Rebirth of the Thunder God

-Kang!

Namgung Uncheon, while parrying Namgung Hui's sword, approached Yu Seolran and offered his shoulder.

"That's enough. From what I see, Sister Ran's sword was also beautiful enough. It's just that the opponent was bad."

Namgung Hui looked at the two with a dumbfounded expression.

First of all, Yu Seolran was not seriously injured.

And since she hadn't poured out all her internal energy, he couldn't understand why she was leaning on his father's shoulder like that.

It was probably just an exaggeration.

This wasn't a life-or-death battle, and she had also adjusted the power of the sword pill because she was worried that Namgung Hui's face might get hurt.

'If she had poured out all her internal energy, the pit wouldn't have ended at just five zhang. At least a ten-zhang pit would have been dug.'

If that had happened, it wouldn't have been Namgung Hui who got hurt, but the aftermath would have gone to Na Harin and Namgung Uncheon.

Thinking about it this way, it wasn't because of Namgung Hui.

'She adjusted the power because she was worried Father would get hurt. This is really...'

Namgung Hui felt a warm breeze blowing between Yu Seolran and Namgung Uncheon, and he immediately broke in between them.

"Father. But since when did you start calling the Palace Lady Sister?"

"!!!"

Namgung Uncheon and Yu Seolran were dumbfounded, like people caught stealing.

Na Harin, who was behind Namgung Hui, also added in a sarcastic tone.

"Palace Lady. And you say there's nothing between you?"

"Ahem! It's natural for leaders to promote friendship. And since this isn't a public place, it doesn't matter what we call each other, does it?"

"Then can I call you sister too? No. Sister Seolran. Still, you should have told me beforehand. But don't tell me you're passing on the position of Palace Lady to Seolhwa because of the Namgung family head here?"

"Harin. That's really not it. I had already decided to pass on the position of Palace Lady before I met the Cheon family head here. Hui here would know that. Because I met him when I destroyed the pavilion."

Namgung Hui, as the warm breeze blew and he even got goosebumps, couldn't come to his senses.

He felt that it would be better to have a duel to his heart's content, as he couldn't adapt to the current situation.

"Well, it's fine. It's not like I'm going to interfere with my father's love life. Let's not do this here and go down. Even though I look like this, I'm a pretty busy person."

Namgung Uncheon, who was looking at Namgung Hui's complexion, cleared his throat and continued.

"Ahem! Then does that mean Hui has no complaints?"

"What right do I have to say anything? As long as Father is happy, it doesn't matter who he meets. Even if he meets a man."

"A man... That's a bit much, isn't it? Anyway. Thank you. For understanding. As it happens, whenever I see Sister Ran, I'm reminded of your mother who passed away first."

"Father. Even if she is my mother, bringing up an old person is rude to the Palace Lady."

"Hahaha! Yes. I was being presumptuous. Sister Ran. I'm sorry."

"Gaga. No. I'm fine."

Although Namgung Hui couldn't get used to Yu Seolran's way of speaking, his mind was complicated, and there were many things that bothered him more than her way of speaking.

'Then what happens to the family tree now? No. And what happens to the situation when Seolhwa becomes the Palace Lady?'

The prohibition of marriage in the Moon Maiden Palace was only for the palace disciples.

Since the Palace Lady was also one of the palace disciples, marriage was in fact forbidden, but if she was no longer a Moon Maiden Palace disciple after the golden basin hand-washing, marriage was possible at any time.

Could it be that the golden basin hand-washing she had insisted on was because of this?

Since she was cutting off all her grudges and favors in the martial world, it meant that her connection with the Moon Maiden Palace was also cut off.

Well, no matter how much Namgung Hui racked his brain, it was difficult to guess the detailed internal affairs of the Moon Maiden Palace.

He decided to leave the adults' affairs to the adults.

Rather than worrying about Namgung Uncheon and Yu Seolran right now, it was a problem to think about the name of the new alliance first.

