A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 88

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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 88
Round wooden basins and brass wash basins—the disciples carried an assortment of vessels in their hands.
“The stairs are narrow, so line up single file and pass the water buckets hand to hand!”
“Heave! Heave!”
Splash!
Under the Sect Master’s direction, the disciples’ movements became organized and systematic.
It was far more efficient than when each had carried water individually.
Thanks to their coordinated effort, the towering flames that had seemed ready to devour the Memorial Hall began to gradually subside.
Nam Goong Ho watched the scene from a distance, his eyes clouded with worry.
“It still doesn’t seem like enough…”
He recalled his grandson’s words.
“If we set fire to that place, every single disciple of the Changnyeong Sect will come rushing out to draw and pour water.”
Nam Goong Ho had nearly exploded in anger at those words.
Setting fire to another sect’s Memorial Hall!
What kind of depraved thinking was that?
And yet, it had come from his own grandson.
“The fire itself can be started when Seol, disguised as a cat, takes a fire starter and lights it…”
Nam Goong Baek hesitated as he spoke, gauging his grandfather’s reaction.
Nam Goong Ho, thinking “Well, let’s hear this through,” waved his hand for him to continue.
“In the process of carrying water, the leather hand wraps the disciples are wearing will become soaked.”
Due to leather’s nature, if the moisture isn’t immediately wiped away and dried, the wraps will become warped and misshapen.
“The Sect Master will have no choice but to order the disciples to remove their wraps and dry them.”
“How can you be certain of that?”
“Because the Changnyeong Sect doesn’t appear to be in a financial position to buy new wraps for all the disciples.”
“…!”
“From what I observed during the day, the junior disciples don’t even seem to eat their fill.”
“So you’re saying the Sect Master will definitely order them to remove their wraps?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
In that window of opportunity, we could check whether anyone had characters written on their palms.
“But Baek! The Memorial Hall is the very soul of a sect. How could you even think of setting fire to it so carelessly!”
“I’m not saying we’ll set fire directly to the Memorial Hall itself.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll only set the fire in front of the Memorial Hall.”
His gaze turned toward the stairs before the Memorial Hall. The steep incline meant that from most of the Sect Grounds, one couldn’t see what was happening at the front of the Memorial Hall.
“If we stack firewood and ignite lamp oil, from below it will look as though the Memorial Hall itself is burning brightly.”
“…”
“The piles of wet leaves around the area will help too. They’ll produce plenty of smoke to make it convincing.”
“Hmm, Baek…”
“Don’t worry. Since it rained yesterday, the fire won’t easily spread to the Memorial Hall itself.”
“Well, I’ll be…”
Nam Goong Ho fell silent.
If he were to fight the previous Sect Master who had become a jiangshi, they would need to exchange blows.
He had no way of knowing how much damage the Memorial Hall would suffer, let alone the other halls of the Changnyeong Sect.
The Disciples staying in the Youth Dormitory would be in danger as well.
“If we can identify the sorcerer by merely setting fire in front of the Memorial Hall, I believe that would be getting off cheaply.”
Nam Goong Baek laid bare the thoughts that had been occupying his mind.
‘When was the last time Baek showed such enthusiasm for external matters?’
Seeing this, Nam Goong Ho found himself with no choice but to approve Nam Goong Baek’s plan.
“Very well, proceed as you see fit!”
To Nam Goong Ho’s experienced eye, the plan appeared riddled with flaws. Yet he calculated that even if it failed, he could cover for it if only the courtyard before the Memorial Hall burned.
And indeed, the plan began to go awry.
‘Hmm, the flames are already starting to be contained.’
At a glance, the robes of roughly half the Daoists remained unburned and intact.
‘Baek must be quite disappointed.’
He still fell far short of the family head Nam Goong On in terms of capability.
Though that was likely due to his youth and lack of experience.
‘Once he travels through the Jianghu, he’ll encounter all manner of trials. I should console him about that.’
Nam Goong Ho sharpened his vision and gazed at Nam Goong Baek standing at a distance.
But what entered his eyes was an unbelievable sight.
His grandson, who should have been drowning in disappointment, was smiling!
Moreover, his lips were even quivering as if he were waiting for something.
“Now it’s almost time. One, two…”
The moment he snapped his fingers and said “three!”
Boom!
A blaze twice as large as before erupted in front of the Memorial Hall.
* * *
Hong Seol, in the form of a cat, observed this from a distance.
‘Wow, it really happened just like my brother said.’
Hong Seol marveled, letting out meows of admiration.
Before setting fire in front of the Memorial Hall, Hong Seol had visited the Medicine Storage.
It was because Nam Goong Baek had asked.
