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

Chapter 151 - Peach and harmony go hand

🙞❤︎🙜

“Isn’t it cute? That’s where we’re headed!” I turned down the boat’s speed to the lowest setting and then allowed it to drift with the waves when we reached a spot a mile in front of the giant sea turtle. “No more screaming. We’ll wait here until someone from the island sails out to greet us.”

Lari gripped the side of the boat with white-knuckled hands and kept his voice down to a whisper. “It- it’s looking at us…”

[Archelon:

A giant sea turtle with a leathery carapace and large flippers. She bears a human village on her back. When half-submerged, the earth she carries on her shell looks like an island.]

Archelon tracked us with her beady, black eyes that resembled vast, dark oceans. The nearest foreflipper waved at us cheerily, and she even turned to face us when our boat drifted away.

I waved back. “Hey, she seems friendly. Use the System to examine her.”

Though in Adventure Incarnate, the mystical turtle was a cute cartoon animal, here she was very, very realistic-looking, and I could understand why the kids were scared. Her mouth could swallow ten ships whole. Her wrinkled, leathery skin, weathered by centuries of sea and underwater travel, was covered in barnacles and algae. As the turtle loomed before us, we could see that there were trees growing on her colossal shell.

Nothing happened for almost an hour, and the kids relaxed.

“I can see trees on her back,” said Mo.

“Don’t lean too far out, you’ll fall into the water,” said Kharli.

“Are we going to throw the meat into the water for her to eat?” asked Lari.

“Nope. It’s for the people who will be coming to get us. Remember to be polite and respectful.” I gave them packets of our spirit tea. “Use these if someone offers you a gift. Isn’t this exciting?”

“I’ve never heard of an island like this, but this is incredible.” Lari started pulling random things out of his inventory. “Teacher, are we allowed to trade for things?”

I eyed the assortment of trinket boxes, porcelain tea cups, silver spoons, and wooden carvings. “Sure, why not?”

Mo and Kharli also started retrieving handkerchiefs, fans, bead bracelets, and hair decorations from their inventory.

“Maybe they have some mythical items or herbs.” Mo suddenly looked excited.

Lari gave the turtle a thoughtful look before turning to me and saying, “Teacher, can I have some money now? You were going to give us some coins after the planting season, right?”

I laughed and gave them three silver coins each. “Fine, but you won’t get a shopping trip to Anwei later.”

They all accepted the coins and thanked me profusely. It took another half hour before we sighted a small canoe with three young men on it.

“Hello there! Are you here to visit Peach Blossom Isle?” asked the man in the middle when they were close enough for us to hear them.

The three men were in their mid-to-late twenties, and their hair and eyes were dark brown. We got quite an eyeful of golden brown skin because the only thing they were wearing were short wraparound skirts like a sarong.

“Yes, we are!” I waited while they rowed until they were alongside our boat and then pointed at my cargo. “I brought some meat as gifts.”

They were all smiles then and instructed us to follow after their boat. Archelon waved her flippers at us one last time as we sailed out of her sight. On her side was a small pebble beach shaded by palm trees. A small crowd of people were waiting for us there. Lari’s face turned red as a tomato when he saw that there were women in short skirts and scanty tops, too.

I smiled when I read the System information about the island.

[Peach Blossom Isle:

A mysterious island known as the place where the Assembly of Immortals took place, in which the 88 Sages and 888 Kings of the Dawn Age issued the Ascension Edict. Secluded from the world for over 10,000 years, the location of the fabled Peach Blossom Isle cannot be found on any map.]

Peach Blossom Isle, though it was carried on the back of the great turtle Archelon who liked to swim around, was easy for me to find since it was on the System map. As for the Assembly of Immortals, I wouldn’t have known about it from Adventure Incarnate, but due to buying fiction novels in this world, I had read about it before. That was a legendary gathering where the most powerful children of the gods decided to leave this mortal plane and ascend, which explained why there were no longer any powerful demigods around.

