A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 104

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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 104
“What… is that?”
“They say it’s about passing through the Bamboo Forest Circular Path.”
The Bamboo Forest Circular Path.
According to what the Young Rats had learned, it was a vast bamboo forest sprawling behind the Estate Grounds of the Sichuan Tang Family.
With all manner of mechanical traps installed throughout, it was essentially one massive snare unto itself.
The martial artists of the Fierce Snake Squad, the elite force of the Sichuan Tang Family, apparently trained there.
‘Can I really do this?’
Hong Seol steadied her trembling voice as she spoke.
“It should be fine. Yi Woon would be familiar with the Dang Sect’s mechanical traps, and Baek is here too.”
Recalling Nam Goong On’s teachings, I should have some eye for discerning such things as well.
Yet the faces of Il Jjik Yi and Yi Jjik Yi were clouded with concern.
“My lord, the problem is that this is a competition.”
“That young master who looks like ginger apparently has experience passing through there several times already.”
“What?”
If that were true, our chances were virtually nonexistent. Upon hearing this, Hong Seol felt all drowsiness vanish from her mind.
‘I need a strategy.’
Hong Seol bit her lower lip firmly.
* * *
Whoooosh.
Wind rushed swiftly through the heart of the bamboo forest.
Hong Seol stood at the entrance of the Bamboo Forest Circular Path alongside Nam Goong Baek and Dang Yi Woon.
The interior was pitch black.
The bamboo stood so densely packed that light could scarcely penetrate.
Beside them, Dang Cheon Gang and his twin siblings Dang Ji Gang and Dang In Gang were loosening their limbs casually.
They cast occasional glances toward Hong Seol’s group, their faces brimming with confidence.
“There’s no need to be nervous.”
Nam Goong Ho encouraged Hong Seol’s party. Yet somehow, he appeared to be the most nervous among them.
‘Perhaps I should have challenged the Dang Family Master to a duel instead.’
But it was already too late for regrets.
The Sam Dok Ro had already straightened their heads and risen from their seats.
“Then! I shall explain today’s competition rules. Ho, ho, ho.”
All eyes turned toward the Hyeop Juk Do Elder, whose cheeks flushed red.
“Our Dang Family’s pride, the Bamboo Forest Circular Path. In the heart of this place lies a pond. Whichever team brings the pearl within it—the River Protection Pearl—back here first shall be today’s victor. Ho, ho, ho.”
The Hyeop Juk Do Elder spoke casually while surveying the surroundings.
“A simple errand, wouldn’t you say? Ho, ho, ho.”
They do love their errands.
In that moment, Hong Seol could have sworn she heard Nam Goong Baek cursing under his breath nearby.
“Huh?”
“…Of course there will be countless mechanical traps all the way to where the pearl is located.”
All I could properly hear was a low murmur.
Before long, the Hyeop Juk Do Elder was raising the green flag in his hand, preparing to wave it.
“Now then, prepare to depart——.”
“Um, wait just a moment, please!”
Hong Seol hastily raised her hand.
“I apologize, but my shoes are uncomfortable. I’d like to change into a different pair.”
Upon hearing this, the Hyeop Juk Do Elder nodded as if he had no choice.
Thereupon, a Servant quickly rushed off to fetch spare shoes.
In that interval, Hong Seol went to sit in a crevice between rocks as if to remove her shoes, where no one else was present.
And she quietly opened the pocket attached to her garment.
“…I’m counting on you.”
Il Jjik Yi and Yi Jjik Yi burst from the pocket and vanished like arrows into the Bamboo Forest.
As if nothing had happened, Hong Seol put on the fresh shoes the Servant had brought and returned to the starting line.
Hong Seol’s expression had grown noticeably lighter.
To Dang Yi Woon and Nam Goong Baek, whose tension was evident, Hong Seol spoke.
“Brothers, trust only in me today.”
“What?”
“What?”
The moment both responded simultaneously, as if they were twins.
Flutter!
The Hyeop Juk Do Elder swung the green flag with great force.
Seeing this, Hong Seol pushed off the ground with all her might and leaped forward.
“Follow me, brothers!”
* * *
“It’s this way!”
“As we run, turn right at that rock ahead!”
“I’ll pass underneath that broken bamboo!”
With sharp commands pouring forth in succession, Dang Yi Woon’s mind was in complete disarray.
‘This is definitely the Sichuan Tang Family grounds…’
The little girl from the Nam Goong Family, no.
An outsider girl, not even from the Nam Goong Family, was leading him and showing him the path to evade the mechanical trap.
The problem was that this path was completely different from the exit of the Bamboo Forest Circular Path he had heard about.
As evidence, Dang Cheon Gang and his group, who had run along a similar route at the start, were now nowhere to be seen.
The path must have split somewhere in the middle.
‘Is it really correct to go this way?’
Unease crept slowly up Dang Yi Woon’s spine.
Yet the footsteps of Seol ahead showed no hesitation.
In fact, though the path she guided was unusual, they had never once fallen into a trap.
Moreover, even that fastidious older brother Nam Goong Baek was keeping his mouth shut and following Seol without question.
‘Yes, trusting one’s companions is also a virtue that a young family head must possess.’
Dang Yi Woon gritted his teeth and unfurled the Dang Sect’s footwork technique, the Hundred Serpent Dance Step, accelerating his pace.
