A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 217

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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 217
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“Even the elder brother I trusted!”
With the Ghost Hand Elder captured, one of the Dengfeng Seven Oddities, the momentum of the group crumbled.
It meant they had begun spilling secrets the moment Nam Goong Baek asked his questions.
“Why did the water bandits of Fei Lu Zhai specifically target only ships flying the Nam Goong Family flag?”
“That, well, rumors spread that the Nam Goong Family was transporting a rare elixir—one of only two in the world—by ship.”
“…An elixir?”
“Yes! As you know, there’s not a single water bandit on the Yangtze River bold enough to recklessly attack a Nam Goong Family vessel.”
“But then suddenly, a group of unfamiliar faces appeared and began acting as the masters of Fei Lu Zhai.”
“It was those men who said we could obtain the elixir by plundering the Nam Goong Family’s ship. Yes, those very men.”
It seemed the Dengfeng Seven Oddities had not enjoyed particularly glorious days as water bandits of Fei Lu Zhai.
Perhaps their true golden age had only begun after becoming the Dengfeng Seven Oddities?
“By the way, we were driven out just before we could raid the Nam Goong Family’s ship!”
“That’s right! We rebelled against the newly arrived captain….”
The member of the Seven speaking paused, his gaze drifting toward the Ghost Hand Elder, whose arm remained frozen beneath the ice.
His expression turned bitter, his eyes fixed on a distant mountain shrouded in darkness.
‘Ah, so the Ghost Hand Elder was the former captain of Fei Lu Zhai.’
In any case, I had grasped the general situation.
I could even guess the true nature of that so-called elixir.
“…Indeed, so that’s how it came to be.”
After extracting everything the Dengfeng Seven Oddities knew, Nam Goong Baek turned his attention elsewhere.
‘Now I should have a word with the employer who brought the Dengfeng Seven Oddities here.’
His gaze settled on a young man who had remained silent until now.
The boy’s face, already tense, had grown nearly ashen.
Nam Goong Baek singled out the youth for one reason alone.
He bore no tattoos on his body whatsoever.
All the others bore those grotesque markings.
‘Well, except for the Ghost Hand Elder.’
Since the others called him “elder brother,” the Ghost Hand Elder’s identity was undoubtedly the leader.
“Speak for yourself. What is your identity?”
The boy’s eyes widened, his lips pressed firmly shut.
“….”
“You have no intention of speaking, it seems.”
One of the Seven, barely visible from the farthest position with only his neck exposed, cried out.
“That’s not it! It’s a misunderstanding!”
The others beside him chimed in as well.
“That boy can’t speak!”
“That’s right! We communicated with him only through written characters!”
“We even reduced his advance payment out of pity….”
The Dengfeng Seven Oddities seemed to regard Nam Goong Baek as a man devoid of blood and tears.
‘I wonder who the real fool is here.’
But Nam Goong Baek, born as the eldest son of a Martial Arts Family and having witnessed countless things, was far from naive like the Dengfeng Seven Oddities.
He quietly raised the hand holding his sword.
In the next instant, the blade flashed brilliantly.
Shhk.
A handful of severed black hair descended before the eyes of the boy whose neck alone protruded above the ice.
Seeing this, the Dengfeng Seven Oddities made a fuss.
“Eek!”
“It seems the young master of the Nam Goong Family has gone mad with blood!”
Whether the Dengfeng Seven Oddities prattled on or not, Nam Goong Baek said what he had to say.
“Next is your neck.”
Then from the boy’s mouth burst urgent words, like breath held back for a long time.
“I, I, I’ll t-talk!”
The naive Dengfeng Seven Oddities’ eyes widened in surprise.
“What? You can speak?”
The boy nodded with a terrified expression.
“You damn bastard!”
“You were making a fool of us, the Dengfeng Seven Oddities?”
“Silence.”
The Dengfeng Seven Oddities, who had been chattering as if about to kill, shut their mouths instantly at Nam Goong Baek’s single word.
“Tell me. Was it you who had the Umbrella Merchant search for those children?”
“Y-yes, y-yes, that’s r-right….”
The boy opened his mouth with his eyes downcast, as if he had given up everything.
“A-at the Kiln Site, we h-heard that a young lady who b-bought all the acupuncture needles we were t-targeting was there.”
