Recaps

Jian Mo and the tribe tried to train the injured Flying-Winged Beast to fly, but it refused to obey anyone except Jian Mo. With Wu Jiong riding behind him for safety, Jian Mo asked the beast to take off, and it answered with a cry.

• Wu Jiong returned with a crowd, and they roped and restrained the Flying-Winged Beast.
• Ban Ming tried to ride the beast and make it fly, but it stayed on the ground despite his efforts.
• The Flying-Winged Beast ignored Ban Ming and rubbed its head against Jian Mo, appearing to choose him.
• Wu Jiong agreed to ride with Jian Mo, and the beast patiently let Jian Mo climb onto its back.
• Wu Jiong held Jian Mo securely as Jian Mo asked the Flying-Winged Beast to fly, and it gave a long cry.

Jian Mo agreed to raise the Flying-Winged Beast, named it Jiujiu, and began caring for it as his household grew. The next day, he gathered extra food and tended to Jiujiu, discovering how much work the beast’s appetite and droppings required.

• Jian Mo rode the Flying-Winged Beast through the sky with Wu Jiong, and the beast refused to fly for others unless Jian Mo was aboard.
• The tribe agreed to help feed the Flying-Winged Beast, and Jian Mo accepted responsibility for raising it.
• Jian Mo named the Flying-Winged Beast Jiujiu, and it chirped happily at the name.
• Jian Mo carried a larger basket while gathering energy fruit and gathered grass and prepared food for Jiujiu.
• Jian Mo fed Jiujiu, refreshed its water, and cleaned up its droppings.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong gathered hairy roots to use as food for the Flying-Winged Beast and began processing them to extract their starch. They pounded the roots at the tribe’s stone mortar, leaving Jian Mo to turn and push down the pulp.

• Jian Mo decided hairy roots could feed the Flying-Winged Beast or provide starch, and Wu Jiong agreed to try extracting it.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong flew to a distant mountain on the Flying-Winged Beast and dug up a large load of hairy roots.
• They returned to the tribe, washed the roots by the river, and removed bug-infested parts.
• Wu Jiong showed Jian Mo the tribe’s stone mortar and transformed into a giant white wolf to pound the roots.
• Jian Mo pushed the roots down and turned the pulp with a wooden stick as Wu Jiong worked the stone hammer.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong processed maogen starch and made pancakes with meat and pickled vegetables, which they shared with the Flying-Winged Beast. The next morning, Jian Mo spun thread while gathered foragers talked, and Zhou Fu complained that his shell knives had broken.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong pounded, washed, and strained maogen, leaving the starch water to settle overnight.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong poured off the clear water and used the starch to make pancakes with egg, grilled meat, and pickled vegetables.
• Jian Mo fed a meat-filled pancake wrap to the Flying-Winged Beast, which eagerly swallowed it.
• The next morning, Jian Mo spun thread among a group gathered to forage.
• Zhou Fu complained that three shell knives had broken and said he had nearly missed breakfast.

Jian Mo joined the tribe on a long trip to gather shell knives at a distant alpine lake. The group reached the muddy, plant-filled shore, where they prepared to start collecting.

• Jian Mo heard that shell knives were breaking, and Qing Kuo agreed to take him along to gather replacements.
• Jian Mo collected hougou fruits with the tribe and prepared meat for the next morning’s early departure.
• Jian Mo joined Wu Jiong and more than ten pairs of beastmen and sub-beastmen as they traveled across canyons, ridges, and a plateau.
• Di Ya led the group to a vast alpine lake surrounded by snowy mountains and coniferous forests.
• Jian Mo noticed the lake’s thick muddy shore and dark green aquatic plants as everyone headed over to collect shell knives.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong gathered Knife Clams at Shell Lake, where Jian Mo kept the clam meat that the others usually discarded. They returned to the tribe after dark, divided the harvest, and Jian Mo began making dinner while Wu Jiong offered to help.

