Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

The morning light three days later was particularly soft. The old locust tree in the yard seemed to be softened by dew, and even the sound of its leaves swaying was as light as a whisper.

"hey-hey……"

Bai Tang was finally no longer as flustered as he had been in the past two days after he had staked himself under the locust tree - his knees were bent at just the right angle, neither stiff nor collapsed, his hands were loosely clasped in front of his abdomen, his fingertips three inches away from his lapels, his back was straight, but there was not a trace of stiffness in his body.

The sweat on his forehead slid down his cheek and dripped onto the blue brick, leaving a small wet mark. His eyelashes trembled slightly due to the sweat, but his eyes were fixed on the cracks in the bricks at his feet, not secretly looking up to check the time as usual.

Mo Yun stood under a pomegranate tree not far away, pinching a newly fallen locust leaf with her fingertips. The dew on the leaf rolled down along the veins. She didn't raise her chin until Bai Tang stood steadily for half an hour.

"Let's change the training method today."

As he finished speaking, he bent down and dragged out a half-worn bamboo basket from under the stone table. The edge of the basket was woven with a circle of thin rattan. It was woven by my mother-in-law last autumn. It was covered with a layer of dried fine sand, the sand was white, and there were more than a dozen pebbles buried in it.

These stones are more mixed than those used in the past few days:

The smallest ones are only as big as the tip of a finger, and are as slippery as a piece of broken jade;

The medium-sized ones are flat and round with smooth edges; the largest ones are as big as a child's fist and feel heavy in the hand.

"Before, I practiced 'entanglement' of one thing, today I will try 'entanglement' of three things."

Mo Yun bent down and picked up three stones from the basket, and placed them in the center of the sugar paw - first the fist-sized one, then the flat and round one, and finally the small one, and gently pressed it between his fingers.

"Remember, you are not allowed to drop or crush any of the three. Just practice standing still. When you can hold it steady for a stick of incense, stop."

As soon as Bai Tang directed his energy towards the three stones, all the energy in his body became chaotic.

Big stones are heavy, so you need to use a lot of strength to hold them; small stones are slippery, and they will slip through your fingers if you are not careful.

The flat, round ones were the most annoying. If I wrapped them too loosely, they would twist, but if I wrapped them too tightly, I was afraid they would break. After just a moment, the small stone between my fingers fell into the sand basket with a soft "thump".

"..."

He was so anxious that he wanted to bend down to pick it up. As soon as he moved his knees, he remembered that he was stuck in the stakes and couldn't move. He could only purse his lips and guide the rhythmic force through his fingers again. The tips of his ears turned red.

After struggling for a stick of incense, the back of his cloth shirt was soaked with sweat and stuck to his body, and the three stones still fell from time to time.

The small stone fell three times, the flat and round one rolled twice, but the big one never fell - it was not because he had good control, but because the stone was heavy and it was not easy to slip when it fell in the center of his claws.

"Brother Mo Yun, this is too difficult..."

He was panting, with a hint of grievance in his voice, but instead of throwing the stone away, he clenched it even tighter, his knuckles turning white.

Mo Yun didn't say anything, but picked up three identical stones from the basket and held them in his claws.

He stood in the morning light, his fingertips moved slightly, and the light blue rhythmic energy spread out like a veil, wrapping around the three stones respectively. The rhythmic energy around the big stone was thicker, but not rigid, like holding up a piece of warm jade.

The rhythmic force that wraps the pebbles is so fine that it is almost invisible, yet it keeps the pebbles firmly "stuck" between the fingers;

The flat and round one was wrapped perfectly by the rhythmic force. Even if he raised his hand and made a jumping gesture, the stone did not turn at all.

"Don't be impatient, separate the forces."

Mo Yun's voice was very soft, and the light filtered by the locust leaves fell on his cuffs.

"Just like you that day on the jujube tree, holding the biggest jujube in one hand, protecting the small ones you just picked with the other, and holding a half-red one in your arms, you were reluctant to drop any of it."

Bai Tang stared at his hands and suddenly remembered the scene of picking dates three days ago - he was squatting on a tree branch, holding a big date that was redder than the one in Tangyuan's hand with his left paw, and protecting a few freshly ripe small dates with his right paw, for fear that one of them would fall to the ground and break the skin.

He tried to calm down and divide his rhythmic energy into three streams:

A force presses firmly on a large stone, as if holding a treasure;

A fine force grips the pebble like cotton;

The last stream of water circled along the curve of the flat round stone and gently "stuck" its edge.

"It's done!"

