A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 147

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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 147
Hong Seol recalled that moment.
“W-what is this, Dang Family Master?”
“Did I not tell you I would give you a gift? This is it. What it is, you see….”
Upon hearing the Dang Family Master’s explanation, my eyes widened.
“Am I truly worthy of receiving something so precious?”
“Of course. When you think about it, discovering that the Poison Sect Master was a spy for the Demonic Cult—that was all thanks to you. The Dang Family never forgets a debt of gratitude.”
Moved to tears, I let out a whimper.
There was a time when I had harbored some resentment toward the Dang Family Master.
Yet here he was, freely offering me something so invaluable….
“…Thank you! Dang Family Master. Truly, thank you so much!”
“There is no need for thanks. If this object allows you to return home in good health, that is all I ask. And perhaps one day….”
It would be wonderful if you became the Dang Family’s daughter-in-law.
What?
At his vague remark, I blinked. Dang Won Pyung waved his hand dismissively, as if it were nothing.
‘With this, my heart feels far more assured.’
I fingered the object he had given me.
“Ahem.”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
At the mouth of the cave stood the elders of Five Poison Valley, who had arrived ahead of them, lined up in a row.
They scrutinized Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai’s expressions intently, as if anticipating something.
‘Everything is unfolding exactly as Seol Ah hinted yesterday.’
Upon witnessing this, Nam Goong Ho found himself utterly unable to hold his tongue.
“Tell me, did the wine you drank at the banquet perhaps disagree with you?”
“W-what are you saying!”
The elders, their consciences pricked, leaped to their feet.
In truth, they had laced the wine cups with a colorless, odorless poison at last night’s banquet.
A poison potent enough to cause stomach pain throughout the night.
A toxin calibrated to cripple their martial prowess without incurring suspicion of harming the late Valley Master’s friend.
This way, the likelihood of Maeng Woo Hee failing to return would increase.
The reason they had poisoned only the wine was simple: they had targeted only the adults.
As for the children, including Hong Seol, even if they came along, they would be useless in combat anyway.
“No matter how close a friend of the late Valley Master you may be, if you scheme against us elders, we shall not tolerate it!”
At the elders’ shameless denial, Nam Goong Ho let out a scoff of disbelief.
‘Their audacity knows no bounds. But you fools have no idea that our Seol Ah is a prodigy!’
Last night, before the banquet began, Hong Seol had dispatched Il Jjik Yi and Yi Jjik Yi to spy on the Kitchen.
As a result, they discovered someone pouring a strange liquid into the wine barrel and immediately informed Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai.
Throughout the banquet, Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai pretended to drink, pouring it all onto the ground.
Only Hu Gae, who learned of this plan too late, had consumed the wine freely and spent the night nursing a stomach ache, unable to appear here.
As the sun climbed overhead, they could delay their departure no longer.
At that moment, the warrior who had been standing beside Maeng Woo Hee throughout opened his mouth.
“Valley Master! Surely it would be better if I accompanied you…!”
“Do not worry, Ya Pae. More numbers only hinder our movements. I will avenge my father and return safely.”
At her curt words, Ya Pae bit his lip finely and took a step back.
“I apologize for showing such an unseemly display before our guests. Let us proceed.”
With Maeng Woo Hee’s dignified words, the party stepped into the cave.
* * *
Thud, thud.
Drip, drip.
Thud, thud.
Drip, drip.
The cave was damp and dark.
For a time, they walked in silence.
There was nothing to hear but the sound of footsteps and water dripping from the ceiling.
After about half an hour of this.
Screeeeeech…!
A bone-chilling sound echoed from afar.
At that, the children’s faces all grew taut.
“As discussed beforehand, do not step forward. It would be best if you waited here.”
It was Nam Goong Ho’s quiet voice. At his words, Maeng Woo Hee let out a trembling voice.
“But at least allow me to accompany…!”
“The same applies to you, Valley Master. If you are to accomplish great things in future dealings with the Central Plains, you must preserve yourself.”
“Knowing when to act and when to refrain is also a virtue of a leader.”
Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai firmly dissuaded the young Maeng Woo Hee.
In her figure, they saw the overlapping images of Hong Seol, Nam Goong Baek, and Yang Do Jin.
“So, Valley Master, leave the dangerous work to us old men and prepare to obtain the Twelve Beast Martial Art and return.”
That was precisely why they had gone to the trouble of entering the cave together.
“…Thank…you….”
Maeng Woo Hee, who had been putting on a brave face, lowered her head deeply as tears threatened to spill.
For the first time since becoming Valley Master, she felt the protection of true adults.
The elders of other tribes had only sought to diminish her.
“No need for thanks.”
Tian Tong Gai, embarrassed by Maeng Woo Hee’s gratitude, suddenly spoke.
“I took it upon myself to serve as a friend to the previous Valley Master, so I must live up to that! Are you ready, Nam Goong Ho?”
“Of course.”
