Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

Mo Yun walked in front, his steps much slower than before.

The icicles under the corridor were still falling, hitting the blue bricks with a "thump", but it sounded like a knock on his heart to him.

"..."

He raised his hand and spread out his palm. The ice-blue rhythmic energy was still flowing through his fingertips, but it was much more dispersed than before - he had squeezed the ice silk too hard just now, and a thin layer of ice condensed on his fingertips, and even the lines on the palm were frozen white.

But when he stared at the ice, he did not see his own reflection, but only saw the blue-gray chaotic energy swaying before his eyes.

"Just now……"

His Adam's apple moved and he didn't say the second half of the sentence.

Just now, when "Bai Tang" said he wanted to freeze the lake, he clearly felt the cold energy in his body surge. It was not because of anger, but more like an instinctive fear - as if the chaotic energy really followed his breath and touched the lifeblood of his body.

"elder brother?"

Xiaoqing called out softly from behind, and seeing that he didn't look back, she quickly quickened her pace to catch up.

"What are you thinking?"

Mo Yun withdrew her hand and rubbed her fingertips on the hem of her sleeve, trying to wipe off the layer of ice, but the more she rubbed, the colder it became.

He didn't look at Xiaoqing, his voice was so low as if wrapped in cold air:

"nothing."

But the doubt in my heart was like grass in a crack in the ice, trying desperately to get out.

He had practiced rhyme power for more than ten years, and the cold energy in his body had long been integrated with his breath. He had always controlled the flow of the cold energy, so how could it be like this - his breath was messed up by a few words from others, and even the ice on his fingertips condensed out of control?

Just now, when "Bai Tang" said that he wanted to freeze Mo Zi's orchid, he even subconsciously mobilized his rhythmic power and wanted to explore Mo Zi's yard - that was a completely unnecessary action. The maid had clearly reported that she was safe, but he just couldn't control himself.

Just like now, when he was walking on the way back to his room, he always felt stiffness on the back of his neck, and always felt that there was a chaotic energy sticking to his back. Even though he knew it was an illusion, he couldn't help but want to look back.

"Am I caring too much?"

He asked himself this question in his mind. But the trembling of his fingertips couldn't deceive anyone - just now when the ice silk pierced the corner, he clearly felt a bit of undue restlessness mixed in with the rhythmic power. That was not the state he should be in when dealing with the enemy.

"..."

Xiaoqing looked at his tense profile and suddenly reached out to grab his sleeve:

"Brother, don't believe what he says."

She paused, and pushed the hand warmer into his hand again.

"He just wants to mess you up. If you're really messed up, you'll fall into his trap."

Mo Yun looked down at her. Xiaoqing's nose was still red, but her eyes were bright, as if she was holding a fire that had not been extinguished by the cold.

His Adam's apple moved, and he was about to say "I'm fine", but suddenly he remembered what "Bai Tang" had said just now -

"The tighter you protect me, the more I know where to poke."

Yeah, he was too protective.

It was so tight that even his own breath followed the safety of his sisters. It was so tight that as long as the chaotic energy was directed towards them, he would be like a puppet being pulled by strings, and even his rhythmic power would lose its accuracy.

He raised his hand and pressed his brow, which also began to feel tight, as if a cold air was penetrating into it.

Under normal circumstances, he could suppress it by using only a little bit of his rhythmic power, but now, the chill actually crawled along his eyebrows to his temples, bringing with it an inexplicable feeling of stagnation.

"It's me……"

He finally spoke, his voice so soft as if he was afraid of being heard.

"You can't even control your rhythmic power?"

Xiaoqing was stunned, then shook her head vigorously:

"No! When you beat him back just now, your rhythmic power was clearly very stable!"

She thought for a moment and added,

"Anyone would be in a mess if threatened like that. If it were me, I would have been so angry that I couldn't speak."

Mo Yun didn't say anything, just looked up and forward.

Mo Zi's door was not far away, and the icicles on the door curtain were still shimmering. But as he looked at the door, he lost the resolve he had just had to protect it. Instead, he felt a little panicky. What if "Bai Tang" really came next time? What if he was like just now, and his breath was disturbed by a few words? The person behind the door...

"elder brother!"

Xiaoqing suddenly grabbed his hand, spread out his palm, and pressed it into her own palm.

"Look, your rhyme power is still warm."

Mo Yun lowered his head and saw that the ice in his palm was melting. The ice-blue power seeped through his skin, reflecting a faint light in Xiaoqing's palm.

