Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Sichuan Tang Clan, Martial Alliance, and Moon Maiden Palace. Oh, and a strange old man also came to visit. He said he was the most urgent, or something like that."

"Are you perhaps talking about that old man?"

Chohwa looked in the direction Namgung Hui was pointing, then nodded and said.

"Oh? That's right. When did he come in? I didn't even give him permission. Then I'll go and kick him out."

"No. There's no need for that. He seems to be in a hurry."

Namgung Hui, at the sight of the approaching old man, clearly pictured his childhood appearance.

Was it because of the supernatural powers that the Divine Physician Sect leader had mentioned?

It wasn't that, but because he really knew the old man's childhood appearance.

‘Was he about ten years old then? Now that sixty years have passed, he must be over sixty. He's lived for a long time.’

The old man, who had approached before he knew it, looked Namgung Hui up and down, then tilted his head and asked.

"Do you know me?"

"Should I call you Sect Leader? Or should I say the one who looks up at the world from below?"

"Hahaha! Please don't say the latter. It's embarrassing. Then. You're saying you really know who I am……. How strange. It's my first time seeing you."

The old man glared at Namgung Hui fiercely.

If he had learned mind-reading, it was an intense gaze that seemed as if it would dig up all of Namgung Hui's inner thoughts.

Namgung Hui, unfazed by the old man's gaze, smiled faintly.

"Chohwa. Bring a tray of refreshments to the room."

"Yes~ Please wait a moment."

As Chohwa disappeared, Namgung Hui said.

"Hao Faction Leader. Let's go inside."

* * *

Namgung Hui, who had moved to a different place with the Hao Faction Leader, put down his teacup and continued.

"So. You came because of the gold ingot I scattered?"

"Yes. You may not know, but the gold ingots of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild have a serial number written on them. It's so exquisitely engraved that it's hard to find unless you're an expert."

The gold ingot of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild that he had stolen from the Tiger Subduing Fortress.

Namgung Hui had given one of the gold ingots to the surrounding merchants in the name of damage recovery after annihilating the Lake Chao Sect.

If that reached the ears of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild, an inquiry would surely come to the Namgung family.

"But the Hao Faction managed to find out about it first and took care of it. Thanks to that, I'm relieved."

"Just relieved? Well, I also have something I want, so please pay close attention."

"Not 'don't worry,' but 'pay attention'? What kind of favor are you asking for?"

"Ahem! It's about the information you said you would sell to our Hao Faction."

"Yes. The disgrace and weakness of the Heretic Alliance leader. I said I would sell such information."

This time, the Hao Faction Leader, as if his throat was dry, gulped down the tea and continued.

"Originally, a transaction is a principle where bargaining goes back and forth and you get the right price, but since you seem to be short on time, I'll be direct. Everything you know about the Heretic Alliance leader. Sell it to me."

In fact, Namgung Hui had only intended to sell the Heretic Alliance leader's nickname and his peculiar tastes, but looking at the Hao Faction Leader's fierce eyes, it seemed he couldn't end it with just that.

‘If it's the Hao Faction's ability, it wouldn't be bad to buy their favor. I can also ask for the information I want later.’

Anyway, he had to learn the formation from the Hao Faction Leader in front of him or ask for his advice to repair the Thunder Sect's formation.

"Alright. I have something written down about the Heretic Alliance leader at the right time. Would you like to take a look at this?"

Namgung Hui handed the disgrace of the Heretic Alliance leader, which he had organized over the past few days, to the Hao Faction Leader.

The Hao Faction Leader, perhaps because he was the head of a group that dealt with information, read the text at a very fast speed.

"These are things I roughly know. Are you going to make a deal with me with just this?"

"Didn't you read the part about the 'shit-talker' at the bottom?"

"The 'shit-talker' is too childish, I thought I could just skip it."

Namgung Hui shook his head and said.

"That's where the real part starts."

The Hao Faction Leader nodded slightly and began to read the scroll again.

Since it was a considerable amount, quite some time passed.

"Did that guy have such a strange sexual desire? How strange. Could it be that his nickname 'shit-talker' came from this?"

"I don't know about that. But if you use that strange sexual desire, it will be easy to assassinate the Heretic Alliance leader in the outhouse."

