A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 193

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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 193
“Father, please calm yourself. What on earth has happened?”
“On, this blasted snake of a boy!”
It was at that moment.
Since morning, the roof of Chang Cheon Pavilion had been echoing with sounds as if it might split open, and Bing Yu Hua, Heuk, and Jeok—who had come to eat breakfast—poked their heads out cautiously.
“Master, what is the meaning of this… Oh my!”
Bing Yu Hua, catching sight of the shattered table, gasped in alarm and covered her mouth with her sleeve.
Only then did Nam Goong Ho, barely catching his breath, toss a letter to Nam Goong On.
“Abduction.”
“Pardon?”
“That snake of a boy—dark and sinister just like his grandfather—has abducted our Seol Ah!”
“I beg your pardon?”
Nam Goong On’s face turned ashen as he hurriedly unfolded the letter to read it.
As he read through it, his complexion flushed red and blue in turns, and finally he exhaled a deep sigh before speaking.
“Father, this is not an abduction at all…”
“What exactly is the matter, Master?”
“Hong Seol has departed on a journey through Jianghu with the Young Master of the Dang Family. She writes that they are going to Sichuan to view Xiong Miao and will return safely.”
Nam Goong Ho’s anger flared up.
“How is that not an abduction!”
He found fault with his son for not raging as recklessly as he was.
Ah, even now Seol Ah was slipping further and further away!
“But Father, look—Hong Seol’s own handwriting is here as well. The line reads: ‘I will be careful and return safely, so please do not worry.'”
“That is all nonsense. How do we know our Seol Ah was not coerced into writing this by that snake!”
“However…”
Nam Goong On swallowed back the words: ‘It is more likely that Dang Yi Woon was the one being coerced.’
No, thinking back to when young Hong Seol had beaten down Nam Goong Do of the Branch Family, that was surely the truth.
Yet Nam Goong On himself could not bring himself to believe that Hong Seol had left with Dang Yi Woon without good reason.
‘There must be some deeper purpose to this, Hong Seol…’
While Nam Goong On called out to Hong Seol sorrowfully in his heart.
The Grand Patriarch Nam Goong Ho’s killing intent only grew more fierce.
“We must pursue that snake at once! If we are fortunate, we can catch up before they switch to traveling by water!”
Nam Goong Ho, who had been bouncing about saying ‘Let us dispatch the swiftest warriors from Changcheon Division,’ suddenly stopped.
Then, as if a brilliant idea had struck him, his face brightened.
“The Hundred-Li Pursuit Technique! What if we use the Hundred-Li Pursuit Technique!”
He was referring to the Nam Goong Family’s distinctive tracking method that utilized Hundred-Li flower petals.
“Did we not once discover the underground chamber where Seol Ah was taken using the Hundred-Li Pursuit Technique before!”
“But Father, we do not even know whether Hong Seol has taken the Hundred-Li flower petals with her.”
“Then we simply need to verify it!”
Nam Goong Ho called out loudly toward Wi Sa.
“Go at once and bring that fellow Baek here!”
* * *
At that very moment.
Nam Goong Baek sat quietly in a corner of the Training Ground, legs crossed in meditation.
After pouring out his heart to Hong Seol, he had not once visited Chang Cheon Pavilion for breakfast.
Instead, he had made his way to the Training Ground.
And there he had spent the entire day wielding his blade.
The walls of the Training Ground were covered with the traces of sword strikes he had carved into them.
Once he had swung his blade enough to exhaust his turmoil, he would gaze upon the wall and cross his legs once more.
Then he would quietly circulate his inner energy.
This was the cultivation method of the “Bright Mirror Sword” that Dok Bi Jo had taught him.
Back when Hong Seol had trained under Dok Bi Jo.
Nam Goong Baek had also learned a sword technique from her.
At first, he had dismissed it as no better than the Nam Goong Family’s techniques, but when Dok Bi Jo demonstrated even a single move, his opinion changed entirely.
“Why would you teach such a precious sword art to me?”
“Who knows? The timing seemed right, your bones and frame are exceptional, and besides, I found the worry etched so deeply across that young face of yours rather troubling.”
“Does swinging a sword really change anything?”
“Yes. This blade is one that polishes the heart.”
“…The heart?”
“Life in this world brings much noise and turbulence to the mind. In such times, the mysteries woven into the Bright Mirror Sword will lighten the burden upon your heart.”
Nam Goong Baek’s eyelids trembled slightly as he sat with eyes closed, circulating his energy in the Training Ground.
“They say the Bright Mirror Sword brings peace of mind… what a liar.”
The more he mastered the sword technique and continued his cultivation, the more vividly a certain scene surfaced in Nam Goong Baek’s mind.
A scene that disturbed his heart beyond measure.
He had first recalled this scene on the day when he, Hong Seol, and Dang Yi Woon had visited Manbok Tower together.
With his mind in turmoil, Nam Goong Baek had unfailingly trained in the Bright Mirror Sword at the Training Ground.
