Xuan Yi did not explain much to Yun He who had thought that they have solved everything. There is something that Xuan Yi knows she has not settled. The water by the village is not a river. It is a sea and seas do not flood their shore.
From the stories she has heard from both the waiter in the teahouse, Elder Jin and his dead daughter, and the other random ghosts that were following Xuan Yi after finding out that she can see them, it appears that it indeed seems like the sea is flooding the shore.
"Yun He, I have a question." Xuan Yi faced Yun He seriously when they reached back to their accommodation.
Sensing the tension in his little kitten, Yun He sat up straighter as he turned towards her. "Yes?"
"Have you ever heard a sea flooding?" Yun He raised his eyebrows at the weird question.
"No," Yun He replied after thinking for a bit.
"Exactly, seas do not flood shores." Xuan Yi told him with a knowing look. Yun He feels as if he was missing out on some important clue as he paced around his room while Xuan Yi slowly drank her tea elegantly and calmly.
"So you are saying that something is manipulating the water?" Yun He frowned as he muttered. But he had touched the water and there was nothing out of the ordinary when he came into contact with it. If there was something artificial in the water, causing it to flood, he would have noticed it. Although he normally fools around, he is still the water god.
"Do you sense any artifact here?" Xuan Yi asked. She had touched the water as well and she knows there is no residue of any energy in the waves so it has to be a magical artifact that allows its user to manipulate the water.
"Nope," Yun He folded his arms across his chest. As the water god, any artifact that has anything to do with his element is kept under his domain. This means that he would sense it if there is any artifact nearby. As artifacts are mainly composed out of elements, sometimes a mixture of both, each artifact belongs to an element domain. Owners of the domains will be able to sense the artifact should it belong to their domains which is one of the reasons why elemental gods are such powerful beings.
"Me neither," Xuan Yi sighed softly as she set her teacup on her table. She had removed her veil from her face and had changed to another set of white clothes after taking a quick bath while Yun He went another round of alcohol at the dining area of the inn.
"Looks like this isn't as simple as I thought it is." Xuan Yi nodded at his statement.
"I didn't tell you just now mainly because of two things," Xuan Yi explained, her tone even. "First, someone is tailing us from the moment we arrived at the sea. I could not make out the person's presence which might mean that that person is not human." Yun He narrowed his eyes, his lips pursed. He did not sense anyone nearby when he was at the sea. Although he hates to admit, his little kitten has surpassed him in recent decades.
"Second, the resentment energy in the waters is not fixated at the current location. Other than Young Miss Jin, the rest of the souls are drifted from afar." Yun He widened his eyes. He could only sense the water's feelings. If the people living near it are mistreating it, the water would be angry and it would sometimes cause disasters. He could not sense the souls of people who died by the water's hands, that is Xuan Yi's specialty which is why he asked for her help.
"That would mean-" Yun He stood up abruptly at the sudden realization and Xuan Yi nodded. Sometimes, being an immortal makes you lose touch with the hearts of humans. This is why Yun He caught up so slowly. He was never the smartest but he was not totally stupid. After Xuan Yi dropped a few hints here and there, he finally got the whole picture.
The souls that Xuan Yi saw in her interaction with the water are people who died in the sea but because the sea is huge, the souls sometimes drift away from the spot they died. Xuan Yi had seen souls who died in locations, not in this region which leads to another question. If there are no recent deaths in the sea, why is the sea angry? Why did Yun He sense such resentment coming from the waters? Why did the flood happen even when there was no water artifact at work?
"It wasn't a flood," a familiar deep voice said. Xuan Yi and Yun He immediately whip their heads towards the window where the voice is coming from, their muscles tensed up.
"Your Highness?" Xuan Yi asked incredulously.
"What is Ye-Er doing here?" Yun He relaxed the moment he saw it was the Immortal of the Night, the Second Prince of the heavenly realm.
"Uncle," Lord Ye nodded his head towards his uncle. "I was tasked to investigate the happenings of this area," he answered promptly before turning his eyes towards the stunned Xuan Yi.
Following his nephew's gaze, Yun He saw the frozen Xuan Yi who was still holding her teacup as she stared at the sudden intruder in disbelief. Gently shaking her, Yun He called out to her. "Earth to little kitten?"
Xuan Yi snapped out of her daze and lowered her teacup onto the table. Getting up quietly and bowed. "Pardon my disrespect, your Highness."
