Chapter Summaries

Jian Mo treated Tu Chuan for testicular torsion and successfully operated on him. He then learned Ran Shao was pregnant and hurried to examine him after realizing how much strain the journey and carrying Tu Chuan might have caused.

• Qing Kuo, Min Dang, and Ye Luo arranged to trade for milk and discussed planting ginger with Jian Mo.
• Ran Shao brought his partner Tu Chuan to Jian Mo, who took them to the clinic for a private examination.
• Tu Chuan revealed that he thought his testicle had twisted, and Jian Mo and Wu Jiong performed an operation to put it back in place.
• Jian Mo told Ran Shao the operation had succeeded and learned that Ran Shao was pregnant.
• Jian Mo took Ran Shao in for an examination because he had traveled while pregnant and carried Tu Chuan.

Jian Mo examined Ran Shao and warned the tribe about a risky new position, then learned that the summer wind was about to arrive. He helped Wu Jiong and the others prepare for the wind, especially by checking on the tribe’s crops and animals.

• Jian Mo examined Ran Shao, confirmed that his pregnancy was healthy, and advised him to avoid heavy lifting and eat a little more meat.
• Jian Mo warned Zhou Fu and the other sub-beastmen not to try a dangerous new position after they shared what they had heard.
• Ran Shao told Jian Mo and Wu Jiong that the summer wind would start that night and might become strong the next afternoon.
• Wu Jiong and Jian Mo alerted Qing Kuo and De Jiang to the coming wind, while Jian Mo worried about the unripe crops by the river.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong secured their firewood and checked Jiujiu, Ying'ao, the Pack-Pack Beasts, and the Long-tailed Birds as the wind began to rise.

As a powerful wind swept through the Riverside Tribe, Jian Mo and the others worked to protect their vegetable fields. They built wooden windbreaks that reduced the wind, and the chapter ended with the feline beastmen taking over the planting after the canine beastmen proved too clumsy.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong brought the fermenting fish sauce indoors as the wind strengthened, then went to close the courtyard gate after the wind blew it open.
• After daybreak, Qing Kuo and the others worried the wind would damage the crops and decided to build wooden fences around the fields.
• Ye Luo led the tribe to cut wood, and Wu Jiong organized the beastmen to protect the vegetable fields instead of hunting or gathering.
• The beastmen and sub-beastmen planted the wood in the furrows, forming windbreaks that weakened the wind and helped the Flour Grass stand upright.
• The feline beastmen chased most of the clumsy canine beastmen out of the fields and continued planting the wood themselves.

As a powerful wind battered the area, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong rescued the Honey Sparrows and checked on their other animals. Wu Jiong noticed Jiujiu was acting strangely, but they decided to investigate after the weather improved before staying inside together.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong collected the Honey Sparrows and their nests from the woods and brought them home for shelter.
• Jian Mo checked the Long-tailed Birds and Pack-Pack Beasts, finding the birds calm and the larger beasts frightened.
• Jian Mo found Jiujiu and Ying'ao curled up in their nest and told them to stay inside while the wind continued.
• Wu Jiong said Jiujiu seemed to be hiding something, but Jian Mo postponed investigating until the weather improved.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong went inside, kissed, and spent several hours together before Wu Jiong carried water upstairs for them to bathe.

During a fierce windstorm, Jian Mo discovered that Jiujiu was secretly caring for a rare River Fluff Beast, and he and Wu Jiong decided to let him keep it. After checking that the tribe’s crops and houses had survived the wind, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong visited Qing Kuo.

• Jian Mo tried to find out what Jiujiu was hiding, but Jiujiu kept his secret while Ying'ao watched quietly.
• Jian Mo prepared fried meat for Jiujiu and Ying'ao, then hid nearby to spy on them.
• Jiujiu brought a River Fluff Beast out of the nest and fed and licked it, revealing that he was caring for it.
• Jian Mo told Wu Jiong about the beast, and they agreed to pretend they did not know and let Jiujiu keep it.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong checked the fields and the tribe’s houses, found them undamaged by the wind, and accepted Qing Kuo’s invitation for tea and roasted podfruit.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong discovered that their Long-tailed Birds had laid two fertilized eggs, then prepared to gather supplies after several days of wind. Jian Mo caught Jiujiu trying to stash a River Fluff Beast in an animal shed and decided to try raising it.

