Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"..."

Mo Yun's fingertips paused, and the smile that had just formed on the corner of her mouth had not yet completely faded, but a very light red spread to the corners of her eyes, like the fragmented light at the end of the sunset blown by the wind.

He lowered his eyes and stared at Baitang's fur covered with a thin layer of sweat - it was this snow-like fur that was stained with undried blood a few days ago, sticking to the blue-gray stone slab, leaving a small dark mark.

That day, when he was brought back to the Shen Sect to recuperate, he had already broken two ribs. In his coma, he was tormented by the chaotic roaring and felt pain. When he opened his eyes again, the spear in his hand had already stabbed out uncontrollably.

The tip of the gun was against Bai Tang's lower back. The fur there was singed black by the power of rhyme, and even his own wrist was numb from the shock, but he dared not let go - the elder said that chaos had been entangled in the soul core, and if it was not cut out, both cats would be dragged into the darkness.

"Hmm~"

The remaining light particles after the chaos dissipated were still floating on the stone slabs. A few of them fell on Baitang's eyelashes. The eyelashes trembled twice, like grass leaves covered with dew in early spring, and then the eyelids slowly opened.

The amber eyeballs that first appeared were covered with a layer of moisture. They turned half a circle and then stopped. When they looked directly into Mo Yun's eyes, they were still a bit confused as if they couldn't tell the truth from the false. They were less bright and lively than usual, and more soft and sticky.

"This is where?"

"Brother Mo Yun?"

His voice was extremely hoarse, as if choked by chaotic foul air. The tail tone was sticky and was choked by the dryness in his throat just as it came out. When he wanted to call out again, Mo Yun raised his hand and pressed the back of his neck.

"..."

When Mo Yun's fingertips touched the warm fur, his knuckles trembled almost imperceptibly - when he pulled the gun tip out of Bai Tang that day, blood flowed down the gun barrel and dripped onto the back of his hand, burning like fire.

He thought that was the only way to clear the chaos, but as he looked at Baitang's softening body, with his front paws still loosely grasping half a piece of uneaten candy, he suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in his heart, and the pain was even worse than when his ribs were broken.

Later, he guarded under the broken wall for three days. The blood on the tip of the gun formed a scab, which was so hard that it hurt his hands and would fall off when the wind blew. He stared at Bai Tang's claws, always hoping that the claws would curl up, even if it meant cursing, "Brother Mo Yun, you are so cruel." It was better than being so quiet that even the wind would go around him.

"do not move."

His voice was deeper than before, but he couldn't suppress the slight tremor at the end. His fingertips rubbed the soft hair behind Baitang's ear. There was still some grass debris there, which he had touched when he was running in the dream just now.

"How do you feel? Does your waist still hurt?"

Bai Tang blinked and looked around - the broken wall was still the same broken wall, and the broken tiles stuck in the cracks of the stone slabs were still the same. Where were the green tiles and white walls of Dongqiang Town in the illusion?

His Adam's apple rolled and he said in a low voice:

"…I'm a little tired."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden light sound from his palm. It was the pieced-together Bell of Justice, which had landed in his palm at some point. The golden and purple light on the bell was slowly fading, but it was brighter than before.

"?"

When he clenched the bell tightly, he discovered that the wounds on his body were actually healing - the charred fur on his lower back was gradually losing its dullness, revealing the snow-white new fur underneath. Even the dull pain in his joints that had been stiffened by the chaos had been greatly alleviated.

Mo Yun looked at his hand holding the bell. Just now in the illusion, that hand was holding a hot sweet potato, with the candy core all over the fingers. Now the knuckles were clearly visible, without the bruises from when it was entangled in chaos.

He suddenly remembered that after killing Bai Tang that day, he clumsily wiped the sugar stains off his claws. As he was wiping, tears fell on the stone slab, diluting the sweetness.

During those three days, people always came to urge him, saying that the Shen Zong had things to deal with, but he just stood there with his neck stiff and the gun across Bai Tang's side, as if he was protecting some rare treasure - in fact, he was not protecting it, he was afraid that if he left, he would not even be able to keep this thought.

"Yuanchu Luo, I can really ask you to come back."

He paused, raised his hand and knocked on Bai Tang's head, the force was half as light as usual, the fingertips fell on the top of the furry head, so soft that it made people tremble.

"If you dare to get entangled by Chaos again... I won't wait for you anymore."

The words were harsh, but the light in his eyes was as soft as melted candy.

"I don't dare anymore, Brother Mo."

Bai Tang rushed to respond, his voice still a little hoarse, but with a softness that came from surviving a disaster. He looked up at Mo Yun, his amber eyes lighting up.

