Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"Xiaoqing...

Mo Zi looked at the unconscious Xiaoqing in Mo Yun's arms. The glaring red color seeped out from her clothes, just like the blood of peach blossoms that fell on the bluestone slabs in late spring last year.

She could clearly feel that when Xiaoqing fell down, the already weak rhythmic energy in her body suddenly weakened like a candle flame blown by a strong wind.

"elder brother."

She sat up slightly with the help of a pillow, the quilt slipped off her shoulders, and her exposed forearms still retained the warm and cool touch left by Mo Yun when he practiced his skills just now.

When he raised his hand, although his meridians were still slightly blocked, they no longer made his heart feel as tight as before - this was the smooth flow that Mo Yun had spent three whole mornings to warm up.

When her fingertips landed on Mo Yun's tense forearm, she could feel the throbbing pulse beneath his muscles, beating faster than usual.

"Let's take care of Xiaoqing first."

Her voice was as light as snow falling on the water.

"Look at the blood on her back. I'm afraid the wound has broken open again."

Mo Yun lowered his head and his gaze met her clear eyes.

Xiaoqing's pale face was reflected in it, as was his own flustered figure, but there was not a trace of grievance of being left out.

"But your pulse has just stabilized, and it has just reached your wrist and hasn't completely dissolved yet..."

"Brother forgot?"

Mo Zi suddenly smiled and tried to raise her right hand. When her fingertips brushed against her temples, although her movements were slow, she no longer trembled halfway through raising her hand like she did a few days ago.

"When I was practicing the Qi just now, the blockage has loosened, just like a frozen stream starting to melt."

She paused, then turned her gaze to Xiaoqing's furrowed brows.

"Xiaoqing, on the other hand, suffered the impact of the Chaos to protect me that day. These past few days, she's been forcing herself to boil and change the medicine. When I wake up at night, I always hear her secretly gasping in the corridor..."

Having said that, her fingertips tightened slightly and grasped Mo Yun's cuffs.

The cloth was still stained with the medicine that had just been spilled, and it had a slightly bitter taste.

"She always says she's fine, but her fingers were shaking when she was holding the medicine bowl just now. Brother, she needs you more than I do."

Mo Yun looked at her red eyes and suddenly remembered that a few days ago, late at night, he was practicing martial arts beside Mo Zi's bed and vaguely heard Xiao Qing's suppressed groan of pain coming from outside. At that time, he just thought she turned over and didn't pay much attention to it.

A strong sense of guilt washed over me, like the bitter residue left in the medicinal soup.

"then you……"

"I'll just sit here."

Mo Zi straightened his sweat-soaked collar. When her fingertips brushed against his neck, she could feel the burning heat on his skin.

"My sister's quilts are very warm. I'll lean on them to rest and wait for you to finish."

She paused, then lowered her voice.

"Besides, I also want to see how my brother treats people's injuries. Maybe I can help him in the future."

Mo Yun looked at the seriousness in her eyes and finally nodded.

He carefully carried Xiaoqing to the low couch next to him, his movements as gentle as if he were holding a fragile porcelain bottle.

The couch was covered with Mo Lan's newly changed coarse cloth sheets, which had a dry smell from being exposed to the sun, forming a sharp contrast with the cold and wet bloodstains oozing from Xiao Qing's back.

"..."

Just as he was about to concentrate on practicing his skills, he caught a glimpse of Mo Zi quietly moving her body, wanting to get closer to watch him heal his wounds - her movements were very slow, and every time she moved an inch, her brows slightly furrowed, and it was obvious that she was still affecting the meridians that were not yet fully unblocked.

"do not move."

Mo Yun whispered, and the light blue light condensed from her fingertips fell on Mo Zi's shoulder first, helping her stabilize the surging Yunli.

"Stay close, or I'll be distracted."

Mo Zi immediately stopped moving, like a trapped little animal, and just blinked obediently.

"Ugh……"

In the corridor outside the window, Molan stood for a long time holding the honey cake.

She watched Mo Yun help Mo Zi stabilize his breathing before turning around to treat Xiao Qing's wound. She saw that although Mo Zi couldn't move, his eyes were always following Mo Yun's fingertips, and even the corners of his lips had a faint smile.

The wind blew the scent of medicine past the corner of her clothes, and she suddenly shook her head helplessly - these children just had to hide their thoughts so deeply.

The tenderness in Mo Yun's eyes, the concern hidden in Mo Zi's care, and Xiao Qing's childish grievance, which one is not a bond entangled together?

