Chapter five hundred and eighty first nine fingers handshake
“Wine?”
Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded.
If he remembered correctly, the legendary Eighth Sword Immortal was the first person to propose the concept of "drunk swordsmanship, sword chaos".
Before him, there were indeed swordsmen who drank wine and were famous for being able to hold a sword firmly.
But ever since the Eighth Sword Immortal was born, all these people have been outclassed.
The Eighth Sword Immortal never drinks alcohol.
After he proposed this concept, sword cultivators rarely had anything to do with wine.
Whether it’s ancient sword cultivation or spiritual sword cultivation...
But according to Xu Xiaoshou's speculation, shouldn't there be a high probability that the first Saint Slave in front of him is the Eighth Sword Immortal?
How could he pick up a wine gourd?
“I guessed it wrong?” Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded and couldn’t figure out the situation at all.
“How do you think about it?”
The masked man who poured wine with his head raised didn't seem to care about his own image at all. When he drank the last drop of wine in the gourd, he threw the gourd back to Cenjov, wiped his mouth, and put down the mask again.
"I……"
Xu Xiaoshou’s thoughts were pulled back, but he still couldn’t give an answer for the moment.
The words of the masked man are indeed very reasonable.
Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t even find a single point to refute.
After all, relative and absolute are views that he also recognizes.
But can compromise really be understood as just a “choice”?
“You have trouble deciding?” the masked man asked with a smile.
"Um."
Xu Xiaoshou nodded.
He can see the kindness of the people in front of him towards him.
Perhaps this is due to the prerequisite that he recognizes his own potential.
But again, from a consequentialist perspective, this is still a person who respects others very much.
Even, as the first seat of the Holy Slaves.
It can be said that the respect the masked man gave Xu Xiaoshou to a younger generation has reached an unimaginable level.
Until now, he was still asking Xu Xiaoshou for his opinion instead of forcing him.
Xu Xiaoshou said nothing.
The masked man spoke again.
“I will not force you, but this time, I will not let you go easily.”
“You have to know that this is reality.”
"If you really want to continue going forward, with your growth rate, you will still encounter such things in the future, all kinds of things, countless."
“I can let you go once, twice, or three times, but others can also force you to make a choice the first time they meet you.”
“This is the only way you must pass.”
“I have already given you enough kindness and respect, but fate ends here…”
“For me personally, the time has come.”
The masked man looked up at the sky behind Xu Xiaoyang, which is where the other-dimensional space is located.
“Rather than letting you be forced to join another force that you don’t like, it’s better to choose to join me at this moment... Bah, walk side by side.”
“At least I can still promise you...”
“What?” Xu Xiaoshou raised his eyes.
The masked man is very serious: "I promise you that if the direction you see in the future is not consistent with the choice you make at this moment, you can choose to leave at any time."
“Not just leaving me, not just leaving the holy slave.”
“You can let go of everything at any time.”
“Even if you have your own direction and feel you can do it better than me, I can join you, help you, and help you achieve your goals.”
"My goal..." Xu Xiaoshou looked a little more confused.
“You don’t know your goal yet, but I do.”
The masked man said, seeming to be amused by his own words, with a somewhat humorous tone: "I can see the shadow of most people in you."
“Maybe when they were the same age as you, they still didn’t understand what they wanted most.”
“But after reaching a certain level, the direction will lead to the same destination!”
“Why?” Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled.
He himself didn’t even understand what he wanted.
Before, I only sorted out a big concept.
And now, a guy who has only met me a few times says that he knows what he thinks. Is it credible?
The masked man did not answer directly.
He first glanced at the storyteller, then returned his gaze to Cenjov, and asked: "Do you know that there is someone better than you in this world?"
Xu Xiaoshou: “……”
“I believe you know.”
The masked man nodded and continued: "But you may not know that looking at the whole world, there are countless people of the same age who are similar to you, or even better than you."
