A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 58

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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 58
There, a man clad entirely in dark armor rode a white horse while holding an equally dark flag, walking forward with deliberate purpose.
Beneath him lay the corpses of the fallen.
By any measure, it was an ominous card.
It was strange.
‘Nam Goong Mu Young drew such an ominous card and then attached the Nam Goong name to it?’
Tian Tong Gai, reading Hong Seol’s expression, answered.
“This card signifies death.”
“Pardon?”
“It means a great change will come to one’s life. Nam Goong Mu Young had been desperately poor until then, so I interpreted that change favorably.”
Favorably?
Hong Seol tilted her head in confusion.
“Moreover, I had heard that one of the Nam Goong Family’s branch lines had lost their heir, and they were searching for a clever child to adopt.”
Tian Tong Gai stroked his long beard once before continuing.
“I only needed to confirm whether that fate belonged to Nam Goong Mu Young. So I cast coins to divine the answer, and wouldn’t you know it—the direction that emerged pointed precisely toward the Nam Goong Family Estate!”
He told Nam Goong Mu Young to go there, and Nam Goong Mu Young was able to meet a noble and find a new life.
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Hong Seol nodded eagerly without thinking.
Tian Tong Gai shrugged as if it were nothing.
“So trust me too, and try drawing a card that appeals to you.”
“Yes, yes!”
“First, you must tell me what you wish to ask.”
“Yes! I want to know… if my mother loves me.”
Perhaps everything that happened on Dae Chuk Mountain was nothing but a terrible misunderstanding.
I wondered if my mother was suffering from searching for me, as I had heard in Anhui Region not long ago.
If that were true, I wanted nothing more than to return to my mother’s embrace at any moment.
As if all of it had been nothing but a bad dream.
‘Please tell me if my mother loves me…!’
Hong Seol chose a card with earnest longing in her heart.
“Hmm?”
Tian Tong Gai flipped the card over and his expression grew puzzled.
There floated ten golden cups alongside a rainbow. Beneath them appeared a family that anyone could see was happy.
‘Strange. I heard that Je Gal Seon, the matriarch of the Myo Ga Jang, severely abused this child. Why would such a divination appear…?’
“Why, why is it?”
Hong Seol leaned forward anxiously, worried she might have drawn an ominous card.
Tian Tong Gai waved his hand dismissively.
“No. Just to be certain, wouldn’t you like to draw one more card?”
Hong Seol drew another card with trembling hands.
This time it showed an elderly man with a long beard wearing a gleaming crown, seated upon a throne.
‘Stability and trust… that cannot be right.’
Tian Tong Gai, now thoroughly bewildered, furrowed his brow and spoke.
“Draw once more.”
Hong Seol, still comprehending nothing, flipped another card and presented it.
“Hah!”
Upon seeing the image drawn on the paper card, Tian Tong Gai exhaled a sigh of utter astonishment.
Resting upon a massive palm was a golden chalice, from which an endless stream of water perpetually surged forth.
It was unmistakably the symbol of an affection that remained undiminished even now.
“This won’t do. Let me divine another aspect.”
Whether he scattered rice, cast ancient coins, or shook the divination cup, the results remained identical.
After divining for quite some time, Tian Tong Gai found himself with no choice but to concede completely.
“It seems I must accept this truth.”
This was the first time he had ever revealed a divination reading to anyone that differed from the information he had previously known.
“You have no need to alter your fate. Your mother loves you dearly even now, Hong Seol.”
“Really? Truly?”
Joy flooded into the child’s pallid face like an incoming tide.
“Mother… loves… me…”
Hong Seol clasped her hands to her chest, trembling with overwhelming emotion.
Observing this, Tian Tong Gai kept his gaze fixed upon the child while sending a telepathic message.
– Pal Deok, are you there?
– Yes, Sect Master! What are your orders?
One of the Beggar Sect disciples, concealed in the rafters with a concealment technique, answered through telepathy.
– I must investigate the Myo Ga Jang more thoroughly.
– What should I look into, Sect Master?
Tian Tong Gai regarded Hong Seol quietly.
Though her frame was small from malnutrition, she appeared to be around eight years old.
– It concerns events from approximately eight years ago. When the Myo Ga Jang’s firstborn was born, investigate whether anything suspicious occurred.
– Understood!
Whoosh!
Pal Deok, having received the Sect Master’s command, vanished without delay.
