A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 180

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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 180
“There’s nothing like that.”
Hong Seol laughed awkwardly. And truthfully, there really wasn’t.
“That’s strange. A beauty as lovely as our Hong Seol wouldn’t simply be left alone.”
“But I’m not really a young lady of the Nam Goong Family.”
“Still, you’re a direct descendant of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, aren’t you? Oh dear, was that supposed to be a secret?”
Hong Seol smiled faintly and nodded.
The decision to keep her origins hidden had been Nam Goong On’s.
If any faction that had destroyed the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace still remained, they might target Hong Seol.
The same applied to those who harbored grudges against the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
“Regardless, you’re a young lady under the protection of the renowned Nam Goong Family! And with such grace besides—who wouldn’t covet you, Hong Seol?”
Indeed, Hong Seol was truly beautiful.
Over the five years that had passed, she had developed the bearing of a proper young lady.
Her once-round eyes had deepened with character, and her clear voice never grew tiresome to hear.
She had grown so tall that she now stood above Bing Yu Hua’s shoulders.
Though Hong Seol rarely ventured beyond the Nam Goong Family Estate grounds, her reputation as a beauty had already spread far and wide.
She had even earned the epithet “Anhui’s First Beauty.”
Whenever young martial artists gathered for exchanges in Anhui, invitations invariably arrived for her.
Most she declined, however.
Hong Seol was too occupied mastering the Yin-Yang Divine Art.
And it was true that no marriage proposals had come her way.
“I truly have never received a single marriage proposal.”
“Come now, don’t lie.”
“It’s the truth.”
It was no lie at all.
Hong Seol remained completely unaware that the Nam Goong Family members were united in blocking the flood of marriage proposals that came her way.
“Well then, you needn’t think about marriage for now, Hong Seol.”
Much, much later.
Much, much, much later.
Hong Seol nodded at Yang Do Jin’s words.
“These days you’re busy mastering martial arts, aren’t you? That’s why it’s been so hard to see your face?”
Hong Seol nodded once more.
At her response, Deng Xiao Xiao and Yang Do Jin felt the competitive spirit of martial artists stirring within them.
“Then why don’t you show us your progress?”
It was just as Deng Xiao Xiao made this suggestion.
A sharp woman’s voice rang out from outside.
“P-please, help me!”
The three members of Pal Shin Woo quickly poked their heads out to look.
Two ruffians were snatching a purse from a passing noblewoman and fleeing.
“Ahhh!”
Among them, one scoundrel even grabbed the woman’s buttocks as he fled—the vilest of the vile.
In that instant, the three exchanged glances.
“It’s a competition!”
“Whoever catches those bastards first wins!”
“Last place buys drinks for everyone!”
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, all three leaped from the Three-Story Pavilion.
“Ahhh!”
Cries of alarm erupted from the people below.
“Sorry!”
Even as I apologized, I bolted down the street like the wind.
Thanks to my relentless cultivation of the Heavenly Wind Divine Method, my body felt weightless as I moved.
Yang Do Jin was no different.
Even as he ran without pause, he masterfully prevented me from pulling ahead—a sight to behold.
‘This is… the Beggar Sect’s Ten-Thousand-Li Pursuing Wind Divine Method!’
Originally, this technique was born from the image of beggars fleeing villages.
It held a distinct advantage in complex terrain.
‘I can’t win if we keep running through these streets!’
The moment I assessed the situation.
Tap-tap-tap!
I scaled a pillar in an instant and dashed across the rooftops.
Aside from the concern of dislodging roof tiles, there were no obstacles—far easier going.
“I’m taking the lead, Do Jin!”
I called out cheerfully as I quickened my pace.
“Not so fast!”
With a sharp cry, Deng Xiao Xiao launched herself skyward as if propelled from the earth itself.
Then she cut across my path and continued running.
For all her small stature, her movements were agile.
‘So Xiao Xiao hasn’t wasted her time either!’
I couldn’t hide the warmth of pride swelling in my chest at my friends’ progress.
‘But I won’t lose either!’
As the three of us ran without yielding, the ruffians who had appeared as distant specks drew steadily closer.
I glanced down briefly.
“Stop right there, you villains!”
I could see Yang Do Jin pursuing fiercely from below.
But the ruffians paid him no mind.
They too had learned some third-rate martial techniques somewhere, and their pace was quite impressive.
That’s when I hesitated.
‘Who is that? This is dangerous.’
A scholar in a wide-brimmed hat, pulled low, stood ahead of the ruffians with his back turned.
Without a single decent escort by his side.
