A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 36

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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 36
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“What in the world is happening?”
The spectators watching the martial arts match murmured in confusion.
One moment, the Family Head Nam Goong On was swinging his sword and carving into the Blue Stone floor.
The next, his opponent Nam Goong Yeol was throwing punches at empty air.
“Move! Get out of the way! Damn it, where am I?”
He muttered these senseless words as he flailed about.
Even as time passed, there was no sign of him regaining his senses.
After enough time to drink a cup of tea, Elder Nam Goong Mu Young sighed and climbed onto the Martial Arts Arena.
“The Family Head is victorious!”
Waaaaaah!
A roar like a tidal wave echoed across the entire Estate Grounds.
Boom boom boom!
Even the master drummer holding the drum struck it with renewed vigor and force.
Flags bearing the Nam Goong name fluttered across the sky.
“I won….”
Nam Goong On stood dazed, his sword hanging limply at his side as he stared at the scene.
Something felt strange.
‘Did I really defeat Yeol?’
Yeol, whom I had never once beaten in a martial arts match since childhood.
With these very hands of mine.
It hardly felt real. The hand gripping the sword felt unfamiliar, as though it belonged to someone else.
“Family Head! You truly are the greatest!”
When my eyes fell upon Hong Seol’s bright, beaming face, the reality finally sank in.
‘I won!’
The child was waving her hands from Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s shoulders. A smile finally spread across Nam Goong On’s tense face.
It was all thanks to Hong Seol, that child.
A few days ago, Hong Seol had come to me and asked abruptly.
“Have you learned that technique too, Family Head? I heard there’s a secret martial art of the Nam Goong Family that’s passed down only to the Family Head….”
“You mean the ‘Sovereign Sword Form’?”
“Yes! The Changcheon Master said it’s an incredibly powerful heavy sword technique. Is that true?”
“It is. If you follow the forms correctly, you can even split rocks.”
“Then you have everything you need.”
“What do you mean?”
“The materials needed for the formation, of course.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Blue Stone floor beneath the Martial Arts Arena is stone too!”
That child was right.
‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
I shattered the Blue Stone Floor beneath me using the Emperor’s Sword Form, then struck the fragments with my blade to construct a formation.
A vicious illusory formation that still ensnared Nam Goong Yeol in its maze.
“But before that, I won’t be able to block Yeol’s attack. I always yield the first move to him.”
“Hmm, do I really have to yield?”
“Am I not your older brother?”
I recalled how the little one had scrunched up his nose at those words.
It was as if he were saying, ‘But Heuk never yields to Jeok like that,’ and I couldn’t help but smile.
“I’ll duck my head to dodge his first strike. Yeol always starts with a horizontal slash.”
“That won’t work!”
“What?”
“This time, Nam Goong Yeol will definitely come at you bare-handed.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
The child flinched as if caught red-handed.
“…I saw him training.”
“How?”
“I… watched in secret. He was practicing martial arts the whole time.”
“So, how did you manage not to get caught…ah.”
Only then did Nam Goong On realize that the child had transformed into a cat to spy on Nam Goong Yeol’s training.
He had no idea whether Hong Seol knew that he was aware of her being a cat-human, and she was anxiously fretting over it.
‘She risked exposing herself just for me….’
Nam Goong On’s large hand covered Hong Seol’s head.
“Hong Seol, I appreciate your heart, but spying on someone else’s training without permission is not right. Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes….”
At those words, Hong Seol’s shoulders naturally shrank. Seeing this, Nam Goong On gently patted her head with affection.
“But I understand your intentions. I will study the martial techniques passed down through my family more carefully than usual.”
With his brilliant mind, Nam Goong On planned to memorize every technique from the secret martial arts manuals in the Record Hall.
That should be enough to evade his younger brother’s first move somehow.
Hearing those words, Hong Seol brightened her face and nodded.
Just as she did in this moment of victory.
‘Thank you, Seol. This is all thanks to you.’
Nam Goong On and Hong Seol’s eyes met in the air.
Soon, dazzling smiles bloomed across both their faces.
* * *
“Hong Seol, did you perhaps work some kind of magic?”
Nam Goong Ho, the patriarch of the family, stood before the entrance of Chang Cheon Pavilion and asked with a serious expression.
Hong Seol, who had come out to breathe the fresh morning air before breakfast, tilted her head at his words, then suddenly perked up.
