Rebirth of the Thunder God

To be precise, the word written on the note that the waiter had handed him. It was none other than.

[Junior Brother. Come up to the third floor.]

The word 'Junior Brother.'

There were only two people who would call Namgung Hui 'Junior Brother.'

And they were both disciples belonging to the Hao Faction, the second, On Yuha, and the First Senior Brother, Hae Wicheong.

Judging by the soft handwriting on the letter, it seemed to be On Yuha.

Since he had received a letter from her before, it was probably certain.

And so, as Namgung Hui went up to the third floor of the inn, another waiter came out to meet him and guided him.

"Please follow me."

Although the third floor was not a room, there were simple partitions, so the gazes of other people could not be seen.

And so, when he arrived at the corner seat that the waiter had guided him to, he could indeed feel On Yuha's presence.

"Come in. Junior Brother."

As he lifted the partition and entered the room, he could feel a number of presences.

But strangely, most of those presences were not human, but animal.

It seemed there were moles, mice, pigeons, and even hawks and wildcats.

Had she suddenly become an animal collector or something?

He didn't know why there were animals all over the place.

"Are you planning to hold an animal exhibition or something?"

"Junior Brother, is that what you say after seeing your senior sister after a long time? Are you not even going to greet me now that you've become the Hidden Dragon?"

"Ahem. I am very sorry that I forgot to greet my senior sister, who is as high as the sky. Is that enough?"

"It's not bad to receive a bow from the Hidden Dragon while lying down. I hope you show me such a ridiculous scene often. Junior Brother."

"You didn't call me here to see this, did you? It seems you have some great information."

On Yuha, as if to meet Namgung Hui's expectation, nodded and blew the bamboo flute that Namgung Hui had given her before.

Then the gathered animals all disappeared without a trace.

It seemed as if she were giving orders with the flute, which looked truly amazing.

Well, since there were people in the Western Regions who controlled poisonous snakes with flutes, he wasn't very surprised.

He was just a little surprised.

"The flute I gave you seems to be a better item than I thought."

"That's why I told you to bring it, isn't it? By the way, the spirit pill I gave to my junior brother was a very good one, wasn't it? I don't know why the First Senior Brother hid such information from me."

"That's because he didn't know that his greedy junior sister would snatch it away, so he hid it. Besides, it wasn't the First Senior Brother's, but a spirit pill of the Divine Treasure Fortress, right?"

"Hmph. It's foolish to have it snatched away. Because the First Senior Brother is neglecting the Hao Faction. Information keeps leaking out."

Namgung Hui honestly sympathized with this.

In fact, rather than blaming the First Senior Brother, Hae Wicheong, shouldn't the responsibility be first placed on the leader of the Hao Faction, the Faction Leader?

No matter how powerful the First Senior Brother's authority was, it would not be superior to the Faction Leader's.

In Namgung Hui's view, it seemed like a scheme to increase On Yuha's influence and share by finding fault with Hae Wicheong.

Well, since he had said he would not interfere in the succession competition as much as possible, he just let it go in one ear and out the other.

Instead, he pointed out one thing.

"You said information is leaking, so I'm asking, do you have anyone in mind, senior sister?"

"Someone in mind, you mean someone suspected of being a spy?"

"Yeah. I'm asking if there's anyone suspected of being a puppet of the Hoicheon Association. Still, you must have someone in mind, right? And if it's a senior sister who mainly deals with information, you would have caught more circumstances than anyone else."

The first was that he was so engrossed in martial arts that he neglected the Hao Faction.

The reason the Hao Faction was treated so poorly was that their origins were low, but the biggest reason was that they had no power.

Did the Beggars' Sect get ignored just because they were beggars?

Of course, they were even banned from entering some inns because they were beggars, but still, they claimed to be a pillar of the orthodox faction, the Nine Sects One Gang, and were treated like human beings in their own way.

That was all because the Beggars' Sect's information network was an information network, but they had the power of martial arts.

Most of the Hao Faction's disciples did not know martial arts.

Courtesans, thieves, gamblers, waiters, etc.

