Chapter 27: The Bet!

Whether by coincidence or inevitability, Su Tan saw that Xu Xiuwu's future held a similar experience to Village Chief Chen's. That's right! It was also a bloody calamity.

Visions of Xu Xiuwu's impending fate surfaced in his mind. In the black-and-white imagery, Xu Xiuwu was ambushed shortly after leaving. The Xu Family members clashed with the assassins in a tragic and brutal battle. Relying solely on his own strength, Xu Xiuwu fought against five experts. Initially, he overpowered them completely, beating them as easily as swatting flies. However, the hidden issues in his body soon flared up. Seeing this, the five experts launched a fierce assault, kicking him while he was down in an attempt to take his life. In the end, Xu Xiuwu risked everything to kill the five experts, but his own life force was completely drained.

Su Tan frowned, though his emotions didn't fluctuate much. He felt that such a scenario was entirely unsurprising—it was inevitable. He had spoken with Village Chief Chen previously and knew that the Xu Family had no shortage of enemies. There were plenty of people who wanted Xu Xiuwu dead!

Even so, if someone was in poor health, shouldn't they stay home and rest? Instead, he was parading around in a carriage. Wasn't he just handing his enemies an opportunity on a silver platter? It would be a miracle if they didn't try to kill him when they saw him traveling alone.

Su Tan really couldn't figure it out. Xu Xiuwu was a shrewd old fox, and the Xu Family members weren't stupid either. They surely knew that others would seize this chance to deal with Xu Xiuwu. Yet, instead of keeping him safely at home, they allowed him to wander out and present a perfect target. This whole situation was far too contradictory.

Of course, Su Tan didn't know what kind of fishy business was going on behind the scenes, nor did he plan to find out. If someone asked him to read their fortune, he would simply do so. If it was within his capabilities, he might even cure their illnesses.

However, that depended entirely on the other party's attitude. If they insulted him or walked all over him, and still expected him to save them? That was impossible. He certainly had a sense of compassion, but he was absolutely not a bleeding heart.

"You are facing a bloody calamity!" Su Tan said, withdrawing his hand.

"A bloody calamity? What makes you say that?" Xu Xiuwu asked.

Hearing Su Tan's words, the Xu Family—including Xu Xiuwu himself—showed absolutely no surprise. Su Tan could even sense that their emotions barely fluctuated, as if they already knew everything.

"I saw in the divination that after you leave here, you will face an assassination attempt by five experts. In the end, although you will fight with everything you have to kill all your attackers, the hidden issues in your body will flare up as a result." Su Tan laid out the entire sequence of events.

He was finding the situation increasingly bizarre.

Xu Xiuwu's expression remained placid as he listened to the description. Even his tone of voice lacked any emotional shift. He wondered if they simply didn't believe him. They probably thought he hadn't truly divined anything. After all, in their eyes, he was no different from the street-side God Sticks.

"Oh? Then does sir know what is wrong with my great-grandfather's body?" Jiu hurriedly asked.

Before Su Tan could speak, Xu Xiuwu waved his hand, interrupting him. "Ah, the issue with my body is no secret. I'm afraid anyone you pull off the streets near White Cloud City would know about it. It is the troublesome Spirit-Devouring Syndrome."

Spirit-Devouring Syndrome. It was a condition where the Qi Sea within the body shattered, rendering it unable to store Spiritual Power. The power would gradually dissipate until the afflicted person became a normal human. Su Tan knew of this from his usual chats with Village Chief Chen about the outside world.

Hearing Xu Xiuwu unwittingly confess this, Su Tan's expression brightened as he offered a meaningful smile. He had discovered something very interesting. Xu Xiuwu wasn't suffering from Spirit-Devouring Syndrome at all; he had an entirely different problem.

In the divination imagery, Xu Xiuwu didn't lack Spiritual Power during his battle. On the contrary, his vitality and blood were incredibly robust. No matter how one looked at it, he didn't resemble someone afflicted with Spirit-Devouring Syndrome.

