A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 190

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Chapter 190
Yet, to my surprise.
Baek’s Quarters, which I reached in a near-sprint, was devoid of warmth—cold and empty.
“Sigh.”
A Servant who had been stretching before the entrance startled at the sight of me and shot to her feet.
“Young Miss!”
I pressed forward without pause, my words tumbling out urgently.
“Where is my older brother Baek?”
“Well, that is….”
The Servant’s gaze dropped awkwardly to the tips of her shoes.
“Tell me quickly. I have something important to share with him.”
“No, it’s just…. The Young Master instructed me not to tell you.”
“What? Not even me?”
I blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend his meaning.
The Servant kept her head lowered, her expression apologetic.
“Actually…. He said to tell no one but you. And besides….”
The Servant, reading the tension, squeezed her eyes shut and spoke as though crying out.
“He said he hopes you will never visit his Quarters again!”
At the Servant’s words, my mouth fell open.
I had brought such wonderful news, only to be greeted with a declaration of severance!
Under ordinary circumstances, I would have sulked terribly.
‘But this is the first time my brother has ever done this to me….’
It seemed my brother had been quite shaken.
I had thrust him into the illegal gambling den of the Mansion of Ten Thousand Fortunes without warning or preparation.
‘I suppose I did go too far with that.’
And on top of that, he had been attacked by assassins.
Dang Yi Woon, the young patriarch of the Sa Cheon Dang Family, had been present as well. Had things gone differently, it could have escalated into a conflict between the Nam Goong Family and the Sa Cheon Dang Family.
My brother Baek’s anger was, in a sense, justified.
As I carefully considered each point, my spirits dampened somewhat.
‘But still… once he learns that I’ve discovered the location of the Golden Cat Sect!’
He would surely forgive me.
Though his nature would prevent him from showing unbridled joy.
I knew this well.
I understood just how deeply my brother cherished life itself.
That was why I wanted to tell him as soon as possible that I had discovered the whereabouts of the Golden Cat Sect.
“Ah, Young Miss?”
I quickened my pace, leaving the bewildered Servant behind.
‘It’s fine—I know exactly where my brother would be.’
* * *
Whoosh.
The sound of a blade cutting through air echoed within the Training Ground.
It was unmistakably Nam Goong Baek’s.
‘Whenever my mind grows restless, Elder Brother always wields his sword.’
Just as he had that day.
The day Hong Seol first entered the Training Ground at Nam Goong Ho’s command.
I had been captivated by the sight of the silver-haired boy’s blade, tracing beautiful arcs as if dancing.
‘If only I could see it once more….’
What Nam Goong Baek was training in lately was not the Nam Goong Family’s sword technique.
When Hong Seol had once received combat training from Dok Bi Jo.
Nam Goong Baek had also received a new martial art from Dok Bi Jo.
‘A sword technique founded by Gae Pa Jo Sa of the Changnyeong Sect, Han Seo Jin Immortal, was it….’
Han Seo Jin Immortal had supposedly taught that sword technique to Dok Bi Jo, who had once been his lover, and to no one else.
Such a precious technique—it would be improper for me to spy on Elder Brother Baek’s training.
Just as I was suppressing my desire to secretly watch Nam Goong Baek’s training and shaking my head vigorously.
“Who is it?”
A cold voice rang out.
Hong Seol faltered.
That voice was so frigid I hadn’t heard it in years.
Could he have mistaken me for someone else?
“It’s me, Hong Seol!”
Flustered, I quickly revealed my name. My heart pounded anxiously.
‘Why does this remind me of the past….’
When Elder Brother used to treat me coldly, long ago.
“….”
Strangely, Nam Goong Baek did not respond.
Growing uneasy, I spoke first.
“May I come in, Elder Brother…? There’s something I need to tell you.”
Thump, thump.
I heard the boy’s footsteps approaching the door where I stood.
From beyond the door, the boy spoke.
“Did the Servant not relay my message to you?”
“Pardon?”
“I clearly told her to tell you not to seek me out anymore.”
At his voice, cold as a winter wind, my heart sank.
“….”
Time flowed mercilessly onward.
Just as Nam Goong Baek took a step back, moving away from inside the door.
“Elder Brother!”
I called out to him. Nam Goong Baek’s footsteps halted.
His words were harsh, but his actions betrayed something different.
Hong Seol pinned her hopes on this moment.
“I, I was wrong.”
“….”