The light was weak, but it was truly warm, not the biting cold of the chaotic energy.

"look,"

Xiaoqing's eyes became brighter.

"Chaos energy is cold, and your rhythmic energy is warm. As long as this is still there, it means you are not affected."

He stared at the light for a long time, and the trembling in his fingertips slowly stopped.

Another piece of ice fell from the corridor, but this time he was not alarmed.

"Ah."

He finally responded, took Xiaoqing's hand, and led her to Mo Zi's room.

"Go see your sister first."

He started moving again, this time more steadily.

But when he walked past the stove, he glanced at the half-inch thick ice shell. He was so focused on the confrontation that he didn't notice the faint blue-gray lines on the ice shell, like claw marks left by chaotic energy.

The rhythmic power in his fingertips moved subconsciously, and the ice shell instantly cracked and shattered into harmless ice chips.

But the doubt in my heart has not completely dissipated. It is like a frozen seed, waiting for the next chaotic energy to come again, and maybe it will drill out through the ice cracks.

He clenched Xiaoqing's hand tightly, the warmth in his palm and the icy feeling remaining on his fingertips mixed together.

It turns out that guarding is not only about holding up the ice shield to prevent people from coming in, but also about suppressing the panic that is quietly emerging in the heart - this is much more difficult than dealing with chaotic energy.

Mo Yun was bending over to tuck the corner of the quilt for Mo Zi. As soon as his fingertips touched the edge of the quilt, he was burned by the hot air from the heater. The coldness that was caused when he mobilized his Yun power just now had quietly retreated for the most part while he was taking care of his sister.

Mo Zi was sleeping very lightly, his brows still furrowed, but the corners of his mouth were more relaxed than before, and the rise and fall of his chest when he breathed was more steady. It seemed that the new charcoal added by the maid had indeed taken effect.

"..."

He squatted beside the bed without moving, his eyes fixed on the scattered hair at his dark purple temples.

There was still some frost on the hair, which had been stuck when the cold air just now surged. He gently rubbed it off with his fingertips, moving so gently as if he was afraid of dispersing the heat in the heater.

From the moment the chaotic energy erupted until now, all his attention has been focused on his two sisters.

First, he protected Xiaoqing and retreated to a safe place, then rushed back here to check on Mo Zi's condition. He didn't even notice when the ice on his fingertips melted.

"Brother, my sister's medicine needs to be warmed up."

Xiaoqing stood at the door holding the medicine bowl. When she saw that his shoulders finally relaxed, she dared to speak softly.

There was a thin layer of sweat on the edge of the medicine bowl, which was warmed up by her standing by the stove for half a minute.

Mo Yun turned around in response, his gaze moving away from Mo Zi's face and falling on the red back of Xiao Qing's hand - it was burned from holding the hot medicine.

He was about to stand up to get the medicine, but his steps suddenly stopped, as if an invisible thread suddenly tightened.

"correct,"

He looked at Xiaoqing, his voice still a little hoarse from worrying about it.

"I haven't seen Mingyue just now. Where did she go?"

"?"

Xiaoqing paused holding the medicine bowl, and the medicine created ripples in the bowl.

Only then did she realize this incident belatedly - from the time "Bai Tang" erupted with chaotic energy to the time he was beaten back, the whole yard was filled with the crisp sound of ice breaking and the hissing of chaotic energy, but she had never seen the shadow of Mingyue in the chaos.

"I didn't see it either."

Xiaoqing walked to the table and put down the medicine bowl, her fingertips unconsciously scratching the edge of the bowl.

"Just now I was so busy... I didn't think about anything else. She's been following Bai Tang all the time, so she shouldn't be gone."

"..."

Mo Yun stood up, walked to the window and opened it a crack.

The cold wind blew in ice particles, but he did not close the window immediately as he had done before - his eyes passed over the scattered wood chips in the yard and fell on the moon gate in the east.

The ice net there was the one he had set up in a hurry just now. The ice crystals between the meshes were dazzling, but there was no trace of a fight.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

He asked, tapping his fingertips lightly on the windowsill, the rhythm matching his current thoughts, which were slowly withdrawing from his worry about his sisters and piecing together the overlooked details.

"This morning."

Xiaoqing thought about it,

"When I went to the kitchen to get some snacks, I saw her sorting her medicine bags at the gate. She said she had brought some calming herbs from Yunyou Valley and wanted to make some tea for her sister, but the bags got soaked by the morning dew, so she said she had to go back and get some more."

"Returning to Yunyou Valley?"