A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 240

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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 240
By now, numerous figures had begun gathering atop the cliff where Seo Gwang Ryun had established his position.
From toothless old women to farmers carrying hoes upon their backs.
Ordinary people without a shred of inner energy.
They huddled together behind the grass where martial artists lay in ambush, watching this place intently.
“Why would they gather in such a remote valley….”
Je Gal Hyeop furrowed his brow.
A messenger standing beside him quickly offered his thoughts.
“Could rumors of the Heavenly Demon’s wedding ceremony have spread?”
“Hmm.”
That conjecture held merit.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s headquarters lay in Xinjiang, where the Ten Thousand Great Mountains stood—a distant place indeed.
The Heavenly Demon had no choice but to scatter countless rumors throughout the journey here.
Had there been even minor skirmishes along the way, it might have been different, but the passage had remained remarkably quiet.
One might come to feel that the Heavenly Demon was far less fearsome than expected.
‘It would hardly be surprising if curious onlookers gathered to witness the Heavenly Demon’s wedding….’
Yet something.
Something infinitesimal gnawed at Je Gal Hyeop’s nerves.
‘What is it? This unnaturalness.’
But unfortunately, he was afforded no time to dwell upon it.
Whoosh, whoosh….
An ominous sound echoed from within the mist.
* * *
Soon, the Ten Demon Generals emerged at the valley’s entrance.
Whoosh, whoosh….
Each of them dragged stone coffins bound with rope as they walked forward.
“Dang Song Baek…!”
Poison King Dang Yi Mu, recognizing the man leading them, ground his teeth softly.
“Oh ho, if it isn’t the elderly one from the Dang Family who has already received his death date.”
“Do you think every word that spills from that gaping mouth is wisdom!”
It was not Dang Yi Mu who had flared up in anger, but Nam Goong Ho and Tian Tong Gai.
“Please, honored elders, remain composed.”
The moment was not yet ripe.
Fearing an untimely clash, the Martial Arts Alliance Master quickly stepped forward.
“I am Eon Soo Ryang, Master of the Martial Arts Alliance.”
“Dok Ryung Ma Gun, Dang Song Baek at your service. What an honor to meet the Alliance Master at a funeral procession!”
The words sounded courteous on the surface, yet they carried a barb.
Dang Song Baek had once escaped during his escort to the Martial Arts Alliance.
Under normal circumstances, they would have met only during interrogation in the Thunder Prison.
Yet now they faced each other as equals. Thus, those words were undoubtedly a mockery of the Martial Arts Alliance’s incompetence.
Had it been Abbot Won Cheong of Shaolin, whose temperament burned like wildfire, he would have raged at even this provocation.
But Eon Soo Ryang was unmistakably the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance.
Rather than lose his temper, he simply changed the subject.
“What is this stone coffin you’ve brought?”
“A betrothal gift prepared by our lord.”
As a betrothal gift, it possessed a most peculiar appearance.
Its form, which deviated sharply from custom, grated against the sensibilities of every guest present.
“To forcibly abduct the bride and then offer gifts—it’s absurd.”
It was then that Tian Tong Gai, unable to restrain himself, muttered the words with obvious disdain.
“The lord arrives!”
Daaaa….
Daaaa….
Daaaaaa….
Dang Song Baek’s cry, infused with tremendous martial power, shook the very valley itself.
And in that same instant.
Clop, clop….
From somewhere, the sound of hoofbeats echoed forth—as if tearing through the world itself.
That sound drew ever closer to them.
Slow as a mournful drum, yet utterly merciless.
Soon, from the thick mist, he emerged.
The Heavenly Demon.
Mounted upon a snow-white steed, he wore the crimson wedding robes of a bridegroom.
The color was so sinister that one might have thought it stained with fresh blood.
The moment the Heavenly Demon dismounted lightly from his horse.
Thud.
The Ten Demon Generals knelt as one, bending a single knee.
Like priests worshipping a deity.
It was a sight one might witness only once in a lifetime, if ever.
The Heavenly Demon, having received the reverence of the Ten Demon Generals, turned his body toward the assembled guests.
Only then could the nine martial masters from Seo Gwang Ryun clearly perceive his crimson eyes.
They were burning ice.
Silent thunder.
An abyss that radiated all the light of creation itself.
The moment one’s gaze met the Heavenly Demon’s, the blood in one’s entire body turned cold as winter.
“Ugh.”
Even the Sword King Nam Goong Ho unconsciously gripped his blade with fierce intensity.
The instinct of every martial master gathered there screamed out.
This is no human.
Someone’s breath caught in their throat as if their neck had been seized.
“A m-monster….”
Soon, the Heavenly Demon spoke in a low, resonant voice.
“Where is my bride?”
“….”
No one could answer.
That was when it happened.
“I am here.”
A clear, melodious voice rang out from the distant valley entrance.
* * *
Rustle.
With the whisper of fabric, Hong Seol appeared.
The harmony of the crimson gown draped over her slender frame and the golden ornaments adorning her body was breathtakingly beautiful.
Upon her spotless, luminous forehead was marked the pattern of snow flowers.
