DEB 26

Who was he?

In an attempt to discern Juan’s identity, Huiyun sifted through all his memories from the time of Yasha. 

Suddenly, he recalled the contents of a dream he had.

It was a dream where Yasha lay a young disciple on his lap and stroked his hair, and another where he sang a lullaby.

Though he didn’t really remember the face and name of the disciple, but the content was as clear as day. Huiyun looked down absentmindedly at the man who said Yasha comes to mind when someone strokes his hair.

Could it be?

…Is it possible that his former disciples have been reincarnated too?

“Yasha.”

“Ugh!”

“Huiyun?”

“Mr. Huiyun?”

Groaning, Huiyun grabbed his head and staggered, surprising Juan, who quickly got up and held him, while Nameless and Jiwook turned their heads. Huiyun frowned in pain.

It felt like his head was going to explode.

The sharp pain that could no longer be described as a headache engulfed his entire head, causing him to clench his teeth tightly and closed his eyes. The excruciating pain that came suddenly disappeared as soon as Huiyun stopped thinking about Yasha.

Huiyun looked down at his trembling hands with teary eyes. 

What is this…?

This had never happened before. The only time he felt a similar pain was when he first remembered Yasha’s memories, so he hesitated to speak, but Juan grabbed Huiyun’s hand, asking why he was acting like that, and looked into his eyes. As Huiyun stared into his eyes, instinctively, he thought of someone.

The eyes with a deep crimson gaze, reminiscent of crimson flame.

“Yashaaaa!”

“Just you wait! I’ll get my revenge soon!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Yasha.”

“Yasha, does it hurt a lot? Should I protect you?”

“What do you mean by that! I’ve always listened to you, you know?”

“Yasha… Do you hate me?”

Both mature and youthful voices jumbled together, causing the inside of his head turned white for a moment. 

Lines began to appear on the face that had been painted black in his memory. Since it started with the eyes, Huiyun watched in a daze as the previously unrecognizeable eyes of the young disciple in his dream gradually became vividly red.

“Yasha!”

“Ah….”

“No, did it hurt a lot? Why are you suddenly crying?”

Awkwardly, Juan reached out and held Huiyun’s cheek.

Crying?

Huiyun, who was sitting there blankly, wiped his cheeks. 

There was moisture on his fingers.

It wasn’t because he was sad. It was just a reflexive reaction that flowed out, so Huiyun sighed at the completely perfect scene in his memory, no longer tainted with black spots. In his memory, the young disciple lay on Yasha’s lap, laughing happily.

“…”

Their faces were different. It was a natural since he had been reincarnated. However, the gaze, as well as the deep crimson eyes, were the same as the young dragon he had raised. 

Even the passion contained in those crimson eyes…

Realizing this fact, Huiyun closed his eyes.

“Disciple? I’ll do that! Will you accept me? I will obey your words.”

“Master! Is it okay to call you Master?”

“Yasha! Oh, no, wait, it’s supposed to be Master now!”

A nostalgic voice overwhelmed him.

…So it’s you.

Now, he finally understood. 

Why Hong Juan’s attitude changed when he suspected he was Yasha. 

Why he treated him so gently and playfully, why he acted as if he had met Yasha. 

Now that he understood, Huiyun took a deep breath to compose himself and raised his eyelids without revealing his inner turmoil.

The face of Hong Juan, who was holding his cheek, came into his view.

The young red dragon who left a letter with clumsy handwriting. 

His first disciple.

Ash.

The memories resurrected from the vague remnants of a dream revealed his name. Huiyun faced reality, suppressing his complicated emotions.

His young disciple had been reincarnated. 

Like himself, searching for memories and traces of him.

For ten thousand years.

…Is this really the right path?

“Huiyun?”

“…It’s okay, let go.”

If he let his emotions swirl, he felt like he would reach out and wipe his cheeks and call out to Ash. Perhaps the reason he couldn’t remember names and faces was to prepare for a situation like this, but as soon as his memories came back to life, the memories and regrets he had built up at that time came flooding back.

Yasha was dead. 

Sacrificing his life for the balance of the world, he committed suicide as the price of war.

And Yasha’s disciples didn’t know about that choice. Because he didn’t tell them. He hoped they wouldn’t know.

Yet you… you all… continued to search for me.

Now he understood their resentment. 

How could he harbor only kind feelings if he had kept the grudge being abandoned by his master without knowing the reason for ten thousand years?

