Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

The beams and pillars of the inn's hall were soaked with years of moisture, and the oil lamps cast a dim glow in the wind.

Bai Tang buried his face in the bowl, slurping the cold plain noodles, his tail twitching irritably.

"If we keep waiting like this, mushrooms will grow on the noodles!"

He suddenly threw down his chopsticks, and the porcelain bowl made a dull sound on the wooden table.

"Wusong! We are here to investigate Da Zong, not to be wooden stakes!"

Wu Song's knuckles turned white as he gripped the teacup, and the scalding hot tea formed tiny ripples on the rim of the cup.

He stared at the swaying lantern outside the door. The flickering light and shadows always reminded him of the faint sound of chains deep in the dungeon:

"The boss lady said there will be news tonight."

"News, news!"

White sugar jumped onto the bench, and the candied haws strings rustled with the movement.

"I think she's just trying to trick us! She might be hiding in a corner, eating all the delicious food!"

"Sugar!"

Da Fei quickly calmed down the restless Bai Tang, and the copper bell made a panicked sound:

"Don't talk nonsense! The boss lady doesn't look like a bad person..."

Before she finished speaking, Xiaoqing suddenly shook her sleeves, and the aqua-blue rhythm flowed through her fingertips.

The cats then discovered that a thin layer of mist had filled the originally quiet hall, and the candlelight in the corner of the wall had strangely curved into a crescent shape.

"Quiet."

Wu Song's stick hit the ground hard, and cracks crept up the tabletop along the wood grain.

"Something's coming."

Before he finished speaking, there was a slight sound of tiles on the roof, and three dark shadows flew past the window frame like night owls.

Bai Tang's pupils shrank into needle points in an instant - the familiar cold light of the glass mirror and the sound of chains dragging on the ground were clearly the people who were monitoring them on the roof that day!

"~"

Xiaoqing's sleeves had already been swung out, but were bounced back by the invisible barrier the moment they touched the air.

The proprietress appeared at the stairs at some point, the jade bracelet on her wrist gleaming faintly as she looked at the terrified Xingluo Squad with a smile:

"Are these little guests...playing around?"

Her voice was as gentle as if wrapped in honey, but Bai Tang could clearly see that in the shadow behind her, the dim light flowing on the surface of the stone box was resonating with the jade bracelet, making a faint humming sound.

Mingyue spread out her five fingers, and the moon phase runes circulating in her palms lit up with silver light. The cold breath instantly dispelled the strange mist in the hall.

"Humph……"

Mo Zi behind her slowly stood up, his muscles tense as a string beneath his dark suit, and his rhythmic power had slipped into his palms without him noticing:

"Boss lady, are you planning to attack us?"

As soon as the words fell, the air in the entire hall seemed to freeze.

"..."

The white sugar exploded onto the table, and the candied haws string left a shadow:

"I should have thought of that earlier! What you said before about helping me find clues was all lies!"

He caught a glimpse of a faintly glowing box through the gap in the counter behind the proprietress. It was very similar to the stone box that the two factions were fighting over in the rumors.

"Look! She really is hiding something good! Maybe she's the one behind all this, deliberately causing a fight between the Black Claw Gang and the Blood Shadow Alliance!"

"Haha~"

The proprietress still smiled, her fingertips stroking the jade bracelet on her wrist, and slowly wiping the teacup in her hand:

"What are you talking about, young guest? I just saw that you were getting bored waiting, so I wanted to offer you all a taste of our freshly made snacks."

Her tone was gentle, but there was a barely perceptible coldness in her eyes.

Wu Song gripped the stick tightly, his joints turning white from the force.

"Ever since we moved into this inn, there have been constant surprises. First there was a gang fight, then there was surveillance. If the landlady really didn't know, why didn't she explain?"

He remembered the faint sound of chains coming from the direction of the dungeon and the mysterious figures on the roof, and his suspicion grew even more.

Xiaoqing's sleeves were raised behind her, and the aqua-green rhythm gathered at her fingertips:

"The unusual movement on the roof tonight, and the aura of the barrier in the air just now, are they all related to the boss lady?"

Her eyes were like lightning, closely watching the other person's every move.

The proprietress put down her teacup, making a crisp clinking sound. Her smile remained unchanged, but with a hint of oppression.

"Everyone from Xingluo Class, don't forget, this is my inn."

The jade bracelet on her wrist suddenly glowed, and the candlelight in the hall suddenly twisted strangely.

"Instead of making groundless guesses, it's better to think carefully about what to do next."

Mo Zi stood quietly by the side, his body under the dark tights like a solidified sculpture, only a hint of cold scrutiny flashed across his eyes.

"Stupid~"

She let the whip fall naturally, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the lines on the handle—those hidden barbs were enough to pierce the opponent's throat in an instant. At this moment, she just watched the confrontation with a cold eye, a subtle curve at the corner of her mouth.

……

"boom!"

The wooden door of the inn exploded with a loud bang, and the leader of the Black Claw Gang, covered in blood, smashed the door panel. Behind him, more than ten gang members entered one after another, holding bloody scimitars.

"Hand over the stone box!"

The veins on his neck were bulging, and the half of his face burned by the talisman looked hideous. When the blade pointed directly at the proprietress, a fishy smell was brought up.

At this moment, the roof tiles fell down, and the secret guard of the Blood Shadow Alliance appeared upside down, sweeping away the debris with a scarlet cloak, and aiming the hidden weapon tube at the major acupoints on the proprietress's body.

"What a secret keeper! He's making a fool of both factions!"

The deputy leader of the Blood Shadow Alliance walked down the beam slowly, the chain blade in his sleeve humming.

"We agreed on a fair bidding, but it turns out they were colluding with An!"

Before he could finish his words, the west window suddenly burst open, sending splinters of wood and a chilling chill rushing in. The Ice Soul Hall Master swung his ice-crystal chains, freezing the hall's floor tiles into spiderweb-like cracks.

"The stone box is related to the Dazong clan, no one can take it for themselves!"

The tail of the white sugar exploded into a dandelion shape and jumped onto the wine jar in the chaos:

"Wait! Why are there so many cats suddenly appearing?!"

The tip of his candied haws was pointing at the ceiling - three masked mysterious gang members had uncovered the roof tiles at some point, and the poisonous smoke bombs in their hands were hissing.

"Be careful!"

Wu Song protected the Xingluo Squad members behind him, and used his sticks to create an impenetrable barrier. The runes lit up with dazzling light as they were swung.

"Haha~"

The proprietress continued to lean against the counter and chuckled, the stone box turning at her fingertips, the dim light resonating with the jade bracelet on her wrist to produce an eerie melody.

The Black Claw Gang leader's scimitar was the first to strike, but it was shattered by the invisible barrier before it touched her hair.

“Just you guys?”

She suddenly raised her hand, and the glass mirror fragments shot out from under the counter, instantly sealing all the doors and windows.

"Do you really think that you can come and go as you please in my inn?"

"What is the relationship between them?"

Mo Zi watched the farce coldly, the whip in his palm forming a dangerous arc.

She noticed that the deputy leader of the Blood Shadow Alliance was quietly reaching for the carrier pigeon at his waist, the Ice Soul Hall leader's ice chain was shifting towards the Xingluo Class, and the cinnabar talisman faintly visible in the proprietress's sleeve was exactly the same as the traces on the dungeon wall.