“Perhaps most of these people will die prematurely because of arrogance, arrogance, being too ambitious, etc…”
“But you also need to understand that not every child of aristocratic families or outstanding young people has such a problem.”
“The world is relative.”
“While there are these mentally unhealthy guys, there are also people who are as confident, calm, and persistent as you.”
Xu Xiaoshou looked embarrassed.
This sudden compliment came as a bit of a surprise.
The masked man seemed to be stating an objective fact, unmoved, and continued: "There are also countless people like this."
“So, there are so many people on the continent who have the potential to grow into peak powerhouses. How much do you know about the powerhouses at that time?”
“Or to put it another way…”
“How many people do you know who can stand at the highest position in this world?”
Xu Xiaoshou was asked.
According to what the masked man said, combined with my own current experience.
How can a small white cave gather so many outstanding young people? Even the swordsman Gu Qingyi burst into tears, and all kinds of ghosts and beasts appeared in so many people.
How many experienced people are there in places that you can’t see, places that are more dangerous than the White Cave?
How many outstanding ancient sword cultivators are there?
Can these people grow to the level of the Seven Swordsmen?
Xu Xiaoshou is not sure.
But looking at the character, strength, and qualifications of such people...
If you really want to give an answer.
Xu Xiaoshou’s tendency is “ability”.
If we want to add a precondition, it is just a matter of "time".
But……
There seem to be only seven Seven Sword Immortals since ancient times.
The number is only small, and there is never even a period of time when there is one more.
Even the eighth sword immortal, who has shone through the ages, can only be regarded as half, and still cannot break this iron law.
Why?
Xu Xiaoshou opened his mouth slightly, and the strong desire for knowledge in his eyes was beyond words.
"Why?"
The masked man could generally understand Xu Xiaoshou's inner thoughts and helped him ask the question, but did not answer it.
Then, he turned his gaze to the two people beside him again.
“Going back to the question just now, you seem to be curious, doubtful, and even strongly opposed from the inner level about how I can know your goals along the way?”
…”
Xu Xiaoshou thought, "You are really right."
I just don’t dare to say it.
“But I can know your future!”
The masked man said solemnly: "Why?"
Xu Xiaoshou already felt something was wrong.
His eyes also fell on the storyteller on the side, Cenchofu, trying to find the answer from the masked man's glance back.
But to no avail.
The two people on the other side still looked bored. The only one who was interested was not this young man at all.
Instead, it’s more like being surprised that the masked man can say so many words.
"Why?"
Xu Xiaoshou finally asked the question, he couldn't hold it in any longer.
The masked man had a smile in his eyes, and did not respond tactfully again, but responded positively: "Because of freedom!"
“?”
“I can see your insistence on freedom in your eyes and thinking. This is the reason why I don’t force you.”
The masked man paused and said: "In this world, there are people like you, without exception, they all long for freedom."
“But...”
He suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky.
The rain curtain is still pattering on the sky.
With the silence of the two of them, it became particularly harsh.
The masked man pointed to the sky and asked: "Do you think that outside the White Cave is the Holy Spirit Continent?"
“Do you think you can really transcend beyond the Holy Spirit Continent?”
"wrong!"
“Have you seen the rain?”
Xu Xiaoshou’s head is a little bit.
“That’s not rain, that’s a person!” the masked man said loudly.
Xu Xiaoshou’s mind immediately went blank.
A memory suddenly appeared in my mind that didn’t seem to belong to me.
That was an unknown thought I had about the information column after I escaped from the siege of the Storyteller and the Night Watch.
Xu Xiaoshou didn’t have time to think too much, so he looked inward.
“Being watched, passive value, +1.”
“Watch?”
He finally paid attention to this issue again.
Attention?
Who is watching?
rain?
people?
“That’s a person?” Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes widened and he looked at the rain curtain above the sky in disbelief.
“Strictly speaking, it doesn’t count, it’s just an ability.”
The masked man smiled: "But you just need to know that whether you are in the White Cave or the Holy Continent, there is such a pair of eyes staring at you all the time."
