Almost the entire exploration team was poisoned, save for Bai Ya.
Facing Huang Zao's anger, Bai Ya was full of fear. He was constantly shaking his head as he stepped back until he fell to the ground on his butt.
"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me." Bai Ya shouted, denying it at all costs.
Huang Zao was approaching him when he collapsed midway.
His face had turned ashen. His grim expression resembled that of a sick person who had fallen into icy water for a long time and was fished out on the brink of death.
"Why aren't you poisoned?" Huang Zao fell to the ground and glared grudgingly at Bai Ya as he squeezed the words out of his mouth.
On the other side, Lan Zao suddenly cried out: "Ah! Don't tell me the island master has poisoned everyone but him, only leaving him alive so that he can spread the word. It's like a big pirate who ransacked a ship and intentionally released a few captives so that they could spread their notoriety."
Huang Zao heard these suspicions with his remaining consciousness: "Who? This island has a master?"
Previously, the conjectures raised from discussions of Zhen Jin and the rest in the tent had been kept a secret from the others, and even Huang Zao had been kept in the dark.
Because these discussions only resulted in speculations and there was no proof.
Speaking of this would be a big blow to the exploration team's morale, making people worried, and could even cause emotional breakdowns.
Regardless of whether it was Huang Zao or Lan Zao, they had all collapsed to the ground. Among the entire exploration team, only Zhen Jin was barely able to remain standing. Even so, the teenager felt his body being increasingly chilled, as if he was falling into an icy hole.
Lan Zao who had fallen to the ground struggled to stand up and failed even after several attempts. His gaze suddenly stopped on Bai Ya and cried out: "I remember that he didn't eat any mutton, not a single bite. The mutton was poisoned!"
"Poisoned mutton?" Upon hearing this, Zi Di was stunned.
Before eating the mutton, she had clearly checked and confirmed that there was no poison.
"Is it the quantity? Is it because we ate too much that we got poisoned?" Zhen Jin inquired with a frown.
Zi Di shook her head and smiled bitterly: "I have already verified such a simple possibility. However it is possible some kind of poison exists that I was unable to detect…...Bai Ya, are you really sure you didn't eat any mutton?"
Bai Ya nodded, stammering: "Yes, yes my lord. I don't like eating mutton, I have only eaten rations these days."
Bai Ya's behavior continued to brush away suspicion from him as Zhen Jin's gaze shifted back to Zi Di.
If Bai Ya was the culprit, now was the best time for him to act.
At this moment, Zhen Jin barely had the strength to resist.
Thinking of it from a different perspective, even if Bai Ya was plotting something, his decision to poison at this time was a bit too stupid. Having teammates at one's side would increase one's chances of surviving in the wild. Running away alone was too risky.
Zi Di had been lying on the ground, her eyes flickering as she pondered: "Lord Zhen Jin, could you please come over and use the dagger on me to cut a wound on my arm?"
Zhen Jin nodded, he struggled to move to Zi Di's side and pulled out the dagger from her waist.
The dagger's blade lightly cut a slim wound into Zi Di's delicate arm.
Observing the wound, Zi Di's flesh and blood had turned greenish grey.
Blood should have been flowing out, however only a trickle was leaking out. The red blood was lukewarm and had a little gray color mixed into it.
Zhen Jin immediately associated this phenomenon with zombies. He felt a puff of cold air from the wound and couldn't help but murmur: "Is it a cold poison?"
Zi Di frowned.
It looked like cold poison, but it also seemed unlikely.
Zi Di thought of something vaguely, but she couldn't grasp what had flashed in her mind.
"I don't have much time left!"
Zi Di clearly sensed that her body was stiffening, becoming colder and colder.
Soon, her heart would freeze and stop beating completely.
Zi Di knew she needed to make a decision as soon as possible!
"My lord, the red...white mushroom cap bottle..." Zi Di pointed with a stiff finger towards the small bag on her waist.
Zhen Jin immediately opened the small bag, exposing the interior full of neatly and densely packed small potion bottles.
There were three potion bottles that matched Zi Di's description.
After Zhen Jin quickly identified them, he discovered that all three were the same.
He also knew Zi Di had a good habit——for each type of medicine Zi Di would use a distinct bottle size, a different cork, and label the key ingredients to differentiate them all.
After he opened the white mushroom potion bottle's cap, Zhen Jin put the finger shaped bottle to Zi Di's lips.
Zi Di could barely open her mouth as Zhen Jin began to pour out the thick red potion from the bottle.
After a small mouthful, Zi Di's eyes suddenly rolled back and passed out completely.
"..."
The reaction stunned everyone who was still conscious.
Zhen Jin's heart sunk to the bottom in an instant.
Their sole pharmacist was unconscious, what were they meant to do now?
"Take off... the goatskins... back, go back..." Cang Xu weakly groaned.
After using all of his strength to say this, he lost consciousness once again.
Both Huang Zao and Lan Zao completely respected and believed in Cang Xu's words. Huang Zao could not move, however Lan Zao could to an extent as he immediately took off the goat pelts he was wearing.
