His body was covered in severe scrapes and bruises—especially his knee. When he'd been dragged away, the skin on his knee had been torn to shreds, raw and bleeding, with bone clearly visible beneath the mangled flesh.
He couldn't stand at all.
"I have them! I have the herbs!"
A young voice rang out from the crowd. The throng parted immediately, clearing a path for the speaker to push through.
It was Ruya—the same young sub-beastman who'd been scolded earlier for eavesdropping.
He skidded to a halt beside Sam, trembling as he pulled a small hide-wrapped bundle out of his bag.
"My papa got these from the hunting team's share. I brought them with me today to study—hoping I could find more of them out here."
His face was deathly pale, his voice shaking like a leaf in the wind, tears still streaking down his cheeks. He thrust the bundle straight into Sam's hands.
"There's both healing herbs in here—I don't know if it's enough. I'll go find more right now!"
He scrambled to his feet, ready to dart back into the wilderness.
"It's enough—plenty enough." Sam tore open the hide, relief flooding his chest when he saw the herbs inside, well-preserved and abundant. "Sit down. Help me chew these up and pack them onto Lie's worst wounds."
He stuffed a handful of blood-clotting herbs into his mouth, then turned to Lie, his voice soft and gentle.
"Lie—can you shift back to human form? It'll be easier to treat you that way."
Lie nodded weakly. His massive beast form shimmered, shrinking and fading until a blood-soaked, ragged-looking boy lay on the ground in its place.
Ruya copied Sam's movements, chewing the herbs into a pulpy paste and spreading them over Lie's deepest, bloodiest wounds. The worst bleeding slowed to a trickle almost immediately—but Lie's face remained ashen, his body limp as he lay still, letting them work.
Once the bleeding finally stopped, Qiuye picked up the blood-nourishing herbs, bringing them to Lie's lips.
"Eat some—please."
Lie obeyed, opening his mouth weakly to swallow the herbs.
A faint flush of color returned to his cheeks after a few minutes.
Seeing Lie's condition improve, Qiuye let out a long, shaky breath of relief. He turned to Ruya, his voice steady despite the tremor in his hands.
"The herbs came from the tribe's stores. When we get back, go find Xia—he'll make sure you're reimbursed."
Ruya nodded wildly, his body still trembling, his eyes glazed over with shock. It was anyone's guess if he'd actually heard a word of it.
There was still a little blood-clotting herb left. Li took it from Sam's hands, then hauled Mu over to him—gently, despite his massive size. He gestured for Mu to shift back to human form, then silently began treating his wounds, his face set in a grim, worried line.
The other sub-beastmen with mates were pulled into tight, comforting embraces, their partners murmuring soft reassurances in their ears. Those without mates huddled together, leaning on each other for support, their shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.
The herbs Ruya had brought weren't much—after treating Lie, there was barely enough left to patch up Mu's worst injuries.
Thankfully, the other adult beastmen weren't hurt too badly. They could shift back to their beast forms and lick their wounds clean—their saliva had natural healing properties.
By the time Xuan returned, carrying the Ironbone Beast bone sword Qiuye had dropped during the scuffle, Lie's wounds were already dressed and bandaged as best they could manage.
"How is he?"
Xuan asked, his voice low, his eyes dark with worry as he stared at the unconscious boy.
Sam ran a quick system scan, then nodded, relief softening his features.
"He's out of immediate danger. His body's covered in cuts and bruises, and he lost a lot of blood—but nothing's broken, no vital organs hit. He'll need to rest for a long time, but he'll be okay."
At Sam's words, a collective sigh of relief swept through the crowd. Young beastmen like Lie were precious to the tribe—every single one of them was irreplaceable.
"Those roving bastards are *dead*!" a beastman snarled from the back of the group, his voice thick with rage. His mate had been part of the gathering party—she'd come within inches of being taken. "How dare they attack our tribe? How dare they lay hands on our people?"
"We need to hunt them down! Kill them all!" another shouted, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened. "Drive them out of our territory—permanently!"
"I've only heard stories about them raiding Stone Horn and Waterwood tribes before," a third beastman said, his voice shaking with anger and fear. "I never thought they'd dare to come for *us*!"
"Waterwood lost twenty sub-beastmen to them last winter," an older sub-beastman whispered, her voice cracking. "Only four of them ever made it back alive."
"Kill them!" the crowd roared, their voices merging into a single, thunderous cry of vengeance.
