Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

Just after noon, Doufu Tangyuan squatted in the corner of the yard, playing with the wild strawberries he had just picked. He used grass leaves to push away ants and lead them to the strawberries. The yard was so quiet that only the rustling of locust leaves in the wind could be heard.

The owner's mother-in-law put down the half-sewn paw pad in her hand - the stitches were finely locked on the edge of the white velvet cloth. It was an old pad that she had patched for Bai Tang, and the corners had been worn out by him when he was chasing dragonflies by the river a few days ago - and looked up at Mo Yun who was squatting on the stone pier.

He did not flip through the military books, but just pinched a locust leaf and twisted it between his fingers. His eyes fell on the old locust tree at the gate of the courtyard, as if he was counting the leaf buds on the branches.

Grandma suddenly whispered:

"Mo Yun, come to my room."

"Ok?"

Mo Yun paused as she twisted the leaves in her hand, and the locust leaves at her fingertips gently fell onto the stone pier.

These days he always follows Bai Tang around, either watching him holding a sugar gong and licking the sugar on his claws beside the sugar painting stall, or squatting by the river to count the small fish swimming by with him. Even when Tofu Tangyuan chases butterflies, he often stands by and picks up the locust flowers they knock off.

It was rare for his mother-in-law to call him so solemnly.

He replied "Okay", stood up and followed him into the inner room.

The room was still filled with the aroma of dried herbs. There were ceramic jars on the bamboo rack by the window. One jar was filled with dried locust flowers, and the other was filled with tranquilizing herbs prepared for white sugar.

Grandma didn't let him sit down. She sat down on the bamboo chair first, rubbing her fingertips over the shiny lines on the chair's armrests—they were worn away by Bai Tang from always rubbing against the armrests and shaking his tail in the past—before she spoke for a while:

"Seeing Bai Tang smiling these days, it seems like I've forgotten the pain I felt at Yuanchu Luo a while ago."

Mo Yun stood two steps away from her, with her eyes downcast, and didn't respond.

The coolness he felt while guarding the gong a few days ago rose to his fingertips: at that time, Bai Tang was covered in "chaos", and the pads of his paws were as cold as water just drawn from the town's well. He clenched the paw so tightly that his knuckles turned white, always afraid that if he loosened his grip a little, the coolness would disappear.

"Don't treat me like an old fool,"

Grandma suddenly raised her eyes to look at him. The wetness in her eyes that she had when she saw the sugar that day was gone. Instead, she had a darker look in her eyes.

"Even though his wound has healed, how can the area where Chaos once entangled him truly be unharmed? You always go to his lair at night, isn't it because you're afraid he'll curl up in pain and keep silent?"

Mo Yun's Adam's apple moved.

He really couldn't sleep well at night. Twice he heard rustling sounds in the straw nest. Looking in the moonlight, he saw that Baitang had wrapped his tail tightly around his body, with his ears pressed low - he was holding it in pain.

He didn't dare to expose it, but just quietly put a piece of warm jade next to the nest. The next day, when he saw Bai Tang rub the jade in his arms, he breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't mention it a word.

"It's good that you protect him,"

Grandma picked up the coarse porcelain cup on the bamboo table and took a sip of the cold tea - it was made with mint and locust leaves, which Bai Tang usually liked to drink -

"But the sky in Maotu won't be clear just by guarding it."

When Mo Yun raised her eyes, she met the light in her mother-in-law's eyes: darker than the sparks in the stove, but very bright.

He recalled what he had heard at the town entrance a few days ago:

A few wandering cats squatted under the old locust tree and muttered to themselves. The chaos in the west had spread to half of the mountain again. The cats sent by the Chang Sect went to clear it up, but they were entangled by the minions of An Da and could not get away.

At that time he did not dare to tell Bai Tang, he just coaxed her by saying

"The rice outside the town is almost ripe. I will take you to see the golden ears of rice in a few days."

"The day of the decisive battle isn't far away, is it?"

Grandma put the teacup on the table, and the porcelain cup made a light sound against the bamboo table.

"The Chaos Root that An Da buried in Mao Tu will probably surface in the next few days. Xing Luo Ban is Mao Tu's backbone, and Bai Tang is the tip of that backbone. He can't hide from it."

Mo Yun's fingertips pinched into her palm.

It's not that he hadn't thought about it - when he woke up from the Yuanchu Luo with Bai Tang that day, he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide for long.

But when he saw Bai Tang squatting beside the sugar painting stall with his eyes narrowed and smiling, raising his paws covered with sugar residue to pass it to his mouth, he always hoped that this leisurely day could last a little longer, even if it was just one more day or half a day.

"I know you want him to rest a little longer,"

My mother-in-law's voice softened.

