Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"Got it, Brother Mo Yun!" Several people from the Xingluo class responded in unison, their eyes full of eagerness to try - after all, since they set foot in Panhei Town.

"whee……"

They seemed to be bound by invisible rules, and now that they could finally take the initiative to search for clues, they were actually more excited.

Breakfast was rye bread and light tea brought by the waiter. The bread was so hard that it hurt my teeth and the tea had a bitter taste, but no one complained.

"Faster, faster"

Wu Song finished his biscuit in a few bites, then stood up, clutching his whistle stick.

"Then let's go walk around the streets first. If we find anything wrong, we'll call you immediately with our rhyme power!"

He patted Bai Tang's shoulder while saying this.

"Let's go to the east end of the town first. I think I saw a rune monument over there when we passed by just now. Maybe we can find out something."

"Um"

Bai Tang immediately followed, not forgetting to turn around and wave at Mo Yun:

"Brother Mo Yun, don't worry, we will definitely not cause any trouble!"

Xiaoqing carefully hid the jade flute in her sleeve, and helped Dafei sort out the ancient singing score in his arms, and said:

"Da Fei, remember to protect the ancient score and don't let anyone see its specialness."

Da Fei nodded heavily, stuffed the ancient score into his arms again, and followed the two men out.

As soon as the four cats stepped out of the inn, they were tripped by the "rules" of the street - a patrolling team of Panzong disciples, five in total, were coming towards them, their steps so orderly that they seemed to have been measured with a ruler.

The copper bell on the waist jingled with each footstep. The sound was not loud, but it made the pedestrians around who were originally silent stop in their tracks, stand sideways against the wall, and dare not even raise their heads.

"Stand still, don't move."

Xiaoqing quickly pulled Wusong's sleeve, and the cats quickly imitated pedestrians and stood against the wall.

"Ok?"

The patrolling disciples walked very slowly, their eyes sweeping over everyone like a minesweeper. One of the disciples paused for a moment on Dafei's arms, frowning slightly, and reached out to touch him.

"What do you have in your arms?"

Da Fei's heart tightened, and he subconsciously hid the ancient score behind him. Wu Song immediately took a step forward, and the fiery red rhythmic power quietly condensed at his fingertips, but Xiao Qing suppressed it with her eyes.

"I am..."

Xiaoqing took a step forward and said calmly:

"Your Excellency, he had an old family booklet in his arms. He kept it with him because he didn't want it to get wet during the journey."

"..."

The disciple stared at Xiaoqing for a few seconds, then glanced at Dafei's tense face. In the end, he didn't ask any more questions, but just said coldly:

"No unidentified items are allowed to be hidden in Heizhen. If I see you again, I will deal with you according to the law."

After saying that, he turned around and followed the team, and the sound of the copper bell gradually faded away.

The cats didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the patrol disappeared around the corner.

"Great, finally gone..."

Wu Song wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered softly:

"This disciple of the Judgment Sect is too fierce. It's just an old booklet, isn't it? Why is he taking it so seriously?"

"This is Panzong's territory, and 'being serious' is the rule."

Bai Tang looked at the direction where the patrol team went away, frowning.

"That disciple looked at Dafei with a strange look just now. Maybe he's sensed the aura of the ancient manual. We have to be more careful next time."

The cats didn't dare to delay any longer and walked along the bluestone road to the east end of the town.

The atmosphere on the street was more depressing than in the early morning. Many shops were already open, but only half-doors were open. The shop owners sat behind the counter, staring at the door with dull eyes, not even bothering to greet customers when they came in.

When passing by a cloth shop, Bai Tang noticed that the cloth hanging in the shop was all gray and black, without even a hint of bright colors. He couldn't help but whispered:

"Don't cats here wear other colors?"

Xiaoqing followed his gaze and shook her head slightly:

"The Panzong sect emphasizes 'abstaining from desire and observing the law.' Bright colors are considered 'symbols of distracting thoughts.' I guess no one would dare to wear them. Look at the people on the street, even their belts are black, which shows how strict these rules are."

As they were talking, the cats walked to the rune monument at the east end of the town.

The stone tablet was two people tall, pitch black, and engraved with dense silver runes. There were also faint golden light patterns between the runes, which seemed to be flowing.

The bottom of the stone tablet is surrounded by a circle of half-person-high black stone railings, on which are engraved the words "No crossing the line, violators will have their fingers cut off", which makes people feel cold.

Wu Song went to the railing and stood on tiptoe to look at the stone tablet:

"These runes look a bit similar to those used by the black-robed man, but also quite different. They seem to be more complicated."

Just as he was about to reach out and touch the railing, Xiaoqing grabbed him and said:

"Don't touch it! Have you forgotten about poking the stone slab yesterday? There might be runes on this railing too. If they're triggered, it'll be troublesome."

Wu Song quickly withdrew his hand and scratched his head angrily:

"I know, I know. I'm just curious."

