Chapter 128

Chapter 128

"Thank you for saving me." Judy pushed herself up and thanked Domingo.

Domingo moved to help her, then stopped halfway and simply said, "Don't mention it."

Judy explained that she was being hunted by Celestial Temple and didn't want to drag anyone else into it, so she planned to leave right away. But Domingo disagreed.

"You're too badly injured to move around for now. If you're worried, I can take you to a small stretch of sea near Crescent City to recover. No one will be able to find you there."

As Domingo looked at the weak, pale girl in front of him, a feeling of tenderness welled up inside him — something he had never felt before.

Judy weighed her options and finally accepted Domingo's offer.

"Thank you."

What she didn't know was that Crescent City wasn't somewhere just anyone could enter. The only reason she got in was because Domingo had fallen for her at first sight.

In the days that followed, Judy focused on recovering, while Domingo came to check on her every few days. Even Judy, oblivious as she was, could tell that his attitude toward her was different from how he treated others.

So once she recovered, she wanted to leave.

"Did I make things awkward for you?" Domingo looked at Judy and asked openly.

"No, I just have my own plans." Judy looked at the tall, handsome man before her and thought that if she hadn't met Damien first, she might have fallen for him.

But life doesn't offer many what-ifs, and she had no interest in romance right now.

Judy was upfront about what she wanted — to build her own organization.

Domingo smiled. "Good. I thought you hated me. Don't let my feelings put you in a difficult spot. How I treat you is my business. You can always just be yourself."

"Besides, if you want to build your own organization, isn't this the perfect place to do it?"

Domingo gestured at the surrounding waters.

"People end up stranded in these waters all the time. You can pull them out — those who want to stay can stay, those who want to leave can go, and anyone who wants to enter Crescent City is welcome to."

Domingo wasn't just looking for an excuse to keep Judy around. He genuinely needed someone like her to bring fresh energy into Crescent City.

Judy stared out at the endless sea. The small group she had built before had already been destroyed by Celestial Temple. She had nothing left, and getting caught by them meant certain death.

At this point, it didn't matter where she started over.

So Judy agreed to Domingo's suggestion, and he provided her with funding and manpower to get started.

She had thought about reaching out to Damien, but her pride wouldn't let her. In the end, she put down roots in the stretch of sea just outside Crescent City.

Back to the present — Shannon had been cleaned up and brought before Judy.

He was completely guileless, and it only took a few simple interrogation techniques for Judy to win his trust.

"Please help me, I just want to find someone!" Shannon looked at Judy with wide, glistening eyes.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Verity. I need to find Verity. I'm from the Mordell family. My whole family was killed — only Verity and I survived. I have to find her." As Shannon spoke about what had happened to his family, his eyes filled with tears, and he stared at Judy with quiet determination.

Judy was surprised. She had heard of the Mordell family and knew that Celestial Temple was hunting them down. She hadn't expected one of them to end up in her hands.

"Celestial Temple's people are looking for you everywhere right now. You'd better stay here for the time being. As for the person you're looking for, I'll ask around." Judy said.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Shannon said gratefully.

Judy gave one of her people a look, and they immediately took Shannon away. Once he was gone, she pulled another aside and told them to keep a close eye on Shannon and make sure he stayed safe.

Meanwhile, Damien wanted to meet with the mayor of Crescent City, but the two had no prior connection, and without a good reason, the mayor wouldn't agree to see him.

He thought about using rare medicinal herbs as bait, but he had none on hand, so he called Mostad to ask.

"Damien, you've got some nerve. You didn't bring back what I wanted, and now you want me to chip in? No way! Stay out of my business!"

Mostad snapped from the other end of the line, then hung up before Damien could get a word in.

Damien stared at the dark screen, his expression souring even further.

"What if we send Tobias in to scout things out?" Mona walked over and suggested.

"No. Who knows if there's something wrong with Crescent City's secret medicine. If something goes wrong, Tobias could die."

Tobias wasn't part of Shadow Sect, but Damien still wasn't willing to gamble with his life.

Mona frowned at that. "It's just a small Crescent City. What exactly are you so afraid of?"

"Seeing you like this, I can't believe you're the same person who charged headfirst into battle in the Lia region. How did you get so hesitant the moment we got to Crescent City?"

Mona dropped herself onto the nearby sofa with a thud, arms crossed, watching Damien.

Damien wasn't bothered by her words. He just glanced at her and said, "I value my life."

Mona opened her mouth as if to say something, then let out a long, heavy sigh instead, making her frustration clear.

At the same time, in a villa not far from Damien's hotel, Bavich drained the last of his wine in one go, his brow deeply furrowed.

Since the failed frontal assault, Bavich had been stuck here with his men for several days. He knew that brute force was useless against Crescent City — they wouldn't let him in no matter what — so he had been looking for outside help.

He set down his glass and called White, asking for Monty to come and assist.

"You want to use poison bugs? Do you even know that poison bugs are completely useless in Crescent City? Use your head! Figure it out yourself!"

White's voice was low and cold. He hung up immediately after.

With that door closed, Bavich's expression turned even colder.

If that wasn't going to work, he'd have to find someone else to partner with — at least get his hands on the Wraith Grass first. Celestial Temple had plenty of money, and with enough of it, there was no shortage of people willing to do the dirty work.

On the other side of things, Damien had sent Ironclaw to look into what was happening in Crescent City and see if anything seemed off. But the report that came back was that everything was running smoothly.

"The merchants who attended the auction before all took the secret medicine to get in. They were given the antidote on the way out, and none of them had any issues afterward. They all said Crescent City kept its word."

Ironclaw had looked into every merchant who had attended a Crescent City auction. Without exception, not one of them had suffered any ill effects from the medicine.

"Got it. You can go."

Damien rested one hand on the desk, fingers tapping slowly against the surface, his gaze dark and unreadable.

Shortly after, he went to find Mona and told her he'd changed his mind — he would let Tobias go into Crescent City after all.

"Didn't you say you didn't want Tobias taking risks? You really do change your mind fast."