Chapter 49: Witch Doctor's Art
Inside the bamboo house, Jiang Xuan sat in front of the big horn bed.
"Tell me, how did you get bitten by the poisonous snake?" Jiang Xuan asked puzzledly.
Da Jiao lowered his head in shame and said, "I missed when I was catching...catching the snake."
“Why do you want to catch snakes?”
"Because the snake entered the cave and ate insects, I was furious when I saw it, so I tried to catch it with my hands. I didn't expect the venomous snake to be too fast, and it turned around and bit me."
"So that's how it is." Jiang Xuan suddenly realized.
Snakes are carnivorous, and their diet is quite varied. They eat a variety of small animals, such as frogs, mice, birds, and various insects.
The insects that Big Horn raised in the cave were naturally part of the snake's diet. It was normal for this venomous snake to sneak in and eat them after discovering them.
In fact, the poisonous snakes near the Teng tribe have been cleared several times, and most of them have been put into the pot.
But this is a primeval forest, and it is impossible to clean it up completely as snakes will continue to crawl over from other places.
"It would be a problem if there were poisonous snakes around frequently."
Jiang Xuan frowned. He didn't have any good ideas in mind and he didn't know how to make snake repellent powder. He could only catch one as he watched and asked his tribesmen to pay attention.
…
On the other side, Chishao had just returned to the bamboo house and had just washed his hands and was about to eat something when he found that the mysterious old man was already walking towards him.
"Old man, is there anything I can do for you?" Chishao stood up with a piece of dried meat in his hand.
The mysterious old man stared at Chishao with burning eyes and asked, "Do you want to learn witchcraft?"
"What?" Chishao felt a little confused.
"I say, do you want to learn the art of witch medicine?" the old man repeated.
"Witch... witch doctor's technique?"
Chishao was shocked. This was something only a witch could learn!
"Yes, if you are willing to learn, I can teach you."
The mysterious old man had a serious expression and didn't seem to be joking.
"Old man, who are you?"
This seems like a godsend.
But Chishao is not stupid. She will not rush to catch the dried meat before it falls to the ground, for fear of being crushed to death.
The mysterious old man said calmly: "It's okay to tell you, I am actually the previous witch of the East Wild Eagle Tribe."
Chishao was surprised. This turned out to be a witch!
The witch is the most important soul figure in a tribe. He usually does not leave the tribe easily. Even if he goes out, he will be protected by a large number of warriors.
For safety reasons, every witch will almost spend the rest of his life in the tribe. Why would he appear here with a giant eagle?
Although he had all kinds of questions in his mind, Chishao did not speak, but listened quietly.
The mysterious old man's eyes showed a look of reminiscence: "I have been in the tribe since I was a child, and was trained to be a witch. After I turned 20, I was determined to be the next witch. Since then, I have never left the tribe."
"I have spent almost my entire life in the tribe. Wherever I go, I am protected by the tribe's warriors. I perform sacrifices, treat illnesses, record, and impart knowledge... These boring things occupy almost my entire life."
"The Eagle Tribe members yearn for freedom, and so do I. However, I can only watch the warriors in the tribe flying around on giant eagles every day, while I can only stay in the tribe and do those boring things."
"Until one day, I found myself very old and had only a few years left to live. I realized that if I didn't go out and walk around, I would die in the tribe like other witches and become a pile of bones."
"So I handed the position of witch to the successor I had chosen earlier. He is very good and has more patience than me. He is more suitable to be a witch than me."
"I refused the protection of the tribe's warriors, left the tribe with the giant eagle I had raised since childhood, and flew all the way from the East Wilderness to the South Wilderness to see this vast world."
Having said that, the mysterious old man, or the old witch, has basically finished his story.
The old witch looked at Chishao and said, "Until today, when I saw one of your people being bitten by a poisonous snake, I suddenly realized that I could leave witchcraft and other knowledge to the Eagle Tribe."
"But the witch doctor's skill of curing diseases and saving lives cannot be buried with me. I should pass it on so that it can save more people!"
"Although your Teng tribe is small, I see strong vitality in your tribe. I believe you will gradually grow stronger and continue."
"I cannot teach you witchcraft stuff, but I can teach you my lifelong experience of curing illnesses and saving lives."
The old witch looked at Chishao with burning eyes and said, "So, do you want to learn witchcraft?"
The old witch's words contained a lot of information, and it took Chishao a long time to recover from the shock.
"Why...why me?"
Chishao didn't understand why the old witch chose her.
"Actually, your leader is pretty good, but he is the leader and needs to fight for the tribe most of the time."
"It takes a long time to learn the art of witch doctor and identify various herbs. This process may take several years or even decades. The chief simply does not have that much time to learn."
The old witch looked at Chishao gently and said, "You are different. I have learned that you know a lot of herbs and can use them to treat diseases and injuries. You are more suitable to learn witchcraft than the leader."
Chishao was silent. The old witch was very sincere, but this matter came so suddenly that she didn't know whether she should accept it or not.
The old witch seemed to have guessed what she was thinking: "You can learn from me for a while, give it a try, and then make a decision."
"On sunny days, you can go hunting and gathering. On rainy or snowy days, and whenever you have free time, you can learn witchcraft from me. How about that?"
The old witch looked at Chishao expectantly and with a very sincere attitude.
Chishao thought about it and decided that there was no harm in giving it a try, so he nodded.
"I have one more request. Whether you want to learn witchcraft from me or not, I hope you can agree to it."
"you say."
The old witch's eyes became vicissitudes: "I am already very old. Maybe in one or two years, or maybe in three or five years, my life will come to an end."
"If that day really comes, I hope you can wrap my body in a piece of animal skin and tie it to the back of a giant eagle. The giant eagle will take me home."
Chishao nodded without hesitation and said, "I promise you, I will find the best animal skin and let the giant eagle take you home."
The old witch nodded with a smile and said, "In this case, I will have no regrets."
After putting his worries aside, the old witch talked with Chishao about some methods of treating snake bites and herbal medicines that can detoxify snake venom, and they had a very pleasant conversation.
In the evening, Chishao told Jiang Xuan about this matter. Jiang Xuan was very happy and supported Chishao to learn the art of witch medicine, so that when the tribesmen were sick in the future, they would have an extra layer of protection.
From that day on, Chishao would follow the old witch to learn the art of witch medicine whenever he had free time.
She was a very serious student and had an incredibly high talent. She could remember the properties and therapeutic effects of various herbs after reading them a few times. This made the old witch very happy and he taught her even more attentively.
Thanks to the book friend "I who imagines myself in the sea of books" for the reward.
Thanks to “book friend 20220217214322310” for the reward.
(End of this chapter)
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