His eyes lit up, and just as he finished speaking, the pebble in his fingers slipped a little. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and used his rhythmic power to pull it back half an inch, so it finally did not fall.

Although his arms were numb and his fingers were sore, he finally managed to get the three stones into his claws.

Just then, there was a soft "creak" sound at the gate of the courtyard, followed by the sound of light footsteps.

The owner's mother-in-law stood at the doorstep with a bamboo basket on her shoulder. The basket was covered with a layer of clean corn leaves and contained freshly steamed date buns. Red dates were embedded in the golden buns, and hot steam with a sweet fragrance wafted over.

When she saw the scene in the yard, her cloudy eyes turned into crescents and she couldn't help laughing twice - the sound was not loud, but warm like the wind blowing through dried jujube leaves.

She didn't come closer, nor did she speak, but just leaned against the door frame and watched. The sunlight fell on her silver hair, giving it a layer of light gold.

The bamboo basket was placed at her feet, and she folded her hands in front of her, as if watching Bai Tang chasing butterflies when she was a child. Her eyes were full of gentleness, and even the wrinkles at the corners of her mouth showed a smile.

When Bai Tang saw her mother-in-law, she immediately became energized. She straightened her back, her hand holding the stone became steady, and even her arms, which had been sore before, seemed to have regained strength.

Mo Yun looked back, nodded slightly to her mother-in-law, then turned to Bai Tang and said:

"Hold steady, hold on for another half an incense stick."

Bai Tang gritted his teeth and nodded, his eyes falling on the cracks in the bricks at his feet. He didn't even dare blink when sweat dripped into his eyes - he was afraid that if he blinked, the stone would fall again.

Half an incense stick of time passed, and when Mo Yun called for a stop, his hands were already too stiff to move. When he let go of the stone, faint red marks were left between his fingers.

"Rest for a quarter of an hour and have a bowl of cold tea."

Mo Yun handed him a coarse porcelain bowl. The cold tea in the bowl was soaked with locust leaves and tasted refreshing.

Bai Tang took the bowl and took two big gulps, then he saw his mother-in-law was still standing at the door, smiling at him.

"Mother-in-law!"

He shouted and was about to run over when Mo Yun held his shoulder:

"Rub your arms first, don't run."

Grandma responded with a "Hehe" sound, bent down, picked up the bamboo basket and came over, took out a hot date bun from it, and handed it to Baitang:

"Freshly steamed, to fill my stomach."

The heat from the steamed bun made Bai Tang's hand shrink, but he was reluctant to let go. He held the steamed bun and nibbled it in small bites. The sweet fragrance mixed with the wheat aroma instantly dispelled most of his fatigue.

"Go to the reed marsh in the evening and add one more thing."

Mo Yun touched the stones in the bamboo basket and said to Bai Tang.

The mother-in-law didn't say anything, but just sat on the stone bench, watching Bai Tang chewing the steamed bun, and laughed twice, slowly peeling a dried wild date in her hand. The date flesh was dry and sweet, with a small core and thick flesh.

As the setting sun shone, the reeds by the river glowed with golden red light, and the ears of reeds swayed gently in the wind, like a layer of broken gold.

Mo Yun took out a cloth bag from his arms. It was made of coarse cloth and had a small jujube flower embroidered on it - it was sewn for him by his mother-in-law that year.

He turned the cloth bag upside down and poured out a handful of clay particles as fine as rice grains. They fell lightly into his palm and floated to the side when the wind blew.

"The day before yesterday I was hiding from mud balls, today I'm hiding from this."

He weighed the clay particles, picked up one with his fingertips,

"Walk three times around the reeds. If you get hit three times, you lose. Remember, don't break the reeds, and don't go back."

Bai Tang leaned over to take a look. The clay particles were ten times smaller than the previous mud balls, and their color was similar to that of reed roots. They were difficult to distinguish even when they fell on grass leaves, not to mention that they would deviate in direction when blown by the wind.

"This is too small..."

He grumbled, but still rolled up his sleeves.

"Come on! I definitely won't lose!"

As soon as he entered the reeds, he heard a soft "whoosh" sound - it was the sound of clay particles flying towards him, light and fast.

Bai Tang quickly turned to the side, and clay particles flew past the tip of his ear and hit the reed stalks and broke into pieces, leaving a light yellow mark.

He did not dare to be careless. He walked very lightly and circled around under the cover of the reeds, with his ears perked up, listening to the sound of clay particles flying towards him.

But the clay particles are too light, the sound is almost inaudible, and they will change direction when the wind blows.

I hadn't walked half a circle when I was hit on the back. The cool dirt stuck to my shirt and it was a little itchy.

