Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

……

The girl stumbled after Huan Ye, the night wind whirling her messy hair and tearing her whispers into pieces:

"A Song... you clearly escaped... why did you come back..."

Her nails dug deep into her palms, and the blood that seeped out mixed with cold sweat slid down, leaving small black spots on the ground.

"grown ups!"

The moment they returned to the base, Huanye's men pounced on them like vicious dogs.

The chains rattled as the girl's hands were roughly tied behind her back and the collar around her neck suddenly tightened.

She staggered and was dragged on the ground. The rough stone slabs rubbed her skirt, and the blood oozing from her knees left a winding trail on the blue bricks.

"Get in!"

The guards' roars hurt her eardrums, and the girl was kicked into the dungeon.

She bumped into the moldy wall and fell heavily on the rubble. The chain marks on her wrists were bleeding.

"boom!"

The moment the iron gate slammed shut, darkness engulfed her like a tide, leaving only the flickering candlelight three feet away.

"It's so cold..."

The girl curled up in a cold corner, the damp chill seeping into her bones.

She looked at the flickering candlelight, and in a trance she saw the young Wu Song again - the boy who always brought her delicious food during training, but now returned to this purgatory with scars all over his body.

A sweet and fishy taste rose in her throat, and she bit her lips tightly until the taste of blood spread in her mouth:

"Fool... you've already escaped... why are you coming back to die..."

From deep within the dungeon came the sound of dripping water, mixed with her broken sobs.

And now, the young man who left her the hope of life has to come back to face an even more terrifying abyss.

"A Song..."

She trembled and hugged herself tightly, the chains making a small clanging sound in the darkness.

"Da Zong is gone...why...why did you come back..."

The murmurs gradually turned into suppressed sobs, and tears mixed with blood slid into the corners of her mouth, with a salty and bitter taste of despair.

"..."

The flickering candlelight stretched her shadow very long, twisting it into a broken shape on the mottled wall, just like her broken heart at the moment.

The moment the iron door of the dungeon opened, the smell of rust mixed with the smell of the girl's blood hit him in the face.

"It's a bit noisy..."

Huan Ye lowered his eyes and wiped the glass mirror, his slender fingers sliding across the mirror surface, as if everything around him was not as important as the reflection in the mirror.

The magic pen in Ma Buliang's hand glowed faintly, outlining a wisp of sandalwood in the air, quietly dispelling the disgusting smell.

"This girl has suffered."

Ma Buliang's voice was like silk soaked in warm water. The ink on his blue shirt had not yet dried, the brush was flowing with golden light, and the rune chains around his body turned into green vines.

The girl was pushed forward by the guards, and when she saw the landscape patterns on the ancient scroll at his waist that were similar to those in the Da Zong secret book, her pupils suddenly contracted.

"..."

Ma Buliang raised his hand and drew something, and the bloodstain on the girl's wrist healed in the soft light.

The scroll unfolded, and the image of Wu Song leaning against the windowsill of the inn gradually emerged. The moonlight gave him a silver edge, and he unconsciously rubbed the stick in his hand, his brows furrowed.

After not seeing each other for ten years, the boy's childishness has faded, but he still has the stubbornness of the past.

"Fool, what do you think?"

Huan Ye finally spoke, and the glass mirror accurately reflected the picture on the scroll.

A strange laugh like metallic friction came from the shadows, and the scarlet eyes under the fool's hat flickered:

"That Wuqing guy left again, leaving us here to waste time. This kid is hiding in the inn and pretending to be something, what kind of trouble can he cause?"

"There must be something fishy about the inn that would allow the Xingluo Squad to risk staying there."

Ma Liang turned the brush, and Wu Song in the scroll suddenly clenched his stick and looked out the window vigilantly.

"The stone box in the lady boss's hand has a deep connection with the Da Zong sect. He seems to be dormant, but in fact he is waiting for an opportunity."

The girl bit her lower lip hard, the collar was burning.

The scene of Wu Song, covered in blood, pushing her out of the barrier ten years ago overlaps with the resolute figure in the scroll at this moment.

Huan Ye was silent for a long time, and tapped the edge of the glass mirror with his fingertips:

"The mastermind behind the conflict between the Black Claw Gang and the Blood Shadow Alliance has yet to reveal itself. Any rash action will only expose our intentions."

"Huan Ye is still so cautious."

The Fool walked out of the shadows with a strange laugh, his chains rattling.

"But keep this girl. Maybe she can be used as bait."