Hearing this, Nam Goong Baek suddenly felt something amiss.
“S-so we h-hired people from the Back Alley. If they f-found the young lady, they were to r-report quickly. We m-marked the umbrellas with chrysanthemum ornaments as a d-distinguishing sign.”
It was impossible for a boy of merely thirteen or fourteen years to orchestrate such an affair alone.
‘Unless he’s a genius on the level of Hong Seol at least….’
Moreover, the boy before his eyes was trembling so pitifully that it was painful to watch.
There had to be someone behind this.
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?”
“Y-yes, y-yes, but I, I haven’t l-learned demonic arts!”
The boy’s voice was desperate, as if pleading for leniency.
“I, I j-just received orders to s-search for the Golden Cat Sect…. Ugh!”
It was then.
As if a sinister force vibrated beneath the frozen water.
Crack!
The frozen surface split wide open at the point where the boy’s neck protruded.
“Kgh!”
Like a puppet jerked upright by invisible strings, the boy’s eyes had already rolled back, showing only the whites.
His entire body was wrapped in a sinister aura.
The water thieves who had kept only their necks above the ice turned ashen in an instant.
“D-demonic energy?”
“But there was no sign of it at all!”
“That bastard said he’d never learned demonic techniques on his own!”
The Dengfeng Seven Oddities remained completely unaware of the intelligence that those who stuttered or had speech impediments might be spies of the Demonic Cult.
Thanks to Shaolin’s airtight security, no rumors had leaked onto the streets of Deng Peak.
When notices were sent to each Martial Arts Family, Nam Goong Baek was already on his way to Deng Peak, so there was no way he could have known.
“P-please spare us, Great Hero!”
Ignoring the Dengfeng Seven Oddities’ screams, Nam Goong Baek drew upon his protective inner energy while sharpening his vision simultaneously.
‘What is that boy trying to do?’
If he meant to ambush, just moments ago when the demonic energy manifested would have been the perfect opportunity.
Rather than attacking, he was twisting his body like a ghost in mid-air, concentrating his power into his legs.
In that moment, Nam Goong Baek understood.
‘He’s chasing after Hong Seol.’
It was a glimpse of the Demonic Cult’s obsessive fixation on the Golden Cat Sect.
Nam Goong Baek did not hesitate and channeled his energy into his own legs.
The next instant.
Whoosh!
Both shadows vanished like wind toward the Bamboo Forest, nearly simultaneously.
“It’s the Heavenly Wind Divine Method!”
The shock at the Nam Goong Family’s mysterious technique lasted only a moment.
“W-wait, Young Master Nam Goong!”
“You have to pull us out of the ice first!”
The Dengfeng Seven Oddities’ anguished cries echoed through the air.
* * *
Within the dense Bamboo Forest, outside sounds could scarcely be heard.
“Hyah!”
Hong Seol leaped high into the air and clasped both hands together above her head.
Snap.
“Hehe, caught another one.”
A delicate golden light glimmered through the gap between her small palms.
Hong Seol carefully placed the firefly she had just caught into a bamboo leaf basket.
The time she had promised with Dang Yi Woon was nearly upon her.
“What is that?”
A surreal sight in the distance captured Hong Seol’s gaze.
Where water mist rose thickly from the ground and tender bamboo leaves trembled, producing a pleasant rustling sound.
Dozens, hundreds of delicate green lights danced in that place.
Confronted with this mysterious spectacle for the first time, Hong Seol stood momentarily transfixed.
“If I take those, Baek Elder Brother might actually like them.”
Let me release those beautiful green lights into Baek Elder Brother’s lonely quarters.
Then even when my brother sits alone in the dead of night, those lights will shimmer and sparkle, offering him warm comfort.
‘It’ll be like watching the night sky while lying down.’
My heart raced with the pleasant thought.
Without further hesitation, Hong Seol dashed toward where the green fireflies gathered.
And moments later.
Thunk!
“Ow, ow, ow.”
Perhaps it was because I’d been so absorbed in catching the green fireflies.
Or perhaps the other person had deliberately approached without making a sound.
My rounded forehead collided squarely against someone’s chest.
“Huh…?”
Rubbing my forehead, I looked up at the other person’s face with wide eyes.

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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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