Unedited chapter.
7. Treating the Natural Enemy’s Wounds
Shu Shu's hands were trembling so hard. In his current state, it was odd if he could accurately throw the medicinal herbs onto the huge snake’s body!
With a discouraging “plop”, the wad of medicinal herbs fell on the ground beside the huge snake, very far away from the wound.
Shu Shu jumped in fright from the sound and unconsciously retreated a few steps before calming down, just to find that the huge snake did not move at all.
This huge snake would not come to a sticky end, right? Shu Shu observed the snake worriedly. Seeing the various wounds on the snake’s body, his eyes felt hot.
He had thought before that this area had been very safe. It’s very likely that it had something to do with that kind person. Otherwise, how could there weren’t any large animals at the river bank where it had always been the place where all kinds of animals gathered together?
It must have been the kind person who had helped him. He had been very happy when he had thought about it. But he had not expected that the kind person was in fact the snake in front of him. This snake… it wouldn’t actually die, right?
Wiping his eyes with his hand, Shu Shu once again took out some medicinal herbs, put them in his mouth, and chewed them.
The medicinal herbs tasted very bitter. Shu Shu’s brows puckered while chewing, but this time he chewed the herbs for a while before spitting them out onto his hand. After he finished chewing, he did not dare to throw the herbs again. Rather, he summoned up his courage to cautiously move forward and slowly approach the huge snake.
The familiar scent was even more intense, and Shu Shu was finally not as afraid as before. He squatted down and put the medicinal herbs on the wound on the snake's tail, gently smearing them.
While smearing the medicinal herbs, not being careful, Shu Shu's hand met the satiny scales of the snake.
Shu Shu instantly jumped up and fled. He ran for a few meters before he came to a halt. Then, frightened and still in doubt, he went back. Feeling that he’s biting off more than he could chew, he stared at the huge snake. He was trying to be brave, but his legs felt weak.
He was really, really afraid of snakes…. They’re so horrible!
Shu Shu couldn’t help but remember the first time he had met with the huge snake and the feel of dread that had swept over him. At that time, he had been really frightened. Unexpectedly, he had not borne in mind the smell of the huge snake. If he had known earlier….
If he had known earlier, well, it was neither here nor there….
The huge snake lay there motionless; its body was cold. There was a wound on its abdomen, and it was still bleeding out.... Shu Shu was silent for a while and then slowly moved forward. This time he applied the medicinal herbs on the wound on the snake’s abdomen.
When he was applying the herbs, the huge snake's abdomen moved up and down slightly.... Shu Shu cried out in fear and, not surprisingly, fell back several steps once more. He gradually loosen up before he dared to step forward again and continue with medicating the huge snake.
Edgar lay on his stomach on the ground and felt the hand that was treating him kept trembling. He remained silent for some time.
In his lifetime, this was the longest time someone took to administer medicine to him. The little guy was just repeating the motion over and over again. Anyway…, he actually wasn’t angry at all; instead, he thought it was funny.
The little sub-beastman was afraid that he would die. He did not expect that the little guy would still insist on giving him medicine.
It’s just... this little sub-beastman was jumpy, so he didn’t dare to move. At the same time, his whole body that was coiled around the loathsome tiger actually felt extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, at this moment, the little sub-beastman finally stopped rubbing the medicine and ran away again, further this time.
Edgar breathed a sigh of relief. Without letting the medicinal herbs that had been applied carefully fall from his wound, he released the tiger that had been constricted to death by himself. Moving his body, he chose a comfortable position to lie down.
The little sub-beastman would surely return, right? Edgar really looked forward to it.
Shu Shu did not want to return at all.
He had provided the medicinal herbs for the snake, but actually, it’s the snake that had found them for his use. Originally, the kind person had given him a lot of medicinal herbs. He hadn’t finished them all, so he had planted the excess at the doorway. It was a good thing that the medicinal herbs had been growing well, so he could finally harvest them.
Of course, now that they had been used up by him, it was still not enough.... Shu Shu could only look for them again.
