Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

As we set out on the road to Dazong, the ferns growing out of the cracks in the bluestone slabs were covered with morning dew and shone glossily in the sunlight.

The surrounding mountains and forests are like a dark green barrier, with golden spots of light leaking through the interlaced branches and leaves. The tits flapped their wings and flew over the bamboo shoots. The tail feathers made a slight whistle as they cut through the air, startling a few blue butterflies that fluttered their wings and flew towards the misty valley.

"Alas, I fly towards the wind, my journey is to the stars and the sea..."

Bai Tang ran on the dandelions in the cracks of the rocks. The goose yellow fluff balls were blown by the wind to the back of the team and happened to fall into the dark purple hair.

"The weather is pretty good today..."

Mingyue half supported her and she leaned against the tree trunk, her fingertips weakly sliding across the fur, but she didn't even have the strength to raise her hand.

"Sister, you have to pay attention now!"

"Sister, how did your body become like this? Why is it getting worse and worse?"

Xiaoqing squatted down and brushed away the hair for her. When she touched her cold skin, her palm suddenly tightened - Mo Zi's wrist was surprisingly thin, and she could feel the protruding ulna through the bandage, like a dead branch that could break at any time.

"It's okay, maybe this is also a certain price to pay..."

"Matsuko, don't run too far!"

Wu Song's stick hit the protruding tree roots, making a crisp sound.

"Really..."

"Sister Azi's health has become like this now. Our journey is not going to be easy!"

He stared at Bai Tang's jumping back, but his ears were always paying attention to the movements behind him - Xiaoqing and Mingyue took turns holding Mo Zi's arms, and the three cats' footsteps were heavy and slow, and they had to stop to catch their breath every ten steps.

"Such a serious injury, but you kept it a secret from me before. Nothing happened. But now..."

When they changed her dressing last night, he clearly saw ice crystals mixed in the black blood soaked through the bandages, and the lines on her chest had faded so much that they were almost invisible, like ink marks washed away by rain.

"Everyone, please stop and rest. Sister A Zi's body is really not suitable for such a long journey!"

When passing by the mountain temple, Wu Song had to stop for the third time.

"Cough cough..."

Mo Zi leaned on Xiao Qing's shoulder and coughed. The blood that seeped out from between his fingers fell on the bluestone slab and condensed into dark purple ice crystals - that was a sign that chaos was eroding his heart meridians.

Bai Tang squatted in front of her under the old locust tree next to the millstone and suddenly reached out to help her fix the silver jewelry that had slipped off.

"Sister A Zi, once we get into Da Zong, I'll have Wu Song take out all the osmanthus candies he hid!"

The boy's voice lacked its usual cheerfulness, and the ending tone trembled slightly.

"It doesn't matter."

Mo Zi forced himself to move the corners of his mouth, but frowned because of the wound.

She looked at the stone lions in front of the temple, and suddenly thought of the secret realm of her past sect. In the past, she was carried by her brother through the bamboo forest in the same way. At that time, her rhythmic energy was abundant and very suitable for climbing mountains, but now she had to use all her strength even to open her eyes.

"Azi's health is getting worse!"

Mingyue quietly put a heart-protecting pill into her palm. When she felt the cold sweat on her palm, her heart tightened.

This temperature is several degrees lower than the black ice in Bu Zong's ice cellar.

……

As dusk fell, everyone set up camp in the valley.

When Da Fei chopped the dead wood, the axe blade hit the Wumai Stone buried in the soil, sending out a streak of sparks.

Bai Tang was about to reach out to touch it, but Wu Song pulled him back:

"I told you not to touch it!"

Only then did the young man notice the bloodshot in Wu Song's eyes and the trembling strength in his grip on his wrist - a panic he had never felt before.

When the bonfire was lit, Mo Zi leaned in Xiao Qing's arms, staring at the dancing flames in a daze.

The red light of the silver bracelet on her wrist had turned dark red, like a candle that was about to go out.

Mingyue covered her legs with her cloak, and when she touched her knees, she found that they were colder than ice.

“How far is it?”

She asked softly, her voice like a piece of glass ready to shatter.

“Soon.”

Xiaoqing placed the medicine bag under her ribs, not daring to look at the new silver strands in her hair.

"After we pass the ridge ahead, we'll see the city gate."

In fact, she knew that in Mo Zi's current condition, he probably couldn't even last half a mile, but she didn't dare to say it, let alone look at Wu Song's hand holding the stick tightly - there were three teeth marks on it caused by excessive grip.

It was late at night and the Big Dipper was slowly turning in the sky.

Mo Zi suddenly pointed in the direction of the Milky Way:

“Look…does it look like Bu Zong’s star track?”

