Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

The morning light pierced through the mist, and the broken tiles and ruins of the Dazong Inn were condensed with last night's gunpowder smoke.

"Oh my, why is even this thing wobbling?"

Bai Tang stepped on the shaky wooden ladder to repair the roof. The justice bell jingled with his movements, scaring away the gray pigeons perched on the eaves.

"Wusong! Hand me a tile!"

He stuck his head out and saw Wu Song lifting up what he needed, and sawdust fell on his blown hair.

"Today's repair work is not easy..."

Dafei came out from the backyard carrying half a door panel, with a nail bucket wrapped around his thick tail, and the ground trembled slightly with every step he took.

"..."

Mo Zi leaned against the intact corridor column, gently waving the ice fan, and the condensed frost automatically repaired the cracks on the wall.

"Looks like I'm going to be hungry again~"

She looked at her busy companions, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the proprietress squatting in front of the stove, staring at the iron pot with her one eye and frowning.

The smell wafting from the pot made the sugar's tail droop instantly - the wild vegetable porridge left over from yesterday, mixed with a few shriveled hard cakes.

"..."

"that's it?"

White sugar jumped down from the roof, with dust on the tip of his nose.

"The aroma of last night's grilled fish hasn't dissipated yet!"

"Humph……"

The proprietress knocked the edge of the pot with a spatula, and the iron chain and copper bell rang:

“You think it tastes bad?”

She glanced at the sugar.

"Go to the dock and bring back two bags of flour. I'll make you some stone cakes for lunch."

Wu Song put the last beam back into place and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Madam, the money for the renovation..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the boss lady:

"Forget about it. The wood for repairing the roof was picked up from an abandoned kiln. What kind of trouble have those bastards from the Red Snake Hall brought to the Dazong?"

Da Fei held a large bowl of wild vegetable porridge, his cheeks puffed up like a hamster:

"I'm not picky, as long as I'm full!"

Just as he finished speaking, the stones at the bottom of the porridge hit him and made him grimace.

Seeing this, Mo Zi waved his ice fan lightly, and a few thin pieces of ice fell into his companion's bowl, instantly warming up the cold porridge.

"Sister Mo Zi is still reliable!"

Bai Tang scooped up the steaming porridge and suddenly caught a glimpse of the proprietress sitting alone in the corner, munching on a cake harder than a rock.

He sneaked over and took out half a piece of candied fruit that he had hidden for who knows how long.

"Here, consider it... a deposit for the stone cakes."

"!"

The proprietress's one eye flashed with a smile, but she snatched the candied fruit away:

"You have a conscience, kid."

She suddenly raised her voice.

"Don't dawdle! Wusong, go fix the window frames, and Dafei, clear the broken bricks in the backyard!"

……

At noon, the sun became more and more scorching.

Bai Tang squatted on the ground and painted the tables and chairs with tung oil, and the brown paint on the tip of his tail was scattered everywhere.

The window paper that Wu Song had just installed was immediately covered with several oil spots by him.

“Sugar!”

Wu Song chased after him, holding a brush.

"Are you drawing sugar paintings?"

As the two cats were chasing each other, the tung oil barrel fell over with a loud bang, and the brown liquid flowed along the floor to Da Feijiao who was sweeping the floor.

"Ouch, my tail!"

Da Fei retreated in panic, but stepped on the nail bucket wrapped around his tail.

Nails clattered all over the ground. He bent down in a hurry to pick them up, but the back of his head hit the brush held by Wu Song.

"You two!"

The brush in Wu Song's hand flew out and hit Mo Zi who was passing by with a basin of water.

"what……"

Mo Zi was shaken by the sudden impact, and all the water from the basin in his hand poured onto Bai Tang.

"That's good,"

Baitang was soaked all over, and shook his hair.

“I even saved money on showering!”

“This is outrageous!”

The proprietress rushed over with a whistle in her hand, and the rattling of the iron chains startled the gray pigeons on the roof and made them fly up again.

Bai Tang and Wu Song fled in panic, Da Fei held up a broom and apologized repeatedly, while Mo Zi silently used an ice wall to block the overflowing tung oil and solidified it into a crystal amber-like lump.

"..."

At this moment, timid footsteps were heard outside the inn. A skinny, tabby child poked his head in, holding a few shriveled sweet potatoes in his arms:

"Madam...I heard you were renovating the inn. These...these are for you to eat."

The boss lady's eyes softened instantly, and she reached out and touched the child's head:

"Be good and keep it for yourself."