“Whether you are eating, sleeping, or making people...”
“He is always watching you.”
“No rest for a moment!”
Xu Xiaoshou's hair suddenly stood up, and he felt cold sweat directly wet his back, "Who is he?"
"who is he?"
The masked man asked the question to the two people behind him.
The storyteller looked startled, "How do I know? This is how I was deceived by you."
Xu Xiaoshou: “……”
Cenjov shrugged and spread his hands: "Who is he? How would I know? If it weren't for you, I would still be working at sunrise and resting at sunset in the deep mountains and forests of the Southern Region. Wouldn't it be nice?"
The masked man rolled his eyes slightly.
Look back.
“You see, one is at the pinnacle of Zhandao and the other is Taixu. They haven’t been able to give an answer to this question until now. You can imagine how strong ‘he’ is!”
Xu Xiaoshou: “……”
At this moment, he really wanted to give direct feedback on the masked man's cheating.
But deep down in my heart, I was really shocked by the "Tai Xu" that suddenly popped up.
Xu Xiaoshou turned his head to look at the old man with some difficulty. Xu Xiaoshou was a little in disbelief.
This image does not look like an old guy, too madam, or too weak at all?
Shouldn’t this be a person who stands on top of the world, has an immortal demeanor, and rides a crane across the clouds?
How could he stand behind the masked man and collect the wine gourd for this guy?
"I……"
With all kinds of words coming to his mouth, Xu Xiaoshou didn’t know how to speak out.
“I can tell you clearly that when the storyteller was in the middle realm, he was really just a storyteller.”
The masked man pointed at the man in the red skirt and said, "He was just like you when he was young, and he also yearned for freedom."
“But when I reached the breakthrough level, I suddenly resigned myself to mediocrity and went straight to open a storytelling shop, becoming the so-called ‘boss’ among ordinary people.”
“Why?”
Pointing to Cenchofu again, the masked man said: "This man must have lived for several hundred years. As he said before, he has been chopping firewood in the deep mountains and forests to make a living."
“When I was about to die, I suddenly had the idea to take a peek into the world, and then I achieved the Dao of Killing.”
“But after a year, I returned to the old forests of the Southern Region and picked up my old business again.”
“Why?”
Xu Xiaoshou was sluggish.
Who are these gods and men?
"because of him'."
The masked man raised his eyes and looked at the rain curtain on the sky, saying: "Because of these eyes!"
Xu Xiaoshou was still a little confused and wanted to speak. The masked man pressed his hand to indicate that he had not finished speaking and said:
"Like them, those geniuses who have not shocked the world are still there."
“But each of them sank somewhere and couldn’t hold their heads up at all.”
“There is a god three feet above your head. When you grow to a certain point, you may be able to understand this statement.”
Xu Xiaoshou's heart and hair were cold.
This is not a god, this is a devil!
The masked man clicked his tongue, feeling a little dry in his mouth, and moved his hands to reach back.
Cenjov immediately said: "No more."
"Forehead……"
At this time, the masked man also realized that he had said too much.
He said "hmm" and finally spoke.
“I’m tired, let’s get back to the problem we just had!”
"them."
The masked man motioned to the two people beside him.
He pointed his hand toward the void again: "And them."
Xu Xiaoshou understood that this was talking about those people who were also willing to be mediocre.
“These people, regarding the question ‘who is he?’…
The masked man raised his eyes and looked at Jiutian Yulian and said: "I can give you the explanation they can't give."
Xu Xiaoshou nodded.
He was ready for one last bombardment of world views.
"'Freedom' and 'cage', this is the answer!" the masked man said impassionedly.
“?”
Xu Xiaoshou felt a black line drop from his forehead and tried to interpret: "'They' are 'freedom', and 'he' is 'cage'?"
"good."
The masked man nodded.
“Just like the powerlessness you encountered along the way, everyone who longs for freedom will definitely fight for it. Therefore, their experiences are similar to yours.”