Because he could just ask Beak Seolhwa directly about her problem.

"Then let's go down. I'll withdraw the matter of the golden basin hand-washing for now."

"Yes. That would be for the best. If you announce the golden basin hand-washing, all sorts of people will rush not only to the Palace Lady but also to my father."

There was nothing better than a hostage.

If the relationship between the two became widely known, it was possible that not only Namgung Uncheon, who was close to her, but also the members of the Namgung family would be taken hostage.

They might even come to harm them immediately for revenge.

And so, the Namgung Hui party, who had returned to the family, scattered to do their own things.

No, it was just that they had scattered, but in fact, since Namgung Uncheon and Yu Seolran had moved together, it was just that Na Harin and Namgung Hui had returned to their residences.

Still, Namgung Hui had finished his reunion with his father without any major commotion and seemed to have explained Beak Seolhwa's situation well to the Moon Maiden Palace Lady, so he felt that he had overcome all the major hurdles.

Now it was time to concentrate on his work again in earnest.

Starting with the name of the alliance, he had to design the organizational structure along with the list of people to recruit.

'First, I need a strategist, so let's recruit Jegal Geon. He didn't seem to belong to the Anti-Heaven Alliance, so he'll probably join. After that, for the information organization, there's no one better than Hu Gai, right?'

Besides those two, several other good talents came to mind.

Although it was Namgung Hui's fake identity, Cheonghak of the Wudang Sect, who had shown him favor.

The Divine Dragon of the Shaolin Temple also seemed to be a person with good character as well as martial arts.

He was also tempted by the Plum Blossom Sword Masters of the Mount Hua Sect, but since the Sect Leader belonged to the Anti-Heaven Alliance, trying to recruit them was highly likely to cause friction.

Even excluding such late-stage masters of the orthodox faction, there were still good people left.

'Since Yewol has nowhere to go, she'll join my side, but the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader is really ambiguous. If I can draw him to our side, he'll be a very reliable ally, but if it doesn't work out, there's a high possibility that information will leak out.'

The Black Tortoise Troupe Leader was now calling himself a double agent.

There was no guarantee which side such a person would ultimately side with.

Hadn't even Beak Seolhwa not known what her future would be?

You can know the depth of the water, but not the depth of a person's heart.

In fact, it was difficult to guess the inner thoughts of Jegal Geon, whom he had mentioned first.

Since his biological grandfather was Cheongi-ja, it wouldn't be strange if he received some kind of order from Cheongi-ja.

And it was also true that such a Cheongi-ja was suspicious.

This was not just Namgung Hui's thought, but also a word brought up by the First Senior Brother of the Hao Faction, Hae Wicheong.

And so, as Namgung Hui was slowly thinking of the name of the alliance at the table, a presence that felt like Chohwa was heading towards his residence.

And then, Chohwa knocked on the door and said.

"Young Master~ A guest has arrived."

"Who is it?"

"An elder from the Jegal family, and he looks quite extraordinary. Shall I let him in?"

"If it's the Jegal family, you should let him in right away. Please prepare some refreshments."

"Yes~~"

And so, as Chohwa went to get refreshments, the door was knocked again, and a rather old voice was heard.

"It's me. May I come in?"

Usually, one would say their name or at least their title, but the other person was suddenly saying 'me.'

Nevertheless, Namgung Hui couldn't help but know who the other person was.

Because it was a voice that was clearly left in his mind.

'It's Cheongi-ja. Why has he come to see me?'

Anyway. Since he had something to ask and it was a good thing to sound out his inner thoughts, there was no reason to refuse.

Namgung Hui quickly opened the door and called Cheongi-ja inside.

"Please come in. Elder. I should have gone to see you, but I've made you come all this way."

"Hahaha. No. It's the idle person who comes to visit like this. And isn't it a rather enjoyable pastime to see the changed Namgung family? Yes. Have you been well?"

