Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Wait, You Know How to Do This Too?!
Sangtu’s eyes sharpened, and in the instant he drew an arrow and nocked his bow, Xie Changqing had already spurred his horse forward.
In the distance, the chestnut horse was being torn at by the lone wolf, its bloody wounds particularly striking in the sunlight.
Horses are usually very docile, but in this life-or-death moment, the horse suddenly reared up on its hind legs.
Its iron hooves, wrapped with grass debris, struck heavily against the wolf’s side—right at the lone wolf’s old injury.
“Awoooo!” The lone wolf, struck by this heavy blow, immediately fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string, dark red bloodstains blooming across its gray fur.
It limped back two steps on its hind leg, its ghostly green pupils fixed on everyone, ready to pounce again at any moment.
Sangtu narrowed his eyes, and his long arrow shot through the air.
Unfortunately, it missed.
Despite being injured, the lone wolf easily dodged it.
It looked at Xie Changqing and the others for a moment, knowing it was outmatched. Suddenly it grabbed a blood-stained purple perilla plant in its mouth, leaped up, and disappeared into the grass.
The disheveled herb gatherer was already terrified. Even after running behind them, he didn’t dare stop, stumbling and falling into the riverbank.
Three claw marks on his right leg cut deep to the bone—left by the wolf’s claws when they had hooked into his flesh.
Sangtu suddenly narrowed his eyes—the copper bell swaying at the herb gatherer’s waist clearly bore the totem of the Seventh Pasture.
Nomin silently stoked the fire, and in the crackling sparks, the injured horse let out a final mournful cry in the distance.
Fortunately there was a river right there, so they pressed him into the water and kept washing the wounds.
The water was very cold, bone-chillingly icy.
But there was a benefit—it was so cold that the man was numb and couldn’t feel the pain.
With this kind of wild wolf, and such deep wounds…
If they had the means, they should really get tetanus and rabies shots.
But there was no choice now—they could only try desperate measures.
However, Xie Changqing couldn’t treat people. Although he had brought a medical kit, but…
“I can’t give you injections. I can only use herbal medicine on you.” He frowned and took out gauze.
First clean the wound, then disinfect.
After treating it, they dragged the man up from the river.
Xie Changqing pulled out white cogon grass from his herb basket, processed it briefly, then rubbed it into a paste.
“Hold him down!”
Amid the herb gatherer’s cries of pain, pale yellow juice mixed with herbal residue was messily smeared on the wound.
After a while, when it didn’t hurt as much, he twisted his face and said gratefully, “Thank you… your pasture is really good, even has a doctor…”
Everyone looked at each other. Xie Changqing said hesitantly, “Uh, well… I’m a veterinarian…”
There was no helping it—they couldn’t just watch him bleed to death.
So Xie Changqing was treating him following the same procedure he’d use for horses…
Speaking of horses, Xie Changqing stood up again. “I’ll go check on that horse.”
Sangtu couldn’t help with treating horses, so he didn’t go, staying here to talk with this person. “Which pasture are you from? Oh, the Seventh Pasture…”
That matched his totem, but it was strange—they only sent one person to gather herbs?
Nomin followed behind Xie Changqing, glancing back. “Is he badly hurt? Is his leg broken?”
“No.” Xie Changqing thought for a moment. “The injury isn’t too serious, at least not life-threatening. He just won’t be able to walk well for a while.”
Let’s pray this wound doesn’t get infected. Fortunately the temperature was suitable—it shouldn’t fester so easily.
Otherwise, if it rotted, they’d have to cut open the wound and remove the dead flesh…
“Hiss…” Nomin shuddered and told him to stop talking. “You’re scaring me.”
But this really was a very common treatment method…
As they spoke, Xie Changqing and the others had reached the chestnut horse.
He dismounted but didn’t approach rashly.
The horse’s wound was gaping and still bleeding continuously.
This horse was clearly not going to make it. It was in great pain, restlessly pacing back and forth, occasionally whinnying in distress.
Seeing Xie Changqing and the others approach, it fearfully backed away a couple steps.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here to save you…” Xie Changqing looked it over and frowned.
This wouldn’t work—it needed sutures.
That person had only been clawed by the wolf, and the wound wasn’t too deep.
But this horse was in a terrible state—its hind leg had been bitten and torn open by the wolf.
It not only needed disinfection but also suturing…
The only fortunate thing was that he was a veterinarian and didn’t need to treat outside his field.
Xie Changqing sighed helplessly and stepped forward to grab the reins.
No matter what, they still had to clean the wound first.
By the time they reached the riverside, Sangtu had already gotten this person’s entire family history.
While Xie Changqing and the others cleaned the horse’s wound, he came over. “He says his name is Agula, from the Seventh Pasture, but actually, he’s from the Sixth Pasture.”
“Hmm?” Xie Changqing was somewhat surprised but didn’t turn around. “Didn’t he say…”
“He lied.” Sangtu snorted and shook his head. “Probably afraid we wouldn’t save him…”
Although this person had some cunning, it wasn’t much.
And Sangtu was very sharp—he knew the location and even grazing areas of every pasture like the back of his hand.
He kept questioning Agula and sure enough found quite a few inconsistencies.
Want to play tricks in front of him? Dream on!
Xie Changqing found it somewhat amusing but also strange. “Why did he come gather herbs alone?”
“He said he needed money and wanted to secretly gather some herbs to trade for winter food.”
Of course, take that with a grain of salt.
What Sangtu found more interesting was: the Sixth Pasture had clearly told Hilt they would wait a few more days before going to Aoter, so why send someone to secretly gather herbs?
This was strange, very strange!
Xie Changqing thought for a moment and mused, “Could it be… they don’t get along?”
For instance, between the old and new veterinarians, there might be a competitive relationship.
“Not sure… I’ll need to discuss this with Qiaoba later…”
As they spoke, Xie Changqing had finished cleaning the horse’s wound.
Out here in the wild, there was no way to achieve complete cleanliness.
Being able to do some basic treatment was already very good.
The chestnut horse had been very restless and anxious at first, but as the wound became less painful, it gradually calmed down.
It seemed to know that Xie Changqing was there to help it. When Xie Changqing gave it an injection, it even turned its head to nuzzle his arm.
When Agula saw Xie Changqing anesthetize it and begin suturing, he was so shocked he hopped over on one leg.
“Wait, you know how to do this too?!”
God knows, he had already planned to abandon this horse.
In the past, whenever livestock suffered such severe injuries, even if the wounds didn’t fester, they would quickly slaughter them.
Better than letting them die of illness and become inedible.
But now, Xie Changqing could actually treat that bleeding wound so cleanly and even suture the horse’s wound?
This exceeded his understanding. Agula’s face was pale, and forgetting his pain in his shock, he looked Xie Changqing up and down in amazement. “Wait, which pasture are you from? Who did you learn from? How are you so skilled? How have I never heard of you before?!”
“Seventh Pasture.” Xie Changqing remained composed and said calmly, “I wouldn’t call it skilled—I’ve just learned a bit of the basics.”