“We’ll wait for you up ahead,” came the voice of Li. “You have the time it takes an incense stick to burn to catch up with your Junior Brother.”
As they disappeared into the distance, Meng Hao looked hesitantly at Chen Fan.
“Elder Brother, I….”
“You don’t need to say anything,” said Chen Fan, his face covered with a wide smile. He embraced him warmly again.
Laughing happily, Chen Fan looked Meng Hao over, eyes filled with excitement because of their reunion. “You’ve grown up big and strong, I see! Haha! You’re not the little scholar you used to be.”
In a voice as earnest as it had always been, he grabbed Meng Hao’s arm and said, “Can you believe it? Here we are, fellow Brothers who’ve run into each other yet again in in the Southern Domain. We have to celebrate! Come come, tell your Elder Brother what you’ve been up to these past years. A while back, I heard that the State of Zhao disappeared! Ai….” He didn’t even give Meng Hao a chance to respond.
His personality had always been like this. He talked and talked, and before long, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn. The entire time, Meng Hao didn’t have a chance to even say a single sentence. It was just like it had been back in the Reliance Sect.
Chen Fan was definitely long-winded, but even were he more so, Meng Hao wouldn’t mind. Meng Hao’s heart filled with warmth as he realized that everything Chen Fan was saying was out of concern for him. He was considerate, excited, and happy.
“That fatty Li Fugui, do you remember him? He used to follow you around all the time. Well, he’s a pretty important person in the Golden Frost Sect now. Last time I went with Master to pay a visit to the Golden Frost Sect, I saw him swaggering around. He’s definitely a darling of the Sect. If anyone dared to mess with him, a crowd of Golden Frost Sect disciples would instantly rush to help him….
“Junior Sister Xu is in sore straits, though. The only thing I could do was ask some people I know in the Black Sieve Sect to watch out for her. She’s been stuck at the ninth level of Qi Condensation for years now. She needs a Foundation Establishment Pill. In the past years, I’ve performed some meritorious services for the Sect. I think it won’t be long before I can get a Foundation Establishment Pill from Master to send to her.
“Oh, and then there’s Wang Tengfei…. You’d best not provoke him again, he has an impressive amount of power backing him. Oh, right. You wouldn’t believe the latest gossip. Rumor has it that his fiancee, Chu Yuyan from the Violet Fate Sect, is intimately involved with some stranger.
“The news is out, and all the Sects have heard about it. There was an eyewitness who saw Chu Yuyan wearing the clothing of some other man. There was obviously something shady going on…. Who do you think that guy could be? Whoever he is, I sure admire him. He was able to steal Chu Yuyan right from under Wang Tengfei’s nose….” Meng Hao wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise. When the topic of Chu Yuyan came up, a strange expression suddenly appeared on his face.
“So,” he thought, “that Zhou Daya fellow did exactly as I predicted and immediately began to spread rumors….” He gave a dry cough, not admitting to anything. Instead, he said, “Wow, that guy really is amazing. I hope I have a chance to meet him some day and maybe be friends.” His face was covered with an expression of admiration similar to Chen Fan’s.
About this time, the clear sound of a sword could be heard ringing out in the air. Meng Hao looked up to see a Solitary Sword Sect disciple off in the distance, clearly urging them to hurry up.
Taking advantage in the break in Chen Fan’s dialogue, Meng Hao scratched his head and said, “Elder Brother, maybe you should….” Before he could finish, he was submerged by more words from Chen Fan.
“Little Junior Brother, have you found a suitable beloved yet?” he said suddenly.
“Uh….” Meng Hao stared in shock. Chen Fan’s question seemed to have come completely out of the blue. Before he could respond, Chen Fan nodded.
“Oh, I understand. You’re still hung up on Elder Sister Xu. Junior Brother, listen to me carefully. There are a lot of female Cultivators in the Southern Domain, but there are four who are considered to be the most dazzling.
“Chu Yuyan is one of them, but you might as well forget about her. She belongs to Wang Tengfei and that other mysterious guy. However, the other three are really a match for your good looks and Cultivation base.” Chen Fan’s eyes shined brightly as he looked at Meng Hao. He sounded almost like a match-maker.
This topic completely exceeded Meng Hao’s powers of prediction. He stared blankly at Elder Brother Chen. How could he have imagined that after all these years, Elder Brother Chen would suddenly have taken up this new interest? Meng Hao cleared his throat a few times. “Elder Brother, I….”
“Don’t be so shy! Look, your Elder Brother has a lot of experience. There may be some things you don’t understand about this kind of