DEB 93

Huiyun stood there puzzled for a while as Vita glanced at Ash, who was banging his head against the wall and then raised his hand.

“Yasha, I just want to ask, if we follow your instructions well today, will we really have to go through all ten stages you mentioned?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question.

“Of course. That’s the only way to truly improve your skills.”  

“Ah, I thought so.”  

Vita, as if he had expected this answer, smiled brightly and lay down on the floor of the underground training room.

“Hmm?”

Huiyun raised an eyebrow as Ash groaned and lay down next to Vita. 

Then Zenith, Moot, and even Vina placed their hands on their chests and lay down as well, leaving only Huiyun and Verita standing.

“Is this the right time to lie down? Then I shall join you too!”

With that, Verita also lay down. 

Huiyun looked incredulously at his disciples, who had even closed their eyes as if they were asleep. 

The absurdity of the situation made him rub his tired eyes.

What are they doing? They’re acting like children.

If they were in kindergarten, he could have found it cute. 

But seeing grown adults doing it felt like he was seeing something he shouldn’t, he waved his hand in frustration.

“…Get up. This is a training room, not a bed.”

“Yasha, I think I’m feeling a bit under the weather today.”  

“Is that so? Zenith?”  

“…Shall we rest today?”

“Zenith….”  

Huiyun felt a bit betrayed by his once-loyal disciple.

 Blood is thicker than water, and in this case, it seems family ties are stronger.

Huiyun then looked for another loyal disciple, someone who was typically cynical and wouldn’t easily join in on such antics if given a little incentive.

“Moot.”

Moot, who had been lying still with his eyes closed like a corpse, opened his eyes. 

His pale gaze met Huiyun’s, and then his lips curled into a smile.

“I’ve been thinking, Yasha. Maybe if we lie down now, we can spend a little more time with you.”

“What?”

“Because if you teach us everything, Yasha, you might think there’s nothing left to teach and send us away.”

And I don’t want that.

His voice was as sweet as honey, but what he said was nonsense. 

Huiyun withdrew his gaze from Moot, who looked normal despite spouting nonsense and sighed. 

He glanced at Ash and Vina, but neither seemed inclined to help him out.

Maybe I pushed them too hard?

Realizing he might have been too strict, Huiyun decided to compromise.

“Alright, alright. I won’t push you too hard. So get up.”

“Hmm… Can we trust that?”

Moot, enjoying seeing Huiyun in a tight spot, decided to playfully prod him. 

Huiyun felt his last bit of patience snap and stopped absentmindedly fiddling with his nails.

“Moot.”

“Yes?”

“Bow down.”  

Bang!

Suddenly, Moot shot up and then lay flat on the ground, stomach pressed against the floor. 

The suddenness of the act left the other disciples stunned. 

Moot held his nose, which had almost gotten injured in the process, groaning in pain.

“Does anyone else have a complaint?”

Without batting an eye, Huiyun looked down at his disciples. 

The ones who had been lying down quickly got up and kneeled politely.

“… We will obey, Yasha.”

Even Verita bowed deeply, leaving Huiyun wondering what he was doing. 

Feeling a mix of regret and embarrassment, he helped Moot up.

“Are you alright?”

“Well, it stings a bit, but I’m okay. It’s been a while since I was on the receiving end; it almost feels nostalgic.”

“I’m glad to hear that. So let’s check your skills next, Moot.”

“…What?”

Moot rarely looked so dumbfounded. 

Huiyun, with a gentle expression, patted him on the shoulder and then looked around at the other disciples.

He declared that they would proceed with a skills test but assured them that it wouldn’t be too intense.

The disciples who had been protesting realized they had no choice but to participate in Huiyun’s training again, albeit with a faint glimmer of hope.

“Hmm… As expected, your power is weaker compared to the past. Your precision and sense have also deteriorated significantly.”

After checking the skills of all his disciples, Huiyun sighed. 

It pained him to see how much their combat abilities, which he had once honed so carefully, had declined. 

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Vita scratched his cheek and made an excuse.

“Well, back then, every day was a battle, right? We couldn’t help but improve, whether we wanted to or not.”

