Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Father!"

"Family Head!"

The face of the woman who arrived with Namgung Chan was not unfamiliar to Namgung Hui.

It was a face he had definitely seen somewhere before.

Moreover, she resembled Namgung Hui.

'Ah. It's my cousin, Namgung Yeon.'

She was the cousin in charge of the Changcheon Brigade.

He had heard that due to Dugu In's machinations, the eldest, Namgung Chan, had gone out to help the Changcheon Brigade.

Dugu In had secretly leaked information about their businesses to the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance, causing them to be attacked.

Since it was Namgung Hui who had directly clashed with the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance, he felt nothing but guilt.

'Still, they returned safely.'

The Heretic Practitioners' Alliance wouldn't go so far as to start a war between the orthodox and unorthodox factions, so they must have stopped at a reasonable level of revenge.

He didn't know how much damage the businesses had taken, but thanks to them, he had obtained gold ingots, so Namgung Hui wasn't too concerned.

"Father. I would like to explain what has happened to my elder brother. Is that alright?"

"Yes. The Changcheon Brigade needs to know as well, so Yeon, you listen too."

"Yes!"

Namgung Hui calmly and briefly explained the events that had transpired.

Though he said briefly, so much had happened that even a condensed version took half a shichen.

"So... you mean Namgung In, no, that man is not my younger brother?"

"...It's hard to believe, but that's what they say. It's all my fault for being inadequate..."

"That's enough. How is that your fault, Father? It was Lady Ouyang's fault from the beginning. Considering his age, it seems our family was his target from the start."

Namgung Hui agreed with his brother's words.

At first, he might have aimed to push out the eldest brother and take the family head position, but perhaps due to public opinion within the family, he changed his mind midway and tried to erase the Namgung family altogether.

It was always more difficult for a martial artist to subdue an opponent than to kill them.

'I can roughly guess why the Demonic Cult targeted the Namgung family. Since my sworn brother, the Martial God, perished with the Heavenly Demon, they must see us as nothing less than enemies.'

On top of that, Namgung Hui himself had perished with the Vice-Cult Leader, the Sosu Mahu, making him a mortal enemy to the Demonic Cult.

In truth, it was virtually impossible for the Demonic Cult, having lost both its leader and vice-leader, to defeat the Martial Alliance.

The absolute military power of the Demonic Cult came from its leader, the Heavenly Demon, so not only their leadership but also their number of absolute masters would be severely lacking compared to the orthodox faction.

To make matters worse, the Martial God had cut down the left and right protectors, and the Sword God had killed the Demonic Cult's grand duke.

'Still, some of them survived. It seems they couldn't kill all the remnants, including the Six Demonic Families, even in the pursuit.'

That must be why the ghosts of the Dugu family and the Black Kill Squad had appeared before him.

He had heard that various sects of the Nine Great Sects were being hit relentlessly.

Dugu In alone had stolen the Purple Mist Divine Art and the Purple Mist Pills from the Mount Hua Sect.

He couldn't even begin to imagine how much damage had been done.

"Brother. Are the businesses alright?"

"Yes. Fortunately, thanks to Yeon's efforts, there wasn't much damage."

Namgung Yeon shrugged her shoulders.

Seeing her rub her nose with a proud expression, it seemed Namgung Chan's words were true.

'Her achievement is deep. It seems she has mastered the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art.'

"Then, Father. What are your plans for the future?"

Namgung Uncheon answered Namgung Chan's question.

"We don't know if there will be another enemy attack, so I plan to reorganize the family first. We'll need to root out any remaining spies and tighten our internal security."

Cultivate the self, regulate the family.

It was what Namgung Hui also wished for.

If he were to leave, his mind would only be at ease if the family was somewhat stable.

For that reason, Namgung Hui placed something else on the office desk.

-Flash!

At the sudden appearance of the gold ingots, Namgung Uncheon and Namgung Chan's jaws dropped.

Of course, Namgung Yeon's reaction was not much different.

"Wh-what is this?"

"If my eyes don't deceive me, aren't these gold ingots? Little brother."

