Rebirth of the Thunder God

[Peculiarities: Has a history of learning martial arts at the Emei Sect as a child.]

Namgung Hui looked at the peculiarities and tilted his head.

If the Empress had learned martial arts at the Emei Sect, it would be normal for this fact to be widely known.

Not only was this the first time Namgung Hui had heard of it, but seeing the prestige of the Emei Sect, he couldn't quite understand it.

Of course, not only was the martial power possessed by the Emei Sect excellent, but it was certain that it was a sect with potential.

However, compared to the power they possessed, they did not actually gain much fame.

Wasn't the hegemon of Sichuan the Sichuan Tang family, not the Emei Sect?

Well, since the Emei Sect was a little distant from the secular world and also had a closed-off tendency, it wasn't that he couldn't understand it at all, but it was too little known to be considered the Empress's home sect.

[Used a pseudonym when in the secular world. Relied on her maternal family and borrowed her mother's surname. Only a very few know this fact.]

Well, in a case like this, it wasn't that it didn't make sense at all.

It was just a question of why she was hiding this fact.

Could it be that the emperor disliked martial artists?

Or there might be a special circumstance that even Namgung Hui didn't know about.

Namgung Hui, in order to dig up such circumstances, looked through the rest of the scrolls.

[The Empress's hobbies...]

[The Empress's favorite foods...]

[The Beijing opera that the Empress enjoys watching...]

[The Empress's personal relationships...]

There were some truly trivial things, and there were also some important personal details.

In particular, the personal history of her daughter, the princess, was also quite splendid. It was said that just as the Empress had been taught martial arts at the Emei Sect as a child, she had invited a martial arts instructor and had her daughter learn martial arts diligently.

Hadn't even the princess's cousin, Princess Juhwayeong, learned martial arts at the Mount Hua Sect?

It was the safest law for one to protect one's own body.

If it was the body of a princess who could be taken hostage at any time, it wouldn't be bad to have learned martial arts.

However, if her martial arts instructor was a surprise, it was a surprise.

[Princess Ju Seoyeon. Master: Daoist Song Gwang of the Qingcheng Sect.]

[Bone marrow washing and meridian cleansing since childhood. Has taken all sorts of spirit medicines. According to rumors in the Imperial Palace, it is said that half of the Imperial Palace's secret repository has gone into her stomach.]

Namgung Hui's mouth watered on its own.

The many empty spaces in that Imperial Palace's secret repository.

Although it was unlikely that all of those spirit medicines had gone into Princess Ju Seoyeon's mouth, wouldn't a certain amount have settled in her stomach?

Namgung Hui, who needed a lot of internal energy because of the Dividing Thunder Flashing Shadow.

‘Even if I don't know her martial arts level, her internal energy might be the best in the world.’

After that, even a portrait of Ju Seoyeon came out. As befitting her status as a princess, she had a rather pretty face.

Of course, compared to Beak Seolhwa, she was a firefly in front of the sun, so he immediately put away the portrait.

‘Hmm... Now for the last piece of information. This one is quite thick.’

Perhaps because it was the latest information, the signs of it having been recently written were evident.

On top of that, perhaps because On Yuha had personally taken charge of organizing it, he could feel her handwriting.

Namgung Hui, putting strength into his eyes until the very end, calmly put the information into his head.

[First Empress Han Okbin, established an organization 10 years ago. The organization's name is the Anti-Heaven Alliance.]

‘No! The Anti-Heaven Alliance? What is this...!’

As if he couldn't believe it, Namgung Hui rubbed his eyes and looked at the scroll again.

However, this was information written in On Yuha's handwriting without a doubt.

She, too, must have been quite surprised when she wrote this, as a tremor was conveyed from her handwriting.

‘She's abandoning the Anti-Heaven Alliance she created and joining the Hoicheon Association? I really can't understand this at all.’

The Anti-Heaven Alliance, which was created with the meaning of opposing the Hoicheon Association.

