A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 12

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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 12
“Is the Patriarch still away?”
He was a man who had clashed with Nam Goong Ho repeatedly over the matter of succession, and though he now held a position in a branch family, he had apparently rushed here upon hearing rumors of me.
“….”
Nam Goong Ho swept his gaze around the Patriarch’s Residence without answering, his fingers still wrapped around the teacup.
The implication was clear—since the Patriarch wasn’t here, the Grand Patriarch was receiving them in his stead.
It was also his way of saying that since he was in no mood for pleasantries, they should dispense with the small talk and get to the point.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Unnerved by his demeanor, one of the elders attempted to feign indifference but accidentally bit his own tongue.
“Ptui, ptui. Cough.”
Nam Goong Mu Young, who stood at the forefront, shot him a reproachful glance. The elder who had bitten his tongue flinched and lowered his head.
“We hear that the Grand Patriarch has brought a young girl into the household.”
“I merely took in a child with nowhere else to go. I was unaware the elders would concern themselves with such a matter.”
“Of course we must concern ourselves! She resides in Chang Cheon Pavilion, after all!”
At Nam Goong Mu Young’s words, Nam Goong Ho’s lips twisted into a smile.
The stubborn elders’ true intentions were transparent.
They feared the Grand Patriarch might grow senile and suddenly adopt a child of unknown origins.
After all, such an act could destabilize the power structure of the next generation.
And indeed, it came to pass.
Nam Goong Mu Young asked with a grave expression.
“I shall ask the Grand Patriarch directly. What are your intentions regarding this child?”
A scornful smile flickered at the corners of Nam Goong Ho’s mouth.
“I have no intention of adopting her immediately, so the elders need not worry.”
At those words, the elders’ expressions visibly relaxed.
“Ah, well then!”
“Of course our Grand Patriarch would never adopt a child of unknown origin as a direct heir, practically a successor!”
Watching their reaction, Nam Goong Ho smiled with malicious amusement.
“Instead, I intend to take her on as my disciple.”
The atmosphere froze instantly.
If she were to be made an Oe Dang warrior through periodic trials, that would be one thing.
But a disciple?
In all of Nam Goong Family’s long history, there had never been a single instance of a Patriarch or Grand Patriarch taking a child without the family’s blood as a disciple.
And who was Nam Goong Ho?
Among all the long annals of Nam Goong Family, he was counted as the most formidable master.
His martial prowess was such that he could stand against the current leader of the Martial Arts Alliance without the slightest deficiency.
Yet despite such skill, Nam Goong Ho had never taken a single disciple in his entire life.
Since he had never explicitly stated his reasons, people could only surmise that no child with talent sufficient to capture his interest had ever appeared.
But now he was saying he would personally teach martial arts to a child of unknown origin?
There were at least three or four men here who had once pressed him to teach their own children, only to be refused.
Nam Goong Mu Young, one of them, trembled visibly.
“That is absolutely unacceptable! For the Grand Patriarch to take on a disciple without proper lineage, an outsider no less!”
“Without proper lineage?”
The tendons on Nam Goong Ho’s forehead tensed visibly.
“Where does the Nam Goong family end and outsiders begin? Tell me. Who here is a true member of Nam Goong?”
The elders fell silent, their mouths clamped shut.
Strictly speaking, even those who bore the Nam Goong surname were all outsiders to this place.
Only Nam Goong Ho, the Grand Patriarch, Nam Goong On, the Patriarch, and his three grandsons could truly be called members of Nam Goong.
“Forgive me for interrupting, but…”
It was Nam Goong Soo O, the steward standing in the doorway, who broke the frozen silence. A letter was held in his hand.
“If I may be so bold, this is a letter from the Patriarch.”
“From On?”
Nam Goong Ho’s eyebrows twitched.
Hong Seol was the raw gem destined to perfect the Yin-Yang Divine Art. To oppose taking such a child as a disciple simply because she wasn’t born Nam Goong was absurd.
Had I not restrained myself, I would have torn the pillars of the Patriarch’s Residence from their roots. I had no desire to read such trivial letters.
I was already disheartened that Hong Seol insisted on eating the stir-fried water bamboo shoots by herself.
Facing these scheming fools only kindled my fury.
Sensing the shift in his demeanor, Nam Goong Soo O quickly sent a telepathic message.
– The Patriarch instructed that you must read this in the presence of the elders.
“Very well, let me read it then.”
Nam Goong On was a son whose strategic mind was said to rival even the Jeol Gal family. If he had specifically instructed for the letter to be read here, there must be good reason.
Nam Goong Ho reluctantly unfolded the letter.
[Father, I humbly present my words to you.
Taking on a disciple is the prerogative of the Grand Patriarch.
