Establishing Their Roles and Distilling Seawater

Qian Renxue and Ning Rongrong's argument grew more heated.

Just as Chu Xiu thought they were about to come to blows, Shui Bing'er, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"Enough. Stop arguing, you two."

With a gentle smile, Shui Bing'er stepped forward to calm them. "This place is huge. We don't even know whether it's an island or a peninsula. If it's a peninsula, we might still be able to walk out. But if it's an island, we'll be trapped here without our martial souls."

Shui Bing'er was every bit as competitive as the others, but she had never cared to win a war of words.

They still had no idea what surrounded them. Fighting among themselves would only hurt their chances of survival.

Her words brought Qian Renxue and Ning Rongrong back to their senses.

"What do you think we should do next?" Qian Renxue asked her.

Whether in Spirit Hall or the Heaven Dou Empire, Qian Renxue held a lofty position.

Whenever a problem arose, her subordinates presented solutions. She only had to make the decision.

Inevitably, that made her manner somewhat haughty.

It rubbed Ning Rongrong the wrong way, and she cut in. "Aren't you so capable? Why do you need to ask someone else?"

Qian Renxue's expression chilled. She was about to argue back when Shui Bing'er stopped her.

"Enough. Both of you, say less."

Shui Bing'er turned to Ning Rongrong. "Miss Ning, I know you come from a distinguished background, but we're all facing the same predicament. I hope you can rein in your temper a little."

Ning Rongrong protested, "How can you be so ungrateful? Did you hear the way she spoke to you? I was standing up for you!"

"I know, I know."

Shui Bing'er sighed helplessly. "I know you meant well, but what matters now is figuring out how to survive."

Qian Renxue frowned and agreed.

"This place covers a vast area. Even if it's a peninsula, walking out would take a long time. Besides, we don't even have clothes."

At the mention of clothes, Qian Renxue blushed again.

Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er wore much the same expression, embarrassed yet helpless.

When the three of them looked toward Chu Xiu, he had already closed his eyes.

Seeing him sit there as though none of this concerned him made Ning Rongrong's temper flare.

"Hey, you're a grown man. Shouldn't you be stepping up right now? What do you mean by sitting there without moving?"

Hands on her hips, Ning Rongrong demanded an answer.

Putting on an innocent air, Chu Xiu asked, "Does that mean I can open my eyes?"

"No."

"Absolutely not."

Qian Renxue and Ning Rongrong answered in unison.

Chu Xiu shrugged and spread his hands. "You want me to step up, but you won't let me open my eyes. How am I supposed to help you?"

"Hmph. Easy for you to say."

Ning Rongrong gave him a disdainful smile. "If you claim you can help, tell us your ideas first. If they're actually useful, we might make an exception and let you open your eyes."

Qian Renxue nodded quietly beside her. "That's right. Tell us what you have in mind first."

Shui Bing'er said nothing, but she agreed with the other two.

The three women waited for Chu Xiu to lay out a plan.

Chu Xiu had never had to survive on a deserted island before, but prior to crossing over, he had read plenty of novels about it. Most of them focused on interactions between men and women, though he had picked up the occasional useful tip.

After a moment's thought, he said:

"Whether this is an island or a peninsula, we need to prepare for the worst. If we're going to survive here long-term, the most important things are food, fresh water, and shelter."

"This place is huge, too. There might be Spirit Beasts or other hidden dangers, so we should find some tools that can help keep us safe as soon as possible."

Shui Bing'er nodded slightly. "That makes sense. I was thinking the same thing."

Ning Rongrong sneered, unconvinced. "Anyone could think of that. The question is how we get food, fresh water, and everything else."

Qian Renxue looked at Chu Xiu.

"Do you have a way to get water and food?"

Chu Xiu nodded.

"Food should be easy enough. I spotted fruit trees in the forest earlier, so we won't have to worry about it for a while."

"As for water, I actually hope there's no fresh water nearby."

Ning Rongrong asked curiously, "Why?"

Chu Xiu smiled. "Because without fresh water, there won't be many wild creatures nearby. That means fewer threats to our safety."

Understanding dawned on all three women.

Fresh water was the lifeblood of every land creature. Humans needed it, and Spirit Beasts did too.

If the island had no source of fresh water, there naturally wouldn't be any large Spirit Beasts either.

"But if there's no fresh water, won't we die too?"

Shui Bing'er sighed.

Without their martial souls, they were far too vulnerable.

Otherwise, with her Ice Phoenix martial soul, she could simply make some ice and melt it into all the water they needed.

Chu Xiu smiled. "Don't lose hope yet. I know how to extract drinkable fresh water from the sea."

His words made all three women's eyes light up.

"Really?"

"How would you do that?"

Chu Xiu briefly explained how to distill seawater.

"But we don't have any tools, so we can only use the most basic method of distilling it on the beach. The sun won't produce much fresh water that way—just enough to cover our bare minimum needs."

In the deserted-island survival novels Chu Xiu had read, the survivors had all been stranded by plane crashes or shipwrecks.

Some could salvage plastic bottles, lighters, or other supplies from the wreckage. With those, seawater distillation could produce much more drinking water.

But they had no lighters or plastic bottles.

They didn't even have a scrap of cloth on them.

Extracting fresh water from seawater would be exponentially harder.

"Still, don't worry too much. There are plenty of other ways to find water on an island. They take a little luck, but getting enough to drink should be possible," Chu Xiu added.

Hearing that there were other ways to obtain fresh water, the three women relaxed a little.

"I think what he said sounds plausible. What do you two think?"

Shui Bing'er looked at Qian Renxue and Ning Rongrong.

Chu Xiu had explained both the steps and the principle behind distilling seawater. Even though they had never encountered anything like it, they could tell he knew what he was talking about.

Ning Rongrong thought for a moment, then said reluctantly, "I hate to admit it, but we really do need his help."

"Then let's accept him."

Qian Renxue made the final decision. "Our first priority is staying alive. Everything else has to come second."

The three women were in agreement.

Having a man around would be awkward, given their current state.

But if they wanted to survive, they had little choice.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Chu Xiu asked.

Qian Renxue and the others exchanged glances, then moved behind Chu Xiu together.

Only then did Shui Bing'er speak.

"Yes, but you can only look straight ahead. If you need to turn, you must tell us first. You can look back only after we give you permission."

"No problem."

Chu Xiu agreed at once.

"Then you can open your eyes."

Only after Shui Bing'er finished speaking did Chu Xiu slowly open his eyes.

The three beautiful women refused to stand where he could see them, but they had accepted him. That was a good start.