A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 189

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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 189
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The bitter scent of medicinal herbs lingered at the tip of Hong Seol’s nose.
“Mmm….”
My head throbbed dully, and my body kept sinking toward the bedchamber floor as though I’d endured an exhausting training session.
Then, cool yet tender hands gently caressed my forehead.
“Are you coming to, little one?”
I managed to lift my heavy eyelids with great effort.
My unfocused eyes traced across the ceiling.
It was not the familiar ceiling of my usual quarters.
A place that reflected its master’s temperament—austere and resolute.
“Where am I….”
I shook my head, trying to gather my senses.
Then suddenly, the face of an ethereal beauty entered my field of vision. It was Bing Yu Hua, her expression etched with concern.
“…Medicine Master?”
I pushed aside the thick quilted blanket that covered me up to my neck and tried to sit up abruptly.
Or rather, I attempted to.
“Rest a while longer.”
Had Bing Yu Hua not swiftly pressed down the edges of my blanket with firm hands.
I had no choice but to remain lying beneath the plush quilted blanket, unsuitable for the season.
The thick quilt made my breathing slightly labored.
“But, Medicine Master. Surely it must be spring now….”
“You must not remove the quilt!”
Bing Yu Hua shook her head firmly. When it came to keeping children warm, she never compromised.
Like red bean paste wrapped inside a rice cake, I found myself completely swaddled in quilts as I pondered.
‘Is it because she spent time in the frigid Northern Sea Ice Palace?’
There, keeping someone warm would be far more difficult than here in Anhui.
So then, this quilted blanket was surely an expression of love.
“Hehe.”
Suddenly in better spirits, I pulled the quilt up to cover my flushed face.
Pfft.
Seeing this, a smile bloomed across Bing Yu Hua’s face.
“You’re still such a little one, truly.”
Though her tone was reproachful, her hands continued to press the quilt down firmly around me.
Then, startled, I suddenly cried out.
“That’s right, my brothers! Are my brothers all right?”
An answer came back promptly.
“Yes, fortunately we’re all fine.”
If something had happened to any of them, tomorrow morning’s meal would have been eaten in silence.
Bing Yu Hua clicked her tongue softly.
It was a considerate gesture, deliberately avoiding burdening Hong Seol’s heart.
“Do you remember what happened?”
At those words, Hong Seol’s eyes grew round as apricot pits.
The chaotic scene of the Tea House flashed through her mind.
“Yes. A fight broke out at the tea house….”
Ha O Moon Ju.
A grotesque man in an ashen robe.
I recalled straining with all my might to catch every word that fell from his lips, his eyelids blinking with terrifying intensity.
And in that final moment. The world had gone completely dark.
Now that I thought about it, the back of my head still throbbed.
“Who struck me with a hand blade…?”
It would have been simple to press the sleep meridian and send me into slumber.
The situation must have been so urgent that even such considerations were forgotten.
“Do you know who struck you with a hand blade?”
Bing Yu Hua asked in a measured tone.
Before I could even sigh, Bing Yu Hua’s words came rushing in, and I tilted my head in confusion.
‘Why would the Medicine Master ask such a question?’
After all, there were only two people who would have come to rescue me, even if it meant knocking me unconscious.
Nam Goong Baek and Yi Woon, who had visited the Tea House with me.
I shook my head back and forth.
“…I’m not sure which of the two it was. Could it have been Baek?”
“No, no.”
I had never seen Bing Yu Hua shake her head so firmly before.
“Baek is not the kind of child who would hurt you under any circumstances.”
After that, Bing Yu Hua launched into a lengthy speech about how much Nam Goong Baek cherished me.
Only after her words had ended did I hesitantly ask.
“…Then, it was Yi Woon who did it?”
“Yes. Still, for someone from the Dang Family, he showed some conscience—he looked sorry to you.”
With those words, Bing Yu Hua stepped away from the window of Yi Yak Hall.
By now, twilight had settled outside.
In the distance, I could see Yi Woon pacing in circles on the stone path, his shoulders drooping.
He looked so dejected that it seemed as though an invisible tail hung limply behind him.
“…So Yi Woon hasn’t been able to enter Yi Yak Hall?”
“That’s right.”
