A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 128

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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 128
The object was a dark iron ball.
Attached to it was a chain long enough to wrap around someone as small as Hong Seol six or seven times over.
Seeing the weapon for the first time, Hong Seol’s eyes widened in surprise.
“W-what is this?”
“This is called a Binding Hammer. I was planning to use it when I fought Dang Cheon Gang during the preliminary selection for the Sect Master position.”
Dang Bo Young added.
“With this, I should be able to easily bind Dang Cheon Gang’s swift feet.”
It’s far easier to intercept a projectile weapon from someone who cannot use lightness techniques.
After all, the direction it comes from is predetermined.
But Hong Seol’s expression was far from bright.
“C-could I even wield something like this?”
The Binding Hammer looked heavy just to look at it.
“With enough internal energy, it wouldn’t be impossible for you.”
I managed it well enough before I collapsed, after all.
Dang Bo Young said this while scratching his cheek.
Encouraged by his words, Hong Seol attempted to lift the Binding Hammer.
When I drew upon my internal energy, I could indeed lift it more easily than A Ran had.
“Oh!”
Satisfied, Dang Bo Young clapped his hands together.
Thud!
But in the next moment, I lost my grip and dropped the Binding Hammer.
“Ah… it seems I’m not quite strong enough yet.”
Dang Bo Young spoke with a regretful expression.
“Well, there must be another way.”
Unlike Dang Bo Young, who spoke lightly, Hong Seol’s face was troubled.
Hearing that Dang Cheon Gang’s martial prowess was superior to expected, I felt a sudden surge of fear.
After pondering for a while, Hong Seol spoke with determination.
“Sister, could I borrow this for a bit?”
“Hm? Sure. But what do you intend to use it for?”
“I want to train with it!”
At those words, Dang Bo Young’s expression grew uncertain.
Only a week remained until the martial competition.
No matter how hard I trained in that time, my meager internal energy could not possibly increase dramatically.
‘I know, I know, but…’
I could at least become more skilled at using the Binding Hammer.
Hong Seol pressed her cherry-like lips together firmly.
‘I must find a way to master this weapon within a week, no matter what.’
For now, there was no other option available.
* * *
From morning onward, Hong Seol was drenched in sweat at the Training Ground.
She had been occupied since dawn practicing the Nam Goong Family’s inner cultivation technique, the Vast Firmament Great Evolution Divine Art.
Yet not a single moment could be wasted.
The martial competition was merely five days away.
“Hah!”
With a sharp cry, her plump fists like chestnuts sliced through the air with a whistling sound.
The Sword King, Poison King, and Beggar Sect Master watched her simultaneously.
The three grandfathers seemed to have completely shed their past grievances ever since they healed her body.
As a result, Hong Seol was suffering terribly.
“Seol Ah, your left fist should extend forward from there!”
“Your side is exposed!”
“Your feet! Keep moving your feet! If you stand still, you’ll be hit by hidden weapons!”
“Yes, yes!”
She was overwhelmed by the barrage of unsolicited advice coming from all directions, no less relentless than the Dang Family’s hidden weapons.
Then, in an instant.
“Ah!”
Hong Seol’s legs gave out beneath her.
Thud!
Hong Seol collapsed in the middle of the Training Ground.
“Haa, haa….”
Catching her breath, Hong Seol clenched her fists and barely managed to rise again.
‘Even with inner power restored, I can’t run indefinitely.’
How I wish the Yin-Yang Severed Meridians had been healed just a little sooner.
The time I had been forced to let slip away weighed heavily on my heart.
“Pick up the Binding Chain Weight.”
At Nam Goong Ho’s command, Hong Seol grasped the chain with its iron weight with trembling arms.
“Hnngh!”
Though she exerted force, the iron weight barely budged.
It was because my dantian, already small to begin with, had been completely depleted.
“Ah, it won’t move….”
With her stamina exhausted, Hong Seol bit her tongue and gasped for breath.
Seeing this, Nam Goong Ho clicked his tongue.
“Very well, rest for just a quarter hour.”
At those words, Hong Seol’s face fell.
“I can’t, Grandfather! There’s no time….”
It felt as though Dang Cheon Gang, with his fierce glare, was still chasing me from behind.
‘What if Yi Woon doesn’t become the Sect Master because of me!’
That was the position he should have rightfully inherited in the first place.
Moreover, there was another reason for Hong Seol’s anxiety.
‘In this competition, I am the representative of the Nam Goong Family.’
From what I could sense, the Sa Cheon Dang Family had long been a steadfast ally of the Nam Goong Family Estate, yet simultaneously a competitor whose pride ran deep.
‘I cannot afford to lose!’
Otherwise, the Nam Goong Family’s honor would be dragged through the mud.
‘If word of my defeat reaches Patriarch Nam Goong On and Medicine Master Bing Yu Hua, they will be heartbroken….’
Not to mention Nam Goong Ui Gyeol and the members of Changcheon Division.
At that thought, I couldn’t sit still any longer.
Hong Seol cried out in a sharp voice.
“I won’t rest! I can do more!”
Though my words were resolute, my hands trembled uncontrollably, drained of strength. Nam Goong Ho, noticing this, hardened his expression.
“Proper rest is itself a form of cultivation. Take a moment to catch your breath.”
