A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 124

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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 124
* * *
Seven days later.
The Training Cave of the Sichuan Tang Family opened its doors. It was a gesture of consideration from Dang Won Pyung, the Dang Family Master, for Hong Seol’s sake.
“Only when the opponent is in peak condition can our Tian Tong Gai truly undergo a fair trial, after all.”
Hearing those words, Nam Goong Baek thought he’d like to slap the Family Master across the face.
To begin with, he’d deliberately chosen a child who couldn’t use inner energy during martial combat—how shameless to speak such words without a hint of embarrassment.
He couldn’t fathom why the Dang Family had so many people who made him want to raise his fists.
While Nam Goong Baek tapped the ground rhythmically with the tips of his toes.
Nam Goong Ho was meeting Hong Seol’s eyes for a final farewell.
“I’m sorry, Seol Ah.”
At those words, Hong Seol blinked and tilted her head.
She couldn’t understand why Grandfather kept apologizing.
To her, he was her savior.
The light that had rescued her from certain death on Dae Chuk Mountain, the pillar upon which she could lean.
Receiving the Yin-Yang Dual Vein Opening Technique was entirely her own decision. Hong Seol harbored no regrets about her resolve.
“I’m sorry for burdening only you with such a heavy weight.”
Yet Nam Goong Ho’s voice still trembled with melancholy.
“At the very least, this old man should have gone with you and personally mended your body.”
That way, he could have shouldered as much of the unforeseen danger as possible himself.
He could have been the first to witness Hong Seol wielding her inner energy after her body was restored.
“A heavy weight? Don’t worry. I promise I’ll return as a disciple truly worthy of you, Grandfather!”
“Seol Ah….”
On Nam Goong Ho’s face, both pride and heartache were evident at once.
Dang Yi Woon, watching from the side, added his own words.
“Seol Ah, thank you. And I’m sorry. You got caught up in my selection trial for Successor without meaning to.”
“Please don’t say such things, Brother Yi Woon!”
Hong Seol patted Dang Yi Woon’s arm and smiled brightly.
After that, Hong Seol was busy exchanging greetings and receiving encouragement from everyone.
She even whispered with Yang Do Jin several times, laughing melodiously.
‘I told her not to smile like that!’
Nam Goong Baek, watching from a distance, pressed his heated forehead with the cool back of his hand.
‘The old days were better.’
When he spoke to no one and locked himself away in his Quarters, at least his heart had known peace.
Now, with emotions shifting moment by moment, he often surprised himself.
All of these changes were caused by that small kitten, Hong Seol.
“Brother!”
Hong Seol, beaming with a radiant smile, finally scampered over to Nam Goong Baek.
At the sight of her, Nam Goong Baek managed a smile.
Once she entered the Training Cave, there was no telling what would become of Hong Seol.
I wanted to send her off with a smile.
‘With the elders accompanying her, there shouldn’t be any real problems….’
But what if, against all odds, I never see this child again?
In that moment.
An endless tide of worry welled up, and the faint smile I had forced crumbled away.
“Brother…?”
Hong Seol carefully extended her small hand toward Nam Goong Baek’s face.
Her fingertips, soft as flower petals, came to rest against Nam Goong Baek’s cheek in a gesture of comfort.
“I’ll be fine.”
Her voice, light as down, whispered against my ear.
“So please wait just a little longer, brother.”
Her large eyes sparkled brilliantly before Nam Goong Baek’s face.
“I’ll come back safely no matter what, and I’ll….”
Hong Seol paused, swallowing something that had suddenly risen in her throat, then whispered in a thin voice.
“I’ll definitely obtain the Golden Dragon Jade Blood Pill to heal your body.”
“…What?”
Nam Goong Baek’s reaction came a beat too late at her unexpected words.
“Seol Ah!”
At that moment, Nam Goong Ho called for Hong Seol. It was time to enter the Training Cave.
“Yes, I’m coming!”
Hong Seol called out loudly and offered a small smile.
“Let’s go.”
Hong Seol hurried after Dang Yi Mu and Tian Tong Gai, who led the way.
Behind them, Nam Goong Baek stood dazed for a long while.
Thump, thump, thump.
Nam Goong Baek placed his hand against his chest.
The inexplicable trembling would not cease.
‘When Seol Ah said she wanted to learn the Yin-Yang Opening Vein Technique, it wasn’t to return to the Myo Ga Jang…?’
But before, she had certainly said it was her own choice….
Could it be that she made that choice for me?
“Seol Ah!”
A beat too late, Nam Goong Baek spun around and called out Hong Seol’s name.
