Chapter Summaries

Jian Mo made a batch of lip balm, but found its animal-fat oil too greasy and decided to try oil from Clear Red Fruit seeds. He and the others gathered the fruit and returned to the tribe with two baskets to process.

• Jian Mo made fifty-two tins of lip balm using about one part insect wax to four parts oil, and the others praised its scent and moisturizing effect.
• Jian Mo rejected adding red earth to the balm because its mineral contents might be harmful, especially to cubs.
• Jian Mo found the balm too greasy and suggested using oil from Clear Red Fruit seeds instead.
• Min Dang, Zhou Fu, Xi Lu, Ye Luo, and Qing Kuo agreed to help Jian Mo gather Clear Red Fruit while Wu Jiong went hunting.
• Jian Mo and the others gathered seeds through the morning, then picked whole fruits in the afternoon and carried two baskets back to the tribe.

Jian Mo and the tribe pressed Clear Red Fruit seeds to make plant oil, which he used to improve lip balm and test other products. He kept the remaining oil, while most of the lip balm remained unsold during summer.

• Jian Mo showed the tribe how to roast Clear Red Fruit seeds, wrap them in leaves, and press them in a wooden frame over a stone mortar.
• Ban Ming and A Hu pressed the seed packets in their beast forms, and the tribe took turns until they produced nearly half a bucket of plant oil.
• Jian Mo used the plant oil to make smoother, richer lip balm and kept the remaining oil after Qing Kuo and Ye Luo told him to keep it.
• Jian Mo made plant-oil medicinal ointment and tested lubricant, finding that the oil worked better without insect wax.
• Jian Mo sold little lip balm during summer, though the Mengshui Tribe exchanged medicinal oil for a batch.

Jian Mo joined Wu Jiong and the other Riverside Tribe members in spreading sand over muddy roads during the rain, then shared a fish breakfast with Wu Jiong. The two asked Qing Kuo to look for rice among other tribes, and the chapter left them visiting his house and petting the rapidly growing Banjiu.

• Jian Mo saw Wu Jiong and other tribe members carrying sand and went outside to help pave the muddy roads.
• Min Dang and the others gave Jian Mo two fish that Wu Jiong had caught for him, but Jian Mo stayed to work with everyone.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong finished paving a stretch of road, then went home to bathe and cook the fish for breakfast.
• Jian Mo wished they had rice to eat with the fish, and Wu Jiong suggested asking Qing Kuo to check with other tribes.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong visited Qing Kuo, who agreed to ask about rice when the weather cleared, and they petted the now-large kitten Banjiu.

Jian Mo examined Meng Shi of the True Scarlet Tribe for a cold and discovered that the dark bruises covering his back came from his partner's repeated hickeys. Jian Mo ruled out gua sha, prepared herbs for him, and returned home with Wu Jiong.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong spotted beastmen from the True Scarlet Tribe crossing the river to seek treatment and directed them to the clinic.
• Meng Shi told Jian Mo he had dizziness, a headache, a runny nose, and a cough after getting caught in the rain.
• Jian Mo noticed dark red bruises covering Meng Shi's back and asked when they had appeared.
• Meng Shi explained that He Bin had repeatedly sucked on his back, causing the bruises, and Jian Mo reassured him they would fade in a few days.
• Jian Mo decided against gua sha, advised Meng Shi not to accumulate so many hickeys, and went home with Wu Jiong to brew him herbal medicine.

Jian Mo treated colds for people from nearby tribes and improved his medical skills while making candy at home. When the Cypress Branch Tribe arrived with rice for him, he invited them to his home to cook and taste it.

• Jian Mo cured Meng Shi's cold, then treated patients from nearby tribes and developed an effective cold medicine.
• Jian Mo sprouted Flour Grass and made malt sugar and nut candy.
• A group of children told Jian Mo that new beastmen had arrived by the river and that the chief wanted him.
• Jian Mo discovered that the visitors from the Cypress Branch Tribe were bird-form beastmen who had brought him rice.
• Jian Mo tasted a grain of rice, then invited the Cypress Branch Tribe to his home to cook some.