The Hao Faction Leader closed his eyes for a moment and was lost in thought.

-Tap. Tap. Tap.

He tapped the chair with his finger in a steady rhythm.

Then, as if he had finished thinking, he slowly opened his eyes and mouth.

"Yes. With this much, the possibility will increase. But it's still not enough, is there anything else?"

"Of course, there is. Actually, this is the real thing."

"You said the previous one was the real thing?"

"Can't there be two real things? And this is really the last one."

"I'll believe that this is really the last one."

In fact, Namgung Hui had not intended to hand over this information.

But the Hao Faction Leader looked so desperate that he ended up handing it over.

This was the weakness of the Heretic Alliance leader's martial arts.

It was a chronic problem that the former Heretic Alliance leader also had.

‘The former Heretic Alliance leader enjoyed using successive attacks like me. I did it to bring out the strengths of my martial arts, and he did it to hide his weaknesses.’

The martial arts of the unorthodox path were often unstable.

There were many reasons for that, but in the case of the Heretic Alliance leader, it was because he had focused on rapid achievement, so his stability had dropped a lot.

Instead, since he could jump from the beginning to the middle in an instant, it was easy to be called a master even at a young age.

In the case of the unorthodox path, where secret struggles were rampant, it would be difficult to survive with a late-blooming martial art.

There must have been many who died without even reaching the age of thirty.

The current Heretic Alliance leader must have also fought a secret struggle with his sworn brothers like that and survived to the end to rise to the position of leader.

‘Because his heart method was unstable, he used various weapons to compensate for it. Dagger, scythe, claw, whip. He might be using more now, but he had to alternate between long-range and close-range.’

This was also a fact that the Thunder God had found out because he was a fist fighter who only fought at close range.

He had desperately tried to create distance from the Thunder God.

If it had been an ordinary swordsman, he would have kept some distance, but the Thunder God, a fist fighter, never gave him any distance.

As a result, he had seen through the weakness of the former Heretic Alliance leader.

And he had described the moment when that gap was the largest in the scroll.

The Hao Faction Leader would not be unaware of what Namgung Hui was talking about.

"Oh-ho……. Indeed. So there was such a problem. Is that why he has been practicing archery recently?"

Nod. Nod.

The Hao Faction Leader, who had finished understanding, had a satisfied smile.

"Then, since I've received good information, I should also give you a gift."

"You're not going to end it with just one gift, are you?"

"Of course. This is just a favor, apart from the transaction. Well, it's something the Martial Alliance could have told you, but I'm telling you first to buy your favor."

"You're very calculating, but you're honest. Alright. The gift. I'll take it."

The Hao Faction Leader handed him a new scroll.

Since it still had the smell of ink, it seemed to be a letter written recently.

Namgung Hui gently unfolded the letter and began to read it.

[Returning Heaven Society]

[Affiliated organizations: Heretic Alliance, Green Forest, Martial Alliance, etc. They recruit anyone who is a martial artist.]

[Purpose: Unknown]

‘To turn the heavens. What does that mean?’

The meaning of 'heaven' was various, and the first was the emperor.

Commonly, the emperor was called the 'Son of Heaven', a person who represented the heavens.

But since the current emperor was fine, he thought it didn't mean the emperor.

If so, the second guessed meaning of heaven was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Or it might mean the cult leader, the Heavenly Demon.

But since the Returning Heaven Society seemed to be hostile to the Demonic Cult as well, this wouldn't be it either.

The last thing he thought of was the remnants of the Yuan, who were called the Northern Heaven.

But he thought this also didn't make sense.

‘They were destroyed even earlier than the Demonic Cult, there's no way they're still alive. Well, there must be a grand meaning hidden that I haven't thought of.’

There was no other information.

It was very brief information.

When Namgung Hui folded the letter with a rather disappointed expression, the Hao Faction Leader said.

"It's the organization called 'Hui' that you had a conflict with."

"Hmm……. It's quite ambiguous information. The purpose is unknown."

"Still, you've found out the name. And the fact that their shadow is also in the Martial Alliance is also quite useful information."

"That's true. Seeing that they've named it 'Returning Heaven,' it doesn't seem to be a simple social gathering. The jade plaque that represents their affiliation must also be quite luxurious."

