Chapter 188: Tender Wild Greens

Jiujiu flew ahead while Jian Mo and the others followed behind.

Its destination was unmistakably clear. It never once touched down, which meant it had firmly remembered where those throat-eye beads grew.

As they went farther and farther, Jian Mo felt his excitement slowly building.

If Jiujiu was this confident, there had to be a whole patch of throat-eye beads up ahead.

Before long, Jiujiu led them to the shaded side of a mountain, then called to them twice: “Jiu-jiu!”

Jian Mo’s eyes widened. “They’re here?”

Jiujiu chirped again and, without waiting for further instructions, shoved its pudgy body into a thicket of shrubs.

Once inside, it turned back with its head crowned in dead leaves and called twice: “Jiu-jiu!”

Jian Mo slid off the giant wolf at once. “Hold on—I’m coming.”

Jiujiu had already burrowed a path. Jian Mo hunched down and crawled in through the gap it made. “Where?”

“Jiu-jiu!” Jiujiu pointed with a claw, wriggled ahead a bit more, and sounded faintly anxious. “Jiu.”

Jian Mo stared hard for a while and still didn’t see anything.

Jiujiu got anxious and looked ready to shove him forward. “Jiu!”

Wu Jiong shifted back to human form and bent over to come in. “Front left.”

Following his cue, Jian Mo finally spotted a clump of dry leaves to the left-front. “Ah, there—no wonder I missed it. This color is impossible to pick out.”

Jiujiu let out a weak, aggrieved chirp. “Jiu.”

Hearing its complaint, Jian Mo felt a little sheepish. “My eyesight really isn’t as good as yours.”

“Watch the thorns underfoot,” Wu Jiong murmured.

Only then did Jian Mo notice the low shrubs were crowded with spines. If they blundered straight into them, they’d come out with zipper-like scratches all over their skin.

They pushed through and soon reached the throat-eye beads.

The plant itself was a grass; it was autumn now, so the tops had withered. You had to pry the leaves apart to see the fruits tucked deep inside.

No wonder they’re called “throat-eye beads”—they hide like eyeballs deep in a throat.

Jian Mo plucked the ripe fruits with his own hands. “One, two, three, four, five—exactly five.”

“Good haul for the first clump,” Wu Jiong said. “Our luck’s not bad today.”

“This isn’t luck,” Jian Mo said, glancing back at Jiujiu. “It’s Jiujiu’s skill.”

Jiujiu puffed out its chest in cooperation—only to bump its head on the shrub above. It squeaked “Eep!” and its eyes just about turned into spirals.

Jian Mo hurried over to rub its noggin. “Come on, let’s get out first. This thicket is a menace.”

The two of them and one Jiu backed out the way they’d come.

In the open, Jian Mo stretched hard. “Finally. Hunched over in that tangle was miserable.”

Wu Jiong patted his shoulder. “Let’s split up and keep looking. Jiujiu, call us when you find more.”

Jiujiu trotted a few steps, caught the wind, and lifted off. “Jiu.”

Jian Mo took Wu Jiong around the area.

Since throat-eye bead is a plant, its seeds shouldn’t spread all that far. They ought to find more nearby.

But despite their best efforts, the two of them didn’t find any.

Bad luck—or lacking skill.

Jiujiu, on the other hand, soon called again: “Jiu-jiu!”

They ran to rendezvous with it, and this time harvested seven beads—large and good quality.

After picking, they split up once more.

Not long after, it was Jiujiu again bringing good news.

By day’s end, they’d gathered half a basket in total—fifty-three throat-eye beads.

Aside from Jiujiu, neither the humans nor Ying’ao had found any at all.

As dusk fell and they prepared to head back, Jian Mo patted Jiujiu’s wing, deeply impressed. “You really do have the goods.”

Jiujiu puffed its chest. “Jiu.”

Ying’ao, who hadn’t found a single bead all day, crouched behind them in silence.

Jian Mo patted it. “You worked hard too. The mushrooms you found are delicious.”

Ying’ao gave a small chirp—part disgruntled, part weary. It was the first time Ying’ao had ever lost to Jiujiu.

Understanding how it felt, Jian Mo gave it another consoling pat.

Back in the Dense Stream Tribe, everyone came to see their haul. When they saw the half basket of throat-eye beads, they were all astonished.

“Doctor Jian Mo, where did you find these?”

“I thought we’d picked the mountain clean. Looks like there are more up there than I imagined.”

“And the quality’s really good—bigger than the ones we find.”

Chief Yi Sen asked, “Doctor Jian Mo, you’re going to turn these into scar-removal plasters, right?”

“Some into plasters,” Jian Mo said. “Some we’re saving for curing meat. We promised Jiujiu—if we found throat-eye beads, we’d make it a treat.”

Another tribesman chimed in, “They’re so scarce—why don’t you take some of our throat-eye cured meat back instead? Cured meat is cured meat.”

Jian Mo declined with a smile. “No can do. If I go back on my word this time, Jiujiu won’t listen to me next time.”

