Chapter 581: Nine-Finger Handshake

"liquor?"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

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, but they were also famous in the world for being able to hold a steady sword.

But 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?

"Did I guess wrong?" Xu Xiaoshou was so stupid that he 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 image at all. After drinking the last drop of wine in the gourd, he threw the gourd back to Cenchofu, 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 a while.

What the masked man said does make sense.

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 making a decision?" the masked man asked with a smile.

"Um."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

He could see the kindness of the people in front of him towards him.

Perhaps this is due to the prerequisite that he has taken a fancy to his own potential.

But again, from a consequential perspective, this is still a person who respects others very much.

Even, as the head of the Saint Slave.

It can be said that the respect given by the masked man to Xu Xiaoshou, a junior, 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 won't force you, but this time, I won't let you go easily."

"You know, 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 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 Xiaoshou, which was where the other-dimensional space was.

"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 was very serious: "I promise you that if the direction you see in the future does not match 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 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.

Previously, I had only sorted out a big concept.

And now, a guy who has only met me a few times says that he knows what he is thinking. Is it credible?

The masked man did not answer directly.

He glanced at the storyteller first, then returned his gaze to Cenchofu and asked, "Do you know there is someone more outstanding than you in this world?"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

"I believe you know."

The masked man nodded, and then said: "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 in their infancy because of their arrogance, arrogance, and ambition..."

"But you also need to understand that not every child of an aristocratic family or outstanding young man 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.

As if stating an objective fact, the masked man remained unmoved and continued: "There are also countless such people."

"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 the masked man's words, combined with his current experience.

If a small white cave can gather so many outstanding young people, even the swordsman Gu Qingyi, Lei Shuangxing, and ghost beasts have so many people.

Then how many people are there in those places that he can't see, those places that are more dangerous than the white cave?

How many excellent ancient swordsmen are there among them?

Can these people grow to the level of the Seven Sword Immortals?

Xu Xiaoshou doesn't know.

But looking at the mentality, strength, and qualifications of such people...

If you really want to give an answer.

Xu Xiaoshou's inclination is "can".

If you want to add a prerequisite, it's just "a matter of time".

But...

Since ancient times, there seem to be only seven Seven Sword Immortals.

The number is only a small number, and there has never been a situation where there is one more for even a period of time.

Even the eighth sword immortal, who is unprecedented in history, can only be counted as half, and still can't break this iron rule.

Why?

Xu Xiaoshou opened his mouth slightly, and the strong desire for knowledge in his eyes was simply beyond words.

"Why?"

The masked man could roughly understand Xu Xiaoshou's inner thoughts and asked this question for him, but he did not answer.

Then, he looked at the two people beside him again.

"Back to the question just now, you seem to feel strange, suspicious, and even strongly opposed from the inner level about how I can know your future goals?"

"..."

Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself that you really hit the mark.

I just don't dare to say it.

"But I can know your future!"

The masked man said: "Why?"

Xu Xiaoshou already felt something was wrong.

His eyes also fell on the storyteller and Cen Qiaofu on one side, trying to find the answer from the masked man's look back.

But to no avail.

The two people on the other side still looked bored, and the only thing they were interested in was not this young man.

Instead, they seemed to be amazed that the masked man could say so much.

"Why?"

Xu Xiaoshou finally asked the question, and he couldn't hold it back.

The masked man smiled, and did not beat around the bush again, but responded directly: "Because of freedom!"

"?"

"I can see your persistence in freedom from your eyes and thoughts, which is why I don't force you."

The masked man paused and said: "In this world, people who exist like you, without exception, all desire freedom."

"But..."

He suddenly looked up and looked at the sky.

The rain curtain above the nine heavens was still dripping.

As the two were quiet, it was particularly harsh.

The masked man pointed to the sky and asked: "Do you think that outside the White Cave is the Holy Land?"

"Do you think that outside the Holy Land, you can really transcend?"

"Wrong!"

"Did you see the rain?"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

"That's not rain, that's a person!" The masked man said loudly.

Xu Xiaoshou's mind went blank.

A memory that didn't seem to belong to him suddenly appeared in his mind.

That was an unknown thought about the information column after he escaped from the siege of the storyteller and the night watch.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't have time to think about it, and looked inward directly.

"Being watched, passive value, +1."

"Watching?"

He finally paid attention to this question again.

Watching?

Who is watching?

Rain?

People?

