Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"Haha~"

The masked man let the iron chain strangle his neck and uttered a low laugh. The dark red liquid seeping from under the bronze mask flowed down the chain.

"Relationship? It's just that they joined forces with An, which made me feel disgusted. Although I want to become the leader of the Da Sect, I don't want to rely on An's power--"

He suddenly broke the chain and shook off the boss lady's whistle stick.

"Otherwise, he will devour us sooner or later. By then, the entire Da Zong will become a puppet of chaos!"

The leader of the Red Snake Hall suddenly burst into laughter, and a fishy wind surged through the smoke as his voice echoed:

"That's a nice way to put it! The Black Claw Gang secretly fought with us for the west city stronghold, wasn't it just to monopolize the Chaos Key? Now that the situation seems bad, they want to use the Star Luo Squad as a shield!"

His chains swelled again, and the snake-like tail of the chain opened its fangs and went straight for the masked man's throat.

"boom!"

The White Tiger Hall's white-faced cat folded its fan and easily blocked the chain:

"Enough! The Red Snake Hall is the biggest threat right now."

His eyes swept over the cats of Xingluo Class.

"Three days from now, when the moon is full, the Red Snake Hall will hold a ceremony in the abandoned kiln west of the city, using the Chaos Key to break the forbidden seal. It's densely packed with traps and guarded by their trained assassins, making it difficult for any of us to breach it alone."

With a wave of the dark purple ice fan, the cold air condensed into a sharp ice blade:

"How can you guarantee that you will keep your promise after the matter is accomplished?"

The purple-robed cat played with the bone fan, the cracks on the fan left by the fight with the Dark Envoy the day before were gleaming faintly:

"Everyone in Xingluo Class is well-known in Cat Land, so we naturally dare not break our promise."

He suddenly pointed the bone fan at the proprietress.

"Besides, the One-Eye Cloud Tiger's Eighteen Styles are so powerful that they can shock the clan. If we break our promise, we might not be able to leave this inn."

"Humph……"

A cold light flashed in the proprietress's one eye, and she slammed her whistle stick against the ground, causing the iron chain and copper bell to make a sharp sound:

"Stop trying to fool me! If you want us to help you, show your sincerity first. All the Black Claw Gang's spies in the west of the city must be withdrawn."

The masked man was silent for a moment, then pulled out a token engraved with the Black Claw emblem and casually threw it to the proprietress:

"The token is in your hand. The Black Claw Gang won't stop you."

His voice suddenly lowered.

"But be careful, there are even more terrifying forces behind the Red Snake Hall..."

The smoke suddenly surged violently, obscuring the cats' vision.

When the smoke cleared, the cats from the Black Claw Gang and the White Tiger Hall had disappeared, leaving only bursts of cold laughter coming from the direction of the Red Snake Hall:

"Xingluo Squad, three days from now, at the abandoned kiln west of the city, none of you will leave alive!"

Bai Tang held the bell of justice tightly, his eyes ablaze with fighting spirit:

"Just right, I haven't had enough fun yet!"

Da Fei swung his meteor hammer with great force:

"I also want to meet their assassins!"

Mo Zi looked at the proprietress, and the cold air on the ice fan gradually dissipated:

"Do you believe them?"

The proprietress played with the token, her single eye flashing with an unfathomable light:

"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, what matters is——"

She suddenly grinned, revealing her sharp canine teeth.

"I will definitely get the sect's secret treasure!"

As the figures of the three forces completely disappeared into the smoke, the proprietress put her whistle on her shoulder, and the iron chain and copper bells jingled with her steps.

"Come on, boys, go back and get some rest. We have to open the store tomorrow."

She dragged her lazy steps towards the alley entrance, the light from the broken lantern flickering on her single eye, while the copper bell-shaped artificial eye was glowing strangely.

Bai Tang wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and swung his tail impatiently:

"Are we really going to let them go like this? That Chaos Key..."

