Six-Ears Damon had just settled into his study when a small demon, looking flustered, hurried over to Gavin Goathorn and whispered a few words in his ear.
When he finished, Gavin Goathorn waved him away and then bowed respectfully to Six-Ears Damon, saying, "Great Sage, you must be tired. Even the most urgent matters can wait until you've recovered your strength. If you wish, I shall take my leave for now?"
At these words, Six-Ears Damon glanced at Gavin Goathorn, intentionally or not, but gave no reply. He simply busied himself with the trinkets on his desk.
Time ticked by, and Gavin Goathorn, still maintaining his bow, began to feel awkward, though it was not his place to speak.
After a long moment, Six-Ears Damon finally spoke, his voice slow: "What happened?"
"If I may, Great Sage, it was nothing—just a minor issue."
"What do you mean, a minor issue? I asked you what happened!" Six-Ears Damon frowned, his lips pursed. "Are you telling me there are matters in Lionback Kingdom that I am not allowed to know about?"
At this, Gavin Goathorn panicked, dropping to his knees. "Great Sage, I am innocent! It truly was a trivial matter—I feared it would only sully your ears, so I did not mention it."
Six-Ears Damon, visibly impatient, cut him off: "I asked you what happened. Must I ask again?"
"Never, I would never dare!" Gavin Goathorn kowtowed. "A spy has reported that as soon as we launched our attack, the enemy... the enemy seemed to have already gotten wind of it. There may be a traitor among us."
"Why not?"
"Great Sage, if you ask Her Holiness the Holy Mother directly whether she is... I'm afraid that when the time comes..."
"Enough! I've had enough—I don't want to hear any more!"
At that moment, Anna stood quietly on the balcony, looking down, and happened to see Six-Ears Damon striding up the path in a hurry, with Gavin Goathorn chasing behind.
"When did he come back?"
The demon general behind her answered softly, "This morning—he must have just returned."
"Judging by his look, he must've suffered a setback."
"Indeed." The demon general smiled faintly. "I heard Master Sage Subhuti has already taken the other side, and Lord Lao as well. But the Buddhist Order made a point of meeting the Great Sage on his way back."
"They met? What did they say?"
"That... I don't know, Your Ladyship."
"You may leave."
The demon general hesitated slightly, saluted, and then bowed out.
Soon, the door behind Anna swung open with a loud bang. Six-Ears Damon strode angrily across the threshold, glaring at Anna.
Gavin Goathorn looked panicked but had no idea what to say, so he just stood there.
Anna glanced at him coolly and said, "Leave us."
"Yes, ma'am." Gavin Goathorn respectfully saluted and withdrew, closing the door behind him.
Anna looked at Six-Ears Damon coldly and asked in a soft voice, "What is it?"
Six-Ears Damon gritted his teeth and said, "I just want to ask you one thing."
"Ask."
"That... I don't know, Your Ladyship."
"You may leave."
The demon general hesitated slightly, saluted, and then bowed out.
Soon, the door behind Anna swung open with a loud bang. Six-Ears Damon strode angrily across the threshold, glaring at Anna.
Gavin Goathorn looked panicked but had no idea what to say, so he just stood there.
Anna glanced at him coolly and said, "Leave us."
"Yes, ma'am." Gavin Goathorn respectfully saluted and withdrew, closing the door behind him.
Anna looked at Six-Ears Damon coldly and asked in a soft voice, "What is it?"
Six-Ears Damon gritted his teeth and said, "I just want to ask you one thing."
"Ask."
"Would you... would you choose me or him?"
Anna didn't answer directly; she just kept looking at him coldly. Her gaze made Six-Ears Damon feel awkward.
After several deep breaths, Six-Ears Damon gestured with his hands and stammered, "If one day, both of us fell into the water and you could only save one, who would you save?"
"If you two fell into fire, neither of you would need saving."
"No, I mean, just suppose—suppose we'd both drown." Six-Ears Damon laughed awkwardly.
But Anna didn't laugh. She just kept looking at him coldly, making Six-Ears Damon even more uncomfortable.
After a long time, Anna finally spoke, answering each word slowly: "Then I'd just throw a rock and kill you both."
"Huh?"
"If you can't even swim, what right do you have to be Anna Yang's man?" With that, Anna waved her hand and turned back to the view, ignoring Six-Ears Damon.
"Uh... that's true. Hahaha, hahaha..."
The conversation really caught Six-Ears Damon off guard. There wasn't much to celebrate, but at least it was better than hearing she'd choose the other guy. At the very least, it was a bit of comfort.
Smiling awkwardly, he stepped back, opened the door, walked out, and closed it behind him.
Only after shutting the door did Six-Ears Damon stop laughing and let out a long sigh. He turned to Gavin Goathorn and glared, "Why didn't you stop me?"
"Well..." Gavin Goathorn's mouth twitched at the question.
"Forget it, doesn't matter. Anyway, we have to dig out that spy! If I don't kill him, I'll never be at peace!"
With that, Six-Ears Damon turned and headed toward his Qitian Palace. Gavin Goathorn wiped his sweat and hurried after him.
Soon, at Six-Ears Damon's command, Gavin Goathorn led a large group of guards through the streets, searching for all kinds of 'suspicious clues.'
To be honest, Gavin Goathorn was only promoted by Six-Ears Damon out of old friendship, and hadn't been in Lionback Kingdom for long. Before becoming 'Prime Minister' here, he'd never done anything remarkable. Loyal, yes; capable, not so much. For him to uncover a deeply hidden spy wouldn't be easy.
But Six-Ears Damon was hardly a wise master—everyone in Lionback Kingdom knew that. Just look: during the ambush on Monkey, he casually killed one of his own innocent demon generals.
For someone like him, evidence was never needed; suspicion alone was enough. If he killed the wrong person, so be it—no appeals, no regrets.
For a time, everyone in Lionback Kingdom felt on edge—especially those with real reasons to worry, like the actual 'something-to-hide' Roc Demon King.
Gavin Goathorn's roots were shallow, and he knew it. His ties to Monkey's side were deeply hidden, so tracking him wouldn't be easy. But watching Gavin Goathorn search day after day was unnerving all the same.
Of course, the real problem was that nobody wanted to follow a master as ruthless as Six-Ears Damon—and he seemed to be losing ground anyway.
Quietly, the Roc Demon King was starting to stir.
On the third day of Gavin Goathorn's search for the spy, he brought the Lionback King to visit the now-retired but still resident Many-Eyed Demon in Lionback Kingdom.
The small side courtyard was tightly closed and looked deserted. No one would guess that the once-powerful Many-Eyed Demon of Lionback Kingdom lived here. It felt as if he had truly retired from the world.
As the Spider Demon in purple led them into the courtyard, the Lionback King frowned at the fallen leaves and murmured, "Could he really be disheartened?"
"It's all for show," the Roc Demon King said coldly, glancing at him. "If he were truly disheartened, he wouldn't still have so many people under him."
"He still has people under him?"
"His seven junior sisters and many former confidants are still here. There are secret passages in the courtyard—they only go out at night."
The Lionback King gave a thumbs-up and grinned, "Third Brother, you really know your stuff."
"I never really believed he'd let go. Just so happened, one of his junior sisters was spotted by my men while out investigating. That cleared everything up." The Roc Demon King took a deep breath and snorted, "If he really wanted to retire, he wouldn't stay in Lionback Kingdom. Isn't that obvious?"
Entering the hall, the Roc Demon King looked up and saw the Many-Eyed Demon sitting expressionlessly, sighing, "So, the Demon King finally remembers this useless old man?"