The two worked together quickly, mostly thanks to Qiuye's speed.
After sorting the herbs, the system sent a notification:
Random Task Completed: Teach sub-beastman Qiuye to identify three herbs (Completed)
Energy gained. Please check your available energy for details.
Qiuye stood up, glanced at the sky, and said,
"I'll prepare food. You can rest for now."
"No need. I'll help you," Meng Yuqing replied.
After carefully packing the sorted herbs into the woven bag, Meng Yuqing got up to follow Qiuye into the house. Qiuye glanced at the bag but said nothing and walked toward the house.
Just then, a commotion arose nearby.
"Xuan, why are you running so fast? What's happened? And why are you in beast form running through the tribe?"
Hearing the voice, Qiuye stopped and turned toward the commotion with Meng Yuqing.
In no time, Xuan rushed to them, speaking urgently,
"Luo's hurt—he's bleeding a lot, and we can't stop it. He looks really bad."
Meng Yuqing and Qiuye exchanged a glance before Meng Yuqing said firmly,
"I'm coming right away."
Qiuye climbed onto Xuan's back, calling to Meng Yuqing,
"Yuqing, get up here!"
Xuan crouched low, and without hesitation, Meng Yuqing slung the woven bag over his shoulder and climbed onto Xuan's back, sitting in front of Qiuye.
Once he felt them secure, Xuan rose and sprinted toward the plaza.
Along the way, curious onlookers peered out of their homes to see what was happening.
When they arrived at the plaza, a crowd had already gathered around Luo. Xia was there, maintaining order alongside the group who had brought Luo back.
Seeing Xuan approach, Xia shouted,
"Clear the way! Make space for Xuan and his riders!"
Though confused, the onlookers obediently parted, creating a path for Xuan to reach Luo.
Xuan crouched low, and Qiuye and Meng Yuqing slid off his back. They rushed to Luo's side, crouching to examine him. Luo's consciousness was fading, and he was on the verge of going into shock.
He had several wounds, the most alarming being a long, deep gash on his hind leg, exposing bone. Blood gushed from the wound—it was likely an arterial injury.
"System, check his status!" Meng Yuqing commanded mentally while pulling herbs from the woven bag.
Leaning close to Luo, he said,
"Can you shift into human form? It'll be easier for me to treat you."
Although Luo was barely conscious, he managed to hear Meng Yuqing's words and forced himself to shift into human form. The effort drained his remaining strength, and he collapsed.
The patrollers who had brought Luo back watched anxiously, attempting several times to approach, only to be stopped by Xia and Xuan.
"Stay back! If anyone can save Luo now, it's him," Xia ordered sternly.
Hearing this, the crowd fell silent. They had seen injuries like this before—wounds that led to death from blood loss within moments. Now, all they could do was pin their hopes on this newcomer.
Soon, the system provided feedback:
Luo
37 years old, adult beastman
Status: Critical. Severe blood loss. Femoral artery injury.
As expected, Meng Yuqing's assessment was correct. He stuffed a handful of hemostatic grass into his mouth and handed another to Qiuye, instructing,
"Chew this and apply it to the leg wound with the most blood loss. We need to stop the bleeding there first."
Qiuye took the grass and mimicked Meng Yuqing, chewing it into a paste.
Meng Yuqing applied the paste to Luo's leg wound while Qiuye did the same. The gash was extensive; they had to chew and apply the paste multiple times to cover the entire wound. They then used the remaining hemostatic grass on the other injuries.
The grass worked quickly; the bleeding from Luo's leg stopped. However, his condition remained dire—his face was pale, devoid of color, and his body was ice cold.
Meng Yuqing glanced at the system's status report. Luo's condition had shifted from critical to severe blood loss.
"Qiuye, blood-replenishing grass—quickly!" Meng Yuqing called out.
Qiuye hurriedly retrieved the herb from the bag and handed it over. He wasn't sure how to use it.
Meng Yuqing held Luo's chin, trying to pry his mouth open to feed him the herb. Qiuye assisted, but Luo's unconscious state made it impossible.
"Xuan, help us! Hold his mouth open so we can get the medicine in!" Meng Yuqing shouted.
Xuan immediately moved over, gently but firmly prying open Luo's mouth. Meng Yuqing and Qiuye shredded the blood-replenishing grass into small pieces, rolled them into tiny balls, and placed them in Luo's mouth.
"It's not working—he's not swallowing!" Qiuye said anxiously.
"Water! Does anyone have water?" Meng Yuqing called out.
"I do—it's nearby! I'll get it!" multiple voices responded, and several people ran off.
The water arrived quickly. Xuan held Luo's mouth open, Qiuye carefully fed him water, and Meng Yuqing used the opportunity to push the small herb balls down.
Luo instinctively swallowed.
"He's swallowing!" Qiuye exclaimed excitedly.
Meng Yuqing checked the system's status again and said,
"Keep going—don't stop until his complexion improves."
As the blood-replenishing grass took effect, Luo's complexion gradually improved, transitioning from a deathly gray to pale and finally to a healthy tone.
The system indicated Luo was no longer in critical condition. Meng Yuqing exhaled in relief—they had saved him.
Luo's mate and child, who had arrived while they were applying the hemostatic grass, were overcome with emotion. Initially barred by Xia from approaching, they had feared this was the end for Luo.
Now, with Meng Yuqing announcing that Luo was out of danger, his mate sobbed loudly, clutching their 10-year-old child.
After a nod from Meng Yuqing, Xia allowed them to approach.
Luo's mate carefully touched his body, confirming his temperature was low but not life-threatening. He wept as he clung to Luo and tearfully turned to Meng Yuqing and Qiuye.
"Thank you… thank you so much," he choked out, tears streaming down his face.
The child, who had been bravely holding back tears, finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
The surrounding crowd, seeing Luo's condition stabilize, sighed in relief and smiled. They glanced at Meng Yuqing, remembering that he was the sub-beastman Xuan had brought back days ago.
Though they didn't fully understand how Qiuye had learned these skills, they were grateful. Quiet whispers of admiration spread, and many now saw Qiuye as a capable healer.
Once everything was settled, the system sent another notification:
Hidden Task Completed: Treat the critically injured beastman Luo.
Energy gained. Please check your available energy for details.