Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Snow exploded behind him, spraying a fine powder into the air.

Six Manor Soldiers followed close behind, practically sprinting.

Chen Cheng, however, hung back at the very end.

He didn’t rush forward. Instead, he made sure every step he took was firm and steady.

He took down his Tiger Sinew Hard Bow with one hand and retrieved a few Silver Bullets from a pouch at his waist with the other, holding them ready between his fingers.

His gaze swept across the dark, dense forest around them, his ears perked, trying to catch the slightest hint of anything unusual.

He was ready for anything.

”Fourth Uncle!”

Wang Chuang rushed over.

Ahead, on the ground covered in piles of rotting leaves, a dozen or so men lay strewn about.

Some were curled into balls, others lay face-up toward the sky, and some were slumped against tree trunks. Their positions varied, but without exception, none of them could even move a finger.

One of them, a middle-aged man who bore a slight resemblance to Wang Chuang, was none other than his fourth uncle, Wang Sun.

”Fourth Uncle... what happened to you all?”

Wang Chuang leaped forward in two bounds, knelt down, and helped Wang Sun up from the ground, letting him rest against his leg.

Wang Sun’s lips were purple and his face was an ashen gray. His entire body was limp as if his very bones had been removed, completely unable to move.

He struggled to lift his eyelids to look at Wang Chuang, his voice so weak it sounded as if it were being scraped from his throat:

”A toxic miasma... In the forest ahead... there’s an extremely strange toxic miasma...”

”A toxic miasma?”

Wang Chuang’s brow furrowed.

’That can’t be right... It’s the dead of winter. There’s almost no miasma in the mountains, so where would a toxic one come from?’

’Besides, we all took Antitoxic Pills before setting out. They should make us immune to all the toxic miasmas in the nearby mountains!’

”That’s why... I said it was strange...”

Wang Sun said urgently.

”This isn’t the time to talk about this... Hurry and find a way to save your uncle... He’s still in there...”

”What!?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Chuang froze, as if he had been struck by lightning.

The color instantly drained from his bronze-hued face, leaving it deathly pale.

His parents had died when he was young, and it was his uncle, Wang Peng, who had single-handedly raised him. Wang Peng taught him to hunt, passed on his Martial Arts, and for twenty years, day in and day out, had given Wang Chuang priority for any and all good resources. That was how Wang Chuang had become the man he was today.

To him, his uncle was a father, a teacher, and the closest person to him in the world.

Hearing that his uncle was still inside, his heart seized violently, as if squeezed by an invisible hand.

His usually calm and steady face was overcome with an unprecedented wave of panic and worry.

”It’s my fault... all my fault...”

Wang Sun’s gaze dimmed, his lips trembling as he spoke:

”My squad was the first to find this place... We followed the Mutant Tiger’s tracks deep into the forest ahead...”

”After we’d walked some distance, my men and I... all started feeling weak and drained. By the time we wanted to retreat... it was too late...”

”With my last ounce of strength, I fired a signal arrow... Big Brother’s squad was the first to arrive...”

”They didn’t know the situation inside, so they charged right in... and the same thing happened to them...”

”Big Brother relied on his powerful Cultivation, circulating his Blood Qi to suppress the poison in his body. He went back and forth, carrying people out... He’s the one who carried all of us out...”

At this point, Wang Sun’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice trembling.

”But this last time, Big Brother went back in a long time ago... He might... he might have already collapsed...”

Hearing this, Wang Chuang set Wang Sun down and prepared to charge in.

”Chuang! Stop!”

Wang Sun hurriedly tried to stop him.

”The toxic miasma in this forest is no ordinary thing. Even I couldn’t withstand it... If you rush in recklessly like this, not only will you fail to save your uncle, you’ll just get yourself trapped too...”

Wang Chuang’s feet froze in place.

Though he was overcome with worry, he hadn’t completely lost his senses.

He composed himself and asked grimly:

”Fourth Uncle, where’s the Forest-Breaking Rat you brought?!”

”Here... I have it...”

a Manor Soldier gasped weakly.

Wang Chuang immediately rushed over, knelt, and took a bamboo cage the thickness of an arm from a bamboo box on the soldier’s back.

He opened the cage door and shook out a white mouse.

The so-called Forest-Breaking Rat was specially bred to detect toxic miasmas or traps in the woods.

According to the Hunting Manor’s rules, every team had to carry at least one whenever they entered the mountains.

When encountering an unfamiliar forest, they were to first release the Forest-Breaking Rat. If it returned safely, the men could proceed. But if it went into a frenzy and fled, or if it never returned at all, then no one was to take a single step inside.

However.

Common sense dictated that there was almost no miasma in the mountains during the dead of winter.

Neither Wang Sun’s squad, nor Wang Peng’s, had thought to release the Forest-Breaking Rat beforehand.

And so they had fallen into the trap.

SHIING—

Wang Chuang drew a dagger with a cold, gleaming edge from his waist, preparing to cut open the belly of the Forest-Breaking Rat before him.

Even before he acted, the white mouse was already deeply poisoned and unable to move.

What he needed to do was examine the white mouse’s internal organs to determine the specific toxicity of the miasma ahead, and then try to concoct an antidote, or at least a drug that could offer some resistance to it.

”Everyone, over here!”

Wang Chuang called out in a low voice without turning his head.

The six Manor Soldiers from his squad immediately gathered around.

Two of them had bamboo boxes on their backs, which they now unstrapped and placed on the ground.

They lifted the lids, revealing mouse cages, various tools, and of course, emergency medicines neatly packed and sorted in oil paper.

”Young Master Chuang... we don’t have time to mix a remedy now, do we...”

one of the Manor Soldiers said in a low voice.

”Even the special Antitoxic Pills from our manor didn’t work. A hastily mixed medicine... I’m afraid it won’t be effective either...”

Wang Chuang didn’t respond.

How could he not be aware of such a simple fact?