Lady Violet!¡±


    Day by day, more Vermillion Bird clan members arrive at the camp and recover their zidan. The mood has turned jubilant, and they''re boasting that the demon will be easily killed since their best warriors will be wielding the Vermilion Sky Scorching Flame Folding Fan of the Supreme Calamity that Lady Violet gave them.


    How did she fix their zidan? Could she really be a goddess in human form?

 Chapter 220

    Thankfully, I didn¡¯t need to reply to this since Lord Yulin took matters into his own hands and made it very, very clear that his son was not my concubine and that we were to be married.


    I made my escape as quickly as I could with my household. It wasn¡¯t until we were all safely back at the farm that I relaxed.


    As I sank down onto my most comfortable overstuffed chair, Scholar Wu asked to speak to me and my apprentices in private.


    ¡°Sure, but let me rest for a bit and change into something less formal.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady. I¡¯ll change, too,¡± she said.


    She left with my apprentices.


    The maids helped me take the pins out of my hair and combed it out for me. I breathed a sigh of relief as I took off the heavy robes and put on the [Spring Fling] outfit, a pretty little white frock with a cherry print, and a leaf green cardigan from the Cash Shop.


    The kids and Scholar Wu returned in their everyday clothes just as I finished putting on the vintage-looking Mary Jane shoes that came with the set.


    ¡°Waaaiiiiiit!¡± I held a hand up and stopped Scholar Wu before she could speak. ¡°Please.¡±


    She closed her mouth and raised an eyebrow.


    I put my head in my hands in mock despair. ¡°Why is your expression so serious? Can¡¯t I have one day to relax and enjoy my elevation to the top rank of the nobility?¡±


    Scholar Wu could tell I was joking and played along. ¡°Alas, Lady Violet, now that you are a Duchess, the things you must take care of have multiplied, both in number and importance.¡±


    ¡°Oh my.¡± I leaned back on my chair. ¡°Kids, take this as a lesson. Never try to rise so high. It¡¯s a huge pain in the neck!¡±


    Lari and Kharli rolled their eyes while Mo seemed to be mentally taking notes.


    ¡°The Lady of the West and I had a long discussion while we were waiting for Noble Consort Chandra. I¡¯ve been asked to apprise you of certain details you are probably not aware of,¡± said Scholar Wu. ¡°A few days ago, a small, secret group of Vermillion Bird clan members joined the camp at the Southern Lands.¡±


    ¡°What? But I thought it was taboo for them to return to their homeland.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°It is taboo, but some people still do it.¡±


    I leaned forward. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Their zidan was not restored?¡±


    ¡°It was not.¡±


    ¡°But-but that means¡­¡± My voice trailed off as my mind raced. The implications of this new piece of information were astounding! ¡°I need caffeine.¡±


    This time, instead of the usual [Kola-Kola Soda], I took out a bottle from the [Majestic Oceanfront Sanctuary¡¯s] vending machine during my first year in this world.


    [Mermaid Mist:


    Soda with a citrus flavor and a hint of seawater.]


    I only had a few precious bottles of these, but this was a special occasion. I gave the others a choice of either [Kola-Kola Soda], [Mermaid Mist], or [Grimoire Grape].


    [Grimoire Grape:


    Grape-flavored soda.]


    I drank the sweet beverage while asking Scholar Wu more questions and pondering the recent events.


    According to her, the Lady of the West had people watching the Vermillion Bird clan members who were already in the south, and after my ship landed with King Arjun and Queen Chandra, they reported that there was no change in their status.


    ¡°That makes no sense!¡± I said.


    ¡°Everything you have predicted has always come to pass. Therefore, Lady Yuying trusts all the clan members who will be traveling south soon will have their zidan restored. She will also be advising the people already there to travel north and re-enter the Southerlands.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ as far as I know, it should work.¡±


    The plan was based on my knowledge of game lore which, as far as I remembered, showed that since the descent of the Demon Monarch, the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s zidan was restored. All they had to do was to return to the Southern lands to reclaim it.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    However, Scholar Wu¡¯s news meant that this wasn¡¯t entirely true.


    On our journey home, I¡¯d explained the recent events to my apprentices. The kids were no dummies and immediately grasped the meaning behind our words.


    ¡°Teacher, you said that their zidan was already restored, but if it was only restored when you helped Prince Arjun, does that mean the System did it?¡± asked Kharli.


    They understood that part, but if the System was doing more than simply predicting events that would have happened anyway, did they also realize that this could mean that the System was also the one behind the Demon Monarch?


    I could be blamed for everything that goes wrong from now on!


    Terrible visions of clan members accusing me of causing storms, drought, plague, and who knew what made me shiver.


    ¡°Not to worry, Lady Violet.¡± Scholar Wu put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it before letting go. ¡°The Lady of the West asked me to speak to you since she was afraid you wouldn¡¯t comprehend what your success will lead to.¡±


    I shivered again. ¡°What will it lead to?¡±


    ¡°Temples made for worshipping you.¡± Scholar Wu chuckled at my reaction.


    ¡°Because everyone will think she restored the Vermillion Bird clan¡¯s zidan?¡± asked Mo.


    ¡°Will Teacher be worshipped like a goddess?¡± Lari¡¯s eyes shone with delight.


