A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 236

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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 236
“Thank you, Family Master.”
Hong Seol offered a faint smile in return.
Moments later, the Servant entered carrying a silk pouch, and each sect was given two stones.
One white and one black.
“If white stones outnumber black, we do not send the young lady to the Heavenly Demon. If black stones outnumber white, we do. Agreed?”
Before Eon Soo Ryang, the Martial Arts Alliance Master, could even finish speaking, the envoy Won Cheong stepped forward.
“I shall go first.”
He deliberately waved the white stone before Mo Yong Se Hyeon’s face, then tossed it into the silk pouch.
*Click.*
“Shaolin, known as the Northern Dipper of the Martial Arts World, cannot burden such a small child.”
The Abbot of Shaolin, envoy Won Cheong, carried great weight in his actions.
Even Mo Yong Se Hyeon, who had worn a smile throughout, lost his grin at that moment.
Soon the voting concluded.
Eon Soo Ryang overturned the silk pouch.
White and black stones tumbled out in a jumbled heap.
“…It appears we have a tie.”
The count was perfectly even—seven white stones and seven black stones.
Everyone wore bewildered expressions, uncertain how to proceed.
“If it is a tie, then naturally we should err on the side of protecting the child.”
Nam Goong On’s words came swiftly. He had clearly anticipated this situation.
Then Mo Yong Se Hyeon, his face twisted into a sinister smile, stepped forward.
“Oh my, how careless of me. I have been entrusted to represent Kunlun’s position.”
He withdrew a letter from his robes.
It bore the Kunlun Sect Master’s unmistakable seal, along with instructions delegating his decision to Mo Yong Se Hyeon.
Nam Goong On’s hand trembled as he snatched the letter to examine it.
“When did you…!”
“I anticipated such circumstances and inquired of the Kunlun Sect Master’s intentions beforehand.”
Kunlun, which bore the full brunt of the Demonic Cult’s threat upon its shoulders.
It was hardly unreasonable that they would seek to avoid war by any means necessary.
Mo Yong Se Hyeon received two stones from Eon Soo Ryang and selected the black stone, extending it forward.
Eon Soo Ryang accepted the black stone with a bitter expression.
“Thus the decision is made.”
Mo Yong Se Hyeon’s cheerful voice rang out.
Hong Seol studied Nam Goong On’s expression.
His face remained as impassive as always, revealing nothing of his thoughts.
Yet the tendons bulging from his clenched fist made it clear he was suppressing his rage.
And like Hong Seol, seated at the lower end of the assembly were the two junior representatives, Nam Goong Baek and Dang Yi Woon.
Their bearing was so turbulent they seemed ready to leap to their feet at any moment.
Hong Seol’s shoulders tensed. The atmosphere had grown ominous.
I suppose I should make my position clear.
Just as Hong Seol rose from her seat, someone beat her to it.
“My, my. Why do you all wear such grim expressions?”
It was Je Gal Hyeop, the resourceful military strategist who had been fanning himself with a white feather fan.
“The Heavenly Prince!”
Hopeful gazes turned toward him.
Most of them came from those who had cast white stones for Hong Seol.
They believed that someone as clever as he would surely devise a solution.
“To send a bride to the Heavenly Demon or not to send one… are these truly our only two choices?”
“Heavenly Prince.”
Mo Yong Se Hyeon opened his mouth with an irritated expression.
He was questioning why Je Gal Hyeop would contest a decision already made. But Je Gal Hyeop continued as if he hadn’t heard.
“Recently, both Nam Man’s O Dok Valley and the Northern Sea Ice Palace have sent word of their willingness to stand with us.”
“What!”
“That arrogant faction would agree to this?”
“Indeed. The last time that faction sided with the Central Plains was three hundred years ago, when they poisoned the Heavenly Demon and ended the Demon-Immortal War.”
As he spoke, Je Gal Hyeop winked at Hong Seol.
He was acknowledging her achievement.
“The core of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is the Heavenly Demon himself. Without him, the Demonic Cult has never dared to covet the Central Plains.”
Je Gal Hyeop smiled wickedly.
“This may very well be our last chance to eliminate the Heavenly Demon entirely.”
Hong Seol felt genuine admiration stir within her.
It was remarkable to discover that someone else harbored thoughts identical to her own.
“But who among us can bell the cat!”
Mo Yong Se Hyeon’s cry was followed by a heavy silence that stretched on.
Then it came.
The silver-haired young master spoke with calm composure.
“I will go and bring back the Heavenly Demon’s head.”
“Baek!”
Nam Goong On cried out. But he could say nothing more.
Even he could think of no better alternative.
