Upon seeing his parents enter, Xue was briefly startled, but he quickly regained his composure. He stood up, carefully carried Ziqian, and laid him on one of the soft beds, then gently wrapped his entire body in thick fur blankets until only his face remained visible.
Meanwhile, Bei walked toward another bed beside Ziqian's and carefully laid Huo down.
Huo looked extremely weak. His body was continuously trembling. Bruises and scratches covered him from head to toe. Some of the wounds were still bleeding, staining his skin red.
Lia immediately began preparing more concoctions to stop Huo's bleeding and relieve his pain, because he was certain that the agony Huo was enduring right now was unimaginable.
After all, it was already a miracle that Huo had remained conscious after falling into a berserk state. Lia believed that Ziqian's pheromones greatly help in temporarily stabilizing Huo's condition.
But even knowing how urgent Huo's condition was, the three of them had remained in the outer tent, silently listening to the conversation inside.
Lia could not help clicking his tongue. Tss…
But then he remembered how Huo had weakly and tremblingly tugged at his clothes earlier, stopping them from entering and interrupting Xue and Ziqian's conversation.
The movement had been so faint that it was almost unnoticeable. If Lia had not been paying close attention at the time, he might have easily brushed it off.
Lia's eyes gradually moistened as he bit down on his lips to stop them from trembling. He had never seen Huo this vulnerable before.
Ever since he was young, Huo had always been stubborn, fierce, and willful. Even when injured, he would grit his teeth and endure everything silently, refusing to show weakness in front of others.
But earlier, Huo had weakly tugged at his clothes just to stop them from entering. That tiny movement had exhausted all the strength he had left.
Lia had never seen Huo that vulnerable before. He did not know what he should feel anymore. In the end, all he could do now was quietly prepare medicines, hoping they could at least lessen his son's pain.
At the same time, Xue handed a wooden tube filled with medicinal paste to Bei. It was the same concoction he had used earlier on Ziqian's bruises.
He usually made his own concoctions to use during hunts. Although they were not as potent as the medicines Lia prepared, they had a cooling effect that could help ease pain.
Ziqian, who was initially surprised and confused, stood up abruptly. With the fur blanket still covering him, he rushed to Huo's side, where he clearly saw the man's condition.
Xue was about to stop Ziqian, but in the end, he chose not to. Now that they had both opened up about their feelings, Xue finally understood just how important Huo and he himself were to Ziqian.
And with Huo in such poor condition, it was only natural for Ziqian to worry about him.
"Huo…" Ziqian called softly.
He wanted to check Huo's injuries, but he was afraid to touch him carelessly. The bruises and wounds covering Huo's body looked severe, and Ziqian was worried that instead of helping, he might only cause him even more pain.
Huo did not respond. No, he could not respond.
His lips moved faintly, but no words came out, only a low, muffled groan. His eyes remained shut, but his trembling eyelids showed that he was struggling to open them.
"It's okay, Huo. Everything will be fine. Don't worry, you'll be okay," Ziqian said as gently as he could while holding Huo's hand.
But those words were not only meant for Huo. Ziqian was also desperately trying to reassure himself that Huo would be fine.
Because right now, he was frantically asking the four guardians to help him find a suitable medicine for Huo, preferably a magical medicinal item with good effects that he could still afford with his remaining points.
[Points : 121]
Ziqian opened the blue interface and, with the help of the four guardians, browsed the shop for a medicine that could at least replenish the life force Huo had consumed after going berserk twice. It would be better if they could find an affordable item that can heal his soul.
When Huo first went berserk, Nia had taken part of the damage for him, preventing his soul from being severely injured and allowing him to retain his sanity.
This time, Ziqian's pheromones helped calm Huo and kept him from losing his mind. However, the effect was not as powerful as Nia's ability and could not stop the damage to Huo's soul caused by consuming his life force during his berserk state.
The damage was severe, and if it were not treated properly as soon as possible, Huo's lifespan would gradually shorten while his health continued to deteriorate over time.
Unfortunately, there was still no recorded treatment for people who had gone berserk in Gaia. Everyone believed that once a person went berserk, they would lose their mind and eventually die.
What they did not know was that losing one's mind was only a side effect.
The true cause was the damage inflicted on the soul after forcefully consuming one's life force during the berserk state. Over time, that damage would continue to worsen until it eventually led to a slow and painful death.
The pain of their souls being torn apart was the reason they lost their minds. The agony must be unimaginable.
If not for the four guardians explaining everything to him, Ziqian would never have any idea how much pain Huo was enduring right now.
This realization once again filled Ziqian with guilt and deep worry.
When Lia returned carrying a bowl of concoction, they carefully worked together to make Huo drink it little by little.
Making Huo drink the medicine became easier since he was still conscious, but Ziqian could not help thinking that it might have been better if Huo had lost consciousness. Because watching Huo right now, while silently enduring the pain, was truly heartbreaking.
After Huo finished the entire bowl, they quietly waited and observed his condition. But a few minutes have already passed, and there is still no improvement.
Ziqian knew that this would happen since the concoction Lia prepared could only help relieve physical pain, not the pain coming from Huo's injured soul.
"I'll try making a stronger one," Lia said hurriedly.
He quickly turned around to prepare another concoction. Even he did not know whether it would help, but at this point, all he could do was hope that the next medicine would help.
Xue followed Lia to help prepare the herbs, while Bei went outside to check the situation around the tribe. He also planned to visit the elders' tents to gather any available herbs, since he was worried that Lia's stock would not be enough.
Ziqian quietly stayed beside Huo while holding his hand.
Huo's eyes were tightly shut, his brows deeply furrowed from pain, while sweat continuously dripped down his pale face.
Ziqian's own hand had already turned red and was covered in small scratches that faintly bled. Every time another wave of intense pain struck Huo, his fingers would unconsciously clench tightly, but Ziqian stubbornly refused to let go.
Even if he could not take away Huo's suffering, he still wanted to bear at least a small part of his pain.
Ziqian stayed like this as he had a conversation with the guardians.
Did you find something? Ziqian asked urgently.
"There are many miraculous items that would help Huo heal instantly, but the problem was your current points," Ero said bluntly. The situation now is too urgent to sugarcoat his words.
Ziqian wanted to curse out loud.
He had only recently told himself that he should not rely too much on the shop's items because there might come a day when he desperately needed something but did not have enough points to buy it.
And now, as if fate were slapping his face, that exact situation is happening.
Fate is too cruel!
"It would take too much time to search each item in the shop. Why don't we focus first on the medicinal herbs and items that already exist in this world?" Gae suggested.
Phi immediately understood what Gae meant. "Right! Right!" he shouted excitedly as his furry, round yellow body bounced up and down.
"Going berserk is a natural phenomenon among the beastmen of this world. It means there will also be medicines or items in this world capable of treating its side effects!"
Adding a specific location to the shop filter would not only make their search easier and faster, but there was also a chance they could obtain the item without using any of Ziqian's points.
"In other beast worlds ruled by different gods, going berserk is already considered normal. Many of them even use it to temporarily strengthen themselves," Gae explained.
"Although it has side effects and can damage a person's foundation, it usually does not become so severe that it turns fatal and causes death like it does in this world. So either they already possess a cure for it, or they have developed methods to reduce the damage and prevent it from directly harming the soul."