Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"Um..."

The two sisters slowly woke up from the chaos, and their consciousness seemed to slowly rise from the deep sea. Everything around them seemed to be shrouded in a layer of gauze, hazy and illusory.

In her dark purple eyes, confusion and sadness were like a thick fog that lingered for a long time. She subconsciously murmured:

"Brother, don't go..."

The voice was as soft as a candle that could be extinguished at any time in the wind, carrying with it a deep attachment and reluctance.

"Qing'er..."

She slowly turned her head, her movements so slow that it seemed as if time had stopped for her, and looked at Xiaoqing beside her.

"Woooo..."

I saw Xiaoqing's eyelashes trembling slightly, just like the wings of a butterfly struggling in a storm. The tears on her face had not yet dried, and she slowly woke up at this moment.

"Well!"

The two sisters' eyes met, and in an instant, the sadness that penetrated their souls was like a surging tsunami, drowning them again with an overwhelming force.

"..."

Xiaoqing opened her lips slightly and was about to speak out the sorrow and confusion surging in her heart, but a violent coughing fit came like a demon and interrupted her.

"Cough cough cough..."

She coughed rapidly, her body heaving violently as if she was going to cough out all her internal organs. It was only after a lot of effort that she recovered.

"This, this place, are we still in this cave..."

She looked around. In the dim cave, the rugged boulders cast hideous and eerie shadows. The dead silence was like an invisible giant net that tightly enveloped them, making people feel suffocated and panicked, as if the whole world had fallen into eternal darkness and dead silence.

"Hmm~"

Xiaoqing was full of doubts and was the first to break the silence, her voice trembling with hesitation:

"Sister, was everything just a terrible nightmare? My brother..."

"..."

Mo Zi also looked stunned, with uncertainty in her eyes, and the tear marks on her cheeks were so hot that they seemed to burn her skin.

"Whoo~"

She raised her hand and wiped her face. The wetness her fingertips touched was like a heavy hammer hitting her heart, making the heart-wrenching pain even clearer and stronger.

Mo Zi wondered to herself, could the tears on Xiaoqing's face be the result of scratches from the fall? Perhaps she hadn't experienced the illusion of saying goodbye to her brother.

Thinking of this, Mo Zi pretended to be calm, trying hard to suppress the trembling in his voice, and said:

"Xiaoqing, maybe we were too tired and just had a nightmare."

In fact, when Mo Zi saw Xiao Qing's red eyes, she began to wonder in her heart, but she did not dare to confirm it hastily, for fear that once she made it clear, the cruel reality would be like a sharp blade that would completely cut off their only remaining hope.

"Um?"

Xiaoqing was surprised when she heard this. She secretly looked at Mo Zi and saw that although she looked a little haggard, she did not have the kind of grief that penetrated her soul and was heartbreaking. She couldn't help but feel confused.

Could it really be that I had only dreamed of my brother, of that life-or-death separation? But why were the tears still on my face so hot, and why was my heart so aching, as if an invisible hand were clutching me, holding me back, making it impossible to breathe?

"But……"

Xiaoqing opened her mouth and wanted to ask more questions, but she swallowed the words back.

She was afraid of getting a negative answer, afraid that the pain and despair she experienced was just a lonely one-man show that no one could understand.

"boom!"

Although I was unwilling to believe it, the tragic scene before me was as cold and cruel as iron, and there was no doubt about it.

"boom……"

The stones squeezed and collided with each other, making a dull and suppressed sound, as if the earth was lamenting Mo Yun's departure.

Mo Zi bit her lower lip, her teeth almost digging into the delicate skin, and crimson blood streaks faintly emerged. She tried to hold back the tears that were about to burst out, trying to calm herself down, her voice trembling slightly:

"Xiaoqing, no matter what, let's see if we can get out first. Maybe everything will be fine once we get out."

As she spoke, she moved her body with difficulty. Every movement was accompanied by muscle aches and bone protests, as if her body was deeply pierced by countless steel needles.

