The Female Supporting Character Refuses to Be Human Again - Chapter 212.2

The hunting team didn’t want Meng Changjin to make things too easy for them. Of course, they would have preferred a relaxed hunt if that meant they’d still succeed, but not at the cost of their skills deteriorating. They couldn’t accept that. Even though they knew that Meng Changjin, being a divinely gifted person, was naturally stronger, they also had their pride to consider. After all, Meng Changjin was still just a youngster.

The hunters of the Yan Tribe also had their own sense of dignity. So when Meng Changjin didn’t jump in to take over the hunt right away, the team was fired up. They were determined to prove their abilities and to show the newcomers what real hunters should be like.

Meng Changjin, seeing their enthusiasm, wasn’t about to dampen their spirits. The new recruits were equally eager, taking every lesson to heart. They felt a deep sense of pride in their progress toward becoming full-fledged hunters. In the Yan Tribe, it was every child’s dream to grow up and join the hunting team because they knew that without the hunters, the tribe wouldn’t have survived this long.

Was this fair to the hunters? In a way, maybe not, since they had to share their hard-earned game with so many people. But the experienced hunters remembered that decades ago, they too were the young ones waiting for the hunters of the past to return with food. Without those earlier hunters, they wouldn’t be here today.

In the Yan Tribe, the hunters never felt it was unfair. They understood that they were part of a cycle. Someday, when they were too old to hunt, the next generation would become the backbone of the tribe, just as they were now.

Meng Changjin stayed close enough to the hunting party to provide protection, focusing mainly on the rookies. She knew these new hunters represented the future strength of the Yan Tribe. Keeping them safe from harm was a priority, though she was careful to let them face challenges on their own whenever possible.

Even though Meng Changjin was technically a newcomer by age, her strength made her the perfect guardian for the rookies. During these few days of observing the hunters, she noticed a significant difference in their approach to finding prey.

The hunting team relied on their tracking skills, using small clues and signs to deduce the location of their prey. They assessed the strength of each animal and planned their actions accordingly. This process of tracking took up most of their time.

Meng Changjin, on the other hand, used her spiritual sense to instantly locate prey, bypassing the need for any tracking or analysis. She simply found the prey, approached it, and overpowered it with her strength. It was a straightforward, brute-force method that didn’t require much finesse.

But Meng Changjin realized that not everyone had spiritual sense, nor could they all be as powerful as she was. The Yan Tribe’s future belonged to the others, not to her alone. She couldn’t always take charge of everything.

Over the past few days, she learned a lot about tracking and hunting without relying on spiritual abilities. She gained a newfound respect for the hunters’ methods, realizing there was an art to following subtle signs and patterns to find prey.

Without Meng Changjin’s direct involvement, the hunters managed quite well, bringing in a decent haul. Given more time, they were sure to achieve even better results. However, Meng Changjin had to return to check on the progress of her curing meat, so on the fourth day, she finally stepped in to help speed things up.

By the fifth day, the hunting team returned to the tribe, each carrying prey that was almost twice their own size. It was a proud moment for them all.

Back at the settlement, Meng Changjin took out the meat that had been curing for the last five days. She carefully hung each piece with sturdy plant leaves on wooden racks outside her wooden house. These racks had been set up specifically for this purpose, complete with pegs she had hammered into the wood to hold the meat securely.

The meat needed to hang in a cool, ventilated spot for about ten days to dry out completely. Only then would it be ready for smoking. Meng Changjin built a smaller shed next to her wooden house for the smoking process, where she planned to hang the dried meat and smoke it daily until it was perfect.

Meng Changjin’s method of smoking meat was something she had read about in a book. She knew that each region had its unique way of curing and smoking meats, so instead of trying to imitate a specific style like Sichuan or Hunan, she decided to call her version “Yan-flavored smoked meat.” It seemed fitting since it was created right here in the Yan Tribe.

Her main goal was practicality—she didn’t care about strict authenticity as long as the meat was tasty and could be preserved for a long time. As long as it worked, that was good enough.

As she hung the meat to dry, she noticed something surprising. In the area surrounding the Yan Tribe, there didn’t seem to be any birds at all, which meant she didn’t have to worry about birds pecking at her meat.

The tribe members were fascinated by Meng Changjin’s method of hanging meat outside. They found the whole process novel and unusual. Whenever people gathered around to watch, Meng Changjin would take the time to explain what she was doing and how the meat would last much longer this way.

Some of the tribe members even decided to follow her example, hanging their meat outside as well. Meng Changjin was happy to teach them how to do it properly, showing them the best spots to hang the meat for optimal drying.

While waiting for the meat to dry, Meng Changjin joined the hunting team on two more expeditions. Since they weren’t pressed for time, she stayed in the background, focusing on protecting the rookies and digging up wild vegetables that she could plant back at the tribe’s settlement.

The plot of land where Meng Changjin had planted the wild vegetables was thriving thanks to her spiritual energy. Despite the change in environment, the plants were growing beautifully.

After those two hunting trips, the meat was finally ready to move into the shed for the smoking process. Smoking the meat was a slow endeavor—the longer it smoked, the better the flavor would become.

🎭 Behind the Curtain with Kliraz: Smoke Signals and Hunter’s Pride! (≧▽≦)

Meng Changjin’s tribe is getting quite the culinary upgrade with this smoked meat process! Did you know that smoking meat is one of the oldest ways to preserve food, used across different cultures around the world? In Europe, it was common practice during medieval times to smoke meat in chimney-like structures, giving it that rich, smoky flavor that lasted through the harsh winters (Henisch, B. (2009). The Medieval Cook. Boydell Press, p. 58-60). Our girl Meng Changjin’s setup looks pretty on point!

And let’s talk about that hunting pride! The hunters refusing to let Meng Changjin take over reminds me of the samurai in feudal Japan. They were all about honor and proving their skill in battle, believing that only through struggle could they truly grow stronger (Turnbull, S. (2008). The Samurai: A Military History. Osprey Publishing, p. 134-136). Looks like the Yan Tribe hunters have the same spirit!

With Meng Changjin’s Yan-flavored smoked meat coming into its own, the tribe’s food game is about to get legendary! Who needs a Michelin star when you’ve got smoked meat that can last through the winter, right? (¬‿¬)