A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 242

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

Chapter 242
“Raaaaaahhhhh!”
At the same moment, roughly a hundred martial artists wielding curved blades came galloping from the distance.
On their arms, black feather tattoos with crimson tips gleamed distinctly.
‘They’re the real Black Bandit Gang!’
Hong Seol, recognizing them, swallowed hard.
She had encountered ‘fake’ Black Bandit Gang members in a stone cave before, but this was her first time seeing the genuine article.
“Black Bandit Gang members—exterminate every last one of the Demonic Cult disciples! Leave none alive!”
At Dok Bi Jo’s thunderous command, they all gripped their curved blades and responded with enthusiasm.
“Yes, sir!”
“We obey the Bandit Lord’s command!”
As the Black Bandit Gang members swept forward like a gale, the heads of Demonic Cult disciples flew in all directions.
With Dok Bi Jo and the Black Bandit Gang’s prowess, the tide of battle reversed in an instant.
Hong Seol’s expression grew puzzled as she observed the chaos.
‘That woman… she’s gone!’
It was strange.
Je Gal Seon, the Thousand-Killing Witch, was nowhere to be found.
Not lying as a corpse on the ground, nor clashing with Seo Gwang Ryun’s martial artists.
She had vanished without a trace.
‘Could she have fled in fear of death?’
If one cherished their own life, they should understand how precious others’ lives were.
How many had fallen by Je Gal Seon’s hand?
From the Myo Family Estate’s servants who burned in a single night to her own mother, Bing Xiao Yue.
Fury surged within Hong Seol’s chest.
‘To that woman, only her own life and her beloved daughter Myo Ga Ryung matter!’
In that moment, Hong Seol felt an odd sense of unease.
‘Now that I think about it… where is Myo Ga Ryung right now?’
Je Gal Seon cared nothing for others’ lives, yet she cherished Myo Ga Ryung desperately.
No matter how dangerous this journey to the Central Plains was, it couldn’t compare to the Demonic Cult’s headquarters.
‘She would never leave Myo Ga Ryung alone in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains—she must have brought her here.’
Hong Seol heightened her perception and scanned the cliff above with her eyes.
“Out of my way, you fools!”
Whoosh!
Just then, Dok Bi Jo came into view, sweeping through the Demonic Cult forces with overwhelming martial prowess.
But there was no one resembling Myo Ga Ryung there.
This time, Hong Seol scanned the valley below.
Nam Goong Ho and the other adults were locked in life-or-death combat with the Demonic Cult forces.
The Demonic Cult disciples pouring into the valley were quite noticeable as well.
Yet Myo Ga Ryung was not among them either.
‘What is happening?’
It was the Heavenly Demon’s chuckling voice that snapped Hong Seol back to awareness.
“How disrespectful—lost in thought while standing before your bridegroom.”
The tone was playful, as if he were merely jesting.
Hong Seol felt a surge of rage so intense it seemed to reverse the flow of her blood.
Even now, the severed limbs of the Demonic Cult members were still tumbling through the air.
“Do you feel no remorse at all?”
Hong Seol pointed toward the cliff above.
“All those people are dying to protect you!”
The Heavenly Demon’s expression suggested he found her words incomprehensible.
“Do you weep with pity when you see an anthill collapse during the rainy season?”
At his callous comparison of those who followed him to insects, Hong Seol’s eyes widened in shock.
Yet the Heavenly Demon continued without hesitation.
“If they become the nourishment through which I achieve dominion over the demonic way, surely that would be the greatest honor they could receive.”
“…I cannot agree with that.”
Hong Seol shook her head with unwavering resolve.
“Each human life is infinitely precious!”
Hah.
The Heavenly Demon laughed.
As if he had been waiting for precisely those words.
“Bring me the Golden Cat Sect treasure, and I shall spare the lives of those vermin who follow you.”
He slowly raised one of his long, elegant fingers.
His fingertip pointed directly at Nam Goong Baek and Dang Yi Woon.
In an instant, both men’s eyes blazed with tension.
With a metallic ring, Nam Goong Baek drew his blade.
Dang Yi Woon thrust his hand into the sleeve of his green robe.
As they channeled their inner force, their garments billowed outward dramatically.
“So you have no intention of surrendering the Golden Cat Sect treasure willingly.”
The situation had become utterly volatile.
Yet the Heavenly Demon remained composed.
‘He must be confident enough to defeat all three of us,’ Hong Seol thought grimly.
She gazed toward the pond with a heavy heart. Its surface remained perfectly still.
Suddenly, the Heavenly Demon’s mouth twisted into a smile so wide it seemed his face might split.
“Come at me together—all three of you. Otherwise, you won’t last even ten breaths!”
That was when it happened.
The sky began to darken abruptly.
This was different from the mist that had hung low over the narrow gorge since morning.
Dark storm clouds gathered and descended, blotting out the heavens as if ready to unleash torrential rain at any moment.
‘It has begun!’
Dark, heavy clouds that looked ready to pour rain at any moment rolled in and covered the sky.
“It’s started!”
Hong Seol’s face flushed with color as she grasped the implication.
‘Just a little longer, just a little longer and I can endure this…!’
Hong Seol recalled what had transpired in the Nam Goong Estate Library not long ago.
* * *
The night before departing for the Martial Arts Alliance.
Hong Seol had shut herself away in the Nam Goong Estate Library, poring over the secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art.
‘Once I arrive at the Martial Arts Alliance, they’ll undoubtedly debate whether to send me to the Heavenly Demon or hold a righteous confrontation.’
