A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 177

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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 177
“Didn’t your older brothers mention him before? That beggar… who was it again?”
“Yang Do Jin.”
The voice cutting through belonged to Nam Goong Baek.
He intended to settle this matter once and for all—to clarify Hong Seol’s true feelings toward Yang Do Jin.
“Right! That beggar Yang Do Jin, and you might even marry him….”
At Nam Goong Jeok’s words, silence descended upon the Tea Room.
Nam Goong Baek’s teacup, which he had lifted, remained suspended in mid-air.
After a moment of bewilderment, Hong Seol let out a sharp cry.
“W-what are you talking about!”
Her face flushed crimson in an instant.
“Do Jin is my dear friend. Friends don’t marry each other.”
“Woohoo! How exciting!”
At her words, Nam Goong Jeok suddenly sprang to his feet and began to dance.
…Gulp.
Nam Goong Baek hastily concealed his upturned lips behind his teacup.
“Our sister won’t marry a beggar!”
Nam Goong Heuk abruptly struck the crown of Nam Goong Jeok’s head as he danced merrily.
“Ow!”
“Fool.”
Nam Goong Heuk’s expression conveyed utter exasperation at his thoughtless younger brother.
Nam Goong Jeok, cradling the painful spot with his hand, unexpectedly talked back to his older brother.
It seemed he had indeed grown during this time.
“Why did you hit me! On a day like today, we don’t need to worry about propriety!”
“No, that’s not it! Since we’re at it, I should show the little one the academy dance that’s popular these days. Like this!”
This time, Nam Goong Heuk spread both arms wide and lifted one leg, dancing merrily.
Nam Goong Jeok’s mouth fell open in admiration.
“Wow… you really are the second brother!”
Excited, Nam Goong Jeok stood beside Nam Goong Heuk and enthusiastically fluttered his sleeves to join in.
“First brother, dance with us too!”
“…No, I’ll pass.”
At the sharp refusal, Nam Goong Heuk and Nam Goong Jeok groaned in unison.
“Sigh, how can he be so out of touch with trends?”
“Exactly. The eldest brother is so provincial….”
“What, provincial? …Ha.”
Stung by their words, Nam Goong Baek simply turned his head away.
It was better to avoid bickering with his noisy younger brothers from the start.
Hong Seol, who had been watching with amusement, suddenly seemed to recall something and asked.
“By the way, did you stop by the Patriarch’s Residence to greet the elders?”
Nam Goong Heuk nodded with dignified composure.
“Well then. I hear the urgent matters have been mostly wrapped up?”
“Really?!”
The moment I heard those words, I sprang to my feet.
The three brothers of the Nam Goong Family Estate all looked at me with puzzled expressions.
I broke into a bright smile.
“Then I’ll go visit Grandfather!”
* * *
For a fortnight, the Nam Goong Family Estate was consumed with relentless activity.
The messenger from the Martial Alliance and the General Je Gal Hyeop hurried back to Wuhan.
“We must report the current situation to the Martial Alliance Leader and discuss countermeasures.”
“Let us maintain close communication, General.”
“Of course, Patriarch.”
The servants rescued from the burning Myo Ga Jang were each interrogated for their crimes before being released.
Those among them with nowhere to go were even found employment.
But there was one person shown no mercy—Chung Ok.
The moment the Grand Patriarch Nam Goong Ho heard Chung Ok’s name, he would rage uncontrollably.
“The crime of abusing an innocent child!”
“The crime of driving a child to death!”
“The crime of showing not a shred of remorse!”
For all these crimes, Chung Ok was sentenced to spend her entire life confined to the Storage Room.
Her only daily sustenance would be a meager barley gruel, barely enough to keep her alive.
Even on the coldest days, that Storage Room would have no warmth, and no one would speak to her.
Water would be rationed to one bucket a day, though sometimes it would contain the stagnant water of rotting weeds.
To experience the plight of that poor kitten until death.
Such was the punishment decreed upon Chung Ok.
Settling the matter of the Myo Ga Jang proved relatively straightforward.
The most difficult issue was dealing with the traitor within the Nam Goong Family.
Nam Goong Yeol was currently being dragged to the Murim Alliance Prison.
His dantian was shattered to pieces, and the meridians in his limbs were severed.
His life as a martial artist had come to a complete end.
Nam Goong Ho and Nam Goong On had decided to follow protocol and take his life.
“When Je Gal Seon is captured, shouldn’t we compare their testimonies? There may be more Demonic Cult members hiding in Anhui.”
Je Gal Hyeop’s single remark spared Nam Goong Yeol’s life.
As a result, Nam Goong Yeol barely preserved his existence, left to rot in the deep, dark depths of the Murim Alliance Prison.