Nam Goong Ho cracked his knuckles with sharp, successive sounds.
“It has been a while since I stretched these old bones.”
“Enough boasting!”
With the shout, Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai shot their figures deep into the cave as if competing with each other.
* * *
The two men soon encountered a grotesque visage hanging inverted from the ceiling deep within the cave.
Its true form was a spider bearing a distinct yellow marking shaped like a human face on its back.
Its bulk rivaled that of four or five grown men combined.
Its bristling legs tapered to razor-sharp points—a single puncture would tear flesh from bone with ease.
An ordinary person would have trembled at the mere sight of it.
“Well, quite the specimen,” Nam Goong Ho remarked casually.
Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai were no ordinary men. They exchanged jests before the Human-Faced Spider without a hint of fear.
“Pity it’s not beef. We could have roasted it and fed the entire Changcheon Division with meat to spare.”
“True to form for the wealthy. The Beggar Sect would’ve boiled it down to stretch the portions,” Tian Tong Gai chuckled.
Then it happened.
Sensing the killing intent, the Human-Faced Spider’s body convulsed violently.
Shrieeeek!
Its abdomen thrashed wildly, expelling an endless stream of translucent silk.
In that instant.
Whoosh!
Both men launched themselves skyward without hesitation.
The ground they had occupied moments before was instantly engulfed in sticky webbing.
Tian Tong Gai scaled the wall, executing the Drunken Eight Immortals Step with fluid grace.
The Beggar Sect’s footwork, mimicking the staggering gait of eight inebriated deities, proved its legendary efficacy.
Even with eight eyes, the Human-Faced Spider lost track of his movements, its gaze darting about in confusion.
“I’ll take the first exchange!” Tian Tong Gai called out, seizing the opportunity.
He drew the green bamboo staff from his belt and unleashed it toward the spider’s back with lightning speed.
“Diagonal Dog-Back Strike!”
A technique that strikes diagonally across a dog’s back.
Witnessing this classic staff technique after so long, Nam Goong Ho’s lips curled upward.
“The old man’s enjoying himself, it seems.”
Now that he had risen to lead the Beggar Sect, Tian Tong Gai had grown restless from lack of combat.
His body had been itching for a proper fight.
Clang!
The green bamboo staff rebounded as though striking solid metal.
The Human-Faced Spider’s carapace was extraordinarily resilient.
Yet Tian Tong Gai remained unperturbed.
“This won’t be enough!” he declared.
Crack!
The staff followed with a vicious strike to the spider’s face.
The Head-Striking Rebuke—a technique that strikes a dog’s head in admonishment.
Screeeee!
After absorbing two consecutive blows, the Human-Faced Spider reeled, its body shuddering.
Thud!
It crashed from the ceiling to the cavern floor.
In an instant, it scurried forward on eight legs toward Nam Goong Ho.
“Is it my turn?”
Nam Goong Ho drew his sword with a confident smile.
His fierce, blazing eyes fixed upon the Human-Faced Spider.
“I’ve never been one to wait passively for an attack!”
Roaaaaaah!
Nam Goong Ho charged forward with his blade held at an angle, channeling the Heavenly Wind Divine Method with devastating speed.
At that overwhelming momentum, the Human-Faced Spider flinched.
Crack!
A crisp thunderous sound echoed as the cave floor split wide open.
Witnessing this, Tian Tong Gai clicked his tongue.
“The Nam Goong Family’s Sovereign Sword technique remains utterly formidable.”
A single strike.
That was all it took.
The Human-Faced Spider had already become a mangled corpse, crashing against the cave wall and lying dead.
“Weaker than expected? No inner core at all.”
Nam Goong Ho frowned as he nudged the corpse with his foot.
“Oh, that’s right. Seol Ah specifically instructed me to bring the Human-Faced Spider back alive if possible.”
At those words, Tian Tong Gai’s expression darkened.
“Bring it back alive? Why on earth?”
“I’m not sure myself, but has Seol Ah ever spoken nonsense?”
Nam Goong Ho was fully prepared—if Hong Seol decided to keep the Human-Faced Spider as a pet, he would build an enormous cage for her without hesitation.
That was when it happened.
An ominous presence descended from above.
Nam Goong Ho suddenly glanced upward and witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Slither…
The pitch-black cave ceiling began to shift and slide.
A pair of sickly yellow eyes, emanating an eerie aura, stared down at Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai.
“…A person?”
No—upon closer inspection, those were not human eyes.
Nam Goong Ho’s eyes widened uncontrollably. He cried out urgently.
“There’s another cave level above us, Tian Tong Gai!”
What he had believed to be the ceiling was actually a massive opening.
And on the true ceiling beyond, a Human-Faced Spider twice the size of the one they had just defeated hung suspended.
Beside it, at least two egg shells were visible.
“…There wasn’t just one Human-Faced Spider!”
In that moment, only one thought consumed Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai’s minds.
The children were in danger.

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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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