Bai Tang stared at the runes on the stone tablet and suddenly frowned:

"Look, these runes seem to be able to form a line, extending from the top of the monument to the bottom, and there are still a few pieces missing in the middle... Could it be that they require a specific rhythmic power to activate?"

Dafei came over and took a closer look:

"I find it a bit strange too. The arrangement of these runes doesn't look random, but rather like part of some kind of formation."

"tread……"

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind, accompanied by the disciples' scolding:

"What are you doing here? How can outsiders peek into the rune tablet at will?"

Ji Mao turned around and saw two disciples of Pan Zong walking quickly towards them, pointing long spears in their hands.

Wu Song immediately stood in front of the group, his fiery red rhythmic energy quietly gathering on his whistle stick:

"We were just passing by and thought the stele was beautiful, so we took a few more glances. Why can't we look at it anymore?"

"presumptuous!"

One of the disciples shouted sternly,

"The laws of Panhei Town stipulate that people from outside the sect are not allowed to approach within three meters of the rune monument. You have crossed the line. Come with us!"

As he said that, he reached out to grab Bai Tang's arm.

Bai Tang dodged sideways and was about to explain when he felt a sudden warmth on his wrist - it was the rhythmic power left by Mo Yun that was heating up.

"Um……"

He was delighted, knowing that Mo Yun should be arriving soon, but he didn't dare show it, and just remained calm:

"We didn't do it on purpose. We just didn't see the sign prohibiting approaching, so we left now."

"It's too late to leave now!"

As another disciple spoke, he raised his spear and was about to stab Wu Song.

“It’s so unreasonable…”

Seeing this, Wu Song didn't care about anything else. He raised his whistle stick and was about to fight back, but was blocked by a blue light film that suddenly appeared.

"stop."

Mo Yun's voice came from behind. He walked slowly to the side of the group, with light blue rhyme energy lingering around him.

"They are simply curious and have no intention of violating the law. Please be accommodating."

When the two disciples saw Mo Yun, their expressions changed slightly - they had seen the jade pendant in Mo Yun's hand when they were registering at the town gate before, and knew that this person was related to the sect leader.

One of the disciples hesitated for a moment, but still said:

"But they have crossed the line. According to the law..."

"The law also speaks of reason,"

Mo Yun interrupted him, took out a small blue rune from his pocket and handed it to the disciple.

"This is the 'Penalty Immunity Talisman' given to me by the Sect Master. It can offset a single unintentional mistake. Is it enough to use on them now?"

The disciple took the rune, looked at it carefully, and confirmed that it was real. His expression immediately relaxed:

"Since you have the immunity talisman, I won't pursue the matter this time. But next time, please keep an eye on your companions and don't go near the forbidden area again."

After saying that, he put away his spear and turned away.

Wu Song didn't breathe a sigh of relief until his disciples left. He scratched his head and said to Mo Yun:

"Thanks, Brother Mo Yun. I almost got into a fight with them just now."

"Don't be so impulsive next time,"

Mo Yun shook her head helplessly.

"This isn't the outside world. Every conflict could lead to more trouble. By the way, when you were looking at the stele just now, did you notice anything special?"

Bai Tang nodded immediately and pointed at the stone tablet and said:

"Brother Mo Yun, we found that the runes on the stone tablet seem to be able to form a line, and there are a few pieces missing in the middle. Could it be a formation that requires a specific rhythmic force to activate?"

Mo Yun looked in the direction he pointed, her eyes narrowed slightly:

"You're right. This is indeed the Pan Sect's 'Locking Law Formation.' The runes on the stone tablet are the core of the formation. The missing pieces need to be filled with 'Rhythm Power' to activate it. However, this formation is usually only used in the sect's forbidden areas. Why is it set up in the east end of the town?"

"Could it be to protect something?"

Xiao Qing asked.

Mo Yun pondered for a moment:

"It's possible. Panhei Town is the gateway to the Pan Sect. There might be a secret passage leading to the inner part of the sect underneath. This formation is used to guard the entrance to the secret passage. But we can't be sure now. We have to look for other clues."

As they were talking, they saw Mo Zi walking towards them quickly, his face looking a little serious:

"Brother, I just heard a few guests chatting in the inn lobby. They said that the Panzong has been searching for 'outsiders in possession of ancient artifacts' lately. They also said that if they are caught, they will be taken directly to the criminal platform for questioning without asking any questions."

"Antiquities?"

Da Fei's heart tightened, and he subconsciously touched the ancient song sheet in his arms.

Could this be what they're looking for?"

Mo Yun nodded:

"Very likely. It seems the Panzong has realized that the ancient rune manual is in our possession. We must be more cautious in our next actions. I just went to the rune shop to inquire, and the owner said that the Panzong has been strictly investigating recently. All materials for deciphering runes are under control and cannot be purchased at all."