The toxin was far more potent than Sam had expected—he'd only dipped a chopstick-thin stick into the juice, barely using a drop.
Xuan was equally shocked, staring at the small stick in his hand in disbelief.
Lie and Mu quickly ran over to join them. Lie leaned in and asked softly, "Are they dead? What did you put on them?"
Mu knelt down and sniffed the unconscious beasts. "They're not dead—just completely knocked out."
"It's the crushed juice from nettlegrass," Xuan said, holding up the stick to show them the tiny wet spot on the tip. "I only used a little."
"The potency is incredible," Lie stated firmly.
"Will they wake up?" Mu asked, stepping back to stand beside Xuan.
"They will," Sam replied, his expression turning serious for the first time. "But I don't know how long it will take. This is my first time using this grass too."
"If we use this juice for hunting, it'll make things *so* much easier," Lie said, turning to look at Xuan, his voice tinged with excitement.
"These are just small beasts," Sam pointed out, glancing at the stone bowl in his hand. "We still don't know how effective it'll be against large ones."
"I'll find a way to test it on bigger animals," Xuan said, looking straight at Sam. "I'll bring you whatever beasts you need for your experiments."
The four of them gathered around the unconscious animals and waited. After about an hour, the largest beast's eyelids began to twitch.
"He's waking up!" Sam exclaimed, pointing at the animal.
All four pairs of eyes immediately locked onto it. Moments later, the beast opened its eyes, and as soon as it registered the surrounding stares, it began to thrash around weakly, still too groggy to put up a real fight.
As the toxin wore off, the beast's struggles grew stronger, and one by one, the other animals also regained consciousness, snorting and growling threateningly at the humans nearby.
"They're all awake now—they look no different than before," Mu said, leaning in to check on them.
"I wonder if this stuff works on beastmen," Lie mused, poking at the leftover grass pulp in the bowl.
"Why don't we just try it and see?" Mu said with a reckless grin. Before anyone could stop him, he snatched the stone bowl from Lie's hand, took a big whiff, and then *licked* a large swathe of the juice right off the edge.
"Mu!!" Lie's shout was too late, and Xuan didn't have time to grab him either.
Are you *crazy*?! Sam screamed internally.
Mu had licked a good amount of the juice, and it didn't take long for the effects to kick in. His arms trembled, and he barely managed to keep from dropping the bowl as his body went weak.
"I… I don't have any strength left," he mumbled, swaying unsteadily on his feet. "My body's not listening to me!"
Xuan rushed forward and caught him before he could fall, while Lie quickly grabbed the stone bowl to keep it from hitting the ground. Sam ran over too, quickly reassuring them, "It's okay! It's okay! Eating this has the same effect as getting pricked by the thorns—it won't kill him, he'll just pass out for a while. But he did lick a lot, so he might sleep longer than the animals."
Hearing Sam's words, Xuan and Lie finally relaxed. By then, Mu's eyes were already closed, his breathing steady—he looked like he was just taking a nap.
Xuan laid him down gently on the ground, then rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "That idiot Mu—he's way too impulsive. Lucky for him it was just nettlegrass and not something really poisonous. We need to have a serious talk with him when he wakes up."
"I'm gonna *punch* him when he wakes up!" Lie said, clenching his fist in anger. If it had been a deadly toxin, Mu would've been a goner.
With Mu passed out, the three of them had no choice but to stay put and keep an eye on him—no one dared to leave him alone. Xuan glanced up at the half-built house and sighed; they weren't going to get much more work done today. He'd originally hoped to finish the house in four days, but now it looked like it would take at least one more day.
Thankfully, beastmen had incredibly tough constitutions. Even though Mu had licked a lot more juice than Xuan had used on the animals, he only slept for about an hour before his eyes fluttered open again.
As soon as they saw Mu wake up, the three of them leaned in immediately.
"You're awake! Are you okay?!" they asked in unison.
Mu tried to move his lips, but his voice was barely a whisper. Sam had to lean in close to hear what he said.
"I… I still don't have any strength."
