Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

The ice phoenix pierced through the biting cold wind, and the outline of Da Zong gradually became clear in the clouds.

When the entire city wall appeared before their eyes, Bai Tang's cheers came to an abrupt end - the outer wall was covered with cracks, the rusty city gate was half-open, broken weapons were piled among the ruins, and the wind and snow brought the smell of decay to their faces.

"This... is this Da Zong?"

“Why do I feel even more broken…”

Xiaoqing clenched the silk tightly, her voice filled with disbelief.

Wu Song was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice:

"This is just the outer city. The real Dazong is in the inner city, protected by a powerful barrier. Last time, we... couldn't even get close to the inner city barrier."

"Then why are you saying it now?"

Bai Tang suddenly jumped up and almost fell off Bing Feng's back. His round face was full of anger and worry.

"Do you know how badly Sister Mo Zi was injured?! If we hadn't happened to meet that doctor on the way back, the consequences would have been disastrous! We rushed here against the clock, and you hid crucial information!"

He was so angry that his tail kept wagging and his eyes were slightly red.

Wu Song opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopped himself.

With a complicated expression, he finally turned his head away and whispered:

"The situation at that time... I didn't want to shake everyone's confidence."

"Ugh……"

Mo Zi sighed softly and patted Bai Tang and Wu Song on the shoulders respectively:

"It's okay. I'm still alive. And with everyone here with us, we'll definitely be able to break through the inner city and find a cure."

Her voice was soothing, and her fingertips brushed the ice fan, causing the runes to glow slightly.

The Ice Phoenix slowly landed on a relatively open space in the outer city.

The biting cold wind swept across the charred ruins, making the broken pottery bowls half-buried in the snow clang.

Faded banners fluttered among the crooked battlements, and the gold thread embroidered with the clan emblem could be vaguely seen to have mostly peeled off.

"I didn't expect the outer city to be so chaotic..."

Xiaoqing clenched her sleeves and looked into the depths of the street.

Several groups of cat people infected by Chaos were fighting with each other. Their hair was messy and covered with gray and black stripes on their fur, but they were still wearing ancient-style Dazong costumes.

Some cats hit each other with wooden spoons, while others pulled each other's tails, their movements mechanical and clumsy.

"It's the same scene again..."

Bai Tang's tail drooped instantly, and the bell of justice fell silent.

He saw two kittens pushing each other, and although their movements were fierce, they were just slapping each other's cheeks with their paw pads.

“How could…”

The boy's voice trembled.

"They clearly don't want to hurt each other..."

Wu Song's flame pattern also became unusually bright, and his fists clenched until they creaked.

"It's all Chaos... that's what's turned this place into."

He remembered that the last time he came, although the outer city was in ruins, there were still survivors walking in groups. Now, there were only infected cat people fighting against each other driven by chaos.

"open……"

The dark purple ice fan glowed with a cold light, and runes flowed on the fan surface to form a protective barrier.

She looked at a cat couple pulling at a piece of cloth not far away, and felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. After the battle ten years ago, she thought the scope of the chaos invasion had been controlled, but she didn't expect that the outer city had already fallen into such a miserable state.

"Everyone stay alert,"

Her voice was low,

“Try to avoid conflict and don’t hurt them.”

"Roar……"

Before he could finish his words, a sobbing roar tore through the silence.

More infected cat people poured out from the ruined house. They huddled together with stiff movements, and muffled groans and low growls could be heard from time to time as they pushed and shoved.

The ice crumbled beneath their feet, revealing buried bronze chains engraved with runes, like some ancient seal issuing a warning.

"Well……"

The cold wind brought by the Ice Phoenix's wings swept up the broken snow and passed over the claw marks on the bell tower that had not yet fully healed.

Just a week ago, the Xingluo Squad was hastily hiding from the chaotic beast tide here. Wu Song still remembers the warm blood stains on his palms that seeped into the fur when he held the unconscious Mo Zi.

"right here."

His claws dug deep into the tilted bell tower roof, and the rubble crumbled under his claws.

"At the time, we were so focused on stopping Sister Zi's bleeding that we didn't even take a quick look at the surroundings."

Bai Tang had already climbed in through the broken carved window, his tail twitching nervously:

"So what do we do now? We can't just sit here and listen to the cat meowing!"

Just as his claws touched the corner of the wall, he suddenly froze in mid-air. Next to the charred claw marks, several lines of fresh claw marks meandered into the depths of the bell tower, with tiny ice crystals embedded in the claw marks.

