Below the fallen leaves of the forest, you can find forgotten gold: leaf mold.
The benefits of this substance are many. It significantly improves soil structure, creating a looser texture that allows for better root penetration and water infiltration, reducing the need for frequent watering while also improving aeration. Rich in beneficial microorganisms, it acts as a slow-release fertilizer, gradually providing essential nutrients to plants as it breaks down.
Place a Leaf Mold Bin in a shady spot on your farm
Fill it with fallen leaves. Wet the leaves thoroughly.
Wait for them to decompose from fresh leaves to mature leaf mold.
Spread it on the soil you want to improve.
Reward: Farming Exp]
I didn’t bother reading this out loud to Prince Baiyu since I instinctively understood that this was the answer to my demand. The System was telling me to complete quests to get more exp and level up.
Prince Baiyu interrupted my thoughts.
“My dear, there is an enormous amount of high-quality qi here. Do you mind if I meditate to absorb it?”
“No, why would I mind? Go ahead. I need to think about everything I learned today.”
He sat down in a lotus position under a scholar tree and closed his eyes. Since I didn’t want to bother him, I chose a place on the other side of the glade, near the river, and sat down on a picnic blanket under a tall oak tree.
Many things passed through my mind as I looked up at the fluffy white clouds drifting across the blue sky above me. Though it wasn’t shown in the video projection or stated in words in the message, I nevertheless understood many things, such as my nature. Born of a human female and a rock god, incarnated into a fully human body, my physical being was human. However, I had also inherited a divine spirituality. In other words, just as I had always said to others, I had a bloodline inheritance.
As for transmigrating into this world, the genius loci or the collective spirits of this world were not wanderers to the core like my father. They could only pierce the veil between Earth and their world with great effort, and I couldn’t help them since I wasn’t of age yet and hadn’t awakened any powers. Thus, they used Adventure Incarnate, the game they had influenced from afar to bring me to them.
The System and the items in my inventory were their gifts to me. I had limited control over them, but this was meant to be a temporary state. I somehow knew without being told that this was a limitation caused by age. Once I grew older and leveled up more? Perhaps I could do away with the System, but it would take a long time.
My mother…
Yeah, I fully approved of her decision not to learn the exact time of her death and not to tell me about it. I wished I could tell her that, yes, we did have a lot of fun. We traveled so much and had so many adventures that even now that I had left Earth, I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything.
Now that I knew we were going to be together again, I could smile without feeling sad while thinking of my parents. I made a mental list of what I should prepare for their arrival.
Stolen novel; please report.
These thoughts and many others occupied my mind so much that I barely noticed time passing until the sun was about to set. I put away the picnic blanket and approached Prince Baiyu, who appeared to be in a deep meditative trance.
I would have liked to return to the farm, but I trusted that Prince Baiyu knew what he was doing. We had told the royal guards that we were on a quest that could take a while. They had seen us enter the bell tower and were probably still there waiting for us. They shouldn’t be too alarmed. Fengying and Deming would take care of the house while I was gone, and my apprentices could also be depended on to manage the crops and farm animals.
I went back to the other side of the glade and set up a nice big glamping-style tent with a wooden platform, air conditioner, large bed, and a small dining spot for us to use. I strung fairy lights on the branches of the trees nearby to create a more romantic atmosphere for dinner, but Prince Baiyu didn’t stir, so I had to eat my evening meal and sleep in the tent alone.
In fact, he didn’t move for a total of three days and two nights.
Even an easy-going person like me was getting antsy by that time, but on the second day, he started glowing. I didn’t know much about this world’s method of cultivating qi to strengthen the body; however, I could tell that this was clearly not a good time to interrupt his training.
Since my only companion was occupied, I kept myself busy by Foraging in the clearing and Fishing in the river. The Mysterious Glade had a couple of unique fish that could be caught after the player’s first year, and in summer, there was a legendary fish that gave a lot of exp. Catching it was simply a matter of aiming for the area near a submerged log and hoping for the best.
I settled down on the riverside in a comfortable bean bag and got to work with Mr. Bear on my side, wearing a cute blue sailor costume. The river gurgled merrily past me, my fishing line disappearing into the river’s current a mere few inches from my target, the underwater log. Tall grasses and cattails lined the opposite bank, their tops swaying in the occasional breeze. Behind them, oak and maple trees formed a dense green wall, their leaves rustling when the air stirred. Dragonflies darted back and forth over the water's surface, their wings catching the light, while I waited for the fish to bite.
On that second day, I caught a lot of yummy fish, but it was only on the third day that I caught it.
[Legend:
An ancient sturgeon. The king of freshwater fish.]
[Congratulations, you just advanced a Fishing level!]
[Your Fishing level is now 21.]
Due to my habitual use of the Easy Fishing cheat, the [Legend] went straight into my inventory. This time, though, I wanted to see what it looked like in real life.
“Whoa, this is one big sturgeon!”
I could hardly believe it. The thing was as big as I was!
I quickly right-clicked on it and then [Used] it on the river to throw it back to its home. The thing wasn’t edible in the game, and it didn't seem right to kill it just for the heck of it.
“Where did it go?”
I screamed in shock when I heard a voice behind me, but it was only my boyfriend. “Can you please make some noise when you walk? You scared me!”
“But you scream so cutely…”
I had to wipe the smirk off his face, so I grabbed him and kissed him until we were both breathless.
***
By the time we returned to the farm, people were already starting to worry and were greatly relieved when they saw we were both fine.
Prince Baiyu told me he had made a breakthrough in his cultivation at the Mysterious Glade because of the “heavenly breath of qi” in it, no doubt from the message left behind by my parents. Apparently, he was now at something called the “Peak” stage. It was a good thing we had spent most of the third day together, since he had to leave the farm to report his progress to his parents. He wrote a letter saying that he was being examined by experts from all over the continent, which I guess meant it was a big deal. I could also tell that it was significant because Shuye couldn’t stop smiling when he gave me the letter.
“Our Ancient Hill Forest now houses the world’s strongest person!” he said.
“What? He’s that strong now?” I was shocked at the result of his meditating for a few days. If I hadn’t just found out that I was a demigod, I might’ve felt a bit insecure. “Good! Now, we needn’t worry that people will take advantage of us, right?”
Shuye chuckled and rubbed his hands together. “No one would dare!”
“Awesome.”
“You see, it’s one thing to be a very useful spirit farmer and crafter who can make amazing items. It’s quite another to be married to the most powerful warrior in the world.”
I lifted my glass of lemonade, and we toasted to that.
??????
Author's Note:
-
- The story arc of Violet finding out about her origin is now over! I hope you liked it!
- Advanced chapters on my Patreon!
- Thank you very much for reading.
- Did you spot an error? Please leave a comment so I can fix it!