A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 97

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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 97
Only then did Nam Goong Ho notice the world around him.
People were whispering as they stared at him.
“What’s this? He looks like an outsider, yet he doesn’t even know basic courtesy.”
“Must be someone who ate off the Nam Goong Family’s stipend. You know the type—servants who mistake their master’s prestige for their own. Pathetic, really.”
“Still, he should know this is Sichuan, not Anhui!”
Just as Nam Goong Ho was about to flare up again, Hong Seol sternly pressed her index finger to her lips.
“Shh!”
“Sigh.”
In the end, Nam Goong Ho had to turn away and swallow his indignation alone.
Once he finally calmed himself, the puppets of the Poison King and Tian Tong Gai had vanished from the stage.
Only Nam Goong Ho’s puppet remained, wandering the world.
And whenever something happened, the Storyteller, speaking through the puppet’s mouth, would cry out:
“Gahahaha! Accept my token of gratitude!”
Each time, tokens of gratitude scattered across the stage like flower petals.
“How could he possibly know about that…?”
Nam Goong Ho’s complexion darkened as his hand unconsciously rose into the air.
At that moment, Nam Goong Ho’s eyes met those of Nam Goong Baek, who had turned to look at him.
His grandson’s gaze was as cold as ice could be.
Those eyes seemed to say, “So all the hardship we endured at the Changnyeong Sect was because of this.”
Hong Seol, too, covered her mouth with both hands, her worried eyes fixed on Nam Goong Ho.
“Grandfather… that’s not true, is it?”
Ahem!
Nam Goong Ho cleared his throat awkwardly and rose from his seat. Immediately, Nam Goong Baek’s sharp voice cut through the air like a blade.
“Grandfather, surely you haven’t left more tokens of gratitude scattered throughout the Martial Arts World?”
Nam Goong Ho paused, then spoke without turning around.
“I recovered them… most of them.”
Without even looking, I could picture the stunned expressions on Hong Seol’s and Baek’s faces.
As Nam Goong Ho hurried away, the back of his head burned with embarrassment.
* * *
They fled the puppet theater stage and headed toward a painting studio.
Inside, exquisite dyes displayed their vibrant hues in shallow ceramic vessels.
“Look at that, Grandfather!”
Hong Seol’s eyes were immediately captivated by the colorful dyes.
The brushes hanging from the ceiling released a pleasant aroma of ink.
But what delighted her most were the countless paintings that filled the studio.
Before the stacked scrolls, sample paintings were displayed to show what lay within.
The painters belonging to the studio had rendered Sichuan’s famous landscapes and notable figures.
“Please choose whichever painting calls to your heart!”
The cheerful studio owner greeted Hong Seol’s group with a broad smile.
I traced my fingertips across the delicate rice paper and paused before one particular painting.
It depicted a magnificent embankment that divided a vast river into several irrigation channels.
A five-story pavilion nestled along the deep emerald riverbank captivated my gaze instantly.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
The shop owner, who had appeared behind me, began explaining in a melodious voice.
“This is Dujiangyan, located not far from Chengdu.”
Dujiangyan was an embankment built long ago by someone named Dang Yi Bing of the Sa Cheon Dang Family.
The craftsmanship was so exquisitely precise and beautiful for its time that it had become a renowned destination—anyone visiting Chengdu made a pilgrimage there.
“Since Dujiangyan was built in Sichuan, there have been no more floods. Thanks to it, the lives of people in the surrounding areas have improved considerably. Before, that region suffered water disasters constantly.”
As the shop owner spoke, he gestured with his chin toward a woman who happened to be stationed in front of the shop.
“That family lives near Dujiangyan. They occasionally come to the Market District to sell tangerines.”
The woman was arranging a tangerine stand with three children who appeared younger than me.
“Oh? You’re so pretty, sister!”
The youngest child, whose eyes met mine, picked up a tangerine and toddled into the shop.
Then held it out right in front of my face.
“Sister, eat this one!”
“Huh? Can I really eat this?”
Flustered, I turned my head toward the child’s mother.
The mother smiled and gestured for me to go ahead.
Only then did my expression brighten.
“Thank you so much! And thank you, little one!”
Moved by the gesture, I peeled the tangerine and popped a segment into my mouth. The sweet and tart juice danced across my tongue.
“Delicious…!”
I broke into a radiant smile.
Meanwhile, the tangerine seller’s youngest was distributing tangerines one by one to the shop owner, Nam Goong Baek, and Nam Goong Ho.
“…Thank you.”
“Ha! This little one knows how to work the crowd—you’ll make a fine merchant someday!”
Nam Goong Ho, unable to resist despite his dignity, bought a handful of tangerines and spoke with amusement.
