Huang Xiao left because he had noticed the three people he had encountered earlier approaching. For now, he did not want any conflict with them.
Their arrival did not surprise him.
Clearly, the commotion of the mine collapsing had drawn their attention.
I wonder who stole that thousand-year black iron, Huang Xiao thought regretfully.
Still, he did not dwell on it. What mattered now was getting out of Mist Mountain. Only then could he find someone to ask about the Martial World, and only after becoming familiar with this place could he seek a way to break the Demon-Ghost Blood Curse.
"Hm?" An hour later, Huang Xiao suddenly gave a puzzled exclamation and stopped. Turning toward a dense clump of bushes ten feet away, he called out calmly, "Enough skulking. Come out!"
No answer came after his words.
Huang Xiao frowned slightly and said sharply, "Looks like I'll have to invite you out myself."
As soon as he finished, a voice came from the bushes. "All right, all right! Even hiding this carefully, this old man still got discovered. I admit defeat."
With a rustling of bushes, an old man in ragged clothes crawled out.
His hair was half white, and his unkempt hair and beard were tangled together, covered in dust and bits of grass. His clothes were riddled with holes, his sleeves only half-length and uneven on either side. His trouser legs were much the same. He was barefoot, without even a pair of straw sandals.
"What are you staring at? I never imagined the Lone Mountain Gang had a youngster like you, capable of finding where this old man was hiding." Tugging at his tattered clothes, the old man walked up to Huang Xiao.
Looking at him, Huang Xiao quickly understood. The old man was dressed just