Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Everyone, please come inside for now. It seems it will take a while to talk with my junior sister."

As Beak Seolhwa had guessed, he seemed to be the person called the First Senior Brother of the Hao Faction.

There would be no one other than the disciples who had learned the art of disguise from the Hao Faction Leader who could easily recognize Namgung Hui's disguise.

On top of that, if it was the Hao Faction that used inns as their base, it was understandable that he had revealed himself here.

Dam Gihae had said he was residing in Hunan Province, so his encounter with Namgung Hui might have been somewhat intentional.

'Could it be that the carriage breaking down and the door of the next inn being closed were also his doing?'

Beak Seolhwa had always looked down on the Hao Faction, but seeing it like this, their underlying strength was not ordinary.

Just figuring out Namgung Hui's travel route and waiting here must have been based on overwhelming information power.

On top of that, the accidents disguised as coincidences would also have been possible because of a dense network of connections and outstanding skills.

Namgung Hui looked around at his companions and opened his mouth.

"As you heard, I have something to talk about with the First Senior Brother, so I have to go inside. Miss Hwang, Miss Seong. Is that okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Hmm... Well, it can't be helped. It's suspicious, but since he's this young lady's first senior brother, I have no choice but to trust him."

Hwang Sujin still glanced at the First Senior Brother, Hae Wicheong, with displeased eyes.

Namgung Hui, on the contrary, judged from Hwang Sujin's appearance that she also had a good eye for things.

'From the travel route to the choice of inns and even the selection of food. There was nothing to criticize. Is this the bloodline of the Golden Merchant Guild?'

Each of them entered the inn with different inner thoughts.

As expected, since they had decided not to receive customers in advance, it was rather quiet, and they could sit down comfortably.

Although Hwang Sujin sometimes rented a private house, she could only rent it if the private house itself was empty, and usually, the reservations were full in advance, so it was difficult to rent even for the Golden Merchant Guild.

As everyone took their seats and sat on the chairs, the waiter brought out the food as if it had been prepared in advance.

And strangely, they were the individual's preferred foods, tailored to the tastes of the companions.

At the feast of such foods, Hwang Sujin, as if she had never had a dissatisfied expression, smiled brightly and picked up her chopsticks.

"What are you all doing? The food is getting cold. Let's eat. It won't taste good if it gets cold."

Clatter. Clatter.

Seeing her busy hands, Seong Sohui smiled brightly and also moved her hands.

Beak Seolhwa shook her head and ate the food.

And Namgung Hui quietly got up from his chair and followed the First Senior Brother, Hae Wicheong, to another place.

The place they arrived at following Hae Wicheong was the third floor of the inn.

Seeing the warm food waiting for Namgung Hui, it seemed he had accurately predicted the time of his arrival.

Namgung Hui, despite the tempting appearance of the food, did not immediately sit down on the chair.

Instead, he just stared at Hae Wicheong and opened his mouth.

"Even if you hadn't arranged this meeting so artificially, I would have found you on my own. What is the reason for setting up this meeting like this?"

"Of course, it's because I have urgent business. You must have heard from the third one, right? The news that the Blood Wolf Brigade has been dispatched from the Heretic Alliance."

"Yes. I heard. But to get from Hangzhou, where the Heretic Alliance is, to Hunan Province..."

"You have to pass through Jiangxi Province."

"Then isn't it still a long way to arrive? And we don't even know what those guys are after."

Hae Wicheong, as if his throat was dry, gulped down the water glass on the table and sat down.

"Let's eat and listen."

Namgung Hui was not a person to refuse free food, so he sat down opposite Hae Wicheong and picked up his chopsticks.

"So what is it that the First Senior Brother wants to say?"

"First, I wanted to tell you to be careful. As someone who still has business with you, I don't want to see you in danger."

"Me, in danger?"

Namgung Hui was dumbfounded.

How many people in the current martial world could drive the current Namgung Hui into a corner?

In terms of martial power, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, the sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect, and the sect leader of the Wudang Sect?

