A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 237

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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 237
* * *
Whoosh.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, dozens of torches lining the cliffs of Changnyeong Mountain burst into flame.
‘Perhaps this is the most magnificent night Changnyeong Mountain has ever witnessed since its creation.’
Hong Seol stood at the cliff’s edge, gazing quietly down into the depths below.
Indeed, despite the late hour, the surroundings blazed as brightly as midday.
Thanks to this illumination, the bottomless gorge revealed itself in perfect clarity.
A narrow gorge with an entrance but no true end—the two cliff faces gradually converged until they finally met.
Within it ran a wide stone path broad enough for four horses to travel abreast.
Along both sides of the path stood moss-covered stone lanterns, their age stretching back thousands of years.
At the path’s terminus stood a small ancestral shrine.
And behind the shrine lay a spring of unknowable depth.
‘According to the Sect Master of Changnyeong Sect, this place existed long before the sect itself was founded.’
A small shrine with an altar dedicated to something unknown.
It was now filled entirely with crimson cloth and lanterns.
All arranged for the wedding ceremony between the Heavenly Demon and myself.
‘Ordinarily, a marriage is consummated by offering incense before the altar and declaring the couple’s bond to heaven and earth….’
But my circumstances are different.
I had already confirmed this fact through Maeng Woo Hee of Five Poison Valley some time ago.
At my request, Maeng Woo Hee had personally sought out the mad old man who once belonged to the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace and obtained his answer.
[Hong Seol, you are correct!
For the direct line of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, a true marriage is only established when the names are inscribed directly into the Golden Cat Sect’s registry.]
‘The Heavenly Demon knows nothing of this fact.’
Therefore, whatever schemes the Heavenly Demon might harbor….
‘They will not come to pass as he intends.’
This was the first move I had prepared.
* * *
At that very moment.
The sound of munching filled the tent of the Three Martial Oddities.
“Stop devouring the appetizers, Tian Tong Gai!”
A disgruntled voice echoed through the narrow tent made of goat hide.
The voice belonged to Nam Goong Ho, the Sword King.
He cradled his prized blade, continuously polishing its edge.
He harbored no desire to harbor even the smallest regret should a great battle unfold tomorrow.
Yet here was the so-called leader of the Beggar Sect, contentedly filling his belly with wine and delicacies without a care!
“How is it you wield chopsticks so skillfully with barely any fingers remaining?”
“What?”
Tian Tong Gai waved his left hand before Nam Goong Ho’s face.
“Have you forgotten why I lost these fingers?”
The empty space where my index finger once was—lost in Nam Man while capturing the Human-Faced Spider at Hong Seol’s request—felt like a hollow reminder.
Nam Goong Ho, arms crossed, deliberately turned his head away with a dismissive snort.
“Well, perhaps it’s the curse of old age, but my memory fails me. I only wish you’d stop gorging yourself on appetizers.”
Tian Tong Gai trembled violently across his entire frame.
“For heaven’s sake, this wealthy old fool from Nam Goong has a heart as narrow as a pinhole!”
His anger flared visibly—his already crimson, bulbous nose deepened to an even more vivid scarlet.
“Tomorrow I might be crossing into the afterlife, and you begrudge me a few appetizers? What’s the harm in that?”
“Your belly will burst open before anything else gets you!”
“Ah, but I’ll have done my part before I go, so don’t you worry! I’ll make sure your precious granddaughter-in-law survives and leaves with me….”
Whoosh!
In that instant, a long wooden chopstick shot past Tian Tong Gai’s cheek by a hair’s breadth and pierced through the tent wall.
A blunt chopstick piercing through tough leather—
It was a breathtaking display of skill.
“What did you just say, Tian Tong Gai?”
It was the Poison King Dang Yi Mu, his serpentine crimson eyes narrowed into sharp triangles.
“Granddaughter-in-law….”
Crack.
An ominous sound echoed through the tent.
It was the sound of Dang Yi Mu’s grip tightening around the chopsticks beside him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The chopsticks flew in rapid succession, targeting Tian Tong Gai’s vital points.
“Heyah! Hup! Oho!”
Tian Tong Gai evaded them by deploying the Beggar Sect’s wondrous footwork technique, the Eight Immortals’ Drunken Steps.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but his movements were swifter than usual.
Crash! Boom!
Wine cups shattered; chairs splintered into fragments.
Within moments, the cramped tent became a complete disaster, barely room to stand.
Only after destroying everything in sight did Dang Yi Mu finally let out a sharp cry.
“Who in blazes is Nam Goong Ho’s granddaughter-in-law?”
“Don’t you know? Hong Seol, of course!”
The oblivious Tian Tong Gai answered straightforwardly.
At that, Dang Yi Mu let out a scornful laugh.
“Hong Seol is the partner of my Yi Woon! Haven’t you seen them perform the Dragon Phoenix Dance?”
He hadn’t seen it.
Tian Tong Gai deflated his bulbous nose with a snort and muttered under his breath.
“Since when did we even invite a Beggar Sect vagrant to the Murim Five Families Tournament…!”
