A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 235

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 235
The owner of that voice was Mo Yong Se Hyeon, the patriarch of the Mo Yong Family, his fiery red hair burning like flames.
“…What did you just say?”
Fortunately, Nam Goong On cut in with a sharp edge to his voice before Hong Seol could step forward.
Mo Yong Se Hyeon, who carried himself with elegant refinement, always wore an expression as though perpetually smiling.
“I merely suggested sending the girl Hong Seol as the bride of the Heavenly Demon.”
…The problem was that he maintained that pleasant facade even while uttering such words.
“Without even considering why the Heavenly Demon would demand this child, you would simply send her away?”
As Nam Goong On continued speaking, the tendons in his forehead bulged visibly. Hong Seol, watching him, shrank her shoulders.
‘Oh no, the patriarch is angry.’
But Mo Yong Se Hyeon was no easy opponent either.
“After living so long, it seems even the Heavenly Demon has suddenly developed a desire for marriage in his twilight years.”
He continued speaking with an air of natural innocence.
“A being of the Heavenly Demon’s stature cannot simply take any woman and bind themselves in matrimony. And yet, to demand the daughter of a Martial Arts Family would leave me without anyone to give. So naturally, the name Hong Seol emerged as the solution, did it not?”
He swept his gaze across the assembly as he expounded his reasoning.
“As a direct descendant of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, her status is appropriate, her talents exceptional, and she lacks protectors—a perfect match. And for us, it is hardly a poor proposal.”
“…!”
“It sounds simple enough, but it means war with that Heavenly Demon. Your own innocent sons and daughters will fall, and the disciples you’ve raised with blood and tears will perish.”
At his words, the faces of those gathered grew somber.
The Great War Against the Heavenly Demon recorded in history had been nothing short of catastrophic.
The eyes of countless martial artists from prestigious Orthodox Sects were gouged out, their arms severed.
There was no guarantee such horrors would not repeat themselves this time.
If they could avoid it, they would wish to—that was surely the honest sentiment of all gathered here.
But Nam Goong On was different.
“If Hong Seol were your own daughter, could you speak such words?”
“Of course, if she were my daughter, I would not send her to the Heavenly Demon. But she is not, is she? Is there anyone here with reason to protect that child?”
“Hong Seol is as my own daughter!”
“Certainly you feel that way, but she is not truly your daughter, is she? That is the reality.”
Mo Yong Se Hyeon swept his gaze across the assembly as though seeking their support.
“Think carefully, all of you. With this child’s sacrifice alone, the Great War Against the Heavenly Demon need never occur!”
“Heh heh, is this the righteousness and honor of the Mo Yong Family?”
This time, it was Tian Tong Gai, the Beggar Sect Master, who stepped forward.
‘Master Tian Tong Gai!’
Hong Seol nearly burst forward with emotion.
After all, the Beggar Sect was the Beggar Sect. When it came to righteousness and honor in the Martial Arts World, there was no sect to compare.
“…No protectors for the little one? What nonsense! Look at how brightly those young ones’ eyes burn!”
Tian Tong Gai pointed with his remaining stubby fingers toward one corner of the hall.
There sat Nam Goong Baek, his eyes blazing with fierce azure light.
Dang Yi Woon was the same. He looked like a white serpent with venom fully risen.
“Indeed. The momentum of these young people is quite formidable.”
As the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Eon Soo Ryang had said, both men’s bodies were tense with qi, every nerve on edge.
The psychological warfare they had just engaged in outside was partly to blame.
* * *
Before the Martial Arts Alliance conference began.
Two pairs of refined leather shoes stopped face-to-face on the solid stone ground before Cheonmu Hall.
One shoe bore the cloud emblem of the Nam Goong Family Estate, while the other displayed the distinctive green ornament of the Sa Cheon Dang Family.
Nam Goong Baek and Dang Yi Woon.
They say enemies meet on a single-log bridge.
These two had never imagined they would encounter each other at the Martial Arts Alliance’s headquarters.
“…It’s been a while.”
“Indeed, it has. The last time we met was at Dengfeng Bamboo Sea, wasn’t it?”
Dang Yi Woon’s tone had grown far too familiar over the years. Nam Goong Baek’s eyebrows twitched.
At that, Dang Yi Woon smiled broadly.
“What, did you think I’d keep calling you ‘senior’ forever, despite us being the same age?”
“I thought you were too foolish not to.”
At the contemptuous remark, a vein suddenly bulged on Dang Yi Woon’s bright forehead.
“Choose your words carefully. That fool you’re speaking of could very well marry away your precious Seol Ah.”
Pfft.