Although there were some who had learned martial arts, they did not even make up one-tenth of the proportion.

That was why the first, Hae Wicheong's actions were understandable.

But the second, On Yuha, seemed to not want to understand that.

"I suspect the First Senior Brother first."

Namgung Hui sighed deeply and continued.

"I don't know if my senior sister will admit it, but the First Senior Brother is sincere about the Hao Faction. I've confirmed that."

"Hmph! You? What do you know, you're just a lay disciple? I've seen the First Senior Brother twice as much as you. Do you even know his inner thoughts?"

"Of course, seeing a lot is also important. But, sometimes quality is more important than quantity. I realized it after dueling with the First Senior Brother. That he was a man who was sincerely learning martial arts."

Sometimes, when you exchange fists rather than words, you can feel the other person's heart.

Hadn't Namgung Hui also often exchanged body conversations with Beak Seolhwa by sharing swords?

The reason his bond with her had deepened so much was also because of such duels and real battles.

The saying that you grow fond of someone while fighting might also imply such cases.

Anyway, Hae Wicheong was sincerely devoting himself to martial arts training.

To see him as a mere puppet of the Hoicheon Association, he had shown Namgung Hui a lot.

Well, although he didn't completely trust the leader of the Anti-Heaven Alliance, Princess Juhwayeong, the Divine Treasure Fortress was at least not a fool.

If such a Divine Treasure Fortress had even given the Hwaryeong Divine Pill to the First Senior Brother, it meant that Hae Wicheong was at least not a puppet of the Hoicheon Association.

In the first place, if the Hoicheon Association had tried to swallow the Hao Faction based on Hae Wicheong, they would have made him a master long ago and taught him outstanding martial arts.

They wouldn't have left him to study on his own like that.

"Hmph! Do you think I'm like this just because I'm at odds with the First Senior Brother? I'm saying this because I have information I've obtained. Here, look at this."

Namgung Hui took the scroll that On Yuha had handed him and read it.

[First, Hae Wicheong, used a different messenger pigeon service than the Hao Faction's. The destination is Beijing.]

[First, Hae Wicheong, secretly met the General in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.]

[First, Hae Wicheong, took something from the Faction Leader's office and disappeared somewhere.]

"Is this true?"

"Is our Hao Faction's information network ever false?"

"Hmm... If this is true, it's a bit suspicious. The other things could be, but meeting the General is a bit strange."

"The other things are also a problem. Not only did he trespass into the master's office. He stole something and disappeared. This is clearly an act of betrayal!"

"Still, you have to hear it from the First Senior Brother directly. You don't know what the circumstances might be. So are you asking me to catch the First Senior Brother?"

"Yes. You said you won overwhelmingly in the duel, right? Since the First Senior Brother himself said it. It must be certain. So it's even more suspicious. Does it make sense for someone who has only practiced martial arts every day to lose so one-sidedly to a later-generation disciple, no matter how much of a martial arts tournament winner he is?"

It wasn't that it didn't make sense.

But it was extremely difficult to explain this to On Yuha, who didn't know martial arts properly.

In fact, even a decent martial artist would have doubts about Namgung Hui's true skills.

The only person who would completely believe in Namgung Hui's current level would be Beak Seolhwa.

"Anyway. The matter of the First Senior Brother, my senior sister will take care of it. I have no intention of catching him. In the first place, I'm also very busy."

"If you could just catch him, that would be great, but you don't have to. Instead, I'd like you to move to one place with me. You don't have to do anything there, just watch."

"As I said before, I have something to do now. The time is not good. And even after this is over, I still have a mountain of things to do."

Since it had been quite a while since he had been home, he had to stop by the Namgung family and tell Cheon Yeohwa about the Mad Dragon.

He also had to set a new concrete framework and direction for the Chang Gung Merchant Guild.

Besides that, he would also have to do various other miscellaneous things and maintenance.

"The work in Beijing now, how long will it take?"

"I can't guarantee it, but it won't be more than two days."

The moment two days passed, it had to be seen as a failure.

If it seemed like it would take time, he had to pull out right away.