“Dang Yi Mu, what nonsense is this!”
Before Tian Tong Gai could finish his grumbling, Nam Goong Ho cut in.
“Not until dirt fills my eyes will I ever marry off my Seol to the Dang Family!”
The moment Nam Goong Ho spoke those words with finality—
Screech!
A fistful of sand flew toward Nam Goong Ho’s face.
It was poisoned sand from Dang Yi Mu’s sleeve. Nam Goong Ho swung his sword and dispersed it in one swift motion, but still.
“What a shame. I was hoping to get some dirt in your eyes today, Nam Goong Ho.”
“Dang Yi Mu, are you seriously trying to do this…!”
Boom!
Nam Goong Ho, his fury reaching a crescendo, drew forth a blue aura.
“Fine then. Let’s settle here and now who will be that girl’s paternal grandfather.”
Whoooosh!
Dang Yi Mu matched him, summoning a green aura of his own.
Tian Tong Gai, witnessing this, muttered softly from behind.
“Honestly, our Do Jin gets along best with Hong Seol.”
At that, Nam Goong Ho and Dang Yi Mu—who had been glaring at each other as if ready to kill moments before—suddenly united and cried out.
“Absolutely not to that beggar bastard!”
“Those beggars shouldn’t even dream of it!”
Tian Tong Gai’s nose flushed crimson with indignation.
He drew the iron staff tucked at his waist and bellowed.
“Fine then, let’s have it out, you martial arts family dogs!”
* * *
Heh.
Hearing the commotion from the tent, Hong Seol smiled softly.
“The grandfathers are full of vigor today as well.”
I had been somewhat worried since they remained quiet throughout the preparations for this momentous occasion.
Footstep.
At the heavy footfall approaching beside me, I lifted my head.
Silver hair gleaming brilliantly even in the darkness of night swayed gently.
“Baek Elder Brother.”
Since emerging from seclusion, Nam Goong Baek had returned to being the affectionate elder brother of old.
“I cannot believe how swiftly time has passed.”
“Indeed it has.”
The day I sparred with Mo Yong Se Hyeon in the Cheonmu Hall of the Martial Arts Alliance feels as vivid as yesterday.
I drew a deep breath and spoke.
“Tomorrow, I will finally see with my own eyes the Heavenly Demon I read about in the Records of the Demonic Era.”
At my words, Nam Goong Baek gazed down at me, whose head barely reached his shoulder.
Sometimes it truly amazed him.
‘Where does such audacity come from in such a small frame?’
Just as Hong Seol said, the Heavenly Demon was a figure who existed only in historical records.
‘Perhaps the greatest martial master of this era… or rather, the strongest throughout all the history of the Central Plains.’
Who else but Hong Seol would harbor such a bold notion of summoning that Heavenly Demon to the heart of the Central Plains?
And at the time and place of her choosing, no less!
‘She’s persuaded every stubborn elder in the Martial Arts World, as unyielding as iron cables.’
Faced with Hong Seol’s eloquence, even the Grand Patriarch Nam Goong Ho had surrendered completely.
What was truly astounding was that the Heavenly Demon had actually accepted Hong Seol’s audacious proposal.
Despite it being an obvious trap!
Nam Goong Baek muttered in disbelief.
“I never thought the Heavenly Demon would actually come here with merely a hundred guards.”
“…It’s confidence, you see.”
Nam Goong Baek suddenly turned his gaze toward Hong Seol.
She was quietly staring across the distance.
Those delicate lips parted to speak.
“The confidence that those hundred alone can achieve victory.”
Over there stood the tents where the Demonic Cult’s forces were encamped.
Within the innermost tent, the Ten Demon Generals—the Heavenly Demon’s trusted subordinates—came and went constantly.
They all concealed their auras, yet
any martial artist could tell from their gait alone.
Most of the Ten Demon Generals possessed strength equal to or exceeding that of Sword King Nam Goong Ho.
‘Then what of the Heavenly Demon’s true power?’
Even the Changcheon Sword Master Nam Goong Wi, the Nam Goong Family’s unparalleled martial genius, had managed only a stalemate lasting dozens of seconds against the Heavenly Demon.
A chill ran down Nam Goong Baek’s spine.
“…Can we win?”
The words escaped unbidden.
For one renowned as a prodigy, he had never uttered such words before.
‘Even my brother, consumed by such doubt—the situation must be truly dire.’
Rather than answer immediately, Hong Seol glanced briefly over her shoulder.
After a long moment of contemplation, she spoke calmly.
“We must win. That’s why I’ve laid out multiple layers of strategy.”
In that densely forested area, a thousand martial artists carefully selected by Hong Seol had been lying in ambush for the past four days.
All of them were masters of the Turtle Breathing Technique.
They held their breath, their hearts ceased to beat, their bodies as cold as corpses.
‘Against the Heavenly Demon and the Ten Demon Generals, this is the minimum needed to deceive their senses.’
Overwhelming them through surprise and superior numbers.
That was the second stratagem Hong Seol had prepared.
‘And of course, there’s the third and final move as well.’

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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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