Above the mage

Chapter 259 The Generous Lady Flora

Gao De looked in the direction Elder Grant was pointing.

The sight before him made him frown.

The golden wheat fields, which should have been lush and vibrant, now appear desolate.

In the fields, there are hardly any golden wheat seedlings left.

Most of the wheat seedlings had withered and were carefully removed to avoid affecting the other healthy seedlings.

Of the remaining few golden wheat seedlings, some have visibly wilted, their leaves losing their former vibrant green and turning withered and weak, as if they might fall over at any moment.

These surviving wheat seedlings swayed in the breeze, appearing exceptionally fragile and doomed.

"These wheat seedlings were fine when I checked them yesterday, but they've turned into this overnight," Elder Grant said with a worried frown, pointing to the wilted seedlings.

"If this isn't resolved soon, all the golden wheat seedlings will be destroyed."

After speaking, Elder Grant turned his gaze to God.

"How do you need us to cooperate with you?"

Gao De smiled and said, "No need."

Then, he gently patted his pocket.

The next instant, Flora flapped her wings and flew out.

Loich had met Flora before and didn't react much, but Elder Grant was seeing her for the first time, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"This is a magical pet I obtained through [Summoning a Magical Pet]. It's skilled in planting," Gao De explained. "With it by my side, we'll definitely be able to find out why the Golden Wheat is dying."

It is both an introduction and a statement.

To prevent others from seeing Flora's methods and having designs on her—Flora was summoned through [Summoning Familiars], so naturally she couldn't be forcibly taken away.

Upon hearing Gao De's introduction, Lady Flora unconsciously puffed out her chest with pride: My turn!

But the other two didn't get any Flora noodles.

"Huh?" Loich was surprised to find that God was actually relying on Flora. He was both convinced and skeptical.

"A magical pet?" Even Loich was skeptical, let alone Elder Grant.

He glanced down at Flora, who was no bigger than a fingertip, and his face immediately showed disappointment. He waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "This is a serious matter and cannot be taken lightly. What problem can a magical pet solve?"

Elder Grant had never heard of any magical pet that could farm.

The words had barely left his mouth when he noticed that the little figure, who had been fluttering its wings and looking quite cheerful in the air, suddenly widened its eyes and stared at him intently, its gaze sharp as lightning.

—Dare to question Lady Flora's expertise? Lady Flora will remember this grudge!

The little girl didn't say a word, but Gao De understood her dissatisfaction.

"Elder, please don't be anxious," God said to Elder Grant, who was stunned by Lady Flora's glare. "Since I dared to make such a bold statement, it's not to show off or tease you. It's just that my magical pet is indeed extraordinary. Please just wait."

"Alright, then let's see how you perform. Don't try to fool me." Seeing Gao De's confident demeanor, Elder Grant believed him somewhat and immediately put away the disappointment on his face.

"Of course not," Gao De readily agreed.

Then, he lowered his gaze to Flora, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I entrust this to Lady Flora."

Flora snorted, straightened her chest again, and flew towards the wheat field.

Elder Grant found this scene quite novel.

It's strange that Flora, who is called a magical pet, looks like a little devil, but now that her "master" God is talking to her so seriously, calling her "Master," it's really quite a strange thing.

Meanwhile, as Elder Grant was still in astonishment, Flora had already landed on one of the wilted wheat seedlings.

Then, like a busy little bee, she began to bustle about.

She would look at the leaves every now and then, carefully examining the color and texture of each leaf, looking for any signs of abnormality.

After a while, he walked around the wheat stalks to observe them, carefully examining the roots and stems.

A moment later, it landed on the ground and gently dug up a small patch of soil with its fingers, as if inspecting something.

Once this posture was adopted, Elder Grant's expression became noticeably more focused, as if he was beginning to believe in Flora's professionalism.

Gao De, meanwhile, squinted at Flora, waiting for her to "get off work."

About fifteen minutes later.

Flora flapped her little wings, left the wheat field, and flew lightly toward Gaode.

She flew straight to God's shoulder, then sat down steadily, swinging her legs and making some sounds that Elder Grant couldn't understand.

Gaode listened attentively, nodding occasionally.

Finally, he raised his head and looked at Elder Grant and Loich, who were watching expectantly from the side.

