When Xi Yao saw the two little ones, she said nothing and quickened her pace into the cave.
Xi Nan and Xi Bei were startled when they saw Xi Mo, who was covered in blood and unconscious.
Xi Bei’s eyes reddened.
With a sob in his voice, he asked, “Big Brother, what’s wrong with Second Brother?
Is he going to die?”
Xi Yao’s heart ached a little.
‘These cubs are so considerate, always thinking of each other.’
“Xi Mo is injured.
You two…” She was about to tell them to boil some water, but stopped when she saw the two little ones in their beast forms.
Dair set the Saber-toothed Tiger down at the cave entrance and followed her inside.
He surveyed the cave, his brow furrowing unconsciously.
“I’ll go get the witch doctor.”
Xi Yao wanted to refuse, but in the end, she nodded.
“Sorry to trouble you.
Thank you.”
After Dair left with his prey, Xi Yao placed Xi Mo on the stone bed.
Xi Nan and Xi Bei gathered around, looking at Xi Mo with worry.
“I need clean water to wash his wounds.
Can you two manage that?”
She had just looked around.
Other than a large stone pot and a few filthy animal hides, the cave had nothing else.
It was spotlessly poor.
“I’ll go get water.”
Xi Nan turned and walked over to a spot covered by an animal hide.
He lifted it, revealing a small wooden bucket.
Calling it a wooden bucket was generous; it was really just a hollowed-out log.
Xi Nan opened his mouth, bit down on the rim of the bucket, and ran outside.
“…”
‘He can do it like that?’
‘Well, that’s a new one for me.’
They lived in a cave on the edge of the tribe, very close to the river outside.
Xi Nan returned in about ten minutes with half a bucket of water.
Xi Yao couldn’t find a clean cloth, so she had to choose a hide that looked relatively clean, wash it, and use it to clean Xi Mo.
Seeing her gently cleaning Xi Mo’s body, Xi Nan and Xi Bei were so shocked their jaws dropped.
“Big Brother, I think my eyes are broken.
That bad fem…”
Xi Bei tilted his head up to get a better look, but before he could finish his sentence, Xi Nan clamped a paw over his mouth and pushed his head down.
…
Xi Yao wiped the mud and dried blood from the fur around the wounds.
She glanced at the discolored water in the bucket, then fished out the hide and hung it to one side.
‘It’ll be usable after another wash.
Since my terminal is offline, I have to be as frugal as possible.’
「Another ten minutes or so passed.」
The witch doctor finally ambled over.
After examining Xi Mo’s injuries, the witch doctor just shook his head.
“This cub’s injuries are too severe.
I can only ease his pain.
I can’t cure him.”
“Witch doctor, I’m begging you, you have to save our Xi Mo.”
“This is his fate…”
With that, he turned to leave.
“Witch doctor, could you please give us some medicine to lessen the pain?”
The witch doctor gave her a strange look back, his eyes filled with inquiry.
In the end, he nodded.
“Xi Nan, go with the witch doctor to get the medicine.”
This time, Xi Nan didn’t talk back to her.
He obediently followed the witch doctor to get the medicine.
Xi Yao waited for them to get further away, then walked over and pulled down the animal hide curtain, blocking the view from outside.
Their cave was on the very edge of the tribe, and it was the only one in the area.
Few people passed by, but she was habitually cautious.
Xi Bei cowered in a corner, terrified.
Seeing her approach Xi Mo, he remembered how they used to be thrown off the bed and feared she would toss the heavily injured Xi Mo off as well.
He summoned his courage, went forward, and raised his front paws to block her.
“D-don’t throw my brother.”
Xi Yao: “…”
‘I just want to heal him.’
“Move, I need to treat him.”
Xi Bei didn’t listen and move.
He trembled as he shielded Xi Mo.
His light gray eyes were filled with terror, and he let out a low, warning whimper.
“D-don’t you dare hurt my brother.”
Watching this scene, Xi Yao felt a sense of helplessness mixed with complicated emotions.
‘In the minds of these three little ones, I’m probably some kind of monster.’
“I’m not going to hurt him.
I’m going to save him.” Xi Yao softened her voice as much as she could, trying to soothe the slightly bristling Xi Bei.
Xi Bei climbed onto the bed to shield Xi Mo, blocking her from getting any closer.
Xi Yao decided she was done wasting her breath on Xi Bei.
She reached out, gently grabbed the scruff of Xi Bei’s neck, and lifted him up.
