DEB 34

A new guide, huh?

He never heard of such a thing before.

After picking up three S-rankers following a life of hardship, Huiyun felt the pressing need for information, prompting him to delve deep into the hunter industry in his own way. He joined the hunter community, scoured pseudonymous websites, and collected various pieces of information.

Confusion gripped him.

Despite his efforts and even consulting Huigang, he had acquired knowledge comparable to most hunters, yet he had never heard of the distribution of a new guide. It was another unprecedented event.

Did this have anything to do with being Yasha’s reincarnates?

He couldn’t say that his achievements in his past life wasn’t remarkable. However, he didn’t expect something like this to happen to him. 

It didn’t feel like a preferential treatment at all.

“What are you looking at?” 

Jiwook asked, breaking Huiyun’s reverie.

Huiyun tore his eyes away from the system window and pushed Jiwook’s shoulder.

Concerned about the consequences of accepting that notification, his priority was to get those three out of his hospital room for now.

“Cough!”

As he raised his mana reflexively, blood rushed out of his throat. Huiyun, unable to hold it in, vomited, staining his hospital gown red as he stared wearily at Jiwook.

For a moment, he thought that Jiwook’s shoulders were seen shaking.

No, it was a mistake. Jiwook’s gaze was colder than frost.

Damn it. If it were Ju-an, it would’ve worked. 

“Yasha!” 

Sure enough, Juan, who had been pushed away by Jiwook, was startled by the sound of his coughing and tried to approached him, but was caught by Nameless.

He was fidgeting, messing with his hair and shaking his feet, and it was quite surprising that he was so worried even though he had only coughed up blood once.

“Now that it’s confirmed you have abilities, are you looking at the system window?”

A person vomited blood in your face and you are making such inferences. 

Well, these kind of people also exist, I guess.

“…Anyway, I’ve used my ability and need to recover, so please give me some time to sort things out alone.”

“I think I’ve given you enough time until we conduct the test.”

“I didn’t know things would turn out like this back then. At first, you acted like you’d let me go once I proved my ability. There’s too much things happening, you know.”

Jiwook tilted his head as if asking him to complain more.

He didn’t like this situation where Jiwook seemed to be in control.

Despite suspecting him to be Yasha, he still gazed at him like that.

Was that the gaze a disciple should gave to his master?

Look at Ash. Since the moment he suspected me of being Yasha, he behave so docile and cute. And although I might not be happy to see him, at least I was able to avoid getting angry

But Vina was the opposite.

From the moment he started suspecting him of being Yasha, his attitude became a mess. He couldn’t tell if he was originally like that or if he just harbored a particularly intense resentment towards Yasha. If he couldn’t control his emotions, he should have just stayed quiet like Nameless.

Of course that didn’t mean that Nameless was sane either.

Somehow, none of the people who claim to be his disciples were sane.

“I’m not saying I’m going to refuse. I can’t refuse it anyway, right? I’m just asking for some time to think. You can do that much, right?”

In response, Jiwook sneered.

“It will indeed take time to figure out how to deceive us moving forward.”

His tone was blatantly resentful. 

Huiyun massaged his eyelids, feeling the irritation that had barely subsided rising again.

At this point, Huiyun couldn’t help but have doubts. 

Was he really Vina? 

Nameless had also been acting strangely, but Black Dragons were inherently consumed by madness. Considering this trait, actions like biting wrists or giving him a doll that said things like ‘I like you, Yasha’ could be somewhat excused as within the norm, but not for Jiwook.

Blue Dragon had always been composed, rational, and among the calmest individuals. Therefore, Vina, in the past, was also clever, blindly obedient, and a gentle disciple. However, the person right in front of him had forsaken his humanity, seemingly only focusing on intellect.

As Huiyun cast a reproachful gaze, Jiwook smiled, pleased with himself. It must have been difficult for him to maintain such a wretched smile on his face.

I didn’t raise him like that.

With his memories flooding back, he was certain. Yasha used to hold Vina dear to his side, not pushing him to grow up in such a defiant manner. 

Although he occasionally subjected Vina to rigorous physical training, such as dropping him off cliffs for body strengthening exercises or engaging in intense sparring sessions, it was all for Vina’s sake. 

As a result, Vina grew strong and diligent.

But why did his reincarnated one turn out like this? Huiyun couldn’t help but feel disappointed, his shoulders suddenly feeling heavy.

“If you need time, we’ll gladly give you a day. However, regardless of how your conversation with your brother ends, we’ll take you with us. It’s your obligation and responsibility.” 

Jiwook stated firmly.

“What do you mean my responsibility—”

“If you didn’t want it, you shouldn’t have picked us up.”

