The flight was brief since Shuye lived nearby. As we flew over the town, I noticed that there was a cluster of houses in the village itself, with cultivated fields spread out around it in every direction. He pointed out the courtyard house that served as Prince Baiyu’s office where his clerks lived. It was in the middle of the village and was the biggest house there. However, Shuye’s own house was a mile away from it, nestled in the middle of a grove of peach trees.
“My ancestors built their house far away from the rest of the families because they liked the privacy,” Shuye explained as the carriage landed in front of his house with a small jolt.
His house was in the traditional courtyard style. We entered through the main door and into a rectangular central space open to the sky and paved with red stone tiles. Three dwarf trees and a dozen or so potted plants made the area look quite convivial, and red-painted wooden pillars supported the curved roof tiles that gleamed dark green in the sunlight. The door and windows of the rooms inside all faced towards the courtyard. Festive red lanterns hung from the eaves.
We walked along a shaded corridor to the inner courtyard, a smaller, quieter, and more private area with fewer servants milling around. The nursery was a nice, cozy little room with big windows and a green and blue pastel color scheme.
“Hello there. You must be Lady Violet.”
Shuye’s wife was a giant! She towered over me, a strong, muscular clan member who looked human except for her pointed ears. The classic coloring of the White Tiger clan was white hair, pale skin, and blue eyes, but she had light brown hair and eyes. She was beautiful in an overwhelming way.
We exchanged polite greetings, then she said, “Would you like to see her?”
“Would I?! I’ve been waiting for this for a long time!”
The baby was adorable, with thin white hair and blue eyes. Shuye said White Tiger clan babies normally had this coloring but their eyes and hair tended to darken as they aged.
“Oh, look at those chubby little cheeks and those tiny little fingers and toes!” The baby gurgled happily, and I exclaimed, “Hey, I think she likes me.”
“She does, she definitely does.” Shuye beamed down at his child.
I spent a few more minutes rhapsodizing over her until Shuye declared it was the baby’s nap time. Before I left, I gave them a small present, a traditional evil eye amulet for babies that I had made myself by painting a wooden bead Fengying bought from Anwei, threaded with cotton yarn. “Here, take this lucky charm. It’s for babies. You can put it on her cradle, but make sure she can’t snatch it. We don’t want her to choke on it.”
During the carriage ride back to the farm, I asked Shuye to look away for a minute as I took off my boots and socks, replacing them with comfortable slippers and new socks. The combination would be hugely unfashionable on Earth, but in this world showing your feet in public was déclassé.
“Sorry, it’s because we were walking all day long.” I leaned back with a sigh. “Today was quite fun but also exhausting.”
“No need to apologize. You’ve worked hard. I’m surprised you returned with only the spirit seeds and a few normal souvenirs.” Shuye raised an eyebrow. “Are you losing your touch? I was expecting at least one legendary item.”
I giggled. “Oh yes? I forgot to show this to you.”
Taking out the [Nebula Sword] from my inventory, I waved it in the air, making “schwing” sounds with my mouth for a comedic effect.
“That’s more like it!” Shuye shook his head ruefully. “May I?”
I handed the weapon to him, saying in a smug voice, “How’s that for a legendary treasure?”
“Very nice. Wonderful. It was made by an expert smith. The fuller runs true, and the temper line is consistent.”
Shuye went on and on about the sword using even more esoteric technical terms, including stuff about its qi, which was apparently “profound” and gave the sword “a subtle warmth” and stuff like that.
“Do you want it?” I asked.
“Certainly not! The demon extermination war is over, and it’s time for me to settle down and take care of my baby.” He gave the sword back to me.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, but here, take these mangoes from Orchid Island.”
“Thank you.” He accepted my offering. “About the island…”
“Yes?”
“It was shrouded in a vast, subtle yet exceedingly potent spell formation, but your rowboat cut right through it.”
“Because we were following an [Orchid Island Turtle]. That’s their home.”
“I also sensed many powerful presences hiding behind the treeline at the beach.”
“You did?”
“They were the ones who threw us off the island.”
I frowned. If they sensed that, then why did they all wave back and say everything was fine? They weren’t even alarmed or anything!