"How is it?" Loich couldn't help but ask, his tone filled with urgency and anticipation.

Gao De laughed and said, "I've found the problem."

"That's it?!" Elder Grant was still a little incredulous. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, but more hope than anything else.

After all, Jin Huimai's problem had been troubling him for a long time, and now that there was a sudden turn of events, he was both surprised and excited.

"Okay," Gao De replied confidently.

Flora, perched on Gaode's shoulder, glanced sideways at the shocked Elder Grant, crossed her arms, and tilted her head away.

"What's the problem?" Elder Grant pressed.

Gao De stepped forward and came to a wilted golden wheat seedling. He bent down and pulled it out by the roots.

He casually shook the soil off the roots of the wheat seedlings, then snapped his fingers, and flames immediately burst into flames on the seedlings.

【Spark Technique】.

The flames burned very quickly, making a sizzling sound.

The golden wheat seedling was quickly burned to ashes and fell into Gao De's palm.

He gently blew away the straw ash, then held out his hand to Elder Grant and Loich.

In Gaode's palm, a dozen tiny white particles stood out. They resembled grains of sand, but were even smaller, and shone with an unusual luster.

"This is why the Jin Hui wheat seedlings withered and died," Gao De said in a deep voice.

Elder Grant and Loich stepped forward to examine the white particles closely.

Elder Grant frowned and asked, "What is this?"

"The corpse of an ice nematode," Gao De explained.

"Ice nematodes?"

"A type of nematode that likes to feed on the roots of wheat seedlings. Their activity damages the structure of the wheat seedling roots, causing the wheat seedlings to be unable to absorb water and nutrients properly, resulting in rot, blackening and softening of the roots."

"In addition, the irritants they secrete can cause abnormal proliferation of barley root tissue. You might not understand this, but it basically leads to the formation of noticeable small lumps on the roots."

Elder Grant listened intently, nodding repeatedly. "They all match up."

This is precisely the detailed situation of those problematic Jin Hui Mai Miao (a type of wheat seedling), which he had never mentioned, but has now been accurately described by Gaode Maps.

"Lady Flora told me all of this," God said, gesturing.

Elder Grant's gaze unconsciously drifted towards Flora.

The little figure sat upright on Gao De's shoulder, having turned its head back and staring intently at him.

"That's amazing!" Elder Grant looked at Flora, his eyes shining.

Flora unconsciously tilted her head back in an arc.

Gao De smiled slightly, paused, and continued, "These ice nematodes are very cunning parasites. They are not only extremely small, but also only 0.1 to 1 millimeter in length, making them invisible to the naked eye."

"Moreover, since they are transparent, they burrow into the roots of wheat seedlings and mix with the sap, making them even more difficult to observe."

"Only after cremation will this sand-like solid be formed, making it easy to observe."

Elder Grant's eyes widened, and a look of sudden realization dawned on his face. "So that's it! No wonder we hadn't discovered the problem before."

"I also thought it might be a pest infestation. I kept looking for external pests, but after checking the withered wheat seedlings over and over again, I couldn't find any clear clues. It turns out that cremation is the only way to find them."

Gao De's expression hardened, and he added, "The volcanic soil is already teeming with ice nematode eggs. These eggs will hatch rapidly in the warm and humid environment of the volcanic soil."

"Once they hatch, more ice nematodes will continue to infest the wheat seedlings, creating a vicious cycle."

"If measures are not taken soon, the entire wheat field will be affected, and the losses will be unimaginable," he warned.

Elder Grant, naturally aware of the gravity of the situation, nodded and adopted a humble, inquiring posture: "Then how can we get rid of these ice worms?"

"Actually, once the cause is found, there are many ways to solve them. For example, although these ice nematodes prefer warm and humid conditions, their eggs are extremely sensitive to heat, so high-temperature treatment is all that's needed."

"However, high temperatures can also damage the wheat seedlings of Jinhuimai. Although the ice nematode infestation has been solved, it has also caused significant losses, making it a losing proposition."

Elder Grant nodded repeatedly, "Indeed, while high-temperature treatment is effective, the risks are too great, and we cannot take the risk."

"There are only so many methods available to achieve both."

"However," Gao De smiled, continuing to take credit for Flora, "Lady Flora has already found a simple and easy way for you."

