Rebirth of the Thunder God

It was clear that the place had not been this bustling before Namgung Hui left.

The current state of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild was so crowded that there was no room to even set foot.

As Namgung Hui wore a puzzled expression, Eun Seolrin spoke with a gentle smile.

"The Martial Alliance tournament is coming up soon, isn't it? Many people gather at that time, so naturally, a lot of money changes hands."

"Are you saying all those people are merchants? It looks like all the merchants in the Central Plains have gathered."

"That wouldn't be entirely wrong either. Since our Myriad Gold Merchant Guild is one of the three great merchant guilds of the Central Plains."

A sense of pride could be felt in Eun Seolrin's words.

It was by no means arrogance or bluff.

In fact, if you were to ask the merchants, they would claim to have a connection with the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild even if they didn't.

That's how much the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild was like a dream and a goal for merchants.

As Namgung Hui and Eun Seolrin stepped into the guild, General Manager Heo Yeongman came out from a distance to greet them.

"Young Guild Mistress. Welcome. Did your trip go well?"

"It went very well. By the way, General Manager Heo. Have you prepared what I asked for?"

Heo Yeongman took out a small wooden box from his bosom and said.

"Yes. Here it is."

'A pill? Judging by the strong medicinal scent, it must be a pretty good item.'

Eun Seolrin put the wooden box in her bosom, nodded, and said.

"Then. Please continue with your work."

"Yes. You've worked hard too, Young Guild Mistress. There will be quite a bit of work piled up."

Normally, one would rest after returning from an expedition, but at the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild, it was considered natural to work.

That's how much work was piled up, and they also seemed like workaholics.

And so, they parted with the General Manager and headed to Eun Seolrin's office.

If Namgung Hui could safely guard Eun Seolrin for just today, he would be unemployed as of tomorrow.

He had grown somewhat fond of her during the fortnight, but where there is a meeting, there is also a parting.

'With this, the debt for the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron is settled. It feels like a freebie, but since the Guild Master told me to do it, it should be fine.'

Namgung Hui felt slightly indebted, but with this, the issue with the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild was settled for now.

Well, if the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild ever faced a crisis or needed help, he could just help them then.

When Eun Seolrin and Namgung Hui arrived at the office, maids came out to assist Eun Seolrin, but she refused.

Eun Seolrin, as much as possible, did not receive help from others.

It might have been because of the maid who had betrayed her before, but she was also very distrustful of how others handled work.

Her grandfather, the Guild Master, was probably the same.

He was only satisfied when he confirmed or proceeded with important matters himself.

Namgung Hui was on the more trusted side, so he entered the office with Eun Seolrin.

It was a natural thing to do as a bodyguard.

However, for a man and a woman to be alone like this, it required a corresponding level of trust.

In the first place, if he didn't have that trust, he wouldn't have become a bodyguard like this.

As a moment of silence passed, Eun Seolrin spoke first.

"Young Master Namgung Hui. Today is already the last day."

"So it is. Time really flies."

"Isn't it because we didn't do much that it went by so quickly?"

"Of course not. On the contrary, when you work busily, time flies, doesn't it? That means I also guarded you diligently in my own way."

Of course, Namgung Hui hadn't done much.

Most of the time, he just stood next to Eun Seolrin.

But if you looked at it piece by piece, he had done quite a few important things.

Above all, he had saved her life a whopping three times.

'The Ice Soul Poison, the assassins from the Hoicheon Association, the explosion at the Mount Hua Sect.'

The incident at the Mount Hua Sect had occurred because he had accompanied her, so he also had some responsibility.

But the other two incidents should rightly be seen as entirely Eun Seolrin's problem.

To be precise, it was the secret struggle between the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild and the Hoicheon Association.

That was why Namgung Hui thought he had paid a sufficient price for the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron and the gold ingots.

What if Namgung Hui hadn't come?

Eun Seolrin might have lost her life.

Because no one but Namgung Hui could have detoxified the Ice Soul Poison.

Eun Seolrin, as if she knew that, smiled brightly, took out the small wooden box, and said.

"You did so little work that you are fired as of today. You can think of this as your severance pay."

"I don't know if I should accept this, but it looks valuable, so I should take it for now."

Namgung Hui, uttering words he didn't mean, quickly snatched the wooden box.

