"Did you all do as I said?"
Fairy Ziying followed them to another field. Seeing all the seedlings wilted inside, her expression grew even more troubled.
"We even took out the thatch for making beds at home. We did everything just as the fairy instructed, but they still died," a villager said.
Yaohua squatted down to observe the wilted seedlings.
The ice field was dry. Thatch could temporarily solve the problem of keeping warm, but it couldn't solve the issue of water. These wilted seedlings were very likely to have died of water shortage.
"We all did as you said," a villager's voice sounded desperate. "Now that these seedlings are dead, how can we survive?"
"Yes, Fairy Ziying, you can't just leave us alone."
"Your seedlings died because of me. I will surely take responsibility," Fairy Ziying said seriously. "But the most urgent thing now is to find out the reason why the seedlings wilted and died."
Yaohua put down the seedling in her hand and slowly walked over. "It's because of water shortage."
"Water shortage? There's so much snow here. Once the sun comes out, it will melt. How could there be a water shortage?"
"Yes, you're just a young girl. Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand."
Ziying's gaze gradually fell on Yaohua. "What are you doing here? Go back!"
Yaohua pursed her lips and suddenly raised her hand.
This sudden movement immediately caught everyone's attention.
They saw that Yaohua was holding a seedling that had been broken in half.
Ziying squinted her eyes slightly but didn't say anything more.
"If you don't believe me, just pick a seedling at random and break it to see if it's dry inside."
"How could it be dry? The ground is covered with snow everywhere!"
"Once the sun comes out, the snow will melt. Little girl, stop talking nonsense."
Yaohua maintained her previous posture. "If you don't believe me, just break open the seedlings and take a look. I can't possibly play any tricks under everyone's noses."
The villagers didn't take her suggestion seriously. They were shouting and looking at Fairy Ziying.
"Fairy Ziying, is your promise of providing us with seedlings still valid?"
"Of course it is," Fairy Ziying nodded slightly. Then she glanced at Yaohua and suddenly raised her voice. "Everyone, I will never go back on my words. But we still need to find out the reason why the seedlings wilted. You might as well listen to what this new little girl has to say and break the seedlings to take a look."
Almost as soon as her voice fell, a villager squatted down and really broke a wilted seedling.
"They really died of water shortage!"
"How could this be? There's clearly no lack of water here!"
Fairy Ziying walked to Yaohua's side. She was also holding a broken seedling in her hand.
"Do you know why these seedlings died of drought?"
Her attitude towards Yaohua was quite polite. So after she asked the question, everyone immediately fell silent.
"Although it's always icy and snowy here, the temperature difference between night and day is still quite large. After the ice and snow melt, the water evaporates quickly, so the plants will lack water."
The villagers looked at each other but didn't quite understand what she meant. It was Fairy Ziying who seemed to understand.
"Then is there any way to solve this problem?"
Yaohua gave her a deep look, and Fairy Ziying immediately understood.
She hesitated and looked at the people staring at them directly. Her expression was troubled.
"Although I know the principle, it will still take some time to verify the solution."
Although Yaohua didn't know why Fairy Ziying didn't directly state her method, since Fairy Ziying was troubled, there must be her own reasons.
"But our seedlings have already wilted. The remaining food can only last until next year at most. Once the food runs out, we'll starve to death."
Desperate voices spread through the crowd and soon caused a commotion.
"Silence!"
Under Fairy Ziying's loud suppression, everyone's voices gradually became smaller.
Her gaze was sharp, and everywhere it swept became quiet.
"There are rivers and wild animals on the ice field. From now on, send people out to hunt every day. We won't really starve to death."
"But someone gets injured every time we go hunting. We've already lost quite a few companions because of hunting!"
"We have to pay a price if we want to survive," Fairy Ziying's tone turned cold. "Don't worry. I'll go with you every time you go out."
"Fairy Ziying, this is absolutely not possible!"
"But if Fairy Ziying doesn't go, how can we guarantee our own safety?"
The voices below were noisy. Yaohua noticed that Fairy Ziying frowned deeply.
But she didn't say anything more. Her gaze just shifted from the crowd to Yaohua.
Yaohua subconsciously met her gaze.
She thought Fairy Ziying wanted to say something to her, but then saw the other person suddenly withdraw her gaze.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll arrange the order for going hunting. Everyone of you should prepare in advance. We'll set off early the day after tomorrow."
After she said that, she pulled Yaohua away.
"How's the bamboo weaving I asked you to do at home going?"
"I've finished it. You can go back and take a look." Yaohua paused and explained again. "The idea I told you at the beginning can definitely solve the villagers' problem. Why didn't you say it just now?"
Fairy Ziying didn't answer directly. She just mentioned another thing.
"Most of the current villagers are descendants of the sinful immortals. The first - generation sinful immortals could still think independently and had the ability to judge right from wrong. But these descendants have been trapped on the ice field since they were born and haven't had many opportunities to broaden their horizons. If I had said just now that there was a way to solve the problem..."
Fairy Ziying sighed. "If everything went smoothly, it would indeed be a good thing. But I'm afraid there might be some accidents in the middle... Even though these accidents are normal during the trial - and - error process, they would keep complaining and shifting the blame."
Yaohua had already seen this just now.
She could completely understand Fairy Ziying's concerns now.
"Fairy, isn't there any way to expand their knowledge?"
If things went on like this, this village would surely perish sooner or later.
"Survival is already the biggest problem at present. Who has the leisure to do other things?"
Yaohua deeply agreed. She looked at the dejected villagers and suddenly felt that staying here all the time wasn't a long - term solution.
"Fairy, why did you come to the ice field in the first place?"
"I made a big mistake and was exiled here. I had no choice."
Fairy Ziying's words were half - true and half - false. Yaohua had already seen through them. "Fairy, don't you want to leave here?"
"Leave?" Fairy Ziying's eyes flashed slightly. "If I want to leave, my current skills are far from enough."
"Please teach me, Fairy."
Fairy Ziying suddenly laughed. "Okay. Then from now on, go and weave all the bamboo strips in the yard into bamboo mats first."
If this was Fairy Ziying's test for her, Yaohua was willing to accept it.