Jian Mo learned that the Cypress Branch Tribe had brought rice to trade, but they wanted Riverside Tribe warriors to help them teach their neighbors a lesson. He refused to join their dispute and showed them metal tools and colored glass instead, leaving the Cypress Branch Tribe fascinated by the goods.

• Jian Mo cooked the Cypress Branch Tribe's rice and tasted its sweetness with Wu Jiong and the others.
• The Cypress Branch Tribe asked for beastmen to help them fight the Rain Rising Tribe, which kept stealing their stored food.
• Jian Mo refused to involve Riverside Tribe in another tribe's dispute and offered to show the visitors other goods.
• Jian Mo brought out carefully crafted metal implements, and the Cypress Branch Tribe examined them with interest.
• Qing Kuo and the others brought out boxes of blue, yellow, and red glass, captivating the Cypress Branch Tribe.

Jian Mo traded with the Cypress Branch Tribe for their rice after tempting them with metal implements, glass, and nut and Flour Grass candy. After they left, he examined the rice, named it Pearl Rice, and planned to try sprouting it.

• Jian Mo offered the Cypress Branch Tribe metal implements, glass, and nut and Flour Grass candy in exchange for their rice.
• The Cypress Branch Tribe members sampled the candy, debated their options, and decided to trade for candy and a small knife first, then return with more rice.
• The Cypress Branch Tribe completed the trade and flew away with the items they had chosen.
• Jian Mo examined the rice, called it Pearl Rice, and suggested trying to sprout it for planting.
• Jian Mo planned to cook the basket of already-husked Pearl Rice soon because it would not keep for long.

After Jian Mo enjoyed red-braised pork with rice, he was awakened by news that the Rain Rising Tribe and the Cypress Branch Tribe were fighting near the Riverside Tribe. He and Wu Jiong reached the woodland as both sides traded accusations, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Jian Mo ate red-braised pork with rice and discussed trading for more rice with Wu Jiong.
• A Riverside Tribe messenger told Wu Jiong that the Rain Rising Tribe had blocked the Cypress Branch Tribe and the two tribes were fighting nearby.
• Wu Jiong and Jian Mo hurried to the woodland, where the Cypress Branch Tribe’s people asked Wu Jiong to help them get justice.
• The Cypress Branch Tribe and the Rain Rising Tribe accused each other of insults, raiding nests, and pooping on one another’s heads.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong broke up a fight between teenagers from the Cypress Branch Tribe and the Rain Rising Tribe, then hosted the two tribes’ chiefs. The chiefs competed to apologize and trade goods, leaving the Riverside Tribe with favorable deals and enough pearl rice for a year.

• The Pallas's cats and fat chirpers argued over their feud, then fought until Wu Jiong sent Ban Ming and the others to separate them.
• Wu Jiong learned that the feuding youths were teenagers and brought them to the Riverside Tribe to discuss the matter.
• The Riverside Tribe discovered that Zhou Zhi and Qi Ming had led search parties to find their youngsters.
• Zhou Zhi and Qi Ming apologized and offered rice and other goods to the Riverside Tribe.
• The Riverside Tribe negotiated favorable trades with both tribes and secured enough pearl rice to last a year.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong gathered materials to renovate their house, with help from the tribe, and planned a granary, storeroom, and bathroom. Jian Mo treated a sub-beastman whose tooth had broken, deciding to pull it to prevent infection.

• Jian Mo traded supplies for timber, stone, hardwood, and limestone for the renovation.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong collected more building materials on their outings, while people from the tribe brought them additional supplies.
• Jian Mo inspected the growing pile of materials and planned to begin renovating when autumn weather turned drier.
• Jian Mo examined a sub-beastman's broken tooth at the clinic and pulled it after giving him anesthetic to prevent later infection.

