A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 56

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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 56
Once I returned to the Nam Goong Family Estate, there was no telling when I’d have another chance to venture into the Market District.
Today, I absolutely had to visit the place Elder Judge Nam Goong Mu Young had mentioned.
‘The Elder said I’d meet a noble person if I went there.’
Nam Goong On and Bing Yu Hua wore expressions suggesting they were puzzled by why I was being so secretive about the location.
I hesitated before continuing.
“It’s… a place I have to go alone.”
“That won’t do!”
“That won’t do!”
Urgent protests erupted simultaneously.
It was as though they were a single voice speaking in unison.
Nam Goong On and Bing Yu Hua unleashed a barrage of scolding at me.
“How could you wander the Market District alone, a mere child!”
“No parent would ever permit such a thing!”
Upon hearing those words, I suddenly placed my hand over my chest. My small heart was racing rapidly.
‘Parents… does that mean the Family Head and the Medicine Master are my parents…?’
It wasn’t something I hadn’t imagined before, but hearing it spoken directly by Bing Yu Hua felt strange.
I laughed awkwardly, scratching my cheek for no particular reason.
Despite not having received permission to wander alone, my heart felt as though it might soar away.
“Where exactly are you trying to go?”
“Well, actually… Elder Judge Nam Goong Mu Young…”
I chattered on about my sparring match with Nam Goong Jong Woo and how I’d helped mend the relationship between Elder Judge Nam Goong Mu Young and his grandson Nam Goong Jong Woo.
“The Elder said such a thing?”
Bing Yu Hua narrowed her eyes and continued.
“He may be shrewd, stubborn, and devoted only to his own family, but he’s not one to speak nonsense.”
Wait… did the Medicine Master just criticize the Elder?
While I stood bewildered, Nam Goong On and Bing Yu Hua each took hold of my small hands.
“If it’s a place you must go, let’s all three go together.”
Their hands holding mine so firmly filled me with such warmth that I laughed again, carelessly and without restraint.
“Yes! Let’s all go together.”
* * *
Huff, huff.
Using the Heavenly Wind Divine Method, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol bounded across the roof tiles in a frenzy, his thoughts racing.
‘What kind of woman is she?’
He’d been chasing the woman with a pipa strapped to her back across the rooftops of Hefei at full speed for half a double hour now.
Even Nam Goong Ui Gyeol, expending his inner force to propel himself through the air, was beginning to breathe heavily.
Yet the woman ahead showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
‘At this level, she must be a master on par with the Grand Patriarch!’
Nam Goong Ui Gyeol swallowed hard.
If that were the case, he absolutely could not afford to lose her trail.
Nam Goong Ui Gyeol gritted his teeth and drew upon his inner strength. As azure Changcheon energy bloomed forth, his feet accelerated to twice their previous speed.
‘Just a little more, just a little faster!’
A raven-black bamboo hat perched upon a lithe frame. And strapped across her back like a lifeline—a stone pipa.
The woman’s appearance and distinctive features matched perfectly with the one he sought.
None other than the leader of the Black Eagle Gang, Dok Bi Jo.
Thanks to his exertion, the woman’s shadow drew tantalizingly close—nearly within his grasp.
The Nineteen Forms of the Great Expansion!
It was the moment Nam Goong Ui Gyeol attempted to snare her arm using the Golden Snake technique that the Nam Goong Family prided itself upon.
A sharp pivot.
The woman spun about so abruptly that his hand closed upon empty air.
“Quite impressive—to pursue me this long without losing my trail.”
With those words, the woman removed the bamboo hat she wore and cast it aside.
In that instant, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol nearly stumbled backward in shock.
Beneath the hat was not an elderly woman radiating malevolent qi, but a strikingly young woman.
‘Could it be… a reversal technique?’
If so, he should have been able to discern it to some degree.
Sweat beaded upon Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s furrowed brow.
The woman emanated no crimson qi whatsoever—only a clear, pristine energy.
‘To have mistaken such a woman for Dok Bi Jo… I have made a grave error.’
“In broad daylight, a rough-hewn man pursues a lone woman? What manner of barbarous conduct is this?”
“I… that is…”
Realizing his blunder, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol found himself utterly tongue-tied.
Though they were strangers, her imperious tone made it abundantly clear she was the daughter of a noble martial family.
‘Is she from the Mo Yong Family? Or perhaps the Je Gal Family? Could she be from the Yak Gang Seon Family, renowned for their mastery of musical instruments?’
If so, he could hardly confess that he had mistaken her for a heterodox sect member and pursued her.
For among martial artists, honor was valued above life itself.
“Why on earth did you follow me?”
Her sharp, accusatory tone left Nam Goong Ui Gyeol parched.
“Has someone sewn your lips shut? I asked why you followed me!”
In the end, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol had no choice but to squeeze his eyes shut and cry out.
