DEB 65

“What on earth… no, what were you thinking…?” 

Huiyun furrowed his brows tightly, choosing his words carefully.

The Vow of Protection.

With his memories restored, Huiyun now understood what effect it had.

The power that Yasha granted to Vita was the power of protection. The vow forged with this power compels the protector to shield the vow-bound individual in any situation, sharing their pain. In short, it’s a crazy vow that demands the protectors to sacrifice themselves unilaterally.

But waking up to find this vow forged with Vita, Huiyun felt a metallic taste in his mouth, realizing it wasn’t just from coughing up blood. It was as if his nose had been cut off while he slept.

“Hah.”

Letting out a disbelieving chuckle, Huiyun saw Vita awkwardly step back, scratching his head.

“Are you angry? I mean, this doesn’t seem like something to be angry about. Everyone was arguing about Yasha’s poor health, so I thought I’d show some self-sacrifice. And we need to find Zenith quickly, so…”

“And you formed a vow? You know how powerful a vow is, so what were you thinking…!”

Huiyun clenched his fist, his grip so tight that his knuckles turned white.

This was a reckless decision taken to an extreme, making such a vow without the other party’s consent.

Moreover, Vita had already made a vow with him in their past life. This meant that when Yasha died, Vita must have felt the same pain. It was certainly not a minor pain; it was an unforgettable memory. What was he thinking?

Recalling the pain of his suicide as Yasha, Huiyun’s expression twisted. He couldn’t even distinguish whether his anger was directed at himself or Vita.

After all, Yasha hadn’t considered Vita when he chose to die. Specifically, he hadn’t considered the Vow of Protection he had with Vita.

There was no time to think that far.

As a result, Vita must have suffered unnecessary pain and sudden agony. Realizing this made Huiyun’s stomach churn with discomfort.

He should have regretted that experience. He should have resolved never to make such a rash vow again. What reason could there be…?

“…It seems you enjoy pain.”

When he finally voiced his thought, Vita looked momentarily surprised before shrugging his shoulders.

“Come on. I don’t enjoy pain. But I do like being able to share Yasha’s pain. Back then… thanks to me, it must have hurt less, right?”

“……”

“I wasn’t in much pain. The emptiness of realizing Yasha left me was greater. When the heart’s wounds are deeper, the body is just a vessel, you know?”

His tone was light and playful, but the content was heavy. Even without direct words, they both knew what they were talking about. Watching his disciple, who claimed not to have felt any pain despite sharing half of that excruciating agony, Huiyun bit his lip hard.

Vita, misunderstanding his expression, scratched his cheek.

“I’m sorry for making the vow on my own this time. But it’s already done. If you want to break the vow now, I’ll have to stab my heart again. Should I do it?”

His eyes were clear as he held the sword. If Huiyun nodded, Vita seemed ready to pierce his heart without hesitation. Huiyun, overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, looked at Vita incredulously.

Well, come to think of it, Vita had the same personality in their past life.

A bulldozer-like personality that wouldn’t listen even if stopped. That’s why Yasha chose to accept Vita’s vow rather than stop him back then.

‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

In his past life, accepting the vow was a mistake, but in this life, he didn’t even get the choice. How did things get so tangled up? As Huiyun sighed in exasperation, someone else entered the hospital room. Seeing Huiyun sitting up, they quickly ran over.

“Huiyun!”

“…Oh, brother.”

“Are you okay now? How’s your body? Is there anything strange? Your hand, is your palm okay?”

Huigang immediately checked Huiyun’s hand, seemingly aware that Vita had stabbed it. Surprised, Huiyun raised his bandaged hand.

“Were you there when this happened?”

If Huigang had been there, he would have surely tried to stop it. Puzzled by why he hadn’t, Huiyun saw Huigang looking unusually resentful.

“There was no time to stop it. He suddenly took out a sword, and… I mean….”

Huigang, usually unfazed by most things, was stammering as if recalling a traumatic event. If even he was so shaken, Vita’s actions must have been truly shocking.

Indeed. The Guardian’s sword isn’t just any ordinary sword.

It’s a huge sword, almost a great sword. Seeing someone stabbed by that, bleeding profusely, and performing a vow would be enough to rattle anyone.

