A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 143

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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 143
Nam Goong Ho faltered for just an instant at the confident voice.
Whoosh!
A massive net of coarse green fabric seemed to blot out the entire sky.
It descended upon Nam Goong Ho standing at the front, engulfing the entire carriage carrying Hong Seol and her companions.
Neigh!
The horses bolted in terror when the harness came loose. But it wasn’t long before one of the Nam Man warriors seized the reins.
Nam Goong Ho cared far less about the fleeing horses than he did about identifying what had ensnared him and the carriage.
“A net…?”
Yet this was no ordinary net—the thickness alone was different.
Sturdy vines had been twisted together in multiple layers, then coated thickly with some unknown viscous liquid.
A small bird fluttered past and merely grazed the vines before its eyes dimmed and it fell lifelessly to the ground.
Witnessing this, Nam Goong Ho stepped back to a position where the net couldn’t touch him.
‘Poison!’
So O Dok Valley truly was a poison-wielding sect—they were every bit as vicious as the Sa Cheon Dang Family.
The only part untouched by the toxic liquid was the handle where the net was gathered together.
Burly Nam Man warriors with ox-like frames gripped that section.
“Excellent thinking bringing the nets we use for capturing beasts!”
That familiar, irritating voice rang out briefly.
Creak.
As the Nam Man warriors exerted their strength, the carriage groaned and began to be dragged.
But who was Nam Goong Ho? Was he not the man called the Sword King?
If he wielded his blade, a net like this would pose no obstacle whatsoever.
Nam Goong Ho was about to draw upon his inner energy.
In that moment, another transmission echoed.
– Stay as you are, Nam Goong Ho!
Tian Tong Gai, who sent the transmission, even walked out on his own two feet with Yang Do Jin, both of them with their hands raised.
“Surrender, we surrender!”
They were quickly bound tightly by the Nam Man warriors.
Nam Goong Ho furrowed his brow. He couldn’t make sense of this situation at all.
Then another familiar voice reached his ears.
“Perfect! One, two! One, two!”
At the gleeful command, Nam Goong Ho’s eyes widened.
“That bastard…!”
A small man standing before the Nam Man warriors, calling out cadence as he urged them to pull Hong Seol’s carriage.
It was none other than Hu Gae of the Beggar Sect.
* * *
Slam!
The door shut firmly.
Hong Seol and her companions were confined in a dilapidated storage house where not a single ray of light penetrated.
The warriors of the Golden Silk Merchant Guild and the Fierce Snake Squad were mysteriously separated elsewhere. It was clear that someone among them knew exactly who Hong Seol’s group was.
“Huh…?”
Hong Seol’s face remained bewildered.
‘I never imagined I’d be captured so easily by the Five Poison Valley people, even with Grandfather here.’
Yet she felt no fear.
She knew her grandfather had not revealed his true strength.
‘He must have a separate plan in mind.’
Clang.
The sound of the closed door being locked by a massive padlock echoed through the space.
[“Don’t even think of escaping! The Poison Forest surrounds the O Dok Valley Estate for ten li in every direction.”]
[“If you venture out carelessly, you’ll fall victim to the accumulated toxins or venomous creatures that have festered there for ages.”]
The laughter of young Nam Man warriors faded into the distance.
“These shameless brutes! Have you ever seen the like!”
Nam Goong Ho, experiencing such treatment for the first time in his long life, ground his teeth.
“So this is what you wanted, Tian Tong Gai? To be locked in a dark storage house with children!”
“Tsk tsk, thanks to this we’ve slipped right into the heart of the O Dok Valley Estate without trouble.”
Tian Tong Gai remained utterly unperturbed.
True to his words, they were undoubtedly in the very center of the O Dok Valley Estate.
“Even if we had fought and won back then, we would have had to engage in continuous battles with the Five Poison Valley just to reach this place.”
His reasoning was sound.
According to what Tian Tong Gai had revealed, the location where the secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art was discovered lay in the heart of the Five Poison Valley’s territory.
That’s why they had borrowed the Dang Family Master’s influence and infiltrated the merchant guild that supposedly had connections to the Five Poison Valley…
“Why are these Nam Man people so temperamental? Didn’t the Dang Family Master say there would be no problem meeting the Five Poison Valley Master through the Golden Silk Merchant Guild?”
“Well… let’s wait and see for now.”
“Wait and see? You mean to have the children spend the night here!”
“Besides, if Nam Goong Ho sets his mind to it, leaving this place would be trivial. But isn’t it better to spend one night under a roof than to sleep rough outdoors?”
It was a characteristically carefree answer, befitting a beggar.
Ignoring Nam Goong Ho’s complaints, Tian Tong Gai sprawled out in the middle of the storage house and fell asleep.
Yang Do Jin followed his master’s example, examining various spots on the floor before finding a dry area and lying down.
“Ugh.”
