A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 218

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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 218
* * *
Nam Goong Baek swept through the dense Bamboo Forest like a madman.
His heart pounded and his mouth went dry.
‘Where in the world did he go?’
The boy who had awakened his demonic energy moved faster than expected.
And he was cunning beyond measure!
The moment he stepped beyond the boundary of Nam Goong Baek’s perception, he vanished like a ghost, erasing all trace of his presence.
It happened the instant they entered the densely packed Bamboo Forest.
Which meant he couldn’t even follow with his eyes.
Nam Goong Baek clenched his teeth.
‘If this is how it is, I need to change my strategy.’
After all, Nam Goong Baek had come to Dengfeng Bamboo Sea to protect Hong Seol.
Then instead of searching for the Demonic Cult’s spy, he could simply find Hong Seol.
The Bamboo Forest known as Dengfeng Bamboo Sea was simply too vast to search by spreading his perception alone.
‘From Seol Ah’s perspective… No, let me think from Dang Yi Woon’s perspective.’
It was an unwelcome thought, but there was no helping it if he wanted to protect Seol Ah.
‘That bastard would definitely have brought Seol Ah to the most romantic spot he could find.’
Conveniently, there was a rather thick bamboo stalk nearby.
Nam Goong Baek lightened his body and stepped lightly onto it, climbing up.
Sway!
The bamboo bent considerably, but fortunately it didn’t break.
Thanks to this, he managed to secure a reasonable field of vision.
‘What is that…?’
As Nam Goong Baek scanned his surroundings, one place caught his eye distinctly.
A place suffused with an ethereal green glow.
Where water mist, bamboo forest, and fireflies created an utterly fantastical scene.
There could be no more perfect place to propose marriage.
‘If I were Dang Yi Woon, I would bring Seol Ah there on a night like this.’
Nam Goong Baek quickened his pace, suppressing his presence.
Even as he moved, he was careful not to be detected by Hong Seol.
As he hurried through the Bamboo Forest, he didn’t even notice that his lips were pressed tightly together in frustration.
* * *
“…!”
Nam Goong Baek stopped dead in his tracks.
There, in the distance, Dang Yi Woon and Hong Seol stood facing each other.
Nam Goong Baek quickly held his breath and concealed his body among the bamboo stalks.
In that moment.
As the clouds parted, moonlight filtered through and illuminated Dang Yi Woon’s face brightly.
“…!”
Seeing this, Nam Goong Baek’s grip on his sword tightened without his realizing it.
Eyes that seemed ready to burst into gentle laughter at the slightest touch, and a nose that stretched out cleanly and refreshingly.
Lips slightly fuller than most men’s, and a well-defined jawline to match.
He truly deserved to be called Sichuan’s most beautiful young master.
Dang Yi Woon’s face, bathed in moonlight, looked perfectly designed to captivate anyone who beheld it.
Nam Goong Baek found himself raising a finger to his own cheek.
A softness rivaling that of a woman’s skin brushed against his fingertips.
It felt unfair, somehow.
‘If I were to stand before Seol Ah beneath the moonlight like this….’
But that place was not his. Nam Goong Baek let his hand fall limply from his cheek.
Dang Yi Woon before him was different from usual.
His characteristic confidence had vanished, replaced by an expression of slight tension.
‘So Dang Yi Woon is serious about this.’
He truly wanted to bare his heart completely to Seol Ah.
Dang Yi Woon parted his lips carefully.
“Seol Ah, you’ve always wanted to have a real family, haven’t you.”
‘A real family?’
Those words made Nam Goong Baek’s head spin.
That was true.
Hong Seol and he were not truly family by blood.
He knew well that there were only two ways for those without shared blood to become a true family.
‘Adoption into the family register, or marriage.’
Nam Goong Baek had a vague inkling of why his father, Nam Goong On, had not adopted Seol Ah.
‘Perhaps he feared that Seol Ah’s fate might become intertwined with mine….’
If Hong Seol were adopted into the family register, she could not be married to Nam Goong Baek.
But he had never imagined that such consideration would become her source of worry.
It was something Nam Goong Baek had never thought of.
‘Even that snake knows this, yet why didn’t I….’
He felt pathetic.
Crushed beneath his own misfortune, he had failed to understand what Seol Ah truly desired.
“Seol Ah, I…”
Dang Yi Woon, who had hesitated for some time ahead, was about to open his mouth.
“I want to give you a real family.”
….
Hong Seol gazed directly at Dang Yi Woon without a word.
Dang Yi Woon’s sincere crimson eyes gleamed like red jade.
Thump.
At that sight, Nam Goong Baek’s own heart trembled instead.
It seemed as though Dang Yi Woon might open his mouth at any moment and propose marriage to Hong Seol.
‘Now is the only time to stop this.’
It was a whisper that echoed from within Nam Goong Baek’s heart.
Nam Goong Baek’s grip tightened around the hilt of his sword, his knuckles turning white.
“So… wouldn’t you marry me and come to Sichuan?”
‘In the end, I’ve said it after all…’
Yet Nam Goong Baek ultimately did not step forward.
Instead, he was about to turn quietly and leave.
‘That meticulous one will surely make Seol Ah happier than I ever could.’
But then a sudden chill ran down his spine.
‘What is this?’
An absurdly immense aura pressed against his senses.
To approach this close while concealing one’s presence so completely that it escaped his perception…
A master.