Xuan said nothing as he listened to their anger, his face impassive as he handed Qiuye's sword back to him. He turned his gaze to Li, his eyes unreadable.
"Li—how are the others holding up?"
"Other than Lie and Mu, no one's seriously hurt," Li replied, shaking his head. "Scrapes and bruises, mostly—shock more than anything."
"Good. Let's head back to the tribe," Xuan said, his voice calm, almost eerily so. "I'll talk to Xia about this. We need to make sure this never happens again."
His tone was quiet, but Li—who'd known him since he was a cub—heard the cold, unyielding fury beneath the words. He knew Xuan wasn't going to let this go. Not by a long shot.
Li nodded, then stepped forward, raising his voice to cut through the crowd's angry shouts. "Everyone—let's go home. We'll discuss this with the clan leader when we're back. For now, we need to get the injured to safety."
The crowd quieted down, their rage giving way to exhaustion and relief. One by one, the beastmen shifted back into their animal forms, lowering themselves to the ground so the sub-beastmen could climb onto their backs.
Those with mates climbed onto their partners' backs. Those without were paired with the younger, unbonded beastmen. The uninjured beastmen formed a protective circle around the rest, their eyes sharp and alert for any sign of danger.
Xuan shifted into his massive black panther form, then looked at Sam and Qiuye, his gaze softening slightly. "Papa. Yuqing. Climb on. Lie too."
Li nodded, stepping forward to gently lift the unconscious Lie into his arms, then carefully placing him on Xuan's broad back, between Sam and Qiuye.
The group began the slow, somber journey back to the tribe.
When they reached the village gates, the tribespeople who'd been waiting there stared in shock at the sight of them—at the bloodstained sub-beastmen, at the injured beastmen, at Lie, unconscious on Xuan's back, and Mu, hobbling along with Li's support, his body covered in bandages.
"What happened?!" someone cried out, their voice filled with fear. "Why is Lie hurt so badly? And Mu—what happened to him?!"
Xuan and Li said nothing, their faces set in grim lines. The rest of the group followed suit, their heads bowed as they walked silently through the gates.
"Everyone—please, give them space," a beastman who knew Li well stepped forward, his voice firm. "Several of our people are injured. Let them get home and rest first. The clan leader will address everyone once we know more."
"Someone go get Xia—*now*," another called out.
A young beastman darted off immediately, sprinting toward Xia's house. The crowd parted, clearing a path for the injured to pass, their faces filled with worry and fear.
The injured beastmen and sub-beastmen went their separate ways, heading back to their homes to rest and heal. Xuan carried Lie straight to Qiuye's house—Qiuye had kept a room for him ever since he'd been a small cub, back when Qiuye had raised him after Chiye's death.
Once he'd settled Lie in bed, Xuan left to join Li and the other beastmen, to deal with the aftermath of the attack—to plan, to prepare, to ensure that no roving beastman ever dared to set foot in their territory again.
Sam stood beside Qiuye's bed, staring at the older sub-beastman's battered, bruised body—at the scrapes covering his arms and legs, at the mangled mess of his knee—and a wave of guilt crashed over him.
If Qiuye hadn't pushed him out of the way, *he* would've been the one taken. *He* would've been the one dragged away, hurt, terrified.
The look in his eyes must've given him away, because Qiuye reached out, patting his head gently, his voice soft as he pretended to be annoyed.
"What are you moping about? I told you—I think of you as my own child. Of course I'd protect you. Don't look at me like that—it's making me sad."
He dropped his gaze, his voice barely a whisper, as if speaking to himself.
"This time… I saved my child."
In this world, hair and eye colors came in every shade imaginable—bright reds, deep blues, silver whites, golden yellows. Before An'an had been born, Qiuye had been the *only* sub-beastman in Azure Mountain Tribe with black hair and black eyes.
The day Xuan had brought Sam back to the tribe—when Qiuye had first seen him, standing beside Xuan, his black hair falling over his shoulders, his black eyes wide with curiosity—for a split second, he'd thought Xuan had brought An'an home.
Seeing the pain flicker across Qiuye's face, Sam understood. He was thinking of An'an—the child he'd held in his arms as he'd died, years ago, during the Shadow Beast attack.
Sam stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Qiuye gently, pulling him into a hug.
He'd come to this world alone, scared, homesick beyond measure.
But now—
Now he had a home here. Now he had family.
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