Meng Hai

Biodata

Background / History

Decline of the Evergreen Escort Agency

Meng Hai inherited the Evergreen Escort Agency as an ancestral business. Several years before escorting Lu Mingyue, he survived an encounter with a rogue cultivator that nearly wiped out the agency. Its heavy losses damaged its reputation, leaving it short of both escorts and customers 26 29 35.

When prospective clients arrived that summer, they were the agency's first customers of the season. Meng Hai hoped a successful journey would restore its reputation enough to recruit another five or six escorts and train them properly 26 29.

Escort toward Taiping City

Meng Hai accepted Lu Mingyue, Bai Zishan, Guo Ding, and Yang Qin as clients for the half-month journey from Cangzhou Prefectural City to Taiping City. Each client's fee was seventy-five taels of silver: thirty-five in advance and forty upon arrival. He arranged their travel documents and departed with eight escorts and three carriages 27 28 29.

Within half an hour of leaving the city, the convoy encountered the twenty-two mounted bandits of the Tiger Head Gang. Meng Hai fought its chief and deputy chief simultaneously, killing both. He refused to pursue the survivors, prioritizing the clients' safety, and collected the chiefs' horses and silver before continuing 28.

Repeated bandit attacks gave Lu Mingyue opportunities to memorize his martial arts. Meanwhile, Meng Hai noticed that Guo Ding and Yang Qin's apparent nervousness did not match their breathing. He initially avoided investigating his clients, but changes in their behavior eventually prompted him to write a concealed warning instructing his escorts to stay away from the carriages after dinner 28 29.

Battle with the Evil Cultivators

Despite his precautions, Meng Hai and his escorts fell under the Yellow Springs Nightmare. After Lu Mingyue awakened them with Origin Power, he ordered Meng Qing and the two least-skilled escorts to escape. He led the remaining five against Guo Ding, following his family's rule that older members should sacrifice themselves to protect the younger generation 30 32.

Lu Mingyue shielded their charge from Guo Ding's fireball, but Meng Hai was incapacitated by another nightmare spell. After being awakened again, he hurled an iron staff that struck Guo Ding, exposing the cultivator's dwindling Origin Power. Nevertheless, the Yellow Springs Ghost Coffin ultimately killed all five escorts who had remained with him 32 33 34.

Meng Hai survived through Lu Mingyue's protection. Rather than flee alone, he carried the exhausted Lu Mingyue to his horse and directed her east toward Taiping City. He then returned to attack Guo Ding with his disciples' staffs, only for Yang Qin's wind wall to stop them. Bai Zishan subsequently killed both evil cultivators, ending the battle 34.

Failed Commission and Departure

Unable to complete the escort with his depleted force, Meng Hai handed Lu Mingyue the advance fees paid by all four clients. He insisted on returning his disciples' remains to their families, and Lu Mingyue helped distinguish and wrap their scattered bones 35.

While waiting overnight, Meng Hai recognized a predatory look in Bai Zishan's eyes resembling that of the rogue cultivator who had previously targeted his agency. He concealed his suspicion behind respectful behavior 36 37.

After Meng Qing and the other two escorts returned with a hundred-person party, Meng Hai helped arrange for Lu Mingyue and Bai Zishan to continue under the Zongjian Escort Agency's protection. At parting, he covertly warned Lu Mingyue about Bai Zishan. His outward flattery—including a promise to erect a longevity tablet in Bai Zishan's honor—also persuaded Bai Zishan to abandon his intention to kill Meng Hai and the survivors 37 38 39.

Appearance

• An elderly man with a weathered face and a sturdy frame 35 36.
• After losing five disciples, his posture became stooped, making him appear to have aged more than a decade 35.

Personality

Meng Hai is practical about his livelihood but takes his professional obligations seriously. He regards the agency as a business rather than a license to meddle in clients' affairs, yet refuses to waste time pursuing fleeing bandits when his clients still need protection. When he can no longer fulfill the commission, he returns the advance payments 28 29 35.

His responsibility toward his relatives and disciples outweighs his instinct for self-preservation. He sends younger escorts away before confronting Guo Ding, refuses to abandon those who remain, and insists on bringing the dead home. Although cultivators inspire genuine fear and deference in him, he still risks offering Lu Mingyue a discreet warning about Bai Zishan 32 33 35 38.

Abilities & Skills

Ancestral Staff Martial Arts

Meng Hai's martial arts impress Lu Mingyue as approaching the summit of mortal skill. His sons inherit their techniques from him 28.

• Fights the Tiger Head Gang's two strongest members simultaneously and gains the upper hand.
• Deliberately exposes an opening to bait the chief into a fatal counterattack.
• Kills the deputy chief in fewer than ten further moves.
• Throws iron staffs with enough force to knock Guo Ding backward when the cultivator is nearly out of Origin Power 28 33.

Perception and Judgment

Decades of dangerous escort work make Meng Hai adept at detecting concealed intentions 29 36.

• Detects Guo Ding's false nervousness through the absence of corresponding changes in his breathing.
• Notices the couple's shift from surveying their surroundings to apparent readiness to act.
• Recognizes hostility beneath Bai Zishan's reserved manner and communicates his warning without openly confronting him 29 36 37 38.

Escort Leadership

• Arranges official travel documents, lodging, carriages, and protective assignments 27 28.
• Maintains strict discipline and courteous conduct toward female clients 30.
• Uses routine watch arrangements to conceal emergency instructions 29.
• Secures an alternative escort arrangement after his own commission fails 38.

Limitations

• Possesses no documented immortal cultivation; outside Origin Power is needed to awaken him from Yellow Springs Nightmare 32 33.
• His party carries no bows or crossbows, which he explains are strictly controlled by the authorities 32.
• Even his accomplished martial arts cannot overcome the Yellow Springs Ghost Coffin or Yang Qin's wind wall 34.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Collapsible iron staff — Carried at his waist in a form less than half a meter long; extends to over two meters for combat 28.
• Long-serving horse — Raised by Meng Hai and ridden for over a decade. Despite its terror during the battle, it responds to him when he prepares it for Lu Mingyue's escape 34.

Relationships

• Meng Qing — His son and fellow escort. Meng Hai trusts him to help conceal warnings and orders him to escape with the two younger escorts during the cultivator attack 29 32.
• Other escorts and disciples — Long-serving followers connected by kinship and inherited martial training. Five die fighting beside him; he takes responsibility for returning their remains 29 32 35.
• Lu Mingyue — Client and mutual rescuer. She studies his combat techniques, protects him with spells, and gathers his disciples' remains; he attempts to save her and later warns her about Bai Zishan 28 32 34 35 38.
• Bai Zishan — Initially a client and apparent benefactor. Meng Hai becomes suspicious of his gaze, conceals his distrust, and uses deference to avoid provoking him 35 36 37 39.
• Guo Ding and Yang Qin — Clients revealed as murderous evil cultivators. Their attack kills five of Meng Hai's disciples and forces him to abandon the commission 32 33 34 35.