Pointing the Way (continued)

The people of the Upper Meng Tribe were actually reluctant to send Heqin Baby so far away, but seeing that Jian Mo had no intention of doing so, they were all very happy. "Sure, Doctor Jian Mo, you are our guest, you can come and visit anytime you want."

The people of the Upper Meng Tribe even invited, "Doctor Jian Mo, why don't you stay with our tribe for a couple more days? Wait until Little Good One is feeling better before you leave, and we'll show you around the tribe."

Jian Mo thought the same thing, "Then I'll observe Little Good One and the others for a couple more days."

The Heqin babies were born, and the little ones from the Upper Meng Tribe couldn't resist going down into the river to play with them. Jiujiu followed them down.

As they played, the cubs of the Upper Meng Tribe began to dive underwater in search of food.

Jiujiu followed their example and dived underwater to look for food.

Judging from the scene, Jian Mo guessed that the people of the Upper Meng Tribe and the Snow Foot Tribe were similar, and that they mainly relied on aquatic products for their diet.

They lived by this wide river, so finding food must have been easier for them, which is why the whole tribe was so prosperous.

Jiujiu is a good swimmer; she quickly dived underwater and scooped up a large pile of shellfish.

During her inspection, Jian Mo discovered that the shellfish in the Upper Meng Tribe were different from those in the Riverside Tribe.

There are several special varieties here, all of which have thick, meaty flesh and look very delicious.

Someone from the Upper Meng Tribe saw it and came over to take a look. "Jiujiu's skills are impressive! These shellfish are all delicious."

Jiujiu, hearing someone praise her, proudly puffed out her chest. "Chirp!"

Someone else said, "Jiujiu is lucky too; these delicious shellfish aren't so easy to find. Even when we go down into the river to catch them ourselves, we rarely manage to get any."

Jiujiu, puffing out its chest even higher.

Others walked over and quickly understood what was going on. They couldn't help but laugh and praise, "Jiujiu's swimming skills are also amazing. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to dive down and catch so many shellfish."

Jiujiu lost itself in the praise and quickly became friends with the people of the Upper Meng Tribe, carrying them on its back and flying off to play.

The people of the Upper Meng Tribe had never encountered Flying-Winged Beast before, and they especially loved it when Jiujiu carried them and flew around. They often asked Jiujiu to take them to play.

Jian Mo saw it, but turned a blind eye.

Anyway, Jiujiu only flies above the river. If the people of the Upper Meng Tribe don't sit properly and fall off, they will fall into the river, and it won't cause too much damage.

They're all adult beastmen and sub-beastmen; if they want to play around and throw things around, they probably won't cause trouble for Jiujiu.

Jian Mo was very curious about the particularly delicious shellfish that the people of the Upper Meng Tribe had mentioned, and soon pulled Wu Jiong along to prepare the shellfish.

Wu Jiong was skilled at preparing all kinds of prey, even shellfish he had never seen before.

He quickly threw the inedible parts into the river and kept the edible parts.

Jian Mo found some animal fat, garlic powder, shallots, and ginger, planning to stir-fry some garlic paste to put on top of the shellfish for steaming.

The aroma of scallions, ginger, and garlic was so overpowering that when Jian Mo was stir-frying them by the river, he attracted half of the Upper Meng Tribe.

Seeing their curiosity, Jian Mo served them some to try.

The people of the Upper Meng Tribe really liked the seasoning that Jian Mo cooked, and they all expressed their desire to bring something in exchange.

As they spoke, they quickly ran home and brought back dried scallops and dried gallbladders from the Three-Eyed Fish.

--The gallbladder of the Three-Eyed Fish is particularly effective in treating fever; Jian Mo didn't expect to find it here.

After confirming that it was indeed Three-Eyed Fish gallbladder, Jian Mo readily agreed, sharing half of the seasonings she had brought with them, and telling them that if they wanted more seasonings in the future, they could exchange them at the Riverside Tribe.

Their Riverside Tribe specialize in growing these spices and have the most abundant supply of them.

The people of the Upper Meng Tribe happily agreed.

Because she had exchanged some of the scallions, ginger, and garlic with the people of the Upper Meng Tribe, Jian Mo was reluctant to use too much of the remaining scallions, ginger, and garlic. So she found the pickled vegetables she had brought, chopped them into small pieces, sautéed them in animal fat, added pepper powder and garlic powder, and used them to steam shellfish, which was also a good choice.

The saltiness of pickled vegetables brings out the freshness of shellfish while suppressing any fishy smell, creating a unique flavor.

The people of the Upper Meng Tribe quickly prepared dinner, and everyone ate together. At Jian Mo and Wu Jiong's invitation, they also sampled the steamed shellfish they had prepared.

The steamed scallops made by Jian Mo and Wu Jiong were indeed delicious, and everyone praised them highly.

"You guys really know how to eat! You look like you can eat more shellfish than any of us."

"We also have pickled vegetables, but I never expected that steamed shellfish would look like this."

"Doctor Jian Mo, are you looking for a kind of seasoning? Is the seasoning you're looking for as delicious as the one you brought today?"

Jian Mo answered while busy working, "I don't know. That kind of seasoning is special; people who are used to it think it tastes great, but people who aren't can't eat a single bite."

The people from the Upper Meng Tribe said, "We've never heard of that kind of seasoning before; it's probably not from our area."

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong had inquired about the local cuisine on their first day in the Upper Meng Tribe and knew they didn't have chili peppers there, so they weren't disappointed. "Then let's head further south."

The people of the Upper Meng Tribe offered them a cacophony of suggestions:

"Doctor Jian Mo, don't you know the Witch Doctor Lian Ke? You can go see him."

"Yes, yes, yes, Witch Doctor Lian Ke has been to many places. His medical skills may be average, but his knowledge is definitely extensive."

"You still know each other, so he probably won't refuse if you go to him."

"He seems to still be in the Lower Meng Tribe. If he leaves again in a few days, it might be difficult for you to find him."

Jian Mo was swayed by their words.

The fact that Lian Ke could travel from the Lower Meng Tribe to their Riverside Tribe shows that the place he went to was really far. We should ask Lian Ke; even if we don't get any information about chili peppers, we can eliminate some tribes that don't have them, making the search less difficult.

Jian Mo stroked her chin. "If that's how you see it, we'll go take a look in a couple of days."