A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 117
Dang Yi Mu’s eyes gleamed with delight.
“Two young men staying in the Guest Hall, no wait.”
His narrow eyes turned toward his friend Nam Goong Ho, who stood there with his mouth agape, alternating his bewildered gaze between Hong Seol and Dang Yi Mu.
“You alone are worth more than those three combined, including that old dog!”
Nam Goong Ho spoke with obvious displeasure.
“What in the world are you talking about? What does eating eel and peach together have to do with anything?”
Hong Seol explained with a bright smile.
“Individually, they’re harmless, but when consumed together, certain foods become toxic. Perhaps the poison that afflicted Dang Bo Young was….”
“Something that wouldn’t become toxic if ingested separately.”
Dang Yi Mu’s eyes sparkled as the clue fell into place.
“If that’s the case, I have a suspicion.”
“So do I, Snake Grandfather!”
“What is this? Are you two plotting to keep secrets from me again?”
Dang Yi Mu sighed softly where no one could see and offered an explanation.
“Our Dang Family has an obsession with poisons. Take the Sam Dok Ro for example—oleander, scorpions, spiders. I’d wager their quarters are teeming with such things.”
Nam Goong Ho, who shared his grandson’s absolute disdain for insects, wrinkled his nose.
Dang Yi Mu continued.
“Yet there is one person in the Dang Family who maintains a Flower Garden completely free of poisonous plants.”
He smiled wickedly as he recalled the bespectacled man.
“I must visit and see what’s actually growing there.”
At those words, Nam Goong Ho pouted.
“Why don’t you just announce your suspicions openly to the whole household?”
It was the only sensible thing he had said all day.
“You have a point there. What should we do…?”
“Um, Snake Grandfather!”
Hong Seol raised her hand eagerly.
“I can tell you what was in the Flower Garden if you have a book with illustrations of plants and flowers.”
“…You memorized all of it?”
“Yes, just in case….”
“Remarkable!”
How thoughtful and clever this child was.
Dang Yi Mu clicked his tongue in admiration.
The more he saw of this small kitten, the more she endeared herself to him.
‘It would be wonderful if she married into the Dang Sect….’
The thought had surfaced unbidden.
He sent a Servant to fetch a botanical encyclopedia from the Library Hall.
As Hong Seol flipped through the pages and pointed to flower illustrations with her finger, Dang Yi Mu carefully copied them onto blank paper with a fine brush.
Watching the two of them huddled together, Nam Goong Ho felt consumed with jealousy.
“Enough! I can’t bear to watch anymore.”
He ultimately headed to his Sleeping Quarters. It seemed he intended to cultivate his inner energy there.
When Nam Goong Ho returned after cultivating for quite some time.
Hong Seol and Dang Yi Mu had placed five sheets of paper on the table and were staring at them intently.
Each sheet bore a drawing of a flower.
Cockscomb, Dendrobium nobile, Mahonia, Fuchsia, and Silvervine.
Thud!
Dang Yi Mu struck the table.
“This is it! The raw materials of the poison that harmed Dang Bo Young.”
He continued speaking with confidence, stroking his chin.
“Each one is perfectly harmless on its own, but when brewed together, they become poison.”
“What?”
Nam Goong Ho was astounded.
“Hehe.”
The little cat before him had managed to uncover the true nature of the poison that the Poison King had used to harm Dang Bo Young.
“Well now….”
After a long moment of silence, he asked.
“So, what will you do now?”
“We’re going to see the Dang Family Master right away!”
Hong Seol’s dark eyes sparkled brilliantly. Dang Yi Mu continued.
“Of course, we may lack sufficient evidence to arrest the Poison Sect Master immediately….”
His hand gave Hong Seol’s shoulder a firm pat.
“But this child has a clever idea, or so I hear.”
* * *
Several days later.
Creak.
Suddenly, the door to Dang Bo Young’s Quarters swung open.
“A Ran! A Ran, where are you!”
Dang Song Baek’s unpleasantly hoarse voice echoed throughout the Quarters.
He showed no consideration for the child lying ill in bed, only indulging his own temperament.
Yet no matter how loudly he called, the mute Servant did not come running.
“This useless wench! I had her stand guard at the door, so where has she gone now?”
The moment Dang Song Baek entered Dang Bo Young’s Quarters and removed his spectacles, his expression twisted grotesquely.
Not a trace of his usual gentle demeanor remained on his face.
Instead, anxiety and unease had taken its place.
“Damn it…. Calling for Wan Li Yi Xian, of all people.”
He had just come from the Patriarch’s Residence.
Just moments ago, the Dang Family Master Dang Won Pyung had said.
That Nam Goong Ho, the Grand Patriarch of the Nam Goong Family, had summoned Wan Li Yi Xian to treat Dang Bo Young.
