Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

His body fell into the boundless dark purple abyss like a kite with a broken string.

The surroundings were in dead black, with only occasional flashes of chaotic fragments, like poisoned stars.

Bai Tang no longer felt any pain. His claws were so transparent that he could see the dark tide roiling at the bottom of the abyss. Even the last fragments of the Bell of Justice turned into light in his palms - so this is what death is like, light and airy, as if all the sugar flavor had been sucked away.

The wind whistled past his ears, carrying with it the unique fishy smell of the abyss, but he vaguely heard a familiar tune, like the broken sound of Wu Song's whistle, and like the light sound of Xiaoqing's sleeves sweeping across the stone steps.

He wanted to raise his head, but his neck was too heavy to lift. He could only let himself fall, into the darkness where not even light could escape.

At this moment, the gray "sky" above suddenly made a crisp sound -

"Click."

It was like the cracked surface of a frozen river in the cold winter, or like the glass mirror treasured by the old shopkeeper of Dongqiang Town that fell to the ground.

A crack spread from a distance, as fast as the afterimage of Brother Mo Yun swinging his gun, followed by the second, the third... Countless silver cracks woven into a web on the gray screen, and fine blue-gold color seeped out of each crack, as if someone had crushed the stars and stuffed them in.

“Crack—crash!”

The entire sky was completely shattered.

It did not collapse with a loud bang, but was gently opened by an invisible hand. The cyan-gold light tide was like a river bursting its banks, instantly flooding the darkness of the abyss.

In that light, a long spear broke through the shattered "sky curtain". The spear was seven feet long, and the patterns on it moved like a living snake. The golden light flowed down along the patterns and condensed into a cold star at the tip of the spear, like a sword tempered by a thousand years of moonlight.

The green silk at the end of the gun rustled in the wind, and when it swept across the broken pieces of the sky, it actually raised a gust of wind with the scent of soapberries - the smell of the green cloth that Brother Mo Yun always used to wipe his gun.

The spear stopped steadily in front of his eyes, and the green light from the tip of the spear was as gentle as the thawing river water in early spring, reflecting his pale and almost transparent little face, as well as half a petal stuck on the green silk - very much like the ones that fell from the old locust tree in Dongqiang Town.

Then, he heard the voice.

It wasn't high, but it felt like it had penetrated a thousand layers of the abyss, carrying the heaviness of a gun barrel crashing against the stone steps of Yuanchu Building, and it was wrapped in a temperature warmer than the kitchen stove in Kongsang:

"Sugar."

He shuddered violently, as if he had been scalded.

This voice... is Brother Mo Yun.

He raised his head with great effort and saw a corner of his blue shirt hanging down from the tear, dyed golden green by the tide of light.

The other end of the gun was held by a hand that he was very familiar with - the knuckles were distinct, there was a thin layer of calluses on the palm of the hand, and the shallow scar on the wrist glowed light red in the light, which was left many years ago when it protected him from the sharp claws of the Chaos Beast.

He was still young at that time, holding the other's bleeding wrist and crying, Mo Yun brother was like this, touching his head with his uninjured hand and saying

"Bai Tang, why are you crying? This little injury is nothing."

"you did it."

The voice continued, with a subtle hoarseness, like a gun barrel worn by the wind.

"Protecting Mo Zi and keeping your promise... is more beautiful than any move I can teach you."

The wind in the abyss suddenly stopped.

The falling body was supported by a gentle but irresistible force, as if being gently held by a pair of warm hands.

The green light from the tip of the gun spread over and climbed up along his transparent claws. Wherever it passed, the places that were about to dissipate slowly condensed, and even the fragments of the Bell of Justice were re-gathered into small bell shapes in the light.

"But if we do that, we're going to dive into this abyss?"

There was suddenly a hint of blame in his voice, like when he was caught climbing over the stove as a child, and the other person had a stern face but a hidden smile.

"Do you think... I'll let you ignore the words 'let's go home together'?"

Bai Tang opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was blocked by sugar that couldn't be dissolved. He wanted to shout "Brother Mo Yun", but only a faint sound came out.

Tears welled up in his eyes first, not because of the pain, but because the cyan light, the gun, and the angry words were so real that he wanted to cry - it turned out that it was not an illusion, it turned out that there really was someone who would split the sky and come to this endless abyss with a gun to find him.

He gently hooked the gun back and floated upwards along the stream of light, getting closer and closer to the shattered "sky".

He saw Mo Yun's face emerge from the light, her brows slightly furrowed, with red bloodshot eyes. She must have been looking for him for a long time.

But the eagerness in those eyes was wrapped in an indelible tenderness, just like when he got into trouble as a child and the other person pretended to hit him with a ruler while secretly stuffing candy into his hand.

"Hold on tight."