• Wu Jiong led Jian Mo into the muddy lake to dig up enormous Knife Clams and collect their shells.
• After Wu Jiong discarded the clam meat, Jian Mo asked to keep it, suggesting they could feed it to Jiujiu if it proved inedible.
• The other gatherers gave Jian Mo their unwanted clam meat, and Zhou Fu warned him that it contained worms and should not be eaten raw.
• As the weather grew colder and Jian Mo began to feel unwell, Wu Jiong called an end to the gathering.
• The group returned to the tribe after dark, left half the Knife Clams for distribution, and took the rest home.
• Jian Mo started a fire and told Wu Jiong to rest while he made dinner, but Wu Jiong offered to help.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong enjoyed grilled razor clam adductor muscles, and Jian Mo dried the remaining meat for later use. When A Da arrived with a deep, bleeding leg wound, Jian Mo stopped the bleeding and said it might need stitches.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong ate the grilled shellfish meat and agreed it was tender and delicious.
• Jian Mo boiled the remaining adductor muscles in salted water and set them out to dry.
• Jian Mo watched tribe members making shell blades and decided to grind some shells himself.
• Hong Qiu brought the injured A Da to Jian Mo after he slipped while pursuing a Long-Headed Beast.
• Jian Mo wrapped A Da's injured leg tightly to stop the bleeding and said the wound might need stitches.

Jian Mo treated A Da’s badly cut leg by cleaning and stitching the wound, then sent him home to rest. A Da left in Wu Jiong’s care, and Heng Man returned with meat to thank Jian Mo, who refused payment.

• Jian Mo persuaded A Da to have his wound stitched and took him to Wu Jiong’s house for treatment.
• Jian Mo sterilized his tools, rinsed A Da’s wound with saltwater, and stitched it while Wu Jiong held A Da steady.
• Jian Mo applied herbs and bandaged the wound, then told A Da to rest and return the next evening for a checkup.
• Wu Jiong carried A Da home, and Heng Man later brought Jian Mo meat as thanks.
• Jian Mo refused the meat as payment and told Heng Man to make A Da nourishing food while he recovered.

Jian Mo checked A Da’s leg and warned that it might not heal enough for the upcoming Hunting Gathering. When a messenger from the Mengshui Tribe announced that the gathering would begin in five days, Jian Mo learned more about the event and asked whether the participating tribes changed each year.

• Jian Mo found that A Da’s wound had nearly healed but advised him that strenuous activity at the Hunting Gathering could reopen it.
• A Da asked to participate in the gathering, and Jian Mo told him they would check his leg again before deciding.
• A messenger from the Mengshui Tribe announced that the Hunting Gathering would be held in five days, and the tribe agreed to participate.
• Zhou Fu and Xi Lu told Jian Mo that the gathering featured competitions, entertainment, and trade between tribes.
• Jian Mo asked whether the tribes attending the Hunting Gathering were different each year.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong planned to catch fish at the Green Marsh Source to trade at the upcoming hunting gathering, and most of the tribe joined their trip. The group reached the marsh and began fishing, but some grew impatient with how slowly they were catching fish.

• Zhou Fu and the others advised Jian Mo to bring useful goods, and Wu Jiong suggested he trade food at the hunting gathering.
• Jian Mo decided to bring fried fish pieces, and Wu Jiong proposed catching fish at the Green Marsh Source.
• Zhou Fu and other tribe members asked to join Jian Mo and Wu Jiong, so Wu Jiong arranged a day-long fishing trip for the tribe.
• The tribe set out at daybreak, rode across the open land, and reached the marshlands led by Di Ya.
• Jian Mo and the others spread out to catch the large fish, while some complained that the murky water made fishing difficult.

Jian Mo helped Wu Jiong’s tribe devise a way to catch a large number of fish, then taught them to cure fish and made a new fried fish dish. The tribe enjoyed the crispy, tender result as they prepared their catch for preservation.

• Jian Mo suggested building a downstream dam and driving the fish toward it, and Wu Jiong organized the tribe to try the method.
• The beastmen stampeded through the marsh, driving schools of fish downstream, where everyone caught and strung them while returning smaller fish to the river.
• The tribe filled their baskets and used all their rope, then washed off the mud and fishy smell after returning home.
• Jian Mo showed the tribe how to cure fish with salt and seasonings, while he marinated fish pieces, coated them in egg and hairy-root starch, and fried them.
• Zhou Fu and Xi Lu tasted Jian Mo’s fried fish and praised its lack of fishy smell and its crisp outside and tender inside.

