A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 207

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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 207
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Jo Gyeong Pyeong, the assistant manager of the Geumneung Trading Company, felt as though his head might split open these days.
The primary duty of an assistant manager—financial management—had become fraught with difficulties.
“How in the world was it managed so poorly that a perfectly sound flour storage caught fire?”
And now, in the height of summer no less.
Didn’t torrential rains pour down regularly enough?
He would clutch his throbbing head and rush out to the site of the incinerated flour storage three or four times a day.
“Blast it all! How am I supposed to recover from this loss!”
Swinging the abacus tucked at his side through the air and cursing provided some momentary relief.
But it did nothing to restore the three hundred stones of flour that had burned away.
The real problem was that this incident had destroyed the Geumneung Trading Company’s monopoly.
The regional administrator who had backed the Geumneung Trading Company had granted permission for the Taehwa Trading Company to trade at Deng Peak, as they happened to be passing through with a shipment of flour.
It was a decision made with the reasoning that “no matter what happens, Shaolin must be properly supplied with flour for the Ullambana Festival.”
“That old fool has taken enough money from us—how much more does he need!”
Though his anger boiled over, the conflict between bureaucrats and merchants always ended in bureaucratic victory.
Thus, the Geumneung Trading Company could do nothing but curse the regional administrator behind closed doors.
But the Taehwa Trading Company, which operated from a base in Xinjiang, had not brought merely flour to Deng Peak.
Their escort wagons carried silk, spices, and high-quality salt as well.
As a result, the Geumneung Trading Company’s profits collapsed in an instant.
And Jo Gyeong Pyeong’s head throbbed from reconciling the ledgers.
“Curse those bastards!”
It was on one such day, as he vented his fury with such loud curses.
“Sir! Sir!”
A worker employed by the trading company came seeking Jo Gyeong Pyeong.
“The truth is, on the night of the fire, I drank and came in late.”
“I’m already burning with a thousand fires inside, and you want me to hear about you drinking too?”
“No, no, that’s not it. I came to tell you about the new trading company. The Taehwa Trading Company that’s unloading cargo at the Tianshan Inn.”
At the mention of that name, Jo Gyeong Pyeong’s teeth ground together.
“Yes, those shameless bastards who dared touch our rice bowl! Why are they still lingering at Deng Peak instead of leaving?”
“I heard the goods they need to load for the return journey haven’t been prepared yet.”
“What goods are those?”
“Well… they mentioned visiting the kiln site, so it seems to be pottery. But that’s not the important part, sir!”
“Then what is?”
“That night, after drinking, I passed by the Tianshan Inn.”
Unable to steady himself properly, he had stumbled over cargo piled behind the inn.
“And I smelled a strong pine resin scent.”
“What?”
Pine resin was perfect for starting fires.
Even if the firewood was slightly damp, pine resin alone would make flames ignite with ease.
“Th-this is the clothing I wore that day. Please, take a look at it.”
The Worker held out a grimy sleeve stained with sticky pine resin.
“No matter how much I think about it, something doesn’t add up.”
“Those shameless Taehwa Trading Company dogs! I won’t let them—”
Jo Gyeong Pyeong stormed into the Tianshan Inn alone that very day.
His martial prowess was first-rate.
It was a decision born of confidence in his own skills.
But after that day, Jo Gyeong Pyeong never appeared again at the burned storage site, where he had been seen day and night without fail.
Not long after, the Worker who had been spreading rumors about Jo Gyeong Pyeong’s disappearance also vanished without a trace.
And the pink kitten that had frequently appeared in that vicinity stopped showing itself from some point onward.
* * *
Hong Seol walked the streets dressed as neatly as if I had come out for a stroll through the Market District of Hefei.
“This way, we can actually avoid drawing Shaolin’s attention.”
It was what Hong Seol said while glancing sideways at the Arhat Monks spread across the streets.
“True, though the problem is you’re so beautiful that you stand out, Seol.”
Dang Yi Woon spoke playfully, scrunching his forehead in jest.
Hong Seol let out a small sigh at the familiar compliment.
It was true that my heart used to race at such words in the beginning.
‘But Baek Elder Brother has never once told me I’m beautiful.’
So Yi Woon Elder Brother’s words were nothing but teasing.
Hong Seol pouted and replied.
“…It’s because the scars disappeared. You’re just making fun of me, aren’t you?”
Thanks to the antidote pill, Hong Seol’s cheeks were smooth without a single blemish.
Dang Yi Woon, on the other hand, still bore the appearance of a hired laborer.
The two tear moles beneath his eyes remained intact.
Dang Yi Woon had deliberately refused to take the antidote pill.
There was a separate reason for that.
“They really do suit you, those marks.”
Just as Hong Seol said, the tear moles suited Dang Yi Woon well.
On an otherwise unremarkable face, they became a definite focal point.
Moreover, the tear moles made his crimson eyes—which could be called his pride—shine all the more brilliantly.
“Well, I thought a change like this wasn’t so bad.”
Here he was, casually calling her beautiful without batting an eye.
