A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 28

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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 28
“Well, her eyes are narrow and her figure is slender, and her face looks a bit like a scholar’s… No, what am I even saying?”
Mae Ran realized her indiscreet remark had already escaped her lips. She pressed her forehead with her palm and let out a deep sigh.
“Anyway, that’s how she appears. According to the servants who work in the Patriarch’s Residence, she speaks so little that it’s difficult to tell what she likes or what she’s thinking about.”
“I see.”
Hong Seol answered dejectedly.
With my unclear origins and stolen clothes, there was no way I could easily catch the Patriarch’s eye.
That’s why I wanted to gather some information beforehand.
Few words. No one knows what lies beneath.
The information I heard from Mae Ran only served to discourage me further.
“Oh, there is one peculiar thing. I know nothing of martial arts myself, but I’ve heard that the current Patriarch has the lowest level of martial prowess among all the past Patriarchs.”
“What?”
Hong Seol’s ears perked up.
“What was it… Ah, they said he only reached the first-rate realm. Of course, that’s still quite impressive to people like us. But it’s said to be the first time in the Nam Goong Family’s history that someone with such a level became Patriarch.”
“Really?”
Even young Hong Seol found that strange.
In martial families, martial prowess was the single criterion that determined everything.
Since ancient times, the Patriarch of the Nam Goong Family should naturally be a master of profound martial arts.
Just look at Grandfather Nam Goong Ho.
On the surface, he’s a cheerful and good-natured grandfather, but in reality, he’s a master of Hwagyeong who has reached depths that young Hong Seol cannot even fathom.
Yet the current Patriarch’s level is merely first-rate?
Hong Seol tilted her head as she counted on her short fingers, recalling the martial level she had heard from Nam Goong Ui Gyeol.
Mae Ran lowered her voice and whispered.
“Actually, that’s why the Patriarch’s younger brother—the second son of the Former Patriarch—Nam Goong Yeol, became furious and left to establish a branch family. Nam Goong Yeol’s martial prowess was far superior to the current Patriarch’s.”
“Are you talking about the person who visited today?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Mae Ran shrugged and continued.
“Well, even though he left in anger to establish a branch family, he didn’t go far. He settled near Chao Lake, just below Hefei. So he often visits the main family with his relatives.”
“Relatives?”
“Yes. He has a son named Nam Goong Do with Lady Peng. He probably came this time as well… I heard that Nam Goong Yeol is quite proud of his son’s exceptional martial achievements.”
“I see.”
I had no leisure to pay attention to a young master from a branch family. Right now, I had far more pressing concerns.
‘How can I avoid falling out of the Patriarch’s favor?’
I was lost in thought with my lips sealed shut when, unfortunately, I sensed a servant’s presence from outside.
“Miss Hong Seol, the Patriarch requests that you be shown to the reception room.”
It had finally come.
I stood up with what I thought was resolve, but my legs trembled with nervousness.
“Um, listen, Mae Ran. I have a favor to ask.”
Hong Seol tugged at Mae Ran’s sleeve.
As Mae Ran lowered her head, Hong Seol rose onto her tiptoes and whispered into her ear.
Whisper, whisper.
Mae Ran, upon hearing Hong Seol’s request, started in surprise and asked again.
“What? You’re really going to do that?”
Hong Seol nodded with a weary expression.
* * *
Three men sat facing each other in the spacious Tea Room of Chang Cheon Pavilion.
One was the Grand Patriarch Nam Goong Ho.
The other was a man with a boyish, smooth jaw and half-lidded eyes that exuded an alluring charm.
His sharp, well-defined nose was striking, and his lips, which seemed to hint at a smile, had a way of stirring the hearts of women.
His overall bearing suggested not a martial artist, but rather someone better suited to sitting at a desk composing written works.
“Father.”
Nam Goong On, the Patriarch of the Nam Goong Family.
He had just returned from crushing a band of river pirates on the Yangtze River.
Though in truth, the actual work had been carried out by the Beuk Cheon Unit, the Nam Goong Family’s strike force—he had merely given the orders.
“Well done. Did you finish the matter cleanly?”
“Yes. We burned their hideout and cut off every pirate’s head.”
The Yangtze River had been infested with pirates for some time now.
Yet until recently, they had shown discretion.
Even when they stopped all other vessels to collect tolls, they would let ships bearing the Nam Goong flag pass unmolested.
They feared the martial might of the Nam Goong Family.
But several months ago, they began frequently attacking even ships flying the Nam Goong colors.