• Jian Mo asked Qing Kuo when Banjiu might take human form, and Qing Kuo said it would probably happen in autumn.
• Jian Mo found two Long-tailed Bird eggs, checked them by firelight with Wu Jiong, and saw that both were fertilized.
• After the wind stopped and the weather turned colder, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong prepared to go out for fresh vegetables and winter supplies.
• Jian Mo caught Jiujiu carrying a River Fluff Beast toward the animal sheds and realized Jiujiu had been keeping it as food.
• Jian Mo put the young River Fluff Beast in the Long-tailed Bird shed and said they would try raising it.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong gathered a plentiful haul in the eastern mountains, then helped Qing Kuo’s group carry their supplies back toward the tribe. On the way, they discovered the cubs had started a fierce brawl, and De Jiang detained the two leaders to deal with the incident before the next day’s lessons.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong gathered mushrooms, wild vegetables, and tubers while Wu Jiong caught two birds and a Long-Headed Beast.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong helped Qing Kuo’s group carry their heavy grass shoots, and Jian Mo asked whether River Fluff Beasts were easy to raise.
• Jian Mo, Qing Kuo, and the others saw cubs fighting across the river, and Qing Kuo shouted to stop them.
• Jian Mo persuaded Qing Kuo to let De Jiang handle the brawl so Banjiu would not have trouble making friends.
• De Jiang found the two cubs who had led the fight and said their parents would be called so the matter could be settled that day.

After the cubs’ group fight, De Jiang disciplined them and their parents took them home. Wu Jiong proposed building a fighting platform, and the Riverside Tribe chose a riverside site at a meeting, where they began discussing construction.

• De Jiang made the cubs hold horse stances, while Jian Mo treated their minor wounds and Jiujiu watched from the edge of the crowd.
• The parents of the little bear and the little Red Zheng Beast arrived, and everyone learned the two cubs were twin brothers named Xing Yan and Ri Can.
• Jing Qin and Kong Fan apologized for their sons’ behavior, and De Jiang warned the cubs they could be barred from class if they fought again.
• Jian Mo asked Xue Yue to invite the Xiongying Tribe’s chief to discuss planting the next day.
• Wu Jiong proposed a tribal fighting platform, and the Riverside Tribe held a meeting to choose its location.
• The tribe voted for the riverside site, then discussed when and how to build the platform.

The Riverside Tribe completed a large fighting arena with help from neighboring tribes, giving the cubs and adults a place to train and spar. After the cubs told Jian Mo that the Wood-Stabilizing Roots were nearly ready, he went with them to check the field.

• The Riverside Tribe gathered materials to build an arena, and neighboring tribes arrived to help with labor and design.
• The tribes contributed stone when the Riverside Tribe ran short, and construction finished after more than ten days.
• The tribes praised the arena and agreed they could borrow it for fighting and teaching, while the Mengshui Tribe felt downcast.
• The cubs began using the arena to settle their squabbles, and Jian Mo saw Jiang Xing overpower a big cat.
• The cubs told Jian Mo that the Wood-Stabilizing Roots had grown large, and he went with them to inspect the field.

Jian Mo and the tribe harvested unusually large Wood-Stabilizing Roots, then stored them in a cool cave. He promised the cubs a meal of candied roots, while he and Wu Jiong also checked on the Honey Sparrows and took some honeycomb.

• Zhou Dao, Bai Lu, and the other cubs helped uncover the oversized Wood-Stabilizing Roots and told Jian Mo about them.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong returned the next morning to dig up the roots, joined by Min Dang, Qing Kuo, Ye Luo, and other tribe members.
• The tribe harvested its Wood-Stabilizing Roots, with Jian Mo's crop growing the largest, and Jian Mo and Wu Jiong stored the roots in the cave by the river.
• Jian Mo invited the cubs to eat candied Wood-Stabilizing Roots as thanks for helping tend the field.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong visited the Honey Sparrows, found their nests unharmed, and took some honeycomb.