Jian Mo extracted a sub-beastman’s damaged tooth and examined Shu Guang, whose wound had healed without complications. Shu Guang and Wu Jiong told Jian Mo that the nearby Forest Rock Tribe had exceptionally strong glue, and Jian Mo wondered whether they could trade for some.

• Jian Mo extracted a chipped tooth from a sub-beastman because he lacked the materials to repair it.
• Jian Mo examined Shu Guang and confirmed that his wound had healed well without complications.
• Shu Guang told Jian Mo that the Forest Rock Tribe had strong glue capable of bonding axe heads to wooden handles.
• Jian Mo gave the sub-beastman instructions for caring for the extraction site and sent him home with herbs.
• Jian Mo discussed the glue with Wu Jiong, who said it could bond stones and was stronger than lime and cement.
• Jian Mo asked whether the Riverside Tribe could trade with the Forest Rock Tribe for the glue.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong flew to the Forest Rock Tribe to trade for glue, but the slow-speaking, giant armadillo-like beastmen gave them some for free. They returned home with the glue and a new understanding of their neighbors.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong rode Jiujiu south toward the Forest Rock Tribe, carrying goods to trade.
• Jian Mo saw the tribe’s grassy territory and watched its beastmen unfold from what looked like scattered rocks into giant, scaled animals.
• Wu Jiong explained their visit, and the Forest Rock Tribe’s beastmen offered to give them glue without asking for anything in return.
• A beastman fetched translucent, amber-like pieces of glue and explained that Jian Mo could melt them in a pot over water.
• Jian Mo offered dried meat, but the beastmen declined it and said that talking was tiring, so Jian Mo and Wu Jiong flew home.

Jian Mo tested the Forest Rock Tribe’s fish bladder glue by making a cabinet with Wu Jiong and the others, discovering that it set quickly and bonded wood with extraordinary strength. After the finished cabinet proved sturdy and beautiful, Jian Mo wanted to make more, and Wu Jiong suggested trading for more glue.

• Jian Mo proposed using fish bladder glue to build a cabinet, and Wu Jiong agreed to gather people to prepare the wood.
• Ban Ming, Jiu Yin, De Jiang, and others helped cut and plane the planks before Jian Mo explained his cabinet design.
• Jian Mo melted the glue and used it to join the boards, but it hardened before anyone could clamp them together.
• Wu Jiong, De Jiang, and the others failed to pull the glued boards apart, and one beastman struck himself in the chin while trying.
• Jian Mo inspected the finished cabinet the next morning and found it sturdy and exquisite, so Wu Jiong proposed trading with the Forest Rock Tribe for more glue.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong tried making fish bladder glue after realizing they could not get more glue from the Forest Rock Tribe. Their homemade glue worked for assembling a cabinet, but Jian Mo wondered whether they could trade for the Forest Rock Tribe’s superior recipe.

• Jian Mo suggested making fish bladder glue, so Wu Jiong led a group to fish at Green Marsh Source.
• The tribe caught many fish, made fish balls, and saved the fish bladders for Jian Mo.
• Jian Mo simmered the cleaned fish bladders in a water bath until they became thick glue.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong used the homemade glue to assemble a cabinet and found it strong enough for everyday use, though it dried slowly.
• Jian Mo compared it unfavorably with the Forest Rock Tribe’s glue and asked whether they could trade for its recipe.

Jian Mo learned that the Forest Rock Tribe prized grass ginseng and organized a trip to the grassland to gather it and learn more about the tribe. The group reached the grassland, where Jiujiu proved exceptionally good at finding grass ginseng.

• Qing Kuo gathered the elders, who told Jian Mo and Wu Jiong that the Forest Rock Tribe liked eating grass ginseng.
• Jian Mo recognized the grass ginseng as a small root resembling a carrot and decided to travel to the grassland to gather some.
• Wu Jiong agreed to lead a trip, and more than half the tribe set out with Jian Mo the next morning.
• The tribe reached the Ambus Grassland, where some beastmen went hunting and the others began gathering.
• Jian Mo asked everyone to search for grass ginseng, and Jiujiu found more than anyone else.