However, we cannot entirely disregard the influence of the elders who sustain the Nam Goong Family Estate.]
Nam Goong Ho exhaled sharply.
His son, though absent from the Nam Goong Family Estate, seemed to understand the situation here as clearly as if he held it in the palm of his hand.
After reading the rest of the contents, Nam Goong Ho lifted his head.
His face had settled into composure, as if his earlier fury had never existed.
‘So this is what On intended with this letter.’
Knowing I would not easily yield to reason, he had proposed a solution that would satisfy both sides.
Specifically, to have Hong Seol participate in a martial contest.
‘He must be assuming she will lose.’
If the matter were settled through a fair contest, it would both calm my temperament and appease the elders.
‘But On, this time you have miscalculated.’
The corner of Nam Goong Ho’s mouth twisted upward.
‘Hong Seol cannot possibly lose.’
Hong Seol’s meridians had certainly not yet recovered enough to channel inner energy properly.
Yet Nam Goong Ho had something to rely upon.
‘The Yin-Yang Severed Meridian. That very affliction which has shackled my Hong Seol will grant her victory this time.’
So long as I made the proper preparations beforehand.
Nam Goong Ho, his face brimming with confidence, met the elders’ gazes and opened his mouth.
“If you object to the Grand Patriarch personally teaching martial arts to a child of humble origins, then I shall have the child demonstrate her qualifications through a martial contest.”
The elders murmured amongst themselves.
“The opponent would be… yes, what of Nam Goong Jong Woo?”
Nam Goong Jong Woo was the only grandson of Elder Nam Goong Mu Young. For a child of merely eight years, he had already earned a reputation for considerable accomplishment.
“If that child defeats Nam Goong Jong Woo in a martial contest…”
The hall erupted into chatter once more.
The atmosphere was one of general agreement with the proposal.
“The date of the contest shall be…”
“What of two months hence?”
At one elder’s suggestion, Nam Goong Ho nodded his head.
‘The longer I delay, the better, but that’s likely the limit they’ll accept.’
After all, I too disliked postponing the day I would begin teaching Hong Seol.
As his grandson was decided upon as the contest opponent, Nam Goong Mu Young’s eyes sharpened, and he suddenly cried out.
“The Grand Patriarch must not personally teach the child until the day of the contest!”
He was clearly wary lest Nam Goong Ho transmit some technique to Hong Seol in the interim.
“Very well. I shall entrust the child’s instruction to another. However, there must be no objections raised regarding the contest’s outcome.”
“There shall be none.”
The elders bowed their heads and withdrew one by one. As I watched their departing figures, a smile—one that seemed to conceal some scheme—played at the corners of my lips.
To those who still dared oppose me, it was a smile as sinister as it was unmistakable.
* * *
“Hong Seol, I have been thinking it time you began learning martial arts. What are your thoughts on this?”
“Learn martial arts, Grandfather?”
I learned of this the morning before.
It was just after I had eaten the stir-fried ginseng and completed my breathing exercises.
“Since you have nourished your meridians with the immortal ginseng all this time, your body should now be quite healthy.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
Grandfather knew the state of my body perfectly well—so why was he saying such things?
I was certain I had told him before that I could not use inner energy.
“I do wish to learn martial arts. But…”
Before my eyes could well with tears, Nam Goong Ho quickly spoke up.
“There is a way. You can train in external martial arts.”
External martial arts?
At this unexpected suggestion, my head tilted in bewilderment.
Training in external martial arts meant conditioning the body and technique, did it not?
The burly figures of the Myo Family Estate’s warriors came to mind. External martial arts were what the lower-ranked warriors of Oe Dang learned first.
‘But I’ve heard that to properly master martial arts, inner energy is absolutely necessary…’
Seeing my reluctant expression, Nam Goong Ho added further words.
“Do not underestimate external martial arts. When external martial arts reach their pinnacle, the body becomes as hard and unyielding as Shaolin’s Diamond Indestructibility.”
Looking at my own slender wrists, I tilted my head once more in doubt.
‘Can I really become like Diamond Body Indestructibility?’
Though I couldn’t quite believe it, Grandfather wouldn’t speak so decisively without good reason.
This was the martial art I’d yearned to master. And Nam Goong Ho himself was offering to teach me—there was no reason to refuse.
Besides, learning martial arts might make it far easier for me to stand on my own two feet later.
‘I’m in no position to be picky right now.’
“I’ll give it my best!”
“I knew you’d say that.”
Nam Goong Ho broke into a broad smile at the sight of my resolute determination.
‘As I thought, Seol does have the desire to learn martial arts.’
He recalled the conversation he’d had with the elders at the Patriarch’s Residence not long ago.

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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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