A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 222

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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 222
When Hong Seol came to her senses, she found herself already aboard a carriage bound for the Northern Sea Ice Palace, bearing the Martial Arts Alliance’s insignia.
A flag emblazoned with “Martial Arts Alliance” was planted firmly atop the carriage roof.
‘Honestly, I can never refuse Je Gal Hyeop’s proposals.’
Je Gal Hyeop had presented an offer Hong Seol simply could not decline.
Upon hearing his words, Hong Seol—like a child enchanted by candy—had promised to make the journey to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and return.
‘I had no idea the journey would be this long.’
Three months had already passed since their departure.
The landscape around them had transformed into a realm where breath crystallized into white mist with each exhale.
“Achoo!”
Hong Seol sneezed without warning, then immediately glanced around nervously.
‘Now I’ll have to endure another lecture about wearing more layers.’
She was already swaddled in a quilted winter coat stuffed with cotton, a scarf fashioned from sable fur, and thick gloves.
Wrapped so thoroughly from head to toe, Hong Seol resembled nothing so much as a small bear cub.
Fortunately, the person sitting beside her appeared lost in thought and had not heard the sneeze.
Phew.
Hong Seol exhaled a quiet sigh of relief, inaudible to her companion.
‘At least I’m not making this journey to the unfamiliar Northern Sea Ice Palace alone.’
This was far more than mere companionship.
Je Gal Hyeop had assigned Hong Seol the one person in the Central Plains who knew the Northern Sea Ice Palace best.
Hong Seol observed Bing Yu Hua sitting beside her with keen attention. The Medicine Master wore only a simple white fox fur draped over her everyday clothes.
‘The Medicine Master is dressed so lightly compared to me—it’s hardly fair.’
Just as Hong Seol’s lips began to pout in mild indignation—
Oh no!
Their eyes met.
“Child, you’re cold, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not!”
“Don’t lie to me. Your lips are trembling!”
Bing Yu Hua furrowed her brow and adjusted Hong Seol’s clothing.
She wrapped it even more snugly around her.
“I’m… a little… suffocating… here…”
At this rate, I’ll collapse before we even reach the Northern Sea Ice Palace…
Unable to speak properly with the fur scarf constricting her throat, Hong Seol could only mumble incoherently.
Beads of perspiration were already forming on her rounded forehead.
Bing Yu Hua spoke with unwavering resolve.
“Child, you speak such foolishness because you’ve never experienced the Northern cold! That place is so brutally frigid that fish pulled from the water freeze solid instantly.”
“But surely the Medicine Master herself…”
Hong Seol’s gaze drifted to Bing Yu Hua’s light attire.
Bing Yu Hua answered with a hint of embarrassment.
“I’ve already endured the Northern cold before, child.”
At that, Hong Seol gazed out the carriage window with an expression of wounded indignation, much like that of a wronged ox.
The guards escorting the carriage wore thick garments, certainly, but none quite as heavily layered as Hong Seol.
‘The cold of the Northern Sea seems more exaggerated than I expected…?’
After a moment’s deliberation, Hong Seol broke into a sheepish smile.
Well, what could she do.
Who else’s words would she trust if not those of someone from the Northern Sea Ice Palace?
And truthfully, Hong Seol rather enjoyed how Bing Yu Hua fussed over her with such excessive care.
‘If I had a mother, this is what it would feel like.’
Hong Seol gazed quietly at Bing Yu Hua’s profile.
Despite the long years that had transformed a child into an adult, she remained a dazzling beauty.
Yet…
‘She seems a bit tense today.’
Indeed, regardless of her lack of regrets, meeting those who had sealed her dantian once more could hardly be an easy matter.
Moreover, she had heard that the Northern Sea Ice Palace had severed its ties with the Central Plains not long after Bing Yu Hua’s departure.
This meant Bing Yu Hua, who had come to the Nam Goong Family, had no opportunity to hear news from her homeland.
“What sort of place is the Northern Sea Ice Palace, Medicine Master?”
Hong Seol broached a topic she had heard recounted countless times before.
It was a gesture of consideration, meant to ease Bing Yu Hua’s tension even slightly.
“In the midst of a vast lake, surrounded by towering ice walls. Blizzards perpetually rage about it, and the lake that cradles the ice palace remains frozen solid throughout all four seasons.”
Consequently, those who visited the Northern Sea Ice Palace had no need for boats or bridges, or so she had been told.
“Are you nervous?”
“…A little. It is my homeland, after all, and I return after nearly twenty years. Yet at the same time, I find myself excited.”
A glimmer of anticipation flickered in Bing Yu Hua’s azure eyes.
“There was an elder sister I was close to. Her name is Bing Xiao Yue… She treated me without pretense, despite being an outsider. And she was even the Deputy Palace Master of the ice palace.”
Beautiful and possessed of martial prowess far beyond her years—three years Bing Yu Hua’s senior.
For the young Bing Yu Hua, she must have been the very embodiment of admiration.
“If all goes well, by now she should have become the Palace Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
Bing Yu Hua smiled softly, hope kindling in her expression.
Among the reasons Bing Yu Hua had resolved to journey north was the desire to see Bing Xiao Yue once more.
“Of course, I have not laid eyes upon her even once since I fled the palace.”
Bing Yu Hua turned the conversation away, as though embarrassed by the old memories.
“So then, child. Are you making progress in mastering the Yin-Yang Divine Art?”
