DEB 59

“To be honest, if I left you there for another month, you’d probably bring back at least two more weird people. I tried to just let it go, but this is too much. We need to get you out of there and stay somewhere else for a while.”

Did he peek at the disciple education book or something?

Huiyun felt a chill run down his spine as Huigang’s guess was eerily accurate, knowing there were still two disciples left to be found. He wondered just how much Vita had troubled him to make the usually calm Huigang so desperate. Huiyun decided to calm his brother down first.

“Brother, don’t be too impulsive. Just calm down for a moment. What time is it now?”

He turned to look at the clock. 

It was 2 AM, as expected.

“Thoughts at this hour are always negative and pointless. Let’s calm down first and talk through what happened. I’m curious.”

Seeing that neither Juan, Jiwook, nor Nameless were present, Huiyun guessed they were probably taking care of Vita. 

Given the severity of Vita’s injuries, he assumed they were helping him recover elsewhere. 

Using this opportunity to question Huigang, Huiyun saw his brother run a hand through his hair and look at him with weary eyes.

“That new shaman who arrived kept saying he wanted to take you and offer you at an altar.”

Hmm. 

No wonder Huigang was freaked out and wanted to run.

“And he kept trying to stab you with some weird stone dagger. I had to keep stopping him…”

“He tried to stab me with a dagger?”

It was worse than he thought. No wonder the usually composed Huigang was ready to pack up and leave. 

Huiyun recalled Vita, who they had rescued from the demon realm.

He looked fine on the outside.

He didn’t seem that weird, but then again, Jiwook and the other disciples were also good-looking, so appearances couldn’t be trusted. 

Huigang continued to list more of Vita’s odd behaviors, rubbing his tired eyes, which were shadowed by dark circles.

“I can understand the guild leaders and even Nameless, but that shaman is a different story.”

“Why are you okay with the others, though?”

“At least they’re famous. Even if I don’t like them, I have to deal with them if there’s no other choice. But that shaman is not an acceptable option, no matter what. So let’s run away.”

It always came back to running away. 

Vita had clearly driven Huigang to the edge. 

Huiyun patted his brother’s shoulder and thought deeply. 

The idea of running away was tempting—it would give them a temporary reprieve. 

But ultimately, it wouldn’t solve anything.

Huigang would lose his good job, and Huiyun would face the wrath of his disciples. Plus, if the disciples neglected their underground activities to search for him, the war might start even sooner.

In the end, running away would only hasten the onset of the war. 

It was too costly a trade-off. 

Shaking his head, Huiyun made a decision.

“Running away isn’t the answer. Let’s meet this shaman and talk things over first.”

“You wanted to run away, Huiyun.”

“…What?”

“Why the sudden change of heart? I think now is the perfect time. If you don’t run now, you’ll never get another chance.”

“Brother?”

Something felt off.

His brother’s behavior was strange. 

Just a moment ago, it seemed like Huigang was simply exhausted from dealing with Vita. 

But now, Huiyun felt a fundamental difference in his demeanor. 

It was like facing something pretending to be Huigang.

A sudden realization struck Huiyun, making his expression harden. 

“…What are you doing, Vita?”

This strange feeling couldn’t be a coincidence. There weren’t many things that were mere whims; most were sharp instincts predicting something.

For someone like Huiyun, a reincarnation of Yasha, his instincts were even sharper. 

He immediately swatted away the hands gripping his shoulders and retreated to the bed, surrounded by the quivering slimes. 

They seemed to fear Huigang, trembling suspiciously.

In this situation, only one person could be playing such a trick.

It wasn’t something Juan, Jiwook, or Nameless would do. 

Glaring sharply at his ‘brother,’ who wore an innocent expression, Huiyun saw him chuckle lowly.

“I thought I could fool you a bit longer, but I guess not.”

“Drop the act.”

“I was about to. Don’t be too angry. You’ve made us wait so long, I got a bit mischievous.”

With a sly smile, Vita waved his hand in front of his face, slowly revealing his true form from the guise of Huigang. His long hair fell down as he approached Huiyun, kneeling on one knee and forcibly pulling one of the slimes from Huiyun’s grasp.

