As Tang Ruhai and Lin Chuan walked in, they immediately drew the attention of everyone in the hall. An elegantly dressed noblewoman had a face covered in tears, and her brows were heavy with grief.
"What happened to Father?!"
The usually unflappable Tang Ruhai instantly lost his composure. His tiger-like eyes reddened as he asked urgently.
The noblewoman shared a few striking similarities with Tang Ruhai in facial features; they were clearly brother and sister.
The noblewoman opened her mouth, but no words came out. Fat tears immediately rolled down her face like broken beads.
Seeing this, Tang Ruhai staggered. His square face instantly paled as if struck by a bolt from the blue, and he wailed, "Father... Has Father already passed away from this world?"
"Pui, pui, pui! Eldest brother, what nonsense are you spouting? Father is still alive and well!"
"Ah?"
Tang Ruhai was momentarily stunned. "What on earth is going on, then? Where is Father? I'm going in to see him!"
Another person stepped forward to block Tang Ruhai, saying with a sorrowful expression, "Ruhai, Dad's condition has been getting worse by the day. The doctor just said that Dad doesn't have many days left, and told us to prepare ourselves."
"Impossible! Father was completely fine just a few days ago, how could he suddenly end up like this?" Tang Ruhai immediately grew agitated.
The others also stepped forward to urge Tang Ruhai to pull himself together.
"Eldest brother, why did you bring a Daoist priest here?"
The noblewoman who had spoken earlier noticed Lin Chuan, who was currently studying the two statues in the entryway with curiosity, and asked with a frown.
Indeed, anyone with eyes could tell at a glance that Lin Chuan was dressed as a Daoist priest. If not for his exceptionally handsome face, the noblewoman would have thrown him out long ago.
Tang Ruhai finally snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, "Ah, right, right! I almost forgot. This is a young master I specially invited back. He can cure Father's strange illness!"
"Stop talking, everyone. I'm taking the young master inside to treat Father."
With that, Tang Ruhai tried to pull Lin Chuan toward the bedroom, but he was blocked by the noblewoman.
"What Daoist priest, what young master? Eldest brother, have you lost your mind? Does he look anything like someone who knows how to heal? You can't just trust someone blindly just because he's good-looking and has a refined temperament!"
"Besides, for Father's illness, we've scoured the country and abroad, visiting countless famous physicians, yet none of them could even figure out what Father's illness is. How could someone as young as him possibly cure Father?"
Listening from behind, Lin Chuan furrowed his brow, though the woman hadn't been wrong about one thing: his good looks and refined temperament!
At that moment, the others also cast disdainful glances at Lin Chuan, particularly the men in the hall.
Why on earth should this brat look like an immortal descended to earth? Wearing a handsome face like that, why couldn't he stay home instead of wandering around blindly outside?
"That's right, Ruhai. I know you're upset that Dad is sick, but you can't just go outside and pick up some unknown person off the street to treat Dad. What if he harbors malicious intentions..."
"You should go get some rest. You've been under too much mental strain lately."
Everyone in the hall tried to persuade Tang Ruhai while casting cold and contemptuous looks at Lin Chuan.
In their view, this Daoist priest was surely just a charlatan trying to swindle some benefits out of the Tang Family.
Hearing all this, Tang Ruhai felt his resolve waver slightly.
However, when he looked back at Lin Chuan's calm expression and clear eyes, a sudden, inexplicable surge of confidence in Lin Chuan welled up from deep within him.
"There's no need for everyone to say any more! Anyway, Father has already reached this point; things couldn't possibly get any worse than they already are!"
The others wanted to stop him, but a single look from Tang Ruhai silenced them. In the Tang Family, aside from Elder Tang, Tang Ruhai held the most authority.
In truth, however, Tang Ruhai had no real certainty either. After all, Lin Chuan was simply too young; others his age were only just starting university.
Throughout his life, he had met countless people, including those of the highest status and greatest power, yet none of them had ever given him such an inscrutable feeling.
This young man named Lin Chuan was dressed as a Daoist priest and his manners were somewhat rustic and honest, yet this very same young man gave him the incongruous feeling of being as deep and boundless as the ocean.
He truly could not read Lin Chuan at all—not even a fraction.
This was why, despite Lin Chuan looking so unreliable, he still went against the consensus and let him treat Elder Tang.
As for the others, after being rebuffed by Tang Ruhai, they glared coldly at Lin Chuan, their disdain growing even stronger after learning about Lin Chuan's background from Uncle Liu.
Some even wondered if this might be a deliberate act staged by Lin Chuan in collusion with those two people, designed to catch Tang Ruhai's eye and gain premeditated access to the Tang Family.
"Young Master, please excuse them. This way, please!"
Tang Ruhai took a deep breath, turned, and made an inviting gesture toward Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan nodded and followed Tang Ruhai through the living room, down a corridor, and into a room on the second floor.
"Something's not right..."
While walking down the corridor, Lin Chuan felt a chill in the air, much like walking indoors into an air-conditioned room from the scorching summer heat.
Though ordinary people might not be sensitive to a temperature drop of just five or six degrees, Lin Chuan's senses far exceeded those of ordinary mortals, and he noticed it the moment he stepped into the corridor.
Along the way, there were three statues in the corridor, making five in total including the two at the entrance.
No matter whether one counted from left to right or right to left, this room was precisely the fifth one.
Lin Chuan's brows knitted slightly as a hypothesis formed in his mind.
"Young Master, my dad is right inside..."
The moment the door was opened, Lin Chuan felt a wave of biting cold air rush toward them. Even though the room had no air conditioning turned on, it was noticeably colder than anywhere else.
As soon as the door opened, Tang Ruhai saw the old man collapsed on the floor. He rushed forward frantically to help him up, shouting angrily, "Mother Zhang! How do you do your job?!"
