Tiger tribe XII
The only person in the tribe who is good to Mu, or at least doesn"t dislike him, is the tribe doctor. Of all the people in the tribe, only he alone does not discriminate against Mu. Whenever Mu gets injured, he always very warmly treats him.
Therefore, when Qi said that the doctor wanted to see him, Mu became solemn and he followed Qi without a word.
Actually, Mu"s body isn"t holding up well, because yesterday he ran for a long time with Ah Yu on his back. His already weak body couldn"t take it, and when he got home he almost collapsed on the ground.
However, Mu"s the one who does all the cleaning and heavy work at home. Because he came back a little late, his father Bo beat him up. Of course, Aspen was also there, pretending to be concerned about Mu when he was really fanning Bo"s rage. As a result, Bo hit him harder and harder.
Afterward, Mu, with lines of blood running down the corners of his mouth, began to chop firewood and clean the prey that Bo and Qiao had brought back.
Because he hadn"t made any contribution to capture the prey, he was given only a bowl of soup without any meat at all.
However, this has been happening for many years, and Mu was used to it. He gloomily hurried back to his room after drinking the soup, and went to sleep, both hungry and tired.
Just before he fell asleep, he told himself he"d go hunt a couple of s.h.i.+eld beasts in the forest tomorrow.
The s.h.i.+eld beast"s meat tastes awful, but it is the easiest to catch of all the wild beasts, so young shapes.h.i.+fters will hunt this beast when they first start training. However, they are so unpalatable that even when they are caught, they will be thrown back and not eaten.
But because Mu"s body is too weak, the only beast he can catch is this one.
He smiled mockingly. What difference is there between delicious food and unpalatable food when one is hungry?
Originally Mu had wanted to go and hunt the s.h.i.+eld beast bright and early. Who could have known that the doctor wanted to see him?
Although Qi obediently called over Mu like his dad told him to, he was still unsure about the whole matter. His dad never told him exactly what was going on.
Both yesterday"s trip to escort Ah Yu to collect golden thorn gra.s.s and calling Mu today made Qi feel very puzzled, but when he asked his dad, he would just sigh and look at him as if from a distance. Ah, in the future, Qi, you must chase after Ah Yu. He is simply the best female in the tribe.
When Qi heard his dad say that, he was so surprised that he almost shouted that it wasn"t true. Are you joking?! Ah Yu is the best female in this tribe?! If there weren"t any other females in the tribe, then perhaps Ah Yu would be the best female!
And how can he go chasing Ah Yu to be his partner? His future companion is obviously going to be Ya . . . When Qi reached this thought, his expressionless face suddenly turned red.
The doctor naturally knew his own son. He was just joking. Ah Yu is such a good catch that of course he has to lament it a little, but now he"s over it. He doesn"t really want Qi to pursue Ah Yu. If Qi really pursued him, Mu wouldn"t dare chase after him as well.
"Alright, I know you like that little Ya Qi. Ya Qi is also very nice. I was kidding just now. You don"t have to take it seriously. That child Ya Qi is also a great kid. In the future, you must protect him well. If Ya Qi is still bullied by Ya An in the future, I don"t know if his dad will urge him to find a different partner."
His father"s words gave Qi a start, and his face became even colder. "I won"t ever let that happen!"
With this, Qi didn"t bother asking Ya Qi"s dad for clarification and rushed out to call Mu.
"This medicine is for me?" Mu looked at the bowl of medicine in the doctor"s hands, his face unbelieving.
"Yes," the tribal doctor smiled very softly, his eyes full of affection. "Your health is not good because something happened when your dad was pregnant with you, and that"s why your body is so weak. Actually, it isn"t true that your body can"t get better, it"s only that we"ve always been missing some necessary herbs. Now that I have them, as long as you take this medicine when you"re supposed to for three or four years, you"ll be just as strong as the other shapes.h.i.+fters."
Mu was already in a daze. The doctor"s words, "You"ll be just as strong as the other shapes.h.i.+fters" resonated in his mind.
He has lived until now with the glares of everyone in the tribe, with their insults and scorn. Because he"s so weak, he cannot even partic.i.p.ate in their activities or hunt.
And all this doesn"t have to go on, because the doctor told him that his body can become stronger!
