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Zhou Fu was the first to climb onto his mate. "I've never picked Flour Fruit with my own hands before. I've got to see what it's like today."

His mate, Jiu Yin, who had transformed into a huge red fox, laughed. "Then you'd better hold on tight."

Zhou Fu hugged Jiu Yin around the neck and pressed his cheek against the fox's enormous head. "No problem! If I fall, just catch me in your mouth."

Everyone laughed and repacked their baskets. The sub-beastmen each climbed onto their mates, and once they were ready, they set off at a run, led by Di Ya and Qing Kuo.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong still rode the Flying-Winged Beast, leading the way from the sky.

The route on the ground was much longer than the straight-line distance through the air, and running up and down mountains was tiring, but it still posed no challenge to the enormous beastmen with their exceptional stamina.

Looking down from the sky, Jian Mo kept feeling that they weren't running, but flying just above the ground.

How else could they be so fast? In a flash, they had raced from one mountaintop to the next.

Running with all their might, the beastmen reached the lakeside before the sun was directly overhead.

Now everyone could see the Flour Fruit growing in the lake.

Sitting high atop Di Ya, Qing Kuo looked out over the lake. "This trip really wasn't for nothing."

Jian Mo landed with the Flying-Winged Beast. "We just don't know how deep the mud in the lake is, or whether the fruit will be easy to gather."

Zhou Fu chimed in cheerfully, "What does that matter? If it comes to it, we can swim while we pick!"

Jian Mo asked, "Can everyone swim?"

"Of course," Zhou Fu said. "Everyone in our tribe is a born swimmer. Didn't you see that when we bathed before?"

Jian Mo glanced over the large group of beastmen, who looked like they belonged to the cat and dog families. These fluffy people did seem to be species that could swim naturally.

Zhou Fu and a few other sub-beastmen got ready first and cautiously entered the lake.

Soon, Zhou Fu said, "The water isn't deep. Most places only come up to our waists, but there are holes on the bottom, so be careful."

Xi Lu added, "I can see big-toothed fish down there. Everyone, watch out."

Jian Mo had been getting a sense of accomplishment from cooking fish lately, so he immediately asked, "What kind of fish?"

Xi Lu turned around. "A kind with very sharp teeth. They're especially fierce. They bite through Flour Fruit like it's nothing, and they can even crush rocks."

Jian Mo immediately thought of piranhas. "Do they bite people?"

"No," Xi Lu said. "Their mouths don't open very wide. They have to suck things into their mouths before they can bite them, so they'd have a hard time biting a person."

Jian Mo was relieved. "If they don't bite people, then it's our turn to eat them."

Everyone laughed at that and slowly entered the lake.

The water really wasn't deep. Most of it was only a little over a meter to two meters deep.

If they reached a spot two meters deep, they could push upward and swim a couple of strokes to the edge, so it wasn't much of an obstacle.

The water was a little cold, though. Even with the bright sun overhead, it was still cold after swimming for a while.

Jian Mo glanced to either side. Everyone else was gathering fruit, chatting and laughing, and no one said anything even when their fingers turned pale from soaking. He didn't feel right saying anything either, so whenever he felt cold, he paddled his arms a few times to warm up.

Wu Jiong soon noticed his predicament and reached out with a long arm to scoop him up. "Go ashore and rest for a while."

"No need." Jian Mo glanced at the others, unwilling to give them the impression that he was slacking off. "Once I get moving, I won't be cold."

Wu Jiong gave him a gentle push. "The Flour Fruit is heavy. Go ashore and peel off the shells so it'll be easier for us to carry it back. I'll do our group's share of the work here."

Wu Jiong was insistent, and people nearby were already looking over. Jian Mo felt that objecting any further would be a bit like challenging Wu Jiong's authority, so he nodded. "I'll give it a try first."

After Jian Mo went ashore, Zhou Fu and a few others came up to keep him company. The older children were also sent ashore, just about all of them.

Everyone emptied the Flour Fruit they had gathered onto the grass and found stones to smash the shells open and peel out the kernels.

Once they had peeled the kernels, they spread them out on the grass to dry.

The sunlight and cold wind would draw more moisture out of the Flour Fruit, reducing its weight and making it easier to carry back.

Some gathered while others peeled, and they worked at a good pace.

But there was too much Flour Fruit, so Wu Jiong and a few others made the decision to spend the night by the lake and head back the next morning.

No one objected. The children seemed especially excited and ran back and forth along the lakeside.

It wasn't convenient to cook out there, so the beastmen hunted some prey and caught fish. For dinner, they made do mainly with roasted meat and fish.

They had brought powdered spices, so the roasted meat and fish weren't bad, but they weren't all that good either.

Jian Mo sat among the crowd, listening to everyone talk about traveling beyond the tribe.

Beastmen and sub-beastmen lived exceptionally long lives and were individually powerful, so they had a habit of going out to travel.

Quite a few mates in the tribe had gone traveling together, though most were older.

The stories everyone told were about traveling, passed down through generations.

They were quite interesting to listen to.

They warmed themselves by the fire, chatted, and went to sleep.

There was no need for beast-hide bedding or anything of the sort. The sub-beastmen and children all slept on their beastman mates or family members.

The beastmen had thick fur and large bodies, so everyone except those on patrol and watch could sleep soundly and warmly.

When Jian Mo woke the next day, he lay lazily on Wu Jiong's warm, soft fur, which smelled faintly of soap, his whole body relaxed.

It was so comfortable.

Unfortunately, they had to travel today, and with so many people watching, it wasn't a good time to laze in bed.

Qing Kuo noticed that Jian Mo was awake and turned to him. "I just had a look. The Flour Fruit has dried out quite a bit. I pinched some open, and the kernels have turned pale."

That was a sign of low moisture content. Jian Mo's eyes lit up. "I'll come take a look."

Jian Mo climbed down from Wu Jiong and went to check the Flour Fruit.

Sure enough, the kernels had turned pale and brittle. When he smashed one hard, he could even see fine powder rise into the air.

Jian Mo hefted some, and sure enough, it was much lighter. It should be easier to carry today.