Rebirth of the Thunder God

-Thud.

Looking at Sowol, who had now become a lonely spirit, Namgung Hui asked Eun Seolrin.

"Miss Eun. What is the meaning of this?"

"As you can see, I have killed the one who has been poisoning me all this time."

"!?"

Namgung Hui showed a brief expression of surprise before nodding and continuing.

"I see. A maid would indeed be the most likely suspect for administering poison. I didn't suspect her, as she seemed to cherish you, Miss Eun. I suppose that was all an act?"

Eun Seolrin shook her head and said.

"That might not have been a lie. It's true that she was a child our Myriad Gold Merchant Guild took in when she was young. We taught her martial arts and provided her with a place to sleep and food. She wouldn't be ignorant of our kindness."

"Then why on earth did she poison you, Miss Eun?"

"From what we've found out, it seems she fell head over heels for a certain man. While trying to pursue him, I ended up in this state. They were a more powerful group than I thought."

Namgung Hui wondered if it was the Blood Cult, but it seemed unlikely they would have the luxury to target the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild.

They should be lying low right now; needlessly provoking the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild would have gotten their tail stepped on.

And it was unlikely that the distant North Sea Ice Palace would have come all the way here to Luoyang.

'A third force, the Hoicheon Association?'

Of course, it could have been the work of the Blood Cult, the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance, or a group Namgung Hui hadn't even considered.

For now, information was lacking, so he decided to put their heads together first.

"I don't know if you are aware, Miss Eun, but this poison is called Ice Soul Poison, and it is produced in the North Sea Ice Palace."

"The North Sea Ice Palace? Ah. Is that why I felt so cold?"

"Actually, the reason your body froze was that your own body was emitting yin energy. This poison induced that by injecting a massive amount of yang energy."

"Ah. Then, Young Master, you must have treated it with a similar principle to fighting fire with fire."

As expected of the Young Guild Mistress of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild, her mind worked brilliantly.

After just a few words, she had instantly understood how Namgung Hui had treated her.

'Fighting fire with fire, treating heat with heat. It's a fitting saying.'

"So, can you guess which group might be targeting the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild in collusion with the North Sea Ice Palace?"

"There are too many to count, aren't there? Starting with the newly reappeared Blood Cult, the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance, the Green Forest Bandits, the Hao Faction, the Martial Alliance... and so on."

"No, I can understand the Blood Cult, the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance, and the Green Forest Bandits, but the Martial Alliance is also targeting the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild?"

At Namgung Hui's question, Eun Seolrin let out a deep sigh and said, "Young Master. Sometimes, an internal enemy is more frightening than an external one. And people will sell out their own family for money, so do you think the Martial Alliance would look upon our guild favorably? Not a chance."

Namgung Hui had also clearly seen the wretchedness of humanity with his own two eyes in his youth during his past life.

Before meeting his master, countless children around him were sold off for money.

If Namgung Hui hadn't possessed outstanding martial talent at the time, he too would have been sold off somewhere without ever entering the Thunder Sect.

As Namgung Hui nodded, Eun Seolrin continued.

"So, about that. Could you please speak to the Guild Master about this? I think it would be better if you told him rather than me."

Namgung Hui was, in fact, looking forward to meeting the Guild Master.

Now that he had provided the treatment, he could cleanly resolve the matter of his share of the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron and the gold ingots.

'I saved his granddaughter's life, so he'll surely grant me that much willingly.'

As Namgung Hui nodded, Eun Seolrin spoke shyly.

"Then, I need to change my clothes, so could you please wait outside for a moment?"

Only then did Namgung Hui realize that she was practically naked.

Now that she was no longer shivering from the cold, there was no reason to wear thick fur clothes.

And because she had broken out in a cold sweat, her thin body was visible.

Namgung Hui quickly turned around and exited the room.

'By the way, she needs to eat well. Well, since it's a wealthy family, they'll take care of it.'

As Namgung Hui came outside, General Manager Heo Yeongman, who had been pacing in the distance, approached with quick steps and asked.

"Um... Young Master. How did the treatment go?"

"There's no need to worry, it was treated cleanly."

In truth, it was more of a detoxification than a treatment, but it was a hassle to explain in detail.

He had to report to the Guild Master anyway, so he would explain it himself later.

"Really, really. That's a relief. Sob...!"

Namgung Hui was quite flustered as the grown man suddenly started shedding tears.

