Chapter Four: Medicated Bath

In the cruel wild where fierce birds and beasts roamed and lives were constantly threatened, the villagers' demands were very simple. As long as there was food and they could have their fill, they would be satisfied.

The bonfire danced, and the Stone Village was very lively. Men, women, the elderly, and children all wore smiles and were filled with laughter and joy.

"Kids, stop running around. Come for the medicinal bath in a moment. Have a good sleep at night and you will be stronger than fierce beasts in the future for sure." An old man said with a smile.

"Oww... No!" A group of children all screamed upon hearing this and fled in all directions, hiding everywhere in the village.

"A bunch of brats. You don't know what's good for you. That's a rare tonic. If you can persist in the medicinal bath, your bones and tendons can be as strong as those of huge beasts." The adults scolded and started to catch their children like catching chicks.

"It hurts. I don't want the medicinal bath. It was like being cut by a knife last time."

"Dad, let go. I don't want to be boiled."

A group of children resisted fiercely, but unfortunately, their small arms couldn't twist the big ones. They were all caught back.

In an open space in the village, eight large copper tripods had already been placed. Underneath, fierce flames were burning and the water inside the tripods was boiling. Several old men threw in one medicinal herb after another and from time to time, they also put in several foot-long centipedes and fist-sized spiders. The originally very clear water turned black as ink, which was very scary.

The faces of a group of children turned green at the sight. They wished to escape immediately, but unfortunately, they were firmly held down by the adults.

Subsequently, some villagers brought dozens of earthenware pots. Several old men took them, opened them carefully, and poured some crimson liquid into the large copper tripods. As a result, the black water boiled even more vigorously.

This was a little true blood taken from the bodies of the hunted fierce beasts. It was extremely precious. Whether used by adults or children, it could enhance their physical constitution. Moreover, the villagers held several ancient prescriptions. When combined with some medicinal herbs, the effect of the true blood would be even better.

In addition to the true blood, several old men also had people crush the wing bones of the flying pythons and the foot bones of the kui beasts with great effort and threw them into the boiling water.

When the fire was extinguished and the water in the tripods stopped boiling and the water temperature dropped slightly, screams and the sounds of "plops" were heard. The first batch of children was thrown in. Two or three children were in one tripod.

"It hurts! This water can boil people!"

"Help! It feels like my body is being cut by a knife and my flesh is splitting!"

They grimaced, kicked and struggled, each desperately trying to rush out, but they were all pushed back and continued to scream.

In this way, dozens of children were thrown in batch after batch. Most of them screamed miserably and struggled constantly. Only seven or eight children were slightly better. Although they were sweating profusely from the pain, they endured without making a sound.

As for the Little Dot, he couldn't escape either and was treated specially. He was thrown alone into a black tripod. Only a little clear water was added inside and the rest were true blood and crushed bones of fierce beasts.

The villagers didn't think this was unfair or that they were favoring one over the other because their own children were already crying their hearts out in the ordinary medicinal tripods, but the Little Dot could withstand it.

Furthermore, when the thick liquid in the black tripod used by the Little Dot was boiling, the old village chief also opened two special earthenware pots and poured the liquid into the tripod one after another.

From one of the pots, a red glow rushed out and condensed into a pixiu, the size of a palm. It was mighty and ferocious, seemingly about to tear people apart and escape, with an extremely fierce nature. The palm of Shi Yunfeng showed glowing characters and the bone inscriptions lit up. With one slap, he scattered the pixiu, turning it into blood and it fell into the tripod.

From the other pot, a double-headed rhino rushed out, bright red like fire and dazzlingly terrifying. It raised its head and roared angrily. It was also scattered by the old village chief and fell into the black tripod.

When the water temperature dropped slightly, the Little Dot was lifted up and struggled vigorously after being thrown into the tripod because he was still small and would choke on the water if he sat inside. Just after falling in, he directly drank several big mouthfuls with "gurgles".

The children opposite showed sympathetic expressions. Suddenly, they felt they were lucky. The medicinal liquid, which contained only a little water and mainly special true blood, beast bones, tendons, etc., would definitely cause more intense pain to the skin and bones. The Little Dot was so pitiful.

Even some adults couldn't bear to watch because they saw the little fellow struggling vigorously, grimacing and drinking several big mouthfuls of the thick liquid from time to time. It was really worrying.

"It's okay. It's not the first time. He was like this before and he can endure it. Drinking more medicinal liquid is also good. If he can absorb it, it will be of great benefit to him." The old village chief said. His conditioning and care for the Little Dot were sometimes rather rough.

"His constitution is very strong. In addition, the mysterious power of the bone inscriptions may also be operating, helping him refine part of the medicinal power. The Little Dot should not be in too much pain." Another old man said while stroking his beard.

