After a century of worship, I became the ancestor of the tribe.

Chapter 15: The Antidote Works (Please continue reading)
The appearance of the plague insects left Shen Can with no time to lie down.

The shaman needs to check on the condition of the tribe members as soon as possible.

Huo Xian is old and frail, so naturally he has to step up.

He worked until dawn and finally managed to take a break, but fortunately, as a martial artist, he wasn't tired at all.

After the floodwaters receded, some of the houses built by the tribe were revealed on the flat ground below the mountain.

But the tribe doesn't have the time to dig the houses out of the mud right now.

The entrance to the ancestral temple cave.

A roaring bonfire burned, filling the air with the aroma of medicinal herbs.

Ancestors are gods, so they are naturally not afraid of plagues, but temples are for people.

Shen Can threw a handful of witchcraft potion into the campfire, and wrapped a burlap scarf around his nose, just covering his mouth and nose.

So what exactly is a witch doctor?

Unable to produce fine salt, he had a sudden inspiration to have everyone wear masks, but the witch doctor already had some.

The plague worms have not yet reached the tribe, and he has never seen them.

Of course, he didn't want to see it either.

Huotang sat cross-legged on the stone platform at the very top of the mountain.

After discovering the plague worms, he went up and sat down.

On the surrounding high places, there were also tribesmen with good eyesight who, like monkeys, rode on rocks and looked around.

"Ah Can, go back and rest. I'll keep an eye on things."

Huo Xian emerged from the cave, and as the tribe's shaman, this was also the time when he was most vigilant.

Some of the plague insects can be seen, while others cannot.

If any member of the tribe develops symptoms such as high fever or fainting, they must be isolated.

"Master, I'm in great spirits."

Shen Can sent Huo Xian back; the old man's weariness was clearly visible.

Leaning against the campfire, he took out a roll of animal hide and unfolded it.

The animal hides record several plague outbreaks that the Blazing Flame Tribe has experienced since its founding.

The temple staff at the time recorded the general situation.

This data uses an unmodified shamanic prescription, and the recorded temple language is also very vague, so Shen Can can only make a rough analysis.

After each plague, the number of people who died from the plague in the Blazing Flame Tribe was between 10% and 20% of the total population.

These are just the dead; those infected with the plague and needing to recuperate account for about 60-70%, which is equivalent to the entire tribe being severely damaged by this blow.

Whether it was the dead or the infected, most of them were the old and weak. Unless the tribal warriors were directly exposed to the plague, they could easily survive the plague.

The fact that the martial arts foundation was not greatly damaged is also the reason why the Blazing Flame Tribe was able to survive.

Plague insects fear fire and also dislike the smell of burning witchcraft herbs. If prepared properly, the number of plague insects that appear can be reduced, and they can be driven away in advance.

But once these creatures appear in large numbers, campfires and herbs will not be enough to stop them, and the tribe will face annihilation.

Besides the data recorded in the notes, the notes also documented how a tribe called Tuanshui was attacked by plague insects, suffered heavy losses of warriors, and later disappeared into the Great Wilderness.

As for how they disappeared, Shen Can felt that they were probably swallowed up by other tribes, which was pretty much what he had expected.

A crisis can also be an opportunity.

If the improved witchcraft formula is truly effective and can drive away plague insects from the tribe, the Blazing Flame Tribe will be able to preserve even greater strength.

If a nearby tribe is unlucky, that will be the opportunity for the Blazing Flame Tribe.

Putting everything else aside, Ah Yu might just find a strong woman to warm his bed.

In addition, the clan leader brought back three second-tier wild beasts. The blood of these wild beasts was taken away, and Shen Can didn't know where it was put, but he had a guess in his heart.

Being the clan leader is mentally exhausting.

It's easier to serve our ancestors.

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Shen Can ate, drank, and relieved himself all while waiting in front of the campfire.

According to the clan records, the fastest time a clan member was infected was the day after the plague appeared.

It's been five days now, and everything is still normal in the tribe.

Shen Can would go to the clan every day to check on everyone. Everyone was in good spirits, but they all smelled of witchcraft, as if they had been marinated.

This undoubtedly demonstrates that the improved witchcraft medicine was effective.

Chief Huotang was still high up, like a guardian.

His gaze was sharp as he surveyed his surroundings, a mixture of excitement and trepidation in his heart.

It's the fifth day.

The ancestral remedies really worked.

In a year of great calamity, if the strength of the Blazing Flame Tribe does not decline, it is equivalent to an increase.

