In all of Ling Hong's twenty years, he had known only two outcomes for someone so severely poisoned and injured: death, or self-amputation.
Beyond that, there was no third possibility—no chance of healing.
But this female's words and actions today had shaken him. It was a method of treatment he had never seen in any tribe in his twenty years as a Beastman.
This thin, dark, and most unremarkable female in the tribe had always been a target of scorn. She had been foolish and sickly since childhood. Despite being a precious female, the tribe didn't revere her. Instead, they avoided her like the plague, wishing they could just cast her out.
After all, a useless person with no survival skills and extremely low fertility was a burden to any tribe.
Truthfully, Ling Hong didn't believe that such a useless female could actually heal him.
The man leaned against the stone wall and took a deep breath, as if trying to force himself to stand. But the injury to his left arm and severe blood loss were causing the upper half of his body to grow numb.
A flicker of helplessness surfaced in his usually resolute green eyes.
As the sun set, a small, thin female darted through the lush jungle. Now and then, she would bend down to dig through the dark brown soil. Then her small, bare feet would go PATTER PATTER across the grass. Before long, her little feet were caked with dirt.
An Jin scoured the safe area on the outskirts of the tribe, wanting to find some herbs that could counteract the poison. However, the plants in this world looked completely different from those in her own, and the original body's memories were of no help.
She was new to this world and knew nothing about these unfamiliar medicinal herbs. She would have to analyze them all from scratch.
In her past life, after reaching the pinnacle of her scientific research career, she had grown bored and proceeded to master a host of other skills. Identifying medicinal herbs was one of them.
An Jin bent down, picking a couple of herbs. She brought them to the tip of her nose for a sniff, then set them aside. Moving on, she plucked two more. After snapping off a leaf, she placed a tiny piece in her mouth, only to shake her head and discard them as well.
'Identifying them one by one is painfully slow. By the time I gather enough herbs, the poison in that Beastman will have likely run its course. There'll be no saving him then.'
At that very moment, a neutral, mechanical voice suddenly spoke in her mind.
"Snakeberry. Fruit is fiery red, flesh is white. Characteristics: White flesh is covered in dense, small red granules. Functions: Clears heat and detoxifies, invigorates blood circulation to disperse stasis, astringent and hemostatic. Can be used to treat venomous snake bites and applied to boils..."
And at that very moment, she happened to be holding a cluster of small, red berries.
An Jin's heart skipped a beat. Without a change in her expression, she lifted her head, her eyes quickly scanning the area.
The large clearing was empty, save for her.
A bold idea suddenly surfaced in her mind...
She took a few more steps and picked up another plant. The voice sounded again—the same standard, neutral, mechanical tone—explaining the herb's properties.
After a quick selection process using this method, An Jin gathered all the necessary herbs in just a few minutes. Clutching a large bundle of them in her arms, she ran quickly back toward the hut.
CLICK.
The moment the wooden door sounded, Ling Hong lifted his gaze to the entrance. His head felt heavy and hot, and he was so weak he could only manage to open his eyes halfway. A small, blurry figure entered his field of vision.
An Jin held a stone bowl out to him. Instantly, the pungent smell of herbs assailed his nostrils, sending him into a coughing fit.
The spreading poison had left his lips dry, cracked, and tinged with purple, making him look as if he didn't have long to live. He simply stared at the proffered brew, unable to bring himself to drink it.
For one, the smell was atrocious.
For another, he had absolutely no faith in the female before him.
'An Jin has no reason to harm me, but as far as I know, this woman doesn't understand the first thing about medicinal herbs... The concoction being useless would be one thing, but what if she accidentally mixed in some poison?!'
When it came down to it, he still didn't trust her.
Ling Hong turned his head away slightly, his long, handsome brows furrowing in refusal.
The girl raised an eyebrow. Then, the unexpected happened.
Tilting her head back, the girl lifted the stone bowl and drank a mouthful herself!
GULP—
She swallowed the brew.
Ling Hong froze. He watched the girl wipe her mouth, her dark eyes fixing on him coldly. Annoyance tinged her voice as she said, "See? It's not poison. Why would I go to all this trouble just to harm you? Drink it! We're running out of time!"