The Witch Doctor Mei Wen said helplessly, "It's not that I don't want to treat it; I truly can't treat the worm disease. The entire Beast World continent is plagued by this affliction, and so far, no one has found a cure. If you want to cure the worm disease, your only hope is to break through to the Green Crystal rank as soon as possible... Ah, that's all I can say. You should go back now."
Mei Wen looked at Bei Ji, her eyes full of pity.
Si Yan still wanted to argue, but Bei Ji took her hand and shook his head, saying dejectedly, "Mother, let's just leave it..."
Si Yan bit her lip and turned to Bei Ji. "Don't worry, there must be a way. Mother will find a way to cure your illness."
Bei Ji nodded slowly, but in his heart, he held little hope.
Si Yan and her two cubs were all feeling rather downcast.
As they left Mei Wen's cave and were passing through the center of the tribe, a male Beastman, two meters tall, suddenly leaped out.
"Beautiful female, will you mate with me?"
Si Yan, already feeling low, didn't even glance at the male when she heard his brazen words. She just yelled, "Scram!"
Then she grabbed Bei Ji and Xi Qing and ran quickly towards her own cave.
To jump out in broad daylight and ask me to mate?! The audacity of male Beastmen in this Beast World is truly terrifying!
Xi Qing and Bei Ji looked up at her. Even though she painted pockmarks on her face to make herself look ugly, males still wanted to mate with her.
Bei Ji glanced back, particularly puzzled. The male who suddenly appeared and courted Mother... wasn't that Tai Seng, the Yanxiang Tribe's foremost warrior?
Impossible. I must have been seeing things.
Xi Qing pursed his lips slightly. He suddenly imagined them having a second father, then a third, a fourth, a fifth... and Mother bearing many more cubs for other males. Although he disliked her, he didn't want her to have more cubs either.
In the center of the tribe, the two-meter-tall silver Wolf Clan Beastman stood tall and strong. His well-built body boasted smooth muscular lines, and his silver hair, slightly fanned out, cascaded behind him. His eyes were as bright as the moon. Purely in terms of looks, he was leagues ahead of the other Beastmen in the Yanxiang Tribe!
It was just that his face wore a naturally naive expression, like a big dog.
If Si Yan saw him, she would certainly tease him. The Wolf Clan and dogs really are close relatives, huh.
Realizing he had been rejected by the female, the male Beastman scratched his head, feeling a bit disappointed but not discouraged.
Many Beastmen teased him, "Tai Seng, you're really not picky, even wanting an ugly female like Si Yan."
The silver Wolf Clan Beastman, Tai Seng, said nothing and turned to leave.
Bei Ji and Xi Qing were somewhat dejected because of the worm disease.
Si Yan looked at her downtrodden cubs and frowned slightly. In my era, diseases like roundworms were solved long ago. In university, I majored in botany, and I vaguely remember reading about plants that could repel worms. She tried hard to remember but couldn't recall which one.
She looked again at the two dejected brothers. She bit her lip. No, I must remember which plant can repel worms!
She thought about it while sweeping, while pouring water, and while scrubbing pots. Finally, as she was tending the cooking pot, looking at its round shape, she remembered! Pumpkin seeds! It's pumpkin seeds! Pumpkin seeds can expel worms; why couldn't I remember that before?!
She smacked her forehead, a little excited, then suddenly wondered, But will this world even have pumpkins?
She calmed down and immediately gathered the two cubs.
Si Yan crouched in front of them and said, "I'll draw a plant. Tell me if you've seen it."
With that, she took a twig and started drawing on the ground.
The two cubs looked at the pumpkin she drew, then stared at her in surprise.
"You can draw too?" Bei Ji asked.
Si Yan nodded. "Of course. What's so hard about drawing?"
Bei Ji and Xi Qing lowered their heads, looking at her drawing with complex expressions. Her drawing was quite good and easily recognizable.
Xi Qing knitted his brows, thinking hard. "I've seen this downstream by the creek."
Si Yan said excitedly, "Quick, lead me there!"
Bei Ji, Xi Qing, and Si Yan went together downstream by the creek and, sure enough, found pumpkins. One was ripe, and the others were green.
Si Yan was overjoyed. She snapped off the ripe pumpkin and picked it up, saying to Xi Qing and Bei Ji, "Bei Ji can be saved! Pumpkins can save lives!"
"Really?" Xi Qing said incredulously. Could Si Yan succeed where even the tribe's Witch Doctor had failed?
Si Yan said, "I'll go prepare it. Once it's ready, we'll all have some." We eat raw meat and drink untreated water every day; this should help flush out any impurities we've ingested.
After bringing the pumpkin back to the cave, Si Yan cut it open to remove the seeds, setting the pumpkin flesh aside for now.
