The old servant was taken aback, unsure how to respond. Xu Yi lifted his wine gourd and grumbled, "You old fellow, you're quite the chatterbox. This pot of fine wine took me a great deal of effort to procure. I got it so we could drink together while playing a game of chess at your household's place."
After hearing Mr. Ge explain Liu Junshi's circumstances, Xu Yi had formed a rough assessment of his temperament. Now that he had come to visit and the old servant was blocking his way, he could tell at once that the excuse about being in seclusion was a lie. How could someone obsessed with wine and chess have any mind for cultivation? And why would he need to seclude himself?
Once he saw through this, Xu Yi had pretended he was visiting by invitation.
The old servant was genuinely baffled. He knew his master's disposition very well, and no one had come to visit in nearly a year.
Besides, this stranger was completely unfamiliar, yet he had brought wine and come to find his master for a game of chess. He clearly knew his master's temperament and hobbies very well.
"Please show our guest in."
Just as the old servant hesitated, a voice rang through the air. A flash of light followed as the restriction in front of the mountain peak was opened.
Xu Yi passed through the mountain gate and soon met Liu Junshi in a pavilion atop the peak.
Liu Junshi was nothing like the disheveled old man Xu Yi had imagined. He was a handsome middle-aged man in flowing white robes, with sword-shaped brows slanting into his temples and hair the color of black and gray mixed together. He held a wine gourd in his hand and had the air of