Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

Three days later in the morning, the ice on the window frames had frozen thickly, as if someone had used an ice knife to carve a pattern of winding branches all over the glass.

"..."

Mo Yun sat on the pearwood chair beside Mo Zi's bed. As soon as his fingertips touched the window sill, he heard a slight "click" sound. The ice flowers cracked along his fingertips, and the coldness penetrated into the bones along his fingertips.

The temperature in Maotu has dropped strangely in the past few days. Shenzong is close to the sea, which is originally a place with mist, but now even the water in the pond in the courtyard is covered with a thin layer of ice. The koi fish have sunk to the bottom of the water and are nowhere to be seen. The weeping willow branches on the shore are wrapped in ice shells, and when the wind blows, they make a crisp "dangdang" sound, just like a string of ice bells.

"elder brother……"

Mo Zi's voice came out from under the brocade quilt, as thin as an ice thread.

Mo Yun immediately withdrew his hand, and when he leaned over, he saw a layer of very fine frost on her eyelashes - it was not frozen tears, but the cold air in the room was so strong that even the exhaled breath could condense into white frost on her eyelashes.

Her face was even paler than yesterday, her lips pressed into a pale line, and only the faint rise and fall of her chest with each breath gave people some reassurance.

"I'm here."

Mo Yun stuffed her exposed hand into the brocade beside the fireplace. Just as the spiritual energy on her fingertips was about to condense, the door was pushed open with a "creak", and Xiaoqing rushed in wrapped in an ice-blue cloak. The snow particles on the hem of the cloak fell on the blue bricks, instantly turning into water marks and then freezing into thin ice.

"Brother! Look outside!" He placed the glass cup on the table. The hot tea inside was covered with frost on the edge.

"The docks say the ice near the coast is now thick enough for people to walk on! Fishermen went to check this morning and even their anchors were frozen in the ice and couldn't be pulled out. This isn't a drop in temperature, it's clearly the cold pressing down on us!"

As he spoke, he moved closer to the bed and saw the frost on his dark purple eyelashes, his brows instantly twisted into a knot:

"Sister, your body is already weak, and if you keep freezing like this..."

Before he could finish his words, Mo Zi's fingers suddenly moved under the quilt and accurately grabbed Mo Yun's wrist which was resting on the edge of the bed.

She didn't open her eyes, but just let out a faint whimper in her throat, and her fingertips unconsciously stroked the blue mark on his wrist - that was the mark left by the forced rhyme a few days ago, and it had turned black due to the cold air in the past few days.

"not cold……"

She seemed to be comforting someone, but her voice was shaking violently.

"Brother's hands...are warm."

Mo Yun's heart suddenly sank, and he held her hand in his backhand.

The warmth from my palm seeped through the fabric, but it felt like a spark thrown into an icy lake, disappearing before even a ripple could form.

"?"

He was just about to move the heater near the bedside closer when he saw Molan come in with a bowl of medicine. Her cotton shoes made almost no sound as they stepped on the blue bricks. Only the hot steam from the edge of the bowl was suppressed into white mist by the cold air in the room.

"Yun'er, let A Zi drink the medicine first."

Molan's voice was lower than usual. She placed the medicine bowl on the tray, and her fingertips flinched as soon as they touched the edge of the bowl. The medicine had clearly just been boiled, but now it was only warm.

"I asked the maid to add three charcoal basins in the corridor, but the cold seemed to seep through the bones. It was no use at all."

Just as Mo Yun was about to respond, she saw Mo Zi's eyelashes tremble and a hint of red appeared at the corners of her eyes.

She wasn't frozen, but choked by the smell of medicine. However, she still tried to open her eyes, her voice as soft as falling snow:

"Medicine...I'll drink it."

When Mo Yun picked up the medicine bowl, the spiritual charm of her fingertips circled quietly, and the ice-blue light swirled around the edge of the bowl, and a fine steam instantly rose from the medicine juice.

He scooped up a spoonful and passed it to her lips, watching her swallow it in small sips. Suddenly, he noticed her other hand resting on the quilt. The veins on the back of her hand were more distinct than yesterday, like dead branches faintly visible under the ice.

Xiao Bing stood by the window, looking at the increasingly thick ice outside, the faint shadow of a dragon horn looming between her brows:

"Master, this cold air isn't right. The ground of the Shen Sect is warm. Even heavy snow can't freeze the water in the pond. Now even the charcoal brazier in the house can't hold it down... Could it be related to the decaying energy in Ah Zi's body?"

Mo Yun paused while feeding the medicine, and his eyes fell on Mo Zi's pale face.

Yes, my sister's breath is getting weaker and weaker, and the coldness in her body is getting heavier. There must be some connection between the two.

Just as Mo Yun put Mo Zi's hand into the brocade cushion beside the fireplace, the hurried footsteps of guards were heard outside the yard, mixed with the muffled sound of something being knocked over.

The icy rhythm still lingered on his fingertips - these past few days, he had been relying on this gentle rhythm to nourish Mo Zi's meridians bit by bit, like using a trickle of water to moisten the cracked land. Although the effect was slow, it was the only way at the moment.

