I dipped my fried cruller in condensed milk. Today’s breakfast was quite unhealthy, but I was going to spend the day traipsing around a hidden island, which would undoubtedly burn up a lot of calories.
“The herd of qilin has been sighted in Central. The human nobles who live there are saying it's a sign for them to raise a new emperor,” said Scholar Wu.
Prince Baiyu was doing his morning exercises, and the kids were off watering the crops, so it was just the two of us at the breakfast table the next day.
“Wow, news travels a lot faster now that the portal network is up,” I said. “I’m surprised they were able to get it going so fast and so cheap.”
“It wouldn’t even have been possible if the atmospheric qi level hadn’t risen.”
“That was because of the descent of the Demon Monarch, right?”
“Yes, and we are still studying many of the effects. The Fox clan says it should make farming spirit rice easier.”
We were still chatting about the news from Central when Shuye arrived.
“Hey, hey, long time no see!” I rose, cupped my hands, and bowed before offering him a crocus flower as a gift.
“I couldn’t stay away when I heard you were going exploring,” said Shuye.
My Farm Guide, who always reminded me of a friendly bear, was dressed quite neatly and even elegantly in simple green cotton robes. He’d leveled up his sartorial skill ever since his baby was born.
“Sit down. Have some breakfast.” I didn’t have to tell the maids anything since they were very well-trained. They were already busy bringing more food and pitchers of water and orange juice to our table. “When can I visit and see your child?”
In this world, newborns were kept isolated from the public to protect them from diseases.
He sat down and smiled, showing a row of even white teeth. “You can accompany me later today when I return home to see her.”
“Really? Wow! I can see baby Shuye today!”
“Only you, though,” he added. “Not Prince Baiyu or anyone else.”
“What? How come?”
“Your qi is very gentle, but not the others'.”
“Okay, then I will be the first!”
We finished eating and Scholar excused herself to do a bit of work before we left. We were waiting for Prince Baiyu to finish his morning martial arts training. Meanwhile, I showed Shuye around the farm.
It was a few days before harvest, and the rice plants were bent down almost to the ground, heavy with the weight of the golden grains glistening in the morning sun.
“We’ll harvest the [Rice Carp] soon and drain the fields,” I said. “I heard a lot of people were able to breed them successfully.”
[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.]
“It depends on what you mean by ‘a lot.’ Five clans were able to establish fish ponds with your carp, and there’s one who incorporated it into their silk farm.”
“Oh, yeah, I heard about using fish in silk production. Sounds genius.”
In this world, as well as back on Earth, certain farmers with a lot of land combined silkworm rearing, mulberry cultivation, and fish farming in a very clever way. The silkworms eat mulberry leaves, while the worm excreta and sloughed-off skins are used to feed the fish. Whatever isn’t eaten by the fish sinks to the bottom of the ponds, along with the fish excreta, and this nutrient-rich mud is then used as fertilizer for the mulberry trees, thus completing the cycle.
We walked around the vegetable fields, which were likewise almost ready for the harvest. The tomato plants stood nearly shoulder-high, their thick stems heavy with clusters of green, yellow, and red fruit. The onion tops had begun to yellow and fall over, revealing the bulbs' papery skins just poking above the soil surface. The cabbage heads were particularly large this year, their outer leaves a rich, deep green, tightly wrapped around paler inner leaves.
Shuye knelt to peer in amazement at two particularly large cabbages. “These could feed a whole human family for a week!”
I laughed. “Yes, now that I’m in my third year of farming, I’m seeing a few giant crops.”
We moved on, and, as expected, Shuye was quite interested in the tea crop.
The neat rows of plants, protected from the sun’s rays by a canopy, were now waist-high since we had pruned them to that level. New growth showed as lighter green shoots at the tips of branches, with some bushes displaying tiny white flowers scattered throughout the foliage. The scent of tea in this field was divine.
“The tea field is smaller this time?” Shuye raised an eyebrow.
“We’re more focused on rice this season. Fall is better for tea.”
After that, I reckoned it was almost time, so we returned to the courtyard house. There, we met up with my apprentices, Scholar Wu, Shuye, and Prince Baiyu. Fengying gave us food packages for us to bring on our adventure, and we set off in good spirits. I sailed the [Traditional Chinese Ship] to the correct spot on the System’s map and then transferred us to a small, six-person rowboat.
[Rowboat:
A simple wooden rowboat. It offers no luxuries, but it gets the job done.]
Scholar Wu instructed the kids on how to row while I watched.
“Turn your oars like this when raising them from the water.” Scholar Wu demonstrated the move. “This is called feathering. There’s less water resistance if you do it that way.”
I gave my apprentices a concerned look. Kharli was doing fine, but Mo and Lari seemed to be struggling. “Uh, should we get the royal guards to do the rowing instead?”
Since the boat was too small for everyone, Prince Baiyu’s bodyguards were flying above and behind us.
