Chapter 03
“So we finally meet.”
Namgung Ho’s fingertips began to tremble.
A person who had mastered the Yinyang Divine Art had finally appeared in the Namgung Clan.
That alone was something he had long, long dreamed of.
If only he could raise this child properly…!
His eyelids fluttered with anticipation and excitement.
— But, Namgung Ho.
Dang Yi-mu sent a low telepathic message, as if to calm his excitement.
— As you know, the treatment method for the Yin-Yang Severed Veins has already been lost in the Central Plains, hasn’t it?
It was an extremely rare condition to begin with. Because patients were so few, it wasn’t strange that no treatment method had been passed down.
Moreover, those who suffered from this illness had extremely short lifespans. Most died without even knowing they had it.
The reason this child had been cast out from her family was likely because she could not be cured.
Dang Yi-mu shook his head.
— It will be difficult not only to cure her, but even to keep her alive until a treatment is found.
“I can cure her.”
— And how would you do that?
“If it’s Yu-hwa… she can do it.”
Namgung Ho’s face was full of certainty. Dang Yi-mu let out a hollow laugh.
— Honestly, your blind faith in your daughter-in-law hasn’t changed at all!
“It’s not blind faith. It’s fact.”
Namgung Ho truly believed it.
That the brilliant medical head of the Namgung Clan, Bing Yu-hwa, would surely find a way to cure Hong-seol.
“The problem is that Yu-hwa is currently away…”
If only he knew where she was, he would send a messenger pigeon immediately.
While Namgung Ho was thinking, Dang Yi-mu added,
— Even if this child is cured and learns the Yinyang Divine Art, so what? She’s not even a member of the Namgung Clan!
Both of them looked down at Hong-seol’s pale face. The child, having collapsed from exhaustion, was sleeping peacefully in Namgung Ho’s arms.
Perhaps she had not even eaten properly at her home.
Her body felt as light as a snowflake in his arms.
Namgung Ho spoke quietly.
“Then we simply make her one of the Namgung Clan.”
— You mean… adopt a beast-human cat? The elders will throw a fit!
Dang Yi-mu was right.
Unless the clan was on the verge of extinction, the stubborn elders of the Namgung Clan—obsessed with pure bloodlines—would never accept it.
‘Perhaps I should give up.’
Namgung Ho frowned.
Then—
“Mm…”
As if talking in her sleep, Hong-seol tightly grabbed the edge of his robe.
That helpless little gesture made even his hardened heart sink slightly.
Namgung Ho pressed his lips into a firm line.
‘How to make her a Namgung is a secondary issue.’
It could not be forced. In the end, they would have to wait for the child’s own choice.
‘For now, until Yu-hwa returns, I must keep this child alive at all costs.’
The Yin-Yang Severed Veins he had long sought.
Even if it meant pouring in all kinds of rare medicines, he intended to save her.
And for that, he needed something—that item.
Namgung Ho said in a heavy voice:
“Dang Yi-mu, give it to me.”
The enormous white serpent shook its head violently.
— I’ve told you hundreds of times. I will never give you my inner core!
“Not your inner core. I’m talking about the thing you found at the peak of Mount Daechuk back then.”
— Have you gone senile, old man?! How can you ask for something that precious?!
Dang Yi-mu jumped in shock. But Namgung Ho continued calmly.
“Of course I won’t take it for free. In exchange, I will give you this.”
At the object Namgung Ho revealed, Dang Yi-mu’s eyes flashed brightly.
Without delay, Namgung Ho descended Mount Daechuk while carrying Hong-seol.
Thanks to the Namgung Clan’s supreme movement technique, Heavenly Wind Steps, his body felt as light as if riding the wind.
Before long, the vast estate of the Namgung Clan came into view.
“Greetings, Supreme Clan Lord!”
The voices of the martial artists training in the outer courtyard echoed into the darkening sky.
“It’s evening. Wrap it up and rest.”
“Yes!”
Even their voices were tense with respect. It showed the authority Namgung Ho naturally commanded.
But even such authority could waver—especially in front of his grandchildren.
“Grandpa!”
The moment he opened the door to his residence, Cheongcheon Pavilion, a sharp voice greeted him.
“We’ve been waiting!”
A child with sparkling eyes rushed into his arms—his youngest grandson, Namgung Jeok.
His brown hair fell so low it nearly covered his eyes.