"Is that a person?" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened, looking at the rain curtain above the nine heavens in disbelief.

"Strictly speaking, it doesn't count, it's just an ability."

The masked man smiled: "But you just need to know that no matter whether you are in the White Cave or in the Holy Land, there is always such a pair of eyes staring at you."

"No matter whether you are eating, sleeping, or making people..."

"He is always staring at you."

"Not for a moment!"

Xu Xiaoshou's hair stood up instantly, and he felt cold sweat directly wet his back, "Who is he?"

"Who is he?"

The masked man threw this question to the two people behind him.

The storyteller was stunned, "How should I know? I was deceived by you."

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Cen Qiaofu shrugged and spread his hands: "Who is he? How do I know? If it weren't for you, I would still be in the deep mountains and old forests of the southern region, working from sunrise to sunset, wouldn't it be happy?"

The masked man rolled his eyes slightly.

He turned around.

"Look, one is at the peak of Zhan Dao, and the other is Taixu. Until now, they haven't been able to give an answer to this question. You can imagine how strong 'he' is!"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

At this moment, he really wanted to give direct feedback to the masked man's cheating.

But deep in his heart, he was really shocked by the sudden appearance of "Taixu".

Turning his head with difficulty to look at the old man, Xu Xiaoshou was a little bit unbelievable.

This old guy doesn't have any image at all, too big, too empty?

Shouldn't this be the person standing at the top of the world, with a fairy-like appearance and riding a crane?

Why is he standing behind the masked man, cleaning up the wine gourd for this guy?

"I..."

With so many words on his lips, Xu Xiaoshou didn't know how to say them.

"I can tell you clearly that when I was in the Central Region, I was really just a storyteller."

The masked man pointed at the man in the red dress and said, "He was just like you when he was young, and he also yearned for freedom."

"But when I broke through to Zhan Dao, I suddenly resigned myself to mediocrity and went straight to open a storyteller's shop and became the so-called 'boss' among ordinary people."

"Why?"

Pointing at Cenqiaofu again, the masked man said: "This man must have lived for hundreds of 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 stunned.

What kind of gods are these people?

"because of him'."

The masked man looked up at the rain curtain on the sky and said, "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 failed to shock the world have great potential."

"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 felt chills in his heart.

This is not a god, this is a devil!

The masked man clicked his tongue, feeling a little dry, and moved his hands to reach back.

Cenqiaofu immediately said: "No more."

"Forehead……"

Now the masked man 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 gestured to the two people beside him.

Then he pointed his hand towards the void: "And them."

Xu Xiaoshou understood that this was talking about those people who were also willing to be mediocre.

"These people, regarding the question of 'who is he'...

The masked man raised his eyes to look at Jiutian Yulian and said, "I can give you the explanation they can't give you."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

He was ready for one last bombardment of his worldview.

"'Freedom' and 'cage', this is the answer!" The masked man said impassionedly.

"?"

A black line dropped from Xu Xiaoshou's forehead, and he tried hard 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 into another bigger chess game, hitting the wall every time, over and over again. Under such circumstances, the only result is despair."

"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!

A peerless strong man who has reached the top of the world cannot even give an explanation to a single problem and is still 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 and his thoughts were, to a certain extent, completely consistent with Mr. Sang's.

Are they really worthy of being from the same organization?

A 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 about all day long? Exercise?"

"wrong."

"Like you, he is a person with his own ideas, and he thinks that my way will not work and that he cannot break the cage, 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: "..."

Do you understand?

He looked up at the sky and was speechless for a moment.

…

The scene was quiet for a while.

"Rustling, rustling..."

The masked man suddenly moved his hands up and down, touching everywhere.

After a long moment, he frowned.

"Where's the token?"

Cen Qiaofu 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!" Cenqiaofu was angry.

"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 it."

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 Cenjou 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 trembling.

He felt that the scene in front of him was so familiar.

Tiansang Ling Palace, Ehu Lake, the old man in the straw hat, and that sentence...

"Eat seeds?"

Fuck!

How come all of them are so scary!

God, who will save me?

Xu Xiaoshou collapsed and cried, "Can I refuse?"

"Yes."

The masked man slapped the token in his hand and said, "I never force others, but think about it yourself."

"Even if you refuse now, you will encounter such things in the future, many, many."

"But they may not be as easy to talk to as I am."

Xu Xiaoshou held the token, his hands were shaking.

