Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH4

Chapter 4

Bai Tu suddenly remembered that Bai An had mentioned earlier how healers had strict taboos, one of which was not tolerating questions about their methods. However, Bai Tu wasn’t actually a healer. Even if this body had been one before, he didn’t remember any of those rules. He didn’t care much for unnecessary formalities. Whether Tu Bing asked or not, he had planned to share this information with the tribe. Waving his hand dismissively, he pulled out the remaining plants and began teaching Tu Bing how to identify them.

“These are scallions. When you’re making soup or stewing meat, add a little, and it’ll reduce the gamey smell. This is ginger. The leaves look like this. It’s good for removing gaminess and also for keeping warm. You can boil it in water during cold weather—it helps prevent colds… which means it makes you less likely to get sick. And these are thistle plants. They can be used in soups, and they’re also medicinal. They stop bleeding. If you find them, you can dig up a little, but don’t dig up all of it. Leave some so they can grow back.”

On the Beast God Continent, plants were categorized very broadly. All trees and shrubs were simply called “trees,” and all low-growing plants were called “grass.” Bai Tu decided to use the names he remembered from his previous life since the plants here looked similar enough.

Tu Bing was stunned. When she had asked her question, she hadn’t held much hope for a response—especially after Bai An’s warning earlier. She certainly hadn’t expected Bai Tu to not only tell her the names and how to identify the plants but also explain their uses.

To avoid overwhelming her, Bai Tu only introduced the three types of plants he had used that evening. Even so, Tu Bing couldn’t hide her excitement.

Bai An, who had initially been afraid that Bai Tu might take offense, was now overjoyed. A healer willing to teach their tribe how to find new food? This was a privilege that even large tribes didn’t enjoy!

Meanwhile, Bai Tu noticed the chicken eggs set aside nearby and asked Bai An, “Tribe leader, why don’t we try hatching these eggs into chicks?”

It was still early summer, months away from winter. There would be enough time during summer and autumn for newly hatched chicks to grow to egg-laying size. By then, the tribe could either eat the chickens or keep them for egg production.

Bai Tu remembered his childhood in the countryside, where both his family and their neighbors raised chickens. Back then, they never used commercial feed; instead, they fed the chickens with grass, powdered grass, and wheat bran.

There wasn’t any wheat bran here, but there was plenty of grass. Bai Tu glanced at the lush greenery nearby. Grass was everywhere, so gathering it wouldn’t be a problem. In the fall, they could cut and dry extra grass to store for winter feed.

Bai An, however, seemed uncertain. “How do you hatch them?”

“These eggs came from the two hens we caught today, didn’t they? Let’s let them hatch the eggs. I’ll give it a try,” Bai Tu suggested.

Hearing the words “give it a try,” Bai An was reminded of how they had almost refused Bai Tu’s help to treat Bai Chen earlier in the evening. After a glance at Bai Tu, he nodded. “If you want to hatch them, go ahead and try.”

While he agreed outwardly, Bai An remained skeptical about the idea of hatching chicks. Even if they succeeded, he doubted they’d be able to raise the chicks. It wasn’t that he questioned Bai Tu’s abilities—it was simply that no healer on the Beast God Continent had ever done something like this.

After all, healers were known for making medicine and saving lives. Who had ever heard of a healer raising chickens?

Unaware of Bai An’s inner thoughts, Bai Tu enthusiastically gathered up the eggs and carried them to the cave where the live prey was being kept. In addition to the chickens, there were also a few field mice in the cave. Thankfully, the two were kept separate. Bai Tu carefully avoided the mice. While both chickens and mice were covered in fur, there was a clear difference—one was cute and tempting to touch, while the other was something he wanted to stay far away from.

Many birds had poor night vision, which made it easier for Bai Tu to work without disturbing them. He dragged a large rock over and loosened the vines tying up the wild chickens, leaving them just enough freedom to move around near the rock.

After securing the chickens, Bai Tu gathered some large leaves and a pile of dry grass, arranging them into two nests beside the chickens. He reminded Bai An to tell the others not to touch these arrangements. He also mentioned that he might need the two chickens for some food-related experiments tomorrow. After receiving Bai An’s approval, Bai Tu returned to his own cave.

