Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"what's up?"

Xiaoqing asked.

She just turned twelve this year. She is more lively than Mo Zi, but also more sensitive than anyone else.

Mo Zi walked over and helped her straighten her collar. When his fingertips touched her shoulders, he realized that his hands were a little cold.

"Go wash up first. We'll prepare food for Bai Tang and the others later."

She deliberately changed the subject, but Xiaoqing didn't agree.

The little girl walked barefoot on the cool floor, walked up to Mo Zi and looked up:

"Sister, don't lie to me. Did a cat come here last night?"

Mo Zi's fingertips paused, and she didn't answer directly. She just reached out and tucked Xiao Qing's scattered hair behind her ears.

"Let's heat up breakfast first and talk later."

Xiaoqing said "Oh", but when she turned around, she quietly set her eyes on Mo Zi's cuffs - when her sister raised her hand just now, she seemed to see a corner of the rhyme doll that her brother often wore, showing from the lapel.

There was a crack on the back, so thin that it was almost invisible. It was caused by the evil spirit when Mo Yun went to check the "Bone Guide" last year. He never leaves it with him, so how could it be here with his sister?

Doubts were like seeds, planted in Xiaoqing's heart.

……

The fire in the kitchen was soon lit.

Mo Zi added water to the porridge from last night to heat it up, cut some salted bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables, and mixed it into a refreshing side dish.

Xiaoqing stood at the door holding a bowl, but her eyes were always looking outside. Every time she heard footsteps outside the yard, she would prick up her ears to listen, but those footsteps were either from peddlers carrying loads or people sweeping the streets early in the morning, none of them were Mo Yun's.

When the porridge was served on the table, Bai Tang finally stretched, sat up in a daze, and rubbed his eyes slowly, like a glutinous rice ball just taken out of the quilt.

Wu Song yawned and flicked his tail. He was about to complain, but Mo Zi glared at him and he swallowed the words back.

Da Fei was the most down-to-earth. As soon as he opened his eyes, he moved towards the table, sniffing the air. "It smells so good! Are there any pickled vegetables today?"

"Have."

Mo Zi put the dishes and chopsticks in place,

"Eat, and then take a nap."

Bai Tang picked up the bowl, took a sip, and his eyes lit up:

"Delicious! A little sweeter than last night."

Mo Zi smiled.

"You slept well last night, so it feels sweet."

Xiaoqing looked at her sister, then looked at the door, and finally couldn't help but asked in a low voice:

"Sister, when will brother come back?"

Mo Zi paused while scooping porridge and looked up at her.

"He said he would be back before sunset."

"What if..."

Xiaoqing's voice became softer.

"What if he doesn't reply?"

Mo Zi didn't say anything, but took out the cracked copper talisman from his lapel and placed it in Xiaoqing's palm.

The copper talisman carries the warmth of Mo Yun, and also has a slightly rough texture.

"Take this. This copper talisman can block the energy of 'Yin'. If anything goes wrong, place it next to Bai Tang and the others to protect them."

Xiaoqing nodded, gripped the bronze talisman tightly, pinched the crack with her fingertips, and suddenly felt a little sour in her heart.

She looked up.

"Sister, I will protect them and the inn."

Mo Zi hummed, but his eyes unconsciously drifted to the window.

Just then, a cat's meow was heard outside the yard.

It wasn't from the inn. The cry was sharp and thin, with a bit of misery, as if someone was being caught by something.

The bowl in Xiaoqing's hand hit the edge of the table with a "click".

Mo Zi immediately pressed her shoulders and lowered his voice:

"Don't make any noise, and don't look up."

She walked lightly to the window, pinched a corner of the window paper with her fingertips, and slowly opened a crack -

Under the old locust tree outside the yard, a black cat, so thin that only bones were left, was squatting and breathing at the door of the inn. There was some black stain on its paws, as if it was breathing in air.

Behind the black cat, at the corner of the alley, a shadow flashed by. The shadow was very tall, wearing black clothes, and there was no sound when it walked, like mist floating on the ground.

Mo Zi's heart sank suddenly.

