Hao Xuan followed the directions Jin Wang had left him and wandered through the forest for a few minutes until he came to a well-hidden entrance to a cave that was behind an ordinary-looking boulder.
There was a layer of fog covering the bottom of the cave. It was only half a meter wide, just enough for Hao Xuan to squeeze through. When he finally exited the cramped space there was a small water waiting for him on the other side.
Hao Xuan peeked over and saw Jin Wang sitting at the bottom next to the grand priestess talking in a hushed voice. Curious, he tried to listen in on their conversation but couldn't hear anything so he made his presence know.
Jin Wang waved at him gesturing for him to jump down to which Hao Xuan obliged.
"You guys know each other?" he looked towards the grand priestess and then Jin Wang. He was still quite mad about what she had said to him on their first meeting.
The grand priestess took a puff from her pipe and blew out a small cloud of smoke, pointing at the spot next to Jin Wang, "Have a seat."
Both their feet were submerged in the milky white water that was also blanketed in a layer of fog.
Hao Xuan threw Jin Wang a questioning gaze but he just smiled in return, leaving him no other choice but to either do as told or be rude and ignore the old woman's invitation.
But since he didn't want to be rude to her face, Hao Xuan obliged once again and sat down beside them taking off his shoes and dipping his feet in the cold water.
"What?" Hao Xuan inquired when he saw the other two staring at him.
"How does it feel?"
"Do you see anything?"
"I see two freaks giving e creepy looks, that's what I see," Hao Xuan answered in annoyance.
Jin Wang looked towards the Grand priestess for confirmation and she gave a quick nod in return. Her voice echoed in Jin Wang's head, 'I can not see it, nothing at all. I have never come across anything like this before.'
'It's fine, I expected as much.'
Hao Xuan finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up from the side, interrupting the duo.
"So who was that you wanted me to go see?"
Jin Wang had previously mentioned that he wanted Hao Xuan to confirm a "certain someone's" presence during the gathering so he was quite curious.
Jin Wang pointed towards the surface of the fog-covered water, "That guy."
The fog moved aside to reveal the image of a man in his late thirties being reflected in the water. he was standing tall and proud, which was obvious just from a single glance. Chest puffed out, chin almost facing the moon it was raised so high.
But despite the overbearing demeanor, he was dressed modestly without any jewelry or even weapons on himself. He wore a simple black long coat and some old pants that looked exceptionally ordinary.
He had short black hair with white pupils. He had an aura of wildness about him, one that made Hao Xuan question whether or not he had seen him before. But obviously, he hadn't.
Jin Wang noticed the look of concentration on Hao Xuan's face and inquired as to the cause of it.
"What's wrong?"
"He seems…familiar. Like I SHOULD know him but don't."
Jin Wang straightened his back, "You've seen him before?"
Hao Xuan shook his head confidently, "No, never. I'm sure about that part but it's almost like deja vu. Like I have an impression of him just from a superficial look. I FEEL like we met but didn't."
"What kind of impression?"
"I'm not sure. I can't…put my finger on but it's like I'm looking at a wall, a blank wall you know? A dead end. I feel like he's done something bad if that makes sense at all."
Jin Wang looked back towards the grand priestess for confirmation but she shrugged in response, not being able to give an explanation for it.
Hao Xuan looked away, not being able to stare at the image for a second longer.
"Who is he?"
Jin Wang sighed, a little uneasy now that Hao Xuan had told him about that. He was having second thoughts about sending him to the surface now.
"He is an old enemy, a very powerful one. He goes by a lot of different names and titles but there is one that always follows him around wherever he goes, the 'Abyss Walker'. I'm not sure if he is already here or not."
The moment those words left Jin Wang's mouth alarm bells started ringing inside Hao Xuan's head. He had heard that name before from Nidhora. She told him the Abyss Walker had come to the planet and she needed to hide from him at all costs.
***
Authors notes:
The first 8 Privileged chapters will be available on p a t r e o n from now on (Profound Realm and above tiers).
It is MUCH cheaper to read there rather than on WN since 9.99USD unlocks all of them for an entire month, it's also the BEST way to support the novel and comes with many other perks (Like the reference images being directly posted there)
https://www.p a t r e o n.com/shinigami8671
