CHAPTER 88 - TOO A-DOUGH-RABLE

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“It’s an invitation to the ritual blessing of the Purple Orchid Rice. They’re going to offer it to the Fox goddess,” said Fengying.

“Not all of it, right?” I had only donated one-tenth of it to the Fox clan because I wanted to eat that rice.

“Yes, my lady. The ritual will be held two days from now,” said Fengying.

“Isn’t it a bit rude to only tell us about it now?”

“Your attendance is not mandatory, and the messenger said that it’s only a minor ritual, very informal,” said Fengying.

“Teacher, I want to go!” Lari burst out.

“I just bet you do,” said Kharli.

What was that?

In answer to my inquiring look, Kharli explained, “We once saw some members of the Fox clan when we were on an errand in the city. Lari was practically drooling.”

“Oh my,” I said. “That’s kind of understandable, but don’t actually drool, okay? Play it cool.”

“Then we can go?” Lari’s eyes were practically sparkling with eagerness.

“Yes.” Why not? It sounded like it would be interesting.

“My lady, the messenger is waiting to see you. He asked for some time to refresh himself so I showed him to a suite,” said Fengying.

“Oh, I have to dress up a little,” I said.

“Not at all, I’m sure what you’re wearing is fine since it’s only a messenger,” said Fengying.

“Great. Then please let me know when the messenger is ready.” I wondered what he had to say.

“Teacher, I think the [Bread] is cool enough now,” said Kharli.

She was right. Deming and the others casually walked over to where we were and watched as I cut slices from the loaf. I offered the first one to Deming.

He took a bite and slowly chewed it while we all waited with bated breath for his evaluation. I lost heart when I saw the expression on his face change. For a moment there, I thought he might spit it out. Thankfully, he swallowed it.

“Edible,” was the only thing he said before going back to work prepping more food with his assistants.

“It can’t be that bad,” said Lari as he reached for a slice.

“No, wait,” I said.

Taking out some butter and Deming’s homemade blueberry jam from my inventory, I spread them both on five slices. I offered them to Fengying on the others before biting down on one myself.

Mmm, it was pretty good! The [Bread] tasted like ordinary supermarket bread back on Earth. These days, we had all gotten used to Deming’s heavenly food, so it suffered by comparison, but the taste really wasn’t bad.

“It’s nice,” said Lari.

“I like it,” said Kharli.

“I'm glad the curse is gone,” said Mo.

“Me, too. It’s a relief to know I can cook now,” I said. “But I think I’ll still focus more on Herblaw and crafting.”

Fengying ate the jam bread and then left to check on the messenger. Despite her words, I felt a little nervous and went to a bedroom to change into a better outfit and brush my windblown hair. The kids did the same. A few minutes later, Fengying ushered a tall, broad-shouldered member of the Fox clan into the reception room of the hotel's grandest suite.

“Lady Hoshi, the titular head of the Fox clan, sends her greetings to Baroness Violet,” said the red-haired man. He had bright green eyes and was dressed in black silk robes with the Fox clan’s emblem embroidered on the sleeves.

I and my three apprentices exchanged bows and greetings with the handsome messenger.

“I understand you have a message from Lady Hoshi? Something that’s not in the invitation letter?” I asked.

He hesitated. “Ah, well, you know Lady Hoshi is quite young… this is a personal message from her, not a message from the head of the Fox clan.”

From the look on his face, I could tell that it was something outrageous. “Is it about marriage?”

“You expected it?!” He looked quite shocked.

“Hahaha, it’s okay, just tell me the message, please,” I said.

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“Ah, she insisted that I tell you her exact words which were, ‘Why haven’t you married that ugly? If you’re not marrying him, then you should marry me.’ Lady Hoshi told me to ask for a reply.” The messenger looked at me expectantly.

“A marriage proposal!” I said. “How thrilling!”

“And your reply, Baroness?”

“I’m afraid I must refuse since Lady Hoshi isn’t of age.”

“I shall convey your words to her.”

Then, to my surprise, Fengying gave him an ornate carved wooden box decorated with mother-of-pearl as a gift to the head of the Fox clan. After spouting a few more courtesies, the messenger left.

“What was in the box?” I asked Fengying.

“A Dewy Glow potion. The Fox clan is very fond of cosmetics and beauty treatments.”

“I see. Here’s a few more in case you need it later.” I took out a box full of [Dewy Glow Potions], but she waved it away.

“My lady, did you forget that you put a large box of them in the hot spring at home? I don’t need more,” said Fengying.

“Oh, right, I forgot about that.” I had placed the potions there for convenience since we found out that they were great when added to the bath water. “By the way, you like the potion?”

“It’s very effective,” said Fengying. “All my friends back in the city told me that I look ten years younger.”

“Wow.” I hadn’t noticed it myself, but now that I looked more closely at her, I thought her skin was a lot dewier and smoother than before, especially around the eyes.

“Teacher, why did you refuse the marriage proposal?” asked Lari.

“Because she already has the Prince!” said Kharli.