"That's a homework we have to find out in the future. Our Hao Faction should be able to do that. How about it? To pay for the future information about the Returning Heaven Society."

It wasn't a bad suggestion.

Just hearing the name 'Returning Heaven Society,' it didn't seem to be an ordinary organization, so the value of the information would grow day by day.

"Then give me one more as a gift."

"What do you need?"

"Please teach me some formations."

* * *

He had met the Hao Faction Leader in the morning, but the sun was already setting.

He didn't forget to give him a final reminder as he left.

‘I wouldn't teach you if you weren't a disciple of the Hao Faction, but I'm teaching you specially. Instead. Think of our Hao Faction members as your family.’

‘Then aren't I as good as a disciple?’

‘That's right. Then did you not intend to become a disciple while learning the formation from me?’

‘Since my affiliation is the Namgung family, it would be difficult to be a disciple of the Hao Faction.’

‘That's just a figure of speech. Yes. Let's just say you're a secular disciple of the Hao Faction.’

He didn't know when he had made it up, but he had become a secular disciple of the Hao Faction in a flash.

In fact, since it was a feeling of an honorary disciple, he didn't have a special sense of belonging to the Hao Faction.

In the first place, the Hao Faction members probably didn't feel a great sense of belonging either.

Because it wasn't such a coercive sect.

‘By the way, the formation is more profound than I thought. The disguise technique that the Hao Faction Leader performed was also a type of formation.’

The Hao Faction Leader had changed his face right away as he left, and in an instant, the person had changed as if he had put on a human-skin mask.

In fact, it wasn't that his face shape had changed, but that it created an illusion to make it look that way.

They say that even among courtesans, just one dot can change one's impression.

This should also be seen as a type of formation.

And so, Namgung Hui had learned a type of disguise technique and formation.

It was worthy of being called an unexpected gain.

A day would come when it would be very useful.

On top of that, the Hao Faction Leader had given him a small piece of information before he left.

This would also be used when he faced the Martial Alliance.

As the Hao Faction Leader left, Chohwa visited as if she had been waiting.

In fact, it was probably right that she had been waiting.

Because the other guests were also waiting for Namgung Hui.

"Phew……. Young Master. The Moon Maiden Palace and the Martial Alliance are being dealt with by the family head, but the people from the Sichuan Tang Clan won't listen to a word. They say they won't meet anyone unless it's you, Young Master."

Of course, they would want to confirm the existence of the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron right now.

Of course, he couldn't show it unless it was his residence.

"Tell them all to come."

"There are quite a lot of them. I don't think they can all fit in your residence, Young Master."

"They can just huddle together. And this time, we don't need a refreshment tray, so don't let anyone come."

"Anyone?"

"Yes. Don't let my brother or my father come either."

"Ah~! You must be going to have an important conversation. By any chance, among men……?"

He had forgotten that Chohwa was good at making strange imaginations.

At times like this, he had to speak clearly so that she couldn't spread her wings of delusion.

"As you know, there's nothing strange that you're thinking of, so don't misunderstand."

"When did I ever have a strange thought?"

"Alright, just go and call them."

"Yes~ I'm going~"

As Chohwa disappeared, he felt his head clear for some reason.

Namgung Hui felt that if he was with that child, he himself would become strange.

* * *

Chohwa, as usual, headed for the guest hall where the guests were staying.

In fact, there was no need to go to the guest hall.

Because the people from the Sichuan Tang Clan were restlessly pacing the street.

"The Young Master has asked for you. Will you go right away?"

"Alright! Please guide us quickly. No. Just tell us the direction. We'll find our way."

"It's that way, there's nothing special around……."

Before Chohwa could finish her words, the people from the Sichuan Tang Clan rushed out.

It was as if he was watching the Heavenly Demon's Descent Step of the destroyed Demonic Cult.

‘Is that not it?’

Chohwa, having finished her strange imagination, hummed a tune, thinking that she had finished her work for the day.

"Huhu~ What should I write today? Ah! Right. I can write that. Hehe."

Just as Chohwa was about to return to her residence.

There was someone who blocked her way.

(End of Chapter)