Namgung Hui replied with a proud smile.

"Yes. They are gold ingots. I acquired them with great difficulty. There are eight of them, so it will be more than enough to rebuild the family."

A gold yuanbao was worth roughly twenty times a silver tael.

It took about 50 of those gold yuanbao to equal one gold ingot.

That meant that if all these gold ingots were converted to silver taels, it would be 9000 taels.

"Little brother. Can I touch one just once?"

"Just don't bite it, sister."

"Okay. Thank you."

Namgung Yeon picked up a gold ingot as if possessed.

Only then did Namgung Uncheon shake off his thoughts and speak with a hardened expression.

"Hui. Where did you get so many gold ingots? To be honest, there's no place you could have gotten them from, is there? Speak the truth."

Namgung Hui was well aware of not only his father's personality but also the disposition passed down through the Namgung family for generations.

Therefore, he decided to confess without hiding anything.

"To be frank, I took them after raiding the Green Forest Bandits. That's also why the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance and the Green Forest Bandits are targeting our businesses."

"Hmph. Then shouldn't we return this to its original owner?"

"I intend to negotiate with that owner. In fact, these gold ingots were prepared because they have a seriously ill patient. Since I too have lived in a sickbed for a long time and know a skilled physician, I was thinking of treating them."

Namgung Uncheon tilted his head and said.

"A skilled physician? Who do you know?"

"Do you remember that people from the Sichuan Tang family came a while ago?"

"Yes. Fortunately, I didn't have to deal with them, so I was relieved. Are you saying they are the skilled physicians?"

"Yes. Besides the Emperor Sword Form, I happened to obtain something else in the Azure Sky Pavilion. It seems to have a connection with the Tang family, so they said they would help."

Although there was a slight (?) mix of falsehood, it wasn't a complete lie.

His family would think that the fortuitous encounter Namgung Hui had obtained was from the martial arts library, the Azure Sky Pavilion.

"If it's the Sichuan Tang family, they would certainly have the skill. They are one of the few families that even the head of the Divine Physician Sect acknowledges... Then I won't tell you to return it immediately. It would be a big problem if it were stolen while you were taking it back, so I will hold onto it."

This was enough.

As soon as the Tang family saw the half-complete manual of the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, they would come running.

The immediate need for money wouldn't be a big problem.

'I'll entrust the family's reorganization to them and then leave for the Ten Thousand Gold Merchant Guild.'

In fact, the silver they would bring might exceed ten thousand taels.

The Tang family themselves would be confident that the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers could not be valued in money.

He resolved to extort as much as he could on this occasion.

"Then, Father. I will go and organize what I need to tell the Tang family."

"Hui. Before you go, meet with the people from the Martial Alliance. They said they have something to ask about the So-ho Sect. If possible, take the Young Palace Mistress with you."

Namgung Hui nodded, thinking that what was bound to happen had happened.

"I alone will be sufficient. Then, I'll be on my way."

Namgung Hui gave a silent bow and quickly left the Family Head's Hall.

The people from the Martial Alliance always stayed in a specific pavilion, so finding them was not very difficult.

'It was here, right? They built it in a rather secluded place so that conversations wouldn't leak out.'

The location of the reception hall varied depending on the guest being received.

Naturally, for casual meetings, the location was scenic and easy to find.

But for meetings that required secrecy, the guest had to be received deep within the family estate.

Just like now.

"It's been a while, Namgung Hui."

Namgung Hui looked at the man who had called his name.

A young man standing there in a white scholar's robe, holding a folding fan.

He had skin as white as Namgung Hui's.

Not only were his features fine, but his eyes were also bright and intelligent.

"Jegal Geon. Has it been five years?"

"Yes. It has been five years."

The two men, having exchanged greetings, looked at each other intently.

A moment of silence flowed.

Neither of the two men blinked an eye.

It was as if they were conversing with their eyes.

The one who broke the silence was Jegal Geon.

He folded his fan and continued.

"I'm sorry. I've been busy myself, so I couldn't visit. Still, I'm glad you're healthy."