Stopping himself from blaming Huigang, Huiyun patted his back, assuring him that everything was fine now. Huigang sighed, looking down at Huiyun’s bandaged hand.

“…I should have stopped him. I called for a healer immediately, but because of your body’s condition, they couldn’t fully heal it. It might leave a scar.”

Despite being the one injured, Huigang looked pained, as if he had been stabbed. Huigang then turned to glare at Vita.

“Now that Huiyun is awake, you should leave. I will hold you accountable for this later.”

Huigang’s voice, unusually irritable and angry, indicated that a lot had happened between the two while Huiyun was unconscious. Huiyun clicked his tongue, sensing that things had gone quite awry.

What was Jiwook doing during all this?

Remembering how Jiwook seemed to have a hold over Vita, Huiyun realized Jiwook must have been absent during the vow-making. Even so, making a vow just because no one was stopping him was outrageous.

As his frustration surged again, Huiyun glared at Vita. Despite the harsh glares from the brothers, Vita just awkwardly smiled without any intention of breaking the vow. He seemed to be silently suggesting that if the sword bothered them so much, they could order him to break the vow now.

This was a cowardly move.

Vita already knew Huiyun was Yasha. Despite persistently claiming to be the seventh disciple, Vita didn’t believe it. Knowing Huiyun couldn’t order him to break the vow with his wounds still bleeding, Huiyun calmed his anger, exhaling slowly to suppress the rising heat from his core.

“Hah….” Yasha.

Calling his past life’s name as if sighing, Huiyun pressed his temples.

Taking in disciples was fine. Living a long life, feeling pity, and taking in unfortunate ones as disciples was understandable. But couldn’t he have picked more normal ones? Why pick such peculiar individuals, making his current life so exhausting?

Though he knew they were the same person, it was hard not to separate them and view them as someone else. Admitting he had personally chosen these eccentric disciples wasn’t something he wanted to do.

Thinking his discernment could have been better, Huiyun glanced around the hospital room. At least the seizures seemed over, and he felt relatively well. Siho was peacefully asleep, indicating his body was fine for now. As Huiyun tried to get up, Huigang stopped him.

“You just woke up, where are you going?”

“Oh.”

He hadn’t explained to Huigang yet.

Huigang must have rushed over after hearing about his seizure. Huiyun needed to explain what had happened. As he pondered where to start, Huiyun tilted his head. There was so much to explain that he felt at a loss.

Too many things had happened in just one day, and explaining everything honestly seemed overwhelming.

Leaving out Yasha and other past-life matters limited what he could say significantly.

Hmm….

Huiyun let out a contemplative hum, habitually turning his head. He looked for Juwan or Jiwook, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“…Where did the others go?”

Thinking they had only stepped out briefly, Huiyun realized they had been gone for quite a while. Asking where they were, Huiyun felt his ear pinched by Huigang, who then stood up.

“I kicked them out.”

“…What?”

“I kicked them out. I couldn’t just stand by while you kept getting sick after they arrived.”

“…Is that okay?” 

‘Brother, you’re a member of the Blue Flame Guild.’

Before he could voice his concern, Huigang, reading his thoughts, brushed Huiyun’s hair aside.

“It’s fine. If necessary, I’ll leave the guild and join another or declare myself a free agent. So don’t worry about me and do what you want. Don’t let those people push you around anymore.”

“…Brother.”

Huiyun knew how much Huigang had likely overextended himself. Thinking about the aftermath, Huigang would have to push himself even more.

Feeling conflicted, unable to speak easily, Huiyun heard Vita, who had been silent since hearing Huigang’s order to leave, pick up his sword.

“Sorry to interrupt, but can we go find Zenith now? Leaving him there makes me uneasy. He might survive on his own, but he’s still captured. Who knows what they might do to him? Let’s just go rescue him quickly.”

Reading the room, Huigang tilted his head.

“…Zenith?”

His gaze turned to Huiyun. The look demanded an explanation. Huiyun swallowed bitterly.

Hmm….

Since he recently woke up, Huigang wouldn’t hit him too hard, right?

Knowing he was about to be scolded, Huiyun’s back felt slightly warm.