A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 5

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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 5
“Ah, I’ll be the one carrying in the stir-fried Eternal Fleece Root!”
“Second Brother, that’s not fair! I want to see the little one’s face too!”
Nam Goong Ho’s brow furrowed at the untimely commotion of his rambunctious grandsons.
‘At this rate, the child will get indigestion.’
Nam Goong Ho felt a dull throb in his temples as he rose from his seat.
Frightened by the grandsons’ presence, Hong Seol’s chopsticks had already frozen mid-air.
“Hong Seol, cover your ears for a moment.”
At his words, Hong Seol set down her chopsticks and covered her ears with her small, fern-like hands. Seeing this, Nam Goong Ho did not hesitate to open the reception hall door.
“Put down those dishes and get out of here at once!”
“Ahhhhh!”
His thunderous rebuke, infused with a hint of inner force, sent the second and third grandsons fleeing in panic.
Nam Goong Ho clicked his tongue inwardly and caught the flying dish.
Tap, tap-tap.
The stir-fried Eternal Fleece Root that had scattered through the air settled back into the dish as if by magic with just a few gestures of his hand.
Throughout it all, Hong Seol kept her ears firmly covered, obedient to his instruction.
“Your meal was interrupted by those noisy troublemakers.”
Returning to his seat, Nam Goong Ho picked up a piece of succulent roasted duck, its skin glistening with oil, and placed it atop Hong Seol’s rice bowl.
“Eat up.”
Hong Seol’s chopsticks resumed their movement. But not long after, she set them down again.
“Why, aren’t you eating more?”
“No, I’ve eaten plenty.”
In truth, I wanted to eat a bit more. I had never tasted food this delicious before.
But I forced myself to suppress that desire.
‘I mustn’t be greedy. If I eat too much, they might cast me out from here as well.’
Gauging the diminished amount of food, Hong Seol spoke again to Nam Goong Ho.
“Really, I’m full.”
I thought I had hidden my true feelings well enough.
But my gaze kept drifting toward the confections despite my best efforts to conceal it.
Nam Goong Ho caught this, and a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth—a smile Hong Seol failed to notice.
‘She claims to be full, yet like a true child, she’s craving something sweet.’
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to ask for the confections outright. It seemed Nam Goong Ho would have to offer them directly before she’d dare to touch them.
But there was something he needed to do first.
“The confections are fine, but try this first.”
In the next moment, if the servants of Chang Cheon Pavilion had witnessed it, they would have gasped in astonishment.
He picked up chopsticks with his own hands and took a piece of the stir-fried Eternal Fleece Root.
“Here, open wide.”
The Grand Patriarch of the Nam Goong Family was actually feeding food directly into a child’s mouth!
Something he had never once done for his three direct grandsons.
“Ah…?”
Unaccustomed to being fed by another, I hesitated before opening my mouth. A piece of ho soo oh, lightly fried in oil and sprinkled with salt, slipped smoothly into my small mouth.
“Mm.”
I couldn’t swallow the ho soo oh and merely worked my jaw.
‘It must taste quite bitter to a child.’
Nam Goong Ho spoke with deliberate sternness.
“This medicine will strengthen your body. You must chew it thoroughly and swallow it down.”
After pouting and working my jaw for some time, I suddenly clenched both fists tight. It seemed I had resolved to swallow the food he had taken the trouble to feed me rather than spit it out.
Gulp.
“Good! Here, have this sweet.”
Once Nam Goong Ho confirmed the ho soo oh had gone down, he pressed a wooden stick with a candy into my hand.
With my cheeks flushed, I quickly bit into the sweet.
The sugary taste melted so delightfully on my tongue that I found myself breaking into an unconscious smile for the first time.
Nam Goong Ho, who had been quietly observing me, asked a question.
“Do you feel anything unusual in your body?”
At his words, I blinked in confusion.
“The ho soo oh you consumed. Can you sense its energy?”
Now that he mentioned it, I did feel something tingling near my navel.
Though it was unfamiliar, the sensation wasn’t unpleasant—like drinking crystal-clear spring water drawn from deep within a remote mountain, refreshing and pure.
“There seems to be something near my navel…?”
“Precisely! That is your dantian. Now close your eyes and focus your attention on the energy residing there.”
After hesitating briefly, I closed my eyes tightly as instructed.
The faint energy settled in my dantian wavered, then gradually condensed into something more solid.
“I will place my fingers on your body for a moment—do not be startled.”
