Rebirth of the Thunder God

Namgung Hui, who had entered the room, was flustered by an unexpected situation.

It was because Beak Seolhwa was in the middle of changing her clothes.

And at the scene he had seen somewhere before, he realized that Beak Seolhwa was not alone.

"Chirp, chirp!"

That's right. She was always with Feifei.

This time too, Feifei spread its wings, which had grown a little larger, and pecked at Namgung Hui.

Dudududu!

Namgung Hui, who was hastily retreating from Feifei's attack, remembered what Beak Seolhwa had said before, stopped his retreating steps, and said.

"Seolhwa. You said before that you weren't embarrassed, so it's okay for me to be like this, right?"

"Whaat? Ah. I did say that then. But Namgung Hui. Isn't the situation different from now? And I didn't even tell you to come in. Get out!"

Beak Seolhwa suddenly raised her Sosu Demonic Art and struck Namgung Hui's back.

Namgung Hui felt a slight doubt at her words, which were different from her actions, more than the Sosu Demonic Art.

'What's this. Is she also embarrassed? She pretended not to be last time, so it was all a bluff.'

On one hand, he thought it was a relief.

Because being embarrassed meant that she was conscious of him.

He was almost a little disappointed that she had pretended not to be last time?

To be honest, he was almost very disappointed, not just a little.

'Indeed, with my face, she would be half-hearted. My body is good too. At this point, she can't help but be conscious. Hahaha!'

Namgung Hui rubbed his nose and waited for Beak Seolhwa to finish getting dressed.

A little while later, Beak Seolhwa, who had tidied up her clothes, opened her mouth.

"You can come in now."

When he opened the door again and entered, he saw a neatly dressed Beak Seolhwa.

She looked particularly prettier today?

That was not Namgung Hui's illusion.

Because the clothes themselves had become more splendid, and it seemed she had even put on light makeup.

Gulp.

Namgung Hui, who had swallowed dryly, carefully opened his mouth.

"Are you going out somewhere today? Why are you so dressed up?"

"Why? Can't I go out somewhere?"

"No. This is enemy territory... no, it's not. For you. So are you going to meet someone dressed up like that?"

"Yeah."

Namgung Hui's heart ached at Beak Seolhwa's single word.

At the single word 'yeah,' which was not a special word.

Was this the legendary Heart Sword?

As Namgung Hui's expression darkened in an instant, Beak Seolhwa grabbed his hand and said.

"Anyway. You'll have to hang out with me for a while until I meet that person. Put that down and follow me."

Beak Seolhwa put down the bundle that was on Namgung Hui's back and pulled him out.

And so, as Beak Seolhwa and Namgung Hui came out to the market, it was more crowded than during the day.

It was so crowded that he wondered if there were this many people in the Blood Cult.

The excited appearance of people laughing also reminded him of the martial arts tournament that had been held a while ago.

Perhaps because of that commotion, Namgung Hui came to his senses and said.

"Is there some kind of festival today?"

"They say the feast that Muchi mentioned before will be held. Did you have lunch?"

"Not yet."

"Then let's eat that. It's quite delicious."

The place Beak Seolhwa guided him to was a street stall selling food.

The seating was also cramped, so they had to sit close together to eat, but the smell was not ordinary.

"Grandma. Two bowls of chicken head noodles here."

"Heulheul. This friend must be the friend you mentioned before. Wait a moment."

The owner of the stall seemed to be an old woman with white hair, but unlike her bent back, her hand movements were quite fast.

As she moved her hands hwik, hwik, two bowls of noodles were completed in a flash.

The steaming noodles were placed in front of Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa.

"Here. The chicken head noodles you ordered. Be careful not to burn yourself, it's hot."

"Yes. Grandma. I'll eat well."

Namgung Hui couldn't come to his senses at the fragrant smell.

Hadn't he been eating roughly in the mountains for the past few days?

Because he had missed such a proper meal, he immediately picked up his chopsticks and inhaled the chicken head noodles.

Hureuruk. Hureuk. Hureuruk.

Although it was a quite generous portion, the bottom of Namgung Hui's bowl was soon revealed.

Beak Seolhwa looked at such a Namgung Hui with a warm expression, then held out her own bowl and said.

"I can't eat all of this because it's too much. Eat some of mine."

"Is it okay?"

"I can just ask that person to buy me something delicious when I meet him later anyway. Just eat."

Although Namgung Hui felt somewhat displeased, he couldn't stop the chopsticks he was holding.

