Rebirth of the Thunder God

"We meet again. Inspector?"

Namgung Hui, looking at Ju Seoyeon who was greeting him, immediately came to his senses and responded.

"Your Highness the Princess. What brings you to such a humble place?"

"Are you just going to keep me standing like this?"

"If you don't mind a humble place, please come inside."

"Alright."

Ju Seoyeon entered the Hao Faction's inn with her young court lady.

For now, since they were not accepting guests, it was not a big problem to let them in.

"Is it alright for you to come out like this without an escort?"

"If something happens to me, you'll take responsibility."

"...Is that how it is? But, what is the reason you've come to see me? Why didn't you just summon me?"

It wasn't that far.

If she even knew where Namgung Hui was, she could have just sent someone to call him.

As Namgung Hui had said, what would happen if she were to be attacked by a ruffian?

Since Ju Seoyeon was not a member of the Hoicheon Association, she was a worthy target.

"There are many eyes watching in the Imperial Palace. It's better to meet in a secluded place like this where no one is around."

There was some truth in her words.

Hadn't even the First Empress been monitoring Namgung Hui's every move?

And the emperor, who could be called the master of the Imperial Palace, would have mastered everything.

If so, the fact that Ju Seoyeon had come in person like this meant.

"Is it by any chance a story related to His Majesty the Emperor?"

"You have good intuition. That's right. It's a story about my father."

As the Hao Faction disciple brought a tea table, the young court lady checked for poison by pricking it with a silver needle.

And after she herself took a sip of the tea first, she slowly nodded her head and said.

"There's no poison. But the taste is as bad as if it were poisoned."

"I suppose it's different from what you drink in the Imperial Palace. Still, shouldn't you eat what you're given? Ugh! It's really tasteless."

The Hao Faction disciple who had brought the tea scratched his head.

It seemed the tea leaves they had were not of very good quality.

If On Yuha had been there, she would have served the Tieguanyin that she usually drank.

"If you don't want to drink any more tasteless tea, it would be best to just state your business simply."

"Alright. Before that, what did you talk about with Her Majesty the Empress?"

"Didn't you come knowing everything?"

"I don't know everything. I just guessed that you would have talked about my father."

Namgung Hui, after contemplating for a moment, honestly confessed the conversation he had had with the First Empress.

Because he thought he might be able to hear a different story from the First Princess.

"I see... Her Majesty the Empress has told you almost everything. But as expected, there's a story she left out. I came to tell you that."

"A story she left out. What is that?"

"As Her Majesty the Empress said, my father is not the person I knew. It's not that he's just gone mad or fallen into a mental demon, but his very core has changed. How I found that out... is because my father aimed for my younger brother, the Crown Prince's body."

"Aimed for his body? He's not a pederast, so are you saying he really tried to take over his body?"

"Yes. Since my father's body is now old, he tried to take over the body of the Crown Prince, who is a young body. Then the throne would naturally be passed on."

At this point, he became curious about the identity of the soul that had taken over the emperor's body.

‘Certainly, from what I felt when I faced him, it wasn't madness or Qi deviation. But, if he had changed, the loyal subjects would have noticed. Because the close aides live as close to the emperor as his own flesh and blood. Rather, there are many times when they are closer than blood relatives.’

"But what happened to His Highness the Crown Prince? Is there something wrong with his health that he is confined to his quarters?"

"He fell ill after drinking a decoction that my father gave him. I think that decoction was a series of processes to take over his body. The greed in my father's eyes at that time was really... terrible. He had never had such eyes even when looking at a beautiful woman."

"Hmm... I see. I'll have to check this out myself."

Although he couldn't believe the princess's words as they were.

Namgung Hui also had a suspicious corner.

The emperor, whose presence was particularly faint.

It was similar to the skill that Jang Hwang had used before to erase his presence.

‘He said it was staying in a dimension of illusion using the soul. If the emperor also felt like that, he is a person who knows how to handle souls.’

"Your Highness the Princess. And by any chance, do you know anything about the experiments that were carried out in the Imperial Palace?"

"Experiments? What specifically are you talking about?"

"It's an experiment to transfer the soul of an imugi. Have you heard or seen anything similar to that?"

"Not at all. This is the first time I'm hearing of it. No. Does an imugi really exist?"

Although Namgung Hui stared at Ju Seoyeon's eyes, it seemed she was really hearing this for the first time.

And since the Sword Spirit had also said that the experiment had happened decades ago, the princess, who was only a young lady, would not know.

"Since you don't know, never mind. And Your Highness, it is dangerous for you to go around alone like this."

"It's really alright. My father is rather protecting me."

"Protecting you?"

"Just as the Crown Prince fell ill, it seems it's not as easy to take over a body as one thinks. So as a last resort, he has left my body as a stronghold."

"Is it alright even if the gender is different?"

"I don't know about that either. However, seeing as he avoids it, it seems it's difficult. I think, he was hoping I would become more of a master. It wasn't for nothing that he gave me all sorts of spirit medicines."

As if harvesting crops, he was raising the crop to be delicious.

It seemed he was conducting a different experiment on the princess here based on the experience of failing with the Crown Prince.

‘If this is true, he is a truly greedy person.’

The thought that the inside might not be human suddenly came to him.

Could it be a fallen imugi?

There were also stories that a fallen imugi would sometimes possess a human and commit all sorts of evil deeds.

But if that were the case, the Sword Spirit would not have failed to recognize his own kind.

