Seeing that no one responded, the burly man's face darkened as he scrutinized everyone.
"I'll ask one more time, who is the doctor in this village?"
Fear spread through every villager's heart, but none chose to betray the herb-gathering girl.
"Looks like there's really no one." The burly man raised his hand in disappointment. "Kill them all!"
At his command, the surrounding horse bandits drew their long knives.
"Wait!" The herb-gathering girl slowly stood up and stepped forward. "I am the doctor."
The burly man frowned at the sight of a young girl with a face smeared in soot.
"You're the doctor?"
"Yes!" The herb-gathering girl stared back at the man, unyielding.
"Fine." The burly man had no choice but to take her at her word. They had no other options. "My elder brother is injured. If you can heal him, I promise not to harm anyone here. But if you fail, the entire village will pay with their lives!"
Faced with this irrational and unreasonable threat, the herb-gathering girl did not argue. She knew there was no reasoning with these vicious horse bandits.
She simply replied, "Alright."
The burly man led her to a carriage.
"My brother is inside. Please," he gestured.
With a heavy heart, the herb-gathering girl climbed into the carriage. The lives of the entire village rested in her hands, and she was understandably nervous.
Inside, she found a scrawny man with a crafty look in his eyes.
The burly man was imposing, but his elder brother was... quite the opposite.
Now was not the time for such thoughts. She hurriedly examined the scrawny man.
His face was ashen and his lips were black—obvious signs of poisoning.
After inspecting his body, she found two small puncture wounds on his shoulder. It looked like he had been bitten by a poisonous snake.
To treat the poison, she needed to know what kind of snake it was.
She exited the carriage and said to the burly man, "Your brother has been poisoned by a snake. I need to know what kind of snake it was to make the antidote."
The burly man, seemingly prepared for this, called out to his men, "Bring it over!"
One of his men handed over a burlap sack. The burly man spread it open in front of her.
"This is the snake that bit my brother."
The herb-gathering girl was stunned. Inside was a snake chopped into two pieces, covered in black scales with a triangular head and two small bumps on its head like horns.
She had never seen such a snake before.
Her heart sank.
"Can you save him?" the burly man asked anxiously.
"I can, but I need some rare herbs to make the antidote," she said calmly.
The burly man, relieved, said, "Don't worry. I'll send people to get whatever you need."
She wrote down a few rare herbs and sent the men to gather them.
She then asked to take the snake back to her house to prepare the other necessary ingredients.
The village was under tight watch, and even her parents were being monitored. The burly man had no fear of her escaping, so he allowed it.
As she carried the sack with the snake through the crowd, everyone looked at her with hopeful eyes.
Their lives were in her hands, and they were understandably scared.
The herb-gathering girl, though unsure herself, gave them a confident smile.
Seeing this, the villagers felt a bit more at ease.
As she passed by the unconscious Xiao Fan, she noticed his wounds had reopened due to the rough handling by the bandits.
She carefully helped him back to her house.
The bandits, seeing how frail Xiao Fan looked, didn't see him as a threat and didn't interfere.
Back in the house, she quickly re-bandaged Xiao Fan's wounds.
Then she frantically searched through her medical texts, hoping to find any information on the snake.
She found nothing. Just as she was about to give up, a weak voice spoke behind her.
"It's a Black Armor Mystic Snake."
Startled, she turned to see the injured man looking at her.
The handsome man was awake.
Given the urgent situation, she didn't hesitate and rushed to his side, speaking softly, "You know this snake?"
"Yes," Xiao Fan replied weakly.
Though he had just woken up, Xiao Fan had been semi-conscious when the bandits dragged him out. He had a rough idea of what was happening.
Unexpectedly, the wounds inflicted by Leng Ruoxue had expelled some of the toxins from his body.
But the deeper toxins embedded in his organs and bones remained, making him only temporarily better.
Had he not been rescued, he would have bled out and died.
Initially resigned to die, the realization that someone was saving him sparked a will to live.
The herb-gathering girl asked urgently, "Do you know how to make the antidote?"
Seeing the anxious look on her sooty face, Xiao Fan wasted no time and gave her the formula.
The Black Armor Mystic Snake was a rare and highly venomous creature. Xiao Fan's knowledge came from his experience at Qingyun Sect, where he had encountered the poison firsthand while helping Elder Zhao.
The main ingredient for the antidote was the snake's horns ground into powder. Fortunately, they had the snake on hand.
Trusting Xiao Fan's words, the herb-gathering girl immediately began preparing the antidote.
Soon, the bandits returned with the rare herbs she had requested.
As she brewed the antidote, she also prepared a medicinal decoction from the rare herbs.
When both were ready, she brought the medicinal decoction to Xiao Fan.
"Drink this. It will help your recovery."
With a brief instruction, she took the antidote to the bandit leader.
Xiao Fan watched her leave, stunned.
Those rare herbs were all for him!