He spoke to Namgung Hui in a friendly manner, like a biological grandfather.

Well, since he was the grandfather of a friend, there was no law that said he couldn't show such an attitude to Namgung Hui, but Namgung Hui felt a little uncomfortable with this attitude of Cheongi-ja.

For some reason, it felt artificial, and as if he were taking such a posture on purpose, it felt like he was intentionally creating an atmosphere.

Still, since Cheongi-ja was clearly an elder of the orthodox faction, and he couldn't treat him badly from a family-to-family perspective.

Namgung Hui also had no choice but to open his mouth with an artificial smile.

"Thanks to the elder's generous advice and concern, I have been able to stay healthy. But did you come alone without an escort?"

"Even though I'm like this, I'm a martial artist. And why would an old man who is about to die need an escort?"

"Still, aren't there many people who are after Elder Cheongi-ja? Since you know a lot of important information about the martial world."

The end of Namgung Hui's words was conveyed with a rather meaningful tone.

There was no way Cheongi-ja would not have noticed such a tone.

As Cheongi-ja also narrowed his eyes and looked at Namgung Hui.

-Knock, knock, knock.

"I've brought refreshments. I'm coming in~"

Chohwa, as if she had been waiting, opened the door and came in.

Chohwa, who had put down the refreshments, felt the rather heavy atmosphere and quickly disappeared with light steps.

"Yes. Let's have some tea first and talk. I'm thirsty from the long journey."

"Yes. Let's do that. We have plenty of time."

Hureuk. Hureuk. Hureuruk.

For a while, only the sound of drinking tea echoed in Namgung Hui's room.

Then, Cheongi-ja, who had put down his teacup, looked at Namgung Hui and asked.

"What are you so dissatisfied with about this old man?"

"Well, since it's true that I have some complaints, there's no need to hide it. Let's see... Where should I start? Right. I should start from our first meeting. Didn't you say a lot of meaningful things back then? You didn't tell me when I asked about the General's Three Eyes. You just showed a hint that you knew something, but you didn't explain what it was. If you were going to hide it, you should have hidden it to the end. If you show that you know, wouldn't I be frustrated?"

"Hahaha. So that's what you were upset about. Yes. You know why my other name is Cheongi-ja, right?"

"It must be a title given because you have the wisdom to see into the heavenly secrets."

"Yes. It's not just because I'm smart that I can see into the heavenly secrets. Like the General's Three Eyes, this old man also has the power to see into the heavenly secrets. The Saintess of the Demonic Cult is said to have this power of prophetic dreams, right? I'm in a similar context. But, I have more restrictions than them. The fact that I can't speak in detail is one of those restrictions."

Since it was the first time Namgung Hui had heard of it, he couldn't help but show interest.

He had thought that Cheongi-ja had his own circumstances, but if there was such a restriction, it was a different story.

"Can I know what that restriction is specifically?"

"Alright. It would be faster to tell you. Now. Listen. ■□■■■ ■■□, how about it? Did you hear me?"

"!?"

Although Namgung Hui had been watching Cheongi-ja's mouth, from the words he couldn't hear in the middle, he couldn't even recall the shape of his mouth, as if it had been completely erased from his mind.

Cheongi-ja, looking at the flustered Namgung Hui, smiled.

"This is all because the disclosure of heavenly secrets is forbidden. The gods in the heavens must have forbidden it. They must have allowed intervention only to the extent that it does not go against providence."

Namgung Hui finally understood how things were going, but he couldn't completely erase his suspicion of Cheongi-ja.

"But why are you telling me this now? Wouldn't it have been better if you had told me back then?"

"At that time, even this was not allowed. It's possible because you have recently achieved a great accomplishment. And you have become somewhat free from the law of causality. So I want to ask, what on earth have you been through recently? By any chance..."

"By any chance?"

"Did you meet the Blood Demon?"

(End of Chapter)