The problem lay with Nam Goong Do, who was merely thirteen years old.
“Though the child of a traitor and showing troubling signs, he cannot yet be punished.”
In such matters, Patriarch Nam Goong On was a strict principlist.
His unwavering belief was that children could not be touched.
“I will defer punishment until he reaches adulthood, but in the meantime, he will remain confined to the Storage Room of the main residence under constant surveillance.”
Eventually his dantian would be destroyed, but that time was not now.
In a sense, as a martial artist, it was no different from having a terminal diagnosis—I had come to indirectly experience Nam Goong Baek’s anguish.
I entrusted the reorganization of the Branch Family Residence to Elder Judge Nam Goong Mu Young.
After making all these decisions, it was only when Nam Goong Ho and Nam Goong On finally managed to catch their breath over a cup of tea that the moment came.
A servant entered and delivered news.
“Hong Seol has arrived. She requests an audience with the Former Patriarch.”
“That girl Seol Ah—she has an uncanny knack for sensing when matters have reached a conclusion.”
Nam Goong Ho sighed and rose from his seat.
Nam Goong On followed, his expression clouded with worry.
“Father, surely you don’t mean to…!”
“Yes. It’s time we revealed the truth to Seol.”
At those words, Nam Goong On’s face grew darker still.
“Do not worry. We will find a way through this, somehow.”
Nam Goong Ho gave his son’s shoulder an encouraging pat before turning to the servant with his instructions.
“Tell Seol to dress in martial robes and come to the Training Ground.”
* * *
Clad in martial robes, I stood facing Nam Goong Ho in the center of the Training Ground.
It felt strange—it had been so long since I’d done this.
And Grandfather’s expression was unusually stern.
Between his graying whiskers, his lips—which had been pressed shut like a clamshell—finally opened.
“There is something I have hidden from you all this time.”
“Yes?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“When you returned from Nam Man, did you not notice something strange?”
I fell into deep thought.
Now that he mentioned it, there were indeed many things that didn’t quite add up.
I had corrected my Yin-Yang Meridians, so all that remained was to return to Anhui and master the Yin-Yang Divine Art.
Brother Nam Goong Baek’s complete recovery was within reach.
Yet for some time now, Grandfather’s complexion had not been good.
Moreover, I had noticed him skipping meals with increasing frequency.
He would laugh it off, saying that one must fast to reach higher realms of cultivation.
But each time I heard that excuse, I found myself skeptical.
‘Yet Elder Tian Tong Gai drinks his fill of wine at every meal and still possesses such formidable martial prowess.’
Nam Goong Ho’s expression turned bitter as he withdrew something from his robes.
“Look at this.”
What Nam Goong Ho handed me was a wooden box no larger than an adult’s palm.
Yes—it was unmistakably the wooden chest that had contained the secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art.
“This is… Wu Hen Shen Tou’s legacy, is it not?”
Nam Goong Ho smiled bitterly at my perceptive answer.
“Indeed. Your memory serves you well.”
He slowly lifted the wooden lid and showed me what lay inside.
Inside was a single worn and tattered book. Hong Seol had never seen it before.
“From the beginning, what was stored here was not merely the secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art.”
Hong Seol furrowed her brow deeply and read the characters that caught her eye, stumbling over the words.
“Yin-Yang… True Scripture Commentary Edition? Is that right, Grandfather?”
“Yes, do you know what a commentary edition is?”
Hong Seol shook her head vigorously.
“It means a text that explains the contents of a certain book in an easy-to-understand manner.”
“So it’s explaining the Yin-Yang True Scripture in a simple way?”
“That’s right.”
Hong Seol hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Do I need to find a book called the Yin-Yang True Scripture to learn the Yin-Yang Divine Art?”
There was no other reason Grandfather’s expression would be so grim.
Hong Seol, her brows furrowed, pressed further.
“Is it a difficult book to find? Even with the Young Rats’ help?”
At those words, Nam Goong Ho laughed forlornly.
“No. I found the Yin-Yang True Scripture long ago.”
Then why.
Why was Grandfather’s face so dark.
Hong Seol could not help herself—she ran over and spread her arms open, asking to be held.
She had not wanted to act like a child at the Training Ground, but she could not help it.
Her usually large and dependable grandfather looked as though he might weep.
“This girl has become a baby again.”
Nam Goong Ho said this, yet he gladly lifted Hong Seol into his embrace.
“Mmph.”
Hong Seol wrapped her arms around Nam Goong Ho’s neck.
In that position, Nam Goong Ho began to explain in a low voice.
“According to the commentary edition… it takes twelve years to master the Yin-Yang Divine Art.”
Hong Seol’s mind went blank for a moment.

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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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