A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 231

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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 231
The day when the dream I’d cherished since childhood would finally come true was drawing near. My heart swelled with anticipation.
Noticing that my cultivation session had ended, Bing Yu Hua, seated across from me, broached the subject with careful deliberation.
“May I ask you one thing, dear?”
Her voice carried an unusual caution.
“Of course, please do!”
“When you return to the Nam Goong Family Estate, there is one decision you must make.”
Unable to comprehend her meaning, I simply blinked.
“I truly think of you as my daughter. You understand that, don’t you?”
Bing Yu Hua’s fingertips gently brushed my shorter hair behind my ear.
I could feel the affection contained within that gesture.
“Whatever choice you make in response to what I’m about to ask, we will honor your decision.”
Unlike her usual demeanor, Bing Yu Hua appeared visibly tense. Her anxiety began to seep into me as well.
“There is a condition to retrieving the Golden Dragon Jade Blood Elixir. Do you know what it is?”
“Yes, one must achieve mastery of the Yin-Yang Divine Art.”
“That’s correct. But there is one additional condition. The person who achieves mastery of the Yin-Yang Divine Art must register their name with the Nam Goong Family Estate.”
Bing Yu Hua hesitated for a moment before speaking with careful consideration.
“We were greatly concerned whether you would truly desire this.”
At those words, my heart melted like spring snow.
‘Huh…? That’s all it was?’
I grasped Bing Yu Hua’s hand eagerly and spoke.
“What are you saying? You were worried I wouldn’t want this?”
Startled by my fervent response, Bing Yu Hua blinked her silver eyebrows several times in bewilderment.
“But dear, you are a descendant of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, and it has now been revealed that you carry the bloodline of the Northern Sea Ice Palace as well…”
I shook my head slowly.
“Even if I were to depart for the Northern Sea Ice Palace, it would only be a brief visit to see Grandmother. The palace should be led by those who understand the affairs of Beihai, not by me.”
“Still…”
“Come now, no matter what anyone says, I am the Nam Goong Family Estate’s one and only cat!”
I deliberately let out a meow and waved one hand like a cat’s paw.
“Ah, so that is truly your wish.”
At my words, Bing Yu Hua released a deep sigh.
It was as though she had just crossed a towering mountain and found relief on the other side.
Seeing her like that, I found Bing Yu Hua oddly endearing.
‘She was quite nervous, it seems. Hehe.’
Yet somehow, Bing Yu Hua’s expression before me had grown even more serious than before.
“There is one more thing I must ask, dear. Which will you choose?”
“Pardon?”
“To register with the Nam Goong Family Estate, there are only two options. You must either become an adopted daughter or enter through marriage. Which do you prefer?”
“What? Well, naturally… adoption…”
Bing Yu Hua hastily cut off my words.
“You should know by now that if you’re adopted as a daughter, it will be impossible to enter the Nam Goong Family through marriage afterward.”
In that instant, my mind went blank.
Thump.
“W-what…?”
My heart pounded forcefully—as if something that had always resided in one corner of my chest was finally asserting itself for the first time.
‘This is strange. What do I actually want to do?’
Thump, thump…
My face flushed crimson, and I couldn’t find the words to answer. At that, Bing Yu Hua leaned back gently against the seat.
“There is still much time before we reach Anhui. So use that time to examine your heart carefully.”
Tap, tap.
Despite her relaxed posture sunk into the chair, Bing Yu Hua’s fingers drummed anxiously against her knees.
“If you’re adopted as a daughter, eventually you’ll have to marry someone else and leave the Nam Goong Family. Most likely, that person would be the Young Master of the Dang Family.”
Tap, tap-tap, tap.
Her fingers accelerated their rhythm.
Her voice grew more urgent to match.
“Child, I hadn’t wanted to say this much…”
Bing Yu Hua lowered her voice and whispered conspiratorially.
“The Nam Goong Family’s wealth exceeds the Sa Cheon Dang Family’s by roughly fifty percent. If you become a daughter-in-law of the Nam Goongs, all of it becomes yours! The storage rooms of the Nam Goong Estate are filled with treasures I myself haven’t fully seen, and there are even land deeds…”
Just then, a loud cry echoed from outside.
“We shall rest briefly to water the horses!”
“Ahem, ahem!”
Only then did Bing Yu Hua regain her composure, straightening in her seat with a clearing of her throat.
“…But! Whatever choice you make, we shall always be on your side, child.”
“Y-yes…!”
I, who had been lost in thought without speaking, suddenly lifted my head and asked.
“But Medicine Master!”
Anxiety was written plainly across my face.
“What if… what if Baek Elder Brother doesn’t want to marry me?”
Bing Yu Hua, catching the drift of my thoughts, smiled knowingly.
“I never said your marriage partner would be Baek, did I…?”
Gasp!
I frantically clapped both hands over my mouth.
My face had already turned as crimson as a pomegranate.
“He could have refused to marry as well… In fact, the Patriarch did the same.”
“Y-yes? The Family Head refused as well?”
I recalled the love story of Bing Yu Hua and Nam Goong On that I had heard from a Storyteller in the Market District during my childhood.
The Family Head, who was devoted to his wife beyond measure, had initially refused to marry her?
“Indeed! When I said I would abandon my position and follow him to Anhui, he tried so hard to dissuade me at first.”
“S-so what did you do, Master?”
“What could I do? Since it was my decision whether to follow him or not, I told him to stop worrying about what others might say or do.”
“Waaah….”
I hadn’t imagined such audacity, and my small lips parted involuntarily.
“So don’t worry.”
Bing Yu Hua touched my soft cheek as if I were adorable.
Her blue eyes sparkled brilliantly right before my nose.
“I’m going to show these weak Anhui men the frosty spirit of a Northern Sea Ice Palace woman, dear!”
* * *
Time flew like an arrow, and before long the carriage had reached Anhui.
Just one more mountain to cross, and the Nam Goong Estate Manor in Hefei would be within sight.
“Say, could we rest here for a moment?”
Suddenly Bing Yu Hua made a request to Pyo Du, and the carriage came to a halt.
Then she rummaged through the luggage herself and pulled out a flowing white palace robe.
“Come now, dear. Let’s have you wear this.”
It was a gift from the Northern Sea Ice Palace Master.
A box full of silver ornaments came as a bonus.
After adorning me down to my hair with meticulous care, Bing Yu Hua surveyed my appearance with satisfaction.
“It suits you perfectly! To display the spirit of the Northern Sea, one must wear Northern Sea garments….”
That was when it happened.
My keen senses caught something amiss.
A scent that felt slightly suffocating when I drew breath.
‘Is that… smoke?’
In that instant, I bolted from the carriage without hesitation.
“Dear!”
Using the Celestial Wind Divine Method, I ascended onto the trees in a flash.
“Dear, you’ll damage the robe!”
Bing Yu Hua’s cry didn’t reach my ears.
Thump, thump.
My heart pounded violently.
‘Something terrible has happened. I’m certain of it!’
And indeed.
From my vantage point, the Nam Goong Estate Manor was engulfed in flames.
And the place where the largest fire was raging was….
“Elder Brother!”
The cave where Nam Goong Baek was in secluded cultivation.

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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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