Prince Muyang gave me an inquiring look. “How did you activate the portal?”

“My bloodline inheritance activated it.” I opened the door and showed them the tunnel behind it. “When I was accidentally teleported to the Mines, I discovered a race of intelligent creatures living there. In ancient times, the god of the Mines had a pet slime. That pet’s descendants still live here.”

We walked through the door, and I led them to the end of the tunnel where there was an elevator. I pressed the level 90 button and we exited into a natural underground cathedral full of glowing flower-like crystals as well as the usual stalactites and stalagmites one could expect to see in a cave. A sunbeam shone down from a hole in the ceiling, illuminating an open space paved with white tiles that had a golden altar on it. The central cavern had two other exits, but I walked them through the western one first.

We found ourselves in a small cave whose floors and walls were covered in pure white tiles, too.

“Plants? You’re growing crops here?” Prince Muyang looked around in amazement at the [Hydroponic Kits] full of [Strawberry] plants.

Here, wooden shelves were packed full of small water boxes with plants growing in them, with grow lights illuminating and heating the cave. The bright red [Strawberries] were ripe and ready for the picking.

“Yes. This is a very special place.” I pointed to the marble pedestals that had glowing pearls on top of them. “I repurposed this into an underground farm, but this was originally a temple of healing.”

I plucked a few berries and offered them to the princes who politely ate them. The White Tiger and Black Tortoise clan princes expressed their admiration that I was able to grow these plants underground, but Prince Vikarna had a different reaction. He absentmindedly ate the [Strawberry] and wandered around the cave touching all of the pearls, his eyes glowing red.

“What’s with him?” I whispered to Prince Baiyu.

My boyfriend shrugged. “He has a special skill, the Vermillion Eyes of Truth, that allows him to see a lot of hidden secrets.”

“Wow.” I waited until Prince Vikarna finished walking around before asking him what he thought of the cave.

“This entire space is covered in a gorgeous luminescence, indicating a strong aetheric energy.”

“What does ‘aetheric’ mean?”

“What we call ‘aether’ is the element that fills the spaces beyond the worlds.” He could tell from my expression that I didn’t understand, so he elaborated further. “The best flyers of the Vermillion Bird and Azure Dragon clans can venture so far above the land that they reach a place where there is no air. The space there is filled with aether.”

Was he talking about cosmic rays or particles from outer space? “Oh.”

Prince Muyang shook his head. “Don’t make it sound too complicated. What Prince Vikarna means is that the qi here is what we could call ‘divine’ or ‘heavenly.’ It’s not of this world.”

“How is that less complicated than my explanation?” Prince Vikarna scoffed.

“I myself can’t sense qi, but I do feel that this place is very special.” I paused. “It’s very calm and the vibe here is very relaxing.”

“I feel it, too,” said Prince Baiyu. “Is this what you wanted to show us?”

“This is part of it. When no one owned this place, it wasn’t a problem, but now that the Vermillion Bird clan is back, I want to file an official claim to this territory.”

The three of them agreed to help me with the paperwork involved, and Prince Vikarna assured me that the Vermillion Bird clans would most likely agree to grant me the title to this piece of land.

“I’m sure no one would object to it. We owe you a lot since you were instrumental in our clan regaining our zidan,” said Prince Vikarna.

“No, I didn’t do much. I just helped things along. I’m sure your zidan would have restored itself without me.” This sort of talk made me nervous, so I quickly changed the subject. “I also want the territory around the Mines. I’ll have to show you what I discovered.”

I gestured at the exit, and we all walked back to the central cavern where I led them to the eastern cave whose entrance was barred by a wooden door. I pressed a certain spot and the door opened into the Mushroom Cave. I hurried them through to the next door on the far side since I didn’t want them looking too closely at the [Naughty Mushrooms].

Prince Muyang tactfully kept silent, but his lips twitched when he caught sight of a large cluster of interestingly-shaped mushrooms, while the other two princes politely pretended not to see anything unusual.

Past the cave was a tunnel.

“We’ll have to walk for some time until we reach the surface,” I said. “Once we emerge, please keep your distance from the slimes. I don’t want them to be alarmed.”

“That will be no problem.” The red glow of Prince Vikarna’s eyes dimmed slightly. “We’ll be careful.”

I hung back a little with Prince Baiyu and let the other two move ahead of us.

“Have you lost weight? Are you eating and sleeping well?” I asked Prince Baiyu.

“Lost weight? I’ve gained muscle.” He rolled up his sleeve and flexed his right arm for me. “Feel that?”

Grinning, I squeezed his biceps. “Niiiiice.”

“We train and fight all day long. I'm in the best shape of my life.”

“Awesome!”

Giggling, I let go of his arm, and he rolled his sleeve down when Prince Muyang turned around and winked at us. Since we weren’t alone, Baiyu and I could only talk about general matters like his daily life at the camp and what I was doing at the desert farm.

I also asked Prince Vikarna how the Vermillion Bird clan was organizing itself since I was curious about it. In Adventure Incarnate, the player could donate items to raise their favorability among the Vermillion Bird clans, which they could then spend on buying a nice little island along the western coast of the Southern lands.