Jian Mo traded his fried fish within the Riverside Tribe, then traveled with Wu Jiong and the tribe to the Mengshui Tribe’s Hunting Gathering. After arriving, Wu Jiong went to meet the hosts and told Jian Mo to stay with Qing Kuo and the others.

• Jian Mo traded fried fish to Ze Yu and other Riverside Tribe members for cloth.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong caught more fish and made a chewy, seasoned fried-dried fish without starch.
• Jian Mo joined Wu Jiong and the Riverside Tribe on their journey to the Hunting Gathering.
• Jian Mo saw the varied beast forms and Beast Marks of people from other tribes on the way to the Mengshui Tribe.
• Wu Jiong changed into human form to meet the Mengshui Tribe’s people and told Jian Mo to stay with Qing Kuo and the others.

Jian Mo traded his fish pieces at the Hunting Gathering, then joined the tribe to watch the gladiator matches. As he watched the brutal beast-form fights, he looked at Wu Jiong and struggled to imagine him entering the arena.

• Wu Jiong told Jian Mo to ask the tribe for anything he needed, then left to speak with the Mengshui Tribe.
• Qing Kuo helped Jian Mo set up a stall, where Jian Mo offered fish pieces for tasting and traded them with Duan Xu of the Red Zheng Tribe for a bone dagger.
• Duan Xu invited Jian Mo to watch the gladiator matches and said he was third in line to compete.
• Jian Mo sold both baskets of fish pieces and helped Zhou Fu and the other sub-beastmen trade their goods.
• Jian Mo and the others joined Wu Jiong in the stands and watched two beastmen fight in their beast forms.
• Jian Mo wondered how Wu Jiong would fight as a giant wolf, and Wu Jiong met his gaze.

Jian Mo watched Wu Jiong fight for the Riverside Tribe in the arena and worried as he faced a string of opponents. After the matches ended, the pair prepared to return with the goods Jian Mo had traded for.

• Wu Jiong explained that tribal chiefs fought in the arena to display their tribes’ strength, then entered the arena as the Riverside Tribe’s first fighter.
• Wu Jiong defeated a Giant Armor Beast beastman by using his speed and teeth to wound and pin him until he surrendered.
• Qing Kuo told Jian Mo that Wu Jiong had been chosen as chief after defeating the tribe’s fighters and called him a born warrior.
• Wu Jiong fought eight beastmen without losing, though his white fur became stained with blood, and Jian Mo offered to apply medicine to his shallow wounds.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong watched the remaining matches until nightfall, then prepared to leave as Jian Mo showed him the useful goods and fabric he had traded for.

Jian Mo learned that the soft cloth he had traded for was made from Pack-Pack Beast fur and decided he wanted to obtain the animals for their milk. After Qing Kuo identified the cloth’s source, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong arranged to seek Pack-Pack Beasts with him the next day.

• Jian Mo showed Wu Jiong the unusually soft cloth, and Wu Jiong recognized it as Pack-Pack Beast fur.
• Wu Jiong explained that Pack-Pack Beasts were difficult to raise, but offered to trade for two because Jian Mo wanted to see them.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong visited Qing Kuo, who remembered that the cloth came from a sub-beastman of the Ice River Tribe.
• Qing Kuo and Ban Ming explained that Pack-Pack Beast milk and meat tasted unpleasant and that the animals were easily frightened, even in the wild.
• Jian Mo, Wu Jiong, and Qing Kuo arranged to trade for Pack-Pack Beasts the next day, then Jian Mo and Wu Jiong walked through the tribe and went home to sleep.

Jian Mo treated injured competitors at the Hunting Gathering and received two Pack-Pack Beasts from the family of one patient. After Wu Jiong accepted the gift, they led the animals back toward their tribe, with Jian Mo gathering fruits and spices along the way.

