[ Welcome, User. Emergency medical supplies available for purchase. ]
I blinked hard, sure I was hallucinating. "What the...?"
But the screen stayed there, showing what looked like a full medical catalog. Surgical instruments, medications, bandages, antiseptics - everything a modern doctor could need. All listed with prices in something called "system points."
[BEGINNER PACKAGE UNLOCKED]
Ability: Purification Touch - Can cleanse any object of contamination. 100% effectiveness.
I stared at the screen, my brain trying to process what I was seeing. "Am I in some kind of novel or sci-fi bullshit?"
The thought hit me like a slap. The woman with fox ears. The cultivation setting. The memories that weren't mine. And now a medical system straight out of a web novel.
Yeah, I was definitely in one of those stories.
But I could think about the implications later. Right now, someone was dying.
I gritted my teeth and sprinted back to the woman. She was looking worse, her breathing getting shallower.
I could see internal bleeding was causing fluid to build up in her throat - she was going to suffocate on her own blood if I didn't do something fast.
"Think about it later," I told myself, dropping beside her with the contaminated knife. "Save her first."
I focused on the blade in my hand, concentrating on this "purification" ability the system mentioned. The knife suddenly felt different - cleaner somehow.
When I looked at it, all the rust and contamination was gone, leaving behind a perfectly sterile surgical instrument.
"Holy shit, it actually works."
The woman's eyes opened as I positioned the knife near her throat. I could see the fear in those silver eyes, mixed with something else. Resignation, maybe?
She tried to smile through the pain, coughing up more blood as she whispered something I couldn't quite catch.
Something about "dying at the hands of this murderer's child" and "first my husband and now me."
I wasn't really listening. I was too focused on the emergency tracheotomy I needed to perform to clear her airway.
"This is going to hurt," I warned her, though I doubt she understood.
I made the incision quickly and precisely, using my purification touch to keep everything sterile. Blood welled up, but I could see I'd hit the right spot. Now I just needed something to keep the wound clean and stop the bleeding.
"Give me cotton!" I said to the system screen.
[Cotton swabs - 1 gold coin]
[Insufficient funds]
"Can't you see I have to save someone's life?" I snapped at the mechanical interface.
[No charity functions available. You may exchange valuable items for equivalent coins or points to purchase within the system.]
I looked around frantically, then down at my expensive-looking robe.
It was probably worth something, right?
Without hesitation, I started stripping it off. "Fine, take the damn thing."
The moment I removed the robe, it vanished in a flash of light.
The system screen updated with the number of points—apparently, this thing was worth ten times more than basic medical equipment.
I quickly purchased cotton swabs, antiseptic, and some basic surgical supplies. They materialized in my hands like magic.
Working quickly, I cleaned the incision site and packed it with sterile cotton to control the bleeding. The woman's breathing immediately improved - she was getting air again.
But when I looked up at her face, I saw tears streaming down her cheeks. She was staring at me with pure hatred, trying to bite her own tongue.
"Just kill me..." she whispered, her voice barely audible through the makeshift breathing tube. "Y-you monster—"
"Okay, finally she's able to breathe," I muttered, wiping sweat from my forehead as I looked at the makeshift tracheotomy I'd just performed.
The emergency breathing tube was working - air was flowing, and that horrible gurgling sound from her throat had stopped.
I didn't really care what she was muttering about. Trauma patients say all kinds of crazy shit when they're in shock and blood loss.
Hallucinations, paranoid delusions, random memories - I'd seen it all during my medical training. The important thing was that her voice was clearer now, which meant the blood in her throat was clearing up.
But I still needed to find the source of all that bleeding. There was way too much blood for it to just be from minor cuts.
"Alright, let's see what we're dealing with," I said, more to myself than to her. I started examining her clothes, looking for tears or blood-soaked areas that might indicate wound locations.
Her outfit was some kind of traditional-looking dress, but it was so soaked in blood that it was impossible to tell where the fabric ended and the injuries began.
I was going to have to remove it to get a proper look.
"This is purely medical," I said out loud, though she probably couldn't understand me anyway. "I need to check for wounds."
As I started carefully cutting away the blood-soaked fabric with my purified knife, she began muttering again, her voice weak but audible.
"Is this my fate?" she whispered, tears still streaming down her face. "Getting dirtied by the blood of that villainous monster?"
I paused for a second. There was that word again - monster. And something about villainous blood. But I pushed the thoughts aside.
Right now, she was my patient, and patients came first.
I continued removing the ruined clothing, being as clinical and professional as possible. Each piece of fabric I removed revealed more injuries - cuts, bruises, and what looked like claw marks across her arms and legs.
"I shouldn't have saved myself," she continued muttering, her silver eyes staring at the cave ceiling. "Should have joined my husband... rather than be defiled by this wretched..."
Her words trailed off into incoherent mumbling, but I was only half-listening anyway. My attention was focused on what I was uncovering as I peeled away the last of her blood-soaked clothes.
And then my hands stopped moving.
"Is this a joke," I breathed.
There, running from her abdomen all the way up toward her chest, was a massive sword wound.
The cut was deep, precise, and by all rights should have been fatal. It looked like someone had tried to slice her clean in half, starting from her lower belly and dragging upward.
It was a fucking miracle she was still alive.
"How are you even breathing?" I muttered, examining the wound more closely. It had missed her major organs by millimeters - pure luck, or maybe whatever healing factor beast-kin had in this world.
But luck wasn't going to keep her alive much longer. I needed to get her out of this disgusting water and onto something clean where I could work properly.
I slid my arms under her, lifting her carefully to avoid aggravating the wound. As I picked her up, I noticed something gross - there were small worms crawling on her skin, probably from lying in the stagnant cave water.
But the moment my hands touched them, they shriveled up and died.
"Well, that's convenient," I said, watching the parasites drop off her body as my purification ability killed them on contact.
It wasn't just working on germs - it was effective against larger organisms too.
I carried her across the cave, looking for somewhere cleaner to work. Near the back wall, I spotted what looked like a stone altar or table. It was covered in skeletons and bones, but it would have to do.
Setting her down gently for a moment, I started pushing the skeletal remains off the altar, letting them clatter to the floor.
Then I placed my hands on the stone surface, concentrating on my purification ability.
The altar cleaned up nicely - all the grime, blood stains, and whatever other nastiness had accumulated over the years just vanished under my touch.
I lifted her onto the now-sterile altar, then ran my hands over her entire body, using my ability to cleanse her skin of blood, dirt, and contamination.
It was purely medical, but I couldn't help noticing that she was actually quite beautiful under all the gore.
The fox ears and tail were definitely unusual, but in this world, I guess that was normal.
"Okay, let's see what we're working with," I said, turning to the system screen that was still hovering nearby.
[Medical System - Available Supplies]
I had a good number of points from selling that expensive robe, so I started purchasing everything I'd need for major surgery.
Surgical sutures, sterile thread, needle holders, hemostats, surgical scissors, local anesthetic, antibiotics - basically a full operating room's worth of supplies.
[ All points used.]
The items materialized on a small table beside the altar as I purchased them, each one perfectly sterile and ready to use.
"This is so fucking weird," I muttered as I laid out the instruments. "But I guess weird is my life now."