Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Guards! Restrain this fellow!"

Chak, chak, chak!

As soon as the Empress's shout faded, the hidden personnel all revealed themselves at once.

They surrounded Namgung Hui and formed a sword formation.

The sword formation of the military certainly boasted a stronger bond than other battle formations.

On top of that, the Empress was a body that had also learned martial arts at the Emei Sect.

And the court lady who was protecting her like a rock had also learned a considerable amount of martial arts.

But each and every one of those forces was meaningless to Namgung Hui.

"Your Majesty. Are you really going to cross swords with me? You will regret it."

For Namgung Hui, it was rather convenient for things to proceed this way.

The assassination of the Empress that the emperor had requested.

Since even that request would proceed naturally, if he were to silence everyone, including the Empress, by killing them, there would be nothing to be revealed about this matter.

"Your age is still young. No matter how much of a master you are, you would be at most at the Transformation Realm. Of course, it is amazing to have reached the Transformation Realm at that age, but the time and situation are not good."

Namgung Hui recalled a bitter smile.

He had really tried to find a solution for three days.

Could it be that the emperor had even grasped the Empress's personality?

For some reason, it felt as if things were flowing according to the emperor's intentions.

-Sreureung.

Namgung Hui drew the Thunder God Sword.

The appearance of the pitch-black and cold sword blade.

Perhaps because of the Sword Spirit, the blade of the Thunder God Sword was shining unusually.

-Chaeng, chaeng!

The bodyguards who rushed in as soon as Namgung Hui drew his sword.

Unlike the guards of the Imperial Palace, their practical combat sense was excellent.

From the sense of distance, they each took their assigned positions, and even their breathing matched perfectly.

-Charararang!

In an instant, the trajectory of the sword was drawn dozens of times.

As the Empress had said, belittling a master of the Transformation Realm, they were indeed a force that could subdue a master of the Transformation Realm.

But Namgung Hui was not at the Transformation Realm.

-Ttaenggeurang!

First, one eunuch dropped his sword and rolled on the floor.

Fortunately, since Namgung Hui had shown mercy in his hand, his life was not in danger.

-Chae, chae, chaeng!

Nevertheless, the warriors who did not break their fighting spirit and rushed in succession.

Namgung Hui felt the need to awaken them to the gap in earnest.

-Huuung!!

An intense Ki wave burst out from Namgung Hui, and the Thunder God Sword floated in the air.

Sword-Riding Art.

And it was the realm of the Eye-Riding Sword.

Where Namgung Hui's eyes reached, the Thunder God Sword flew like a thunderbolt.

All those who existed in between.

"Keuk!!"

"Keoheok!!"

They could not overcome the intense energy of the Thunder God Sword and were all thrown back or rolled on the floor.

There were no fatalities, but they were all in a state of being unable to fight.

Since it had happened in a single move, even the Empress could not hide her surprise.

"...! Is this really a martial art performed by a human?"

"Your Majesty. It is a skill called the Sword-Riding Art. To be precise, it is called the Eye-Riding Sword. Are there no other hidden warriors? Next time, I will show you a different skill."

"...Enough. Since I also know that I cannot capture you, you may leave."

Although Namgung Hui could have assassinated the Empress here.

Since there was something that didn't quite add up, he finished the job by retrieving the Thunder God Sword.

As she had said, he judged that it was a problem to think about a little more during the three days.

‘And it feels like the Empress also hasn't shown her full power.’

For now, an unidentified presence that was vaguely felt.

Perhaps because it was claiming to be the Empress's last resort, it did not reveal itself until they had all fallen.

Of course, it could have been hiding to aim for a decisive moment like an assassin.

But, from what Namgung Hui saw, the one hiding now was not an assassin.

A well-polished sword.

It was like looking at a clear sword that would have a clear blade.

Namgung Hui, who had finished sheathing his sword, bowed to the Empress and quietly left the bedchamber.

