A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 91

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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 91
The two of them entered the Youth Dormitory together.
In the darkness, I could see the hollow eyes of frightened children.
Woon Young was in the center of them.
She had regained consciousness at some point and stood on her feet.
“I… Is Young Master Nam Goong alright?”
Those were Woon Young’s first words, spoken with palpable fear.
It was hard to believe this trembling girl was the sorcerer controlling the corpses outside.
Still, I harbored some resentment toward her for injuring Nam Goong Baek.
I answered somewhat coldly.
“You’re the one who caused this.”
“…No! That was never my intention!”
Woon Young hung her head low, her fingers fidgeting nervously.
“I… I only wanted to scare them away, to make them retreat… I never thought it would come to this.”
“…It’s fine.”
Nam Goong Baek gave a light nod, yet Woon Young’s face remained clouded.
“Oh no, I’ve hurt someone…”
Woon Young stared down at her own palm, where a bow mark was clearly etched.
Her hand trembled like a kite caught in a storm.
In short, Woon Young was not a child suited for the Martial Arts World at all.
‘How on earth did someone like this end up controlling corpses?’
I couldn’t comprehend it.
But I couldn’t possibly abandon Woon Young to her fate.
The children trembling behind Woon Young’s back.
I had to protect them.
Yet even after bringing me and Nam Goong Baek into the Youth Dormitory, Woon Young seemed afraid to speak the truth.
‘What should I do?’
I looked at Nam Goong Baek with an uncertain expression.
Nam Goong Baek gave me a light nod as if to say trust only him, then spoke to Woon Young in a cold tone.
“You will certainly die today.”
“W-what did you say!”
Woon Young’s face went deathly pale.
“If you remain locked up here like this.”
“…”
“Or you must steal the lives of everyone here and flee. That includes not only me and Seol Ah, but also the Changnyeong Sect Taoists outside and the Sword King as well. Plus all the disciples trailing behind. Can you do that?”
Woon Young, her gaze fixed on her feet, shook her head slowly.
I had expected as much.
If she possessed such resolve, Nam Goong Baek himself would not have survived in the first place.
His life would have been forfeit in the first instant of Mu Gwi Geom’s blade.
What Woon Young had said about merely trying to frighten them was the truth.
“If you don’t tell us the truth, there’s nothing we can do to help. So come on—what’s really going on?”
“But….”
“You don’t trust us, is that it?”
Woon Young couldn’t bring herself to deny it and lowered her head.
Nam Goong Baek sighed. Even he was at a loss now.
That’s when Hong Seol stepped forward.
She approached Woon Young and whispered softly to her.
“I’ll tell you a secret of mine first. The truth is, I’m not Nam Goong Ho’s granddaughter.”
Woon Young’s head snapped up in shock at those words.
“Seol Ah!”
Nam Goong Baek cried out in alarm, caught completely off guard.
But it was too late—the words were already spoken and couldn’t be taken back.
“Honestly!”
Frustrated, Nam Goong Baek lifted his head, then covered his eyes with the back of his hand.
Stunned by this unexpected revelation, Woon Young stared at Hong Seol, blinking rapidly.
“Then how did….”
“My mother abandoned me, and Nam Goong Ho’s grandfather took me in.”
“…Really?”
Being abandoned by one’s parents was the deepest wound and shame a child her age could bear.
Woon Young didn’t know what to do upon hearing such a secret.
But Hong Seol remained composed. She placed a hand on Woon Young’s shoulder and asked gently.
“Now that you know this much, can you share your secret with us?”
“…Yes.”
After a brief hesitation, Woon Young nodded and began to speak, as if she had no choice.
* * *
It had happened just eight days ago.
The Second Sect Master, Mu Gwi Geom Eon Jun Gyo, was nearing the end of his life in a small hermitage away from the sect grounds.
Yet strangely, not a single soul had come near his quarters.
“You… you wretch… Seon Hyo….”
His voice calling for his successor, the first disciple who would become the next Sect Master, was barely audible—fractured and fading as it crossed the threshold.
That was when it happened.
The door to the inner chamber creaked open slightly.
