An Eye-Opening Experience

The people of the Cypress Branch Tribe swept the fallen leaves together, then sifted them through a wooden sieve, and round, translucent objects fell down.

Jian Mo reached out and picked one up, examining it closely several times, but still couldn't recognize it. "What is this?"

The sub-beastmen said joyfully:

"A particularly delicious type of insect egg."

"It's only available this season. If you come a few days earlier or later, you won't be able to get any."

"Actually, you can eat it Doctor Jian Mo, would you like to try some?"

Upon hearing them say it was insect eggs, Jian Mo immediately guessed that what she was holding were insect eggs. She instantly became wary of them and warned, "No, you'd better not eat raw food either, it's risky."

The sub-beastmen nodded in unison. "We know, we eat them very little now."

Jian Mo emphasized, "It's best not to eat it."

The sub-beastmen cheerfully replied, "Understood."

The insect eggs were sifted out, filling about half a basket.

The beastmen were so hungry they were practically drooling.

One of the orcs suggested, "Shall we dig up some Pearl Rice roots and boil them to make water?"

The other sub-orcs chimed in, "We definitely need to dig some up, otherwise we'll lose our voices after eating the fried insect eggs."

Someone turned to Jian Mo and Wu Jiong and asked, "Doctor Jian Mo, are you going or not?"

Jian Mo was just thinking that they were quite health-conscious when she heard the invitation and readily agreed, "Let's go! We've never seen what wild Pearl Rice plants look like before."

The sub-beastmen. "It just looks like ordinary weeds, nothing special."

Despite what everyone said, they still led Jian Mo and the others into the mountains after hearing their interest.

The sub-beastmen introduced themselves along the way:

"If you want, you can exchange some more Pearl Rice to take back with you."

"Pearl Rice can be stored for quite a while, and it will last even longer if you don't remove the husk."

"If you find it too much trouble to carry them back, or if you're changing a lot, we can help you carry them back."

Jian Mo smiled and said, "Okay, let's talk about it when we get back."

The sub-beastmen became even more enthusiastic. "Then it's a deal!"

With business to discuss, the beastmen moved with a lighter pace.

They hopped and skipped along, carrying Jian Mo and the others up the mountain. In some steep and difficult sections, their hands transformed into large wings, flapping them to lift their bodies into the air.

Soon, they skillfully flapped their wings and flew up there.

Jian Mo stared in shock, her eyes wide. "You can do that?!"

The sub-beastmen, gliding ahead, hadn't heard him clearly, only catching his words. They turned around to look. "What?"

Jian Mo pointed at them. "You can fly?"

The beastmen were puzzled. "What's wrong? Can't your tribe's people also conjure up ears, claws, tails, and the like? Of course we can fly!"

Before the words were finished, a sub-orc added, "No, we can't fly. We can only glide for short distances. If it's too far, we can't fly at all."

This was shocking enough, Jian Mo said in disbelief, "I really didn't expect this."

The sub-beastmen laughed knowingly, "That's right, you always see a lot of amazing things when you visit other tribes. I used to find it quite strange when I saw other sub-beastmen conjure claws."

The beastmen leaped and flew, moving with great ease.

Jian Mo wasn't doing so well. Climbing mountains is tiring enough, but climbing fast is even more tiring. After climbing for a while, he was panting heavily and could hardly keep up.

Wu Jiong transformed back into a giant wolf and carried him up the mountain, whereupon the two of them began to catch up with the sub-beastmen.

As they climbed over the mountaintop and descended from the other side, the sub-beastmen pointed out the Pearl Rice plants to Jian Mo: "That's Pearl Rice. Some of them grew early, so they should be ripe by now. Let's go take a look."

Jian Mo saw a large clump of plants from a distance and pointed at them. "Those?"

The lead orc said, "Yes, I see fruit up there. Let's go, let's hurry over."

A group of sub-orcs flew and leaped, quickly approaching the clump of plants.

Jian Mo looked at it and couldn't help but say, "You call this grass?"

This plant is almost taller and bigger than a clump of bamboo. No, it's still a bit taller than bamboo, but grass that's two or three meters tall is really rare.

The subhuman beastmen have already approached the plant.

A sub-orc jumped up, hooked his hands around the plant, and used his weight to pull down the tips to make it easier for his companions to collect the plant. "Yeah, look how thin it is!"

Jian Mo looked at the grass stem, which was thicker than a beastman's wrist, and didn't perceive it as particularly thin.

The spikes of Pearl Rice are not very long, only about the length of an arm, and the Pearl Rice on them is sparse, but the grains are large.

The dried Pearl Rice that the people of the Cypress Branch Tribe had given him before was the size of corn kernels, and this fresh Pearl Rice was almost as big as lotus seeds; you could pluck a handful from just one ear of rice.

Jian Mo watched the sub-beastmen diligently gathering resources and couldn't help but look on with envy. "Your place is truly abundant in produce."

The rice from the Riverside Tribe has more tubers, and its texture and taste are far inferior to Pearl Rice. The people of the Cypress Branch Tribe are much happier.

"It's alright, there's enough for us to eat."

Jian Mo exclaimed, "That's wonderful."

He finally understood why the people of the Cypress Branch Tribe always had a kind of innocent and naive charm. With no shortage of food, a group of people would eat, sleep, and play, making it difficult for them to be serious or profound.

The sub-beastmen quickly plucked the ripe Pearl Rice from the clump. "Alright, let the rest grow a little longer, let's move on to the next place."

Jian Mo: "Wait, aren't you going to dig up the roots of the Pearl Rice?"

"We do need to dig, but we have to dig the one closest to the village. This place is too far, and it'll be too tiring to carry it all the way back."

The beastmen led Jian Mo and Wu Jiong back, picking a lot of Pearl Rice along the way, collecting four and a half baskets in just half a day.