LinMeili

  Chapter 132 - Beak-utiful desert animals????I put a hand on my stomach, feeling queasy at the thought.

  “I’m gd we don’t have to water our pnts with blood,” said Lari.

  Kharli snorted dismissively. “Cn members are way stronger than humans. Donating blood doesn’t hurt them at all, I’m sure.”

  Actually, according to modern science back on Earth, donating blood has health benefits for humans, such as reducing the risk of heart attacks. I knew that because my dad regurly donated blood to the Red Cross. This thought steadied my stomach and I sat back on my seat with a sigh.

  “They must be really desperate or something,” I said, knowing that blood and qi were closely linked to each other in this world. “Is something going on?”

  “We should ask the cn members when we nd. I know all their names,” said Lari.

  My apprentices were quite familiar with the people looking after the farm since they took turns traveling to the desert every seven days to pnt trees and replenish the animals’ water and feed.

  As we continued flying south, the sea of green gradually faded in color until it became the sparse, unhealthy-looking grass that we were familiar with from st year.

  “They have been trying to recim the desert starting from the parts nearest the forest,” said Lari.

  I nodded. “Yes, that makes perfect sense.”

  “Shouldn’t we be doing the same, Teacher?” asked Lari.

  “No, we already started our desert farm, so I’ll see it to the end,” I said.

  Lari was right. If the desert farm was nearer, we could visit it more often. However, I liked having a more isoted pce to farm where I wouldn’t have to worry about neighbors or borders.

  “I like our farm,” said Kharli.

  “Me, too. Wake me when we’re near.” I detached Mr. Bear from my headband and made him big enough to sleep on. Pcing him beside me on the carriage bench, I straightened the pink bow around his neck and said, “Let’s sleep, Mr. Bear.”

  I put my feet up on the other side of the bench. Laying my head on Mr. Bear’s p, I closed my eyes and rested, trying to ignore the way the carriage rattled whenever its magical stabilizer was overwhelmed by an unexpectedly strong gust of wind. Sleep was impossible, but I was able to rex a bit.

  Some time ter, Kharli said, “Teacher, look! We’re almost at the farm.”

  Yawning, I got up and looked down at the scenery. In the middle of the sea of brown was a tiny green oasis where a hill covered in green grass and trees rose above the surrounding nd that had a few small but vibrantly alive patches of verdant flora.

  Soon the carriage began its descent, and I felt my stomach lurch. I leaned back and hugged Mr. Bear for comfort until we touched ground. One would expect something as non-aerodynamic as a flying carriage to nd with a thump and maybe bounce a bit, but no such thing happened. The vehicle’s various enchantments made it nd as gently as a butterfly on a flower.

  The carriage was faster than the ox carts, so we arrived first at Blossom Valley which was at the foot of Skyfang Hill. I opened the carriage door and we alighted. It felt like entering an oven because of the heat. I put a hand on my forehead to shade my eyes and looked up at the cloudless blue sky.

  Lari unbuttoned his colr. “It’s so hot!”

  Kharli and I couldn’t say anything in reply because we both started coughing. The air was epically dry and dusty, which was a shock after the cool, wet air of the Ancient Hill Forest area. It took us a while to adjust.

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  When I finally stopped coughing, I leaned against Kharli’s shoulder and said, “Look at that.”

  I pointed at the horizon. The nd in front of us seemed to go on forever until the earth met the sky.

  “What is it?” asked Kharli.

  “This is why I don’t want to farm near the forest. I like this view! No, I love it! It’s like I can feel my soul expanding when I’m here,” I said.

  Kharli nodded solemnly. “I feel it, too.”

  I turned to look at Lari. “What do you think?”

  “Teacher, I think we should prepare the house for the others,” he said.

  “There’s no romance in your soul!” said Kharli.

  “Okay, I’ll build the house.” I navigated to the System’s [Build] tab and chose the [Three Courtyard House] option. An enormous magic circle appeared on the ground in front of us and fshed with a bright white light three times before it was repced by the house.

  The driver, a white-bearded man who was a member of the White Tiger cn, looked stunned, his eyes widening and jaw slightly dropping in surprise.

  “It’s so big!” said Kharli.

  “Wait, I’m not finished yet,” I said as they moved to enter the house. “Watch closely as I show you a spectacur sight!”

  This time, I selected the [Custom Garden] that I had designed using Cash Shop items. The base item I used was the [Elegant Chinese Garden], but I had extensively modified it with lots of water-and-flower-themed items.

  A magic circle three times the size of the first one appeared around the [Three Courtyard House]. The building and magic circle both fshed white then disappeared and were repced by a new, much bigger structure.

  The original house was now divided into three separate courtyard houses within a walled compound that was my customized garden.

  [Elegant Chinese Garden

  The character for garden contains four symbols that must all be present to capture the essence of a cssic Chinese garden: the majesty of mountains or the ruggedness of rocks, the tranquility of water, the beauty of buildings, and the life of pnts.]

  The outer courtyard house was pced at the southeast corner of the garden. It was the rgest of the three houses since it was meant to house the staff. The reception room, elegantly furnished with carved cquer tables and chairs made of fragrant rosewood, was elegant and grand enough to please Fengying. Since this part of the compound was where visitors and messengers would enter, I used the [Stardust Silverwood Door] as the main gate.

  [Stardust Silverwood Door

  A door made of white wood that shines softly as though it's covered in stardust.]

