Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH2

Chapter 2

The healers of the Beast God Continent were even more precious than tribe leaders. When a tribe leader passed away, the strongest member of the hunting team would naturally succeed as the next leader. However, the inheritance of the healer’s role was far more complicated.

Some healers would select one or two children from the tribe to serve as their apprentices. Only a rare few of these apprentices would go on to learn the healer’s knowledge and become their successor. Most of them, lacking the necessary talent, would only pick up basic skills. Even so, those who only learned the basics were highly sought after by many tribes.

healers needed to master an immense amount of knowledge. Most of them preferred not to have too many people around, which made their numbers incredibly limited. Furthermore, their recipes and techniques were closely guarded secrets, passed down only to chosen successors. No one else was permitted to learn them.

In addition to their medical expertise, healers were also capable of performing sacrificial rituals to communicate with the Beast God, praying for favorable weather and bountiful harvests. As such, healers held the highest status in the Beast God Continent, second only to the Beast God itself. Only large tribes with abundant resources could afford to support a healer. Tribes as small as the Snow Rabbit Tribe couldn’t even afford to host a single apprentice.

The Wild Lion Tribe’s leader, Shi Hong, was willing to offer half of his tribe’s resources to form a union with Hu Bu from the Red Fox Tribe, primarily because Hu Bu had spent time as an apprentice to a healer in a large tribe. Hu Bu had access to medicine and knowledge of wild fruits unknown to others.

After Bai Tu’s injury, his wound was still bleeding even after he woke up. It wasn’t that the tribe was unwilling to treat him—they simply didn’t know how to stop the bleeding. If the wound had been elsewhere on his body, they could have tried tying it off, but for a head wound, all they could do was wait for it to heal naturally.

That kind of injury left everyone helpless. For Bai Chen’s deep and long wound that continued to bleed heavily, death was only a matter of time unless a healer personally intervened.

Bai An could never have imagined that the boy he had taken in was a healer!

However, as soon as he asked the question, his initial joy gave way to doubt. Perhaps he had been too quick to celebrate. The status of a healer was far too noble. It was said that even when collecting herbs, healers were accompanied by a large group of beastmen for protection. How could one have ended up in their small tribe?

Moreover, most healers were older in age. Bai Tu was so young and hadn’t even fully matured yet—how could he possibly be a healer?

Bai Tu, unaware of the immense value placed on healers, could only guess at their importance based on everyone’s shocked reactions. After all, the tribe’s knowledge of plants seemed extremely basic. Claiming such an unfamiliar and highly esteemed identity would be reckless, especially since he had no memories of this body’s past. While he was confident in his ability to save Bai Chen, fabricating an identity was too dangerous. What if someone exposed him later? It would lead to unimaginable trouble.

For now, claiming amnesia was a foolproof strategy—no one had doubted him yet. With that in mind, Bai Tu explained, “I don’t remember anything from before, but when I see plants outside, their uses just come to mind. For example, these—I remembered that they have properties to stop bleeding, so I brought them back.”

As he spoke, he lifted the handful of herbs in his hands, all of which were known for their hemostatic properties. He had collected these over the past few days, but his wound had stopped bleeding before he could use them all.

The sight of the herbs dashed the fleeting hope that had just risen in the hearts of the tribe members.

The Snow Rabbit Tribe didn’t have a healer, but many of the hunters had visited other tribes, especially the older members who frequently traveled to trade for salt and other resources. They had witnessed the incredible scenes of healers healing the injured.

When a healer treated wounds, many preparations were required. First, a large number of offerings were needed to appease the Beast God. Only after the offerings were deemed sufficient by the Beast God would the healer bring out their secret remedies: the sacred water and the black medicine. The sacred water was used to awaken the souls of unconscious beastmen, while the black medicine healed their physical wounds.

Sacred water and black medicine were standard tools among all healers on the Beast God Continent. They were closely guarded secrets, and their recipes were never shared. Only with these items could a severely injured beastman be saved.

But Bai Tu had no sacred water, nor did he have black medicine. All he held in his hands were a few wild herbs that could be found just about anywhere. How could those possibly save Bai Chen, who was gravely injured and unconscious?

Realizing this, one person voiced their doubt. “Tu, those are just wild plants—they’re not medicine.”

As if on cue, others began to chime in:
“Exactly! You can see those weeds growing all over outside. Only wild chickens and rabbits eat them. Just throw them away.”
“Eating random plants can make you sick. Don’t pick those again…”

Someone tried to speak up for him. “Tribe leader, Tu’s head injury hasn’t healed yet.”

Bai An shook his head, deciding not to argue with the injured youth. “Forget it. Everyone, go divide the food.” The pain of potentially losing his son weighed heavily on the strong beastman, but what had already happened couldn’t be changed.

