"Mei Fang, are you sure you want to do this?" Zhou Zhao asked, looking at Mei Fang with a displeased expression.
"Director Zhou, I don't want to do this either, but you have disturbed our honored guest. I must ask you to leave. Please forgive me," Mei Fang replied with a composed expression.
"Fine, fine, fine, Mei Fang. You will regret this. Let's go," Zhou Zhao said, his face darkening as he left with his entourage. After all, he was a person of considerable standing, and being "escorted" out by security would be a complete loss of face.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ning. I have caused you inconvenience," Mei Fang said, not having time to think about Zhou Zhao's matters, and immediately apologized to Ning Beichen.
Ning Beichen glanced at her, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "I haven't suffered any inconvenience. Rather, Manager Mei has been troubled. That man just now must have been someone of significant status, didn't he? Aren't you afraid he'll seek trouble with you for offending him?"
"It's alright. It was my failure to handle the situation properly. This is my dereliction of duty," Mei Fang replied softly, lowering her head.
What had been a pleasant dinner was disrupted by Zhou Zhao's appearance, and neither of them had much appetite left. Soon after, Ning Beichen finished his meal and returned to his room.
However, it wasn't long before someone came to inspect the fire safety, and shortly after that, a comprehensive security sweep began, causing chaos in the hotel. It was obvious that Zhou Zhao was behind all this.
Yet, in less than two hours, all the troublemakers disappeared. Zhou Zhao, sweating profusely, knelt before Mei Fang, trembling, his face pale and ghastly. Zhou Zhao had never expected a hotel manager to wield such influence.
Within an hour of his issuing the order, the situation changed drastically. His position was stripped away, followed by constant trouble. Even the wrongdoings of his ancestors for eighteen generations were unearthed. Now, it was no longer a matter of whether he apologized, but whether he would face imprisonment.
The bewildered Zhou Zhao frantically used all his connections to understand what had happened. He then rushed back, begging Mei Fang like a dog to show him mercy.
"Zhou Zhao, you still don't understand. You didn't offend me," Mei Fang said, shaking her head and looking at Zhou Zhao with pity.
"Please, Miss Mei, save me and guide me to a way out. As long as I can get through this hardship, I, Zhou Zhao, am willing to be your ox or horse from now on," Zhou Zhao kowtowed profusely. He had no other choice; Mei Fang was his only hope. Unless he was incredibly foolish and willing to spend the rest of his life in prison.
"I've already told you, you didn't offend me. Think about it yourself," Mei Fang told Zhou Zhao before having him escorted away. Zhou Zhao was truly unlucky. Under normal circumstances, offending her wouldn't be a big deal, and the Heavenly Master's Mansion wouldn't make such a fuss for her. But he had dared to offend that mysterious Mr. Ning, and this was no longer something Mei Fang could handle.
Although Mei Fang didn't explicitly tell him, Zhou Zhao wasn't a fool and could discern the meaning behind her words. It must have been that young man. With this thought, Zhou Zhao slapped himself twice. But that young man seemed so ordinary, his clothing also plain. Zhou Zhao couldn't fathom that he had fallen into such a predicament because of him.
Fortunately, he wasn't entirely clueless. He found out which hotel room the young man was staying in and quickly brought gifts to apologize.
When Ning Beichen opened the door and saw Zhou Zhao, drenched in sweat and kneeling before him begging for mercy, Ning Beichen's expression was a little strange. However, he soon understood what had happened. But he was always too lazy to bother with such people and simply closed the door. If he wasn't taught a profound lesson, he would still think he was the king of the world. If Mei Fang's backing hadn't been the Heavenly Master's Mansion, and if the Heavenly Master's Mansion wanted to foster good relations with him, then the outcome today would have been Mei Fang kneeling before him and begging for mercy. Therefore, why should Ning Beichen forgive him or pity him?
From small signs, one can infer the whole. This kind of bullying was certainly not the first time for Zhou Zhao, nor would it be the last. Why should Ning Beichen give him an opportunity to do evil?
Left outside by the closed door, Zhou Zhao was soon taken away, as the Heavenly Master's Mansion had already understood Ning Beichen's stance.
One night passed. A storm was brewing beneath the surface of the calm. Few people knew what had happened the previous night, and even fewer knew that a prominent figure had suddenly been imprisoned.
The next morning, Ning Beichen had already left the hotel. Today, he intended to head to Longhu Mountain. However, he didn't plan to visit the Heavenly Master's Mansion, nor did he deliberately conceal his whereabouts. After all, on their territory, it would be difficult to hide his movements, and there would be no point. If the Heavenly Master's Mansion wanted to contact him, as long as it was done openly, Ning Beichen wouldn't mind.
A few hours later, Ning Beichen appeared in an uninhabited mountain range on Longhu Mountain. This was not a place for tourists, and Ning Beichen's figure flickered through the mountains, sometimes darting, sometimes leaping a hundred meters, and soon he disappeared from sight.
About half an hour later, Ning Beichen finally stopped. This place was a cliff face deep within the mountain range. On the cliff face were many square-shaped holes. These holes were not large or deep, seeming to be artificially chiseled rather than naturally formed, and their purpose was unknown. However, Ning Beichen could feel a strong spiritual energy here, which was why he had stopped. He felt that cultivating here would be quite effective.
Longhu Mountain is revered as the ancestral home of Taoism, and countless legends and great figures have emerged here throughout history. The former blessed land undoubtedly had its unique qualities. Ning Beichen found a clean spot on the cliff wall and began to cultivate the "Crossing the Sea of Suffering to the Other Shore" technique.
As Ning Beichen cultivated, he noticed wisps of white mist appearing from the holes in the cliff face. These white mists condensed into the shape of Ganoderma lucidum. If an outsider were present and saw the entire mountainside filled with white mist forming Ganoderma lucidum, they would be stunned. At this moment, as Ning Beichen cultivated, a large amount of auspicious radiance also emanated from his body. The aura he exhaled transformed into clusters of Ganoderma lucidum, lifelike and faintly visible, a truly astonishing sight.
After a while, a thunderclap suddenly echoed through the sky. Ning Beichen's body slowly floated in the air, and the Ganoderma lucidum formed by the white mist on the cliff face emerged one by one beneath Ning Beichen's body, forming a mystical lotus seat. Ning Beichen sat cross-legged within this ethereal lotus seat, his eyes closed, his breathing even, like an immortal descended from the heavens.