Once inside, Bai Tu didn’t rest right away. Instead, he used water infused with mugwort to wipe himself down.

The summer heat brought an abundance of mosquitoes. Every evening, the area around the tribe would fill with a lingering smell of blood that attracted uninvited guests. The high temperatures also caused the animal hides to emit a faint stench of decay, which only made things worse. The open, unsealed caves were particularly infested with mosquitoes.

Using mugwort didn’t completely eliminate the mosquitoes, but it helped reduce their numbers somewhat. Additionally, Bai Tu had been processing various herbs in his cave over the past few days, which seemed to have further lowered the mosquito population. It was already much better than when he had first woken up.

Early the next morning, Bai Tu went to check on the chickens in the cave. Both hens were already nesting on the eggs.

The cave housed over a dozen chickens. Aside from the two that had been brought back the day before, the others all looked listless. On the other hand, the field mice seemed lively and well-adapted to their environment. Bai Tu glanced at the mice but quickly looked away—he couldn’t bring himself to tolerate their presence.

Wild chickens, accustomed to roaming freely in the open, were clearly not suited to the dim and confined space of the cave. Furthermore, to prevent them from escaping, the captured wild chickens were all tightly bound. The fact that they were still alive was impressive, but their lack of appetite wasn’t surprising.

Bai Tu rubbed his chin, pondering whether to give the chickens a little more freedom. After all, it wouldn’t do for them to only eat without laying eggs. Every member of the tribe had a duty to contribute food—even the chickens.

In the tribe, it was typically the ten- to twelve-year-olds, too young to join the gathering team, who were tasked with feeding the captured prey. As usual, Bai Dong brought Tu Shi and Tu You to the cave with a bunch of grass to feed the chickens. However, the moment they entered, they were horrified to see Bai Tu seemingly about to let the chickens go.

The three boys rushed to block the entrance to the cave, their faces pale with panic. Bai Dong shouted, “Don’t untie them! If the chickens escape, we won’t be able to catch them!”

Tu Shi wailed, “We’re doomed! The hunting team isn’t here!” Wild chickens were incredibly fast and could fly short distances. Only a few members of the hunting team were skilled enough to catch them.

Tu You, caught in a dilemma, looked at Bai Tu and asked hesitantly, “Tu, do you really want to eat chicken that badly? If you want one, just untie one. If you untie them all, people will find out!”

Bai Tu was exasperated and quickly explained, “I’m not letting the chickens go. I only untied the vines on their backs. Their legs are still tied, so they can’t escape. They’ll just move around inside the cave. This way, they’ll eat more food, and if we’re lucky, they’ll start laying eggs again.”

The boys took a closer look and, sure enough, none of the chickens had escaped. The vines on their backs had been loosened, but their legs remained bound, limiting their movement to the cave.

Once their worries subsided, the three boys became curious about Bai Tu’s reasoning.

Bai Dong asked, “Bai Tu, how do you know untying them will make them lay eggs?”

Tu Shi added, “Did the last healer tell you that?”

Tu You, eyes full of admiration, exclaimed, “Bai Tu, you’re amazing!”

“I figured it out myself. If we raise more, we’ll always have chicken to eat,” Bai Tu replied casually. With food supplies in short supply, most live animals were kept for future trading. The tribe’s diet depended entirely on what they hunted each day, but raising livestock would provide a much more stable food source.

Seeing the children’s eager faces, Bai Tu waved them off. “Alright, go feed the chickens. I’m going to gather herbs.”

Raising livestock wasn’t something that would yield immediate results, so Bai Tu didn’t plan to focus all his energy on a few chickens. There were more important things to do outside.

The gathering team left at dawn and wouldn’t return until evening, spending the entire day foraging. Since Bai Tu still needed to prepare medicine for Bai Chen at midday, and walking too long left him dizzy, he didn’t join the gathering team. Instead, after breakfast, he decided to explore the area around the tribe on his own.

