Chinese Yam?

The silent mountain forest returned to how it had been before. If not for the slightly tilted trees and the pool of blood on the ground, it would have been hard to tell that a thrilling battle had just taken place here.

Ryman lay beneath a tree, motionlessly watching Nord and Reed move about in front of him. What had just happened had left him exhausted in both body and mind. He was no longer as energetic as those two young men. As long as they did not wander too far away, Ryman would not stop them.

Nord was deeply curious about the mountain forest. For example, what had the wild boar been digging up underground just now? So Nord took a wooden stick and poked around where the boar had been rooting for food.

Reed did not understand what Nord was doing. Why was he poking the ground with a stick? Curious, he ran over to investigate.

"Reed, do you know what that wild boar was eating just now?"

"I don't know, Lord Nord. It was my first time seeing a wild boar, and such a huge one at that. Even from so far away, it scared me half to death."

Nord was still shaken by what had happened. No wonder the old saying went: first boars, second bears, third tigers. Wild boars really were this dangerous.

While speaking, Nord's wooden stick seemed to strike something. His heart stirred. Found it. He used the stick to scrape away the dirt above it, revealing what lay beneath.

They were dark and muddy, some oval-shaped and some long and cylindrical. Wrapped in a layer of soil, their original appearance was impossible to make out.

Nord tilted his chin toward Reed and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

"I've never seen it before. I used to pick wild fruit from trees; I never dug things out of the ground! Maybe only wild boars eat this stuff. I definitely wouldn't eat it! Let's ask Old Mor. He'll know."

As he spoke, Reed picked it up with a disgusted look and wiped away the dirt on its surface, revealing its original color. It was yellowish-brown, with tiny root hairs on the outside. The more Nord looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Wasn't this a potato? Yet it also looked somewhat like a sweet potato.

Filled with doubt and surprise, Nord and Reed went over to Old Mor. Old Mor took two looks before speaking.

"This thing is called Mountain Lump. It's poisonous, and only wild boars eat it. Some people ate it before when they were starving, but they soon started vomiting and had diarrhea. After that, no one ate it anymore."

Poisonous? Nord frowned. That should not have been the case. Could it actually be something entirely different from the version in his old world? But wild boars could eat it, and vomiting and diarrhea were not really symptoms of poisoning. They sounded more like improper preparation. Nord suddenly understood and pressed Old Mor further.

"How did you eat it?"

"How else could we eat it? We cleaned it and ate it directly. That's how you eat fruit in the mountains, unless it's poisonous."

Nord silently gave these people a thumbs-up. They were really that fierce? They did not even know to cook it first? With such a treasure left uneaten while people outside starved, Nord did not know what to say. Was it laughable? Or pitiful?

Nord decided to try it. He called Reed over to gather more Mountain Lumps and collected some firewood to roast them over a fire.

Old Mor saw what they were doing and opened his mouth, but he said nothing. Perhaps he thought it was pointless, so he let the two of them fuss around.

They cleared the surrounding area, dug a pit in the ground, and finally lit a fire inside it. They had gone to all that trouble because they were afraid of causing a forest fire. After all, a fire on the mountain, and the chief would fall for me...

The Amon Mountains stretched for thousands of miles, with forests crisscrossing everywhere. If they caused a fire, the consequences would be unimaginable. It was better to be careful and responsible—to be civilized people.

Nord skillfully placed the Mountain Lumps around the fire. He had not completely cleaned the dirt off their skins, but he knew that did not matter. Once they were roasted, the dirt would fall away on its own and would not affect eating them.

Looking at the scene before him, Nord remembered his childhood in his previous life. A group of friends would sneak off to steal sweet potatoes from some villager's field—perhaps even from one of their own families. That did not matter. What mattered was roasting the sweet potatoes. They could play around for an entire afternoon. When the adults caught them, they would get a severe beating. It was not because of the sweet potatoes, but because the adults worried about children playing with fire. Still, everyone had been happy. Childhood happiness was just that simple.

As Nord reminisced, the Mountain Lumps gradually cooked through. Following Nord's instructions, Reed carefully turned them over bit by bit to prevent them from burning.

When Reed turned one over, the roasted Mountain Lump released an enticing fragrance. Reed swallowed and glanced at Nord, who was still lost in thought. He suppressed his appetite and continued working.

Ryman and the others, who had been resting nearby, also caught the scent. They stood up and discovered that it was coming from Nord's side. Their faces were blank with confusion, but their feet carried them toward Nord and Reed of their own accord.

When Nord came back to his senses, he saw four or five people gathered around the fire, staring longingly at the food before them. He could not help but laugh. The scene looked exactly like his old friends from his previous life.

He looked at the Mountain Lumps before him. Their skins had roasted golden, and some had even turned black, probably because they had been turned too slowly. Still, they were perfectly edible. He raised a hand to signal that everyone could eat.

Everyone stared at each other. Though the fragrance was overwhelming, when it came time to eat, they all hesitated. After all, they had never eaten anything like this before.

Reed swallowed and cautiously asked Nord. His eyes held doubt, but also a hint of hope that Nord would reassure him.

"Lord Nord, can we really eat this? Wild boars eat it, and it's poisonous. Can we eat it?"

Nord did not answer. He directly picked up a Mountain Lump. It was a little hot, so he carefully broke it open. An even richer fragrance immediately washed over them. Reed and another hunter stopped hesitating and reached out, picking up Mountain Lumps to eat.

"Smells amazing!"

Reed muttered through a mouthful of food. Ignoring the heat of the Mountain Lump, he hurriedly stuffed it into his mouth. After finishing, he could not help but praise it again.

Ryman and Old Mor exchanged a look. The food before them truly smelled wonderful, but it had not yet been confirmed as edible. Vomiting and diarrhea might not be fatal, but they could still rob someone of their ability to fight. As experienced hunters, neither Ryman nor Old Mor would make such a mistake, no matter how good they smelled.

Ryman and Old Mor suppressed their appetites and watched Nord and the others for any adverse reactions so they could rescue them in time.

Meanwhile, Reed and the other hunter were completely uninhibited, taking huge bites of the Mountain Lumps without showing the slightest sign of poisoning. Reed even asked Nord.

"Lord Nord, how did you know Mountain Lump could be eaten? Mountain Lump is so delicious!"

"It looks very much like a kind of food from my hometown, and it isn't called Mountain Lump."

"It isn't called Mountain Lump? Then what is it called?"

Nord took another bite of the food before him. It tasted like sweet potato and had the texture of potato. Overall, it was like a combination of the two, with an even better taste and texture. So its name would be—

"Let's call it Chinese yam. It is a miraculous medicine bestowed upon you by the mountains."

Reed did not understand why such delicious food was medicine, but he did not dwell on it. Whatever Lord Nord said it was, that was what it was. He continued wolfing down the remaining food.

Yesterday, there were twenty-eight recommendation votes. Thank you all for your support, but there were only eight favorites—fewer than before I signed a contract. That is pretty awkward. I do not know how to promote myself, and there has not been much traffic this week, so I can only wait for next week's rankings to update. I will not pay attention to the favorite count these next two days. I hope those who have already favorited this novel will give me your recommendation votes and help me get through these difficult days. Next week, let's charge ahead together!