One who surpassed him at that.
In that instant, only one figure flashed through Nam Goong Baek’s mind.
The pale boy who had vanished into the Bamboo Forest.
‘The Demonic Cult!’
Clang!
“Seol Ah…!”
The moment Nam Goong Baek drew his blade.
A colossal shadow erupted from behind him.
“You wretched fool!”
The Bamboo Forest trembled violently with the resounding crash.
“…!”
Recognizing the figure, Nam Goong Baek spun through the air and barely retreated.
The shadow was not from the Demonic Cult.
It was Nam Goong Ho, the patriarch of the Nam Goong Family, his eyes blazing with uncontrollable fury.
He charged forward as if to tear apart everything in his path.
Straight into the narrow gap—barely a few spans wide—between Dang Yi Woon and Hong Seol!
“Not Seol Ah! Anyone but Seol Ah!”
Hong Seol’s vacant eyes finally widened in shock.
She alone could stop Nam Goong Ho here.
“G-Grandfather! You can’t!”
Hong Seol spread her delicate palms wide and swept them outward with all her might.
But it was far too late.
Boom!
Then came a profound silence.
* * *
‘I… I almost died just now.’
Dang Yi Woon’s eyes remained wide open as he swallowed hard.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down his spine.
Between Dang Yi Woon and Hong Seol.
A deep chasm had carved itself into the earth between them.
It was the scar left by Nam Goong Ho’s Heavenly Thunder Divine Palm, tearing through the ground itself.
‘Still, he didn’t draw his sword. Perhaps the Sword King showed me a shred of mercy…?’
I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if he’d actually unsheathed his blade and attacked.
Before I knew it, Dang Yi Woon stood with his hands clasped respectfully before him.
Nam Goong Ho commanded in a chilling voice.
“You, boy—return to Sichuan by this road.”
“…Yes.”
Dang Yi Woon nodded without protest.
There was no point in resisting. Officially, he was now a shameless scoundrel who had ‘kidnapped’ Hong Seol.
‘It’s fine. We’ll all return together to Anhui anyway, so I’ll find a chance to get Seol Ah’s answer when we’re alone!’
But Nam Goong Ho’s next command shattered Dang Yi Woon’s plans completely.
“Changcheon Sword Masters—from this moment, you shall escort the young master of the Dang Family! You must never leave the young master unguarded, lest danger befall him!”
“Yes, sir!”
Four Changcheon Sword Masters with eyes identical to Nam Goong Ho’s surrounded Dang Yi Woon.
Every one of them glared with undisguised hostility.
‘Tch, this is the price for coveting the Nam Goong Family’s only precious daughter.’
It was called an escort, but it was surveillance pure and simple.
It was over.
Until the day we arrived in Sichuan, there would likely never be another chance for Hong Seol and me to be alone together.
Just as Dang Yi Woon hung his head in despair.
Hong Seol approached Nam Goong Ho hesitantly.
Her bright face was filled with worry.
After all, she had run away from home—how angry would he be this time?
“Grandfather….”
Hong Seol couldn’t even bring herself to lift her head.
Then came words she couldn’t believe.
“…Did you succeed?”
“Pardon?”
At his unexpected question, Hong Seol’s eyes widened.
“Did you accomplish what you set out to do?”
Hong Seol lifted her head and looked at Nam Goong Ho.
His face was stern, yet she could see the deep affection and pride gleaming in his eyes.
“Yes, Grandfather. I found the Golden Cat Sect.”
A smile slowly spread across Nam Goong Ho’s previously stern lips.
“Well done.”
Then he hastily added.
“Of course, that snake bas…. Except for running away with the young master of the Dang Family!”
“Yes….”
Hong Seol bowed her head deeply once more. Nam Goong Ho added in a grave tone.
“Do you have any idea how much everyone worried when word came that a spy from the Demonic Cult had appeared in Shaolin?”
“Ah, well, since I was by Seol’s side the entire time, there was truly no cause for such concern….”
“The Young Master of the Dang Family would do well to hold his tongue!”
Dang Yi Woon, seizing what he thought was his moment to interject, received such a withering glare from Nam Goong Ho that he snapped his mouth shut immediately.
Though the shift in how Nam Goong Ho addressed him—from “boy” to “Young Master”—suggested his anger had cooled somewhat.
‘I’ve ruined it, completely ruined it…. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and I’ve made a mess of it.’
Thump.
Dang Yi Woon, as if surrendering entirely, trudged over to a boulder in the corner and sat down.
The Changcheon Sword Masters keeping watch continued to shadow him like phantoms.
“I have the Golden Cat Sect, Grandfather! Once we return, I’ll deliver it to Baek Elder Brother right away, and for a while at least, we won’t have to worry about addiction.”
“Return? Why wait? You could hand it over to him right now.”
At Nam Goong Ho’s words, Hong Seol’s mind went blank.
“Elder Brother? You don’t mean Baek Elder Brother has come as well?”
It was then.
From somewhere, a faint and achingly familiar scent of amber drifted through the air.
Hong Seol spun around sharply.
In doing so, the precious emerald fireflies she had been carefully keeping tumbled from the basket woven of bamboo leaves in a cascading shower.
Stars poured from the heavens above, while below, the emerald fireflies rose like stars yearning to touch the sky.
Through their luminous veil, a beautiful youth with silver hair and azure eyes slowly emerged into view.

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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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