  In the middle of the garden was the second courtyard house where my apprentices would stay. Apart from the main hall, which eclipses the reception room in both scale and opulence, the middle house was much less decorative and more functional in design since this was where we had our workrooms. No frilly curtains, plush carpets, or cute bric-a-brac could be found there. Instead, it had plenty of sturdy hardwood worktables, benches, chests, and shelves for our equipment and crafted items.

  The third courtyard house was in the northwest corner, and that was where I would live. I’d designed it to be charming and inviting, with smaller, cozier rooms and furniture that was chosen for comfort, such as stuffed armchairs and cushy sofas.

  Smiling, I turned to my apprentices and said, “What do you think?”

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  Lari and Kharli both screamed wordlessly in approval and ran to the main gate, only to be stopped short by my words.

  “Wait. We need to check on the [Lizardwings] first,” I said.

  “I forgot about them,” said Kharli.

  “May I pce the eggs, Teacher?” asked Lari.

  “Sure, you can both pce half,” I said. “Let's go.”

  The [Lizardwings] were a type of desert animal that we were raising here because their manure was incredibly helpful in increasing soil fertility. As, their manure was also incredibly stinky.

  I looked up at the sky to check if the ox carts were close, but there was no sign of them yet. We made our way to the southern part of the valley to a walled enclosure. We were still a mile away when the stench hit us hard, and I gagged even though we had all covered our noses and mouths with wet cloths and even pinched our nostrils shut with wooden clothespins.

  “Remember, when we get there, we put the [Lizardwings] in the cages, and walk out of there as fast as we can. And no talking!” I said. “I don’t wanna inhale any more of this stinky air than is strictly necessary.”

  “Teacher, why don't you and Kharli stay here while I get the animals?” said Lari.

  “How galnt! Thank you, but no. It wouldn’t be fair to make you do all the undesirable jobs,” I said.

  We entered the [Lizardwing] habitat, and I was pleased to note that the spirit animals had done their work. Or, rather, their manure had. The ground in this pce was wetter and the grass was green.

  The [Lizardwings] looked like small dinosaurs with bright orange scales and feathered but useless wings. Their vaguely chicken-like heads were small and rounded, with brown beaks and beady little bck eyes.

  Thankfully, we didn’t need to touch the animals. We only had to walk near them in order to store them in our inventories. Once they were safely stored in the System, we only had to click [Use] on some bamboo cages and the animals to pce them inside the cages, ready for selling to the cns.

  I removed the walls of the enclosure and the [Lizardwing’s] pen. Then we half-ran and half-walked away to the south until we could no longer smell the manure. I removed the veil and clothespin from my face. “Aw heck! That was worse than I remember.”

  “I think I’m getting used to it,” said Lari.

  “Teacher, is it really worth it?” asked Kharli.

  “Look at that.” I pointed at the patch of green grass where the enclosure used to be. “Look how green it is compared to the rest of the nd around it. And the [Lizardwings] were only there for two weeks. The stench will fade away soon enough, but the effects on the soil will remain.”

  “If they’re so good, why don’t we use them on the other farm?” asked Lari.

  Kharli gave him a look of sheer horror. “Is your nose okay? You must be crazy!”

  “We can use them here since the nd I was given is huge. The farm is much smaller, so the stink would be inescapable,” I said.

  Lari looked unconvinced.

  “Fengying and Deming would probably quit,” I said.

  “We can’t do that then!” said Lari. He loved Deming’s cooking as much as I did, or maybe even more.

  Our conversation was interrupted by the appearance of two cn members who came running up to us from the house.

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  “Lady Violet, welcome back!” said the taller of the two. He was a handsome man with long gray hair and hazel eyes. I could tell from the way he spoke first that he was the senior cn member.

  He and the other cn member, who was a young man with brown hair and eyes, bowed to us. We all exchanged polite greetings and bows, which took quite some time since there were six of us and everyone had to have their say.

  When we were done with the courtesies, I said, “We have the [Lizardwings]. Should we give them to you now?”

  “Yes, my dy. The cns are all excited about reciming these nds, and they will pay good money for the animals,” said the senior cn member.

  “So what’s been happening while I was away?” I asked.

  “The Lady of the Westernds has been busy giving permits to all the newcomers who want to settle new nds in the desert. The families who have been taking care of this region have first cim, of course,” he said.

  “Of course,” I echoed his words and smiled. Most cns had left this pce when it was cursed, but a few, such as Prince Baiyu’s paternal family, continuously tried to revitalize the nd since it was where their ancestors had lived. Now that the curse was no more, they were due for a reward.

  “This is a great opportunity for everyone who has the manpower and money to expand,” he said.

  “Wonderful,” I said.

  We handed over the bamboo cages with the [Lizardwings] inside, and the cn members left to make arrangements for the sale of the animals. Then we walked a bit farther until we reached a good spot for the new animal pen.

  “This is far enough from the house, and the wind is blowing in the opposite direction,” I said.

  Using the System’s [Build] function, I raised ten-foot high stone walls to enclose an area that was 100 feet across. The [Small Pen] from the [Animal Husbandry] tab went in the middle, and we filled the pen’s automatic feeder with animal feed, and the automatic bell drinker with water.

  “May I choose the eggs, please?” asked Lari.

  “Sure, you guys can pick the ones you want. Three each.” I took out a basket of [Lizardwing Eggs].

  “I want the pretty ones!” Kharli put three pastel-colored and speckled eggs inside the pen.

  “These look strong.” Lari did the same to three brown and bck eggs.

  “As for me, I want to try these out!” I showed my apprentices the four eggs I had picked beforehand. “Go on, examine them.”

  [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens Eggs:

  The Prairie Chickens that will hatch from these eggs will be perfectly ordinary and unremarkable.]

  LinMeili