Seeking the Fragments of Law

"Never seen it?"

"You haven't either?"

"None of you have seen it?"

For three consecutive days, Chen Chang'an had been treating patients at the He Family.

The He Family, after all, was a major clan that had existed for many years, boasting an immortal king-level powerhouse and a sizable population of several thousand.

Among these thousands, over two thousand had been invaded by the power of the Death Law.

Based on Chen Chang'an's observations and analysis, nearly ninety percent of these two thousand would likely succumb when the Death Law's power erupted.

Fortunately, Chen Chang'an intervened, eliminating the Death Law's power from their bodies.

Chen Chang'an also questioned every member of the He Family about whether they had seen the Law Fragment.

Yet the answer was unanimous—the He Family had never encountered it.

"Big brother, it seems the thing isn’t with the He Family."

"But I’m curious—can Law Fragments leak their power?"

"Why are so many people in Qifeng Valley affected by it?"

"If it can leak, shouldn’t you be able to sense the presence of the Death Law’s power?" Da Huang asked curiously.

"I don’t know what’s going on either."

"But the Death Law’s power invading these people is extremely faint. Otherwise, it wouldn’t lie dormant in their bodies for a while before erupting."

"As for why this is happening, I haven’t figured it out yet. Maybe we’ll understand once we find the Law Fragment."

"We’ve been in Qifeng Valley for a few days now, but I still can’t sense any trace of the Death Law."

"Never mind. Let’s check the other three families first. Maybe the fragment is with them."

Chen Chang'an didn’t dwell on the issue further. He first visited the Xu Family, then the Zheng and Feng Families.

After touring all three, another ten days passed, but the result remained unchanged.

Nothing!

The other three families didn’t have the Law Fragment either.

Left with no choice, Chen Chang'an summoned the ancestors of all four families.

Staring at the four grinning faces before him—each resembling a blooming chrysanthemum—Chen Chang'an felt slightly unnerved.

Did they really have to smile so enthusiastically?

"Divine Physician, no words can express our gratitude. Truly, thank you so much."

"Because of you, we no longer have to worry."

"Yes, yes! You are the savior of our four families, our benefactor!"

"Such kindness is greater than heaven. We will never forget it."

The four took turns lavishing praise on Chen Chang'an. Even if he were vain and loved flattery, hearing the same compliments day after day would wear on anyone.

"Enough, enough. Cut the empty talk."

"The root of the problem hasn’t been solved yet."

"I still haven’t found the source of this strange illness. I called you here to ask for information."

At Chen Chang'an’s words, their expressions turned serious. Without the chrysanthemum-like smiles, Chen Chang'an felt much more at ease.

They all understood that Chen Chang'an had only temporarily cured the illness in their bodies. If the root cause remained unfound, Qifeng Valley would continue to suffer from this affliction.

Over the years, countless members of the four families had died from this strange disease.

"Divine Physician, ask whatever you wish. We will hold nothing back," said the He Family's Ancestor.

"Good. Then tell me about this place."

"Before this illness appeared, did anything unusual happen?"

"This disease couldn’t have emerged without reason."

"Also, are there any dangerous or rarely visited areas here?"

After Chen Chang'an finished speaking, the four pondered carefully. But truthfully, they couldn’t be certain.

The illness didn’t manifest immediately—it had an incubation period.

They could only trace back from the first known case, but nothing particularly strange stood out in their memories.

"Nothing unusual happened."

"Right. And Qifeng Valley doesn’t have any dangerous places."

"As for rarely visited spots, there’s the back mountain. It’s barren, so no one goes there."

"Though our water source does flow down from there."

The water source?

The Feng Family's Ancestor’s remark struck a chord with Chen Chang'an.

He hadn’t figured out how the power had entered people’s bodies, but the water source seemed a plausible vector.

While the power of the Law wasn’t poison, if a Law Fragment had been submerged in the water for a long time, the water might have absorbed faint traces of its energy—too subtle to detect easily.

Seeing Chen Chang'an’s reaction, the four ancestors paled. Could the water really be the problem?

"Damn it, did someone poison us?"

"Bastards! Have we been discovered?"

"No, if they’d found us, poisoning wouldn’t be their only move."

"Besides, what kind of poison causes a disease like this? Never heard of it."

If the water was contaminated, their first thought was sabotage—yet it didn’t quite add up.

"Stop speculating. We can’t confirm the water’s the issue yet."

"I’ll go check it myself," Chen Chang'an said calmly.

"Should we accompany you?"

"Yes, we’ll ensure your safety."

Ensure his safety?

Chen Chang'an glanced at them skeptically. Bringing them along would probably be the real risk.

Declining their offer, Chen Chang'an mounted Da Huang, who in turn rode Yi Tuo, and they set off for the back mountain’s water source.

"Big brother, do you really think the Law Fragment is in the water?"

"Can it actually affect the water?" Da Huang asked curiously.

"Of course it can."

"The power of the Law is energy. Water is energy too."

"When the weak interacts with the strong long enough, influence is inevitable."

"Let’s hope… my guess is right."

Soon, they arrived at the water source. Staring at the modest pond before him, Chen Chang'an frowned.

"Da Huang, go check if there’s a Law Fragment down there."

"Me? Why not Yi Tuo? He’s a turtle—he’s built for this!"

"Hmm, good point. Yi Tuo, you go."

"I… I’m not actually a turtle."

"Shut it. I’m not actually a dog either. Just go, no more whining."

"Fine, fine! I’ll go!"

"As a turtle… this is my first time swimming. Kinda nervous, honestly."

"Nervous my ass. In you go!"

Without wasting words, Chen Chang'an kicked Yi Tuo straight into the pond.