Recaps

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong visited the Cypress Branch Tribe, where the sub-beastmen invited them to gather a local specialty. The chapter ended with Wu Jiong helping shake a giant tree so its translucent seeds fell for the tribe to collect.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong flew northwest to visit the Cypress Branch Tribe, bringing supplies and arriving on Jiujiu and Ying'ao.
• The Cypress Branch Tribe's sub-beastmen welcomed them and invited them to join a gathering trip without explaining what they would collect.
• The group walked through the forest as the sub-beastmen sang, then stopped at a giant tree and revealed that they were trying to knock something from its branches.
• After the sub-beastmen's attempts barely shook the tree, Jian Mo prompted Wu Jiong to help.
• Wu Jiong transformed into a giant wolf and rammed the tree several times, scattering its translucent seeds across the ground for everyone to gather.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong accompanied the Cypress Branch Tribe’s sub-beastmen into the mountains to gather Pearl Rice, where Jian Mo discovered that they could glide and saw how abundant their crop was. The group collected four and a half baskets of rice and headed back toward the tribe.

• The sub-beastmen sifted insect eggs from fallen leaves and invited Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to gather Pearl Rice roots with them.
• The sub-beastmen glided up steep mountain slopes, astonishing Jian Mo, and Wu Jiong carried him up the mountain as a giant wolf.
• The sub-beastmen showed Jian Mo a tall clump of ripe Pearl Rice and stripped its large grains from the stalks.
• The group left the remaining rice to ripen, gathered more along the way, and collected four and a half baskets in half a day.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong visited the Cypress Branch Tribe, where the sub-beastmen prepared a communal feast using the insect eggs they had gathered. Jian Mo enjoyed the fried eggs and learned the tribe had discovered how to remove the bitterness from garlic powder by frying it in oil.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong returned to the tribe with tender white roots and watched Jiujiu and Ying'ao play with the plump chirpers.
• The sub-beastmen showed the plump chirpers the branch-clinging insect eggs they had collected, and the tribe began preparing a shared meal.
• Jian Mo observed the Cypress Branch Tribe's communal cooking and greeted its chief, Zhou Zhi.
• Zhou Zhi explained that the tribe had learned to fry garlic powder in oil to remove its bitterness, and Jian Mo discussed growing broadleaf garlic.
• The tribe served the fried insect eggs at the feast, and Jian Mo tasted them and found them crisp, fragrant, and delicious.

Jian Mo developed a fever after two tiring days of travel and woke late while Wu Jiong was away arranging the day's itinerary. A Meng noticed Jian Mo was unwell and he planned to treat the fever with herbs.

• Jian Mo recorded what he had seen and heard, but fell asleep before Wu Jiong returned.
• Jian Mo woke late the next morning, feeling dizzy, and realized he had a fever.
• Jian Mo decided to boil dried herbs and drink the medicine.
• A Meng noticed Jian Mo's flushed face and touched his forehead.
• Jian Mo told A Meng that he had a mild fever and would be fine after taking medicine.

Jian Mo fell ill with a high fever while traveling with the caravan, so he stayed behind in the Snow Foot Tribe to rest with Wu Jiong and others caring for him. As his fever worsened, Jiujiu stayed by the house and accepted the congee Jian Mo could not finish.

• A Meng prepared medicine for Jian Mo after he became too weak to stand and fell asleep in the clearing.
• Wu Jiong found Jian Mo feverish, and the gathered tribespeople urged him to stay in the Snow Foot Tribe until he recovered.
• Wu Jiong arranged for the caravan to continue without him, while Bei Ya insisted on staying with his companions to help care for Jian Mo.
• Yun Long wished Jian Mo well before the caravan departed, and Wu Jiong took him back to the house to rest.
• Jian Mo's fever worsened by noon, and he fed his leftover fish congee to Jiujiu, who had been keeping watch outside.

After Jiujiu accidentally caused Jian Mo to grow a pair of cat ears, Jian Mo struggled with his fever and heightened hearing while Wu Jiong and the tribes cared for him. Resting on Wu Jiong outside, Jian Mo asked the little beavers to catch some noisy fish.

