Teaching them how to eat fish was Viola's business. Draven didn't plan to get involved. All he needed to do was teach them how to scrape off the scales properly, gut the fish, and salt them for preservation.

  Although these demi-humans had never eaten fish before, they had plenty of coarse salt—large grains and enough quantity—perfect for curing fish. Compared to fine seasoning, what they really needed was a way to keep the fish fresh and prevent spoilage.

  As he explained, he demonstrated smoothly with three fish: first scraping off the scales with the back of his knife, then cutting open the belly to remove the innards, rinsing away the blood, scoring a few cuts on the flesh, rubbing in the coarse salt evenly, and finally hanging the fish up to air dry.

  "Cure for three days, then dry for two. Once the flesh hardens and the color darkens a bit, it's ready to eat. It won't spoil easily and can be carried around."

  The villagers watched intently; some nodded, some frowned, and a few pinched their noses quietly—clearly still not used to the smell.

  Draven didn't explain further. He left a few fish for demonstration and handed the rest over for them to practice.

  "It's okay if you mess up. Do it a few times, and you'll get it." He hoisted the string of fish on his shoulder and turned away, his voice low but firm."Don't expect me to help you every day."

  By noon, the big house was filled with the aroma of fish soup, along with several freshly grilled fish. Their skin was golden brown and sizzling with oil.

  Draven had just sat down when Liliana came over and nestled close to him, holding a skewer of freshly grilled fish, grinning like she'd found treasure.

  "Try this, it's super tasty." She handed the fish to his mouth with a hopeful look.

  Draven took a bite. Indeed, it was grilled well—tender meat and much better flavor than the morning fish.

  He was about to praise her when he noticed Viola watching them from across the room, a half-smile playing on her lips.

  Suddenly it clicked—no wonder Liliana liked to cling to Viola so much. That closeness wasn't just sisterly affection; it was like she was reporting her romantic conquests.

  Even usually composed Sylvia's gaze shifted. Unlike Alaric's worried look, Sylvia's eyes were curious. She stared at Liliana, then at Draven, blinking as if piecing together a puzzle.

  Liliana obviously noticed Sylvia's stare. She straightened up, pushed her small chest forward, bit into the fish, and proudly declared,"That's right, I'm Draven's woman now!"

  Draven almost choked on his fish soup, coughing violently. He barely managed to keep quiet without a rebuttal.

  Alaric shook his head and wiped his face.

  The entire meal left Draven feeling awkward, especially under Viola's teasing and permissive gaze, which pricked him like needles.

  After eating, he grabbed Liliana and escaped from the big house.

  "Liliana, let's go do some work—fix the pond!" he said as he headed out, like running for his life.

  "Why are you guys so motivated today?" Sylvia murmured, watching their backs in confusion.

  Viola chuckled softly and patted her shoulder."Come with me. I'll teach you something new."

  Liliana and Draven ran out of the village, panting, and stood together in a low-lying area, laughing like a pair of kids.

  "I feel like we're a couple caught having an affair," Liliana giggled, squinting her eyes into a slit.

  Draven didn't respond but reached out to pull her down onto the grass. Looking into her eyes seriously, he said,"Don't say that in front of Viola anymore, okay?"

  "Why? She's not mad," Liliana blinked innocently.

  "She's not showing it, but that doesn't mean she can accept everything," Draven whispered."We can love each other, but we shouldn't act wild in front of her. That wouldn't be fair."

  Liliana was quiet for a moment, then nodded obediently, understanding. But she quickly tilted her head and smiled mischievously:"But Viola's not here now."

  Before Draven could reply, Liliana leaned in and kissed him. This kiss was more assertive and warmer than the morning one. He didn't dodge it and couldn't—he just accepted it.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  After a long moment, they parted. Draven looked down at her face and rubbed his mouth in frustration.

  "I'm such an idiot," he muttered.

  Liliana smiled like a naughty kitten."But you brought me out, so it's your fault."

  He grit his teeth, pulled her up, and forcibly switched back to the task at hand.

  "All right, no more fooling around. See this dip? We're going to dig it into a pond." He pointed at the ground and shared his plan."We'll dig this circle inwards and pile the dirt over there to block the gap. That way, when it rains, the water won't flow away."

  Liliana pouted, licking the corner of her mouth, a little dissatisfied."You treat me differently than Viola."

  "How different?"

  "She doesn't have to work." Liliana muttered softly.

  Draven sighed gently."You're not her. You're Liliana—the one who can turn into a big bear, who fights, argues, and kisses people randomly."

  Liliana pouted, Draven smiled, then stepped back a few paces."Come on, transform, big girl."