Thistle, small thistle, sanqi (Chinese Ginseng), rush grass, mint, white grass… This time, Bai Tu didn’t limit himself to herbs for stopping bleeding and reducing inflammation. He collected any medicinal plants he recognized. After all, with so many people in the tribe, it was better to have a stockpile of herbs ready for common ailments like headaches or colds, rather than scrambling to find them in an emergency.

Moreover, Bai Tu felt that it would be a waste not to make use of all the knowledge he now had. Besides, after processing and preparing the herbs, he could trade them with other tribes for supplies. A stronger tribe meant a better quality of life, and it wasn’t easy to find a tribe that was both united and welcoming to outsiders.

healers were rare, and medicine to treat injuries and illnesses was always in demand.

During his excursion, Bai Tu noticed something peculiar: there seemed to be an unusually high number of poisonous plants in the area. In the past few days, he had only wandered a small section near the mountain and hadn’t paid much attention. But as he ventured farther today, he realized that the deeper he went, the more poisonous plants he encountered. At first, he thought Bai Qi and the others were overly cautious when they reacted so strongly to his knowledge of plants. But now, seeing the abundance of toxic species like wild celery, nightshade, and cocklebur scattered along the way, he realized their caution was justified. Beastmen with limited knowledge of plants could easily pick the wrong ones and poison themselves.

That said, many of these toxic plants could also be used medicinally. Leaving them out here was dangerous, so Bai Tu gathered them all.

Whether it was due to the instincts of his body, the inactivity from the past few days, or the farmer’s spirit inside him, Bai Tu found himself unable to stop. Digging up one plant made him want to dig up another, and the idea of leaving behind such abundant resources felt like a waste.

He never thought he’d see the day when he became addicted to herb gathering. The bone knife Bai An had given him was far more effective than the stone shards he’d been using before, making his work much easier.

In addition to medicinal herbs, Bai Tu found a plant resembling a potato. Its tubers looked somewhat similar, though slightly smaller than the potatoes he remembered eating in his previous life.

Wild potatoes? His instincts told him they were edible, but he had heard before that untamed potatoes might be toxic. To be safe, Bai Tu put the potatoes into his basket and decided to test them later before eating, just to double-check their safety.

He also came across a few bean plants and eggplants, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the right season for these crops to be harvested. They wouldn’t be ready for another few months. Carefully, Bai Tu dug them up with their roots intact, planning to replant them in the open area at the base of the mountain.

Without a proper way to keep track of time, Bai Tu relied on the sun to estimate how long he had been out. After two to three hours of wandering, he had managed to collect half a basket of herbs and a few potatoes. However, he only dug up four or five larger plants to avoid overharvesting. As for ripe fruits, he didn’t find any; the gathering team must have already picked the area clean.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Bai Tu wiped the sweat from his forehead and headed toward the river.

Although there was still plenty of time left in the day, he hadn’t ventured too far from the tribe. He’d been repeatedly warned to avoid the edges of the tribe’s territory, where they might encounter members of the Wild Lion Tribe. Additionally, his physical condition and lack of proper equipment limited his range.

He was dressed in simply tanned animal hides, and his feet were protected by makeshift straw sandals he had woven himself. Walking too fast caused his feet to ache. This body didn’t seem used to long journeys—its hands and feet lacked the thick calluses that would come from hard labor. After walking a short distance, he often had to stop and rest.

The river near the tribe was more of a shallow stream at this time of year. The water was so clear that the stones at the bottom were visible. Even if someone fell in, the water would only reach their knees. This was the area where the tribe usually cleaned animal hides and other items.

Bai Tu sat on a large rock near the water, picking one close to the stream for convenience. He slowly began washing the herbs he had collected, setting aside those that couldn’t be washed.

The riverbank was densely lined with reeds and weeds, their tall leaves blocking out most of the sunlight. It was cooler here than in the cave—noticeably more refreshing.

