Xi Yao stroked the deer antlers on his head.
“Be good, now.
Go on back.
If you get hungry, roast some meat for yourself.”
“Mother, you have to come back soon.
My brother and I will be waiting for you.”
“Okay.”
Only then did Xi Bei run toward the cave, constantly looking back over his shoulder.
After watching Xi Bei’s figure disappear from sight, Xi Yao turned and headed out of the tribe with Dair and the others.
The sky gradually darkened.
Strange sounds echoed from the woods now and then, putting everyone on edge.
“Everyone, be careful,” Dair warned in a low voice.
“The beasts in this forest start to come out and hunt around this time.”
Everyone nodded, tightening their grip on their torches.
“We’ll go to the spot where we were gathering today.”
‘The antidote is always found near the source of the poison.’ Xi Yao remembered there were many unusual plants in the area they had gathered from today.
The group advanced cautiously toward the tribe’s gathering area.
The dead branches and fallen leaves under their feet made CRUNCHING sounds that seemed particularly jarring in the silent forest.
Suddenly, one of the beastmen at the front of the group slipped and nearly fell.
After steadying himself, he muttered a curse under his breath.
Dair shot him a glare, signaling him to be quiet.
The group continued onward.
Just as they were nearing their destination, Xi Yao’s sharp senses detected something squirming in the bushes up ahead.
Before she could act, a beastman beside her darted forward and, moments later, pulled a green snake over a meter long from the grass.
Seeing this, everyone grew even more cautious.
Sometimes, venomous snakes and insects were more dangerous than large predators.
Xi Yao scanned the surroundings, her gaze landing on a plant that was emitting a faint red glow.
She had just seen the venomous snake’s name on Ni Duo, and she soon located the exact medicinal herb she needed.
Just in case, she gathered a few other types of herbs as well.
With the herbs in hand, they didn’t dare to delay and quickened their pace back to the tribe.
When they returned to the tribe, Ni Duo had already been moved to the central square.
Xi Yao stepped forward and handed the herbs to Kai, telling him to grind them up.
Then she told An to fetch some hot water.
For some reason, the witch doctor hadn’t left.
She watched Xi Yao bustling about, her gaze dark and heavy.
Xi Yao pretended not to notice.
‘I’ve already offended her, so I’m not afraid of making it worse.’
“Dair, show me your claws.”
“What?” Dair looked at Xi Yao, confused.
He didn’t understand the reason for her sudden request.
“Hurry and show them.
I need them.”
Though confused, Dair extended his sharp claws.
She pointed to Ni Duo’s swollen, discolored calf.
“Make an incision right here on the bite marks.”
“But…
won’t making a cut be too painful?”
“The snake venom is too potent.
The herbs alone won’t be enough.
We have to squeeze out the poisoned blood first.
Otherwise, the toxins will continue to spread.
Even if the Priest were here, she would still die.”
Dair gritted his teeth and nodded.
He gripped Ni Duo’s calf with one hand to hold it steady, then used his sharp claws to make an incision on the swollen, discolored spot.
Although Ni Duo was unconscious, her body still trembled from the pain, and a faint groan escaped her lips.
“Quick, help me squeeze out the poisoned blood.
Press like this.”
Xi Yao used both hands to squeeze the area around the wound on Ni Duo’s calf, forcing out the poisoned blood.
Following Xi Yao’s instructions, Dair and Kai began rhythmically squeezing the skin around the wound.
At first, the blood they squeezed out was dark and black, giving off a pungent, acrid smell.
As they continued to squeeze, the blood that flowed out gradually lightened in color.
Xi Yao watched Ni Duo’s reaction and monitored the color of the blood.
“That should be enough.
You can stop now.”
The others stopped, and Xi Yao had An rinse the wound with water.
Once the wound was clean, Xi Yao picked up the herbs she had prepared and applied the ground-up paste to Ni Duo’s wound.
The crowd gathered around, watching nervously.
No one dared to make a sound.