"It's okay! Just rest a little longer and you'll be back to normal," Sam comforted him. Mu's beast form was a large black bear, and Sam had originally thought his rugged appearance matched his personality—but now he realized the guy was actually a big, reckless softie.
They sat there and waited a bit longer until Mu finally regained enough strength to prop himself up into a sitting position.
"Mu—what did it feel like?" Xuan asked, helping him steady himself.
Mu scratched his head, trying to recall the sensation. "One second I was fine, the next I felt completely weak—like I couldn't even feel my own body anymore. My head was spinning, and then I just… blacked out. When I woke up, my mind was totally blank. I didn't know what was going on, and I still felt weak all over. It took a while for the feeling to fade."
Mu's description was detailed, and Xuan turned to look at Sam, his eyes silently asking for his thoughts. Sam thought for a moment before speaking up, "This stuff is basically a super-strong anesthetic."
"Anesthetic? What's that?" Xuan frowned at the unfamiliar word.
"Oh—it's just another way to say the nettlegrass juice," Sam made up an explanation on the spot. "Since it makes your whole body go numb and weak, it's like… being drunk."
"What's 'drunk'?" Lie asked, suddenly interested.
"It's what happens when you drink alcohol… never mind, it's too hard to explain right now. I'll make some for you guys to try later, and you'll get it."
At the mention of something they could *eat*, the three beastmen's eyes lit up like torches. A new thing! That you can eat!
Seeing their eager expressions, Sam silently inched back a little. Alright, noted—add "make alcohol" to the to-do list for later.
With all the chaos and delays, more than half of the afternoon was already gone. Xuan glanced up at the sun, then called out to the other two, "Come on, let's get back to work. We can still get a little more done before dark."
The three of them went back to building the house, leaving Sam alone with the tied-up animals, which were still growling and snapping at him menacingly. He let out a sigh, feeling a little discouraged.
The wild animals in this world were way too big and aggressive. If he couldn't find tamer ones, his plan to raise livestock was probably doomed.
Sam sat there, lost in thought about where to start with developing the tribe, and before he knew it, the sun was already setting.
After finishing up for the day, Xuan divided the captured animals between himself, Lie, and Mu—neither of them hesitated to take their share.
When they got back home, Qiuye had already prepared dinner. After eating, no one felt like chatting, so they all went back to their rooms to rest.
Sam had only been back in his room for a short while when he heard a soft knock on the door curtain, followed by Xuan's quiet voice, "Can I come in?"
"Come in!" Sam replied, confused. Why was Xuan coming to see him again right after they'd just parted ways?
Xuan lifted the animal hide curtain and stepped inside, holding a curved object about half a meter long in his hand.
"What's up? What's that?" Sam asked, pointing at the thing in Xuan's hand.
"It's the tail spine from a Thorn Beast," Xuan explained, holding it out for Sam to see. "The spines on their tails are the hardest part of their bodies—they're their sharpest weapon, and they can slice through stone easily."
He handed the spine to Sam, then continued, "I was thinking about what you said earlier—stone knives wear out too fast, take too long to sharpen, and they're probably too heavy for you to use easily. This Thorn Beast spine might be what you need for your weapon. What do you think?"
Sam's eyes widened in surprise—he hadn't expected Xuan to find a suitable weapon so quickly.
He took the spine, the cool, smooth surface of the bone cool against his palm. He examined it closely: the entire spine was jet black, with a curved, blade-like edge running from the sharp tip all the way up to about 15 centimeters from the base, leaving a perfect section to grip comfortably.
It was a *natural machete*!
All he needed to do was add a little padding to the handle, and it would be ready to use. He weighed it in his hand—it was just the right weight.
"It's perfect! This is *exactly* what I need!" Sam said, swinging the spine lightly in his hand, his eyes lighting up as he admired it.
"I'm glad you like it," Xuan said with a smile, watching Sam run his fingers over the spine, clearly captivated by it.
Sam pulled out a small piece of animal hide, dipped it into the leftover nettlegrass juice, and carefully coated the blade-like edge of the spine with it. "I just wish I had a chance to test its effectiveness."
"Do you want to go out and try it?" Xuan asked, looking at him expectantly.
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