The men on the canoe got out and carried their vessel up the beach, and the crowd parted to let them put their canoe down among the trees. The kids and I rolled up our trousers once again and took off our shoes to disembark. A few people went forward to help us unload the hams and pigs. Then I put the boat away.

The people watching gasped when the [Viking Longship] disappeared. We were inundated with questions.

“Where are you from?”

“We’re from the Ancient Hill Forest.”

“How did the boat disappear? Are you a witch?”

“I have a bloodline inheritance.”

“How did you find us?”

“I just saw the island.”

“How long are you staying?”

“A few hours.”

The men who had unloaded our cargo came back and shooed away the onlookers.

“Let them through. Let them through! I’m taking them to the chief,” said a young man wearing a brightly patterned sarong. Like everyone else, he had a thin, wiry build and radiated good health from the top of his head down to his bare feet.

Along the beachfront were small wooden huts which seemed to be for the fishermen and canoe makers, since I saw fishing nets and half-finished canoes nearby. As we walked further away from the beach, I saw bigger houses with stone foundations, wooden walls, and roofs thatched with grass and leaves. The village was very neat, with straight paths cutting through tiny but well-maintained gardens filled with vibrant tropical flowers. Vivid tropical flowers like hibiscus, pretty anthuriums, and white jasmine predominated.

The weather was pleasingly hot, with a cool wind blowing from the sea. I took a deep breath of air and smiled at the people who were lining the path towards the biggest house in the center of the village. Everyone was beaming, and the kids ran here and there, chattering excitedly about the upcoming feast.

Inside the chief’s house, an old lady with a lined face and long, white hair greeted us. Her clothes were woven with an intricate pattern, and, unlike the others, she was wearing a full dress with a high neck, long sleeves, and a wide skirt that went down to her ankles. Perhaps the more clothing a person wore, the more distinguished they were.

Two middle-aged women sat on either side of her. They were dressed in similar clothes, but their sleeves were shorter and their skirts were not as full as the chief’s.

We sat down on wooden stools while young ladies arrived and served us peach-infused water in clay cups. Like the rest of the villagers, they were wearing short skirts and sleeveless crop tops. Three of them sat down on the wooden floor and used palm fans to cool the air around us.

Lari kept his eyes on the ground, unable to look at the young women who were scantily-clad compared to the people of the Westerlands.

We exchanged introductions, though I was told that the villagers’ names were not for outsiders to know. Therefore, we should just call people by their titles or nicknames. The chief, for example, was to be called “the chief” and her children were “the chief’s youngest” or “the chief’s second son.”

We drank the tea and I complimented the chief on the beauty of the island and the tidiness of her house before going straight to the point. “I hope the day finds you well and prosperous. I’ve come from the nearby Westerlands to trade with your people. We’ve brought you some meat as a gift, and we can pay for the local products with silver.”

The chief’s smile made her face crease and her eyes twinkle. “And I thought you were here in answer to my prayers.”

“Ma’am?”

“Can you help us with a small problem?”

Her words made a System notification pop up.

[Quest Available: Recover the Sacred Offering Bowl]

I quickly read the quest information and then clicked the [Accept] button. “Sure, I would be glad to help.”

[Recover the Sacred Offering Bowl:

Find the Sacred Offering Bowl that the chief’s youngest grandson dropped in the Enchanted River.

Sacred Offering Bowl: 0/1
???: 0/1
???: 0/1

Rewards:

1. Eight Mini Parasol Trees
2. ???]

The chief chuckled. “Wonderful! You must be the answer to my prayers. How good a swimmer are you?”

“I’m… okay at it.” I mean, I could swim fairly well, though I wasn’t world-class or anything.

“My naughty little grandson took the Sacred Offering Bowl from the temple and dropped it in the Enchanted River. We are forbidden to swim there, so we would be in your debt if you could get it back.”

That sounded easy enough. “I’ll do my best.”

The chief nodded at one of the young women who went out of the house and quickly returned with a large cloth sack.

“Don’t worry, I have something here that can help you.” The chief opened the sack and took out a familiar object.

No way! Why did the chief have a Cash Shop item?