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The aquatic plants were thick and fleshy, unlike any Jian Mo had seen before. They looked plump, rather like succulents.

No wonder there were so many shellfish here.

Only an abundance of food could support such enormous shellfish.

Jian Mo looked around.

Wu Jiong took the carrying basket from his shoulders. "Let's look for Knife Clams over there."

Jian Mo looked in the direction he pointed and narrowed his eyes.

Wu Jiong said, "The sunlight's a little harsh. Keep your head down and watch the path."

Only then did Jian Mo notice that Wu Jiong's pupils had changed. Not only his, but the pupils of every beastman and sub-beastman present had narrowed to shield their eyes from the glare.

It seemed that people who had lived here for a long time had evolved organs that adapted to the environment.

The two of them waded into the lake.

The mud came up to the middle of Jian Mo's thighs. It was a little cold, but bearable in the sunlight.

He rolled up his trouser legs, moved slowly through the mud, and began searching along the lakeshore.

Large shellfish were actually quite easy to find. Besides the edges that occasionally showed, there were holes in the mud where they breathed.

Wu Jiong quickly spotted a target. "Let's dig this one out."

Jian Mo nodded at once. "Okay."

Wu Jiong took out a stone hoe and, standing in the mud, dug it away in a few quick strokes.

Jian Mo soon saw the shellfish beneath. Its shell was dark greenish-black, and it was enormous, rather like an oversized river mussel.

As soon as it was disturbed, the Knife Clam clamped its shell shut.

Wu Jiong reached down and tried to pull it out.

The mud's suction was too strong. He tried several times without managing to lift the clam out, so he had to swing the hoe again, digging away as much mud as he could.

Jian Mo helped him from the side.

Together, they dug away the mud, then pulled the Knife Clam out with all their strength and set it on top of the mud.

The Knife Clam they had dug up was larger than a millstone, bulging high on both sides. It looked very plump, and was also extremely heavy.

Jian Mo tapped it lightly. The Knife Clam's shell was hard, and although it hadn't been worked yet, its edges were already sharp.

Wu Jiong took a shell knife from the basket and opened the clam on the spot.

The Knife Clam was tightly shut and difficult to open, but that was no obstacle for the strong and skilled Wu Jiong.

Before long, he had opened it.

The slightly orange-red clam meat inside was exposed, looking plump and delicious.

Jian Mo was secretly drooling over it when Wu Jiong deftly scooped out the meat and tossed it onto the mud. He then stacked the two halves of the shell and put them in the large carrying basket.

He moved so quickly that Jian Mo couldn't react at all. By the time all the meat had been thrown out, Jian Mo finally came to his senses, grabbed his wrist, and asked in shock, "You don't want the meat?!"

Wu Jiong rarely saw Jian Mo react so strongly. He said, "It doesn't taste good, and it's heavy."

Jian Mo stared at the meat. "It looks so plump and delicious."

Wu Jiong reminded him, "It's tough and fishy."

Jian Mo said, "..."

Jian Mo didn't seem convinced. He gazed longingly at the meat, his face full of hesitation.

Seeing him like that, Wu Jiong compromised. "If you really like it, take a couple back and try them."

Jian Mo thought it over, but still couldn't bear to waste the meat that looked so plump and delicious. "How about I tear out the innards and keep the meat? Then it won't be heavy. Even if we can't eat it, it would be good for feeding Jiujiu. We're not hunting or gathering today, so there isn't much at home to feed Jiujiu."

Wu Jiong glanced at the clam meat. "All right."

The Knife Clams were big, and they had plenty of meat.

Jian Mo easily separated the meat and tossed it into the basket.

He didn't yet know how the meat tasted, but it really did look tempting, especially the two palm-sized adductor muscles—the part used to make dried scallops.

Dried scallops in later times could never have been that big.

They dug up clams and removed the meat as they went.

The others soon noticed that Jian Mo was keeping the meat, so they tore theirs out and gave it to him too.

Although nobody understood why he wanted the meat, they were all quite happy to look after him.

Jian Mo's basket was soon more than half full. When Zhou Fu brought over another basket nearly half full of clam meat, he said politely, "You don't need to give me any more. Keep it yourselves."

Zhou Fu waved his hands repeatedly. "Forget it. I hate things that are both fishy and tough. I can't chew them."

Jian Mo said, "If you cook it properly, it won't be too tough to chew."

"Impossible! Unless you eat it raw." Zhou Fu looked at Jian Mo's expression and said worriedly, "You're not really thinking of eating it raw, are you? There are worms in the meat. You can't eat it raw."

Jian Mo was a little surprised that everyone actually knew about parasites.

Thinking he didn't believe him, Zhou Fu said, "There really are worms. Look carefully in a little while. If you check a few, you'll see them."

Jian Mo said, "I know. I won't eat it raw."

Zhou Fu looked at him a couple of times, then muttered, still uneasy, "That's good. I'll tell the chief about it later too."

There were so many Knife Clams here that, even though Wu Jiong and the others picked the biggest ones, they still dug up dozens in no time.

They kept only the meat and shells, filling their carrying baskets to the brim.

The sun gradually sank toward the west, and the wind changed direction. The cold wind made Jian Mo's head ache a little, and with the mud cold as well, he began to feel unwell all over.

Seeing that they had gathered enough, Wu Jiong said, "Let's go back. We have enough."

Jian Mo nodded repeatedly. "Let's go, let's go."

Jian Mo struggled out of the mud and stood on the shore in the sun. Only then did he feel a little better.

Everyone washed their hands and feet and waited for one another. Once everyone was together, the beastmen took their beast forms again and ran toward the tribe, carrying their baskets and partners on their backs.

Shell Lake was so far away that it was already dark by the time everyone returned to the tribe.

They left half the Knife Clams they had gathered for the tribe to distribute and took the other half home.

After Jian Mo got home, he started a fire. Seeing that Wu Jiong still meant to come and help him, he firmly pushed him away. "Warm yourself by the fire and rest first. I'll make dinner."

Wu Jiong said, "I'll help."