    ¡°All this.¡± Scholar Wu waved a hand to indicate the farm. ¡°Is a great accomplishment. This made you into a duchess.¡±


    She smiled at the kids, then at me before continuing. ¡°But you should understand that what you have just done is beyond mortal ability.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me? I honestly didn¡¯t do anything at all!¡± I said.


    ¡°Lady Violet, it¡¯s one thing to grow spirit plants, create legendary potions, rediscover ancient lost islands, and forge mythical-grade weapons. It¡¯s quite another to resurrect dead zidan!¡±


    I threw my hands up in exasperation. ¡°I swear I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡±


    She obviously didn¡¯t believe me.


    I frowned. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen now? You were joking about the temples, right?¡±


    ¡°Lady Yuying asked me to tell you that you may want to stay inside the farm in the meantime. I know you have a protective shield over it that no one can penetrate.¡±


    ¡°Why? Is she expecting trouble?¡±


    ¡°Not trouble, no. Just gawkers and overeager clan members who will want to meet you.¡± She wasn''t too much of an elegant and well-mannered scholar to tease me, and her grin showed a lot of even white teeth with prominent incisors. ¡°Also, tons of suitors will want to join your harem.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    The kids laughed and started teasing me about Prince Arjun and Prince Baiyu fighting each other for my favor. The serious topics were dropped from our discussion, and we moved on to chatting about the celebration banquet tonight.


    That night, I lay awake in bed hugging Mr. Bear while I thought about Scholar Wu''s words. What was that all about? The System could be more powerful than I thought, but I had a strong feeling, deep down inside, that the System was like a friend to me.


    "I wish GodIAm or someone would log in and tell me what this is all about," I said to Mr. Bear.


    Yawning, I checked the System''s friend list tab, but all the names were still greyed out.


    ***


    A few days later, everyone was tired from partying all night, and we all agreed it was time to return to our regular schedule.


    Kharli, Mo, and the maids got started on their dowry chests, which were richly decorated cedar boxes containing clothing, linens, and household items that a bride was supposed to bring with them when they got married. Fengying declared that the girls were now of an age to use their allowance on useful things rather than fripperies.


    I, as their mentor or employer, was expected to provide a few precious items, but the bulk of the chest¡¯s contents should be made by the bride herself as a show of her skills and industriousness.


    To my surprise, Lari was also expected to prepare a chest, though his was a bridal chest meant to be given to his future wife. He declined to learn sewing or knitting and declared he was going to save up money instead.


    ¡°Then you will use the money to buy the linens and things?¡± I asked Lari.


    We were at the northernmost rice paddy adjusting the water level for the [Rice-fish Culture System]. The spring rains had come and we didn¡¯t want the water to overflow and wash the [Rice Carp] away.


    [Rice-fish Culture System:


    The water in a rice paddy can be used for more than just growing rice. Farmers can also stock it with fish in order to secure an easy source of protein. Furthermore, the fish will improve soil quality by softening the soil and providing nutrients via their excrement. It is also good for pest management since fish eat insects, snails, fungus, weeds, etc.]


    ¡°Yes, or I could use a much smaller chest.¡± He measured out the dimensions with his hands, indicating a palm-sized box. ¡°I¡¯d fill it with silver, gold, and jade.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡± I bent down and patted Cutie on the head. Today, I¡¯d given her free run of the farm, but she mostly preferred to follow either me or Lari.


    It was a lovely day. The sun cast a warm golden light over the farm, its light dancing on the shimmering surface of the rice paddies. The ground under our boots was muddy with rain and squelched wetly with every step, but I was used to it by this time. The air was cool and fresh. Somehow, ever since I had opened the [Mustard Seed Pocket Dimension] for others to visit, the farm¡¯s air smelled more flowery. Normally, there was a faint scent of manure and animals from the [Chickens] I was raising, but these days their scent had faded to almost nothing. Scholar Wu said it was because the otherworldly qi was spilling over into Emberstone Farm.


    ¡°I think this is enough.¡± Lari closed the irrigation channel''s water gates.


    ¡°Yes, I think so. To the orchard then.¡±


    Kharli and Mo were waiting for us in the area north of the main house. Our daily chores consisted of taking care of the crops and animals before using up all our energy on planting fruit trees.


    ¡°Apricots today.¡± I handed over the seeds and we started planting.


    The System did most of the work. We hit the ground lightly with a [Spade] and a hole appeared with a lump of loose soil beside it. After applying [Mysterious Goo] to the hole and throwing in the seed, we used the [Spade] on the soil and covered the hole with it. That was the end of it since fruit trees didn¡¯t need to be watered.


    We worked in a companionable silence broken only by birdsong and the rustling of leaves as a gentle breeze played among the trees around us. It was easy though muddy work, and I didn¡¯t mind since I could see in my mind¡¯s eye how the orchard would look this time next year when the trees were fully grown. The thought of harvesting baskets and baskets of fruit made me smile.


    The kids finished before I did since they had less energy.


    ¡°Yuck, this mud is all over my dress,¡± said Lari.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t complain. It could be worse,¡± said Kharli.


    ¡°Yeah, it could be raining!¡± said Mo.


    A shadow fell over us as a cloud passed over the sun. We all looked up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that! You¡¯ll jinx it,¡± said Kharli.


    Mo covered her mouth with a hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± said Lari.


    Mo ran over to me and tugged on my sleeve. ¡°Teacher, look!¡±


    I dropped my [Spade]. ¡°Cutie! Nooooo!¡±