Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Blood-Replenishing Items

“Shaman, what kind of Gu did Chen Rong get poisoned with?” Bai Qing frowned, his face grave, as he stepped over the black blood covered by white powder. “I’ve never seen anything this deadly!”

“It’s the Southern Yue barbarians’ infamous Human Blood Gu,” Su Ye explained, helping Bai Qing lift Chen Rong out of the barrel. “It’s a vicious parasite raised on human blood. Once infected, there are only two possible outcomes: either the victim dies, or the person who set the Gu dies.”

Once he was out of the barrel, Chen Rong regained a bit of consciousness and stopped coughing up blood.

“Once the poison is cured and the person who set the Gu dies, my survival will be exposed, won’t it?”

If he lived, some in the Yuan family would never rest easy. Even though he’d covered his tracks before coming to the Eastern Lands, traces always remained—he hadn’t forgotten Su Ye’s earlier warning.

If he brought trouble to Chang Xia, not only would Su Ye and the Heluo Tribe be furious, but Chen Rong himself would never forgive himself.

“Most people would have died from the Human Blood Gu long ago. You surviving is nothing short of extraordinary,” Su Ye remarked. “As for whether your survival will be exposed after the poison is cured, I can’t guarantee anything.”

By then, the one who set the Gu wouldn’t have a chance to talk—after all, the dead don’t speak.

Chen Rong narrowed his eyes, pondering Su Ye’s words. After a while, as his strength returned, he pushed away Bai Qing’s supporting arm and glanced at the strange scene on the ground: white powder and black blood mingling, creating a shocking, bloody tableau. Even though he couldn’t see the twisted Gu worms in the blood, the sizzling sound still echoed in his ears—it was something he wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

“I understand,” Chen Rong said.

Su Ye told Bai Qing to clean up the storeroom floor, then left.

Chen Rong went to the kitchen to fetch water and wash himself again.

Su Ye instructed him not to see Chang Xia for the next few days, at least until the poison was fully purged. During detoxification, Chen Rong had to keep his emotions steady—any agitation would speed up his blood flow and make him cough up more blood.

The more blood he lost, the greater the toll on his body, and the longer it would take to recover.

Su Ye made her point clear, trusting that Chang Xia and Chen Rong would handle things appropriately.

“Granny Su Ye, how’s Chen Rong?” Chang Xia pushed open Su Ye’s door and peeked in, asking softly.

Su Ye pressed her lips together and replied, “He’s made it through the first round of the medicinal bath. It’ll get easier from here. For the next few days, keep your distance and don’t let him get too emotional, or he’ll cough up too much blood.”

“Okay, I’ll remember,” Chang Xia replied.

It was clear that Su Ye’s real reason for coming to the Heluo Tribe wasn’t just to oversee Nuan Chun’s childbirth, but to help detoxify Chen Rong. Chang Xia didn’t say it out loud, but she kept this kindness firmly in her heart.

After chatting a bit more with Su Ye, Chang Xia returned to her room.

Chen Rong didn’t need her to worry about him, so Chang Xia turned her attention to building the cellar, as well as renovating the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. She also planned to work on the corridor and eaves. Besides, she wanted to explore around White Lake—to get familiar with the area and prepare for future hunting and foraging trips.

Late at night, Chang Xia tidied up her desk.

She neatly stacked the floor plan for the cellar, the sketch of the canopy bed, and the interior layouts for the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet in one corner of the desk, then went to bed.

Outside, Chen Rong quietly watched as Chang Xia put away the lightstone and lay down.

His handsome face was expressionless, neither sad nor happy. He simply stood there quietly, feeling the breath of the long summer through the wall, while doing his best to calm the restlessness in his heart.

After a while, Chen Rong returned to the neighboring cave to rest.

The next day, Chang Xia handed the blueprints to Bai Qing, asking him to pass them on to Chen Rong. She then went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone. The rain, which had started the night before, had yet to stop.

This first rain of the season would last six or seven days.

During this time, the tribe would settle into a period of relative calm.

Once the initial rains ended, the tribespeople would gradually head out to hunt and gather.

Usually, they wouldn’t go too far. At the start of the rainy season, with frequent downpours, venturing far from the tribe wasn’t safe. When the rainy season reached its middle stage, the Twilight Forest would enter its most vibrant period of the year. Both the beastfolk and the plants and animals living in the forest would burst with vitality.

Some people called this period of first rains the “Breeding Days” of the beastfolk.

So, it was said that the air above the tribe would soon be filled with pink bubbles.

However, since everyone’s cave dwellings had just been built, most people would likely be busy working on their own homes, which would take up some of their time.

Lighting the fire, boiling water.

When it came to blood-enriching foods, the first things Chang Xia thought of were pig liver and fish.

The Heluo tribe’s territory was rich, but the people had developed it very little. As for vegetables, most were wild greens, with radishes and cabbage coming next. For now, Chang Xia hadn’t found much else.

The tribe’s diet was varied, but Chang Xia herself hadn’t had the chance to try much of it.

Fortunately, as her body recovered, she was able to leave the tribe and find more edible things.

As for animal livers, the tribespeople rarely ate them. Even when food was scarce, they wouldn’t touch them. It wasn’t just that they didn’t know how to cook them; it was mostly habit. The tribe was used to burying animal organs, since living in the forest was dangerous—too much blood scent could attract fierce beasts.

Over time, the beastfolk developed the habit of digging pits to bury the innards of their prey.

Since there was no pig liver, Chang Xia could only cook fish.

But the last two fish in the kitchen had already been eaten yesterday.

So, Chang Xia planned to go to the pond by White Lake to catch a couple more fish.

Just as she was adding water to the stone pot, she saw Shankun come in, draped in a fur coat and carrying several fish, braving the rain.

“Chang Xia, could you help me make some carp soup?” Shankun said helplessly.

The way he cooked fish, Nuanchun couldn’t eat it.

With no other choice, Shankun had to bring the fish over to ask Chang Xia for help.

“Sure, just help me clean the fish. Oh, and except for the one for Nuanchun’s soup, please clean the rest for me too. The shaman is helping Chen Rong detoxify, so he needs to replenish his blood. We don’t have pig liver at home, so I’ll try making fish for him.”

Upon hearing that the shaman was helping Chen Rong detoxify, Shankun didn’t hesitate. He picked up the ironwood knife and started scaling the fish.

“What’s pig liver?” Shankun asked.

“It’s the innards of a tusked beast,” Chang Xia replied. She preferred to call them wild boars—calling them “tusked beasts” always felt awkward to her. Even after living in the Heluo tribe for over ten years, she still hadn’t gotten used to it. Out of habit, she used her old name, but thankfully, the tribespeople were easygoing and never made a fuss about it.

In fact, they gradually started calling tusked beasts “wild boars” too, following Chang Xia’s lead.

“I remember the tribe hunted a few wild boars. I’ll go ask around for you,” Shankun said seriously.

Chang Xia didn’t stand on ceremony. “Thanks, Shankun. If you could, please ask the tribe for some wild boar liver. And if there are any bones, could you bring some too?”

The longer bone broth simmered, the better it tasted. Both she and Su Ye and Bai Qing loved it.

They’d just finished the last of the bones at home, and Chang Xia had been craving bone soup. If she had some, she could steam a few baskets of rice noodles in the morning and have soup noodles—quick and delicious.