Before he could finish his words, he coughed up a mouthful of black blood, which splattered on the corner of Xiaoqing's skirt.

"Sister Azi!"

Bai Tang rushed over to wipe the blood, but she stopped him by shaking her head.

She looked at Wu Song's back, raised her mouth slightly and wanted to say something, but in the end she couldn't finish her words!

"Do I really need to go on? Should I go back to the Shenzong, back to that place?"

……

At dawn, the team continued to move forward in the morning mist.

Mo Zi's consciousness gradually became blurred, and he could only move mechanically by instinct, following Xiao Qing's footsteps.

"Brother, A Zi misses you so much..."

She felt her body becoming lighter and lighter, like a feather blown by the wind. In a trance, she saw her brother Mo Yun standing in the fog, reaching out to her.

"Mo Zi!"

The cry of the bright moon pierces the fog.

Only then did she realize that she almost fell, fortunately Xiaoqing grabbed her waist in time.

Xiaoqing's fingertips touched the wet bandage on her back and she knew that it was not sweat, but bleeding - the hemostatic medicine brought from the Chang Sect had long been used up, and now she could only rely on the doctors from the Da Sect to prolong her life.

"My sister's injury is really getting worse!"

……

Finally, the outline of the Dazong city gate pierced through the clouds.

Wu Song stood on the ridge and looked back, only to see Xiaoqing and Mingyue almost carrying Mo Zi as they walked. Her feet dragged on the ground, leaving intermittent blood lines on the muddy road.

Bai Tang looked at the wounded lying in disorder at the gate, his throat tightening.

“Wusong, those cats…”

"Do not talk."

"!"

Wu Song's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper. He took off his outer robe and draped it over Mo Zi's shoulders, but he suddenly retracted his hand when he touched her shoulder blade - the protruding bone hurt his palm, as if he could feel her broken ribs through her skin.

When Tiesha's Shaking Mountain Palm came crashing down, Mo Zi was leaning in Mingyue's arms with his eyes closed. He heard the whistling wind from the palm, but he didn't even have the strength to raise his eyes.

She felt Wu Song's figure passing before her eyes, and the sound of the scabbard knocking on the stone steps overlapped with the sound of Mo Yun falling to the ground when he came out of seclusion that year.

"Xingluo Squad, Wusong."

There was a fierceness in his voice that he had never had before.

"Take the injured to seek medical treatment. If anyone dares to stop us—"

He paused, staring at the energy in Tiesha's palm, a fishy and sweet taste rising in his throat.

His father had said that a warrior from the sect should not kill his fellow disciples, but at this moment he really wanted to take action, to split open all the obstacles that stood in Mo's way, even if he was severely punished by the sect rules.

Tiesha's palm force condensed in mid-air.

He saw the silver threads in her dark purple hair fluttering in the wind, the red light of the silver bracelet on her wrist was so weak that it was almost invisible, and the Bu Zong emblem on her chest was actually emitting a strange golden color under the erosion of chaos.

“Come with me.”

He finally withdrew his palm, and his voice became less harsh, "The marrow cleansing pool in the Wumai Palace may be able to..." Before he finished speaking, Mo Zi's eyelids sank and he fell to the ground.

"Sister Azi!"

Xiaoqing and Mingyue reached out to help her at the same time, but Wusong got there first - he knelt on one knee to catch her, his movements as light as if he was holding a pool of water, as if a little heavier, she would break in his arms.

Bai Tang looked at Wu Song's red eyes and suddenly remembered that when Wu Song defeated An for the first time in Dongqiang Town, he also said with red eyes

"I can protect everyone now."

At this moment, the young man clenched his fists, digging his nails deep into his palms - for the first time, he hated his own weakness so much, and hated that he could not bear the pain for Mo Zi.

"arrive?"

As the team stumbled into the city gate, Mo Zi smelled a familiar scent in his coma - it was the fragrance of cliff cypress mixed with osmanthus, the unique scent of Da Zong.

She wanted to open her eyes and look at her hometown of Wusong, but she could only see a vague firelight, like the memories burning in the ruins of Changzong.

Wu Song carried her across the screen wall, looking at

The four characters "Using Martial Arts to Prove the Way" suddenly reminded me of my father's words:

"A warrior's duty is to protect the people."

He looked down at Mo Zi's pale face and finally understood why Mo Yun chose to sacrifice himself back then - some things are more important than life.

……

……

……

(The updates may be less frequent these days, so I have resumed writing one chapter.)

(The author is about to start writing her final paper and graduation thesis. If she doesn’t go out and look for some things, she really can’t write them…)

(I've already started to make moves on Mo Zi, starting to weaken his strength. He's coming back soon!)