CH 51

Qin Fei first called several male members to bring some bamboo poles and set up many drying racks in the empty spaces of the tribal camp. Then he soaked the soft and suitable ‘water ukaka’ in a solution to remove their fishy smell, and hung them on the bamboo poles to dry. Qin Fei also soaked the other two types of ‘water ukaka’ to remove their smell, but their breathability was close to zero. The thin and transparent type was very similar to “plastic sheeting,” and the thick and hard type could be divided into two categories: one with greater elasticity and the other with greater hardness.

Qin Fei compared the flammability of the three types of ‘water ukaka.’ The silk-like breathable ‘water ukaka’ could burn, but it did not liquefy or produce a sticky effect during the burning process. It also had a higher ignition point and turned into ashes after burning. The other two types of ‘water ukaka’ did not burn, but high temperatures would cause them to gradually liquefy. The cooled liquefied substance, if thin, was very transparent, soft, and elastic. If it was slightly thicker, the transparency would decrease, and the softness and elasticity would also decrease accordingly. 

This gave Qin Fei many ideas, and he planned to gradually implement these ideas in the future. However, the most important thing at the moment was to remove the fishy smell from these things. He also wanted to use the soft ‘water ukaka’ that was like silk cloth to make clothes.

While directing a few people to dry the ‘water ukaka’ and remove the fishy smell, Qin Fei was also contemplating simple clothing designs in his mind. The tribal camp was peaceful and bustling.

Suddenly, there were several screams of fear in the distance, followed by loud shouting from the direction of the camp entrance.

Ruma and a few males were stunned for a moment, then quickly put down what they were doing and rushed over to see what had happened. Qin Fei naturally followed quickly to see what was going on.

At the entrance of the camp, two females lay on the ground, already unconscious. Several exposed parts of their skin were highly raised, red and swollen.

As Qin Fei hurried forward to check the eyes of the two women and examine their wounds, he noticed signs of being stung or bitten. Something like a steel needle, over two inches long, had appeared in the swollen flesh. Qin Fei didn’t dare to remove these needles rashly and instead turned to the tribe members who were carrying the injured women back.

One of the men spoke before Qin Fei could ask, “They were picking in the bamboo forest and encountered those insects that bite people. We rushed to rescue them…” As he spoke, he handed something on a bamboo arrow to Qin Fei and continued, “I shot and killed several of them with a crossbow arrow, but there were still too many, and two women were injured. Fortunately, these insects don’t fly beyond a certain range, otherwise, there would have been more injured people.”

Qin Fei had heard before about the flying insects that bite people in the bamboo forest, but he didn’t expect them to be so dangerous. He looked at the insect pierced by the bamboo arrow and couldn’t help but take a deep breath. It was a bee that was several sizes larger than a ‘pigeon’, and it was terrifying just to look at it.

Ruma saw the look of shock on Qin Fei’s face and quickly asked, “What’s wrong with these biting insects?”

Qin Fei shook his head, indicating that there was nothing wrong. But he secretly rolled his eyes, not just wrong, but very, extremely, and incredibly wrong. Although he suspected that the flying insects that caused the injuries to the females might be bees living in the bamboo forest, when he saw the bee sting, he also realized that the size of the bee was definitely not small. But exaggerating it to be several sizes larger than a pigeon was just too abnormal.

Qin Fei lowered his head and looked at the two unconscious females, murmuring, “Such a big bee, its venom must be very potent. We need to quickly remove the stinger and suck out the toxins from their bodies.”

His words were heard by several males with excellent hearing, who were eager to remove the stingers and suck the venom out with their mouths to save the females. Qin Fei quickly stopped their actions and sent two males to fetch some bamboo cups and dried grass.

Although everyone was sceptical, they still brought the cups and grass. Qin Fei carefully removed a bee stinger from a swelling area on one of the females, and as the stinger was pulled out, a fresh stream of blood flowed out, and the skin around the wound quickly swelled up and enclosed the wound, making it almost invisible.

One male exclaimed anxiously, “The swelling is already so severe, how can we still extract the poison!”

Ignoring everyone’s anxiety and doubts, Qin Fei wet the skin around the wound with water, then lit the dried grass in the bamboo cup and quickly pressed it onto the wound. Soon, he pressed the bamboo cup on all the red and swollen areas of the two females’ bodies. After a moment, a miracle happened: the large swelling around the wounds rapidly began to shrink before everyone’s eyes.

“Oh my god! The swelling is decreasing…” someone in the crowd exclaimed.

“Yes, it’s true, it’s really shrinking,” someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Ruma was also shocked as he watched, and at the same time warned the onlookers to keep their voices down so as not to disturb Qin Fei’s treatment.

Qin Fei didn’t have time to pay attention to the reactions of the people now. He looked for which swollen area was no longer reducing, and removed the bamboo cup from that area. The cup contained a sticky liquid, which was the venom mixed with blood that he had extracted. He put the cup aside, then wet the wound with water again and replaced it with a clean bamboo cup, and repeated the process of igniting the dry grass. He continued to do this until he couldn’t extract any more venom and the swelling had reduced almost completely, then he stopped the process of extracting venom.

Due to the large number of toxins being cleared, although the two females were still in a coma, their breathing had significantly stabilized. Qin Fei immediately found several types of detoxifying herbs that were stored and crushed them for the two to hold in their mouths. He also added some detoxifying external application herbs, which he crushed and applied to their wounds.

Seeing that Qin Fei had finished the treatment, Ruma had people carry the two females back to their bamboo house and instructed them to take good care of them. Qin Fei wrapped each bee sting in animal skin and took the cups with the remaining toxins, frowning in thought.

Ruma lightly patted Qin Fei’s shoulder, and he turned to look at him.

Ruma the priest also took a bamboo cup and asked, “What kind of method is this? Can a bamboo cup filled with water also be used to extract toxins? Or is it the dry grass that has the detoxifying effect?”

People in the barbaric era naturally did not know the principle of cupping therapy. Qin Fei thought about how to explain it in a language that Ruma could understand and slowly explained to the old priest how to use cupping therapy, as well as some simple ailments that can be treated with it. The old priest couldn’t hide his surprise. In Ruma’s eyes, everything Qin Fei thought of and used could become a treasure for healing and saving lives.

At first, when Qin Fei didn’t discover the food in the bamboo forest, the bees that lived there didn’t pose a threat to the tribe’s life. However, now that the bamboo forest is an important food source for the tribe, the people who gather there are constantly stung by bees. If these two females were not on the outskirts of the bee activity and were not subject to a large-scale attack, they might have been stung to death by the terrifying swarm. In the conflicting choice between the survival of the tribe and the survival of the bee colony, Qin Fei chose without hesitation – to eliminate those strange creatures.