Because spending time foolishly in the Imperial Palace's secret repository was no different from entering a coffin himself.

"That should be fine. The place I'm going to is also near Beijing. You just have to spare a little time after your work is done, is that also difficult?"

"...Alright. But more than half a day is difficult. Keep that in mind."

"Alright! Then stop by this inn again when your work is done."

"Okay."

As Namgung Hui nodded, the waiters, as if they had prepared, served all sorts of dishes to his taste.

Although the food was delicious enough, perhaps because of his complicated thoughts, Namgung Hui did not have a very satisfactory meal.

'If Hae Wicheong really has defected, it would be difficult. I was secretly hoping that a master like him would become the next Faction Leader. Tsk.'

He was not a bad person when he had exchanged fists.

Besides, since he belonged to the Anti-Heaven Alliance, hadn't he bought considerable trust?

If he was a defector as On Yuha said, it meant that not only the inside of the Anti-Heaven Alliance, but also the Divine Treasure Fortress was not safe.

If so, it meant that there was no place to trust at all in the future.

And it would be right to see that the Hoicheon Association had virtually taken control of the entire Central Plains.

Namgung Hui, hoping that it wouldn't go that far, left the inn where On Yuha was staying.

No, he was about to leave, but he felt a familiar presence in the alley and approached it.

As expected. The owner of the familiar presence was the third disciple of the Hao Faction, Dam Gihae.

Perhaps because he had performed the concealment technique of the Empty Gate Sect, his presence was faint, but to Namgung Hui, who had achieved Ascending the Peak and Reaching the Summit, it was extremely clumsy.

Namgung Hui was confident that he could find even the former Shadowless Divine Thief if he were hiding.

Namgung Hui looked at Dam Gihae for a moment, but since he had decided not to interfere in the power struggle between the senior and junior brothers, he decided to ignore whatever he was doing.

Judging by the fact that he was secretly watching On Yuha, he was either personally interested in her.

Or he was after the information she had.

'Come to think of it, Dam Gihae also did errands for the First Senior Brother and seemed to be quite close, so I don't know if it's okay.'

Since the time to infiltrate the Imperial Palace was approaching, Namgung Hui decided to ignore the Hao Faction and prepare his things.

There wasn't much to prepare.

A mask to cover his face and black night clothes to hide his body at night.

A sturdy bag and a sword in case the looted items increased.

That was all.

'And the map of the Imperial Palace that Dam Gihae had given me before. This is also essential. Should I have asked Dam Gihae for more advice on the way here?'

When it came to stealing, there would be no one to give advice like a current thief.

Since what Namgung Hui was trying to do now was also strictly stealing, Dam Gihae, who had inherited the true teachings of the Empty Gate Sect, was the right person.

But since it was already in the past, Namgung Hui prepared his things himself and set off.

The sun disappeared, and taking advantage of the darkness, the moon revealed itself.

Looking at such a moon, he thought of the sect that was named after the moon.

That was the Moon Maiden Palace.

When he thought of the Moon Maiden Palace, Beak Seolhwa naturally came to mind.

Would she also be looking at the moon and thinking of him now?

Namgung Hui fiddled with the artifact hanging from his neck and thought about talking for a moment, but since Beak Seolhwa might be doing something important, he decided to hold back for a while.

'Since it's an item that can only be used five times a day, I should refrain from using it unless it's necessary.'

If Beak Seolhwa found out something important and had something to tell Namgung Hui.

The number of times, which was only five, would feel very insufficient.

Then if Namgung Hui wasted it unnecessarily, it meant he couldn't use it when he needed it.

Since he could talk after his work was done, he decided to hold back for now.

Namgung Hui, who had hidden his appearance with a concealment technique, walked quietly, even killing his breath.

He unfolded the map and once again engraved the interior of the Imperial Palace in his mind, then looked at the magnificent gate leading to the Imperial Palace.

And as if it were a trick of fate, he witnessed a familiar face coming out of there.

That person was none other than the Second General.

The successor of the Sunflower Manual of this generation.

(End of Chapter)