Lord Ye shook his head and muttered, "it's fine," before he sat down with his uncle and the Lady.
"So dear nephew of mine, you were saying it's not a flood?" Xuan Yi sat down as well and kept quiet. She was about to explain everything but since Lord Ye is here, there is no need for her to say anything.
"Lady Xuan Yi, I heard you saying that you sensed someone tailing you?" Lord Ye ignored his uncle and turned his attention to Xuan Yi. Xuan Yi almost dropped her teacup at the sudden question before staring at the handsome immortal before her. Why is Lord Ye paying such close attention to her? That time he had helped her with the Yin Demon's case and now he is here again? Although she can solve the case herself but having the esteemed second prince here would make things simpler. She might not even have to lift a finger this time.
"Yes, but this Lady sensed no malicious intentions. Hence, I did not pursue." She kept her words concise and short. From the time she understood how the realms work, she had made up her mind to be discrete. Keep a low profile and once everything is over, she would leave. Do not attract attention to yourself, especially the Imperial Family in the heavenly realm. She has dabbled in enough politics in her first life as the Empress and she does not wish to return to those times.
Frowning at her cold tone, Yun He secretly pinched her arm as he shoots weird looks at her. Xuan Yi ignored her friend's antics and continued sipping her tea as she glared at the window as if the window has done her wrong. Lord Ye's lips thinned as he sensed the Lady's displeasure. Maybe he has been too forward.
"I trust that the earth god has not been bothering you since?" Lord Ye attempted again at a civil conversation but Xuan Yi did not reciprocate. She nodded stiffly as she replied. "It has only been less than a week since he packed and returned to the heavenly realm so this Lady cannot be sure if he has backed off or he just does not have the time to harass me."
This is the longest sentence she has spoken so far but it was filled with barbs and thorns that Yun He grimaced at his friend's obvious dislike for his nephew. "Is it me or is it getting colder in here?" Yun He tried to liven the atmosphere a little but all it did was make the surroundings colder.
Previously at the demon palace, there were eyes around them and if Xuan Yi did not give the second prince face, it would most likely reach the ears of his parents and that would not bode well for Xuan Yi since she wants to keep a low profile. Now there is only her, Yun He and Lord Ye. There is no need for her to keep up the pleasant facade when all she wants to do right now is to piss Lord Ye off so that he does not come and bother her again. Well, technically he is not here to bother her. He is here on a task to investigate but Xuan Yi still feels that he is deliberately following her around after that one incident.
"I apologize if my presence makes Lady Xuan Yi uncomfortable," Lord Ye struggled to get his words out.
"Oh please do not apologize, your Highness. This humble Lady cannot afford your apologizes." Xuan Yi snorted as she stood up and promptly left the room. Yun He frowned. Now things are getting serious.
"Care to enlighten me, dear nephew of mine?" Yun He turned to his nephew in confusion.
"I might have offended Lady Xuan Yi after her ascension," Lord Ye's face was stoic as if he was an unfeeling person but Yun He, who has seen him grow from young knew that he was struggling inside.
"Offend her? How?" Yun He had not heard of anything in regards to this from his little kitten. Not that she is one to take the initiative to speak about such matters in the first place.
"I… I may have…" Yun He could see his nephew's fingers tremble slightly on the table under his sleeve and his eyebrow raised as he waited patiently for his nephew to speak. He may be the incredibly handsome and powerful second prince to everyone but to Yun He, he is just a little boy who struggles to express his thoughts and feelings properly. From young, he is taught to be perfect and Lord Ye had excelled in that in every aspect which earned him his pristine reputation. However, the amount of time he spent on books and the cultivation of his skills left his social skills in tatters. He has a few subordinates and practically no friends which made his family quite worried for him. He came off as cold and arrogant to others and people would rather flock to his elder brother or elder sister who were more friendly and warm.
Yun He believes that whatever his nephew did to piss off his little kitten would not be too offending. It must have been Xuan Yi being too sensitive. Yun He has heard from others that women tend to be quite sensitive and have extreme fluctuations in their moods during certain periods of the month. It must have been that. Yun He nodded to himself internally as he took a long sip of his tea. After all, his nephew is extremely innocent and naive of the interactions between men and women.
"Sullied Lady Xuan Yi's purity," Yun He choked on his tea and started hacking and coughing.
"You what?"