“No!”

The child stuffed the sweet potato into the boss lady's hand,

"Last time the Red Snake Hall came to steal our things, you protected us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of cat people rushed in from outside the door, some carrying pottery jars, some holding vegetables, and some bringing freshly cut wood.

“These are dried vegetables from our own garden!”

"This wood is strong and can be used to repair the roof!"

"Madam, try my freshly baked pancakes!"

Looking at the supplies piled up in the yard, the proprietress turned around and secretly wiped her face. When she turned back, her fierce look returned:

"What are you all standing there for? Why don't you help move things?"

When the setting sun cast a golden veil over the inn, the broken doors and windows were finally repaired.

Bai Tang slumped on the newly laid straw mat, looking at the newly pasted window paper, and suddenly sat up straight:

"What exactly is the Red Snake Hall's ritual about?"

The air solidified instantly.

Wu Song stopped wiping the stick, and Da Fei forgot to chew the freshly baked bread.

The dark purple ice fan unconsciously flashed a cold light. The proprietress leaned against the door frame, her single eye reflecting the sunset glow.

"Why think so much? Only when you are full can you have the strength to fight."

She shook the empty rice bag.

"Tomorrow... shall we go to the White Tiger Hall's territory to ask for some food?"

As the night deepened, a subtle noise suddenly came from the corner of the inn.

Mo Zi's ice fan was unsheathed in an instant, and Bai Tang emerged from under the table holding an oil lamp, with spider webs on the tip of his nose.

"I'm just...looking to see if there are any rats hiding food."

"..."

The proprietress chuckled and broke the last half of the pancake into five pieces:

"Everyone, go to sleep. We have to meet those sanctimonious guys later."

Her one eye swept over the newly hung copper bell under the eaves, which was made from the Black Claw Gang's token - it glowed an eerie dark red in the moonlight.

"..."

In the shadows outside the inn, a pair of dark green eyes were staring at all this, with a cold arc at the corner of his mouth.

The night spread over the broken eaves of the inn, and the dark purple ice fan reflected a cold light in the moonlight.

She stood quietly in front of the boss lady's door, watching her wipe the whistle that she never let go of. The iron chain and copper bell made a tiny sound in the silence.

"What is the relationship between you and those hall masters?"

Mo Zi's voice was very soft, but it was like a sharp blade, piercing the tranquility of the night.

"..."

The proprietress's hand that was wiping the whistle suddenly stopped, and a barely perceptible fluctuation flashed across her single eye.

She raised her head and sneered, her laughter was filled with a bit of vicissitudes and self-mockery:

"What? Now even the little girl is starting to check my background?"

"Your reaction says it all."

The dark purple ice-blue pupils shrank slightly.

"That day, when the Red Snake Hall leader provoked you, the strength with which you gripped your whistle stick; when the White Tiger Hall's White-Faced Cat mentioned the 'Eighteen Forms of the Cloud Tiger,' the wariness in your eyes... They knew you, and what was going on between you was more than just a simple power struggle."

The proprietress slammed her whistle stick onto the ground, causing the chains to rattle.

“Knowing too much is not a good thing.”

She stood up and approached Mo Zi, her single eye meeting his icy blue eyes.

"The Dazong is a very complicated place. If you don't have enough experience, don't ask about it."

Mo Zi did not give in, and frost gradually formed on the ice fan:

"But I can sense that you know them far better than you appear to know. Just like you knew the Red Snake Hall's conspiracy, yet you deliberately lured us into it..."

"enough!"

The proprietress suddenly ripped open her collar, revealing a hideous old scar on her collarbone. The dark red lines faintly echoed the chaotic aura.

"Want to know the truth? Wait until you are able to withstand three of my attacks!"

She swung the whistle suddenly, and the iron chain flew out like a snake. The sound of the copper bell made the window paper tremble.

With a wave of the dark purple ice fan, the ice wall stood up with a bang, but it made a sharp cracking sound the moment it touched the iron chain.

The boss lady's attack was like a violent storm. Every move contained a killing move, but it would avoid the vital points just before hitting.

"remember,"

The boss lady was panting as she finished her move.

"In Da Zong, trust is the most precious commodity. As for me and them... we are just wild cats fighting for food from the same pot."

She turned around and hung the whistle back on the wall, with her back to Mo Zi.

"Go to sleep. Tomorrow, there will be a tough battle to fight."

"..."

Mo Zi looked at the proprietress's back, the remaining chill in his palm intertwined with the faint chaotic aura in the air.