Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"Wong..."

On the third day after the rain stopped, the waterfall on the back mountain was still roaring.

The mist splashed by the water when it crashed from the top of the cliff created a faint rainbow in the morning light, but that fleeting bright color turned into a gray darker than the rain when it fell into Mo Yun's eyes.

"..."

He sat cross-legged on the bluestone below the waterfall. The water hit his back like countless ice spikes, with enough force to make an ordinary cat's head tremble, but his back was straight and even his eyebrows did not move.

The light blue rhythmic energy was looming around his body. It was not so much to resist the impact of the water flow as to indulge in the dull pain - the sound of the water hitting the rhythmic energy barrier could cover up the lingering images in his mind.

"I'm sorry, Baitang..."

He thought again of Bai Tang's last smile. The regret wrapped in the relief was like a thin needle, hidden in his temple. Every time when the cat was quiet late at night, it would gently prick the cat, causing so much pain that the cat would keep its eyes open until dawn.

He hardly ever returned to the bamboo house these days.

That day, he walked out of the rain holding the sugar. He found a piece of grass on the eastern hillside that could be exposed to the sun, dug a hole with his own hands, and buried the ball of light white fluff.

There was no tombstone, only a piece of bamboo stuck next to the mound, on which a crooked shape of a dried fish was branded with rhythmic force - that was what Bai Tang always fought for.

After burying the last handful of soil, he squatted there and watched for a long time, until the sun set and stretched his shadow as long as the pillars of the bamboo house.

The wind blew the grass leaves across his ankles, as if someone was gently sweeping him with their tail. But when he looked down, there was only the empty ground. Two white butterflies had landed on the mound and were perched on the bamboo stick. The frequency of their wings flapping was like the rhythm of Bai Tang smacking his lips while eating.

"Om-"

The sound of the waterfall suddenly exploded beside his ears. Mo Yun came back to his senses suddenly and found that he had loosened his rhythmic power without knowing when. The water hit his back directly, and the pain made his throat tighten.

The light blue light spread out again, pushing the mist away half a foot. He raised his hand and pressed his brow, and his fingertips touched a burning sensation - it had been like this for the past few days. Even though he was soaking in ice water, his body temperature was burning as if he was on fire.

He knew he was running away.

In the bamboo house, there was his mother's worried eyes, Nanny Rong's hesitant sigh, and his two younger sisters, who were always watching him from a place where he couldn't see.

Mo Zi and Xiao Qing come to the back mountain almost every day.

They didn't dare to go near the waterfall, but only stood under the old pine tree at the end of the mountain path. From a distance, they could see the vague blue figure in the mist.

Xiaoqing stood straight, but her knuckles were always white, and her eyes were glued to the waterfall, as if she wanted to split the water flow with her eyes.

She spoke little and just stood there most of the time. The wind lifted her hairband, revealing the shallow scar on her neck that had not yet faded - it was the scratch she had received from Hun Dun a few days ago when she was protecting Mo Zi.

Occasionally she would raise her hand and press her chest, where the rhythmic energy had not yet completely subsided. But compared to the injuries on her body, she was more afraid that the figure under the waterfall would suddenly disappear in the water one day.

Mo Zi is different.

She always held the half-embroidered purse with crooked stitches. She had just learned how to do it a few days ago, and now the thread had not been collected yet, so she could only hold it in her arms.

She was timid and always shrank behind Xiaoqing when standing under the pine tree, but her eyes were more persistent than anyone else's, staring at the blue spot in the mist.

Sometimes the wind muffled the roar of the waterfall, and she could be heard murmuring softly:

"elder brother……"

The voice was as soft as cotton, but the ending tone was trembling, as if he was afraid that if he shouted too loudly, the figure would be shattered.

Yesterday afternoon, Mo Zi secretly walked a few steps towards the waterfall. The stones under his feet rolled down the slope, making a "crashing" sound.

Mo Yun was stunned by the water at that time. When she heard the noise, she looked up suddenly. When she glanced over, she saw Mo Zi's back hurriedly hiding backwards. The hem of her turquoise skirt drew an arc in the grass, like a frightened bird.

