"I'm afraid it's already too late," Pan Yinhu urged.
"Fufu... Yinhu is right," Yixuan said, rubbing Ju Fufu's head.
"Let's deal with these Ethereals and find the others first. We can't let Paro's tragedy happen again," Yixuan said.
"It looks like there really is something wrong with that Worry-Free Water. We need to check on the others." Wise frowned.
"Judging by Paro's condition, his corruption sickness wasn't cured at all. Worry-Free Water doesn't slow corruption at all. That Lor really was deceiving everyone."
If Xu An had been there, he would definitely have said, "Oh? Not calling him Dr. Lor anymore~?" to lighten the somewhat heavy atmosphere.
"I keep feeling there's more to this. Why organize treatment somewhere like this? Let's hurry and find him," Belle said.
Meanwhile, on Xu An's end.
He quickly reached the place where the workers had gathered, alone.
Something seemed rather wrong here.
Some were shouting at the symbols on the wall, "Everyone... we have to trust Dr. Lor."
Someone in poor condition sat on the ground nearby, muttering, "Worry-Free Water... ugh, I need Worry-Free Water!"
"He, he's our savior! We must have faith in him!"
Xu An sighed as he looked at this group of people who were no longer quite normal.
He certainly wouldn't get any answers from these people. They had all gone nuts.
Another lay drooling on the ground nearby.
Had Ether taken over his brain, leaving his cerebellum to do the thinking? O_o
Xu An found someone who looked reasonably well. At least he could still stand and speak normally.
"Uh... why hasn't Dr. Lor... come yet?"
Xu An heard the man muttering as he approached.
"What happened? Why are there so many people here?" Xu An asked with a frown.
"Dr. Lor told us to wait nearby. He said he'd come treat us in a little while.
"But... everyone suddenly started feeling ill. We can't wait any longer... please, get Dr. Lor here to treat us!
"Doctor... you haven't abandoned us, have you? I... I'll take part in your ritual!"
Seeing how completely in the dark this worker was.
Xu An patted his shoulder. "Someone will be here soon to regulate the Ether in your bodies. Don't worry, you'll be all right. But for now, tell me more about this ritual."
Xu An asked, but the man seemed somewhat delirious already and paid no attention whatsoever to his words.
Soon, Yixuan and the others arrived.
Xu An, who had been busy using spells to regulate everyone's condition, hurried forward and said, "Master, Senior Sister, Senior Brother, their corruption sickness is already very serious. Spells can only buy them a little time now. We need to find corruption-suppressant medication quickly."
"Wise, Belle, can you locate any corruption-suppressant medication nearby?" Yixuan looked at the video-store siblings.
"Yes! I can have my brother help pinpoint the general location. We'll go look."
"All right, I'll leave that to you!"
"Master, I'll leave things here to you," Xu An said, looking at Yixuan and the others.
Then, without waiting for them, he hurried toward Lor's location.
Before long, he found Lor.
"Oh... I never imagined you'd find this place so quickly." Lor's voice was sinister.
"You're no good after all. The first time I saw you, I thought that pointy head of yours made you look like a real piece of work," Xu An quipped.
"You!" Lor couldn't stop the word from escaping.
"You what?" Xu An cut in.
"I!"
"I what?"
"Hmph, sharp-tongued brat. Since you're here, you can receive 'treatment' along with these people!"
As he spoke, the workers who had just been standing with him all turned into Ethereals, while Lor tried to use the opportunity to escape.
Looking at the people who had become Ethereals before him, Xu An conjured a longsword and swung it.
The fight was over in mere seconds.
"Heh, so what if you've found out? It's already too late! Haha!"
Lor spoke as he ran, then tried to turn his head to see how Xu An was doing.
Instead, all he saw was a large hand reaching for his face.
"Hel-" Before he could finish shouting for help, Xu An caught him in his grip. He struggled to break free.
But Xu An's hand felt like an iron vise, clamping his head firmly in place.
And its grip was slowly tightening. Lor felt a dull pain in his head, as though his skull was about to be crushed.
Then, for some reason, the hand suddenly loosened. He fell to the ground and looked at the man before him.
Xu An's expression was cold as he looked down at Lor, who was half-reclining on the ground.
Lor saw that the surrounding members of the Order had emerged.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and kill this guy!" Lor roared.
Xu An didn't so much as glance at the members of the Order around him.
He simply walked up to Lor, crouched, and said, "What made you think... this bunch of trash could save you? Hmm? Liang Jingru?"
Seeing him approach, Lor perhaps thought he could escape and kicked at Xu An's foot.
Xu An froze for a moment. This guy was that bold? Couldn't he read the situation? I clearly had them surrounded, and he still dared to attack me.
Xu An reached out with his right hand, grabbed Lor's lower leg, and squeezed hard.
Crack.
"Aah!!!" Lor screamed.
The members of the Order nearby froze. For some reason, even those charging forward stopped in their tracks.
"Quick! Kill him!" Lor crawled backward, still cursing Xu An loudly.
Seeing that the people around him had come to their senses, Xu An grabbed Lor by the neck with one hand and lifted him, using him as a shield.
He started playing tower defense.
Whenever anyone from the Order attacked him, he turned Lor's body toward them.
After a few exchanges, everyone stopped attacking, because Lor, in Xu An's hand, seemed a little dead.
"How's that? Feel good? Why isn't that what's-his-name, your Turd Lord, saving you? Hmm?" Xu An leaned closer to the dying Lor in his hand.
Then, disgusted by the blood on him, he threw him to the ground.
Lor let out no cry of pain when he landed. He only muttered, "The First Lord will... mold... me. The First Lord won't... spare..." He breathed his last before he could even say "you."
"Couldn't take even that much? Useless piece of trash. What about you lot? Are we fighting or not? If not, I'm leaving." Seeing that he was dead, Xu An immediately lost interest.
At that, the members of the Order resumed their attacks.
"Ah~ stubborn to the end." Xu An strolled leisurely toward Yixuan and the others.
A flying sword darted among their figures. Before long, the whole group was lifeless.
Xu An returned to Yixuan.
"Master, it's handled. The Order was behind them. They were going to perform some ritual this time, but I disrupted it. That Lor has been dealt with."
"Mm... we managed to get corruption-suppressant medication here too, and we've administered it. Now let's take them back."
"Mm..." Xu An looked at their searching gazes.
"Oh, stop looking at me. I just feel a little sorry for Paro's and the others' children, that's all. They're still so young. Ah."
"That hateful Order," Belle agreed.
Hearing this, the others said no more. They simply hurried toward the Hollow's exit, without mentioning the matter again along the way.
Soon, after settling the workers who had wandered between life and death, they returned to Yunkui Summit.
"I never expected the Order to be pulling the strings behind all this," Wise said, his eyes narrowing slightly.