"Again, when you feel that you have taken the wrong path, you can leave at any time. Now, I am just a 'tool', nothing more."

The last sentence of the masked man seemed to give Xu Xiaoshou a strong shot of reassurance.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes moved down.

This is a purple token with a faint purple light.

On it, there is a carving of a graceful naked woman, with her head down and her knees hugged, weeping and about to cry, which makes me feel pity.

On her hands and feet, there are heavy shackles that stretch to all four sides of the token, as if connecting the heaven and the earth.

It's like...

A embarrassed saint!

Xu Xiaoshou felt that he understood something, but it seemed that he didn't understand anything.

He turned the token over with trembling fingers.

The back was clean and neat, with only one word carved on it.

"Eight!"

Bang--

Xu Xiaoshou's hand shook, and the token fell directly to the ground.

The faces of the three people in front changed at the same time.

Xu Xiaoshou was so scared that he immediately leaned over to pick it up.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean to refuse..."

"Then you agreed?" The masked man's eyes were happy.

Xu Xiaoshou froze on the spot.

He saw that the other party seemed to be a little out of control because of excitement.

This alone was 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, "Handshake?"

"No, no, no, if it's not convenient, then there's no need at all." Xu Xiaoshou waved his hands quickly and stepped back in fear.

"It's 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 greatest sincerity."

"But if you just want to take a look..."

He paused.

Inside the mask, there seemed to be an outline of the corners of the lips.

"That's fine."

In a flash, the masked man took off the glove on his right hand and stretched out his hand to Xu Xiaoshou.

Xu Xiaoshou was tense.

One, two, three, four...

He closed his eyes deeply.

No thumb!

"What's wrong?"

The masked man smiled and said, "Have you never seen Four Fingers?"

"No."

Xu Xiaoshou felt his voice trembling: "I just think you look like a friend I met."

"Oh, which one?"

"A sloppy uncle..."

Xu Xiaoshou's brain was not working, and it took him a long time to react. It was really rude to talk like this.

The masked man frowned.

Suddenly he raised his hand and sniffed it with his nose, and his brows shrank even tighter.

"Sorry, I haven't washed it for a few years, so it's a bit sloppy. Do you mind?"

"I..."

Xu Xiaoshou looked at him and reached out again, and suddenly felt a little bit amused.

He subconsciously raised his hand, but then shrank back slightly, but he didn't dare to retreat too obviously.

"Snap!"

The masked man stepped forward and grabbed it.

"It's a bit dirty, but the sense of ceremony should still be there. I'll wash it later. Welcome to join us, Wen Ming."

"I..."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know what to say anymore.

He felt that he couldn't say anything under the pressure of the person in front of him.

But!

So warm...

This guy's hand.

Calloused, rough, and covered with dense and thin scars...

But!

So warm...

Holding him, it felt like holding the whole world.

Xu Xiaoshou's heart was a little surging.

He knew that he was persuaded by the masked man.

Indeed, in this world like a chess game, artillery, chariots and horses were all manipulated by people and moved forward "willfully" according to the specified rules.

But in the end, the only way out was to be eliminated.

And if you want to break the chess game and become the chess player, relying on the power of one person alone is too slim... Not enough!

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know whether his "choice" was right or wrong.

But it was different from Hong Yi, the ghost beast, and Sang Lao.

At least he felt respect and his promise from the masked man many times...

Can I quit?

Is it a trick?

Or, really? !

"If it is..."

Xu Xiaoshou held the whole world in his hands, and he couldn't speak clearly. "If it is, I can't bear it anymore, can I really choose to quit?"

"You can bear it."

The masked man said happily: "Even if you can't bear it, I am behind you. Even if you take a step back, quitting is also a choice. It is not shameful. Many people do this. They just live in a different way."

So warm...

Xu Xiaoshou had never felt such warmth from any of his predecessors.

Even the night watch in the past was only a material gift.

On the spiritual level, he also wanted to impose his thoughts on himself.

This is completely different!

"Thank you." Xu Xiaoshou's voice was as soft as a mosquito.

"What?" The masked man couldn't hear clearly for a while.

"I said..."

Xu Xiaoshou paused and looked up to see the rain curtain above the sky.

That was a pair of eyes...

Another inward look.

"Being watched, passive value, +1."

He was relieved.

He clenched his hands tightly, then released them.

"What I mean..."

"Saint slave, I, Xu Xiaoshou, choose to join!"