Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

The candles were not lit, leaving only darkness in the room.

Mo Yun flattened the sketch of Duanyuntai again, and lightly touched the siphon node in the center of the paper with his fingertips. Water seeped into the back of the paper like a spring, flowing along the array pattern he had drawn earlier, as if injecting new perception into this old picture.

The wind outside the eaves, wrapped in the moisture from the alley, blew the window paper gently. He could clearly capture that the erosive energy in the water cocoon in the backyard was still faintly fluctuating, like a trapped snake, repeatedly colliding in the cocoon.

"They came tonight for more than just a test."

Mo Zi leaned against the door, the light purple light in his sleeves gathered into a line, and his fingertips turned white due to the force.

"The rhythm of the bone bell contains the signal for the 'Summoning Formation'. I just counted them from behind the door. There are nine in total, corresponding to the nine hidden stakes on the Duanyun Terrace."

Mo Yun raised her eyes, her gaze falling on the dark alley outside the window:

"Did you hear that?"

"I've learned 'Rhyme and Sound Identification' from my mother before. Although I'm not proficient in it, I can still understand the pattern."

Mo Zi lowered his voice to a very low level, fearing to disturb Bai Tang, Wu Song and Da Fei who were fast asleep in bed. Bai Tang's paw was still on Wu Song's tail, and Da Fei was snoring evenly, obviously still not waking up from the day's fatigue.

"They are confirming that there is no problem with the formation core of the Duanyun Platform, and are also confirming whether we have discovered the secret of the formation core."

Mo Yun flicked the corner of the table with her fingertips, and the remaining cold tea at the bottom of the cup instantly condensed into fine frost, crawling along the table legs to the doorstep, weaving a very light ice pattern on the ground:

"They're afraid I'll go to the Rhyme Breaking Platform and take action early. That 'Rhyme Swallowing Well' isn't that easy to seal."

Just as he finished speaking, a very light "click" sound came from outside the courtyard wall, as if someone was using fingernails to scratch the gaps in the floor tiles.

"Humph, you're really courting death!"

Mo Yun's eyes turned cold, and the water in his palm suddenly tightened. The wind chimes hanging under the eaves suddenly stopped, and even the wind seemed to be held down by an invisible force.

"Someone is touching me."

He whispered,

"It's not the masked man from before, it's another one—the footsteps are so light, like someone who has practiced the 'Shadow Step'."

Mo Zi immediately held his breath, the purple light in his sleeve dimmed again, and he quietly moved towards the bed, his fingertips almost touching Bai Tang's ears.

She knew that if the people outside tried to force their way in, she would have to use her "rhythm power" to protect her three companions immediately, even if it meant exposing her own rhythm power to prevent them from getting hurt.

Mo Yun didn't stand up, but just spread his perception along the ice pattern on the door sill, like an invisible net, extending along the ground to the alley entrance.

Soon, he "saw" a thin black shadow moving along the wall, holding a bone whistle in his hand, and approaching the window of the inn - the pattern on the bone whistle was the same as the erosion energy on the black shadow's body, obviously they were in the same group.

"Want to blow the whistle to call for help?"

A hint of coldness appeared at the corner of Mo Yun's mouth. With a flick of his fingertips, the accumulated water under the tiles at the entrance of the alley suddenly surged up and turned into an extremely thin thread of water, silently wrapping around the black shadow's wrist.

Just as the black shadow was about to bring the bone whistle to his mouth, his wrist suddenly felt numb and the whistle fell to the ground with a clang.

He was so frightened that he wanted to hide, but the water silk had already climbed up along his sleeves, wrapped around his arms like vines, and pulled him towards the inn.

"Don't make a sound."

Mo Yun's voice came through the door, clear and chilling.

"If you dare to shout, I will freeze you into an ice sculpture right now."

The black shadow's body froze, and he was dragged by the water thread, stumbling and falling into the yard.

Mo Yun stood up and opened the door. He withdrew the water from his palm, and the black shadow fell to his knees with a plop. His face was still covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of frightened eyes.

"Where is the center of the Duanyun Terrace?"

Mo Yun looked down at him condescendingly, with a wisp of icy spirit condensed on her fingertips, ready to pierce his eyebrows at any time.

The black shadow gritted his teeth and didn't say anything, making a "ho ho" sound in his throat, as if he was resisting something.

Mo Zi walked out at this time and caught a glimpse of the black lines on the black shadow's neck - the lines were crawling towards his face, carrying the fishy smell of corrosiveness. It was obvious that he had been planted with the "Heart-Corroding Curse". Once he opened his mouth and revealed the secret, the curse would take effect.

"Don't push him, brother."

Mo Zi grabbed Mo Yun's arm

"It's the 'Heart-Erosion Curse'. He said that if he spoke of it, the curse would backfire on him and he would die a more miserable death."

Mo Yun frowned, and the icy spirit on his fingertips grew even colder. At this moment, a muffled "bang" suddenly came from the backyard. It was the sound of the water cocoon bursting!

