Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Chen Cheng spoke up.

”I took a close look. The water over there is perfectly calm. If there were really ferocious fish or Water Bandits like you said, how could it be so peaceful?”

”But...”

Old Zhang was still hesitant.

But Wu Ziyu had already given a stern order.

”Take the boat over there immediately. Either that, or you get off and I’ll pilot it myself. I trust Brother Chen’s judgment. It won’t be wrong.”

”No, no, no! I’ll do it.”

Old Zhang hurried back to the cockpit.

On one hand, he had also taken a careful look and saw that it was indeed calm. On the other, he had no desire to lose this well-paying job.

The lead boat started moving again.

Wu Ziyu didn’t have the entire fleet cross over. Instead, she picked one boat with an experienced captain to follow them, so they could watch out for each other.

「Some time later.」

The Wu Family’s two boats crossed over safely and, one after another, pulled more than ten people from the water.

Among them were two familiar faces: the short, dark, and pudgy Zhou Yonglu, and Zhou An, who was also from the Dragon Mountain Upper Courtyard like Chen Cheng.

Wu Ziyu had them all gather in the cabin, where she had the charcoal stove burning brightly. She also had the crew brew a large pot of ginger soup for them to share.

「A moment later.」

Zhou An was the first to recover.

Zhou Yonglu and the others still had purple lips and ashen faces, their bodies shivering uncontrollably.

”Miss Wu, for this great kindness of saving our lives... my Zhou Family will remember it...”

Zhou An cupped his fist solemnly and was about to bow deeply, but Wu Ziyu stopped him.

”Don’t thank me.”

Wu Ziyu said,

”The one you should be thanking is Brother Chen. If he hadn’t spotted that there were still people alive over here, I might have ordered the fleet to turn back and leave.”

”Junior Brother Chen! Please accept my bow!”

Zhou An immediately turned and began to bow, but Chen Cheng firmly held him up.

In that moment, it wasn’t just Zhou An; all the survivors, including Zhou Yonglu, looked at Chen Cheng with sincere gratitude.

”What exactly happened here?” Chen Cheng asked.

”A ferocious fish...”

Zhou An composed himself, but the lingering fear was still visible in his eyes.

”We ran into an abnormally massive Iron-Bone Crocodile Eel... When that thing charged through the water, it was more destructive than a giant battering ram!”

”Our ordinary fishing boats would be instantly torn apart and disintegrated if they were so much as grazed by its iron bones, let alone hit head-on...”

”I even feel that with my strength as a Six Pillar Blood Qi Martial Artist, if I took a direct hit from it, I’d probably lose half my life...”

As Zhou An spoke, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

”Luckily, that Iron-Bone Crocodile Eel doesn’t have a large appetite. It ate two people and was full, then retreated to the deep water. That’s the only reason we managed to barely escape with our lives...”

”That’s strange...”

After listening, Wu Ziyu couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

”Iron-Bone Crocodile Eels usually stay in the depths of Black Cloud Lake. It’s been years since one has been seen in these waters.”

”Perhaps it’s related to the Bai Family or the Immortal Bone Sect... Who knows...”

Zhou An let out a long sigh.

”In this rotten world, even the most absurd things can happen. Life is cheaper than paper...”

At this, Zhou An unconsciously clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, his nails nearly digging into his flesh, though he didn’t seem to notice.

”Senior Brother.”

He only snapped out of it when Chen Cheng called out to him.

”How are Senior Brother Zhou Ping’s injuries?” Chen Cheng asked.

”...No improvement. None at all.”

Zhou An sighed heavily, his gaze growing even dimmer.

Last month, the two brothers had taken part in the operation to exterminate the Bai Family. The older brother, Zhou Ping, took a blade for his younger brother, Zhou An.

A perfectly healthy man had nearly lost his life.

Now, a month later, his injuries hadn’t shown the slightest sign of improvement.

No wonder Zhou An lamented that in this world, life was cheaper than paper, so fragile it shattered at a touch. Even Six Pillar Blood Qi Martial Artists like the two brothers were no exception.

”Miss, what are our next moves?” Old Zhang ran over to ask for instructions.

”We’re not going to the Fishing Village today. Have the entire fleet return with empty holds,” Wu Ziyu decided instantly.

”But...”

Old Zhang froze for a moment, then reminded her in a low voice,

”If we return with empty holds, we’ll have to pay back double the deposit we’ve already collected...”

”Do you think I need you to tell me that?”

Wu Ziyu’s voice suddenly turned cold.

”That Iron-Bone Crocodile Eel is extremely aggressive! Just because it’s eaten its fill doesn’t mean it won’t attack ships! On our way there and back, who’s to say it won’t have rested enough and decide to attack us again!”

”Alright... I understand.”

Old Zhang nodded and quickly excused himself.

「Some time later.」

The fleet began to turn around in an orderly fashion, heading back the way they came.

Zhou Yonglu and the others had also finally recovered somewhat and began to chatter on about the perilous situation they had just faced.

Chen Cheng listened in silence, and couldn’t help but wonder, ’If I ever run into a situation like this...’

’What should I do?’

’In my past life, I couldn’t swim.’

’In this life, I’ve never even been in the water, aside from a bathtub.’

’If I were ever on a sinking ship and fell into the water, I’d probably be the first to drown.’

”Miss Wu.”

Chen Cheng asked directly,

”The Fishermen at the Fishing Village who are skilled swimmers—what methods do they usually use to train their swimming ability?”

”Swimming ability?”

Wu Ziyu thought for a moment and said,

”For ordinary fishermen, it’s just a matter of swimming and practicing a lot. The more time they spend in the water, the better they get.”

”But for the specialized Fishermen who hunt Treasure Fish, they usually have special training Techniques, like the ’Water Control Technique’ or the ’Fish Breath Skill’.”

”Do you have those two Techniques on you? I’d like to take a look,” Chen Cheng said.

”No. Who would carry something like that around with them...” Wu Ziyu shook her head.

”I do.”

Just then, Zhou Yonglu sidled over with a grin and pulled a sopping wet booklet from his robes.