Rebirth of the Thunder God

'This is...!'

The reason Namgung Hui couldn't help but be surprised at the sight of the antique was.

It was none other than an item he had used in his past life.

And it was the greaves and gauntlets he had worn since his youth.

Of course, now that they had become antiques, they didn't seem usable.

Namgung Hui immediately raised his head and asked the merchant.

"Where did you get this?"

The merchant, as if he had been dozing off, wiped the drool he had been drooling and said.

"Hmph. That? I don't know."

"No. If the seller doesn't know, who does? Didn't you buy it from someone?"

Since the merchant was not an excavator or a thief.

He must have bought it from someone.

Merchants usually remembered this, if only for post-sale issues.

But the merchant before him was saying he didn't know.

From Namgung Hui's perspective, it was absurd.

"Can't you tell by looking? It's a worn-out antique, how can I remember all that? Just know that it's an item that's over 50 years old. So are you going to buy it or not?"

The merchant's attitude was not to his liking.

But he couldn't just storm off.

"Still, try to remember. If you tell me, I'll give you 2 silver taels here."

Only then did the merchant's hazy eyes change.

Now his eyes were sparkling, and he once again realized the power of silver.

"Ahem. Let's see... Where did I get this? That's right! Yes. I'm starting to remember. Please wait a moment."

He didn't remember, but he was starting to.

Namgung Hui stared at the merchant in disbelief, but he couldn't tell if he was being shameless or really trying to remember.

Still, since there was no other way, he waited, hoping the merchant would remember.

A moment later.

"Ah! That's right! I picked it up from the Valley of Certain Death in the Qilian Mountains of Gansu Province. I really thought I was going to die when I misstepped then. Phew... By a stroke of luck, I barely escaped with my life. No, I also brought this back. Hahaha!"

The Valley of Certain Death was the place where Namgung Hui had fought his final battle with Sosu Mahu.

As expected, it seemed to have been sleeping with his corpse.

'Those cheapskates from the Martial Alliance didn't even give me a funeral? This is outrageous.'

Of course, there was a high probability that the surroundings had been devastated by the aftermath of the battle, so it might not have been possible.

The reason this merchant said he had almost died was probably because the surrounding terrain was ruined.

In the first place, since the Valley of Certain Death was no different from a polar region, it was strange that a merchant had even visited.

"Why did you go to such a remote place?"

"Naturally, since it's a place with few people, wouldn't there be some spiritual herbs? Since no one had visited for 60 years, I thought I might find a 100-year-old Polygonum multiflorum root. But the aftermath of the great war between the orthodox and demonic factions was greater than I thought, and it was hard to see even a single blade of grass. Who fought so fiercely there? Tsk, tsk."

Namgung Hui felt a pang of guilt, but he hadn't made the Valley of Certain Death like that all by himself.

'The Sosu Demonic Art was more vicious than my Thunder Strike Fist. At least I aimed for the demonic heads.'

Sosu Mahu didn't care about the surrounding terrain and scattered her strong qi in all directions.

Of course, Namgung Hui's Thunder Cloud Step was so dazzling that she had missed, but Sosu Mahu, perhaps because she didn't like the Central Plains much, destroyed the surroundings without a care.

Her appearance was truly like that of a demon from hell.

That must be why she was called a witch.

"To have been to the Valley of Certain Death, I have to acknowledge your courage. But, after going all the way to the Valley of Certain Death, are these old things all you got?"

"What a disappointing thing to say. I did manage to pick up a few more things. Don't you see over there? There's also a small necklace."

As the merchant said, the necklace was so small that he had only just seen it.

And it was so shabby compared to the other accessories that it didn't even catch his eye.

But the appearance of that necklace was quite familiar.

Since it was brought from the Valley of Certain Death, it wouldn't be strange if Namgung Hui had seen it before.

'Where did I see this... Ah! Sosu Mahu was wearing it.'

He remembered that Sosu Mahu always fiddled with it before a battle.

She acted as if she were making a wish on the necklace before a battle, as if it gave her some kind of vitality.

Since the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was a religious organization, her behavior was not considered particularly strange.