Hong Seol remained too preoccupied with calming her racing heart to notice anyone departing.
‘Mother truly loved me all along.’
Hong Seol repeatedly rubbed the crimson eye-shaped birthmark on her arm.
‘That feeling was never a lie after all!’
Her delicate fingers trembled with emotion.
Tian Tong Gai, scratching his ear with his pinky, asked, “So, you intend to return to your mother immediately? If so, then wait—”
“No.”
Surprised by this unexpected answer, Tian Tong Gai looked at Hong Seol. The child held her lips firmly sealed and shook her head.
‘Interesting child indeed.’
What could possibly be her intention?
What on earth is going on?
Tian Tong Gai’s head tilted with curiosity.
Hong Seol suppressed her emotions, speaking in a carefully controlled voice.
“I… I still have duties remaining at the Nam Goong Family Estate.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Tian Tong Gai raised one eyebrow.
The child before him appeared to be desperately restraining the urge to throw herself into her mother’s embrace.
‘I heard that this girl recently became Nam Goong Ho’s disciple.’
If that were true, the answer was obvious.
‘She wants to learn martial arts under Nam Goong Ho and return home. Well, that would certainly benefit the girl as well.’
Having drawn his own conclusions about Hong Seol’s intentions, he rose to his feet.
“It seems the time has come for those outside to enter.”
Tian Tong Gai withdrew the qi barrier that had surrounded the room.
It was a precaution to prevent any conversation between him and Hong Seol from leaking outside.
“Come in now!”
The moment Tian Tong Gai’s words fell, Nam Goong On and Bing Yu Hua rushed in.
“Hong Seol!”
Bing Yu Hua immediately wrapped Hong Seol in her skirts.
At that embrace, Hong Seol’s mood brightened considerably.
‘What a lovely scent. It’s a fragrance that brings peace of mind.’
As Hong Seol smiled softly, Nam Goong On presented his request.
“We are searching for Wan Li Yi Xian.”
“Hmph! You seek no ordinary person.”
“Yes. Therefore, we humbly ask that you issue a full mobilization order to the Beggar Sect.”
“I refuse.”
“We will provide whatever compensation you desire.”
“I still refuse.”
“Why would you?”
“You don’t know why you’re asking?”
The corners of Tian Tong Gai’s beard-covered mouth twitched with displeasure.
Seeing this, Nam Goong On shook his head in disbelief.
“Surely not, Elder?”
“That’s exactly it. If it involves helping that man Nam Goong Ho, I want no part of it!”
“Sigh.”
Bing Yu Hua exhaled heavily, his expression turning cold.
The long-standing feud between Nam Goong Ho, the Grand Patriarch of the Nam Goong Family and his father-in-law, and Tian Tong Gai, the leader of the Beggar Sect, stretched back to their youth.
More precisely, Nam Goong Ho had made a habit of mocking Tian Tong Gai when he was just a young beggar in the Sect.
Particularly famous was the tale of how, after winning a wager, Nam Goong Ho had ridden Tian Tong Gai around like a horse.
‘I can’t bear this.’
Bing Yu Hua pressed his throbbing temples and pleaded.
“Elder, please reconsider this matter, just once more.”
“What would it take to ease your anger? Would an apology from the Family Head suffice?”
Nam Goong On quickly offered a condition as well. But Tian Tong Gai remained stubborn.
“An apology from that old man now won’t do a shred of good. I’m not budging from this spot!”
A heavy silence fell over the shop.
‘What do we do?’
‘Is there no way out of this?’
Bing Yu Hua and Nam Goong On exchanged troubled glances. Yet no solution presented itself.
Money wouldn’t work, apologies were useless—what else could possibly be done?
All that remained was… coercion?
Nam Goong On quickly calculated in his mind the odds of intimidating Tian Tong Gai.
Even if he deployed all the guards standing by outside, the chances of subduing Tian Tong Gai were infinitesimally small.
He was a master of Hwagyeong and the leader of a faction.
Even if they somehow succeeded in overpowering him, it would spell disaster. The relationship between the Nam Goong Family and the Beggar Sect would be irreparably shattered.
‘What am I to do?’
A dead end indeed!
Just as Nam Goong On sank into despair, a voice as clear and pure as jade rang out through the room.
“Don’t worry, Family Head! Grandfather Tian Tong Gai will help me.”
It was none other than 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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