Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 217: Seafood Enthusiast

Visha didn’t wait long for Amair to return. She was actually thinking about what she would cook when she went back to the living area. She wondered if any of the other tribesmen would be willing to give it a taste.

She thought that since they were technically beastmen, they might prefer meat. But besides beasts, they were also men. Who doesn’t love seafood? Unless they are allergic. Or just never had someone cook them amazing seafood.

Whichever the case, she didn’t have long to think about it before Amair came back. When she arrived, there was an old man with her. This was the oldest person Visha had seen since she came to the world.

He walked briskly, but his hair was grey. His eyes were also grey, though he wasn’t blind. It was very obvious he was looking at Visha. The light in his eyes was so strong that Visha wondered if he was her long-lost father.

"Amair has told me you are interested in trading. Is that right?"

Visha nodded, "Absolutely. Do you not want to trade with me?"

He waved his hand. "We do. I’m just wondering why you would want to trade such a precious thing for these things. Having clean water is a good thing."

This time, Visha was the one who waved her hand. "We have enough clean water. The thing purifies water, but after that, there isn’t much we can do with it. This time we brought it to trade, hoping there might be someone who would want a few."

He laughed. "Look at my manners, my name is Darin. I am the Tribe Leader of the Sealion tribe."

"Visha, Priestess of the Spiritfang tribe."

"Priestess?" Amair whispered in surprise.

She hadn’t expected the person she was speaking to to be a priestess. From what she knew, priests and priestesses were high in ranking. None of them would be willing to come out to trade in stalls. If not for the flare crystals Visha told her about, she would never have brought the tribe leader out.

But right here in front of her, this easy-going woman said she was a priestess.

Visha looked at Amair, who was surprised. "Is it a crime for me to be a priestess?" She laughed.

Amair waved her hands frantically and bowed slightly. "I was only surprised. My apologies, priestess. I didn’t mean to offend you."

"I’m not offended." She turned to Darin. "Amair has been a joy to speak with. Since we have already talked about the trade, there is no reason why we shouldn’t continue. We need to decide how much of each item can be traded."

Darin nodded. "As long as you aren’t offended. Let me ask, how many of the crystals do you have available?"

"How many do you need?" Visha took a crystal from the pouch she was carrying. "One of these is enough for a small jar. If you wish to clear a river, that would be different. Since it is constantly flowing. The crystal must first be ground into powder. The process is a bit difficult. If you need the powder, we also have that available."

"Difficult?" Darin looked at the crystal in Visha’s hand.

"Very difficult, actually." She handed Darin the crystal. "If you want to get the powder, you need a precise amount of pressure. Anything more, the crystal explodes. Anything less, there is no powder. Throw it on the ground and avert your eyes; you will understand."

Visha used vital energy to shield her eyes from the glare. Darin held the crystal in his hand, unwilling to do what Visha suggested.

Laughing, Visha said, "I have more. I understand you can’t bear it, but there will be no loss. Just try it so you understand. Let it fall on its own."

Taking a deep breath, the tribe leader and Amair steeled themselves. They averted their eyes as Visha said. They are far enough away that they don’t bother anyone, but some might see the light and be curious.

As soon as the crystal fell, the blinding light appeared. Though they didn’t look directly, they still had to close their eyes when they saw the brilliant light.

When the light subsided, Visha mused. "Great for running from enemies and making water drinkable. It’s two-fold if you use it the right way."

Amair and Darin stood together, their eyes glued to the spot where the crystal fell. They thought about their arduous journey. They had run into some troubles, and although they solved them, it took a lot of time. If they had these crystals, they wouldn’t need to constantly fight their way back.

Their thoughts moved in the same direction. Not only did they find an aid in fighting, but they also found a way to save their drinking water.

"Find some dirty water. You still need to see it at work with water."

Visha saw their enthusiasm and knew it had nothing to do with their original interest in the crystal. She quickly got them back on track. They were able to quickly find water. It was murky.

"This..." Darin sighed. "This is water from our tribe. We only drank it when we were leaving. We found water sources along the way. This is the only water left. We brought it in the hopes that one of the ruling tribes would be able to help us."

Visha nodded. She saw that the water had no sand in it. This was simple, pure water. She took out a small wooden jar. It contained the powder of the flare crystal. She sprinkled some into the water.

Darin and Amair visibly saw the water colour change. It was no longer the murky colour, but clear water.

"Tribe Leader, let me try it."

He didn’t refuse. He couldn’t afford to become sick at this time. There would be a talk with the various tribe leaders. If this didn’t work and they had the chance to talk to other tribe leaders to solve the problem, he would need to be there.

Amair drank cautiously, sipping a little at a time. She didn’t drink everything. She closed her eyes as the water touched her lips. The water before had a bitter taste and was murky. This tasted like water; it soothed her dry throat and left her relaxed from the heat.

She grinned when she finished her taste test.

"It’s good water."

Darin’s ears perked up when he heard what she said. "How do you feel?"

Drinking the murky water always gave them a stomachache. It was almost always instantaneous.

Amair shook her head. "Tribe leader, I don’t feel anything. I’m not sick."

Just to make sure, they even waited a few minutes and had Amair drink more of the water. The result was...she was fine.

Darin couldn’t help grinning. He looked at Visha and gave her a deep bow. Visha hadn’t expected it and quickly had him rise.

"You are a tribe leader. I understand that you care about your people. You don’t need to bow. This is a trade. You get something and so do I."

Darin smiled. A wave of relaxation rippled outward from him. His warmth made others feel warm.

"Yes, you’re right. I was too excited. This is a trade. But even with it being a trade, you truly have helped my tribe."

"Don’t think about it anymore. Tell me about the seafood. How would you like to trade it? We have spices. You can put them on the seafood. When you get back to your tribe. You can try different flavours."

"It sounds like you have a lot of experience with this kind of food."

Visha started talking enthusiastically about the different ways to cook seafood. She talked about the soups, sweet and sour dishes, pickled dishes, and a variety of other things.

Darin and Amair talked to her for a while about the different tastes. They hadn’t known there were so many different ways to eat the food they had started to despise. Hearing Visha talk about it made them want to taste it as well.

So, the seasoning they had no intention of trading also became a trade item.

After talking about the ways to cook, Visha let them know that flour can be coated on fish for it to be fried. She offered them a bag of flour, free.

She knew that they might try her methods. The festival didn’t end for two moon cycles. If they wanted flour to trade for more seafood later, she would make sure they had it. She had brought her own secret stash along.

By the time the chat was done, Visha had dug into her personal inventory to trade with them. The amount of seafodo they had versus the amount of good her tribe had carried was not equivalent.

To ensure the tribe still had trading materials, she would take them from her own stash. It was only a drop in the bucket. She had always been making sure to keep things for a rainy day.

Her rainy day fund was exceptionally large. So they got what they wanted, and she got her seafood.