“Did Snake Grandpa finally bring the inner core?”
…A slightly strange child, as usual.
“Inner core?”
Namgung Ho frowned.
First Hong-seol, now even his youngest grandson was talking about inner cores.
‘Is this some trend among children in Anhui Province?’
Before he could understand, Namgung Jeok smiled brightly.
“You said you were going to get it from Snake Grandpa earlier!”
Ah.
It was a careless excuse he had made to get the child to stop following him to Mount Daechuk.
He replied flatly:
“I didn’t get it. And don’t go around saying Grandpa said such things.”
“Um, why not?”
Thwack.
“Yow!”
A second grandson, Namgung Heuk, smacked Jeok on the head.
“You idiot. Don’t be so clueless. Proper sects don’t talk like that.”
Heuk had shiny black hair and sharp, mischievous eyes.
Among the three direct grandsons, he was the most cunning.
‘The eldest is still nowhere to be seen today.’
Well, perhaps that was natural given the circumstances.
Namgung Ho suppressed his heavy thoughts and looked at the boys.
The nine-year-old Heuk had already noticed the rag-like bundle in his grandfather’s arms.
“What’s that? A doll from Snake Grandpa?”
“This isn’t a doll…”
Just then, a weak sound came from Namgung Ho’s arms.
“Uunng…”
“Eh? A girl?”
Heuk and Jeok leaned in with widened eyes.
Girls their age were rare in the Namgung Clan.
“…I suppose I can’t hide her identity from them either.”
“Grandpa, what is she?”
At Heuk’s question, Namgung Ho answered bluntly.
“I picked her up on the way. She’s a beast-human cat.”
“W-what?!”
Both boys tilted their heads in confusion.
What kind of place was the prestigious Namgung Clan, one of the Five Great Clans that ruled the martial world?
A family of predators among predators.
They might look refined on the outside, but inside they were like wolves hiding claws and fangs…
A cat should be nothing more than a snack.
And yet their grandfather—the Supreme Clan Lord—had brought one home?
Finally unable to contain himself, Heuk asked:
“So… Grandpa just cat-napped her?”
Is that even a thing?!
Ignoring their shock, Namgung Ho said firmly:
“Her identity as a beast-human must be kept secret. Understood?”
At his tone, both boys shut their mouths immediately.
“Also, when she wakes up, feed her. Tell the kitchen to prepare this.”
He tossed them a wrapped bundle.
Heuk quickly unwrapped it.
Inside was He Shou Wu, a medicinal herb that looked like a peeled sweet potato. Its faint white sheen made it clearly no ordinary item.
Jeok blinked innocently.
“What is this, Grandpa?”
“Ten-thousand-year He Shou Wu.”
Ten-thousand-year He Shou Wu?
And they were going to cook it as food… for that ragged cat-girl?
Both boys’ eyes widened in disbelief.
One day before climbing Mount Daechuk.
Hong-seol was expelled from the inner quarters of the Myeoga Manor.
“The young lady’s room will be used as storage, so you must move to the outer kitchen annex immediately.”
It was the maid Cheong-ok’s cold announcement.
The outer quarters were where those without family ties lived. The kitchen annex was even worse—cold drafts everywhere.
But even then, Hong-seol only nodded quietly.
“I-I’ll just take my treasures…”
Her voice was so timid it sounded like she was speaking to a superior.
Cheong-ok frowned.
“Treasure?”
In Hong-seol’s small hands was a worn wooden box.
“I said we don’t have time!”
She grabbed Hong-seol’s sleeve impatiently.
“Ah!”
The box jolted—and its contents spilled everywhere.
“Seriously! Will you stop being so clumsy?”
Even though it was her fault, Cheong-ok snapped at her.
Hong-seol said nothing and shrank back.
“Ugh, I can’t deal with this.”
As Cheong-ok bent down to pick up the items, she frowned.
On the ground lay a piece of rope and a few polished pebbles.
“What is this trash?”
Hong-seol’s face turned red.
In her imagination, the old rope was golden thread for beads, and the pebbles were jade ornaments—like the bracelet her younger sister Garyeong once received from their father.
She often spent long nights imagining the day she might receive something like that too.
“Stop wasting time and follow me!”
“Ah!”
Cheong-ok grabbed her hand and dragged her forward.
As they crossed the courtyard, Hong-seol suddenly stopped.
Someone was sitting in a small pavilion in the back garden.
