Xiao Cheng slowly got up, shaking his dizzy head, "Oh my god! That was terrifying."
His legs were slightly trembling and suddenly weak. Just thinking about it was scary—it's a tiger! I hadn't even killed a chicken before, how did I suddenly level up to battling a tiger? Isn't this a bit too fast with no transition period? I have to admire myself just thinking about it!
Enduring the soreness throughout his body, he staggered over to the man covered head to toe in blood, "Hey, wake up, are you okay?"
The man had a bewildered expression, struggled to lift his eyelids, seemingly aware he was saved, and let down all his defenses before fainting without seeing the person in front of him clearly.
"Hey, you can't just faint like that." Fainting so fast, where's my Energy Value?
Feeling 77 the host's thoughts were exasperated, although it also wanted Energy Value, "At least we need to save him first! He's seriously injured and will die without treatment, where exactly will the Energy Value come from?"
"Ah, right! Just thinking that we're risking our lives to save him without any return, we're pretty much at a loss here!"
Just as he was about to check the man's injuries, a rustling sound came from behind. He turned his head, "Oh my god!" The tiger climbed up the slope. Even though its wounds looked more terrifying now, especially the eye with a branch still stuck in it, why wasn't it dead yet?
"Oh my god, what do we do!" Quickly thinking of a strategy, he watched the tiger slowly approach with heavy steps.
Stay calm, stay calm, he couldn't be cowed.
There had to be a way, he turned and ran to the place where he left the sickle, gripping it tightly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he rapidly thought of a strategy.
Do or die, today it's either you die, or I live.
"Come on, you stupid bug, I'm right here!" He shouted boldly, afraid the tiger might ignore his provocation and snap the man closer to it instead.
Luckily the tiger seemed to hate him more—who told him to blind its eye anyway.
Watching the approaching tiger, he thought to himself, it's likely also at the end of its strength now! Silently praying in his heart!
At this moment, he pretended to trip, and his face filled with fear. The tiger noticeably grew more excited, lifting its paw to approach its prey, letting out low growls as if warning the prey not to struggle pointlessly.
Xiao Cheng slowly retreated. As the tiger pounced, he swiftly slid toward it, rolling away a second before it hit the ground.
Watching the tiger lie where he had just been, its body twitching, crimson blood flowing from its belly, he knew he had succeeded! His painstaking strategy paid off.
Finally, he could catch his breath, collapsing to the ground, not wanting to move an inch. Had there been any deviation just now, he'd be dead under the tiger's claws. Luckily, the tiger was seriously injured, providing him the opportunity; otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died.
After resting a bit, he hurriedly checked the man's injuries; the most serious was a broken arrow still lodged in his shoulder. Black blood oozed from the wound—this arrow was poisoned. What now?
He could only try to make an Antidote first, though he didn't know what poison it was—anyone might do anything in desperation.
The rest were external wounds; the blood loss needed quick addressing. These Hemostatic Herbs in the forest shouldn't be hard to find, right?
Fortunately, Xiao Cheng soon found some Hemostatic Herbs nearby—Chuanxiong, Puhuang, Crane Grass—and even unearthed a Dan Shen.
Combining Dan Shen with Gentiana, plus Ma Bo and Ma Gu Feng, it could somewhat suppress the spreading of the poison. However, if the ratios weren't handled well, the efficacy would greatly decrease. Without a test tube, relying on intuition, this was quite a test.
At this moment, he was extremely grateful that he had always been with his grandpa since he was young. Grandpa was an old Chinese doctor running a clinic in town with a small reputation, with many people visiting daily.
Back then, whether after school or during vacations, he had to help at the clinic.
Seeing her doing a good job organizing herbs, and also having a good memory, grandpa intentionally taught her.
But she then thought learning this was useless—technology was so advanced, even if she were to learn Western medicine, these outdated things wouldn't be in her repertoire.
But looking at her aging grandpa, she couldn't bear to see him disappointed, so she half-heartedly learned a little. Now, she regrets it. Back then, what was she thinking, only learning how to prepare herbs and adjust recipes? If she had learned pulse-taking and diagnosis, she could be a doctor helping those in need here, how grand would that be!
Oh well, who knew there'd be a transmigration?
"77, do you have a way to check if there's a place nearby to temporarily settle?" The place where they were now was extremely dangerous, with such a strong smell of blood, it might attract other beasts.
77 scanned the surroundings but found no usable location, "Host, my energy is insufficient now, I can only scan a diameter of 50 meters."
