DEB 97

“What’s this about?”

Huigang, noticing the odd atmosphere, looked confused.

“Do you need something from me?”

“In a way, yes… Hey, have you ever wanted to be famous? Because I think I can make that dream come true.”

“…What are you talking about?”  

As expected, he was baffled.  

Anticipating this reaction, Huiyun swallowed his embarrassment and calmly explained the problematic situation and his plan. 

As he expected, Huigang didn’t seem thrilled about the idea.

“If you don’t want to do it, feel free to say no. I’m not going to force you.”

If he were in Huigang’s shoes, he would have been uncomfortable too. 

As Huiyun tried to mask his disappointment with a smile, Huigang rubbed his face in frustration.

“It’s not impossible. And honestly, I agree that it’s better for me to be in the spotlight than for you to be in danger.”

“Then…”

“But let’s clarify things first. You’re asking me to be the one who saved those three, right?”

“Yeah.”

Huiyun’s plan, which Moot helped refine, was actually quite simple.

Instead of Huiyun being the one who saved the three S-rank hunters, they would claim it was Huigang.

This small swap would solve a lot of issues. 

First, it would hide the fact that Huiyun wasn’t an awakened hunter and was suspected of being an unregistered one.

Second, it provided a reasonable explanation for his connection to the three S-rank hunters. 

It wasn’t far-fetched to say that after being saved by a B-rank hunter, the S-ranks would take an interest in his sick younger brother, checking on him frequently. 

It was a bit contrived, but much more believable than the truth—that Huiyun was a great figure from a past life and their master.

After thinking it over for a while, Huigang set a condition.

“…I’ll try to follow the plan as closely as possible. But I want to make sure neither of us faces too much harm from this. Can you guarantee that?”

“I’ve already made preparations to minimize the risks, Hunter Mok Huigang. As the student of our master, I wouldn’t be careless with such an important request,” Moot said.

“…In that case, I’ll trust my brother and go along with it.”

Huigang finally made his decision. Huiyun, touched by the difficult choice his brother had made for him, embraced him.

“Thank you, brother.”

“This is nothing compared to you going off without a word and coming back spitting blood.”

“…I’m sorry about that.”  

“As long as you understand.”  

Huigang patted his brother’s back while hugging him. 

Meanwhile, Ash, consumed by jealousy, tried to jump into the embrace, but Verita and Vita held him back. At the same time, Vina opened the door to the hospital room.

“Well then, we’ll get started with the preparations. We’ll do everything we can to ensure this doesn’t cause you any harm, but please be cautious in case anything unexpected happens.”

“The others will be around to protect him, so what’s there to worry about?”  

“That’s right, stop worrying and just get going,” Ash chimed in, waving his hand dismissively. 

Vina shot him a look of disdain before signaling to Moot, who promptly grabbed Ash by the ear and led him out.

“Hey! Let go! Yashaaa! Yashaaa!”

“Could you please be quiet? Did you forget this is a hospital?”

“Ash really is a fool. Vina can’t handle this alone, so we’ll all need to help.”

“Let me go! Yashaaaa!”

Ash, paying no mind to his fellow disciples, continued to wail as he was dragged out of the room. 

Huiyun, watching the all-too-familiar scene unfold, suddenly made eye contact with Huigang.

“…If this is what they’re like when they’re calm, what’s it like normally?”

“…Haha.”

Unable to defend his disciples, Huiyun laughed awkwardly and turned his gaze to the window.

“Nice weather today.”

“It’s raining.”

“…Haha.”

Cold sweat ran down his back. 

Huigang’s suspicious gaze only softened after Zenith offered him some tea.

***

It took exactly one week for the plan to be fully executed.

The rumors spread quietly, fueled by the reporters, and although Ash, Vina, and Moot dodged direct questions, they occasionally staged encounters with Huigang and Huiyun in public.

Nothing official was announced, but those sightings were enough for the rumors to take root as fact.

With all the conditions met, Zenith, Vita, and Verita, who had been staying in the newly completed mansion for the past week, finally joined the rest of the disciples at the Bureau to form the *Dimensional Threat Countermeasures Committee*. Even during this time, they never neglected the tasks given to them by their master.

Boom!

Dozens of red fireballs spiraled through the air, piercing the cave walls. 

As the residual heat spread across the ground, a warm breeze rose from the floor beneath them.

