chapter 03
“Finally… we meet.”
Namgung Ho’s fingertips began to tremble.
A child born within the Namgung clan who possessed the Yin-Yang Divine Veins—
It was something he had longed for more than anything.
If only he could raise this child properly…!
Excitement and anticipation made even his eyelids quiver.
— But Namgung Ho,
Tang Yiwu’s calm inner voice reached him, as if to cool his fervor.
— You know as well as I do, the method to treat Yin-Yang Severance has been lost from the Central Plains.
It was a disease so rare that few even knew it existed.
With no patients, it was only natural that no cure remained.
Besides, those born with the condition rarely lived long.
Most died before even realizing what they suffered from.
That was why this child had been cast out by her own family—
because her disease was said to be incurable.
Tang Yiwu shook his massive head, the scales of the giant white serpent glinting faintly.
— You won’t just fail to cure her. Even keeping her alive long enough to search for a cure will be no easy feat.
“I can cure her,” Namgung Ho said quietly.
— And how do you plan to do that?
“Yuhwa can do it.”
Certainty filled Namgung Ho’s face. Tang Yiwu let out a dry laugh.
— You’re still as ridiculously confident in your daughter-in-law as ever, I see.
“It’s not foolishness. It’s fact.”
Namgung Ho’s conviction was unshakable.
If anyone could find a cure, it would be Bing Yuhwa, the brilliant head of the Namgung clan’s Medical Hall.
“The problem,” he muttered, “is that Yuhwa is currently away…”
If only he knew where exactly she was, he’d have sent a carrier pigeon immediately.
While Namgung Ho pondered, Tang Yiwu added with a sigh:
— Even if you cure her and she masters the Yin-Yang Divine Arts, what of it? She isn’t one of your clan.
Both men looked down at the sleeping girl in Namgung Ho’s arms.
She was resting soundly, perhaps soothed by the warmth of his embrace.
Had she even been fed properly in her former home?
The child’s body was so light, it felt like holding a snowflake.
Namgung Ho murmured under his breath.
“Then I’ll make her one of us.”
— You mean to adopt a cat beastkin into the Namgung clan? The elders will lose their minds!
And indeed, Tang Yiwu was right.
If the family line were in danger of extinction, perhaps it would be excusable—
but the Namgung elders were men obsessed with blood purity.
They would never allow a beastkin—much less a frail cat one—
into their line, no matter how gifted she might be.
‘Do I have to give up after all…?’
His expression darkened.
Then—
“…Mm.”
In her sleep, Hong Seol reached out and clutched his robe with her small hand.
That helpless gesture softened even Namgung Ho’s hardened heart.
His lips pressed into a thin line.
‘How to make her a Namgung… that’s a problem for later.’
That wasn’t something he could force—nor should he.
In the end, it would have to be her choice.
‘For now, I just have to keep her alive until Yuhwa returns.’
This was the Yin-Yang Severance he had searched for all these years.
Even if it meant pouring every elixir he possessed into her, he would save her.
But to do that, he needed that item.
Namgung Ho spoke gravely to Tang Yiwu.
“Yiwu, give it to me.”
The massive white serpent violently shook its head.
— I’ve told you hundreds of times! You can’t have my inner core!
“Not your inner core. The thing you found atop Mount Daechok.”
— Have you gone senile, old man? You want that precious thing?
Tang Yiwu nearly reared back in outrage.
Namgung Ho only continued in his blunt tone.
“Of course, I’m not asking for it for free. I’ll give you this in return.”
When Namgung Ho revealed the item in his hand, Tang Yiwu’s serpentine eyes widened in shock.
Carrying Hong Seol in his arms, Namgung Ho descended Mount Daechok.
Using the Namgung clan’s famed Heavenly Wind Footwork, his steps were light as a breeze.
Before long, the vast estate of the Namgung family came into view.
“Greetings, Grand Elder!”
The martial trainees in the outer courtyard shouted as they caught sight of him,
their voices echoing under the darkening sky.
“It’s evening—enough training for today. Go rest.”
“Yes, sir!”
Even from their voices alone, one could sense their tension.
That was the kind of authority Namgung Ho commanded.
Yet even the awe-inspiring Grand Elder of the Namgung clan had moments when that authority wavered—
namely, when dealing with his grandchildren.
“Grandpa!”
The moment he opened the door to his sitting room, a shrill, cheerful voice greeted him.
“We were waiting for you!”
The boy who flung himself into his arms was his youngest grandson, Namgung Jeok—
a child with so much brown hair it nearly covered his eyes.
Just looking at him always made Namgung Ho’s hand twitch with the urge to pat his head.
Among his three mischievous grandsons, Jeok was the most endearing.
“Did Snake-Grandpa finally give you his core?”
…A bit eccentric, though.
“His core?” Namgung Ho frowned.