As Namgung Hui disappeared, the atmosphere in the Empress's bedchamber changed as if the air had been replaced in an instant.

"Junior Sister."

At the Empress's call, the one who had not revealed herself until now answered.

"Yes. Your Majesty."

"How was it?"

"From what I saw, he was definitely not at the Transformation Realm. The Eye-Riding Sword he showed was a skill that could only be performed after reaching the Profound Realm."

"As expected, our intelligence was correct. To think he is at the Profound Realm at that age. Is this even possible? Perhaps a soul is dwelling in him as well."

"Still, the clear light flowing from his two eyes was clearer than anyone in the Central Plains. Isn't it rare to find someone with such eyes even in our sect?"

"Yes. Besides Master, there was hardly anyone at the Emei Sect. If that person really came to aim for my life, could you stop him?"

"...If I were to exchange my life for it, I think it would be thirty percent."

"It's lower than I thought. Then what if you use this as well?"

"If I use that, I can take up to fifty percent."

"Still fifty percent... It's going to be a tougher fight than I thought. Then I have no choice but to think of more ways to live."

***

Namgung Hui, who had left the Imperial Palace, once again visited the Beijing branch of the Hao Faction and was eager to gather information.

Since the competent On Yuha and the First Senior Brother were also away, Namgung Hui personally gave instructions to the members of the Hao Faction.

"You, collect all the bizarre incidents that have occurred in Beijing recently. It's fine if they are ghost stories or monster stories, so don't forget any of them."

"Yes! Leave it to me."

"And you, investigate the list of missing people in Beijing and all of their identities."

"Since we have already grasped that, we will organize it right away and bring it."

"Alright."

As things proceeded smoothly, Namgung Hui's somewhat sunken mood recovered quite a bit.

But, since the fundamental problem had not been solved, an uneasy feeling was still stuck in a corner of his chest.

‘Is another soul really dwelling in the emperor's body? Or did the emperor fall into Qi deviation while recklessly learning martial arts? Or is it the emperor's chronic mental illness?’

It was not a case that was completely absent, so much so that all possibilities had to be left open.

In the first place, the latter cases occurred much more often to the emperor than the phenomenon of possession.

There were really many emperors whose madness acted up.

And if one was a person who learned martial arts, Qi deviation was a phenomenon that was sometimes experienced.

Hadn't even his grandfather and his own father in Namgung Hui's family fallen into such a Qi deviation before?

Since the emperor seemed to be very interested in martial arts, this possibility could not be ruled out.

‘Still, the Empress wouldn't have made up something that didn't exist. And the experiment that the Sword Spirit underwent. That's also a rather annoying matter.’

But the place that had carried out that experiment was the Hoicheon Association.

Since the Sword Spirit had also said so, it was nine out of ten that it was the Hoicheon Association.

In the first place, wasn't the reason for carrying out such an experiment to extract the soul from the emperor's body?

But what was strange was why they had carried out the experiment with the soul of an imugi, not a human soul.

That's why Namgung Hui had ordered the Hao Faction to investigate if there were any missing people.

If a considerable number of people had gone missing, it was possible that they had carried out human experiments.

‘And the three days is also a time when my brother can arrive. Although it will be a little tight, if Dam Gihae comes with him, it won't be impossible.’

Until then, it was a matter of gathering information and drawing a conclusion based on it.

Whether that would be the assassination of the Empress.

Or whether he would meet the emperor and have a showdown.

Or whether he would turn the Imperial Palace upside down, even Namgung Hui could not guarantee.

He could only hope that the situation would not worsen.

He hoped that the worst-case scenario, where he would have to make enemies of both the emperor and the Hoicheon Association, would not occur.

A short while later. The members of the Hao Faction stacked up scrolls one by one.

Perhaps because it was personal information of the missing people, including ghost stories, the amount was truly vast.

Since it wasn't that On Yuha had organized it, Namgung Hui had to take charge of everything.

‘I'm done for sleeping today. Well, it doesn't matter if I pull an all-nighter for a day.’