The monks of the Shaolin Temple and the Taoists of the Taoist sects also chanted sutras or recited their Taoist names.

'She acted as if it would win her the war. It was like a talisman of victory.'

Thinking about it this way, he also thought, 'Could that necklace really have such an effect?'

The price didn't seem very high, so it seemed fine to buy one.

And since Sosu Mahu was a user of yin energy, wouldn't it be a good match for Baek Seolhwa?

"How much is this necklace?"

"Just give me 2 silver taels. I risked my life to get it, so I can't take 1 tael."

Still, he was a merchant with a conscience.

Namgung Hui, not feeling the slightest bit of regret for 2 silver taels for a friend, readily opened his purse.

"Here you go. Then this necklace is mine now."

"So it is. Then you're not going to buy these greaves and gauntlets?"

"Hmm... I don't particularly want to buy them. Are there any other items? It seems there are more than what's here."

Namgung Hui looked behind the merchant.

The bundle of luggage was quite thick, and it seemed there were many things he hadn't taken out yet.

The antique merchant, reading Namgung Hui's gaze, turned around and said.

"Ah. Those are items to be put up in the black market. It means they're not items to be sold in spare time like this."

"So you're saying they're carefully selected items. May I take a look? It's not like they'll wear out just by looking at them."

"It doesn't matter as long as you don't spread rumors about it, Young Master. But can you really keep your mouth shut?"

"I may look like this, but I'm a person with only three friends. I won't be spreading any rumors, so please rest assured."

"Haha! You look perfectly fine, yet you're good at joking. Anyway. I'll trust that your lips are sealed and show you."

The antique merchant brought the bundle and began to hesitantly untie the bundle.

Inside the bundle was a large wooden box, and when he unlocked it and lifted the lid, the appearance of extraordinary items was revealed.

As the merchant had said, they looked like they would fetch a pretty good price even if they were put up for auction in the black market.

In particular, the armor made of black scales was extraordinary at a glance.

Besides that, there was a famous sword that could be called a treasured sword.

And a hand guard and a thin robe, etc. All were items that looked valuable.

Namgung Hui had intended to buy a suitable item if there was one, but it seemed it was out of the question.

As he was about to give up his desire to buy and turn his gaze away, a piece of parchment lying at the very bottom of the box caught his eye.

'Isn't that a treasure map? Why is it left like that?'

It seemed as if the parchment was just laid on the bottom without knowing it was a treasure map.

Namgung Hui pointed to the parchment and said to the merchant.

"Is this also an item to be sold in the black market?"

"What? Are you talking about this placemat?"

"That's right. It looks quite nice at a glance, so I asked because I thought it would be good to lay it out at home. Are you perhaps willing to sell it?"

The merchant slyly rolled his eyes.

He seemed to be sizing up Namgung Hui to see how much he could sell it for.

He was probably trying to call out the highest price Namgung Hui could afford.

"I'll have to get 10 silver taels, no, 20 silver taels. In fact, it's a family heirloom, so I shouldn't sell it carelessly."

"I don't have 20 silver taels, and since you say it's a family heirloom, I'll pass. Thank you for letting me look at it so readily. Then I'll be on my way."

As Namgung Hui closed the box and was about to turn around quickly.

The antique merchant quickly grabbed Namgung Hui's arm and said.

"Hoho. Why is a young young master in such a hurry? In fact, the family heirloom part was a lie. It was just a piece of parchment I used as a tablecloth. Well, I've washed it, so you can rest assured."

'As I suspected, he doesn't know this parchment is a treasure map. I'm glad I tested him.'

"Then would 5 silver taels be enough?"

"Oh-ho. Still, it's an extraordinary item, so give me 7 taels."

"Alright. Here's 7 taels."

Namgung Hui, forcibly suppressing his rising smile, handed 7 taels to the merchant.

Now the treasure map was Namgung Hui's.

Of course, it was unknown whether there would be gold and silver treasures or a trap at the place the treasure map pointed to, but considering its potential value, not just 70 taels, but even 700 taels might not be enough.

"Then please wait a moment. I'll take out the parchment."