Xi Bei immediately started struggling, his four short legs kicking wildly in the air.
In his struggle, his antlers hit Xi Yao’s chin.
They were quite hard.
The jab hurt Xi Yao a bit.
‘It probably broke the skin.’
Xi Bei was frightened.
His struggles froze, and his light gray eyes filled with tears.
‘I hurt the bad female.
Is she going to throw me to the Hunting Team as bait?’
The more Xi Bei thought about it, the more scared he became, and he started to whimper.
Seeing Xi Bei’s pitiful appearance, Xi Yao sighed softly and set him aside.
She raised a hand to rub her aching chin.
“It’s fine.
I’m not blaming you.”
Xi Bei looked at Xi Yao with teary eyes, not believing her words at all.
‘Second Brother was thrown to the Hunting Team just for eating a few extra bites of meat.’
“Don’t be afraid.
Mother won’t hit you anymore.”
Xi Bei still watched Xi Yao warily.
When he saw she really didn’t intend to blame him, he cautiously scooted closer to Xi Mo.
Xi Yao used her Healing Technique to treat Xi Mo’s broken leg and severed tail.
The Healing Technique could speed up recovery, but it would take a long time for a severed tail to grow back.
The wounds healed before his very eyes, and Xi Bei’s light gray pupils widened in astonishment.
‘Even the witch doctor said he was a lost cause.
How…
how did she do that?’
‘Could it be…’
‘…a legendary Priest who can communicate with the Beast God?’
A Priest was a higher existence than a witch doctor.
Witch doctors only knew simple herbal bandaging, but Priests could not only communicate with the Beast God, but also use healing energy to help the severely injured recover quickly.
Their River Tribe didn’t have a Priest.
‘But if she’s really a Priest, why does she still treat us like monsters?’
‘Are we really monsters rejected by the Beast God?’
Xi Yao pulled her hand back, her back already soaked with cold sweat.
She noticed Xi Bei’s unusual dejection, but having already used so much healing energy on herself today,
and now, after helping Xi Mo, her healing energy was depleted.
A wave of exhaustion washed over her, and all she wanted was to rest.
She simply didn’t have the extra energy to coax a child.
She forced herself to a nearby stone stool and sat down, propping her head in her hands to recover.
Seeing Xi Yao so weak, Xi Bei’s fear lessened a little.
He cautiously approached Xi Mo and gently sniffed at the wounds, which were now mostly healed.
Once he confirmed Xi Mo’s breathing was steady, he finally relaxed.
After a while, Xi Yao felt some of her strength return and looked up at Xi Bei.
Xi Bei flinched as if burned by her gaze.
He immediately curled his fluffy tail to hide most of his face, but couldn’t resist peeking at Xi Yao curiously.
“Don’t tell anyone that I can heal.”
‘I’m new here; I don’t want to draw too much attention.’
‘Having special abilities isn’t necessarily a good thing.
One wrong move and it could get me killed.’
‘The original female lead of the book was fought over by all the powerful figures because she had the ability of foreknowledge.’
Xi Bei nodded his little head in confusion, not quite understanding why he couldn’t tell anyone.
‘Once her identity as a Priest is revealed, she’ll have a very good life in the tribe, even better than the current witch doctor.’
But seeing Xi Yao’s serious expression, he still subconsciously chose to obey.
The sky gradually darkened, and torches began to be lit around the tribe.
Xi Yao shifted, glancing around the pitch-black cave.
“Xi Bei, go start a fire.”
Her sudden voice startled Xi Bei so much that he rolled right off the stone bed.
The moment he landed, he didn’t dare to delay and hurried to the cave entrance to start a fire.
Xi Yao wasn’t deliberately ordering him around.
The cave was simply too dark for her to see, and she remembered that Xi Bei and the others knew how to make fire.
Xi Bei was quick, getting a fire started in just a few minutes.
The small flame slowly began to dispel the darkness in the cave.
Xi Yao’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she scanned the cave, but didn’t see Xi Nan.
‘Why isn’t he back yet?’
“Xi Bei, you wait here.
I’m going to find Xi Nan.”
…
Just as Xi Nan came out of the witch doctor’s place, he ran into a few of the young beastman cubs who usually bullied them.
He was in a hurry to get the herbs back and tried to go around them, but they blocked his path.
At this time of day, the Beastmen were all at the tribal square dividing the day’s hunt, and the females rarely went out, so no one noticed them over here.