[Cozy Fantasy] [Farming LitRPG] The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm

Chapter 70 - The end of a step-stational journey

🙞❤︎🙜

Prince Baiyu was dressed in plain blue robes so dark it appeared black, and his hair was bound in a low ponytail. Normally, when he visited my house, he dressed in gorgeously embroidered clothes, but right now he looked all business.

“Oh, hello! Do you have business at the temple?” I asked the Prince.

He waited until I was close and hugged me tight. “I heard about the Emberstone. Were you hurt? Did it scare you?”

“I was a little scared, but I’m not hurt.” In the past few weeks, I had gotten used to the hugs, and this time, I managed to hug him back.

Mmm, muscles. He smelled nice, too.

“Thank the gods.” He breathed the words softly in my ear, tickling me unbearably so that I had to pull away.

Shuye cleared his throat meaningfully and greeted his boss. “Prince Baiyu.”

“Shuye. I got your report. You did a good job. Not many people would have known about the Emberstone and thought of bringing her to the Temple of the Fox Clan,” said Prince Baiyu. “What did the head priestess say?”

“They’re getting ready to reseal it right now. The elders are checking their records for the proper ritual incantations and formations.”

“When will they start?” asked Prince Baiyu.

I took the Prince by the hand, and we started walking down the steps.

“The preparations will take a while, and they’ll send word when they’re ready to go to the site. I’ll lead them there myself. Judging from what they told me, they’ll start two or three days from now, and will finish in a week, give or take a day or two,” said Shuye.

“My staff will assist you. Let them know if anything unusual happens,” said the prince.

“The Fox clan told me they’ll handle everything,” said Shuye.

“How much did you give as the offering for the cleansing ritual?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” said Prince Baiyu. “This is what taxes are for.”

“Taxes! I almost wish I was still a child, so I wouldn’t have to worry about taxes,” I said.

“Please, not another rant about it,” said Prince Baiyu. “That was funny the first three times you did it, but not anymore.”

“What?!” I let go of his hand and placed it on my chest in an over-dramatic motion. “We’ve already reached the stage where you’re tired of my jokes? Ah, then we're close to breaking up.”

“I take it back. Go ahead and rant,” said Prince Baiyu.

Without saying a word, Shuye, with his usual tact, started walking back up the stairs to put some distance between him and us in order to give us a modicum of privacy.

“I will!” Even though I said that, I suddenly didn’t feel like joking around anymore. I put a hand on the rails and started walking down the steps.

Prince Baiyu put a hand on the small of my back coaxingly. “What’s wrong? I was just kidding, say what you want to say.”

“Sorry, I’m just tired and cranky.” Walking down the steps was much worse than climbing up. The backs of my thighs ached, and I was sure I was going to be sore tomorrow.

“Are you okay?” He frowned.

“Ugh, I hate all these steps!”

“Is that all? Let me fly you down.” Without waiting for my response, he scooped me up in his arms and launched himself down the hill.

I grabbed onto his robe and squealed a little. “Slowly!”

“I know. I’ll go slower than a snail.”

He was as good as his word, and my stomach settled down. I peered over his shoulder and saw that Shuye was running down the stairs at an incredible speed. He was definitely going to reach the bottom before we did.

“I’ve assigned more guards to patrol the perimeter of your farm. You won’t see them, but they’ll be there,” said Prince Baiyu.

“How come I never see your guards?” I knew that even now they were somewhere around, but try as I might, I couldn’t spot anyone.

“It’s traditional for them to be trained in stealth skills. They also have enhanced senses, so they don’t need to be close to monitor people,” he said.

“Oh.” That was a bit creepy.

“You probably won’t have any problems with the Emberstone, but you and your household should stay inside the farm just in case.”

“Please be honest with me. Is there really no danger? And what’s the real story behind the stone?”

“Well, it’s been centuries and there hasn’t been a problem with it. I doubt it will start acting up now. The legend says that there’s a fox spirit inside it,” said Prince Baiyu.

“A fox spirit? Not a devil?”

