Chapter Summaries

Jian Mo joined Wu Jiong and the tribe on a trip to gather salt, learning how they traveled safely across the snow and how they collected rock salt. The salt mountain’s history emerged as a disputed resource among three tribes, and Ban Ming left the story unfinished.

• Jian Mo watched the tribe set out together, with Di Ya and Qing Kuo leading and Wu Jiong carrying Jian Mo at the rear.
• Jian Mo learned that the beastmen followed the paw prints ahead of them to avoid hidden hazards beneath the deep snow, and he played with Wu Jiong’s paw during a rest.
• The group reached the salt mountain, where experienced gatherers brushed away snow and collected the reddish-brown rock salt.
• Jian Mo learned from Wu Jiong that the salt mountain was unclaimed territory, then heard Ban Ming explain that the tribe, the Dianxin Tribe, and the Mengshui Tribe had fought over it.
• Ban Ming said the tribe and Mengshui Tribe fought to a draw, while the Dianxin Tribe lost but continued seeking another fight, causing injuries that disrupted hunting and gathering.

Jian Mo and the others gathered salt and alkali at the salt lake, then returned to the tribe and made soap with the alkali. The new soap worked better than ash-water soap, and the group had begun making more when Qing Kuo tested it.

• Wu Jiong and Ban Ming explained how the tribes had made the mountain and nearby salt lake unclaimed land, and the group finished gathering salt there.
• Jian Mo found yellowish-brown crystals in the salt lake, identified them as likely alkali, and persuaded the others to gather some for soap-making.
• The group returned to the tribe and bathed to wash off the sticky salt water, while Jian Mo learned that others usually bathed in cold water to save firewood.
• Jian Mo instructed the young beastmen and sub-beastmen to dissolve the alkali in water and mix it into heated beast fat.
• Ban Ming stirred the soap mixture, and Qing Kuo tested the liquid soap and said it worked better than ash-water soap.

Jian Mo proposed making new glazes and building a reusable pottery kiln to improve the tribe’s pottery production. After Wu Jiong suggested adapting a natural cave, the tribe began discussing how to turn one into a kiln.

• Jian Mo suggested mixing alkali with minerals to make distinctive glazes, and Qing Kuo agreed that glazed pottery could be traded for useful goods.
• The tribe gathered clay and shaped pottery, but Jian Mo thought they had collected enough until Qing Kuo reminded him they needed more for a kiln.
• Jian Mo explained that a reusable kiln could make firing pottery more efficient than sealing each batch in clay on level ground.
• The tribe debated how to build a kiln, and Wu Jiong suggested firing pottery inside a cave.
• Jian Mo approved Wu Jiong’s idea, and the tribe discussed modifying a suitable cave before the young beastmen transformed and started fighting.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong chose Two-Entrance Cave as a site for a pottery kiln and planned how to modify it. Jian Mo then directed the tribe’s beastmen as they began excavating and preparing the cave.

• Wu Jiong took Jian Mo to Two-Entrance Cave, where they found the tribe’s stored jars and fruit wine.
• Jian Mo proposed reshaping the cave, adding ventilation and stone supports, and Wu Jiong agreed.
• Qing Kuo assigned Ban Ming and the other young beastmen to dig the cave.
• Jian Mo chose two canine beastmen to widen the cave while the others cleared supplies and packed excavated dirt to block the entrance.
• The beastmen dug out soil and cleared the cave roof, marking where they would make a ventilation opening.

Jian Mo helped the Riverside Tribe build a kiln and agreed to test it by making charcoal before firing pottery. The tribe made a batch of charcoal, while Jian Mo collected fish and shrimp and planned to gather grass for Jiujiu.

• Jian Mo led the beastmen in finishing the kiln, then agreed they would chop trees and make charcoal to test it.
• Ban Ming asked Jian Mo to help him get a share of the charcoal for A Meng, and Jian Mo reminded the group to replant trees after cutting them down.
• The Riverside Tribe divided the work and made another batch of charcoal.
• Jian Mo collected four fish, three shrimp, and two small shellfish from his frozen fish traps.
• Wu Jiong carried the catch inside, and Jian Mo prepared breakfast before they planned to gather grass near Green Marsh Source for Jiujiu.

