Mother Lu (Lu Mian’er mother) stumbled back, startled by Hu Jiao Jiao’s fierce gaze, feeling a chill down her spine. This feisty young woman, once timid and afraid to speak up, now dared to oppose her in front of everyone?

“Y-you! You malicious creature!” Mother Lu managed to stammer, pointing a trembling finger at her, then turned to the beastmen around her for support.

“Did you hear that? This wicked woman is threatening to kick me out of the tribe! She really is a curse!”

“Enough!” The chief’s suppressed his anger and growled silencing the crowd, and the beastmen looked down in nervous respect. While he was usually gentle and kindly, everyone knew that when the chief got angry, he was a force to reckon with.

“If you keep stirring up trouble like this, I’ll send you away like we did with Lu Cuicui,” he warned, his tone simmering with anger. The chief was a forgiving soul, but if it involved jeopardizing the tribe’s future, he had no patience for troublemakers.

Hearing this, Mother Lu shrank back, casting a resentful glare at Hu Jiao Jiao. She couldn’t understand why Huang Yue’s comments were tolerated, yet the chief scolded her so fiercely.

“Aunt Lu, since you’re so sure that these salt flowers won’t be found, I take it you’ll refuse to eat the salt we bring back?” Hu Jiao Jiao stepped closer, her voice cold but calm.

“Of course! I won’t touch anything connected to you, you cursed creature!” Mother Lu snapped, trying to sound confident despite her fear.

“Good to hear,” Hu Jiao Jiao replied with a cool smile. “I wouldn’t want you blaming me if you happened to fall ill after eating it. And let me be clear,” she continued, addressing the crowd, “I’m not forcing anyone to go or to eat the salt we find. This is voluntary, and if anything happens along the way, it’s not my responsibility.”

The beastmen around her, who had once harbored doubts, quickly dismissed them.

“Of course, we’d never blame you. We’re just grateful for your help!”

“That’s right; you’re doing the whole tribe a favor. We trust you, Hu Jiao Jiao.”

They weren’t about to risk losing a chance to improve their lives. At that moment, many beastmen looked at Mother Lu with growing resentment.

Hu Jiao Jiao’s gaze fell on Huang Yue, who was watching silently from the sidelines. Her innocent face made it easy to forget that she had been the one to sow the first seeds of doubt.

---

By afternoon, the chief had selected eight beastmen to head west and search for the salt flowers, including Hu Qiang and Hu Qingshan, Hu Jiao Jiao’s father and eldest brother. She and her mother, Hu Min, went to see them off.

Hu Qiang and Hu Qingshan, however, couldn’t seem to hold back their emotions, eyes glistening with tears as they hugged Hu Jiao Jiao.

“Jiao Jiao, just wait for us to bring salt back. We’ll be back before you know it….”

“Little sis,” Hu Qingshan sniffed, barely managing a brave smile, “If anyone gives you trouble, go to our brothers. They’re not much, but they’ll always have your back.”

Hu Jiao Jiao couldn’t help but chuckle, nodding sincerely. “I will, Dad, Big Brother. Take care of yourselves, and I’ll be here waiting for you to come back with the salt.”

Hu Min, however, quickly intervened, tugging their hands off Hu Jiao Jiao. “Goodness, it’s not as if you’re never coming back! Look at you two—have some pride!” she scolded, nudging them forward with a slight scowl.

Reluctantly, Hu Qiang and Hu Qingshan finally tore themselves away, glancing back every few steps until they disappeared into the forest. Hu Jiao Jiao waved until their forms were swallowed by the trees.

“I know it’s hard to say goodbye,” Hu Min said gently, patting Hu Jiao Jiao’s shoulder. “Those two may not be the best hunters, but they are great at escaping.”

Hu Jiao Jiao laughed, reassured by her mother’s confidence. She spent a little longer with her mother before heading back home, her mind filled with the task of making charcoal. She had seen her grandfather make it back in her hometown but had never tried it herself. She needed to be thorough to ensure it worked.

“If only I had a phone to search online…” she muttered as she walked. The idea of getting everything right in one try felt overwhelming; having exact measurements and instructions would’ve made it so much easier.

She sighed, lost in thought.

When she got home, she noticed her five little ones were off somewhere playing, so she decided to go into the space to gather supplies for sketching a design of the mud kiln.

Inside, she found that the shelves had gained a few new items since her last visit. Her curiosity piqued, she examined the shelves more closely, noticing a small, square box labeled with the characters “Charcoal.”

“Charcoal?” she murmured, taking it down and lifting the lid. Inside was a tightly rolled scroll of parchment. She unrolled it to find a detailed description of several methods for producing different types of charcoal.

A wide grin spread across her face as she twirled around, hugging the parchment to her chest. “Could the space really read my mind? I mean, this is exactly what I needed!”

Encouraged by this thought, she closed her eyes, focusing, “Alright, then. I wish for resources that could be found in this world, so I won’t have to worry about arousing suspicion.”

She opened her eyes, but the shelves remained empty.

Hu Jiao Jiao sighed, disappointed. “I guess that was wishful thinking.”

Still, this scroll was more than she could have asked for, and she was grateful. Carefully, she unrolled it again, memorizing each step in the charcoal-making process.

---

Meanwhile, at the river, Long Zhong and Long Xiu arrived with small stone buckets in hand, wobbling slightly under the weight as they set down their things.

A moment later, a familiar group of young troublemakers arrived. Leading them was Lu Li, his stride cocky and hands behind his head. Spotting only the two brothers, he let out a sneering laugh.

“Well, well! If it isn’t the blind one and the ugly runt. Just you two here to catch fish?”