Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

The rain came down suddenly.

At first, only a few drops of ice-cold water hit the broken wooden beams of the bamboo house. Before the second drop fell from the icicles on the eaves, there was a loud "crash" and the rain curtain came down to cover the sky.

Bean-sized raindrops fell "cracklingly", hitting the ground where the ice had not yet melted, splashing tiny drops of water, which mixed with the melted ice water and "rustled" into a stream, seeping into the soil along the cracks in the floor with a "hiss".

The bamboo forest in the distance was rustling with the rain, and the accumulated water on the leaves was hitting the dead branches below with a "bang", as if all the sounds between heaven and earth were blended into the rain.

The sky looked like it had been splashed with ink. The clouds that had been faintly glowing just now suddenly sank. The lead-gray clouds pressed low over the roof, completely swallowing up the last ray of sunlight.

The wind wrapped in rain passed through the bamboo building, blowing up the charred corners of medical books and scattered ice particles on the ground, making a whimpering sound, as if someone was crying silently.

Mo Yun didn't move.

He just stood there, a few steps away from where Bai Tang fell.

The rain flowed down his hair and soaked his clothes. The light blue light of rhythmic energy flickered on the wet fabric, like a candle that was about to go out.

The hand that had just tightly grasped the ice spear now hung at his side, his knuckles turning white from excessive force, yet seemed somewhat stiff under the impact of the rain.

Molan and Rong Ma helped Xiaoqing and Mozi into the inner room. Before leaving, Molan glanced at him with worry in her eyes, but she didn't say anything in the end.

They all knew that there were some things that he had to handle on his own.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and it hurt when it hit my body.

Mo Yun tilted his head back, letting the cold rain pour into his collar and slide down his neck into his chest.

The cold touch made him shudder, but it also made the chaotic images in his mind clearer - Bai Tang's smug smile when he grabbed the dried fish, the warmth of his fingertips when he stuffed the osmanthus cake into his mouth, and the smile of relief yet regret when he fell down at last.

"Om-"

A very light buzzing sound suddenly came from deep in the clouds. At first it was like a plucked string, but soon it turned into a long and sad whistle.

The sound penetrated the rain and echoed over the entire Maotu, carrying an almost instinctive sadness, as if countless hidden melodies were wailing for a lost life.

Mo Yun's body suddenly stiffened.

He recognized the voice.

That is the common feeling in the blood of all Peking Opera cats, the natural mourning between heaven and earth when an important existence disappears.

Just like when the elder passed away, he had heard a similar sound in his sleep, but he was still young at that time and did not understand the weight hidden in that sorrow.

Now he understands.

This mournful cry is for sugar.

The little brat who was always making a fuss and yelling about eating all the cat dirt;

The protagonist who will cower and admit his mistakes when he gets into trouble, but will rush to the front for his friends;

That... the guy who was killed by his own hands, a guy who was both a family member and a friend.

The rain blurred my vision and washed away the moisture in the corners of my eyes. I couldn't tell whether it was rain or something else.

Mo Yun lowered his head and looked at the pale golden bloodstain on the ground that was gradually diluted by the rain. Suddenly, he felt as if his heart was being gripped by something, and it ached with stuffiness.

He is not a villain.

From the beginning to the end, he was just doing what he had to do - to protect his mother and sister, to purify the chaos, and to stop Bai Tang from being tortured.

He understood the logic, and his mother said he was right, but why did he feel like a cat abandoned by the whole world while standing in the heavy rain?

The wind whipped the raindrops against his face, causing pain. The bamboo forest in the distance swayed violently in the downpour, making a rustling sound that seemed to echo the sky's wail.

The beams and pillars of the bamboo building groaned slightly as they were soaked in rain. The condensed ice patterns had long since melted away, leaving only the wet wood grain, recording the brutal battle that had just taken place.

Mo Yun just stood there, letting the heavy rain wash over his body and the indescribable chaos in his heart.

The anger dissipated, the determination faded, leaving only endless emptiness, wrapped in cold rain, seeping into the bones bit by bit.

I don’t know how long I stood there, until the rain gradually subsided and a faint light appeared on the horizon.

Mo Yuncai slowly moved his stiff neck and looked down at his hands.

Those hands, which had held the ice spear, also ended Bai Tang's pain.

At this moment, washed by the rain, it is as clean as if it has never been stained by anything, but it is also as heavy as if I have no strength to lift it.

……

The rain was still falling, but the momentum was slower than before. It was no longer a violent downpour. It was more like someone was pulling a wet piece of gray cloth and slowly twisting it in the sky, causing the water droplets to fall continuously.

There were several holes in the roof of the bamboo house, and rain poured in through the holes, forming shallow puddles on the ground, reflecting the dim sky above, like pieces of broken mirrors.

Bai Tang's body was still lying there.

Light golden blood beads mixed with rain spread on his chest, and were then washed away by the continuously falling rain, weaving a blurry web on the ground.

The white fur on his body had long been soaked by the rain, sticking tightly to his skin, revealing his thin outline.

The relieved smile from earlier was still frozen at the corners of his mouth, but the tears in his eyes had long since been washed away by the rain, leaving only a cold dampness. A few bamboo leaves, blown in by the wind, landed beside his hand, quickly swept up by the current and drifted unsteadily towards the corner of the wall.

Mo Yun was still standing a few steps away. The rain dripped down the ends of his hair, gathered into a thin stream at the tip of his chin, and then fell into his collar.

His eyes never left Bai Tang, as if he were looking at a fading painting, or perhaps confirming something. The bamboo house was silent. Besides the sound of rain, there was only the rustling of the distant bamboo forest in the wind, and his own heavy breathing, mixed with moisture and quickly dispersed by the cold air.

