A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 63

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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 63
Beneath it was a square food slot, roughly the size of a span of an adult’s hand.
‘If I transform into a cat…!’
I could slip through that slot.
And if I transform back into human form and unlock the bolt!
‘I could escape with all the children here.’
If I hurried the children to City, I could find adults who would help us.
‘I could even ask Nam Goong Ho to rescue So Rang!’
But….
Hong Seol bit her lip finely.
‘Then all the children here would learn that I’m a cat-human.’
That fact was supposed to remain a secret known only to the direct line of the Nam Goong Family.
Especially Deng Xiao Xiao—she came from a martial family in Hefei.
Word of my existence would reach the Myo Ga Jang in an instant.
‘What should I do…?’
It was when Hong Seol, lost in thought, clenched her fists.
One of the youngest boys among them nestled into Hong Seol’s arms.
“Sister, I’m scared.”
“Come, come here!”
Hong Seol embraced the smaller child in her arms, just as Bing Yu Hua had done for her.
The boy’s body trembled like an aspen leaf.
“W-will it be my turn to be taken next time?”
Hong Seol could say nothing in response.
It was certainly the slow-moving children who were easy prey for the Black Eagle Gang’s men and their iron claws.
No matter how much they relied on each other, there was no one who would volunteer to be captured by them instead.
“I-I miss my mom!”
The boy soon began to shed tears profusely.
At the sight, Hong Seol’s resolve wavered.
‘I was like that too….’
Before facing death on Dae Chuk Mountain, the face I longed to see most was my mother’s.
Hong Seol made her decision.
‘Yes, at least give that child one more chance to see his mother.’
Even if my identity as a cat-human was exposed, I would worry about that later.
With renewed resolve, Hong Seol gestured for the children to gather.
Only Yang Do Jin, furious at his own weakness, remained leaning against the wall alone.
“Listen, we’re going to escape from here.”
It was the first time Hong Seol had spoken such words, and everyone’s eyes lit up as they drew closer.
“How?”
“I’ll open the door.”
“But how can you….”
Deng Xiao Xiao’s gaze settled on Hong Seol’s frame. Though she was somewhat shorter, her build wasn’t drastically different from her own—so how could she possibly go outside and open the door?
“No, I can do it.”
The children’s faces brightened with hope at Hong Seol’s remarkably confident tone.
“But you all have to make me a promise.”
The wide-eyed children gathered around Hong Seol.
“What is it?”
“What kind of promise?”
“Keep your eyes shut tight until I open the door.”
“That’s all?”
Hong Seol nodded at the boy who had been crying moments before.
“I promise!”
The boy raised his pinky finger and nodded back at her.
“Me too, me too!”
“I swear on my life!”
Having secured the children’s vows, Hong Seol turned to Deng Xiao Xiao and Yang Do Jin.
“As the oldest ones here, I need a different promise from you two. You’ll have to lead the children to escape together.”
Deng Xiao Xiao’s eyes brightened with curiosity as she asked.
“What kind of promise?”
“Never speak of my true identity.”
“What is your true identity?”
“…I’ll tell you once you promise.”
“Ah, right. I promise, I promise!”
“I promise as well.”
Only then did Hong Seol whisper her plan to them both.
“What, you’re a cat-human?!”
Deng Xiao Xiao nearly fell backward in shock.
She leaned in close and whispered softly.
“…Could you be the child that Myo Ga Jang lost?”
“Ah… yes.”
“Where are you now? Surely not independent?”
“No… I’ll tell you later.”
“You absolutely have to tell me?”
Only after linking pinky fingers was Hong Seol freed from Deng Xiao Xiao’s relentless pressing.
Hong Seol spoke solemnly to the children huddled around her.
“The escape will happen in the dead of night. So everyone get plenty of rest.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Understood!”
As if they’d never been afraid, the children began sprawling out to sleep one by one.
They trusted the capable-looking Hong Seol.
* * *
Hong Seol, tense with anticipation, hadn’t slept a wink all night.
The moment she opened her eyes and stirred, her gaze met that of the beggar boy who had been keeping watch.
Yang Do Jin spoke quietly.
“The night has grown deep. Judging by the absence of any sound, it must be around the Hour of the Ox—between one and three in the morning.”
Truly remarkable hearing.