“Why?”
“Because we are born to play in the chess game of those in high positions.”
“When you think you can break out of the cage, you jump to another bigger chess game, hitting the wall every time, over and over again. Under such circumstances, the only result is discouragement.”
“Don’t tell me you can break the cage!”
The masked man immediately saw Xu Xiaoshou’s inner thoughts and said with a smile: “If you really want to say something, please say it to him.”
Xu Xiaoshou followed the direction of his finger and saw Cen Qiaofu with a dark face, and immediately swallowed his words.
This is too weak!
An extremely powerful man who has reached the top of the world cannot even give an explanation to a single problem and is still stuck in the middle of a chess game.
I, can I... Xu Xiaoshou fell into deep doubts about himself.
"You can not."
The masked man said: "I used to think I could do it, but I failed. Escape from the cage is not as simple as you think."
Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.
He felt that the masked man's person and thoughts were, to a certain extent, completely consistent with Sang Lao's.
Is it true that they are from the same organization?
The world view like a matryoshka doll...
“I want to ask a question.”
Xu Xiaoshou hesitated for a long time and said, "Sang Lao, your second-in-command of the Holy Slaves, is this the same?"
The masked man laughed. He saw the looseness in Wen Ming's eyes and said, "Otherwise, what do you think he is running all day long? Exercise?"
"wrong."
“Like you, he is a person with his own ideas, and he thinks that my way is not feasible and the cage cannot be broken, so he is looking for his own way.”
“The paths are different and we are temporarily separated, but we reach the same destination through different paths. Can you understand that?”
Xu Xiaoshou: “……”
Can you understand?
He looked up at the sky and was speechless for a moment.
…
The scene was quiet for a while.
∣
The masked man suddenly raised and lowered his hands on himself, touching him everywhere.
After a long time, he frowned.
“Where’s the token?”
Cenjov looked disgusted from behind: "Throw it away when the space breaks out!"
"Forehead……"
The masked man sighed and stretched out his hand directly to the old man, "Token."
"That's the old man's own!" Cenjov said angrily.
“I don’t want your piece,” the masked man sighed and said, “My own piece.”
"What?" The storyteller was shocked on the spot, "Brother, you..."
“Stop.”
The masked man immediately stretched out his hand to stop him from talking, "It's just a token."
“That’s...”
The storyteller was dumbfounded and suddenly had an idea: "I'll help you get Luo Yatou's piece!"
“Forget it.”
The masked man waved his hand, took the purple token that Cenjov took out from the ring, and handed it to Wen Ming in front of him, "Do you want to join the gang?"
Xu Xiaoshou's liver was shaking.
He felt that the scene in front of him was so familiar.
Tiansang Ling Palace, E Lake, Old Man Cao Li, and that sentence...
“Eat the seeds?”
Fuck!
How come each of these are such terrifying beings!
God, who will save me?
Xu Xiaoshou collapsed and cried: "Can I refuse?"
"Can."
The masked man slapped the token into his hand with his backhand and said: "I never force others, but you think about it yourself."
"Even if you refuse now, you will encounter many, many more things like this in the future."
“But they may not be as easy to talk to as me.”
Xu Xiaoshou held the token, his hands trembling.
“The same thing is true, whenever you feel that you are going the wrong way, you can leave at any time. Now, I am just a ‘tool’, nothing more.”
The last words of the masked man seemed to give Xu Xiaoshou a powerful reassuring shot.
Xu Xiaoshou's eyes moved downward.
This is a purple token with a faint purple light.
On it, there is a sculpture of a graceful naked woman, with her head bowed and her knees clasped, weeping. I felt pity for her.
And on its hands and feet, there are heavy shackles that stretch to all directions of the token, as if connecting heaven and earth.
It's just like……
The embarrassed saint!
Xu Xiaoshou felt that he understood something, but he seemed to understand nothing.
He turned over the token with trembling fingers.
The back is clean and neat, with only one word engraved on it.
