"So, what do you want to ask me, dear nephew?"
Shui felt the urge to vomit at her form of address for him, but he simply frowned and didn't bother mentioning it.
"First, I want to hear about what happened to the Heaven clan when those bandits and the Clite clan attacked."
Shui had little feelings for the clan itself, but Bartos had died with the clan, so he had to ensure that the culprit was punished. With the corpses he saw and the information he gained through various sources, he had a decent grasp of the situation, but there were still a couple of holes that needed filling.
However, Iris didn't care for his purpose.
"Hmph, and why should I tell you anything?"
She didn't know why he seemed so powerful, but she refused to submit to him easily.
"Oh? Don't you want to hear about your son?"
"Hmph, of course not. He severed his ties with me, so that boy stopped being my son long ago."
"Is that so? To think he would still care for you after all you put him through."
"Hmm? What do you mean?" asked Iris with a confused look on her face.
In response to that expression, Shui had a spiteful smirk. "Oh, I wonder?"
For a moment, conflict showed on Iris' face. She repeatedly told herself to forget about that ungrateful brat, but despite not knowing about their last interaction, Shui was certain that the bond between the pair of mother and child couldn't be cut easily.
Iris didn't think whatever Shui was hinting at was worth the information she had, but she was definitely curious, and as a demonic cultivator, it was very difficult to suppress her desires.
"...Fine. I'll tell you what I saw."
Iris then explained everything that happened during the last days of the Heaven clan. She was vague regarding her stance, but didn't feel ashamed to say that she fled before it was too late. Shui guessed she was another traitor, but he was more focused on what she told him about the Sky Realm expert that faced their High elder. There was certainly a bigger figure behind all of this, but no matter who they were, he wouldn't let them get away with what they did.
'I should probably bring Kate with me when the time comes.'
While Shui started setting up other plans, Iris rushed him for a response.
"I said my part. Now hurry and tell me about the boy."
"You don't have to be so impatient. Since I said I would, I'll keep my word. I'll start from beginning; because you forced Nathan to cultivate that demonic method, he attracted the attention of a certain evil spirit that migrated to his body and planned on completely taking it over."
"What? But it should be impossible for a random evil spirit to do a complete possession."
As someone who studied the demonic ways, Iris was familiar with evil spirits and their body snatching habits. Although a strong evil spirit could forcefully take over a body, it would merely be a temporary vessel. For an evil spirit to get a proper body, there had to be a decent level of compatibility.
"You're right, a random evil spirit wouldn't be able to do it, but it just so happens that this evil spirit was born from the Progenitor of the Theos clan, in other words, our ancestor. I guess he distanced himself from you because he didn't want you to be hurt by that evil spirit."
Joy showed on Iris' face when she heard Nathan had caught the eye of a powerful ancestor, but then she processed everything and that joy faded.
"Then, was he taken over?"
Iris believed that was the only possibility, considering the evil spirit's identity, and Shui confirmed it.
"Unfortunately, he was able to take control at the end."
"The end?" Iris gasped," No, you don't mean..."
"Nathan's dead. I killed him myself."
"You what!!!!"
Knowing full well what would happen, Shui spoke the truth. In response, Iris released a burst of nature energy that swept across the entire room. He knew that this was her attempt at creating an opening, so he soon made her efforts futile. With just a thought, he contained her and her outburst in a barrier. Immediately, Iris knew this barrier would be hard to breach, but the rage in her heart exploded as a black aura that came from the sigil on her back. She tried to take a step forward, but then she felt the cold touch of a finger on her forehead.
"Calm down."
As much as she wanted to rip him apart, the sensation sent shivers throughout her body that suppressed her ability to resist. Once Shui removed his finger, the feeling was gone, but all she did was bite her lip. Given that even her outburst hadn't caused anyone to come to the room, they were either isolated through some technique or her little devils weren't able to support her. Regardless of which option it was, she would have to get out of this by herself.
'Damn it! Why does he seem so terrifying?!'
There were a few more things Shui wanted to ask, but it would be risky to read her memories while the demonic aura was still present, and she likely wouldn't tell him anything else voluntarily. He had considered crippling her before this meeting began, but given that Nathan had spared her, he decided against it. She was definitely a villain, but Shui didn't think of himself as a hero, so he wouldn't hurt her as long as she didn't become a nuisance to him or threaten his loved ones.
"Try to settle your emotions. You're understandably upset, but I only killed him to stop that evil spirit from desecrating his body. And let's not forget the one who had him cultivate demonic arts to begin with."
Thanks to the overwhelming gap she sensed between herself and Shui, Iris could retain enough of her rationality to listen to him. She still wanted to rip him to shreds, but she knew she wasn't without fault, either.
"So? Do you want me to thank you for putting him out of his misery?"
"I don't want your gratitude or your forgiveness. You're free to think of me however you like. We can peacefully part ways as long as I get the answers to my questions and you do me a favour."
"Peacefully? What a joke! Don't think that I'll wag my tail for you just because you've used some trick to restrain me."
"As long as you're cooperate, then I'm willing to compensate you. I see that your whip is barely a spirit-rank artifact. Wouldn't you like to have a weapon fit for your strength? One like this, perhaps?"
Shui then revealed a grey whip artifact of supreme spirit-rank. Shui wasn't entirely sure who he had taken it from since he had slain many Earth Realm cultivators with prominent backgrounds, but he had ensured that it didn't have any spiritual marks, so its origin mattered little.
When Iris saw the whip, she couldn't deny that Shui's offer finally gained some appeal. Since she mainly targeted men, it was difficult to find a weapon that suited her. And even with the money, good whips were rarely up for sale, so she was forced to settle for her current whip. Her hatred hadn't disappeared, but she thought herself better than a mere beast that could only act on emotion rather than gains and losses.
Once she rationalized it to herself, the demonic aura returned to the sigil on her back, making it more pronounced. Once he saw that she was stable, Shui stopped restraining her.
"It seems you're willing to talk, good. It's getting late so I'll leave for now and come again during the day tomorrow. Until then, Aunt."
Suddenly, a gust blew through the room and, as discreetly as he arrived, Shui vanished.