Two days later, the rain we expected turned out to be a light, warm drizzle.

“I thought we would get more rain,” said Mo.

“At least all the [Dendrological Cultivation Chambers] got filled,” said Kharli.

We were at the hill checking the situation after the rain, dressed in work clothes and sturdy boots. The sky was grey, and there were still a few storm clouds which I thought meant there could be another light downpour later today or early tomorrow.

Lari knelt and used a twig to drill down into the soil to inspect how far the water had penetrated. He had examined a lot of places in the same way. At last, he came to a conclusion. “The contour swales really helped a lot. The ground is wetter in the places where we dug trenches.”

The horizontal trenches were built on the contour of the hill to capture and slow down the flow of rainwater. This concept was readily understood by the people of this land since local farmers who lived in mountainous areas built and maintained rice terraces that functioned in a similar manner.

“Nice, isn’t it?” I smiled.

We slowly walked down the hillside, taking notes of our observations. At the lake, we found that even the small amount of water from the drizzle had made the lake overflow into the lower-lying ponds.

“There’s a frog!” I pointed at it. “How did it even get there? I don’t recall seeing any frogs here yesterday.”

“There’s another one!” Lari pointed to the other side of the lake.

“Frogs are good?” asked Kharli.

I scratched my head. “Well, they eat bugs? I think that’s good?”

“The ground around the lake is wetter than at the hill,” said Lari after inspecting the soil again.

“Yes, and we should take a look at the ponds,” I said.

The middle pond was full as well. The System had built it to look fully natural, with an irregular edge that had gentle slopes of varying depths. There were even five weathered-looking boulders partially submerged on its eastern and western sides, positioned unevenly as though they had made their way there naturally. Since it was so soon after the rain, the water was slightly muddy.

I knelt and tested the water with a hand. It was slightly cooler than the atmospheric temperature.

Kharli knelt beside me and said, “Teacher, I think I know why the System did this. This will spread the water out over the whole valley.”

“I think you’re right.” I straightened and gestured for us to walk to the next pond. “When I built the lake, the System said it was the lowest point of the valley, but now the ponds seem to be lower… Is this a System error?”

At the far end of the pond, a simple concrete spillway, designed to manage overflow during heavier rains, was still slightly damp. I poured a bucket of water on it and we watched as the water flowed down to the lowest pond, proving that the land here was sloping downwards.

“Teacher, I don’t think it's an error. The System probably changed the entire landscape here,” said Mo.

Lari and Kharli nodded their agreement.

“That could be it,” I said.

The biggest pond was only half full of muddy water.

“Teacher, take a look at this! The pond is magic.” Lari took out a big stick from his inventory and whacked the side of the pond which dislodged a large chunk of wet soil.

“Hey, don’t-” But just as I was telling him to stop when he was going to hit it again, my mouth fell open when the soil flew back to the side of the pond.

“See? It’s as good as new. I tested it earlier.” Lari grinned at our shocked expressions.

“Let me try.” Kharli, not to be outdone, used a shovel to dig a large hole in the side of the pond. Once again, the soil she scooped out flew right back in.

I let Mo try it, too, before asking them to wind it up. “Guys, it looks fun, but we shouldn’t test it too much in case there’s a limit to the damage that the System can fix.”

“Yes, Teacher.” Lari put the stick back into his inventory.

“I wonder if there’s enough rain during the year to keep the lake and ponds full?” I wondered out loud. “If the System didn’t give us a house with running water we could use for drinking, cooking, bathing, and laundry, we would have to use the lake water for our household needs.”

“The clan members who were here before told me that they’re building an underground cistern.” Lari pointed north of us to indicate where the clan was camping.

“Not wells?” I asked.

“They’re building both,” said Lari.

In this arid land, water was an important topic. The four of us discussed the pros and cons of various methods of gathering water and irrigation while we walked back to the castle. Kharli surprised me by mentioning an ancient underground irrigation network that collects water from an aquifer in the Southerlands. Also, there was a legend of a dragon demigod who used to have the power to extract salt from seawater which he then used to turn his desert home into an oasis.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!” I slapped my forehead at my absent-mindedness. “Do you remember when I accidentally triggered that portal?”

“How could we forget?!” Kharli exclaimed. “You disappeared and some people thought you died.”

“Well, Prince Baiyu told me that the clan members who were researching portals have discovered how to activate them safely,” I said. “He and the other two princes will be using a portal near here to visit us tomorrow.”