Jian Mo inspected the repaired pottery kiln and prepared glaze tests for the evening firing. He then went with Wu Jiong to the Green Marsh Source, where they found edible grass stems and the Flying-Winged Beast happily dug in to eat.

• Qing Kuo told Jian Mo that the charcoal was ready and another kiln firing was planned for the evening.
• Jian Mo examined the repaired kiln and praised the tribe members’ work.
• Jian Mo mixed glaze recipes, recorded their proportions, and coated broken pottery shards for testing.
• Ye Luo suggested digging up grass roots, and Jian Mo passed the idea on to Wu Jiong.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong found tender grass stems beneath the snow at the Green Marsh Source, and the Flying-Winged Beast ate as it dug.

Jian Mo discovered that alkali helped his glaze test pieces sinter and explained that glass could be made from fine sand and used in windows. He moved up the pottery firing date to test making glass, but he and the others still had to decide how to fire it.

• Qing Kuo showed Jian Mo that three of the sixteen glaze test pieces had sintered.
• Jian Mo checked his notes and realized that the three successful pieces contained alkali, which lowered the melting point of quartz in the glaze.
• Jian Mo explained that glass could be made from fine sand and put in windows to block wind while letting in light.
• Jian Mo discussed moving the pottery firing date up so he could demonstrate making glass.
• Jian Mo glazed the dried pottery blanks while Qing Kuo and the others suggested ways to fire glass.

Jian Mo and the tribe tried making glass by firing sand and alkali inside clay boxes alongside glazed pottery. As the kiln work continued, Jian Mo suggested using river water to power the fan, and De Jiang compared the idea to a stone mill in the Mengshui Tribe.

• Jian Mo dreamed that glass could be fired successfully inside a clay box, and Wu Jiong promised to remember the idea until morning.
• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong found Qing Kuo, who agreed to make clay boxes and try firing glass.
• Jian Mo and the others dried the clay boxes, filled them with sand and powdered alkali, and placed them in the kiln with glazed pottery.
• Jian Mo prepared charcoal and a hand-cranked fan while Qing Kuo assigned core members to handle the firing in secrecy.
• Ye Luo and the others took turns cranking the fan as Jian Mo directed them from the side.
• Jian Mo suggested using diverted river water to power the fan, and De Jiang asked if it would work like the stone mill in the Mengshui Tribe.

Jian Mo and the tribe fired pottery and glass in a kiln, then gathered to inspect the results the next morning. They found the pottery improved and produced a small piece of translucent yellow glass, which they agreed to keep secret and guard closely.

• Jian Mo and the others fired the kiln all day, then returned to the tribe after leaving beastmen on patrol to guard it.
• Wu Jiong brought Jian Mo warmed fruit wine, and Jian Mo soon fell asleep beside the giant wolf.
• The next morning, Jian Mo and the tribe opened the cooled kiln and found the pottery smooth and brownish yellow.
• Wu Jiong found a fused piece of translucent yellow glass, and Qing Kuo and the others admired it.
• Wu Jiong told everyone to keep the glass-making secret, and De Jiang said they would guard the kiln during future firings.

Jian Mo and the others celebrated their successful glass firing, and Jian Mo installed glass windows in his home. The chapter ended as the chief of the Mengshui Tribe, Yun Long, arrived with a group at Wu Jiong’s house.

• The tribe inspected the glass fired in ceramic boxes and planned to make more, while counting 203 pottery pieces and 25 usable pieces of glass from the kiln.
• Qing Kuo gave Jian Mo five large pieces of glass and ten pottery pieces.
• Jian Mo fitted the glass into wooden frames and replaced the bark in his upstairs and downstairs windows.
• Jiang Xing told Jian Mo and Wu Jiong that the chief of the Mengshui Tribe had arrived and De Jiang wanted them outside.
• Jian Mo recognized Yun Long as the chief of the Mengshui Tribe as he and Wu Jiong met the arriving group outside their house.

Yun Long visited Wu Jiong and Jian Mo, admired the changes around their home, and brought Jian Mo a plant-based drug that seemed to act as an anesthetic. Jian Mo accepted it and learned Yun Long would look for more, while the Mengshui Tribe’s sub-beastmen hoped he would visit and teach them to cook.

