A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 234

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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 234
Nam Goong Baek slowly recited the words inscribed upon it.
“Beneath heaven and earth, I swear this oath: from this moment, we are bound by the ties of matrimony.”
Below those words, countless pairs of names were engraved, each couple eternally linked.
Hong Seol read aloud the names at the very bottom of the tablet.
“Miao… Kang Yun, Bing Xiao Yue… Elder Brother, could this possibly be…!”
“Yes, it is the marriage certificate of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace’s direct line.”
To burn incense before the ancestral tablets or to declare before heaven and earth that a couple had been wed—these were the two conventional methods by which marriages were established in the Martial Arts World.
However, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace’s direct line followed a different custom entirely.
Only by having one’s name inscribed upon the Golden Cat Sect tablet could a couple be formally recognized as husband and wife.
“I discovered this function by accident while in closed cultivation at the Training Cave.”
From the day the green fireflies had vanished completely, this tablet alone remained as a memento of Hong Seol.
Since that day, Nam Goong Baek would often hold the Golden Cat Sect tablet beneath the faint glow of the night-luminous pearl during his cultivation sessions.
It was the only object her hands had ever touched.
Recalling that bittersweet memory, Nam Goong Baek extended the Golden Cat Sect tablet toward Hong Seol.
“Would you like to touch it once?”
Hong Seol shook her head fearfully in response.
She was concerned that if she removed the Golden Cat Sect tablet from his body, it might harm him.
“It will be fine for a moment, Seol Ah.”
Hong Seol carefully accepted the Golden Cat Sect tablet he offered.
“Try channeling your energy into it.”
Following his instruction, the inscription appeared on the Golden Cat Sect tablet just as before.
“Oh!”
“Since you are of the direct line of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, perhaps you might be able to inscribe characters upon it.”
At Nam Goong Baek’s suggestion, Hong Seol carefully moved her fingers across the surface.
Then something miraculous occurred.
The name “Miao Hong Seol” was truly inscribed upon the Golden Cat Sect tablet.
Of course, the space beside it remained empty.
“Elder Brother, look at this!”
Nam Goong Baek nodded.
“Just as I thought. Only the direct descendants of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace possess the right to inscribe names upon this tablet.”
Perhaps one day, whether she wished it or not, he would have to return this tablet to Hong Seol.
For instance, in the event of her marriage to Dang Yi Woon…
At that thought, Nam Goong Baek felt an inexplicable surge of irritation.
‘This is madness.’
Even I found my own behavior utterly ridiculous.
When had I pushed her back toward Sichuan with my own hands?
And now here I was, jealously brooding like some lovesick fool.
Hmph!
Hmm!
Nam Goong Baek cleared his throat unnecessarily, banishing unwelcome thoughts before shifting the conversation.
“By the way, didn’t you say last time that you had something to tell me?”
At those words, Hong Seol’s face flushed crimson.
“Oh, well, that is….”
Hong Seol, rarely at a loss for words, continued to stumble over her speech.
Internally, she searched desperately for an excuse.
‘How on earth am I supposed to say: I want to marry Elder Brother! …’
The bearing of a Northern Sea woman had long since vanished the moment she stripped off the clothes she’d brought from the Northern Sea Ice Palace to wash them.
‘If only the Golden Dragon Jade Blood Pellet remained, I could use that as a pretext, close my eyes tight, and propose marriage.’
Even if Baek Elder Brother refused, she could have pushed forward using the excuse of repaying the Nam Goong Family’s kindness.
‘But now there’s no excuse left!’
If she proposed marriage now, her true feelings would inevitably be exposed.
If Baek Elder Brother rejected her….
‘I’d have no choice but to enter a temple and become a nun. After that, I could never show my face in Anhui again.’
For merely meeting Nam Goong Baek’s eyes would surely make her faint from embarrassment.
Hong Seol had no confidence she could remain at the Nam Goong Family Estate afterward as if nothing had happened.
Just then, Nam Goong Baek’s shadow fell over Hong Seol’s head as she crouched on the steps.
“Seol Ah.”
At his voice, Hong Seol suddenly lifted her head to gaze at Nam Goong Baek’s face.
As always, it was a face as perfectly sculpted as fine porcelain.
But something was different now.
A tension lingered about his lips, graceful as orchids.
Nam Goong Baek opened his mouth with a serious tone.
“Actually, I have something to tell you.”
Thump.
Hong Seol’s heart lurched in that instant.
Then, someone came rushing on horseback in apparent haste.
Judging by the flag planted on his back, it was unmistakably a messenger from the Martial Arts Alliance—a sight she’d grown accustomed to by now.
“Elder Brother! It looks like an urgent message has arrived from the Martial Arts Alliance!”
“Seol Ah.”
Nam Goong Baek’s face was suddenly inches from Hong Seol’s own.
Bending at the waist to meet the eyes of Hong Seol, who crouched on the steps, his expression was infinitely grave.
“Focus on me. I’m about to tell you something very important.”
His voice seemed calm at first.
But the moment his hands settled on Hong Seol’s shoulders.
She was startled.
The heat of his body transmitted through the thin fabric was almost overwhelming.
“Elder Brother…?”
The fragrance drifting toward her nostrils was dizzying.
There was nowhere to turn, nowhere to escape.
My entire vision was filled with Nam Goong Baek.
I was terrified.
