DEB 21

For a while, Juan, who had been enjoying the silence with a smile, later explained that it was just a joke, but Huiyun didn’t believe him. 

How could he believe him when he saw that fierce look in his eyes?

If the person who disappeared without a word was a loved one of Hong Juan, then Huiyun could guess their reason for silently disappearing and felt sorry for them. But if it was just an ordinary friend or even an enemy, he would have simply bid them farewell and told them not to come back. 

He wanted to keep his distance from him from now on.

Judging from the madness in his wandering eyes, Hong Juan surely thought that kidnapping or imprisoning someone for a year or two was no big deal. Huiyun intentionally maintained his silence, intending to cut off this relationship before anything happened. 

Fortunately, before the atmosphere became even more awkward, Huigang came in. It was perfect timing since his voice had returned. Huiyun greeted him with a relieved expression.

“Brother!”

“Huiyun!”

Huigang ran over and hugged Huiyun. It was supposed to be a touching reunion of siblings, but just as the scene was about to play out, Huigang’s hand hit Huiyun’s back fiercely.

“I told you not to go out! Why did you go, even after I told you not to!”

“Ow, brother, stop it!”

This time, Huigang scolded Huiyun with worry and annoyance, hitting his back recklessly. Huiyun screamed in mock-pain. Even though he tried to block it and plead, it was futile against Huigang’s anger.

“If it hurts that much, you shouldn’t have gone out!”

“No, brother….”

Huigang continued to hit his brother’s back five more times before he came to his senses and wiped his face. 

He sighed with a slightly calmer face, feeling sorry for hitting him. Huiyun scratched his cheek with a guilty conscience.

If you think about it, he was the one who left without saying a word, and he was the one who fainted while using his powers. They were all results of his choices, so if he had had a brother like himself, it wouldn’t have ended with just five hits on the back. Huigang was too kind.

And his kindness was an opportunity for Huiyun now.

Thanking his angelic brother, Huiyun apologized again with a cracked voice, and Huigang, after confirming the condition of his brother’s back, brought medicine.

“Please, if you want to go anywhere, just tell me, Huiyun. How much further does my heart have to sink?”

“Sorry. I won’t go out anymore.”

“I would rather resign from the guild and stay here permanently than believe that again.”

“No, I really won’t go out. So, you don’t have to go that far.”

“You said the same thing before.” 

No…!

When a person says they won’t go out this time, why don’t you believe them? He understood the feelings of the boy who cried wolf.

In the end, Huigang meticulously applied the medicine before finally releasing Huiyun. Huigang’s gaze then turned to Juan.

“Um….”

Looking at Ash Guild Master who had been silently watching all the commotion, Huigang’s eyes were very strange.

If he wasn’t the guild master, he would have sat down next to him and scolded him together. But he felt that his rank wasn’t high enough to do that, so he felt frustrated. 

“Brother.”

Just as Huiyun grabbed Huigang’s arm to stop the commotion, Juan intervened.

“I’m sorry about your brother’s incident. I didn’t guard him properly.”

Though he was taken aback by being treated as an object, Huiyun pretended to understand since Huigang seemed serious. After maintaining a heavy silence for a while, Huigang spoke up.

“Guild master Hong Juan.”

“Yes?”

“I would appreciate it if you could refrain from entering Huiyun’s room for the time being. If you keep visiting and monitoring him, Huiyun won’t be able to recover. At least until Huiyun fully recovers, please delegate the surveillance to someone else and refrain from entering. It’s a request as a guardian and a brother.”

“Brother…”

“Stay silent, Huiyun. If you faint one more time, I don’t think I’ll be able to live up to my name.”

Huiyun wasn’t intending to stop him, but he got scolded nonetheless. He pretended to keep quiet and put on a slightly bitter expression. Juan, who glanced at both Huigang and Huiyun, gradually looked at Huigang and then quietly opened the window.

“Well, I didn’t think I could agree to such a request.”

“What are you…!”

“Since it’s too much for me to decide alone, I’ll ask the others and come back!”

Huiyun, who was familiar with Hong Juan’s antics, stood up to grab him but his body was still that of a patient, even though his throuat had improved. In the end, Juan jumped out through the wide-open window.

