"Oho, looks like you've been through a few things, eh?"
A bulky man in his late twenties was standing beside him. An old saber hung weakly from his waistband.
He was a little less than two feet away but Hao Xuan couldn't 'feel' anything from him. If he hadn't spoken up first, he would have missed him entirely.
Even in this befuddled state, Hao Xuan could clearly tell that this ordinary-looking man was anything but that.
The man bent down to his level, staring right into his eyes. Hao Xuan tried to look away but it was like magic. The man's eyes were so hauntingly enchanting that he felt like if he broke eye contact first, he would be losing something extremely precious to him.
It was a sense of loss that he had never experienced before. He just wanted to kneel down in front of him and beg for forgiveness for whatever reason.
"Are you the one I'm looking for?" the man asked while squinting, looking for something in his eyes.