The people of the Kordo Tribe weighed the pros and cons and refused to help Lan Cang, but Sang Luo couldn't just stand by and watch him die. He was the first person in this Otherworld to treat her so well, and the Beastman with whom she had the deepest bond. Even if there was nothing she could do with her current abilities, she had to go look for him. She refused to give up on even the slimmest chance of his survival.
She left the safe zone controlled by the Kordo Tribe and headed for the West Forest, just as the Eagle Beast had described.
The forest grew taller, more lush, and denser. Soon, the low stone houses in the distance vanished from sight. A faint white mist shrouded the area, growing thicker with each passing moment.
A rustling sound came from behind her.
It was the sound of something slithering, crushing the dry twigs and fallen leaves under its weight.
She instantly froze, the hair on her skin standing on end. A giant snake, well over ten meters long, emerged from the thick fog. Rearing up, it opened its gaping maw and lunged at her like an arrow.
At that distance and speed, a human like her stood no chance of dodging.
'I'm not from this world anyway. Maybe after I die, I'll be able to go back to my own world...'
Sang Luo couldn't help but feel a desolate sorrow, yet there was also a sense of relief, of accepting her fate.
"ROAR!" A colossal black shadow shot out of the mist and instantly snapped the giant snake's massive body in half. The fresh stench of blood filled the air, dyeing the white mist a faint crimson. In just a few blinks, all that remained of the snake's corpse was a pile of bloody bones, which collapsed silently to the side.
The colossal beast slowly turned to stare at her. Its scarlet wolf eyes seemed both familiar and strange to Sang Luo.
Her eyes widened. 'Lan Cang!'
The giant wolf lunged forward, knocking her to the ground and pinning her beneath him. An angry growl rumbled in his throat.
His mouth was covered in blood, and he gave off an overpowering, foul stench. There was no telling how many Star Beasts he had devoured.
He stared at her, his eyes filled with the look of a predator about to tear apart and devour its prey!
His collar turned a sickening blood-red, and a string of numbers materialized on it, climbing from 70 to 80, and about to break 90!
At the same time, more and more of the eerie Black Qi coiled around the giant wolf, almost completely consuming him!
'If Lan Cang had truly lost all his sanity and degenerated into a wild beast, I would have been a meal in his belly by now. He wouldn't have given me any time to react. A flicker of agonizing struggle was visible in those scarlet wolf eyes; he still had one last shred of sanity left. But as the sudden, dense surge of Black Qi wrapped around him, that sanity was instantly extinguished.'
He threw his head back and let out a long howl, then viciously stomped on her. His sharp claws nearly tore her in two!
Sang Luo screamed, a cold sweat breaking out all over her as she curled up in agony. At that same moment, with her life on the line, an indescribable power erupted from within her. A faint green light materialized in her palm, and this light actually began to dispel the Black Qi from the wolf's body!
Soon, the wolf's scarlet eyes gradually returned to their normal color. He instantly lost all strength and collapsed, transforming back into a naked man.
'Lan Cang!'
Paying no mind to her own injuries, Sang Luo quickly crawled over to him.
Lan Cang was completely unconscious. The red glow on his collar was gone, but the collar itself was cracked more than halfway through.
Soon, Beastmen from the tribe followed her trail and found them. Seeing that the woman was still alive, they all breathed a huge sigh of relief. But then they saw the front of her clothes soaked in blood, a wound faintly visible beneath, and Lan Cang lying unconscious beside her. The relief they'd just felt vanished, and their breath caught in their throats. There was no time for questions. The scent of blood would soon attract other Star Beasts, so they quickly brought the two of them back to the tribe.
The witch doctor arrived quickly to treat both of their wounds.
Lan Cang still hadn't woken up, but his genetic frenzy had clearly subsided.
The Clan Leader came in person as well. He was utterly shocked to see that Sang Luo had actually brought the man back and found he couldn't say anything more on the matter.
Sang Luo briefly told the Clan Leader and the several Elders who came to ask what had happened in the East Forest.
She deliberately concealed the strange power that had come from her.
'Some things are better left unsaid. Until I know for sure what that power is, it's best not to invite trouble.'
"The Beast God has truly blessed us! It's a blessing from the Beast God!"
The Clan Leader and the Elders didn't suspect a thing. After all, Lan Cang had been lucky enough to survive his first bout of frenzy as well. That time, it had cost him all his Cultivation, but compared to the countless Beastmen who had died from the condition, that was already incredibly fortunate.
Perhaps the Beast God had performed a miracle this time as well!
The visitors gradually left as evening fell. The Clan Leader posted a few Beastmen at the door to keep watch. Sang Luo had someone bring a basin of clean Water into the room. After rinsing a towel, she began to gently wipe the blood from Lan Cang's body and tend to the wounds on his back.
'Lan Cang isn't even that old, but his back and chest are a crisscrossing network of new and old wounds. It's heartbreaking to see. I can't imagine how much he must have suffered in the past.'
The most prominent among them was a scar on his left breast that looked as if it had pierced straight through his chest.
Dawn arrived, but Lan Cang still hadn't woken up. Sang Luo asked the witch doctor, but even he couldn't say for certain when Lan Cang would awaken. The last genetic frenzy had completely stripped him of his power. This time, his body was already extremely weak when he went through it again. Frankly, it was questionable whether he would even live.
If he could wake up within three days, he would escape this Death Tribulation.
If he failed to awaken after three days, he would most likely never wake up again, remaining in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
One day passed, then two...
In the middle of the third night, Lan Cang still showed no sign of waking.
Sang Luo hadn't slept for three whole days. As she thought about the man who had shown her nothing but kindness since her arrival in the Beast World, recalling every little moment they had shared over the past month, her eyes began to sting. A few tears escaped and fell as she lowered her head to hug him.
...
...
Lan Cang felt as if he were having a very long dream. 'I'm trapped in a nightmare I can't wake from,' he thought. 'Endless darkness is eating away at my sanity. I know my genetic frenzy struck again. This time, there's no way I'll be lucky enough to escape.'
'The events of my life flashed before my eyes: my experiences on the Western Continent, the people I met later in the Kordo Tribe, the insults, the mockery, the humiliation, the life-or-death struggles... Now that I'm about to die, I actually feel a sense of peace.'
'There's only one person I can't bear to leave behind.'
A small, determined figure came stumbling toward me and threw her arms around my body. Her tears landed on my chest, scalding hot.
'Even though she's mute, in my dream, she spoke. With a voice that was unfamiliar yet incredibly dear, she held me and cried, complaining over and over. How could I leave her behind? She was still waiting to become my mate and have babies with me.'
"Lan Cang…"
"Lan Cang, please wake up…"
Sang Luo was draped over the man, sobbing uncontrollably, when a pair of strong, powerful arms suddenly wrapped around her. "Ngh… a little gentler. You're pressing on my wounds…"