Since it was lying at the bottom of the wooden box, he had to take out the items to get it.

Namgung Hui, at the sight of the merchant, got to see all the antiques.

And he suddenly realized that this merchant's skills were quite outstanding.

At a glance, there was nothing that wasn't a treasure, yet a shabby-looking merchant had such items?

This part was rather strange.

'A little suspicious. I should ask Miss Eun before I leave.'

Namgung Hui took the parchment and bought a trinket and a sachet to give to Choyeon and Chohwa.

While he was at it, he also bought one for the Moon Maiden Palace Lady, but Namgung Hui didn't know if it was a good thing to do.

Still, since she was his friend's master, he thought it wouldn't be bad to make a good impression.

Now his business at the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild was more or less over.

As of tomorrow, he would be a true unemployed person, so Namgung Hui could just leave.

And so, Namgung Hui, who had returned to his quarters, closed the door tightly and carefully spread the parchment on the table.

The reason the antique merchant hadn't recognized that this was a treasure map was because it was that old.

And unless one's eyesight was exceptionally good, the drawing hidden inside the parchment would not be visible.

He didn't know if he had the aiche that Eun Seolrin had mentioned, but he wondered if anyone would just carry such a precious thing around.

"Kkik? (Is this a treasure map?)"

As expected, Chichi, who had a knack for recognizing precious things, jumped out of his bosom.

"I don't know if there will be treasure or not, but my guess is that it's a treasure map."

"Kiiik. Kkik. (It's a very old map.)"

It was probably an item older than the Thunder God.

Because it was that old, it was hard to recognize, but Namgung Hui was confident in his eyesight.

'Even without eyeglasses, if I use Telescope, I can see the back of the parchment vividly.'

First, this parchment was two-layered.

The one on the outside seemed to be used as a cover or a trick.

What could really be called a treasure map was the back, the second sheet.

Namgung Hui sent his Purple Thunder Ki to his eyes and used the eye technique called Telescope.

Then the second sheet became clearly visible, and as expected, it looked like a map.

Chichi, the spiritual beast, as if it were also looking at it, was walking along the map.

"Kiiik. Kkik. (I think I know where this is.)"

"Really? I can't tell where it is even by looking at the terrain."

It wasn't strange that Namgung Hui didn't know, as he wasn't well-versed in the geography of the Central Plains, but it was very strange that Chichi had identified the location at a glance after seeing the treasure map.

It could be called not just a spiritual animal, but a clever animal.

"Kiiik. Kkik. (It's not that far from here. Want to go now?)"

"Now?"

Namgung Hui had planned to visit later if he had the chance.

Since the Central Plains were so vast, he had thought it would be a long time before he had the time.

But hearing Chichi's words, it seemed it would be fine to go today.

Because he would be on a very busy journey from now on.

"Is it a distance I can go and come back by night?"

"Kiiik. Kkik. (With your steps, it's more than enough.)"

"Then there's no need to refuse. Let's go right away."

Chichi nodded and jumped back into Namgung Hui's bosom.

Namgung Hui rolled up the parchment, put it in his bosom, and carefully left his quarters.

Although he had the nominal duty of guarding Eun Seolrin until today, she had said she had an interview with the Guild Master until night.

As long as he returned by then, there would be no problem.

And so, Namgung Hui, who had left the guild, unfolded the parchment and asked Chichi.

"Now where should I go?"

"Kiiik. Kkik. (First, you have to go to that mountain in the east.)"

"Are you talking about Mount Dengfeng? Let's go there for now."

As Namgung Hui was about to roll up the parchment and put it in his bosom.

-Swish!

Suddenly, a dagger flew from the air.

Namgung Hui quickly deflected the dagger and stared in that direction.

This time, he felt a presence from the opposite side.

It was a presence more stealthy than an assassin's, and he only realized its existence when it was within reach.

A great stealth technique.

And it wasn't just the stealth technique that was great; the mysterious person who had suddenly appeared quickly snatched the parchment from Namgung Hui's hand.

It seemed the mysterious person was a thief.

(End of Chapter)