This time, Damien Gray had Maxwell Jing and Ethan Gu accompany them as well. Adrian Yarrow frowned at the two unexpected additions, giving Damien Gray a long, searching look before masking his feelings with a nonchalant expression. Damien Gray slipped his arm around Morgan Shangguan and led her up the mountain, the corners of his mouth lifting—not in amusement, but with a hint of mockery and coldness.
Quentin Hua glanced at Damien’s retreating figure, then at Adrian Yarrow. His face, hidden behind a human-skin mask, broke into an unusually brilliant smile—clearly, something interesting was about to happen!
Maxwell Jing still looked as careless and languid as ever. The two of them hadn’t changed at all—it was as if they hadn’t been the ones drowning their sorrows last night.
Sophie Qiu was a little different today. Though she still gazed at Adrian Yarrow with longing, she no longer stared at him incessantly. After many attempts to test his interest, Adrian showed no sign of reciprocating. Sophie knew Morgan Shangguan had a better chance than she did. Her continued display of admiration for Adrian was merely a ruse, so he wouldn’t suspect Emperor Alexander had other plans.
If Adrian Yarrow remained unsuspecting, Morgan Shangguan’s odds of success would increase.
Once again, Mona Shangguan needed a break, but this time, everyone reached the summit without incident.
Staring at the toppled wine jars scattered on the mountaintop, Mona Shangguan wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Why is it so filthy here?” she complained.
Quentin Hua narrowed his eyes at the comment. Filthy? He’d drunk that wine himself!
He glanced at Maxwell Jing, who seemed completely unbothered. Quentin frowned, then sidled up to him with a grin and whispered, “Little Max, she said this place is filthy, meaning those wine jars are filthy—which means the wine you drank is filthy. And on a deeper level, she’s saying you’re filthy!” He put extra emphasis on the words ‘you’re filthy.’
Maxwell Jing rolled his eyes. “That’s a clever move—using someone else’s knife to do the killing.”
Quentin Hua twitched his lips and turned to Ethan Gu, calling out pitifully, “Little Ethan…”
Ethan Gu frowned, replying with some disgust, “Can you not be so gross?”
Quentin Hua's face darkened. He pointed at them and huffed, “You two… don’t come looking for me if you need anything in the future!”
Maxwell Jing said indifferently, “Seems like you’re always the one running to the Prince.”
Quentin Hua was about to explode when Ethan Gu suddenly tossed him a small porcelain bottle. Quentin’s face lit up instantly. “Little Ethan, you’re the best! But…” He paused, curiosity glinting in his eyes. “Are you helping me get revenge, or are you helping Max get revenge?”
At this, Maxwell Jing finally looked at him directly, then suddenly pulled him aside. Ethan Gu frowned at the pair—something seemed off. Last night, the two had climbed to the summit and drank themselves senseless, and now they were off whispering together. Was there something he wasn’t supposed to hear?
Not far away, the others gazed down at the scenery below the mountain, silent, as if mesmerized by the view.
Suddenly, Morgan Shangguan curled her lips, glancing up at Damien Gray. She began to understand why he’d brought Maxwell Jing and Ethan Gu along. Damien wasn’t clairvoyant, so it could only mean someone had foolishly gone to the Ghost Guild to hire assassins. Judging by everyone’s behavior, that fool was probably Adrian Yarrow.
Damien Gray sensed her gaze and smiled, pressing a kiss to her lips. The reason he’d brought Maxwell Jing and Ethan Gu was simple—he couldn’t act himself, so someone else had to do it. That way, the scene would look more authentic, and be much more entertaining, wouldn’t it?
Adrian Yarrow had only hired the lowest-level assassins, just for show. Their targets were Damien Gray and Morgan Shangguan. By including Damien as a target, Adrian simply wanted to distract him so he couldn’t protect Morgan.
Although Adrian Yarrow couldn’t be certain whether Damien Gray actually possessed martial skills or how strong he was, even if today’s plan failed, he wouldn’t lose anything. If Damien could protect both himself and Morgan Shangguan, then his abilities would be revealed, and Prince Ethan would surely be tempted to make a move against him. That was an outcome Adrian would welcome. What he hadn’t expected was for Damien to suddenly bring two guards. Was it possible Damien knew something, or was it just a coincidence?
Hopefully those two guards wouldn’t ruin everything!
The reason Adrian Yarrow didn’t hire high-level assassins to kill Damien Gray was simple: two tigers cannot share one mountain. If Damien were that easy to eliminate, Prince Ethan would’ve gotten rid of him long ago. Adrian didn’t expect a top assassin to succeed against Damien anyway.
Adrian Yarrow had been extremely cautious about hiring assassins, especially since they were in Silvermoon Kingdom. If Damien Gray weren’t the Ghost Guild’s master, it would’ve been hard to trace the act back to him. Now, even if Damien knew Adrian was the true mastermind, he had no concrete evidence. Adrian hadn’t left behind any witnesses or clues, and Damien didn’t seem intent on exposing him either.
The exchanges between Morgan Shangguan and Damien Gray were understood only by them. Prince Ethan watched them remain so affectionate and felt a surge of anger. Yet he also sensed something was off. In truth, the only one oblivious to everything here was Mona Shangguan.
Suddenly, killing intent erupted. The assassins surged forward, striking to kill—their targets clear: Damien Gray and Morgan Shangguan. Maxwell Jing and Ethan Gu did their duty, defending the pair. Quentin Hua watched the group of killers in ghost masks, twitching his lips. Seeing they didn’t intend to attack him, he simply stood aside to watch the show. After all, these assassins were Damien’s own men—could they really kill their own master?
He couldn’t help but think Damien Gray was truly cunning! Every time, he had his own people try to kill him, putting on a show to earn a pile of silver. Maybe Quentin should learn a thing or two from him.
The others weren’t targets for assassination either—as long as they kept their distance, they’d be fine. But if they got close, the killers would attack, making rescue impossible.
There were so many assassins that Maxwell Jing and Ethan Gu began to struggle. Two assassins slipped past and attacked Damien Gray and Morgan Shangguan, forcing the pair apart. Maxwell Jing quickly kicked away the killer entangling him and shielded Damien, but no one was left to protect Morgan. Just as the gleaming sword tip was about to pierce her chest, a shadow flashed before her eyes—Adrian Yarrow suddenly leaped in front of her.