It might not be a high-grade elixir like a Small Rejuvenation Pill or a Small Purity Pill, but it would surely be a helpful pill.

Judging by its rich medicinal scent.

As Namgung Hui was about to peek inside the wooden box, Eun Seolrin gently placed her hand over his and said.

"If the medicinal scent escapes, the efficacy will also decrease. And even if you open it, you won't know what it is."

"Then would you please tell me what this is?"

"It's called a Recovery Pill. It is said to unconditionally replenish thirty percent of the user's consumed internal energy, regardless of their total amount."

"!? Then you're saying it doesn't matter if it's ten sixty-year cycles or one sixty-year cycle? What an extraordinary item. Where on earth was something like this made..."

"The Kunlun Sect. For the Taoists of the Great Kunlun, such alchemy is quite understandable."

Namgung Hui also nodded.

The Taoists of the Kunlun Sect had created not only extraordinary magical arts but also strange magical tools.

The sect's founder, the Azure Dragon, was also a spiritual beast from the spiritual land of the immortals called Great Kunlun. Thanks to the Azure Dragon, he had no choice but to believe in their spiritual power.

"But as far as I know, they live detached from the secular world. How on earth did you obtain this?"

Even with the financial power of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild, they wouldn't be able to win them over.

In fact, the immortals of Great Kunlun were more distant from the secular world than the monks of the Shaolin Temple.

Namgung Hui couldn't help but be confused.

Eun Seolrin opened her mouth with a faint smile.

"That's a trade secret. Just know that it's a very precious item."

"Since it's a trade secret, I won't ask, but I am a little curious. Anyway. Thank you. I will use it well."

Was it just useful? In a future life-or-death battlefield, it was no different from a revival pill that could become a spare life.

To instantly replenish thirty percent of one's internal energy was a fraudulent elixir.

'And if it's an energy like Thunder Energy, which is dense and hard to gather, it's even more so. Of course, it's questionable whether this Recovery Pill will also replenish thirty percent of Thunder Energy.'

But he couldn't test this either.

The manufacturer was not Eun Seolrin, and even if he went to Great Kunlun, he wouldn't be able to ask about it.

As he put the wooden box into his bosom, Chichi, who had been sleeping inside, popped out and said.

"Kiiik~ (Slept well~)"

"Is this a squirrel or a cow, just eating and sleeping?"

"Kkik. Kkik! (What cow, when you don't even feed me properly!)"

"Not food, but drink, you mean."

At the sudden appearance of Chichi, Eun Seolrin looked at Chichi and asked.

"I was going to ask last time, but can you perhaps communicate with this child?"

"Yes. It may not look like it, but it's a spiritual beast, so we can communicate. Of course, it seems others can't understand, and only I can."

Baek Seolhwa seemed to understand its words to some extent, but she couldn't communicate like Namgung Hui.

Instead, she could communicate with Bibi, the Snow Mountain Roc.

"Ah. Come to think of it, there was a spiritual beast's egg among our Myriad Gold Merchant Guild's transport items. Did you perhaps see it?"

Namgung Hui, feeling a pang of guilt, couldn't answer right away.

Although he wasn't the one who took it, his friend Baek Seolhwa had swallowed it, so he had nothing to say.

"I have no idea what spiritual beast you are talking about."

Eun Seolrin looked at Namgung Hui with sharp eyes and said.

"I heard that the Young Palace Mistress of the Moon Maiden Palace carries a small white baby bird. Its appearance is said to be reminiscent of a spiritual beast."

"You asked even though you knew everything? That friend doesn't have any money, so she probably can't pay for it. If there's something you want, you should tell me instead."

"The rumor that you are close with the Young Palace Mistress was true."

"Since we're the only two friends, we must be close. Of course, we haven't been friends for that long."

Since it hadn't been long since Namgung Hui had risen from his sickbed, his bond with his new friend couldn't be deep.

Even though they had been through a life-or-death battlefield together, the period was not long, and it was unknown how the other person thought of Namgung Hui.

Eun Seolrin fiddled with her hair for a moment and remained silent.

It was obvious that she was hesitating, as if she had something to say.

Even Namgung Hui, who was clueless in these matters, could see it.

"Is there perhaps something you'd like to ask? If you want to touch Chichi, you can touch it as much as you want."

"Kiiik? (Am I your possession?)"