“According to our histories, this land was once teeming with nature spirits who were the offspring of gods. The one inside the stone was a mischievous fox who loved to play pranks on people. Most of it was just harmless or minor irritations, like stealing household items or souring milk, things of that sort.”

“So why was it sealed?”

“Even minor mischief can harm people. The story goes that the fox greased the steps to the temple, and a human died because of it.”

“The steps to the temple? Are you talking about those steps?” I pointed below us at the staircase that was carved on the side of the hill.

“Yes. That one.”

“That’s horrible!” I shuddered at the thought of slipping down those hundreds of stone steps and breaking my neck at the foot of the hill.

Prince Baiyu’s arms tightened around me. “He probably didn’t mean to kill anyone. However, he was unrepentant, so the head priest of the Fox clan was forced to seal him inside a sacred stone.”

“That’s actually very sad.”

“I wouldn’t feel too bad about it. One of the previous head priests said he had a dream when he did the yearly sealing ritual that showed him that the fox had finally seen the error of its ways and ascended.”

“I think the temple people said something about that.”

“Apparently, the evil aura around the stone started to decline around that time until, eventually, there was so little that they decided it was no longer dangerous.”

“Okay, but I find it weird that they lost track of the stone.” The quest information screen told me to ask about it, so I did.

[Investigate the Emberstone:

Deep in the forest is a mysterious stone. Explore the surrounding area and uncover its secrets. (Done)

Check the Emberstone glade for clues. (Done)

Go to the Temple of the Fox Clan and ask them about the stone. Bring five slices of double-fried tofu as an offering. (Done)

Circle the Sacred Tree of Life nine times. (Done)

Ask Prince Baiyu the true reason why the Emberstone was lost.]

“They didn’t tell you?” The corners of his mouth curved up in a not-smile. “A few decades ago, someone stole it.”

“What?”

“There was a… Let’s just call it ‘tension’ between the Fox and White Tiger clans at that time.”

“Are you saying someone was planning to use it as a weapon?”

“No doubt it was just one of the more idiotic and hotheaded young ones of the Fox clan.”

“Ah.” I didn’t know what to say.

“Whoever took it never used it. That’s why I think it’s not dangerous.”

“Is there still tension between your clans?”

“Not at all.”

“Good.” I rested my head against his shoulder and relaxed. A few minutes later we reached the bottom of the stairs, and we went inside the carriage.

“You’ll be back before dinnertime,” Shuye assured me.

“That would be great. Thank you very much,” I said.

The trip lasted less than an hour, and Prince Baiyu and I spent the time chatting about this and that. He waited until we arrived at the farm before dropping a bomb.

“By the way, my assistant asked your housekeeper to prepare a guest room for me. Do you mind if I stay with you for the next few days?”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“I have to be here just in case something happens.”

“That’s hardly necessary, is it? I thought that was what the guards were for.”

“I couldn’t possibly leave when you could be in danger.”

“But you just said it wasn’t dangerous!”

“It’s probably not dangerous. The chance of something happening is infinitesimal, but I’d still like to stay nearby.”

“…” Was it dangerous or not? I was getting confused.

He sensed my unease and explained, “In all probability, nothing will happen. However, if something did happen, you’re too far away from me, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night unless I was nearby.”

“Well, okay. I hope nothing happens.” The quest wasn't finished yet, so it would be good to have the prince nearby in case I needed him again. As we walked to the courtyard, I checked the System’s quest tab to see if there were any dangerous developments in the Emberstone storyline and found nothing there. All that was left was to send the Emberstone back where it belonged.

[Investigate the Emberstone:

Deep in the forest is a mysterious stone. Explore the surrounding area and uncover its secrets. (Done)

Check the Emberstone glade for clues. (Done)

Go to the Temple of the Fox Clan and ask them about the stone. Bring five slices of double-fried tofu as an offering. (Done)

Circle the Sacred Tree of Life nine times. (Done)

Ask Prince Baiyu the true reason why the Emberstone was lost. (Done)

Send the Emberstone back to the Temple of the Fox Clan.]

That was a good sign, right?