A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 154

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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 154
The inner core, gleaming like a pearl suffused with five-colored light, radiated an aura of spiritual power merely by being observed.
Having matured for at least a century, whoever obtained it would be able to elevate their martial prowess dramatically in a single leap.
Undoubtedly, it would prove invaluable in conceiving and mastering the Primal Soul Technique.
Maeng Woo Hee turned her serious gaze toward Hong Seol.
“I ask one final time—are you truly certain it is acceptable for me to claim this?”
At those words, Hong Seol recalled what had transpired four days prior.
After returning safely to the O Dok Valley Estate, Tian Tong Gai and Nam Goong Ho presented the inner core to Maeng Woo Hee.
Maeng Woo Hee was naturally taken aback.
“Such a precious treasure—you cannot possibly offer it! I cannot accept this.”
“And why not?”
“This is the inner core of the mother Human-Faced Spider, slain by you elders at the cost of your fingers! A person like me, who has accomplished nothing, has no right to possess such a thing.”
“Accomplished nothing, you say? I have heard otherwise from this child.”
Nam Goong Ho continued, gently stroking Hong Seol’s round head as she stood beside him.
“The Valley Master willingly offered herself as bait for the juvenile Human-Faced Spider, did she not? That single act of courage alone grants you ample qualification to receive this inner core.”
“But… but still…!”
“My young disciple also spoke of how the Valley Master rescued Hong Seol from peril.”
“That was merely doing what was necessary…”
“Goodness, Valley Master, what are you saying? This old man Nam Goong Ho’s arms are about to fall off from all this gesturing.”
“This is no gift freely given, so harbor no guilt.”
“Pardon?”
“Consume this and cultivate strength—the strength to command the Human-Faced Spider as you will. And should the day ever come when the Central Plains requires the power of the Five Poison Valley…”
Nam Goong Ho’s gaze grew grave.
“I beseech you to stand with us—with our children.”
Their eyes met.
In that moment, Maeng Woo Hee bowed so deeply her head nearly touched her knees.
As a proud warrior of Nam Man, such a gesture did not come easily, yet strangely, she felt no hesitation whatsoever.
“I swear it. When the day comes that my benefactors require the Five Poison Valley, I shall not hesitate—I shall come running.”
Recalling that conversation, Maeng Woo Hee’s eyes grew warm once more.
Seeing this, Hong Seol nodded.
“That inner core is a gift the grandfathers gave to you, Valley Master. So please accept it without reservation.”
“Thank you. Through this inner core, I shall grow stronger. And in doing so, I shall become worthy of their kindness.”
Maeng Woo Hee seemed to assume the inner core had been given as an investment in their future alliance, but Hong Seol understood differently.
‘The grandfathers pitied the Valley Master for having no parents…’
The grandfathers she knew possessed more compassion than anyone.
Of course, the explanation about securing a future ally held truth as well.
But the price of alliance had already been paid through slaying the mother Human-Faced Spider and capturing the juvenile alive.
The precious inner core was given solely for Maeng Woo Hee’s sake.
Should the attempt to fuse the Human-Faced Spider with the Twelve Beast Martial Art fail against all odds, they wished to ensure the young Valley Master’s position remained secure.
‘Just as they once draped a blanket over my dying body on Dae Chuk Mountain in my past life, they wished to become the shelter beneath which the Valley Master could stand.’
Suddenly, I felt a surge of gratitude so profound that my throat tightened.
Hong Seol had to blink repeatedly to hide her reddening eyes.
“Now that you’ve completed the transcription, won’t you grace the banquet with your presence alongside me?”
At Maeng Woo Hee’s invitation, Hong Seol gently shook her head.
Right now, there was something far more important to Hong Seol than filling her belly or quenching her thirst.
The transcription of the Twelve Beast Martial Art had finally ended. She could delay no longer.
‘I must confront who I am, and who my true family really is.’
Maeng Woo Hee, sensing Hong Seol’s resolve, spoke up.
“Very well. I shall arrange a place where you can quietly cultivate the Twelve Beast Martial Art.”
Hong Seol bowed deeply in gratitude.
* * *
Several days later, in the early morning.
Someone poked a small head around the corner of the pavilion.
It was Hong Seol, her expression grave.
Hong Seol held a bundle of papers in one hand.
“No one’s around…?”
Nam Goong Ho and the others had collapsed from exhaustion due to the banquet that had continued through the previous day.
“Now’s the time!”
Hong Seol glanced around before dashing off on her short legs with surprising speed.
Patter-patter-patter!
