“There’s nothing we can do. She won’t make it…”
In an instant, all the Cat-eared Girls present grew dispirited, their eyes dimming.
Just then, Su Cheng squeezed through the crowd from behind. For some reason, his arrival lifted the Cat-eared Girls’ spirits a little.
Even so, they still couldn’t bring themselves to hope. Treating a Fever was a skill only shamans possessed. Su Cheng knew how to make fire, which was already impressive, but he wasn’t a shaman.
Still, one of the Cat-eared Girls asked him, full of anticipation:
“Cheng, can you treat a Fever?”
“Aguo’s barely hanging on. Please help her.”
“Cheng, you know how to make fire. You must have a way, right?”
“We’re willing to trade food for your help.”
Seeing the hopeful looks everyone was giving him, Su Cheng felt a mountain of pressure and could only reply helplessly, “I’ll have to examine her first and confirm her symptoms.”
If it really was a cold, he might be able to do something. He only hoped it wasn’t some other strange illness.
Once the Beast-eared Girls made way, Su Cheng saw a frail Cat-eared Girl lying outside a small Tent. Aguo was curled up, her face flushed bright red and sweat covering her forehead. She was already somewhat delirious, clutching her tail tightly. Her pale face was contorted with pain, and every so often she let out a couple of coughs.
As soon as Su Cheng approached, he caught a familiar, pungent smell. Some of the Dry Grass beneath the Cat-eared Girl was soaked through. There was also a little vomit at the corner of her mouth, and she was having trouble breathing through her nose.
“How many days has she been sick?”
Su Cheng asked as he crouched down.
“Three days. Today’s the third,” Lin hurriedly replied.
“It wasn’t this bad yesterday. With the fire you made last night, I thought she’d get a little better,” Chun added from beside them.
“How did she get sick?”
At that, Chun shook her head. “I don’t know. Three days ago, at dusk, she came back from the Riverbank, and before long she was like this.”
“The Riverbank?”
“Yes, the place where I found you.”
Su Cheng frowned, then suddenly asked, “Did she go into the river?”
Chun looked surprised, then nodded. “Aguo said she saw a fish floating motionless in the water and wanted to catch it. She ended up soaked from head to toe, and didn’t catch it either.”
Oh.
Fishing in the river on an autumn dusk, when late autumn had already set in.
And with a bit of wind blowing, too.
Su Cheng reached out and felt Aguo’s forehead, hands, and feet again. They were all burning hot. It looked like she was in the sustained high-fever stage, and her fever was quite high. No wonder she’d lost control of herself.
Coughing, fever, weakness in her limbs—and considering what she’d done…
It was almost certainly what he thought.
“How is she?” Chun asked nervously. A glimmer of hope had risen in her heart, but she was afraid of being disappointed.
“I’m not sure, but there is a way to treat her.” This was Su Cheng’s first time treating a cold in such an environment, and he didn’t know whether Beast-eared Girls’ bodies differed from human bodies.
But those few words alone undoubtedly gave everyone tremendous hope.
The Cat-eared Girls looked at Su Cheng with even more fervor than they had the previous night.
By then, Luo had come in as well. Without hesitation, she hurried over to help Su Cheng.
Luo wasn’t unafraid of Fever. In her former tribe, she had seen many of her people die after contracting it. But for some reason, she instinctively felt safe by Su Cheng’s side.
Luo: “Cheng, what do you need me to do?”
Lin seemed to come back to life, too, and quickly asked, “Cheng, I’ll help as well. What can we do?”
Su Cheng thought for a moment, then consulted the Encyclopedia before speaking.
“Water. First, bring me plenty of it. Light the fire, and boil some more water in a Bamboo Tube.”
“Also, bring fresh Dry Grass and a clean Beast-hide Dress. Then find some small pieces of soft, furry Beast-skin Clothing.”
At his words, Lin and the other Cat-eared Girls immediately sprang into action.
“Y-yes, there is some. I’ll get it right away.”
“I’ll go too.”
“I’ll bring some Dry Grass.”
Luo looked up at him. “Cheng, what about me?”
“Keep an eye on things for now. I’ll need you in a bit.”
“Okay.” Luo nodded and obediently crouched to one side.
Before long, the Cat-eared Girls brought the supplies over from various places.
Su Cheng then brought over the Dry Grass, a large Bamboo Tube filled with water, and the Stone Mortar.
There was no cotton or linen, so Su Cheng had to settle for some soft Beast-skin Clothing instead. He picked out a few suitable scraps from the pieces Lin had found, soaked them in the water-filled Bamboo Tube, then pressed them tightly against Aguo’s forehead.
Aguo was in the sustained high-fever stage. A high fever could damage the nervous system in the head, so it was best to apply a wet cloth and bring her temperature down first.
Of course, her body should be wiped down as well.
“Luo, she’s dirty. We need to clean her up.” Once he’d finished, Su Cheng pointed to Aguo’s lower body.
When someone had a cold, their resistance was low. If those areas weren’t kept clean, they could easily become infected.
Luo could smell it too. She nodded quickly, deftly pulled off Aguo’s Beast-hide Dress, scooped up some water in her hand, and was about to wipe her down.
Her skin was dry and yellowish, and she was very thin. Su Cheng hadn’t had time to look away before he saw her, then hurriedly stopped Luo.
“Don’t use your hand. Use these scraps of Beast-skin Clothing. Also, try to choose the cleanest water.”
It was better not to touch the filth on those private areas directly. As he gave the reminder, Su Cheng searched through several Bamboo Tubes, picked one that looked cleaner, soaked a piece of Beast-skin Clothing he’d just found, then handed it to Luo.
“All right.”
Luo nodded, took it, and began wiping Aguo down.
Then Su Cheng lifted Aguo up, and under his guidance, Luo wiped her neck, armpits, elbow creases, groin, and the backs of her knees several times.
During this time, Su Cheng changed the wet Beast-skin Clothing on Aguo’s forehead twice.
Lin and the others stood to one side, anxiously watching. Afraid of disturbing Su Cheng, they didn’t rush in to help. Whenever they noticed the Bamboo Tubes of water running low, they went to fetch more.
This also gave Su Cheng a chance to satisfy his curiosity and make an unexpected discovery. Beast-eared Girls’ bodies didn’t seem as strange as he’d imagined. They were just like humans, except for their Beast Ears and tails. Their tails grew just above their buttocks, they had Paw Pads on their feet, and their other organs were basically the same.
After wiping Aguo’s body, Luo blinked and looked back at Su Cheng.
“Cheng, what should I do next?”
Su Cheng’s gaze naturally fell downward, and he wasn’t as awkward about it as before. He gently lifted Aguo up. She looked only a little bigger than Luo, and her body was light and soft.
“Luo, spread out the clean Dry Grass.”
“All right.”
Luo obediently swept aside the soiled Dry Grass and spread the clean grass on the ground.