The witch doctor was left speechless by their retorts.
She gritted her teeth, a vicious glint flashing in her eyes.
“Don’t you two side with Xi Yao to slander me!
So what if I was the one who sent the herbs?
Who can prove I was the one who poisoned them?
Maybe you ate something else by mistake, and now you’re just trying to push the blame onto me!”
“Why are you changing your story to them eating something poisonous by mistake?
Weren’t you just insisting that this was a disaster brought by me and Zaizai?
So the Beast God’s punishment you were spouting was all a lie?”
The surrounding Beastmen, who had still been harboring doubts, now looked at the witch doctor with even greater suspicion after hearing this.
“Hmph, stop spouting nonsense!
My words are all based on my judgment of the situation.
When Ni Duo was bitten by that snake, wasn’t that a disaster caused by your Zaizai?
This is just another one of my theories!”
“Theories?”
Ni Duo’s Beast Husband struggled to sit up straight, glaring furiously.
“Witch doctor, as this tribe’s healer, your words and actions are completely baseless.
You condemn people on a whim.
If it weren’t for Xi Yao, we would have already died under your so-called ‘theories’!”
An elderly Beastman couldn’t help but speak up.
“Witch doctor, you were so certain it was Xi Yao and her family’s fault before.
Now that you’re changing your story, it’s hard not to feel…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but the implication was clear.
Seeing the crowd’s attitude shift, the witch doctor grew more panicked but remained stubborn.
“You’ve all been brainwashed by this female!
She just wants to destroy the peace of the tribe and sow discord among us.”
Xi Yao looked at the witch doctor, her eyes full of contempt.
“I think everyone knows perfectly well who is destroying the peace of this tribe.
You’ve framed us again and again, exploiting the tribe’s reverence for the Beast God to commit your wicked deeds.
Now, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“Clan Leader, it’s terrible!”
“Bo Ya’s been injured!” Several Beastmen from the Hunting Team ran over, carrying a blood-soaked Bo Ya.
They looked to be in a sorry state as well.
Everyone was shocked.
“What happened?”
“Our luck was bad today.
We ran into a pack of wild beasts, and Bo Ya got injured.”
The witch doctor, of course, wouldn’t let this opportunity pass.
She stepped forward to examine him.
Bo Ya’s injury was severe.
His right leg had been bitten through, flesh and bone, and was now hanging on by just a flap of skin.
The sight was so horrifying that everyone gasped.
The witch doctor shook her head in feigned resignation.
“See?
This is what happens when you associate with Xi Yao and her family!
Bo Ya helped her repair her courtyard just yesterday, and today he’s injured.
If this isn’t misfortune brought on by them, what is?
I’ve said it all along—they are forsaken by the Beast God!
Whoever associates with them will be cursed with misfortune!”
Some of the Beastmen who were already wary of Xi Yao and her family started to show looks of fear again after hearing the witch doctor’s words.
They began whispering to one another.
“Is it really true?
Does her family really bring disaster?”
“I think it’s true.
Look, first it was Ni Duo, and now it’s Bo Ya.
Both of them interacted with her.”
Xi Yao frowned, her gaze cold as she stared at the witch doctor.
“Witch doctor, you truly never miss an opportunity to slander us.
What does Bo Ya’s injury have to do with us?
Or are you just trying to divert everyone’s attention to cover up your own crimes?”
“Hilarious.
What crime would I need to cover up?
You should just pack your things and get out of our tribe before you drag everyone else down with you.”
Bo Ya’s face was pale as he forced himself to sit up.
One of the Beastmen who had carried him over helped him stay upright.
Bo Ya looked from the witch doctor to Xi Yao and said weakly, “No…
that’s not how it is…”
The witch doctor shot Bo Ya a glare, cutting him off.
“Bo Ya, you’re injured.
You need to rest.
You’re weak right now, so your mind probably isn’t clear.
Don’t speak, and don’t move.
If you listen, I might just be able to save your life.”
Bo Ya shook his head, insisting, “Witch doctor, I’m perfectly clear-headed.
I was injured because my team was ambushed by a pack of wild beasts in the forest.
It has nothing to do with Xi Yao or her family.”
‘I can’t believe it,’ Xi Yao thought.
‘Just yesterday I told him to find me if he needed help, and today he gets injured.’
‘With an injury this severe, no wonder he was driven out of the tribe to die in the original story.’
“Xi Yao…
can…
can my leg be healed?”
Bo Ya didn’t even glance at the witch doctor, pinning all his hopes on Xi Yao.
For some reason, he just felt that Xi Yao could save him.
Xi Yao met Bo Ya’s gaze, which was filled with a mixture of hope and trepidation, and nodded.
“Yes.
But for it to heal back to its original strength, it will take sixty days.”
Afraid he wouldn’t understand the concept of days, she added, “It should be healed by about the middle of the cold season.”
“R-Really?”
He had thought it would take at least a year or two; he never imagined it could be healed before the cold season was even over.
The witch doctor watched from the side, her expression growing increasingly foul.
‘If *I* can’t heal it, how could Xi Yao possibly succeed?’
‘An injury this severe is impossible to heal unless…
unless it’s a Priest.’
‘And Xi Yao can’t possibly be a Priest.’
“Just how capable do you think you are?
You’re just giving him false hope.
Bo Ya, don’t let her fool you!
When she fails to heal it, you’ll have missed the best window for treatment.
You’ll regret this!”
Hearing the witch doctor, some of the more easily swayed Beastmen began to whisper among themselves again, their faces showing worry and indecision.
“Just because you can’t heal him doesn’t mean I can’t.
After all, you’re only a witch doctor.”
“If I say I can heal him, then I have my ways.
You, the witch doctor, can’t heal Bo Ya.
Does that mean you won’t even let someone else try?
Or are you just afraid that if I succeed, it will expose your own incompetence?”
The witch doctor’s face flushed crimson.
She pointed a trembling finger at Xi Yao, sputtering with rage,
“You…
you…!
For all these years, when has it not been me tending to the injuries and illnesses in this tribe?
What right do you have to question me?”
“Xi Yao, can you really heal Bo Ya’s leg?” the Clan Leader’s voice trembled slightly.
He recalled Dair telling him that Xi Yao was very powerful, perhaps even a Power User like himself.
‘Could she have awakened as a Priest?’
At the thought, his eyes began to burn with fervor.
‘A Priest!’
‘Only the great tribes were worthy of having a Priest.’
Xi Yao glanced at the Clan Leader, then at the varied expressions of the tribespeople around her, and the corner of her lip curled into a slight smile.
“Since I’ve already been driven out of the tribe, whether or not I can heal him is hardly the Clan Leader’s concern.”
Hearing this, a flicker of embarrassment crossed the Clan Leader’s face.
He quickly said, “Xi Yao, the tribe has wronged you.
We were confused.
You grew up in our tribe, after all.
We would never really drive you away.
We were just trying to scare you.”
The surrounding tribe members chimed in, agreeing.
Even those who had doubted Xi Yao before now humbled themselves, their eyes filled with entreaty.
If she could heal an injury this severe, her medical skills had to be far superior to the witch doctor’s.
The only reason they respected the witch doctor was for her healing abilities, after all.
The witch doctor was about to explode with rage at these fickle turncoats.
Xi Yao’s gaze swept over the crowd.
After a moment of silence, she spoke slowly.
“It’s not out of the question for us to stay.
But I have some conditions.”