• Jian Mo developed two soft new ears on top of his head after Jiujiu rubbed against him, and Wu Jiong identified them as cat ears.
• Wu Jiong suggested Jian Mo might have awakened a civet bloodline and said they would ask Qing Kuo to examine him after he recovered.
• People from the Snow Foot Tribe, Cypress Branch Tribe, and Rain Rising Tribe brought Jian Mo food and urged him to rest.
• Jian Mo's fever and unusually sharp hearing made him uncomfortable, so Wu Jiong carried him outside and let him lie on his warm beast form.
• Jian Mo watched the little beavers practicing in the lake and asked them to catch the noisy fish below the platform.

Jian Mo’s new cat ears helped the beavers find fish, and after his fever improved, he examined the small, floppy ears with Wu Jiong. He remained unsure how they would grow, while Wu Jiong reassured him that they were cute and unique.

• Jian Mo used his new hearing to guide the little beavers to a hidden fish nest, and they caught several large fish.
• Jian Mo learned that Zhou Fu had beaver blood through his father, who came from the Snow Foot Tribe.
• After his fever eased, Jian Mo joined Wu Jiong and the others for dinner and watched Jiujiu and Ying'ao swim with the little beavers.
• The next morning, Jian Mo examined his small gray ears in a mirror and complained that they looked unlike Qing Kuo’s.
• Wu Jiong stopped Jian Mo from pinching his ears and reassured him that they were cute and would grow.

Jian Mo recovered enough to help the Snow Foot Tribe prepare fruit jam before examining Dan Guan, a beastman from the Mountain Bright Tribe with several bald patches. Jian Mo suspected Dan Guan’s hair loss differed from the case he had treated before, leaving the cause and treatment uncertain.

• Jian Mo asked to rejoin the main group, but Wu Jiong insisted he rest another day.
• Jian Mo got up in the good weather and helped the Snow Foot Tribe cut pinghua fruit while their young practiced catching fish.
• Dan Guan arrived from the Mountain Bright Tribe and asked to see Doctor Jian Mo about his worsening hair loss.
• Jian Mo examined Dan Guan’s smooth bald patches and explained that the young beastman he had previously treated had lost fur after stress and malnutrition, unlike Dan Guan.

Jian Mo examined Dan Guan, found no clear cause for his sudden fur loss, and suggested he seek a change of environment. Wu Jiong refused Dan Guan’s request to stay in the Riverside Tribe, so Dan Guan planned to ask the Mengshui Tribe for help; Jian Mo and Wu Jiong also discussed organizing the tribe and improving its roads.

• Jian Mo examined Dan Guan and found him healthy, but could not identify why his fur had fallen out.
• Jian Mo suggested Dan Guan try a different environment, and Dan Guan asked to move to the Riverside Tribe.
• Wu Jiong refused Dan Guan’s request and suggested he approach the Mengshui Tribe, which sometimes took in outsiders.
• Dan Guan planned to stay with the Snow Foot Tribe for two days, then travel with them to ask the Mengshui Tribe for help.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong discussed dividing the Riverside Tribe into living and work areas and paving its sand road with stone.

After recovering from his fever, Jian Mo prepared to leave the Snow Foot Tribe and catch up with the caravan, while inviting nearby tribes to visit Riverside Tribe. The fat chirps and Pallas's cats decided to join him and Wu Jiong on their trip to the Eighteen Bends Tribe, provided they sent messages to their tribes first.

• Jian Mo told the Snow Foot Tribe he was leaving and received two jars of jam as a gift.
• Jian Mo showed the Snow Foot Tribe a drawing of ginger and asked them to look for the plant, then explained paper and pens to them.
• The fat chirps and Pallas's cats asked to accompany Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to the Eighteen Bends Tribe.
• Jian Mo insisted that the young visitors arrange for messages to be sent to their tribes before joining the trip.
• Wu Jiong noted they might return by way of the Bright River Tribe, and Dan Guan arrived ready to travel.

Jian Mo and his companions reached the Eighteen Bends Tribe, where they reunited with their caravan and joined a hunt for long-tailed birds. Dan Guan gathered herbs for his suspected fungal infection and went to bathe, while the group settled in for a communal meal.

• Jian Mo advised Dan Guan to try a medicinal wash for a possible fungal infection, and Dan Guan chose to continue with the group.
• Jian Mo and his companions reached the Eighteen Bends Tribe's territory after traveling through its mountainous terrain.
• Jian Mo's group encountered their caravan companions hunting long-tailed birds alongside members of the Eighteen Bends Tribe.
• The Eighteen Bends Tribe welcomed the visitors, and its people helped Jian Mo gather herbs that Dan Guan eagerly collected.
• The tribe offered Jian Mo and Wu Jiong a house, and Dan Guan hurried off to bathe while everyone prepared dinner.

