Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”My Lord Yu!”

The Imperial Guard from the Outer City pulled his horse to a stop, dismounted, and dropped to one knee before Yu Feng. He spoke with urgency.

”My lord, we discovered a stronghold of the Red Moon Nunnery’s remnants in a residence in the An Nan District of the South Outer City. Our men from the Outer City Headquarters went to wipe them out... but somehow word got out. They were ambushed by those Red Moon Demon People and suffered heavy casualties!”

”The fighting is still going on. This group of Red Moon Demon People is too strong. The regular constables and head constables in the Outer City can’t hold them off... I’ve come to ask for reinforcements!”

He raised his head, his face still stained with blood, his eyes faintly red-rimmed.

”Understood.”

Yu Feng thought for a moment, then said grimly,

”Make another trip. Go to the Captain’s Mansion for reinforcements first. I’ve just returned from official business and have an urgent matter to report to Lord Si Dian. I will come to support you after that.”

”But... Yes, sir!”

The Outer City Imperial Guard’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

With things as they were, he couldn’t say anything more. He simply cupped his fist, acknowledged the order, and departed.

Yu Feng turned and strode purposefully through the gate. As he brushed past, his gaze seemed to linger on Chen Cheng’s face for a moment longer than necessary.

”Zhuang Zhen, my mother lives in Anle Village, which isn’t far from An Nan District. I have to go check on her.”

Without waiting for Zhuang Zhen to reply, Chen Cheng turned and hurried away.

Zhuang Zhen watched his retreating figure disappear. Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.

...

Passing out of the Inner City Gate, Chen Cheng once again set foot on the main street of An Nan District.

At first, everything seemed normal. He walked south without pause.

Just as he was about to leave the An Nan District, a faint, almost imperceptible tang of iron began to permeate the air.

Chen Cheng paused for a fraction of a second before quickening his pace once more.

The further he went, the stronger the smell became.

Carried on the biting cold wind were the faint sounds of screams and clashing weapons.

Chen Cheng’s gaze focused on the residential area just ahead.

That was the source of the chaos.

It was also the fastest route to Anle Village.

Taking a detour would add at least two incense sticks’ worth of time to his journey.

Worried that his mother might be in danger, Chen Cheng barely hesitated before deciding to cut straight through the residential area ahead.

At the same time, he extended all his senses to their absolute limit, ensuring he could detect and evade any danger as early as possible.

He also silently activated his Endless Moon Breath technique to avoid being detected.

As Chen Cheng went deeper into the residential area, collapsed earthen walls were visible everywhere.

Corpses lay at the base of these walls—most were Patrol Office constables, but some were innocent civilians.

Chen Cheng’s gaze swept over them quickly.

Some of the corpses had been cut down by sharp blades, their blood pooling on the ground. Others had twisted expressions, their bodies pale and shriveled, emitting a bizarre, foul stench.

Two ways to die. Two kinds of attacks.

Clearly, this rampaging band of Red Moon Demon People included both Martial Artists skilled with blades and those eerie fiends with their bizarre techniques.

Chen Cheng wanted to cross paths with neither.

He paid close attention to the corpses. Without exception, their clothes had been rummaged through, some with their chests left completely exposed...

They’d already been looted for anything of value.

For this very reason, Chen Cheng picked up his pace, wanting only to get through this troubled area as quickly as possible.

However, after hurrying forward for another stretch, Chen Cheng’s pace suddenly slowed.

Each subsequent step he took was utterly silent.

He hugged the stone wall, inching forward until he reached a corner, where he stopped.

His shoulder pressed against the cold wall.

He tilted his head, listening.

About ten feet around the corner, he could hear several people breathing and the shuffling of footsteps as they gathered in one spot.

Chen Cheng closed his eyes, using the sounds to pinpoint their locations and form a rough picture of the scene in his mind.

He mentally mapped out their numbers, their positions, and their formation.

Once he had a general idea of the situation, he slowly peered around the corner.

He saw a clearing surrounded by the ruins of earthen walls.

A dozen or so bodies lay scattered across the ground. They were all from the Patrol Office—constables, head constables, and even an inspector.

Chen Cheng’s eyes twitched.

The blood-soaked body of the inspector was none other than Tang Yunlong.

He lay on his back, eyes bulging in a furious, final stare, a deathly grey film covering his pupils.

His chest was completely caved in. Blood and bits of flesh still oozed from the mangled wound, soaking the yellow earth beneath him.

Chen Cheng had met Tang Yunlong twice and had a decent impression of him. ’To think they would meet again like this...’

’This world...’

The Inner City was full of song and dance, celebrating a festival.

Yet the Outer City was so treacherous that not even a high-ranking inspector was safe.

A single wall separated two entirely different worlds.

Chen Cheng steadied his nerves, pushed aside the distracting thoughts, and shifted his gaze past the pile of bodies.

Nine people had gathered there.

Eight of them held an array of different blades and were draped in wide, thick, blood-red cloaks. The color was startling, as if the fabric had just been dredged from a pool of blood.

The large hoods attached to the cloaks completely hid their faces in shadow.

But from the mismatched styles of shoes and pants visible beneath the cloaks, one could deduce that they were all ordinary citizens who led normal lives.

Don the blood-red cloak, and they became one of the Red Moon Demon People.

The Red Moon Nunnery had existed for a long time and always had a large following.

Though its main temple on Seven Miles Slope had been razed, its die-hard followers scattered throughout the city were not so easily rooted out.

At their leader’s call, they would don their blood-red cloaks and strike wherever directed.

And at this moment, standing before these eight was a strange figure wearing a bamboo hat and wrapped in black cloth—this had to be their leader.