The dark purple ice fan hummed as it hovered in the air, the runes resonating with the marks on the ground, emitting a faint blue light:

"A cat has been here. These paw prints... carry the scent of my rhythmic energy."

Her pupils rippled, and the ice-blue light swept across the bullet holes on the wall.

"Some cat deliberately used my rhyme power to cover up other traces."

"boom……"

Suddenly, a roar like a landslide came from below the bell tower.

The cat people infected by chaos rushed towards the bronze door at the bottom of the bell tower like a tide, and their sharp claws and teeth frantically gnawed at the talismans on the door.

"Roar……"

They let out non-cat-like roars from their throats, and fanatical lights flashed in their turbid eyes. It was obvious that they were driven by some will and were willing to break the seal even if it meant their own death.

"Their attacks are becoming more and more regular!"

Xiaoqing's sleeves formed a shield, but the moment they touched the cat people, they were corroded by the chaos and holes appeared.

"These cat people...are hitting the rune nodes in a specific rhythm!"

“This thing!”

Da Fei suddenly swung out a chain to wrap around the shaky bell beam. His eyes swept over Hai Piao's rapid gestures, and his face turned pale in an instant:

"Haipiao said the seal is already one-third loose! If we let them open the door..."

Before he finished speaking, a black mist as thick as asphalt suddenly seeped out of the gate, condensing into a huge chain shadow in the void, smashing down heavily on the Xingluo Squad members who were trying to stop them.

Wu Song's claws ignited with flames, and he leaped up and split the chain in half:

"We can't let them succeed! Bai Tang, use the Justice Bell to disrupt their rhythm! Sister Mo Zi, find a way to strengthen the seal!"

Just as the Xingluo cats were about to take action, the pendulum on top of the clock tower suddenly rotated in the opposite direction, and the buzzing sound it made distorted the air - under the influence of this strange sound wave, the cats' attack speed increased by three times.

Bai Tang jumped onto the tilted bell beam, and the Bell of Justice burst out with dazzling golden light, knocking the cat people flying backwards.

"Wusong, didn't you beat up the sect disciples before? Why don't you even know how to get in? Huh? Have you forgotten how to get back after being out for so many years?"

The boy's questioning mixed with the clear sound of bells echoed in the violently shaking bell tower.

Wu Song's claws dug deep into the masonry, and the flames swelled with rage, sparks flying out and burning through the approaching black mist chains:

"Hey! How would I know how old I was when I followed Master Tang Ming out here?! It's already pretty good that you can remember this place!"

When he looked back, the edges of his mask flickered with flames, and complex emotions were swirling in his eyes - those memories of fighting against the sect had long been shattered by chaos.

The dark purple ice fan drew three arcs in the air, and ice crystal chains entangled the runes on the bronze door that were about to collapse:

"Stop arguing! Now is not the time to get into this!"

Her fingertips were burned by the chaos, but she still gritted her teeth to maintain the barrier.

"Xiaoqing, use the Water Rhythm to disrupt their attack rhythm! Dafei, help me secure the seal!"

"No, it's too much..."

Xiaoqing's sleeves transformed into a nimble water dragon, weaving back and forth among the cat people, disrupting their orderly collision frequency.

Da Fei's iron chains wrapped around the pillars on both sides of the bronze door like a giant python, his muscles tensed and he let out a low growl.

Haipiao quickly used the shark silk ribbon to mark the rune cracks and guided his companions to strengthen the seal.

Bai Tang's Bell of Justice hung above his head, spinning, and a golden halo spread out, temporarily suppressing the crazy cat people.

Mo Zi seized the opportunity and slammed the ice fan on the bronze door, and the runes burst out with a dazzling blue light.

With a roar, the trembling door slowly opened, revealing a deep passage behind it, and a damp and chaotic breath hit me in the face.

"Finally opened!"

Bai Tang waved his paws excitedly.

Wu Song stared into the depths of the passage and clenched his fists.

"Be careful, there might be more dangers inside."

Mo Zi took a deep breath, and the ice fan shone brightly:

"No matter what lies ahead, we, the Xingluo Squad, will face it together."

She took the lead into the passage, followed closely by her companions. The cat people infected by chaos suddenly became quiet the moment the door opened, and watched with cloudy eyes as their figures gradually disappeared into the darkness.