Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

「Three days later.」

The evening light was dim.

Chen Cheng walked home, dressed in new cloth shoes and Training Attire. His spirit and demeanor were so changed he seemed like a different person.

His back was ramrod straight and his aura severe. His deep-set eyes shone with an intimidating light, and the poor folk who passed by instinctively looked away, not daring to meet his gaze.

He had just turned into the familiar, foul-smelling alley of Kuhuai Village.

Three figures slowly emerged from a side alley.

The man in the lead looked to be in his forties. He had a dark complexion and deep-set lines around his mouth, sharp as if carved by a knife. He wore a crisply ironed, dark blue constable’s uniform, and at his waist hung a standard-issue, gray-sheathed Horizontal Saber from the Patrol Guard Bureau. Its hilt, polished by the constant friction of his palm, held a dark, oily sheen.

Half a step behind him followed two younger constables, also in uniform. Their hands rested on the hilts of their sabers, their gazes holding the uniquely detached and scrutinizing look of officials sizing up a suspect.

The moment the three of them stood there, the very air in the alley, already thin, seemed to be sucked away entirely.

Chen Cheng was instantly on guard, but he remained outwardly calm. He gave the three men a slight nod as he passed, quickening his pace to move around them.

Only after Chen Cheng was some distance away did one of the young constables speak up. ”Captain Zhao, are we just letting him go? Shouldn’t we take him in for questioning?”

Zhao Chuan remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on the direction Chen Cheng had gone, like a hawk watching its prey about to disappear into the undergrowth.

”I couldn’t find any flaws in his reaction just now...”

Zhao Chuan paused, his expression darkening.

”The key is, he’s wearing the Training Attire for the Dragon Mountain Hall Middle Courtyard. To make a move on him, we need concrete proof... and right now, I don’t have anything solid enough to act on.”

The young constable’s eyes shifted, and he lowered his voice even more.

”Captain, what if... we find a way to frame him for something else? Once we get him into the Patrol Guard Bureau’s dungeons, what couldn’t we get out of him under torture?”

...

Zhao Chuan continued to stare into the depths of the alley, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cold hilt of his saber.

He didn’t nod, nor did he shake his head.

...

”Cheng, you’re finally back!”

As soon as Chen Cheng stepped through the door, Madam Li rushed over, her voice trembling.

”Something terrible has happened... Xiaolong... the gang he was in... it was crushed by the Black Wolf Gang!”

”Earlier today, Hu Niu and her parents left in a panic. They didn’t even have time to pack their valuables, just threw a few things into bundles and fled...”

”They had barely left when Scar Bear showed up with his men. It was a huge mob, every one of them carrying a blade. The looks on their faces... it was like they were ready to eat someone alive! They completely ransacked the house...”

”What about Xiaolong?”

Chen Cheng’s heart tightened, and his voice grew heavy.

”Where is he? Is he okay?”

”How could he be okay?”

Madam Li’s brow furrowed deeply, her voice low and urgent.

”Right before she left, Hu Niu secretly told me that Xiaolong was badly injured and is hiding somewhere, too scared to come back... Her whole family is moving to be with him. They’ll wait for things to blow over before coming back, or maybe... they’ll never come back...”

”...Where are they hiding? I’ll go see them tomorrow,” Chen Cheng said, his expression grave.

Madam Li shook her head helplessly. ”Hu Niu didn’t say exactly where... She was probably worried I wouldn’t be able to keep a secret, that I might let it slip one day...”

Chen Cheng didn’t reply. ’I’ll have to find some time to go to the sewing workshop where Hu Niu works and ask around,’ he thought. ’With Xiaolong in so much trouble, I can’t just stand by and do nothing.’

”Cheng...”

Madam Li let out a long sigh.

”That Scar Bear is the type to turn on you in an instant... Today it was Xiaolong’s family. There’s no telling when that kind of disaster might fall on the two of us... We have nowhere to run...”

”...Mom, don’t scare yourself.”

Chen Cheng soothed her gently.

”Scar Bear looks fierce and brutish, but he’s actually very shrewd. As long as I don’t join a gang and don’t have any conflicts of interest with the Black Wolf Gang, he’ll never bother us.”

Those were his words, but in his heart, Chen Cheng didn’t dare to truly believe them.

’In this world, most of the time, trouble finds you whether you look for it or not...’

’If I want to secure my place in this world, if I want to stop running from trouble and face it without fear, the only way is to get stronger! I have to keep climbing, keep struggling upwards!’

...

The Dragon Mountain Hall Middle Courtyard was located in the An Nan District, the largest and most prosperous part of the South Outer City.

At noon, Chen Cheng followed Fatty Fang across a wide, flat main street and stopped before a black-lacquered gate.

The gate’s lintel was significantly higher than any other on the street. What caught the eye most was the plaque hanging above it: on an ebony base were two powerful, gnarled, gilt characters—

Dragon Mountain.

Fatty Fang knocked, exchanged a few words with a young man in a short jacket, and then led Chen Cheng across the equally high threshold.

Before them lay a vast courtyard paved with bluestone and enclosed by high brick walls, dozens of times larger than the one at the Lower Courtyard.

In the four corners of the training ground stood iron-reinforced wooden dummies, rows of Stone Locks and stone barbells, and weapon racks.

Dozens of young men in black Training Attire were practicing in the yard. Their every move pulsed with the power of surging Blood Qi, and their shouts echoed one after another.

Chen Cheng’s own new Training Attire was identical to theirs.

”This whole area is the Outer Hall. This is where you’ll be training from now on... The rooms along the four courtyard walls are the living quarters for the Outer Hall Disciples...”

Fatty Fang casually explained the general layout of the Middle Courtyard as they walked.

He stopped in front of a small, red-lacquered door in the northeast corner of the courtyard, his voice dropping slightly.

”Behind this door is the Inner Hall. Without express permission, you are not to take a single step inside. You’d better remember that.”

”Understood.”

Chen Cheng nodded, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

”I’ve told the supervising Master Ye all about your situation. He... he doesn’t have time to see you.”

Fatty Fang said.

”Give me your Death Oath Contract and the first month’s gift, and I’ll go in and take care of the paperwork for you.”

Chen Cheng took out the folded Contract Paper and five taels of broken silver from his robes and handed them over.

Fatty Fang took them, turned to the red-lacquered door, and knocked three times—not too loud, not too soft.

The one who answered was a woman dressed in fitted, cyan martial attire.

She was exquisitely beautiful, with skin fairer than snow. Her waist was slender, but her figure was curvaceous.

Fatty Fang instinctively hunched over slightly, his face plastered with a smile.

”Senior Sister Zhuang, I’ve brought a Lower Courtyard Disciple over... to handle his transfer to the Middle Courtyard... Master Ye has already approved it.”

”Oh. Come in.”

Senior Sister Zhuang glanced at Chen Cheng, her expression impassive. She stepped aside to let Fatty Fang enter, then immediately shut the door behind him.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Fatty Fang returned, gently pulling the door shut behind him.

”Here. This is proof that your Death Oath Contract has been voided. It’s also the token of a regular Outer Hall Disciple. Keep it safe.”

As he spoke, Fatty Fang handed Chen Cheng a small waist token. It was made of a material that seemed like both stone and wood, and it was engraved with a black character for ”Dragon.”

”You see those men...”

Fatty Fang gestured toward the various parts of the courtyard.

”The characters on their waist tokens are white. That means they’ve signed the Middle Courtyard’s Death Oath Contract...”

”I see.”

Chen Cheng observed in silence, keenly aware of the invisible lines that divided one person from another.