Chapter 186: Group Orders

This year’s Hunting Festival was run exceptionally well, and the crowds kept growing.

Plenty of tribes that weren’t competing still came to join the fun—including the ones Ji Xun had mentioned.

Seizing the chance, Jian Mo asked those tribes whether he and Wu Jiong could visit their lands to observe and gather supplies. They all agreed, warmly inviting the two to come anytime.

The Shanming Tribe was especially enthusiastic. “Doctor Jian Mo, you could even settle in our tribe long-term if you like. You’re always welcome.”

Jian Mo said, “Great—if we need to, we’ll come find you.”

That only made the Shanming people more eager. “We’re surrounded by other tribes. If you live with us, it’ll be convenient to go anywhere.”

Jian Mo smiled. “Deal. I’ll come pay a visit when I have time.”

Soon, the festival was drawing to a close.

Everyone’s skills were solid this time around, but the standouts were the Riverbank Tribe.

Their beastmen and sub-beastmen were strong, and even their cubs fought with form and technique, leaving people stunned.

In truth, the shock had started as soon as visitors saw the tribe’s buildings.

Just about everyone could see clearly that the Riverbank Tribe was no longer that remote, shut-in little place from before.

With everyone’s help, this year’s Hunting Festival ended smoothly.

Those from farther tribes traveled back in groups, while nearby tribes stayed behind to help Riverbank clean up and repair facilities.

By the time it was all finished, nearly everyone in Riverbank was dead tired.

Even diligent Qing Kuo said he needed two days’ rest in the tribe before going hunting and gathering again.

Wu Jiong had been wearing the plaster on his leg for several days; the scar had indeed lightened.

Seeing the plaster worked, Jian Mo took the chance to invite Bei Ya over and treat the scars on his face.

Bei Ya’s facial scars faded further until only pale lines remained.

But he had so many of them that—even reduced to thin white lines—those crisscrossing marks were still very visible.

In this situation, more treatment would be needed.

Jian Mo studied his face. “It’s not a big problem. With more sessions, the scars should keep lightening. Have you been careful about sun protection lately?”

Bei Ya said, “Yes. I wear a hat and cover my face with cloth.”

“Good habit—keep it up,” Jian Mo said. “I’m going to apply the plasters now. Hold this position and don’t move.”

Bei Ya tipped his chin up slightly and went still.

Jian Mo brought over the plasters, measured them against the scars a few times, then used scissors to trim them carefully to size. He warmed each piece over the fire, then pressed them to Bei Ya’s face one by one.

As he worked, he asked, “How is it? Any discomfort?”

Bei Ya’s lips moved slightly. “No. I’m used to this—I’ve been wearing tension-relief strips before.”

“Tell me if anything feels off,” Jian Mo said, focused on his task. “And if it feels too hot, say so.”

“Alright.”

There were so many scars that Jian Mo ended up covering his whole face.

When he finished, he said, “You can keep the cloth over your face when you go back, or just wear a hat. The dark plasters protect the wounds; it’s fine even if you don’t cover them.”

“I’ll keep the cloth on for a while longer,” Bei Ya said. “The weather’s cool—it’s not uncomfortable.”

“As you like. Take these extra plasters home. If any lose their stickiness, replace them with new ones.”

After giving a thorough set of instructions, Jian Mo handed over most of the plasters for Bei Ya to take back.

Stowing them away, Bei Ya asked, “Doctor Jian Mo, I heard you’re coming to our side to treat people. When will you go? You can stay at my place when you arrive—I’ll clear a room.”

Jian Mo smiled. “We’ll probably rest a few more days. There’s so much to gather in autumn—we should make the most of it. Once we’ve finished a round of collecting, we’ll head over.”

“There’s a lot to gather on our side too,” Bei Ya said. “When you come, I’ll take you out to collect.”

Jian Mo laughed. “Perfect—then we’ll count on you.”

Bei Ya’s eyes curved with happiness.

After they left, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong threw themselves into gathering.

Autumn really does have a wealth of things—wild fruits, greens, mushrooms, tubers… In just a few days, they’d piled up half a storeroom of goods.

Wu Jiong also led hunts while the game was at its fattest.

He was extremely skilled; the game he brought back filled the eaves, hanging in rows.

During these days, Jiujiu and Ying’ao also took the opportunity to feast on plenty of good food.

Jiujiu’s belly grew even rounder. As much as Jian Mo found Jiujiu adorable, he couldn’t in good conscience say it still needed fattening up.

“It’s fine,” Wu Jiong told him. “Putting on weight in autumn helps with winter consumption.”

Jian Mo reminded him, “We won’t be short of food in winter, remember? We planted so many crops. And although it’s harder to hunt outside, we can fish—there are plenty in the rivers, Green Marsh Source, and White Sand Islet. Jiujiu won’t go hungry.”

Jiujiu blinked nearby and didn’t dare chirp.

“Jiujiu moves a lot,” Wu Jiong said calmly. “Even if it gets chubby, it will slim down quickly.”

Jian Mo looked at him, then at Jiujiu. “Indulge it if you want—but if the day comes when Jiujiu’s too fat to fly, I’m making it run laps with the cubs.”

“...peep,” Jiujiu squeaked softly.

While they were busy, a group of beastmen and sub-beastmen arrived to see them.

“Brother Jian Mo,” the cubs reported, “they came really early and have been waiting at the little clinic.”