"If you couldn't even say that, I wouldn't even dislike you. You were always all talk."

"Haha. Yes. Isn't my specialty armchair theorizing? Still, I made the trip like this to see you."

"It's not to see me. You came to investigate matters related to the So-ho Sect. Interrogating me must be your job. Go ahead and ask. I'll answer faithfully."

Jegal Geon slowly nodded and extended his hand to the person who appeared to be a scribe standing next to him.

Then, with skillful hand movements, the scribe handed over an inkstone, ink, brush, and paper, and spread a blank sheet in front of Jegal Geon.

"Then. As the second leader of the Martial Alliance's Vermilion Bird Squad, I ask. Did you, Namgung Hui, kill the leader of the So-ho Sect?"

"That's right. I punished the leader of the So-ho Sect."

"Punishment. The reason?"

"It would be faster to see this than to hear me talk."

Namgung Hui handed Jegal Geon the thick dossier that the head of the Hao Sect had given him before leaving.

Jegal Geon, being a brilliant scholar, quickly read through the thick dossier.

"...Is this true?"

"That's a matter for the Vermilion Bird Squad to investigate now. Well, if you have a brain, you wouldn't think it's fake. Ah. Or maybe you'd want to believe it's fake."

Despite Namgung Hui's defiant attitude, Jegal Geon couldn't really refute it.

His mind had already realized that the contents of the dossier were true.

'No matter how I calculate, there are no errors. This must be the corruption of the So-ho Sect. And to think the Hebei Peng family was also involved.'

The So-ho Sect and the Hebei Peng family had conspired over Anhui Province.

If the process had been clean, Jegal Geon wouldn't have been so flustered.

The dossier Namgung Hui handed over detailed how the So-ho Sect and the Hebei Peng family had seized businesses, and most of them involved vicious methods like using the Yanwang Fortress and human trafficking.

These were things that no one from the orthodox faction, no, no human being, could do.

Sometimes, they even showed a meticulous side by disguising their actions as the work of the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance.

'The Heretic Practitioners' Alliance also coveted Anhui Province, so the Martial Alliance didn't suspect much. No, even if they did, the Hebei Peng family would have covered it up.'

But this in itself was strange.

How did his friend, who had only been lying in a sickbed, find this out when even he, the leader of the Vermilion Bird Squad, was learning about it for the first time?

It was even more incomprehensible because it was a declining family.

Jegal Geon opened his mouth with a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Putting aside the authenticity, where did you get this information?"

"Is the source important? The fact that it's true is what's important. I know it's hard to believe. Because the Hebei Peng family is involved."

"That's not wrong, but the source must be certain to be able to pressure the Hebei Peng family."

"Well, it's not exactly a secret, so I'll tell you. The Hao Sect. It's information given directly from there. Is that believable enough?"

The Hao Sect, along with the Beggars' Sect, was the best information organization in the Central Plains.

The Beggars' Sect had a much larger quantity of information, but in terms of quality, the Hao Sect was superior.

There was bound to be a qualitative difference between the information gathered by beggars and what was overheard by courtesans and shop assistants.

That was also why the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance had a major clash while targeting the Hao Sect.

"The Hao Sect... It must be certain. Then, for this case, we will put it on hold for now..."

"Wait. On hold? Isn't this enough to determine right and wrong? Investigator."

Jegal Geon glanced at the scribe standing next to him.

Anyone would think the scribe was his superior.

'Wait. Why can't I read any energy from the scribe?'

At first, he thought he was someone who hadn't learned martial arts.

But his swift hand movements were definitely not those of someone who didn't know martial arts.

His age also seemed to be between his thirties and forties.

Meaning he looked twice as old as Jegal Geon.

The scribe, feeling Namgung Hui's gaze, clicked his tongue and spoke.

"Tsk. How could you let him notice like that? I've told you time and again. Investigations must be fair. Since he's your friend, I watched him particularly closely, but if it's this much, he must be innocent."

It seems he was not just a simple scribe.

(End of Chapter)