Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

”But Manor Master Wang, you were willing to generously support me. I won’t forget that kindness. This is just a small favor, hardly worth mentioning.”

”You’re too humble, Brother Chen. This isn’t just a small favor... you’re saving our lives!”

Wang Peng collected himself. Suddenly, as if he’d just remembered something of critical importance, he pressed urgently:

”Is Miss Yun... is she still out there too?”

”No.”

Chen Cheng shook his head slightly, his pace unwavering as he supported the two men.

”She heard the signal arrow and rushed over on her own. I saw Brother Chuanzi didn’t seem too worried, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal.”

”Damn it...”

Wang Peng’s voice was grave.

”Miss Yun is incredibly strong, but if she’s trapped in here... she’ll inevitably be poisoned...”

”If anything happens to her, I... my entire Jiuan Hunting Manor will be buried with her...”

Chen Cheng’s interest was piqued. He lowered his voice and asked:

”Who is she, exactly?”

”Well...”

After a moment’s hesitation, Wang Peng said in a low, serious tone:

”Her identity is supposed to be a secret, but things being what they are, I have no choice but to tell you, Brother Chen... Please, you must find her... bring her back... I’m begging you...”

Chen Cheng heard him out but didn’t immediately commit.

Even though Wang Peng had resorted to begging.

But whether to take this on, and how, was something Chen Cheng still needed to consider.

Acting on impulse and taking on every burden was never his style.

”Miss Yun...”

Wang Peng lowered his voice to a bare whisper:

”She is an Inner Sect Disciple of the Northern Border Mountain and Sea Sect... Her father is a... a high-ranking official with real power... in the Northern Territory... She was traveling north in secret, and when she passed through Zhao City, she heard...”

”That’s enough, Manor Master Wang!”

Chen Cheng cut him off at just the right moment.

”I don’t want to know the rest. I’ll go back and do my best to find her. If I can, I’ll bring her out safely. But if I really can’t find her, then there’s nothing more I can do.”

”I understand...”

Wang Peng nodded.

”Just do your best, Brother Chen... Regardless of the outcome, Jiuan Hunting Manor, and indeed, the entire Wang Family of Zhao City, will never forget the debt we owe you...”

「Some time later.」

Chen Cheng carried Wang Peng and the Manor Soldier back to the place where the group had rendezvoused.

”Where is everyone?”

Chen Cheng scanned the area, his brow furrowed.

The experienced Wang Peng took one look at the tracks on the ground and understood what had happened.

”Judging by the footprints, the other teams were here, but for some reason, they all pulled back...”

He paused, then said urgently:

”Never mind that for now... Brother Chen, just put me and Xiaozhang down. The important thing is to go back and find Miss Yun...”

Chen Cheng nodded. He found a place with a thick pile of fallen leaves and gently laid Wang Peng and the Manor Soldier down.

”Wait for me.”

Leaving them with those words, Chen Cheng turned and headed back the way he came.

...

「Meanwhile.」

The men from Jiuan Hunting Manor were retreating in an orderly fashion.

They were just about to exit the dense, twilight-like Ancient Forest. Ahead, daylight was already filtering through the thinning trees.

”Good... Once we’re in the open, we won’t have to worry about an ambush...”

Zhu Kang let out a long sigh of relief. The tension that had kept him wound tight finally eased a bit.

”Old Meng, in a minute, you take some men and set up a temporary camp outside. I’ll take a few brothers back to rescue the boss.”

”Let me go instead.”

The scar-faced man helping to support Wang Chuang said with a grin:

”I’m tougher than any of you. Back in the day, I withstood the Cyan Mold Poison in the mountains for three whole days, holding on until the boss brought men to rescue me...”

”SWISH—”

Before the words had even left his mouth.

An extremely faint but incredibly fast whistle suddenly cut through the air.

The sound was so faint it was nearly lost in the wind and the rustle of footsteps. It was so fast that the moment one’s ear caught the odd noise, it had already arrived.

The scar-faced man was still smiling, the corners of his mouth lifting even higher.

However.

The next instant.

A pitch-black arrow pierced his left temple and exited his right with perfect precision.

”PSHK—”

Blood sprayed from his right temple, tracing a thin line through the air before spattering across the faces of Zhu Kang and Wang Chuang. It was warm and sticky.

The smile was still on the scar-faced man’s face, but it was now frozen solid.

The light in his eyes vanished instantly. His burly, powerful body went limp, pitching forward and crashing heavily to the ground.

Zhu Kang froze for a split second.

He raised a hand to touch the blood on his face, then looked down at his companion, a man who had been like a brother to him...

”THWIP THWIP THWIP—”

Before Zhu Kang could even shout, the sound of arrows slicing through the air became a continuous roar, whistling in from all directions.

A sky-blotting swarm of arrows, as dense as locusts, filled the air with their blurred afterimages.

It was as if the entire Ancient Forest had come alive, opening its great, bloody maw to spit out a torrent of deadly venom.

”TAKE COVER—!!”

The roar had barely left Zhu Kang’s throat, but several men in the group behind him were already being cut down.

A Manor Soldier, carrying a wounded comrade on his back, was struck simultaneously by three arrows from the left, right, and front. He collapsed without even a cry.

The wounded man on his back was peppered with five or six more arrows, killed instantly.

Another elite Hunter, on alert with his bow raised, had just lifted his arm when an arrow pinned his hand. A second pierced his eye socket, and a third slammed into his throat. He fell backward, his fingers still hooked on the bowstring, releasing it with a final, muffled TWANG.

Meng Tang jerked to the side just as an arrow grazed his cheek, slicing open a bloody line.

He had no time to feel relieved. He saw the lean, veteran hunter from the Hunting Manor beside him stare, wide-eyed, down at his own chest. An arrowhead was buried there, its shaft still quivering.

A second followed, then a third... Before he even hit the ground, seven or eight arrows had already slammed into his front.