Looking at his reflection in the water, Bai Tu saw that his face was almost identical to how he looked in his previous life, though this version of him appeared weaker. His skin was an unhealthy pale shade, and his wrists bore two faint scars that were barely noticeable unless you looked closely. The marks were so subtle that he initially thought they were just impressions left from sleeping. But when they hadn’t faded by the second day, he realized they were likely old injuries.

With some free time on his hands, Bai Tu’s attention was drawn to the lush reeds growing nearby. Mischievously, he reached out with “evil” intentions.

The tribe’s baskets were crudely woven from vines, making them rather rough. They were mainly used for carrying fruit, and to prevent smaller fruits from falling through the large gaps, they lined the inside with wide tree leaves.

Bai Tu thought baskets made from reed leaves would be tighter and less likely to have gaps. The only downside was that they might not be as strong. Still, he wanted to give it a try. A reed basket could be useful for carrying lightweight items or placed inside a vine basket to save the trouble of finding lining leaves every day.

He had always thought basket weaving looked simple when others did it. But when he tried it himself, he realized how tricky it was. The once “obedient” weaving materials seemed to gain a life of their own, behaving like rebellious teenagers—one part would be set, only for another to go out of place.

After six or seven failed attempts, Bai Tu finally figured out the technique. The reed leaves stopped slipping out of alignment, and he continued weaving carefully, barely daring to breathe for fear of undoing his progress.

After much trial and error, he managed to weave a crooked, lopsided basket that was just barely functional. But now that he understood the method, things sped up. Bai Tu even made himself a straw hat, which he proudly wore as he made his way back to the tribe.

When he returned, he placed the seedlings he had dug up in a shaded area and sprinkled some water on the soil. Then, he went to the cave where the chickens were kept and selected two smaller roosters to test whether the potatoes were poisonous.

The wild chickens here seemed like a hybrid of wild and domesticated breeds, though they were still somewhat distinct. Their wings and tail feathers were longer than the chickens Bai Tu had seen in his previous life, and the roosters were especially vibrant in color.

The test was simple: he cut a potato in half and fed one piece to each rooster. Afterward, he would check to see if they were still alive.

The tribe had a communal fire pit that was kept burning at all times. When it burned low, someone would add wood to keep it going. Anyone needing a fire could grab a burning branch and easily start a new one.

With the larger amount of herbs he had collected this time, Bai Tu adjusted his formula accordingly. Fresh herbs contained more moisture and required a higher quantity.

Bai Chen was still unconscious. The area around his wound was slightly red and swollen, and his body temperature was a little higher than Bai Tu’s. However, since rabbits naturally had body temperatures one to two degrees higher than humans, Bai Tu concluded it wasn’t a fever. He let out a sigh of relief. With the beastmen’s strong recovery abilities and the help of herbal medicine, it was only a matter of time before Bai Chen woke up.

As for why Bai Chen remained in his rabbit form, Bai An explained that it was easier for beastmen to recover in their beast forms.

After eating, Bai Tu went to check on the two chickens. Not seeing any adverse reactions, he returned to his cave.

In the fire pit near his cave was a potato he had placed there before his meal. Using a stick, he pulled it out, let it cool slightly, and carefully broke it open. He took a cautious bite. Due to the long roasting time, the outer layer was almost carbonized, making it dry and tough, but Bai Tu was still thrilled. This was the first time since arriving on the Beast God Continent that he had eaten a staple food—it hadn’t been easy to come by.

Of the ten potatoes he had found, Bai Tu decided not to roast any more of them. He planned to boil the rest later. In the afternoon, he stayed in the tribe, using the reed leaves he had brought back to weave two mats for drying herbs.

Most of the herbs he had gathered needed to be dried. He placed one mat outside the cave and the other on a flat, open area inside. While weaving a third mat, Tu Cai, who usually sewed animal hides, walked over, curious about what was under the herbs. “Tu, what’s this?”

After last night’s events, everyone knew Bai Tu could save lives, but he was much more approachable than the healers of legend.

“These are reed mats,” Bai Tu replied, not intending to hide it. “They’re made from reed leaves—the long leaves that grow by the river. You can weave larger ones to sleep on in the cave, or make backpacks and straw sandals.”

