Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Ah. You really haven't heard. This Moon Maiden Pavilion is now a branch of our Moon Maiden Palace."

"!?

Namgung Hui momentarily doubted his own ears, but seeing the size of the building, it was a part he could fully understand.

However, it was just that the Moon Maiden Palace, a sacred place forbidden to men, was establishing itself in the Namgung family estate, where there were far more men, that felt out of place.

"It seems we'll be seeing each other often from now on. I look forward to working with you."

"Rather, we should be the ones looking forward to working with you. By the way, are things going well with the young palace lord?"

"Ahem. Well, we're on pretty good terms."

"Hoho! If things go well with the young palace lord, we'll get some scraps too. Young Master. Good luck!"

"I'll tell you the young palace lord's preferences later."

"If you do that, I'd be grateful. I hope you'll be at peace while you're staying at the family estate."

Namgung Hui, after exchanging greetings with the Moon Maiden Palace Daoists, looked around the rest of the family estate.

Now that the sun was setting, he wouldn't be able to look around everything, but still, there was a place he had to check first.

It was the Righteous Heaven Alliance headquarters inside the Namgung family estate.

Although it was called a headquarters, it was just a place filled with Namgung Hui's close associates.

Namgung Hui headed for a building secretly located within the family estate.

There, not only Cheon Yeohwa, who could be called Namgung Hui's close associate, but also Dam Gihae, who had been recently recruited, was there.

Dam Gihae, who had tried to betray the Hao Faction.

He was caught by Namgung Hui's weakness and was being thoroughly worked without being able to move.

‘What I fed him wasn't poison, but he's mistaken it for poison. Well, it doesn't matter if he's noticed by now. Because he has nowhere else to live but here now.’

Although his weakness was caught by the General.

He was a guy who had once tried to betray the Hao Faction.

Although the Hao Faction leader or other senior brothers might forgive him, there was no way the Hao Faction Daoists would just stand by.

Rather, if he stayed within the fence of the Namgung family like this, he would at least be able to save his life.

Namgung Hui, who had been looking at the flying carrier pigeons for a while, stopped his steps.

"Yeohwa. You've been through a lot. Still, because you're smart, you were able to escape from the black market."

"Older brother. That's thanks to Hui older brother. I didn't do much."

"You call that guy older brother? I'm your only older brother."

For a moment, the words stopped, and Cheon Yeohwa let out a long sigh.

"Sigh... Oppa. Are you going to be like this after meeting after a long time? Never mind. If you're here, help me with my work. Hurry!"

Cheon Yeohwa, whose attitude suddenly changed.

Unlike when she was in front of Namgung Hui, her way of treating her older brother was a bit rough.

Although this was the honest appearance of siblings, it couldn't help but be unfamiliar to Namgung Hui, who had never had a younger sister.

‘Hmm... It seems it will be hard to see a good sight if I go in now. I'll have to stop by again tomorrow.’

It wasn't an urgent matter anyway.

He had intended to see his face and also to praise him for his hard work.

Although he was a little curious about the situation, that was something he could find out tomorrow.

More importantly, he had to prepare to greet the guest he was waiting for.

‘Then shall I prepare to greet the guest now?’

Namgung Hui, who had been watching the bickering Cheon siblings, turned his body and disappeared leisurely.

***

Now, the sun was setting, and the moon raised its head.

Looking at the moon, he was immediately reminded of the Moon Maiden Palace, which was related to it.

‘I'll have to go and properly check how much power the Moon Maiden Palace has later. It's important to know the enemy, but I also have to objectively grasp the power of my own side first.’

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you will win a hundred battles.

To do that, he had to know the martial power of his allies first.

Whether the Moon Maiden Palace was really strong or had declined repeatedly and fallen, there was no way to know at present.

Well, still, since the palace lord, vice palace lord, and young palace lord were strong, the Daoists would also be quite strong.

Because even the young palace lord, Beak Seolhwa, who was approaching while quietly killing her presence, was a considerable master.

"Seolhwa. The door is open, so you can come right in."

"...Alright."

Beak Seolhwa, perhaps because she had intended to surprise Namgung Hui, entered Namgung Hui's residence with a sullen expression.

Namgung Hui, who rarely had a chance to see such an expression on Beak Seolhwa's face, let out a chuckle and grabbed her hand.

"Miss Beak. You must have had a hard time coming to such a humble place. Please sit here."

"Ugh! Goosebumps. Where did you see and learn something like this? Never mind. I'll sit on my own."

"No. I was just trying to set the mood. Why are you ruining it?"

"If you're going to do it, do it properly. What's with the cheesy 'Miss Beak'? Your tone is also too awkward. If you do that when you're infiltrating later, your identity will be exposed. You should practice a little."

"Ahem. Alright. I'll just speak in my own way. Anyway. Seolhwa. You've been through a lot coming from a far place. Welcome again. This is my present, so please accept it."