Nam Goong Ho, who had grumbled at first, eventually leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
Hong Seol knelt beside him and sat with her hip lightly touching his.
Perhaps because she had once been trapped in an Underground Chamber before, this seemed familiar enough.
What troubled her, rather, was…
‘Why did Baek sit so far away from me?’
Had I done something wrong…?
After staring at Nam Goong Baek with a heavy heart for a while, Hong Seol drifted off to sleep.
It was only natural, given how exhausted she was from the continuous journey.
How much time had passed?
In the dead of night, the padlock rattled as if being disturbed.
A figure holding a torch emerged from the darkness.
Gone was the fierce demeanor from the forest; now he stood with clasped hands and a respectfully bowed waist.
“Hu Gae of the Beggar Sect greets the Sect Master and the Sword King.”
Nam Goong Ho’s eyes snapped open.
Tian Tong Gai’s extraordinary formation now surrounded the entire storage house.
“You are…!”
“It has been long, Sword King. Hehehehe.”
A beggar with a missing front tooth grinned wickedly.
He was Hu Gae, the successor to the Beggar Sect Master.
For reasons unknown, he had been stationed in Nam Man for the past several years, living there as if permanently assigned.
His face, darkened by the sun in his absence, was now bare-chested like the Nam Man people, with beast hide draped across his shoulders.
“I ordered the warriors guarding the storage house to rest for a while with a barrel of liquor. Ah, in Nam Man here, martial artists are called warriors.”
“Well done.”
At the Sect Master’s single word, Hu Gae grinned wickedly again.
“There are some unfamiliar faces here.”
Only then could Hu Gae carefully examine the children’s faces inside the storage house.
The young master with brilliant silver hair and blue eyes was undoubtedly the eldest son of the Nam Goong Family.
And the beggar child with half-closed, drowsy eyes and a sturdy build must be Yang Do Jin, the Sect Master’s disciple.
Finally, the smallest but bright-eyed, pretty child had to be Hong Seol, the problematic cat-human.
Honestly, Hu Gae was somewhat surprised.
‘Captured in this unfamiliar O Dok Valley, yet not a single fearful expression among them.’
Even with the Nam Goong Family’s patriarch and the Sect Master present together.
His heart suddenly burned hot.
‘Could these children perhaps become the pillars bearing the Orthodox Martial World forward in the future?’
But that was a matter for the future.
First, they had to resolve the crisis looming before them—that was the only possible future.
“What is the meaning of this? Why have you sided with O Dok Valley and brought us here, Hu Gae!”
At Nam Goong Ho’s lowered voice, Hu Gae scratched the back of his head.
“Ah, I didn’t want it to be this way either…”
His expression asked if he might explain. Tian Tong Gai, whose eyes met his, confessed.
“In truth, Hu Gae was infiltrating Nam Man under my orders.”
“What?”
“Of course, I didn’t know he had taken refuge with O Dok Valley.”
At Tian Tong Gai’s reproach, Hu Gae cast an awkward glance.
“It wasn’t my original intention, but while pursuing traces of Wu Hen Shen Tou, it came to this.”
Wu Hen Shen Tou.
In short, it meant the god of theft who leaves no traces.
As a new name appeared, Hong Seol’s curiosity stirred, and she looked around.
Normally she would have asked Baek immediately, but lately she found herself hesitating.
In the end, Hong Seol chose to ask Yang Do Jin.
“Do Jin, the Beggar Sect isn’t even a government office. Why are you chasing after a thief?”
“Well….”
Do Jin, finally finding an opportunity to show off in front of Hong Seol, paused deliberately before opening his mouth.
“Wu Hen Shen Tou isn’t an ordinary thief! He’s a master who has cultivated formidable martial arts. Moreover, I’ve heard that Wu Hen Shen Tou is famous for stealing all manner of martial secret manuals.”
Though he is a figure who has long since vanished into history.
Hong Seol listened to Yang Do Jin’s explanation, blinking her eyes.
Even though he was answering what she was curious about, his words simply weren’t registering.
‘This is strange. By now, my brother would normally have interrupted the conversation…?’
Nam Goong Baek continued staring straight ahead with his usual impassive expression.
There was no way to guess what he was thinking.
Unaware of what occupied Hong Seol’s mind, Yang Do Jin continued with pride.
“Recently, Elder Hu Gae discovered traces of Wu Hen Shen Tou!”
Hu Gae nodded gravely.
“Yes, this young man speaks truly. According to rumors, just before the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace fell, Wu Hen Shen Tou succeeded in stealing the secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art.”
At those words, Hong Seol’s mind suddenly sharpened.
‘This is strange…?’
The Twelve Beast Martial Art could only be cultivated by direct descendants of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
Even if the Beggar Sect obtained it by capturing Wu Hen Shen Tou, what use would it be?
‘That’s it. There must be something else.’
The Beggar Sect had clearly caught the scent of something.

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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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