  Liliana rolled her eyes and, in the next second, her form suddenly surged, turning into a huge silver-gray bear. Holding her breath, she dug at the earth with her paws, dirt flying everywhere, quickly carving out a rough pond shape.

  Draven wiped mud off his face and looked down at her busy bent figure. Suddenly, life seemed complicated but not so bad after all.

  As for bringing in water, he still needed to figure that out. The nearby river was lower than this dip, so to bring water here, they'd have to build a waterwheel or a reservoir.

  Draven's original plan was simple: first dig the pond, and once the rainy season arrived, the rainwater would naturally fill the entire pond.

  As long as the pond was large enough, even stagnant water could support a few fish. Although this water source wasn't active, it was sufficient for keeping fish alive.

  However, life never goes according to plan. That day, as the sun slowly set, the pond was basically finished. The small dirt embankment blocked the water flow, but the surface was still just a shallow layer of water.

  Suddenly, an excited shout came from giant bear Liliana's mouth."Draven, come quickly! Look what I've dug up!"

  Draven thought Liliana had found something special again and immediately jumped into the dry pond, running toward her.

  But before he got close, he saw a thin stream of water slowly flowing out from the giant bear's feet, spreading along the bottom of the pond.

  "A spring?" He hurried over to take a closer look at the source.

  The spring's opening was only the size of a coffee cup. The water wasn't gushing out but bubbling slowly, as if a natural clear spring was seeping from underground.

  The freshly dug soil had made the water somewhat murky, but Draven knew this was normal— once the sediment settled, the water would clear up completely.

  He called Liliana to slowly climb up to the edge of the pond. The flow of water had already moistened a small patch at the pond's bottom.

  It was too soon to tell how much water the spring could supply, but it already brightened Draven's spirits.

  "This is truly an unexpected gain," he said quietly, a rare smile appearing on his face.

  After directing Liliana to smooth out the mud around the pond, Draven returned to the village with her. Both were eager to see what changes the spring would bring the next morning.

  Back in the village, Liliana's attitude softened significantly. She lost some of her previous arrogance and no longer flaunted her relationship with Draven in front of others. Draven secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

  Earlier, he had worried that Liliana's impulsiveness might force him to send her back to Village No. 1 to cool down.

  The villagers worked efficiently as well. Just in the afternoon, they had woven several hand-cast nets.

  Draven inspected each one carefully and, confirming there were no problems, told everyone to stop making more nets for the time being.

  Village No. 2 was several dozen kilometers away from the big river, so the nets were mainly prepared for Villages No. 1 and No. 3. Village No. 1 was close to the river— you just stepped out and you were there; although Village No. 2 was farther, it had more residents, making fishing a sustainable way of life.

  The river stretched over a hundred kilometers, providing ample fish sources for the villagers. Fish gradually became one of their main sources of protein in daily life.

  Salt was abundant in the territory— coarse salt crystals were everywhere. When Draven and his group arrived, they brought a large supply of salt sufficient for hundreds of people to use for a whole year. Combined with the serpent tribe's stockpile, the supply could meet their needs for several years.

  But using salt for curing fish would accelerate its consumption. As for salt mines, Draven had searched the territory thoroughly but found no traces of any.

  He had already considered this when digging the pond. Not only for Village No. 2 but also for other villages in the future, ponds would be dug to raise fish.

  This way, they wouldn't need to buy salt from elsewhere every day to cure fish, saving a lot of expense.

  Fish in the pond could be kept alive for storage, freshly caught and cooked when needed, solving the problem of storing fish meat and greatly reducing reliance on salt.

  Even better, fish in the pond mainly lived off water plants and the natural water quality, requiring no extra feeding. For the territory, the pond was a living warehouse— the best way to store live fish.

  Draven also specially designed the fishing nets with larger mesh holes to catch only big fish, leaving the small ones to grow naturally in the river. Of course, this method was suitable only for a territory with a currently small population.

  When the population increased, raising more fish wouldn't be a problem. He imagined that day when people lived prosperous lives, ponds full of fish, and eating fish was part of everyday life.

  At dinner, Draven shared the pond plan with several core members. Everyone was very happy since it concerned stable food supplies.

  Not to mention fish could be made into very delicious dishes, adding a lot of joy to life. He introduced various ways to cook fish: grilled, boiled, cured, even smoked.

  Among these demi-humans, very few had ever known fish could be prepared like this. Slowly, fish would become a common dish on their tables.

  In the long run, this was definitely beneficial for the population growth of the demi-human tribe. Watching Viola and others discuss enthusiastically, a thought suddenly flashed through Draven's mind.

  Perhaps fish wasn't just food; it could bring more wealth and opportunities to the territory. Maybe this was the true meaning behind digging the pond.