She had seen the pattern of the fabric before - the masked man she had seen from afar near Duanyun Terrace last time was wearing this kind of black cloth. The fabric was embroidered with extremely fine silver lines, which glowed coldly in the light.

She quickly put down the window paper and her face turned pale when she turned around.

Seeing her expression, Xiaoqing clenched the copper talisman in her hand even tighter:

"Sister, is it... is it the man wearing the mask?"

Mo Zi didn't say anything, he just walked to the door, added another bolt to the two bolts that were originally locked, and moved the wooden cabinet against the wall to prop it behind the door.

After doing all this, she walked to Xiaoqing, squatted down, and said with unprecedented urgency in her voice:

"Xiaoqing, remember, no matter what noise you hear outside, don't open the door. Even if you hear someone knocking on the door, don't open it—unless it's me. He'll knock three times with his knuckles, pause, and then knock twice. Even a wrong knock won't do."

"Then...what if brother doesn't come back and the people outside don't leave?"

Xiaoqing's voice trembled. She heard the black cat outside the yard still meowing. The meowing became more and more shrill, as if it was going to break the walls of the inn.

"Don't be afraid."

Mo Zi reached out and took his sister into his arms, patting her back gently.

"The walls of the inn are painted with paint to ward off evil spirits, so nothing can be 'lured' in. We just have to wait, until brother comes back."

But she herself was not sure.

Now that the masked man has found this place, he will not leave easily.

Her brother is still in the dilapidated temple in the west of the city. She doesn’t know if he is in danger. What should she do if... what should she do if something happens to her brother?

Xiaoqing in his arms began to tremble. Mo Zi hugged her tighter, but his fingertips touched the talisman paper hidden in his lapel - that was what her brother had given her before he left, saying that if she encountered danger, she could burn the talisman paper and it would help her ward off danger for a while.

But she didn't dare to burn it. She was afraid that the smoke from the talisman paper would attract more "yin", and she was also afraid that her brother would not be able to see the signal she left when he came back.

The black cat outside the yard suddenly stopped meowing.

Silence suddenly came over, passed through the wall of the inn, and flowed into the house, making the breathing of both of them heavy.

Mo Zi pricked up her ears and could hear the sound of the wind sweeping through the fallen leaves in the alley and the shouts of the peddler in the distance, but she could not hear the movement of the black shadow, nor could she hear the sound of her brother's footsteps.

She slowly let go of Xiaoqing, stood up and walked to the window, and opened the window again -

The black cat under the old locust tree disappeared, leaving only a few drops of black stains on the ground, like ink drops on the ground, slowly seeping into the soil.

At the corner of the alley, the dark shadow disappeared, leaving only a few fallen leaves swirling on the ground in the wind.

But Mo Zi knew that he didn't leave.

The shadow was hiding nearby, like a wolf staring at its prey, waiting for her and Xiaoqing to reveal a flaw.

She lowered the window paper and turned around to see Xiaoqing holding the bronze talisman, sitting at the table and looking at her. The fear in his eyes was still there, but he had a bit more toughness - that was his brother's toughness, the composure to remain calm in the face of difficulties.

"sister,"

Xiaoqing spoke, her voice more steady than before.

"We are not afraid. We just need to wait for brother to come back."

Mo Zi nodded, walked to the table and sat down, picked up the bowl of porridge and took a sip.

The coolness of the porridge slid down her throat, but it made her mind clearer - she couldn't panic. When her brother was away, she was Xiaoqing and Baitang's support. If she panicked, the support in this inn would really be gone.

The sun slowly sank to the west, and the shadows on the courtyard wall became longer and longer, until they finally tangled together like a woven net.

The light in the room gradually dimmed. Mo Zi didn't turn on the light because she was afraid that the light would attract the dark shadows outside.

Xiaoqing leaned beside her, still holding the copper talisman in her hand, staring at the door, blinking occasionally but not daring to close her eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps were finally heard outside the yard.

The footsteps were light but steady, one step at a time, stepping on the stone road with a familiar rhythm - it was Mo Yun's footsteps.

Xiaoqing straightened up immediately, but just as she was about to get up, she was held down by Mo Zi.

Mo Zi's eyes brightened a little, but still with a hint of caution:

"Wait a moment."