Jian Mo settled into life with the Eighteen Bends Tribe, checked Dan Guan’s treated bald patch, and joined the tribe and caravan on a hunt for long-tailed birds. The hunters surrounded the birds’ cliff habitat and prepared to capture them alive.

• Jian Mo’s companions accepted his new beast ears, and everyone agreed to stay another day and hunt long-tailed birds.
• Dan Guan asked Jian Mo to check his bald patch, but Jian Mo said it was too soon to tell whether the medicine was working.
• Jian Mo traded for jars of the Eighteen Bends Tribe’s spicy pickles and agreed to look for the plant’s seeds during the hunt.
• Jian Mo learned that the Eighteen Bends Tribe wanted to capture long-tailed birds alive and considered raising poultry for eggs.
• Wu Jiong, Yun Long, Yan Dun, and the Red Zheng Tribe’s chief split their hunters around the birds’ territory and prepared to ambush them.

The Eighteen Bends Tribe, the Cypress Branch Tribe’s fat chirps, and the Pallas’s cats caught long-tailed birds in the mountains, with Jiujiu and Ying'ao joining the hunt. After returning with their haul, the Eighteen Bends Tribe fed mushrooms to the badly injured birds, and Jian Mo asked whether the mushrooms could heal them.

• The Cypress Branch Tribe’s fat chirps and the Pallas’s cats chased the long-tailed birds along the cliffs and learned to pin them down rather than grab them.
• Jiujiu flew off despite Jian Mo’s calls and caught a long-tailed bird, earning praise from the others.
• The hunting party moved to another spot, where Jiujiu and Ying'ao helped catch more birds while the hunters released the thin, weak, and young ones.
• The Eighteen Bends Tribe returned with the remaining birds and fed freshly gathered mushrooms to those most seriously injured.
• Jian Mo asked whether the mushrooms could heal the long-tailed birds’ injuries.

Jian Mo learned how the Eighteen Bends Tribe raised long-tailed birds and enjoyed a meal of bird soup with mushrooms and cured meat. After hearing about Banhe Mushrooms, he and the caravan decided to visit the Banhe Tribe the next day to trade for some.

• Jian Mo watched the Eighteen Bends tribespeople test mushrooms for poison by feeding them to long-tailed birds and asked about raising the birds.
• The Eighteen Bends tribespeople offered Jian Mo two long-tailed birds and eggs to take home, and he gave them a dagger in return.
• The Eighteen Bends tribespeople served long-tailed bird soup with mushrooms and cured meat, and Jian Mo praised the meal.
• The Eighteen Bends tribespeople recommended the Banhe Tribe's mushrooms, and Wu Jiong said the tribe was on their route home.
• Jian Mo and the caravan agreed to visit the Banhe Tribe the next day, trade for mushrooms, and rest there before returning.

Jian Mo traveled with the trading party toward the Banhe Tribe after checking on Bei Ya and Dan Guan. The group met Banhe Tribe members who had come to greet them, and Ao Xi asked Jian Mo to treat his older brother’s persistent cough.

• Wu Jiong reassured Jian Mo that he could tell him if his ears became uncomfortable, and they discussed the supplies they had traded for.
• Jian Mo examined Bei Ya’s healing facial wound and Dan Guan’s rash, agreeing to continue Dan Guan’s medicine for two more days.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong joined the trading party as it set out for the Banhe Tribe.
• The group met Peng Duo, Ao Xi, and other Banhe Tribe members, who offered them water and welcomed them.
• Ao Xi asked Jian Mo to treat his older brother, who frequently coughed and brought up phlegm despite having no other apparent symptoms.

The caravan arrived at the Banhe Tribe to trade for Banhe Mushrooms and saw how the tribe cultivated them on logs. Jian Mo joined a mushroom-picking trip while Ao Xi arranged for him to examine his older brother that night.