Not to mention, the strength of the Blazing Flame Tribe has truly increased.

He then hunted three second-tier wild beasts in the dark, released five slots of beast blood, and successfully promoted four clansmen. Including Huo Lei and the other two who secretly promoted, the clan now has six more pioneering warriors.

All of this was done in secret, and only a few people in the clan knew about it.

……

On the desolate land after the flood, countless tiny black insects, resembling dots, emerged from the surface of the water in the depressions.

In the remote corners of the mountains, the massive skeleton of a wild beast lies half-buried in the mud, its protruding body rising and falling.

Within a few miles of the Blazing Flame Tribe, the ponds of all sizes had long been filled in, and the remaining rotting animal carcasses had been burned to ashes.

On the muddy ground, a dozen or so tribesmen were wearing robes that had been boiled with medicinal soup, and their faces were wrapped in scarves made of several layers of hemp cloth.

The strong aroma of medicine continuously filled my nostrils.

Despite it being broad daylight, everyone was holding a torch.

The torches were specially made with witchcraft potions, and released a strong medicinal aroma and smoke as they burned.

Each member of the tribe carried either kerosene, herbs, firewood, bows and arrows, or machetes and other weapons, their loads bulging.

The purpose of this trip is to keep abreast of the plague's movements.

"Brother Bear, you plague insect!"

As they walked, a buzzing sound began to emanate from the air, and the group immediately became alert and pinpointed the source of the sound.

A swarm of dozens of plague insects, each the size of a fist, their transparent wings shimmering in the sunlight, flew in from afar.

The fire bear immediately ordered everyone to form a circle with their backs to the inside and to nock their arrows.

They can shoot down the plague worms with rockets as soon as they get close.

Before the fire bear could give the order to fire the arrows, the swarm of plague insects circled up and down a few times before turning and flying off in another direction.

"The potion is working!"

The fire bear immediately realized that the group of people had an extremely strong medicinal smell, and they were each holding a torch, which had scared away the plague insects.

"Go back and report to the clan chief. We must keep chasing them and not let these plague insects reach the clan's territory."

……

after one day.

In a low, undulating area, torches flickered, and the air was thick with the strong smell of herbs and smoke.

"Chief, the plague worms came from the south."

“We tracked them for a day but found no other groups. The ones we shot down were all burned.”

"The rest have all gone far away."

The fire bear pointed to a spot where charred, charcoal-like ash remained and spoke to the fire god.

When a plague breaks out, winged plague insects appear first and are able to cross mountains and valleys.

It can appear anywhere, and is impossible to guard against.

Because they have wings, they can reproduce and grow rapidly once they find a suitable breeding ground.

For tribes, the ability to defend against these things also involves an element of luck.

The fact that no large-scale plague insects have appeared after so many days of flooding indicates that the Blazing Flame Tribe has been quite lucky.

Of course, the tribe's prior arrangements also played a significant role in cutting off the breeding ground for the plague insects.

"Chieftain, the shamanic medicine prepared by the temple this time is really effective. The plague insects will stay away as soon as they smell it."

The group had been chasing the plague worms all day, and the effects were already evident to them. Now they all spoke up.

"Continue the inspection."

After understanding the situation, Huotang returned to his tribe.

In the days that followed, word came from tribesmen that they had discovered traces of plague insects outside the tribe.

The most recent one was found three miles away from the clan's territory. After smelling the strong aroma of smoky herbs, it lingered a few times before taking flight.

Within the tribe, some children and those with weak constitutions also developed symptoms.

For those tribespeople who showed symptoms, the entire tribespeople living in the caves were moved out and resettled in caves carved out on another mountain.

In addition to drinking witchcraft medicine, other methods such as fumigation and bathing with medicine were added to treat the plague.

Shen Can emerged from the cave in the quarantine area, followed by Ah Yu, a burly bear, who carried various medicinal herbs for him.

After exiting the cave, Shen Can discovered that the clan leader, Huo Tang, was approaching from a distance.

Huotang walked up to Shen Can and said, "Ayu, take the herbs back first."

Ah Yu, unsuspecting, said, "Brother Ah Can, I can just give it to Grandpa Huo Xian when I get back, right?"

Shen Can nodded, understanding that the clan leader had something to tell him.

“Ah Can, our ancestors protected our tribe from the plague, but this time the number of people in our tribe who are openly infected is a bit small.”

"what……"

Shen Can was taken aback.

Clan leader, what do you mean by that?
Did I cause a problem by working so hard?
chapped.

(End of this chapter)