Why would the Empress, who was presumed to have served as its first leader, abandon her own organization and stick to the General?

Could it be that Princess Ju Seoyeon or the Crown Prince had been taken hostage?

If it were the Hoicheon Association's Gu poison and human-faced poison, it wouldn't be impossible.

However, he wondered if a person who was an Empress would be so easily defeated.

‘I have no choice but to meet both the princess and the Empress.’

Namgung Hui, after familiarizing himself with the princess's portrait and even the Empress's face, organized the scrolls.

Now was the time to face them directly, not to look at them in writing.

Namgung Hui, planning in his head how he should meet them, left the inn.

***

Namgung Hui, heading back to the Imperial Palace, thought for a moment.

‘In the information that On Yuha passed on, only the Crown Prince's information was missing. It seems someone is intentionally hiding the Crown Prince's information.’

Although there was some information about the Crown Prince, it was that he was confined to his quarters like the emperor.

Perhaps he was being held hostage by the Hoicheon Association.

As On Yuha had said, he might be lying sick in bed.

In the first place, it was quite common for the crown prince of any country to suffer from an illness.

That was because it was mentally burdensome, and there were also cases where the body was damaged from being overworked with poisoning or work.

When Namgung Hui saw such a sight, the position of an emperor did not seem particularly good.

Hadn't the current emperor also seemed to have a hard time enjoying a long life?

Although the power and authority he would enjoy would be immense, there was no law that said that would lead to happiness.

Seeing him even ask to have his own wife killed, he wondered if that was a human-like life.

Namgung Hui looked up at the blazing sun and then took out a nameplate from his bosom.

The gate guard, who had been looking at Namgung Hui suspiciously, widened his eyes when he saw the unusual nameplate.

Even though the intense sunlight was flying into his eyes.

"Hup! Inspector General! Are you the newly appointed inspector general?"

"Yes. I received His Majesty's call as of today. If you've finished checking, I'd like you to open the gate."

"Yes, sir! Please enter."

An inspector general, as the name suggests.

It was a term referring to the inspection team dispatched throughout the Central Plains.

As a direct subordinate of the emperor and belonging to the Censorate, his authority was truly immense.

Well, they sometimes clashed with the Eastern Depot or the Western Depot, but this power structure changed depending on which side the emperor took.

It would be easy to see it as a power struggle between the eunuchs and the rest.

‘Since the current emperor is not on good terms with the Eastern Depot, he will probably try to support the Censorate. Since I've received an inspector's plaque, I'd prefer it if the Censorate defeated the Eastern Depot.’

Wasn't the power that the General wielded the power of the Eastern Depot?

The fact that he had been given an inspector's plaque was probably something that had happened under all calculations.

Because as soon as he heard the word 'inspector,' various gazes, including those of the eunuchs, were fixed on Namgung Hui.

‘I have to meet the Empress before I get checked. At the very least, I have to meet her daughter, Princess Ju Seoyeon.’

Fortunately, Namgung Hui had memorized the map of the Imperial Palace.

He accurately remembered where the Censorate was, where the Eastern Depot was, and even the residence where the princesses stayed.

However, only the Crown Prince and the emperor were not marked on the map.

Perhaps because the power of the imperial family was concentrated, it was kept strictly secret.

As Namgung Hui headed to the princess's palace in an instant, the gazes that had been watching him fell away one by one.

Namgung Hui, thinking that he needed to completely shake off the gazes on this occasion, twisted his path here and there and then disappeared with the Hidden Dragon Steps.

‘What persistent fellows.’

Still, since they didn't seem to have the skill to grasp even the Hidden Dragon Steps, the gazes of surveillance were no longer felt.

Namgung Hui looked at the palace in front of him and nodded his head.

[Yongsu Palace.]

It seemed he had come to the right place.

This was the palace where Princess Ju Seoyeon was said to be staying.

Here, too, the castle walls were built quite high, and there was a sentry at the gate leading to the inner castle.