Only when some color gradually returned to Ni Duo’s face and the swelling on her calf began to slowly recede did everyone let out a collective sigh of relief and break into murmurs.
The witch doctor glanced at Ni Duo on the ground, then her gaze settled on Xi Yao.
‘I can’t believe she actually saved her.’
“Did everyone see that?
Xi Yao and her children didn’t bring misfortune to our tribe.
On the contrary, they just saved one of our own.”
“We can’t hurt our own people because of some baseless suspicions.”
Hearing Dair’s words, the few females who had been accusing Xi Yao earlier looked ashamed and lowered their heads.
The way the other beastmen looked at Xi Yao changed as well.
The witch doctor’s expression soured even more.
‘Dair is openly slapping me in the face.’
‘If Xi Yao really saves her, my prestige in the tribe will definitely take a hit.’
‘I absolutely will not allow that to happen.’
…
“You can carry her back to rest now.”
“Xi Yao, when will Duoduo wake up?”
Xi Yao stood up and dusted herself off.
“She’ll be awake by dawn.
Tomorrow, go gather more herbs yourself to change her poultice.
If you don’t know what to do, come and ask me then.”
With that, she turned and left.
…
As Xi Yao entered the cave, a wave of warmth and the aroma of roasted meat washed over her.
Xi Nan glanced up, saw her, and then quickly looked down again, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.
Xi Bei, however, leaped up from the ground and scampered over to Xi Yao on his short little legs.
He wrapped all four limbs around her calf and began to climb up her leg.
“Mother, you’re finally back!
My brother and I were so worried about you.”
“Who was worried about her?”
Xi Nan turned his head away and muttered, but the ears hidden beneath his white fur turned pink without him realizing it.
Xi Yao laughed, scooping Xi Bei into her arms.
She then looked at Xi Nan with an exaggerated expression.
“Wow, that smells amazing!
Thanks for going to all the trouble of roasting meat for me, Xiao Nan.”
“Who said I roasted this for you?
I made it for myself.”
Despite his words, he quickened his movements, turning the roasting meat over the fire.
“Mother, is that mean lady all better now?”
Xi Yao sat down by the fire, holding Xi Bei.
“Of course.
When your mother gets involved, there’s no one she can’t save.”
“Wow, Mother, you’re amazing!”
“Our Little Bei is amazing too.”
“This one’s burnt, you can have it.” Xi Nan interrupted their conversation, handing her the most perfectly roasted skewer.
Xi Yao looked at the skewer Xi Nan had handed her.
It was golden brown, glistening with rendered fat, and without a single charred spot.
It was obviously the best one.
She couldn’t help but smile.
Taking the skewer, she exclaimed dramatically, “Oh my, and here I thought Xiao Nan was really giving me the burnt one!
It turns out this is the best one of all.”
“Xiao Nan really does love me the most.”
Xi Nan turned his head away uncomfortably.
Good thing he was in his beast form; otherwise, everyone would see him blushing.
“Eat it or don’t.
If you’re not going to eat it, give it back.” Despite his words, he made no move to take it.
“Xi Bei, take this one to Xi Mo.”
Xi Nan handed another freshly roasted skewer to Xi Bei, telling him to take it to Xi Mo, who was on the stone bed.
Xi Bei licked his paws, took the skewer in his mouth, and trotted over to the stone bed.
When he returned, Xi Nan handed him another roasted skewer of his own, then picked up a fresh piece of meat and put it on a stick to roast.
“Brother, let’s eat together,” Xi Bei said, tearing off a piece from his palm-sized portion of meat and offering it to him.
Xi Nan froze for a moment.
His gaze fell upon the small piece of meat Xi Bei was offering, and a wave of warmth spread through his chest.
“You don’t have to.
You eat it.
Mine will be ready in a minute.”
But Xi Bei was insistent, waving the piece of meat in front of Xi Nan’s face.
“C’mon, Brother, just eat it!”
Unable to refuse, Xi Nan had no choice but to open his mouth and accept the piece of meat.