Chapter 194: The Choice of the Dao

Xu Xiaoshou didn't struggle much, which was clearly due to his inability to do so.

Being stared at by dozens of enforcers was an uncomfortable feeling!

He didn't really care about the injuries of the others in the pavilion, but if Zhou Tianchan attracted the attention of that blind man, it could easily lead to trouble.

After all, it was A Jie who had injured him...

And tracing it further back, it stemmed from a savior's joke...

"Damn it, if I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have lied to that big fool!" Xu Xiaoshou finally experienced the bitter consequences of lying.

This was practically a fable with a truly thought-provoking ending!

He handed the girl in his arms to the black-clad figure, saying, "You know Ling Zang Ge, right? Quickly take her to Sang Lao for treatment, or who knows what might happen."

"This is..."

"Don't ask questions—I don't know either!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt a faint sense of unease.

Normally, Mu Zixi was cursed and demonic, but when it came to vitality, she was always overflowing with it—she shouldn't suddenly end up like this.

But everyone has their secrets, and he didn't probe further.

Well, after all, she was unconscious now, so there was no way to investigate; they would have to wait until she woke up...

The black-clad figure reached out to take Mu Zixi, but the girl suddenly bit onto Xu Xiaoshou's clothes, her small hands gripping tightly without any sign of letting go.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

He tried to pull away but couldn't budge it.

Uh, he could use force, of course, but that would tear the clothes, which wasn't worth it.

"Xu Xiaoshou, save me..." Mu Zixi murmured as if in a daze.

Again with that... Xu Xiaoshou felt a massive headache—why did everyone suffer when Ling Gong had an incident?

Was it just bad luck piling up?

He gently patted the little girl's head, feeling her scalp burning hot, as if someone had poured boiling water onto it.

Burning like this, something was bound to go wrong...

"Good girl, go get treated quickly!"

After coaxing her like one would a child, Mu Zixi seemed to loosen up a bit. Xu Xiaoshou immediately pulled her away and said to the black-clad figure:

"Hurry, to Ling Zang Ge! If no one's there, take her straight to Ling Yao Ge for treatment!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment—this guy was always so unpredictable, with his rough way of handling things...

But in that brief distraction, before the black-clad figure could reach out, Mu Zixi's hands had already turned into vines, wrapping around Xu Xiaoshou's wrist. In a flash, she transformed into a wooden snake and coiled around his back.

"Don't leave me..."

With a hiss, Mu Zixi opened her small mouth, revealing two shiny, adorable fangs.

Xu Xiaoshou felt a chill on his neck, suddenly reminded of scenes from "Fengyun Zhengba."

Sure enough, the next second, the little girl chomped down with a crunch, greedily devouring his vitality.

"What level of teeth is this..."

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked—he was already at the Zongshi level, yet this girl could still break through his defenses?

In pain, he reached back and clamped her jaw shut. The little girl immediately got upset and started kicking.

"Eat... I want..."

You've been eyeing this for a while, haven't you!

Xu Xiaoshou was completely unsettled—the idea of having a junior sister secretly wanting to snack on him was downright creepy!

"Forget it, she'll just have to stick with me. You all go ahead."

Looking at the enforcers who were at a loss, Xu Xiaoshou sighed.

Mu Zixi was clearly in a state where she couldn't leave him, and as her senior brother, he couldn't just abandon her.

He took off directly into the air, bidding farewell to the enforcers, and flew back toward the pavilion with the girl on his back.

Once they were out of sight, he quickly pulled out the "Shengming Lingyin" from her chin and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Eat up, hurry and eat!"

Xu Xiaoshou instantly reverted to his mischievous senior brother mode. "That'll teach you for biting me!"

"Mmm..."

This thing couldn't be bitten through, so Mu Zixi's small mouth was stuck, drool even dripping out.

She struggled a bit, then took a suck and realized it had even more vitality than Xu Xiaoshou. She immediately calmed down.

"Mmmph mmmph!" A sound full of bliss escaped her.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

This girl—just looking at her felt off. Did Sang Lao lose his mind to take on a disciple like this?

Back at the pavilion.

The sword energy held five floating corpses—or rather, men who looked like corpses—in mid-air. These five couldn't die, or Ye Xiaotian would be in real trouble.

Lei Shuixing controlled the five enforcers, while Ye Xiaotian restrained Luo Leilei, plunging the scene back into a stalemate.

This blind young man's true purpose was obvious—he was just pretending to pick someone up; his real goal was to hold Ye Xiaotian back.

As the inner court dean, Ye Xiaotian's combat strength was undoubtedly top-tier, even more terrifying than those elders.

Yet the "Sheng Nu" achieved this with just one sword sect without cultivation and three jade stones as the price.

This lopsided restraint was no easy feat, but Lei Shuixing pulled it off through his peak reactions, not inferior to a Wangzuo level, and Ye Xiaotian's reluctance to act harshly.

After all, with five hostages, it was a lot—one could always be sacrificed.

When Xu Xiaoshou returned to the council hall, he was stunned by the oddly harmonious scene before him.

This tender eye contact, this silent defiance...

Were fights this polite nowadays?

"Xu Xiaoshou?" Luo Leilei looked down from above and quickly spotted the figure with someone on his back, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

What was he doing here?

This hard-won stalemate...

"Xu Xiaoshou?" Ye Xiaotian was also surprised—the kid had come back, intentions unclear, but with his tricky ideas, he might just break the deadlock again.

"You want to do something? Go ahead, I'll protect those five," Ye Xiaotian sent a voice transmission. He was just short of a blade, and this newcomer seemed to fit perfectly.

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled inwardly—how could a Wangzuo level expert be held back by a mere Jianzong? He recalled Sang Lao advising Ye Xiaotian after the masked man's battle that night: to cut ties when needed.

He hadn't noticed Ye Xiaotian's hesitation before, but now, it was clear the ruthless straw-hatted old man had been right.

Maybe Ye Xiaotian was correct—deep down, Xu Xiaoshou agreed his approach was more humane.

But if it were Sang Lao—even a toned-down version—that blind man probably wouldn't stand a chance.

"Is this the choice of the Dao..."

Gazing at the absurd scene and thinking of Sang Lao's daily brainwashing, Xu Xiaoshou gained some insight.

Cultivation forms a pyramid, with everyone forging their own Dao to climb it. The base teems with the masses, striving and hoping for a hand up.

On the path to the peak, constant choices are needed—what you gain, you must lose.

Sang Lao chose a lonely road, unbound by "emotion," so he forged ahead relentlessly, though naturally, he wouldn't be loved by those below.

Ye Xiaotian tried to balance everything, but those behind him became his burdens—for the pyramid's apex is sharp, and few can endure the loneliness at the top.

"Choices..."

"The myriad aspects of life..."

Xu Xiaoshou seemed to grasp something. He had been pondering how to speak up for the best outcome, but now he let it go.

The world has no perfect choices—trees have no identical leaves, and people are flawed. A path is black to the end; see one side, and that's the side you get.

He turned to Lei Shuixing, and the blind young man tilted his head toward him.

"Hello."

This voice—it was that person from earlier... Lei Shuixing didn't understand the greeting.

Xu Xiaoshou got straight to the point, pointing at the floating corpses: "You've got five people—can you spare one for me?"