The castle was utterly still.

The people seated around the fire, each cradling their own potted flower, said nothing. The only sound was the occasional crack and pop of burning wood.

Ed tossed two more table legs into the fire basin.

Erik couldn’t help himself. “Add more — bigger fire, warmer.”

“Are you joking? Sure, a bigger fire is warmer, but it burns through fuel faster.” Ed was displeased, shooting him a look. “Once it’s gone, we’ll have to go out again.”

“Even if we burn slowly, this wood will run out eventually and we’ll still have to go outside,” Erik said. “You should have brought back more chairs and tables.”

Ed flared slightly. “Easy for you to say. Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to haul wood out there? If you’re so capable, you go fetch the supplies next time!”

Erik hunched down, blew into his cupped hands for warmth, and replied, “Fine, I’ll go. But add more wood for now — I’m genuinely freezing.”

Ed scoffed and reached for more wood.

Brian put out a hand to stop him.

“Now what?” Erik was anxious. “Stop being stingy with the wood! I said I’ll go out for supplies — isn’t that enough? At least let me warm up now!”

“We can’t go out right now.” Brian gave him a calm glance. “Getting supplies from the city district takes at least two hours round trip, and the supplies aren’t just sitting in the street waiting to be picked up — most places are sealed under ice, making it extremely difficult and time-consuming to search. And before long, that woman will return to check the seeds. At this critical point, we’re all better off staying right here.”

Erik looked displeased but didn’t press the matter further.

Cheng Weicai glanced at the three of them and offered gently, “Everyone hang in there a little longer. Once the seeds sprout, we’ll have cleared our first hurdle…”

“In just a few hours, can they even sprout…?” Ed muttered under his breath.

Cheng Weicai had no real certainty himself. He sighed quietly, then lifted a small bowl from beside the fire basin — the ice inside had already melted into water, gently warm.

He picked up the bowl and carefully poured a little along the edge of the cup lid, ensuring the soil inside stayed consistently moist.

The others watched and followed, adding water to their own lids one by one.

Cheng Weicai reminded them, “Not too much — don’t flood it. And don’t pour directly onto the seed. The current will wash away the surface soil.”

“What a pain…” Ed grumbled, but he did as he was told.

He was being as careful and slow as he could, even holding his breath — yet somehow the force of his pour was still too great. In an instant, a good amount of soil was swept away, revealing beneath the surface layer a tiny flash of tender green.

“…Wait, what? Wait, wait, wait!!!” Ed cried out. “Hey! Old man, come look at this — has mine sprouted?!”

Cheng Weicai hurried over, followed closely by Brian and Erik crowding in.

In the firelight, that tiny bit of new green stood out brilliantly against the dark soil.

“Yes, yes, it’s sprouted!” Cheng Weicai said quickly. “Set it down, don’t touch it — be very careful!”

“Mine seems to have sprouted too.” Brian picked up his lid and held it out to Cheng Weicai.

Not as obvious — but peering closely, there was a tiny raised bud barely visible beneath the soil’s surface.

Cheng Weicai hurriedly checked his own. The freshly watered soil was a deep, moist black, and he could make out no change. His heart sank slightly.

Then, at the center of the soil, there came a faint tremor — and a tiny point of tender green pushed up from the earth. So small, so fragile, as if even a slightly too-deep breath might injure it.

Cheng Weicai slowly set down the lid and let out a long, steady breath. “Mine has sprouted too…”

Everyone looked over at Erik, without quite meaning to.

His seed alone had yet to sprout.

Erik cupped his lid and stared down at it with grim fixation. “…Strange. Why isn’t mine doing anything?”

—