A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 192
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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 192
Hong Seol furrowed her brow with a puzzled expression and asked.
“What do you mean by saying that first? Are you saying my brother is also running away from home?”
Upon hearing those words, Dang Yi Woon’s crimson eyes widened as large as coins.
“What? Running away? It’s not even an official visit to Shaolin, and you’re saying you’ll run away?”
As Dang Yi Woon’s voice rose, the flustered Hong Seol covered his mouth.
“Shh, brother! You said it was a secret.”
In his bewilderment, the scent of Hong Seol’s fragrant oil suddenly wafted into Dang Yi Woon’s nostrils.
The dizzying sensation caused him to clamp his mouth shut immediately.
“….”
As he fell silent, Hong Seol withdrew her hand and gazed up at Dang Yi Woon’s face quietly.
“Once you hear the circumstances, brother, you’ll understand why I have no choice but to run away.”
Hong Seol continued her explanation methodically.
“A reply came from Shaolin. They said they don’t possess the Golden Cat Sect.”
Dang Yi Woon furrowed his brow with a look of bewilderment.
“Such a reply came? But the Family Master and the Medicine Master haven’t said a word about it?”
“Well, you see….”
Hong Seol whispered softly.
After a carrier pigeon arrived from Ha Nam Province yesterday, Nam Goong On and Bing Yu Hua had been unusually flustered.
They had mentioned trading medicinal herbs from Ha Nam Province that I had never seen at the Medical Pharmacy.
And most decisively of all….
“My Young Rats brought me charred scraps of paper from the brazier.”
The panicked Bing Yu Hua had hastily burned the letter after Hong Seol left the inner chamber.
Only a few characters remained on the burned paper, but it clearly stated that they did not possess the Golden Cat Sect.
Dang Yi Woon spoke as though troubled.
“But couldn’t it be possible that Shaolin truly doesn’t have the Golden Cat Sect?”
“No. The Ghost Scribe never lies.”
Since returning from Manbok Tower, Hong Seol had investigated Ha O Gate thoroughly from every angle.
Baek Yeon, the Ghost Scribe who held the title of Ha O Gate Master.
In truth, he was a kind of “living puppet” created through a forbidden technique.
He was merely a vessel for storing information gathered by Ha O Gate, not an entity capable of lying according to his own judgment.
“Therefore, the one lying is definitely Shaolin.”
The problem was that there was no way to confront Shaolin about it.
Hong Seol lowered her eyes and spoke.
“Shaolin is a pillar of the Orthodox Sects standing shoulder to shoulder with the Nam Goong Family, or perhaps even greater. Since they’ve officially answered that they don’t possess the Golden Cat Sect, there’s nothing the Nam Goong Family can do.”
“Hmm.”
Dang Yi Woon nodded thoughtfully.
“That’s why I’m going to infiltrate their sect grounds myself and investigate. Where the Golden Cat Sect truly is, and why Shaolin is hiding it….”
Hong Seol’s gaze was firm and resolute.
“But if your identity is exposed in the process!”
“When that time comes, you can simply pretend not to know me at the Nam Goong Family Estate.”
“What?”
“They took pity on a child without parents and took me in, but then I ran away on my own and caused trouble at Shaolin, or so the story goes.”
Hong Seol’s eyes dimmed with a fleeting melancholy. Dang Yi Woon couldn’t bear to witness it and cried out.
“That doesn’t make any sense…!”
“That’s precisely why I must succeed! So please, I’m begging you.”
“Hmm?”
“Please come with me to Shaolin, Yi Woon oppa!”
Dang Yi Woon’s words caught in his throat.
By any reasonable standard, it was utterly absurd.
For the renowned Young Master of the Sa Cheon Dang Family to secretly infiltrate the grounds of the venerable Shaolin—it was practically unthinkable.
One misstep could spark a grave conflict between the family and the sect.
Yet Hong Seol’s earnest voice and eyes that gleamed like stars embedded in the night sky…
And her hands clasped so neatly at her chest—they rendered Dang Yi Woon’s mind utterly defenseless.
Perhaps the mist and moonlight, the fragrance of jasmine flowers, all conspired in that moment as well.
So Dang Yi Woon nearly found himself nodding in agreement without thinking.
Had he not regained his senses at that final instant.
Dang Yi Woon suddenly asked with sharp clarity.
“Wait—why me? With your skills, you could go alone. Or perhaps…”
Dang Yi Woon hesitated, then spoke reluctantly.
“There’s Nam Goong Baek, your older brother.”
At those words, Hong Seol bit her lip briefly, lost in thought.
She needed to choose her words carefully—how to persuade Dang Yi Woon to accompany her to Shaolin.
“Hmm…”
But Hong Seol soon abandoned her deliberation.
When she glimpsed Dang Yi Woon’s troubled crimson eyes, she realized that fabricating excuses would be meaningless.