Well, the Moon Maiden Palace Lady was also strong, but if Namgung Hui were to pull out all his cards.

'I could achieve a stalemate. And I still have the Small Rejuvenation Pill that I haven't taken yet.'

Well, those people would not drive Namgung Hui into a corner, and if it came to it, he could just join forces with Beak Seolhwa.

At least, they were still allies for now.

"The youngest junior brother is still young and doesn't seem to know, but the martial world is full of masters. There are also many mysterious masters that the Hao Faction has not yet identified."

"I also know that there are many extraordinary people. What I wanted to say was that there is no one who would approach me with a grudge. At most, there would be the General, but we met not long ago and resolved our feelings. He won't move yet."

"Tsk, tsk. Is the Hoicheon Association the only one you've made an enemy of? Aren't there the Green Forest Alliance and the Heretic Alliance I mentioned before?"

"Let's say the Blood Wolf Brigade of the Heretic Alliance drove their horses hard and passed through Jiangxi Province. But they'd recognize me in disguise and come looking for me? That's a load of nonsense."

Hae Wicheong chewed the meat he had bitten into and swallowed, then opened his mouth.

"There's something missing from the information the third one gave you. It's not just the Blood Wolf Brigade that was dispatched from the Heretic Alliance. The Heretic Alliance Lord. He also moved."

"What? The Heretic Alliance Lord?"

Originally, the head of an organization was heavy-bottomed.

They didn't move unless it was a special event or matter.

Because if a mishap or accident occurred, the very existence of the organization would be at stake.

On top of that, the justification was also not good, and the appearance was not good.

And yet, for the Heretic Alliance Lord to move himself.

'He must have really cherished the disciple who was killed by Muchi. Don't tell me he was his hidden son or something?'

"Yes. The Heretic Alliance Lord himself lifted his heavy bottom for the revenge of his disciple. That is probably related to the hunchback in your party."

In the eyes of the First Senior Brother, Hae Wicheong, Muchi's disguise would have been seen through in one go.

On top of that, with the information power of the Hao Faction, it wouldn't have been difficult to deduce that it was Muchi who had killed the Heretic Alliance Lord's disciple.

They must have been paying close attention to such a large build and the Heretic Alliance Lord's disciple from the beginning.

In the first place, since it was a request that the Hao Faction Leader had entrusted to Namgung Hui, the eyes of the Hao Faction would have been all focused on it.

"It's become difficult. I'm not confident I can win against the Heretic Alliance Lord yet."

"Yet? He is a person who would be difficult to face even if you were 10 years older. Do you think the Faction Leader is reluctant to face him for no reason?"

"That's because the Faction Leader's martial arts are not that outstanding."

"There's some truth to that, but it's not that there are no masters who can move in the Hao Faction. You're underestimating our information power and internal strength too much. Well, anyway. Such a Heretic Alliance Lord is rushing towards you. If you die, it's better for me, who still has business with you, to strike first like this than to wait. It can't be helped even if you have a rebellious heart towards me."

"Well, since I've heard the circumstances, I don't have a rebellious heart. So let's hear the reason why you arranged this meeting. What on earth is your business with me?"

Hae Wicheong's expression turned serious.

Seeing his slightly tense appearance, it felt like a crucial turning point in his life.

He wasn't going to confess to Namgung Hui or something, was he?

Hae Wicheong cleared his throat and carefully opened his mouth.

"Make me the leader of the Hao Faction."

"Hah. Was that the obvious and shameless thing you were going to say? I'm disappointed, First Senior Brother. I've said it before, but I have no intention of getting involved in the internal power struggle of the Hao Faction."

"I know. I know. I know well enough that you're just a nominal lay disciple. But if there's a spy from the Hoicheon Association in our Hao Faction, wouldn't the story be different?"

Just as the Heretic Alliance had targeted the Hao Faction and attacked the Hao Faction Leader.

If the Hoicheon Association couldn't take over the Beggars' Sect, they would naturally target the information network of the Hao Faction.