But the small shadow of the kitten had already vanished swiftly into the Training Cave.
* * *
The Dang Family’s Training Cave was a deep, cavernous expanse.
Thud, thud.
Dang Yi Mu and Tian Tong Gai continued silently deeper inside. With their long strides, Hong Seol, whose legs were relatively short, struggled to keep pace.
Hearing her struggling sounds, Dang Yi Mu and Tian Tong Gai glanced back.
“Tsk.”
True to his nature as a member of the Sichuan Tang Family, the composed Dang Yi Mu clicked his tongue once, but Tian Tong Gai was different.
“I’ll carry you.”
But Hong Seol shook her head firmly.
“If I can’t keep up with this much on my own, I have no right to call myself a martial artist.”
At her words, a pleased light kindled in Dang Yi Mu’s eyes.
“You speak just like a daughter-in-law of the Dang Family.”
“Pardon?”
While Hong Seol blinked in confusion, Dang Yi Mu had already turned and continued walking.
How long had we been following the grandfathers like this?
Then, a place where clear, crystalline energy gathered came into view. Hong Seol, who had been quickening her pace, suddenly stopped.
“Hm?”
“You felt it too. Your sensitivity to qi is truly exceptional.”
Dang Yi Mu nodded approvingly.
They stood upon a broad, flat white stone.
“Come, sit here in the center.”
Hong Seol crossed her legs and sat where the grandfathers guided her.
Dang Yi Mu grasped her left wrist while Tian Tong Gai held her right, both with gentle firmness.
Then, without warning, Dang Yi Mu withdrew a white cloth from his robes and placed it between Hong Seol’s teeth.
“Mmph?”
Unable to speak, Hong Seol’s eyes widened in bewilderment.
Dang Yi Mu spoke with a note of sympathy.
“The pain may be worse than you imagine. This will help you endure it.”
At those words, Hong Seol’s small shoulders trembled with fear.
‘Will it hurt more than fingernails caught in a door? Or as much as falling from the Martial Arts Arena?’
The two elder masters seemed to notice her terror.
Even the typically composed Dang Yi Mu was speaking this way.
“If you wish to stop now, you may say so. My name has already been cleared, and the position of Family Master…”
Dang Yi Mu sighed softly.
“Even if it grieves me, it is Yi Woon’s fate. You need not burden yourself with it.”
Dang Yi Mu finished and looked at Hong Seol.
“Will you stop here?”
“Mmph!”
Before he could finish, Hong Seol shook her head with all her might.
‘Absolutely not—I cannot stop here!’
Otherwise, I would never see Nam Goong Baek smile again.
‘So I will endure this, no matter what!’
The small girl’s eyes blazed with a determination far beyond her years.
Witnessing this, Dang Yi Mu felt an inexplicable satisfaction flood through his entire being.
‘This child truly belongs to the Dang Family.’
He suppressed the urge to shower her with praise and spoke with deliberate solemnity.
“Very well. But if you wish to stop at any point, you must tell me. Do you understand?”
Hong Seol nodded in acknowledgment.
Throughout the entire Yin-Yang Dual Vein Opening Technique, the child did not utter a single word.
* * *
“Tian Tong Gai, are you prepared?”
Tian Tong Gai, meeting Dang Yi Mu’s gaze, nodded in affirmation.
“Keep your mind at ease and continue breathing through your nose.”
It was the moment Hong Seol, breathing softly through her small nostrils instead of her sealed mouth, was about to close her eyes.
Dang Yi Mu issued a warning.
“One final thing I must tell you: under no circumstances must you lose consciousness while the technique is being performed.”
Tian Tong Gai added his own words.
“Heed Dang Yi Mu’s words carefully. Should you lose focus even for a moment, you risk falling into demonic possession.”
“Understood!”
Hong Seol nodded with solemn determination burning in her eyes.
“Let us begin.”
Dang Yi Mu and Tian Tong Gai drew in deep breaths before each pressing their hands against Hong Seol’s meridian points.
‘Wait… what?’
An invisible, colossal force rippled around the two masters, each undulating with its own distinct presence.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
In the next instant, two thunderous torrents of energy poured relentlessly into Hong Seol’s body.
In that moment, Hong Seol’s heart seized with terror.
‘The energies of both grandfathers are so different!’
Dang Yi Mu’s sharp, piercing force and Tian Tong Gai’s powerful, unstoppable force.
It seemed as though the two energies might collide within her body and create a catastrophic explosion.
In that instant, a memory surfaced in Hong Seol’s mind—words Nam Goong Ho had spoken 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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