Since he couldn't watch the delicious noodles get soggy, he quickly moved the noodles with his chopsticks.

Hureuk...

And so, when Namgung Hui had finished even the soup, Beak Seolhwa opened her purse and held out a silver coin.

"Grandma. We ate well."

"Heulheul. You won't take the change this time either, right? I'll use this money well."

Since Namgung Hui had also eaten the delicious chicken head noodles, he politely greeted the old woman.

"It's a really delicious place. I'll come again later. Grandma. Sell a lot."

"If I sell a lot, my back will break. I'll sell a moderate amount. Go and enjoy your cozy time."

After finishing their greetings with the old woman, this time too, Beak Seolhwa grabbed Namgung Hui's arm and headed to another street stall.

It was just that Namgung Hui hadn't looked carefully, but as he roamed the market like this, he thought that the places where people lived, whether it was the Blood Cult or the Central Plains, were all similar.

Of course, the architectural style and the clothes of the people around were somewhat old and shabby, but the smiles on people's faces were the same.

And.

"Aya!"

"Hey. This wench isn't looking where she's going?"

The pattern of behavior that caused a fight was also similar.

A delinquent-looking man was harassing a woman.

It was clearly the drunk man who had bumped into her first.

If so, the person who should apologize first was not the woman, but that man.

Beak Seolhwa stealthily walked forward, grabbed the man's wrist, and said.

"What are you? Are you this wench's friend?"

Instead of words, Beak Seolhwa showed a wicked smile and broke the man's arm.

"Aak!! My arm!"

Although there was no problem with the bone, since she had properly sealed his blood vessels, his ki would not flow properly for a while, and he would writhe in pain.

This was why the Penetrating Ki was scary.

"Don't pick a fight with an innocent person and walk straight. I'll come and check on you later."

After finishing her words, Beak Seolhwa kicked the man's shin.

Here too, since she had aimed for a major pressure point, tears welled up in the man's eyes.

Beak Seolhwa, who had chased the man away, helped the woman up and asked.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No. Thanks to you. But are you okay? What if you get retaliated against because of me..."

"It's okay. I'm not worried even if a cartload of people like that come."

Rather, her concern was that Namgung Hui would have a prejudice against the Blood Cult after seeing such a hooligan.

Although there were plenty of people like that in the Central Plains, weren't people particularly strict about the Blood Cult?

Beak Seolhwa looked at Namgung Hui's expression and asked.

"Those people are..."

"It's the same as the Central Plains. I guess the places where people live are all similar."

Beak Seolhwa let out a sigh of relief inwardly and said.

"Right? The North Sea is the same, and Guangdong Province is the same. Hainan Island is probably similar too. Of course, Xinjiang is the same too."

"What about Tibet?"

"I haven't been there, so I don't know."

"I see. Ah. The Great Kunlun is a bit different, though. They say it's extremely peaceful because only elderly people are there."

"Really? Anyway, let's eat that."

It was because of the hooligan a while ago, but the place Beak Seolhwa was originally heading to was the street stall right in front of them now.

Tanghulu.

Considering the original ages of Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa, they wouldn't even look at it, but should I say they were assimilating to the age of their bodies?

Drool was flowing from Namgung Hui's mouth.

And his lips, paradoxically, uttered different words.

"How old are we, what's with the tanghulu? That's something only children eat. They probably won't eat it even after they turn twenty."

"I've seen a lot of people in their twenties eating it."

"Who?"

"I saw Heon Wonsu and Jegal Jihye eating it together last time. They were eating it well."

"Really? That guy borrowed money from me and had a cozy time with Jihye. We can't lose either."

Namgung Hui paid as much as one nyang of silver and swept up all the tanghulu.

The prices in the Blood Cult were relatively cheaper than in the Central Plains, so even the tanghulu didn't cost much.

Or it could be because the fruits from the mountains were abundant.

"Shall we try it...?"

"Yeah."

Since Beak Seolhwa and Namgung Hui had never eaten tanghulu before, they carefully brought the tanghulu to their mouths.

Agjak.

The syrup that was covering the fruit broke, and the fruit juice, along with the sweetness, exploded in their mouths.

"!!!"

Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa looked at each other with wide eyes.

"I-it's delicious?"

"It's really delicious!"

Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa, like children who had returned to their childhood, smiled bashfully and bit and swallowed the tanghulu.

Beak Seolhwa and Namgung Hui ate all of the many tanghulu and sucked their fingers.

Then, Beak Seolhwa took out a white handkerchief from her robes, brought it to Namgung Hui's mouth, and said.

