Fish Sauce

As soon as Jian Mo asked, everyone chimed in with their own explanations:

"We'd like to have some on hand, but the Three-Eyed Fish swim incredibly fast and hide very well; they're usually impossible to catch."

"It usually hides in mud and sand burrows, and the floodwaters mask its scent."

"There are also a lot of fish here, and the smell is so mixed that even we orcs can't detect it at all."

Is it really that amazing?

Jian Mo looked at Wu Jiong suspiciously and nudged him with her shoulder, as if to ask, "Is that really true?"

Before Wu Jiong could speak, Ban Ming said from the side, "Jian Mo, don't look down on the chieftain. You're not a beastman, so you don't know how faint the smell of this fish is, or how difficult it is to detect it in this chaotic environment. It's impossible to find it unless it's Giant Armor Beast with an exceptionally sensitive sense of smell, like Chief Yun Long of the Mengshui Tribe. Only they could possibly smell it."

Yun Long had always wanted to poach Jian Mo, and although Wu Jiong didn't say it, he didn't really like that guy.

Jian Mo suspected that Ban Ming was using reverse psychology.

Ban Ming, nudged by his good friend A Hu from behind, also remembered this and quickly added, "But the Giant Armor Beast is slow and clumsy, so it can't catch the Three-Eyed Fish either."

Wu Jiong's focus was indeed on Ban Ming's previous sentence. "Impossible to find? What if I find it?"

Ban Ming thought for a moment and said, "If you find and catch it, I'll bring you the lead beast."

Wu Jiong: "How many we catch, we kill them all?"

People around them egged them on. "Want to make a bet?"

Ban Ming gritted his teeth. "Fine! But if you can't catch a single one, you'd better bring Backbone Beast over here."

Wu Jiong: "Sure, if I can't catch any, I'll carry ten beasts over for you, you can specify the species. If I do catch some, you'll carry over as many Arrow-Bone Beast you catch."

Ban Ming: "Alright! Then I'll be waiting for your beasts!"

It was rare to see Wu Jiong make a bet with someone, and everyone was very excited.

Qing Kuo laughed and said, "We will all be your witnesses. The sun will set as the dividing line. If the clan leader catches the culprit before sunset, the clan leader wins; if he doesn't, Ban Ming wins."

Wu Jiong and Ban Ming both agreed.

The bet officially began.

Chapter 86 Fish Sauce

Wu Jiong was about to start looking for the Three-Eyed Fish when he transformed back into his beast form and had Jian Mo ride on his back.

Ban Ming saw this and protested loudly, "You can't have two people together! That's not fair!"

Giant Wolf: "You don't need two people to beat you."

Jian Mo laughed from the giant wolf's back, "I'll just come along. I won't do anything, and even if I did, I might just make things worse."

That makes sense. After thinking for a moment, Ban Ming added, "Then I'll follow behind you and keep an eye on you."

The giant wolf ignored him and carried Jian Mo along the river to search.

Jiujiu watched them leave and curiously followed behind.

This guy is huge; it makes a splashing sound when it steps in the water. Even if there are fish, they would probably be scared away by it.

Jian Mo waved behind her to shoo it away. "Jiujiu, go back now, don't follow me."

Jiujiu chirps, standing in the river.

Jian Mo waved her hand again. "Be good."

The boy Ran Wu, who had been treated by Jian Mo, saw that Jiujiu was still standing there, so he came over, took Jiujiu's paw, and pulled it upstream.

Jian Mo smiled and thanked Ran Wu, then was carried downstream by the giant wolf.

The giant wolf waded through the river, sniffing around, but it didn't seem to be going very well.

He walked back and forth, covering a long distance. His long fur got wet, and the tip of his tail was wet too. The wet fur clumped together and dragged in the water.

When they returned to the group to rest, Jian Mo tenderly slid off him and reached out to wring out his long hair.

Jian Mo said softly, "If we really can't find them, then let's just forget about it. It would be fun to catch Arrow-Bone Beast instead."

Big Cat Ban Ming was following behind them. Hearing Jian Mo's voice, his ears twitched and he ran up. "That's right. If you can't find it, Chieftain, you can't just give up looking. Just bring me ten Arrow-Bone Beasts."

Giant Wolf: "We can find it."

The big cat licked its nose. "Then you'd better hurry, the sun is already high in the sky, it'll be setting soon."

Giant wolf. "I know."

The big cat paced back and forth around them a couple of times. "Then I'll wait. Come to think of it, there might not even be Three-Eyed Fish here; your search might just be a waste of time."

Everyone listened to them make their bet with a smile.

Seeing Ban Ming's provocation, Qing Kuo shook his head. "Silly boy, take it easy, or you'll lose even your animal skin skirt."

The big cat wagged its tail tip: "Impossible, I followed them and didn't smell any Three-Eyed Fish at all."

A Hu walked over and placed her paw on the big cat's paw. "I couldn't smell it either. The smell of Three-Eyed Fish is too hard to find."

Qing Kuo: "Just because you can smell it doesn't mean the clan leader can't smell it. Clan leader, can you smell it?"

Jian Mo immediately reacted. "Qing Kuo, you're not allowed to gather information for your son."

Qing Kuo laughed, "I wasn't asking around, I was just curious."

Giant Wolf: "You'll find out this afternoon."

After a quick lunch and a short rest, the giant wolf carried Jian Mo downstream along a section of the river.

The giant wolf, which had searched for half the morning without success, seemed to have finally identified its target.

Seeing his behavior, everyone was somewhat surprised and followed him downstairs.

After running for a while, he stopped somewhere and scratched at a hole by the river with his paws.

As soon as the cave was dug open, a fish with light yellow markings on its back darted out and landed right under the giant wolf's nose.

The giant wolf opened its mouth wide and swiftly and accurately snatched the fish that had been delivered right to its doorstep.

The fish struggled desperately in the giant wolf's mouth, slapping his nose several times.

The commotion was so loud that everyone turned to look.

De Jiang was the first to see clearly. "It's Three-Eyed Fish."

Qing Kuo agreed, "It is indeed Three-Eyed Fish."