Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”Consequences? To hell with the consequences! You’re not even letting me live, why should I care if you live or die!?”

SLAP—

Chen Hao craned his neck and roared, only to be met with a resounding slap from Chen Yong, struck viciously across the face.

”You disgrace!”

Chen Yong’s hand was trembling—it was hard to tell if from rage or the sheer force of the blow.

”If our whole family hadn’t emptied our pockets to pay for your martial arts training, would we be in this mess today!? You don’t care if we live or die!? Is that something a person should ever say!? You disgrace! You beast!”

The more Chen Yong spoke, the angrier he became. Blood rushed to his head, his eyes a frightening red, and he looked ready to lunge and hit him again.

At his side, his wife was terrified, desperately grabbing his waist and pulling him back.

”Husband! Stop hitting him! The boy is grown... You can’t hit him anymore...”

Held back by his wife’s desperate grip, Chen Yong calmed for a moment, only for his gaze to meet the savage glint in Chen Hao’s eyes.

That wasn’t the way a son looks at his father. It was the fierce and callous look of a wild animal.

Chen Yong had no doubt. If he forced the issue and rushed forward, this precious son of his would strike him. The same son he had doted on since childhood, the one in whom he had placed all his hopes.

A chill erupted from Chen Yong’s heart, instantly spreading through his body—a cold that pierced to the bone.

”Oh, my! What a scene! We’re all family. What could be so terrible that you have to act like this!”

Chen An and his wife had just arrived at the door, taking in the entire scene.

Chen Yong’s wife glimpsed the small bag of coarse rice and the half-basket of wild vegetables in their hands. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she cried out in tears.

”Third Uncle, Third Aunt, you’ve come at the perfect time! Please, talk some sense into them... This family... this family is about to fall apart...”

”GET OUT—!!”

Chen Hao’s roar exploded once more, his emotions even more violent and frantic than before.

”You heard I’m in trouble, so you all rushed over to laugh at me, is that it!? I, Chen Hao, would rather starve to death, rather rot to death in this broken-down shack, than accept your phony charity! Get out! All of you, get out!”

At these words, the color drained from Chen An’s wife’s face. She actually turned to leave, but her husband, Chen An, gripped her sleeve tightly, holding her in place.

”Hao...”

Chen An took a deep breath. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps outside.

”They’re... they’re here... they’re here...”

Old Chen, who had been slumped in a heap outside, scrambled inside. His face was deathly pale, his lips trembled violently, and he stammered so badly he couldn’t form a complete sentence.

”Who’s here? Father, you... why are you so terrified?”

Chen An and the others were aghast, their hearts seizing in their chests.

Even Chen Hao looked as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, calming him slightly. A flicker of fear was clearly visible in his furious gaze.

”Col... Collec...”

Old Chen’s teeth were chattering; he still couldn’t get the words out clearly.

But then, furious banging on doors and an imperious, angry roar came from outside.

”All you breathers, get out here and pay your winter tax! Five hundred copper coins per person! If anyone’s short a single coin, we’ll drag you off to the north—men to fill the trenches, women into hard labor! As for the old... there’s still time to go hang yourselves!”

A moment later, mournful cries, the sound of kowtowing, curses and beatings, and the dull thud of bodies being dragged across the ground came from the surrounding shacks.

As these sounds drew closer, the hearts of everyone inside tightened to the breaking point.

”Hao! Please, I’m begging you! Your father... I’m kneeling before you!”

Chen Yong’s legs gave way, and he actually knelt on the ground, kowtowing heavily to Chen Hao.

”As long as you agree to marry into their family, Landlord Wang will immediately send over the betrothal gifts! Our whole family will be saved, and we’ll have money to treat your injuries! Hao... I’m begging you! I’m begging you!!”

Seeing that Chen Hao remained unmoved, Chen Yong whipped his head around and screamed at his dumbstruck wife and Old Chen.

”His mother! Father! Both of you, get over here! Kneel to Hao! Beg him with me! Kneel to him!!”

The sounds of people being seized outside were now coming from right next door.

Old Chen trembled all over, and murky, aged tears streamed down his face. He staggered over to the bedside and knelt before Chen Hao along with Chen Yong’s wife.

”You... all of you...”

Chen Hao looked as if the scene before him had pierced straight through his soul.

His eyes stared blankly, pupils dilated. All the fury, resentment, and pain on his face seemed to solidify, becoming almost tangible.

His lips moved unconsciously, with extreme slowness, letting out a low, eerie laugh.

”Heh... heh heh heh...”

The laughter started softly, almost a whisper, then grew clearer, echoing through the deathly silent, despairing shack. It was exceptionally jarring and utterly bone-chilling.

”Father! Big Brother! Sister-in-law! Get up! Please, get up!”

Chen An couldn’t bear to watch any longer. Even though the Li Family had warned him repeatedly before he came, at a critical juncture like this, he couldn’t worry about that now.

”I have some money... Xiaofan sent it back recently, along with this coarse rice...”

The moment he said this, the eyes of Chen An’s wife, a woman of the Bai Family, instantly turned red.

The money her husband mentioned was from their son, Chen Fan—earned through blood, sweat, and tears. Who knew what hardships he’d endured or dangers he’d faced out there to save it, bit by bit. The grand total was a mere three taels of broken silver.

After paying their own winter tax, they only had two taels left. They had to clutch it tightly to get through the winter, and they still had to save for next year’s spring tax. That money was meant to keep them alive.

Their son was away all year round; it was common for him not to come home for a year or more. Heaven only knew when he would send money back again.

She had warned her husband a thousand times to keep his mouth shut and not reveal they had it. But in the end, he’d let it slip.

Without this money, their family’s life, which had just started to show a tiny glimmer of improvement, would be shoved right back into the mud.

”Money?! Third Brother! You have money?! Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

The next second, the three people kneeling on the floor sprang up as if scalded. They lunged like starving dogs at their prey, gripping Chen An’s clothes tightly, as if terrified he would take it back or run away.

Before Chen An could even move, his sister-in-law shamelessly reached into his robes. After some rummaging, she pulled out a shriveled, worn-out money bag.

”Found it! I found the money!”

Chen Yong’s wife held the money bag high, her face a mixture of tear-streaks and the ecstatic relief of someone snatched from the jaws of death.

Like starving dogs that had caught the scent of grease, Chen Yong and Old Chen immediately shoved Chen An, who was in their way, aside. The push was so hard it sent him staggering.

The two of them immediately crowded around Chen Yong’s wife. Three pairs of trembling hands impatiently untied the drawstring and poured the pitifully small amount of copper coins and a few small silver coins into their palms. They huddled in the dim light, counting them one by one with trembling fingers, their lips moving silently.

”One and a half taels... There’s only one and a half taels...”

The moment they finished counting, the three of them let out a simultaneous wail of despair, their voices nearly breaking.