Rather, if he tried to sleep with such curiosity, it felt like he would be more tired.

Namgung Hui, in order to resolve the curiosity that was now in his chest and head, quickly began to gather information.

‘There are fewer missing people than I thought. Is Beijing really a place with good public security?’

In any country, the capital was the safest and best place to live.

Although the prices were that expensive, public facilities, including advanced culture, also developed.

For example, even the main roads where carriages traveled were better paved the closer they were to the capital.

The appearance of bandits also became rarer the closer one got to the capital.

Because if they did business near the capital, the Imperial Palace would come out to suppress them.

And so, one hour, two hours, three hours.

Namgung Hui, who had looked through the list of missing people all through the dawn, slowly nodded his head and reached a conclusion.

‘It seems they didn't experiment with the people in Beijing. The missing people were all just drunkards.’

Or they had gone missing after falling into the water while swimming.

Most of them were hunters or herb gatherers who had not come down from the mountains.

Most of them seemed to be simple accidents.

Only two cases were a little strange.

Even that was a matter that was presumed to have a grudge.

Namgung Hui, who had reached a conclusion, moved on to the next piece of information.

This time, it was about the ghost stories circulating in Beijing.

Starting with the testimony of having seen a ghost, there was also a claim of living with a monster.

Although one could dismiss it as nonsense, Namgung Hui, recalling Mungchi and Nahi, dismissed it as a perfectly possible thing.

Moreover, wasn't he himself with the Sword Spirit, who was no different from a monster?

Besides that, after looking through the interesting ghost stories, the number of sightings of ghosts was on the smaller side.

Originally, the information that the Hao Faction received was mostly words spoken while drunk, so there were many times when they saw hallucinations like ghosts.

Nevertheless, not only were there few people who said they had seen a ghost, but rather, the testimony that the ghost had been frightened by something and had run away was the mainstream.

‘A ghost ran away? Don't tell me?’

The reason why ghosts did not exist.

And the fact that they were trying to get away from the Imperial Palace as if they were scared.

It would be reasonable to see this as a result that occurred because of a certain being in the Imperial Palace.

‘Don't tell me it wasn't because of the sealed Sword Spirit. Is it because of the ghost in the emperor's body?’

If not, it could have been the effect of the formation installed in the Imperial Palace.

One way or another, it seemed this part would be resolved only when Jang Hwang came.

After that, Namgung Hui decided to gather useful information and see it together when Jang Hwang came.

Now, the sun was raising its head, announcing that the day had broken.

Although Namgung Hui had not slept a wink, his mind was rather clear.

Was it because he had resolved some of his doubts?

Or was it because of the thought that he didn't have to assassinate the Empress?

Or it might be because of Jang Hwang, who would be visiting soon.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Young Master. A guest has come outside. What should I do?"

"A guest so early in the morning? Who is it?"

"It seems they are from the Imperial Palace."

"No. You should have said that first. For now, tell them to come in. You, bring a tea table."

Namgung Hui now used the members of the Hao Faction as if they were his own subordinates.

Well, since he was the only secular disciple, it was right that his rank was higher than theirs, so even those who were used did not seem to have much complaint.

Rather, the more Namgung Hui sent them on errands.

‘Ooh! Is the path to success opening up for us too?’

‘Now I can go somewhere and boast that I have a connection with the Great Hero Hidden Dragon!’

Weren't they honored?

And for good reason. Because the lowest-ranking members of the Hao Faction could be said to be the lowest of the lower class.

And wasn't Namgung Hui a descendant of a prestigious family and a rising star who was making a name for himself in the martial world?

Since he was a talent who would one day take a seat among the Ten Great Masters, if they built a connection with Namgung Hui, it could become a great turning point for them.

Soon, the noisy members brought the guest from the Imperial Palace.

The identity of the guest was none other than.

"We meet again. Inspector?"

The First Princess, Ju Seoyeon.

(End of Chapter)