"Your disguise will be ruined if you do that."

The sticky syrup was smeared all over Namgung Hui's mouth.

Beak Seolhwa wiped off the syrup with her handkerchief, then wiped her own mouth and put the handkerchief away.

"..."

"Why? Is it the first time you've seen a handkerchief?"

"No. I was just flustered because I didn't expect you to do this much."

"...I can do it if I want to. Anyway. Now that we're full. Let's walk a bit to digest."

Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa left the crowd and moved to a quiet street.

The surroundings were quite quiet, and only the scattering fallen leaves made a sound.

Namgung Hui, while walking on such a path, asked Beak Seolhwa.

"You said you had someone to meet, right? Who on earth is it that you're so late?"

"There is. A person who only knows himself and doesn't know the hearts of others at all."

"Should I give him a good scolding?"

"Even if it's you, it won't be easy."

Namgung Hui, who had recently gained enlightenment and internal energy, became stubborn.

"Just say the word. I'll really give him a scolding. With the new martial art I've developed, chak! chak!"

Beak Seolhwa, looking at the exaggeratedly moving Namgung Hui, smiled faintly.

"I don't think it's possible now, so I'll tell you later. By the way, I don't think I can meet that person today. So let's just spend some time together."

Although Namgung Hui had a somewhat uneasy feeling, it was difficult to point it out.

"Ah. Then I'll introduce you to the person I was on a mission with this time. Follow me."

"..."

Beak Seolhwa did not follow Namgung Hui right away and stood blankly.

Namgung Hui, who was walking alone, had no choice but to look back at such a Beak Seolhwa and ask.

"What are you doing? Not following?"

Beak Seolhwa just glared at Namgung Hui and said nothing.

'Tch. He didn't even hear me say it was just the two of us.'

"Alright. I'm going. I'm going."

And so, as even Beak Seolhwa left, following Namgung Hui, the lonely fallen leaves trembled in the wind.

* * *

"Was the friend you were talking about a woman? That's surprising. I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"I can have a girlfriend too. By the way, my friend said there will be a feast this evening."

"Oho. We've come at a good time. Then I'll also get dressed up and come out, so wait a moment."

Gwon Cheong, who had changed his clothes and come out, was very handsome.

As they say, clothes make the man, and his already younger appearance was that of a handsome man.

"Mister. You could get married."

Gwon Cheong raised his eyes and asked.

"Ahem. Really?"

"Of course. If there's a nice lady in the Blood Cult, you should think about it."

"...Alright. Before the feast starts, I'll introduce you to a good place. Follow me."

And so, the place they arrived at, following Gwon Cheong, was an unexpected place.

Because it was the place where Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa had eaten lunch.

'Don't tell me. That old woman...?'

The original Gwon Cheong looked to be in his forties.

And since the old woman's age seemed to be at least sixty and at most seventy, it was difficult to see them as peers.

But as if Gwon Cheong had read Namgung Hui's thoughts, he patted his shoulder and said.

"I don't know what you're imagining, but I came here to introduce you because the noodles here are delicious."

"Ah. If it's that, we also ate it around noon. You can eat, mister."

"Really? Then I'll have to eat a bowl of noodles first. Owner. One bowl of drug noodles here."

At the words 'drug noodles,' the old woman got angry and shouted.

"Hey! I told you not to call it drug noodles!"

The old woman straightened her bent back and checked Gwon Cheong's face.

"Don't tell me you're Gwon Cheong?"

"Yes. I recently ate some good medicinal herbs, and this is what happened. I don't have any left, so don't ask for any."

"Do I really need that when I'm about to go? You look decent now that you're dressed up like that."

"No. I asked for noodles, didn't I?"

"Tsk, tsk. The way you talk to an adult. Wait."

Although the old woman said that, she put more noodles and toppings in the bowl than she had given to Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa.

No, the bowl itself was much bigger.

Namgung Hui, looking at Gwon Cheong who was blowing on and eating the noodles, asked stealthily.

"Mister. But are you perhaps waiting for someone? Why do you keep glancing to the side?"

"Cough! Cough!"

At Namgung Hui's question, Gwon Cheong was startled and choked.

And at that moment, a woman entered the street stall, and Gwon Cheong's two eyes sparkled as if he had met the person he had been waiting for.

But Namgung Hui could not just look at that sight favorably.

The reason was that the newly entered woman was someone Namgung Hui also knew well.

"You were both here. But why aren't you eating noodles?"

It was because it was the Little Saintess, Seong Sohui.

(End of Chapter)