The medicinal bath lasted for a long time. A group of children were soaked like red monkeys, one after another looking miserable. They looked at each other and shed tears. It was not until the end of the medicinal bath that they stopped crying and were finally relieved.

The Little Dot didn't cry in the black tripod. His big eyes rolled around and his small face was as red as a big apple. But when he was lifted out, he staggered as if drunk.

"How do you feel?" An old man asked.

The little fellow burped and said confusedly, "I'm full."

Hearing his heartless and simple response, the adults were all amused.

"Sleepy." The Little Dot swayed, his small body fell into Shi Yunfeng's arms, murmured softly and made a little "iya" sound, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Take these children to have a good sleep. Tomorrow they will all gain a lot of strength." Village Chief Shi Yunfeng said.

Finally, several old men tidied up the remaining liquid. Instead of wasting it, they added fire under the copper tripods and put some special medicinal herbs into them to boil them dry and make them into medicinal powder. This was not only a tonic but also a precious medicinal powder for treating injuries. Taking it when hunting in the mountains on ordinary days could save lives.

The living environment was harsh, fierce beasts were difficult to hunt and true blood was scarce and precious. Otherwise, they wouldn't have boiled the remaining liquid into medicinal powder after the children used it. They didn't want to waste even a bit.

Of course, the young and middle-aged people in the village didn't care. As long as it could be applied to wounds to save lives, it was fine.

That night, the children slept very soundly. The next day, many little ones all shouted loudly because pieces of old skin fell off their bodies and the beds were dirty.

"Go, draw a bucket of well water to clean yourself and then lift that millstone for me."

"Dad, that's what the third brother uses to exercise his strength usually. How can I lift it?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Lift it if I tell you to. Was all that true blood and bone medicine used last night in vain? If there's no improvement, I'll spank your bottom into eight pieces!"

Early in the morning, there was a commotion in the Stone Village. A group of children were forced to move big stones and carry copper tripods, complaining bitterly.

The effect was really obvious. The children all gained a lot of strength and their constitutions were significantly enhanced. But it would be an exaggeration to say that they were completely transformed. It wasn't realistic.

"Crunch crunch"

At the entrance of the village, the runes on the palm of Village Chief Shi Yunfeng shone brightly. He held a purple-gold hammer, smashed the most precious section of the dragon horn of the dragon-horned elephant, then took a section of the claw bone of the pixiu and a small section of the red horn of the fire rhino, smashed them in the same way, and finally ground them into powder. He mixed these bone and horn powders with some true blood of fierce beasts and put them all into the boiling beast milk. Immediately, a fragrant aroma wafted out.

Then, the old man threw in one strange medicinal herb after another. Before long, the liquid in the earthenware pot gradually turned into a paste-like substance and the aroma became even more intense.

"Little Dot, it's time to eat."

In the stone house, the little fellow sat up suddenly upon hearing the shout. His big eyes were still confused when he just woke up. But when the aroma came, he quickly sniffed a few times with his small nose and immediately became energetic, murmuring, "It smells so good."

"Of course. This is a real pot of precious medicine. Don't waste a single bit. Eat it all up." Shi Yunfeng said with a smile.

The Little Dot gobbled it up. Before long, he finished eating the paste in the earthenware pot. But the side effect also appeared immediately. After all, he was still too young and the medicinal effect was really too strong. This morning, the usually cute Little Dot turned into a naughty child, having a pair of red eyes like a rabbit and running around everywhere, shouting non-stop.

The poor big yellow dog was caught by its tail by him and was pulled continuously and vigorously. Its tail almost became bald and it barked loudly for a long time, making a fuss in the village and not allowing any peace.

"Hey, Little Dot, why did you pull out Auntie's fence?"

"Little fellow, what happened to you? Why did you run onto my roof? Stop it quickly. Don't remove the roof tiles!"

...

The villagers were stunned. The usually well-behaved Little Dot turned into a naughty one, running around and causing a ruckus.

"The whole pot of medicine has been absorbed. The effect is very good." Shi Yunfeng and several old men stood together, discussing softly and nodding in satisfaction.

In the distance, many children saw this scene and became even more in awe of the village chief. They all shivered involuntarily, moved far away and gathered together, whispering, "The Little Dot is so pitiful!"

The Little Dot's palm glowed and the light spread upward. Even on his small arm, bone inscriptions appeared, flickering on and off, very mysterious. Moreover, his constitution was enhanced and his speed and strength increased by a large margin. This was also the reason why the old village chief was relatively satisfied.

It wasn't until two hours later that he quieted down, scratched his head confusedly and said softly, "Iya, I caused trouble." (To be continued