A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 195

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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 195
“Hah!”
Hong Seol lifted the water bucket without blinking an eye.
The middle-aged man’s expression shifted to one of surprise.
“Hmm. You look as delicate as a chick, yet your physique seems better than expected. Tell me, do you have any special skills?”
“Yes!”
At Hong Seol’s unhesitating response, Dang Yi Woon’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“I’m quite skilled at making dumplings!”
What a blatant lie!
Dang Yi Woon’s jaw dropped.
“Ah, even at Shaolin’s provisions hall, we prepare vegetable dumplings for the donors during every Ullambana Festival. So tell me, what is most essential for making delicious dumplings?”
“Squeezing out all the moisture from the filling!”
“Why is that?”
“Fillings made only with vegetables and tofu become mushy. When that happens, people with discerning palates won’t eat them.”
Dang Yi Woon was inwardly astonished at those words.
‘How does Seol know such things?’
Hong Seol herself remained composed.
‘I’m glad I listened to Lady Lee’s instructions on dumpling-making back then.’
Lady Lee, who oversaw the kitchen at Chang Cheon Pavilion, spent her days sighing.
It was because the eldest young master, Nam Goong Baek, had such a picky palate.
“Alas, the eldest young master refuses to eat vegetable dumplings with mushy filling.”
Recalling that day, Hong Seol spoke clearly before the middle-aged man.
“Therefore… squeezing out all the moisture from the filling is most important!”
“You pass!”
“Thank you so much!”
Hong Seol, who had cried out loudly, moved toward where the successful candidates had gathered.
Now it was Dang Yi Woon’s turn.
‘What am I supposed to do, Seol Ah?’
Dang Yi Woon stepped forward with a heart ready to weep.
He barely remembered hoisting the water bucket.
Thud.
Having set down the water bucket, Dang Yi Woon stood quietly, awaiting the humiliation to come.
“So, what are you confident in?”
– Cooking.
At that moment, a telepathic message brushed against Dang Yi Woon’s ear. It was from Hong Seol.
“Cooking… is what I’m confident in.”
Dang Yi Woon answered as if entranced.
“Oh, there are many skilled young cooks this year. So, which type of cooking are you most confident in?”
– Vegetables.
“Vegetables…”
I answered blankly, and Dang Yi Woon suddenly lifted his head.
“…!”
Only then did he grasp Hong Seol’s meaning.
‘So that’s why she said I’d definitely pass!’
The image of the kitten grinning mischievously finally registered in his eyes.
– That’s right, brother. Medicinal herbs are vegetables too, aren’t they?
If it’s about handling medicinal herbs, there’s no way someone raised in the Sichuan Tang Family like Dang Yi Woon could fail!
‘Seol, you clever little kitten!’
Dang Yi Woon’s eyes brightened with renewed vigor.
“Right, vegetables then? Any kind?”
“I’m confident I can handle any ingredient used in medicinal cuisine.”
Medicinal cuisine referred to ‘food that becomes medicine.’
“Water parsley that detoxifies, butterbur that cools the body, fatsia shoots that restore vitality and strengthen the spirit….”
Dang Yi Woon, rattling off medicinal herb names with enthusiasm, suddenly clamped his mouth shut.
He felt the surprised gazes of those around him.
Indeed, it was knowledge far too profound for an ordinary poor boy to know.
The Middle-aged Man asked with astonishment.
“Where did you learn all that?”
From that point on, the characteristic audacity of the Sichuan Tang Family began to shine.
“Actually…. My late grandfather taught me.”
As Dang Yi Woon said this, he deliberately bowed his head deeply.
“Ah.”
“Oh my.”
The onlookers let out sympathetic sighs.
“My grandfather was a medicinal herb merchant, but not long ago while climbing the mountain, he…!”
Having said that much, Dang Yi Woon turned his head to the side as if choked with emotion.
Watching from afar, Hong Seol clicked her tongue at Dang Yi Woon’s performance.
‘Wow, brother is really sending off that perfectly healthy snake grandfather like this….’
But Dang Yi Woon’s one-man show, now in full swing, showed no signs of stopping.
“Alas, he mistepped and fell. So I…. had no choice but to earn my bread as a laborer.”
“Ah, I see….”
The Middle-aged Man, befitting a lay disciple of Shaolin, patted Dang Yi Woon’s shoulder with compassion.
“Yes, Shaolin is generous-hearted, so you won’t go hungry for a while. I too shall pray for your grandfather’s rebirth in paradise. Amitabha Buddha.”
“Th-thank you so much!”
With Dang Yi Woon’s false sobbing, the laborer selection came to an end.
The Middle-aged Man called out loudly.
“Entering the Shaolin Sect Grounds will be tomorrow. Pack light and come here by the Hour of the Rabbit.”
“Yes!”
The boys gathered in the courtyard dispersed like a receding tide.
Yet Hong Seol alone stood quietly with a slight crease on her brow, watching someone’s retreating figure.
That target was the Freckled Boy who stammered when he spoke.
“What’s wrong, Seol Ah? Is something bothering you?”
Dang Yi Woon spoke with a slightly puzzled tone.
Hong Seol’s eyes brightened as she looked up at Dang Yi Woon.
“Oh, no. It’s just….”
There was something odd about it, but it wasn’t certain enough to mention to Dang Yi Woon.