It wasn’t an exceptionally refined footwork, but when channeling inner energy through it, it proved serviceable enough.
That was when it happened.
Nam Goong Baek, who had been running like the wind with the Heavenly Wind Divine Method, suddenly froze in place.
“Brother?”
Worried that he might have been struck by poison or a hidden weapon, Hong Seol spun around in alarm.
Nam Goong Baek wore an expression she had never seen before.
His lips had turned a deathly pale, and his body had gone rigid, unable to move.
“Brother!”
Hong Seol rushed toward Nam Goong Baek, who stood alone in the midst of the Bamboo Forest.
Then his lips barely trembled.
“…A bug.”
Huh?
Bewildered, Hong Seol examined the area beneath Nam Goong Baek’s feet. A glossy black beetle sat perched on his instep.
“Be, be careful….”
Nam Goong Baek hadn’t even finished warning Hong Seol.
Thwap.
Hong Seol covered the beetle with her bare hand.
Gulp.
Upon witnessing this, Nam Goong Baek fell completely silent, his body locked in place.
Meanwhile, Hong Seol casually took a few steps forward and flicked the beetle away.
“Done and dusted!”
Dang Yi Woon, arriving a step behind, marveled at the sight.
“Hehe.”
Hong Seol’s face flushed as if it were nothing remarkable.
‘It’s just that I’m a cat, so I’m naturally good at catching insects.’
There was no need to reveal this fact to Dang Yi Woon.
Nam Goong Baek, finally regaining his composure, trudged toward where Hong Seol and Dang Yi Woon stood. Apparently embarrassed at having shown such an ungraceful side before Hong Seol, he appeared somewhat deflated.
Dang Yi Woon surveyed the surroundings.
Bamboo stalks with green cloth strips tied around them were visible in various places.
It meant they had reached the vicinity of the Pond where Kang Bo Joo was located.
“You made it this far without triggering a single mechanical trap?”
Dang Yi Woon muttered in disbelief.
“Just yesterday, I encountered several dangerous moments on the path to the Patriarch’s Residence.”
Dang Yi Woon had no way of knowing what miracle this small girl had wrought in a single night.
Watching him click his tongue, Hong Seol grinned widely.
Even now, Hong Seol could see it clearly.
The marks that Il Jjik Yi and Yi Jjik Yi had left on the bamboo.
If there were claw marks made by their front teeth at the base, it meant that path was safe.
Thanks to their swift movements and small bodies, the Young Rats could traverse the Bamboo Forest Circular Path without ever triggering the mechanical traps.
‘Thank goodness the Young Rats are here.’
It was the moment Hong Seol broke into a smile.
A dark shadow crept forward without a sound, blanketing Hong Seol’s head in darkness.
* * *
The Dang Family Village was unusually tumultuous today. A contingent of military horses had entered the grounds.
People rushed outside, desperate to learn what was happening.
One man spoke in disbelief.
“Those are… Imperial Guard, are they not?”
Official non-interference.
It meant the Imperial Guard and the Martial Arts World did not meddle in each other’s affairs.
Following that principle, the Imperial Guard rarely ever entered the Dang Family Village.
Only when they needed to apprehend someone who had committed a heinous crime.
One of the Imperial Guard dismounted and distributed a wanted poster he had kept in his robes to the gathered people.
The figure drawn there was a man with hair completely disheveled and eyes sliced upward in an unnaturally long cut.
The aura emanating from his expression was like that of a tiger.
“If you see anyone resembling this person, do not approach—flee at once!”
Normally, they would tell people to report to the magistrate’s office.
One man, curious about why they were told to flee instead, asked a question.
“Who is this?”
“An assassin of Sal Mak.”
Sal Mak was an assassination organization within the Martial Arts World.
“An assassin has hidden himself in the Dang Family Village?”
In the very heart of the Dang Family, where masters overflowed?
“Not merely an assassin. A murderous fiend who has tasted blood and descended into madness.”
Gasps echoed from various corners of the crowd.
It happened occasionally.
Assassins of Sal Mak who had undergone assassination training since childhood would lose their reason and become murderous fiends.
They were called Ghost Soul Demons.
It was a side effect of Sal Mak’s martial technique, the Ghost Soul Heart Method.
Hearing this, mothers who had gone pale hurriedly ushered their children indoors.
“Get inside at once!”
Ghost Soul Demons showed no mercy to children.
They simply cut down whatever stood in their path.
Having lost their reason, they would not hesitate to consume human flesh if the need arose.
For such Ghost Soul Demons, children were especially easy prey.
Among them, they particularly favored capturing and devouring young girls with tender flesh.
As the Dang Family Village fell into chaos, a warrior of the Fierce Snake Squad in green robes appeared.
The commander of the Imperial Guard addressed him with a grave expression.
“I must see the Dang Family Master at once.”
“What is the matter? The Dang Family Master is currently at the Bamboo Forest Circular Path overseeing the selection of the young master.”
At those words, the Imperial Guard commander’s face went pale.
“A Junior Patriarch Selection Tournament? Then there are children there?”
“Yes, that is correct, but….”
“That’s exactly where.”
“Pardon?”
“We received a report that a Ghost Soul Demon has hidden itself in the Bamboo Forest of the Sa Cheon Dang Family.”
This time, it was the Fierce Snake Squad warrior’s turn for his face to drain of color.

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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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