After days of checking three times a day, Jian Mo’s planted seeds finally bore fruit—one of the three seeds sprouted.
The tiny sprout was a tender light green at first, gradually darkening to a deeper green. Its leaves were oval-shaped, thin, and trembled slightly in the breeze.
Wu Jiong asked, “Is this a chili seedling?”
Jian Mo hesitated. “I’m not sure. The chili seedlings I’ve seen before seemed to have longer leaves.”
Wu Jiong replied, “Then we’ll need to wait until it grows bigger.”
Jian Mo agreed, “Yes, once it grows and flowers, I’ll definitely recognize it. But I’m worried—what if the colder weather affects its growth? Should we move it outside during the day for sunlight and bring it back inside at night to keep it warm?”
Wu Jiong didn’t mind. Moving a clay pot wasn’t a big deal. “Let’s do it.”
Jian Mo sighed as he looked at the tiny sprout. “If only I were trained in agriculture. Then I’d know right away.”
Wu Jiong remarked, “If you were an agricultural expert, you wouldn’t be curing people.”
Jian Mo shook his head. “This is so tough.”
The news of Jian Mo’s possible chili seedling spread beyond the He’an Tribe to nearby tribes, drawing curious visitors. None of them had ever tasted chili, but Jian Mo’s enthusiastic praise for it piqued their curiosity.
When they saw the fragile little sprout, many were underwhelmed.
“It’s so small,” one person muttered. “Who knows when it’ll bear chilies?”
One day, a beastman from the Meng An Tribe came to the He’an Tribe seeking medical treatment. The beastman, named Shui Mian, had a large lump on his back.
“It doesn’t hurt much,” Shui Mian explained. “But when I shift between human and beast form, it pulls a bit. It’s also uncomfortable to lie on while sleeping. Other than that, it’s not a big deal.”
Jian Mo gently touched the fist-sized lump on Shui Mian’s back, suspecting it was a benign cyst. “How long has this lump been growing?”
Shui Mian counted on his fingers. “Maybe ten years?”
Halfway through, he looked helplessly at his companion for help.
His companion answered, “It’s been nineteen years. It started when he was a kid and has grown to this size.”
Shui Mian nodded repeatedly. “I wasn’t planning to deal with it, but it’s gotten bigger and uglier. I want to have it removed. Bei Ya said you might be able to do that. Can you?”
Looking into Shui Mian’s round, expectant eyes, Jian Mo cautiously said, “I can remove it, but I can’t guarantee it won’t grow back.”
Shui Mian quickly responded, “That’s fine. If it grows back, I’ll come and have it removed again.”
Jian Mo shook his head. “Repeatedly stimulating it isn’t good.”
Shui Mian looked confused. After Jian Mo patiently explained the risks, he nodded with some understanding but remained firm in his decision to have the lump removed. For a young beastman, carrying such an obvious lump on his back was unbearable.
After a thorough examination, Jian Mo determined that the lump could be safely removed. “Alright, let’s proceed. I’ll make the preparations, and you should do the same.”
Since Wu Jiong was away from the tribe, Jian Mo enlisted Ye Luo as his assistant. Ye Luo was quick and reliable, with enough medical knowledge to be an excellent helper.
Removing the lump was a relatively minor procedure with low risks. As long as sterilization was done properly and patience was exercised, it would be fine.
Shui Mian’s companion appeared nervous, but Shui Mian himself seemed calm. He drank the anesthetic quickly and lay face-down on the operating table, fully trusting Jian Mo.
It was clear the lump had troubled him for a long time, and he just wanted relief.
When Jian Mo cut into the lump, he discovered it wasn’t a simple benign cyst as he had thought. It was mostly filled with pus, and at its center was a hard tree branch. The branch’s color had turned strange from being soaked for so long, and it emitted a foul odor.
It was an old branch, embedded in Shui Mian’s body for who knows how many years. Jian Mo couldn’t help but marvel as he examined it.
At least the lump had been caused by a foreign object and not a malignant tumor. Relieved, Jian Mo concluded the lump was unlikely to regrow.
By now, Jian Mo was experienced with surgeries and had perfected the dosage of anesthetics. Shui Mian had the surgery in the morning and woke up by the afternoon.
The first thing Shui Mian noticed was that his back felt flat. He instinctively reached for the site.
Jian Mo grabbed his hand. “Don’t touch it! That could lead to infection.”
Shui Mian blinked in confusion.
Jian Mo patiently explained what an infection was and its consequences, then showed him the tree branch in a clay dish. “This branch caused your lump. Do you remember it?”
Shui Mian studied the branch for a while before exclaiming, “It was still inside me?”
“Yes,” Jian Mo replied. “It’s what made the lump grow.”
Shui Mian’s eyes lit up with astonishment and delight. “I knew it! When I was a kid, I climbed a tree in my beast form and fell. I felt something stab into me, but I was afraid my dad would scold me, so I didn’t say anything and just shifted back to human form.”
His voice carried a mix of wonder and amusement. “So it’s been in my back all this time? That’s amazing—and kind of funny!”
Jian Mo asked, “Didn’t it hurt?”
