I settled into a routine during the rest of the planting season, waking up at dawn, tilling the soil, adding fertilizers, planting potato seeds, and watering the plants.
The day after planting season had ended according to the System calendar, I attempted to till the soil and plant more seeds, but a System message told me that I was trying to do something impossible.
[You cannot plant seeds during the growing season.]
When I tried to physically place a seed in a small hole that I had made in the soil, the seeds turned black. The next day, I saw that the seeds had crumbled into dust.
I guess I couldn’t force a seed to grow without the help of the System.
Despite that setback, I was pretty satisfied with my progress because my industriousness had been rewarded with a few farming levels.
[Farming: Level 5]
I was cutting down some trees and wondering where I should fish when a notification screen popped up in front of me.
[Attention! Farm Guide approaching.]
I hurriedly went back to the house and retrieved Bob from the roof by ordering it to return to me. Then I went inside, so I could clean myself up a little. The log cabin didn’t have a shower, so I had to bathe in the river, with Bob standing guard over me. Right now, all I could do was use a basin, a jug of water, and a towel to wash up a little. I also changed into a new set of blue robes. There wasn’t really time for me to wash my hair, so I hoped I didn’t smell too sweaty.
By the time I went out the door, my bear-like Farm Guide, Shuye, was waiting for me just outside.
“Good morning,” he said. Once again, he was wearing a simple brown robe and trousers. His hair was as shaggy as ever, and he looked even more like a grizzly than I remembered.
“Good morning,” I said as I handed him a crocus.
He accepted the gift and placed it on his belt, which made him look almost unbearably cute. A bear with a flower on his belt was talking to me!
“Looks like you’ve been busy,” he said, nodding at the neat row of potato seedlings that had just begun to sprout.
“Yes,” I said. “Though I wasn’t able to plant a lot.”
“Let me take a look,” he said. Shuye walked over to the crops and knelt on the ground to inspect them more closely. “These spirit plants look quite special. Where did you get the seeds?”
I’d had a lot of time to think about what story to tell him, and I thought that I had come up with a perfect explanation that had the advantage of also being true.
“Well, you see, it’s like this,” I said. “I’m an orphan.”
This wasn’t a lie, because this was precisely my story on Earth. I’d lived a privileged life as the daughter of a French-Swiss father and Singaporean mother who traveled all over the globe working freelance. My mother was a painter, while my father was a photographer. Right before I turned eighteen, they died in a car accident, leaving me an orphan. The only person who could take me in was a distant relative on my mother’s side. Fortunately, my parents had left me with a bit of money, enough for me to live on and pay for my college tuition.
I continued telling my story to Shuye. “The moment that I came of age, I moved out of the orphanage and got a job as a waitress.”
“It sounds like you’ve had it rough,” said Shuye.
“Oh, it’s not as bad as it sounds. The staff at the orphanage treated me well.” Now came the part that was a lie. “It was only around a month ago when I discovered that I had inherited something from my parents. I have a bloodline inheritance.”
“A bloodline inheritance?” asked Shuye. “That’s fairly common among my kind, but I heard that it’s one in a million for humans.”
“Oh? I thought it was also rare for divine beasts.”
“Not at all.” Shuye scratched his head. “I myself have a bloodline inheritance.”
I looked him up and down. “Really? What is it?”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Miss, do you realize that the expression on your face is saying ‘this guy doesn’t look anything special’. Don’t you think that’s kind of rude?” The expression on his face was stern. Given his size and bulk, it was almost terrifying.
“I’m sorry…” His attitude had been so friendly and warm that I had taken for granted that he wouldn’t be easily offended. However, I knew that on this continent, his kind were the rulers of the land. Humans were merely their subjects. Everyone said they ruled justly, but that didn’t mean that I could treat him as though we were equals like I would on Earth.
“I was kidding.” Shuye shook his head and his stern expression melted into one of rueful self-deprecation. “I know I don’t look like much, but I do have a bloodline inheritance. I have a special sense for animals. That’s why I’m perfect for this job.”
His job? Oh, right, though he was my Farm Guide, that wasn’t his actual job title. He was actually one of the guardians of the forest. I said, “No, I apologize. That was quite rude of me. I expect I don’t look like much either.”