“Heh…ah—”

Her hands groped on the rough, cold ground, trying to find a support point. Her nails turned white from the effort. Her legs were slightly bent, trying to exert force, but the huge rock pressing on her was as heavy as an ancient sacred mountain, imprisoning them tightly, making them like insects trapped in amber, unable to break free.

“Again!”

The two sisters took a deep breath and gathered all their strength to try to shake their bodies that were pinned down by the boulder.

"I don't believe it!"

Their muscles were tense, and every inch of them was exerting force, as if they were concentrating all their strength into this struggle to fight against the injustice of fate.

"Move, move!"

He bent his legs slightly, trying to find a fulcrum, and twisted his waist hard, but the boulder remained motionless like Mount Tai.

"Move—cough cough..."

No matter how they struggled, their bodies only trembled slightly and then there was no movement. The dust that was raised fell down and choked them, making them cough continuously. Their throats were dry and painful, as if there was a blazing fire burning them, and every breath was painful.

"Ah-"

Mo Zi's arms were shaking from the excessive force, every muscle was wailing in pain, and the heavy pressure almost completely crushed her will.

Just when she was about to collapse, the image of Mo Yun flashed through her mind again without warning.

"elder brother--"

Mo Yun's gentle yet resolute face, and the strength and hope she gave them before she disappeared, kept circling in Mo Zi's mind like a kaleidoscope.

"Don't give up, my little A Zi!"

Every smile and every word of advice from him were like a hot iron, deeply imprinted in Mo Zi's heart, making her heartache even more intense, as if her heart was torn into countless pieces.

"elder brother……"

Mo Zi couldn't help but murmur, his voice filled with endless attachment and sorrow. The voice echoed softly in the silent cave, as if it had real power, shaking the air around it, and hitting Xiaoqing's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Um!"

Xiaoqing suddenly turned her head and locked her eyes on Mo Zi, her eyes full of shock and inquiry.

She caught a familiar sadness in Mo Zi's call, a sadness that only existed between them and their brother, a sadness that only came after experiencing the separation of life and death.

"What just happened was definitely not a dream!"

She saw that Mo Zi's eyes were red, tears were welling up in them, her lips were trembling slightly, and she was immersed in unspeakable grief. All this was exactly the same as the state she was in after her brother left in the illusion.

"Sister, did you just..."

Mo Zi met Xiao Qing's gaze, closed his eyes slightly, and took a deep breath, as if trying to calm down the emotions that were surging like a raging sea, and as if trying to gather great courage.

"Hmm~"

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was more determined, and she said softly but firmly:

"Qing'er, I believe you've dreamed it too. Brother's departure wasn't a dream. Now we're trapped here. Only by finding a way out can we live up to Brother's sacrifice. I'll pass on my power to you. By combining our powers, we may be able to find a way out. The power Brother gives us will surely help us overcome this predicament."

"!"

When Xiaoqing heard this, her heart was shocked. It turned out that her sister and she had experienced the same illusion and endured the same pain.

"Woooo..."

Her eyes instantly became moist again, tears welling up in them, almost bursting out, blurring her vision.

"it is good!"

She nodded vigorously without any hesitation and slowly stretched out her hand, which was trembling slightly, with nervousness and anticipation, as well as longing for her brother and hope for the future.

"Um!"

Mo Zi also stretched out his hand, and the two hands met in the air and clasped together tightly.

"Weng!"

In an instant, the power in Mo Zi was like a trickle of water, slowly transferring to Xiao Qing with warmth and hope.

The power was like the gurgling of a stream at first, and gradually became turbulent, as if carrying the rhythm of life, flowing and interweaving in the two people's clasped hands.

They could clearly feel each other's heartbeats, the rhythms of which gradually converged, and the wonderful resonance produced by the blending of their powers, as if the whole world was trembling at this moment for their unity and tenacity.