It was not difficult to find the medicinal herbs. Shu Shu soon found some, but... he did not want to go back.
So much that as long as he thought of having to approach the huge snake, he promptly went soft at the knees.
But if he did not go back, what would he do if the snake met with a mishap? Shu Shu took a moment to build up his mental strength. In the end, with his still trembling body, he walked over to the place where the huge snake and the giant tiger had fought.
Just as he drew near, Shu Shu saw that the huge snake’s position and location had changed.
The huge snake had moved? Shu Shu could not help but think of fleeing again. Fortunately, he managed to hold back. Eventually, he slowly walked and arrived next to the huge snake. Then, trembling, he set out to apply the medicine on the areas on the huge snake’s body that hadn't been medicated yet.
After completing his task, Shu Shu was in a hurry... to flee again.
Although he knew that he should save this huge snake, Shu Shu still could not help but think of fleeing.
But after he fled, he also couldn't help but worry that the huge snake couldn't move. Lying down there, what if it met and got eaten by a passing beast?
Shu Shu had thought that it had been quite safe here, but now he knew better. It was actually not safe at all, and there were even terrifying giant creatures.
There were still the dead tiger and the smell of blood. If other animals smelled it…. Moreover, he couldn’t let the huge snake go hungry.... He was at a loss for a while. Then Shu Shu gritted his teeth and, with a bitter face, returned once again.
Bypassing the prone, motionless huge snake, Shu Shu extended his claws, planning to deal with the tiger and the surrounding bloodstain. Conveniently, he could give the tiger's meat to the huge snake to eat.
The snakes in the wild did not eat dead animals. Of course, it didn’t count if they’ve just killed the preys themselves. If it were not for this, at that time when Shu Shu had seen the huge snake for the the first time, he would not have instantaneously “died”.
To think that he had once relied on playing dead to escape from the snake’s mouth.
Anyway, this huge snake and ordinary snakes ought to be different.
Since this snake was clearly a kind individual and knew to give him preys and medicinal herbs, it was absolutely very clever. He reckoned that it had been just like him; it was not an ordinary snake but a snake spirit!
Since it was a snake spirit, this snake could definitely communicate. He supposed it was not like those ordinary snakes that only ate live animals.... After all, this snake had eaten all the cooked food from him.
If the huge snake ate the tiger, surely it would not feel like eating him.... Shu Shu was deep in thought. He wanted to drag the giant tiger away from the huge snake—just a little further—before dealing with it. Unfortunately..., he could not move it.
Taking a glance at the huge snake and finding that it was still motionless, Shu Shu did not delay. He planned to skin the tiger right here.
Shu Shu stepped on the tiger's body with one foot. He grasped the tiger's skin with both hands and gave his all to tear it. He did not tear even a tiny bit of the tiger's skin. Instead, he wasn’t careful enough and got thrown down. He landed with his butt, flat on his back, and his claws also hurt.
Looking at his claws, Shu Shu couldn't help but curl his lip, "This tiger's skin is so thick!"
After getting ruthlessly thrown and tumbled over, Shu Shu could only give up his initial plan. Moving on to a hole on the tiger’s body that had been torn open by the huge snake, he took out the tiger’s meat.
In general, the tiger’s meat was not like its skin, so difficult to break.... Shu Shu concentrated on scooping out the meat from the tiger’s belly.
Edgar opened his eyes and watched the little sub-beastman carefully, thinking that him tripping and falling was especially cute. Sub-beastmen could not transform into a beast, but they still had some beast characteristics on their body. Among the few, there were some who could sprout claws. However, sub-beastmen’s claws were often just ornaments. It’s no problem to use them to scratch the beastman who transformed into a man, but it's absolutely impossible to use them to tear open the skin of a giant creature like this one. This little sub-beastman really didn’t understand anything at all.
The little sub-beastman was clawing out the meat from the giant tiger’s body one chunk at a time, and his butt sticked out. The view under the grass skirt was fairly discernible, and Edgar suddenly felt that he was a bit feverish.
