Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"..."

The sky was turning pale, and the soft morning light struggled to penetrate the thick clouds and quietly fell on the eaves of the Changzong Inn.

“Heh—”

Mo Zi suddenly sat up from the bed, his clothes soaked with cold sweat, his breathing rapid and heavy.

"Um?"

She looked around warily. The house was as quiet as usual. The sunlight shone through the window, casting patches of mottled light on the ground.

"Are those all fake..."

There was no ferocious dark manipulator, nor were there any hypnotized residents with empty eyes, but the uneasiness in Mo Zi's heart surged like a tide.

"Is it... really just a dream?"

Mo Zi whispered to himself, with a hint of suspicion that was hard to conceal in his voice.

"No, I definitely won't dream about this all of a sudden!"

As a member of the Xingluo team, so many adventures have made her understand that there must be something wrong when things are abnormal. Beneath this seemingly calm surface, there may be a huge conspiracy.

"Hmm~"

At the same time, Bai Tang turned over in a daze, smacking his lips and mumbling:

"Don't steal my candied haws..."

Then he slowly opened his eyes, rubbing his sleepy eyes, with the satisfaction of tasting delicious food in his dream still lingering on the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, what happened? I dreamed of lots of delicious food, but when I woke up, it was all gone. If I had known, I should have eaten more in my dream!"

"Uh--"

Da Fei sat up from the bed, stretched his body, and his joints made a "crackling" sound. He smiled innocently and said:

"I dreamed that my grandma taught me how to grill fish. The fish was sizzling and oozing with oil, and it smelled so good! If I hadn't woken up, I could have eaten several!"

"Whoo~"

Wu Song frowned, his fists unconsciously clenched. The image of his senior sister begging for help lingered in his mind, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes:

"I dreamed of my senior sister. She was covered in wounds, waving desperately at me and yelling at me to hurry up. She looked extremely anxious. How could I have such a dream..."

"what--"

Xiaoqing also slowly woke up, gently stroked the hair beside her ear, and said with a hint of melancholy:

"At first, I dreamed of playing with my brother in the courtyard. The sun was very warm. But then the sky suddenly turned dark and my brother disappeared. No matter how I called out, no one responded."

Mo Zi looked at everyone, his tone solemn:

"I dreamed that we were being targeted by a dark manipulator. He controlled the entire Singing Sect with his flute, and we were nearly doomed. This dream was too real to be a coincidence."

"Impossible, impossible!"

Bai Tang waved his hand nonchalantly and jumped out of bed:

"Sister Azi, you must be overthinking it! Dreams are always a mess. Maybe you were too tired yesterday."

Mo Zi shook his head, his eyes firm:

"Bai Tang, we can't let our guard down. In all our adventures, have we ever been warned of any danger beforehand? This Chang Sect might be harbouring hidden dangers."

However, the other kittens just looked at each other, and even Xiaoqing didn't take Mozi's words to heart.

……

After packing up, Xingluoban walked out of the inn and prepared to continue exploring Changzong.

The market was already bustling with activity, with vendors shouting at the top of their lungs:

"Selling cakes, fragrant and sweet cakes!"

“Fresh fruit, no money if it’s not sweet!”

Attracted by the constant shouting, Baitang ran around the stalls like a happy deer.

Suddenly, he was attracted by a stall selling candy figures. His eyes widened and his saliva was almost flowing out.

"Da Fei, come and see how beautiful this candy man is. Maybe it will taste super sweet too!"

Bai Tang waved and reached into his pocket.

Wu Song shook his head helplessly and reminded from behind:

"Bai Tang, don't run around, or you might get lost."

At this moment, a melodious flute sound was heard, soft and soothing, completely different from the strange flute sound in last night's dream.

The person playing the flute was a street performer, and there were many listeners around him, all immersed in the wonderful music.

Xiaoqing was attracted by the sound of the flute and stopped to listen, with an intoxicated look on her face:

"The flute sounds so beautiful, it really makes people feel better. Maybe we were just overthinking it yesterday, because Chang Zong was so peaceful."

"No, you still have to pay attention!"

Mo Zi became more alert. The nightmarish scene of last night was still vivid in her mind. The calmness at this moment made her feel like she was facing a formidable enemy.

She observed the cats around her carefully with sharp eyes, trying to find clues.

"How come those people..."

