Emerald cypresses lined both sides of the road, their luxuriant branches and leaves trembling in the breeze.
An old man dressed in a coarse blue robe sat beneath a tree. Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, leaving hazy shadows across his face.
Wisps of steam still rose from the teacups before him.
"Care for a cup?" The old man sat at the other side of the wooden table, with three teacups placed before him.
One was his own, while the other two had been prepared for Xu Zimo and the Nether River.
His hair was white as snow, and his face was carved with the ravines left behind by time.
The instant Xu Zimo saw the old man's face, he froze completely.
"Xiao Ding Tian," he murmured softly, scarcely able to believe it.
Who could have imagined that such a decrepit old man would possess such a domineering name?
"Lord of Light," the Nether River murmured softly beside him.
"What did you say?" Xu Zimo frowned at the Nether River and asked.
"He is the founder of Puguang Hall. His actual name is unknown, but the world calls him the Lord of Light," the Nether River explained.
"So Xiao Ding Tian is the Lord of Light," Xu Zimo said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
First, there was Xiao Ding Tian himself.
He had been one of the few true confidants Xu Zimo had in his Previous Life.
Back then, Xu Zimo had been cast into Youlong Ravine and had begun wandering the world alone.
It was during his days with Lan Ke'er in Zixun Village that he came to know Xiao Ding Tian.
A passerby merely passing through that place.
He understood Xu Zimo, understood the pain of someone who had once been a failure, and knew how to comfort him.