"eight!"
——
Xu Xiaoshou shook his hand and the token fell to the ground.
The expressions of the three people in front changed at the same time.
Xu Xiao was so frightened that he immediately leaned over and picked it up.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean to refuse..."
“Then you agreed?” The masked man’s eyes were filled with joy.
Xu Xiaoshou froze on the spot.
He saw that the other party seemed to be a little out of sorts due to excitement.
This alone is completely different from Sang Lao.
respect……
Xu Xiaoshou pondered for a moment and asked: "Can I shake your hand? I'm a little... flattered?"
The masked man's eyes narrowed, "Shake hands?"
“No, no, no, if it’s inconvenient, then there’s no need at all.” Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand quickly and took a few steps back in fright.
“Convenient!”
The masked man suddenly smiled and grabbed the black glove on his right hand with his left hand.
“If you just want to shake hands, I will respond to you with the utmost sincerity.”
“But if you just want to take a look…”
He paused.
Inside the mask, there seems to be an outline of raised lips.
“It doesn’t matter.”
After brushing it, the masked man took off his right glove and stretched out his hand towards Xu Xiaoshou.
Xu Xiaoshou’s whole body tensed up.
one two three four……
He closed his eyes deeply.
No thumbs!
“What’s wrong?”
The masked man smiled and said, "Have you never seen four fingers?"
"without."
Xu Xiaoshou felt his voice tremble: "I just feel that you are very similar to a friend I have met."
“Oh, which one?”
“A sloppy uncle…”
Xu Xiaoshou couldn't think straight. It took him a long time to realize that speaking like this was really impolite.
The masked man frowned.
Suddenly he raised his hand and sniffed it with his nose, and his brows furrowed even more.
“I’m sorry, it’s been a few years since I washed it. It’s a bit sloppy. Do you mind?”
"I……"
Xu Xiaoshou looked at him reaching out his hand again, and suddenly felt dumbfounded.
He subconsciously raised his hand, but then retreated slightly, but he did not dare to retreat too obviously.
"Snapped!"
The masked man stepped forward and grabbed it.
“It’s a bit dirty, but there is still a sense of ritual. Just wash it off afterwards. You are welcome to join me, Wen Ming.”
"I……"
Xu Xiaoshou no longer knew what to say.
He felt that his mouth was unable to perform any tricks under the pressure of the person in front of him.
but!
So warm...
This guy’s hand.
Caluses, roughness, and densely packed thin strips of scars...
But!
So warm...
When you hold him, you feel like you hold the whole world.
Xu Xiaoshou felt a little excited.
He knew that he had been persuaded by the masked man.
Indeed, in this world like a chess game, artillery, chariots and horses are all controlled by others and move forward "arbitrarily" according to the designated rules.
But in the end, the only way to get out is to be eliminated.
And if you want to break the chess game and become the chess player, it is too slim to rely on the strength of one person... not enough!
Xu Xiaoshou didn’t know whether his “choice” was right or wrong.
But it is different from Hongyi, Ghost Beast, Sang Lao, etc.
At least from the masked man, he felt respected many times, as well as his promise...
Can I withdraw?
Is it a scam?
Or, really?!
“If…”
Xu Xiaoshou holds the whole world in his hands, and he feels a little awkward when speaking, "If it is, I can't bear it anymore, can I really choose to quit?"
“You can handle it.”
The masked man said happily: "Even if you can't bear it, I am still behind you. Taking ten thousand steps back, quitting is also a choice. It is not shameful. Many people do this, just to change their way of life.
"
So warm...
Xu Xiaoshou has never felt such a degree of warmth from any senior.
Even the vigil was only a material gift.
At the spiritual level, he also wants to impose his thoughts on himself.
This is completely different!
“Thank you.” Xu Xiao received the sound like a mosquito.
“What?” The masked man couldn’t hear clearly for a while.
"I said……"
Xu Xiaoshou paused for a moment, then raised his head and saw the rain curtain above the sky.