Xiao Cheng glanced around, "Then I'll walk further out and check."
After circling a large area, 77 scanned her mind and found a cave 500 meters to her front right. She hurried back to the scene, rushing to carry the man to the cave.
After finally settling the man, Xiao Cheng was utterly exhausted. "77, has my Energy Potion's time run out?" Everything felt sore and painful.
"Yes, host, an hour has passed! Need another dose?"
"Yes, or I won't have the strength to treat his wounds," said Xiao Cheng helplessly.
She tore open the man's clothes, revealing large and small wounds, "What a figure this man has, too bad he isn't a model!"
Finding a sharp rock, she carefully crushed the herbs, earnestly treating the wounds. The arrow in the shoulder was the most troubling—would pulling it out directly kill him?
Forget it, desperate times call for desperate measures! See if his luck holds.
After half an hour, Xiao Cheng was already drenched in sweat. Especially the shoulder wound, she squeezed out a lot of black blood, causing the man to frown and sweat bead densely on his forehead, seemingly about to wake from pain. When the herbs were applied to the wound, his muscles tensed, unable to bear it, and he suddenly fainted. By the time Xiao Cheng bandaged all the wounds, the man hadn't woken up.
In her hand was a leaf with a blob of green juice, the Antidote she painstakingly prepared, a product of her grandpa's research. As long as it wasn't a deadly poison, it should be effective. Whether it could directly detox or suppress the spread of poison depended on the type of poison—it was too complex to explain, and she didn't know...
Success or failure awaited this one shot. She carefully pried open the man's mouth, pouring it in bit by bit.
Another half hour passed, and the man's lips started looking healthier, it should be taking effect.
Her tense heart finally eased a lot.
She had a moment to look at herself; her gray, bloody clothes, broken shoes, small injuries all over her hands and feet—she could feel her bird's nest-like messy hair without even looking, this was too miserable.
By a mountain stream not far away, she tidied herself with water seeping from stone crevices, applying some anti-inflammatory herbs on her wounds, grimacing with pain.
She also wiped the blood off the man's face with a wet cloth.
Tsk tsk! Unexpectedly, his physique was impressive, and his face wasn't bad either, with sideburns like they were cut with a knife, brows like ink paintings, delicate and glossy skin.
Definitely the face of an internet celebrity! Look, his clothes are even trimmed with gold cloud-patterns, what a fat sheep!
Xiao Cheng squatted by a pile of branches, lighting a fire with a fire striker found on the man. While nibbling on plucked fruits, she asked, "77, how much Energy Value does this person have anyway?" After all her hard work, she ought to fleece more from this sheep.
"Unknown yet, it will be clear once this person is out of life-threatening danger."
Returning now wasn't practical, leaving a burden here might get him killed again, and she had no way to take him back directly. She also didn't know if her family would worry about her.
Whatever, let it be for now! Once he wakes up, reward first, then talk.
"Why does a big man have such good skin for, barely visible pores. Comparing to the original, she was sallow-skinned, malnourished—no match, no comparison," Cheng Xiaoxiao getting more displeased the more she looked, the gap was too big.
This was the difference of wealth and power.
"Host, once the mall opens, you can exchange for skincare products, makeup. These are trivial matters."
"Tch..."
Ignoring the system painting a rosy picture.
Thus, Xiao Cheng tended to the man all night, catching a little nap only at dawn. Reaching out to touch the man's forehead, thankfully, the fever had subsided. The poison might not have fully cleared, but his life was safe. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, it was suddenly gripped tightly by the man's large hand! His pair of deep, dark eyes stared sharply at Xiao Cheng.
"Let go, let go, you're hurting me. Is this how you treat your savior?" Xiao Cheng shouted.
The man rasped, "Was it the young woman who saved me?" Beneath the sword-like brows, his amorous eyes examined carefully the person before him—a small, slender frame, clad in a well-worn, faded coarse cloth shirt.
Other than her lively eyes, there was nothing about her that suggested she had the capability to save anyone.
Perhaps his dismissive gaze was too overt; Xiao Cheng couldn't take it, "If it wasn't me who saved you, who else could it be?"
Following the girl's gaze as he surveyed the cave around, indeed, it wasn't large, with only the two of them inside.
Moreover, the poison within him was suppressed. The residual poison in his various meridians could be expelled with Inner Strength, and the toxins in his viscera had also reduced by more than half. As long as he avoids using Inner Strength, holding on for half a month is no issue, but without using Inner Strength, he couldn't clear the toxins from his meridians; does this mean he can only be an ordinary person?