A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 270

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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 3
* * *
“What, Seol?!”
The moment his mocking voice echoed across the River Bank.
Nam Goong Baek instantly realized something had gone terribly wrong.
‘Damn it, that fool Yang Do Jin!’
While I hesitated, a familiar figure stumbled out from between the bushes.
From the reek of alcohol soaked into his tattered hemp robes, it was clear he’d been drinking heavily.
“Boy, when you see a senior of the Martial Arts World, you should greet them first!”
“Master Tian Tong Gai.”
Unable to withstand his glare, Nam Goong Baek offered a reluctant bow of respect.
Only then did Tian Tong Gai, the Beggar Sect Master, chuckle and pull the gourd flask from his waist to wet his throat.
Gulp.
“Ahhhh.”
Even as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, Nam Goong Baek continued to send resentful glances his way.
“So, are you disappointed that I came?”
“Yes.”
“Ha! Look at you, not even hesitating! Your bride must be quite something.”
“Yes.”
Nam Goong Baek answered without the slightest hesitation, which made Tian Tong Gai click his tongue.
“These young ones these days have no shame whatsoever…”
“How did you know I sent a letter to Seol?”
Nam Goong Baek’s clenched fist trembled slightly.
“Was it Yang Do Jin? Did he run straight to you and tattle?”
In my past life, I should have crushed him when he harbored feelings for Seol.
Nam Goong Baek frowned as he regretted the past.
Tian Tong Gai clicked his tongue again, seeing right through the young man’s passionate heart like reading a palm.
“It wasn’t Do Jin—it was your father.”
“What?”
At this unexpected revelation, Nam Goong Baek’s eyes narrowed.
“Father took action?”
“Yes, knowing you’d do something like this, he asked me to keep an eye on Do Jin.”
At those words, Nam Goong Baek’s mind went blank.
“No matter how clever you are, your father Nam Goong On, who passed that mind to you, is not someone you can outmaneuver!”
Seeing Nam Goong Baek standing motionless like a broken statue, Tian Tong Gai burst into laughter.
“No matter how times change, the laws of the Martial Arts World still exist! So if you wish to see your bride’s face, you’ll wait quietly until the wedding ceremony.”
Nam Goong Baek had no response. Then Tian Tong Gai added with a grin.
“Though a single day will feel like a year! Hahahaha!”
He was delighted at the rare opportunity to tease the young master of the Nam Goong Family.
But Nam Goong Baek remained lost in thought, merely rubbing his chin.
“Tsk, tsk. Remember what I said, no matter what.”
With his mood thoroughly dampened, Tian Tong Gai could only wrap up the conversation with stern parting words.
* * *
The next evening.
Nam Goong Baek set out with Nam Goong Heuk and Nam Goong Jeok, all three dressed impeccably.
Their destination was the most crowded tavern in Hefei.
“The young masters of the Nam Goong Family have arrived!”
The news rippled through the entire city like wildfire.
Nam Goong Heuk, leading the way, swept his azure robes dramatically and bellowed loud enough to shake the tavern’s rafters.
“Reserve an entire Tea Room for us. Bring out the finest liquor this establishment has to offer!”
“Yes, this way, if you please!”
As Nam Goong Heuk strode forward with swaggering confidence behind Jeom So Yi, Nam Goong Jeok shuffled nervously in his wake.
Nam Goong Baek, walking at a measured pace, brought up the rear of their procession.
Of course, he had no intention of drinking.
‘This is about evading surveillance.’
With Nam Goong On and Tian Tong Gai making their moves, watchers would undoubtedly be stationed all around him.
And the most effective way to shake off surveillance, now as always, was to redirect attention elsewhere.
That was precisely why I had deliberately brought my brothers to the tavern.
“Come now, have another drink, brother!”
“Ugh… Brother… I really can’t take any more…”
“Don’t be weak. Any true hero should be able to handle this much!”
Seized by a playful impulse, Nam Goong Heuk forced the cup to Nam Goong Jeok’s lips.
Nam Goong Baek spent considerable time watching his younger brothers frolic like children again.
As word spread through the streets that the Nam Goong Family’s young masters were at the tavern, the atmosphere shifted.
The beggars keeping watch over Nam Goong Baek relaxed their vigilance considerably.
“Looks like he’ll be staying here tonight.”
“Should we… grab a drink ourselves?”