• Jian Mo brought his medical kit to the Hunting Gathering and treated a beastman with a broken leg and another with a serious gash.
• Ban Ming introduced A Meng, who gave Jian Mo two Pack-Pack Beasts in thanks for treating his father.
• Jian Mo asked Wu Jiong whether he should accept the animals, and Wu Jiong said he should because legs were important.
• Wu Jiong told Jian Mo he had won first place in the hunting competition, then took the Pack-Pack Beasts' ropes and led them back with him.
• Jian Mo collected fruits and spices on the way while watching the Pack-Pack Beasts eat.

Jian Mo brought two Pack-Pack Beasts home and discovered that one was pregnant. At the Hunting Gathering, he treated a child who had fallen from a tree and determined that the boy’s bleeding came from a cut inside his mouth.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong brought the Pack-Pack Beasts back to the tribe and kept them outside overnight.
• Jian Mo noticed the Pack-Pack Beasts had eaten the grass and roots beneath them, then discovered that the female was pregnant.
• Jian Mo learned that the female Pack-Pack Beast was expected to give birth in winter and returned his attention to the Hunting Gathering.
• A sub-beastman from the Mengshui Tribe brought Jian Mo a sweet drink made with cooling leaves and sweet fruit.
• Two people brought Jian Mo a child who had fallen from a tree and was coughing up blood.
• Jian Mo examined the child, found a bleeding gash in his mouth and a broken tooth, then rinsed the wound and pressed a clean cloth against it.

Jian Mo treated a little beastman’s broken baby tooth and received flour fruits as thanks. Back home, he learned that the fruits had to be shelled before they could safely be fed to Pack-Pack Beasts.

• Jian Mo had the little beastman change into his beast form, pulled out the broken tooth, and told his fathers how to care for the wound.
• The little beastman’s fathers offered Jian Mo flour fruits and Wood-Stabilizing Roots, but Jian Mo accepted only a basket of flour fruits.
• Jian Mo finished treating patients, then returned to his tribe with Wu Jiong and brought out the flour fruits for the Pack-Pack Beasts.
• Wu Jiong warned Jian Mo that the beasts could not digest the shells and borrowed a sheller to remove them.
• Jian Mo examined the large kernels and found their smell so unpleasant that it nearly made him retch.

Jian Mo experimented with flour fruit as a possible winter food, but its foul taste persisted even after he processed and soaked it. After the Hunting Gathering ended with the Riverside Tribe placing second overall, Jian Mo decided to try making lye-water flour fruit cakes.

• Jian Mo discovered that flour fruit could be ground into starch water, but its smell made the cakes he prepared nearly inedible.
• Jian Mo soaked the flour fruit to remove its odor, while Wu Jiong said other tribes had made cakes from it but few people could stomach them.
• The flour fruit's smell grew fainter after several days of soaking, but Zhou Fu rejected the cakes and said he would rather go hungry.
• The Hunting Gathering ended with the Riverside Tribe ranking second overall among the tribes.
• Jian Mo burned dry grass and collected its ash to make lye water for another attempt at flour fruit cakes, and Wu Jiong questioned whether ash could be eaten.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong figured out how to process flour fruit cakes with lye water, then stir-fried them into a tasty snack. Jian Mo brought the new food to the tribe’s sub-beastmen to try, and they were amazed but could not identify it.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong ground flour fruit, mixed it with lye water, boiled it into cakes, and soaked them to remove the strange smell.
• Jian Mo invited Wu Jiong to move his bedding upstairs, and Wu Jiong said he would do so in a couple of days.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong tasted the rinsed flour fruit cakes, then gathered Sour-Sour Fruit and cool leaves to stir-fry them with cured meat and seasonings.
• Wu Jiong enjoyed the dish, and Jian Mo recognized it as a satisfying snack and decided to share it with Zhou Fu and the others.
• Jian Mo brought flour fruit cakes to the clearing, where Zhou Fu and the other sub-beastmen tasted them and debated whether they were meat or a tuber.

After Jian Mo showed the Riverside Tribe how Flour Fruit could be made into cake, the tribe considered gathering more from disputed land near the True Scarlet Tribe and Yigu Tribe. They decided to send a group on the long journey, with Wu Jiong arranging for half the young adults to stay behind and the children who could transform to go along.