• Yun Long and Jian Mo toured Wu Jiong’s home and saw its gardens, livestock shed, bathing shelter, drainage ditch, and new furnishings.
• Wu Jiong asked Yun Long why he had come, and Yun Long gave Jian Mo a bundle of a drug that made people and beasts sleep for half a day or longer.
• Jian Mo examined the drug and asked whether people who took it had suffered side effects; Yun Long said they felt groggy but recovered after a day or two.
• Wu Jiong nodded for Jian Mo to accept the drug, and Yun Long offered to bring more or host Jian Mo in the Mengshui Tribe.
• Yun Long praised Jian Mo’s pottery and told him the Mengshui Tribe’s sub-beastmen missed him and wanted to learn more cooking from him.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong planned to visit Thunder God Pool with Ye Luo to identify the moss used in the Mengshui Tribe’s anesthetic. The next morning, Jian Mo got up early to prepare food for the trip, and Ye Luo arrived after daybreak.

• Yun Long invited Jian Mo to visit the Mengshui Tribe, and Jian Mo gave him glazed pottery jars before he left with his companion.
• Qing Kuo and Ye Luo hinted that Yun Long had been trying to court Jian Mo, but Jian Mo did not understand.
• Ye Luo examined the anesthetic and suspected it was made from moss growing near Thunder God Pool on Thunder God Mountain.
• Wu Jiong recognized the place, and he and Ye Luo agreed to take Jian Mo there the next day.
• Jian Mo woke early, made dumplings for the journey, and Ye Luo arrived after daybreak.

Jian Mo, Wu Jiong, and Ye Luo traveled to Thunder God Mountain to find the moss used to make anesthetic. They collected plenty of the identified moss at Thunder God Pool and filled half a basket each.

• Jian Mo invited Ye Luo to breakfast, and Ye Luo enjoyed Jian Mo’s dumplings and savory egg soup.
• Jian Mo, Wu Jiong, and Ye Luo set out on the Flying-Winged Beast, which carried them east toward Thunder God Mountain.
• The Flying-Winged Beast became afraid of the lightning and landed near the mountain, so the three continued on foot.
• Jian Mo gathered edible wild greens as the group climbed through the warmer, snow-free forest toward Thunder God Pool.
• Ye Luo recognized a distinctive moss as the likely source of the Mengshui Tribe’s anesthetic and explained that fish became stunned after eating it.
• Jian Mo, Wu Jiong, and Ye Luo scraped up the moss and its underlying soil, filling half of each carrying basket.

Jian Mo tested the gathered moss on two young Pack-Pack Beasts and confirmed that it worked as an anesthetic without obvious harm. After he offered treatment to the tribe, Jiang Tou came to have a painful rotten tooth examined, and Jian Mo prepared to check his mouth with salt water.

• Jian Mo gathered fish and vegetables with Wu Jiong and Ye Luo, then discussed testing the moss as an anesthetic with Wu Jiong.
• Jian Mo fed fresh and dried moss to two young Pack-Pack Beasts and found that the dried moss worked slightly better, with no obvious lasting effects.
• Jian Mo told the tribe that people with serious wounds or abscesses could come to him for treatment.
• Jiang Tou arrived with Hong Qiu and asked Jian Mo to treat his tooth; Jian Mo examined him in beast form and found a rotten tooth and ulcerated areas.
• Jian Mo asked about Jiang Tou's diet and reached for salt water to rinse his mouth while Wu Jiong assisted.

Jian Mo checked Jiang Tou after pulling his rotten teeth and found that the extraction wounds were healing well. Jiang Tou’s pain had eased, and Jian Mo concluded that his condition was likely caused by cavities and poor oral care rather than stomatitis.

• Jiang Tou arrived with Hong Qiu at daybreak and told Jian Mo that the extraction sites no longer hurt.
• Jian Mo examined Jiang Tou’s mouth and found that the wounds were healing without swelling or inflammation.
• Jian Mo had Jiang Tou transform into his beast form and inspected his mouth again.
• Jian Mo concluded that Jiang Tou likely had cavities worsened by vitamin deficiency and poor oral hygiene, not stomatitis.

