A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 254

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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 254
The first person to catch Hong Seol’s eye was Deng Xiao Xiao.
With her hair elegantly pinned up, Deng Xiao Xiao clung to her husband, Jin Yeon Hu, the second son of Cheong Ryoo Moon.
“Hong Seol is truly our benefactor.”
“That’s right. By removing the need to fight the Heavenly Demon, you allowed us to marry sooner!”
“Still, I find the General Commander rather irksome. Even if it was a past life, why did he make my husband suffer so?”
Deng Xiao Xiao cast a sidelong glance at Je Gal Hyeop, who stood at a distance.
He was surrounded by his wife and children, beaming with contentment.
Eon Soo Ryang, the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, also occupied the guest of honor’s seat alongside his cherished only daughter.
“If the Nam Goong Family had only given permission, I would have placed Hong Seol on the back of the Human-Faced Spider I’ve trained and taken her for a ride around the grounds. What a shame.”
“What a splendidly bold idea, befitting the Sect Master!”
Maeng Woo Hee and Ya Pae, who resembled thunder-struck fools, remained as they always were.
The figure of Abbot Won Cheong of Shaolin, dressed in a yellow monastic robe, was also visible.
“How noisy!”
Even in this life, he had still failed to suppress his impatient temperament through Buddhist discipline.
“Well, one lives long enough to see all manner of things. To witness a kitten from the wolf clan of the Nam Goong Family coming of age—truly remarkable. Namo Amitabha Buddha.”
Hong Seol’s coming-of-age ceremony was nothing short of a grand celebration of the martial arts world.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed upon the square platform prepared in the center of the Inner Hall.
Upon it stood a large folding screen embroidered with clouds.
Before it, two bronze braziers blazed with roaring flames.
They were braziers carved with phoenixes that seemed ready to soar into the heavens at any moment.
Upon the brocade spread across the floor, Hong Seol knelt gracefully.
“Here now.”
Bing Yu Hua personally inserted the hairpin into Hong Seol’s hair.
It was a white jade hairpin carved with a snowflake pattern—a gift from none other than the Northern Sea Ice Palace Master.
‘Grandmother, thank you.’
Hong Seol silently conveyed her heartfelt gratitude toward the Ice Palace Master, whose gaze upon her was complex and profound.
“Thus, it is hereby proclaimed that Myo Hong Seol has become a full adult.”
“Hurrah!”
“Congratulations, Seol Ah!”
Warm words of celebration filled the vast Estate Grounds.
“Now then, let us move to the next venue and eat and drink until our noses are crooked!”
It was the cry of Tian Tong Gai, Master of the Beggar Sect.
One might wonder why a beggar would carry on so at someone else’s celebration, yet even Nam Goong Ho merely smiled broadly.
For Tian Tong Gai had more than earned the right to do so.
He had transferred his inner power to Hong Seol and performed the Yin-Yang Opening Vein Technique twice for her sake.
“During the meal, performers we brought from Sichuan will present an amusing theatrical performance.”
So spoke Poison King Dang Yi Mu, who had arranged the celebratory show as a gift.
“The title is ‘The Kitten Who Commands the Meng Family.'”
Dang Yi Woon, dressed in a green robe, enthusiastically threw both his perfectly intact hands up in the air and shouted with delight.
Nam Goong Ho’s brow furrowed only briefly at the derisive name “Meng Wen Family.”
“Ooh!”
“That sounds entertaining!”
The voices of people rushing toward the pavilion with its five-colored awning grew raucous and lively.
Yet among them stood a man who remained utterly motionless.
It was Nam Goong Baek.
Hong Seol cast a subtle glance at his expression. For some reason, unlike the others, his face appeared gaunt.
‘Elder Brother…’
Hong Seol realized his gaze was fixed upon Yang Do Jin at the very end of the procession.
Or more precisely, upon the blue cord bracelet wound around Yang Do Jin’s wrist.
“Ah, Elder Brother still…”
Hong Seol suppressed the laughter threatening to escape.
“Dear, why don’t we go change your clothes?”
“Wait, just a moment! I have something to do!”
After seeking Bing Yu Hua’s permission, Hong Seol approached Nam Goong Baek, who stood alone.
“Look at me, Elder Brother.”
She then seized his arm and began walking with him.
Nam Goong Baek wore an expression of bewilderment, yet he followed Hong Seol without resistance.
As they walked, Hong Seol pondered.
‘The time has finally come.’
The time to tell him why she had never given a blue cord to Baek Elder Brother until now.
* * *
The sun had begun to set.
Hong Seol had led him to the stone steps of Chang Cheon Pavilion.
Because everyone had rushed off to watch the celestial spectacle, this place stood empty.
