Rebirth of the Thunder God

[Huh? Here. Why is the formation so powerful? The trace has been cut off from here.]

-... What is that all of a sudden? No. Never mind.

Namgung Hui was not discouraged.

Because it seemed to be a clear fact that the Taiji Wisdom Sword had come this far.

If so, from here on, it was a matter of using a different ability.

Namgung Hui moved to a deserted open space and asked Jang Hwang.

"Brother. My friend says that the trace of the manual has been cut off because of a formation. From here on, I'll have to use your ability."

"Alright. First, I'll peek into the memories of this street. Wait a moment."

While Jang Hwang was chanting a spell, Namgung Hui looked around and examined how much the Zhuge family had changed.

‘Although they say ten years is enough to change mountains and rivers, the Zhuge family hasn't changed much.’

If there was something that changed, there was also something that didn't.

The Zhuge family, like the bamboo planted in that garden, was upright and had preserved its greenery.

A cool breeze brushed past his cheek.

The fluttering wind was clean and transparent, without a speck of dust.

Although a day would come when dust would rise in this wind, he could only hope that such a day would not come.

"As people say, a noble guest has indeed come. He seems to be a feudal lord rather than an official. He came in a very splendid palanquin."

"Then he's definitely not an official. I understand why the security is so strict. Then, have you not seen any other suspicious people?"

"Not really. Rather, perhaps because the security was so strict, not even an ant was crawling around. Not even a real bug passed by."

"Ah. It's probably because of the formation. Because small creatures instinctively avoid formations."

Insects and beasts, which were more faithful to their instincts than humans, detected formations more keenly.

Hadn't a formation also been installed at the Thunder God Sect based on that principle?

However, as that formation aged, Chichi had invaded, and that connection had reached the present, and they were still together.

"If so, we'll have to search for the recently hired servants or miscellaneous workers. And in the meantime, we'll have to peek into their memories or chase their will."

"I'm sorry, but perhaps because of the influence of the formation, I can't feel the will well. It's a really powerful formation. It feels like it's distorting space itself."

Namgung Hui also had no choice but to nod his head, as he understood the formation of the Zhuge family better than anyone.

But apart from that, he had no choice but to scratch his cheek in embarrassment as both Chichi's and Jang Hwang's abilities were blocked.

Although he didn't think the direct disciple had calculated this far and hidden in the Zhuge family, it had turned out to be a lucky break.

‘Still, if I just find all the newly hired people, the possibility is high enough. Since it's easier for me to see through disguise arts, it's my turn to be active.’

Time to fully apply the disguise art he had learned from the Hao Faction leader.

Still, since he couldn't meet the servants or miscellaneous workers as he pleased, he decided to visit his friend, Zhuge Jian, after a long time.

Namgung Hui retraced his memory and went to his residence.

A memory that remained clear even before his memory had improved.

Unlike Namgung Hui's residence, Zhuge Jian's residence was open on all sides, so the wind flowed well, and just looking at it made one's chest feel open.

On top of that, since there was a pond right in front, it was also good to sit on the wooden floor and organize one's thoughts.

And as expected.

When he reached Zhuge Jian's residence, he saw him sitting alone on the wooden floor.

"Namgung Hui!! What are you doing here? If you were coming, you should have at least said so."

"I'm here. Is that enough?"

"Haha! Yes. Welcome. But what are you doing with a man instead of the White Phoenix?"

"Well, is there a law that says I have to stick with Seolhwa all the time? The noble person here is none other than the current sect leader of the Maoshan Sect, Brother Jang Hwang. Since he's my older brother, you should also treat him with respect."

"What!? The sect leader of the Maoshan Sect? If so, of course I have to treat him as an older brother!"

"Oh my. If he were from another sect, you wouldn't have treated him as an older brother?"

"Ah, no. That's just what I meant. Haha... Brother. I am Zhuge Jian, a close friend of Namgung Hui. If you are Hui's sworn brother, you are also my sworn brother, so you can speak comfortably."

Jang Hwang let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the two who seemed to be on good terms.

"It's good to see that you're on good terms. I also had a youth like you once. Anyway. That's enough for the greetings. Let's get to Hui's business first."

If it were the leak of the Taiji Wisdom Sword, not some ordinary manual, not even a moment's time should be wasted.

Since Namgung Hui trusted Zhuge Jian, he immediately told him the truth of the matter.

"What!? The Taiji... ugh! Ah. Yes. I have to be quiet. So that's in our family?"

"I'm 99% sure. The 1% is that my treasure detector is broken... ouch. This fellow is biting me?"

[If I'm broken, it's because you didn't buy me alcohol, so just know that. Anyway. It's certain that it came this far. Because that energy is lingering around here.]

"Yes. I'll correct it to 100% sure. So I want to check if there are any recently hired servants or miscellaneous workers. Is that possible?"

"If it's not some other family, but the Divine Machine Zhuge, would that be impossible? We write down every single person in a document. Follow me. If you go to the general affairs office, there will be a list of names."

Namgung Hui smiled with satisfaction, as if things were going well.

Other families, either because they were lazy or because they didn't know the characters well, didn't do the work of leaving it in a document like this.

But if it were the Zhuge family, a family of scholars?

Rather, they documented everything and left it behind, almost like an occupational disease.

And so, when they reached the general affairs office, a hot heat was felt, like the training ground of another family.

The general affairs offices of other martial arts families were on the chilly side.