Mu was trembling with excitement. He wanted to say something, but he was so overwhelmed that he couldn"t speak. He eagerly took the brown-green concoction the doctor held and swallowed it in one gulp.
The incredibly bitter taste spread from his throat to his stomach. He could even feel it in his head. Tears spilled from his eyes.
Mu couldn"t help sobbing. With his hands over his eyes, he started to silently cry on the floor.
This bowl of concoction is not just a cure for his body, but his the only ray of hope in his life. Living respectably in the tribe is something Mu never dared to think about.
Uncle tribal sighed, and with pity, pulled Mu into his arms, gently patting his back.
Mu, who had never been treated so tenderly, felt something warm in his chest. He felt even more fragile and cried his heart out.
The doctor actually likes Mu, and also pities him. When Mu"s dad, Ah Qi, was alive, he was very good friends with him. Therefore, his att.i.tude towards Mu is very kind.
When they discovered that Mu was weak, the doctor"s first thought was to completely cure him. However, the medicine needed is really hard to find. The golden thorn gra.s.s doesn"t grow in the tribe, and no female was willing to go out and collect it.
At that time, he hated how he wasn"t a female. Otherwise, he would have collected the golden thorn gra.s.s himself. He would cure Mu so that he could live in the tribe without worry, and not be as humiliated as he was now.
After Bo and Aspen became partners, the doctor went to Aspen, hoping he would help since he had also been close to Ah Qi before he died. If it was for Mu, Aspen would certainly be very willing to help.
Sure enough, Aspen was very excited when he heard that he could help cure Mu"s body. He was anxious to go out and find golden thorn gra.s.s. However, the doctor never could have known that the golden thorn animal, which was supposed to be docile toward females, would actually attack Aspen!
In that key moment, if it weren"t for Bo, who rushed into the cave and rescued Aspen, Aspen would have died. When he heard the news, the doctor was stunned for a while. If he hadn"t raised the idea himself, Aspen would have never tried to go there or nearly have lost his life in the process.
After that, the family doctor never again raised the issue of collecting golden thorn gra.s.s for Mu. He just couldn"t have imagined that two days ago, Ya Qi would come and ask him about it. Even now, as he watched Mu drink his concoction, it still felt somewhat unreal.
Looking at his favorite little shapes.h.i.+fter, who was so sensible, the doctor felt extremely happy.
After a long time, Mu calmed down and started to feel that his actions were a little similar to a mental breakdown.
He freed himself from the doctor"s arms and somewhat embarra.s.sedly wiped the tears from his face. He felt a little awkward when he noticed the patch on the doctor"s chest was stained with his tears.
But the doctor of the tribe started to laugh loudly. Mu always had a gloomy look on. He had never seen the child"s shy side before.
He couldn"t help but touch his head, saying softly, "Don"t worry, Uncle is someone who loves you very much. You do not have to pretend anything with me. You probably feel some pain after finis.h.i.+ng the medicine, but don"t worry, this is normal. You have to persevere. After five or six times, it won"t be painful anymore."
"Mm-hmm!" Mu solemnly nodded, a rekindled hopeful light in his eyes.
"Don"t worry, everything will be fine!"
"Oh yeah. In the future, you must treat Ah Yu better." There was an amused expression on the doctor"s face. "Who could have known? You are still small, but you already have a female who likes you. You must treat Ah Yu properly!"
When Mu heard that, he was shocked. "What?"
The doctor was a little unhappy when he saw Mu"s reaction. "Ah Yu disregarded his own safety so that he could collect the golden thorn gra.s.s in order to cure your body."
"He . . . he collected the herbs for me? Is the golden thorn gra.s.s to treat my body?" Mu"s voice was full of shock and his brain felt fuzzy.
"If it isn"t for you, then who would it be for? If there wasn"t a shortage of gold thorn gra.s.s, and other people besides females could collect this gra.s.s, then I would have started giving you medicine ages ago."
"Ah Yu is really good to you, he"s both sincere and genuine. You can"t ever let him down, ok?"
Mu couldn"t clearly remember what the doctor said afterward. A single thought reverberated in his brain. That arrogant female was actually collecting herbs all this time for him.
It was unbelievable, yet all the evidence pointed to the contrary. Mu was completely shocked by this fact. His mind was a blank white.
How can this be possible? Obviously, that arrogant female has always loved to bully him!!