Morgan Shangguan glanced at Ethan Gu, curiosity in her eyes. "What's going on with you two?" She had naturally sensed the changes in Ethan Gu.
Upon hearing this, Maxwell Jing looked at Damien Gray, then at Morgan Shangguan. Having followed Damien Gray for so many years, he knew the Ghostmaster saw things differently from most. But Morgan Shangguan—he didn’t know her as well.
Suddenly, Ethan Gu reached out and held Maxwell Jing’s hand on the table. Maxwell Jing turned to him with a smile. From the moment he decided to be with Ethan, he’d never regretted it, nor cared about others’ opinions. But Morgan Shangguan was, after all, Damien Gray’s beloved—he naturally hoped she would accept them.
Watching their reactions, Morgan Shangguan raised an eyebrow, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "I just want to know what happened to Ethan Gu."
"Huh?" Maxwell Jing was momentarily stunned. Did she mean...
Seeing Maxwell Jing’s surprised expression, Damien Gray chuckled softly, "Cloud Guildmaster, don’t always startle people!" His woman’s ability to accept things was truly beyond ordinary.
Morgan Shangguan raised her eyebrow. "Startle people?" She shook her head and said, "Same-sex love may be rare, and many can't accept it, but feelings belong to the two involved—why care about what others think?"
Before Maxwell Jing could be moved, Morgan Shangguan continued, "You’re just unlucky to be born in this world! If you were in my original world, the pressure would be much less, like Pei Yi and Nangong Lie. But their boss was Si Mingye—otherwise, they might have been thrown out of the Shadow Court. Such things have happened in guilds, especially when the elders are in charge, their thinking is always so traditional!"
Seeing her distant gaze, as if lost in thought, Damien Gray frowned. Regardless of who might see, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Morgan Shangguan snapped back to herself, smiled, and said, "I’m fine. I was just thinking of some people, that’s all."
The sudden silence made everyone a little uneasy. Maxwell Jing finally couldn’t hold back and said, "There are still plenty of martial artists living here! If we’re supposed to act like rivals, we should at least do it properly!"
Most importantly, could you at least consider how others feel? He really felt like a third wheel.
Damien Gray shot him an annoyed look. Maxwell Jing instinctively looked away, while Morgan Shangguan smiled and returned to her seat, turning her gaze to Ethan Gu.
Ethan Gu spoke up, "Back then, I took the Oblivion Elixir, so I forgot everything from before." He said it simply, but his heart ached for Maxwell Jing. For him, forgetting didn’t feel like much—just a hollowness inside. But Maxwell Jing remembered it all, bearing everything alone.
"Oblivion Elixir?" Morgan Shangguan knew of it—the treasured artifact of Healer’s Sanctuary. Out of curiosity, she’d gathered some information about it and even considered having someone fetch it for her. So it had already been used! After thinking for a moment, she said, "It’s troublesome, but not impossible to cure."
She’d never seen it herself, but based on the information she’d acquired, it could be cured.
Ethan Gu was stunned, while Maxwell Jing looked as if he could cry, "Princess Consort, why didn’t you say so earlier?"
Morgan Shangguan raised her eyebrow, "How would I know?" She hadn’t known Ethan Gu had taken the Oblivion Elixir, and Maxwell Jing always acted as if nothing was wrong. At first, she hadn’t noticed anything amiss between them.
Maxwell Jing was speechless. True—he’d never said a word! But he hadn’t known Morgan Shangguan could help, either.
At that moment, Quentin Hua walked into the courtyard. Seeing them, he asked, "Ghostmaster and Cloud Guildmaster, when will you be leaving?" Though he asked, he didn’t seem to care about the answer. He casually sat on a stone bench, smiled at Maxwell Jing, and said, "Little Max, congratulations! After all your patience, you finally get to see the moon after the clouds part!"
Maxwell Jing shot him a glance, choosing to ignore him.
Quentin Hua wasn’t bothered, simply grinned, "Poor Jenna, you just abandoned her like that. How heartless!"
Maxwell Jing twitched his lips and gritted his teeth, "Damn demon, say one more word and I’ll make sure you never speak again!" No need to look to know Ethan Gu’s face was dark—he remembered the lesson from last time all too well.
He really felt unlucky—choosing friends poorly.
Quentin Hua saw his sulky expression and burst out laughing, "Little Max, why are you so scared? Little Ethan won’t eat you! At most, he’ll give you some medicine. Oh wait, he might even eat…"
"Shut up!" Maxwell Jing’s face darkened further. He deeply regretted drinking with Quentin Hua—he’d said things he shouldn’t have, and now there was no way to take them back.
Ethan Gu finally spoke, "Why are you here, anyway?"
Quentin Hua wiped the smile from his face. "To say goodbye."
Then, without another word, he got up to leave. Halfway out, he stopped and said, "This is just the beginning!" Then he left without hesitation.
He had things he needed to do. His life could end at any moment, so he would do what he must and find his own happiness.
Morgan Shangguan frowned as she watched him leave. It seemed clear now: the one targeting the Ghost Guild and Cloud Guild was someone behind Quentin Hua. The issue of the Treasure Map was also brought up by him. If this was just the beginning, unpredictable things were sure to follow—Quentin Hua was warning them.
"Damien, let’s go back tomorrow!" Some things needed to be planned ahead—she didn’t want to be caught off guard.
Damien Gray nodded. From now until the fifteenth of September, a lot was bound to happen.
That night, as Damien Gray held Morgan Shangguan, preparing to rest, a rapid knock sounded at the door. Morgan Shangguan whispered, "I’ll go check."
Though the knocking was urgent, it didn’t faze her. She calmly dressed, lowered the bed curtains, and went to open the door. Outside stood Violet Snow, her face anxious and a little displeased.