"Ugh……"

She sighed softly, and when she turned around, her cloth shoes made a very light sound on the bluestone slabs, as if she was afraid of disturbing the peace in the house.

Mo Yun was just inserting a wisp of warm rhythmic energy into the crack of Xiao Qing's shoulder blade when he suddenly felt the familiar scent of soapberry outside the window gradually fading away.

He subconsciously raised his eyes and just saw his mother's figure turning the corner of the corridor. The hem of her blue-gray skirt swayed gently in the morning light and then disappeared.

"Yes, maybe, perhaps, it's also good..."

The rhythm of his fingertips paused slightly, he looked at the empty window frame, and suddenly remembered that when he was a child, every time he and his sisters quarreled, his mother would do the same. She would glance at them secretly, then turn around and go to the kitchen to make their favorite sweet cakes, as if she saw nothing, but understood everything.

"elder brother?"

Mo Zi's voice sounded softly.

Mo Yun came back to his senses, met her puzzled gaze, and curled the corners of his lips:

"fine."

He turned back, and the light at his fingertips became stable again.

"Let's make Xiaoqing feel better first."

……

The sunlight shines through the window paper, casting tiny spots of light on the ground, like gold powder scattered all over the floor.

Xiaoqing's brows gradually relaxed on the low couch. Mo Zi leaned on the pillow, looking at her brother's focused profile. Suddenly, she felt that such a morning was even warmer than the day she had been looking forward to for a long time.

The twilight was like melted ink, gradually staining the eaves of the Kaishen Sect's temple.

Molan had just put the last scroll of the sect back in its place, and the hem of her black robe was still slightly damp. She had just finished dealing with the affairs of the sect, and she had deliberately gone to the Sea Viewing Terrace behind the hall to stand there. The wind there was salty and damp, which always reminded her of that afternoon sixteen years ago.

"Ayun."

She called out to the corridor, her eyes falling on the young man who was adjusting Mo Zi's hairband.

Mo Yun turned her head, and the pale purple fur behind her ears was dyed warm gold by the setting sun.

He had just helped Mo Zi tie her crooked hairband, and the fragrance of her hair still lingered on his fingertips - it was the wisteria flower juice that Mo Zi had soaked in morning dew, as clear and moist as the stream water in early spring.

"Mother."

He came over in response, the tip of his tail lightly sweeping across the bluestone ground, making a slight sound.

"follow me."

Molan turned and walked towards the inner hall, and stopped deliberately when passing by the Guanhai Terrace.

The copper bell on the railing rang softly in the sea breeze, and memories of sixteen years ago suddenly flooded back:

At that time, she was just seven months pregnant with Mo Zi. She always loved to come to this beach for a walk, watching the tide flood over her feet and listening to the waves hitting the rocks.

It was on this beach warmed by the sun that she heard a faint cry.

A tiny baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes, pushed by the tide to the rocks on the shore. The cloth was soaked and heavy by the sea water, but a small black orchid was embroidered on the chest. The stitches were crude but extremely strong.

When she reached out to pick him up, the little guy stopped crying. His black eyes stared at her bulging belly, and his little paws rubbed it, as if to say hello.

"Do you remember this place?"

Molan held the railing and looked at the surging waves in the distance.

"Hmm~"

The tip of Mo Yun's ear twitched.

His mother had brought him here countless times, and every time she would tell the story of how she found him.

He looked down at his claws. These hands could now hold Shen Zong's sword firmly, but he always remembered his mother saying that his little claws were only the size of a thumb back then, but he used extra force when holding his mother's clothes.

"At that time, you were holding half a piece of dried fish roe. It must have been wet by the waves and was as hard as a rock."

Molan chuckled and brushed her fingertips across the marks on the railing.

"When I carried you back, you stared at my belly, as if you knew there was a little sister waiting for you inside."

Mo Yun felt a warmth in her heart.

He remembered that when Mo Zi just learned to speak, he always liked to cling to his arm and call him "brother" in a baby voice. The tip of his tail had not yet grown all the fur, but he always liked to wrap it around his wrist.

Later, Xiaoqing was born, and the three little guys squeezed on Molan's couch. He was always sandwiched between his two sisters, with Mo Zi's paws resting on his chest and Xiaoqing's tail hooked around his legs. If there was any movement at night, he would wake up first and tuck in the corners of the quilt for them.

Over the years, he had completely forgotten the three words "picked up".