Mo Zi noticed that at the edge of the cat group, there were a few residents who seemed to be listening to the music, but their eyes were unusually empty, and they were indifferent to everything happening around them.

"Ha ha……"

Just as she was about to go forward to investigate, the white-bearded old man appeared from nowhere, with the same kind smile on his face as yesterday:

"Did you enjoy your shopping today, my friends?"

"!"

Mo Zi's pupils shrank, and his hand unconsciously touched the weapon, thinking in his heart:

"Why is he here? And why did he come over here on his own initiative?"

Although she appeared calm on the surface, her nerves were extremely tense.

……

The sun gradually sank, and the evening glow cast a gorgeous golden veil over the roof of the Changzong. As the last trace of noise was swallowed by the night, the inn fell into a dead silence, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects.

As soon as the sugar touched the pillow, a thunderous snoring sound began;

Dafei lay in bed with a silly smile on his face. He must have dreamed of the delicious food his grandma made. He kept mumbling:

"It's delicious. So delicious."

Wu Song frowned slightly, his hands unconsciously clenched, as if he was still worried about his senior sister's safety in his dream;

Xiaoqing curled up her body, a hint of uneasiness occasionally flashing across her face.

"Is all this true or false..."

Mo Zi lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the uneasiness in his heart surging like a tide.

"Am I awake or dreaming now?"

She forced herself to stay awake, replaying the details of the day in her mind - the street performer playing the flute, the residents with empty eyes, and the sudden appearance of the white-bearded old man.

These seemingly unrelated things pieced together a dangerous signal in her mind.

"No, it's definitely not as simple as it seems!"

I don’t know how long it took, but a sharp and strange flute sound, like an invisible poisonous snake, hissed in from outside the window.

"Humph!"

Mo Zi became alert instantly, and the rhythmic energy in his body surged with a "hum", forming a layer of light purple protective barrier on his body surface.

The sound of the flute was wrapped in dark power, like a surging tide, booming and hitting her consciousness.

“It’s true!”

Mo Zi bit his lower lip tightly, veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down.

But the sound of the flute was too strange, and Mo Zi's consciousness began to become dazed.

At this moment, she bit the tip of her tongue suddenly, and the severe pain made her wake up instantly.

"Oh no, Bai Tang and the others..."

Mo Zi slowly got up and found that his companions were all immersed in dreams, with satisfied smiles on their faces, unaware of the danger around them.

"It seems that I'm just stuck, there's no danger..."

She tiptoed to the window and looked out. She saw a white-bearded old man standing in the middle of the inn under the moonlight. The flute in his hand was flashing with a faint blue light, and a group of hypnotized residents surrounded him like puppets.

"Humph, what about the Xingluo Squad? Even if Mo Zi is powerful, he is still trapped in this dream! As long as we control them, the entire Cat Land will fall into the hands of my master."

The white-bearded old man sneered sinisterly, and the laughter echoed "cluck" in the silent night.

"How can you be so careless!"

At this moment, the Dark Manipulator slowly stepped out from the shadows, emitting a strong evil aura. Wherever he walked, the air made a sizzling sound.

"Although they are hypnotized, Mo Zi's strength should not be underestimated. Don't make any mistakes and fight quickly!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

Mo Zi clenched his fists and thought to himself:

"We can't just sit there and wait for death. We must find a way to wake everyone up and break this damn hypnosis."

"..."

Just as she was about to take action, she suddenly found that the window had been blocked by a group of hypnotized residents. They had dull eyes and the weapons in their hands flashed coldly.

"Want to escape? Humph, not that easy!"

The white-bearded old man seemed to have sensed Mo Zi's intention, and the sound of the flute suddenly became sharp and piercing, like a sharp blade, piercing Mo Zi's consciousness with a "whoosh".

"Sigh~"

Mo Zi took a deep breath, and the blue rhythmic power condensed into a ball of light in his palm, and the light made a "buzzing" sound.

She shouted:

"Suffer to death!"

He suddenly pushed open the window, and with a loud "creak", he threw the ball of rhythmic energy towards the white-bearded old man.

"Huh, is that all you have?"

Seeing this, the white-bearded old man quickly dodged to the side, and the sound of the flute was paused.

Taking advantage of this brief gap, Mo Zi jumped out of the window, landed in the inn yard, and confronted the hypnotized residents.

"Today, I will definitely break your conspiracy and save the Chang Sect!"

Mo Zi glared angrily, and the energy around him surged.