“Clan members have several options. Quite a few of the wealthy and large clans are claiming their ancestral lands, but over the years many clans have dwindled and can’t put together enough resources to build an independent settlement. They’ll join the royal clan in rebuilding our old capital.” Prince Vikarna pulled out a small square locket from his sleeves and opened it to show me a miniature of a sprawling palace. “I will be joining my family in rebuilding our ancestral hall.”

“I was told that a ruler has not yet emerged?”

He shrugged. “Our zidan is still taking shape. A king or queen will be revealed in due time.”

From what I was told by Scholar Wu, Arjun was an honorary king, and his mother was now the head of their branch of the royal family, but neither one of them was likely to emerge as the ruler of the Southernlands.

Prince Muyang playfully elbowed Prince Baiyu and said, “Is your woman interested in becoming consort to a king? You better watch out or Arjun might steal her away.”

Prince Baiyu put his arm around me. “Never.”

“I’m asking because I need the Vermillion Bird clan’s permission to claim the Mines,” I said.

All three of them assured me my request would be fulfilled as soon as possible.

When we reached the door, I pressed a certain spot to open it and let the princes fly up to view the village from above so as not to reveal their presence to the slimes. I stayed at the entrance where I set up a large umbrella and sat on a comfortable chair while reading a fantasy novel.

They returned after half an hour. I placed a table in front of my chair and offered them water in crystal glasses which they drank gratefully after their long flight in this hot climate.

“The slimes are clearly very intelligent, and I agree that this whole area needs to be protected for their sake,” said Prince Muyang.

“Do they also have aetheric energy?” I asked Prince Vikarna.

“No, but anyone can see that they’re remarkably clever.” His lips curved upward in a delighted smile, and his eyes sparkled with pleasure. “You say they only recently ventured outside of their underground home? Do you think the time coincides with us regaining our zidan?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that!” I poured more water from a crystal pitcher for them. “I don’t know when exactly it happened.”

“Their use of tools means that they are not mere monsters.” Prince Baiyu's expression showed only a slight excitement. When we were together on the farm, he normally acted unrestrained, but on official business such as this, he tended to assume a more calm and aloof manner. “Once the demon is killed, we should look into casting a defensive formation over this area.”

“Yes, I think we’re all in agreement.” Prince Muyang turned to look at the horizon. “We’d better leave now. We’ll be scolded if we’re late.”

When they finished drinking, I put away all of my items and we all retraced our steps back to the portal to the farm. I managed to steal some time alone with my boyfriend for a kiss and a few whispered endearments before the princes gathered up their attendants and guards and left. They had to return to the camp before sunset since there was a curfew.

I also took my apprentices through the portal later in the day, but they were doomed to disappointment since I planned to continue keeping all the exp to myself when it came to the Mines. After all, I was the one who claimed this territory through right of conquest.

Three days later a messenger arrived with an official document from all four clans, the White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Vermillion Bird, and Azure Dragon, that granted me territorial rights to the Mines and the land surrounding it. Also, I was given permission to use my portals as much as I wanted. The clan simply asked me to tell them in advance if I was going to pop out somewhere inside their territories, which I thought was fair.

***

It was a relief that the clans had rediscovered how to use portals. When I was the only one who could teleport, I kept my ability a secret since it would be annoying to be forced to serve as a magical freight hauler. Now, I could teleport to and from Emberstone Farm and the desert farm whenever I wanted.

The kids were not too interested in the bug-infested Mines where almost every place was forbidden for them to explore when I led them through the portal. They loved the mushrooms and hydroponic system, but since that place was for me alone to use, there was nothing for them to do.

The day after I revealed my ability, we packed up our things and returned to Emberstone Farm, leaving behind a small, empty house in the desert to house the portal.

[Epic Quest: Greening the Desert

Turn the cursed desert into fertile land.

1. Improve watershed by using water harvesting methods by digging contour swales. - done

2. Improve watershed by using water harvesting methods by digging a lake reservoir. - done

3. Plant the berms with one hundred fruit trees and one hundred berry bushes. - done

4. When the lake is full, plant a riparian buffer of one hundred trees. - done

5. Plant one hundred fertilizer trees. Use a cultivation box. - done

6. Graze spirit animals. Sow wild grass and flowers on the grazed land.

7. Plant one hundred fruit trees. Use a cultivation box.

8. Plant one hundred nut trees. Use a cultivation box.

9. Plant one hundred trees. Use a cultivation box. - done

10. Create windbreaks to protect the crops.

11. Plant one hundred perennial crops.

12. Create a food forest made of a diverse array of one hundred fruit trees, one hundred shrubs, one hundred vines, one hundred grasses or herbs, and one hundred root crops.

Progress: 6/12]

“We can plant fruit trees in the desert when we have some spare time, but right now it’s the middle of the spring season, and we need to plant crops in the mustard tree farm.” I took a sip of coffee.

We were sitting in the inner courtyard’s dining room eating breakfast and planning our day. I was about to continue the discussion when Fengying said something that derailed my train of thought.

“My lady, the maids say the eggs are moving. It seems they’re about to hatch.”