Medicine Bath (Seeking Recommendation Tickets, Collections)

At this moment, the old village chief opened two special pottery jars and poured their liquids into the cauldron one by one. A red glow erupted from one of the jars, condensing into a Pixiu the length of a palm. It looked fierce and menacing, as if it wanted to tear someone apart and escape, its ferocity extremely potent. Glowing characters appeared on Shi Yunfeng's palm, and as the Bone Text lit up, he slapped the Pixiu, causing it to dissipate into blood and fall into the cauldron.

The other jar released a Double-Headed Rhino, crimson as fire and brilliantly intimidating. It raised its head and roared in anger, only to be struck down by the old village chief and fall into Shi Lin's cauldron.

The children sharing the cauldron with Shi Lin all jumped out.

"Wah, it hurts, it hurts!"

Afterward, Shi Lin was given his own cauldron, just like Little One.

When the water temperature dropped slightly, Little One was picked up and tossed into the cauldron. He struggled vigorously because he was still small; sitting inside caused him to choke, and as he fell in, he gulped down several mouthfuls of the liquid.

The children opposite him looked on with sympathy, suddenly feeling quite lucky. That liquid, which contained very little water and was composed primarily of special true blood, beast bones, and tendons, would surely make one's skin and bones ache intensely. Little One was truly pitiful.

Even some of the adults couldn't bear to watch, as the little guy was struggling hard, baring his teeth and grimacing, while occasionally gulping down more of the viscous liquid, which was truly worrying.

"It's fine, it's not his first time; he's been through this before and can handle it. Drinking more of the medicinal liquid is actually good; if he can absorb it, it will be of immense benefit to him," the old village chief said. His methods of conditioning and caring for Little One were sometimes quite rough.

"His physique is extremely strong. Furthermore, the mysterious power of the Bone Text might be circulating, helping him refine some of the medicinal potency, so Little One shouldn't be in too much pain," another elder said, stroking his beard.

"Linhu, your Lin is doing well; to think he could persist for so long based on his physical body alone!" one of the village elders remarked.

"Hehehe!" Shi Linhu chuckled.

The medicinal bath lasted for a long time. The group of children were soaked until they looked like red monkeys, each one of them looking miserable. They looked at one another with tears streaming down their faces, only stopping their weeping once the bath ended and they were finally liberated.

Little One hadn't cried while in the black cauldron; his large eyes darted around, and his little face was flushed red like a big apple. However, when he was lifted out, he swayed unsteadily as if he were drunk.

"How do you feel?" an elder asked.

The little guy let out a burp and mumbled muzzily, "I'm full."

Hearing his mindless and innocent response, the adults were all amused.

"Sleepy." Little One swayed, his small body collapsing into Shi Yunfeng's arms. He muttered a soft word, let out a tiny babble, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Take these children to get a good night's sleep; they will all have grown quite a bit of strength by tomorrow," the village chief, Shi Yunfeng, said.

Afterward, Shi Lin also climbed out of his cauldron, stumbling and bumping into things before performing a "drunken fist" routine as if he were intoxicated.

"You rascal!" Shi Linhu scooped up Shi Lin, who was several times smaller than him.

"Let's go home and get some sleep!"

Finally, several elders cleaned up the remaining liquid. They didn't waste it, instead adding fire beneath the bronze cauldrons and tossing in some special medicinal herbs to boil it down into a medicinal powder. This was not only a tonic but also a precious medicine for treating wounds; carrying it during hunting trips into the mountains could save lives.

The living environment was harsh, fierce beasts were difficult to hunt, and true blood was rare and precious; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of boiling the leftovers into powder, unwilling to waste even a drop.

Of course, the young and strong men of the village didn't mind; as long as it could save a life when applied to a wound, that was enough.

The children slept very soundly that night. When they woke up the next day, many of the little ones shrieked, as layers of old skin had peeled off their bodies, leaving their beds filthy.

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

"Dad, that's what Third Brother uses to train his strength; how could I possibly lift it?"

"Don't talk back, just lift it. Was all that true blood and bone medicine from last night wasted? If you haven't made any progress, I'll spank your bottom until it's split into eight pieces!"

Early in the morning, Stone Village was in an uproar as the children were forced to move heavy stones and carry bronze cauldrons, complaining bitterly all the while.

The effect was truly significant; the children had all gained a good amount of strength, and their physiques had improved noticeably, though it would be an exaggeration to call it a complete rebirth—that wouldn't be realistic.

"Crack, crack."

At the edge of the village, the runes on the palm of the village chief, Shi Yunfeng, shone brightly. He held a Purple Gold Hammer and smashed the most precious section of the Dragon-Horned Elephant's dragon horn. He then took a piece of the Pixiu's claw bone and a small segment of the Fire Rhino's red horn, smashed those as well, and finally ground them into powder. He mixed these bone and horn powders with some true blood from the fierce beasts and added them into the boiling beast milk, instantly filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

Afterward, the old man tossed in one strange medicinal herb after another. Before long, the liquid in the pottery jar gradually turned into a paste, and the aroma became even richer.

"Little One, time to eat."

In the stone house, the little guy sat bolt upright upon hearing the call. Just woken up, his large eyes were still dazed, but as the aroma wafted over, he twitched his little nose a few times and immediately became spirited, murmuring, "So fragrant."

"Of course, this is a true batch of precious medicine. Don't waste a single bit, eat it all," Shi Yunfeng laughed.

Little One wolfed it down, and before long, he had finished the paste in the pottery jar. However, the side effects immediately became apparent; he was still too young, and the medicinal potency was simply too strong. That morning, the usually adorable Little One transformed into a troublemaker. Like a white rabbit, he had a pair of large, red eyes, and he ran around everywhere, shouting "Ah-ya" incessantly.

The poor Big Yellow Dog had its tail grabbed by him and pulled relentlessly until it was nearly bald. The dog barked and roared for half the day, causing a commotion throughout the village and leaving no peace.

"Hey, Little One, why are you pulling down Auntie's fence?"

"What's wrong with the little guy? Why did he run up onto my roof? Stop it, you aren't allowed to tear off the roof tiles!"

The villagers were stunned. The usually well-behaved Little One had turned into a little fierce beast, rushing about and causing all sorts of trouble.

"The entire batch of medicine has been absorbed; the effect is quite good." Shi Yunfeng stood with several elders, discussing in low voices and nodding with satisfaction.

In the distance, many children who witnessed this scene became even more in awe of the village chief. They all shivered and hid far away, huddling together to whisper, "Little One is so pitiful!"

Little One's palms glowed, and eventually, the light spread upward, with Bone Text appearing on his small arms, flickering mysteriously. Furthermore, his physique had strengthened, and his speed and power had increased by a significant margin, which was the reason for the old village chief's satisfaction.

It wasn't until two hours later that he finally calmed down. He scratched his head in a daze and whispered, "Iya, I caused trouble."

Early in the morning, Shi Lin had been forced by Shi Linhu to lift stones, and he had actually managed to lift a thousand-jin boulder.

Everyone smiled and praised Shi Lin, and Shi Linhu boasted loudly that he had gained a lot of face.