I Steal the Ancestors' Sacrifices to Nourish Myself-Chapter 15: The Witch Medicine Formula Takes Effect

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Witch Medicine Formula Takes Effect

The appearance of the plague insects left Shen Can with no time to lie down.

The witch doctor needed to check on the tribe members’ situation immediately.

With Huo Xian being old, Shen Can naturally had to step up.

He busied himself until dawn and finally took a short break, grateful that as a martial artist, he wasn’t tired at all.

The flat land at the foot of the mountain, after the flood receded, revealed some of the tribe’s constructed buildings.

But now, the tribe had no time to dig the houses out of the mud.

The entrance to the Ancestral Temple.

The bonfire blazed, with the smell of medicine permeating the air.

The ancestors on the divine tablets naturally feared no plague, but the Ancestral Temple Keeper was human.

Shen Can threw a handful of witch medicine into the bonfire, wearing a scarf made of hemp cloth around his nose just enough to cover his mouth and nose.

So what exactly was the witch doctor?

Unable to produce fine salt, he initially thought of a clever idea for everyone to wear masks, only to realize the witch doctor had already thought of it.

At present, the plague insects hadn’t reached the clan division, and he hadn’t seen the plague insects.

Of course, he had no desire to see them.

At the topmost stone platform of the clan mountain, Huo Chang sat cross-legged.

Ever since the plague insects were discovered, he went up and sat there.

Around, high up, there were also tribesmen with good eyesight, perched on stones like monkeys, looking far into the distance.

"Acan, go back and rest; this old man will watch."

Huo Xian came out from the cave, being the tribe’s witch doctor, and was most vigilant at this time.

Some plague insects could be seen, some could not.

If any tribe member in the tribe showed signs of high fever, fainting, etc., isolation was necessary.

"Master, I’m full of energy."

Shen Can had Huo Xian return as the weariness on the old man’s body was visibly apparent.

Leaning by the bonfire, he took out a roll of beast hide and spread it open.

The beast hide recorded instances of plagues that the Blazing Flame Tribe had experienced since its founding.

The Ancestral Temple Keeper of the time recorded the general situation.

This data used unrevised witch medicine formulas, and the words of the Ancestral Temple Keeper were very vague, making Shen Can able to do only a rough analysis.

After each plague, the number of tribe members who died from it in the Blazing Flame Tribe accounted for ten to twenty percent of the total population.

These were only the deaths; those infected needed almost sixty to seventy percent rest, almost rendering the entire tribe critically injured.

Whether it was deaths or infections, most were the old and weak; tribal martial artists, unless directly contacted by plague insects, survived the plagues relatively easily.

The martial artists’ foundations did not suffer much loss, which was also why the Blazing Flame Tribe could continue its legacy.

Plague insects feared fire and hated the smell of burnt witch medicine herbs. If well-prepared, the few appearing plague insects could be driven away in advance.

But should they appear in hordes, the bonfire and herbs wouldn’t hold them off, leading to total disaster for the tribe.

Besides data, the journal recorded a tribal area named Tuan River being severely impacted by plague insects, with martial artists suffering heavy losses, eventually disappearing into the Great Wilderness.

As for how it disappeared, Shen Can felt it was nothing more than being annexed by other tribes, which aligned with his previous thoughts.

Crisis also meant opportunity.

If the revised witch medicine formulas were truly effective, able to drive the plague insects away from the clan division, the Blazing Flame Tribe could preserve its strength better.

If a neighboring tribe had poor luck, it could mean opportunity for Blazing Flame Division.

Not to mention, Ayu might even win over a strong bride to warm his bed.

Moreover, the Clan Chief had brought back three Tier Two Wild Beasts, the blood of these beasts was collected, and Shen Can had no idea where it was stored, but he had his suspicions.

Being the Clan Chief was quite exhausting.

Serving the ancestors was easier.

Five days flew by.

Shen Can ate and slept by the bonfire, waiting.

According to the tribe’s records, the fastest infection occurred on the second day after the plague insects appeared.

It was now the fifth day, and everything in the tribe remained normal.

Every day, Shen Can would inspect the tribe, everyone was in good spirits, though they emitted the smell of witch medicine, as if marinated.

This undeniably indicated the revised witch medicine was working.

Clan Leader Huo Chang remained high up, like a watcher.

His gaze was incredibly sharp, surveying the surroundings, his heart filled with excitement and apprehension.

The fifth day had arrived.

The witch medicine formula left by the ancestors had indeed taken effect.