After the Wood-Stabilizing Roots harvest, Jian Mo planted roundleaf grass in the empty field to feed Jiujiu and Ying'ao and keep the soil suitable for future crops. He explained crop rotation to Qing Kuo and the gathered onlookers.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong decided to plant roundleaf grass in the harvested plot instead of leaving the fertile soil empty.
• Jian Mo and the others dug up roundleaf grass by the river, fed its leaves to Jiujiu and Ying'ao, and planted the rootstocks in the field.
• Qing Kuo watched them planting the grass and remarked that he had never seen anyone plant weeds.
• Jian Mo explained that the grass was mainly forage and would help maintain the soil for growing Wood-Stabilizing Roots next year.
• Jian Mo told Qing Kuo that rotating crops prevented the soil from running short of trace elements.

Jian Mo received possible chili seeds from the fat chirps, who had brought them from the Rain Rising Tribe, and decided to try growing them. He thanked both groups by preparing baskets of food for them.

• Qing Kuo offered Jian Mo his empty field for forage grass, and several other households agreed to plant grass and receive fertilizer from Jian Mo.
• The fat chirps arrived while Jian Mo was working and gave him seeds found in a bird's stomach by people from the Rain Rising Tribe.
• Jian Mo examined the seeds, could not confirm they were chili seeds, and decided to plant them to test whether they would grow.
• The fat chirps declined Jian Mo's offer to stay because their chief expected them to attend lessons, and Jian Mo asked them to thank the Rain Rising Tribe.
• Jian Mo divided honey blocks, dried meat, and preserved fruit between the fat chirps and the Rain Rising Tribe as thanks for sharing the seeds.

Jian Mo’s chili seed finally sprouted, though he could not tell whether it was truly a chili plant, and nearby tribes came to see it. The chapter leaves him examining Shui Mian’s fist-sized back lump after the Meng'an Tribe beastman sought medical help.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong saw one of the three planted seeds sprout, but Jian Mo was unsure what kind of seedling it was.
• Jian Mo decided to move the pot outside for sunlight by day and bring it indoors at night to protect it from the cold.
• Word of the seedling spread, and people from the Riverside Tribe and nearby tribes came to look at it.
• Shui Mian of the Meng'an Tribe arrived with a companion to seek medical help for a large lump on his back.
• Jian Mo examined Shui Mian’s lump and asked how many years it had been there.

Jian Mo removed the tumor on Shui Mian's back and found that an old tree branch had caused it. After Shui Mian recovered, he told Jian Mo that a painfully spicy plant might grow in the south, leaving Jian Mo hopeful that it could be chili peppers.

• Shui Mian asked Jian Mo to remove the tumor that had grown on his back for nineteen years, and Jian Mo agreed to operate with Ye Luo assisting.
• Jian Mo removed the tumor and discovered pus surrounding a strange, old tree branch, making him confident that the growth would not return.
• When Shui Mian woke, Jian Mo showed him the branch, and Shui Mian recalled falling onto it as a child and hiding the injury from his father.
• Shui Mian told Jian Mo that travelers came from both north and south and said southern tribes were far larger than nearby ones.
• Shui Mian's companion recalled elders describing a painfully spicy edible plant from the south, and Jian Mo wondered if it was chili pepper.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong set out to find chili peppers after learning that birds might have eaten the seeds. They reached the Rain Rising Tribe, where Qi Ming revealed he had kept birds that might have swallowed a pepper.

• Jian Mo told Wu Jiong that someone had found a chili pepper seed, but the seedling he was growing had stopped thriving.
• Wu Jiong suggested tracking down the birds that had eaten peppers, and Jian Mo agreed to leave with him.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong flew toward the Rain Rising Tribe with Jiujiu and Ying'ao, stopping overnight to eat hot pot and discuss making a spicy version once they found chilies.
• Qi Ming welcomed Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to the Rain Rising Tribe and guessed they had come to ask about chili peppers.
• Qi Ming told Jian Mo that he had no news about the peppers but had kept a cage of birds that might have swallowed one.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong followed Red-Billed Migratory Birds south in search of chili seeds, but found none. At the Upper Meng Tribe, locals recognized Jian Mo as a famous witch doctor, and he learned that Witch Doctor Lian Ke lived nearby.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong agreed to give Qi Ming an extra share if they found chili seeds, then set out south with two Flying-Winged Beasts.
• They followed the Red-Billed Migratory Birds through several tribes, but their meals from the birds yielded no more chili seeds.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong reached the Upper Meng Tribe and were welcomed into an empty house near the river.
• Upper Meng Tribe residents questioned whether the young, fair-skinned Jian Mo could be the renowned Doctor Jian Mo.
• Jian Mo recognized the name Witch Doctor Lian Ke and told the Upper Meng Tribe that Lian Ke had visited his tribe and taught him to make an ointment.

