Chapter 161: Meeting.

The taxi took its time as they drove through the busy rush hour traffic. And by the time he arrived at the resort, it had already gone seven-thirty. There was only half an hour until the meeting would start. At first, he complained about the taxi taking its time but in the end, it worked out in his favour as it cut out a good majority of the time he would be waiting otherwise.

"Thanks. How much do I owe you?" Haru asked as the taxi pulled up outside the resort and learned over the seats with his hand full of money. He didn't usually carry cash with him but he made sure to prepare some before he boarded the train on his way to shanghai.

"One hundred and fifty-six." The taxi driver said and then looked out of the window to look at the fancy resort he had just taken his passenger to.

'One hundred and fifty-six yuan? We travelled just a little over a kilometre. Why is this so expensive?' Haru thought to himself but then looked at the man who was looking out of his window at the resort. He knew right away the man was charging him more since he thought that he was rich like the rest of the people that would come to this kind of place.

'Whatever.' Haru thought before pulling out two one hundred yuan notes and then handing them to the man. It wasn't like he carried less than one hundred yuan notes anyway. But the feeling of being treated differently just because he was wearing nice clothes and going to a place like this didn't sit well with him.

Before giving the driver any time to reply he got out without a second thought.

"Thanks for the tip!" The taxi driver rolled down his window and shouted before driving away as fast as he could so Haru couldn't change his mind and ask for his change back. He just sighed in response before walking to the entrance.

The whole outside of the resort was packed with cars. And not just any cars. There were many luxury cars and even sports cars worth millions of yuan. It wasn't just any meeting. This was surely a meeting for some of the richest people in the city and Haru had been invited as the guest of honour.

The thought of being in a room with all these people who probably made their money at the expense of others put a bad taste in his mouth but it was easier to tell himself that it was none of his business how people made their money. It's not like he could judge them for it.

As he walked toward the entrance he noticed that part of the road was blocked off with metal barriers. And on one side of the barriers stood hundreds of people gathered around to watch as all these rich and famous people made their way into the building. Some of them even had camera's and were snapping pictures of everyone who entered.

"Just what kind of thing did I get myself into by coming here?" Haru asked himself quietly before making his way down the red carpet that was laid out on the floor leading up to the entrance of the building. But as soon as he stepped on the red carpet the crowd began to whisper to each other.

"Who's the kid?"

"What does he think he is doing here? This isn't some average club."

People began to ask about Haru's identity amongst themselves. He was by far the youngest person they have seen walk the red carpet all day and not a single person had any idea who he was.

One of the men from the crowd picked up his camera and then zoomed in on Haru's face.

"What if he is a celebrities child or something?" He began to talk to himself as he trailed Haru with the camera but just as he was about to take the picture his shot was obstructed.

Lord Meng had come out of nowhere and appeared next to Haru with an umbrella. The umbrella was facing the crowd to stop them from taking pictures of his face as they walked side by side down the red carpet and all the way to the door.

As they approached the door the guard looked to be on edge as he says Haru walking towards him but Lord Meng poked his head out from the umbrella and looked at him. It seemed to calm him down instantly and he just nodded his head before standing aside so they could enter.

"Woah… Did you see that? The guard just let him in without checking for an invitation. He didn't even do that with the mayor." Someone shouted from the crowd making everyone restless as they tried to figure out just who exactly the young man who walked into the resort like he owned the place was.

"Sorry about that. I didn't think the crowd would be so big. We didn't even advertise the meeting but we also invited a bunch of celebrities to join a banquet as a cover. I bet one of those morons leaked it to their fans… I think I got there in time. The boss ordered me not to let anyone take a picture of you." Lord Meng apologised as the door closed behind them and they got out of sight from the prying eyes outside.

"There's no need. As you said, you got there just in time. I hope." Haru chuckled lightly. He knew that if someone did take a picture of him then it wouldn't be long until people started following him around and try to figure out who he is.

"If you need me to I can go and confiscate all of their cameras…" Lord Meng said with a serious look on his face. It was almost like that was his plan from the start.

"No, It's fine. I doubt anyone got the chance to take any pictures. You got there pretty fast." Haru reassured him with a smile as they continued to walk toward a man who was stood in the centre of the room greeting everyone.

The room was a great hall with a double-sided staircase that went up to the main banquet hall with a chandelier splitting each side. On one side of the hall were desks that were now empty since the workers had been sent home and then on the other side was what appeared to be a waiting area. The floors were made out of white tile and the roof was held up with huge marble pillars. Everything in the building that was made out of metal appeared to be coated with gold.

It was a little too extravagant for Haru's tastes but he appreciated the architecture of the building. It had a look of elegance to it like it was built to house royalty. They continued onwards before stopping to meet the man who was greeting everyone.

Lord Meng and the man in the middle of the room both greeted each other with a nod of their heads and then the man handed what looked to be a keycard to Lord Meng.

"Come on this way. The boss is waiting for you." Lord Meng said before walking toward a gold-coloured elevator in the corner of the entrance hall they had walked through.

Lord Meng hit scanned a little black box with the keycard which made a beeping sound to signal the elevator was on it's way down and then turned to face Haru.

"I really am sorry about what happened in the forest the other day. I didn't expect you to be a respected master and Thank you for being merciful and letting me go." Lord Meng bowed his head out of respect for Haru.

Haru felt his intentions were honest and decided to not push the situation. But he really wasn't being merciful he just got distracted by Lian shouting his name. But he thought it would be better that he didn't tell Lord Meng that the only reason he is still alive is because of a distraction.

The elevator then suddenly opened up before Haru could respond to his gratitude. He followed him into the elevator and as soon as the doors closed he spoke.

"There is no need to thank me. But if you really are grateful then can you tell me why your boss has called me here? It isn't some kind of trap is it?" Haru asked the man as he now began to feel nervous. He could tell that he was getting closer to the leader of the crimson spiders by the amount of Qi fluctuating in the area.

It started as soon as they had entered the elevator and only got stronger as the elevator climbed to the fourth floor. A bell rang out signalling that they had reached their destination before Lord Meng replied.

"Rest assured. The boss doesn't set traps for people and he most certainly wouldn't invite you to one of his businesses just to have you killed. I'm not sure what he wants from you but when I last spoke to him it seemed like he just wanted to apologise.

He has made many enemies over the years and recently has been trying to make amends with people he has fought with. I wouldn't think too much of it but I am sure that you are safe here." Lord Meng said and then put his hand on Haru's shoulder.

"This is as far as I can go with you. But the boss's room is just behind that door." He then pointed to the large double door made out of solid oak in front of them.

"Well thank you for bringing me. Take care." Haru said casually while trying to calm his nerves. The felling of Qi emerging from this room was unlike anything he had felt before. The only thing he could compare it to was the feeling he had when Teacher Lin had saved him from the flock of birds in the cavern at the black star sect.

"So this is the power of someone on the verge of breaking through the nirvana stage," Haru said to himself before knocking on the door.