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Qing Kuo: "Yes, we'll collect more lye this winter. We didn't collect enough last year, and now we've almost run out."

They discussed it for a while.

Jian Mo asked, "Should we go to the Mengshui Tribe to exchange for some more medicinal oil? I feel their medicinal oil is really effective; we can use it on the little ones."

Qing Kuo sighed, "Let's switch. We're just not as skilled. There's nothing we can do."

Jian Mo found it amusing but didn't take it to heart. Every tribe has its own specialties, and it's normal for the Mengshui Tribe to have some hidden tricks up its sleeve.

That evening, most of the tribe members returned from hunting or gathering, and the day's catch had already been distributed.

Qing Kuo and Ye Luo returned in a hurry.

Qing Kuo glanced at the open space. Jian Mo hadn't come out to cool off; instead, Ban Ming and A Hu were playing around in their beast forms.

The two large cats stood up on their hind legs, waving their front paws rapidly, each throwing cat punches at the other.

They fought fiercely, howling and screaming, their fur flying everywhere.

The onlookers watched the spectacle with great interest, cheering on both sides.

Upon seeing this, Qing Kuo immediately felt a headache coming on.

When the big cat Ban Ming saw his father coming, he immediately felt guilty and quickly tucked his tail between his legs and ran away, trying to slip away.

A Hu was just playing around with him, but seeing him like this, she quickly chased after him.

Qing Kuo booming, retorted, "What the hell are you running for! I saw everything!"

Ban Ming let out a "whoosh" and ran even faster.

Qing Kuo called out from behind, "Don't just keep running, stop by Jian Mo on the way and call Jian Mo over for me!"

Ban Ming quickly changed direction, slipping and running towards Jian Mo to deliver the message.

Jian Mo was preparing dinner when she heard this and put down the cleaver. "What does your father want with me?"

Ban Ming: "I don't know either, Jian Mo, could you go over there?"

Okay, it won't take much time anyway.

Jian Mo tidied up the kitchen briefly, took off her apron, and went to the open space.

Qing Kuo and the others were still waiting in the open space. When they saw Jian Mo, Qing Kuo said with a hint of pride, "I brought you back some good stuff. Guess what it is?"

Jian Mo: "I really didn't expect that, Berry?"

Jian Mo recently developed a strong liking for berries, so that's usually where my guesses lead.

Qing Kuo simply stated, "It's not for eating."

If it's not food, then what could it be? Jian Mo walked over. "Wood? An insect nest? Let me see, I can't guess."

Qing Kuo then took out a hard, yellowish-brown object from his basket.

Jian Mo looked closely and felt that it looked like a block of salt, a bit like a block of sugar, and also like some kind of mineral raw material.

Jian Mo went over to take it. The hard object felt heavy and cold to the touch, and it did feel a bit like a stone, but not like a stone.

He wanted to put it under his nose and smell it.

With this shake, some crumbs fell from the hard lump, which he casually rubbed off—

Etc!

This feel!

Jian Mo rubbed the crumbs together and then pried at the hard lump, and sure enough, she pried out even larger crumbs, which easily stuck together with the previous crumbs.

Jian Mo's eyes widened. "My God, could this be the beeswax I mentioned before?"

Qing Kuo laughed, "You're asking me what you're looking for?"

Jian Mo put it under her nose and smelled it, but didn't detect any special odor. She rubbed it again and said, "It really does look like it. I've never seen pure natural beeswax before, but I feel like it should be. Wait a moment, I'll go home and melt it over a fire."

Others gathered around to watch, and seeing how excited Jian Mo was, they also touched and poked at him.

Someone asked, "What is this used for?"

Jian Mo: "It'll be incredibly useful! Wait, let me go see if it's what I'm looking for."

Qing Kuo followed beside him. "Go on, but this should be what you're looking for. It's also secreted by some kind of insect."

Jian Mo: "If you put it that way, then it really could be."

Jian Mo led them home, found a clean earthenware pot, piled stones in the yard to start a fire, placed the pot on it, and then cut off a hard piece with a dagger.

The cutting process went quite smoothly; it was easily sliced off with a gentle cut.

This further convinced Jian Mo that what Qing Kuo brought back was a piece of beeswax, no, insect wax!

The insect wax melted quickly into a liquid in the earthenware pot, and when a little was scooped up with a wooden stick, it solidified rapidly.

Jian Mo recalled the candles she played with during power outages as a child; the feel was exactly the same.

It's definitely wax; he couldn't possibly be wrong.

Jian Mo sighed, "This was really difficult. This is what I've been looking for. Where did you find it?"

Qing Kuo: "Anyway, it's not one of the tribes near us."

Jian Mo, "Then how did you find it?"

Qing Kuo casually remarked, "I asked some familiar sub-beastmen from other tribes for help in finding it. The sub-beastmen from those tribes then asked other sub-beastmen they knew from different tribes, and finally, they found it."

Jian Mo: "So, which tribe's specialty is this?"

Qing Kuo: "The goods are produced by a Yangyao Tribe, which is located next to the Jintuo Tribe. They are mostly feline beastmen and sub-beastmen. They heard that we also have feline beastmen and sub-beastmen here, so they agreed to exchange their goods for these goods."

Jian Mo sighed, "That's really not easy."

Qing Kuo: "Who says otherwise? People are only giving you face because they heard you're the most powerful shaman among all the nearby tribes."

Jian Mo touched her face. "It was worth it."

Having finally obtained the insect wax, Jian Mo to use it.

Jian Mo: "How about tonight? Let me see if I can make the lip balm?"

Qing Kuo: "You mean a lip balm made from animal oil and insect wax?"

Jian Mo added, "We also need to add some moisturizing medicinal juice. Don't we have Red Sparrow Branch oil? Add that too."

Making lipsticks was a closely guarded secret of their tribe, so Jian Mo only invited Qing Kuo and a few others over.

They were making lip balm in the courtyard. Because they had applied medicinal oil they had traded with the Mengshui Tribe, no insects bit them, and the breeze in the courtyard made it more comfortable.