“…”

The voice that interjected him was void of emotion, yet from Huiyun’s perspective, it sounded eerily ominous. As Huiyun’s eyes wavered, Jiwook, who had been observing him closely, leaned his weight onto the hand that was pressing his shoulder.

Creakkk

The strong pressure in his shoulder felt as though it bore the weight of the responsibility Jiwook mentioned, causing Huiyun to bite his tongue as he regained his composure.

Huiyun reminded himself not to waver.

But his self-admonition proved futile. He still couldn’t shake Jiwook’s grip.

“If you didn’t want to take responsibility, you shouldn’t have brought us here, nor should you have abandoned us like that.”

“…”

“You should have at least given us some notice. If you had, we wouldn’t have wandered around like this, Yasha.”

As Jiwook’s words grew colder, his expression remained unchanged. Just moments ago, he was cold and unyielding, but now he looked down at Huiyun with a tired, childlike expression. Huiyun was speechless due to the unwavering gaze filled with resentment that was directed at him. 

He realized his mistake a little too late.

He should have rebutted immediately. But he missed the timing.

“…I’m not Yasha.”

Even to himself, the words sounded incredulous, and he lowered his head.

“Let’s see how long you’ll deny it.”

Seeing no sign of bending in Jiwook’s attitude, he guess that his lie didn’t work at all. Jiwook sighed and removed his hand from Huiyun’s shoulder. 

“See you tomorrow.” 

He said his farewell before leaving. 

Only then did Huiyun realize that all his lies had crumbled.

“The lie didn’t last long.”

He had only started pretending to be Yasha’s seventh disciple a few hours ago, and already most of his lies had been exposed. Perhaps he should have rebutted immediately earlier.

No, even if he did, it wouldn’t have made a difference. There was no way to convince someone who had already made up their mind.

Things had gone awry, completely awry.

As Huiyun sighed deeply, Ju-an, who had been released by Nameless, approached, scratching his head.

“Sorry for not being able to help right away, Yasha. He’s been acting strange since last night, so it wasn’t easy to stop him.”

“…I’m not Yasha.”

“Oh, you haven’t admitted it yet? Vina called you Yasha earlier and left without saying anything, so I thought you’d finally admitted it.”

As he scratched his head, looking genuinely apologetic, Huiyun felt irritated. As he was about to roll his eyes in irritation, Juan shook his shoulder that was gripped by Jiwook earlier.

“I understand. But the tension rises because you keep making excuses.”

“…I’m not making excuses.”

“Actually, I’ve been looking for you a lot too, but it seems like Vina is the most sensitive to being left behind, isn’t it? So, he acted a bit cheeky. If it bothers you, let me know. I’ll scold him myself.”

As the man whispered, his eyes flashed red for a moment. Huiyun, taken aback by the murderous intent in his eyes, looked at the man in a daze.

The Red Dragon, Ash.

The Red Dragon was inherently vicious, battle maniac, and had a tendency to go berserk when they bleed. Huiyun was already mentally fatigued and physically unwell due to using his abilities, but he felt overwhelming tiredness washed over him as he glimpsed Ash’s true nature, which had not been evident in his human form.

“It’s okay for now, please, just give me some space. I want to rest alone.”

“Is that so? We’ll see each other every day starting tomorrow anyway.”

Unlike before, Ash readily withdrew without hesitation and waved his hand with a refreshing smile. He seemed quite pleased with the fact that they would be spending time together, humming a tune as he left.

He was quite adept at ignoring other’s feeling.

Feeling awkward, Huiyun shifted his gaze to Nameless who remained silent until the end.

“It would be nice if Mr. Nameless could leave too.”

“Moot.”

“Yes?”

“Call me Moot. I only like the name Yasha gave me. I’ve never used any other name, so please call me Moot.”

That’s my name, after all.

The man approached, held Huiyun’s hand and locked eyes with him. As Huiyun’s reflection gradually appeared in that seemingly empty pupils, he swallowed his saliva inwardly.

Nameless.

Only now did Huiyun fully understand the meaning of that name.

Unless there were special circumstances, his parents must have given him a name. Perhaps he changed his name to Nameless after growing up. Huiyun was pondering his response when, unexpectedly, Nameless’ lips pressed against the back of Huiyun’s hand without warning.

Dry yet subtly soft, the touch briefly grazed and then withdrew from his hand.

“You knew that your disciples weren’t in their right minds. The sooner you admit it, the easier it’ll be for you.”

Leaving behind an incredibly sweet and yet inexplicably eerie remark, he curled his lips and left the room.

Should I call this obedience?

Even though they behaved like brats, all three of them left the room. Despite being alone, Huiyun’s mind remained uneasy, and he let out frustrated breaths before opening the system window.