• Zuo Han welcomed the caravan and explained that the Banhe Tribe had both wild and cultivated Banhe Mushrooms, with different qualities and prices.
• Zuo Han showed the group the tribe's mushroom logs and offered to cook mushrooms for them before they decided what to trade for.
• Ao Xi told Jian Mo that his older brother might be away and asked him to examine him that night; Jian Mo agreed.
• Ao Xi led Jian Mo and the others into the mountains to pick Banhe Mushrooms, which proved delicate and often spoiled, were eaten, or had withered.
• Ban Ming and the others wondered whether the Banhe Tribe was exaggerating how difficult the mushrooms were to pick, and Jian Mo warned them that the nearby tribe members might hear.

Jian Mo and the others enjoyed fried Banhe mushrooms at dinner, then he examined Ao Shen, who had suffered from nighttime congestion and coughing for two years. When Jian Mo realized Banhe mushrooms might be connected to Ao Shen’s illness, he found an entire wall of logs growing them in Ao Shen’s bedroom.

• Jian Mo tasted the Banhe Tribe’s fried mushrooms and asked Wu Jiong to trade for more before they left.
• Wu Jiong quietly put an extra piece of fried mushroom in Jian Mo’s bowl.
• Ao Xi brought Jian Mo to examine his brother Ao Shen, who described years of nighttime congestion, coughing, and a runny nose.
• Jian Mo suspected Ao Shen had rhinitis but admitted he lacked the medicine to treat it.
• Ao Shen let Jian Mo inspect the Banhe mushrooms in his room, where Jian Mo found a wall of logs covered in growing mushrooms.

Jian Mo suspected that Ao Shen’s lifelong illness was caused by exposure to companion he mushroom spores and arranged for him to avoid mushrooms. Ao Shen improved after moving to a mushroom-free room, and Ao Xi learned that his brother should continue staying away from them.

• Jian Mo warned Ao Shen and Ao Xi that mushroom spores could cause lung problems and asked whether Ao Shen’s illness worsened around mushrooms.
• Ao Xi brought Zuo Han, who recalled that Ao Shen had been exposed to cultivated companion he mushrooms since childhood.
• Jian Mo arranged for Ao Shen to move to a room where mushrooms had never been grown and gave him a mask to wear around them.
• The next morning, Ao Xi found that Ao Shen’s congestion had eased and his mucus had turned clear.
• Ao Xi reported the improvement to Jian Mo, who advised Ao Shen to avoid mushrooms and Ao Xi to warn the tribe against growing them indoors.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong gathered Banhe Mushrooms with Ao Shen, who tried to make amends by guiding them to abundant picking spots. On the morning of their third day, Jian Mo learned that Ao Shen had recovered and continued checking his patients, while Ao Shen offered him two mushroom-covered logs as thanks.

• Ao Shen led Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to more than ten spots where they collected Banhe Mushrooms, and the Banhe Tribe returned the mushrooms Jian Mo had offered to share.
• Ao Xi and Ao Shen provided beast fat and a clay pot so Jian Mo could fry the mushrooms, and Jian Mo also traded for two baskets of dried Banhe Mushrooms.
• On the third morning, Ao Xi told Jian Mo that Ao Shen was feeling much better and his nose had stopped running.
• Jian Mo examined Bei Ya's healing facial wound and Dan Guan's suspected ringworm, deciding to observe Dan Guan's condition for two more days.
• Ao Shen thanked Jian Mo for treating him and offered him two logs covered in Banhe Mushrooms, but Jian Mo refused because they were too valuable.

Jian Mo and the caravan returned to the Riverside Tribe with new animals, seeds, mushroom logs, and ideas for improving the settlement. The tribe welcomed them, and Jian Mo prepared to discuss renovations and shared construction plans at a meeting.

• Jian Mo and the caravan returned to the Riverside Tribe after three days and two nights, where the tribe members enthusiastically welcomed them and Jiujiu and Ying'ao.
• Jian Mo explained to Qing Kuo and the others that the Long-tailed Birds were for breeding and that the tribe might need to expand its animal facilities.
• Jian Mo proposed renovating the tribe’s roads and houses, building a toilet and bathing room, and creating a coordinated sewer system for discussion at a meeting.
• Jian Mo suggested hiring other tribes to provide materials and help with construction, and Qing Kuo proposed holding a bonfire party that night.
• Jian Mo said he had brought back Banhe Mushroom logs and three patients, who were staying at the Mengshui Tribe and would come over the next morning.