“Brother?”
Upon spotting a familiar face, Hong Seol’s eyes widened with delight.
Before her stood Nam Goong Baek, his sides laden with stacks of books.
He had clearly come to Chang Cheon Pavilion, but seemed hesitant to step inside.
“Welcome, brother! Let’s have breakfast together.”
“Hah, you never showed up when I asked you to visit, yet now you appear at Chang Cheon Pavilion of your own accord. And carrying books under your arm, no less.”
Though his tone was rough, Nam Goong Ho’s words carried an unmistakable note of pleasure.
It was a good thing that Nam Goong Baek, who had been radiating cold indifference all this time, was taking an interest in Hong Seol.
Yet I worried that my sensitive grandson might turn away at any moment.
For this reason, Nam Goong Ho asked while deliberately suppressing his delight.
“Baek, what on earth brings you here so early in the morning?”
My eldest grandson seemed like a completely different person in recent days.
Seeing a faint smile play across his face—as neat and precise as a peeled chestnut—Nam Goong Ho was genuinely startled.
‘Did Baek even know how to smile like that?’
Barely had he recovered from his surprise at that smile when Nam Goong Ho found himself marveling at his grandson’s eloquence.
“I’ve simply developed some interest in martial arts. And to learn martial arts properly, I should study under the Grand Patriarch, shouldn’t I?”
“I never said I’d teach you. Go ask the Changcheon Master instead. I’m already busy teaching my Hong Seol.”
“Simply observing the Grand Patriarch’s bearing and deportment teaches me much.”
“Hah, the Nam Goong Family has never produced such a smooth-tongued speaker in all its generations. Who on earth taught you to talk like that?”
Nam Goong Ho, rendered speechless by his young grandson’s words, shook his head in disbelief and declared:
“If that is truly your wish, then come in.”
His tone was grumbling, yet somehow radiating genuine pleasure.
The words Nam Goong Ho muttered to himself afterward could only be heard by Hong Seol.
“Goodness, I wonder who he takes after to be so stubborn.”
‘Who, who does he take after…?’
The two of them had temperaments as identical as mirror reflections.
Hong Seol couldn’t bring herself to voice this thought aloud and simply tilted her head in confusion.
“Grand Patriarch, I’ve brought breakfast.”
Just then, Mae Ran and the other attendants entered carrying food. Spotting Nam Goong Baek, Mae Ran’s expression showed surprise.
“Oh, I apologize. I didn’t realize the First Young Master was here. Shall I bring an extra set of chopsticks?”
That was when it happened.
I sensed a familiar presence.
“Hong Seol! Grandfather!”
“Oh, the First Brother is here too?”
It was Heuk and Jeok, who followed each other around like needle and thread.
Delighted by all these familiar faces, Hong Seol grasped Nam Goong Ho’s sleeve and beamed.
“What brings you two here?”
“We came to have breakfast with the little one.”
“And to give our morning greetings to Grandfather!”
It seemed that a quiet breakfast alone with Hong Seol was no longer in the cards.
“With each passing day, Chang Cheon Pavilion grows more crowded with uninvited guests.”
Despite the long sigh that escaped his lips, Nam Goong Ho’s face was filled with a contented smile.
“Grandfather?”
“Heh heh… Ahem, ahem.”
When Hong Seol regarded him with a puzzled expression, Nam Goong Ho let out a hollow cough and slipped into the Inner Chamber where the meal was laid out.
Without a single instruction.
So in the end, Hong Seol had no choice but to whisper a request to Mae Ran.
“Mae Ran, could you bring three more sets of chopsticks?”
“There’s no one else coming, is there? Did the Family Head say he was stopping by?”
The Family Head, Nam Goong On, had taken to dropping by Chang Cheon Pavilion whenever he had a spare moment these days.
“No, the Family Head said he was busy today.”
Hong Seol settled herself quietly at the table where the meal was arranged.
Baek was sipping his pre-meal tea in silence, while Heuk and Jeok were too absorbed in their playful antics to notice anything else.
Nam Goong Ho, despite his grumbling words, had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth—the bustling morning seemed to satisfy him.
‘Is this what family feels like?’
Just when the atmosphere seemed to settle.
The moment the meal was fully served, an extended argument erupted between Nam Goong Ho and Nam Goong Baek.

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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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