In a year of great disaster, the Blazing Flame Tribe’s strength not declining equaled an increase.

Not to mention, the Blazing Flame Tribe’s strength had genuinely increased.

The three Tier Two Wild Beasts he hunted back at night released five slots of beast blood, successfully upgrading four tribe members.

Counting the two who secretly advanced, Huo Lei and others, the clan quietly gained six Mountain-Opening Martial Artists.

All of this was done in secret, with only a few people within the clan knowing.

...

After the flood, on the vast land, tiny black dots of insects appeared on the water surface in the low valleys.

In the corners and crevices between the mountains and wilds, the massive desolate beast corpses partially buried under the mud rose and fell continuously.

Near the Blazing Flame Tribe, within a few miles, the large and small ponds had already been filled, and the remaining rotting beast corpses were burned thoroughly.

On the muddy ground, a dozen clansmen wearing robes boiled in witch soup medicine had their faces wrapped with scarves sewn from layers of hemp cloth.

A strong herbal aroma kept filling their nostrils.

Although it was broad daylight, everyone held a torch in their hand.

The torches were specially made with witch medicine, releasing thick, aromatic smoke as they burned.

Every clansman carried fire oil, herbs, dry wood, bows, crossbow arrows, machetes, and weapons, their loads packed full.

The purpose of this trip was to constantly monitor the movements of plague insects.

"Brother Moo, plague insects!"

As they walked, a buzzing sound arose, and everyone immediately became alert, locating the source of the sound.

A swarm of dozens of fist-sized plague insects, their transparent wings glistening under the sunlight, flew swiftly from afar.

Huo Moo immediately ordered the people to form a circle, backs facing inward, with arrows at the ready.

As long as the plague insects approached, they could shoot them down with fire arrows.

Before Huo Moo could give the order to shoot, the swarm of plague insects spun in the air a few times and then turned to fly in another direction.

"The witch medicine is working!"

Huo Moo instantly realized that the strong scent of herbs on their bodies, coupled with each carrying a torch, had scared off the plague insects.

"Quickly report back to the Clan Leader; we must chase them down and prevent them from heading to the clan land."

...

One day later.

In a low, undulating area, torches flickered, and thick herbal smoke lingered.

"Clan Leader, the plague insects came from the south."

"We’ve tracked for a day, haven’t found other groups, and the few we shot down were thoroughly burned."

"The rest have gone far away."

Huo Moo pointed to a place where charred ashes remained and spoke to Huo Chang.

When the plague rises, the winged plague insects appear first and can travel across mountains and hills.

They could show up anywhere, making them difficult to guard against.

And because they have wings, once they find a suitable bed for reproduction, they quickly reproduce and grow.

For the tribe, whether they can fend off these things is partly a matter of luck.

Days after the flood subsided, no large swarms of plague insects appeared, indicating that the Blazing Flame Tribe has good fortune.

Of course, the tribe’s preparations also played a significant role, cutting off the breeding ground of the plague insects.

"Clan Leader, the Ancestral Temple Keeper’s witch medicine this time really works; once the plague insects smell it, they go away."

Having chased the plague insects for a day, everyone had seen the effect firsthand and spoke up.

"Continue the patrol."

After understanding the situation, Huo Chang returned to the tribe.

In the following days, there were continuous reports from clansmen of plague insect sightings outside the tribe.

The nearest place, when discovered, was only three miles outside the clan land; after smelling the thick smoke and herbal scent, they lingered a few times and then flew away.

Inside the clan, some children and weaker clansmen showed symptoms.

For those with symptoms, including the fellow clansmen living in the cave, they were relocated to another cave opened on another mountain.

Besides drinking witch soup medicine, they added smoke treatment and herbal baths to cure the plague.

In the isolation cave, Shen Can walked out, followed by Ayu, the strong bear, carrying various herbs for him.

After exiting the cave, Shen Can noticed the Clan Chief Huo Chang approaching from afar.

Huo Chang came close to Shen Can and said, "Ayu, you first take the herbs back."

Ayu raised no objections, "Brother Acan, I’ll take it to Grandpa Huo Xian."

Shen Can nodded, understanding that the Clan Chief had something to discuss with him.

"Shen Can, the ancestors have blessed the clan division from the plague insects’ attack, but this time the number of openly infected in our tribe seems a bit low."

"Ah..."

Shen Can was stunned.

Clan Leader, what do you mean by that?

Did my hard work cause problems?

Shush.