Beak Seolhwa, who received the hairpin that Namgung Hui handed her, asked.

"What's with you giving me a present?"

"What do you mean, what's with me? The hair ornament you're wearing was also given by me. Anyway, come here. I'll put it in for you."

Namgung Hui, as if he were hugging Beak Seolhwa, made her lean on his shoulder.

Now that her head was under his eyes, it would be easy to put in the hairpin.

"There. It's done. It really suits you."

The color of the hairpin was silver.

It was really made with silver mixed in.

And since the frame was also made of sturdy meteoric iron, it almost never broke.

However, the tip felt excessively sharp.

Beak Seolhwa also, stroking the hairpin, noticed that and questioned Namgung Hui.

"Isn't it too sharp? I'm going to get pricked and bleed at this rate."

"Are you going to get pricked by a mere hairpin? And that's not a simple ornament. It's an item I specially ordered from the Tang family. Look carefully."

Namgung Hui, who had painstakingly put in the hairpin, pulled it out again and then threw it at the wall like a hidden weapon.

Swoosh! Puck!

The hairpin, which was properly stuck in the wall.

As much as it held sharpness, its power was extraordinary.

"It's a hairpin that can be used as a hidden weapon in a pinch. And this isn't the end."

Namgung Hui, who pulled out the hairpin with the Art of Controlling Objects with Ki, this time dipped the hairpin in the liquid placed on the table. At that.

Chiiik...

With the sound of something burning, the tip of the hairpin turned black.

"It can also be a detector that can detect even poison. This doesn't just detect simple poison. It also has the ability to distinguish the mineral poison you were hit with before."

Since mineral poison was rarely detected even when pricked with a silver needle, it was not easy to filter it out.

On top of that, since there were even cases where it was odorless, it had to be detected only by color, but since color was the easiest part to disguise, it could not be filtered out in ordinary cases.

But as much as it was a mineral, it reacted to a special liquid or substance.

When it touched meteoric iron like this, almost all mineral poisons would burn up.

And since a special chemical was also applied at the Tang family, it was convenient to assume that it could detect most poisons.

Although the production cost was also considerable, this much was not a waste for Beak Seolhwa.

‘It's worth a thousand silver pieces. And that's because the meteoric iron was so expensive that they gave me a discount. Well, since it's useful, the price is fine.’

Beak Seolhwa also had a rather surprised expression.

Perhaps because of the recent event, she was reminded of when she was hit by the mineral poison, and she was even more pleased with Namgung Hui's present.

Because it meant that he remembered and cherished her that much.

"Thank you. Hui. But if you were going to demonstrate like this, why did you put it in my hair earlier? You didn't have to go through the trouble."

"Ahem. That's because I just wanted to hug you naturally. And doesn't it look cooler when I put it in like that? Don't you think?"

"Goodness. To say that with your own mouth. Tsk, tsk. If you just want to hug me, you can just hug me like this."

Sreureuk.

Beak Seolhwa, who hugged Namgung Hui tightly.

Although she said it casually, a faint blush had appeared on her jade-like face.

Namgung Hui, who put the hairpin back in her hair, kissed her on the forehead.

Jjok.

"This is the blessing of the Thunder God. Since it contains the energy of breaking evil and establishing righteousness, it will even chase away evil beings. You should be grateful."

"Thank you very much~. Th-Then I'll also give you the blessing of a goddess."

Perhaps because she was embarrassed to call herself a goddess.

Or perhaps because the blessing that was to follow was embarrassing.

She even trembled her hands and placed a blessing on Namgung Hui's lips.

Perhaps because they were cherry-like lips, it felt sweet for some reason.

As her juice stirred in Namgung Hui's mouth, his whole body became stiff, as if his vital points had been pressed.

But soon, his body slowly melted, as if he had been hit by the Star-Sucking Great Art.

The two instinctively sat side by side on the bed, and Beak Seolhwa, who had taken her lips off, asked shyly.

"A-Are we really going to do it?"

"Ahem. Then we have to. That's why I called you. Wait a minute."

Namgung Hui, who fumbled in his bosom, took out a small box made of jade.

Beak Seolhwa, wondering what this was all of a sudden, tilted her head, and then, recognizing its identity, her eyes widened.

"Th-This is! It's an ice crystal. Why is this coming out of your bosom?"

"How can you be so pretty even when you're surprised? Yes. It's an ice crystal. You know the Black and White Twin Elders of the Heretic Faction, right?"

"Of course I do. They're people from the same era as us. But why those old men?"

"I treated the granddaughter of those old men and received the ice crystal as a reward. I don't know where they got it, but it's probably the North Sea Ice Palace, which is said to be in the Northern Heaven."

"Hmm... I don't know what's going on. The Heretic Faction is also affiliated with the Hoicheon Association, and the North Sea Ice Palace is also affiliated with the Hoicheon Association under the name of the Northern Heaven. But the Black and White Twin Elders stole this?"