"Then Your Highness the Princess. Wouldn't it be better to stop your martial arts training right now? What will you do if you reach the realm that the emperor wants and your body is taken over?"

"I also have a plan, so I'm training. Do you know where my sect is?"

"Isn't it the Qingcheng Sect?"

"Yes. The Qingcheng Sect is a sect that is proficient in this kind of mental defense. I don't know if you know."

The Qingcheng Sect's recognition was somewhat lacking compared to the Emei Sect and the Sichuan Tang family in Sichuan.

Although it was by no means lacking compared to other Daoist sects, the reason it did not gain such fame was that the martial arts characteristics of the Qingcheng Sect were not outstanding.

‘There are many stances that are defense-oriented. The Daoists of the Qingcheng Sect had a strong peace-oriented feeling.’

As Ju Seoyeon had said, if it were the martial arts of the Qingcheng Sect, they would also be proficient in the defense of the mental system.

This was because the powerful sects of the Emei Sect and the Sichuan Tang family were nearby.

Although they seemed to be on good terms, in fact, there was a time when they were always fighting for power like a dog and a cat.

The fact that they had firmly endured this meant that they were not greatly pushed back by the Emei Sect and the Sichuan Tang family.

And there was no way a princess of a country would have chosen a lacking sect.

‘She would have judged that the Qingcheng Sect was better than the Wudang Sect and the Mount Hua Sect. And she might have received a recommendation from her mother, the First Empress.’

The First Empress's home sect was the Emei Sect.

Although it would have been fine to arrange for the Emei Sect, for some reason, she had introduced the Qingcheng Sect to her daughter.

Although the Buddhist sect was also not inferior in terms of dispelling evil and upholding justice, it seemed the Qingcheng Sect was better for dealing with the emperor.

‘The time when Ju Seoyeon began to learn martial arts in earnest was 10 years ago. The emperor's behavior also changed around that time.’

"If so, that's a relief. Since the emperor is protecting you until the fruit is ripe, you must be very reassured."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"Rather than being sarcastic, it's because I feel sorry for Your Highness the Princess's situation. Anyway. Thanks to you, I've found a direction. There's only one thing I have to do now."

Ju Seoyeon tilted her head and asked.

"What is it?"

"It's the work of meeting the emperor and confirming if all of this is true."

"Hmm... I wonder if you can come back alive. Although you received the inspector general's plaque because you made a good impression on my father, I think he gave it to you because he was confident in cleaning up the mess. He's not a person who would rashly give out something he can't retrieve."

The saying 'kill the dog after the hunt' was a part that Namgung Hui was also well aware of.

But Namgung Hui would soon have an assistant, and.

More than anything, Namgung Hui had it.

The confidence that no matter how great the emperor was, he would not be able to catch him.

"That's a matter for me to handle, so please don't worry."

"I wasn't worried. It's just that I was afraid that the person who would keep my father in check would die too easily. Shall we call it a loss of power?"

"Is that so? Well, that won't happen, so you can rest assured."

"You're too arrogant. Don't blame me if you get a big nose."

Namgung Hui thought it was time to show her his martial power.

Wasn't Ju Seoyeon also training in the Sword-Riding Art?

In the current martial world, except for the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader, he was confident that there was no one who could perform the Sword-Riding Art better than Namgung Hui.

As Namgung Hui stealthily stood up from his seat, Ju Seoyeon said with a disappointed expression.

"Are you leaving already? I thought we were having a good conversation for the first time in a while. What a pity."

Although he didn't know if this was a good conversation, Namgung Hui had no intention of leaving.

It was just that he had something to show her.

"Your Highness the Princess. May I show you a feat?"

"A feat? Well, let's see it."

"Please follow me to the backyard for a moment."

"Don't tell me you're going to do a sword dance or something?"

"Well, it's similar."

Although Namgung Hui was not dancing himself, the feat that Namgung Hui was about to perform was a demonstration close to a sword dance.

And so, Namgung Hui took Ju Seoyeon to the backyard.

-Sreureung.

As he drew his sword without even touching it, Ju Seoyeon's eyes finally lit up.

"You just drew your sword without touching it? What kind of trick is that?"

Namgung Hui, instead of answering, smiled faintly and floated the Thunder God Sword in the air.

A smooth movement on a different level from what Ju Seoyeon had been practicing in the garden.

Moreover, the energy contained in the sword could not be compared.

"Th-This is the Sword-Riding Art!?"

"The fact that I can perform the Sword-Riding Art means that my realm is by no means low. If it's to this extent, wouldn't it be alright even if I meet the emperor?"

"W-Wait. You were a master of returning to youth? No. This doesn't make sense... As far as I know, it was a person named Namgung Jayeon."

"...?"

This time, Namgung Hui tilted his head.

Why on earth would she know him as Namgung Jayeon?

When he was acting as Namgung Jayeon, hadn't he mainly performed fast swords?

He had worked hard not to forget the martial arts of the Diancang Sect.

But Namgung Hui had not particularly shown her such a fast sword.

"Why on earth am I Namgung Jayeon? I'm not a woman."

"Th-Then can I touch your chest for a moment?"

Although Namgung Hui hesitated for a moment, since there was nothing wrong with a man's chest, he nodded his head and readily agreed.

"If it's just the chest, by all means."

"Ahem! Then excuse me for a moment."

Ju Seoyeon tapped Namgung Hui's chest and then began to knead it meticulously.

Soon, her face turned red, and her mouth opened.

"Um... Young Master. Would you teach me the Sword-Riding Art?”

(End of Chapter)