"I thought... I'd never see you again. I saw you in my dream just now and thought it was real."

Mo Yun didn't respond, but reached out to brush away the broken tiles on his shoulders.

The wind blew in from the gap in the broken wall, carrying with it a hint of moisture from the grass and trees, making the Bell of Justice ring with a crisp "ding" sound.

He looked at the new soft hair growing on the tip of Baitang's tail - he had personally cut off the old hair that was covered with mess that day. His hands were shaking when he was cutting, for fear of cutting the flesh. Now the new hair was soft and whiter than the hair elsewhere, and it swayed conspicuously in the wind.

"..."

The depression that had been choking him for a long time suddenly dissipated, like ice melted by the sun, flowing down his heart, and even his eyes became warm. He quickly turned his face away, pretending to look at the mist in the distance, but he didn't notice that the smile on the corner of his mouth had already spread, and it was several points deeper than before.

"Just wake up."

He patted Bai Tang's back one last time, pressing his fingertips on the newly grown flesh, confirming it was warm and soft before letting go. There was a hint of lightness in his voice that he himself hadn't noticed.

"Get up when you've rested enough. It's time to go. Wu Song and the others might still be waiting outside the town. We can't keep them waiting."

Bai Tang responded, and this time he didn't fall back when he stood up.

He stood still, clutching the Bell of Justice. The new hair on the tip of his tail brushed across the back of Mo Yun's hand in the wind, making Mo Yun twitch her fingers.

As he walked forward, he saw that Mo Yun's hand holding the gun loosened, his knuckles were no longer as tense and white as before, and even the cold light at the tip of the gun had softened.

He didn't know that Mo Yun had been guarding him for three days, nor did he know that when the gun pierced his body that day, Mo Yun closed his eyes and shed tears. He didn't know that at this moment, Brother Mo Yun was thinking in his heart - when he got out, he would first ask Xiaoqing for a bowl of sweet soup, then grab half a bag of candied fruits from Wusong and stuff it all into Bai Tang's pocket, so that he wouldn't always think about the warmth in the illusion and forget the sweetness in front of him.

"..."

Bai Tang stood against the broken wall for a long time before he could barely stand firm.

The Justice Bell swung in his palm. He looked down at the bell, then glanced around blankly, then suddenly frowned.

"Hey? Where's everyone?"

He remembered that in the illusion, Wu Song was standing on the stone arch bridge, and Xiao Qing was still holding a handkerchief with the scent of mugwort. How come when he woke up, he couldn't even see his shadow?

His mind felt like a tangled mess, the pain from the chaos still lingering, fragmented memories pounding his temples—he seemed to see the Shen Zong water dungeon, hear Wu Song yelling at him to get out of the way, and the sweet potato Da Fei stuffed into his hand burned his palms red...

"Am I not in the Body Sect?"

He raised his hand and pressed his forehead, his voice muffled.

"Where did Sister Xiaoqing and the others go?"

Mo Yun was picking up the rosary that had fallen on the ground for him. When she heard this, she paused and stood up with a faint smile on her lips.

He walked over, raised his hand and patted Bai Tang's neck gently, with a very gentle force:

"Don't think too quickly."

The fur that his fingertips touched was still warm and soft, much warmer than when he felt it under the broken wall that day.

Mo Yun looked at Bai Tang's wrinkled face and added:

"They're waiting in a safe place. Once you've recovered, we'll go find them."

Bai Tang said "Oh", but he was still not completely relieved, and the new hair on the tip of his tail was drooping.

He clutched the Justice Bell and walked forward. After two steps, he couldn't help but look back at Mo Yun:

"Brother Mo Yun, am I remembering correctly? Wasn't there a lot of chaos in the Shen Sect back then?"

Mo Yun followed his steps, neither answering yes nor no, but simply reaching out to help him move the broken wood out of the way.

"Let's go forward. Once we're out of this fog, I'll tell you slowly."

The wind carried the crisp sound of the Justice Bell farther away. Bai Tang followed Mo Yun out of the mist, and the confusion in his mind seemed to be smoothed out a little by those two gentle taps.

Although I still can't remember many things, I felt relieved when I heard Brother Mo Yun say "go find them" - after all, if I follow Brother Mo Yun, I will always be able to see Sister Xiaoqing and the others.

As he thought about this, his steps became lighter, and the new hair on the tip of his tail swayed in the wind again, rubbing against the back of Mo Yun's hand, making it feel a little itchy.

"..."

Mo Yun smiled at his back, gripped his spear tightly and followed him, the tip of the spear sweeping across the broken grass, no longer tensing like before.

……

……

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(Which psychopath is so bored that he reported me again? The whole article is under review)