Even Bing Yu Hua seemed to find his state rather pitiful.
“When he comes to apologize later, comfort him.”
The fact that she would say such a thing spoke volumes.
Pft.
A light laugh escaped from my lips.
“Yes, I’ll do exactly that!”
Bing Yu Hua cried out urgently.
“Not too much!”
“Yes!”
She lowered her feet again, and Bing Yu Hua moved closer to sit beside Hong Seol.
Crackle.
Bing Yu Hua stirred the embers in the brazier and lit the lamp with her own hands before turning back.
“Now then, tell me everything in detail.”
Bing Yu Hua’s shadow wavered large against the wall.
My heart sank.
“Y-yes? About what?”
“Why you went to the Wan Fu House. Surely you don’t expect me to believe you went there just to drink tea.”
I averted my eyes. Beads of sweat formed unbidden at my temples.
It was certainly not just because of the thick quilted blanket.
“….”
Bing Yu Hua waited quietly for me to open my mouth.
In the end, I confessed.
“I went to meet Ha O Moon Ju.”
“What? How on earth? And Ha O Moon Ju was in Anhui?”
Words of astonishment poured from Bing Yu Hua’s lips.
I blinked, unsure which question to answer first.
Bing Yu Hua sighed softly and spoke.
“I was foolish. Of course he was there, so you met him. As for the method….”
Bing Yu Hua’s blue eyes swept across my face like a clever kitten’s.
“You won’t answer easily even if I ask.”
“…It wasn’t a method that went against righteousness and honor.”
Perhaps…?
I couldn’t confirm directly with Sister Dok Bi Jo, but perhaps I hadn’t done anything wrong….
‘Could it really be so?’
My conscience pricked, I shrank my shoulders slightly.
Fortunately, my counterpart was Bing Yu Hua, who yielded one step if I said something.
Though if it were about her three sons, she would narrow her eyes and suspect them two or three times over.
“So, if you risked danger to find where Ha O Moon Ju was, then you must have been searching for ‘that,’ yes?”
My eyes and Bing Yu Hua’s met.
‘That’ was not stated directly, but we both knew what it was.
The Golden Cat Sect.
The only artifact that could hold Nam Goong Baek’s illness in check until I mastered the Yin-Yang Divine Art.
Though I tried not to show it, I could see Bing Yu Hua’s fingertips trembling faintly.
Seeing that, I nodded.
“Yes. And I got an answer from Ha O Moon Ju, definitely.”
I spoke to Bing Yu Hua clearly and distinctly.
“The Golden Cat Sect is currently at Shaolin. Ha O Moon Ju confirmed it himself.”
Shaolin.
The sect revered as the Northern Star of the Orthodox Martial World.
Just as Mount Tai stands among the world’s sacred peaks and the Northern Star guides travelers through heaven, all regard Shaolin with the same reverence.
True to its reputation, Shaolin’s prestige was unquestionably worthy of being called the greatest sect under heaven.
And it was precisely this Shaolin that held righteousness and chivalry as dearer than life itself.
If Shaolin possessed the Golden Cat Sect, they would not hesitate to return it to its rightful owner.
“The Golden Cat Sect is at Shaolin…! What welcome news this is!”
Joy illuminated Bing Yu Hua’s face.
“I shall inform the family head at once and send people to Shaolin.”
Bing Yu Hua rose to her feet, brushing off her robes.
“Yes!”
Hong Seol, whose face had brightened alongside Bing Yu Hua, suddenly glanced around the room.
Now that she thought of it, someone who ought to be here was absent.
The one who had remained steadfastly at her side during those days when she lay fevered with the Heavenly Thunder Divine Illness.
“…Where is Nam Goong Baek?”
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“I’m fine. I don’t hate you either. So please stop!”
Having barely managed to extract herself from Dang Yi Woon, whose eyes were glistening with tears, I realized the sun had completely set.
‘I want to hurry and tell Nam Goong Baek about the Golden Cat Sect!’
Consoling Dang Yi Woon had kept me standing outside Yi Yak Hall far longer than intended. I stamped my feet in frustration.
“May I borrow this?”
I obtained a lantern from a passing servant and hurried toward Nam Goong Baek’s Quarters.

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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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