Bai Tu could clearly sense the lack of trust from everyone, but he wasn’t about to give up on treating Bai Chen just because of a few dismissive words. He couldn’t stand by and watch as a tribesman who had been full of life just the day before succumbed to his injuries.

Beyond this, Bai Tu had another motive. He had heard that someone in the past had died from eating a poisonous plant, which had left the tribe terrified of consuming any unfamiliar vegetation. As a result, the few edible plants they trusted were nearly exhausted. If he wanted the tribe to live more comfortably—at the very least, to avoid starvation—there were many things he needed to do in the future. But to gain their trust and authority, he first needed to prove himself.

It was obvious: a skilled healer held far more influence than a clueless ordinary person. So far, Bai Tu had grown fond of this tribe. Precisely because of this, he didn’t want to see more of its members die needlessly.

Bai Tu grabbed Bai An’s arm. “Tribe leader, let me try. My head wound only healed because I used these herbs.”

Before Bai An could respond, the young man holding Bai Chen shook his head. “That wound is different. Your injury was small, but my brother’s entire leg is slashed open.”

Bai Tu recognized him—Bai Qi, Bai Chen’s younger brother and Bai An’s youngest son. His words echoed the tribe’s overall sentiment. However, not everyone spoke as politely as the father and son.

Another young man standing beside Bai An frowned in agitation. “Tu, don’t mess around! Eating those plants can kill someone!”

Nearby, other beastmen chimed in with concern: “Tu, your own injury hasn’t healed yet. You should rest.”

Seeing that reasoning wouldn’t work with them, Bai Tu decided to take a different approach. “If everyone is so sure that Bai Chen’s wound can’t heal, why not let me try? What if it works? It’s better than waiting for him to die in the cave, isn’t it?”

The most pressing matter now was to stop Bai Chen’s bleeding. If the wound wasn’t treated, he would die from blood loss. At the rate he was losing blood, it was questionable whether he could even make it through the night.

Hearing this, Bai Qi glanced at his brother, whose body was already half-soaked in blood, then looked at his father. Bai Qi had just turned sixteen this year. Although he had joined the hunting team, he still relied heavily on his father and older brother to make decisions.

Bai An seemed moved by Bai Tu’s words. Perhaps he was adopting a “dead horse as a living horse” approach—trying a desperate measure when there was no other hope. With a heavy sigh, he said, “Fine, give it a try.” After all, the result would likely be the same.

Bai An agreed, but everyone understood the grim reality: Bai Chen’s death was almost certain. Without sacred water and black medicine, even a true healer couldn’t save him, let alone Bai Tu, a young man who claimed to have no memory of his past and didn’t even look like a healer.

Still, Bai Tu’s strategy had worked. He breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t bother with the tribe’s lingering doubts. Once Bai An gave his approval, Bai Tu immediately instructed Bai Qi to carry Bai Chen to the cave he was staying in—a cave that Bai Qi had vacated for him when he was injured. The larger communal cave wasn’t suitable for recovery due to the sheer number of people sharing the space.

Bai Chen’s wound was exactly as Bai Qi described: long and deep. Although it hadn’t damaged any tendons or bones, it continued to bleed. While the bleeding wasn’t as rapid as when the injury was first inflicted, the steady loss of blood would eventually kill even the strongest beastman.

“We need to start a fire and boil some water,” Bai Tu reminded the tribespeople, who were still standing around in shock. The tribe’s stone cauldron weighed dozens of pounds, and once filled with water, it would be even heavier, so he needed their help.

Bai An looked at Bai Tu, who seemed genuinely hopeful, and sighed inwardly. He waved his hand and instructed, “Zhou and Xun, go get the cauldron.”

Several hunting team members stepped forward to fetch the cauldron, while Bai Dong and a few others helped gather firewood. They started a new fire at the entrance of Bai Tu’s cave.

Once the cauldron was set up and water was boiling, Bai Tu turned to Bai An. “I’ll also need some salt.”

The request for salt drew immediate backlash from the young man who had opposed Bai Tu from the start. Standing in front of Bai An, he protested, “Tu, salt is a valuable resource for the tribe! You can’t just waste it!”

Salt was the tribe’s most precious commodity aside from food. Most of it was kept by Bai An, and the rest was distributed sparingly among the tribespeople. Occasionally, tribesmen could exchange surplus food for a small personal stash of salt, but such opportunities were rare.

“Enough, Cheng, go help divide the food,” Bai An cut him off before he could say more. Turning to Bai Qi, Bai An said, “Qi, bring me my salt.”

Hearing that Bai An would be using his personal salt, the young man—Tu Cheng—stopped arguing, though his expression remained sour. He stormed off to help divide the hunt.