“Sect Master, sir?”
A small disciple who had been fetching medicinal water heard his voice and entered.
That disciple was none other than Woon Young.
Horrified at the sight of Mu Gwi Geom dying alone, Woon Young rushed closer.
“Sir! I was told you were in closed-door cultivation. Why are you alone like this… I’ll fetch someone at once.”
Mu Gwi Geom called her back with a feeble voice as she turned to leave.
“It’s… done. They must have deliberately stayed away.”
“Pardon?”
“My throat is parched… bring me a cup of water.”
At his words, Woon Young hastily scooped water from the earthen jar she carried and brought it to Mu Gwi Geom’s lips.
Mu Gwi Geom, regaining a measure of strength, forced out his words.
“Tell me—what has become of the disciple Myung Bo?”
“Pardon?”
The image of a cheerful boy who always wore a bright smile surfaced in Woon Young’s mind.
Now that she thought about it, more than four days had passed since she’d last seen him.
She’d only heard he’d gone on an errand beyond the ash fields, but what could have happened?
“I haven’t seen him in quite some time.”
At that, Mu Gwi Geom closed his trembling eyelids, and moisture seeped from between them.
“So the boy went first… Because I burdened him with a heavy task, he fell into their hands…”
Woon Young’s face drained of all color.
Having lost her entire family to bandits before becoming part of the Changnyeong Sect, Woon Young regarded the disciples as brothers and sisters.
Myung Bo in particular was a kindhearted older brother who would always tear pieces of his rice balls to share with the hungry disciples.
“Pardon? Master, what do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t Seon Hyo say he was sending the disciples to Wuhan to learn about the world?”
“Yes, Master. That’s why everyone was so pleased…”
A sorrowful shadow crossed Mu Gwi Geom’s face.
“It was a lie.”
“What?”
“Seon Hyo… intends to sell the children away.”
“S-sell them away?”
Woon Young’s lips trembled as she barely managed to ask.
It was like a bolt from the blue.
‘He’s deceiving innocent children and leading them into a trap!’
And it was Seon Hyo, the senior disciple destined to become the next Sect Master.
“He’s arranged to hand them over to a man with a black feather tattoo on his arm—it’s certainly no good place. It’s the notorious Black Eagle Gang.”
“A black feather…?”
“The Black Eagle Gang—a heretical organization. I managed to warn Myung Bo about it, but…”
“Then… what happened to Myung Bo?”
“…It seems he was caught trying to help the children escape.”
To Woon Young, it felt as though the heavens themselves were collapsing.
“No! Ah… how could this happen!”
A weathered hand patted the back of the sobbing Woon Young.
The absent guards could return at any moment. There was no time to grieve Myung Bo’s death properly.
Mu Gwi Geom spoke in a voice like pine bark cracking and splintering.
“Listen well, Woon Young. From now on, you must protect the disciples in Myung Bo’s stead.”
At those words, fear seized Woon Young’s heart.
“But Master, how can I…? I know nothing. I’m not even a formal disciple—I’ve received no martial training.”
“You can do it. Trust no one and do exactly as I command. You know I’m from the Zhenzhou Sect, famous for corpse manipulation techniques, don’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“From this moment forward, I shall transform myself into a jiangshi.”
Woon Young collapsed flat against the floor, utterly stunned.
“N-no, Elder…! Please take back those words. I cannot bear to hear them.”
Becoming a jiangshi meant becoming a corpse. It was no different than offering one’s own life.
“My years are numbered anyway. I merely wish to become a companion for Myung Bo on the path to the afterlife, so do not grieve, Woon Young…”
Tears streamed down the face of the prostrate girl. She wiped away the endless flow with her small fists.
“You must use me to protect the disciples. Can you do this?”
“Yes… I will do my utmost.”
“Good.”
Mu Gwi Geom raised a skeletal finger and pressed it against Woon Young’s palm.
“Since you still lack a dantian, I have no choice but to utilize this acupoint.”
In that instant.
Mu Gwi Geom’s eyes blazed with light, and Woon Young’s palm began to burn with searing pain.

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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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