"Master?" Xu An called, then pushed the door open and entered.
Yixuan was sitting on the bed, leaning against a pillow.
"Master, let me help smooth things out for you (๑•ω•๑)," Xu An said.
Then, regardless of what Yixuan said, he sat down on the bed.
Yixuan had no choice. Knowing he would not listen no matter what she said, she turned around and sat cross-legged with her back to Xu An.
(Hehe (.-`ω´-), has Master realized she can't talk me out of it no matter what she says? Has she given up resisting?)
As Xu An thought this, he placed both hands on Yixuan's back and began working with her to regulate the Ether inside her body.
Feeling the traces of warmth against her back and the energy working alongside her to regulate the Ether within her, Yixuan seemed to forget to cough.
Early the next morning.
"Senior Brother Xu! Why are you coming out of Master's room?!" Belle's eyes widened as she teased him.
"What's it to you?" Xu An raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Does Master's room smell nice?" Belle asked, noticing something off about Xu An's expression.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"Awoo~! So that's how it is! What did you do to my beloved Master?!" Belle vaulted up as though mounting a horse, climbing straight onto Xu An's shoulders and kneading his head.
"Hey, hey, hey! Get down, get down! You're going to fall!" As Xu An spoke, his hands were busy too, holding Belle's legs to keep her from falling.
Wise, who had just gotten up, witnessed the scene.
Guys, does anyone get it? I just woke up and found my little sister messing around with someone else's dog. Where's the mental health rep? I'm feeling a little off.
Only when she saw Wise arrive did Belle feel a little embarrassed and ask Xu An to put her down. She stood before Wise with her head lowered, looking every bit like a primary school student who had done something wrong.
Xu An could not help laughing at the sight.
"Junior brothers! Junior sister!" Ju Fufu called to them. When they came over, she pointed at the person she had brought along behind her.
"We found Eric and told him about Paro."
"Everyone... has been deceived by The Order!" Eric looked dejected. "Rumors are flying everywhere now. Everyone's saying there's something wrong with the medicine Hui Crystal Meike supplied, and that their medicine caused all the trouble in the city this time.
"No one knows The Order is behind this. They all think it's another safety incident!"
Eric grew more agitated as he spoke.
"Just as we thought, it's the same thing again. The Order has framed Hui Crystal Meike again. Looking at it now, maybe they were also behind the very first corruption incident and tampered with the medicine," Belle analyzed.
"Eric, as the person in charge, can you get the situation under control?" Wise asked with a frown.
Eric shook his head. "No. The Mutual Aid Association is already beyond my control... The members are going around recruiting others to prepare for a protest.
"I tried contacting them just now, but they actually sneered a couple of times and hung up on me."
"You're really unreliable as a leader (.ŏ_ŏ)," Xu An could not help remarking.
"I think there's something fishy about this," Ye Shiyuan said.
"Eric's subordinates must have betrayed him ages ago. They're all Lor's people. Now that Lor's dead, they probably want to grab one more payoff and run," Xu An said.
"Yes. Eric was very likely just a puppet they propped up to fool Hui Crystal Meike's background checks," Ye Shiyuan continued where Xu An left off.
Eric began blaming himself on the spot. "It was me... I got Paro hurt. I got everyone hurt..." As he spoke, he began choking up.
Xu An frowned. "You're a grown man. What are you crying for when something happens? If you've made a mistake, go make up for it. Go do something."
"That's right. Let's focus on finding a way to solve the problem. Is there any news from the Mutual Aid Association?" Ju Fufu asked as well.
"Tonight, the Mutual Aid Association is organizing everyone to gather in the Hollow and discuss plans for a large-scale protest," Eric said.
"OAO, no, they can't go! Last time, they were setting up a formation, and this time must be the same. Eric, do your best to talk those people out of going," Xu An said.
As everyone was discussing things, the phone suddenly rang.
"Everyone, it's been a while," Damian said on the other end.
"Huh? Damian?" Ju Fufu asked in confusion.
"Yes, it's me. Everyone, I've heard what happened. I'm sorry I can't show myself right now. After all, I'm everyone's target at the moment.
"Although I suspected long ago that his motives weren't simple, I never expected The Order to be behind him.
"Given the current situation, clearing things up will be very difficult...
"And I just received word that many of the corruption-suppressant supply points inside the Hollow were vandalized today by unidentified individuals," Damian said uneasily.
"This has to be The Order's doing. It's probably to get more people to drink Worry-Free Water." Xu An frowned.
"Speaking of which, I have a presumptuous request. Could we set up medicine supply points near Yunkui Summit? With the masters there, at least they won't be maliciously vandalized."
"You mean you want us to oversee the medicine distribution for now?" Belle asked, a little puzzled.
"Exactly. I'll distribute this batch of medicine through municipal channels, and it'll be available free of charge. Hui Crystal Meike will cover all the costs and losses."
"Free corruption suppressants? That's quite a generous offer... But this really could draw a lot of people here to hear our explanation." Fufu thought of an approach.
Eric's eyes brightened slightly as well. "That's right. I can also gather the workers here so they can collect free medicine and hear the truth behind everything."
They split up, with Belle, Fufu, and the others heading outside to look after the somewhat irritable citizens.
Wise, meanwhile, was analyzing the data on the USB drive.
"How's it going, Wise? How's the analysis coming along?" Xu An was curious (｀_´)ゞ. He looked at the data on the computer in front of Wise. Haha, I can't understand a thing.
"It's almost done. It contains a list of people who took Worry-Free Water, along with the times.
"I just compared the people on the list with those who developed symptoms in the city earlier... It turns out they were the ones who took Worry-Free Water early on.
"From the looks of it, the Ether Corruption outbreak in the city wasn't a coincidence. The Order planned it long ago."
"Just as expected~ Looks like they were ready long ago to use this incident to expand their influence, then incite more people to gather in protest. Or rather, lure more people over to be sacrificed." Xu An's tone was a little cold. They really were a bunch of lingering ghosts that refused to go away.
"That's not all. I also found Doctor Lor's earlier medicine distribution records.
"The initial accident happened because he deliberately contaminated the medicine, causing it to lose its effectiveness and triggering an Ether Corruption outbreak.
"The earlier corruption incident inside the Hollow was only a rehearsal for this one.
"Oh, right, there are also markings for some Hollow data observation points in there.
"I compared them with the information the mayor left behind. The locations the doctor marked match the faulty observation points exactly, and the Corruption in those areas has also shown anomalies."