Huiyun turned his head and looked at Jiwook. Hong Juan, no, Ash called him Vina. With both of them working alongside Juan, the probability that he was also Yasha’s disciple was high.

And even with Nameless.

Who each of them was would become clearer when more memories resurfaced, but it was almost certain that they were his disciples.

…Could it be that they were all reincarnated and recovered their memories?

There were six of Yasha’s disciples. 

Huiyun, who was gnawing on his lips, wondered if they all were in the same situation as these three, and realized his expression was about to darken, so he forcefully slapped his cheek.

“Why have you been like this since earlier? Are you crazy?”

Juan grabbed Huiyun’s hands in alarm. Jiwook’s gaze became more intense, and Nameless sent an amused look. 

That was when it happened.

[The power of the honorable savior has manifested in you across the ages. Would you like to awaken?]

An unexpected notification popped up, ruining the mood. Huiyun, who was immersed in his memories, came to his senses.

Right.

Let’s not waver just because some of his memories have resurfaced. 

Even if all of his memories come back, nothing will change.

Huiyun’s determination remained the same as before. He wanted to live quietly without revealing Yasha’s power to the world. 

He had to.

His personal desire to live quietly outweighed the bitter words from his disciples who were looking for him. Huiyun, thinking he would gladly accept criticism for being selfish, pushed away Juan’s hand and lay down on the bed.

“…I saw something useless because I’m not feeling well. Don’t worry.”

As he muttered, covering his face with a blanket to shield himself from the suspicious and worried looks, Juan replied awkwardly, saying he understood, and the others didn’t respond. Huiyun felt sluggish all over, perhaps due to the shock of the memories resurfacing, and closed his eyes.

“Yasha.”

The voice echoed in his ears. Surrendering to the voice, Huiyun fell asleep after a while, exhaling breaths of various colors.

In the quiet hospital room, the remaining three people checked on the sleeping Huiyun’s condition before exchanging glances and slipping out of the room. Outside the room on this moonlit night, they leaned against the door and sighed simultaneously.

“What do you think about that just now?”

Juan, stretching as he turned his neck, was met with the gazes of Nameless and Jiwook turning towards the closed door. Pondering over the strange and suspicious scene, Jiwook came to a conclusion.

“He had a look as if he remembered something.”

 “It seemed like he was about to cry.”

“…And, it seemed like he recognized me, right?”

Agreeing with Jiwook and Nameless’s words, Juan murmured quietly.

It meant that he seemed to recognize the red dragon, Ash, not the human Hong Juan. Jiwook, squinting his eyes at the implications, stopped his fiddling with the locks.

“Then, is it confirmed that he’s Yasha?”

“We still don’t know. He’s too incomplete to be Yasha.” 

“But don’t we need to check?”

“Even if we want to check, he won’t come out of the room. What can we do?”

The three fell silent simultaneously as they conversed in lowered voices. This was because they were reminded of Huiyun, who stubbornly lived a secluded life.

Jiwook was lost in thought, looking like he hadn’t slept a wink in a week.

The scent that Jiwook smelled when he first met Huiyun was undoubtedly Yasha’s. Juan agreed, and someone who pretended not to know anything about Yasha suddenly complained of a headache and recognized Ash instead of Juan.

He seemed to think he quickly regained his composure, but Ash, who usually seemed foolish and thoughtless, was surprisingly sensitive when it came to anything related to Yasha. Jiwook’s firm expression implied he agreed with his words.

But there were several problems with truly considering Huiyun as Yasha.

Firstly, it was unbelievable that Yasha, who was a primordial being existing since the beginning of time, suffered from mana hypersensitivity. 

In the past, Yasha was literally mana incarnate, so why was he now living like a sick person because he couldn’t handle mana?

Secondly, Huiyun was too weak to be considered Yasha. His frail body was a problem, and his abilities were weak as well. To be more precise, it seemed like he couldn’t control his abilities properly. 

More detailed verification would be needed when Huiyun used his abilities.

Recalling the face that often looked stubborn and cantankerous, declaring he had no intention of going out, Jiwook smirked.

“If he doesn’t want to reveal his abilities and won’t come out, then we have to create a situation where he has no choice but to leave.”

For ten thousand years.

They couldn’t just let Yasha’s traces, found after ten thousand years, slip away like that.

The three, resolute in their determination, exchanged opinions several more times before agreeing on a plan and returning to Huiyun’s hospital room.

To that room where there might be someone who could possibly be Yasha.