Chen Qianfan was around sixty years old. It was unclear whether he had drunk some immortal wine or had figured out some magical technique at the Mi Mountain Sect, but all his hair was white, yet his appearance did not show his age. His body was also very strong, without the typical thinness of an elderly person.

Monk Juehui had a bitter face, while Abbot Juefang had a smiling one. This former "Monk Jueguo" had no expression on his face, which formed a perfect set with the other two.

However, his facial features were better than those of Juefei and Juehui. He also wore the elegant attire of the Mi Mountain Sect, with a blue and white loose-fitting outfit that was out of the ordinary. But with Chen Qianfan's overly sturdy body, he did not exude any immortal aura.

Chen Qianfan placed the basket full of demon corpses on the ground and rubbed the snow off his shoes at the door.

"Xiao Chun, is someone here?" His tone was indifferent, devoid of any emotion.

Xiao Chun——Granny Wei immediately stood up with joy, "Yes, it's been five or six years since we've had guests...Ah, Master Chen, you're skilled in divination, you must have known already."

"Mm, the ones called over by Juefei. Take your Nuo masks off, and let me take a look at everyone's faces."

In the room, only Shi Jingzhi and Shi Zhongyu had their faces exposed. Hearing this, the other three also removed their masks. Chen Qianfan's gaze swept over everyone's faces, but did not linger on Shi Jingzhi or Yin Ci's appearance for even a moment.

"...Hmm, it'll do."

After scanning each person's face, Chen Qianfan spoke vaguely and then took off the heavy record book hanging from his chest. Finally, he pulled a small cloth bag from his waist and threw it next to the corpse basket, causing a few pale red petals to fall out.

Uncaring of his audience, he then proceeded to unload all the weight from his body, walking over to the table without any airs and placing the record book onto it.

As Shi Jingzhi glanced around, he noticed that the record book had a cover made of demon skin, with yellowed pages and frayed edges, indicating its age.

"Say it, what brings you here?" Chen Qianfan asked directly, taking a sip of soup after settling into his seat.

Shi Jingzhi's polite words were all stuck in his throat.

Chen Qianfan clearly had no intention of being a gracious host and went straight to the point. They had come on the recommendation of Juefei, but he didn't even ask about Juefei's current situation.

Although relieved that he didn't have to lie to Chen Qianfan's face, Shi Jingzhi felt uneasy about dealing with his cold and unapproachable attitude.

When no one spoke, Chen Qianfan rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Are you all mute? Did you come all this way just to mooch a meal off me?"

...It was the familiar weird style of Jianchen Tample. Shi Jingzhi finally relaxed a little.

He got straight to the point: "My memories before the age of three have been restricted by someone, and the prohibition has been triggered recently. I hope that Senior can help me solve this problem, and we can negotiate the reward. This junior will definitely do my best."

"Oh, I thought it was something big." Chen Qianfan waved his hand dismissively. "It's just a problem as trivial as a fart. After we finish eating, I'll take a look. And you? Yes, you, the little girl - you're not with them, are you?"

Shi Zhongyu didn't expect to be called out so soon. She stood up cautiously and bowed.

"I am Shi Zhongyu from Taiheng. I have come to pay my respects..."

"Don't waste my time with useless chatter. I'm not interested in your name." Chen Qianfan's expressionless face was filled with impatience. "What do you want, just speak up directly."

"The Sect Leader is critically ill, and there is no cure." Shi Zhongyu dared not say another word.

"Did you bring the pulse jade?"

"I did."

"Well then, your problem is even more trivial. Just queue up in front of that other kid, and we'll speak after we finish eating." Chen Qianfan finished his soup with a satisfied burp. "I'm done eating, you guys can do whatever you want. Xiao Chun, I've picked the demon flower for you, you can handle it yourself."

Granny Wei happily replied, "Oh, do you want more soup?"

Chen Qianfan said, "Sure, bring me another bowl."

Yin Ci sipped the unsalted soup and frowned slightly.

This Chen Qianfan is quite interesting.

The prohibition set by Shi Jingzhi was complex, and even with Yin Ci's internal strength, he dared not rashly break it. No matter how you looked at it, this was not a "trivial problem". Chen Qianfan didn't seem like a braggart, so who knows, maybe he had a clever solution.

As soon as they heard there was a solution, Shi Jingzhi and Shi Zhongyu ate quickly, wishing they could stuff the bowls into their mouths.

After dinner, Shi Zhongyu didn't even have time to wipe her mouth before she handed over the pulse jade with both hands.

The pulse jade was warm and soft, capable of recording a patient's pulse and maintaining it for about seven days. It was considered an auxiliary tool for remote diagnosis, but it was so expensive that it left people speechless. Only Taiheng could afford such extravagance.

