Three days had passed. Every ghost in the apartment building, including those from the ghost company outside—over ten thousand in total—were searching the entire city for information about Luo Yang. Yet after three days, there was still no news—he had vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile, Miles Mao had pulled all the surveillance footage from around Roger's home. With Vivian Ouyang's help, they had reviewed every single recording, but found nothing.
There wasn't anyone dressed as a Taoist priest who had visited Roger's home. Everyone seen on the surveillance had their identity confirmed—the Ghost Burial Squad had checked all of them. No one seemed suspicious; most were just Roger's friends.
My body had mostly recovered, and the baleful energy was flowing normally again. Rufina Howard had called once, telling me she was investigating something. She said she'd let me know about the Awakening Water once she figured out what it truly was.
While I waited, I had to hurry and find Roger's son's whereabouts. The handwriting on the note had been matched—it was definitely left by Luo Yang.
These past few days, my right eyelid kept twitching. I tried calling Rachel Lan on the computer, but couldn't get through no matter what. I even asked Hugh Thompson—he told me that ever since Rachel went to the Hades Circle, she hadn't contacted anyone here. Even Vivian Ouyang was anxious; it had been more than half a month, and for some unknown reason, there was still no word from Rachel.
At the moment, I was sitting in a small pavilion. Yuna Ji sat beside me, watching a soap opera and laughing out loud. She seemed to really enjoy these shows and even shared her thoughts with me from time to time.
"What's wrong, Ethan? Worried about your little wife?"
Yuna Ji suddenly asked. I smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah, it's been so many days with no news at all."
Suddenly, Yuna Ji paused the show, then stood up and walked over with a bright smile.
"Ethan, do you want me to take you there? I know where the Hades Circle headquarters is."
I let out a surprised sound and looked at Yuna Ji. She smiled and pointed outside the apartment building.
"What?"
"To the north—the Hades Circle headquarters has always been hidden in the mountains north of the city. It's very secretive."
"No."
I replied bluntly. Yuna Ji huffed in annoyance and went back to watching her show.
I missed Rachel Lan terribly, but at this critical moment, I had to focus on saving Howard Zhang. His physical body had already returned to normal.
According to Hugh Thompson, the corpse jade I sought earlier was meant to separate Howard Zhang's body—the tangled mix of flesh, soul, and Buddha's power—like a filter. It could effectively extract his physical body and soul for reconstruction.
And for reconstruction, Lady Meng's Elixir was needed. Yvonne May had said that this elixir was used to cleanse the soul, washing away everything—memories, emotions, all of it. But when she injected Howard Zhang with Lady Meng's Elixir, she had Lord Shenyan preserve all his memories and feelings.
After Lady Meng's Elixir had cleansed him, Howard Zhang's memories and feelings would not be lost. I was deeply grateful to both of them. Now, the only thing left was to find the most crucial item—Awakening Water. This was the one thing that could restore Howard Zhang's consciousness; otherwise, he would never wake again.
According to Rufina Howard, Awakening Water is an exceedingly rare and pure substance in this world. She had researched countless things, but as for Awakening Water, the only thing she knew for certain was that it was something one could produce themselves—this was all she could confirm for now.
But as for the specifics—where to find it, how to obtain it—Rufina Howard was still completely in the dark.
"Ethan, I'm here."
I had just been thinking about Rufina Howard when she walked in through the entrance of the apartment building. I saw Vivian Maple following closely behind her.
"Madam Ji."
As soon as she came over, Vivian Maple called out. Madam Ji responded with a cheerful laugh.
"Vivian, did Redmond give you any new instructions?"
Madam Ji asked, and Vivian Maple nodded. I saw the two of them exchange glances, each nodding in turn, looking at me and Rufina Howard with a hint of mystery.
"No results, Ethan. Sigh."
Rufina Howard sat on the steps looking dejected. I walked over and patted her head.
"It's alright, kiddo. When Old Eccentric comes back, I'll ask him properly."
Rufina Howard seemed much better now—she no longer looked as troubled as before, as if something had been weighing on her heart.
Vivian Maple quietly gazed at the cherry blossoms in the courtyard, then wandered off alone into the grove.
Old Eccentric and Swallow had gone out shopping. Of course, I was the one who gave them the money. At this point, my savings were nearly gone—I could only count on the Ghost Burial Squad now.
Soon enough, Old Eccentric and the others returned. Yesterday, Elder Wei had also gone to my neighborhood, moving into the Taoist's home in the Wisteria Community. I was worried, so I insisted Elder Wei go over there.
"Ethan, why are you up already? You should rest a little longer."
I shook my head and looked at Old Eccentric hopefully, wishing he could tell us something about the Awakening Water. But when I asked, he could only shake his head helplessly.
"Master, is there any record of Awakening Water in your sect, the Order of Broken Vows?"
"Ethan, I've only heard a little about Awakening Water before. They say it can awaken wisdom and bring the dead back to life, but I've never actually seen it."