He Chengwei sighed and said, "The Spiritual Snake Nine Probing Needle Technique is extremely draining, both mentally and physically. I'm so weak right now I can't even hold a pair of chopsticks. There's no way I can perform the acupuncture treatment for you."
"Dr. He, what exactly is your illness? I see you have a space heater, a thick quilt, and even an electric blanket running... Are you really that sensitive to the cold?" Yu Ke had long been curious about these things but hadn't found the right opportunity to ask.
He Chengwei gave a bitter smile. "You might laugh, but even with all this, I still feel incredibly cold. How should I put it... It feels like I'm standing naked inside an ice cave."
"It sounds a bit like an aversion to cold from an external pathogen, but that shouldn't be this severe," Zhao Yuan said, frowning.
"Oh? You know about aversion to cold from external pathogens? What, are you studying medicine too?" He Chengwei asked, looking at Zhao Yuan with curiosity.
"Yes, I'm a student at West Hua Medical University, and this is our anatomy teacher." Zhao Yuan quickly introduced himself and Yu Ke, then asked, "Dr. He, this illness has been going on for over a week, right? Haven't you prescribed yourself any medicine to treat it?"
"I did," He Chengwei sighed. "At first, I also suspected it was an aversion to cold from an external pathogen and wrote myself a prescription based on that idea. But after a few doses, my symptoms didn't improve at all. Several of my doctor friends also came for a consultation. We tried a lot of things, both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western medicine, but nothing worked. The aversion to cold just kept getting worse. The first couple of days, I could manage by just adding a layer of clothes. But now... you can see for yourselves. Even with this whole setup, I'm still freezing! It gets even worse at night. I feel like my blood is about to freeze solid."
As He Chengwei described his condition, Zhao Yuan activated his Qi Observation Technique, wanting to see which part of his body was the problem. The sight, however, left Zhao Yuan utterly astonished.
The Evil Qi on He Chengwei's body wasn't confined to a single area; it permeated him, inside and out! At a glance, he looked as if he had been completely consumed by darkness.
'How could this be?!' Zhao Yuan was shocked. This was the first time he had ever seen Evil Qi so thoroughly pervading someone's entire body.
Beyond his surprise, Zhao Yuan observed carefully and soon made a new discovery. The Evil Qi consuming He Chengwei was constantly growing and expanding. The reason for this was a continuous stream of black Evil Qi from the surroundings, drilling into He Chengwei's body!
'Could it be that the root of He Chengwei's illness isn't in his body, but in this house?'
Zhao Yuan glanced around and discovered that the house was filled with Evil Qi! The surging Evil Qi made the room pitch-black. While it wasn't so dark that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, it wasn't far off.
'The house really is the problem!'
Zhao Yuan was even more surprised, partly because of the Evil Qi in the house, and partly because of the Qi Observation Technique.
He had never imagined that the Qi Observation Technique could be used not only to inspect people but also to observe the fluctuations of Evil Qi in the world. But on second thought, it made sense. Traditional Chinese Medicine has always emphasized the Unity of Heaven and Man, viewing humanity and nature as an integrated whole. Since they were part of the same whole, it wasn't so strange that the Qi Observation Technique could see the changes of Evil Qi in the natural world.
'It seems the Feng Shui of this house is the problem, which is what's generating this pathogenic Evil Qi. I just don't know how the Feng Shui was ruined, or how to resolve it.'
Zhao Yuan's brow furrowed.
If He Chengwei were suffering from an ordinary illness, Zhao Yuan could search for a cure in the medical records left by Wu Peng. But he was being affected by the house's Feng Shui; conventional treatments would obviously be useless. The house's Feng Shui had to be reversed. Otherwise, given how bad it was getting, He Chengwei would be 'frozen' to death by the complete invasion of Evil Qi in another ten days to half a month, at most!
But Zhao Yuan knew nothing about Feng Shui. Although he had identified the problem, he had no idea where to even begin.
'Maybe I should ask a Feng Shui Master for help? But most Feng Shui Masters these days are just scammers; very few are actually skilled. Besides, if I just randomly bring a Feng Shui Master to someone's house, they'll think I'm crazy.'
While Zhao Yuan was lost in thought, the White Cat, which had been wandering around the house, returned to his side. It tugged at his pant leg and started meowing insistently.
Zhao Yuan was preoccupied and had no time for it. He ruffled the White Cat's head and said, "Go play by yourself."
But the White Cat didn't give up. It meowed even louder and pulled harder on his pant leg, as if trying to lead him somewhere.
Zhao Yuan suddenly recalled his earlier suspicion and a thought struck him: 'Could it be that the White Cat has found something?' He quickly stood up. Seeing him rise, the White Cat stopped fussing and turned toward the living room. It paused at the bedroom doorway and meowed at him twice, urging him to follow.
"Dr. He, may I use your restroom?" Zhao Yuan said, using it as an excuse to follow the White Cat out of the bedroom.
He Chengwei didn't pay it any mind, but a flicker of suspicion crossed Yu Ke's eyes.
Once in the living room, the White Cat went straight to the northwest corner. It faced the wall and meowed loudly, while frantically scratching at it with its little paws.
'Is there something wrong with this wall?' Zhao Yuan immediately used his Qi Observation Technique to take a look.
Sure enough, the Evil Qi on this wall was far denser than anywhere else! After careful observation, Zhao Yuan discovered that all the Evil Qi in the house was being generated from within this very wall!
'Why is this wall producing Evil Qi?' A new question popped into Zhao Yuan's mind.
'Ah, I remember now! In the 'Miscellaneous Knowledge' section, there should be some content on Feng Shui. Let me see if I can find a similar case.'
Zhao Yuan quickly opened the Information Leaf and pulled up the Feng Shui content under the Miscellaneous Knowledge section. After a bit of searching, he really did find something.
'Door facing southeast, window in the west, a large tree outside blocking the sunlight, and a stream flowing underneath...'
Zhao Yuan compared the contents of the Information Leaf with the He Family's situation, confirming each point. It was a perfect match. He finally concluded, 'It really is a Feng Shui problem! This is the "Gathering Water into Ice" formation, a layout that leads to the Destruction of the Family! No wonder the wall near the stream is generating Evil Qi, and no wonder He Chengwei, whose body has been invaded by it, is so deathly afraid of the cold! Right now, he's the only one suffering. But after he's 'frozen' to death, his wife and children will follow. In the end, the entire He Family will be 'frozen' to death by this Evil Qi!'
"Find anything?" Yu Ke had also come into the living room and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah," Zhao Yuan replied.
"You keep staring at the wall. Dr. He's illness isn't related to this wall, is it?" Yu Ke asked, making a rare joke.
"You guessed it," Zhao Yuan said with a nod.
"What?" Yu Ke was stunned.
He Chengwei's illness was really related to the wall? What kind of joke was that?!