Rebirth of the Thunder God

Another General, different from the one he had met with Cheongi-ja in the three-way confrontation before.

Although they were twins, their atmospheres were completely different.

On top of that, the General in front of him now was a definite master who surpassed the Transcendent realm.

And strangely, his realm had advanced even further than when he had met him at the Full Moon Pavilion.

'Now he has surpassed the middle stage of the Transcendent realm...! An unbelievable achievement.'

From the Transcendent realm, it was difficult to advance with just simple enlightenment.

The body that supported the insight.

The dantian, the vessel that contained the internal energy.

The acupoints and the entire body's fine meridians.

One could only advance if they were evenly developed and balanced.

Only then would the handling of aura, which was the dream of martial artists, become proficient and powerful.

But to think that he had reached the middle stage of the realm when not even a season had passed since they had met, Namgung Hui even suspected that there was another General.

But from his side, a faint but clear scent of the Thousand-Li Tracking Scent that Namgung Hui had applied was coming.

'Is this the greatness of the Sunflower Manual that my master talked about so much? Indeed. It's worthy of my master's praise.'

However, perhaps due to the rapid achievement, it seemed he didn't know how to store his ki.

Naturally, once one reached the level of a Transcendent master, they would store their internal energy within themselves and not reveal their ki.

Even now, Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa were so seamless that one wouldn't know they were masters just by looking at them from the outside.

Moreover, even among the later generation masters, the Divine Dragon and the Sword Dragon knew how to store it.

"Who is this young lady, to be staring at me like that?"

The General, feeling Namgung Hui's intense gaze, turned his head and asked.

It was because he had encountered a completely unexpected person, so his expression control was lacking.

But Namgung Hui quickly composed his expression and said.

"I didn't expect to see a person from the Eastern Depot here. If I was rude, I apologize."

Originally, the existence of a eunuch was bound to attract attention.

Eunuchs were almost always confined to the imperial palace, so it was difficult for ordinary people to meet them.

So it wouldn't be strange for someone to be surprised like Namgung Hui.

At Namgung Hui's answer, the General half-closed his eyes and said.

"You just said Eastern Depot? I have neither worn the attire of the Eastern Depot nor revealed my affiliation."

"!!!"

Namgung Hui had unconsciously called him a member of the Eastern Depot.

As the General said, his current attire was an ordinary, plain long robe.

On top of that, unlike other eunuchs, his appearance and voice did not have a strong androgynous feel.

'I made a mistake. I've made things awkward by pretending to know. Then shall I strike first?'

Just as Namgung Hui was contemplating whether to attack.

Hwang Sujin, who was next to him, put her arm around Namgung Hui's shoulder and said.

"I told this friend, is there a problem? Sir from the Eastern Depot."

"...No matter how much you are the merchant guild leader's granddaughter, you are going too far. Do not forget that our Eastern Depot carries out its missions in secret. This is the only warning. There will be no next time. Do you understand?"

"Oh my... I'm so scared, I'll be sure to watch my mouth from now on! I understand. Sir from the Eastern Depot~ Please go on with your work."

As Hwang Sujin even shook her body playfully, the General turned his head away as if to deliberately ignore her.

Namgung Hui was inwardly impressed by Hwang Sujin's quick thinking and clicked his tongue.

If it weren't for her wit, he would have had no choice but to clash with the General.

Hwang Sujin grabbed Namgung Hui's arm as if to guide him to the next place and moved away.

And so, as Namgung Hui's party disappeared from sight with Hwang Sujin, the spear-wielding martial artist standing next to the General opened his mouth.

"Eunuch Wei. Is it alright to let them go like that? That granddaughter surely didn't know that the eunuch was from the Eastern Depot. Unless Murong Yeonhui is crazy, there's no way she would have told her, right?"

The General stared at the direction where Namgung Hui had disappeared and then continued.

"It's fine. There will be a day when we see each other again when the time comes. By the way, Adjutant Yang, what about the task I ordered?"

"It is proceeding smoothly. It seems the Paeng family will also join soon."

"Good. The isolated Paeng family will not be able to refuse our proposal. Then let's go and finish it."

"Yes!"

* * *

Hwang Sujin, who had led Namgung Hui away, stopped her steps in a secluded place with no people.

As soon as she let go of Namgung Hui's arm, she let out a rough breath.

"Hah, hah, hah! Wow... Did you see that person's eyes just now? I thought they were going to pierce right through me. That must be the gaze of a master, right? I thought I was going to die."

Although she had retorted to the General with a nonchalant air, it was almost impossible for an ordinary person to withstand the pressure of a Transcendent master who did not hide his ki with their bare body.

But Hwang Sujin had withstood it on the spot without batting an eye.

If this was also a great talent, then it was a talent.

"Thanks to Miss Hwang, I avoided a disaster. Thank you."

"By the way, this young lady. Did you know that person from before? It was the first time I heard that he was a person from the Eastern Depot. It seemed no one in our merchant guild knew either."

"That person is the person called the General of the Hoicheon Association. He's a really scary guy. From now on, Miss Hwang should also not pretend to know him. Because you don't know what kind of tricks he'll pull behind your back. On top of that, unlike the Lord of Red Cliff Valley, he is also a person with a deep mind."

"Is that so? He certainly exuded a subtly different atmosphere from other people. Anyway, That person seems dangerous, so that's enough. Let's move on to the next target. But this person is not a master, so it should be fine."

"Who are we going to meet?"

Hwang Sujin showed a sinister smile and said.

"My mother. Of course, she's not my biological mother."

"I see. Now I can meet a proper connection. But you said you have a strained relationship with your stepmother, so is it okay to take me?"

"Normally, I wouldn't want to meet her, but since you slapped Unhyeon's cheek a little while ago, wouldn't she want to meet me?"