“Even now, we could create a similar situation, couldn’t we?”

“What?”

Sensing something ominous, the disciples backed away. 

Huiyun revealed the plan he had been forming as he observed their skills.

“Starting tomorrow, each of you will clear five gates a day on your own and report back. Choose gates that are at least of intermediate difficulty, and preferably ones that are challenging and tricky. Since I can’t accompany you every time due to my mana sensitivity, we’ll have a group gate conquest every other week to practice teamwork. I’ll join you for those.”

“…Five gates a day? Yasha, I have a life outside of this, you know.”  

“…I have a guild to manage.”

The disciples looked displeased at the sudden assignment.

“Ash, since when did you start managing the guild?”

Unfazed, Huiyun continued.

“In addition, I plan to give personal guidance to one of you every five days, so make sure to arrange the order in advance. The personal training day won’t overlap with the group conquest day.”

“Are you serious?”

After a brief silence, Vina was the first to speak out. 

His comment opened the floodgates, and the disciples began voicing their concerns and objections.

“This is ridiculous. You’re planning to run a gate every week with that body?”

“I’m fine as long as I don’t use my powers. You just have to make sure I don’t need to use them.”

“Oh… When you put it that way, it’s hard to argue.”

But the wave of resistance quickly died down, as they, too, recognized the need for training. 

The disciples exchanged uneasy glances before turning to Ash again. 

Once more, Ash took on the role of spokesperson, letting out a long sigh.

“Oh, to hell with it. Fine, we’ll just work hard until Yasha’s satisfied. But Yasha, you have to keep your promise. Make sure you let us take the lead, and don’t jump in first.”

“But Ash, what kind of master hides behind his disciples all the time…?”

“We will protect you!”

“We see you as our master, so it’s fine.”

“Don’t worry, Yasha. The necromancer’s curse is quite powerful.”

Moot blinked his long eyelashes, smiling. 

Huiyun, however, was oblivious to the fact that this comment only made him more worried.

Vita, now sheathing and unsheathing his sword, narrowed his eyes. 

Realizing this wasn’t a topic to drag out, Huiyun decided to relent.

“…Alright. Since you’ve made concessions, it’s only fair that I grant this request.”

In the end, both sides had no choice but to compromise.

“Well then….”

With the discussion about training more or less wrapped up, Huiyun checked the time.

It was almost dinner time. Huigang would be worried, and they needed to eat, so it was time to head back.

Seeing Huiyun’s gesture, Vita approached.

“Are you heading to the hospital?”

“Yes, I think I need to recover before going home.”

Even though he had been careful, the prolonged exposure to dense mana throughout the day was too much. 

The fastest recovery would be at the hospital, so he agreed. 

Ash trailed after Huiyun as he started to leave.

“Yasha, you really like that bed, huh? So I decided to have one brought into the new mansion I built. It’s almost finished, so you can move in tomorrow.”

Ash hummed a tune, sounding excited, but Vita’s gaze turned sharp.

“Mansion?”

“Oh. Yasha and I decided to live together. What, are you jealous?”  

“Who said you get to decide that?”

“Because we were the ones who found Yasha?”

“Finding him and sharing him are two different things. We’re coming to that house too.”

“What?”

“Hmm?”

The unexpected remark made Huiyun and Ash stop in their tracks simultaneously.

“Oh! I’ll join as well, Ash!”

When Verita agreed with Vita, Ash’s face twisted in annoyance.

“No, this isn’t right! Hey, are you just going to let this happen?”

Looking for support, Ash turned to the others. 

Moot and Vina exchanged a glance and chuckled.

“It’s probably easier to keep an eye on each other if we’re all in the same house.”

“Indeed. With three more pairs of eyes watching, you won’t be able to run off with Yasha in the middle of the night.”

Their banter made Ash’s ears turn red. 

Huiyun stared at him, wondering if he had heard correctly. 

Under Huiyun’s gaze, Ash slowly turned his head away.

“…I never planned on eloping with you.”

He did.

No doubt about it.

Huiyun took a step back from Ash. 

The red-haired man drooped his eyebrows, looking like he was about to cry. 

The atmosphere was warm, just like old times, back before his reincarnation.