A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 268

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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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Special Side Story 2, Episode 1
Three months had passed since the lanterns were released.
Spring had quietly arrived in An Hui Province.
And Nam Goong Baek was experiencing firsthand the remarkable power of those lanterns.
Before him, the bride’s crimson veil was being lifted to reveal her blushing face.
And the groom, unable to tear his adoring gaze from her countenance, was…
“…Certainly a handsome man, indeed.”
“Isn’t he?”
Hong Seol, seated beside him, brightened at the words that had escaped Nam Goong Baek’s lips unbidden.
Hong Seol and Nam Goong Baek were watching the wedding ceremony of Servant Mae Ran from the honored guests’ seats.
“Mae Ran seems to have chosen a truly worthy man.”
The groom’s appearance put her former lover—that crude, earthy man—to shame by comparison.
And his temperament was remarkably gentle.
Even now, he was attentively checking whether his bride was thirsty or fatigued from standing.
Mae Ran’s groom had won Hong Seol’s heart in every regard.
“I hear he runs a general store in Hefei proper… With such a refined appearance, his business must be thriving.”
At Hong Seol’s continued praise, Nam Goong Baek clamped his lips shut like a clam.
He despised hearing Seol admire another man’s appearance, no matter how casually the words were spoken.
Unaware of his displeasure, Hong Seol continued whispering to Nam Goong Baek.
“My wish written on the lantern has surely come true!”
The wish that Mae Ran would meet a handsome new man.
As she spoke, Hong Seol suddenly grew curious.
“By the way, Elder Brother, what wish did you write on your lantern?”
Nam Goong Baek, still slightly sulking, hesitated.
“…It’s a secret.”
Hong Seol tilted her head quizzically.
“Has your wish come true as well?”
Nam Goong Baek turned his head away instead of answering.
Merely thinking of the wish he’d written on the lantern made it difficult to suppress the smile that threatened to escape.
The words he’d written on that lantern last winter remained vivid in his mind.
[Please allow me to marry Seol as soon as possible.]
And the lantern’s power had been extraordinary!
Nam Goong Baek recalled with a thrill the events that had occurred in Wuhan not long ago.
On a day when Hong Seol still had three months remaining of her commitment to work for the Martial Arts Alliance.
Je Gal Hyeop, the Alliance’s supreme commander, had summoned them.
“You have sufficiently honored your promise through your service to the Alliance. Return to An Hui Province now.”
‘What wind possessed that cunning commander to say such a thing?’
Though bewildered, what mattered was that he could finally marry Seol.
Nam Goong Baek immediately packed their belongings and returned to An Hui Province with Hong Seol.
The moment they crossed the threshold of the Nam Goong Family Estate, wedding preparations began in earnest.
To reiterate, the efficacy of the lanterns was truly remarkable!
Not long after their return, Mae Ran herself found herself betrothed to a handsome new suitor.
‘At this point, shouldn’t we establish lantern-releasing as a tradition of the Nam Goong Family?’
Perhaps it was because I had become so absorbed in this thought.
I failed to notice that Hong Seol, seated beside me, had fallen silent at some point.
“Please, accept my heart.”
Hong Seol could not tear her gaze away from the palm Mae Ran shyly extended toward her groom.
Within it lay an ornamental knot fashioned from fine silk cord.
‘A lovers’ knot—a symbol of two hearts becoming one.’
A wedding gift that the dexterous Mae Ran had painstakingly crafted through several sleepless nights.
“Such a precious treasure… Thank you! I shall cherish it as dearly as my own life.”
The groom accepted the gift with trembling hands, his voice thick with emotion.
Hong Seol gazed intently at Nam Goong Baek seated beside her.
‘I wish to give Elder Brother something as well during the wedding ceremony.’
Yet what could possibly be lacking for him, the young master of the Nam Goong Family?
Hong Seol remained lost in contemplation even as Mae Ran’s wedding ceremony drew to a close.
* * *
It was just as Nam Goong Baek and Hong Seol returned to the sprawling grounds of the Nam Goong Family Estate after attending the ceremony.
“Young Master, Miss Hong Seol! There is trouble.”
Wi Sa urgently blocked our path as we made to return to our quarters.
“The atmosphere in the Guest Reception Hall is most unusual.”
“Surely Ya Pae hasn’t challenged the Changcheon Master to a duel!”
Hong Seol asked, startled.
The Guest Reception Hall of the Nam Goong Family Estate currently hosted visitors from various martial sects and noble families.
They had arrived from all corners after learning of Hong Seol and Nam Goong Baek’s wedding.
Surprisingly, those who arrived first were figures from the distant Nam Man region.
Maeng Woo Hee, the young valley master of the Five Poison Valley, and her escort and husband, Ya Pae.