Because there would only be the general manager who managed the finances and the clerk who assisted him.

But in the Zhuge family, not only was the size of the general affairs office grand, but there were also quite a lot of people, so the busyness was felt as a temperature.

Letters were also flying around.

And people in scholar's robes were also running around here and there.

"Jian. What are you doing here... oh, Hui is also here. Welcome."

"It's been a long time. Uncle Zhuge Yu. Your complexion is rather haggard. It seems you're still suffering from work."

"Hoho. Yes. I also need to take care of my health so I don't collapse like you. But what brings you two here?"

"Uncle. Hui and I are going to look at the list of names for a moment. Is that alright?"

"Hmm... Well, alright. Since Hui is not a stranger, and it's not important information, feel free to look."

As permission was granted, Zhuge Jian immediately brought out the list of names, but not only was it thick, but there were also three books, so it seemed it would take quite a long time just to look through them all.

"It seems my brother will have to look at it together."

"I'm still far from getting presbyopia, so helping is not difficult. Let's look together."

"Yes. Then."

A list of names was dropped in front of each of them.

A register where all the people who had come and gone were recorded.

It was said that everything from half a month before the time Namgung Hui had mentioned to the present was recorded.

"I brought the one from half a month ago just in case. Sometimes, when you watch detective stories, there's a time difference trick."

"Ah. I roughly know what you mean."

It wasn't just because Zhuge Jian liked detective collections.

Because the manual could have disappeared a long time ago, and the direct disciple could have disappeared after that.

To deliberately cause confusion.

Perhaps he had waited a while to smuggle out the manual safely and then left the mountain.

After all, hadn't Dugu In also smuggled out the Purple Mist Divine Art in that way?

‘From the time the Sect Leader handed over the manual to the direct disciple, no matter how much he tried to use a trick, he wouldn't be able to.’

And the Zhuge family did not hire just anyone.

Since their family's reputation could be tarnished, they hired after verifying their identity to some extent.

And since they even had to know how to write, it could be said that their threshold was higher than any other family.

Instead, since they paid a commensurate salary, the number of applicants was not small.

"There are no particularly suspicious people here either. Most of them are people I know. And if he had disguised himself as them, I would have felt a sense of unease and noticed."

"That's true. No matter how much the direct disciple disguised himself, he wouldn't be able to hide his strong physique."

Although he could reduce his physique with the Bone Shrinking Art, even if he had learned it, there was no way the people of the Zhuge family wouldn't feel a sense of unease.

His accent and the vocabulary he mainly used.

Besides that, everything was bound to be revealed in his behavior.

"Hmm... I can't get a feel for it just by looking at the list. Let's meet the people here one by one. First, shall we check the stables?"

And so, from the stableman.

"Next is the porter."

"This time, to the restaurant."

Although he had examined all the cooks who were cooking.

"Young Master. Shall I make you a special dish?"

"No. That's enough. Has there been anything special lately?"

"What do you mean, nothing special? I'm busy to death preparing for the banquet. Please save me."

There was no one who felt particularly out of place.

If so, did it mean that there was a person who was not on the list?

"That's not it. The only person who could break through our family's formation would be the Shadowless Divine Thief."

"Hmm... Then all that's left are the people whose identities you say are certain, right?"

"That's right. They are people that even I have a hard time looking at openly."

The fact that their identities were certain meant that their backgrounds were also outstanding.

It meant that there was a martial arts family behind them like Namgung Hui, or a force comparable to it.

"But you said there's a banquet later?"

"Uh. Since a member of the imperial family has come, we can't just stand by, can we? We're planning to hold a small banquet. It's just a dinner in the evening, so it won't take much time."

Since the Zhuge family also had connections with the government.

They couldn't treat a member of the imperial family carelessly.

Because if they were to be disliked by a member of the imperial family, they didn't know what kind of loss the people of the Zhuge family who had advanced into the government would have to bear.

"A banquet. That's a good thing. Then we can check them all at once at that time."

And so, Namgung Hui chatted with Zhuge Jian about this and that until the evening.

Among them, the conversation they had most often was.

"How far did you go with the White Phoenix?"

"How far did I go? I went to the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Why?"

"Ahyo... You're really such a simpleton. I'm asking how far you've progressed. Have you held her hand?"

"I have."

"Oh~ That's amazing."

Zhuge Jian poked Namgung Hui's side as if he were seeing him in a new light.

Then, this time, he asked again with a squinted expression.

"Then what about a hug?"

"I've done that too. What's so difficult about that?"

"Wow~! That's not difficult? It seems your relationship has really progressed. Well. You've stuck together like that and experienced all sorts of things together, so it would be strange if you didn't develop feelings."

"That's enough about my story. Is there any exciting news in the martial world?"

"There's so much that it would take a while to tell you everything, so I'll just pick out the important ones and tell you. First, the Martial World Ranking has been revised. All the martial artists we know, regardless of the orthodox or heretic faction, have been included. They even included the people of the Blood Cult by guessing. Of course, your ranking was also included."

This was purely interesting.

Hadn't the Martial World Ranking he had received from the Beggars' Sect only included the orthodox faction, making it not even half a list?

Not only did it include the heretic faction, but it also included the people of the Blood Cult, so it seemed a proper Martial World Ranking had been born.

"And what's another interesting story?"

"They say an imugi has appeared near Zhengzhou in Henan Province.”

(End of Chapter)