I Steal the Ancestors' Sacrifices to Nourish Myself-Chapter 23: Ancestral Temple Keeper, Acan

After being hit by the Witch Talisman, the monster bird no longer targeted Huo Chang, but screamed repeatedly in an attempt to flee.

Whizz! Whizz!

At this moment, the tribesmen who had previously suffered from the psychic attack had snapped out of it, either drawing bows to shoot arrows or throwing wooden spears, but the bird managed to dodge their attacks by flapping its wings.

For those attacks it couldn’t avoid, the pale light emitting from its feathers absorbed most of the power.

Even the Witch Talisman that Huo Shan snatched from other tribesmen was dodged.

"Those with Witch Talismans, follow my command."

Seeing his own Witch Talisman had no effect, Huo Shan calmed down from his excitement.

"Surround it!" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In total, there were seven or eight tribesmen with Witch Talismans, and upon hearing Huo Shan’s shout, years of hunting experience kicked in as they rapidly surrounded the monster bird.

Buzz!

More than a dozen Witch Talismans were torn open, with blood light surging and serpentine runes shimmering.

Easily capturing the attention of all present.

The monster bird flapped its wings to escape upward.

But the runes were relentless, one after another crashing onto its body.

The Witch Talismans, glowing with blood light, easily dissolved the pale light on its feathers, breaking open its body.

The monster bird screamed in agony and struggled to flap its wings, which then stalled in mid-air.

’Plop,’ it crashed down, blood light surging, feathers falling off, and its flesh began pooling into a puddle.

"Burn it to death!"

Huo Shan heaved a barrel of beast oil towards the monster bird, and flaming arrows followed suit.

Boom!

The beast oil exploded upon contact with fire, and the corpse of the monster bird twitched a few times before engulfing in flames entirely.

With the monster bird gone, the plague insects remained.

But everyone noticed that the plague insects landing on their bodies did not burrow into the skin upon touching the thick medicinal smoke from their robes, instead, they quickly detached.

After falling to the ground, disoriented by the pervasive medicinal scent, they were confused about how to crawl.

Instantly, the anxiety dissipated.

"Don’t stomp on them, use bonfires to drive them together then burn them!"

Huo Chang, freed from the harassment of the plague insects, hurriedly stopped the tribesmen from acting rashly.

With orders given, order was restored.

Some bonfires were put out to allow plague insects to pass, while others were rekindled to block pathways.

Tribesmen grabbed torches to drive the plague insects on the ground into the ravines.

Huo Chang saw the plague insects outside the ravine defenses start running toward the distance and immediately instructed, "Set bonfires outside, smoke Witch Medicine, don’t let these insects run into the mountain."

Crackling.

The entire mountain rang with noises like firecrackers.

Each plague insect burst open, turning to ash in the flames.

...

Shen Can, who ran down from the mountain, touched the few Witch Talismans in his embrace, and leisurely walked back up the mountain.

Fortunately, he worked overtime, or else the ensuing monster bird wouldn’t have been easily dealt with.

If Huo Chang got infected by the monster bird, the tribe would certainly face disaster.

Back on the mountain, leaning against a stone, he picked up the ink and brush prepared by Huo Xian and began to write.

He clearly saw the monster bird just now; it indeed looked bizarre, with one claw and even a pig’s tail.

It seemed to have a buffering ability against attacks like arrows and wooden spears.

"The body has a pale light..."

Shen Can bit the pen tip, thinking carefully about the monster bird he saw, depicting its shape and appearance.

Suddenly, sensing the approach of a ’person’ from several meters away, he looked up to see Huo Chang walking over.

At this moment, Huo Chang stared wide-eyed at Shen Can.

Scaring Shen Can into thinking he bit the wrong part of the pen, turned it into a pen tip and painted his face.

"Witch... Witch Talisman..."

Huo Chang spoke.

Shen Can, "Ah (ā)."

"You."

Then, the two stared at each other wide-eyed.

Huo Chang held an unused Witch Talisman in his hand, flipping it over repeatedly as if there was something he couldn’t figure out.

Soon, a group of people dashed up the mountain, all staring at Shen Can with burning eyes.

"Acan, did you draw this Beast Hide?"

"Acan, are you a witch!"

"Acan, how do you know how to draw charms?"

"Acan, do you... do you need a woman!"

"Acan..."

"Shut up, call him Ancestral Temple Keeper, not Acan."

The crowd babbled, each staring with eyes as if they wanted to see through Shen Can.

Shen Can tightened his robes, clutching the Beast Hide Scroll he recorded.

Before giving the Witch Talisman, everyone treated him as a junior, instinctively safeguarding his safety, urging him to stay away from the battleground.

But at this moment, the eyes of the tribesmen were ardent, as if about to melt him away.

Even a hint of reverence could be seen in the burning gaze.

"Ancestral Temple Keeper."

"Witch."