I didn’t know what he would say to me—the man I’d regarded as my elder brother my entire life.
Half of me wanted to flee, and half of me wanted to hear what he had to say.
Then, suddenly, an impulse surged through me—the desire to kiss that beautiful brow and those silver eyelashes, and to see his reaction.
‘What am I thinking!’
Just then, the crimson sunset deepened the blush on my cheeks even further.
I raised my hand to hide my flushed face.
But Nam Goong Baek caught my wrist and lowered it.
The spot where he held me was so warm it felt as though I were being burned by fire.
“O-Elder Brother….”
“Listen carefully, Seol Ah.”
I stood frozen like a small creature caught in a trap, drawn into the depths of his blue eyes.
“These are words I have never spoken in my entire life, and words I will never speak to anyone else again.”
Words that had to be said eventually.
He wanted to bind me to him with these words, to prevent me from ever fleeing, even a day sooner.
‘Forgive me, Seol Ah. I am selfish.’
Nam Goong Baek knew this, yet had no intention of stopping.
But at that very moment.
“C-Crisis, Miss! A crisis!”
Mae Ran came rushing over from afar, her face pale.
“…You there.”
Nam Goong Baek rose to his feet and cast a displeased look at her. Mae Ran flinched and lowered her head.
Then I stepped forward, blocking Nam Goong Baek’s path.
“Wait a moment, Elder Brother.”
Having known Mae Ran since childhood, I knew better than anyone that she was not one to panic over trivial matters.
“What is it, Mae Ran?”
Mae Ran swallowed hard and spoke.
“The Martial Arts Alliance has summoned all the leaders of the Five Great Families and the Nine Sects and One Clan!”
Nam Goong Baek’s and my eyes met.
The meaning of this fact was obvious.
The Great Righteous-Demonic War had begun.
‘It was bound to come eventually, but of all times, why now?’
Nam Goong Baek swallowed his regret and closed his eyes.
He had wanted to make me his own as soon as possible, knowing this day would come.
But it seemed the timing was not right.
A quiet sigh escaped his lips.
“Sigh….”
The sunset had faded entirely, and a deep blue darkness now enveloped us.
“T-That’s not all, Young Master!”
Mae Ran’s hands trembled as she continued speaking.
“The… the Heavenly Demon sent a letter to the Martial Arts Alliance, saying… he wants Hong Seol to be sent to him as his bride…”
In that instant, all color drained from Nam Goong Baek’s face.
* * *
The red pillars looming overhead marked this as Cheonmu Hall.
It was where the Martial Arts Alliance made its most critical decisions.
I, permitted to sit at the lowest seat, quietly surveyed my surroundings.
Brilliant faces filled the chamber—many I hadn’t seen since the Murim Five Families Tournament.
The first to catch my eye were Tian Tong Gai, leader of the Beggar Sect, and Dang Won Pyung of the Sichuan Tang Family.
‘That distinctive crimson hair belongs to Mo Yong Se Hyeon, patriarch of the Mo Yong Family… and that broad-shouldered man must be Peng Mu Jin, the young master of the Hebei Peng Family.’
Beyond them sat masters from Wudang, Huashan, Emei, Zhongnan, Kongtong, Diancang, and even Hainan.
Faced with the formidable presence of these sect leaders, I could only dart my eyes nervously about.
‘Oh no! I’ve made eye contact with Abbot Won Cheong of Shaolin.’
Flustered, I quickly looked away.
The memory of leaving that letter with the cat’s paw seal at Shaolin suddenly surfaced in my mind.
‘…I hope he doesn’t recognize me.’
Anxious, I sank my neck between my shoulders.
‘They say Cheonmu Hall is rarely this full.’
And this was the first time in this century that such a heavy silence had settled over the hall.
Soon, Martial Arts Alliance Leader Eon Soo Ryang and Chief Strategist Je Gal Hyeop made their entrance.
“Welcome, honored elders.”
Given the gravity of the situation, Je Gal Hyeop dispensed with formalities and spoke directly.
“…As you can see, Kunlun could not send representatives.”
The reason was simple.
Kunlun Mountain lay closest to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, the stronghold of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The Central Plains teetered on the brink of catastrophe.
A war between the Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Cult was imminent.
It made sense that Kunlun’s sect master could not abandon his post.
“You’ve all heard that the Heavenly Demon sent a letter, I presume.”
“We have. Good heavens, a marriage proposal out of nowhere.”
“Living for centuries on end must have addled his mind.”
“But why does the Heavenly Demon demand this girl Hong Seol as his bride?”
Je Gal Hyeop shook his head firmly.
“We don’t know. What we do know is that if we refuse this demand within two months, the Demonic Cult will march on Kunlun.”
And now, only ten days remained before that deadline.
“Alas, what are we to do…”
None of those gathered could offer a clear solution.
These were the renowned Orthodox Sects of the Central Plains, champions of righteousness and honor.
It was unthinkable to openly suggest selling Hong Seol to the enemy.
Yet the glances cast toward me were those of merchants weighing profit and loss.
I felt deeply uncomfortable.
Hong Seol bit her lip.
Their gazes treated me as though I were cattle or a horse, not a person at all.
What shocked me most was that such people comprised the vast majority here.
The awkward silence stretched on for the duration of a single cup of tea.
“Let her go.”
At the sudden sound of that refreshing voice, Hong Seol doubted her own ears.

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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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