This was great news, but my apprentices didn’t react to it except to frown or look confused.

“The ancient portal network will be activated soon, and travel all over the Westerlands will be much, much easier.” I took out the map Prince Baiyu had sent and unrolled it to show them the portals.

Kharli still looked puzzled by my enthusiasm. “Are we going to travel somewhere?”

“Yes. Here.” I pointed at the ground. “With portals, we can travel to and from Emberstone Farm to the desert farm a lot more.”

I refrained from telling them about the portal at the house for now since I had just sent a letter to Prince Baiyu asking him if it was okay to reveal its existence.

“But first we’ll let the clan members thoroughly test everything,” I said.

Lari, the most adventurous of my apprentices, was intrigued by the idea. “Shouldn’t it be safe? We go through the mustard tree portal every day.”

“I’ll ask Prince Baiyu about it tomorrow.”

***

On the day of the royal visit, Fengying arranged for the maids to meet our guests at the castle’s entrance and lead them to a room where they could freshen up before going to the main hall where I was waiting to receive them with Lari, Kharli, and Mo.

Prince Baiyu, Prince Muyang, and Prince Vikarna had all come from the war camp and thus were all informally dressed in plain cotton robes and trousers. My apprentices and I were likewise dressed in simple but good quality clothes to match them since it would have been highly inappropriate to be better dressed than royalty.

After the requisite greetings and introductions, I led them to a smaller, more cozy room overlooking the courtyard with the White Tree. The princes, my apprentices, and I seated ourselves at the center table while our guests’ guards and attendants used the other two tables. The staff served afternoon tea using our best china, and Fengying was beaming with pride as she supervised. I’d spent the last few hours using the Cash Shop to get the best items to use for the visit. The room was furnished with three large round tables made of rare zitan wood, an almost mythical material worth as much as its weight in gold. The wood was a rich red-purple color and so dense that it sank in water. According to my housekeeper, this was a real find, not only because the wood was beautiful and durable, but also because its fragrance had a soothing effect on people.

“This must be your famous spirit tea.” Prince Vikarna raised his cup and breathed deeply of its rich herbal aroma before taking a sip. “Magnificent.”

“You’re too kind.” I tried to look modest, but I knew the Demon Chef had outdone himself today and that all of the food and drinks were truly spectacular.

Using his connections from decades of being a professional chef, Deming had sent last year’s tea crop to the best tea workshop in the Westerlands. On Earth, aged fermented tea like pu-erh would take ten to thirty years, but the secret skills of the teamakers in this world reduced that time to a few months to three years. This first batch was already great, and I was promised that once the next ones had ripened, they would be even better.

“And these snacks are wonderful.” Prince Muyang was happily munching on fresh vegetables.

Prince Baiyu just smiled and continued eating. He was looking a bit thinner than before, but he seemed healthy enough.

I thought it was interesting how each clan had different food preferences. The plates in front of Prince Muyang were full of vegetable wraps and vegetable-based canapes since the Black Tortoise clan loved to eat fresh, crunchy greens. Prince Vikarna of the Vermillion Bird clan, on the other hand, was served with seed and nut crackers, bars, clusters, and so forth. Meanwhile, Prince Baiyu ate meat-based snacks, sort of like a charcuterie, with lots of ham, bacon, sausages, cured goose, salted duck, etc.

Was it because tortoises like vegetables, birds like seeds, and tigers like meat?

As for me, I had a slice of classic Victorian sponge cake, though here they called it “Cloud Cake” because it was light and airy and dusted with fine white sugar. The cake had golden layers separated by a generous amount of ruby-red strawberry jam and sweet cream. The first bite was heavenly. The cake was light as air, with a delicate vanilla sweetness that wasn't overpowering. The jam provided a bright burst of fruity tartness that balanced perfectly with the rich sweetness of the cream. It was a perfect harmony of flavors and sensations. I couldn't help but close my eyes momentarily to focus on the pure pleasure of this classic treat.

Before I knew it, my plate held nothing but a few lingering crumbs and the faintest smear of jam.

We made small talk while we ate. Once we finished our tea, the staff cleared the tables and I got down to business.

“Thank you for coming to see me today. As I told Prince Baiyu, I want to show you something and ask for your help. I heard that the ancient method of activating portals has been found, and I’d like to show you mine.” I got up and gestured for them to follow me to the next room where the portal was disguised as a plain wooden door with a silver handle. “Beyond this door is a mysterious realm where a forgotten god once ruled.”