His face was obscured by a bamboo hat, but his tall stature and fair complexion unmistakably marked him as a young nobleman.
He seemed to be leisurely surveying the streets of Hefei with evident pleasure.
The jade ornament dangling from his waist belt appeared quite valuable even from a distance.
The ruffians had clearly spotted it as well. The exchange of vicious glances between them was utterly predictable.
A perfect target indeed. One more victim was on the verge of being added to their tally.
“Not on my watch!”
Hong Seol channeled her energy into the Yongquan point beneath her feet and pushed off the ground with all her might.
Her small frame fluttered upward and executed a perfect backward somersault through the air.
“Hey! Hong Seol, you!”
Hong Seol cleared So So’s head with effortless grace.
But that was merely the beginning. Her feet were descending toward the ground with lethal intent.
More precisely, toward the ruffian’s wrist.
“Heh, what a foolish young master.”
Below, the ruffian was mere moments away from snatching the jade ornament.
That was when it happened.
Hong Seol’s eyes widened.
Crack.
The young nobleman, who had been laughing idly, suddenly seized both ruffians’ wrists with his hands and twisted them in one fluid motion.
Hong Seol quickly twisted her body and landed on the ground.
Splash.
She didn’t even notice the muddy water that splattered across her cheek in the chaos.
“Argh!”
The moment her feet touched the earth, the ruffians’ agonized screams pierced her ears.
The mysterious young nobleman had clearly subdued them completely.
And that was not all.
With merely a slight twist of his arms, he sent both burly men spinning through the air before slamming them hard onto the ground.
Thud!
It was no ordinary display of skill.
Yang Do Jin, arriving a moment too late, skidded to a halt.
Deng Xiao Xiao, too, watched quietly from atop the Three-Story Pavilion roof.
The three of them resembled actors who had missed their cue on stage.
But then the young nobleman suddenly extended his hand and wiped away the mud from Hong Seol’s cheek.
“Huh?”
Startled, Hong Seol stepped back, only for the young nobleman to step closer.
The distance between them had narrowed until she could detect the white lotus fragrance clinging to his robes.
Yet his considerable height forced her to look up to see his face.
Beneath the bamboo hat, lips as finely drawn as brushstrokes parted slightly.
“Seol Ah. I have missed you greatly.”
Only then did Hong Seol recognize the crimson eyes beneath the bamboo hat.
“Yi Woon… older brother?”
* * *
Three—no, four of them including Dang Yi Woon—sat comfortably around a table at the Wandering Minstrel Tavern.
The coin purse the ruffians had stolen had already been returned to the unfortunate woman. The ruffians, thoroughly defeated by Dang Yi Woon’s hand, were bound and transported to the Government Office.
With his bamboo hat removed, Dang Yi Woon rested his chin on the table, his gaze fixed solely on Hong Seol.
His expression was one of disbelief, as though he couldn’t quite accept that he was finally seeing Hong Seol after five years.
“How did you become so beautiful?”
At those words, Yang Do Jin nearly spat out the chicken leg he’d been chewing.
This shameless fellow was the young master of the Sichuan Tang Family!
Sichuan truly must be facing its decline!
“Pardon?”
“I’ve spent five years imagining how you’d grow up, Hong Seol.”
Dang Yi Woon continued speaking as though nothing else in the world existed but Hong Seol.
“I worried that after thinking about it for so long, you might turn out less impressive than I’d hoped. But look at you—you’ve grown even more lovely than I imagined.”
As he spoke, he smiled again, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a practiced manner.
It was a smile clearly intended to appear charming.
Hong Seol felt an inexplicable tickle in her heart and lightly scratched her cheek with her index finger.
“Ah, haha…”
Just then, a gruff voice filled with discontent cut through.
“What brings the great young master of the Dang Family to this humble place?”
Yang Do Jin had already forgotten the fact that he needed to maintain his childish voice.
Dang Yi Woon’s refined brow furrowed slightly.
“Why? As a disciple of the Beggar Sect, shouldn’t you know? The Murim Five Family Banquet will be held soon.”
At his somewhat dismissive tone, Yang Do Jin bristled.
“But the Murim Five Family Banquet isn’t for another month!”
“That’s true.”
“Then why have you already appeared in Hefei?”
Dang Yi Woon smiled knowingly.
“Ah, well, you see, I have a separate ‘promise’ to keep with Seol. Isn’t that right, Seol Ah?”
As he said this, Dang Yi Woon gave her a playful wink.
“Ah? Yes, yes.”
Hong Seol nodded in agreement.
After all, it was true.
But why did she feel so embarrassed?

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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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