Zhang Xiaohou looked as though he had been startled. His body suddenly recoiled, avoiding He Yu's embrace, while confusion and wariness flickered in his eyes.
"Xiaohou? It's me! I'm He Yu! That's Mo Fan! Don't you recognize us?"
Tears streamed down He Yu's face. She did not dare approach him rashly again, merely reaching out with a trembling hand, wanting to touch his face.
Zhang Xiaohou continued staring blankly at her, then at Mo Fan. His lips moved a few times.
He seemed to want to say something, but his mind was completely blank. He could not remember anything.
"W-What happened to him?!"
Mo Fan's eyes reddened as well. Forcing back his grief, he looked toward Su Xiaoluo beside them.
Su Xiaoluo sighed, set down the medicine spoon, and walked over. Her gaze at Zhang Xiaohou was filled with pity.
"About a month ago, I went out to gather herbs and found him on a rocky slope near Yangyang Village. He was already like this when I found him—badly injured and unconscious. He still had this wound on his face, and after waking up, he couldn't remember anything. He didn't even know who he was, couldn't speak clearly, and reacted very slowly."
She paused, her voice carrying the rueful sorrow of a healer.
"It was a miracle he survived. That wound nearly reached his brain. He had lost too much blood and was severely poisoned by corpse venom. If he hadn't happened to encounter me, he probably would have died already."
He Yu's tears flowed even more fiercely as she listened.
Fu Ye stood in the doorway, silently watching the scene.
Asha Ruiya also stood in the shadows outside. Her violet eyes thoughtfully studied the scar on Zhang Xiaohou's face, then swept over the surroundings within the house.
When Asha