Chen Qianfan pressed on the pulse jade for a while.

"Are you trying to fool me? This pulse is just a common symptom of weakness and fever. Does the patient have any other symptoms?"

Shi Zhongyu had hoped that the Mi Mountain Sect would be able to detect any abnormalities, but with just one sentence, her expectations were dashed.

"It's just a high fever for several days, nothing else. After a few days of high fever, the Sect Leader showed signs of 'Broken Horse'."

Chen Qianfan raised an eyebrow. "Broken Horse?"

Shi Zhongyu was nearly speechless. "'Broken Horse' is an internal term of our sect. It means that the old man is seriously ill and difficult to save. I..."

Chen Qianfan snorted and interrupted Shi Zhongyu directly, his tone showing a hint of interest: "So people in the Central Plains have also noticed, not bad. Broken Horse, Broken Horse. This description is quite appropriate. I used to call it 'Heaven's Wrath', which means almost the same thing. It is difficult for a broken horse to stand up again, and the heavens despise useless people."

Chen Qianfan stroked his half-long beard and made a clicking sound with his mouth.

"The one with fox eyes over there, you carry the banner of a Jianghu doctor. You must have noticed something, right?"

When he said this, Chen Qianfan didn't even turn his eyes. Shi Jingzhi reacted for a while before realizing that Chen Qianfan was calling him. "This junior has only seen a few cases, but I have indeed noticed something."

"Severe injuries and illnesses seem to have a certain limit. If you treat them before that limit, it's much easier. But once you pass that limit, it's like trying to stop water with your bare hands, and medicine can't cure it... But isn't this a normal situation?"

Yin Ci had a similar doubt.

It's natural that mild illnesses are easy to treat while severe ones are difficult. This is just common sense, but having too many idle people leads to the creation of new words to describe it.

Chen Qianfan seemed to have noticed their doubts and said, "I used to think this was normal too, but this place is at the intersection of three countries. Occasionally, some foreigners come seeking help - the Naluojiu people and the Dayun people are similar in that they have an invisible and intangible 'boundary.' It's quite interesting, but the Qituo people wouldn't have this problem."

Su Si couldn't help but interject, "Perhaps it's because foreigners have different physical constitutions."

Chen Qianfan gave Su Si a disdainful look and said, "Do you think I wouldn't have thought of such a low-level reason? If must compare, then the Qituo people and the Dayun people have more similar physical constitutions. The Naluojiu people, regardless of gender, are all nine feet tall and have nothing in common with the Dayun people in terms of diet and lifestyle, yet they share this one trait?"

As Su Si met Chen Qianfan's sharp knife-like gaze, he felt as though he had peered into his soul. He couldn't utter another word.

Chen Qianfan withdrew his gaze and said, "I call it 'Heaven's Wrath' because its characteristics are quite interesting. Any injury that triggers Heaven's Wrath is destined to become a burden."

"For example, compare it with a Qituo person without Heaven's Wrath. If both suffer a double leg fracture, a Dayun person only needs half a month to recover, while a Qituo person needs two to three months. But if both legs are bitten off by a tiger or wolf, even if treated in time, a Dayun person will die, while a Qituo person may have a chance to survive.

"The older and weaker a person is, the more likely they are to trigger Heaven's Wrath. For you to think that only an old person will trigger the Broken Horse is unsurprising. And that Sect Leader of yours... let me think, he's around seventy, right? His meridians are already damaged, and he's been burned by the fever into a useless person, hasn't he?"

Shi Zhongyu was convinced and said, "Yes."

Then she hesitated for a short while and spoke up: "My family has been engaged in the spice business with Xilong for a long time, and the people of Xilong have never been like the people of Dayun. Last time, a Xilong person was injured in my family's shop and it took a hundred days to heal... At the time, I thought it was a coincidence, but still found it strange."

So, was that why she was particularly interested in the "Broken Horse" phenomenon?

Yin Ci lowered her gaze.

The "Broken Horse" that Taiheng discovered was the "Heaven's Wrath" mentioned by Chen Qianfan.

The "immortal fate" of the people in Yuanxian Village and the "Cuckoo's Calamity" passed down amongst the people were the "demonic talents" coined by Yin Ci himself.

They all seemed to have vaguely touched on the edges of some unusual things, but because the information was scattered, they were unable to unify their understanding.

"This 'Heaven's Wrath is a bit strange," Yan Qing suddenly muttered.

Usually only Su Si can't control his mouth, and it's rare to see Yan Qing getting involved in these strange things. Yin Ci turned his gaze and didn't miss this abnormality: "What's so strange?"