He had inwardly thought that with his goatee and portly build, he would only care about money, but seeing this side of him, he even felt a little sorry.

Namgung Hui, feeling he had no choice, patted his back and said.

"General Manager Heo. She will be even healthier than before. The spiritual medicines she couldn't absorb all this time have all been absorbed at once."

"Sob! Then. Will she no longer suffer from minor illnesses?"

Namgung Hui was about to say, "How could that be possible?" but seeing the man's dripping snot about to fall on his collar, he quickly uttered a white lie.

"Of course. From now on, she won't even catch a cold, let alone suffer from minor illnesses."

Of course, this wasn't a complete fabrication either.

Because she had endured the terrible cold of the Ice Soul Poison.

Now, she wouldn't even blink an eye at any ordinary cold.

As Namgung Hui was patting Heo Yeongman's back, Eun Seolrin, who had changed her clothes and come out, narrowed one eye and spoke.

"What is this situation? Why is Young Master Namgung Hui hugging General Manager Heo?"

Namgung Hui, feeling he had been misunderstood, quickly explained.

"Ah. That is. General Manager Heo here was so worried about Miss Eun..."

"No, Young Guild Mistress. I was just hugging Young Master Namgung because I like him."

"No. What are you..."

Heo Yeongman, perhaps embarrassed to show this side of himself to Eun Seolrin, whispered softly.

"Young Master. Please just pretend you didn't see anything this once. I will reward you handsomely next time."

Namgung Hui was not one to refuse money, so he readily accepted Heo Yeongman's proposal.

"We developed a rather deep friendship during our journey. Ha. Ha. Ha."

Eun Seolrin shook her head and continued.

"General Manager Heo. Sowol's body is inside. Take care of that first."

At Eun Seolrin's command, Heo Yeongman immediately returned to a serious expression.

"So it was Sowol after all? Understood. Then we shall proceed with 'Plan B'."

"Alright."

As Eun Seolrin gave a slight nod, Heo Yeongman disappeared, carrying Sowol's body.

"Shall we go then?"

"Yes. Let's go."

And so, Namgung Hui went to meet the master of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild, the man called the greatest merchant in the Central Plains, Eun Chunghyeon.

* * *

At the time Namgung Hui left for the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild.

Baek Seolhwa was swinging her sword in the training grounds to soothe her complicated heart.

Unlike Namgung Hui, who had been bedridden for ten years, she had not wasted that decade.

She had continuously honed the Moon Maiden Sword Art, and by adding the insights from her past life, she had even created a new sword art called the Jade Maiden Sword Art.

This was thanks to the fact that Baek Seolhwa, who had been the Vice Cult Leader, was also well-versed in the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

This was meaningful in its own way.

'This is superior to the Plum Blossom Sword Art.'

Baek Seolhwa smiled with conviction.

Although no one was watching, for a moment, it felt as if the world had brightened.

It was then.

"Seolhwa. Were you training?"

Yu Seolran, having finished her conversation with Namgung Uncheon, approached and spoke to her.

"Have you arrived, Palace Lady?"

"Hmph. I told you not to be so stiff when we're alone."

"But didn't you also tell me to maintain etiquette, Palace Lady?"

"That's in front of the other palace members. Seolhwa, shouldn't we maintain discipline?"

Baek Seolhwa understood.

She too had risen to the position of Vice Cult Leader.

She was one to be strict about hierarchy.

That was why she thought she should be polite even when they were alone.

The walls have ears, after all.

Seeing Yu Seolran's face flushed red, Baek Seolhwa tilted her head and asked.

"Palace Lady. Have you caught a cold? Your complexion seems rather red."

At Baek Seolhwa's question, Yu Seolran seemed slightly flustered and said.

"Ahem. That is... Ah. It's because I had a duel with that boy, Namgung Hui."

"Is there a reason to blush so much over that?"

"That brat shamelessly launched a surprise attack. And because I had quite a hard time, my face turned red."

Baek Seolhwa instantly felt that Yu Seolran was lying.

First, despite her calm tone, she was quite flustered.

On top of that, it had been more than half a day since Namgung Hui had spoken with her.

It meant she wanted to hide it even from her own disciple, so she decided to stop prying.

"Is that so? And it seems you've been somewhere else as well?"

"Yes. I had a brief chat with the Namgung Family Head, no, I had a conversation about the state of the martial world."