Si Yan washed the seeds clean and set them out to dry. Once dry, she ground them into powder, mixed it with water, and gave it to Bei Ji. "Try it."
Xi Qing asked worriedly, "It's not poisonous, is it?"
Pumpkin seeds were just a snack in my previous life; I'm certain they're harmless, Si Yan thought. "It's very safe," she assured them.
Bei Ji took the coconut bowl and drank it down without hesitation.
Then, Si Yan mixed two more bowls, handing one to Xi Qing and drinking the other herself.
Seeing that the wicked female and Bei Ji had both drunk it, Xi Qing also drank his bowl.
Si Yan explained, "Soon, we might all get stomach aches and need to defecate. We might expel a lot of worms, but that's normal, so don't be afraid. We'll drink a bowl of this every day for a while, and we should be better in a few days."
Although Bei Ji had drunk the mixture, he wasn't entirely convinced he would recover, but he nodded dutifully.
After speaking, Si Yan started peeling the pumpkin and went to clean the wild beast organs she had obtained earlier. She planned to serve pumpkin and wild beast liver that night to help detoxify the cubs.
Before long, Si Yan felt her stomach ache. Not just her—Xi Qing and Bei Ji felt it too. They squatted in the bushes together and expelled a lot.
Bei Ji expelled the most. He was a bit weakened, but his eyes shone brightly. Mother's medicine... it seems to be working! Does this mean... I'm not going to die?!
Even Xi Qing found it hard to believe. That wicked female... is she actually a hidden Witch Doctor?!
Si Yan fetched water and washed the cubs' bottoms in the cave. This time, even Xi Qing wasn't as resistant.
Once they were clean, Si Yan said, "It seems this really works!" Not only can the seeds expel worms, but the pumpkin itself is quite tasty. Every part of it is truly a treasure!
Si Yan announced happily, "I'm planning to transplant the pumpkin into our yard. If possible, I'd like to clear some nearby land to plant more pumpkins."
Xi Qing and Bei Ji looked at her, puzzled. "What's transplanting? What's planting?"
Si Yan smiled mysteriously. "You'll know soon."
Si Yan had wanted Bei Ji to rest at home, but he insisted on watching her transplant the pumpkin. She had no choice but to take both cubs with her.
She carefully dug up the pumpkin plant, roots and soil intact, and carried the large vine with its pumpkins towards the front of their cave.
Along the way, they encountered several male Beastmen, many of whom chuckled and teased them.
However, neither Xi Qing nor Bei Ji laughed. What they were holding was a rare treasure! This thing can expel worms; it's a precious medicine from a Witch Doctor! These foolish males just don't get it!
After bringing it back, Si Yan found a fertile patch of land near the cave, dug a hole, and planted the pumpkin.
Xi Qing squatted nearby, watching it. "Can it really survive? Just like that?"
"Others might not be able to make it grow, but I definitely can!" Si Yan said confidently. She removed the weeds around the pumpkin and placed her hands on the soil next to it.
Xi Qing and Bei Ji watched with wide eyes. They saw a faint green glow emanate from the female's hands.
Then, before their very eyes, the pumpkin plant seemed to perk up, growing stronger. The green pumpkins on it grew quickly, and some of the larger ones even began to turn orange.
Si Yan smiled at the largest pumpkin. "This one might be ready to eat by tomorrow."
Bei Ji gaped at Si Yan in astonishment. "Mother... you..." Her power is so strong, she can even control plants... Could Mother be a Priest?
"Shh," Si Yan said. "This is Mother's secret, and I'm only telling you two. You must keep it a secret for me, okay?"
Xi Qing and Bei Ji understood the gravity of the matter and nodded solemnly.
She patted the cubs. "Let's go home. Tonight, I'll make you something delicious."
With plenty of ingredients, Si Yan made stir-fried pumpkin with meat slices and dry-fried wild beast liver. Both dishes were incredibly tasty. Xi Qing and Bei Ji were completely conquered by the flavors and couldn't stop eating.
After they finished the meal and Si Yan had cleaned the pots and bowls, Xi Qing asked with some concern, "What if someone digs up the pumpkins? I should go guard them." That's precious medicine from a Witch Doctor, after all. Is it really safe to leave it outside?
Si Yan stopped him with a smile. "It's okay, no one will dig them up. Even if they do, it doesn't matter. I've already processed a lot of seeds; we can plant more."
As she spoke, she noticed some uneaten potatoes and sweet potatoes nearby that had already begun to sprout.
These can be planted too.
She cut the sprouting parts of the potatoes and sweet potatoes into sections and set them aside to dry, planning to plant them nearby the next morning.