Seizing the moment, Jiujiu flapped its wings and called loudly, “Jiu—!”

Wu Jiong patted it. “Looks like we can’t bluff our way out of this.”

Yi Sen eyed Jiujiu with envy. “It’s clever—cleverer than a lot of people.”

“It’s only sharp when food’s involved,” Jian Mo said. “Otherwise, it’s just average.”

“Or maybe food is the only thing it cares about,” Yi Sen said. “It can’t be bothered with anything else, so it looks average.”

Jian Mo laughed. “Put that way, Jiujiu sounds pretty impressive.”

Probably not, though. Jiujiu had some smarts, but not eight hundred schemes. As for putting on an act—it likely hadn’t learned that.

They’d come primarily to gather throat-eye beads, and now that they had, they planned to return.

“While they’re fresh, we’d better get them back and made into plasters,” Jian Mo said.

Yi Sen was reluctant. “Weren’t you going to do a clinic round here?”

“We’ll come again in a bit,” Jian Mo said. “Besides making rounds, we also want to spread the word and see if we can recruit some students interested in becoming healers.”

“That needs advertising?” Yi Sen said at once. “Just say the word—tons of people will sign up. We’ve got plenty of young ones who want to be healers.”

He hadn’t even finished when several youths in the crowd shot their hands up together. “Doctor Jian Mo, we want to go!”

Jian Mo smiled. “I’ll let everyone know after I prepare some things. When class officially starts, there will be an exam.”

“Is it on those characters you teach?” someone asked. “We don’t know any.”

Jian Mo waved a hand. “No. None of you have studied—how could I test literacy? It’ll be on other things. I’ll announce the specifics when we formally recruit.”

The questioner got nervous. “Will it be really hard?”

“A bit challenging,” Jian Mo said, “but not extremely. You’ll see—someone will pass.”

The Dense Stream folks peppered him with questions, but he wouldn’t give anything away, so they had to drop it—for now.

Everyone helped pack, preparing some goods for Jian Mo and his group to take home.

By now, Jian Mo was familiar with their local products. Spotting a pile of fresh wild greens among the items, he was surprised. “How are these in season now?”

It was autumn; the vegetation outside was fading. Edible greens were scarce. Even if they hadn’t withered, they’d be tough and bitter by now.

People rarely ate wild greens in autumn, preferring tubers and fruits—they tasted better.

“These were sent by Rainrise,” Yi Sen said. “I figured you folks love greens, so I packed some for you.”

Hearing the familiar tribe name, Jian Mo’s eyes lit with surprise. “The Rainrise Tribe? Chief Qi Ming’s tribe?”

Yi Sen nodded. “That’s them. You’ve dealt with them too, right?”

“Yeah—we’re pretty close,” Jian Mo said. “But their greens should have withered by now. How do they still have fresh ones?”

“No idea,” Yi Sen said. “They sent them over and told us to try them. Said if we want more, we can go trade with them. We were surprised too.”

The Dense Stream Tribe was very close to Rainrise, separated only by the narrow strip of Snowfoot territory.

At a beastman’s running speed, it was only a few hours away.

Staring at the tender greens, Jian Mo’s curiosity burned. “They must have something new going on. Tomorrow, let’s go take a look.”

“We’ll send people with you,” Yi Sen offered at once.

Jian Mo pointed at Jiujiu and Ying’ao and declined tactfully. “We’re flying over on winged beasts, so our routes won’t match.”

Yi Sen glanced at the two fliers, disappointed. “If only we raised winged beasts too. When yours have cubs, could we trade for one?”

Jian Mo laughed. “Afraid not—both of ours are male.”

“What a pity,” Yi Sen said. “Such fine beasts, and no cubs.”

“They’re still young,” Jian Mo said.

And besides—Jian Mo was in no hurry to be a granddad. Not even to a mini-Jiujiu.

After a bit more chatting, Jian Mo and his group said they were going to rest.

They’d spent a whole day in the mountains. Even though Jiujiu had found most of the beads, Jian Mo and Wu Jiong were exhausted and needed to wash up and sleep—they had to travel tomorrow.

Before washing, Wu Jiong said, “Go ask Jiujiu and Ying’ao if they want a bath too.”

Jian Mo chuckled. “You’re going to formally consult them about it?”

“They’ve been burrowing all day,” Wu Jiong said. “They’re caked in mud.”

Both beasts could swim; Jiujiu even liked it. But by animal nature, neither liked bathing much—especially being scrubbed by others.

When they were filthy, Jian Mo would simply take them to bathe without asking.

They weren’t that dirty now, so it was best to ask first.

Still smiling, Jian Mo went to ask.

Jiujiu listened for a long time without understanding, staring blankly at Jian Mo with wide eyes.

Ying’ao, on the other hand, got it and ambled after him, apparently fine with a bath.

With Ying’ao on board, Jian Mo just hauled Jiujiu along too. After all, the little guy had spent the day in thickets—its body was full of burrs and dead leaves and needed a proper wash.