Jian Mo ruffled each cub’s head in turn. “I’ll go see what’s up.”

Like little shadows, the cubs tagged along behind—curious to see, too.

The visitors were waiting by the clinic. When they saw Jian Mo, they stood and greeted him.

Looking at the mixed group before him, Jian Mo was a bit puzzled. “What can I do for you?”

With so many of them, they probably weren’t here for ordinary treatment; none looked like they were in pain.

A sub-beastman in the crowd stood up. “Doctor Jian Mo, is it true you can treat scars?”

“Hm?”

He swept the hair off his forehead, exposing a large scar. “Can this be treated?”

Another sub-beastman raised a hand. “I’ve got a long scar on my arm.”

Jian Mo cottoned on. “So everyone’s here for scar treatment?”

They nodded in unison. “Yes. We heard you could treat them, so we came together.”

They introduced themselves: they were from several tribes, all near Tianning.

They’d heard Jian Mo could treat scars and had given Bei Ya medicine, so they’d come to ask whether he could help them too.

A little surprised, Jian Mo examined the thigh scar of the sub-beastman in front. “This one’s a bit old.”

“Yeah,” the man said. “I fell when I was little.”

“Do you still want it gone? Results might not be ideal with older scars.”

His eyes shone. “I know. I still want it removed—it’s ugly.”

A beastman showed his belly. “I want mine gone, too. Every time I touch it, it feels wrong.”

“How’d you get this one?” Jian Mo asked.

The beastman grinned. “First time I went hunting, a wild beast gored me.”

The group’s scars were all kinds—big and small, shallow and deep. Their shared wish was to get rid of them as much as possible.

Jian Mo hadn’t expected so many to have this need. “I’m out of plasters. If you want treatment, I’ll have to make another batch.”

“Can we place an order in advance?”

“I can’t guarantee I’ll find the ingredients,” Jian Mo said. “The key materials are pretty hard to come by.”

“What ingredients do you need? We can help look.”

“Yeah—and the price for the plasters is negotiable. I can pay extra in goods.”

“Doctor Jian Mo, I’ve got delicious nuts. Can I trade nuts for the plasters?”

Jian Mo waved his hands. “It’s not about the payment. I’ll go search for the herbs—if I find them, I’ll make more; if not, there’s nothing I can do. The main herb is called ‘throat-eye bead.’ If you find any, you can bring them to me and I’ll swap you finished plasters.”

“Doctor Jian Mo, roughly when do you think you’ll find them? We’ll come back then.”

“Right—give us a timeframe. If we find the herb first, we’ll bring it to you.”

Jian Mo spent a long time fielding questions from the whole crowd—until his mouth was dry—finally wrapping everything up.

It was already dark. It wouldn’t be right to send them off at that hour, so he took them to speak with Qing Kuo and opened a few of the tribe’s vacant houses for the visitors to stay in—charging goods, of course.

On the way back after settling everyone, Jian Mo remarked, “I didn’t expect so many people to want scar-removal plasters.”

“What’s surprising?” Qing Kuo said. “Everyone loves to look good. No one wants scars—especially not on the face.”

“Wu Jiong still has one on his leg, and he doesn’t want it gone,” Jian Mo said.

Qing Kuo chuckled. “Leaders like him are rare. If you two hadn’t hit it off, I’d have suspected he’d be single for life.”

“How could that be?” Jian Mo protested. “He’s tall, handsome, and can fight—good at everything. No way he’d stay single.”

“Oh, I meant he wouldn’t find others acceptable,” Qing Kuo said.

Jian Mo rubbed his chin. “That’s fair.”

So many people wanted plasters that some even brought payment up front to leave as deposits.

Seeing that, Jian Mo told Wu Jiong, “Why don’t we make the trip? So many people want this—if we don’t make more, they’ll be disappointed.”

Wu Jiong nodded. “With what they’re offering, even if we don’t hunt or gather ourselves for a bit, we’ll be fine.”

By any measure, making the scar-removal plasters was worth it.

Jian Mo informed the tribe, quickly packed up, pulled Wu Jiong along, and—mounted on Jiujiu and Ying’ao—set out for the Dense Stream Tribe to search for throat-eye beads.

If that young sub-beastman could find them, surely they could too.

When they arrived, the Dense Stream folk had already heard the news.

Their chief, Yi Sen, came out with people to greet them. “We’ve heard throat-eye beads can treat scars. We’ve been keeping an eye out while gathering lately.”

Jian Mo perked up. “Were you able to find any?”

Yi Sen shook his head regretfully. “There aren’t many here to begin with. We harvested a batch earlier to cure meat, and in the last few days we haven’t found any—might take more searching.”

Another tribesman added, “We always look in the same places—our families have gathered there for generations. We probably need to try places we’ve never foraged before. That’ll take time.”

Jian Mo nodded. “It won’t be easy.”

“You’ve come a long way,” Yi Sen said. “Rest first—we’ll talk tomorrow. You should try our specialties, too. We even have cured meats made with throat-eye bead. See if you like the taste.”

Jian Mo glanced at Wu Jiong and smiled. “Then we’ll gladly accept your hospitality.”

“Please do,” Yi Sen said. “Quite a few of our people have ailments and have been hoping you’d come. We’ve prepared the goods.”

Jian Mo nodded. “I’ll do everything I can.”