And then, without warning, the scene would resurface, and Nam Goong Baek would double over and retch.
‘What is this scene? Why does this vision keep haunting me?’
To soothe his troubled heart, Nam Goong Baek threw himself even more intensely into the cultivation of the Bright Mirror Sword.
But with each passing day, the scene only grew clearer and more vivid.
Today was no exception.
Nam Goong Baek rose to dispel the chaos in his mind and drew his blade.
“First form of the Bright Mirror Sword: Bright Mirror Still Water.”
Summoning a heart as clear as a mirror and as serene as still water.
“Second form: Clear Light Blooming Flower.”
As clear light blooms like a flower, piercing through darkness to reveal the truth.
“Third form: Heart Mirror’s Radiance.”
The mirror of the heart shines with heat, reflecting all things beneath heaven and earth.
After wielding the blade for two hours in this manner.
Nam Goong Baek at last reached the final form of the Bright Mirror Sword.
The most intricate and most profound movement of all.
Nam Goong Baek steadied his breathing and pointed his sword at a single point in the void.
“Tenth Form, Taiji Circulation.”
Like the harmony of the Taiji, all things in heaven and earth circulate endlessly.
The circulation of all things.
The circulation of all things…!
“Surely not…!”
The moment I achieved the Mirror Sword technique nearly at seventy percent mastery.
A lightning-like enlightenment struck Nam Goong Baek’s mind.
‘Could it be that scene which keeps returning to me…!’
Haah, haah.
My breathing had grown terribly ragged.
Nam Goong Baek, bent halfway at the waist, clenched his teeth.
If what I had come to understand was true, I could not burden Hong Seol with the weight of my life any further.
‘Indeed, it is right that I distance myself from Seol.’
As long as she remained by my side, Hong Seol would always willingly fight to keep me alive.
The moment Nam Goong Baek made his resolve.
“Young Master, Young Master!”
A test had arrived.
One of the iron rules that servants of the Nam Goong Family learned upon beginning their service was never to interrupt personal cultivation.
Yet for one to come here and cry out meant this was no ordinary situation.
“What is the matter!”
“Hong Seol, Miss Hong Seol has… departed on a journey through Jianghu with Dang Yi Woon!”
Nam Goong Baek’s eyebrows twitched.
“…The two of them together?”
“Yes! She said they were going to Sichuan to visit Xiong Miao. That is why everyone is in an uproar trying to fetch you!”
The keen Nam Goong Baek grasped what the situation meant.
‘They want me to pursue Seol and employ the Hundred-Li Shadowing Technique.’
Nam Goong Baek’s lips parted as he deliberated.
“…I will not go.”
The Servant’s head snapped up in shock at his cold voice.
Was this not the eldest young master who would drop everything and rush off whenever it concerned Hong Seol?
“But Young Master, Miss Hong Seol…”
“It is no longer my concern. Now go.”
Having spoken those words, Nam Goong Baek pointed his sword at the void once more.
The Servant left without another word.
Alone, Nam Goong Baek repeated to himself.
“My heart cannot waver. I must sever all ties with Seol.”
Yet contrary to his words, the tip of Nam Goong Baek’s sword trembled terribly.
* * *
The carriage carrying Hong Seol and Dang Yi Woon raced forward at full speed.
Yet Hong Seol’s expression remained unsatisfied.
Click.
Dang Yi Woon, who had opened the carriage window, called out to Pyo Du, who was riding alongside them as an escort.
“Can’t we hurry a bit more?”
To Dang Yi Woon’s request, Pyo Du replied flatly.
“We could accelerate, but doing so would likely leave traces that could lead pursuers to our trail.”
At those words, Dang Yi Woon clamped his mouth shut.
‘If we’re tracked now… I’ll be in serious trouble.’
I might end up hanging upside down before the gates of the Nam Goong Estate Manor.
At the horrifying thought, Dang Yi Woon’s body trembled.
The letter he’d left behind seemed to be stoking the elders’ anger even more.
It was Hong Seol who had suggested leaving a note saying he would visit Sichuan.
“That way, we can redirect the adults’ attention to Sichuan, older brother!”
I’d gone along with Hong Seol’s suggestion, but…
‘The Sword King surely isn’t ordinarily angry.’
By now, he might be raging, “I’ll chew this snake alive with my own teeth!”
Just imagining it sent shivers down my spine.
But what’s done is done.
‘Ah, forget it… Grandfather will surely protect me somehow.’
Once he learns that Seol and I departed into Jianghu together, he’ll certainly take my side.
With such thoughts, Dang Yi Woon squeezed his eyes shut.
His troubled expression seemed to have touched Pyo Du’s heart.
He spoke with a pitying look.
“I’ll do my best to hurry. We should arrive at Deng Peak within twelve days.”
Then a sharp voice came from beside him.
“Twelve days is too slow!”
It was Hong Seol, disguised as a young nobleman, seated beside Dang Yi Woon.

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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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