He had not liked those sub-beastmen; he especially had not liked their weak appearance and timid manner. But now... he didn't know why he actually thought that this cowardly, inept little sub-beastman was pretty cute.
But unfortunately…. Thinking of his present circumstances, Edgar felt like he was being doused by a bucket of iced water, cooling his body from head to tail.
He had already turned into a beast.
However, if he had not suffered serious injuries this time, when he had encountered the frequently-nude sub-beastman in front of him, he would have thought that this sub-beastman was malicious and had some other intentions, OK?
Edgar took a deep breath, not knowing whether he should remind the little sub-beastman or not—it was very easy to expose yourself when you’re only wearing a grass skirt.
Shu Shu spent quite a lot of effort to scoop out all the meat chunks from the tiger's body; his claws already felt numb.
He placed the tiger's meat and liver on a large leaf—piled high—and his face showed a satisfied expression. He pulled some grass within his reach and used it to wipe clean the bloodstain on his hands. Shu Shu was thinking of taking a rest, but when he turned his head to check on the huge snake, it was watching him attentively; its eyes were icy cold—extremely frightening.
Shu Shu’s heartbeat sped up. He did not know how many times he had broken into a run right away.
After running a few steps, his heartbeat slowed down. He turned his head to face the huge snake and said, "You! Don't eat me. Tiger meat is very delicious, really!"
"Hurry up and eat, OK? Eat your fill so your wounds can heal more quickly."
"Uhm... my body is full of hair, eating me will just cause you indigestion."
Edgar was still lying there motionless, looking like he had no strength. Shu Shu spoke for a while, and then he walked past the snake with a shudder. After pushing the leaf piled with the tiger meat toward the snake, he immediately fled again.
Edgar was indeed quite hungry. He was wounded; he should eat more food to heal the wounds.
After taking a quick look at Shu Shu, Edgar lowered his head and opened his mouth to bite and swallow a piece of meat.
Shu Shu saw this scene, and he was so moved that he practically felt like shedding some tears. It ate the tiger meat! It would certainly be too full to eat him!
Edgar ate up the meat that Shu Shu had prepared for him. Just like Shu Shu had thought, the snake's belly swelled up.
Shu Shu knew that after the snake was full, it would not hunt again. Moreover, he reckoned that the snake was already unable to move freely now. It instantly made him sigh with relief.
He buried the tiger’s intestines far away and used his claws to turn over the soil on the bloodstained area so the smell of blood wouldn’t be too strong. He also used the lighter to burn one kind of pungent grass he had collected a few days ago to conceal the smell in the air. Then he sprinkled the huge snake’s excrement evenly on the surrounding area….
Completing all these tasks, Shu Shu’s waist was so worn out he couldn’t stand up straight, but he finally managed to put this area in order. At this time, the sky was already dark.
After going out in the early morning, he hadn’t eaten anything. Shu Shu was very hungry, but he was really not in the mood to eat anything.
He got back the grass that he had previously collected for lining up his nest and threw a few bunches towards the huge snake’s body from a distance, covering the whole snake. Shu Shu was finally satisfied.
Pulling the remains—bones and skin—of the giant tiger by its tail, Shu Shu planned to throw out the giant tiger and conveniently look for an area where he could wash himself.... Of course, when he was doing this, he did not forget to wrap the giant tiger’s excrement with some leaves and take it along with him, so those beasts would not dare to approach him—the tiger’s intestines were cut apart by him; he literally did not lack excrement at the moment.
Seeing Shu Shu dragging the tiger's carcass away, Edgar, who was fully covered with weeds, got up and wiggled out from the underbrush. He followed Shu Shu closely at a slow pace.
The little sub-beastman was obviously very afraid of him, but he could not abandon the little guy. In this case, was it possible that, slowly, the little sub-beastman would not fear him?
Since he had been exposed, he might as well follow the little sub-beastman closely and stay on his side in an open and aboveboard way....
He was definitely more useful than that stinky tiger’s dung.