Chapter 180: The treasure in the village.

They scrambled frantically, throwing thick woolen blankets over Achilles, putting heating devices around him, but his temperature kept dropping.

"How come the rest of us are fine?!" Bianca asked, her voice shaking with anxiety. "We were in the exact same place! What the hell is going on? Did he eat something wrong? I heard Scotty ate the wrong herbs and almost died."

"He didn’t eat anything the rest of us didn’t eat. Something else is going on," Zyra said, her eyes darkening. "He didn’t get like this from the weather because these clothes are very warm. He must have been poisoned or infected by something!" Zyra immediately snapped in her mind, "Beauty! Scan Achilles right now!"

[Scanning a human will cost you 30 Resonance Points. It would be free or 3 points of her were a beast.]

"Just do it! Take the points!" She snapped in her mind.

A soft red light that only she could see swept over Achilles’ limp body. A second later, Beauty’s voice sounded extremely grave.

[Host, he has Frost Leeches inside his body! They attached to him earlier and slipped under his skin. They are currently sucking all the natural warmth out of his body to freeze his internal organs so they can reproduce. They release a numbing, happy chemical into the blood when they bite, which is why victims usually don’t discover them until its too late.]

Zyra clenched her fists. "That is why he was strangely bursting with energy during the last half of the journey.."

[Luckily,] Beauty continued, [you have returned to a very hot environment! The leeches cannot survive this heat, nor can they jump from one person to another right now. The leeches are currently trying to escape his body through his skin! You must take him out into the direct sun or under direct heat, flip him on his back, and cut every single one out immediately!]

Zyra didn’t waste a single second. She relayed the exact instructions to everyone. "Take him out and grab some fire torches to hold over his back! Strip his shirt off and flip him on his stomach! We have to cut openings on his back above every bulge to remove the leeches."

Xavier hauled him outside, over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes, running quickly. He tossed Achilles onto his stomach outside thr beast pavillion entrance and removed his clothes frantically, scratching his arm in the process. As soon as his bare back was exposed to fire torches under the bright light, everyone gasped in horror.

Underneath the skin of his back, dozens of fat, wriggling bulges were squirming violently, frantically trying to burrow deeper or break out from the heat!

"I’ll go get the numbing cream!" Malia said, turning to run.

"There’s no time!" Bianca barked.

With a sharp clack, Bianca got her hunting knife, the steel blade gleaming in the glow of the fire. She didn’t hesitate when she took action. Bianca pressed the tip of her blade down and sliced above a wriggling bulge, to create an opening.

A fat, black leech squirmed out, writhing in the heat before shriveling into black slime on the hot stone. Bianca worked with terrifying speed and precision, slicing open different places on her brother’s back, popping the icy parasites out one by one while Yanxi quickly wiped away the dark blood.

The moment the last leech escaped his body, Tessi stepped in, her hands blazing with soft golden aura. She pushed her warm energy deep into the open cuts, closing the wounds in seconds and forcing heat back into his freezing chest.

Slowly, the icy frost on Achilles’ eyelashes melted away, and a faint flush of pink returned to his pale cheeks.

"He’s stable," Malia breathed a massive sigh of relief, wiping sweat from her forehead. She gestured to two guards. "Take him to the medical room for supportive treatment and rest immediately."

Xavier wiped his blade, looking back toward the distant mountains with a heavy sigh. "Next time we go back there, we’ll have to be ten times more careful."

"There won’t be a next time," Zyra said flatly, tossing her messy hair back. "It’s not necessary. Those dew plants didn’t even have the mature fruits I wanted."

Bianca threw her arms up and cursed aloud. "So all of this crazy nonsense was for nothing?!" She walked over and patted Zyra’s back sympathetically, giving her a reassuring nod. "Don’t worry, boss. We’ll find what you need somewhere else."

Zyra offered a small, appreciative smile. "Thanks, Bianca."

She called Hunter. It was time to give him an update him on today’s absolute disaster. As the person who was in charge of the trip, she needed to give him an update on his cousin’s condition personally.

On hearing Zyra’s report, Hunter immediately suggested that he return, but the moment Zyra told him that he was out of danger, he let out a huge breath and visibly calmed down.

Then, his handsome face crumpled. He cursed lightly under his breath. "I can’t believe you guys went through all that wild nonsense for absolutely nothing."

"It wasn’t for nothing, not entirely," Zyra corrected him, leaning closer to the glowing screen. "At least now we know about the frost leeches and those creepy glass owls hiding in the snow. That’s valuable info to have as I will be making regular trips to the frozen wild land."

Hunter nodded, conceding the point. "Fair enough."

Zyra tilted her head, noticing the gentle noise in the background on his end. "What are you doing right now anyway?"

Without a word, Hunter tapped the link band, switching his video interface to show his view. The screen flipped to reveal the illuminated village below, where local villagers were working together to squeeze a green sap out of some large roots they had gathered.

"I’m just watching over the village," Hunter’s deep voice came through the receiver. "It’s peaceful. Zero sign of those bandits so far. The roots on the ground are unlike any I have seen before. They are twisted and swollen, with bitter sap. When the sap is fermented with grains, plums and water, it becomes the base for Green plum wine. It is rare and sold on the black market for twenty thousand mid-grade energy stones a bottle. The villagers have been selling it to a merchant for two low grade energy stones a bottle! The bandits have been taking it for free!"

Zyra gasped. "Woah!"

Hunter nodded. "I had the same reaction. These people were unaware of what kind of treasure they had, let alone that it is the source of their constant attacks. To them, it was simply a drink, something to warm their bones on cold nights. Now that I know, I am reconsidering their value. I will have to discuss with Achilles when he wakes up."

Zyra nodded. It was his discovery, so he could manage it as he so fit.

He flipped the camera back to his own face. A faint hint of dark circles sat beneath his sharp eyes. "Since I was having trouble sleeping again, I figured I’d take the night shift."

Zyra’s brows knitted together in genuine concern. "Is there really not even a slight difference after taking the sleep tonics I brewed for you? You look worse than before. Please tell me I am not poisoning you!"