Settling Disputes

Since he knew where the men were supposed to bring the children, Shui went straight there. It was a shady location near the slums, where one cloaked figure waited. Shui already knew that this figure belonged to a butler working for a certain individual in the Wright family, but he didn't plan on exposing him this time.

"Who, who are you?"

Even though he suppressed his aura, the butler still felt a chill when Shui laid his eyes on him.

'This is difficult.'

His eyes were one thing, but now that he had a half-step divine body, it was near impossible for him to completely hide his aura. The slight divine aura he released due to using divine energy was also a big problem since he would automatically suppress anyone who relied on nature energy. In terms of intimidation it was great, but sometimes Shui wanted to come off as civil.

"You don't need to know that. Just tell your employer that I won't let them off a next time. Leave the kids alone."

After saying what he had to, Shui turned around and left the area. He had purposefully exposed his face for two reasons. One, he needed to act as a shield for the kids and two, he simply didn't want to hide. When he stepped into Cyrus, Shui decided that he was no longer Shin or Shui of the Heaven clan. He would only be Shui. He might not be unmatched, but from now on, he would live the way his mother and he himself wanted to.

When Shui came back to the siblings' house, Sia had already returned with an anxious Lily. She wasn't anxious when she heard that they were attacked, but rather because she heard that Shui was back. Although she never doubted that he would return, she was very excited to see him again. The moment he stepped in sight, before he could even say 'hi', Lily rushed to embrace him.

"Master!!!"

"Woah."

Although it was sudden, Shui easily managed to catch her and spun her in his arms. She always tried to smile, especially in his presence, but this was the first time he felt his heart strings tug from seeing it. In the months he hadn't seen her, he could feel her growth as they embraced each other.

'Is this the benefit of getting taller?'

Shui was finally a bit taller than her now, so when he put her down he had to look down slightly to stare into her clear eyes.

"Sorry, things took me longer than planned."

"No, I'm simply glad to see you well again."

In a world for just the two of them, Lily looked at his tender features and finally noticed a major difference.

"Young Master, your eyes?"

"Yeah, I can open them now."

Shui never explained why his eyes were always closed and she never asked him about it either, but now she was happy to see them. Lily laid her palm on his right cheek as she looked at his blue eyes that reminded her of a vast azure sky.

'Beautiful...'

Staring into Lily's eyes with his own also had Shui trapped in a trance, simply admiring her beauty. Shui could remember several beauties that he had encountered before, but very few times had he been entranced. Perhaps it was because he could see more with his eyes open, but her face was like a mystery he wanted to get to the bottom of. He placed his hand on her cheek and shifted his thumb to get a better feel. Before he knew it, her face got closer and his mouth was getting dry. Right as their noses were close enough to touch, a sudden noise broke the mood.

Ryan cleared his throat, reminding the two that they were in public so Lily hastily separated from Shui while he sighed. Considering his soul strength, he was shocked that he was that entranced, but he didn't think much of it. Shui walked up to the twins and put his hands on their shoulders.

"Wow, you two are just as buff as I thought you would be."

"Thanks."

"Want to feel my biceps?"

Considering that the twins were taller and more bulkier than him, Shui wondered if they had special physiques but no, it was just in their blood.

'Damn, I wish had these muscles.'

These two worked hard so that they could be more like their older brother and Shui, and after seeing their fight against those men, that desire grew even stronger.

"Maybe another time."

They previously had weird expressions from seeing their big sister getting intimate with their role model, but as soon as he talked to them they switched to bright expressions. They didn't like the idea of someone taking away their big sister, but they could accept it if Shui became their new older brother. However, Sia wasn't the same. When Shui looked at Sia, he remembered the version of her that he met in his trial and wondered why her expression was so similar.

"How you have been, Sia?"

"Hmph."

Instead of responding, she puffed her cheeks and walked away. Sia had very mixed feelings about Shui's appearance so she wasn't sure what to say or how to act around him.

'Difficult, huh?'

Since he already greeted the siblings, there was only one, two people left. With her child in her arms, Lilia was still spellbound as Shui walked towards her. His aura had changed but he didn't look too different. Like Lily, she had also noticed that Shui's eyes were open as well as the fact that he had fully recovered and was struggling to stop tears from running down. He was finally back, he was finally here. Her child, the one who she thought of as part of the family.

"Shui..."

"I'm back, Aunt Lilia."

Unlike the last time, when Shui hugged Lilia, she was the one who had her head at his chest.

"*sniff**sniff* Welcome back."

The siblings looked warmly at this scene and some of them even got teary from remembering their own mother. It was quiet, but no one could doubt how much emotion was packed into this reunion.