"I'd like to, too. But look at that old locust tree in the corner of the yard—it was hit by a hailstorm last year, and several branches were broken, yet it's still growing taller this spring. White sugar is like a hailstorm-hit tree; it looks soft, but its roots are strong."

She took out a cloth bag from the wooden box next to the bamboo chair and handed it over:

"This is the letter that Chang Zong asked someone to bring a few days ago. I brought it along with me."

When Mo Yun took it, his fingertips touched the stitches on the cloth bag - it was sewn by his grandmother, and the stitches were so dense that no air could be seen, just like the ones his grandmother had sewn for his schoolbags when he was a child.

After untying the cloth rope, there was a palm-sized wooden plaque inside. There was a half-opened lotus engraved on the wooden plaque. There were still some unworn sawdust on the edge, and it smelled faintly of lotus.

"The old leader of the Chang Sect said that this was made from the ancient wood next to the lotus platform."

Grandma whispered,

"Chaos is afraid of the fragrance of lotus. This wooden token has been soaked in lotus dew. Wearing it close to your body can block three-tenths of the chaos from invading your body. Keep it for him and give it to him when the time comes—don't give it to him now, or he'll get confused."

Mo Yun held the wooden sign in his palm, and the warmth of the wood penetrated into his heart through his fingertips.

He remembered Bai Tang clinging to his arm and laughing a few days ago:

"Brother Mo Yun, after the locust flowers have faded, let's hurry back to Shen Zong to see the sea, okay? Sister Xiao Qing said that the sea in Shen Zong is blue, even bluer than the sky."

At that time, he did not dare to agree, but just rubbed his head - he was afraid that if he gave him hope, it would not be fulfilled in the end, which would make him more disappointed.

"Don't frown all the time,"

Seeing his fingertips turn white, the mother-in-law sighed softly.

"He's stronger than you think. That day beside the Yuanchu Gong, even Hun Dun couldn't pull him away, which shows that he has a strength in his heart, and that strength is stronger than the Hun Dun that An beat."

Suddenly, Bai Tang's laughter came from outside the window, followed by Doufu's shout:

"Sugar, run slower! The wild strawberries are about to fall!"

Mo Yun glanced through the window and saw Bai Tang holding a bamboo basket filled with wild strawberries, being chased by Tang Yuan as he ran around the locust tree. His tail was shaking like a ball of white fluff, and when he ran past the stone pier, he kicked the locust leaves that had just fallen from his body.

"Relax,"

Grandma stood up and patted his arm.

"When it's time for him to rest, let him rest well. When it's time for him to charge forward, you accompany him. The cats of the Xingluo squad never charge forward alone."

Mo Yun put the wooden sign into her arms, placing it against her heart. Through the cloth, she could smell a hint of the warm lotus fragrance.

He looked at the jumping white shadow outside the window, his Adam's apple moved again, and after a while he whispered:

"I understand, mother-in-law."

"Go ahead,"

Grandma waved her hand.

"Don't let him see that you look gloomy and start to guess whether he has gotten into trouble."

When Mo Yun walked out of the house, he ran into Bai Tang running towards him, holding a bright red wild strawberry and putting it to his mouth on tiptoe:

"Brother Mo Yun, try it! It's freshly picked and very sweet!"

The sweet scent of strawberries hits my face, mixed with the fresh scent of locust leaves.

Mo Yun lowered his head and took a bite. As the sweet juice spread on the tip of his tongue, he reached out and brushed away the grass debris stuck to Bai Tang's ear tip - it had rubbed against him while running just now - and whispered:

"Just now, Grandma said that she would take you to the back mountain to pick wild dates tomorrow. She said that the dates there are sweeter than last year."

Bai Tang's eyes lit up and she stuffed the bamboo basket into his hands:

"Then I'll go talk to Doufu Tangyuan right now! Tell them to get up early tomorrow and not sleep in!"

As he spoke, he ran away happily, his white fur tail casting a warm shadow in the sun. When he passed by the bamboo rack, he did not forget to peek at the pottery jar filled with locust flowers, as if he was counting how many had been dried.

Mo Yun stood there and touched the wooden sign in his arms.

The wind leaked through the locust leaves, carrying the sweetness of wild strawberries and a faint lotus fragrance.

He looked at Bai Tang's back as he ran away, and the heaviness in his heart suddenly eased a little - yes, rest when it is time to rest, and advance when it is time to advance.

As long as he follows me, I have nothing to fear.

……

……

……

(How should I put it? I also watched that trailer today. I was really surprised and scared. After all, he has been doing live broadcasts to make money. I feel like he is deliberately setting a big trap to attract more people. But when the trailer was released, I was more happy. After all, I persisted for so long and finally I could hold on until he won the resurrection match.)

(It would be really sad if Jingju Cats, such a good IP, were to be discontinued like this. Come on, Jingju Cats!!!)