"What's the state of the martial world these days?"

"As you've seen here, hasn't the Demonic Cult been revived? Roughly, the Mount Hua Sect and the Wudang Sect were ambushed. And among them, the Mount Hua Sect suffered the most damage."

This was something Baek Seolhwa had inwardly guessed, so it wasn't particularly surprising.

'Because they are places related to the Three Martial Gods.'

"But Palace Lady, is it known where they went?"

"I wonder. Since there's no word yet, it seems they failed to catch their tail. Well, for us, it's better if they're not caught."

For a moment, Baek Seolhwa doubted her own ears.

"What? Better if they're not caught? Isn't the Moon Maiden Palace part of the orthodox faction?"

Yu Seolran, after confirming that no one was around, whispered quietly.

"It's time for you to know, Seolhwa. The truth is, there are a few descendants of the Demonic Cult in our Moon Maiden Palace as well."

"!!?"

Baek Seolhwa's eyes widened in surprise.

She stared intently into Yu Seolran's eyes, wondering if she was referring to herself, but it didn't seem to be the case.

"Our Moon Maiden Palace is a place that doesn't discriminate based on origin, is it not? About 50 years ago, we took in a few groups from the Divine Cult who were being pursued by the Martial Alliance. Of course, they probably don't even think of themselves as cultists now. They have become completely members of our Moon Maiden Palace. And there are hardly any survivors left."

Baek Seolhwa nodded slightly.

Even during the great war between the orthodox and demonic factions, there were some from the orthodox faction who converted to the Divine Cult.

Well, most of them were individuals who had committed crimes on the orthodox side and fled, so they weren't treated well in the Divine Cult either.

Conversely, there were also some who, disliking the impoverished Divine Cult, tried to convert to the orthodox faction.

She had only heard that such people were imprisoned in the bottomless pit of the Shaolin Temple, but she didn't know the truth.

Anyway, since the Moon Maiden Palace only accepted women, it wouldn't be strange for them to have taken in members of the Divine Cult who had nowhere else to go.

"Does the Martial Alliance also know about this?"

"Of course not. It's a secret known only to the successive Palace Ladies. I've heard that the members of the Martial Alliance show no mercy even to children. How would it be any different for women and the elderly? That's why the previous Palace Lady willingly took them in. Well, she also monitored them thoroughly, so there were no incidents."

Could it be that Baek Seolhwa's reincarnation into the Moon Maiden Palace was related to this secret history?

Anyway, that wasn't important. What was important was that a new option had opened up for Baek Seolhwa.

'When I become the Palace Lady, I could try to persuade them.'

Of course, not everyone would agree to come to the Moon Maiden Palace.

There was also a chance that not a single person would convert.

But at the thought that she could at least fulfill a minimum duty, Baek Seolhwa felt a sense of relief.

"Ahem. Seolhwa."

"Yes, Palace Lady."

"By any chance, have you not heard anything about the Namgung Family Head from your friend?"

Baek Seolhwa hadn't heard anything in particular, but she wracked her memory and laid out what she knew about Namgung Hui's family relationships.

"First, the first wife of the Namgung family..."

* * *

-Gulp.

Even though the other person was not a great master, the moment Namgung Hui entered the Guild Master's office, he was crushed by a sense of pressure.

That pressure seemed to be influenced by the mechanical traps installed around, as well as the strangely arranged calligraphy and paintings.

Not only the calligraphy and paintings, but also the statues standing on the left and right exuded a strange feeling.

'This also seems to be a type of formation. It's no different from a natural fortress.'

Namgung Hui had learned a little about formations from the head of the Hao Faction.

He could vaguely realize that the energy felt in the Guild Master's office was that of a high-level formation.

At this level, it was likely the work of the head of the Hao Faction or the Jegal family.

Since he seemed to have a friendship with the Heavenly Strategist before, could it be his work?

"That's enough appreciating. Come in. How long are you going to keep an old man waiting?"

An old man's voice, filled with spirit, came from inside the office.

He wasn't a martial artist, but it seemed to be a naturally endowed power.

As Namgung Hui approached the door, the servants waiting in front opened it.

Then, a bright interior was revealed, shining so brightly as if it were all painted in gold.

Namgung Hui's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the office, but it wasn't just because of the glittering appearance.

It was because the face of the old man next to the Guild Master was one he knew well.

'The Head of the Hao Faction!'

(End of Chapter)