"Cut the nonsense!"

The proprietress waved her hand without even turning her head.

"If you don't want to sleep in the woodshed, then hurry up!"

Da Fei smiled innocently and carried the still-mumbling Bai Tang on his shoulder. Wu Song glanced around vigilantly and led the cats towards the inn.

……

The moonlight passed through the broken eaves, casting mottled shadows on the bluestone slabs.

Mo Zi suddenly stopped, and the frost on the ice fan spread instantly - the wine flag a hundred meters away moved without wind, and a black shadow flashed past in the shadow of the beam.

She turned around suddenly, her ice-blue pupils suddenly contracted, and collided with the pair of dark green eyes in the dark.

"Haha~"

The black shadow chuckled softly, and a ball of purple mist suddenly exploded.

When the fog cleared, only half of a token engraved with snake patterns remained, with dark red poison stains condensed on the edge.

"The tail of the Red Snake Hall."

The proprietress came back at some point, picked up the token with her whistle stick and threw it far away.

"Never mind. If they want to play dirty, I'll be there for them."

Mo Zi withdrew his gaze, but found that his palms were covered with cold sweat.

She could clearly sense that the gaze was carrying a familiar rhythmic energy fluctuation—exactly the same aura that remained on the purple-robed cat-bone fan on the top floor of the teahouse that day.

"Perhaps, this transaction is not that simple..."

She murmured softly, and the ice fan unconsciously drew a half arc of light, splitting the shadow on the ground into two halves.

……

The dusk was as dark as ink, and the ruins were filled with the smell of smoke and blood.

Bai Tang sat in a corner filled with broken wood and rubble, the bell of justice turning unconsciously in his hand, reflecting the cold moonlight.

He looked at the proprietress who was wiping her whistle, and doubts in his heart grew like vines. Finally, he couldn't help but speak:

"Madam, are they really just like that hall master, aiming to become the leader of the Da Sect? Besides Black Claw, are they all just puppets of An? Is that true? Look at the Red Snake Hall, they routinely burn, kill, plunder, and poison innocent people. The White Tiger Hall appears righteous on the surface, but secretly manipulates the black market. And that scheming purple-robed cat, the cracks on its bone fan are clearly the marks of a fight with An's envoy. What are their motives?"

The proprietress paused and looked with her one eye at the dilapidated door of the inn, where there were still dents from the impact of the black-armored soldiers' shields, as well as charred marks from the poisonous smoke of the Red Snake Hall.

She recalled how during the day, the Red Snake Hall raided the docks, set the merchant ships on fire, and killed dozens of cat people.

The White Tiger Hall took advantage of the chaos to swallow up the surrounding shops and used its spider-web-like power to take control of the entire street.

As for the Black Claw Gang, they colluded with An's minions and gradually brought the shadow of chaos into the heart of Dazong.

"Who knows?"

The proprietress's voice was low and hoarse, carrying the vicissitudes of life and helplessness.

She put the whistle on her shoulder and stood up. The iron chain and copper bell made a heavy sound, as if they were sighing.

"Well, after all, Cat Land is so vast. Only with greater power can one see better, right? Just like the Twelve Sects established in Cat Land. In the past, the Twelve Sects fought side by side to protect Cat Land, but what about now? The temptation of power has made many cats lose their original intentions. Becoming the leader of a sect might give you the final say, but how much blood and conspiracy are hidden behind this right to speak?"

"Ugh……"

She slowly walked towards her room, her back looking particularly lonely in the moonlight. Bai Tang looked at her back and fell into deep thought.

Outside the inn, the night wind howled, blowing across the mess on the ground, as if telling the endless disputes and sufferings on Maotu.

"Outer sect cats, you shouldn't be here..."

In the dark, the figure was still peeping, his dark purple eyes as sharp as cold stars, confronting the peeper in the darkness. A bigger storm seemed to be brewing.