The towering giant stood nine feet tall, red-faced and bare-armed, with a face as sharply cut as a blade and muscles seemingly hewn with an axe. He was truly burly and powerful. Across the broad expanse from his belly to his chest, he even bore a tattoo of a blood lotus in full bloom. His presence was extraordinarily intimidating.
Huyan Jun looked up at the newcomer and felt a wave of heat wash over him. The giant's indigo-dyed Miao clothing, in particular, left him momentarily dazed, as though he had once again caught that fleeting glimpse of the Red-Haired Ancestor of the Miao Borderlands all those years ago!
"Greetings, fellow Daoist. Have you also come here to see the master of Guanxuan Monastery?"
Huyan Jun asked.
The giant lowered his head to glance at Huyan Jun and his disciple, then cupped his fists in return.
"Indeed. Are you heading into the mountain as well, fellow Daoist?"
Huyan Jun shook his head.
"I have just come down from the mountain. I have already finished speaking with Daoist Master Guanxuan."
A gleam flashed through the giant's eyes, and he asked,
"This is my first visit here. What sort of person is Daoist Master Guanxuan? Might you tell me, fellow Daoist?"
Huyan Jun considered for a moment, then said,
"A man of vast Divine Abilities and learning that spans east and west. Your journey certainly will not be in vain."
The giant smiled at this, though perhaps because he was so powerfully built, his facial muscles were rather stiff. Even his smile looked fierce. He replied,
"Then thank you for your kind words, fellow Daoist."
"Our meeting must be fate. May I ask your name? I am Huyan Jun of Mount Qingcheng. Perhaps we shall meet again someday."
"Fellow Daoist Huyan, my surname