“She could have at least thought about it,” said Lari.

“No, no, that’s impossible. She’s far too young, you see. By the time she’s an adult, I’ll be fifty years old.” Besides, she was probably just joking.

“Oh, because of the difference in lifespans? That’s too bad,” said Lari.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I believe that’s how it works.” I looked to Fenying for confirmation.

“Yes, clan members generally live for around three hundred years. Humans have a maximum lifespan of only one hundred years or thereabouts,” said Fengying.

“Um, wouldn’t the difference in lifespans make marriage between them impossible?” I asked.

“Noooo,” said Kharli.

“It’s fine,” said Fengying. “Though clan members live longer, they mature slower, so the lifespans are compatible enough.”

“How so?” I was confused.

“You see, clan members take at least a hundred years to be considered adults. They are at their prime for one hundred years after that then start to decline in their last one hundred years.”

“Hmmm.” So Prince Baiyu was over a hundred years old? Gosh.

“If a clan member marries a human and all goes well, they will be together for the bulk of their adult life.”

“Eh, but they would be alone in their old age?” That didn’t sound good at all.

Fengying shrugged. “It’s not that different from a marriage between humans. After all, plenty of humans die before they reach old age.”

“Hmm.” That was something to think about.

“I heard humans who marry into the White Tiger clan live longer and stay young until they die!” said Lari. “I want to marry a girl from the White Tiger clan.”

“Is that true?” I asked Fengying. “Wait, what about human cultivators? Don’t they live longer than one hundred years?”

“I think that’s just a myth or something very rare. As for cultivators…” She shrugged. “They might. They live apart from us regular humans, so we don’t know much about them.”

“Teacher, will we live longer because of your bloodline inheritance?” asked Mo.

“I have no idea,” I said.

We discussed it a little bit more, but I truly had no idea what effect the System would have on our lifespans. Players were pretty much immortal in Adventure Incarnate, and the farm hands in the game didn’t die, but I didn’t really think that the three of us were that much different from humans.

The three kids wanted to go off and do a little foraging, but I told them to stay inside the hotel where it was warm since I was still afraid they might have caught a cold earlier. I showed them how to use the old-fashioned pinball machine and air hockey table in the hotel’s lounge area, and we spent the rest of the day playing.

The rest of our vacation passed pleasantly, and we left two days later to go to the forest temple where the Fox clan’s ritual was to be held.

We alighted from the carriage to find two white-clad priestesses welcoming us to the temple grounds.

“This way, please. Follow the signs.” They showed us the entrance to the forest path. “There are fox statues along the way. Please cleanse your hands and bow to each.”

The two of them walked us over to a waist-high stone statue of a fox and showed us how to dip the tips of our fingers in the water bowl in front of it and bow our heads to it as a sign of respect. I was glad that we didn’t have to kowtow since we were all dressed in fine silk robes. I was wearing a purple set while Kharli and Mo had chosen blue robes. Lari, despite our protests, insisted on wearing gold robes again. Since it was quite cold, we had on fur-lined boots and fur coats.

“Thank you,” I said to the priestesses.

We all bowed to them and went on our way.

This time of the year, the trees had lost their leaves and their bare branches swayed gently in the wind.

I fancied that the four of us made a nice sight as we walked together. The kids had grown taller since they left the orphanage and the two girls’ figures were developing nicely. Lari, on the other hand, had become a little thinner compared to when I first saw him.

We chatted merrily about this and that, and I even teased Lari a little about how his eyes had almost popped out of their sockets when he saw that the priestesses were wearing short skirts that ended slightly below their knees.

“Hahaha, wait until you see Lady Hoshi’s attendant,” I said.

“Don’t faint, okay?” said Mo.

“I’m not gonna faint!” Lari, who was walking in front of us, turned around to respond to our teasing and tripped on something. “Ahh! My golden cloak!”

Lari frantically brushed the dust from his cloak.

“How clumsy! Now your hair’s a mess,” said Kharli as she helped him tidy his clothes.

“Be careful and don’t trip over your own feet,” said Mo.

“I didn’t! There’s something here, look.” Lari bent down and brushed some dead leaves away, revealing a stone surface.

“What is that?” Kharli used her foot to clear a bit more of the surface.

“Oh, is this part of the path paved?” I walked over to take a look at it. The moment my right foot touched the stone, a bright blue magic circle appeared. Realizing what was happening, I whirled and pushed Kharli and Lari out of the circle. When I tried to jump off the teleportation stone, I found that my foot was stuck to it.

“Teacher, what’s happening?”

“What is it?”

“Are you okay?”

The three of them reached for me and tried to pull me out, but it was no use. The magic circle’s glow intensified until I had to close my eyes. When I opened them, I found myself in a place that I knew well.

I was in one of the worst places I could have been teleported to, the demon-infested Southerlands. Though I wanted to scream in frustration, I kept my mouth shut since the last thing I wanted was to draw the demons’ attention to myself. I detached Mr. Bear from my hairpin and activated his [Guard Mode].