Jian Mo and his companions brought grass ginseng to the Forest Rock Tribe to trade for its glue recipe, but the tribe shared the recipe freely and refused the offering. Jian Mo then searched the grassland with Wu Jiong and Jiujiu for Jointed Scorpion Bug droppings, while learning that the Forest Rock Tribe used many scattered caves as shelter.

• Jian Mo and his companions gathered two baskets of grass ginseng with Jiujiu’s help.
• Jian Mo and the others visited the Forest Rock Tribe, where a sub-beastman explained the glue recipe and declined their grass ginseng.
• Jian Mo, Wu Jiong, and Jiujiu searched beneath boulders and in caves for Jointed Scorpion Bugs and their droppings.
• Wu Jiong explained that the caves might be used seasonally because the Forest Rock Tribe moved across the grassland rather than keeping one fixed home.

Jian Mo learned that Jiujiu had been secretly bringing food back to its nest, despite having seemed like a poor forager. After Ye Luo warned him that Jiujiu had changed, Jian Mo hurried off to investigate.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong made fish-bladder glue and hide glue from Jointed Scorpion Bug droppings, then brought glue and more droppings to the Forest Rock Tribe.
• Jian Mo offered the Forest Rock Tribe help as a witch doctor before he and Wu Jiong returned to the Riverside Tribe with a bagful of droppings.
• Jiujiu joined the little ones’ game of hawk catches chicks, delighting them and the watching tribe members.
• Ye Luo told Jian Mo that Jiujiu had seemed off and now appeared to have plenty of food.
• Ye Luo explained that Jiujiu had been bringing thumb-fruit vines back to its nest and secretly discarding the leftovers by the river.
• Jian Mo, surprised by Jiujiu’s behavior, decided to go back and investigate.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong secretly followed Jiujiu and discovered he was taking food and herbs to a cave where a wild Flying-Winged Beast lived. They waited for the beast to return, and Jian Mo suspected it was male.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong wondered why Jiujiu had hidden food in his nest and decided to follow him.
• Jiujiu slipped away, gathered medicinal herbs, and flew to a cave while Jian Mo and Wu Jiong watched.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong followed Jiujiu into the cave and saw him eating food beside the herbs he had brought.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong waited for the wild Flying-Winged Beast to return, and Jian Mo noticed it appeared to be male.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong discovered that the unfamiliar Flying-Winged Beast visiting Jiujiu had a badly infected wound with a broken Fork-Horned Beast horn lodged inside. Jian Mo invited him to return to the tribe for surgery, but the wary beast had not yet agreed.

• Wu Jiong identified the unfamiliar Flying-Winged Beast as injured and infected, and he and Jian Mo entered the cave to investigate.
• Jiujiu first reacted guiltily to Jian Mo and Wu Jiong, then bravely stood between them and the wary stranger.
• Jian Mo approached the unfamiliar Flying-Winged Beast and found pus and a broken horn embedded in his wound.
• Wu Jiong identified the lodged horn as belonging to a Fork-Horned Beast, and Jian Mo said the stranger needed surgery.
• Jian Mo invited the unfamiliar Flying-Winged Beast to the tribe for treatment, then asked Jiujiu to persuade him.

Jian Mo brought an injured wild Flying-Winged Beast back to the tribe and cared for it while preparing to operate on it. Qing Kuo and the others came to see the newcomer, and the story left with them considering whether the tribe could take it in.

• Jian Mo and his companions brought the unfamiliar Flying-Winged Beast into the tribe, where Jiujiu led it to its nest.
• Jian Mo gave the two Flying-Winged Beasts water and fish balls, and the newcomer accepted the food and warmed to him.
• Ban Ming and the others crowded around the newcomer, but Jian Mo sent them away when it spread its wings in warning.
• Jian Mo asked Ban Ming to bring his father to help with the operation, then reassured the injured Flying-Winged Beast.
• Qing Kuo and the others came to inspect the newcomer, and Ye Luo suggested that the tribe start by taking it in.