Mo Yun's voice rang out again, and she pushed the gun barrel towards his hand. The warmth of the gun barrel passed through his claws, and it felt as warm as if he had a piece of roasted sweet potato in his arms.

"This time, I'll pull you up. You can't go home without Bai Tang from Xingluo Class."

The green silk spear tip brushed across his cheek, bringing with it the familiar scent of soapberry and a faint smell of blood—probably from being scratched by the fragments when splitting the sky.

Bai Tang used up his last bit of strength, stretched out his claws, and grabbed the gun tightly.

The abyss was rapidly receding behind him, and the light in front of him was overflowing into a sea.

He leaned against the gun barrel and could hear the sound of golden light flowing through the spiral patterns on the gun body, which sounded very much like the heartbeats of his companions when they were gathered together.

He knew that this was not a virtual world, nor a dream.

It’s Brother Mo Yun, here to take him home.

The tide of light suddenly dissipated like a receding tide.

The claws holding the gun barrel suddenly loosened, and Bai Tang fell half a foot unexpectedly, his heart thumping hard in his chest.

He looked up hurriedly, only to see that the shattered sky was healing, the cyan-gold light was shrinking back into the crack little by little, and even Mo Yun's figure began to become blurred - the outline of the green shirt was like an ink painting wet by water, the green light on the tip of the gun gradually dimmed, and even the remaining warmth of the words "hold on tight" was dissipated in the wind.

"Brother Mo Yun?"

He panicked and clawed at the air, but only caught a handful of cold wind.

The gun barrel was still in front of my eyes, but it became transparent, as if it was covered by a layer of frosted glass.

He saw Mo Yun's lips move. The sound was no longer warm and close to his ears. Instead, it came from across the distant abyss, with the unique echo of the Yuanchu gong, clear yet distant:

"Sugar, I've lit the road for you."

The green light from the gun tip suddenly turned into countless tiny points of light, like stars scattered in the abyss, following an invisible trajectory, forming a thin band of light under his feet.

The light band meandered forward, leading to an unknown place, but it carried with it a familiar rhythmic fluctuation, like the ripples on Mo Yunge's gun barrel vibrating gently.

"But you have to walk this road to the end by yourself."

As the voice fell, the spear completely dissipated, and the shadow of the man in the green shirt also disappeared into the healing sky, leaving only the last words as light as a sigh:

“Don’t make those who are waiting for you wait too long.”

"Brother Mo Yun!"

Bai Tang suddenly shouted, and the light strip in front of him suddenly exploded with dazzling brightness—

He suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently, and cold sweat soaked the fur on his back.

It was still that broken wall, still that cold stone slab.

The Yuanchu Luo was hanging above his head, and the azure-gold light was seeping in through the tips of his claws. The wound on his lower back felt a dull pain, but it was no longer a tearing pain.

There was no one around.

There was no blue shirt, no spear, and no "Hold on tight" spoken with a hint of anger.

It turned out that the light that split the abyss and the gentle rebuke were just echoes in the illusion.

It was the rhyme power that Mo Yun left in the Yuanchu Gong, and the thoughts hidden deep in his soul core, that opened the door to clarity for him at the most critical moment.

Bai Tang looked down at his claws. The fingertips still felt the cold touch of the gun barrel, but his palms were empty. Only the light of the Yuanchu Luo was slightly warm.

He remembered the band of light that had just spread across the abyss, and Mo Yun's last words.

The road... is one you have to walk on your own.

He slowly supported himself on the ground and sat up. The fragments of the Bell of Justice had returned to his palm at some point. Although they were still cracked, they no longer dissipated. The bell reflected his pale but no longer confused face.

The distant roar of the hidden soldiers was still there, but he moved his ears and, amidst the clamor, he could make out something even more distant—like the thumping of Wu Song's whistle baton against the stone, the rustle of Xiao Qing's sleeves whipping the wind, and Da Fei's innocent voice calling his name...

Those sounds were very soft, but like the light bands laid by Mo Yun, they lit up little by little in his heart.

Bai Tang took a deep breath, and the white light at the tip of his claws condensed again. This time it was no longer a vague dream, but carried real power.

He stood up with the help of the broken wall. The injury in his lower back was still painful, but each step he took on the stone slabs was more stable than before.

The light of Yuanchu Luo flowed behind him like a silent tail.

He knew that Mo Yun didn't really come to pull him.

But the illuminated road is real.

Those who were waiting for him were also real.

Bai Tang clutched the fragment of the Bell of Justice and took the first step in the direction indicated by the light band.

The wind seemed to still carry the echo of Mo Yun's words. He responded softly, as if speaking to the echo in the abyss, or as if speaking to himself:

"Well, I see."

He will walk the road to the end by himself.