“…B-because the young lady is so breathtakingly beautiful!”
Forgive me, my love…
As he thought of his wife waiting at home, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol wept tears of blood in his heart.
“…”
“…”
How long did that silence stretch on?
“Kekeke!”
At the sudden burst of laughter, Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s mood soured considerably.
It seemed the woman was laughing because she found him unsatisfactory.
“Well then, since we’ve met by fate’s design, tell me your name. I shall remember it well.”
“….”
“I won’t spread rumors about you making advances toward me, so rest assured.”
“Nam Goong Ui Gyeol, at your service.”
At those words, the woman paused before letting out a low murmur.
“Ah, that blockhead.”
At this unfamiliar epithet, a vein visibly throbbed on Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s forehead.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing at all. But since I’ve happened to meet someone from the Nam Goong Family, let me ask you something.”
Nam Goong Ui Gyeol answered with a sullen tone.
“What is it?”
“Who is the most promising rising talent in the Nam Goong Family?”
The unexpected question made Nam Goong Ui Gyeol hesitate for a moment.
The name that surfaced in his mind was not Nam Goong Baek, nor Nam Goong Jeok, nor Nam Goong Heuk—it was Hong Seol.
But he could not carelessly reveal Hong Seol’s existence to this mysterious stranger.
“I have no obligation to answer you unconditionally, Miss.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Those eyes that seemed to peer transparently through his very organs made Nam Goong Ui Gyeol shudder.
‘I’d rather get away from here quickly.’
He bowed respectfully and swiftly distanced himself from the woman.
“So the famous Nam Goong Baek’s name didn’t come up immediately, did it….”
There must be someone else.
The woman’s crimson lips curved into a pleased smile.
* * *
Hong Seol stood before a shabby shop in the Back Alley.
The roof tiles were broken in places, and the wooden door was riddled with holes as if gnawed by rats.
Even the banner inscribed with “Heavenly Secrets Revealed” hung limply before the gate.
Nam Goong On tilted his head quizzically.
“Hong Seol, is this fortune-telling shop truly the place the Elder Judge taught us about?”
It was Bing Yu Hua who answered.
“He’s an old man with murky intentions and disagreeable manners who cares only for money, but he’s not someone who would give you the wrong location.”
Hong Seol swallowed hard.
‘Ah, it seems the Medicine Master really despises Elder Judge Nam Goong Mu Young….’
Back when Nam Goong On had contended with his younger brother Nam Goong Yeol for the position of family head.
Hong Seol did not know that Elder Judge Nam Goong Mu Young had sided with Nam Goong Yeol and departed to establish the Branch Family Residence.
Nor did she know that Bing Yu Hua still regarded Nam Goong Mu Young as a thorn in her side.
“Since we’re here, let’s go in and have a look, child.”
Emboldened by those words, Hong Seol pushed open the wooden door with all her strength.
Creak.
The decrepit door emitted an eerie sound.
Inside was pitch dark.
“Is anyone here…?”
Then the old man’s sinister voice echoed through the darkness.
“How did you come to be here?”
“I was introduced by Nam Goong Mu Young, the Elder Judge….”
“Is that so? What did that reckless fool tell you?”
“That if I came here, I would meet a noble person who could change my destiny….”
“Heh!”
In that instant, a withered hand shot out from the darkness and seized Hong Seol’s wrist with an iron grip.
Hong Seol was yanked into the darkness in a heartbeat.
“Kyaaah!”
“Let her go!”
Nam Goong On, gritting his teeth, swiftly extended his hand and unleashed the Dae Yeon Nineteen Form.
Thwack! Crack!
The elderly man, his arms covered in age spots, blocked Nam Goong On’s Golden Serpent Technique with a single hand as if he were a monster.
Then he released Hong Seol, apparently wanting to test Nam Goong On instead.
Freed, Hong Seol was immediately embraced by Bing Yu Hua.
“Are you alright, child?”
Hong Seol nodded frantically, unable to comprehend what was happening.
“Tsk tsk tsk, the young one from the Nam Goong Family has grown quite a bit.”
The young one from the Nam Goong Family?
Could he be referring to the Family Head?
Hong Seol looked up at Nam Goong On with bewildered eyes.
Whoosh.
There was clearly no flint striker nearby to ignite a flame.
Yet when the old man’s fingertip touched the lamp, fire suddenly blazed to life.
“Samadhi True Fire!”
Bing Yu Hua gasped in astonished recognition.
A technique only masters of extraordinary martial prowess could employ—igniting flames through inner energy itself.
This meant the opponent before them was at least a master of Hwagyeong level.
“Tsk tsk, it has been long. You, On, and that child as cold as a blizzard from the Northern Sea.”
Crackle crackle.
As the wick burned brighter, the toothless visage of the old man was finally revealed.

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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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