What strength…

Huiyun had tried to resist with all his might, but his effort was futile as his hand was pulled easily. 

Vita looked pleased by Huiyun’s shocked expression and kissed his hand.

“My beloved and revered Yasha.”

Vita released Huiyun’s hand, tying his long hair into a high ponytail. He summoned a sword from thin air and stabbed it into the ground, gripping it with both hands. The air grew heavy with a solemn energy that commanded silence, like a knight pledging loyalty to his lord.

The gravity of the moment made Huiyun hold his breath. 

Vita, having plunged the sword deep into the floor, bowed his head.

“Your guardian has returned. Rest assured, I will protect you from all threats.”

“…You realize you were just rescued from the demon realm, right?”

“…”

The solemn atmosphere shattered with Huiyun’s blunt statement. Vita flinched, looking up at him with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Listen, there were circumstances. Do you know how much I suffered?”

Ah, I can see where this is going.

Huiyun had a feeling that this new disciple was going to be quite talkative, much like Juan. As he debated whether to listen to the impending story, the hospital room door burst open.

“Vita!”

Jiwook entered the room, looking very angry, with Juan and Nameless flanking him. 

Vita clicked his tongue and stood up.

“Not even a knock before entering someone’s room.”

“Is this your room? It’s Yasha’s room. Get out, you’re bringing bad vibes.”

Juan strode over, grabbed Vita by the shoulder, and pushed him aside to check on Huiyun’s condition. The slimes turned into a mushy mess upon seeing Juan, clearly delighted.

“Are these slimes something you brought, Juan?”

“Yeah. They were in the training room. I thought they might help since they have a property that disperses mana.”

That explains it.

Even though it was the hospital, the air felt unusually light, thanks to the transparent slimes. 

As a gesture of gratitude, Huiyun petted one of the slimes, which shivered happily as if giggling. 

Vita, feeling excluded from the conversation, poked Juan’s shoulder.

“Why am I being treated like this? I’m a patient too, you know.”

Jiwook snorted at that.

“A patient who sneaks out of the hospital room at dawn without notice? You’re still bleeding, for crying out loud.”

“Bleeding?”

Despite having a long conversation with Vita, Huiyun hadn’t noticed any sign of bleeding, nor had he smelled any blood. Surprised, he looked at Vita, who shrugged with a smile.

“Since I’m half-fairy, my blood doesn’t smell much. It must be something about my race. I keep reincarnating into forms connected with nature.”

“Enough with the nonsense, sit down, Vita. I need to give you a hemostatic agent.”

“Yasha looked curious about it, so how is it nonsense? And I’m not taking that. It just hurts like hell!”

“Vina.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, hey! Are you guys teaming up against me? Even Zenith… Ugh! Damn, this hurts like hell, you bastards!”

“…”

Quite a mouth on him…

Huiyun marveled at Vita’s ability to lace every sentence with curses. He watched as Nameless slightly lifted Vita’s shirt to insert a white gem-like object into his abdomen, causing him to wince. The sight of the open wound, a gaping hole next to his navel, was shocking.

A wound this severe would have been fatal for an ordinary person. Huiyun, seeing the blood still flowing, shook his head.

“No, just continue the treatment. And it’s not Yasha, I’m Yasha’s seventh disciple.”

“Did you hear that, Vita? Ignore the last part and follow the order to continue the treatment if you’re Yasha’s guardian.”

“You psychos, you bastards!”

Vita screamed, grabbing Jiwook’s hair and shaking it violently. Jiwook remained unfazed, holding Vita down so Nameless could insert the hemostatic gems. 

The gems glowed white and the wound started to close, but the new skin was a decayed black color.

It looked like some kind of curse. 

Huiyun, shocked, watched Nameless wipe his brow and step back.

“This is only a temporary fix. For proper healing, we need to find Zenith. Now, tell us what happened, Vita.”

“Ugh…”

Vita, still feeling the residual pain, rolled on the floor before taking a deep breath.

“It seems the demons are tracking Yasha’s power.”