In his heart, Molan is his biological mother, Mo Zi and Xiaoqing are his biological sisters. This bond formed on the beach is more unbreakable than blood.

"I've been helping Ah Zi channel her rhythmic energy these past few days. What do you think of her?"

Mo Lan suddenly asked, turning her gaze towards the inner hall - Mo Zi was sitting by the window, holding an embroidery frame in her hand, probably embroidering a new headband. The sunlight fell on her furry profile, as if it was coated with a halo.

"My heart meridians have become much more stable. When I was practicing the 'Wave Steps' yesterday, I was able to complete seven full rounds."

Mo Yun's voice softened unconsciously.

"Even when I turn around, I still tremble, thinking..."

"Thinking about giving her more rhythmic energy?"

Molan took over the conversation and turned around, with the insight that only a sect leader could have in her eyes.

"Yesterday at 3:00 AM, the amount of Yun force you channeled into her heart meridian exceeded her tolerance limit. Ah Yun, you are the most gifted descendant of the Shen Sect. You should know the principle of 'excess brings harm.'"

The tips of Mo Yun's ears felt slightly hot.

He really couldn't control himself - yesterday, when he saw Mo Zi trying to keep up with his pace, with sweat beads on his forehead and the tip of his tail trembling, his heart tightened and his rhythmic power surged over.

At that moment, he even forgot the key to the Shenzong's "moist but not dry" technique, and his mind was full of "don't let her get tired."

"You've been protecting them since they were little."

Molan's voice softened.

"When Ah Zi fell while learning to walk, you carried her halfway across the hall. When Xiao Qing was bullied by the elders of the sect, you clearly couldn't defeat her, yet you stiffened your neck and stood in front of her... I saw it all."

She paused, and lightly touched his shoulder with her fingertips.

"But some protection is the affection between siblings; some protection can make both parties lose their composure."

Mo Yun's heart skipped a beat.

He remembered that when he was applying medicine to Mo Zi the day before, his fingertips accidentally touched the tip of her ear. The hair there instantly became hot, and his own claws trembled, and he almost knocked over the medicine bottle.

Staying by her bedside at night, listening to her steady breathing, he couldn't help but think that if he could stay like this forever, even if he lost some energy, it wouldn't matter.

He thought no one knew about these thoughts hidden in his heart, but it turned out that his mother had seen them all.

"Mother……"

He wanted to say something, but his throat seemed to be blocked by the power of rhyme, and he felt even hotter behind his ears.

Molan looked at the sea level in the distance. The setting sun was sinking into the sea little by little, dyeing the waves golden red.

"Sixteen years ago, on the beach, when I held you in my arms, I thought, 'This child's eyes are so bright, you're bound to be a loyal person in the future.'"

She turned her head and looked at him with a mother's gentleness.

"It's just that love is like the tide. If it's too full, it will overflow the bank. You're my brother, you should understand this."

The wind blew the fragrance of wisteria across the sea-viewing platform. Mo Yun suddenly saw Mo Zi secretly looking over here by the window of the inner hall. When she saw him looking over, she hurriedly shrank back. A wisteria flower in her hair fell off and landed on the windowsill, like a shy shadow.

He suddenly understood what his mother meant.

Some emotions don't need to be expressed in words, just like the tide and the beach, accompanying each other every day, but always with a certain distance between them.

But this bond that started on the beach has already entangled them together. Whether it is the love between brother and sister or the care hidden in their hearts, it is a fate that cannot be separated in this life.

"I understand, mother."

Mo Yun's voice was soft, but firm.

Molan nodded and turned to walk towards the inner hall:

"Azi has ruined three headbands while embroidering them, and she's waiting for you to teach her."

Mo Yun looked at her mother's back, then looked at the wisteria flower on the windowsill, and suddenly smiled.

He walked quickly towards the inner hall, the tip of his tail sweeping the ground lightly, bringing up a gust of wind - the wind blew into the window, probably startling the little guy who was secretly watching him.

"This child..."

……

"How stupid! The threads are all tangled up."

He said with a deliberately stern face as he pushed open the door.

Mo Zi raised her head, her ears red as ripe cherries, and the embroidery frame in her hands was indeed tangled. But as she looked at him, her eyes were bright as if filled with stars:

"Brother, teach me."

The setting sun shone through the window lattice, stretching the shadows of the two cats very long and entangled together, just like the fate on the beach sixteen years ago, destined to be intertwined for a lifetime.

……

……

……

(Just read it like this, I’m too lazy to open it, I’m at work, and now I’m sleepy and tired…)