“Seol Ah.”
Hong Seol lifted her head gently.
There stood nineteen-year-old Nam Goong Baek, draped in a blue robe.
He was unmistakably a man now.
He towered over me by several hand-spans, his shoulders broad, his voice deep and resonant.
But his eyes.
Those eyes, piercingly blue yet tender only toward Hong Seol, remained unchanged from before.
“Seol Ah.”
And in this moment, those eyes brimmed with grievance and longing.
‘This won’t do.’
Strangely, I lacked the courage to meet those eyes directly.
Each time, my heart trembled far too violently.
Hong Seol deliberately averted her gaze slightly.
Yet there was nowhere to escape.
From his sharp jawline to the waist cinched by his sash.
There was nothing about Nam Goong Baek’s appearance that displeased me when he came into view.
My heart lurched with a precarious flutter.
Yet Hong Seol, as always, merely lifted the corners of her lips slightly and asked.
“You know, Elder Brother.”
“…Yes?”
“Are you angry?”
Nam Goong Baek bit his lip for a moment, then shook his head.
“No.”
He continued quietly, though with a hint of petulance.
“I won’t be angry with you. Not ever, for the rest of my life.”
“That’s a lie. You’re angry! Otherwise, why do you look so gloomy on such a wonderful day?”
“…That’s not it.”
“Don’t be like that. Just tell me honestly, won’t you?”
Urged on by Hong Seol’s coaxing, Nam Goong Baek hesitated before asking quietly.
“…Why won’t you give me a blue ribbon like the others?”
Finally, I heard it!
Hong Seol couldn’t help but laugh.
But the aggrieved Nam Goong Baek didn’t notice, instead pouring out his feelings like a torrential downpour.
“Is it because I merely grew up with you, and I’m not even a close friend?”
His voice was low and quiet, yet it trembled strangely.
“Have I always been that kind of existence to you, now and before?”
“Elder Brother.”
“More of a child who needs to be protected and saved than a man?”
“That’s not it at all.”
Hong Seol withdrew a small silk pouch from her bosom and handed it to Nam Goong Baek.
“Here.”
“What is this…?”
“Open it.”
Nam Goong Baek’s pale, elegant fingers untied the tightly cinched opening of the pouch.
Soon, what emerged from within was a crimson silk ribbon.
“Seol Ah, this is….”
Nam Goong Baek couldn’t find the words to continue.
Hong Seol’s cheeks were already flushed as red as the ribbon itself.
“I’ve been preparing this for a long time. I couldn’t give Elder Brother a blue ribbon like everyone else.”
Hong Seol picked up the crimson ribbon from Nam Goong Baek’s hand.
Then she tied the ribbon around his wrist. Her fingers trembled considerably as she bound it.
“It’s done.”
The small tips of Hong Seol’s fingers traced down Nam Goong Baek’s wrist and lingered gently on his hand.
Hong Seol restrained the urge to knead his hand, instead tracing it lightly with only her thumb.
She didn’t have the courage to lift her gaze.
“Don’t you ever say that again—that I’m not a man but a child to you.”
Hong Seol lowered her head and murmured, almost to herself.
“To me, you are my one and only connection in this entire world, Elder Brother.”
“….”
There was no answer.
“Elder Brother?”
The moment Hong Seol, growing anxious, lifted her gaze slightly.
A wrist bound with a crimson cord wrapped around her waist.
And before she could even register what was happening, their lips met.
The scent of fragrant oil tickled the tip of her nose, and their breaths intertwined without a single gap between them.
“Wait, I can’t breathe….”
“No. I won’t give you time.”
Barely had she drawn in a single breath of air.
When soft lips met once more.
Emotions held back for countless days were pouring forth.
From afar, the pleasant sound of wind chimes rang out.
Suddenly, a spring breeze swept in, scattering a shower of flower petals.
Only when the crimson sun finally cast their shadows as one did their lips finally part.
Their foreheads remained pressed together, reluctant to separate.
“Hah, hah.”
As Hong Seol caught her breath, Nam Goong Baek’s voice resonated in her ear.
“I will never let you go for the rest of my life. If necessary, I’ll bind you tightly with this crimson cord.”
“But Elder Brother, our connection is already bound by an invisible crimson cord, isn’t it?”
“…!”
Nam Goong Baek’s eyes widened.
Hong Seol smiled and pulled his neck into a tight embrace.
And quietly, in her heart, she whispered.
‘Grandfather, this is the life I truly desired.’
The sound of Nam Goong Baek’s heartbeat echoing in her ear was more beautiful than anything in the world.
Hong Seol closed her eyes tightly.
Now their world was utterly peaceful.
And across the long expanse of time, the two of them had finally reached each other.
【完】

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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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