The group settled into the gazebo, placing the box at the center. Inside, the Florivive seed’s outer shell was wrinkled.

Jackson squeezed the seed with his fingers. It was solid inside. He frowned and grumbled, “This damn thing hasn’t sprouted after all these years. Maybe it just can’t grow at all.”

Nathan shook his head. “No, the formula says it will sprout.”

Jackson furrowed his brows. “This seed’s been kept for so many years. Can it really still be viable?”

It was not that he didn’t want the seed to sprout. But after all these years and countless attempts, nothing had ever made it sprout. The seed showed no sign of change. There was even no rotting and no hollowing out.

It was completely intact, like a counterfeit. Only something fake could stay unchanged for decades.

Yannis explained, “The uniqueness lies in its seeds. They never rot or decay. As long as they haven’t sprouted, they remain unchanged for decades. As for how long they can last at most, no one knows for sure.”

He added, “It’s been sixty years since the Yarbrough family got it. Devin has already verified it. It’s genuine.”

Jackson let out a weary sigh. “This seed is really a tough one to crack.”

It was easy to get the seed, but getting it to sprout was the real challenge.

“The Yarbrough family has tried every trick in the book. Ordinary methods just won’t cut it,” Zinnia said.

She took out another notebook documenting every method the Yarbrough family had tried over the decades, from the most ordinary to the most unusual. Yet the seed remained as stubborn as ever, showing not the slightest change.

Nathan took the notebook and skimmed the records. Every method was there, including dates, procedures, and temperature conditions, all meticulously documented. They’d tried nearly every known technique to induce the seed’s germination.

Decades had passed without success, and now they had only two months left. Getting this seed to sprout was nothing short of a pipe dream.

No wonder Zinnia was downcast. Nathan never expected they’d find the Florivive seed in the first place. But now that they had, if it turned out to be useless because it couldn’t sprout, even Nathan would feel bitterly disappointed.

“Don’t worry too much,” Nathan said gently. “Finding the seed is already a major breakthrough. Let’s figure this out together. Just do your best. If it really won’t sprout…” he trailed off, wanting to say it was his fate.

Zinnia hated hearing that kind of talk. It always put her in a foul mood.

Nathan looked at Zinnia’s worried little face and gently ruffled her hair. “Finding the seed is already a huge step forward,” he assured her.

There were numerous ways to sprout seeds. They would try them one by one, and they might just find the right method. The Yarbrough family might have tried most approaches, but that didn’t mean every possibility had been exhausted.

“Okay, Nathan, leave it with me,” Zinnia said firmly, straightening up. “I’ll definitely find a solution.” She knew moping wouldn’t help. What mattered now was to stay focused and figure out how to make it sprout.

With Nathan low on energy and unable to handle this, she would find a way to make it sprout for sure. With hope right before her eyes, there was absolutely no way Zinnia would ever give up.

Due to his frail health, Nathan now takes regular afternoon naps.

Chapter 343

Zinnia headed straight for her home lab and began rifling through the shelves for old methods. Now that the Florivive seed was finally in her hands, it was time to hunt for a way to make it sprout.

Since none of the conventional methods worked, Zinnia started scouring the books. After all, they did contain herbal cultivation techniques—at least several dozen volumes.

With five millennia of Laystoland’s wisdom and countless recorded methods, Zinnia refused to accept that there wasn’t a single way to make Florivive sprout.

Zinnia pulled out the books and settled at her desk, poring over the ancient texts. Most of the pages were filled with old language. They were arcane and convoluted, awkward words jumbled together and hard to decipher.

Even though Zinnia made herself read through them every year, each time still left her with a pounding headache.

She scrutinized the methods in the book, marking the promising ones and skipping those already tried.

The home lab was utterly silent, broken only by the soft rustle of pages turning.

Right then, three light knocks sounded from the door.

Without even looking up, Zinnia called out, “Who is it? Come in.”

‘Must be Yannis or Jackson. Nathan never knocks,’ she thought.

“Zinnia.” Yannis gently pushed the door open, his gaze immediately finding her slender figure sitting poised just ahead.

Zinnia glanced back. “Sit wherever you like, Yannis.”

Yannis walked up beside her and said, “Looking for a way to make the seed sprout?”

Zinnia was already a fifth through a book two fingers thick. She’d headed upstairs to her home lab right after dinner. Not in the best of health himself, Nathan reminded Yannis to keep an eye on Zinnia and make sure she didn’t overexert herself before heading upstairs to rest.

“Yes,” Zinnia replied absentmindedly, flipping to the next page without looking up.

Yannis glanced at Zinnia’s desk. It was cluttered with about twenty hefty books. The slimmest was two fingers thick, while the thickest rivaled a fist in size.

Everyone knew how much Zinnia detested reading, especially ancient books. But since she’d handpicked them all, she was determined to go through every single one.

“Yes,” Zinnia murmured absently, nodding.

“You’re going to read all these books?” Yannis settled in beside her, picked up one of the books, and started reading.

“Yannis, you should rest. I’ll read these myself. These books are such a drag,” Zinnia said, noticing his actions and trying to dissuade him.

These books were so dense and confusing that they made Zinnia’s head spin. Sometimes, after reading too much, she felt so dizzy that she could throw up.

“Let’s read together,” Yannis said gently as he opened the book. “Two pairs of eyes are better than one. We’ll get through it faster.”

The pages were crammed with tightly packed old language characters, and reading them for too long could easily strain your eyes.

“But—” Zinnia started, wanting to say more.

Noticing she was about to refuse, Yannis said gently, “Let’s read these together. The sooner we finish, the sooner we might find a way, and the earlier we do, the better it will be for Nathan’s health.”

With so many books, if Zinnia had to read them all by herself, no one knew how long it would take. Seven days at best.

But with Nathan’s health on the line, every extra day only made things worse for him. Reading together could cut the time in half.

Zinnia was well aware of this. She said softly, “Thanks for helping, Yannis.”

“You don’t need to be so formal with me,” Yannis said warmly. “Nathan isn’t just your mentor. He’s like a brother to both Jackson and me. We all want to see him recover soon.”

Yannis longed to be the one by Zinnia’s side in the future, but not if it meant Nathan had to entrust her to him under such tragic circumstances. Otherwise, she would never find true happiness.

“Sure.” Zinnia nodded lightly.

“Mind if I join in?” The door swung open again, revealing Jackson standing in the doorway.