“I shouldn’t have dragged my brothers to Manbok House so carelessly. I should have at least given you a heads-up beforehand….”
Hong Seol lowered her gaze to the floor, her apology hesitant and trembling.
“…sigh.”
A small sigh escaped from within the Training Ground.
“You truly don’t understand why I’m angry.”
“What?”
Bewildered, Hong Seol found herself clenching and unclenching her sweat-drenched hands.
Creak.
The Training Ground door swung open with such force that Hong Seol instinctively stumbled backward.
Nam Goong Baek emerged, his blue eyes blazing with fury.
“You treated me like a complete fool.”
“What?”
“At the Murim Five Families Tournament, you announced that you’re a direct descendant of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, didn’t you?”
“That, well….”
Hong Seol bit her lower lip.
Given how severe Nam Goong Baek’s addiction had become, it was unavoidable.
Otherwise, there would have been no way to find the Golden Cat Sect’s whereabouts.
In fact, because she had revealed that truth, wasn’t she able to meet Ha O Moon Ju?
Had she not done so, her whereabouts would never have reached Dok Bi Jo, who roamed the Central Plains.
“B, but this was all for you, brother….”
Hong Seol’s eyebrows arched in that familiar inverted V-shape as her voice wavered with tears.
“That’s exactly it!”
Nam Goong Baek’s response came out raw and anguished.
“That’s what makes me feel so wretched. The fact that you keep taking risks because of me!”
“But I’m doing this because I want to….”
“I refuse.”
Hong Seol heard despair seep deeply into his voice.
“If the hope you speak of requires your life as payment, then I refuse it.”
“But brother, please listen. I found the Golden Cat Sect’s location! If you just wait a little longer, I’m certain….”
“….”
When he didn’t respond, Hong Seol looked up at Nam Goong Baek’s face.
His sorrowful gaze had transcended helplessness and seemed to drown in despair itself.
Hong Seol said nothing and lowered her head once more.
“…Step aside. Since you show no intention of leaving, I will.”
“B, brother!”
Hong Seol reached for Nam Goong Baek’s collar.
Or rather, she tried to.
Yet the smooth silk slipped helplessly from Hong Seol’s grasp.
After Nam Goong Baek departed, the kitten stood motionless for a long while.
And for a considerable time thereafter, Hong Seol could not see Nam Goong Baek.
* * *
Nam Goong On had recently developed a small worry.
That worry was none other than Hong Seol.
Whenever he adjusted his robes and stepped outside each morning, the kitten was invariably waiting for him.
“I greet the Family Head!”
She spoke with her hands clasped before her chest, her large dark eyes sparkling brilliantly.
She was asking whether any news had arrived overnight from Shaolin.
“Not yet.”
Upon hearing this reply, the kitten would droop and scurry away with hurried steps.
But that was not all.
Whenever Hong Seol saw even a bird’s shadow circling above the Nam Goong Family Estate, she would dash out of the Training Ground.
Nam Goong On had to shake his head once more at Hong Seol, who came rushing as if flying while still in her martial robes.
“Not yet.”
It was the same whether he was discussing family matters with Elder Judge Nam Goong Mu Young or emerging from the Family Head’s Private Training Ground after completing his cultivation.
Disappointing a child once or twice was one thing.
“Every time I see Hong Seol, I feel truly ashamed.”
Enjoying a rare intimate moment with his wife in the Tea Room, Nam Goong On poured out his heart.
“It seems I only disappoint her every time.”
“The child simply has great expectations. After all, the information about the Golden Cat Sect’s whereabouts was obtained at the cost of the child’s life being threatened.”
“Hmm.”
“Even I become excited when a messenger bird lands on the roof of the Medical Pharmacy. How much more so for the child?”
Bing Yu Hua defended Hong Seol. Nam Goong On spoke with an awkward expression.
“I do not wish to blame the child. It is simply embarrassing to face her. Why is Shaolin being so slow about this!”
“It is taking longer than expected. By now, Shaolin’s reply should have arrived long ago.”
That was when it happened.
“Family Head! A messenger bird has arrived. A messenger bird from Ha Nam Province!”
“What!”
Ha Nam Province was where Songshan, the main temple of Shaolin, was located.
Without thinking, Nam Goong On gripped his teacup and sprang from his seat.
“Bring it here at once!”
Nam Goong On hurriedly read through the letter that Wi Sa presented.
Bing Yu Hua, who had likewise risen from her seat, watched his expression with a tense face.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————