A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 107

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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 107
‘The Dang Family’s mechanical trap system!’
While Hong Seol drew the Ghost Soul Demon’s attention, Dang Yi Woon activated the mechanical traps with a secret signal.
It was clearly part of Hong Seol’s plan.
But from Nam Goong Baek’s perspective, there was a fatal flaw in it.
‘She’s underestimating the Ghost Soul Demon far too much.’
Since entering the Bamboo Forest Circular Path, the Ghost Soul Demon hadn’t fallen for a single one of the Dang Family’s mechanical traps. His pristine clothing made that obvious.
‘To some degree, he clearly has expertise in mechanical traps himself.’
And she expected such a Ghost Soul Demon to willingly step into the trap?
It was absurd.
‘As I thought, I have no choice but to sacrifice my arm and save Seol.’
The moment Nam Goong Baek steeled his resolve and prepared to rush forward.
Hong Seol, who had been fleeing from the Ghost Soul Demon, glanced back over her shoulder.
In that instant, their eyes met.
‘What on earth…?’
That small, bright face was brimming with such certainty that Nam Goong Baek hesitated and couldn’t bring himself to move.
‘Is that… the expression of someone telling me not to worry and to leave it to her?’
It was exasperating.
‘This little one is trying to protect me…?’
Then Hong Seol, smiling confidently, provoked the Ghost Soul Demon.
Despite her expression, her trembling voice betrayed a hint of fear.
“You’re slower than I expected, aren’t you? Are you afraid, or…?”
Hong Seol’s gaze was fixed on the spot where her fist had struck moments before.
The Ghost Soul Demon’s face flushed crimson with rage.
“You foolish wench!”
The Ghost Soul Demon, his momentum surging, reached out to seize Hong Seol by the back of her neck.
Whoosh!
Hong Seol didn’t hesitate and leaped down beneath the stone lantern.
It was precisely the spot where Nam Goong Baek had felt the stone shift earlier.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The Ghost Soul Demon, hot on her heels, leaped down after Hong Seol.
He was certain Hong Seol wouldn’t willingly throw herself into a mechanical trap.
Crash!
In that instant, the ground beneath Hong Seol and the Ghost Soul Demon collapsed with a sound like the heavens themselves were crumbling.
In a heartbeat, both of them vanished beneath the earth.
Crack!
The sound of projectiles whistling through the air echoed from below, and blood sprayed upward through the widening cracks.
Nam Goong Baek, his face drained of all color, cried out.
“Seol Ah!”
Seol Ah… Seol Ah…
Nam Goong Baek’s anguished voice echoed through the Bamboo Forest for a long, haunting moment.
* * *
Meanwhile, Dang Yi Woon was checking on Dang Ji Gang and Dang In Gang from the Pavilion.
Fortunately, they had only been struck at their pressure points—the twins showed no other signs of injury.
Whoosh!
After pulling a flare from their robes and launching it into the sky, Dang Yi Woon hurried back toward the Trap Pit where Hong Seol and Ghost Soul Demon had fallen.
“Is Seol… is Seol alright, brother?”
Smack!
What greeted Dang Yi Woon was Nam Goong Baek’s fist.
Dang Yi Woon clutched his stinging cheek and stumbled backward a step.
It was only because Nam Goong Baek’s wrist was injured from his earlier encounter with Ghost Soul Demon that his jaw hadn’t been dislocated.
Had Nam Goong Baek been in perfect condition, his jaw might well have shattered.
Nam Goong Baek’s voice cut through as sharply as his fist.
“How dare you!”
It was a single phrase laden with a heart ready to burst.
Perhaps it was an accusation directed at his own helplessness.
If only he had possessed more strength, he would never have sent Seol away so powerlessly.
‘Why didn’t I devote myself to martial training all this time?’
He had merely whined like a child, claiming he would die soon anyway.
If he had taken up the sword instead, a day like today would never have come.
All of that anguish poured into Nam Goong Baek’s voice, which was utterly bereft of consolation.
“How could you sacrifice Seol like this…!”
Regret swiftly transformed into fierce rage.
“Even if Seol wanted to help you, how could you exploit that kindness?”
Just to save those girls who are merely of Dang Family blood?
Nam Goong Baek’s blue eyes blazed with fury. He seized his sword, which lay scattered on the ground nearby.
He held it only in his left hand.
Crackle!
A vivid blue aura rose along the blade like heat shimmer, unmistakable and clear.
It was far different from the clumsy aura he had displayed back in An Hui Province.
“That… sword energy?”
Astonishment gleamed in Dang Yi Woon’s crimson eyes.
This was the first time he had ever seen someone his age generate sword energy.
“W-wait just a moment! Surely you don’t intend to swing that at me…!”
“Prepare yourself for the crime of sacrificing my sister.”
Just as Nam Goong Baek gritted his teeth and began to swing his sword.
“Brother!”
A small voice rang out.
Nam Goong Baek’s sword tip wavered, and in an instant, the brilliant blue sword energy vanished.
Nam Goong Baek repeated in disbelief.
“Seol Ah…?”
