After Qiqi swallowed the Sweet Sweet Pill, the wounds on him, left by the monster attack, healed at a visible rate.
These injuries were just superficial skin wounds, and they were completely healed in a short while.
However, the healing effects of the Sweet Sweet Pill had not yet been exhausted, so it began to search for treatable areas within Qiqi's body.
Qiqi is a zombie, and zombies are born after death. If life force were to be digitized, Qiqi's HP had already reached zero at the time of his death, and his body had become a corpse.
But with the help of the Adepti's power, he did not die even though his HP reached zero; instead, he became a zombie, existing between life and death. However, his immortal body still retained corpse-like characteristics such as stiffness, coldness, no breathing or heartbeat, and a stopped metabolism.
It could be said that his body was still in the state of 0 HP; even though zombies are fierce, they are not at full health.
Thus, the missing functions of Qiqi's body became the target of the Sweet Sweet Pill's treatment; it attempted to repair this dead immortal body.
This naturally included the lost senses on Qiqi's body, such as his lost sense of taste. Therefore, at that moment, Qiqi felt the lingering sweet taste in his mouth.
In truth, that taste was very faint, like an old person on the verge of death who can't taste much when eating. But for Qiqi, who had long lost his sense of taste, it was like a tiny flicker of light in endless darkness, small yet incredibly striking.
It was the taste he had experienced when he was still alive, like the candy his parents, whose faces he had already forgotten, used to make for him... "Qiqi?"
Noticing Qiqi's reaction, Ryan bent down to wipe away the tears from his eyes.
Zombies do not cry, as the function of the tear glands is also lost, but the Sweet Sweet Pill restored it for a moment, causing a few drops of tears to well up.
"The taste... it's sweet... but, it's gone again..."
Wiping away his tears, Qiqi came back to his senses, licking his tongue back and forth in his mouth, but he could no longer taste anything.
Logically, sweetness can linger in the mouth for a considerable time, but that Sweet Sweet Pill was, after all, only a one-star elixir; it couldn't truly bring the dead back to life.
Its actual effect was merely to reawaken the lost functions of Qiqi's body for a brief moment, after which it was exhausted.
Body functions that lose their sustenance will quickly revert to their original state.
"It's okay, I still have some here... Hmm, two left."
Hearing Qiqi's words, Ryan immediately took out his remaining two Sweet Sweet Pills and handed them to him.
"Oh... Thank you."
Qiqi's eyes flickered. After thanking Ryan earnestly, he took the two Sweet Sweet Pills Ryan offered.
"If it's not enough, I'll refine some more for you next time. These are all made from sweet flowers; I can refine as many as you want."
Ryan gently stroked Qiqi's head again, explaining.
As the product of his first attempt at alchemy, the Sweet Sweet Pill required very cheap medicinal ingredients, not to mention that he already knew the refining process by heart.
Without special ingredients, refining elixirs with normal medicinal materials usually took him half a day, but the Sweet Sweet Pill could be reduced to seven or eight hours per furnace.
"Qiqi, don't be greedy..."
Qiqi gently shook his head, then looked at the two Sweet Sweet Pills in his hand, carefully putting one of them away before swallowing the other.
"Sweet... I like it..."
His lost sense of taste was reactivated for a brief moment, and Qiqi squinted his eyes, showing a satisfied expression.
"Strange, how did This Master also smell a sweet scent?"
Hu Tao was also surprised that Qiqi, a zombie, could regain some sense of taste, but after realizing it, she leaned in curiously, sniffing Ryan and Qiqi respectively.
Her sudden close proximity startled Ryan.
Soon, Hu Tao locked her target onto Qiqi.
Qiqi was contentedly squinting his eyes. Hu Tao seized the opportunity to take one of his hands and sniffed it carefully in front of her nose.
Qiqi opened his eyes in confusion, and upon seeing Hu Tao, he instinctively pulled his hand back.
He was worried Hu Tao would eat him... "It's true! Qiqi smells like sweet flowers!"
After Qiqi pulled his hand back, Hu Tao immediately told Ryan with certainty.
"Ahem, it's normal. Eating this Sweet Sweet Pill has a chance of making oneself emit the scent of sweet flowers, so now Qiqi is fragrant and sweet."
Ryan cleared his throat and explained to Hu Tao.
Even if his ability to appraise elixirs hadn't evolved, he already knew the side effects of the Sweet Sweet Pill.
After all, when the first Sweet Sweet Pill was refined and eaten by Mountain Shaper, this effect had already appeared.
"Oh, I see. Now Qiqi is fragrant and sweet, let me have a good taste~"
"...Fragrant and sweet?"
Listening to Ryan and Hu Tao's conversation, Qiqi tilted his head in confusion, then lowered his head to sniff his arm.
His sense of smell was not completely lost like his sense of taste; it was just less sensitive. And the function that was not completely lost did not quickly revert to its original state under the effect of the Sweet Sweet Pill, so he faintly smelled a sweet scent.
"Alright, since we've found Qiqi, let's head back quickly."
Having found Qiqi and used the Sweet Sweet Pill to heal his injuries, Ryan finally suggested.
"Mmm... Qiqi, gathering herbs, not yet."
Hearing Ryan's suggestion, Qiqi pointed at the basket placed on the ground nearby, looking a bit troubled.
He had specifically come to Jueyun Karst to gather herbs, but due to some accidents, he was unable to complete the decree.
"Hehe, This Master remembers now. Actually, as long as we help Qiqi complete the decree, the decree can be lifted. So just now, we only needed to help Qiqi climb up and gather herbs."
Qiqi's explanation made Hu Tao think of something, and she smirked as she leaned close to Ryan to remind him.
"You, why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Ryan immediately turned to look at Hu Tao, but she had her hands behind her back, turning her head and softly whistling, looking as if it had nothing to do with her.
"Qiqi, I'll take you up to gather herbs."
What was done was done, and thinking about it further was useless. Ryan looked at Qiqi again and suggested.
Although he himself couldn't fly, it would be very easy to use Adeptal arts to ask his master to fly Qiqi up there.
"This Master wants to fly too, take This Master with you!"
Hearing that Ryan was going to take Qiqi flying, Hu Tao's eyes lit up, and she immediately leaned over again.
She had been very envious watching Ryan fly up and down just now, but unfortunately, she had a Pyro Vision and couldn't fly.
Unless... she blew herself up.
Ryan did not refuse. He took Qiqi's hand and cast Adeptal arts, while Hu Tao, despite Qiqi's resistance, took his other hand.
"Oh... flying..."
Soon, Qiqi had no time to worry about Hu Tao, because Ryan took them both flying over Huaguang Stone Forest.
Although zombies are different from ordinary people, Qiqi cannot fly. When gathering herbs, after climbing one stone pillar, he would have to climb down from it first, and then he could go and climb another stone pillar.
But if he could fly, after gathering herbs, he could directly fly to another stone pillar to gather herbs, which made Qiqi a little envious...