He turned around suddenly and saw two black shadows rushing out from the backyard, with corrosive aura surging on their bodies. They headed straight for the thin black shadow at the door, obviously intending to kill and silence him.

"Stop them!"

Mo Yun shouted loudly, and the water in his palm surged, turning into two water walls, blocking the black shadow.

Mo Zi took action immediately, and the purple light in his sleeves turned into two light blades, slashing straight at the black shadow rushing towards him.

But the two black shadows were not afraid of pain. They did not stop even when hit by the light blade. Instead, they increased their speed. The bone knives in their hands, with the aura of corrosiveness, stabbed towards the back of the thin black shadow.

"careful!"

Mo Zi pounced forward and used his body to block the thin black shadow. The light blade suddenly grew larger again, forcing the two black shadows back half a step.

Mo Yun took the opportunity to close his palms, and the water wall instantly turned into a water net, trapping the two black shadows tightly.

But at this moment, the thin black shadow suddenly took out a black talisman paper from his arms and threw it to the ground. The talisman paper instantly ignited with black flames, and thick smoke billowed with a pungent corrosive smell that made people unable to open their eyes.

"go!"

The black shadow roared, his voice filled with the pain of the curse, and turned to run towards the alley.

Mo Yun wanted to chase, but the thick smoke blocked his view. When the smoke cleared, the thin black shadow had disappeared, leaving only two black shadows trapped in the water net - their bodies were turning black rapidly, as if they were being counterattacked by the Qi of Eclipse Yun. Soon they lost their breath and turned into two pools of black water that seeped into the ground.

The courtyard returned to silence, leaving only the lingering black smoke and the pungent smell of fish. Mo Zi leaned against the door frame and coughed a few times, the purple light at his fingertips dimming.

"Let him run away."

"It won't last long."

Mo Yun looked at the black water on the ground, probed the water with his fingertips, and fished out a tiny bone fragment from the black water. The bone fragment was engraved with a simple diagram of Duanyun Terrace and the location of the "spring eye".

"He has this with him, so he will definitely go to the Broken Rhyme Terrace again. We just have to wait, and he will come to our door in three days."

He handed the bone fragment to Mo Zi and his gaze returned to the bed:

"Protect them well. From tonight onwards, do not leave the inn again."

Mo Zi took the bone slice, pinched the cold thin slice with his fingertips, and nodded.

She walked to the bedside, looked at the sleeping Bai Tang, Wu Song and Da Fei, and gently moved Bai Tang's claws off Wu Song's tail. The purple light in her sleeves slowly spread out, weaving a thicker protective shield around the three of them - this time, she would never give anyone the chance to hurt them again.

Mo Yun walked back to the table and compared the sketch of Duanyuntai with the bone fragments.

Before the candlelight was lit, the water on his fingertips emitted a light blue light, illuminating the siphon node on the sketch and the spring eye on the bone fragment - the two were connected, and it happened to be the location of the "Swallowing Rhythm Well" of the Duanyun Terrace.

"Three days later..."

He whispered to himself, his eyes growing colder.

"It's time to go visit the 'well'."

The wind at the alley entrance started to blow again, stirring the fallen leaves in the yard, but it could not blow away the lingering smell of corrosion in the air.

In the darkness in the distance, the thin black shadow covered his neck, and the pain from the curse made him tremble all over, but he still took out another bone whistle from his arms and blew it gently - the whistle sound was very thin, and it floated towards the direction of Duanyuntai along with the wind.

The next morning

It was just dawn, the window paper was still damp, and the room was so quiet that you could hear the moisture condensing on the wood.

Mo Yun stood up, moving very gently as if she was afraid of startling something.

He glanced at the bed. Bai Tang still had his paw on Wu Song's tail. Wu Song frowned, as if he had a dream about being pulled by the tail.

Dafei kicked away a corner of the quilt, revealing his round belly, and his snoring was even and deep.

He didn't say "I'm leaving", he just walked to the door, paused for a moment, turned around and cast a look at Mo Zi.

The look was short, but it was like a knife cutting through the water, leaving an invisible mark.

Mo Zi understood:

Don't follow me, just stay here, I'll come back if anything happens.

The door hinge made a very light "Ya" sound.

Mo Yun's figure disappeared into the morning mist, and the door closed again, not even a trace of wind leaking in.

The room became even quieter.

Mo Zi put on an outer coat and walked to the window. He pressed his fingertips on the slightly cool window paper, and his fingertips rolled over the rough surface of the paper, but he did not dare to lift the seam.

She knew her brother's rules and knew what she should do at the moment.

Xiaoqing was gently awakened by the sound of wind chimes in the yard.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, immediately seeing the empty couch—the bedding was neatly folded, with few wrinkles. Her gaze paused at the door, then fell back on Mo Zi's face, her brows furrowed.

"Brother is out?"

Mo Zi turned around and suppressed the worry in his eyes.

"Well, go do something."