In this lifetime, thanks to the previous valley master still being alive, Maeng Woo Hee could afford to be away for extended periods without issue.
‘She mentioned wanting to use my wedding as an excuse to leisurely tour Anhui with Ya Pae.’
But the problem was that Ya Pae constantly clashed with Nam Goong Ui Gyeol, the Changcheon Master.
‘It seems they became rivals ever since battling the Heavenly Demon in my previous life.’
When Nam Goong Ui Gyeol lifted a training boulder a hundred times, Ya Pae would lift it two hundred times.
Then Nam Goong Ui Gyeol would lift it three hundred times, and the indignant Ya Pae would lift it four hundred times…
And inevitably, a fight would break out.
With the two of them brawling from dawn, the entire estate grounds had become noisy.
“Tell them to fight outside, to fight outside…”
It was as I, exhausted and exasperated, pressed my forehead in frustration that Wi Sa shook his head vigorously.
“This time, it is not those two!”
“Then who is fighting with whom?”
Hong Seol’s eyes widened. Wi Sa then bowed apologetically as he answered.
“The Valley Master of the Five Poison Valley, and well, forgive my presumption, but….”
Wi Sa, who had been hesitating, finally opened his mouth after being pressed once more.
“…the Medicine Master is currently in a dispute.”
* * *
The incident was unfolding in one of the many tea rooms within the Guest Reception Hall.
The point of contention was ‘who would assume the role of Hong Seol’s natal family in this wedding ceremony.’
Clink.
Maeng Woo Hee, the Valley Master of the Five Poison Valley, set down the ceramic teacup she held to her lips with a gentle smile.
“I’ve told you repeatedly—Hong Seol hails from our Nam Man.”
Thud.
Before Maeng Woo Hee could even finish speaking, Bing Yu Hua slammed her teacup down onto the table.
All pretense of her usual graceful composure had vanished.
“It appears the Valley Master remains ignorant of the principles governing the Central Plains.”
Bing Yu Hua’s cutting words were like a finely honed blade—one misstep and she would carve away the flesh of her opponent.
“To be precise, the child is not of Nam Man origin, but rather carries Nam Man blood mixed within her veins. Therefore, the role of natal family in this wedding must fall to our Nam Goong Family.”
“Oh my!”
Maeng Woo Hee waved her hand dismissively in front of Bing Yu Hua’s face with a laughing expression.
“How can a marital family become a natal family! Either way, the character ‘marital’ is still attached.”
Grit.
Bing Yu Hua clenched her teeth.
Had she possessed a dantian, she would have frozen that young thing from Nam Man whole by now.
The atmosphere in the Guest Reception Hall had become as precarious as thin ice.
It was at that very moment that Hong Seol and Nam Goong Baek made their entrance.
“Stop! Please, both of you, stop.”
Hong Seol, seated at the round table, attempted to calm the tension.
Yet her appearance only poured fuel onto the flames of their quarrel.
“Hong Seol, what do you think?”
Maeng Woo Hee’s eyes gleamed as she drew closer to Hong Seol.
“Is your natal family the Five Poison Valley, your own people from Nam Man, or the Nam Goong Family with not a drop of shared blood?”
“Yes, speak truthfully, child!”
“Ah, well, that is….”
Hong Seol, finding herself in an awkward position, broke into a cold sweat.
“You are all fretting over needless concerns.”
A woman’s voice, sharp as frost, emanated from the doorway.
In an instant, all eyes within the tea room turned toward the source of that voice.
The fact that she had entered without a sound or any attempt at restraint made it clear she was no ordinary person.
Hong Seol’s eyes widened as she murmured.
“…Grandmother? Is it truly you, Grandmother?”
Elder Gos, dressed entirely in pristine white silk robes from head to toe, lifted the corners of her mouth at that title.
The Northern Sea Ice Palace Master, known as Seol Han Bing Hu.
The moment she heard news of her granddaughter’s wedding, she dropped everything and rushed to our side.
The Northern Sea Ice Palace Master surveyed everyone gathered in the Tea Room before speaking.
“Hong Seol’s true family home is the Northern Sea Ice Palace, is it not?”
At those words, everyone fell silent as stone.
The Northern Sea Ice Palace Master’s logic was flawless.
After all, among those present, only the Northern Sea Ice Palace shared direct blood ties with Hong Seol.
“Therefore, from this moment forward, the bride’s wedding proceedings shall be overseen by the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
In that instant, Nam Goong Baek felt his hair stand on end as a terrible premonition seized him.
And his fears proved justified—calamity struck without warning.
“According to the Ice Palace’s laws, the groom shall not lay eyes upon the bride until the wedding day itself.”
Three months.
Three months remained until the wedding ceremony.

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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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