Chapter 55 - People say they wouldn't touch the cursed land with a ten-foot broomstick, but it's a real hex-citing place to be
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I had expected Shuye to return with the letter giving me permission to farm the southern territory, but it was Prince Baiyu who delivered it to me.
Now that he was a regular visitor, everyone in the farm was already used to the sight of the Prince of the Westerlands dropping by for a chat. The maids were no longer flustered when they saw him, though Fengying always greeted him with a curtsy, despite the fact that he said such formalities were unnecessary. She ushered him into the main hall where I was waiting, having been informed beforehand that he was arriving today two hours after noon.
I was wearing a simple autumn-themed robe with a maple leaf design, but I had taken pains to do my hair up nicely in a pretty waterfall braid.
We exchanged greetings and sat down on rosewood chairs while Fengying served me tea. Prince Baiyu, of course, refused a serving. After the usual small talk, he got straight to the point.
“Here’s the letter you were asking for.” He handed me a simple unsealed white envelope. “Shuye asked me to dissuade you from your plan, but I’m not inclined to do so.”
“Oh? You think I’ll succeed?”
“You have a great talent for farming.” This time, he was wearing one of his more sober robes, a plain dark blue with a small tiger design in the middle of his back. Unlike his usual flirtatious tone, he was speaking quite solemnly.
“Thank you for believing in me.”
“But the place you chose is no good. It’s too near the border.”
“Eh?”
“The clans have guards nearby, but it’s still best not to go near the Southerlands.”
“Is it dangerous?” I knew that the southern part of the continent, which used to be ruled by the Vermilion Bird clan, was now infested by demons, but as far as I knew, the Westerlands were safe.
“Not if you’re a good distance from the border. I will assign guards for your household, too.”
“Guards? Is that really necessary?” I wondered if I would have to build a bigger house.
“Don’t worry, the letter gives you permission to establish a farm wherever you wish inside the blasted lands. I’ll choose a place far away from the dangerous areas.”
I made a sound of relief. “Great. I’d like to find a place that’s sheltered. Is there a valley that’s surrounded by hills or mountains there?”
“I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with the area. Shall I find an expert for you?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll send word to you when a suitable place is found.”
Fengying arrived with some snacks, and I got busy eating fried potato chips while reading the letter. There were three pages all in all, but I gathered that I was being given the right to claim as much land as I wanted as long as I was able to grow either trees, ground cover, or crops in that area. There would be zero taxes for fifty years, and I could even claim a tax rebate on my forest farm for the expenses I incurred setting up a new holding in the southern territory.
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“Wow, this seems like a sweet deal!” I said.
“You think so? Don’t get your hopes up too much. I myself planted a tree near the border, but it died almost immediately. That land is cursed.”
“Bah!” I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes.
“I’ll have to rotate the guards, since no one is able to bear staying in that place for more than a few days at a time.”
This was news to me. To think that the so-called “curse” was strong enough to affect the warriors of the White Tiger clan this way!
I gave him a questioning look, and Prince Baiyu looked away, sighing.
“This is a touchy subject for us, and it’s not easy to explain to a human,” he said.
I waited patiently when he stopped speaking and started fidgeting with the edge of his sleeve. Eventually, after what seemed to be a bit of an internal struggle, he continued with his explanation.
“You know that the Vermilion Bird clan abused the humans under their care and provoked the gods’ wrath. A flaming rock descended from the heavens and…” He made a short, abrupt gesture with his right hand, as though he couldn’t put into words how most of the inhabitants of the Southernlands had died, and a quarter of the continent became home to an invading demon horde.
“I know.” To be honest, this was ancient history, and I wasn’t too worried about it since I knew that the current situation was stable.
“What humans don’t quite understand is that we can still feel it.”
“Now you lost me. Feel what?”
“The gods’ anger.”
He couldn’t be serious! I stared at him in disbelief, my mouth agape.
“It’s true,” he said. “Have you heard of ‘zidan’?”
“I think so. ‘Zidan’ is the clan’s word for territory, right? Like, your mother is the Lady of the West because her zidan encompasses the entirety of the Westerlands.”
“Zidan is much more than that. There is no word for it in any human language because only the clans can sense zidan.” He paused for a moment, as though he was trying to put his thoughts into words. “It’s commonly translated as ‘territory,’ but it also means ‘innate power’ and ‘inherent character,’ both for people and land. In ancient times, it meant the blessing of the gods and was synonymous with benevolent rule and a fertile land.”
“Um.” This conversation was becoming a lot more philosophical than I had expected. I just wanted to plant some trees, but now we were deep into a discussion of the differences between humans and the god clans.
Prince Baiyu could see that I was confused. “The point is, when we go to the southern territory, we feel extremely uncomfortable because it’s not part of our zidan. When we say ‘this is my zidan,’ we mean that it’s the place that we belong. Humans can’t sense this spiritual power, but we can. We feel that it’s cursed because the zidan feels wrong.”
“All right, though I can’t say I really understand it, I get that it’s uncomfortable for you to stay there,” I said. Then a thought struck me. “Wait a minute, why does it feel wrong for you when it was the Vermilion Bird clan that was punished?”
“That’s the part that’s touchy.” He frowned. “The fact that we can feel the curse means that the gods are angry with us, too, probably because our ancestors didn’t do enough to help the humans back then.”
“I see.” I didn’t dare to ask him what happened to the humans. They must have all died when the “flaming rock,” either a meteor or a comet, struck. Poor guys. “But that shouldn’t be a problem for me, right?”
“Yes, humans don’t feel it.”
I shrugged. “Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
For the first time since he arrived, Prince Baiyu smiled. “I admire your confidence.”
“Ha! You betcha I’ll get good results!” I had no doubts whatsoever that I would succeed.
“That would be wonderful.” Prince Baiyu flashed me a warm and genuine smile that lit up his entire face.
“And I love that I won’t have to pay taxes for the next few years,” I said. “Taxes are the worst.”
We spent the better part of an hour discussing the details before going for a walk.
Outside, the air was crisp and cool. The leaves on the trees were just starting to change color, the oranges and yellows of autumn slowly replacing the lush greens of summer. A light breeze caused the leaves to dance and rustle, wafting the smell of damp earth and wildflowers towards us.
“I’ve got so much to do. I’d like to start soon, so that everything is in place before winter,” I said.
“All we’ve talked about all day is your project. Aren’t you going to invite me inside your house?” asked Prince Baiyu.
“Never! You’d better give up, I’m not letting anyone inside,” I said. The Ranch House was still off limits to everyone.
He flashed me a mischievous grin. "But I'm not just anyone. I'm your special someone."
We were back to our usual flirtatious banter.