Throughout the journey, Yan Qing had an inexplicable awe of Yin Ci. When he saw Yin Ci looking over, he quickly sat up straight on the bench.

"It's nothing big, I just saw Lord Bai and randomly thought of something. In the past, I helped a family raise livestock, and they were the same."

The more Yan Qing spoke, the less confident he became.

"For minor illnesses and injuries in livestock, we need to quickly help them heal. But if it's too troublesome to treat the disease, or if it's a serious injury, we should quickly kill and eat them, otherwise it will just be a waste of feed."

This association is either simple or cruel, and Su Si next to Yan Qing was also stunned for a moment: "San-zi, you... really dare to think."

Yan Qing quickly explained, "The real 'Heaven's Wrath' is definitely not like that. We all live and die like ordinary people, there aren't people who are killed to be eaten like livestock. I just said it casually."

However, Chen Qianfan's eyes lit up and he picked up the old record book, quickly jotting down notes. He wrote for a full stick of incense before realizing he had neglected them.

"If you have triggered 'Heaven's Wrath,' then it's easy. Come with me these next few days and we'll gather some materials. I'll make you a disaster-blocking talisman."

Chen Qianfan calmly put down his notebook and yawned, looking as if nothing had happened.

"A disaster-blocking talisman?"

"You can take off your Sect Leader's illness and lure it to your own body, shielding him from this disaster. You're still young and won't easily trigger the 'Heaven's Wrath.' With your Sect Leader's illness weakened, it can deceive the heavens and temporarily relieve the 'Heaven's Wrath.' Take this opportunity to quickly investigate your Sect Leader's condition, and it will be resolved."

Shi Zhongyu stood frozen in place, "Senior, aren't you going to prescribe medicine?"

Chen Qianfan's expression was blank, "Prescribe medicine? With the patient's condition, it doesn't seem like an unheard-of strange illness. His symptoms are too few, and it seems more like someone is plotting to weaken his body and deliberately trigger the 'Heaven's Wrath' to let him die more naturally."

"At most, I can only wake him up and have him provide some clues. But let me tell you, one or two days is fine, if you shield him from disaster for too long, you'll also become a useless person. You..."

"So be it," Shi Zhongyu interrupted Chen Qianfan for the first time. "Being able to withstand this disaster for the Sect Leader is enough."

Chen Qianfan looked at her seriously for the first time. "Okay, next."

Shi Jingzhi silently stepped forward.

Yin Ci also perked up, temporarily putting aside thoughts of "Heaven's Wrath" and "demonic talent," ready to observe Chen Qianfan's breakthrough.

Unfortunately, the more he watched, the more he felt that this person was a bit unreliable.

Chen Qianfan didn't prepare any incense or special tools, instead casually dragging over a round log for Shi Jingzhi to sit on in the spacious area. He didn't even take out any extraordinary instruments, just rummaged through the messy pile of goods in the corner of the wall and found a pair of small dark cymbals.

With a serious expression, he rolled up his sleeves and wildly banged the pair of bells near Shi Jingzhi's head, like a rural shaman jumping around.

As Shi Jingzhi sat there, a faint impression of a funeral emanated from him*. He looked bewildered and didn't know how to ask, so he just sat there like a meditating monk.

*T/N: Funeral ceremonies sometimes have such rites, with cymbals clashing.

Little did he know that after half an incense stick's worth of time, a complete formation appeared behind his head. It shimmered with a brilliant golden light and had extremely complex patterns. Against the back of Shi Jingzhi's head, it looked like the radiance of an evil god.

Chen Qianfan said, "Oh it's this, this isn't something that can't be cured. But you have to choose for yourself."

"Choose for myself?"

"If you just want to get rid of the pain of the prohibition, a cup of tea will do the trick. I will remove the memory that triggered the prohibition, and the prohibition will be completely lifted. Problem solved - I'm very skilled at removing memories."

Chen Qianfan clapped his hands.

"But if you want to break the prohibition, that's another matter."

Shi Jingzhi licked his dry lips and said, "Please speak."

"The person who cast this prohibition is more skilled than our sect's elders. I am not specialized in breaking formations, how could I easily break such a complex thing?"

"If you insist on breaking it, the odds of life and death are fifty-fifty."

"Choose, kid."

The author has something to say:

Yan Qing: For a person with intermittent episodes like Yan Budu...

Chen Fuzi's violent formation-breaking solution √

Yin Ci: Alright, let me see if I can use my fine skills to remove the illness.

Chen Qianfan: (takes out a shovel) Come, let me dig out your brain.

Yin Ci & Shi Jingzhi: ...