From the woman's account, Chen Nuo's family learned what had happened.
"Quickly, son. You must go now."
His mother's expression was grave.
Chen Nuo's face was also grim. "Okay, Mother. I understand."
"Good, good, good. Thankfully our village still has Nuozi. They… they're at the village entrance now. Grand-uncle has probably gone over too." As the woman spoke, her gaze on Chen Nuo was filled with unconcealed relief.
Although none of her immediate family were among the injured, her nephew was. Then again, Chen Manor was just that small; most people were related in some way. There might even be relatives of Chen Nuo among them.
This was why his mother was so solemn.
The woman thanked them repeatedly, holding the mother's hand to express her endless gratitude. She even helped Chen Nuo pack his medicine box, showing no hint of disrespect.
Unlike the disdain Scholars in the Imperial Court held for Physicians.
In the countryside, there were always various "ruling classes" like witch-doctors, Witches, and elders who shouldered the responsibility of providing medical care.
And they all shared a common Trait: high status.
It had been the same when Chen Nuo's father was alive. He had never lacked for food or drink and could even afford to send Chen Nuo to study.
For any other ordinary family, how could they possibly let a half-grown boy study instead of working?
Therefore, after Chen Nuo demonstrated the ability to carry on his father's profession, his status in Chen Manor had actually risen significantly.
It was just that during this period of competition for Clan Leader, Chen Li had proven capable of providing food, temporarily surpassing him in importance.
...
The village entrance.
It was a scene of utter chaos.
People were lying scattered about. The lightly injured clutched at continuously bleeding wounds, the more severely wounded cried out in pain on the ground, and the most critical had already fainted, their lips purple.
The adults of the uncles' generation had appeared and were bustling about in a panic. They used the shallow experience accumulated from their long lives to apply some common herbs and folk remedies to stop the bleeding and counteract the poison.
After that, they were at their wits' end.
"Sigh, what on earth happened? How did it suddenly come to this? Wasn't everything fine before?"
"Chen Li! What did you do?!"
"SOB... I knew it. I shouldn't have let him go with Chen Li…"
"…"
Wails, sobs, angry curses, and bitter complaints filled the air.
Chen Li stood numbly in the center, not saying a word.
"Ahem, stop your wailing! You, you, and you, Er Leng, take some cloth strips and… wrap the arms to stop the poison from spreading…"
"For those with broken bones, don't move them…"
The Grand-uncle had arrived.
He directed the crowd on the next steps and worked to calm everyone down.
"Grand-uncle, what do we do now?"
Everyone looked at the Grand-uncle with hope.
The old man glanced at the others of the uncles' generation, who were also staring at him expectantly. His eyes showed unconcealed disappointment.
"Hmph, what do we do? We wait!"
"Wait for Ah Nuo to see if he can save anyone. After all this time, you lot don't even understand something this simple?! A bunch of idiots!"
He was actually talking about these first-aid measures. It was as if these people had lived this long for nothing. They had forgotten the methods used after the last brawl and didn't even know this much. If there had been just one capable person among them, he wouldn't have had to entrust such a heavy responsibility to a couple of youngsters.
'Unfortunately, something went wrong with Chen Li, leading to this disaster. Perhaps… the only one who can be Clan Leader is Ah Nuo.'
He thought about Chen Nuo's recent inaction.
'Is he not contending as a way of contending?'
'Or did he predict that Chen Li would run into trouble?'
'Or perhaps he has other plans?'
The Grand-uncle was truly perplexed now.
Meanwhile, the villagers waited, burning with anxiety, all praying for Chen Nuo to hurry over. In that moment, they seemed to have forgotten to even question whether Chen Nuo could actually save these people.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long.
Chen Nuo arrived at a brisk pace.
There was no one behind him.
He was in good shape now and ran fast, so he had come ahead.
Seeing Chen Nuo's arrival,
A wave of cheers erupted.
Immediately followed by a clamor of pleas.
People started shouting out which relative they were, their relationship with his parents, which branch of the family they belonged to…
Nearby, the Grand-uncle's brow furrowed. He was about to scold them for distracting Chen Nuo, but in the next moment, "Uncles, Aunties, make way!"
"Everyone, listen to my commands!"
"Any later and they can't be saved!"
Chen Nuo shouted, his voice full of vigor.
The scene fell silent.
Chen Nuo paid no mind to anyone else and walked straight forward.
Everyone parted to make a path.
They watched in silence.
Seeing this, a look of appreciation rose in the Grand-uncle's eyes.
'As an elder, as a Clan Leader, the first thing is to be able to command respect. And how is that respect demonstrated?'
'By making people listen.'
'Chen Nuo is already starting to look the part.'
Comparing the two, the scales in his heart began to tip.
...
Putting aside the Grand-uncle's thoughts for now.
Chen Nuo reached the center, and the first thing he saw was Chen Li standing there, head bowed and silent.
He was immediately taken aback.
He vaguely remembered Chen Li's former spirited arrogance.
And now?
His clothes were torn and stained with blood. He was a complete mess. Most importantly, there was an aura of deep dejection and decay about him.
There was no trace of his former domineering air.
'How could this be the same person!'
Chen Nuo's eyes swept across the area. There were eleven injured people in total. Including Chen Li, that made twelve. 'What about the other five?'
'Could it be…'
Just then.
Chen Li strode forward a few steps, stopping just a short distance from Chen Nuo, and with a THUD, he fell to his knees.
He said nothing.
But Chen Nuo understood his meaning.
He frowned, also saying nothing.
Chen Nuo took out his medicine box and first went to the poisoned individuals.
He would tackle the problems from most to least severe.
"Purple lips, whites of the eyes showing, cold hands and feet. The poison is quite potent."
He took out Dangyang, licorice, Fuling Seeds, and Gui Ling from his medicine box and called over a dazed Chen Yong to grind the herbs.
He himself began to administer emergency treatment to the poisoned areas.
Of course, he wasn't about to suck the poison out with his mouth. That method was only suitable for fresh bites, and its success rate was not high. More importantly, he'd have to check if he had any canker sores, or he'd end up poisoning himself first.
Soon.
The four poisoned victims were treated. However, Chen Nuo wasn't confident he could save all of them. It was a little too late; the poison had already spread too deep in two of them. Amputation might have given them a chance to live, but in the current situation, an amputation would be murder!
So, it would all depend on whether they were tough enough to pull through.
Afterward.
Chen Nuo immediately turned his attention to several unconscious patients.
Broken bones, convulsions, excessive blood loss…
There were also several "lightly" injured people nearby with cuts that were bleeding continuously and worsening, who also needed treatment.
Chen Nuo methodically treated them one by one.
He also directed the people at the scene: some to fetch medicinal herbs, some to help support the injured, some to grind herbs together, some to brew medicine, some to wash cloth strips…
He mobilized everyone.
At this moment, no one complained. Everyone was working hard to save lives.
United under Chen Nuo's command!