“What happened?” the Chief asked, frowning as he approached.

The beastmen immediately made way for him.

Lying in the middle, covered in blood, was Ying Yuan. His face was pale from excessive blood loss, and his brows were tightly furrowed in pain. Whether from the physical agony or the humiliation of being seen like this, it was unclear.

A deep bite wound on his right arm exposed bone, and his bare torso was covered in various claw marks—some minor, already scabbed, while others still bled.

“Ying Yuan!” Lu Mian’er gasped, her face turning pale as she rushed to his side, kneeling beside him with a pained and worried expression.

“How did this happen? How did Ying Yuan get hurt so badly?” The chief’s face darkened immediately.

Ying Yuan was the tribe’s strongest warrior, and he was supposed to lead the group to trade for sea salt soon. It was unthinkable for him to be so gravely injured at such a crucial time.

“Chief, our hunting team went out today. It was supposed to be our last day hunting, so we wanted to catch more prey for the sea salt trade. But on our way back, we encountered a pack of wolves. The leader of the pack was a mutated wolf beast. It tricked us into a trap, and before we knew it, we were surrounded…” explained one of the beastmen who had been hunting with Ying Yuan, his voice heavy with defeat.

“A mutated wolf beast?” The chief’s expression grew more serious.

Hu Jiao Jiao, listening to their conversation, quickly recalled what she had read about mutated beasts.

In this world, ordinary wild beasts had no intelligence. But when a beast mutated, it gained a certain level of wisdom, and once a wild beast became intelligent, it developed a deep hatred for beastmen.
Though they were all beasts, wild ones were reduced to prey for beastmen.

Mutated beasts would do anything to seek revenge. Some of the more powerful mutated beasts, as mentioned in the book, were capable of wiping out entire beastman tribes.

This was why beastmen feared mutated beasts.

Hu Jiao Jiao suddenly remembered the wolf pack she had seen in the grassy plains. The leader of that pack had indeed looked different from the others.

But there weren’t supposed to be any wild beasts near the tribe. Could it be that the beastmen who had left the meat in the plains had known about the wolves lurking nearby?

The thought sent a chill down her spine.

“Quick! Fetch the healer!” the chief’s urgent voice pulled Hu Jiao Jiao out of her thoughts.

“He’s already been sent for…” Just as the beastman replied, a white-bearded old man was carried over by a massive tiger.

The tiger gently set the old man down and shifted back into human form, urgently pulling him forward.

“The healer’s here! The healer’s here!”

The old man, trembling as he clutched a bunch of withered green plants to his chest, tottered over to Ying Yuan.

“I-I’ll…take a look…” the healer stammered, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he reached out to inspect Ying Yuan’s wound. Intending to examine how deep the injury was, his fingers accidentally pressed into the wound.

“Ah…” Ying Yuan gasped in pain, his handsome face going white as sweat beaded on his forehead.

“S-sorry, I’m getting too old…” the healer apologized, pulling his hand back awkwardly.

Taking a few deep breaths to steady himself, the old man finally said, “This wound is too deep. I’m not sure if I can heal it, but I’ll try my best.”

He then split the plants in his hands, chewing half of them into a pulp.

“Pfft.” He spat the chewed herbs into his palm, kneading the green mush between his hands before slapping it onto Ying Yuan’s wound.

Ying Yuan winced again, his face contorting in pain.

“Ying Yuan, are you alright?” Lu Mian’er asked anxiously, holding his other arm as she gently wiped the sweat from his brow. “Healer, how is he? Will his injury heal?”

Beastmen usually healed on their own, only seeking the healer when the wound wouldn’t close naturally. And usually, if the wound didn’t heal, it was a sign that the beastman didn’t have long to live.

The old healer looked at Ying Yuan and sighed, shaking his head.

“Ying Yuan’s wound is too deep. We’ll have to see if he’s lucky. If the wound doesn’t fester in a few days, it might heal. If it does… his arm will be useless.”

Lu Mian’er’s face turned as white as a sheet.

“How… how could this happen…”

The chieftain turned to the healer, his face lined with worry. “Healer, please think of something. Ying Yuan is our tribe’s strongest warrior. If we lose him, we lose a great asset.”

The healer could only shake his head again, indicating that there was nothing more he could do.

The atmosphere in the tribe grew somber and heavy.

Hu Jiao Jiao watched the entire scene unfold but wasn’t too worried. Ying Yuan, being the protagonist in the book, was bound to survive. As the author’s favorite, he had plot armor—nothing bad could happen to him. Besides, he was essential for the story’s main events, like defeating the wolf pack and wandering beastmen.

Her real concern was Long Mo. She didn’t know how badly injured he was or whether his wounds were still bleeding.

If his wounds got infected because they weren’t treated in time, he would suffer even more. And since he was injured saving her, she would be blamed even more heavily if anything happened to him.

As these thoughts ran through her mind, Hu Jiao Jiao turned to leave.

Ying Yuan had the author’s protection, but her poor villain was all alone.

But just as she took two steps away, Hou Xiaotiao spotted her and jumped up, excitedly shouting, “Hu Jiao Jiao! You’re here too! Come help Ying Yuan!”

Hu Jiao Jiao froze, feeling all eyes on her.

Inwardly, she cursed Hou Xiaotiao a thousand times over while forcing a smile.

Turning around, she awkwardly replied, “What are you talking about? Even the healer couldn’t do anything. I’m not a healer—I can’t help Ying Yuan.”

Hou Xiaotiao quickly squeezed through the crowd, approaching Hu Jiao Jiao with an apologetic look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot, but the powder you gave me last time worked wonders on my wounds…”

He held up his fingers, pinching them close together.

“Just a little bit, please. Even a little could help…”

The tribe desperately needed strong beastmen.

Without Ying Yuan leading the group to the seaside, they might not get any sea salt next year. And without salt, the females would fall ill.

Hearing this, the chief’s eyes lit up with hope, his wrinkled face softening.

“Hu Jiao Jiao, do you have something that might help Ying Yuan?”

The beast god had clearly blessed Hu Jiao Jiao; perhaps she really had a way to heal him.

Before Hu Jiao Jiao could answer, Hou Xiaotiao nodded eagerly beside her.

“Please, Hu Jiao Jiao, help Ying Yuan,” the Chief pleaded.

The book hadn’t mentioned Ying Yuan being injured, so Hu Jiao Jiao wasn’t sure if this was an unexpected twist. What if it was like with Lu Mian’er…?

Reluctantly, Hu Jiao Jiao nodded. “Alright, I’ll give it a try, but I can’t promise anything.”

Hearing this, both the chief and Hou Xiaotiao beamed with relief.

Hou Xiaotiao ushered Hu Jiao Jiao over to Ying Yuan, while the other beastmen held their breath, watching her closely.

None of them noticed a pair of cold, golden eyes glaring at the scene from a distance.