Unlike last night, Namgung Hui approached with a confident stride and held out his nameplate.

"Inspector General? Did you come to the wrong place? Why would an inspector general inspect a princess who has committed no crime? Seeing your face, you seem to be a newly appointed inspector general. Ask your superior..."

"Since when could one exercise a veto against an inspector general? It seems you're the one who should be asking your superior. About what happens when you defy an inspector."

As Namgung Hui subtly raised his aura, the gate guard instinctively felt his legs go weak.

Would it be like this if a mere beast met a predator?

Cold sweat flowed down the guard's face, and his grip on the spear he was holding tightened.

But as if nothing had happened, the gate guard soon regained his composure and continued.

"Ahem! Where do you think this is, trying to intimidate me? This is Yongsu Palace. Yongsu Palace. If you want to see our beautiful princess, choose another time."

Princess Ju Seoyeon, whose beauty was quite famous.

It seemed there were quite a lot of people who took unreasonable measures to see her.

Among them, there would be people aiming for the position of a prince consort.

As the guard had said, there would also be those who simply wanted to see her beautiful face.

But since Namgung Hui was not the former case, he shook his head at the guard's words.

"It's not out of a simple personal feeling that I want to see the princess. I really have business with Her Highness the Princess. An important matter. If you're going to block the way like that, I'll have no choice but to exercise my authority as an inspector."

"...What a scary gentleman. But I'll ask you one last time. Did the princess do something wrong?"

"Won't we know when we meet? An inspector wouldn't tell you something like this."

"Goodness. A new inspector is quite bold. Please go in. And please take good care of the princess."

Originally, a gate guard could not be so bold with an inspector.

Not only were the ranks of their direct superiors different, but the inspector was a direct agency of the emperor.

That meant that the guard's defiant action against Namgung Hui was equivalent to challenging the emperor's authority.

It wasn't as if the gate guard didn't know that.

‘What a fellow who truly serves the princess. To think he's trying to protect her, even risking his own life.’

Although it was fragmentary information, it seemed Princess Ju Seoyeon had a good impression on her subordinates.

Although one wouldn't know her character unless one met her in person, the first impression was not bad.

And so, as he walked through the rather spacious palace interior, a court lady immediately ran up to Namgung Hui and asked.

"Um... Sir. What brings you here?"

"I'm an inspector general from the Censorate. I've come to see Her Highness the Princess on business."

"The Censorate...! Don't tell me His Majesty the Emperor has ordered you to arrest the princess?"

"That's not it, so don't worry. However, since I've come to ask Her Highness the Princess something in secret, please don't tell anyone else."

"Yes! Then please follow me."

The court lady, perhaps because she was still young, guided Namgung Hui without much suspicion.

Since he had passed through the rather strict gate guard, it wouldn't be strange for the court lady to trust Namgung Hui without a thought.

And so, following the court lady, he now entered the interior of Yongsu Palace, where the sunlight did not reach.

Perhaps because it was a place where a princess stayed, there were only groups of women.

The bodyguards were women, and the servants were also women.

Even the work of carrying heavy things was being done by women.

However, the scent of martial arts was felt from the women doing such work.

‘There are more people who have learned martial arts here than in other places.’

If one saw it, one might mistake it for a military unit.

Originally, the imperial family did not look favorably on court ladies or servants learning martial arts.

It was a matter of course.

Because they might plot a rebellion with their martial arts.

The young court lady stopped her steps in a small garden, smiled bashfully, and said.

"Sir. Please wait a moment. Her Highness the Princess is currently in the middle of training."

Namgung Hui, wondering what kind of training she was doing in a garden, not a training ground, looked carefully inside, and a woman who looked like a princess was throwing a sword towards the empty air.

At first, he wondered what she was doing and tilted his head.

‘The sword is not falling. If so...!’

In the middle of a garden, a princess was performing the Sword-Riding Art.

(End of Chapter)