CHAPTER 103 - TIME TO TURNIP THE SOIL ON ANOTHER YEAR!

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Something grabbed me by the shoulder and my eyes flew open.

"Wake up, Teacher!" said Kharli.

"Ah, we didn't think you would fall asleep so fast," said Mo.

"..." I remembered I dreamed about my parents. I think my mom became the New Year's Ghost and evaluated my performance, but I was already forgetting the details of the dream. Was my dragon there? I think my dad hugged me? Still, a dream about my mom was better than a dream with that bearded old grandpa ghost in Adventure Incarnate. "I'm fine. Let's go."

A few minutes later, we piled onto the carriages. Since it was my first time seeing Prince Baiyu after a two-month absence, I wanted to show him my new pet. However, given my apprentices’ reaction to it, I figured that the White Tiger clan probably wouldn’t want to see a “demon” at their big celebration.

"New Year's Eve is a very important night for clan members, but you mustn't ask them about it," said Fengying.

"Why not?" asked Lari.

"They live three times longer than humans, but their memory can... become slightly unreliable when they are old," said Fengying. She and her husband were squeezed into a carriage with me and my apprentices while the rest of my household were in the other vehicles. We were all dressed to the nines and wearing tinkling gold accessories, even the males. "They are trained to write a diary from the time they were children, and on New Year's Eve, they have a special recollection session where they discuss what happened to their family the previous year, good and bad. It's all written down in a secret code, but don't ask about it since it's a very private thing."

"Oh, I should start writing a diary, too," I said.

The clan's campsite wasn't that far, and we arrived by the time I finished speaking.

Prince Baiyu was waiting for us at the edge of the encampment and courteously helped me alight from the carriage. I saw that the White Tiger families had camped in clusters of large tents or elaborately carved and painted wooden wagons.

"Happy New Year," I said.

"Happy New Year." Prince Baiyu placed my hand on his arm and walked me towards the large open space full of people. The others followed behind us.

The clan members had placed blankets on the ground and were sitting together in small, convivial groups with lots of food and drink piled beside them.

I was quite surprised to see that there were plenty of females, elderly people, and children. What happened to the superstition that the cursed land was bad for them?

On the other side of the gathering was a small wooden platform ten feet off the ground that was only big enough for two to three people to stand on. A clan member was standing on it and talking into a small crystal that projected his voice to three larger crystals that were scattered around the area in front of the stage. He was naming families one by one and welcoming them to the year-end meeting.

"Did it work? Has your qi overload problem been cured?" I asked.

"Mostly. I'll still need to be careful, but my life is not endangered anymore," he said. “How are you? They should have told me you were missing. I would’ve joined the rescue team.”

“Nah, it all worked out in the end, and I rescued myself, didn’t I? It’s nice that we both took care of our own problems.” Then I thought about it a little and added, “Though I wouldn’t have minded being rescued. By the way, you look great.”

Prince Baiyu smiled down at me. "I missed you."

A female clan member who was standing nearby giggled and pointed at us. She said, loud enough for us to hear, "Look at those two, aren't they sweet?"

Oh my gosh! My face felt hot when everyone turned to look at us, whispering behind their hands.

"Ignore them," said Prince Baiyu.

"Let's just, uh, talk later," I said.

Prince Baiyu sighed.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

After that, we walked in companionable silence to the front of the crowd, near the stage. Prince Baiyu's father was there with a bunch of people. He waved at us, and we joined them on the picnic blankets they had spread out on the grassy ground. I was wearing rather elaborate robes and had a tough time arranging my skirt so that I could sit on the ground comfortably.

We exchanged polite greetings and I was introduced to Prince Baiyu's paternal family. They were all of a kind: tall, good-looking, white-haired beauties with blue eyes. I had some difficulty remembering their names since they all looked so similar. I was about to embarrass myself by asking them to repeat their names when I was interrupted by the start of the show.

The person on the stage yelled, "Happy New Year!" and, all around us, fireworks were set off. People lit some sort of paper tubes, and fireworks flew out of them, up into the sky. We all clapped and cheered in appreciation.

By the time the fireworks died down, the first rays of dawn were appearing on the eastern horizon.

"And now, for the moment we've all been waiting for! Here are some words from Elder Yao."

A female clan member with a deeply wrinkled face and a slight stoop was flown up to the stage by two younger people.

