Severing Time & Space

Invitation to Dinner, Part II

They eventually reached a room at the far end of the hall, isolated from everything else. It felt like they had entered an entirely different world. Wu Jian felt out of place, like he didn't belong there. A shiver ran down his spine.

The young woman slid the door open just a crack.

"Lady Zhou, your guests have arrived."

"Send them in," said a voice from the inside, easily recognizable by this point.

"Please, go inside," said the woman with a bow.

The four of them entered the room to find an elegantly furnished dining area with a low-seating round table in the center. The table was interesting in that it looked like there was a charcoal grill with rounded steel edges set in the middle.

Further out were various decorations. Beautifully painted columns complimented the lattice work of the ceiling, perfectly manicured miniature bonsai trees located in the corner, and a perfectly polished floor made this room look like something suitable for royalty.

Hard to believe something this extravagant existed in this city and I didn't even know about it.

The Wu Clan was the preeminent clan of Zahn City. The Zhou Clan might have been stronger overall, but they had a policy of non-interference with the city's politics. That made his clan the strongest by default.

Fluffy pillows were arrayed around the table. Sitting at one end was none other than Zhou Lihua. Dressed in a splendid hanfu colored predominantly white but with orange accents, the young woman was a vision to behold.

He thought she might have been wearing a light amount of makeup. Her eyes were lined with an orange and purple coloration that made them seem more vibrant, and her pink lips contained a glossy sheen as she smiled at them.

Wu Jian would never admit she stole his breath away. She certainly did not. He was not enamored by her beauty at all.

"Owch..." He mumbled and rubbed his backside, wondering which of the two girls on either side had just pinched him.

Standing behind Zhou Lihua were two women. They were wearing tai chi uniforms and had weapons strapped to their waists—a jian. He couldn't tell what realm they were at since he was still at the Body Forging Realm, but he imagined these bodyguards were quite strong. They would at least be stronger than the one they were protecting.

Zhou Lihua stood up and bowed. "Thank you for accepting my invitation. I'm so happy to see you three."

Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu also bowed. Like the young woman, their bow was the traditional kind. They placed the fist of their left hand against the palm of their right and bent slightly at the waist.

"Not at all. Thank you for inviting us. We are honored," Hou Jingshu said with a pretty smile. She seemed more used to this type of setting than either he or Wu Meiying. She spoke with a humble grace befitting the princess of a nation.

She's probably used to talking with powerful dignitaries like this.

"Yes. Thank you. I really wanted to talk to you again," Wu Meiying added.

Zhou Lihua's smile widened. "What a coincidence. I had been hoping I would get another chance to speak with all of you. To be honest, I wanted to speak with you much sooner, but I have been undergoing isolated training to stabilize my cultivation base."

"Well, you did skip four whole subrealms. It only makes sense that you focus on that instead of socializing," Wu Jian said.

Whenever someone reached a new realm, their power was always in a state of flux, making it unstable. This was caused by the body not being used to the massive surge of power flowing through it.