“Yes, it’s me, brother!”
That was unmistakably Hong Seol’s voice.
“Baek, brother! Please pull me up. Hurry!”
A small but distinct cry.
Nam Goong Baek discarded his sword and peered into the gap where Hong Seol had vanished.
In the pit—a chasm nearly seven feet deep—countless spear-like stakes jutted upward in a nightmarish array.
Among them, Hong Seol, drenched in blood, was calling out to him.
“Brother!”
When I had looked down moments before, Hong Seol appeared to have met certain death.
Even after pulling her hand and lifting her to safety, I couldn’t trust my own eyes.
“How on earth….”
Hong Seol was covered in blood from head to toe. She gazed down at her soiled form and spoke.
“This is the Ghost Soul Demon’s blood.”
He lay dead in the pit, impaled upon the stakes.
The shock had been so great that his eyelids hadn’t even closed over his yellow pupils.
“Seol Ah told me, brother. She said that if given one chance, she could survive even within a mechanical trap.”
Nam Goong Baek looked down into the abyss.
The exposed mechanism was so intricate that once you stepped into it, escape was impossible.
The stakes were as thick as a child’s forearm, and their blades were sharp enough to pierce an adult man’s belly in a single thrust.
Given how Hong Seol had led the way, it was only natural that the Ghost Soul Demon couldn’t survive.
“How did you possibly survive this…?”
Nam Goong Baek gripped Hong Seol’s shoulder and examined her carefully.
My only sister was covered in blood, yet not a single wound marred her skin, not a bone broken.
“It was thanks to this.”
Hong Seol quietly rolled up her sleeve and showed me the interior of her martial robe.
Inside lay a tattered, ragged garment.
“This is called the Life-Preserving Vest.”
The Life-Preserving Vest.
A treasure of the Beggar Sect—an artifact that saves the wearer’s life once.
“How did such a precious thing come into your possession?”
“Nam Goong Mu Young gave it to me long ago. He said it was thanks for reconciling me with Nam Goong Jong Woo.”
Nam Goong Baek asked with disbelief written across his face.
“So you’re saying you’re unharmed?”
“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. Though my clothes are ruined now.”
“But what if the stakes had targeted your face, which the vest didn’t cover!”
“That’s why I covered my face with my sleeves the moment I jumped in.”
“….”
“I’m really fine, brother!”
“How can you be so reckless? Grandfather will have a fit when he hears of this!”
“But if you hadn’t, older brother would have sacrificed himself instead.”
“What?”
“You’ve always protected me. I was certain that this time too, no matter what price you had to pay, you would try to save me.”
Hong Seol’s gaze fixed precisely on Nam Goong Baek’s shattered right wrist.
“Perhaps you were even considering giving up an arm.”
“….”
“You always told me never to sacrifice myself for others, yet you would do anything for me? Even if you could never wield a sword with your right hand again?”
“….”
Hong Seol smiled gently.
“That’s why I love you, older brother.”
“Ha.”
Only then did Nam Goong Baek’s strength finally give way, and he covered his eyes with his own hands.
Hot tears streamed through the gaps between his fingers.
“O-older brother, are you crying?”
Hong Seol, flustered, didn’t know what to do.
“Don’t cry… It’s all my fault….”
Hong Seol circled around Nam Goong Baek for a long while.
* * *
The blue-smoke firecracker had done its job.
Not long after, the adults arrived with the Fierce Snake Squad.
“Ji Gang, In Gang! Are you both alright?”
“Father!”
“Waaah!”
“Yes, your father is here now, so everything is fine, everything is alright….”
Hong Seol had never seen Dang Family Master Dang Won Pyung, stiff as he usually was, turn so pale.
But even that paled in comparison to Nam Goong Ho’s expression.
When Nam Goong Ho saw Hong Seol drenched in the Ghost Soul Demon’s blood, he nearly stopped breathing.
“Seol Ah… you… what on earth….”
“I’m perfectly fine, grandfather!”
Fearing what else he might say, Hong Seol hastily explained her condition first.
“What exactly happened?”
“Young Master Dang Cheon Gang said his younger siblings had been captured by the Ghost Soul Demon, and I couldn’t simply walk away.”
“Yes, I did teach you that much… but goodness.”
Nam Goong Baek stood with swollen eyes, staring pointlessly at the Stone Lantern.
Dang Yi Woon also scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Besides, there wasn’t enough time to wait for the adults.”
“Hmm….”
At Hong Seol’s words, Nam Goong Ho neither scolded nor praised the children, simply closing his mouth.
After the commotion settled, the Fierce Snake Squad departed to collect the Ghost Soul Demon’s corpse and deliver it to the Government Office.
Only then did Hong Seol’s tension finally ease.
I looked down at my hands. My small palms trembled uncontrollably.
‘This… this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone die right before my eyes…’
In that instant inside the mechanical trap, when Ghost Soul Demon’s blood had sprayed forth with a sickening sound.
I had nearly burst into tears. My body had gone rigid, and my voice had abandoned me entirely.
That was why I couldn’t respond immediately to Nam Goong Baek’s call.

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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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