He didn't say anything, but just lowered his eyes again, letting the water continue to hit his back, but at that moment, his rhythmic power almost collapsed - he saw that Mo Zi was still wearing the jade bracelet he gave her last year on her wrist, and a piece of the corner was broken off, which was caused by the chaotic air wave during the battle a few days ago.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered that when he was a child, Mo Zi always chased after him, holding up the water sleeves he had just learned, and calling in a baby voice, "Brother, look!"

I remember when Xiaoqing first came home, she was obviously very shy, but when he got tired of practicing shooting, she would silently hand him a cloth to wipe his sweat.

These images, mixed with the temperature of the osmanthus cake stuffed with white sugar, were like a ball of boiling magma, surging in his chest, burning him so much that he wanted to curl up.

But he can't.

He is the elder brother and the only cat in the Mo family who can hold the ice spear tightly.

There are more white hairs on the mother's temples, Aunt Rong's cough is getting heavier, Mo Zi still has nightmares at night, Xiao Qing is always distracted when practicing sword... If he collapses, what will these people do?

Just like that day in the rain, he had to pull the trigger himself.

He understands the truth better than anyone else, but understanding the truth doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

The flow of the waterfall suddenly became faster, and the force hitting my back became stronger.

Mo Yun took a deep breath, forced himself to sink into his inner breath, and guided the rhythmic power to flow through his meridians.

But the energy that should have flowed smoothly became stagnant when it reached his heart, as if it was blocked by something, making his eyes feel hot.

He thought of the grass where he buried the sugar. Shouldn't it have sprouted new buds today?

When the sun fell on the mound, would it be as warm as the down on Baitang's body? He even thought that if the little guy could survive, even if he robbed him of his dried fish ten more times and tore his medical books to pieces, he would not even blink.

"elder brother……"

A faint sound echoed from the distance, shredded by the roar of the waterfall, yet still reaching her ears. Mo Yun closed her eyes, imagining Mo Zi at that moment—surely clutching the unfinished embroidered purse beneath the pine tree, tears welling in her eyes, but forcing herself to hold them back.

Xiaoqing was probably patting her on the back. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were more anxious than anyone else's.

He exhaled slowly, and the light blue rhythmic energy circulated faster around his body, pushing the mist further away.

That way they could see more clearly that he was still sitting there safely, not being swept away by the current.

In fact, he knew that they were not afraid that he would collapse under the waterfall.

They were afraid that he couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart.

Just like now, he was sitting where the sun could shine, but he felt like his whole body was soaked in the rain and was freezing.

The pain of the water hitting my back is real, I can grasp it and feel it, but the emptiness in my heart is like a bottomless pit that cannot be filled by anything.

He raised his hand and pressed it against his chest, where the light of rhythmic energy was so bright that it was a bit dazzling.

This power was used to protect his family and to purify chaos, but now, he used it to recall over and over again the weight of the end he had personally brought upon himself.

The waterfall was still roaring, and the rainbow in the mist had faded a little.

Under the pine tree in the distance, the two figures were still standing there, like two blades of grass that refused to move, stubbornly guarding this corner submerged by the sound of water.

Mo Yun closed his eyes and let the water continue to hit his back, over and over again.

He didn't know how long this kind of days would last, nor did he know when the rain in his heart would really stop.

He only knew that he couldn't fall down.

At least until his mother stops sighing at night, until Mo Zi finishes embroidering the purse, and until Xiao Qing stops being distracted when practicing rhyme, he will have to sit here and let the pain of the flowing water remind him that he is still alive and has to move forward.

Even though every step felt like walking on broken glass, even though the worry in the two eyes behind him was so heavy that it seemed to press him into the ground.

The mist gradually rose up, and was pushed away by the rhythmic force, over and over again.

The sunlight passed through the water vapor, casting mottled spots of light on him, as if someone had sprinkled a handful of gold, but it couldn't warm the coldness that seeped from his bones.

The voice of "brother" in the distance became softer, as if afraid of disturbing the pool of water filled with sadness.

……

……

……

(My current thinking is that the content of this volume will be concluded very soon, but some of the current settings are not easy to change, and there may be some conflicts at that time.

Now that Mo Yun has returned, I'll make Mo Zi's personality softer again. After all, with her brother around, she doesn't need to support that huge body anymore. Occasionally, she'll show some jealousy. I'll let Mo Zi's mood calm down for a few days. Later, he will send Bai Tang to where he should go.