Several breaths after taking the goatskins off, Lan Zao felt something different.
"There is an effect! I can feel my entire body warming up again." Cried Lan Zao.
How strange.
The biggest purpose of woolen clothes is to keep warm, previously when they were on the snowy mountains, these woolen clothes made the people feel happy.
But now, after removing these clothes that were meant to maintain warmth, their frozen bodies regained some vitality.
What was going on?
Zhen Jin didn't have the time to think.
Although he was unable to make sense of it, he still immediately ordered Bai Ya to remove the woolen clothes off the fallen exploration team members and did the same himself.
After taking off the clothes, the majority of the team members who had fallen but were not yet unconscious could unexpectedly stand up now!
Zi Di, Cang Xu, and a few others were still unconscious with their eyes shut tightly.
"Carry them, we need to go back immediately!" Zhen Jin stated firmly and without hesitation.
Everyone who was awake knew the urgency of the situation, they used all of their strength to carry the unconscious members with them as they returned to where they came from using their previous route.
Cang Xu, Zi Di, Huang Zao and the others were carried on the back of the white bone bellwethers.
Most of the goats Zhen Jin had ordered captured were dead, only the four strongest, the bronze-level bellwethers were left. All of the kids were dead.
The more they walked back, the better everyone felt as their strength gradually returned.
Despite the temperature dropping lower and lower, everyone's chest and limbs were no longer cold, on the contrary they became warmer.
Finally, when everyone returned to where they had hunted the sheep, many people completely recovered.
Zi Di and Cang Xu also regained consciousness.
Zi Di untied the bandage on her arm and examined the recently made cut. She discovered the originally grey wound had already turned back into its original fleshly color, at the same time her blood flowed out normally and no longer resembled that of a zombie.
It was as if everything that had happened before was just a nightmare.
However two dead bodies grimly reminded everyone that it had all indeed happened.
Yes.
The exploration team lost two people.
These two lost consciousness and did not wake up as they were returning. Finally by the time they had returned here, their life aura completely dissipated.
"I understand, I understand why there were so many goats here. It is because they are all extremely poisonous, anyone who eats them will pay with their lives!" Huang Zao's expression revealed his fright.
"This is a curse, the devil's curse!"
"We can only stay here, we will be poisoned again if we go far from this place, bringing about our deaths!"
Everyone was discussing this in fright, all of them were full of fear as they watched the distant goats leisurely eating the grass.
The entire exploration team's morale was sliding into a critical state.
"All of you shut up! Calm yourselves." Zhen Jin stood up and said in a low voice as he looked around.
During these days, he had already established his prestige among the group, so when he gave the order, everyone shut up and all discussions stopped.
Zhen Jin's heart was clear, relying on pressure alone was not enough, and he had to alleviate the panic in everyone's heart.
Thus, he continued to speak: "You have me here, what are you worried about?
"Things are far from getting out of hand, and do not forget that we have Ms. Zi Di, not only is she a magician, she is also an extraordinarily skilled pharmacist."
Zi Di had recently drunk a potion, but lost consciousness on the spot, something seemingly forgotten by Zhen Jin.
However there were many people who saw it and during the return trip they had spread this fact.
Is she really competent?
Zhen Jin naturally understood the hesitation in everyone's hearts, he confidently smiled: "Previously, none of us knew what caused the poisoning and it was very normal to make mistakes during diagnosis and treatment. When using potions it was necessary to use the right medicine for the illness. Now that we know the root cause, it is an entirely different kettle of fish! How can these insignificant goat flocks stop us? Everyone, I will guide you out of this island. It is far too early to give up now."
Their confused and frightened faces started to change.
Zhen Jin had blond hair, fair skin, a high nose bridge, and eyes like morning stars. His appearance alone was outstanding.
He was also the sole heir to the Bai Zhen Clan, he was a templar knight of humanity's most powerful legion, and one of the competitors for the position of White Sands City Lord.
Although he was only wearing a broken chainmail, carrying a spear on his back, with a crude long knife at his waist, these embarrassing traits only highlighted the youngster's indomitable will and a spirit that never gave up.
He resembled the rising sun at daybreak, his sunlight was not dazzling, but it brought the people hope.
He resembled a flag fluttering in the wind above a pure white castle under the blue sky, as long as one saw this flag, they would be attracted to it and would want to follow it.
Zi Di and Cang Xu were speechless as they looked at Zhen Jin in a daze.
"My lord, as long as we have you here, there is absolutely nothing to fear! You are a knight, a templar knight! This time you are the one that saved us." Bai Ya emotionally yelled and broke the silence.
"Master, we brothers have pledged our lives to follow you, regardless of when or where, no matter if even the sky falls to the ground." Lan Zao also expressed his loyalty.
The crowd gradually grew louder.
"Lord Zhen Jin is absolutely right."
"If we follow Lord Zhen Jin, then we can surely escape from here."
"That's right. I will entrust my life to you, my lord!"