"oops!"

He hurried up his pace, but didn't pay attention to the stones under his feet. He almost tripped and was hit on the arm by a clay particle.

"One more time."

Mo Yun's voice came from outside the reeds, with a hint of smile.

Bai Tang gritted his teeth, stopped and listened carefully - not only listening to the sound, but also watching the swaying of the reed ears.

When the clay particles fly over, even if the wind is strong, the ears of corn will shake slightly. The shaking is different from that caused by the wind, it is more rapid and more broken.

He tried to stare at the reeds in front of him, and saw one of the reeds tremble slightly. He immediately dodged to the side, and sure enough, a particle of clay flew past his waist.

In this way, he slowly figured out the trick by observing the movements of the reed ears. After the last round, he was only hit once.

"Today's calculation is done."

Mo Yun put away the cloth bag and walked over from outside the reeds. Seeing Bai Tang running out with sweat all over his head, grass debris on the tip of his ears and some mud on his cheeks, he couldn't help but reach out to brush it off for him.

Bai Tang grinned, revealing two small fangs. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a "hehe" laugh coming from the side.

I don't know when the owner's mother-in-law sat on a rock by the river, peeling a wild date in her hand. The date flesh was sweet.

She had just arrived and sat on a rock, watching for a long time without calling for a stop or giving any instructions. Her eyes were full of tenderness, as if she was watching children playing.

Seeing Bai Tang looking over, she handed over the peeled dates:

"Run slowly and be careful of the rocks under your feet. The river is slippery."

As he said this, he laughed again, stood up and picked up the bamboo basket - the date buns in the basket had cooled down a little, but still had a sweet fragrance.

"I'll go back and cook first. You guys should come back early."

She walked back slowly, her back silhouette stretched out by the setting sun and falling on the grass by the river, like a soft painting.

The sweet dates are bitten by white sugar, and the sweetness of the date meat is mixed with the earthy smell of clay, which is surprisingly not bad.

He clenched his claws, and suddenly felt that today's training didn't seem so difficult - the sore legs when driving stakes, the numb hands when wrapping stones, and the panic when dodging clay particles, all seemed to be diluted by the laughter of the mother-in-law and the sweetness of the dates.

"Brother Mo Yun, are we going to increase the difficulty tomorrow?"

Mo Yun nodded and touched his forehead with her fingertips, which were slightly sweaty.

"Tomorrow we'll practice 'entanglement in motion'—walking with stakes while entangled with stones. While walking, the stakes must remain in the correct position, and the stones must not fall."

"Entangled in motion?"

Bai Tang stuck out his tongue, and imagined how he would drive the stakes while walking, and then wrap three stones around them. He felt his arms starting to ache again, but his eyes didn't flinch. Instead, they sparkled as he threw the date pit far away.

"Okay! I'm sure I can do it! Maybe I can even wrap one more stone tomorrow!"

Mo Yun couldn't help but laugh, and reached out to rub his head:

"First, tie these three things securely."

The evening breeze swept across the reeds, carrying with it the sweet scent of wild dates and the coolness of the river water.

Mo Yun looked at Bai Tang's back as she jumped and chased butterflies, then looked in the direction where the owner's grandmother was walking away - the setting sun had sunk behind the mountain, the sky was slowly getting dark, and the shadows of the mountains in the distance were gradually blurred.

He touched the wooden plaque in his arms; the lotus pattern on it was warmed by his body temperature.

This young tree, which has just sprouted new branches, is not only happy to take root downwards, but also wants to grow upwards.

As for the rest, just accompany him to practice slowly and grow slowly.

Bai Tang chased the butterfly for a while, then ran back to Mo Yun, holding a few smooth stones in his hand - he had picked them up when he was dodging the clay particles just now, thinking that he could use them when wrapping the stones tomorrow.

"Brother Mo Yun, do you think my mother-in-law thought I was very good when she saw me training just now?"

He asked, his head tilted back, his eyes full of anticipation.

Mo Yun nodded:

"Well, my mother-in-law must think you're amazing."

Bai Tang laughed even more happily, pulling Mo Yun's sleeve and walking back:

"Then let's go back quickly. I want to tell my mother-in-law that I will definitely be able to practice the dynamic entanglement well tomorrow!"

The reeds by the river were still swaying, and the sweetness in the wind became stronger and stronger, accompanied by the footsteps of two figures, which gradually disappeared into the twilight.

The leaves of the locust trees in the yard have turned dark, and dew has begun to drip down again, landing on the green bricks, dripping, dripping, as if counting the days, waiting for the small tree to take root and grow taller and stronger.