Fans Attack

Shui was a little surprised that Rodney was the ringleader, but he had expected him to retaliate sooner or later.

'This is also related to the Punishment Department so there probably won't be any interference unless this gets too serious.'

As he surveyed the vicinity, Shui found a few disciples watching the house and by spreading his spiritual sense further, he could tell that several mobs of disciples were gathering the house. In a split-second, Shui decided to stick to defense. He had no reason to fear these stupid disciples, but if he confronted them without a clearer understanding of the situation it would only make things worse. 

"Come inside, they've already seen you reporting to me."

Without waiting for a response, Shui pulled Lisa inside the house. A grin nearly appeared on her face due to his brash yet protective tug, but she quickly tidied her expression as he brought her to the shared space where Serina and the other two were waiting. At first their attention was on Lisa, but once they heard about the situation their faces became grave.

"I'm sorry, everyone," said Serina with a downcast appearance.

"Why are you the one apologizing?" Shui asked.

"Because if it wasn't for me then Rodney wouldn't-"

"You don't need to worry about him. Besides, I'm the one everyone's after."

"By the way, Boss, I wasn't sure if I should ask but, did anything exciting happen when you met Lady Cassandra?"

Fatty's question drew disdain from Sasha and Lisa, but both of them also sent curious glances at Shui. Though they looked down on Fatty for harbouring such vulgar thoughts at a time like this, Lisa was especially interested in the truth. Although Cassandra had the title of 'Flower Queen' for her special taste and extraordinary charm, Shui was also a handsome young master with talent that was possibly greater than hers.

"What do you mean by exciting, Fatty?" Serina asked.

"Uh..."

Everyone except Shui felt awkward as they looked at the innocent expression on her face, so no one stopped Shui from changing the topic.

"Anyways, if they're coming here then we should make some preparations. Could you all help me set some things up?"

"Sure."

"No problem."

At Shui's request, everyone went outside and began placing talismans in the areas that Shui told them to. Shui no longer had the Primordial Library for extra time, but he still tried to maintain a decent stock of talismans so there were enough to turn Serina's house into a fortress. However, Shui took it a step further by using mental control to draw a wide array around the house. Arrays were harder to draw with mental control because the process tended to drain the mind even faster, but since he was only setting up a tier 2 array it was only a slight burden. Since they acted openly he was worried that they wouldn't be able to finish preparing in time, but fortunately though they were heavily scrutinized, preparations were complete before a large gathering of disciples made their way to the front entrance.

There were over a hundred disciples with the majority of them in the Soul Realm, and at the lead was Rodney and a tall young man who shared some of his features. Shui could sense elders watching from the sky but they didn't seem to have any intent to interfere. However, as the disciples congregated, a couple messages reached him through intent communication.

"My apologies, Shui. Normally I would stop this gross breach of the manor's order, but my hands are tied in this case. However, if you need help then don't be afraid to call for me. I will certainly be on your side."

The other messages were basically the same thing so Shui figured out their motives easily. This incident was certainly something that should be stopped before any trouble arose, but they must have come to some agreement that no one would interfere so that Shui would have to grab one of their thighs. He had a feeling that the Punishment Department or Cassandra was behind this, but it only made him lower his opinion of these elders. After all, he didn't plan on relying on their help to begin with.

When the gathering of disciples stopped in front of the house, Shui stood aloof before them.

"Is there anything I can do for you people?"

After hearing his question, the tall young man next to Rodney looked back and the crowd and said something before stepping forward with Rodney. Since he didn't recognize him, Shui consulted Lisa who was behind him with the others.

"Lisa, do you know who that is?"

"Yes, his name is Lionel from the Gus clan and he's one of the top three inner section disciples. Although everyone calls Clyde the strongest, no one has ever seen the two fight."

Lionel was at the ninth level of the Soul Realm, similar to Clyde. As he had met Clyde before Shui judged that the two were close in strength, but Clyde had a slight edge. 

"I see. What's his relationship to Rodney?"

"They're brothers."

Serina frowned when she heard this, so Fatty patted her shoulder to comfort her. If it was a one-on-one battle then they wouldn't be as anxious despite the difference in cultivation, but the number of enemies was simply too much. Only Shui could maintain the same mood as Lionel and Rodney stopped at the edge of the region marked by talismans.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing some friends. They were simply too curious when they heard that you met Lady Cassandra."

Although Lionel had the stronger presence, Rodney acted as the spokesperson while Lionel merely looked at Shui with disdain. Shui knew little about him, but from this he could make a good guess.

"Lisa, is he a fan of Cassandra's?"

"Uh yes, I hear he's tried to court her multiple times and even said that she would certainly fall for him once he became a core disciple."

"So he's not much better than his brother then. Not being liken by women must run in the family."

Even Rodney was surprised by the provocative words that flew out of Shui's mouth. He had talked his brother into coming with him, but he still hadn't received his promise to help in the fight. Of course with the numbers he brought with him there should be no problem with bringing Shui to his knees, but he wasn't sure how the elders would respond if they attacked him with such large numbers. And yet for some reason Shui helped him by insulting his prideful brother.

'I don't know what he's thinking but it's too late for regrets now.'

When Rodney snuck a glance to see his brother's reaction, he smirked at the hint of fury that showed in his eyes.

"Those are harsh words. Are you trying to say that you could gain Lady Cassandra's hand before my elder brother?"

It was obvious what Rodney was trying to do by asking this question, but since they had chosen to oppose him, Shui had already decided to deal with them here.

"I don't dare boast that I could gain her heart, but I suppose my sincerity should allow me to win her hand."

Finally, the rage suppressed by the group of fans exploded as a fierce collective aura. Like an army facing its enemy, the pressure was enough to burden Serina so Shui waved his hand and stopped it by gathering his aura. Shui tried to keep his aura limited because of the strong influence it had, so some of the angry fans underestimated him despite his great fame. However, just gathering a portion of his aura was enough to block theirs, and Shui wasn't planning to stop there.