She walked to the door and put her ear to it to listen - the footsteps stopped at the door and did not move again.

Then, there was a knock on the door.

Boom, boom, boom.

Pause for a moment.

Boom, boom.

Steady rhythm and precise intervals were the secret codes they agreed upon.

Mo Zi finally breathed a sigh of relief and raised her hand to pull the bolt. At the moment the bolt was pulled open, a very faint black air suddenly seeped in from the crack of the door, like an invisible needle, silently piercing her fingertips.

Mo Zi's heart tightened and he subconsciously retracted his hand.

Almost at the same time, Mo Yun outside the door shouted:

"retreat!"

Before she could react, a curtain of water fell outside the door with a "splash", like a transparent wall, instantly pressing the black air back out of the door.

Then, the door was pushed open, and Mo Yun's figure appeared at the door. There was morning dew on the hem of her clothes, and there was a hint of fatigue in her eyes after the journey, but she was still calm.

He raised his eyes to look at Mo Zi, and then his gaze quickly fell on Xiao Qing, and his voice was very low:

"As long as you're okay."

Before he finished speaking, he had already closed the door and threw a black talisman on the ground. As soon as the black talisman touched the ground, it emitted white smoke with a "hissing" sound, and turned into a wisp of black mist that was rolled up by the water in his palm and put into a small porcelain bottle.

"They left a 'tip' at the door."

Mo Yun's voice was light, yet cold.

"When I come back and open the door, take the opportunity to sneak in."

Only then did Mo Zi realize how dangerous the situation was, and a chill ran down his back.

She looked at her brother, the words she wanted to ask were stuck in her throat, but she didn't know where to start.

Mo Yun didn't give her much time. He walked to the table and put down the package on his back. When he opened it, there were a few pieces of dried Qingyun grass and a few packets of medicine powder.

"Put this on the edge of Bai Tang and the others' beds to help reduce the rhyme. Xiaoqing, check the window slits again while I put another water pattern under the threshold."

Xiaoqing nodded vigorously, picked up the Qingyun grass and started to spread it. Mo Zi went to check the window crack. As soon as his fingertips touched the window paper, he found a very fine ash on the edge of the paper - as if someone had gently scraped it with a fingernail, trying to find the thinnest place.

Her heart tightened, and she immediately replaced the window paper with a new one and sprinkled a layer of fine salt on the window sill.

Mo Yun laid a water ripple under the door threshold. With a flick of her finger, the water ripple moved along the crack of the door like a tiny snake, sealing every gap through which water might seep in.

After doing all this, he sat down at the table, picked up the bowl of cold porridge, took a sip, then looked up at Bai Tang, Wu Song and Da Fei on the bed, and the coldness in his eyes dissipated a little.

"Brother, where have you been?"

Xiaoqing couldn't help but ask.

Mo Yun put down the bowl and lowered her voice:

"The ruined temple to the west of the city. The source of the 'yin' is right there."

"Then...is there something in that dilapidated temple?"

Xiaoqing's voice trembled a little.

Mo Yun's eyes darkened.

"Yes. And more than I thought."

He did not elaborate, but pushed a small porcelain bottle in front of Mo Zi. The bottle contained a wisp of sealed black air.

"This is the 'Erosion Source' extracted from the well in the ruined temple. It might be useful when we go to Duanyun Terrace in three days."

Mo Zi took the porcelain bottle, her fingertips feeling a little cold. She looked at her brother and finally asked the question that had been weighing on her mind:

"Brother, are you really going to go in three days?"

Mo Yun looked at her with a calm gaze.

"If I don't go, they will dig that 'well' right to our doorstep."

He paused, then looked at Xiaoqing again.

"You stay here and protect Bai Tang and the others. If you knock on the wrong door for even a moment, we won't open it."

Xiaoqing nodded vigorously and held the copper talisman tighter.

The room became quiet, with only the wind outside the window occasionally blowing the wind chimes, making crisp sounds.

Mo Yun closed his eyes, took a breath for a moment, then opened them again. His gaze fell on the sketch on the table, and his fingertips lightly tapped the central node, as if giving himself a silent command.

"Broken Rhyme Platform."

He muttered to himself, and the light in his eyes grew colder.