• Jian Mo revealed that the cake was made from Flour Fruit, and Qing Kuo realized it could help families get through winter.
• Qing Kuo explained that land disputed by the True Scarlet Tribe and Yigu Tribe had been left unclaimed, and the group asked Ying Duan about gathering Flour Fruit there.
• Ying Duan confirmed the marshy land held Flour Fruit but warned that both tribes competed to gather its resources each year.
• Zhou Fu argued that the group should explore the area even if the Flour Fruit was gone, and the others discussed the trip over the next two days.
• The group decided to travel to the True Scarlet Tribe, and Wu Jiong arranged for half the young adults to remain in the Riverside Tribe while most children who could transform joined the expedition.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong searched the unclaimed land beside the True Scarlet Tribe for Flour Fruit, finding most lakes already picked clean. They discovered an untouched lake beyond a mountain and returned to bring the group there.

• Jian Mo traveled with Wu Jiong and the group to the unclaimed land beside the True Scarlet Tribe.
• Wu Jiong and Jian Mo flew over the lakes on the Flying-Winged Beast, but saw that the Flour Fruit had been picked from nearly all of them.
• Wu Jiong directed the Flying-Winged Beast over a mountain toward a shallow lake that few gatherers visited.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong found the lake full of unpicked Flour Fruit and turned back with the Flying-Winged Beast.
• The group eagerly set out after hearing that the lake held enough Flour Fruit to fill all their carrying baskets.

Jian Mo and the tribe reached a lake to gather Flour Fruit, then camped overnight to dry the kernels. The next morning, Jian Mo found the kernels had turned pale and brittle, making them lighter to carry back.

• Zhou Fu rode Jiu Yin, and the beastmen raced to the lake with Jian Mo and Wu Jiong leading from the sky.
• The group entered the lake to gather Flour Fruit, taking care around deep holes and fierce, sharp-toothed fish.
• Wu Jiong sent Jian Mo ashore to peel shells while he gathered fruit, and the group dried the kernels in the sun and wind.
• With too much Flour Fruit to finish gathering and drying in one day, Wu Jiong and the others decided to camp by the lake overnight.
• The next morning, Jian Mo checked the Flour Fruit and found the kernels pale, brittle, and much lighter to carry.

Jian Mo and the tribe processed soaked Flour Fruit into cakes, which had lost nearly all their unpleasant flavor and seemed promising for winter storage. He invited Qing Kuo and the others to stay for dinner and planned to test the cakes in a stew.

• Jian Mo reassured Qing Kuo that sun-dried Flour Fruit could still be used, then cooked a breakfast of roasted vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish for the group.
• The group returned to the tribe and weighed baskets of peeled Flour Fruit down in the river to soak.
• As winter neared, the tribe worked harder to gather food, and Zhou Fu later told Jian Mo that the Flour Fruit had soaked long enough.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong took out the softened fruit, and Jian Mo described a stone mill; Wu Jiong said the Mengshui Tribe had a water mill and offered to trade for suitable stones.
• Jian Mo, Qing Kuo, Zhou Fu, Xi Lu, and the others pounded the Flour Fruit with lye water, shaped it, boiled it, and tasted the resulting cakes.
• Qing Kuo praised the cakes as promising winter food, and Jian Mo invited everyone to dinner to try them in a stew.

Jian Mo prepared stew and toasted Flour Fruit cakes with jam at a tribal feast, bringing the gathered tribe members together. As everyone discussed collecting more Flour Fruit, Ye Luo revealed it grew behind the mountain near the Green Marsh Source.

• Qing Kuo suggested a tribal feast, and everyone brought food while Jian Mo added spices and scallop powder for the stew.
• Jian Mo cooked as the others watched and learned, then toasted Flour Fruit cakes over the bonfire while chatting with the gathering.
• Banjiu climbed onto Jian Mo's lap, and Jian Mo shared pieces of toasted cake with the little ones.
• Jiang Xing fetched sand-yellow fruit jam, which Jian Mo spread on the toasted cakes and shared with the children, Wu Jiong, and the others.
• Ye Luo told Ban Ming that Flour Fruit grew behind the mountain near the Green Marsh Source, explaining why Ban Ming had never found it.