"Wong..."

Suddenly, the mournful cry that pierced through heaven and earth rang out again.

This time it was heavier and slower than before, like a sigh rising from deep underground, circling in the bamboo building along the rain curtain.

Mo Yun's ears moved, and the lavender fluff behind her ears trembled slightly - in addition to sadness, there seemed to be a faint pull in this voice, like an invisible thread, one end tied to Bai Tang, and the other end floating to the horizon.

Finally he moved.

Walking towards the sugar step by step, the accumulated water under my feet made a gurgling sound.

When he got closer, he paused and looked down at the closed eyes.

At the last moment, there was still a trace of clarity in those eyes, like dusty stars, but now there was only deep darkness, and even the raindrops hanging on the eyelashes seemed solidified.

“It’s raining too hard.”

Mo Yun whispered, her voice hoarse as if it had been sanded.

He raised his hand, with his palm facing Bai Tang's body, and the light blue rhythmic power slowly spread out, like a thin layer of gauze, gently covering Bai Tang's body.

The rhythmic force carried just the right warmth, and as soon as it touched Bai Tang's fluff, it gently bounced off the rain on his body - the raindrops fell on the rhythmic force barrier, instantly turning into tiny points of light, and scattered in the air with a "crackling" sound, as if someone had scattered a handful of broken diamonds.

He maintained this movement, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The rhythmic power slowly flowed down his arms, not only blocking the falling rain, but also beginning to seep into Bai Tang's hair bit by bit.

The water vapor on the surface of the fluff seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, slowly peeling off from his body, gathering into tiny water droplets, sliding down along the edge of the rhyme barrier, and making a very light "tapping" sound when dripping onto the ground.

Mo Yun frowned, as if mobilizing deeper strength.

The rhythmic light on his chest brightened a little, and the light blue light flowed over Bai Tang's body like a stream, sucking out the rainwater hidden in the gaps in his hair bit by bit.

Soon, the fur on Bai Tang's body gradually stretched out, no longer sticking wetly to the skin. Although it was still pale, it seemed as if it was gently blown by the wind, and its fluffy outline was restored.

But at this moment, something strange happened silently.

The water droplets that were peeled off from Bai Tang's body by Yun Li did not seep into the soil like ordinary rainwater. Instead, the moment they left his body, they began to emit a faint golden light - the same color as Bai Tang's blood.

These golden water droplets swirled on the ground, slowly gathered together, and vaguely condensed into a small, transparent shadow.

The shadow was exactly like Bai Tang, even the slightly upturned curve of the ear tip was exactly the same.

It floated above Bai Tang's body, swaying gently with the flow of Mo Yun's rhythmic energy, like a feather blown by the wind. A few drops of rain fell towards it, but were deflected by Mo Yun's rhythmic energy the moment before contact, as if the shadow were fragile glass.

Mo Yun's breathing paused.

He looked at the transparent shadow, watched it raise its hand to touch its chest, then lower its head and smile at the body lying on the ground - that smile was exactly the same as Bai Tang's when he was alive, with a bit of silly naivety, and a hint of indescribable tenderness.

Then, it slowly turned around and looked in the direction of Mo Yun.

It had no eyes, yet it seemed to be able to see through everything. Mo Yun could even feel the shadow saying "thank you" to him, overlapping with the last word Bai Tang hadn't finished saying, gently tapping his heart.

Then, the shadow began to thin.

It was like smoke blown away by the wind, becoming transparent little by little, and the golden light became dimmer and dimmer.

Mo Yun subconsciously reached out to grab them, but the moment his fingertips passed through the shadows, they only encountered a piece of cold water vapor. He suddenly increased the output of his rhyme power, trying to retain those fading light points.

But those golden water droplets seemed to have their own consciousness. They floated out along the broken roof of the bamboo building and merged into the rain curtain in the sky.

When the shadow completely disappeared, Bai Tang's body moved slightly.

It was not a sign of life, but the last trace of warmth of life dissipated, causing the body to curl up slightly in the water vapor.

The wound on his chest no longer bleeds, and the pale golden mark has solidified into a thin, shallow line, as if someone had embroidered a mark on his body with gold thread.

Mo Yun withdrew his hand, and the light blue rhyme barrier disappeared.

He squatted down and gently wiped the water stains on Bai Tang's cheek with his sleeve, his movements so gentle as if he was afraid of breaking a piece of porcelain.

The fur that my fingertips touched was cold, without a trace of warmth, only the wetness left by the rain.

"I know where you want to go."

He whispered, with an imperceptible tremor in his voice.

"When the rain stops, I'll take you to a place where you can see the sun."

After saying that, he reached out and carefully picked up Bai Tang.

The little guy was very light, as light as a cloud. When holding him in his arms, Mo Yun could even feel the very faint rhythmic power remaining in his body, like a candle flame that was about to go out, trembling slightly in the cold rain.

He no longer used his rhyme power to shield himself, letting the rain hit his back. He just held Bai Tang's arms tightly, and the light blue rhyme power condensed into a thin shield in his palms, protecting the small figure in his arms and preventing a drop of rain from falling on the white fluff.

The rain was still falling and the sky was still dark.

Mo Yun held Bai Tang in his arms and walked out of the bamboo building step by step. His footprints were in the accumulated water, leaving a series of traces of varying depths, which were soon filled up by rainwater, as if no one had ever walked there.

Only the small figure in his arms, protected by the light blue rhythmic power, was as quiet as a dream that would never wake up.

The wailing in the sky had stopped, leaving only the sound of rain hitting the roof, monotonous and continuous, as if mourning for someone, or urging the survivors to move on.

Mo Yun's back stretched out in the dim light, her wet clothes dripping with water, and each step she took was slow but steady.