As everyone chewed on tangerines, the woman selling them remarked:
“You seem unfamiliar with this area, finding Dujiangyan so fascinating.”
“Yes, we’ve come from far away. The painting of Dujiangyan is truly beautiful!”
At my words, the woman smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling.
“Is that so? Please visit sometime when you have the chance. The people living nearby are humble and kind-hearted.”
The people of Sichuan seemed to take great pride in their homeland.
“If this is your first time in Sichuan, you should also see the giant panda.”
“A giant panda?”
A bear… cat?
My eyes widened like apricot pits at this curious name I’d never heard before.
The woman gestured with her chin as she arranged the tangerines.
“There it is—a painting of a giant panda.”
“How much is this?”
As a customer arrived and the woman selling tangerines became distracted, I seized the opportunity to examine the painting of the giant panda.
“Wow, it’s really adorable!”
Nestled among verdant bamboo groves, a fluffy bundle of black and white fur was contentedly munching on bamboo shoots with a soft crunch.
Those drooping eyes and endearing expression instantly captured my heart.
‘I’ve always heard that bears are tremendously massive creatures, savage enough to tear apart living cats, yet….’
I recalled Nam Goong Ui Gyeol, the being I knew who came closest to resembling a bear.
Thinking of him made me realize that a real bear would be absolutely terrifying by comparison.
But….
‘This giant panda is just so irresistibly cute!’
I searched for other paintings depicting the giant panda.
Seeing it draped across a tree branch like laundry, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“This is hilarious!”
My crystalline laughter rang out like tinkling bells. At that, Nam Goong Baek hurried over to my side.
I held up the painting of the giant panda and thrust it right under Nam Goong Baek’s nose.
“Look at this, brother! I can’t believe such an adorable creature exists in this world. Sichuan truly seems like a wonderful place!”
“….”
The unexpected silence caught me off guard. I quickly withdrew the giant panda painting from his face and studied his expression.
My brother’s expression was peculiar.
A face that seemed both indignant and worried.
After his lips moved silently for a long moment, he finally spoke.
“…There is.”
“Pardon?”
“In Anhui as well, they say.”
I paused to think, then shook my head.
“No, I’ve never heard of giant pandas existing in Anhui…?”
“No, they do exist in Anhui. Something just as cute as the giant panda.”
“…What is it?”
When I asked, Nam Goong Baek swallowed hard.
Whatever he was thinking, the tips of his ears had turned completely crimson.
I tilted my head and waited for Nam Goong Baek’s answer. Now I was genuinely curious.
“Tell me, brother! What on earth exists in Anhui that’s cuter than a giant panda?”
Nam Goong Baek hesitated for a long while before finally opening his mouth.
“…Me.”
He couldn’t bring himself to meet my eyes and spoke while looking away.
“When I was young, people said that when I transformed, I was the cutest thing in the world.”
“…I see.”
I nodded slightly.
‘Brother seems more impressive than cute, if anything.’
I couldn’t possibly say that aloud.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen my older brother transform into his human form.’
Perhaps my older brother is a white-furred puppy?
A puppy with a perpetually sullen expression, indifferent to the affairs of the world.
Only when the mood strikes does he extend his pink tongue and lick his front paws with soft, wet sounds.
‘That actually sounds rather adorable.’
As the image formed in Hong Seol’s mind, she felt the urge to squeal with delight.
“Regardless, stop going on about how cute Ung Myo is.”
“But….”
“Enough…!”
At Nam Goong Baek’s earnest tone, Hong Seol pressed her lips firmly shut.
‘I never realized my older brother was so fixated on appearing cute.’
It seemed unwise to dwell further on Ung Myo’s portrait in his presence.
His pride might be wounded, after all.
‘But… he really is that adorable.’
Hong Seol’s eyes remained fixed on the portrait of Ung Myo, his fur now entirely brown from rolling about in the dirt.
Observing her, Nam Goong Baek brought a hand to his clammy forehead and contemplated.
‘At this rate, Seol will insist on staying in Sichuan because of Ung Myo. When we return, I’ll have to get Jeok to paint soot around his eyes or something.’
Meanwhile, Nam Goong Ho, who had been browsing through the painting studio, suddenly addressed the proprietor.
“Who is the subject of this painting?”
“Ah! It is Young Master Dang Yi Woon of the Sa Cheon Dang Family.”
Nam Goong Ho spoke with evident surprise.
“That sunburned little runt with the pale, peeling face has grown into such a handsome young master? Ah, how fleeting time is.”
At those words, Nam Goong Baek’s ears perked up. He hastily reached for the painting depicting Dang Yi Woon.
There stood a boy in a green robe, his face radiant with a smile as bright as sunlight.

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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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