Dang Yi Woon, flustered by even Hong Seol’s small compliment, scratched beneath his eyes slightly.
“But why did you tell me to keep wearing these shabby clothes?”
Hong Seol flinched as if struck by his words.
“Wh-why…? Don’t you like them?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that your outfit doesn’t match mine.”
Hong Seol’s face grew increasingly flushed.
Seeing this, a sudden realization struck Dang Yi Woon like lightning.
‘Could it be that Seol Ah has a preference for this sort of thing?’
The shabby clothing combined with the tear mole creating that decadent, melancholic atmosphere.
“Hmm….”
Dang Yi Woon narrowed his eyes and gazed at Hong Seol.
“Is it that you’re worried the Arhat Monks might notice…?”
Even as Hong Seol spoke, she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze.
That was it.
At that moment, Dang Yi Woon became certain.
‘This must definitely be Seol Ah’s preference!’
A smile bloomed across his face in an instant.
“No! If the Arhat Monks notice, they’ll just say the brat caught the eye of some young lady from a Martial Arts Family, that’s all.”
Finding composure through his conviction, Dang Yi Woon bowed deeply.
“I’m in your care, Miss Hong Seol.”
“Tee-hee.”
Hong Seol’s face flushed as she burst into laughter.
Dang Yi Woon found that sight delightful.
He wished he could see it for a long time even after returning to Sichuan.
For the sake of that smile, what did shabby clothing matter?
The two walked side by side through the streets for a while.
“But where are we going?”
“Right here!”
Dang Yi Woon’s eyes widened as he came to a stop.
“A pawnshop…?”
A pawnshop was a place where one could borrow money in exchange for leaving items as collateral.
‘We’re stopping at a pawnshop before going to find the Golden Cat Sect at the Kiln Site? That would make sense if we were visiting a blacksmith to buy weapons.’
Though somewhat bewildered, Dang Yi Woon trusted Hong Seol implicitly.
‘Seol Ah must have a reason for this.’
After all, she was the clever little cat who had never disappointed him once.
Yet even Dang Yi Woon couldn’t simply overlook this one thing.
‘What on earth does Seol Ah intend to pawn?’
Hong Seol and Dang Yi Woon were currently, as they say, completely broke.
The jewels they had brought when leaving Hefei had long since been paid to the Geumsa Escort Agency as compensation.
The remaining money was barely enough to cover lodging at an inn and the journey back to Anhui.
Only then did Dang Yi Woon realize why Hong Seol had prevented him from wearing silk robes.
‘Could Seol Ah be planning to pawn my green robe at the pawnshop?’
An item that unmistakably belonged to the Dang Family.
If the young master of the Sichuan Dang Family had to pawn his clothes due to lack of funds, it would be nothing short of humiliating.
Unable to bear the rising anxiety any longer, Dang Yi Woon finally spoke.
“Seol Ah, what are you planning to pawn?”
But no answer came.
The swift-footed kitten had long since scurried into the pawnshop and vanished from sight.
* * *
“Oh my, welcome, young lady!”
The Pawnshop Owner, who had been dozing moments before, brightened immediately.
He had caught sight of Hong Seol’s unmistakably refined attire.
‘A lady of that station would surely pawn at least a precious jade ornament.’
It happened occasionally.
Young ladies from sheltered, noble families would sometimes visit the pawnshop.
It was always when they needed money without their families knowing.
‘And that money usually goes to some man.’
The innocent-looking girl before him seemed too young for romantic entanglements.
But the experienced Pawnshop Owner’s eye could read the signs.
‘These young ladies always lose their heads over their first love.’
Knowing nothing of the dangers men posed.
The cunning Pawnshop Owner had made a practice of draining such girls’ purses completely dry.
But he could not reveal such intentions carelessly. This required the delicate touch of a fisherman carefully playing his line.
The Pawnshop Owner asked with a warm, friendly smile.
“Might I ask what brings you to such a humble establishment, young lady?”
The pretty girl gave him a puzzled look, as if wondering why he would ask such an obvious question.
“To borrow money, of course.”
“Ah, I see. Is there perhaps some urgent matter?”
“Sigh.”
The girl before me exhaled softly.
Hearing this, the owner scratched the back of his head in feigned innocence.
“Ah, well… it’s just that you don’t seem like the sort who should need to borrow money in a rough place like this. I wondered if perhaps something troubling had occurred…”
As he spoke, the owner glanced at the girl sidelong.
Her face, which had shone like a lustrous pearl, was now distinctly clouded.
As if she carried some worry.
Perfect!
The owner silently exulted at the sight of that expression.
Girls with such looks would weep openly and spill their secrets with just a few kind words.
‘Nine times out of ten, they’ve fallen into the trap of some worthless scoundrel.’
Perhaps a man she cared for had been injured in a street brawl and needed expensive wound medicine.
Or she needed to quickly cover gambling debts.
‘Then I gently coax these desperate girls into surrendering their precious jewels for a pittance.’
What precious items might this girl have brought for the sake of her beloved?
He licked his lips.
The Pawnshop Owner savored the moment.

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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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