This was something Namgung Hui had also intended.

But he had thought she would prepare a little more and then invite Namgung Hui, rather than meeting him right away.

'If I go with Hwang Sujin, she won't be able to turn me away at the door. If anything, she'll try to sound me out to see what kind of person I am.'

"Alright. Then let's go right away."

"Yes. Is Miss Seol also okay? The atmosphere might get a little rough, so if you're really burdened, I'll just take this young lady."

"No, it's fine. Where the needle goes, the thread must follow."

Hwang Sujin looked back and forth between Beak Seolhwa and Namgung Hui and said.

"Hmm... It's a shame I left the thimble behind. But the servants will take good care of his food, so it should be fine."

That was a relief for Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa to hear.

If it was Muchi, who loved to eat, he would be waiting quietly while deliciously eating the food provided by the Golden Merchant Guild.

Recalling the scene of Muchi eating food with gusto, Namgung Hui also felt hungry for some reason.

Perhaps that was why his steps quickened.

"This young lady. You're in a great hurry. Do you want to see my mother that much?"

"Since she's my friend's mother, I do want to greet her quickly."

"Friend?"

"You called me a friend earlier. We're the same gender and about the same age, so we can be friends. Okwol. You're okay with that too, right?"

"Yes. I don't mind either."

Since it was a disguised identity anyway, there was no particular problem even if he made hundreds of friends.

However, he was worried that the other party, who thought of him as a friend, would be disappointed by the deception.

But for now, he just had to think of them as friends and treat them as such.

As they say, worry about tomorrow tomorrow.

He could think about later things later.

As Beak Seolhwa's permission was also granted, Hwang Sujin smiled brightly and said.

"Alright! We're friends from now on. It seems I've intruded between the two of you, but it doesn't matter for friends, right?"

Hwang Sujin emphasized the word 'friend' particularly.

Namgung Hui, at Hwang Sujin's tomboyish appearance, chuckled and shook his head.

"Why don't we just go quickly? The merchant guild is so vast, we might not be able to meet her within today."

Although Namgung Hui's words were a bit exaggerated, if Murong Yeonhui were to leave her seat while they were on their way, they might really not be able to meet her.

Hwang Sujin, who knew that better than anyone, immediately quickened her steps with a look of 'oops'.

Perhaps because they had moved at a fast pace for a change.

Hwang Sujin, who had arrived at a magnificent pavilion, wiped her sweat and let out a rough breath.

"Hoo...! This is my stepmother's residence. It's incredibly magnificent, isn't it?"

At her words, Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa stared at the pavilion in front of them.

It was too vast to be a place where a person resided.

He also thought, was there a need to build it up to three floors?

In the pond in front, there were plenty of fish that looked expensive at a glance.

And the flowers planted on both sides of the yard were also extremely splendid.

A residence that truly suited the word 'golden' the best.

That was the appearance of the pavilion where Murong Yeonhui was currently residing.

"It's so splendid, I don't know if we can even go in. The other two great merchant guilds of the Central Plains probably don't live like this."

"I haven't been to the other merchant guilds, so I don't know, but I'm sure they're not this much. Even the people from the government office were surprised when they saw this pavilion. Then shall we go and surprise my stepmother this time?"

Hwang Sujin strode towards the pavilion.

Even though it was a residence located inside the merchant guild, a guard was standing watch.

The guard, seeing Hwang Sujin's face, tilted his head slightly.

"Young lady. What brings you all the way here?"

"Didn't you hear from Unhyeon?"

"Is Unhyeon someone who would tell us anything? Anyway. Seeing him go in in a hurry, it seems it was related to the young lady. You didn't cause any trouble, did you?"

"I did hit something other than trouble."

"Well, since the young lady has come to see the madam for a change, I can't stop you. Please go in."

"Thank you. Everyone, follow me."

And so, following Hwang Sujin, they quickly entered the interior of the pavilion.

The splendid scenery, even when seen from the outside, reached its peak inside.

All sorts of beautiful paintings were hung on the walls, and the statues standing in front of the walls were orderly and magnificent.

He hadn't felt this way even when he had entered the office of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild Leader, Eun Chunghyeon.

"Surprised? Do you know how much all this costs in money?"

"How much?"

"Hehe. To be honest, I don't know either. Because they spent an enormous amount of money, to the point where it can't be counted."

Hwang Sujin bit her lip as if she were frustrated.

It seemed she was not just on bad terms with her stepmother, but was her sworn enemy.

Namgung Hui patted Hwang Sujin's shoulder and then walked forward.

Now, there was no need for Hwang Sujin's guidance.

"This young lady. Do you know where Lady Murong is, to be going in so recklessly?"

Namgung Hui turned around, smiled, and said.

"I can feel it. The people of the Murong family who are waiting for me."

Sreureuk.

As Namgung Hui opened the door, as he had said, a large number of people were gathered as if they had been waiting for the party.

Among those people, the woman sitting at the very back crossed her legs and said.

"Unhyeon's words were true. To think you came with a master. You even know how to hide your ki, you're proper masters."

Murong Yeonhui had also learned a considerable amount of martial arts.

She looked over Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa with a narrow gaze and then nodded.

Namgung Hui, not to be outdone, looked over Murong Yeonhui's people.

'No. That guy is...?'

Then he suddenly discovered a familiar person.

He was none other than the Heavenly Dragon, Murong Junseong.

The man who had shown Namgung Hui the Sun-Shooting Sword Art at the martial arts tournament.

At the rather welcome face, Namgung Hui smiled.

And Murong Yeonhui also smiled a bitter smile and opened her mouth.

And with quite a shocking content.

"Sujin. Bring those Blood Cult members to me. Then I will at least spare your life."

(End of Chapter)