Damien Gray shrugged innocently under her gaze, looking as if none of this concerned him.
Adrian Yarrow's face darkened at such blatant disregard, and he snapped, "I'm only warning Master Hua out of respect for the Grandmaster. But it seems Master Hua doesn't intend to appreciate my kindness!"
Quentin Hua sneered, "Well, thank you so much, Your Highness!"
"You..." Apparently not expecting Quentin Hua to be so ungrateful, Adrian Yarrow was suddenly furious, losing his usual composure. His agitation wasn't just because Quentin Hua had slighted him, but also because Quentin knew too much about his collaborators!
Before Adrian Yarrow could explode, a soldier rushed up to him, whispered something in his ear, and Adrian's expression turned grim. He immediately set aside the treasure hunt, hurriedly leaving with half his men, while the rest stayed behind with Minister Magnus Shangguan.
Seeing Adrian Yarrow so flustered, Morgan Shangguan lazily leaned against Damien Gray and said, "Could it be that Adrian Yu is dead?"
She had spoken offhand, but the news that followed proved she was no ordinary person—her casual remark had hit the mark!
Of all times for Adrian Yu to die, it happened now. Was it mere coincidence, or part of a scheme?
Quentin Hua sighed, looked at Damien Gray, and said, "Maybe you wouldn't lose to that lunatic even if I stayed silent. But..." His tone shifted from serious to playful, and he added with a hint of narcissism, "I'm just too kind-hearted!"
Damien Gray looked at him with clear disdain and snorted, "If you're going to speak, hurry up!" As soon as he finished, a group of men in black suddenly appeared, isolating everyone else and leaving only the three of them.
These people were the shadow guards who had appeared at the Martial Arts Gathering before, belonging to Damien Gray. But since all shadow guards looked alike, no one recognized them as the ones they’d once mistaken for members of the Cloud Guild. Still, everyone was curious about what the Ghostmaster intended. Yet, faced with such a formidable display, no one dared to make a move now, no matter how curious they were!
Hua Qianyu clicked his tongue in admiration, "The Ghost Guild’s people are truly well-trained!"
Damien Gray glanced at him impatiently. Hua Qianyu straightened his expression and began, "I was ordered to get close to you from the start." He said it outright, as if unconcerned about inviting disaster with his words!
Damien Gray didn’t show any murderous intent because of that statement; his gaze only grew deeper. It seemed he had been under someone’s watchful eye from the very beginning.
Hua Qianyu looked at him and continued, "That madman has a grudge against the Simon Family. But he won’t kill you, because you bear the fate of bringing chaos to the world. He wants the Simon Family’s reputation utterly ruined! You must have noticed that a certain force has been secretly protecting you all along, haven’t you?"
Morgan Shangguan and Damien Gray exchanged glances. So, that force was sent to protect Damien Gray in secret? To let him smoothly bring chaos to the world, to sully the Simon Family’s name—even sparing no effort or resources to keep him safe. Clearly, that person truly hated the Simon Family!
Morgan Shangguan glanced at Hua Qianyu and asked, "What kind of hatred does that person have with the Simon Family? Killing for vengeance is one thing, but they want to ruin the Simon Family’s name, to make them bear the blame for chaos in the world. Where does such deep hatred come from?"
Hua Qianyu looked at Morgan Shangguan, just quietly watching her without speaking. Before Damien Gray could lose his temper, Hua Qianyu finally spoke—but instead of answering Morgan’s question, he blurted out, "You’re not Morgan Shangguan!"
Morgan Shangguan narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression calm, betraying no hint of guilt.
Hua Qianyu didn’t bother to look for any sign of her unease. He said to himself, "I was the one who personally drugged Morgan Shangguan back then—I’m certain she couldn’t have survived!" So when he learned Morgan hadn’t died, he was truly shocked. He hadn’t told anyone about this; even the person behind him assumed it was just a failed attempt. But only he knew he hadn’t failed!
Although the man behind him also wanted Morgan Shangguan dead, that particular action had been his own idea. His mission was to throw Damien Gray’s world into chaos. If, at the moment of capture, the princess from the Cang Kingdom was found dead in bed, Damien Gray would never escape suspicion!
He knew about Damien Gray’s other identity, so he wasn’t worried about Damien suffering any harm. At most, Damien might lash out at others in anger—and that was exactly what he wanted!
He truly regarded Damien Gray as a friend and knew that this could be seen as a betrayal. But he had his own reasons: that madman not only controlled him with witchcraft, but also threatened him with his own son’s life. Xiao Mayan had helped him before, and he couldn’t let his son be killed by his own father!
Since childhood, Hua Qianyu had been tormented by that fiend, never expecting any future for himself. He didn’t know when he might die, so he wanted to do something for Xiao Mayan. That way, his journey through life wouldn’t be in vain.
He just wanted to finish the task quickly, hoping the madman would keep his promise and save Xiao Mayan. Although he knew the madman’s word couldn’t be trusted, he had no other choice—only that person had the power to save Xiao Mayan.
Originally, he had calculated everything perfectly, but Morgan Shangguan’s arrival threw his plans into disarray. Morgan took the place of the original Morgan Shangguan, and even Damien Gray hadn’t noticed the soul in that body had changed at first.
Glancing at Morgan Shangguan and Damien Gray, Hua Qianyu sighed with a smile, "Maybe this is what fate is. If I hadn’t drugged Morgan Shangguan, perhaps you would never have appeared!" Seeing Damien Gray’s complete lack of surprise, Hua Qianyu knew there were no secrets between these two, and couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Still, fate hadn’t been too cruel to him—at least now he was no longer under that fiend’s control!
Morgan Shangguan was a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected the original Morgan Shangguan to have died from being drugged! Suddenly, she recalled the cliff fall and what Morgan Xuan had said—someone had wanted her dead since childhood. She was certain that all of this was the work of that madman Hua Qianyu mentioned. But why? Damien Gray was from the Simon Family, fated to bring chaos, so it made sense he’d be watched. But the original Morgan Shangguan was just an ordinary official’s daughter—why did that person want her dead?