Bai Tu didn’t bother addressing Tu Cheng’s complaints. He had realized by now that explanations were sometimes pointless.

When Bai Qi returned with the salt, Bai Tu looked at the water in the cauldron and estimated the proportions before adding the salt.

Once the saltwater began to boil, Bai Tu asked Zhou and Xun to pour the saltwater back and forth between two cauldrons to cool it down. Meanwhile, he went to a corner of the cave to prepare the herbs.

When the saltwater had cooled enough, Bai Tu approached Bai Chen. He first used the saltwater to thoroughly clean Bai Chen’s wound, then applied a paste made from crushed sanqi (Chinese ginseng) and baiji (urn orchid).

Due to the hot weather and the lack of breathable bandages, Bai Tu didn’t wrap the wound. Instead, he left it exposed to the air.

Bai Tu didn’t hide his actions during the entire process. Everyone in the cave watched as the wound visibly stopped bleeding. The cleaned wound was now clearly visible, and they could see for themselves that the bleeding had ceased.

Bai An, who had all but given up hope, froze in disbelief. “The bleeding… stopped?” He stared at Bai Chen’s wound, unable to believe his eyes. After confirming several times that the bleeding had indeed stopped, Bai An felt a wave of fear. If he hadn’t allowed Bai Tu to try, wouldn’t he have effectively sentenced Bai Chen to death?

Bai Qi was so astonished that he couldn’t speak. His eyes were wide as he stared at his brother’s wound. Even after staring until his eyes ached, there were no new beads of blood. Pointing at the herbal paste, he exclaimed excitedly, “This is just like the black medicine!”

“The bleeding stopped! Tu really knows how to treat injuries!”
“We didn’t believe Tu before…”

Realizing they had almost misjudged Bai Tu, Bai Zhou and the others were filled with regret.

“It’s only a temporary solution,” Bai Tu reminded them. “The next steps are just as important. We need to prevent infection and ensure the wound doesn’t fester.”

“As long as the bleeding has stopped, he’ll recover!” Bai An, having seen many injured beastmen, knew that stopping the bleeding was the most crucial step. With the tribe’s strong self-healing abilities, Bai Chen’s body would naturally recover over time. Although Bai Chen remained unconscious, Bai An was confident that this was temporary. Once the wound healed, his soul would return.

Bai Tu took the remaining herbs and began boiling a new batch of medicine. Among the herbs he had collected over the past few days, some had anti-inflammatory properties. His knowledge of plants seemed to have significantly leveled up since his transmigration. As soon as he held a plant, he instinctively knew how to use it.

While waiting for the medicine to finish, Bai Tu asked Bai An a few questions. From their conversation, he finally understood just how miraculous and revered healers were on the Beast God Continent. He also realized why the tribe had been so skeptical of his knowledge of herbs.

The process of how healers made their medicines was a mystery to outsiders, but the process of treating injuries was something the beastmen had seen before. In their minds, treating injuries required a specific sequence: worshiping the Beast God, offering food, using sacred water, and applying black medicine. All of these were indispensable.

Bai Tu reserved his doubts about the authenticity of the rituals, prayers, and communication with the Beast God. However, since these beliefs were deeply ingrained in the beastmen’s worldview, he decided not to challenge the elevated status of healers for now. Instead, he focused on inquiring about the details of their healing methods.

The black medicine made sense to him—it was likely a paste made from boiling down various herbs. Black medicinal ointments weren’t uncommon. What intrigued him more was the “sacred water” that Bai An had mentioned, which was said to have the power to awaken souls.

“Tribe leader, have you ever seen sacred water?” Bai Tu asked.

“I’ve seen it!” Bai Qi, who had been listening to their conversation, eagerly jumped in to answer. “It looks just like regular water. Xiong Tuan said that when he came of age, the healer applied some sacred water to him, and it felt really cool on his skin. Oh, and sacred water can even catch fire!” His tone was filled with envy for Xiong Tuan.

Bai Tu’s eyes narrowed in thought as a theory began to take shape in his mind. “What happens to the people who are treated with sacred water?” he asked.

Bai Qi didn’t know the answer to that, but fortunately, Bai An did. “It’s like someone is calling them,” Bai An explained. “They suddenly shout and wake up. But many of them only wake up for a moment before falling unconscious again. The healer says that’s normal and that they’ll recover after a few days.”

Bai Tu sank into deep thought. If his guess was correct, the so-called “sacred water” was nothing more than distilled alcohol or some other highly concentrated form of ethanol.

So those heavily injured beastmen who were “awakened by their souls being called back”… were they actually being jolted awake by the pain caused by the alcohol on their wounds?