“I suppose it’s because Shaolin is a temple that they employ such a diverse group of people.”
As she spoke, Hong Seol pointed to her own cheek.
“Someone like me, and that boy who stammers as well.”
“Ah, is that so? I noticed earlier that one person who couldn’t speak at all also passed.”
“I see.”
Hong Seol and Dang Yi Woon began walking toward the Inn where they would spend the night.
“By the way… I heard that usually they conduct up to a third examination.”
Dang Yi Woon, whose shoulders had risen with pride at passing the examination, laughed brightly.
“It seems they only needed the second examination this time because they need many people!”
“Is that so…?”
Hong Seol’s face still held a hint of doubt as she repeatedly glanced back.
* * *
“Wow, look at that!”
“Shaolin is quite impressive, isn’t it?”
Early morning.
Hong Seol and Dang Yi Woon stood with bundles strapped to their backs.
Before them loomed an enormous Pavilion that appeared to be three or four times the height of a man.
“Is this the Shaolin Temple Gate…?”
Tracing the granite steps carved from stone with her eyes upward, the brilliantly golden-tiled roof captured her gaze.
“That shimmering golden light.”
“Shaolin must be wealthy!”
The hired boys chattered freely among themselves. Then a deep voice came from somewhere.
“It is not gilded because of wealth. That golden light symbolizes the radiance that guides all sentient beings toward enlightenment. Now, there is much work to do, so hurry along!”
It was the words of the Middle-aged Man who had led the boys from the foot of Songshan.
Not long after they passed through the Temple Gate and resumed walking.
“Hah!”
“Ha!”
At the ominous shouts coming from somewhere, the boys flinched.
Between the shouts, they could even feel the ground trembling.
The Middle-aged Man spoke as if it were nothing.
“Do not be alarmed. Those are the sounds of the Arhats training after completing their dawn prayers.”
Arhats were the term for Shaolin’s elite warrior monks.
Only one hundred and eight could pass the trials and earn the name of Arhat.
Therefore, the world called them the One Hundred Eight Arhats.
– Could it be, brother, that they’re deploying the ‘Diamond Demon-Repelling Formation’ with those One Hundred Eight Arhats?
– That’s right! The Diamond Demon-Repelling Formation is especially effective at driving out demonic energy.
The blood of martial artists cannot be deceived.
Hong Seol and Dang Yi Woon’s eyes sparkled as they exchanged whispered words through secret transmission.
– To have the chance to witness Shaolin’s martial arts directly, which I’ve only learned from books!
Hong Seol, having completely forgotten her position as a hired hand, transmitted her words with trembling emotion.
– In my childhood, my dream was to learn external cultivation at Shaolin and become indestructible like the Diamond Body!
But Dang Yi Woon’s reaction was strange.
– Seol Ah, is this really where hired hands are supposed to work?
– Huh?
Only then did Hong Seol lift her head toward where Dang Yi Woon was looking.
The place they were in was none other than Shaolin’s Grand Training Ground.
It was where the martial monks of the Shaolin Thirty-Six Chambers—Shaolin’s legendary cultivation system—honed their martial arts.
“Ha!”
“Yiyah!”
The middle-aged man was leading the boys toward the center of it all.
The boys, knowing nothing, followed with eyes bright with curiosity.
All except one—the stammering freckled boy.
His face was deathly pale, cold sweat dripping down, and he looked utterly pitiful.
Hong Seol, observing him intently, sent a transmission.
– Brother, please look after that boy!
Dang Yi Woon then suddenly poked the freckled boy.
“Hey, you alright?”
“…U-uh, yeah.”
“You don’t look well.”
The boy was startled.
“N-no, it’s just… m-my stomach hurts a l-little.”
Dang Yi Woon, who had unconsciously reached for his sleeve, hesitated.
‘Right, even a single medicinal pill is precious to ordinary people.’
Here, he was not Dang Yi Woon of the Sa Cheon Dang Family.
Instead of taking out medicine, Dang Yi Woon said:
“Hey, hold out your hand.”
“W-why, why are you d-doing that?”
“There’s a reason.”
When the freckled boy extended his hand, Dang Yi Woon mercilessly pressed the Hegu point between his thumb and index finger with force.
“Ahhh!”
At the boy’s cry, the middle-aged man erupted in anger.
“What are you doing in the sacred grounds of Shaolin?”
Gluuurrrp.
In that instant, the freckled boy let out a long belch.
“Skip the pleasantries.”
Dang Yi Woon shrugged his shoulders.
“My late grandfather was an herbalist, remember? A charlatan, sure, but he occasionally practiced acupuncture. I picked it up watching over his shoulder.”
The boys around him gazed with admiration in their eyes.
It was when Dang Yi Woon, now brimming with pride, turned back toward Hong Seol.
-Brother, did you not notice anything strange when you grasped that boy’s hand?
-Hm? Now that you mention it….
In that brief moment, Dang Yi Woon examined the boy’s meridian points.
It was something like a martial artist’s instinct.
-The Jingjin and Yuye acupoints beneath that boy’s tongue have hardened like stone.
A remark befitting the heir of the Sa Cheon Dang Family, renowned for both toxins and the medical arts.
Having heard the answer she desired, Hong Seol clapped both palms together sharply.
-As I thought!
-Why are you doing this, Seol Ah?
-Perhaps that boy could be a clue to finding the Golden Cat Sect!

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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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