Indeed, rumors spread that they were deliberately targeting only those vessels bearing the Nam Goong flag.
At first, he had sent lower-ranking warriors to handle the situation, but the enemy’s momentum was far from ordinary.
These ragtag pirates moved with perfect coordination and strategic precision.
Moreover, according to intelligence from the Beggar Sect, which had eyes and ears throughout the Martial Arts World, at least one or two masters of the highest caliber were mixed among the pirates.
That was why Nam Goong On had personally taken the field.
“For weak pirates from Fei Lu Zhai to suddenly have peak masters among them—there’s clearly a backer. Was it the Myo Ga Jang?”
“I cannot say for certain.”
“Why didn’t you uncover who was behind this!”
“They all had poison pellets in their mouths. Before we could do anything, they collapsed and died, every last one of them.”
“Hmph!”
Suddenly, an impertinent voice cut in.
“Why didn’t you call on me, brother! If I’d been there, I wouldn’t have given those pirate dogs even a moment to bite down—I’d have shattered their jaws in one blow. Hahahaha!”
The one who interrupted and laughed boisterously was Nam Goong Yeol.
He was Nam Goong Ho’s second son and Nam Goong On’s only younger brother.
At his loud laughter, Nam Goong On’s expression hardened completely.
His younger brother, who coveted the position of Patriarch, was clearly using this incident to imply that his martial prowess was lacking.
“Had I been at the main estate, ships bearing the Nam Goong flag would never have suffered such humiliation.”
Moreover, he was subtly shifting blame for the pirate trouble onto the Patriarch himself.
Nam Goong On’s hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist.
Seeing this, Nam Goong Yeol spoke with a scornful smile.
“You won’t need to wait long. An opportunity will present itself soon enough.”
He was referring to the fraternal martial arts exhibition held every year.
Three years ago, after the bloodbath occurred, Nam Goong On had rejected all external requests for martial matches.
Having lost his mother to a calamity and his eldest son to poison, no one could fault him for it.
No one, that is, except his younger brother.
“I wish to receive instruction from you, Elder Brother. After all, we are family members who share the same sorrow, are we not?”
In other words, he was urging Nam Goong On not to shy away but to accept the challenge with dignity.
Nam Goong On had reluctantly accepted his brother’s request, and for two years, fraternal matches had been held consecutively.
And Nam Goong On had not won a single time.
This was why Nam Goong Yeol carried himself with such arrogance.
“Or perhaps we should settle this right here. After all, I will surely emerge victorious.”
“Enough!”
At Nam Goong Ho’s angry voice, Nam Goong Yeol clamped his mouth shut.
“Yeol, you will withdraw now.”
Nam Goong Yeol bowed his head and stepped toward the door, leaving one final remark.
“I shall see you at the exhibition match in a week’s time, Elder Brother.”
As he disappeared, Nam Goong Ho spoke softly.
“Your brother still lacks maturity. Pay it no mind.”
“….”
Nam Goong On, who had remained silent for some time, shifted the subject with a hardened expression.
“While I was away, I noticed signs of people entering my quarters.”
It was not a complaint about the servants coming and going for cleaning. Resentment flickered in Nam Goong On’s gaze.
“The cabinet where I kept my child’s silk garments was found completely empty.”
Surely that garment was being worn by the child named Hong Seol, whom Father had brought home.
Those silk clothes had been sewn in advance by his wife, Bing Yu Hua, when she was pregnant with their fourth child.
A precious daughter born after three sons.
The midwives had said that based on the birth omens and the shape of her belly, it was undoubtedly a girl.
Delighted by their words, Nam Goong On had sewn clothes and shoes in advance for the child to wear until she turned ten, and presented them to his wife as gifts.
Others said he was excessive, but his ears heard nothing of their words—a man who had waited so long for a daughter.
Then one day.
The child departed as suddenly as she had arrived.
There was scarcely time to grieve. For that day, it was not only his child who left.
His mother, claimed by calamity; his wife, fallen unconscious; his eldest son, Baek, poisoned.
Unbearable tragedies erupted simultaneously, and mourning for a child whose face he had never seen could only be pushed aside.
The sorrow of losing his child came flooding back only long after the catastrophe had passed.
Every moment, his chest felt hollow and empty.
And in that void remained only the silk garments he had sewn in advance.
The clothes of a child he could never name, whom he could only call “my child.”
Nam Goong On forcibly suppressed something rising within him and asked.
“Father, did you perhaps give that dress to a child named Hong Seol?”

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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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