He mentioned that Wan Li Yi Xian was currently staying in Hefei, and that a messenger had already been sent long ago.
In about ten days, he would arrive in Chengdu, he had said.
Dang Song Baek’s anxious eyes flickered with uncertainty.
‘Even if Wan Li Yi Xian arrives, there’s no way he could discern what poison I used….’
Above all else, he possessed unwavering confidence in his mastery of poison-craft.
While it was common enough to combine poisons to create yet more virulent toxins.
‘But to craft poison from materials devoid of poison itself—even the Poison King himself never conceived of such a thing.’
And so he had been left defenseless, bearing false accusations.
Dang Song Baek, who had smiled bitterly recalling Dang Yi Mu’s brief imprisonment in Thunder Prison, furrowed his brow once more.
‘Yet Wan Li Yi Xian’s arrival is undoubtedly a problem.’
Even if he could not identify the poison itself, he might yet restore Dang Bo Young’s consciousness, however briefly.
Should that occur, exposure of my crimes would be merely a matter of time.
He recalled the image of Dang Bo Young the last time she had been awake.
* * *
It had been during the height of the Young Patriarch Selection Tournament.
“Now only three remain—Dang Cheon Gang, Dang Yi Woon, and myself!”
Dang Song Baek smiled warmly at his daughter Dang Bo Young as she returned, her martial robes caked with dust.
“Yes, the next Young Patriarch of the Dang Sect shall surely be our Bo Young.”
Then he pushed a ceramic bowl across the table.
“Here, a medicinal broth to fortify your body. Drink it.”
Yet upon seeing the bowl, Dang Bo Young’s eyes wavered with unmistakable unease.
“Why… why this…?”
“Why? Have you not been straining yourself with the Young Patriarch Selection lately? Your body needs nourishment through such broths.”
Despite his words, Dang Bo Young did not readily drink the broth.
She only called to him again, her voice trembling with fear.
“Father… Father…”
“How strange you are today. Whatever is the matter?”
Dang Bo Young could not answer, her gaze remaining fixed upon the broth for a long while.
‘Has she somehow sensed what lies within?’
Dang Song Baek studied his daughter’s face, tension coiling within him.
Seeing her bright, open countenance—so unlike his own—suppressed irritation surged forth.
That treacherous woman who had abandoned him kept returning to his thoughts.
‘Cursed woman!’
Ever since his defeat in the Patriarch Selection, his frustration had driven him to strike out with his fists more than once.
How dare she abandon me and flee Sichuan?
Dang Song Baek’s hand trembled upon the table.
‘I, whose mastery of poison surpasses all others, yet was robbed of the Patriarch’s seat for lack of backing! Coming from a poor, useless family to marry into the Dang Sect…’
And offering no support whatsoever!
Dang Song Baek nearly cried out, but barely restrained himself.
“Father… Father…”
Dang Bo Young had lifted her wavering eyes to gaze upon his face.
Within them lay a mixture of suspicion and fear, alongside a desperate desire to trust in her loving father.
Dang Bo Young hesitated for a long moment before asking.
“Father, this really is a medicinal broth good for the body, isn’t it?”
“What are you saying? Who’s been spreading such nonsense?”
Though he answered casually, Dang Song Baek’s heart was pounding twice as fast as usual.
‘Damn it, the boy is growing suspicious! Who on earth planted these doubts about me in his mind?’
Suddenly, the image of the Servant A Ran came to mind. She had always followed his departed wife more than him.
‘Could it be that woman A Ran sensed something and hinted at it to Bo Young?’
Warning him to be careful of the broth his father was offering.
“Look into my eyes and tell me. This really is a medicinal broth good for the body, isn’t it?”
Innocent Dang Bo Young opened his eyes wide and spoke to him.
“…Then I’ll drink this broth.”
Trusting his father.
Dang Song Baek smiled with utmost brightness.
“You say the strangest things, Bo Young. How could I ever give you a broth harmful to your body?”
“…That’s true, isn’t it?”
Reassured by those words, Dang Bo Young smiled faintly and drank from the broth bowl without hesitation.
“Ugh, it’s bitter.”
And in the next moment.
Crash!
The broth bowl shattered.
But thanks to Dang Song Baek’s quick suppression of the sound, it did not escape beyond the threshold of the Quarters.
Dang Bo Young’s knees buckled.
The boy collapsed to the floor and asked.
“Ah, Father… why…?”
“Why, you ask.”
Dang Song Baek chuckled darkly.
“To sow chaos within the Dang Sect, of course.”
More precisely, to drive a wedge between the Dang Family Master and the Grand Elder Dang Yi Mu.
“Don’t think me petty for doing this merely to seize the position of patriarch. This father of yours harbors far grander ambitions…”
Dang Song Baek’s hand, which had been checking Dang Bo Young’s pulse, suddenly stilled.
He had sensed someone’s presence beyond the door.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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