Nam Goong Baek turned his head and laughed.
At his laughter—as if to say such a thing were impossible—Dang Yi Woon grew even more irritated.
He pressed forward deliberately.
“Did Seol Ah not tell you? The young master of the Dang Family has been sending her hairpins shaped like morning glories on her birthday without fail.”
“…!”
“And Seol Ah has been delighted to receive them. Of course she would be.”
Dang Yi Woon continued, deliberately affecting a dreamy, wistful expression.
“The morning glory is a flower that holds precious memories—memories shared only between Seol Ah and me.”
Now that he mentioned it, Nam Goong Baek did recall seeing it.
Mae Ran opening several boxes of morning glory hairpins in Hong Seol’s quarters, deliberating over which to wear.
He also remembered, from time to time, seeing Hong Seol with a morning glory hairpin adorning her hair.
“…Those were all your gifts?”
In truth, those hairpins had merely been birthday presents.
Hong Seol had always sent gifts in return on Dang Yi Woon’s birthday as well.
But Nam Goong Baek, who had been in seclusion and unaware of such circumstances, became deeply anxious at hearing even that much.
“Unlike some, I did not waste my years away in seclusion.”
Seeing Nam Goong Baek’s pallid face, Dang Yi Woon deliberately mouthed words as if to mock him.
‘Fool.’
Nam Goong Baek’s blue eyes trembled violently as he understood the insult.
“I am prepared to possess everything you have lost.”
“…”
“I’m talking about Seol Ah.”
At those words, Nam Goong Baek’s lips pressed into a thin, rigid line.
“…will you?”
“What?”
“Why don’t you verify for yourself whether I truly wasted away those years in seclusion?”
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Somehow, Nam Goong Baek’s hand had already come to rest upon his sword hilt.
A blue aura—one that far surpassed even the Family Head Nam Goong On, and had long since transcended the Changcheon Master Nam Goong Ui Gyeol—rippled outward from his body.
And his blue eyes burned with fury no less intense than the energy that surrounded him.
Seeing this, Dang Yi Woon’s eyes narrowed.
‘When did that bastard reach such a realm…!’
But he could not retreat here.
“You’ve lost to me in martial combat before—don’t think your mouth alone will save you!”
A sudden whoosh of movement.
Dang Yi Woon, who had already created three paces of distance, had his hand thrust deep into the sleeve of his green robe.
Between his fingers gleamed hidden blades, waiting to be unleashed.
One more word, and they would writhe like living serpents toward Nam Goong Baek’s throat.
A tense silence stretched between them.
Footsteps approached.
Then came the sound of someone walking toward the Cheonmu Hall.
Mo Yong Se Hyeon appeared, dressed in a silk brocade robe.
The burly Peng Mu Jin followed, along with the sect leaders of the Nine Sects—all except the Beggar Sect and Shaolin.
Recognizing him, Nam Goong Baek exhaled a low sigh.
“…Let it go.”
Suppressing his Changcheon energy, Nam Goong Baek slowly withdrew his hand from his sword.
Dang Yi Woon raised an eyebrow, as if surprised.
“After years of seclusion, it seems you’ve finally learned to cool your head?”
“I didn’t come to Wuhan for this. I came to protect Seol Ah from those jackals.”
“Ah, so our intentions align after all?”
The two of them stood side by side before the grand Cheonmu Hall, their blue and green robes billowing majestically.
“No matter what happens, I cannot let Seol Ah be given to the Heavenly Demon.”
“I agree.”
Even if it meant making enemies of the entire Martial Arts Alliance.
Soon, the massive doors of the Cheonmu Hall swung wide open.
The two young masters, their resolve now unshakeable, stepped slowly inside.
And thus, war began.
* * *
“Tsk, this won’t be resolved easily.”
Seeing the two masters ready to draw weapons at any moment, Eon Soo Ryang clicked his tongue.
“Perhaps we should put it to a vote.”
After prolonged bickering with no end in sight, Eon Soo Ryang’s proposal finally emerged.
Hong Seol, seated at the lower end of the table, released a soft sigh.
‘I’m the one who has to leave, so why are they voting on my future as if it’s their decision to make?’
But she couldn’t voice such thoughts aloud.
The Martial Arts Alliance, with its tangled web of factions, had its own code of conduct.
If she stepped forward carelessly, it could put the Nam Goong Family in an awkward position.
‘Besides, this way I can clearly see who stands with us and who stands against us.’
That was something she needed to know before any conflict arose.
Then a telepathic message arrived.
– Don’t worry, Hong Seol. We have the advantage.
From across the hall, Nam Goong On gave her a reassuring nod.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————