"It seems there are some circumstances we don't know about. It's a good thing for us. Because it means the Hoicheon Association is not as cohesive as we thought. Anyway. Seolhwa. I brought it to give to you."

Beak Seolhwa, who received the jade box, looked at it for a long time.

Although he didn't know what she was thinking, it seemed as if the memories of the past were flowing in her eyes.

"Hui. This is very precious. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. You told me. That the ice crystal is an item that is no different from the symbol of the palace lord."

"But you're just going to give that to me?"

"I'm not just giving it to you."

Beak Seolhwa, who had been looking at the jade box, suddenly opened her eyes wide and shouted.

"You! Don't tell me you're asking me to do it with you in exchange for this?"

"Of course. Why would I just give it to you? I'm giving it to you so we can do it together."

Suddenly, Beak Seolhwa pushed the jade box at Namgung Hui and said with teary eyes.

"I'm disappointed. I didn't know you were that kind of guy."

Namgung Hui, as the atmosphere suddenly turned cold, realized that something was going wrong.

"Seolhwa. What are you thinking right now?"

"What am I thinking? Of course, you asked me to sleep with you in exchange for the ice crystal. Where are you trying to get away with it?"

Namgung Hui finally realized that she had misunderstood something.

A chuckle came out.

And for good reason, since the atmosphere just before had ripened, it wasn't strange that such a misunderstanding had arisen.

And since it was Namgung Hui's residence and it was the middle of the night.

Although men and women were different, even if they were friends, they would be careful.

Moreover, if they had feelings for each other.

"I'm sorry. Seolhwa. I made you misunderstand. What I meant by 'do it together' was that we should plot something with that ice crystal. Listen well. Since the ice crystal is the symbol of the palace lord, you should try to take control of the Northern Heaven with it. I'll also give you this Hoicheon Association's token."

A jade token was placed on top of the jade box.

The jade token that symbolized the envoy of the Hoicheon Association.

Since Namgung Hui had two of them, there was no particular problem in giving the other one to her.

Beak Seolhwa, who received it, realized that this was not Namgung Hui's excuse, but a pre-planned operation.

In an instant, her face turned red as if it were about to explode.

Soon, a cold energy settled on Beak Seolhwa's face, which had been heated like a furnace, and it returned to its jade-like skin.

It was because she had calmed it down using her ice art.

"So you're telling me to infiltrate the Hoicheon Association?"

"You said your birthplace was originally the North Sea. You also have the qualification to be the lord of the North Sea Ice Palace. If you even have the ice crystal, there's nothing you can't do. If you don't feel like it, you can just consume it."

When she thought about it, Namgung Hui's proposal was not bad.

And perhaps because of the memories with her parents, she also wanted to know what the situation in the North Sea was like.

Why they had left the North Sea and had come to belong to a place called the Northern Heaven.

And she was also curious about the reason for participating in the Association's event.

"Alright. I'll do it."

"We'll have to think about the detailed plan a little more. We also need to gather more information. So tomorrow, I'll call the Mad Dragon and establish a plan."

"The Mad Dragon isn't bad. So you called me in the middle of the night for this?"

Namgung Hui was about to answer 'yes', but for some reason, he felt the atmosphere turning cold.

He felt it clearly with his extrasensory perception that he shouldn't answer purely here.

"N-No. I called you because I wanted to talk with you all night. Didn't I say it earlier? That it would take a few days to talk about what I've been through. I also want to hear how you've been."

"Really?"

It seemed he had passed one hurdle.

Namgung Hui had thought that if he just gave her the ice crystal, she would be overjoyed, but it seemed there was something more important to her than the ice crystal.

"Well. Alright. I'll let it slide this time. From now on, if you ruin the mood, you won't even get a sip of soup. Got it?"

"Uh-huh. Sorry."

Namgung Hui apologized without even knowing what he had done wrong.

Because he had realized from his past life that in this situation, he had to be faithful to his instincts rather than his reason to survive.

Especially when a cold energy was flying from Beak Seolhwa. He had to be absolutely. Absolutely. Careful.

Beak Seolhwa, who glared at Namgung Hui, put the jade box and the jade token in her bosom and thought.

‘Tch... He doesn't even know what kind of heart I came with.’

Still, the ice crystal that Namgung Hui had given her cooled her reason.

Since she knew the importance of the ice crystal better than anyone, the plan that Namgung Hui had proposed did not feel bad at all.

Since Beak Seolhwa herself was one of the few direct descendants of the North Sea Ice Palace, if she only had this ice crystal, she might really be able to ascend to the position of palace lord.

‘How many times have I been surprised because of him today? He's just lifting me up and putting me down.’

But her surprise did not end there.

Because what Namgung Hui took out this time was an item that was no less than the ice crystal.

(End of Chapter)