"When I was wandering around Phoenix, I noticed that many people in your area use a plant called neem to feed snow pheasants."

"Take some neem grass, crush it, soak it in water, then filter out the residue and spray it on the wheat field."

"There are some special substances in neem grass that have a strong killing effect on ice nematodes, but have no negative impact on golden wheat seedlings. They can even increase the organic matter in the soil to a certain extent. Well, you don't need to worry about what organic matter is, just whatever is beneficial to golden wheat."

Upon hearing this, Elder Grant's eyes flashed with a glimmer of hope: "The bitter neem grass has such an effect. Because it tastes so bitter and has very little moisture, and its texture is as dry as a withered branch, we used to only use it to feed snow pheasants. We never expected it to have such a use."

"If we sprinkle the neem water today, there shouldn't be any new golden wheat seedlings withering tomorrow. Some seedlings that were just damaged by pests might even recover," Gao De said with a smile.

"This method sounds simple, I'll try it right away!" Elder Grant said impatiently.

The problem has been identified, and the solution has been provided. God and Loich then left the area and returned to Phoenix to await Elder Grant's good news.

The two returned to their room together.

Roychi remained preoccupied throughout the journey.

He was worried about Catherine's condition, but also unsure whether the method Gao De had suggested would actually work.

But now, all he can do is trust Flora.

God, on the other hand, was all smiles. Compared to Loich's worries, he had complete faith in Flora's abilities.

Thinking of this, he thanked the little figure still sitting on his shoulder, saying, "Lady Flora has been a great help this time."

"It's nothing to mention," Flora said, her face full of pride yet feigning indifference.

"Elder Grant was unaware of Lady Flora's abilities and initially doubted her. Flora, being a magnanimous person, should not hold a grudge against him and should not take it to heart," God said again.

"It's a small matter that I don't hold grudges against you," Flora corrected earnestly. Considering that God had just praised her, she didn't criticize him for not being smart this time. "It's alright, Lady Flora doesn't hold grudges."

"Lady Flora is very generous," God praised again.

Flora was very satisfied.

She thought for a moment, then looked up at Gao De's profile and asked the question that had been nagging at her for so long, "Master, why didn't you let me find the problem right away?"

With her abilities, she only needed to lightly touch the golden wheat seedlings to know what the problem was.

But she had been flying up and down, looking around, for a full quarter of an hour, all of which was specifically instructed by Gao De.

Lady Flora obediently did as she was told, but she didn't understand why she had to do it.

If you don't understand something, just ask. Lady Flora has always been very inquisitive.

After thinking for a moment, Gao De said, "I'll tell Lady Flora a story."

"Yes, Master, please speak."

"In my hometown, there is a young locksmith. Although he is young, he is very skilled and has already completed his apprenticeship."

"When he was about to graduate, his master told him, 'When you help others pick locks, you must spend more time and make it look like you're putting in a lot of effort.'"

He didn't understand, but he still readily agreed.

"Soon, his first job came in. A butcher had lost his house key and had to call a locksmith to unlock it."

"We had originally agreed on a fixed price of 2 silver coins for unlocking, and that was already a cheap price. Younger locksmiths usually charge 3 silver coins for unlocking."

"Then, the young locksmith came. He was very skilled. In a flash, he opened the lock in just a few seconds, completely forgetting what his master had told him to do."

"But after the lock was opened, the butcher refused to pay. He felt that you only spent so little time on the whole thing, and charging him 2 silver was cheating him. He would only pay 1 silver at most."

"The butcher was burly and had a fierce-looking face. The young locksmith didn't dare to argue with him and could only accept 1 silver tael before slinking away. Even so, the butcher thought he had given too much."

"Does Lady Flora know why the locksmith gave those instructions to the young locksmith?"

The story is over.

Flora fell into thought and did not answer the question posed by Gaode.

Gao De shook his head, not caring.

A while later.

He heard Flora's voice in his ear: "Lady Flora is the young locksmith, the mage is the master locksmith, and that old man is the butcher, right?"

Gao De tilted his head and glanced at Flora, who was sitting on his shoulder. The little girl was looking up at him.

"Lady Flora is indeed insightful!" he praised.

"That's right." Flora nodded decisively, very happy to hear her mage praising her.

Seeing her happy made Gaode happy too.

(End of this chapter)