“Ah, well, that is…”
Taken aback by the sudden question, Hong Seol lowered her head in embarrassment.
Despite all this time having passed, Hong Seol had scarcely achieved mastery of the Yin-Yang Divine Art.
‘I understand how to circulate the yang energy flowing through my body up the left side of my body…’
When I do so, my left palm grows scorching hot, as though heated in flame.
Hong Seol sat still, concentrating on the energy circulating within her body.
From that state, if I extend my hand in a sweeping motion—!
Whoosh!
It blazed forth as pure Solar True Qi.
“Phew.”
Hong Seol gently suppressed the yang energy roiling within her.
Even through the thick gloves she wore, she could feel the scorching heat radiating outward.
‘No wonder it bears the name of a divine technique.’
The Solar True Qi that had taken root throughout Hong Seol’s meridians was so vigorous and potent.
She had once melted an ice block as tall as herself in a single day.
‘The steward scolded me for melting all the precious ice that had been brought in to cool the heat.’
Yet the yin energy settled on the opposite side of her body stubbornly refused to obey her will.
Whether she pushed or pleaded, the energy within remained perfectly still.
It never manifested as cold qi.
‘If I could only master the Yin-Yang Divine Technique properly, I could finally coax that stubborn Baek Elder Brother out of the Training Cave!’
Sigh.
The most frustrated one was Hong Seol herself.
That was precisely why she had journeyed to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Je Gal Hyeop had somehow discovered that Hong Seol was struggling with her ice technique training, and he had dangled the bait before her.
“Little one, have you ever heard of the Eternal Frozen Essence?”
“The treasure at the Northern Sea Ice Palace… you mean?”
“Indeed. They say that training before it allows one to master ice techniques with ease. What say you—shall we visit the Northern Sea Ice Palace?”
Of course, Hong Seol had not simply fallen for Je Gal Hyeop’s honeyed words.
“What would I need to do there?”
“Quick-witted as always. You would go as an envoy of the Martial Arts Alliance. To stand against the Demonic Cult, we need not only the strength of the Central Plains martial world, but also the power of those beyond.”
In other words, the Demonic Cult’s influence had grown formidable. Hong Seol agreed without hesitation.
“I will go to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and return.”
“You do not ask why it must be you?”
“It is obvious enough.”
“Let me hear your thoughts then.”
“I am the sole direct descendant of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace. Since we are both outsiders, they will surely receive me far more generously.”
“My, it seems you truly ought to marry into the Je Gal Family, Seol!”
“…Ah, Grandfather is here!”
“What, what! The Sword King himself…! You little troublemaker, you’ve become quite the prankster!”
Hong Seol recalled the conversation she had shared with Je Gal Hyeop at the wedding ceremony at the Deng Family Estate, and she gazed at Bing Yu Hua.
The moment Bing Yu Hua heard that it would aid in perfecting the Yin-Yang Divine Technique, she eagerly volunteered to accompany Hong Seol.
With that, the ones most anxious became the men of the Nam Goong Family.
From the Patriarch Nam Goong Ho to the Family Head Nam Goong On and even the Changcheon Master Nam Goong Ui Gyeol.
Though they burned to accompany her northward, they simply could not spare the time.
The Demonic Cult’s relentless provocations left them no choice.
In this situation, there was only one person to trust.
“Hong Seol, this time you must protect Bing Yu Hua, who cannot use her inner strength. I ask this of you.”
It was a weighty request from Nam Goong On, directed toward Hong Seol, who had now become a true martial artist in her own right.
Recalling those words, I regarded Bing Yu Hua with a composed expression.
“Medicine Master, the Northern Sea Ice Palace still requires considerable time to reach, does it not?”
“Indeed. Given how mild the weather has been, we likely need another week of travel.”
That was when it happened.
“The Ice Palace appears in the distance!”
At Pyo Du’s cry, Bing Yu Hua’s shoulders trembled with a start.
“Already?”
Startled, Bing Yu Hua poked her head cautiously from the carriage, then gasped and covered her mouth.
“Heavens…!”
The lake, which should have been frozen solid beneath thick ice, instead brimmed with azure water.
Something catastrophic had befallen the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Pyo Du scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“I confess I do not understand what has transpired, but the location is unmistakably correct.”
Just then, one of the scouts who had hastily surveyed the surroundings came rushing back and bowed.
“There is no bridge across the lake. We shall need to construct a raft to cross.”
“A raft? How long do you expect that to take?”
As Pyo Du voiced his displeasure, both I and Bing Yu Hua, sensing something amiss, descended from the carriage.
The moment I beheld the vast expanse of churning water before us, so unlike what I had imagined.
I immediately discerned what had befallen the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
‘Ah, I was right to bring that item this time.’
When I recalled ‘that object’ nestled deep within my robes.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar presence made itself known.
“Who goes there!”
I cried out sharply, positioning Bing Yu Hua behind me.
From nowhere, swift shadows leaped like tigers, encircling the carriage.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The scouts drew their blades in unison, a heartbeat behind me.
I quickly heightened my perception to assess our adversaries.
‘About ten of them. All clad in white robes. What is their purpose?’
Surprisingly, the answer came from Bing Yu Hua, who stood behind me.
“It’s… the Snow Wind Squad!”
“The Snow Wind Squad?”
“The Ice Palace’s foremost martial force. You should have seen the Martial Alliance’s banner—why do they approach with such menacing intent…!”
Bing Yu Hua’s trembling hand gripped the hem of my robe.

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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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