Eun Seolrin giggled at the sight of Chichi bickering with Namgung Hui.

"That's not it. I was going to ask if... I could also become a friend. I suppose it's not possible...?"

True friends are the more the merrier.

The problem was that it was hard to make such friends easily, but someone like Eun Seolrin would be welcomed with open arms.

'Above all, from what I've observed of her, her credibility is certain.'

For a merchant, credibility was like life itself.

Of course, one might ask what use that is in a friendship, but Eun Seolrin would not easily abandon a useful person like Namgung Hui.

"Of course, friends are welcome. Congratulations on becoming one of my only three friends."

Eun Seolrin let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.

Anyone would think she had just concluded a great deal.

Eun Seolrin then wiped the smile from her face and said with a serious expression.

"Young Master Namgung Hui. We've strayed a bit. Then, you're saying the baby bird the Young Palace Mistress has is indeed the young of the spiritual beast I was trying to acquire?"

Namgung Hui judged that it was difficult to deny it any further, as he had already been caught.

Now that he was friends with Eun Seolrin, he had to tell her the truth.

"Yes... that's right."

"If my guess is correct, it must be the young of a Snow Mountain Roc."

Namgung Hui had thought about it before, but he found it strange how she had obtained not only the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron but also the young of a Snow Mountain Roc.

Even if he asked, she would probably dismiss it as a trade secret.

"But why did you obtain the egg of a Snow Mountain Roc?"

"It is said that the Snow Mountain Roc covets cold energy. I thought it might be able to absorb the yin-cold energy in my body. But after hearing your words, Young Master, it seems I should have obtained a spiritual beast that absorbs yang energy."

Her guess was plausible.

If it had been the young of a Ten Thousand Year Fire Fox or a Phoenix instead of a Snow Mountain Roc, it might have been possible to detoxify the Ice Soul Poison.

Of course, it wasn't certain.

As Namgung Hui nodded, Eun Seolrin continued.

"So, what I'm saying is, please tell the Young Palace Mistress that I will be coming to collect my debt soon."

"Soon? We are scheduled to participate in the martial arts tournament and leave for the Martial Alliance. Are you perhaps planning to come as well, Young Guild Mistress?"

"I must. The transaction with the Martial Alliance is an important matter, so I need to go in person. That's why I'm asking, would you mind accompanying me during the Martial Alliance tournament?"

Namgung Hui quickly calculated in his head.

Whether accompanying her would be beneficial to him or not.

'Anyway, the only thing I have to do is the martial arts tournament. Watching the demonstrations or socializing with the younger generation is far from my interests.'

Of course, he had to look for a bride, but not only had he not been invited to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, but such a gathering itself was awkward for Namgung Hui.

Since his ill-fated relationship with the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance leader had begun at such a gathering in his past life, he couldn't help but be reluctant.

"Alright. However, I cannot act as your bodyguard. I also have many things to do separately."

"Yes. Since I am the one asking, I will find a bodyguard myself."

He had also been asked by the Hao Faction Head to assassinate the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance leader's disciple.

On top of that, he had to check if there were any spies from the Blood Cult, besides the Hoicheon Association.

"Then. Lastly, I will also give you a gift."

Namgung Hui also took out a secret manual from his bosom and handed it to Eun Seolrin.

Eun Seolrin looked at Namgung Hui with a puzzled expression as he suddenly handed her a martial arts secret manual.

"'Clear Mind Art'. Isn't this a martial arts secret manual? Are you telling me to learn martial arts?"

"It could be called a martial art, but the mind art I've given you is one that controls emotions and also clears the mind. And above all."

"Above all?"

"It's a mind art that can only be learned when the middle dantian is opened. Right now, there are extremely few people in the martial world who use the martial arts of the middle dantian. Except for you and me, Young Guild Mistress."

Namgung Hui and Eun Seolrin, whose middle dantians had been opened due to the Ice Soul Poison.

The martial arts of the upper dantian were used by Taoists, but the middle dantian was truly rare.

It was said that shamans from the Western Regions occasionally used sorcery with the middle dantian, but he had never seen it even in his past life, so he couldn't know if it was true.

But, Eun Seolrin's reaction upon receiving the Clear Mind Art was completely different from what Namgung Hui had expected, and he couldn't hide his bewilderment.

(End of Chapter)