Since it was time for lunch, the five sat around the table and ate the leftover stew from last night. Margaret had offered to make something else, but Shui refused since he didn't want to bother her. They started talking about how their lives had been since the Heaven clan disaster, with all of them giving positive responses. Shui's journey after purifying the land of the Heaven clan with flames was very hectic so he didn't give many details, but he mentioned the main places he had visited.
"So you were at Silver City before the chimera lord appeared?"
"That's right. I didn't get to see it actually emerge though."
'Though I did fight it before that.'
"That's a good thing. There's nothing pleasant about watching some monster wreak havoc."
They then started talking about the familiar people Shui had met along the way like Lilia and Kate. He skimmed past the details on Nathan, Iris and Broc's family, but it was still more than what Yur told the two of them. Yumi and Wince also got involved in the fun once Shui began talking more about his crazy adventures. Battling a group of geniuses, fighting against high beasts, conquering harsh tests, and so on.
Shui also learnt about their situation, such as how Yumi was living with Margaret and Miur, and how it came to be like that. It turned out that Wince was her only living relative as the rest of their family had been killed during faction disputes. Wince chose to become a scholar so that he could investigate their deaths, but he didn't want to put Yumi in harm's way so they pretended to be strangers for a time, but eventually gave up and just stuck to hiding their blood relation. Shui realized that Wince was the scholar that Yur was talking about, but he didn't think Wince and Miur had the sort of relationship he was worrying about.
As they kept going, lunch was over and the evening colours began to show in the sky. Although he was having fun, Shui resolutely announced that he had to leave.
"Why? Can't you at least stay the night?"
"I'm sorry, but there's something really urgent that I have to take care of. Honestly, I was supposed to leave after giving you this letter, but I couldn't bring myself to do that."
Miur took the letter addressed to Yur that Shui placed on the table, but she still looked at him with a reluctant expression. Yumi and Wince had similar faces, which increased Shui's feeling of guilt so he could only look to Margaret for help. She also didn't want to see him go, but as the oldest one she was the most used to partings.
"Stop it, everyone. We can't be selfish."
"But..."
"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll stay for as long as we want next time, right?"
"Hahaha... sure."
Shui felt that he had been forced to sign a devious contract but he didn't feel bad about it. As an apology and in memory of their reunion, he set up a few arrays around the mansion. Normally this would take a long time, but with his current soul strength and skill level, he could use multiple brushes delicately enough to draw all the arrays at the same time with little effort. Margaret, Miur, Wince and Yumi were fascinated by his technique that was akin to an experienced artist and the gloomy look on their faces were wiped away.
As Shui was leaving, he looked at the siblings and remembered to ask about the young man he threatened. They quickly figured out what his intentions were and tried to stop him, but Shui assured them.
"I'll be fine. I wouldn't say I would do something without being sure of myself."
Unfortunately, they couldn't tell how strong he was, and it was hard to believe that he would be a match for an average-level sect so they were still reluctant. It was then that Miur overheard them and asked about the situation. Wince and Yumi thought that she would be on their side, but after asking Shui if he was sure he could handle this, she surprisingly encouraged it. She even asked if the three of them could accompany him.
"I guess that's not a problem, but I'll have hide you so that you're not troubled because of this later."
Wince and Yumi were still lost, but since Miur gave her approval, they gave up. Luckily, what they were about to witness would be a memory to treasure for the rest of their lives.
In addition to using masks and cloaks with inscriptions of 'Conceal', Shui also ensured that their auras were suppressed before heading out. The Blue Waves Sect was at the center of the city, so all he had to do was head there.
Meanwhile, two young ladies and a young man were speaking in a well-decorated lounge. One of the young ladies had short ocean blue hair and sky blue eyes while the other possessed long brown hair in a side ponytail, but both had sensual figures that could draw gulps from men. The young man did not lose in general attractiveness as his chiseled figure and handsome face could similarly make women cheer. As the young man had only recently returned, he wouldn't move away from the young lady with brown hair, leaving the other to watch them flirt.
"Stop it already. Don't you ever get tired, Clyde?"
"How could I ever be tired of being with you? Trust me, I have a lot of energy."
"Oh you!"
After seeing the young lady opposite to her bashfully respond to the young man's advances, Cleia couldn't resist the urge to sigh any longer.
"You two are really close."
"I know right."
"I said stop it! Sorry, Cleia, I was going to come alone but he just wouldn't go away."
Despite the reluctant face Lisa had, Cleia knew that she was happy to see Clyde again so she didn't make a complaint.
"No, it's fine. It's a good thing to be reunited with your loved one."
"Loved one, that's..."
While Lisa tried to come up with an excuse with Clyde's arm wrapped around her waist, Cleia looked outside the window to distract herself.
"Oh?"
Unexpectedly, she saw something that caught her interest. For some reason, many of her fellow disciples and even some elders were hurrying to the sect's gates. For better or worse, even including the emergence of the chimera lord, few events ever caught the attention of the sect so this was quite the rare sight. As Cleia pondered on what could be the cause, Lisa called out to her.
"Cleia, what's wrong?"
"I'm not sure actually. Look outside."
Prompted by Cleia, Lisa and Clyde also took a look out the window and witnessed the same scene. All of them wondered about the situation, but none of them had any good answers, so naturally their curiosity grew.
"Shall we investigate?" Lisa asked.
Cleia immediately gave a positive response, so they stood up and went towards the door. Clyde was a little reluctant to end his happy time with Lisa, but he was satisfied with walking by her side.