"So the so-called treatment was actually a sacrificial ritual for the Order..."
After hearing Xu An and the others' account, Ye Shiyuan said, "I see... That doctor Lor deliberately spread false information and stirred up conflict, all to trick the workers into taking the potion.
And thereby complete his so-called ritual. How... despicable."
"We absolutely can't let the Order get away with this!" Ju Fufu said through gritted teeth.
"Besides those people in the Hollow, quite a few others took Worry-Free Water too. We need to find them quickly and eliminate the danger. But how do we find them? We can't exactly check everyone one by one," Belle said in distress.
"There might be clues in the doctor's consulting room! Why don't we look there first?" Wise suggested.
"Junior sister! I'll go with you. It'll be safer. If we run into those Order scum, I'll let them taste my iron fists!"
Yixuan looked at Pan Yinhu and instructed, "Yinhu, go with Shiyuan and contact the workers. Tell them about this as soon as possible. Don't let any more victims get dragged into this."
"Yes, leave this to Yinhu and me. Don't worry, Master," Ye Shiyuan agreed, then headed out. "We'll contact the Mutual Aid Association as soon as possible and tell them the truth!" Pan Yinhu hurriedly added before following Ye Shiyuan.
Watching everyone head off to work, Xu An felt rather unsettled.
"Tsk, Lor's already croaked, so why do I still feel so off? Sigh." Xu An looked up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky.
"Should I go see senior sister? Forget it. It's too late now. Better not disturb her," Xu An murmured.
But he still couldn't resist sending Ye Shunguang a message.
[Senior sister, I miss you.] Yep, I'll send it just like that.
Shame I won't know how senior sister reacts.
Then Xu An put away his phone and paid Komano Masato a visit.
"Masato? Masato! Come out, I need to talk to you about something." Xu An knocked on the door and called out.
Masato emerged from behind the door and hurriedly covered Xu An's mouth.
"Shh! My younger siblings are light sleepers! Keep it down," Komano Masato whispered.
Xu An nodded, indicating that he would.
Only then did Komano Masato lower his hand.
"Um, today, Paro, his wife, and some workers turned into Ethereals," Xu An said quietly.
Komano Masato froze, then suddenly shouted, "What!"
A light suddenly came on in a window across the way. "Who's that?! Shouting in the middle of the night! Are you going to let anyone sleep?!"
"Shh, let me explain," Xu An said.
Xu An briefly explained what had happened in the Hollow, as well as the truth about Worry-Free Water.
Masato let out a deep sigh. "Sigh. Just this afternoon, I was telling him to spend more time with his child. Who would've thought he'd never get the chance?"
For a moment, neither knew what to say.
Komano Masato was furious and declared that he would never let those Order scum get away with this.
"Masato, sorry for the trouble, but please help get the child settled. And tomorrow during the day, I hope you can help notify everyone who doesn't know."
"I'd help even if you didn't ask. Don't worry." Komano Masato patted his chest, indicating that he could leave it to him.
"Okay, I'll head back, then. I won't disturb your rest," Xu An said.
"Hmph, if you really didn't want to disturb me, you wouldn't have come banging on my door in such a hurry in the middle of the night!" Komano Masato teased, his tone carrying a hint of reproach.
"Haha." Xu An waved with a smile and left without chatting any further.
After watching Xu An leave, he noticed a tiny figure behind him.
"Big brother... do I not have a mommy and daddy anymore?" Tears poured down the little girl Lila's face, yet she seemed unable to make a sound.
Komano Masato's chest felt tight, as though something had struck it. He sighed, hugged the little girl, and began comforting her.
"Daddy, Daddy... Mommy bought... bought cheap medicine every day because they wanted to save... save money for me to go to school. Waaa... Big brother, I don't have a mommy or daddy anymore!"
The little girl murmured about what Paro had done, but couldn't get the words out. She sobbed in Masato's arms. Fury burned in his eyes, yet he comforted the child softly.
"It's okay, it's okay. Your big brother's here. I'm here."
Masato didn't sleep that night.
Xu An had actually noticed Lila's presence long before, but he had said it anyway. Although the child was still young, she had to know eventually. Hiding it wasn't a good thing. It was better for her to accept it sooner; if they hid it, she might find it even harder to come to terms with later.
After leaving Komano Masato's place, Xu An returned to the temple.
The others were all still awake too.
"Belle, did you find anything in your investigation? You didn't run into any danger, did you?"
"We didn't find much of value. We only found this USB drive in the consulting room. We don't know exactly what's on it..." Fufu described what she and Belle had just found in the consulting room.
"Leave it to me. I'll try to crack it," Wise said.
"Then we're counting on you, junior brother Wise! Oh, right, Yinhu, how did things go on your end?" Ju Fufu asked.
Ye Shiyuan adjusted his glasses and replied, "We told the nearby workers, but they're still having trouble accepting it. Some even said this was a rumor Hui Crystal Meike deliberately spread."
"That's right. That doctor Lor started deceiving them a long time ago, saying TOPS would use rumors and public opinion to stop them from getting treatment... Any negative news was something Damian had deliberately fabricated, stopping at nothing to smear him," Pan Yinhu added.
"Hmph, those people. Well, it doesn't matter. I've already killed Lor. Even if they want him to treat them, they have nowhere to go," Xu An said with a cold laugh.
"It looks like the Order has been plotting this for a long time. They already infiltrated quite a few people and even prepared their story," Belle said with a frown, finding the matter very tricky.
"Don't worry, junior sister Belle. Some people did believe us and said they'd tell the others.
But most people are working in the Hollow right now. We'll have to wait until the shift change at the earliest before we can tell more people," Pan Yinhu reassured her.
"I tried contacting Eric and the Mutual Aid Association, but couldn't reach them. They must be in the Hollow," Ye Shiyuan added.
"Don't worry. As long as we find Eric and the others and explain the situation properly, we'll definitely be able to convince more people to believe us through them," Belle said.
But then Ye Shiyuan said, "You're right, junior sister, but I have an idea.
I think we need to tell Damian about this."
"Senior brother, do you want to use Damian to spread the news?" Xu An asked.
Pan Yinhu also raised a doubt. "But... the workers already hate Damian. Will having him debunk the rumors really work?"
"The effect comes second. The wider the reach, the easier it is to get people to believe it. Besides, when it comes to our stance on the Order, I imagine Damian is on the same side as us," Xu An said.
"I think senior brother's right. Although that guy isn't entirely trustworthy, we can use his help when it comes to dealing with the Order," Belle agreed.
"Ummm, I wonder whether Master would think this is appropriate. Speaking of which, where did Master go? (#-.-)?" Senior sister Fufu looked around, but couldn't find Yixuan anywhere.
"Master's been resting all this time," Pan Yinhu said.
"Come to think of it, Master seems to have been down ever since she came out of the Hollow. I've never seen her look like that before," Ju Fufu said.
"Speaking of which, Belle, I think Master said to go see her alone once you got back," Ye Shiyuan reminded her.
"Huh? Me?"