Interrupted calls kept echoing.

"Everyone shut up."

Huo Chang spoke, "I’ve known about this for a long time, just afraid of you gossips like old wives."

"What are you gathered here for? Have the plague insects been eradicated, that you’re here chattering like beasts!"

"All of you, get down there and plow this land three times for me, and then burn it with fire three times."

"If there isn’t the smoky smell of witch medicine in the mountains around, I’ll bury you all in the ground."

"Clan Leader, Witch..."

Among those being scolded, someone still spoke cautiously, but before they finished, Huo Chang interrupted.

"All of you get to work."

After scolding away the crowd, Huo Chang’s gaze fell once more on Shen Can, and a smile appeared on his previously stern face.

"Acan."

"Clan Leader, don’t be like this."

Shen Can felt a bit uncomfortable seeing Huo Chang’s sudden change of expression.

Slap!

Then, Shen Can’s shoulder was patted twice heavily.

Watching Huo Chang, who had just patted his shoulder, walk towards a distant rock, looking down at the busy tribe members.

Only his shoulders occasionally twitched.

Actually, Shen Can had prepared his reasoning, but didn’t expect Huo Chang not to ask, even shielding him in front of the tribe members.

The conduct of the Clan Leader, together with the eager gaze of the tribe members just now, made him feel his position as Ancestral Temple Keeper... secure.

He spread the beast hide back on the rock and continued with his unfinished recording.

The tribe’s foundation is insufficient, it needs to be gradually supplemented.

After he finished drawing, he noticed that Huo Chang in the distance was still occasionally twitching his shoulders.

Looking down the mountain, tribe members were digging three feet deep, with fierce fires burning.

Smoke rolled up, inside and outside the clan land, the rich smell of medicine spread, aiming to completely eradicate the scent brought by the plague insects.

Shen Can watched for a while, then suddenly realized.

Oh no, the Mentor is still tied up at the Ancestral Temple.

Grabbing the beast hide, he was about to return when he stopped after a few steps, first going down the mountain to find a large pot of medicinal soup, immersing himself from head to toe before hurrying back to the cave.

Fortunately, he had tied the old man, given the situation today, if the old man had come, the chance of getting infected by the plague would’ve been quite high.

The Great Wilderness People consider some plague insects visible and some invisible, but Shen Can understood that it’s more like ’Qi’, so even if tribe members haven’t seen the plague insects, they can still get infected.

"Woo woo..."

Inside the cave, Huo Xian stopped struggling, quietly waiting for the results, and whimpered when he saw Shen Can return.

"Mentor, the plague insects have been burned thoroughly."

Shen Can quickly untied the ropes, handing the wet beast hide to Huo Xian before he could retaliate.

After being soaked in the medicinal soup, some words were distorted.

"Mentor, this is the record. You look at it, and I’ll tell you in detail."

...

While speaking, Shen Can selected witchcraft herbs, feeling that after such a significant impact, internal prevention should be strengthened within the tribe to avoid infection by ’plague qi’.

Near evening, while Shen Can continued explaining the battlefield situation to Huo Xian.

Outside the Ancestral Temple cave, Huo Shan’s voice was heard.

"Acan looks weak, but his voice is quite loud."

Huo Chang and Huo Shan walked into the Ancestral Temple.

Huo Chang first went in front of the Ancestral Divine Tablet, respectfully bowing.

Huo Shan intended to speak but hurriedly came forward upon seeing Huo Chang’s actions.

"Ancestral protection, it’s an eye-opener this lifetime, who would have thought there might be a day to witness a true witch."

"I can die with no regrets."

As soon as Huo Shan finished talking, he got a kick from Huo Chang.

In the ear cave, Huo Xian, while looking at the beast hide recorded by Shen Can, didn’t care about Huo Chang and Huo Shan’s presence, let alone what they were saying.

"Acan, outstanding."

Huo Shan entered the ear cave, extended his palm towards Shen Can, and spoke, "Acan, do you have any Witch Talismans left? Give me a few to take to Yanshan Tribe."

"Acan’s Witch Talismans are indeed good."

Huo Xian also nodded in agreement, lifting his head.

"Uncle, Acan’s Witch Talismans are more than just good, without Acan’s skill, how could we have taken down that strange bird today."

"As soon as the Witch Talisman was torn, the blood light condensed into a talisman in mid-air..."

"What are you saying?" Huo Xian widened his eyes.

"Old Uncle, you don’t know, when that strange bird flew out from the Fushan Tribe, it directly charged towards the Clan Leader."

"This strange bird could even screech weirdly, making a piercing sound that forced people to crouch with their heads in their hands, unable to exert any strength."

"Without Acan’s Witch Talisman, I could have become the clan... ahead of time."

"Slap!"

Huo Shan got hit on the back of his head, cutting his words short.

"Condensed Talisman in the Void." Huo Xian fell into deep thought.