His scarlet eyes swept over the girl,

"That Wu Song wouldn't leave his fellow disciples alone, would he?"

Ma Buliang lightly swung his brush. On the scroll, the image of the old Dazong site overlapped with the outline of the inn, and the tip of his brush pointed out a vague figure:

"When the Da Clan was destroyed, the whereabouts of the key item were unknown. Wu Song is guarding the inn, probably waiting for someone who can solve the mystery..."

Before he finished speaking, Wu Song in the painting suddenly turned his head, as if across the boundary between reality and illusion, and looked at the girl in the dungeon.

"Ha ha……"

The Fool suddenly let out a strange, shrill laugh. His twisted fingers extended from beneath his cloak and clawed at the air, his knuckles making a creaking sound like gears jamming.

"Since that kid isn't hiding, why not bring Lingzuan's strange armor over here? If we just place those pieces of iron at the door of the inn, are we still afraid he won't show up?"

His scarlet pupils shrank into needle points, and the chains wrapped around him rattled with his maniacal laughter, with the spikes at the ends scraping sparks on the ground.

"..."

Ma Buliang turned the brush, and thick ink instantly spread across the rice paper, outlining the outline of the strange armor.

The metal patterns with a cold glow are superimposed layer by layer, and the gears and chains at the joints are lifelike.

He flicked his wrist lightly, and the golden light from the tip of the pen was injected into the painting. The previously stationary alien armor suddenly raised its mechanical arm, and the shoulder turret slowly rotated, ready to attack.

"That's a good idea indeed. Ling Zuan's puppetry can bring out the power of the alien armor to its fullest potential. Even if the Xing Luo Squad has some unique tactics, they will be hard to defeat these war weapons."

Before he finished speaking, the eyes of the alien armor in the painting suddenly lit up with a faint blue light, and it seemed that tangible murderous intent spread through the paper.

"..."

Huan Ye kept his eyes downcast and stared at the glass mirror. The mirror was like a peep window, clearly reflecting every detail in the inn.

Bai Tang was holding a wooden spoon and pestering Da Fei for a midnight snack. His exaggerated movements caused the wooden bench next to him to fall over.

Xiaoqing leaned against the beam and wiped her sleeves, her eyes glanced vigilantly out the window;

Wu Song sat alone in the corner, wiping the stick in his hand repeatedly on the cloth. The candlelight cast an uneasy shadow on his tense profile.

"No."

Huan Ye suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as ice, and fine frost instantly condensed on the surface of the glass mirror.

"The kittens in Xingluo class already know about the existence of the alien armor."

The mirror light flickered violently, and several scenes flashed by one after another: in a rainstorm night, Bai Tang used his rhythmic power to shatter the mask of the alien armor; in a street fight, Wu Song's stick broke the rune chains on the puppet's joints; deep in the ruins, Xiao Qing's water tornado overturned an entire row of mechanical weapons.

"Not only did they fight, they also destroyed several alien armors and even figured out some of the weaknesses of the Spirit Diamond Puppetry."

She brushed her fingertips across the mirror, and the wreckage immediately turned into flying fragments.

"If we intervene again, they will only realize that we are also secretly plotting something. The inn may seem ordinary, but in fact, there are undercurrents. If we alert the forces behind the proprietress, all our previous plans will be in vain."

The Fool roared in dissatisfaction, his cloak billowing violently:

"What are you afraid of! We can just—"

"Patience, fool."

Ma Buliang's voice was still gentle, but it carried an unquestionable pressure.

He slowly put away the scroll, the magic pen twirling deftly at his fingertips, the ancient lines on the pen shaft flowing with a mysterious luster.

"The more vigilant the prey, the harder it is to escape once it's trapped. Since the Xingluo squad knows about the strange armor, let's change the bait..."

He suddenly turned around, and the light from the tip of his paintbrush pointed directly at the girl curled up on the ground like a sharp blade.

The collar around the girl's neck glowed ominously in the candlelight, and grew slightly hotter with her rapid breathing.

"For example, this old friend of Da Zong. Wu Song risked his life to return to Maotu, and would never let his fellow disciples fall into danger."

"Uh……"

The girl's whole body trembled, and she suddenly felt a burning pain in her collar.

"Don't~"

She struggled to raise her head, and faced the dangerous light flowing from Ma Buliang's brush. In the shadow of the dungeon, the glass mirror of Huan Ye emitted a cold light, cutting her figure into broken afterimages.