Shuye must have known what I was thinking because he answered the questions I hadn’t asked out loud. “I believe that our minds were also affected by a mysterious force. We would never have urged you to venture out into the unknown like that if we had known there were shadowy beings lurking around you.”
“Oh my!” I remembered that Shuye and I had encountered something similar, but it was useless for me to discuss it with him since the Lion god’s forgetfulness spell over Hongzhen was still active. “Wait, does this mean they wanted me to visit? But not you guys?”
“I’d say that’s obvious.”
“Wow. They must have wanted those things I returned to the island.” I browsed my inventory and read the item descriptions to see if anything stood out, but they were all pretty clear in that the items were culturally relevant but otherwise unremarkable. The lyre was my favorite among them since I could pluck out a melody on it, but the text was clear that it wasn’t anything grand.
[Orchid Island Lyre:
A weathered lyre made of dark, polished wood. The carved scrollwork along its arms, once sharp and distinct, has been worn smooth by countless hands. The few strings left are loose or broken.]
I frowned. “You saw them. They were merely antiques.”
Shuye looked thoughtful. “They might have wanted the artifacts simply for their historical value.”
“Yeah, that could be it. The island is small, but they have a nice little museum, so they must like that kind of thing.”
“About the Birdman, did you notice anything strange?”
I laughed. “What are you talking about? Was there anything about him that wasn’t strange?”
“That person’s proportions were not human. His head was too small, his shoulders too wide, and his arms were far too long.”
“They were?” I frowned and thought about it for a few minutes as I looked out the carriage window and watched the scenery passing by. This was a new, improved flying vehicle. In the old one, I always kept the windows closed since the wind passing through them made the carriage rattle, but this model was equipped with an advanced spell formation that stabilized it better. “I guess that could be why the islanders are shy and won’t show themselves to outsiders.”
“What do you mean? I thought you said you don’t know much about Orchid Island.”
“Yes. I’m simply hypothesizing. But I do know a few things.” I used my fingers to count off the things I knew about the place. “One: The island is completely isolated from the rest of the world, and the inhabitants like it that way. Two: They don’t allow clan members on the island. Three: Human visitors are allowed, but they have to cover their entire bodies. Four: According to my bloodline inheritance, they withdrew from society in ancient times when gods and their offspring still walked the mortal world. Five: Only one person, fully covered, is seen by visitors. Six: You say that person’s body proportions are off.”
“And your conclusion?”
“They might be people with unique physical characteristics who hid themselves due to persecution.”
“What characteristics?”
“Uh, you know how sometimes a cow will be born with two heads? Or a snake will have three eyes? Or… someone whose head is too small, shoulders too wide, and arms too long. Like that.”
We both fell silent.
It was a guess, but I felt in my gut that I had hit on one of the reasons the islanders had secluded themselves. The world was never kind to people who were different. Still, there was no reason to pity them. I hadn’t told Shuye and the others about the cornucopia that provided for all their needs, which was something no one else in the world had.
“They seem to be doing great for themselves,” I said. “Their houses are really cute, and the food was divine!”
Shuye smiled. “Based on what I felt of their power, they’re thriving.”
We talked a little more about everyday matters after that until the carriage arrived at Emberstone Farm. I invited him to dinner, but he wanted to return home, so we said our goodbyes and he flew off at top speed.
***
That night, Prince Baiyu and I used the portal to the desert farm and spent an evening on the summit of Skyfang Hill. I spread a thick picnic mat on the ground and wrapped myself with another one. Desert nights were cold.
Above us, the purple-black sky full of stars was like a velvet cloth strewn with gleaming jewels that looked so close I felt as though I could reach up and touch them.
“I’m gonna lie down and put my feet up.” I made a pile of three pillows and put my feet on them as I stretched my body out on the picnic mat with the blanket over me. “Too much walking and standing around today.”
Prince Baiyu lay down beside me and took my hand. “It’s lovely here.”
I turned my head and smiled at him. His face was close to mine. I ran a finger through his long, curly eyelashes. “You’re lovely.”
He smiled and captured my hand, kissing it and saying, “You’re the loveliest thing in the world.”
“Oh, now I’m a thing, am I?”
We laughed together, and he burrowed himself under my blanket and said, “Cold? I could warm you up.”
“Mmm. It is a little bit cold.”
“Ah.”
It was nice to have someone to cuddle with on cold desert nights.