The old lion (continued)

Jian Mo looked up and smiled, "It's too cold. I was thinking it would be too much trouble to make breakfast. Why don't you come and eat with us?"

Ye Luo: "What did you make? It smells so good."

Jian Mo: "Dumplings!"

Ye Luo looked curiously into the room. "What new food is this?"

Jian Mo invited him inside. "You'll know once you try it."

The three of them sat down at the small table.

Jian Mo brought out a large earthenware bowl of dumplings, and then placed a large stack of roasted meat on the table. "Eat it while it's hot."

Dumplings wrapped in starch have a semi-transparent outer skin, allowing you to see the filling inside.

Pick up Ye Luo with a leaf and take a bite. The chewy outer skin, the diced meat and Wood-Stabilizing Root mixed together, make it exceptionally delicious. The pickled vegetables also bring a fermented flavor, making the dumpling even more flavorful.

Ye Luo exclaimed, "As expected of you, the things you make are exceptionally delicious."

Jian Mo smiled mysteriously, "Have another sip of soup."

Ye Luo picked up the bowl and took a sip, captivated by the delicious flavor. "Delicious! What's in the soup? Fried bird eggs?"

Jian Mo nodded. He whisked the bird eggs into an egg mixture, fried them on a stone slab, and then sliced them into strips. This made the dumpling soup exceptionally white and delicious. "Besides fried eggs, there's something else."

Ye Luo laughed, "Then I won't be able to taste the difference."

Jian Mo looked at Wu Jiong: "Did you taste it?"

Wu Jiong: "Pepper stamen."

Ye Luo: "How could it be pepper buds? Aren't pepper buds spicy?"

Jian Mo gestured with her hands. "I added just a little bit, so you can't taste the spiciness, but it removes the fishy smell and makes the soup exceptionally delicious."

Upon hearing this, Ye Luo picked up her bowl, took another sip of soup, and savored it carefully. "It really is."

After a delicious breakfast, they packed their things and prepared to leave.

The road is too far, and the snow outside hasn't melted yet, making it difficult to walk.

Jian Mo said to Ye Luo, "Let's ride the Flying-Winged Beast."

Ye Luo looked at Wu Jiong: "Can the Flying-Winged Beast carry the three of us?"

As they walked towards the back of the house, the Flying-Winged Beast heard their voices and came to greet them. Before Jian Mo could answer, the Flying-Winged Beast, having understood what they were saying, poked its head out and called out loudly, "Jiujiu!"

Now, without needing Jian Mo's translation, Ye Luo understood that the Flying-Winged Beast was saying it could carry him.

He smiled and gently touched the Flying-Winged Beast's wing, "Understood."

Jian Mo: "Jiujiu is very strong. She can carry me and Wu Jiong on her back, and even two large baskets of Hairy Root would be easy for her. You might not even weigh as much as two baskets of Hairy Root."

The three of them came over together. The Flying-Winged Beast knew it was time to go out, so it stretched out its neck and let Wu Jiong put a rope on it.

After the rope was secured, it crouched down and waited for the three people to climb onto its back. Then, under Wu Jiong's command, it flew eastward.

Before they even arrived at their destination, Jian Mo could see from afar that the summit of a mountain ahead was shrouded in dark clouds.

Lightning pierced through the clouds, lashing the mountaintop like a whip.

Even without Wu Jiong saying it, Jian Mo knew that the mountain in front of him was Thunder God Mountain.

No, it might be Thunder and Lightning Mountain, he silently corrected his previous Orc translation in his mind.

The Flying-Winged Beast had been struck by lightning and still harbors a fear of it.

Seeing Wu Jiong pulling the reins to go that way, the Flying-Winged Beast hesitated and turned back. "Eek?"

Wu Jiong patted its right forewing. "Fly lower, it's alright."

The Flying-Winged Beast was a little scared, but it still obediently flew downwards.

As they approached the forest, the Flying-Winged Beast, seeing the lightning ahead, refused to fly any further.

Wu Jiong didn't force it, letting it land on the ground, taking back the reins, and letting it roam freely.

The three of them then walked up the hillside.

The temperature on Thunder God Mountain is noticeably higher than outside. There is no snow on the mountain, the grass is still green, and some trees have sprouted green leaves.

As Jian Mo walked uphill, she found several kinds of edible wild vegetables and put them all in her basket.

He had recently been worried about not getting enough vitamins and fiber, and now that problem is solved.

The three of them climbed the mountain, Jian Mo soon saw the waterfall.

Ye Luo said, "It rains frequently here, and the gullies on the mountain are full of water, so there's a lot of moss."

Jian Mo turned to look at the moss growing on the tree and nodded in understanding.

After walking for a while, Jian Mo heard the sound of the waterfall cascading into the pool, a loud rumble.

Ye Luo said, "Thunder God Pool is just ahead."

Jian Mo, "There won't be any electricity in the water, will there?"

Ye Luo: "How could there be electricity? It's just that it's the largest pool on Thunder God Mountain, so everyone named it Thunder God Pool. But it does thunder frequently here, so nobody really likes coming here."

Ye Luo seemed to know every place in the tribe well. He led the way and soon arrived at the stone in Thunder God Pool.

This fairly large pool is filled with stones of all shapes and sizes, and due to the moisture and temperature, plants grow all over the stones.

At Jian Mo could identify at least seventeen or eighteen kinds of plants.

Ye Luo searched the rocks for a while, then scooped up a small piece of moss. "The anesthetic the Mengshui Tribe gave you should be this kind of moss."

Jian Mo looked over and saw that the moss was about the size of her palm, and it looked like a pine needle, but its surface was not waxy, but fuzzy.

He gently plucked a moss stalk, crushed it, and held it to his nose to smell. Sure enough, he could smell a bitter scent, similar to the anesthetic given to him by the Mengshui Tribe.

Ye Luo: "I had previously observed that fish would float belly-up after eating this moss, so I thought it was poisonous and never dared to pick it. But yesterday, when I smelled it, I remembered."

Jian Mo: "You're amazing! You have excellent observation skills, a great memory, and quick reflexes."

It's practically the tribe's encyclopedia.

Ye Luo smiled and said, "I like to think about these things when I have nothing to do."

There was a lot of this moss growing on the rocks in the pool.

The three of them shoveled up the soil from the bottom and carefully placed it into their baskets. Soon, each of them had filled half of their baskets.