Hong Seol gently shook Deng Xiao Xiao, who was curled up asleep beside her.
“Xiao Xiao, wake up.”
“Mmm….”
Deng Xiao Xiao whimpered before finally pushing herself upright.
The three of them quickly roused the remaining whimpering children.
Soon, the awakened children’s eyes all turned toward Hong Seol.
‘How will she open the door?’
Multiple pairs of eyes gleamed with that very question, fixed intently upon her.
Under their scrutiny, Hong Seol’s cheeks flushed with nervousness.
“Look, we made a promise, so could you please stop staring so intensely?”
“Everyone, face the wall and close your eyes! Now!”
At Deng Xiao Xiao’s command, the children one by one turned toward the wall and squeezed their eyes shut.
The moment Hong Seol steeled herself and performed a perfect somersault through the air.
The eight-year-old girl vanished, replaced by a tiny pink kitten no bigger than a handful.
“Wow.”
Deng Xiao Xiao’s mouth fell open in hushed amazement.
Yang Do Jin, though he showed no outward reaction, had his pupils dilate noticeably—he was clearly quite startled.
Deng Xiao Xiao was so entranced that she nearly scooped Hong Seol into her arms.
Hong Seol, finding herself in an awkward position, flailed her front paws.
‘No way!’
“Oh right, right. We’re in the middle of planning our escape.”
Coming to her senses, Deng Xiao Xiao gently set Hong Seol down.
With renewed determination, Hong Seol scurried toward the iron door.
Creak.
As Deng Xiao Xiao opened the slot cover on the door, Hong Seol poked her tiny head through and surveyed the surroundings.
“There shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”
The beggar boy Yang Do Jin spoke, his voice directed at Hong Seol’s fluffy head.
“I’ve confirmed there’s no one nearby by sound.”
He was right.
The long corridor visible outside was completely empty—not even an ant in sight.
Hop!
Hong Seol swiftly squeezed through the feeding slot and leaped out.
“Success!”
From inside came the hushed cheers of Deng Xiao Xiao and Yang Do Jin.
Outside, Hong Seol performed one final somersault and returned to her original form as a small girl.
“Got it.”
The bolt was fastened higher than Hong Seol’s height, but rising onto her tiptoes, she managed to reach it somehow.
Creak.
“Oh!”
At the sound of the bolt falling, Hong Seol tensed and hunched her shoulders. But in the end, nothing went wrong.
“Come on, hurry out!”
As the iron door swung open, the children tumbled out in a rush.
“Wow, the door really opened!”
“We’re really escaping!”
Deng Xiao Xiao, who carefully checked that no children remained inside, asked Hong Seol a question.
“Where do we go now?”
“Yang Do Jin will guide us.”
Yang Do Jin pressed his ear carefully to the ground, then gestured quietly for everyone to follow him.
“This way.”
The children walked in a single line, carefully following Yang Do Jin.
Deng Xiao Xiao positioned herself in the middle, while Hong Seol brought up the rear, ensuring none of the younger children fell behind.
Only here did they pretend to be adults; in truth, outside these walls, Yang Do Jin, Deng Xiao Xiao, and Hong Seol were all children who needed protection themselves.
They simply suppressed their fear and acted mature out of a sense of responsibility to protect the younger ones.
The Earth Tunnel where they were trapped was like a labyrinth.
‘There was a reason they didn’t post a guard at the iron door.’
Without Yang Do Jin’s keen ears, they would have escaped only to become hopelessly lost inside.
Though they stumbled over tree roots several times, fortunately no one was injured as they made their way to the entrance.
The children drew in deep breaths of fresh air for the first time in ages.
“Ahhhh!”
“We made it!”
They stood on the slopes of an unnamed mountain.
Thanks to the full moon’s light, they could see a distant city with scattered torches burning in the darkness.
Deng Xiao Xiao, recognizing several large buildings, murmured to herself.
“That must be Hefei.”
Yang Do Jin nodded at her words.
He spoke quietly.
“If we head straight down, we should be able to enter Hefei City soon.”
“Great!”
Unlike Deng Xiao Xiao, who immediately nodded in agreement, Hong Seol tilted her head in confusion.
‘Why does he speak as though he won’t be going with us?’
While the other children gazed down at Hefei City with joy, Hong Seol could not tear her eyes away from Yang Do Jin.

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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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