“A little,” Shui Mian admitted. “But who doesn’t have aches and pains? I just got used to it.”
Jian Mo sighed, “…If there’s ever anything wrong with your body, you should come for treatment as soon as possible.”
Shui Mian beamed happily. “Got it, thanks, Doctor Jian Mo! You’re amazing, better than any shaman I’ve ever seen.”
Jian Mo asked casually, “Have you seen many shamans?”
Shui Mian shrugged. “I’ve seen a few. This lump on my back is pretty ugly, so I tried to find shamans to help remove it. I even asked some travelers, but none of them could do anything.”
Jian Mo had often heard about travelers, but apart from Meng Shui Tribe’s adopted beastman Xing Yuan and shaman Lian Ke, he hadn’t met any real travelers himself.
Shui Mian and his companion explained, “The He’an Tribe wasn’t keen on hosting outsiders in the past, so travelers usually went to the Meng Shui Tribe.”
Jian Mo asked, “Where do these travelers usually come from? The south or the north?”
Shui Mian replied, “Both, but we seem to meet more from the south. The travelers say the south is much bigger, with more beastmen. Some tribes down there even have tens of thousands of people.”
Shui Mian’s eyes sparkled with awe. Tribes in this area were all small, with only a few hundred members, so a tribe of tens of thousands was beyond his imagination.
Jian Mo pondered for a moment, then asked, “Have you ever heard of chilies?”
Shui Mian’s eyes lit up. “I have!”
Before Jian Mo could press for details, Shui Mian grinned sheepishly. “But it’s from your tribe that I heard about it. You’re looking for chilies, right?”
Well, that was disappointing. Jian Mo cast him a sidelong glance, slightly annoyed. “Yes, if you come across any information, let me know.”
Shui Mian nodded earnestly.
His companion, however, seemed to recall something and said thoughtfully, “When I was a child, I heard the elders in our tribe talk about a plant that could sting painfully. You could eat it, but after eating, your mouth hurt, your stomach hurt, and even going to the bathroom hurt. Only people from the area where it grew dared to eat it. Could that be what you’re looking for?”
Jian Mo’s eyes widened with excitement. “It might be! The more people eat spicy food, the more accustomed they become, and it doesn’t feel as painful anymore.”
Shui Mian added, “I think that plant is from the south, but it never made its way here. Maybe it’s because outsiders aren’t used to eating it.”
Jian Mo hadn’t expected to gain such valuable information and felt a surge of joy. “If I ever get the chance, I’ll go see it for myself. Thank you. This means a lot to me.”
Shui Mian’s companion looked a little embarrassed. “I’m glad I could help.”
This new lead made Jian Mo more confident that chilies truly existed in this world.
When Wu Jiong returned, Jian Mo excitedly shared the news.
Wu Jiong asked, “So, do we still need to wait for that seedling to produce chilies?”
Jian Mo glanced at the seedling on the windowsill. “I’m starting to doubt it’ll even survive long enough to bear fruit.”
The onset of autumn seemed to have stunted the seedling’s growth. Its leaves had started to yellow and fall off, leaving it looking like a bare twig.
Jian Mo leaned back in his chair, puffing his cheeks slightly—a telltale sign of his frustration. He might not have noticed it, but Wu Jiong did and always found it endearing.
Unable to resist, Wu Jiong reached out to poke Jian Mo’s cheek, earning himself a glare.
Sitting beside him, Wu Jiong changed the subject. “Why don’t we track the bird that ate the chili?”
Jian Mo immediately sat upright, eyes wide. “We can do that?”
Wu Jiong nodded. “If we can find the bird, we might be able to get fresh chilies directly, instead of waiting to grow them ourselves.”
Jian Mo’s excitement grew. “If we can find it, there’s a good chance the plant still has chilies hanging on its branches! Wait—what about your duties as the tribe leader? Won’t this disrupt your work?”
Wu Jiong had already thought this through. “We’ll ask De Jiang and Qing Kuo to help out temporarily.”
Jian Mo scratched his head. “That’s not what I meant. I’m worried that if you keep going off on these trips, it might seem like you’re not taking your role seriously.”
Wu Jiong remained calm. “We’ve brought back so many resources for the tribe: noodlefruit, garlic powder, ginger, green onions, pearl rice, and even a drainage system. Recently, we added a new fighting arena. If this still doesn’t make me a good tribe leader, then no leader on this continent would qualify.”
Jian Mo laughed. “Fair point.”
Wu Jiong continued, “We have enough food stored: flour, starch, rice, beast oil, and sugar. Even if we didn’t hunt or gather all autumn, we wouldn’t run out. The beast pen has Tou Tou Beasts, long-tailed birds, and even a river fleece beast, so we won’t lack meat. If we go, we can ask Min Dang and the others to care for the animals. Chirpy and Ying Ao can come with us.”
The more Wu Jiong spoke, the more Jian Mo felt like he was being persuaded. “Why do I feel like you’re trying to coax me into leaving?”
Wu Jiong looked at him and said sincerely, “I just want you to get what you’re searching for.”
Jian Mo couldn’t help but bump his forehead lightly against Wu Jiong’s shoulder. “You’ve convinced me. Let’s do it.”