Her two dark eyes, sharp and defined, were perfectly round like apricot pits.
Instead of the traditional red silk headdress, Hong Seol held a fan before her face.
Between the delicate red fan, light as dragonfly wings, her refined lips were faintly visible.
She was, in every sense, the perfect bride.
Nam Goong Baek, who had been waiting at the entrance for Hong Seol to appear, felt his heart momentarily stop.
But.
‘I hate this.’
It was a petulant thought that escaped unbidden.
No matter how false this marriage was, seeing Seol dressed as another man’s bride was unbearable.
Nam Goong Baek and Dang Yi Woon’s roles in today’s ceremony were to serve as the bride’s escort and attendant.
Originally, these were roles meant for women.
“Someone must protect the little one, must they not?”
At Je Gal Hyeop’s words, both of them had eagerly volunteered.
Thus, what he held in his hands was a bowl filled with flower petals.
He was to scatter them as Hong Seol walked.
‘Sigh, how am I supposed to do this.’
Glancing to the side, Dang Yi Woon’s expression was equally rigid and stone-like.
Then Hong Seol quietly opened her mouth.
“Shall we go, Elder Brothers?”
Her words carried an irresistible power.
The two men found themselves, as if enchanted, scattering the petals with their own hands.
Flutter, flutter.
The flower petals descended upon Hong Seol’s head like a blessing.
One step, then another.
Hong Seol passed by each figure standing in rows alongside the Stone Lanterns on either side.
Beside each Stone Lantern stood one stone coffin with one demon general, interspersed with one of Seo Gwang Ryun’s martial artists.
Just as warp and weft threads alternate in weaving cloth, it symbolized the harmony of unity and peace.
As the Ancestral Shrine drew nearer, Hong Seol’s footsteps grew heavier.
An invisible pressure bore down upon the earth.
‘This is the aura of the Heavenly Demon.’
Yet I had no intention of bowing my head like the others.
‘What arrogance is this…!’
I clenched my teeth and drew up my qi to resist.
My jaw set firm and defiant, my eyes blazing with rebellion.
Though my body was being sold into servitude, this was my silent protest—I would never bow, not even in death.
The Heavenly Demon, recognizing this, laughed.
It was a laugh tinged with eerie madness.
“You are no bride.”
He intoned in a low, resonant voice.
“Rather, you resemble a judge come to pass sentence upon me.”
Unmoved by his words, I continued forward.
At last, I reached the Heavenly Demon and slowly lowered my fan.
And finally.
Our eyes met.
“….”
The breath of countless spectators watching from the cliff above mingled with the suffocating silence that gripped the valley.
‘Did those who fought the Heavenly Demon in ages past feel this same dread?’
The Heavenly Demon’s piercing gaze was so intense it seemed capable of rupturing my very organs.
Surely there was no one here who could stand against the Heavenly Demon in single combat and emerge victorious.
‘Steady now. Do not falter.’
I fought to keep my spirit from breaking.
‘I prepared three contingencies for precisely this moment.’
Summoning my courage, I opened my mouth slowly.
“I am called Myo Hong Seol. And you, honored one, your name is….”
“Wi Heo Un.”
It was a name I scarcely needed to remember.
‘For today, your name shall be erased from history itself!’
I glanced toward the small pond behind the Ancestral Shrine.
That pond was my final gambit.
‘No matter how formidable the Heavenly Demon, he will be utterly helpless against what awaits there…!’
The only troubling element was time.
I sensed no movement from the pond yet.
I had to buy as much time as possible.
I spoke to the Heavenly Demon.
“Allow me to light the incense upon the altar myself.”
The Heavenly Demon nodded slightly.
“Ah.”
I deliberately fumbled, extinguishing the incense stick three times in succession.
And when I drew out the fourth incense stick.
I deliberately feigned trembling as I spoke.
“The incense keeps extinguishing itself—it’s, it’s inauspicious. Perhaps it would be better to send someone to the Changnyeong Sect’s temple to fetch fresh incense….”
“Step aside.”
It was a command that could not be defied.
Black flames rose between the Heavenly Demon’s long fingers as he grasped the extinguished incense stick.
‘T-Tri-Samadhi True Fire…!’
The incense lit by his hand would not extinguish, no matter how fiercely the wind blew.
Soon, the Heavenly Demon, having offered the incense at the altar, spoke.
“I hereby declare to Heaven and Earth that the Lord and Myo Hong Seol have become husband and wife.”
“….”
The incense burned completely to white ash. Yet nothing changed despite it all.
Of course it didn’t.
‘The Golden Cat Sect token that would legitimize my marriage is still in Nam Goong Baek Elder Brother’s possession.’
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead as I stood motionless.
That was when.
The Heavenly Demon’s glacial voice pierced my ears.
“Husband and wife should harbor no secrets from one another.”
In that instant, I felt a chill that penetrated to the marrow of my bones.
Those crimson eyes were terrifying.
“When were you planning to confess that this entire ceremony is a false marriage?”
Thump.
In that moment, I felt my heart plummet into an abyss.

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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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