First Hong Seol, now even his grandson—
why was everyone talking about inner cores today?
‘Is this some kind of fad among kids in Anhui Province?’
Before he could ask, Jeok giggled with his five-year-old’s innocence.
“You said you were going to get it from Snake-Grandpa earlier!”
Ah.
That must’ve been the excuse he’d given to stop the boy from tagging along to Mount Daechok.
And the child had believed it wholeheartedly.
“I didn’t get it,” Namgung Ho said curtly. “And don’t go around telling people your grandfather said things like that.”
“Why not?”
Thunk!
“Ow!”
The one who smacked Jeok’s head was the middle grandson, Namgung Heuk.
“Idiot! You can’t say stuff like that. We’re righteous sect people!”
Heuk had shiny black hair and mischievous black eyes that always gleamed with schemes.
Among the three brothers, he was the sharpest.
‘And, as usual, the eldest is nowhere to be seen,’
Namgung Ho noted.
Well, given the circumstances, it was understandable.
He pushed the thought aside and looked at the two before him.
The nine-year-old Heuk’s eyes widened when he noticed the bundle in his grandfather’s arms.
“What’s that? Did Snake-Grandpa give you a doll?”
“This isn’t a doll…”
Just then, a small moan came from the bundle.
“…Mmm.”
“A girl?”
Heuk and Jeok’s eyes grew round as they peered closer.
They rarely saw girls their age—
after all, few females were ever born into the Namgung clan,
and even the servant girls weren’t allowed into the inner quarters until they were at least fifteen.
So their curiosity was only natural.
Especially when a pair of furry, catlike ears peeked out from under the tattered cloth—
that sealed it.
‘Looks like I can’t hide her identity from even these two,’
Namgung Ho thought grimly.
“Grandpa, what is she?” Heuk asked.
Namgung Ho replied flatly, “Picked her up. She’s a cat beastkin.”
“What?”
The two brothers tilted their heads in unison.
The Namgung clan—one of the Five Great Families ruling the martial world—
was a household of wolves, proud and fierce.
They hid their claws and fangs behind polished manners,
but at heart, they were beasts of prey.
And their grandfather—
the Grand Elder himself—had brought home… a cat?
Unable to hold back, Heuk blurted out, “So… you’re saying Grandpa cat-napped someone?”
Their shocked expressions didn’t faze Namgung Ho in the slightest.
“No one must know she’s a cat beastkin. Understood?”
The moment he spoke, both boys snapped their mouths shut.
Even at their age, they could feel the weight of his authority.
“When she wakes, she’ll need food. Go tell the kitchen to fry this up for her.”
Thud.
Namgung Ho handed over a small wrapped bundle.
Quick as a fox, Heuk untied it—and his jaw dropped.
Inside was a smooth, white-veined root shaped like a carved sweet potato.
“What’s this, Grandpa?” Jeok asked, blinking innocently.
“It’s Ten-Thousand-Year Polygonum Root.”
The boys froze.
That priceless elixir… to fry it as a side dish for that ragged little cat girl?
Heuk and Jeok could only stare, their eyes as round as saucers.
The day before Namgung Ho climbed Mount Daechok—
Hong Seol had been kicked out of her small inner chamber in the Miao household.
“The young lady’s room will be used for storage now,”
the servant Cheong-ok said curtly.
“You’ll have to move to the small annex by the kitchen.”
The outer quarters—reserved for those unrelated by blood.
And the kitchen annex… a cold, drafty place where the wind cut to the bone.
Hong Seol could have resisted. But she only nodded quietly.
“I’ll just take my treasure…”
So timid was she that even to a servant, she spoke politely.
Cheong-ok frowned. “Treasure?”
The “treasure” she fidgeted with was a shabby wooden box.
“I told you, there’s no time!” the servant snapped,
grabbing Hong Seol roughly by the sleeve.
“Ah!”
The box slipped from the child’s hands, spilling its contents across the floor.
“For heaven’s sake! You’re so clumsy!”
Though she was the one who caused it, Cheong-ok scolded her again.
Hong Seol just lowered her head, shoulders trembling.
Sighing, the servant bent to pick up the mess—
a few smooth pebbles and a piece of old string.
“What kind of trash is this?”
At that, Hong Seol’s face turned crimson.
In her imagination, that frayed string was a golden thread for beads,
and those pebbles were gleaming jade stones—
like the bracelet her younger sister, Gar Yeong, had recently received from their father.
She had spent countless nights dreaming that one day,
she too might receive a gift like that.
“Forget this junk and come with me!”
“Ah!”
Cheong-ok grabbed her hand sharply and began walking,
her strides too long for the small girl to follow.
Half-dragged, Hong Seol hurried across the back courtyard—
and stopped short.
There, sitting in the small pavilion, was someone.