Lari put his oars down. “I thought it would be easier.”
“Teacher, I want to try, please,” said Kharli.
“We don’t need the guards. Scholar Wu, Shuye, and I can row the boat by ourselves,” said Prince Baiyu.
I frowned. Finding the island was a minigame in Adventure Incarnate where one had to click on the oars fast and in the proper rhythm. I had waited for the game interface to pop up, but nothing happened. This probably meant we had to row the boat for real. “How fast can you go?”
He raised an eyebrow. “How fast do you need me to go?”
“Can you make the rowboat go as fast as a turtle?”
“Yes.”
“Okay then. I’ll let you guys practice rowing a little more. We might need to turn fast, too. Tell me when you’re ready.”
Scholar Wu then coached my apprentices through the basics, which didn't take that long since we decided it would be best if the two clan members did most of the work.
“Okay, now I will explain what we need to do. First, everyone has to put on these bird masks, mittens, and robes that pilgrims to the island traditionally wear. You may not remove them until we leave the place.” I handed them the items and tried not to laugh at how weird they looked.
Fengying had had them made to my specifications. The floor-length cotton robes were hooded and had long sleeves. The mittens were just regular ones. The wooden mask was the weirdest part of the costume since it had a long beak-like nose. That’s why I called it a bird mask though, strictly speaking, it was actually a Plague Doctor mask, but the people of this world were not familiar with that terminology.
Players could either wear the costume or an expensive amulet bought from a mysterious traveling merchant. GodIAm, of course, had loaded his character with all of the merchant’s items, so I simply put on a necklace with the amulet hanging from it.
“Okay, now I will explain what we’re going to do. I will release a turtle that will swim away very fast back to its home on Orchid Island. We have to follow it.” I took the [Orchid Island Turtle] from my inventory and held it aloft. “Ready?”
They dipped their oars in the water.
“Ready,” said Shuye.
I gently lowered the turtle into the water, and it was off!
“Why is it so fast?!” I screamed.
The turtle must have some sort of magic skill because already, it was a mere dot on the horizon. My apprentices and three clan members rowed as fast as they could, and our boat cut through the water at a perilous speed, drenching us all with salt water, but though my companions tried their best, the boat wasn’t fast enough.
“One more try?” I asked as I took out the next turtle.
“Yes, we will do better this time. We were just caught off guard the first time,” said Prince Baiyu.
“Okay.” I put the next turtle into the water.
Once again, my companions rowed after it as fast as they could, but the turtle was out of our sight within a few minutes.
“We only have one more turtle left.” I wasn't too upset. Failing to discover the island this time would be annoying, but it’s not like it was essential.
Shuye, Scholar Wu, and Prince Baiyu exchanged determined glances and then went into a huddle.
“I’ll take care of it.” Prince Baiyu moved to the other end of the boat and gestured with one hand. My sailing vessel rose in the air. Beneath us, I could see the water streaming past as though there was a strong wind blowing under our boat.
The White Tiger clan warriors were said to be the best at air-type skills. Therefore, I had no doubt that this would work.
“I see you’ve decided to cheat!” I tried to stand up to point at him dramatically, but my sudden movement made the boat rock from side to side, so I quickly sat back down.
“Rowing wasn’t getting us anywhere,” said Shuye.
“True.” I took out the last turtle and carefully waited for Prince Baiyu to nod before I lowered it into the water.
This time, Prince Baiyu’s wind powers made us fast enough to follow it to land. It swam up to a golden sand beach framed by palm trees.
“There it is! Orchid Island!” I pumped a fist into the air.
“What are we getting there, Teacher?” asked Mo.
“Some of the best seeds ever!” I had the seeds in my inventory, but a visit to the island was required before I could use them.
Prince Baiyu flew the boat to the beach where we disembarked. The sand was powdery and soft under my boots, and the air was humid and hot.
“We made it.” I put a hat on to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight. “The welcoming committee should be here soon.”
I never paid much attention to lore, but from what I could recall, the island was one of many remote refuges where humans had retreated to during one of the many catastrophic wars the demigods of the Dawn Age had fought. Now, even though the gods and their descendants were gone, they still preferred to live self-sufficient lives in a hidden paradise, and who could blame them?
Orchid Island, in particular, had an artifact that functioned as a cornucopia that produced plentiful food and drink for every inhabitant. It didn’t work for players or anyone who was not from the island, but it was cool to think that there was a place as magical as this one.
A few minutes after I said that a Birdman appeared. He was wearing the same costume that my companions were, but I could tell from the way the wind blew the robes that it was a tall, thin person, probably male.
I waved to him. “Hello there!”
“Welcome to Orchid Island,” he said in a booming voice that echoed strangely because of the mask.
I was about to reply with a greeting when I heard a strange whooshing sound. Suddenly, Shuye, Scholar Wu, and Prince Baiyu shot up ten feet into the air and moved back, away from the beach, as though they had been picked up by an invisible giant.