After returning home, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong reunited with the tribe and prepared to begin new work. Jian Mo treated Bei Ya and Dan Guan, welcomed the chubby chirpers and their Pearl Rice, then set out with Wu Jiong to place Honey Sparrow nests near the birds’ colony.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong attended the tribe’s bonfire party, where the caravan shared stories of its journey, and discussed plans for a meeting about building up the tribe.
• Bei Ya and Dan Guan visited Jian Mo for treatment, and he changed Dan Guan’s herbal prescription.
• The chubby chirpers delivered Pearl Rice and thirty-one intact Honey Sparrow nests, and Jian Mo thanked them with a pot of cake made from Pack-Pack Beast milk.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong decided to place the nests in the Honey Sparrows’ habitat so young birds might settle in them without being caught.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong rode Jiujiu and Ying'ao to the colony with the nests, stopping at a distance to avoid disturbing the Honey Sparrows.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong returned to the Honey Sparrow colony at night and collected nests with the birds inside, hoping to raise them and secure a steady supply of honey blocks. They escaped the angry flock and returned to the tribe with forty cages of Honey Sparrows, where Ye Luo noted that successful breeding could provide honey blocks throughout the year.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong waited two days, prepared small cages, and rode Jiujiu and Ying'ao toward the Honey Sparrow nests at dusk.
• Jiujiu tried to persuade Jian Mo to bring them along, but Jian Mo left Jiujiu and Ying'ao waiting while he and Wu Jiong continued on foot.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong found Honey Sparrows in the nests they had placed and carefully secured thirty-one of those nests, along with nine wild nests, in cages.
• The Honey Sparrows noticed the capture and attacked as Jian Mo and Wu Jiong packed up and fled, chasing them even after they met Jiujiu and Ying'ao.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong returned to the tribe with forty cages of Honey Sparrows, and Ye Luo said successful breeding could keep them supplied with honey blocks all year.

Jian Mo and the tribe began raising Honey Sparrows on the back mountain, learning that only the birds from Ji Xun’s nests returned. He then organized help to mound and fertilize the crops, and most of the tribe showed up the next morning.

• Jian Mo warned everyone to keep the children from eating the Honey Sparrow nests because they were poisonous.
• Jian Mo and the others placed forty Honey Sparrow nests in the back mountain, kept the birds caged for three days, and then released them.
• Jian Mo found that the Honey Sparrows returned to thirty-one nests from Ji Xun, while the nine nests they had collected at random remained empty.
• Ban Ming and the others offered to help Jian Mo tend the crops after learning that he planned to raise the soil ridges and fertilize them.
• Jian Mo scheduled the fieldwork for the next morning, and most of the tribe’s beastmen and sub-beastmen came to help.

Jian Mo and the tribe worked together on their fields, went fishing, and made fish balls before Jian Mo began building a boat with Wu Jiong. Before they could launch it, Yun Long visited with Bei Ya and Dan Guan, saying he had something to tell Jian Mo after the checkup.

• Jian Mo and the tribe tended the private and communal fields, then agreed to hold a feast together.
• Jian Mo, Qing Kuo, Ye Luo, and others went fishing at White Sandbar, brought back a large catch, and shared fish balls at another feast.
• Jian Mo made glue from fish bladders and insect droppings while directing Wu Jiong to assemble wooden boards into a boat.
• Yun Long arrived with Bei Ya and Dan Guan and told Jian Mo he had something to discuss after the two men received their checkup.

Yun Long arranged for the Mengshui Tribe to trade building materials for lime and cement and help construct toilets in the Riverside Tribe. After the materials arrived, Jian Mo recorded and explained the exchange, and the tribe began firing lime and cement while splitting its workers between production and hunting and gathering.

• Yun Long offered the Riverside Tribe stones and timber in exchange for lime and cement, and Wu Jiong agreed to the deal and to let Mengshui Tribe members help build toilets.
• Yun Long arranged for people from the Mengshui Tribe to deliver the materials, and Wu Jiong planned to record the quantities and settle the accounts later.
• The Mengshui Tribe brought a large pile of materials, and Jian Mo wrote down the amounts, made copies for both tribes, and explained the record to Ya Zheng and the others.
• After the Mengshui Tribe members left, the Riverside Tribe moved materials into the pottery kiln to fire lime and cement, while the rest of its people went hunting and gathering.