……

"Owner!"

Xiao Bing walked in quickly from outside the door, the shadow of the dragon horn slightly shining due to the urgency.

"Something happened to Bai Tang! The cat guarding him said that he suddenly broke free from his restraints. The chaotic energy around him is so thick that it's almost impossible to dissolve. Even getting close to him is piercing!"

"..."

Mo Yun paused.

These days, all his thoughts were on Mo Zi. Occasionally, when he heard the maid mention Bai Tang's condition, he just thought it was a normal fluctuation of chaotic energy and didn't think about it too much.

He remembered that when Bai Tang was placed there, the child only had a grayish look between his eyebrows. The chaotic energy could still be suppressed by the talisman, so how could it be that in just a few days...

"Brother, go ahead."

Mo Zi's voice came out from under the brocade quilt, her breath was weak but it was soothing.

"I'm fine. I can wait."

Her fingertips moved slightly on the quilt, as if she wanted to grab the corner of his clothes.

Mo Yun applied a little pressure to the palm of his hand covering the back of her hand, passing a trace of newly condensed ice rhyme to her. He watched the ice rhyme melt on her wrist, then stood up and said:

"I'll be back soon. This rhyme can protect you for a while."

The coldness in the west wing was several times heavier than that in the main house. As soon as I pushed open the door, I saw that the talisman pasted on the door frame had turned black, and the corners were curled up as if they had been burned by fire.

Broken porcelain pieces were scattered on the ground, and the medicine juice splashed on the blue bricks had frozen into dark brown ice stains.

"Uh……"

Bai Tang curled up in the corner of the bed, his originally bright fur was wrapped in gray-black chaotic energy, even the tips of his ears were drooping, his body was shaking constantly, and a suppressed growl came from his throat, like a cub trapped in a cage.

"Lord Mo Yun!"

The guards outside the door turned pale.

"Just when we were feeding him medicine, he suddenly got mad. We tried to hold him down, but the chaotic energy within him shook us back—it felt like it was filled with ice, and it made our clothes numb when it touched us!"

Mo Yun took two steps forward, and the soles of his boots stepped on the frozen medicinal juice ice stains, making a slight "crunching" sound.

He could feel the chaotic energy in the air surging, even greedily absorbing the surrounding cold air - no wonder his body temperature was dropping more and more, it was probably related to this chaotic energy.

"Sugar."

Mo Yun tried to call out, and icy aura condensed on her fingertips.

As soon as the rhythmic force approached, it was knocked away by the chaotic energy on Bai Tang's body, making a "hissing" sound, like an ice cube thrown into boiling oil.

Xiaobing followed behind, frowning:

"This chaotic energy is growing stronger! It's feeding on the cold energy of the body sect! Look at his neck, the chaotic lines are much deeper than yesterday!"

Mo Yun's gaze fell on Bai Tang's clenched fists - gray-black chaotic energy seeped between his fingers, but it was obvious that he was trying his best to endure. The trembling of his body was half controlled by the chaotic energy and half by his own resistance.

Mo Yun suddenly remembered that when the child was just rescued, he was holding a piece of dried fish and smiling, his eyes shining like stars. How did he become like this now?

"Stabilize him first."

Mo Yun said in a deep voice, the ice in his palm condensing into fine ice silk, "Xiao Bing, go to the library and look for the Chaos Study to see if there is any record of this kind of Chaos that absorbs cold air."

"!"

As he approached the bed, Bai Tang suddenly looked up.

The pair of originally clear eyes were now covered with a layer of gray mist, and the pupils shrank into thin lines. The moment he saw Mo Yun, a low growl erupted from his throat, and a fist filled with chaotic energy swung over without warning.

Mo Yun dodged sideways and hit the bed with his fist. The wood instantly dented and sawdust mixed with chaotic energy flew everywhere.

"Do you still recognize me?"

Mo Yun did not retreat, and Bing Yun formed a translucent barrier around her body.

"You said you would help me look after Mo Zi, and now you want to slack off?"

"!"

Bai Tang's movements suddenly stopped, and his pupils in the gray mist seemed to tremble.

The growl in his throat became weaker, but his fist was still raised, but the strength was obviously loosened, like a young animal that didn't know whether to attack or retreat.

Mo Yun saw the right moment, and the icy silk from her fingertips quickly stretched out and gently wrapped around his wrist.

"Uh……"

When the ice silk touched the chaotic energy, it made a "sizzling" sound, and Bai Tang groaned in pain.

Strangely, his body stopped struggling and instead slid down the edge of the bed to sit down, his forehead resting on Mo Yun's knees. His shoulders were still trembling, as if he had finally found a place to rest.

Mo Yun looked down at his trembling back and was about to try some gentle ice rhyme when he saw the chaotic energy on Bai Tang's body suddenly surge violently. A crisp "crack" sound came from outside the west wing - the branch of the old locust tree in the courtyard was actually broken by the cold air.