Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Things were going quite smoothly for Chen Cheng.

He figured Yun Shuanglin must have run in a straight line.

Therefore, he drew a line from the point where the signal arrow was fired—the same spot he had just found Wang Peng—to the location where the Snow Falcon was shot down.

He searched along that line.

Just as he expected.

It wasn’t long before he spotted a white figure collapsed under a thick, ancient pine tree ahead.

The forest was so dense here that little snow reached the ground, which was mostly covered in decaying leaves.

This made the white figure stand out starkly.

Chen Cheng slowed his pace, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings to confirm there was no danger. Only then did he hurry over, crouch down, and help the person up, letting them lean against him.

Beneath the hood of the white Cloak was an exquisitely beautiful face, though it was now completely drained of color, as pale as snow.

Her delicate, once-moist lips had a purplish-blue tint and were trembling slightly. The ice crystals clinging to her eyelashes had grown thicker, and her beautiful eyes were half-open, her gaze hazy and unfocused.

”Miss Yun, are you alright?”

Chen Cheng asked in a low voice.

Yun Shuanglin struggled to lift her eyelids, staring at the face that had suddenly appeared before her.

After a long moment, her hazy, beautiful eyes widened slightly. Her pupils gradually focused, as if she were struggling to surface from a deep dream.

”You are? You... Chen... Brother Chen?”

Her voice trembled, soft and weak, laced with disbelief.

”It’s me. I’m getting you out of here. Forgive my impertinence.”

Chen Cheng acknowledged her, then swiftly slid one arm around her back and the other under her knees, sweeping her up into his arms.

His movements were crisp and efficient, though he paused for a fraction of a second as he lifted her.

He hadn’t expected it. Yun Shuanglin looked slender, but she was heavier than he’d imagined.

Then again, she was slender where she should be, and in the places where she shouldn’t be, her proportions were quite impressive.

Especially beneath her lapels, where it was as if two white rabbits were hidden, bouncing with every step.

Fortunately, since he was only carrying her, Chen Cheng could break into a run. It wasn’t long before he burst out of the area covered by the poisonous miasma.

”Brother Chen? Is that you?”

Wang Peng heard the commotion and desperately tried to lift his head, but he was still unable to move.

The Manor Soldier next to him was in even worse shape, still deep in a coma.

”It’s me. Rest easy, Manor Master Wang. I’ve brought her back for you.”

Chen Cheng replied, carrying Yun Shuanglin over to Wang Peng. He bent down slightly so Wang could see the face of the person in his arms.

”Excellent, excellent... Brother Chen, I owe you yet another debt...”

After seeing her with his own eyes, Wang Peng finally let out a sigh of relief.

But the urgency and worry on his terribly pale face did not diminish in the slightest.

”Brother Chen, not long after you left, I vaguely heard shouting from over there...”

Wang Peng’s eyes shifted toward the exit of the Ancient Forest, his voice trembling as he said:

”I couldn’t hear it clearly, but something has likely gone wrong...”

Chen Cheng set Yun Shuanglin down, opened all his senses, and focused his perception:

”I don’t hear any unusual movements, but... there’s a scent of blood in the air. I’m afraid... something really has happened!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Cheng immediately gripped his Tiger Sinew Hard Bow.

At the same time, he focused his Heart Spirit, his mind racing as he rapidly calculated the possible scenarios and what his next move should be.

”Brother Chen...”

Yun Shuanglin suddenly spoke. Her voice was soft and low, tinged with a bit of shyness, like a tuft of newly melted snow, growing ever softer:

”I, I have the antidote in my robes... help me get it out. I’ll go with you.”

”Excuse me.”

Chen Cheng didn’t hesitate. In a situation like this, another pair of hands increased their chances of success. There was no point getting hung up on trivialities.

”It’s... it’s alright. We’re people of the Jianghu, we... we don’t stand on such ceremony...”

So she said, but two crimson blushes suddenly appeared on her once-colorless face. Her eyelashes trembled, and she averted her gaze, no longer daring to look at Chen Cheng.

As if not noticing the change in her expression, Chen Cheng crouched down and reached toward her chest.

His fingers touched the soft fabric beneath her Cloak. His expression remained placid, and his tone was strictly business:

”Where is it? I don’t feel anything...”

”A little to the left... or maybe in the middle...”

”There’s a Money Bag. Is it in there?”

”No, not in there... It’s a Small Gilded Bronze Bottle... I can’t feel my body right now... I, I don’t know where it rolled off to...”

Yun Shuanglin spoke slowly, the twin blushes on her cheeks deepening to an inextricable crimson that spread to the roots of her ears. Even her long, fair neck was stained with a faint pink.

”...”

Chen Cheng’s brow furrowed. He pulled his hand back and immediately stood up straight.

He tilted his head back and took a few deep breaths of the frigid air.

’Women are such a hassle... This is completely unsettling my Dao Heart.’

”AHHH—!”

Just then, a long, drawn-out scream came from the direction of the Ancient Forest’s exit.

Due to the distance, the sound was faint by the time it reached them.

But this time, Chen Cheng, Wang Peng, and Yun Shuanglin all heard it clearly—it was a scream of agony.

”That sounded like Old Meng...”

Wang Peng’s pupils constricted. His voice trembled terribly, as if someone had seized him by the throat.

His eyes slowly turned toward Chen Cheng.

At this moment, only by asking Chen Cheng for help could they possibly find out what was happening over there and resolve the crisis.

However, Wang Peng’s lips moved a few times, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Chen Cheng had already risked his life to save him, Wang Peng, and had then helped rescue Yun Shuanglin.

It was a debt of gratitude so immense he could never repay it in his lifetime.

Even though he had sponsored Chen Cheng in the past, compared to matters of life and death, that little bit of support was worth less than nothing!

He simply couldn’t bring himself to shamelessly ask Chen Cheng to risk his life again.