Jian Mo continued treating patients and learned from Xi Lu that Furball Beast fur powder could stop bleeding and help wounds heal. He and Wu Jiong discussed gathering it, but Jian Mo remained concerned that the animal-derived remedy might spread disease.

• Jian Mo treated Jiang Tou's improving condition and sent him home with instructions to keep eating wild vegetables and return if he worsened.
• Jian Mo treated patients from his tribe and others, while Wu Jiong offered to find out who had been lingering outside Jian Mo's house.
• Xi Lu brought Zhou Fu to Jian Mo and explained that Furball Beast fur powder stopped bleeding and helped wounds heal.
• Jian Mo asked Wu Jiong about the beasts, and Wu Jiong offered to collect the powder with him.
• Jian Mo worried that the powder might carry viruses, while Wu Jiong said he had never heard of tribes becoming sick from wild beasts.

Jian Mo went with Xi Lu, Wu Jiong, and Xuan Yin to the Purple Flower Plateau to collect fur powder from Furball Beasts. After learning how to find and handle the creatures, Jian Mo and Xi Lu’s group split up to gather more powder.

• Jian Mo arranged with Xi Lu to visit the Purple Flower Plateau the next morning, and they agreed to bring Wu Jiong and Xuan Yin.
• The four reached the plateau and learned from Xi Lu that Furball Beasts hid in burrows during the day.
• Wu Jiong found a burrow, and Jian Mo dug out a Furball Beast before Wu Jiong pinned it down.
• Jian Mo shook fur powder from the Furball Beast, then returned it to its burrow.
• Jian Mo and Xi Lu split into two groups with their beastmen and began searching for more Furball Beast burrows.

Jian Mo tested Furball Beast powder and confirmed it helped wounds heal, then gathered traditional remedies and made a bark price list for medical fees. The next morning, Ban Ming called out to him as he went to collect the fish traps.

• Jian Mo and Wu Jiong collected Furball Beast powder with Xi Lu and Xuan Yin, and Xi Lu gave his share to Jian Mo.
• Jian Mo tested the powder on young Pack-Pack Beasts and found that it helped wounds heal even after being heated.
• People brought Jian Mo traditional medicinal recipes, and he treated growing numbers of patients in exchange for supplies.
• Jian Mo made a bark price list of useful goods to accept as medical fees, adding fruit wine at Wu Jiong's suggestion.
• Ban Ming stopped Jian Mo on his way to collect the fish traps and greeted him enthusiastically.

Ban Ming asked Jian Mo to examine A Meng's father, Yu Jiao, and Jian Mo treated Yu Jiao's lingering leg injury with a hot salt compress. While waiting, A Meng noticed Jian Mo's bark painting and asked him about it.

• Ban Ming asked Jian Mo to see whether he could examine Yu Jiao's injured leg, and Jian Mo agreed.
• Ban Ming helped Jian Mo collect fish traps before returning to tell A Meng to bring his father.
• A Meng brought Yu Jiao to Jian Mo, who found that Yu Jiao's leg had not fully healed and was still inflamed.
• Jian Mo applied a hot salt compress to Yu Jiao's leg and advised him to keep it warm and rest.
• A Meng spotted Jian Mo's bark painting and asked what it was.

Jian Mo learned that rare Snow Pearl Fruit made quick, sweet wine and planned to look for some with Wu Jiong in the unclaimed territory. The next day, Jiujiu carried Jian Mo and Wu Jiong there, happily chirping as they traveled.

• A Meng told Jian Mo that Snow Pearl Fruit was rare, sweet, and could ferment into wine within days, and offered to look for some.
• Jian Mo insisted that A Meng accept blended spices in return for the excess payment, and A Meng left with his father after receiving them.
• Jian Mo asked Wu Jiong about Snow Pearl Fruit, and Wu Jiong remembered it might grow in the unclaimed territory below the True Scarlet Tribe's land.
• Jian Mo agreed to go look for Snow Pearl Fruit with Wu Jiong, and planned to make food to persuade Jiujiu to carry them.
• Jiujiu carried Jian Mo and Wu Jiong the next day, chirping excitedly as Wu Jiong held Jian Mo around the waist.