Jian Mo examined Little Good One, a pregnant heqin from the Upper Meng Tribe, and discovered that the fish carried an egg inside her. He could confirm that the mother was healthy but could not assess the fetus, so he advised the tribe to keep observing her.

• A cub from the Upper Meng Tribe asked Jian Mo to treat a heqin that could not give birth, and Jian Mo agreed to examine it.
• The Upper Meng Tribe took Jian Mo and Wu Jiong to the river, where Little Good One swam up to the dock.
• A member of the Upper Meng Tribe explained that Little Good One's egg should have moved into the uterus and been born, but it had not.
• Jian Mo examined Little Good One and determined that she was in good condition, though he could not assess the fetus.
• Jian Mo told the Upper Meng Tribe to keep observing Little Good One and said he would consider removing the fetus if it threatened her.

Jian Mo helped the Upper Meng Tribe prepare for Little Good One’s delivery, but after hours of labor the oversized fetus became stuck and Little Good One grew dangerously weak. Jian Mo proposed widening the birth canal and pulling the fetus out, leaving the tribe to face the risks of the procedure.

• The Upper Meng Tribe asked Jian Mo to keep Little Good One safe, and he agreed to do everything he could.
• Jiujiu played in the river with the tribe’s cubs and pregnant Little Good One while Jian Mo encouraged exercise and improved Little Good One’s diet.
• On the third day, Jian Mo noticed signs that Little Good One was about to give birth, and the tribe enclosed it in a net near the dock.
• Little Good One labored from morning until evening, but the large fetus remained stuck as its strength faded.
• Jian Mo told Wu Sheng and the Upper Meng Tribe that he planned to widen Little Good One’s birth canal and use cloth strips to pull out the fetus, explaining the possible outcomes.

Jian Mo helped Little Good One safely deliver two baby Heqin and treated her wound. The next morning, he saw her recovering well and declined the Upper Meng Tribe’s offer to raise one of the babies because the Riverside Tribe’s river was too small.

• Jian Mo turned the sideways baby Heqin and helped deliver it, with Wu Sheng pulling it free; the newborn quickly swam to Little Good One.
• Little Good One gave birth to the second baby Heqin, then fell asleep exhausted as Jian Mo stitched and dressed her wound.
• The Upper Meng Tribe celebrated the safe births, and Jian Mo went to rest after the long day.
• The next morning, Jian Mo checked Little Good One’s healing wound while the Upper Meng Tribe fed her and the two babies.
• The Upper Meng Tribe offered Jian Mo one of the baby Heqin, but he declined because the river by the Riverside Tribe could not accommodate it.

Jian Mo stayed with the Upper Meng Tribe while Little Good One recovered, and Jiujiu befriended the tribe by gathering shellfish and giving them rides. After trading seasonings for medicinal fish gallbladders and sharing a shellfish meal, Jian Mo decided to ask Shaman Doctor Lian Ke about the seasoning he was seeking.

• Jian Mo agreed to stay two more days to watch over Little Good One and the others.
• Jiujiu dived with the Upper Meng Tribe's youngsters, gathered rare shellfish, and soon flew tribe members over the river.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong prepared the shellfish with seasonings, which the Upper Meng Tribe enjoyed and traded for dried scallops and Three-Eyed Fish gallbladders.
• Jian Mo told the Upper Meng Tribe he planned to search farther south for the special seasoning because they had no chili peppers.
• The Upper Meng Tribe suggested Jian Mo consult Shaman Doctor Lian Ke, so Jian Mo decided to visit him in a couple of days.