Chapter 5

Christine was on edge. She clenched her fists tightly, taking quick, shallow breaths. She was terrified that Damian might suddenly pounce on her.

But after a few minutes, the sound of steady breathing came from beside the bed.

Christine was stunned. She turned her head and stole a peek. Damian was wrapped in the blanket, sound asleep. She breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she felt oddly frustrated.

She was the most beautiful woman in Cloudcove. So many men fawned over her. Yet, Damian had fallen asleep so quickly despite sharing a room with her. That gave her a strange sense of humiliation. Did she not arouse even the slightest bit of primal urge in him?

"What a heartless jerk," she muttered, too angered to sleep.

…

Early the next morning, when Eli woke up, he got Christine and Damian to wake up as well and urged them to get their marriage registered. In spite of her reluctance, Christine had no choice but to drive Damian to the city hall and get their marriage certificate.

Eli laughed with joy when he saw their marriage certificate. He was thrilled. "Excellent! I'll talk to Wendell later and have him pick a good day for the wedding ceremony."

"Mr. Spencer Senior, can we delay the wedding ceremony for a bit?" Damian abruptly asked.

"Call me Grandpa!" Eli insisted with a frown.

"Yes, Grandpa," Damian complied, though he scratched his head, the sudden change of address feeling a little awkward on his tongue.

Satisfied at last, Eli looked at Damian and said, "Tell me why."

"I grew up in a mountain village, Grandpa, and I've never dated anyone before. I often hear people talking about how wonderful it is to have a relationship. That's why I'd like to have a taste of that myself. We can date first before the wedding," Damian said bashfully.

Thrilled, Christine glanced at Damian in surprise before hurriedly chiming in, "Yes, Grandpa. That's exactly how I feel as well."

David also piped up, "Dad, let's do things their way. It would only make things awkward for them if they tied the knot without at least getting to know each other first."

Eli wasn't entirely convinced, but since the idea came from Damian, he didn't argue further. He gave a slight nod, signaling his approval.

Overjoyed, Christine went off to work in a good mood.

On the other hand, David gave Damian a meaningful look and sneered to himself. He figured Damian had taken what he said last night to heart.

That was just fine by him. After some time, he'd find a suitable excuse to ask for Damian and Christine to get a divorce. Then, he'd give Damian a sum of money that would allow him to live comfortably for the rest of his life. That way, the Spencers wouldn't owe him anything.

"Grandpa, can I take a look at your room?" Damian suddenly asked with a smile.

"Of course," Eli agreed with a laugh. "Come. I'll give you a tour."

He led Damian upstairs to his room. The moment they stepped in, Damian's brows furrowed slightly. A wave of eerie, sinister energy hit him right in the face.

"I like collecting antiques, Damian, so my room is furnished with antiques, historical artworks, and things like that."

After looking around the room, Damian had it mostly figured out.

"I'm guessing someone advised you on the setup for the furniture in your room, right, Grandpa?" he asked.

"That's right. I had Wendell Hall, a renowned geomancy expert here in Cloudcove, set this up for me. He said that by following the rules of geomancy, the appropriate arrangement can guarantee the success of the Spencer family."

Damian looked at Eli's forehead, his eyes sharp and piercing. It was just as he had suspected. Eli was once again plagued with a new gust of malevolent energy.

What a conniving trick this was!

Before leaving the village, Alden told Damian that Eli had saved Alden's life 20 years ago. Damian had come down to fulfill the marriage agreement to repay the favor on Alden's behalf. Since that was the case, he wasn't going to let any harm come to Eli.

Moreover, out of the entire Spencer family, Eli was the only one who showed him any real sincerity.

"You can't stay in this room for the time being, Grandpa," Damian said.

Confused, Eli asked, "Why not?"

"Because his room is filled with malevolent energy!"

What was that?

Eli was shaken. He looked shocked.

"Do you trust me, Grandpa?" Damian asked Eli with a somber expression.

After standing dazedly for a while, Eli slowly nodded. "I trust you, of course. Are you saying that there's something wrong with the geomancy setup here, Damian? Is Wendell trying to harm me?"

Eli's eyes flashed with hostility. He'd started from nothing and single-handedly built up the Spencer family's business and wealth. Naturally, he wasn't a fool. After pondering briefly, he was able to grasp the situation.

Shaking his head, Damian said, "There's nothing wrong with the setup itself, but someone is using it with malicious intent. That Wendell Hall you mentioned is the prime suspect, but it might not be him."

Eli frowned. "Does this mean we can't find out who's behind this?"

He sighed, feeling a deep sense of frustration. While he knew someone was out to get him, he didn't know who it was. It felt like he had a sword hanging over him. Who knew when it would fall?

It was impossible to rest easy knowing that.

However, Damian chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Grandpa. Since we can't tell who it is, we'll let the culprit deliver himself to our doorstep."

He switched the positioning of a few antiques in the room, and the invisible malevolent energy intensified. Even Eli couldn't stop himself from shivering, his expression stricken.

"Let's go, Grandpa," Damian said, smiling confidently. "The culprit will take the bait within three days!"

Although Eli moved to a different room, he still felt uneasy. Damian had the staff purchase a set of silver needles for him. He used them to extract the malevolent energy from Eli's body. After seeing the needles turn black again, Eli trusted Damian's words even more.

He clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with hostility. It didn't matter who it was. He was going to make the person who wanted to hurt him pay a heavy price!

After chatting with Damian for a little while longer, Eli began to feel a little tired. Having just been purged of the malevolent energy, he needed a lot of rest for his body to recover. Damian stuck two needles into Eli to help restore his energy.

Once Eli was fast asleep, Damian left the room and walked out of the Spencer residence. He stared into the distance, his eyes briefly gleaming.

Apart from marrying Christine and repaying the debt owed to Eli, Alden had also assigned Damian three other tasks to complete when he left the village.

Today, he decided to start with the first one.