Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

This family of four needed a full two taels of silver to pay the winter tax.

Be short by just half a tael, and one of them would be dragged away to the northern battlefields.

”How can this be?”

Chen An froze, subconsciously glancing at his frowning wife from the Bai Family beside him. Only then did he suddenly remember that she had been the one to hand him the Money Bag before he left...

His wife from the Bai Family didn’t look away. Instead, she stared right at Chen An.

It was obvious. She had secretly taken the remaining five maces of silver before they left and hidden it somewhere else.

She wasn’t a heartless person. Seeing her brother-in-law’s family kneeling and kowtowing, the wretched sight of her crazed, soulless nephew—it had left a bitter taste in her mouth. She had even considered using the money to save them.

But just now, after those three had grabbed the Money Bag, they had shoved her husband aside without a second thought, like a piece of used toilet paper.

The scene had stung her deeply. Memories of the contempt and humiliation this family had heaped upon her and her husband surged into her heart, extinguishing the last embers of her sympathy.

She wouldn’t give them this last five maces of silver. Not for anything.

She clenched her jaw, her determined gaze a clear warning to Chen An: ’Touch the five maces of silver I’ve hidden, and this marriage is over!’

”BANG!!!”

The next second, the rickety wooden door was kicked to splinters.

Two Constables from the Patrol Office, dressed in black robes with Horizontal Sabers at their waists, barged in, swearing loudly.

”Fuck! We told you to get your asses out here and pay the winter tax! You think you can hide in here and play dead? Believe me, I’ll tear this whole damn shack down!”

”Lord Official, please, calm down... calm down...”

”Gimme that!”

Before the woman from the Wang Family could finish, one of the Constables snatched the copper plates and broken silver right out of her hand.

He did a quick count, then turned and yelled to the Scribe behind him.

”One and a half taels! There’s... one, two... six people in here! Grab three to cover the tax!”

”No, no, no! Lord Official, you misunderstand. The two of us, we’ve already paid our winter tax.”

Chen An hurriedly pulled a crumpled piece of paper with a faded red seal from his robes and offered it with both hands.

The Constable glanced at it and impatiently corrected himself.

”Grab one! Not the old one. Not the sick one. The woman... she’s fucking ugly. Wouldn’t take her if you paid me!”

At these words, the color drained from Chen Yong’s face. He trembled like a leaf in the wind, his legs turning to jelly as if the bones had been ripped out, and he collapsed to the floor.

”Drag him away!”

Without another word, the Constable gave his partner a look. They dragged Chen Yong out like a dead dog.

A dead silence fell over the shack. The very air seemed to freeze.

A sharp, painful ringing echoed in their ears, so piercing it felt like it would split their skulls, blocking out and swallowing all sound from the outside world.

...

The following afternoon, the sun seemed to droop in the sky.

Chen Cheng and Elder Wen had just finished their sparring session. As they neared the Martial Arts Hall, they saw a large crowd gathered at the mouth of an alley, their hushed, urgent voices rippling through the air.

”Those remnants of the Red Moon Nunnery are getting too bold... to dare kill someone right under the nose of Dragon Mountain Hall...”

”Tell me about it! How many of these pale, shriveled corpses, giving off that strange, foul smell, have turned up in the South Outer City lately? There’s no end to it!”

”I heard they’re after some object... The Government Office’s notice was vague, but it mentioned Evil Artifacts... It must be some soul-stealing thing!”

”Sigh, when will days like these ever end? Lately, as soon as the sky gets dark, I have to wedge an extra stick against my door latch. I barely dare to breathe too loud...”

”It should be over soon. Didn’t you see the lord from the Imperial Guard of the Central Government Office is here? That one, built like a bear with a strong, square jaw—that’s Lord Lu Song! They say he was born with a divine nose. He can not only pick up the faintest scents, but he can even smell the guilt hiding in a person’s heart!”

”Heh! Is he really that amazing?”

”...”

Chen Cheng didn’t break his stride. His eyes scanned the gaps in the crowd, and he could faintly make out the figures of several Officials moving about deep in the alley.

His face remained impassive, but his ears caught every last word of the fragmented conversations.

He quickened his pace, heading straight for Anle Village.

He hadn’t been back to see his mother in a while. With things as they were, he needed to see her with his own eyes to feel at ease.

He stopped by the butcher’s to buy a strip of streaky pork, half-fat and half-lean. He also picked up two pounds of autumn pears and a bunch of winter mallow, tying them all together with a straw rope to carry.

By the time he reached the small house in Anle Village, his mother, of the Li Family, was sitting on a low stool by the doorway, sewing a new winter coat in the faint afternoon sun.

”Cheng, you’re back!”

His mother from the Li Family looked up and saw her son, and her face immediately softened, her happiness bubbling up from the bottom of her heart.

But when her eyes fell on the items in her son’s hands, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret for the money spent.

”Oh, dear... why did you buy so many things again! Meat is so expensive... I’m all alone, how can I possibly eat all of this? Don’t waste your money. You should save it for your martial arts training, and for the future... for when you need to get married...”

Someone who had been poor for half her life feared nothing more than falling back into poverty. Seeing her son spend money so freely made her deeply uneasy.

”Mother, the income from my post is more than enough. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Chen Cheng put the items inside the house, then brought out a small stool and sat down beside his mother.

”Even if the income is good, you still have to learn to save...”

His mother said, but then, afraid of nagging, she quickly changed the subject.

”Here, try on this winter coat. It’s almost finished.”

His mother shook out the finely stitched winter coat. But as soon as she held it up to her son’s frame, her brow furrowed.

”Oh, dear... it’s too small! I’m sure I made it a bit bigger... You’re really at that growing age, changing every day. Your shoulders are broader, and the sleeves are too short now...”

His mother grumbled, but the smile on her face only grew fonder.

”Mother, you should alter this coat and wear it yourself.”

A gentle smile graced Chen Cheng’s face as well.

”The Martial Arts Hall will be issuing me a winter coat and quilt. The material is excellent and plenty thick. You should use the fabric we have at home to make things for yourself. Don’t always worry about me; I don’t need anything.”

”Don’t need anything... It’s good that you don’t need anything, so good. My Cheng has really made something of himself.”

His mother nodded again and again, then suddenly recalled something.

”Cheng, Tutor Fang next door wants to set you up with his cousin... I agreed to it and asked him to see what she thought. He came by this morning with her answer. The young woman is willing to meet and see if you two are a match.”

”...Mother, I’ve told you before, now isn’t the time for me to be thinking about marriage and family.”

Chen Cheng’s tone was resigned but not harsh. He could understand his mother’s intentions.

”...Fine. When are we meeting?”

”Tomorrow.”

his mother said, a little sheepishly.

”During your annual assessment. Tutor Fang and his cousin will both be there...”