Shu He pulled himself out of the dune that covered his body as he righted himself, drawing the Endless Edge as he did so, he didn't understand why this 'Xiao Long' had attacked him, but he wasn't going to take another attack like that unprepared.
As he rose out of the sand his eyes met with Xiao Long's who had just retrieved his trident, a smile was plastered on his face as he stepped on to the sand from the water.
[Shu He!] A worried cry came through mental transmission as Shu Xue ran up to him with concern plastered on her young face.
[I'm fine, don't worry] he tried to reassure her, yet she still grabbed his hands that were bleeding as a warm, blazing red Qi covered her hands.
'I should heal within minutes, she really doesn't need to worry…' he thought, yet he quickly noticed that his wounds were closing even faster under the warm light of Shu Xue.
[What's this? Since when could you do this?] he asked with surprise, it was subtle but there was definitely a healing effect to her Qi, she hadn't shown this off before!
But she merely shook her head [I don't know. I just can] was the answer she gave, leaving Shu He stumped; After merely a few seconds the light faded and he lifted up his hands to see that the gashes left by the trident were completely gone, only the blood staining his skin remained.
"You're fine…?" Shu Xue asked nervously, her expression caused Shu He to realise something.
'Is this the first time she's seen me injured?' such small injuries shouldn't worry her yet seeing him hurt seemed to cause her to panic, he sighed in his heart as he placed his hand on her head.
"I'm fine, go and take cover, you're still exhausted from earlier."
"But-"
"I'll be fine, no need to worry."
"Okay…".
She walked off, sending a glare the way of Xiao Long as she stood to the side, she had used up most of her Qi using her ability to the fullest earlier, and while Shu He could transfer some to her through the Heart Pact, it would take a while and he needed to use it himself.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Xiao Long?!" On the other hand, a certain pink haired figure stood head of him with eyes filled with poison glaring at the white-haired man.
"Meaning?" Xiao Long casually asked as he held his trident in one hand, a smug smile still on his face.
"You attacked my junior brother out of nowhere, what you did just then could have killed him!" Na Xue yelled while his pale-yellow pupils shrunk to a thin line, her canines becoming more prominent than ever.
"But he survived, didn't he?"
"Cut the shit! You know it's against sect rules to attack members of the other great sects! You're no exception!"
"It's just a friendly spar, right Mei?" He turned to his sister who laughed lightly.
"Of course, Older Brother, there's no need to get so worked up, chimera girl" there was a hint of mocking in her voice as her eyes narrowed, a smug smile grew on her face as she brandished her silver trident "I don't think they're done yet either, won't it be rude to interrupt them?".
"You know me so well, Mei." Xiao Long's eyes rested on Shu He's figure as they narrowed "I would have left it at a warning, but he challenged my strike and took it with ease… It couldn't get any more interesting".
"Do you have no shame?! Or did your blood make you forget that?" Na Xue derided them as she sent a worried glance to Shu He.
"Those words… someone with filthy blood like you dare mutters them?!" Both siblings immediately glared at Na Xue who didn't back down, rather she stepped forward and laughed.
"Actions speak louder than words, aren't you the ones doing disgrace to your bloodline?".
"Older Brother, I'll deal with her" The light in Xiao Mei's eyes darkened as she stepped forth, a vein popped on her exposed forehead from anger.
"Ah, go right ahead, teach her where her place is" Xiao Long proceeded to ignore Na Xue as he focused back on Shu He, who, was silently listening to the conversation between the three of them.
'They know each-other?' was what he glimpsed from what they said, but that didn't help his current predicament. He had no idea why he was being attacked in such an aggressive manner, even if it was because he participated in the beast tide meant for this region's cultivators, there was no need to attempt to kill him from the first move.
'Is this guy just a lunatic?' he frowned as he stared down Xiao Long who seemed to be awaiting his next move 'Should I run?' he shook his head, he wouldn't be able to outrun that trident.
He took a step forward and slowly paced while thinking.
"Why are you doing this?".
"The resources here are for our sects use, you don't belong here".
"That's not what I heard, besides, I didn't take a thing".
"We'll see whether that's true afterwards" The smile on Xiao Long's face never faded, Shu He could see the anticipation seeded deep in his eyes and realised-
'He just wants to fight'.
He had seen the expression on similar people in the sect, people like Tai Hui and more recently Gang Bo; People who had come to love the feeling of combat, the greater the struggle the better.
'What a pain' he sighed internally.
Normally it wouldn't be an issue, but the fact was he was heavily outclassed here, he had survived that attack by expending large amounts of Golden Qi, but he couldn't abuse it due to the state of his soul.
Even now he was dreading the consequences of that instance of usage in the back of his mind. And yet, he was faced with a situation where he might have to use it again.
'Maybe if I just stop fighting, he will lose interest…' he considered in his mind, until he began feeling a warmth in his chest… or rather, it wasn't inside him, it was against it.
His eyebrow rose as he reached into his robes and pulled something out. As he did, a faint blue glow enveloped the area causing silence to descend, Shu He looked around in confusion as he felt engulfed in this formless light, it was odd, as if it was both there and not.
In his hand was the golden necklace that Elder Bai had given him, the blue teardrop that was on the centre of the necklace swayed in the wind as it lit up.
'What is this necklace? And why now?' Shu He was confused, Elder Bai had gifted him this without explaining a thing, so he was stumped as to what was happening.
On the other hand-
"What?!"
"This- This- This is?!"
Two people in particular were completely awestruck. Or rather they felt chills creeping up their spine as their faces went sheet white – They were of course Xiao Long and Xiao Mei.
"S-sister, is that…?"
"I-I think so!"
The two seemed to be quaking in their boots, literally, as they took multiple steps back while the blue light became the centre of their attention.
"Huh? What's happening?" Even Na Xue was confused as she looked between the twins and the light.
'This sensation… this Qi… although it's faint it definitely feels like Elder Bai!' though it was to be expected, since he had received it from him.
Suddenly, a blinding light engulfed the area as an incredibly hazy figure formed from dark blue clouds, it was hard to tell exactly what it was, but a formless pressure descended on everyone causing them to shake in fear.
And then… a voice descended.
"SO… WHICH OF MY BLOOD HAS ATTACKED MY DISCIPLE?!"
The twins seemed to freeze, shatter and begin scrambling to move in one movement, they didn't even process a single thought as a formless anger descended on them, they only thing they could do was run, run and run as fast as they can since that was what their instincts demanded of them.
And so, under the watch of Shu He, Shu Xue, Na Xue and the entirety of the disciples left on the beach, the famed Guardian Twins of the Everlasting Ocean Sect ran away like a pair of beasts never to be seen again… for a while at least.
Eventually, the image faded, and the light dimmed, the necklace returned to normal as Shu He carefully put it around his neck instead of stowing it away, now that he'd seen what it can do, he won't let go of it!
After a minute, people began to move about and surround Shu He with their eyes blazing with a single question, one with Na Xue spoke for all.
"What in the heavens was that?!"
To which Shu He responded.
"Hell, if I know!"