Earlier, when he placed his finger on Xu Xiuwu's glabella, Su Tan felt a volatile energy coursing through the man's body. The system's restoration function had automatically scanned him, revealing that Xu Xiuwu's meridians had been forcibly widened, leaving behind micro-tears from the expansion.

Why was this? Xu Xiuwu had broken through! This was the aftereffect of a breakthrough in his cultivation!

An individual whose cultivation had successfully broken through was rumored by the outside world to be suffering from failing health and Spirit-Devouring Syndrome? Furthermore, the man himself acknowledged this rumor and blatantly paraded around seeking medical treatment? Su Tan instantly caught a whiff of something highly unusual. These large noble families were truly complicated!

Did Xu Xiuwu know about the violent energy wreaking havoc in his body? Did he know about the aftereffects of his breakthrough? Su Tan had no way of knowing. However, since the man was right in front of him, he might as well offer a reminder, doing what he could within his capabilities.

Su Tan shook his head and said, "I think you've misunderstood. I never said you had Spirit-Devouring Syndrome! In fact, you don't have Spirit-Devouring Syndrome at all!"

Su Tan's words caused the previously nonchalant Xu Xiuwu to freeze. A subtle shift finally broke his unflappable expression.

Xu Xiuwu had always believed that Su Tan was nothing more than a traveling charlatan. He assumed that this so-called fortune-telling was achieved by collecting a massive amount of information about the client, then compiling and analyzing it to form a conclusion. And the reason he could gather such information was surely thanks to Village Chief Chen.

His condition had long since spread throughout the vicinity of White Cloud City. It wouldn't be difficult at all for someone to learn about his situation, analyze it, and organize a convincing story. He thought Su Tan would simply play along with the rumors and say he had Spirit-Devouring Syndrome. Su Tan's unexpected curveball left him a little stunned!

Su Tan, naturally ignoring whatever Xu Xiuwu was thinking, continued at his own pace, "From what I can see, your condition matches what the books describe as qi deviation!"

"Qi deviation?!" Xu Xiuwu stared at Su Tan.

"That's right. I sense a violent energy inside your body. This energy might seem like something you can harness, but in reality, you can't use it at all. It is a ticking time bomb that will detonate at any moment, destroying your body from the inside out!" Su Tan explained.

Little White Wolf had also spotted Xu Xiuwu's problem and relayed the situation to Su Tan, which was why he dared to be so certain.

Xu Xiuwu fell silent, and the rest of the Xu Family members fell silent as well.

Su Tan assumed their silence meant he had hit the nail on the head. In truth, Xu Xiuwu already knew about his real physical problems.

After a moment, however, Xu Xiuwu burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Sir, you might truly possess the skill of divination, but this time... I dare say you are mistaken!

"The issue with my body is undoubtedly Spirit-Devouring Syndrome. As for qi deviation? Sir, did you know that the Xu Family's ancestral Cultivation Technique is the Purifying Heart Technique, designed specifically to prevent qi deviation? Anyone else might suffer from qi deviation, but members of my Xu Family absolutely never will!" Xu Xiuwu stated confidently.

"Even the youth who slaughters demons can eventually become a demon himself. Accidents are always possible. The way I see it, your body has suffered a major issue, and you are experiencing qi deviation!" Su Tan said calmly.

"Are you truly not joking, sir?"

"I am merely speaking the truth. Do I look like I'm joking?"

"I wouldn't be so certain about other things, but I absolutely will not suffer from qi deviation!" Xu Xiuwu declared with unwavering confidence.

Xu Xiuwu continued, "Furthermore... you mentioned earlier that I would face a bloody calamity, and that I would only kill my opponents by risking my life, completely draining my own life force in the process... I don't believe that either!

"How about this? Let's make a bet. If my bet is correct, then starting today, Chen Family Village's taxes will be indefinitely reduced by ninety percent, and I will gift you one thousand taels of Gold. But if you lose..."

"If I lose? It is impossible for me to lose!" Su Tan interjected.