With my eyes closed, I nodded. For some reason, I felt I could trust this old man.
Nam Goong Ho drew a deep breath, then gently pressed his firm fingers against my thin shoulders. From that point, a clear, sky-like energy carefully flowed into me.
“Ah…?”
I tilted my head in wonder.
“Do you sense something?”
At my slight nod, Nam Goong Ho’s pleased voice returned.
“Your sensitivity to energy is remarkably sharp.”
The energy I perceived from Nam Goong Ho was extraordinary.
Light as wind drifting across a blue sky, yet simultaneously seamless as a stone wall built with meticulous care over countless years.
It was an energy that could transform at his will into a swift blade that cleaves the air, or a heavy sword that splits the world itself.
“From now on, I will guide my energy throughout every corner of your body.”
He was offering to assist with the circulation of qi—something any martial artist should master on their own.
Thousand-year ho soo oh is a spiritual medicine brimming with immense energy.
Even the finest spiritual medicine can cause harm if consumed improperly. There were countless instances of people who, driven by greed to increase their inner strength, carelessly chewed and swallowed thousand-year ho soo oh, only to collapse when they couldn’t bear the resulting energy.
Therefore, proper qi circulation was essential to correctly absorb the ho soo oh’s power.
‘But a child whose meridians are completely damaged couldn’t possibly know the proper path for energy to flow.’
So he was saying he would show me the way the energy should travel.
The Grand Patriarch of the Nam Goong Family Estate—a man who had devoted himself to cultivating inner strength through martial meditation every single day for seven decades—spoke these words himself.
A pitiful child, abandoned by the Myo Family Estate.
Yet within this small girl lay the seeds of what would one day blossom into mastery of the Yin-Yang Divine Art—that very technique he had longed to witness with his own eyes.
Nam Goong Ho was determined to do everything in his power to help this child’s talent flourish beautifully.
“Follow my lead. Imagine the essence of the thousand-year ginseng gathered at your dantian now dispersing throughout every corner of your body.”
Like this?
Hong Seol tilted her head uncertainly, then followed Nam Goong Ho’s guidance and forcefully pushed the energy gathered near her navel outward.
Then something extraordinary happened.
The energy, splitting into countless threads, began spreading throughout every part of Hong Seol’s body.
Nam Goong Ho’s energy surged ahead at the front, while the thousand-year ginseng essence Hong Seol had consumed swiftly pursued in its wake.
“Ah, ah?”
But that wasn’t all.
With each path the energy took, something felt different. For reasons she couldn’t explain, wherever that refreshing energy passed, strength naturally blossomed forth.
It was when the thousand-year ginseng essence had completed one full circuit through her body following Nam Goong Ho’s lead.
“Stop!”
Nam Goong Ho’s voice rang out.
Hong Seol halted the energy circulating within her body.
“Excellent work!”
When Hong Seol opened her eyes, Nam Goong Ho was beaming at her with a broad smile.
It was rare to see him smile so brightly. It meant his joy was genuine.
“You’re truly clever, Hong Seol!”
Overwhelmed by the cascade of praise and his warm smile, Hong Seol felt her cheeks burn. This feeling was entirely new to her.
‘Is he… happy because of me?’
The discomfort that had weighed on my heart ever since I opened my eyes in this place began to thaw, warmth slowly seeping in.
I wanted to do better.
I wanted to be praised!
Hong Seol’s small heart raced with excitement.
The fact that an adult had truly praised her filled her with joy and wonder.
Nam Goong Ho was equally astonished.
‘Is this truly a child who has never trained in martial arts before?’
Hong Seol’s sensitivity to energy was extraordinary.
In terms of raw talent alone, she was comparable to the direct descendants of the Nam Goong Family—White, Black, and Red.
Detecting the essence of medicinal energy with such sensitivity and controlling it at will was something that even seasoned martial artists required extensive training to accomplish.
Yet Hong Seol was managing it effortlessly.
Even with Nam Goong Ho’s assistance, it was nothing short of miraculous.
‘According to the ancient sages, those afflicted with the Yin-Yang Severed Meridian Syndrome are born with sharp minds and exceptional sensitivity to energy.’
Nam Goong Ho gazed at the small child before him.
‘My instincts were right. This child is a martial prodigy unlike any other!’
“Haha!”
Nam Goong Ho burst into hearty, unrestrained laughter and asked:
“Well, how does it feel?”

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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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