The moment Hong Seol disappeared from view, a serious-looking face cautiously peeked out from behind.
“Where does she keep sneaking off to alone every morning for days now?”
The figure was Nam Goong Baek, a silver-haired boy with blue eyes.
Though he rarely spoke with Hong Seol these days, his full attention remained fixed upon her.
“I can’t take my eyes off her for a moment.”
Nam Goong Baek sighed lightly, concealed his presence, and followed in Hong Seol’s footsteps.
The kitten-like girl made her way toward a secluded back garden.
Above the towering walls, lush green branches hung down in abundance.
Upon reaching that place, Hong Seol turned her head about, surveying the surroundings.
‘Yikes.’
Nam Goong Baek quickly turned and hid behind the corner.
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t been discovered.
‘What on earth is she doing here?’
Nam Goong Baek’s bewilderment only deepened.
The place was nothing more than a wall with overgrown trees—nothing less, nothing more.
Whee!
Confirming no one was nearby, Hong Seol held her breath and whistled softly.
Rustle.
In that instant, a small monkey poked its head out from atop the wall.
It was a species called the golden snub-nosed monkey, with fur of shimmering gold.
Nam Goong Baek’s face went pale at the sight.
‘We’ve barely escaped Xiong Miao’s territory in Sichuan, and now there’s a golden monkey…?’
A soft exhale.
The moment Nam Goong Baek bit his lip.
Hong Seol, whose eyes had met the baby monkey’s, began waving her hands frantically.
“Monkey, over here, over here!”
As if this wasn’t the first time she’d called it this way, the monkey quickly scrambled over a branch extending from the wall and approached.
Hong Seol unfolded a piece of paper on her small palm. Inside were roasted peanuts.
“Here, eat these.”
Crunch, crunch.
The monkey stretched out its arm and began eating the peanuts.
After watching for a while, Hong Seol whispered softly.
“Can you understand what I’m saying? If you can, go bring my mother and father. I have something to tell them.”
The moment those words left her mouth.
“Ooh-kee-kee-kee!”
“Kyaaah!”
The monkey hurled the roasted peanuts at Hong Seol’s face and scurried away to hide.
“Sigh, really.”
Hong Seol’s small shoulders drooped.
“I still can’t understand what the monkey is saying today. Am I really not a direct descendant of the Southern Barbarian Night Beast Palace…?”
The Twelve Beast Martial Art was originally a technique capable of commanding twelve different types of animals.
According to the secret manual, one could command rats, oxen, tigers, cats, dragons, snakes, horses, sheep, monkeys, roosters, dogs, and pigs.
Since a baby monkey happened to frequent the Estate Grounds, Hong Seol had been speaking to it daily to test her progress.
“I can communicate with the mice, so I suppose that’s something, but I thought I’d be able to master the rest quickly too…”
Following the incantations written in the secret manual, I had trained for days in places with abundant spiritual energy, yet there were no results.
‘Perhaps it’s because no one is teaching me…’
Thinking back to the days when I grew rapidly under the guidance of Nam Goong Ui Gyeol and Nam Goong Ho, my face grew gloomy.
“Maybe it would be better to just give up and return to Anhui…”
A heavy sigh.
My small shoulders rose and then sank as if collapsing to the ground.
As I turned away, my feet dragged across the earth as if weighted down by iron.
Watching this, Nam Goong Baek quietly nodded to himself.
‘Ah, so that’s why Seol came out alone every morning.’
It wasn’t because she liked the monkey and wanted to stay in Nam Man—in one sense, that was a relief.
But seeing her dejected face made me feel sorry for her.
‘Perhaps I should comfort Seol…’
Nam Goong Baek reached out his hand, then hastily withdrew it.
Ever since my private conversation with Dang Yi Woon in Sichuan, I found myself unable to treat Seol the way I used to.
Nam Goong Baek’s cheeks flushed as he quickly turned away.
‘Damn that snake bastard.’
All of this—my current state—was because of Dang Yi Woon.
At that very moment.
Rumble!
A tremendous tremor echoed from somewhere, shaking the earth itself.
Nam Goong Baek spun around sharply.
His sleeves, unable to keep pace with his sudden movement, fluttered in the wind.
“What’s happening?”
Before he could even finish voicing his confusion.
Crash!
This time, the sound of a pile of stones collapsing thundered through the air.
Nam Goong Baek’s eyes widened.
The source of that sound came from precisely the direction Hong Seol had gone.
“Seol Ah!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Nam Goong Baek launched himself toward that direction.

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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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