Here, honesty was the only path—to answer truthfully and accept whatever judgment followed.
“…Because Yi Woon oppa is essential to my plan.”
“Me?”
Dang Yi Woon’s chest swelled with sudden elation.
‘Me—this Dang Yi Woon—was necessary to Seol?’
To Seol, the sole young lady of the Nam Goong Family Estate, who seemed to lack for nothing whatsoever.
Despite his conflicted emotions, Dang Yi Woon couldn’t help but feel exhilarated.
* * *
And several days later.
An early summer night without moonlight.
An escort carriage came to a halt near the Nam Goong Family Estate.
The carriage bore the false name “Snake Gold Escort Bureau” painted on its side.
The escort guards all wore inconspicuous black garments.
The hooves and carriage wheels were wrapped in thick cloth to muffle any sound.
Soon, the night’s targets emerged from the darkness.
Two masked young men wearing deep-brimmed hats.
Both were dressed in simple, practical attire suited for a long journey.
Yet something peculiar caught the eye.
The shorter of the two was adorned with trinkets and ornaments dangling all over their body.
Pyo Du’s brow furrowed at the sight.
‘They go to such lengths to wear inconspicuous clothing, and yet they’re laden with jewelry. Is this mere vanity…?’
But Pyo Du, seasoned by experience, was no fool to let it show.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Thank you for the trouble of coming all this way.”
The taller of the two masked youths lifted his hat in greeting to Pyo Du, who stood as the leader. Crimson eyes gleamed beneath the brim.
“Please board the carriage. I shall safely escort you to the mountain pass leading into the foothills of Songshan.”
“Much obliged.”
“Had the Young Master of the Sa Cheon Dang Family not issued this command directly, I would never undertake such an unprofitable venture.”
Pyo Du cast a wary glance toward the distant Nam Goong Estate Manor.
“You mentioned that in exchange for triple compensation, you would ensure we avoid the eyes of others. Is that correct?”
“Of course. How could one established in Sichuan dare speak falsely before the Young Master of the Dang Sect?”
At this reassuring reply, the masked youth nodded with satisfaction.
Dang Yi Woon extended his hand to help Hong Seol, disguised as a boy, board the carriage, then hesitated.
With a bound.
Hong Seol easily climbed into the carriage without Dang Yi Woon’s assistance.
And that was not all.
“Need a hand?”
She extended her own hand to Dang Yi Woon, who had yet to board.
“Thank you, Seol Ah.”
Dang Yi Woon did not miss the opportunity to take Hong Seol’s hand.
“Hyah!”
With the coachman’s lowered cry, the carriage bearing the two departed.
* * *
The morning after Hong Seol and Dang Yi Woon left.
Nam Goong On, the master of the Nam Goong Family, headed to Chang Cheon Pavilion for breakfast as he always did.
Since Hong Seol’s arrival, sharing morning meals with the entire family had become his small joy.
‘The Young Master of the Sa Cheon Dang Family is certainly a thorn in my side, but… well, there won’t be many more mornings to see that face.’
Nam Goong On had sent a letter to the Sa Cheon Dang Family through carrier pigeon the previous night.
The message suggested that the Young Master, a pillar of the Dang Sect, should return to Sichuan to undergo the coming-of-age ceremony.
‘If the Dang Family Master summons him directly, even that fellow who’s stuck to the Nam Goong Family like burnt rice on a pot will have no choice but to leave.’
Dang Yi Woon, who had partnered with Seol at the Murim Five Families Tournament and even performed the Dragon Phoenix Dance, was departing.
The thought alone felt like having a troublesome tooth finally extracted.
Standing before the entrance to Chang Cheon Pavilion with such pleasant thoughts.
Nam Goong On’s brow suddenly darkened.
“What in the world is this…?”
I sensed an ominous, colossal force churning violently from within.
Crash!
A tremendous explosion erupted from the Tea Room of Chang Cheon Pavilion.
“A vicious beast!”
Nam Goong On burst forward with his cry, and the Wi Sa guards protecting Chang Cheon Pavilion rushed after him in a torrent.
It was easy to discern where the sound had originated.
The servant Mae Ran stood trembling violently in the corridor just beyond the entrance, her head bowed low.
Directly ahead lay the Inner Chamber where the Nam Goong Family gathered for their meals.
Crack!
“Who dares!”
Upon opening the door, Nam Goong On stood utterly dumbfounded.
There was no vicious beast—not even a single ant inside.
Instead, a venerable ebony table that had been passed down through five generations lay split cleanly in half.
Standing before it was none other than the Patriarch Nam Goong Ho.
He was unmistakably the one who had cleaved the table.
“Father, what on earth is the meaning of this…?”
“How could such a calamity befall us!”
Nam Goong Ho roared and bellowed, unable to contain his fury.
A crumpled letter clutched in his boulder-like hand appeared to be the source of his wrath.
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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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