Mother Zhang was a simple domestic helper. Startled out of her wits by Tang Ruhai's roar, she trembled all over and dropped to her knees with a thud. "First Young Master, I have no idea either! When I came out earlier, the master was still lying soundly on the bed."
The others were filled with shock and anger as well, and they began pointing fingers at Mother Zhang in accusation.
"Shut up!"
At that moment, the old man, who had been helped back onto the bed by Tang Ruhai, spoke. His voice was exceptionally weak, yet laden with pain.
"It has nothing to do with Mother Zhang. I fell down myself," Elder Tang said with difficulty. Though his voice was weak, his articulation was remarkably clear; even on the verge of death, he projected an unshakable, steadfast presence.
Elder Tang was not even seventy years old yet, but at that moment he looked decrepit and withered, appearing so aged that no one would have doubted him being eighty or ninety.
In particular, his face lacked a shred of color, and he was on his last breath, taking long, labored pauses between gasps. It looked as though he did not have long to live.
Seeing the old man in this state, Tang Ruhai felt his heart wrench, and tears began to stream down his face. The elder had once possessed a tall, imposing stature and tiger-like, fierce eyes.
To be tormented by illness into such a state in just a few short months—how could his children not feel heartbroken?
The others were also consumed by grief, kneeling beside Elder Tang's bed and weeping silently. Instantly, an atmosphere of sorrow filled the entire room.
"Crying and wailing, what kind of behavior is this?! Birth, aging, illness, and death are the natural laws of the world; what is there to cry about? Cough..."
Elder Tang glared at the large group kneeling and crying by his bed, and rebuked them.
Only Lin Chuan stood behind the crowd, watching with a thoughtful expression.
Rarely did someone of high status and great power remain so detached about life and death. But Lin Chuan practiced the Wuji Formula, and his discernment was exceptionally sharp.
Even though the elder displayed a philosophical acceptance of mortality, there was still an underlying reluctance to let go. Clinging to life and showing equanimity were not mutually exclusive.
After all, if given the chance to live, who would truly want to die?
Elder Tang's entire body trembled uncontrollably as he endured excruciating pain every single moment.
Lin Chuan stepped forward and said, "Elder Tang's condition has not yet reached the point of no return. Everyone shouldn't be so pessimistic."
Hearing this, Tang Ruhai grabbed onto it like a drowning man clutching a straw. He hurriedly looked up at Lin Chuan and asked, "Can the Young Master really cure my father?"
Lin Chuan nodded. "I have some certainty, but it still needs further confirmation."
With that, he walked around the kneeling crowd and arrived at the bedside of Elder Tang.
Seeing this, Elder Tang smiled with carefree detachment. "Young Master needn't trouble yourself. I know my own body well enough; I don't have many days left."
Lin Chuan shook his head. "Destiny is set by the heavens. The old gentleman's cranial and brow bones both protrude—a classic physiognomy of longevity and prosperity. Your time is not up yet."
Tang Ruhai added from the side, "Father, just let the Young Master try."
Elder Tang smiled and nodded. In his view, this was, after all, an expression of filial piety from his children, and he was not about to refuse it on the verge of death.
With so many hospitals and renowned doctors both at home and abroad entirely helpless against this strange illness, what could a Daoist priest this young possibly accomplish?
Lin Chuan reached out and placed his fingers over the pulse point on Elder Tang's wrist. A flash of purple light vanished in the depths of his eyes, and as a blur passed before everyone's eyes, Lin Chuan's demeanor instantly shifted from calm and tranquil to unfathomably mysterious.
"This illness of yours first flared up eight months ago, didn't it?"
A minute later, Lin Chuan released Elder Tang's wrist and spoke.
"Correct."
Elder Tang nodded. This was hardly a secret; anyone could find out with a little investigation.
Everyone present, except for Tang Ruhai, frowned. If not for the inappropriateness of the occasion, they would have stepped forward to chase him out directly.
What was the use of stating things that everyone already knew?
Lin Chuan continued, "Whenever it flares up, old gentleman, do you first experience unbearable, sharp pain in your lower abdomen, which then spreads to your left hand, your left leg, and eventually your entire body?"
"Furthermore, does it recur every five hours precisely, with the fifth flare-up of the day being especially agonizing? During the flare-ups, do you feel as though something is moving around inside your body?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Elder Tang and the others widened their eyes in utter shock.
They had never revealed these details to anyone, and some of the symptoms mentioned were things even they had not known.
At that point, everyone realized that Lin Chuan was not some charlatan from the rivers and lakes, but someone who genuinely possessed real skills.
Lin Chuan extended his palm. "Please write any characters or draw anything you like on my palm, old gentleman. Stop whenever I tell you to."
This mystical procedure left Elder Tang with his jaw slack in astonishment, but he hurriedly complied.
As Elder Tang traced characters on Lin Chuan's palm with his finger, the purple glow in Lin Chuan's eyes grew increasingly intense, turning his black pupils into the color of purple crystals.
"Three signifies vitality, five signifies death; life breeds life while death breeds death. The union of worm and blood is the root of the disease, and twin trees bringing spring make the miraculous hands."
Lin Chuan opened his eyes again, and the purple light within them vanished instantly. The divination verse matched his hypothesis closely.
"Old gentleman, you have been cursed with Gu poison. Right now, the Gu worms have spread throughout your entire body, constantly devouring your flesh, blood, and vital essence, which is why you have aged so rapidly. Once the Gu worms spread to your heart and brain, even immortals won't be able to save you."
"What! Gu poison?!" Tang Ruhai was struck with panic, and the others were thoroughly startled as well.
Lin Chuan nodded and was just about to speak when an abrupt voice rang out from outside the door.
"Utter nonsense!"