And nine times out of ten, she would be dispatched as the Heavenly Demon’s bride.
“Sigh.”
Hong Seol exhaled lightly.
Of course, that didn’t mean she intended to meekly allow herself to be dragged away as the Heavenly Demon’s bride.
‘For that, I need a certain strategy to defeat the Heavenly Demon.’
Hong Seol buried her nose once more in the secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art she held.
Ever since returning from the Northern Sea Ice Palace recently, Hong Seol had been systematically searching through all records pertaining to dragons.
According to the records, the Ice Dragon she had encountered in the Northern Sea was traditionally called the Northern Black Dragon, the Vast Marsh King O Soon.
‘The Northern Black Dragon is one of the Four Sea Dragon Kings….’
Hong Seol’s eyes gleamed as she reread up to that point.
The Four Sea Dragon Kings—four dragons that guarded the oceans of the world.
If that were so, then there must be individual dragons dwelling in the east, south, and west as well.
And if dragons existed.
Such divine and formidable beings.
‘It wouldn’t be impossible for one to swallow the Heavenly Demon whole.’
Hong Seol pondered, recalling the Ice Dragon’s overwhelming power from her encounter in the Northern Sea.
It was not an entity that humans could withstand.
No matter how transcendent the Heavenly Demon might be, having lived for three hundred years beyond the mortal coil.
‘To accomplish this, I need to lure the Heavenly Demon to where a dragon dwells.’
And that dragon had to be the Western White Dragon, the Vast Benevolence King O Yoon, among the Four Sea Dragon Kings.
A dragon that slumbered ordinarily but awakened once every thousand years to survey the world.
Fortuitously, that time was drawing near.
According to the secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art, its power was the strongest among the four dragons.
And its innate temperament was recorded as righteous and impartial.
The only other peculiarity noted was a fondness for peaches.
‘If it’s the Western White Dragon, it will surely grant my request!’
If necessary, she would present every peach orchard under heaven.
Yet as Hong Seol unfolded the map, she could not help but fall into contemplation.
‘Where exactly is the Western White Dragon sleeping? There’s no ocean to the west in the first place.’
No matter how she looked at it, all she could see was vast stretches of land.
Hong Seol sank into thought.
‘Come to think of it, the Northern Sea wasn’t truly an ocean either. It was merely an enormous lake.’
Could it be that the Western White Dragon’s dwelling was also not an ocean, but rather a lake or pond?
It was a reasonable deduction.
Hong Seol rested her chin lightly in her palm once more, sinking into contemplation.
‘If that’s the case, then Changnyeong Mountain Valley is the most likely place where the Western White Dragon sleeps.’
Hong Seol recalled a conversation she’d had with the Sect Master of Changnyeong Sect during her childhood.
“Were there always so many peach trees on Changnyeong Mountain?”
“Yes. That’s why Han Seo Jin Immortal, the sect’s founder, deliberately chose to establish himself here.”
This meant Changnyeong Mountain had soil naturally suited for growing peaches.
“Especially in that valley over there—there’s a small pond and an ancestral shrine where they worship a deity said to be particularly fond of peaches.”
“Wow!”
As a child, she’d heard these words without giving them much thought.
But now that she knew of the Western White Dragon’s existence, she couldn’t dismiss this information lightly.
‘Could it really be that the Western White Dragon sleeps in Changnyeong Mountain Valley?’
Hong Seol, lost in thought, shook her head dejectedly.
“No, that can’t be right. Because it’s the ‘Western’ White Dragon.”
The Twelve Beast Martial Art, which recorded information about dragons, was written by someone from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
Therefore, the “four seas” mentioned here should be divided into cardinal directions based on Nam Man’s perspective.
Hubei Province, where Changnyeong Mountain is located, is by no stretch of the imagination the “west” of Nam Man.
For it to bear the name Western White Dragon, it should logically be positioned west of Nam Man itself.
“Sigh, so it’s not Changnyeong Mountain after all…?”
And at that very moment.
“Why do you linger in the Record Hall at this late hour?”
A familiar voice reached her ears.
“Father!”
Hong Seol sprang to her feet with delight.
Nam Goong On then appeared, his eyes hollow with exhaustion.
“Are you unable to sleep because you’re worried about departing for the Martial Alliance tomorrow?”
“…”
“Do not worry. By whatever means necessary, I will ensure you are not sent to the Heavenly Demon.”
His words were tender. Hong Seol’s nose tingled, and she offered a gentle smile.
“I simply couldn’t sleep, so I was looking at this.”
Hong Seol held up the secret manual in her hands. Nam Goong On glanced at the title and nodded.
“A secret manual of the Twelve Beast Martial Art. This has deep ties to our Nam Goong Family as well.”
“Really? This book?”
“According to history, this manual was written around the time of the great righteous-demonic war in the past. The Young Master of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, who was staying at the Nam Goong Family Estate at the time, wrote it with his own hand.”
In that moment, a thought flashed through Hong Seol’s mind.
“Father, you mean the Young Master wrote this manual while staying at the Nam Goong Family Estate?”
Nam Goong On, taken aback, nodded.
“Not in Nam Man, but in Anhui—is that what you’re saying?”
Nam Goong On nodded again. At this, Hong Seol’s heart began to race.
Ho Buk, where Changnyeong Mountain is located, is indeed to the “west” of Anhui.
Then….
‘The Western White Dragon must be sleeping in the Changnyeong Mountain Valley!’

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