Bai Tu took out the simple reed basket he had made that morning. “These reed leaves are too fresh, so they can only hold light items. If you use dried reeds, the basket will be sturdier.”

Tu Cai was fascinated by the basket. She turned it over and examined it from every angle, unable to put it down.

“The weaving method is a bit more complicated than the old vine baskets,” Bai Tu said. “If you want, I can teach you how to make one. It’ll save me the trouble of teaching everyone individually—you can teach the others after you’ve learned.”

Tu Cai was flattered by the offer.

Since Tu Cai had far more experience with handiwork than Bai Tu, she quickly picked up the technique. Under Bai Tu’s guidance, she successfully wove a complete basket.

As Bai Tu worked on weaving himself a seat cushion, he asked casually, “Cai, is our tribe very close to the Lion Tribe?”

Tu Cai nodded. “Yes, our territory is small, so all the surrounding tribes are pretty close to us.” Fearing Bai Tu might still be concerned about his earlier conflict, she added, “Tu, if you ever run into Hu Bu again, make sure to avoid him. The Wild Lion Tribe has too many people—they don’t even have enough caves for their hunting team to sleep in.”

The Snow Rabbit Tribe, in contrast, had enough caves to even house chickens, highlighting the disparity in population. And in a one-on-one fight, the Rabbit Tribe couldn’t match the strength of the Lion Tribe.

“They don’t have enough caves?” Bai Tu repeated, mulling over the information. A tribe as large as the Wild Lion Tribe, which had even taken in a group of displaced rabbits during the winter, and with ongoing conflicts, had they been acting out of kindness to extend an olive branch? Or did they have ulterior motives?

“That’s right,” Tu Cai explained. “The Wild Lion Tribe likes to steal beastmen from other lion tribes, forcing them to have children. They only keep the strong ones, so their population keeps growing. And they love to fight.”

The Lion Tribe’s customs were very different from the Rabbit Tribe’s. Rabbits were monogamous and only chose one mate, while the Lions allowed strong individuals to take multiple partners. If a lion couldn’t find a partner, they’d fight for one—literally. The winner would take the loser’s partner.

Although the Snow Rabbit Tribe had lived here for decades, they still weren’t as large as the Wild Lion Tribe, which had only moved here about ten years ago. Thinking about the infamous cruelty of the Wild Lion Tribe, Tu Cai sighed and turned her attention back to weaving the basket.

Meanwhile, Bai Dong and the others, having collected enough firewood, came back to rest. They squatted nearby, observing Bai Tu and Tu Cai’s weaving process. Since there were children present, Bai Tu refrained from asking any more questions about the Lions.

Bai Dong sighed in wonder, “Tu, you really don’t seem like a healer.”

Every year, when the trade team returned with salt, the children would swarm around them to hear stories from the outside world. Many of those stories were about healers.

From hearing these tales so often, the children had formed a stereotypical image of healers: wrinkled old men with gloomy faces who were quick to anger. Bai Tu, on the other hand, was nothing like that.

Bai Tu smiled and explained, “That’s because I’m not actually a healer.”

But Tu You, his eyes filled with admiration, said, “But Tu is even better than a healer! healers can’t weave mats!”

Bai Dong’s curiosity was piqued. “Does that mean you’re like the Beast God? You can do everything?”

Tu Shi chimed in with his own question: “Tu, can you ask the Beast God to defeat the Wild Lion Tribe? They’re so annoying—they steal our prey and even want to take our land.”

Tu You nodded vigorously in agreement. “Tu, tell the Beast God to drive them all away!”

Bai Tu was speechless. Kids, do you even realize how stereotypically villainous you sound right now? People who make grand declarations like that usually don’t have good endings. And why do you have such big, unrealistic requests?

Bai Tu: “Remember one thing.”

The three children sat in a row, looking serious.

Bai Tu also emphasized seriously: “I am a human, not a turtle in the wishing well.” Even if there really is a beast god, it is impossible to fulfill these strange wishes.

“What is a wishing well?”

“What is a turtle? Is it powerful?”

Bai Tu: “…” Forget it...