"Today is a blessed day!" said Elder Yao. "We have seen with our own eyes that flowers are blooming in the cursed land, in fulfillment of the ancient prophecy."

The people around us yelled their agreement.

"Yes!"

"We saw!"

"Flowers, flowers, flowers!"

Elder Yao waited for the crowd to quiet down before speaking again. "Let us recall the words of the prophecy."

Every clan member, including Prince Baiyu, started chanting the same words.

"Cursed shall be you, your children, your children's children, your children's children's children, and all your descendants. Yet this will not endure forever. Water the land with your blood and wait."

Then, to my surprise, Prince Baiyu suddenly pulled me to my feet and flew me up to the stage.

"Ah, what? Er," I said as Prince Baiyu deposited me beside the elder and flew back down off the stage.

"We're all grateful to you for your efforts thus far," said Elder Yao to me. "Here are your rewards."

Below us, five people brought five large chests and opened them, revealing that they were full of gold bars.

"We offer you this gold. Do you accept?" asked Elder Yao.

I didn't need money, so I said, "Uh, no, please use the gold to plant more trees in the desert."

The five people left, taking the chests of gold with them. They were replaced by a squad of twelve soldiers dressed in steel armor. In front of them marches a standard-bearer carrying a tall wooden pole topped by a silver tiger.

"We offer you the might of our warriors. Do you accept?" asked Elder Yao.

I had even less use for an army, of course, so I refused it, too. "No, thanks."

The soldiers marched away, and a solitary figure dressed in red and gold robes and wearing a massive golden tiger headdress approached the stage and unrolled a large scroll.

"We offer you this deed to this land and all of our lands. Do you accept?" said Elder Yao.

"Most definitely not! I only want my farm," I said.

The Elder lifted her arms and the crowd below us fell silent. You could've heard a pin drop. After a long, dramatic pause, Elder Yao said, "And the rest of the prophecy states..."

Every clan member joined her in saying the next words.

"One will come who is not tempted by wealth, glory, and honor. A savior who will lift the curse by making flowers bloom in the desert. Hail, the Healer of Worlds!"

"Hail, the Bringer of Life!"

"Hail, the Child of Fate!"

"Hail, Harbinger of the Dawn!"

I was a little bit surprised that this event happened today since it should have been triggered by the completion of the [Greening the Desert] quest, but I guessed that it was probably because my efforts had been much more successful than the people of this world had expected.

Everyone made one last wordless cheer and then looked at me as though expecting some sort of speech. Thankfully I was saved by a young child, who looked no older than six years old if she was human, pointing at the eastern sky where the sun was almost completely above the horizon and yelling, "Look, it's the New Year!"

"Happy New Year!" yelled hundreds of voices.

Below us, I could see my household all beaming at me and yelling "Happy New Year!"

Prince Baiyu flew up to the stage and carried me back down to where my apprentices were waiting for us.

"Happy New Year!" we all said to each other.

[Congratulations, you have received the title: Child of Fate

Effect: The White Tiger clan is your ally and may help you complete quests.]

I was about to say “Happy New Year” to Prince Baiyu when he took me in his arms. He lowered his head very slowly, giving me time to get used to it. Our eyes met and I put my arms around his neck.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see another couple kissing. Was this a New Year tradition?

I closed my eyes in anticipation, excitement coursing through my veins.

Yes! This was the perfect way to end the year.

Time seemed to slow as our lips drew closer. Then…

Our noses bumped!

My eyes flew open and we both drew back, startled. Behind us, I heard a noise and when I turned around, I saw Prince Baiyu’s father Lord Yulin and the other members of his family unsuccessfully trying to stifle their laughter.

“Unbelievable. How can someone from our family not know how to kiss properly?” said a middle-aged clan member.

“Hey, my son is still young,” protested Lord Yulin.

“Don’t laugh, you guys are terrible!” A female elder with white hair scolded them.

What? Now that I saw that everyone was watching us, I felt self-conscious and pulled away a little from Prince Baiyu.

“Girl, you just need to teach him how,” said the female elder.

He already knew how! It was just an accident. I pouted a little then I turned back to my boyfriend. We exchanged mischievous smiles. Reaching up with both my hands, I tilted his head to the side a bit.

When our lips finally met it really was the perfect way to end the year.

END BOOK ONE

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TWO