“Seol Ah, if you open the medicine jars, you’ll find a transparent brown lump that smells of pine. You need to bring as much of it as possible.”
“Meow!”
Hong Seol transformed into a cat without hesitation and slipped into the Medicine Storage.
Just as he had said, the medicine jars contained transparent brown lumps.
Hong Seol gathered the lumps into a small cloth bundle, clamped it firmly in her mouth, and returned.
“Well done! My Seol Ah is the best.”
“What is this?”
“Pine resin. Hardened sap collected from pine trees. It’s good for coughs.”
Nam Goong Baek’s older brother wore a faint smile.
I liked his laughter more than any praise could offer.
“Most importantly, today I’ve brought something that will make the fire burn without easily being extinguished.”
Watching the flames rage fiercely, I clapped my paws together in admiration, just as a cat would.
I had done exactly as my brother instructed—placed the rosin chunks behind the pile of dry firewood.
Boom!
The flames erupted at precisely the right moment, blazing upward with perfect timing.
‘What are the Taoists doing?’
“Bring more water!”
“Faster, faster!”
As the flames they had nearly suppressed suddenly surged again, the Taoists were consumed with hauling water.
The leather gloves on their hands were already soaked through.
It took considerable time before the fire spreading across the courtyard in front of the Memorial Hall was finally brought under control.
The rosin and kerosene-soaked firewood that I had left behind had burned completely, leaving nothing recognizable.
The thick smoke billowing forth made it difficult even to assess the damage immediately.
What followed unfolded exactly as Nam Goong Baek had predicted.
“All disciples of Changnyeong Sect—remove your leather gloves and dry your hands!”
“Yes!”
The disciples answered with a resounding voice and removed their gloves in unison.
They did not know that Nam Goong Ho was examining the palms of his hands with heightened perception from behind.
Beside him, Nam Goong Baek was likewise swiftly inspecting his own palms.
Finally, I moved about the Sect Grounds in my cat form, searching for anyone bearing the character marking just as the others were doing.
In this manner, an entire hour slipped away.
* * *
With the Sect Grounds transformed into a watery expanse and torches being lit throughout to illuminate the darkness, the outside remained in utter chaos.
In cat form, I trudged wearily into my Quarters, my steps heavy with exhaustion.
Soot clung to my fur in various places.
Flip!
As the cat performed a somersault, I returned to my original form.
Nam Goong Ho and Nam Goong Baek, who had been waiting inside the Quarters, spoke to me simultaneously.
“You’ve worked hard, Seol Ah.”
“Did you find the sorcerer?”
My face grew as clouded as a rainy day.
“There wasn’t anyone…. No one at all.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. I passed between their legs and checked everyone carefully, but there was no one bearing the character marking.”
“Hmm….”
Nam Goong Ho fell silent in thought.
Nam Goong Baek asked.
“What of the Sect Master? Did you check the Sect Master’s palms as well?”
I nodded weakly.
Nam Goong Ho’s meridians suddenly cleared, and he sank deeply into his chair.
“The sorcerer is truly outside, then.”
This meant he had pointlessly incinerated the courtyard in front of another sect’s Memorial Hall.
“Sword King, sir!”
Just then, Seagull Eyebrow’s voice rang out from beyond the door.
He too sounded exhausted, having exerted himself in extinguishing the flames.
“Sir, the time has come. It will soon be the Hour of the Pig.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Nam Goong Ho rose reluctantly from his seat.
“Grandfather….”
Hong Seol gazed up at him with eyes brimming with worry.
“Don’t worry, child.”
His large hand covered the crown of Hong Seol’s head.
“Today, I shall teach a lesson in the laws of the Martial Arts World to whoever dares toy with the corpse of the dead Mu Gwi Geom.”
The door closed.
Watching Nam Goong Ho depart, Hong Seol stood there as forlorn as a cat caught in the rain.
“Sigh.”
Nam Goong Baek raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“This makes no sense. The sorcerer must be among the people here on the Sect Grounds!”
At those words, Hong Seol felt as though lightning had struck the crown of her head.
“Elder brother!”
“…?”
“If we’ve checked everyone’s palms and found no culprit, then the answer must be among those we haven’t checked yet, right?”
Hong Seol seized Nam Goong Baek’s sleeve and shook it urgently.
“There’s still one person on the Sect Grounds whose palms we haven’t examined!”
“That Disciple with the bandaged hands!”
Hong Seol and Nam Goong Baek bolted toward the Youth Dormitory where the Disciples lodged without a moment’s hesitation.
Everyone had gone to watch the duel between the Sword King and the corpse demon, so there was no one to stop them.

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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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