This was exactly what Nam Goong Baek had been counting on.
Flutter.
A blue robe fluttered before the increasingly intoxicated eyes of Nam Goong Heuk.
Nam Goong Baek, who had been anxiously killing time, finally rose from his seat.
“I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Nam Goong Heuk grinned and raised his ceramic cup high.
“Wishing you success, brother.”
“Please… *hiccup*… give my regards to… sister…”
Nam Goong Jeok, barely able to keep his head upright, waved his hand in encouragement.
Moments later.
Whoosh!
The shadow of an enormous beast cleared the tavern’s outer wall.
A drunk man who had been relieving himself against the wall rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
“What is that? A stray dog…?”
The identity of that ‘stray dog’ was none other than Nam Goong Baek, disguised as a wolf.
‘What I inherited from Father was not merely his intellect.’
If I cannot enter Hong Seol’s quarters in human form, then I shall simply transform into a beast and slip inside!
Yes, just as Hong Seol’s father, Myo Gang Woon, had once scaled the walls of the Northern Sea Ice Palace as a cat.
The mere thought of finally meeting Seol sent my heart racing beyond all control.
Thud-thud-thud!
The white wolf bolted down the deserted back alley like the wind itself.
And from the topmost floor of the tavern, someone watched his departure.
* * *
Nam Goong Ui Gyeol, the blade of the Nam Goong Family—the Changcheon Master.
He possessed a wife so precious that he would not trade her for anything in the world.
Unlike his rough and imposing visage, she was a woman as delicate and graceful as a spring blossom.
Since their marriage, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol prided himself on never casting his gaze elsewhere.
Yet there was one matter that weighed upon his mind.
“Well, this fellow….”
And of all things, Dok Bi Jo found herself recounting this very story to his wife.
“You leaped onto the roof of the dumpling shop and chased after me, saying what a beautiful day it was.”
“My goodness, and then what, sister?”
Beside her, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s wife—demure and adorable as a squirrel—opened her eyes wide in curiosity.
Dok Bi Jo had only just returned to Anhui to coincide with Hong Seol’s wedding ceremony.
By chance, she had encountered the Nam Goong Ui Gyeol couple taking a stroll through the streets.
‘Perhaps it was a mistake to show such warmth at the memory of fighting alongside the Heavenly Demon….’
As Nam Goong Ui Gyeol shook his head in denial, the thoroughly intoxicated Dok Bi Jo raised her cup and cried out.
“So what! You admitted it yourself—that you were indeed following me!”
“You should speak more carefully!”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol finally interjected.
“I was pursuing a suspicious figure whose aura felt deceptive! But then that aura suddenly vanished….”
He could not bring himself to suspect a young lady of the Righteous Sects.
And so, and so….
Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s excuses to avoid displeasing his wife continued without end.
His wife then furrowed her brow deeply and cut him off.
“Husband, I would much prefer to hear more of this sister’s story, if you please.”
At her firm declaration, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s shoulders drooped like a wolf tucking its tail.
Seeing this, Dok Bi Jo burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha! To think the Changcheon Master of the Nam Goong Family is far less reasonable than our younger sister!”
Alas, how had things come to this?
Nam Goong Ui Gyeol sat with his head bowed, sighing heavily.
He remained oblivious to the fact that these two perceptive women were toying with him.
After cups were exchanged and the two women had even sworn a sisterly oath, the conversation finally drew to a close.
And at that very moment.
Snap!
With the keen eyesight of an eagle-human hybrid, Dok Bi Jo caught sight of something from beyond the window.
A white speck was rapidly shrinking in the sparsely populated back alley.
‘A white wolf?’
Dok Bi Jo kept her eyes fixed on it and asked.
“Changcheon Master, have wolves ever been known to appear in Hefei’s streets?”
“Wolves? Unless it’s a transformed beast-human, there’s no way a wolf could exist in a place so densely populated with people.”
“Then what did I just see? Are you saying it was Baek Gu?”
At Dok Bi Jo’s words, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s complexion turned ashen.
There was only one snow-white wolf in the entire Nam Goong Family.
“The, the, the Family Head!”
“It appears to be heading toward the tavern where the Northern Ice Palace people are staying.”
Having said that much, Dok Bi Jo smiled wickedly.
“What will the Family Head of Nam Goong say when he finds out belatedly?”

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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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