Several more days passed, yet Xie Wanzhi still had not appeared. Lü Yue and Xie Wanzhi's disciple traveled day and night back to the Meng Family in Lingwu City to report to Meng Zhao.
Outside the main hall, snow drifted through the air and the cold was biting. Inside, the fire roared, warm and comfortable.
Meng Zhao wore a tiger-fur coat and reclined halfway upon a couch. Two young, beautiful maidservants stood beside him, carefully kneading, tapping, and massaging him. Occasionally, following Meng Zhao's gaze, they picked up delicacies from the table on the other side of the couch and fed them to him, giving him all the airs of a wealthy country squire.
Below the hall, Lü Yue and Xie Wanzhi's young, handsome disciple sat facing one another, both half-bowed toward Meng Zhao in a display of loyalty and respect.
The loyalty naturally belonged to Lü Yue. He was Meng Zhao's most steadfastly devoted retainer and deeply trusted by Meng Zhao. He had always regarded himself as Meng Zhao's servant and placed the greatest importance on etiquette.
The respect naturally came from Xie Wanzhi's disciple. Though he and Xie Wanzhi had lived in seclusion within Hidden Dragon Valley, they were not immortals after all. Whenever they purchased supplies, he had heard of Meng Zhao's legendary deeds and longed to meet him.
To put it bluntly, Meng Zhao was the object of admiration and aspiration in the hearts of countless young martial artists across the Divine Continent. Even those who disliked Meng Zhao could not deny his strength and legend.
This disciple was one of them. He had once wanted to pay Meng Zhao a visit and make a pilgrimage to him, but Xie Wanzhi had stopped him. Only today did he finally meet him in person.
Meng Zhao also