“How’d I do, Yasha?”

Ash asked with a proud grin. 

Huiyun wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked over to the wall Ash had blasted through.

He ran his hand over the surface, noting how clean the cut was—smooth, as if done by a blade.

“You’ve been diligent in your training, Ash. But the increased firepower is affecting your allies too… You should work on excluding certain targets from the blast radius.”

“What? You didn’t care about that back in the day.”

“That was when everyone around us was a dragon, so it didn’t matter. But now, both you and I are human.”

“…Can’t we all just die and be reborn as dragons?”

“If it were me, I’d spend that time practicing instead of saying nonsense.”

“Alright, alright, stop looking at me like I’m pathetic.”

Ash muttered as he began adjusting his control over his abilities. 

Despite his grumbling, he was clearly taking Huiyun’s advice seriously, as his control became more precise.

It’s been a while.

It had been a long time since Huiyun felt such joy from teaching someone. 

A light smile appeared on his face as he watched his disciple continue working on the gate.

In truth, calling it a “gate conquest” wasn’t quite accurate. 

It was more of a training exercise, where Ash used his powers in an isolated location to avoid causing a disturbance until Huiyun was satisfied with his progress. 

Despite being a mid-level gate, Ash’s training took three hours to complete.

“…I’m dead. You said we wouldn’t go hard, but that was a lie.”

Barely able to walk after exhausting his mana, Ash leaned on Huiyun for support as they trudged along. 

Huiyun, who had prohibited Ash from using potions to force him to develop his natural recovery, firmly held onto his disciple’s arm as he weakly complained.

“That’s why I’m here to support you, isn’t it?”

“Yasha, you’re too harsh…”

“Sigh.”

Huiyun was used to Ash’s endless grumbling, so he ignored it as they made their way back to the mansion. 

The moment they arrived, Vita and Vina rushed out to meet them.

“Yasha, you don’t need to be doing this.”

“Ash, can’t you walk straight? What a disgrace.”

Hovering around the windows in anticipation of Huiyun’s return, the two disciples quickly took Ash from him, scolding the exhausted man. 

Now left without a burden, Huiyun stared down at his empty hands and let out a soft chuckle.

Just then—  

“Huiyun, you’re back?”

Huigang peeked out from the mansion, waving a ladle in his hand.

“I made stew. Come eat.”

He spoke with the tone of a parent. Huiyun looked at his brother in wonder, impressed by how quickly he had adapted to the communal lifestyle in just a week.

When Huiyun had first announced he would be living with his disciples in the mansion, Huigang had protested, saying he felt uneasy and wanted to stay close. 

But now, after only a week, Huigang seemed more than satisfied with his new life.

It was hard to believe he was so happy just because his workplace was close to home and his salary had doubled as a result of managing the mansion.

“You look a lot better, brother.”

“I don’t have to rush over every time you collapse. Fewer surprises, longer lifespan.”

“….”

Huiyun regretted asking. 

Huiyun kept quiet and sat down at the dinner table with his disciples. 

The large table comfortably seated all eight of them, a sight that never ceased to amaze him.

“Well, let’s eat.”

At Huigang’s signal, everyone picked up their spoons. 

One of the most notable changes since they had started living together was how much more polite the disciples had become toward Huigang.

Especially Moot, who had become noticeably more respectful. 

The way he bowed his head to Huigang in gratitude for the meal was a stark contrast to the prickly and abrasive behavior he had once shown.

Curious about the reason for this change, Huiyun had asked Moot in private one day, and Moot had answered simply:

“We all agreed that it would be wise to get on your brother’s good side and act a bit more polite.”

“Why would you need to do that?”

“So we can stay close to you for a long time.”

That was when Huiyun once again realized just how… unique his disciples’ thought processes were.

Watching them all eat together, Huiyun’s eyes landed on Vina, who suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, the Bureau Director asked us to handle a request today. It’s supposed to be the first official task for the Committee.”

“Guild Master, I thought we agreed not to talk about work during meals?”

“…….”

Vina blinked in surprise, clearly caught off guard by the unexpected reprimand. 

After a brief scowl, he fell silent. 

Satisfied, Huigang nodded approvingly while Huiyun quietly sipped his water.

Indeed, there had to be a reason he was born as Huigang’s brother.