“Forget about it,” he said magnanimously. “So tell me about your skill and how you got the seeds.”
“Um, it’s like this, I got the skill of raising spirit plants, and my bloodline inheritance is the ability to use my ancestors’ treasures that they left behind for their descendants. I have a space that only I can access that’s filled with precious items,” I said. “Like the seeds.”
I took out a bunch of mixed wildflower seeds from my inventory and poured it on my palm, raising it towards Shuye so he could examine them.
Shuye’s eyes widened.
“These are extremely valuable!” he said. When he tried to take one of the seeds from my palm, his paw, I mean his hand, abruptly stopped a few inches above the seeds. “A force is stopping me from touching them.”
Yes, I knew that would happen because all of the items from the inventory had the status [Bound]. GIA had informed me most of the items that his item duplication cheat produced were almost all like that. In other words, only I could use these items. There were a few exceptions, and GIA had explained the reason behind it, but I had forgotten the details. The bottom line was that I couldn’t sell or give away most of the items. The exceptions were joke items.
“I know. I can use these items because of my bloodline inheritance, but it’s impossible for other people to use them. My house was also built using my ancestor’s skills, and no one can enter it without my permission.” I waved a hand at the house.
“Then, does that mean the crops can only be used by you?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. Try touching the potato sprouts,” I said.
He knelt down once again and touched the crops. “Ah, it seems you’re right.”
“Pretty cool, huh?” I said.
For the first time, Shuye smiled. His teeth were very large and white. I couldn’t decide whether he was more terrifying when he smiled or not. He said, “This is excellent. What are you planning to do with the produce?”
“I was going to ask you about that. I picked the spot near the river because I thought it would be easier to transport the crops via boat,” I said.
“No need. The White Tiger Clan will buy all of your harvest,” he said. “We can also take care of transportation.”
“Oh, but I have no idea how much to sell this for. I was planning to go to the city to find a merchant,” I said.
The place that I lived in right now was called the Westerlands, a territory in the Western region of the Beast Continent, also known poetically as the Sunset Lands. There were a couple of cities in this area, but when someone said “the City” with no qualifiers, then they were definitely talking about Anwei, the largest and wealthiest city in the Westerlands.
We spent the next few minutes talking about the details. Shuye assured me that I would receive a fair price for my produce, and I agreed to sell this year’s harvest to the clan since I didn’t really need the money anyway.
Before he left, he told me that he would come back in two days’ time with a written agreement from his boss, our feudal lord, Prince Baiyu from the White Tiger Clan.
“Okay, thank you very much!” I said.
We said our goodbyes, and I went back to cutting trees to clear more land for planting during the summer season.
Fishing would have to wait until tomorrow.
CHAPTER 4.5
An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:
I have sent a letter reporting the presence of a suspicious immigrant to my superiors, but it is currently the hunting season, so I do not expect a reply soon.
To enumerate all the strangeness regarding that individual would take an entire book, but the main points are:
1. Humans do not normally go to the frontier to farm alone, especially young women.
2. Her aura is that of an ordinary person, not a cultivator, which is suspicious in and of itself because she clearly isn’t.
3. According to her own explanation, the log cabin was in her possession, demonstrating that she has an enormous soul space, which only the most powerful and oldest members of the clans could possibly possess.
4. The seeds that she has been using are cursed. I verified this myself when I examined them and sensed an ominous force that prevented me from touching them.
5. It is only when one is nearby that the spiritual plants’ aura can be perceived. If one is more than two feet away from the spirit plants, no qi fluctuations can be felt.
6. The well that she dug contains spirit water that she uses to water the plants.
7. Magical puppets are extremely expensive, yet she has an advanced model.
8. The crocus flowers she gave me radiates a calming scent stronger than the strongest tranquilizers I know of.
9. Her house is invisible unless it’s pointed out to the person by someone who knows where it is. Three of my subordinates tried and failed to find it until I led them to the farm myself.
Given the stealthy nature of her activities, it's possible that she is a spy or an assassin sent by the radical factions in the Central Continent. However, my gut tells me that she means no harm. More likely, she is a refugee from the wars among the Azure Dragon clans in the east.
The investigators I sent to Mai-i island will return in a few weeks.