Flutter!

The wind blowing through the window shook the curtains loudly. Juan’s escape was successful, and now there were only two people left in the hospital room.

“What…?”

With a blank expression, Huigang blinked at the man who disappeared like the wind. Huiyun touched his forehead, saying he knew that person would do something like that, and staggered before being supported by Huigang to lie down on the floor. 

Huigang, supporting Huiyun, pressed on his forehead to soothe his troubled mind.

“But at least he went to check, so maybe it’ll turn out well.”

Gently brushing Huiyun’s hair behind his ear with a calm expression, he told him not to worry too much and sighed. Huiyun, who smiled bitterly at the optimistic words implying that everything would be fine once he woke up, looked at the open window.

“Sorry, brother. It’s chaotic because of me these days.”

“It’s not because of you. Sometimes these things just happen. As long as you stays healthy, and please, just try not to get into any accidents.”

Pointing out the two things he was least confident about made him feel guilty.

He wasn’t sure about accidents even though he could assure his health.

How Hong Juan would convey Huigang’s words to the remaining two was a mystery. But judging by his actions, the probability of him simply leaving peacefully was close to zero. He would probably try every means to stay by his side, and if that didn’t work, he would resort to force.

Such people always seemed to bring trouble wherever they went, so without saying empty words, Huigang spared Huiyun from further questioning and gently closed his eyes for him.

“If you’re feeling frustrated, just sleep.”

He spoke as if soothing a child, tapping his stomach. Sleep didn’t come, but to ease his brother’s stress, it seemed better to listen obediently. 

Without resistance, Huiyun closed his eyes at Huigang’s touch, and Huigang brushed his hair, humming a tune softly.

Gradually, his body loses strength.

Perhaps it was because he had been drained by dealing with Juan, or maybe it was because Huigang’s touch was comforting, but sleep came faster than usual, enveloping Huiyun.

***

Hmm, hmm, hmm…

In Huiyun’s hospital room, a different, eerie humming echoed softly. 

It was Nameless that visited the room while Huigang was away.

The song, almost inaudible, was exactly the same as the lullaby Juan used to hum. 

A lullaby for young dragons that Yasha often sang to his disciples. 

Even after millennia, Nameless, sitting by Huiyun’s bed, could recite the original song without any deviation.

“Really… You look like a living corpse.”

Among those who dealt with death, Nameless was the closest to death itself. He seemingly interested in the person with a fairer complexion than himself, and he touched Huiyun with his fingertips. The slight touch on his thin wrist made Huiyun’s lush eyelashes tremble. 

He was pretty, but that was all.

Just looking at his appearance, it didn’t seem strange that he has been lying in bed for decades, but was this person really the reincarnation of Yasha?

The rolling gaze of Nameless fell on Huiyun’s slender wrist, which seemed fragile.

He was so weak that it was hard to believe that he shared the same soul as Yasha, who was once the primordial being who ruled over everything and was called the proxy of God.

And he was a bit foolish and naive.

“Yasha wasn’t like this.”

Comparing Huiyun and his master on the same line, Nameless resumed humming the stopped tune and leaned towards Huiyun. As the distance shortened, a scent gradually wafted up and brushed against his nose. It was a strange scent, like a mix of soap and bitter herbs. It was different from Yasha’s scent, but it wasn’t bad on its own. Nameless deeply inhaling the scent, felt a burning sensation in his throat and climbed onto the bed.

“Yasha.”

As he settled on top of Huiyun, Nameless called out to him. Gripping Huiyun’s head on both sides as if trapping it, he lifted one of Huiyun’s arms.

Squish.

He licked the protruding vein on Huiyun’s white wrist after inhaling the scent.

“Yasha.”

As he slowly inserted his fangs with a gentle call, the fragrant smell of blood filled his mouth.

Ah.

The ferocity boiling inside of him seemed to calm down. The thirst, which had been burning like a fire in his throat, was slowly being quenched, and Nameless with dilated pupils, swallowed the liquid filling his mouth down his throat.

As his throat moved once, the aura of death emanating from Nameless intensified.

Nameless let out a laugh.

Indeed, it seemed necessary to confirm with one’s own eyes.