To swallow the Hao Faction without any noise, there would be nothing better than the position of the next faction leader.

"There's no law saying that spy isn't the First Senior Brother, is there? If I were the Hoicheon Association, I would support the most likely candidate, the First Senior Brother, first."

"There's some truth to that as well. But I can't be a spy for the Hoicheon Association. It would be faster to understand if I show you this."

Hae Wicheong took out a plaque with the words 'Anti-Heaven' written on it from his robes.

"The Anti-Heaven Alliance? Were you a person of the Princess? Indeed, Ju Hwayeong wouldn't have recruited just anyone into the Anti-Heaven Alliance. Then the Mount Hua Sect and the Hao Faction are on the same side."

Then it was somewhat understandable that the Hao Faction Leader had personally gone to the Mount Hua Sect.

To the point of moving himself for the sake of the Sect Leader's hidden son, Yong Ucheon.

"Still, it's true that I'm still suspicious. It's hard for me to trust Princess Ju Hwayeong completely."

"Does it have to be the Young Palace Mistress to be trustworthy? Well, it doesn't matter. Then let's get to the second matter. Don't trust that Cheongi-ja too much. Even if he is your close friend's grandfather."

"Elder Cheongi-ja? Why on earth?"

"You must know that he has a close relationship with the General."

"Of course, I know. We even had a three-way confrontation. What about it?"

Hae Wicheong moistened his throat with tea and continued.

"The reason they had a close relationship for a time was because they had a similar goal. Even if that has nothing to do with the current Hoicheon Association, their goals are similar. That is, for the suppression of the martial world."

"The suppression of the martial world. Indeed, scholars did avoid martial arts, which were violent and nothing more than a means of killing. The Jegal family at least continued the lineage of a martial family, but that place would also be closer to the position of the scholars. But unfortunately, I haven't received any requests from Cheongi-ja. It means there's nothing to trust or not."

In the first place, Namgung Hui did not trust anyone absolutely.

Wasn't he even suspicious of Beak Seolhwa, whom he felt closest to in his current life?

It was impossible for such a Namgung Hui to trust Cheongi-ja.

Whether he was his close friend's grandfather or not.

'On top of that, as Hae Wicheong said, his close relationship with the General is also suspicious. It seems there's a truth he hasn't told me yet.'

And he hadn't said a single word about the Three Eyes he had asked about.

In this regard, as Hae Wicheong said, he planned to watch with a sense of caution.

That was why Namgung Hui thought that Hae Wicheong's advice didn't need to be made in such a place.

Until his mouth opened again.

"Third, and let's get to the main point. Junior brother, this time you'll stop by the Golden Merchant Guild and then cross over to the Blood Cult, right? You'll naturally be careful of the Blood Cult. The Golden Merchant Guild. There will be an unexpected ambush there. Because the Murong family is stationed there."

"The Murong family? Why are those guys there?"

"Didn't you hear from Hwang Sujin? Her stepmother is from the Murong family. And the Murong family is affiliated with the Hoicheon Association, specifically the Northern Heaven."

"Those guys are in the Northern Heaven? The Liaodong region is in the north, but as far as I know, the center is the martial world outside the Central Plains."

"You'll have to ask the Murong family guys directly. Anyway, You should be careful about entering the Golden Merchant Guild recklessly. Even if you're with the Young Palace Mistress, dealing with a martial arts family is on a different level."

Namgung Hui, who had heard too much nagging, put down his chopsticks as if he were full and said.

"Good grief, there are so many things to be careful about. Didn't Cheongi-ja also tell me to be careful? Didn't he also say the Heretic Alliance Lord would come after me? This time, the Murong family?"

"That's because junior brother has made many enemies. Who can you blame? And I'm not done talking yet. Lastly, let me ask you for one favor."

"A favor? It's not something like assassinating the second one, is it? I have no intention of getting involved in the succession dispute between the two of you."

As if to mock such a Namgung Hui, Hae Wicheong opened his mouth with a small smile.

"Will you have a duel with me just once?"