The oasis that Maha knew of wasn't far from the eastern edge of the desert that they entered from, so they managed to reach it before night came. The sun sinking into the horizon didn't have much of an effect on the temperature, but the desert became more active at night, so it was better that they find a place to settle down before then.
The oasis consisted of a few palm trees and patches of grass surrounding a small pond, but there were other things there that made them keep their guards up.
"It seems this is where our luck ends."
"It looks like we were too late."
As much as they wished that they wouldn't have to exert themselves in this hot weather, it appeared to be unavoidable since a group was already occupying the oasis. Even in the miraculous case that this group was made up of people kind enough to share the oasis with them without any ulterior motives, Shui's group wouldn't be willing to have them around while they were searching for the inheritance.
Emily came off of Shui's back as each of them prepared their weapons and spells and approached the oasis. As they got closer, someone who was drinking water from the pond spotted them and called out to another four who were in the tents that were set up. Soon, five Earth Realm warriors waited for them in a similarly tense state. Since it was so hot, and they didn't have time to change, their clothes exposed a significant portion of skin so the two dark-skinned women of the group had their limbs and some of their torsos to the mercy of the desert winds. Shui wasn't sure why, but both Maha and Emily checked his expression after noticing the women but didn't say anything. Still, it was a little awkward so he took the lead in talking to the group of five.
"Excuse me,"
"Stop right there. We don't want to waste our energy, but since you've seen us we can't allow you to leave."
"So, you want to kill us?"
The three of them prepared to make a move as it seemed that it was time to fight, but the man leading the group of five wasn't eager for one.
"No, I can't guarantee that we won't suffer casualties if we try to fight you. It'll be enough if you let me wipe your memories of meeting us and swear an oath not to approach this place again."
It was more complicated than killing them, but it wasn't a bad way of keeping their presence here a secret. This was an unexpectedly soft approach so Shui took a moment to think about it. Emily and Maha didn't know what he would choose to do, but they trusted Shui to make a good decision.
"Hmm, okay, I've decided. Although there's no way I can trust you to mess with our memories, since you genuinely don't want to fight with us, I'll subdue you without killing any of you."
"You, arrogant-! Fine, you leave us no choice."
Their leader lifted his axe and prepared to use a spell, but Shui made the first move. He dashed forward and slammed his fist into the leader's gut, instantly blowing away his consciousness.
"Boss!"
The other four were stunned by how fast he had been knocked out, and Maha took full advantage of that hesitance. While Shui struck the back of the neck of the woman who was to the leader's left, she fired a mental spell at the man who was on the left end. In under ten seconds, only two of them were left. These two panicked as they looked at their fallen members, but they hadn't given up yet. They searched for a way to escape this predicament, and both of their eyes landed on Emily who hadn't attacked yet. They didn't know how strong she was, but the girl was the only hope they could find so both of them jumped at her in an attempt to make her a hostage.
When Emily saw them coming at her, she wasn't worried. She didn't expect Shui to come save her, in fact, she could see that he was allowing them to get closer.
"Ha!"
The two rushed at her in desperation, and so Emily placed one hand on the hilt of Dull Harmony while her other hand held it at her waist. As soon as one of the two entered her range with their weapon raised, she swung her sheathed sword. The sheathe landed perfectly on their right temple, instantly knocking their awareness into nothingness. The last one standing continued to charge at her while her weapon was still outstretched. Emily parried the axe that they swung down and then used her sword to jab them in the stomach followed by a strike to the top of the head.
Emily wasn't a warrior who sought to sharpen her skills in battle, but she was well aware of how important interpersonal fighting skills were. While her study in arrays still took priority, Emily would occasionally train with Shui to refine her sword arts so that she could properly wield Dull Harmony. She could only repeat a few movements which Shui taught her, but her technique was good enough to last at least one move in most situations.
"Well, what now?" asked Maha.
It wasn't a problem to hold back from killing them, but just as they wanted to keep their location hidden, Shui's group needed to maintain secrecy as well.
"I'll wipe their memories and then send them towards the exit. With my sister here, it shouldn't take long for us to conceal this oasis using arrays, so they won't be able to find us again."
Maha agreed with his decision so they gathered the group of five and let Shui erase their memories of the last minute. He then tied them up and placed two talismans on each of them, one for 'Float' and another for 'Move'. This would make them float away in the direction he chose until the talismans ran out of power.
As the group of five faded into the desert, Shui looked at the oasis they had claimed. It wasn't more than five cales in width, so if they worked efficiently it should be possible to complete the first array he had in mind before the next day. There was one minor problem though, the sand. There were different ways of setting up arrays, but if one was drawing them then the sand would make it a cumbersome affair. Furthermore, this sand was special since it had a high enough concentration of fire element to be used as a material in making artifacts.
Usually, you would apply a fixing agent made with water attribute materials, but it wouldn't be compatible here. Still, there was a simple method that Shui could use though it drained his energy to maintain.
"Harden."
Through the use of an inscription, the sand around the oasis stiffened in place and became indomitable to the hot breeze. Shui would have to keep this inscription active as he drew the array, but it wasn't hard for him. Especially since he could construct the array with his precious sister.
"Shino, come with me. Do you know what blend would work best here?"
"Well, considering the environment, it has to be compatible with fire and earth, is it metal?"
"Correct, next is..."