“Y-yes….”
A sigh escaped me.
As my tension dissolved, I collapsed onto the Training Ground floor.
Meanwhile, the grandfathers were discussing my training methods among themselves.
Dang Yi Mu furrowed his brow.
“When that girl brought out the Binding Chains, I thought we had it. There’s no better method to counter Dang Cheon Gang’s lightness skill.”
Tian Tong Gai added his thoughts as well.
“The real problem is simply a lack of time. This has nothing to do with the child’s talent. Only time can resolve this.”
Upon hearing this, Nam Goong Ho released a sigh deeper than anyone else present.
“Hmm.”
Yet no brilliant solution came to mind. If things continued as they were, Hong Seol’s defeat was as certain as fire.
They all sat in heavy silence. Then Dang Yi Mu, as if trying to shift the mood, asked a question.
“Nam Goong Ho, how is your body faring?”
“Recovery is slower than expected.”
“It’s been a week already, and you still cannot use your inner strength perfectly?”
Dang Yi Mu shook his head slowly.
The Heavenly King’s Lung Poison that Dang Song Baek had used was clearly a vicious mountain toxin. Its effects seemed likely to persist for at least ten days.
‘Where could Dang Song Baek be by now.’
The sudden silence among them suggested they all harbored the same thought.
Nam Goong Ho rubbed his jaw uncomfortably and asked.
“Still no word from the Martial Arts Alliance?”
Tian Tong Gai nodded gravely.
“The Fierce Snake Squad’s encirclement has yielded no results either?”
“None.”
Nam Goong Ho’s jaw tightened.
At this point, it was wise to abandon hope of capturing Dang Song Baek.
Now the decision fell entirely upon Nam Goong Ho’s shoulders.
The gazes of Dang Yi Mu and Tian Tong Gai turned toward Nam Goong Ho’s face.
Would he venture into the Demonic Cult’s territory to capture the beast, or would he hold back and wait?
In his youth, Nam Goong Ho would have charged into enemy territory without hesitation, alone if necessary, but those days were behind him.
He had many delicate things he needed to protect.
“Hmm….”
Nam Goong Ho’s contemplation deepened.
* * *
A small ferry terminal, quite distant from Sichuan Capital.
The short shadow cast before noon covered the sole ferry boat moored there.
“I wish to cross the river.”
The voice was soft and low.
The old ferryman, with only a single tooth remaining, lifted his straw hat.
Before him stood a middle-aged man wearing a green robe with one sleeve torn.
The man’s face was bright, yet a palpable killing intent emanated from him.
“…!”
The old ferryman quickly folded the wanted poster he had been holding and tucked it into his bosom.
It was one the Sa Cheon Dang Family’s warriors had distributed not long ago.
The ferryman’s gaze turned toward the man in the green robe.
One of his hands was hidden within his sleeve—clearly preparing to draw a concealed weapon at a moment’s notice.
If that were the case, there was only one thing to say.
“…The fare is five copper coins.”
“Here it is.”
Five coins fell into his wrinkled palm.
‘There’s nothing in this world more precious than one’s life, eh.’
The old ferryman thought this, spat into his hand with a wet sound, and grasped the oar.
Splash, splash….
The man in the green robe stood at the bow, gazing leisurely at the riverbank receding into the distance.
He suddenly asked the ferryman a question.
“I hear the Capital is abuzz these days with matters concerning the Sa Cheon Dang Family. Do you know anything?”
“….”
Was this a probe?
In that instant, his young granddaughter left alone at home came to mind.
The old ferryman feigned ignorance in his reply.
“What concern would such matters be to this old man, sir? I merely pray that the river remains calm today.”
Satisfied with his answer, the man in the green robe fell silent for a time.
It was when they had reached the middle of the river.
Perhaps it was the tension.
The moment the old ferryman wiped away the pale foam clinging to his lips with his own hand—
“Ugh!”
Suddenly his complexion turned ashen, and he clutched at his throat.
His eyes, mostly whites now, were fixed upon the man in the green robe.
“P-poison…! Where on earth….”
The ferryman could not finish his words before collapsing to the bottom of the boat.
The impact caused the boat to lurch, and water droplets splashed onto the man’s green robe.
“Tsk.”
Dang Song Baek retrieved five poison-coated coins from the Old Ferryman’s possession.
That wasn’t all.
He also pocketed the cold dumplings the elderly ferryman had clearly been saving for lunch.
Thud!
Dang Song Baek mercilessly kicked the Old Ferryman—whose mouth was foaming—in the back.
Splash!
In an instant, the corpse vanished into the murky waters below.
“The Fierce Snake Squad has cast their net across the heavens. I can’t afford to let word slip out from a place like this.”
Escaping their encirclement had been difficult enough.
Once his work was done, he gazed toward the far bank.
Cross the river here, take the overland route, and Qinghai—where the Kunlun Sect dwelled—was within easy reach.
Beyond that lay Xinjiang, where the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s main headquarters stood.
That was Dang Song Baek’s true destination.
Dang Song Baek grasped the oar he’d rested against the boat’s edge.
Splash, splash….
As he continued rowing as if nothing had happened, a single black eagle circling overhead watched his every move.
And in the next moment.
The black eagle plummeted downward like an arrow.

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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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