“During my seclusion, I have done nothing but sharpen my blade.”
His gaze gleamed with the keenness of a honed edge.
“A sword specialized in demon-slaying.”
With that, Nam Goong Baek cast a sidelong glance.
Dang Yi Woon, meeting his eyes, twisted one corner of his mouth upward.
‘Look at what I have achieved through my seclusion training,’ his expression seemed to say.
This was clearly a continuation of the argument they had waged moments earlier in front of Cheonmu Hall.
Nam Goong Baek was saying this:
While you seduced Seol with gifts, I have cultivated my martial prowess for her sake.
‘Tch, if that’s the case, I can’t lose.’
Dang Yi Woon also brushed off his green robe and rose to his feet.
“I shall accompany Young Master Nam Goong as well.”
At those words, the sound of a chair clattering over echoed through the hall.
“Now see here, Young Patriarch!”
Dang Won Pyung sprang from his seat, his beard trembling visibly.
Witnessing this, Hong Seol’s pupils dilated.
Should anything befall Dang Yi Woon, the position of Young Patriarch would pass to his son, Dang Cheon Gang.
‘Moreover, the Sichuan Tang Family would be incurring a tremendous debt to the Martial Arts World.’
Even by rough calculation, the gains were substantial, yet to see him so heated about it…
‘Indeed, the Dang Family Master is a far better person than appearances suggest.’
Hong Seol felt a warm tingle bloom in one corner of her heart.
But that was not the end of it.
“Now that I think of it, though he’s not present, I suspect there’s someone from the Beggar Sect who would volunteer as well.”
Tian Tong Gai cleared his throat and stepped forward.
“That fellow would gladly march toward the Ten Thousand Great Mountains alongside them.”
Cold sweat trickled down Hong Seol’s spine.
‘That fellow’ unmistakably referred to Yang Do Jin.
At this rate, all those Hong Seol held dear would be volunteering to lead the vanguard against the Heavenly Demon and march to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains!
‘That cannot be allowed.’
Now it was my turn to act.
Hong Seol rose carefully from her seat.
“Might I be permitted to offer a word before these esteemed seniors of the Martial Arts World?”
“How presumptuous!”
Just as Mo Yong Se Hyeon, witnessing this, was about to slam the table before him with a bang—
A flutter.
Je Gal Hyeop elegantly blocked his arm with the white feather fan in his hand.
“Wait, let us hear what this young one has to say.”
The action unfolded so swiftly that Mo Yong Se Hyeon could not bring himself to brush aside the fan, his face flushing red.
“Prince of Heavenly Martial, what do you mean? Hear her out?”
“This little one—or rather, Miss Myo—is a talent I have taken note of.”
At those words, the entire Cheonmu Hall stirred with murmurs.
“At merely eight years old, she solved a riddle that had plagued me my entire life. She also played a significant role in the recent peace accord with the Northern Ice Palace.”
He turned gracefully and spoke while regarding Mo Yong Se Hyeon’s face.
“Surely this is enough for her to express an opinion before those gathered here, is it not?”
His words rang true. My qualifications were more than sufficient.
Fortunately, Mo Yong Se Hyeon was one who knew how to read the room.
Though his lips twitched as though he wished to say something.
Hong Seol opened her mouth.
“No matter how skilled the rising martial artists we assemble, they cannot venture to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. Nor should they.”
In Hong Seol’s mind, she could see the Demonic Cult disciples pouring down the ridge like a dark tide.
There was no path to victory.
No matter how many she killed, those consumed by demonic energy and stripped of reason would surge forward endlessly.
Yes, just as Jin Mok had done when demonic energy manifested at Shaolin.
“What nonsense!”
“Then how do you propose to face the Heavenly Demon!”
There was only one way.
‘Separate the Heavenly Demon from the Demonic Cult’s main force.’
Hong Seol pressed her finger against a specific region on the map laid across the table.
“My confrontation with the Heavenly Demon will take place here. At Changnyeong Mountain.”
Changnyeong Mountain, thick with peach blossoms.
The place where, in her childhood, Hong Seol had handed the Eternal Flame Elixir to Dok Bi Jo.
There was a ravine there—deep and treacherous.
“Foolish! Why would the Heavenly Demon walk into such an obvious trap?”
“He will have no choice but to come.”
In truth, the reason Hong Seol had come to the Martial Arts Alliance was to speak these very words.
Hong Seol drew a measured breath and opened her mouth.
“Because I myself will serve as the bait.”
Hong Seol smiled with quiet confidence.
“Along with the Golden Cat Sect—something the Heavenly Demon has coveted for so long.”

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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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