The black carriage stood quietly in the darkness. When the middle-aged driver saw Hu Xiaotian emerge, he briskly opened the door. Supported by Murong Feiyan, Hu Xiaotian slowly approached the carriage. Its interior was pitch-black, screened so tightly that not a sliver of light entered.
Xiao Tianmu's voice sounded from the darkness. "Please sit, sir!"
It took quite a while for Hu Xiaotian's eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the carriage before he could vaguely make out Xiao Tianmu's silhouette. He smiled and sat beside him. He had been planning to seek Xiao Tianmu out, only for Xiao Tianmu to come of his own accord.
Murong Feiyan withdrew, and the middle-aged man closed the door before slowly walking aside. She watched him warily, judging from his every movement that he was an expert in internal martial arts. Red Willow Village grew ever more mysterious in her mind. Xiao Tianmu was a blind scholar who looked too weak to truss a chicken, yet somehow he had persuaded so many skilled martial artists to serve him willingly.
Xiao Tianmu said in a low voice, "Day and night make no difference to me. I cannot see either way. That is why I dislike meeting people in sunlight. It makes me feel unsafe."
Hu Xiaotian recalled their first meeting. It had been daytime, and although Xiao Tianmu could not see him, he could see Xiao Tianmu. The man's eyes were blind, but his mind saw with remarkable clarity. He possessed extraordinary intelligence and deep cunning; otherwise, Zhou Batian would never have entrusted all his affairs outside to him. Hu Xiaotian said, "Now we are the same!"
Xiao Tianmu gave a faint chuckle. "No. We will never be the same." After a pause, he added, "Your injuries do not seem particularly serious, Lord Hu."