Chapter 594: Xiao Shou Bends Again

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"Can you feel this?"

Xu Xiaoshou, hidden underground, was startled.

His heart began to pound erratically.

In his Disappearance state, he should have been undetectable by anyone.

But this Mengmian Ren's senses...

"Was it an illusion?"

"No."

"Not necessarily."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly remembered the time Shou Ye tracked him, seemingly following the famous sword Qing Lin Ji.

But that was different!

At that time, he had at least exited his Disappearance state.

Could this Mengmian Ren really sense him based on intuition alone?

"It must be an illusion," Mengmian Ren muttered to himself, glancing at the two skeptical figures beside him before adding.

Then, he turned his gaze toward the direction of the explosion.

"Old Seven, dispel the space. It's time to leave."

"Oh."

Shuo Shuren nodded indifferently.

Dispel the space?

Xu Xiaoshou's heart leaped with joy upon hearing this.

See! His earlier deduction was correct.

This red-skirted pervert was extremely cautious.

Even meeting his Sheng Nu leader here, he still sealed off the entire space.

That meant, if he had tried to escape earlier, it would have been suicide!

Snap.

As Shuo Shuren snapped his fingers crisply above, the void seemed to tremble.

Xu Xiaoshou's spirits lifted.

Just from lurking and eavesdropping for this short while, he had nearly depleted his entire Dan Yao reserve.

The Disappearance technique consumed far too much Ling Yuan.

If Shuo Shuren hadn't dispelled the space exile technique soon, Xu Xiaoshou might have had to self-destruct.

Now, there was only one path left.

"One Step to the Sky..."

He mentally shouted.

But just as his energy, spirit, and essence reached their peak, Xu Xiaoshou abruptly restrained himself.

Because, in that inadvertent glance...

The information panel...

"Under scrutiny, Passive Value +1."

"Under sabotage, Passive Value +1."

Scrutiny?

Xu Xiaoshou's first thought was how anyone could scrutinize him in his Disappearance state.

But the next second, the second message seized his full attention.

"Sabotage..."

He barely held back his urge to move forward, as if digging his toes into the ground.

He was dumbfounded.

Who else could it be besides the Sheng Nu trio?

So, sabotage meant...

Tap, tap, tap.

Looking up, the three above walked overhead without a hint of abnormality.

Yet, in this coordinated act, Xu Xiaoshou used "Perception" to probe closely.

The slight curve at the corner of Shuo Shuren's mouth...

Cen Qiaofu's hand casually resting on the small axe at his waist, as if it were nothing...

Mengmian Ren's slightly curled ring finger and pinky...

In other words, extended like a sword finger!

"Damn, these three are playing me?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt his heart nearly leap out of his throat.

He extended his "Perception" further.

Everything in sight was the familiar Bai Ku landscape.

Even the slightest breeze and dancing sand grains were vividly real.

But at that moment, Xu Xiaoshou was absolutely certain.

He was still inside the ancient space!

One Step to the Sky.

The sky would collapse!

Tap.

As the three passed directly above Xu Xiaoshou, Mengmian Ren paused, sighing in disappointment, "He's not taking the bait."

"Heh, it's been a long time since I've seen such a masterful stealth technique that can even deceive Zhan Dao." Cen Qiaofu laughed, pulling out his small axe. "Who could it be?"

Only Shuo Shuren's face was completely stiff.

If it were a day earlier, he would have sworn that anyone hiding here must be at least a Tai Xu level cultivator to fool his brother.

But now, in Bai Ku, there was this young man with a stealth technique even he couldn't see through.

"Wen Ming..."

"Hmm?" Mengmian Ren and Cen Qiaofu both turned their heads.

"Wen Ming."

"What do you mean?" Cen Qiaofu trailed off, unable to finish.

"Wen Ming!"

Shuo Shuren emphasized.

Now, even Mengmian Ren understood.

"You mean, you fought him, and he has a stealth technique even you can't see through?"

Gulp.

Shuo Shuren swallowed hard.

He could hardly imagine what kind of audacity that young Wen Ming had to dare come here.

But now...

"Mm."

Shuo Shuren nodded slightly, and Cen Qiaofu's entire face changed.

That innate-level Wen Ming had such a stealth technique?

"A day apart feels like three autumns; the ancients were right." Mengmian Ren slowly clapped, his gaze wandering, unable to pinpoint Wen Ming's location at all.

"Come out. Don't hide anymore."

He paused before adding, "You should know I won't harm you, for... various reasons."

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fists in agony.

I know it's because of Sang Lao that you probably won't hurt me.

But that pervert...

And what if...

And why do you want to capture me anyway...

All of this is even more heartbreaking than being hurt!

"I, Xu Xiaoshou, would rather die than show myself in front of you three." He swore silently.

Just then, the three above turned in unison, their gazes locking onto the ground.

From the way their pupils dilated, they were staring right at his position.

Xu Xiaoshou tensed up.

The next second, he felt a compressive force from deep underground.

Xu Xiaoshou's mind froze.

"Compression..."

"Why is there compression in the Disappearance technique?"

Struggling, he turned his head and felt dirt fragments being forced into his ear canal.

This real sensation hit him like thunder.

"I..."

Checking his Qi Sea, it was empty.

"Damn it!"

In that momentary lapse, forgetting to take more Dan Yao...

His Qi Sea was drained.

The Disappearance technique couldn't hold.

"Xiao, Wen, Ming—"

Shuo Shuren's lips curled almost to his ears, his smile growing more unhinged with each syllable.

Hiss.

Xu Xiaoshou shuddered, going still as a statue.

"Under call, Passive Value +1."

"Under fright, Passive Value +1."

"Under scrutiny, Passive Value +4."

"Crap, crap, crap..."

His heart was a whirlwind of emotions, and Xu Xiaoshou didn't know how to express the tangled mess inside.

A smile surfaced in Mengmian Ren's murky eyes.

He lifted two fingers.

Boom!

The earth was torn apart by invisible sword intent, creating a wide, deep chasm.

Xu Xiaoshou felt utterly exposed under their piercing gazes.

One was perverted.

One was an old man.

The last was a cripple...

Hiss!

Every pore on his body erupted, and Xu Xiaoshou suddenly discovered a way to reach instant highs without drugs.

He instinctively tightened his clothes.

His clothes were still on.

But the ground's veil of modesty was gone, shredded by Mengmian Ren's two fingers!

"Heh, heh..."

The atmosphere grew tense.

For Xu Xiaoshou, painfully awkward.

"You're Wen Ming?"

Cen Qiaofu eyed him like a curiosity, scrutinizing the figure in the pit as if seeing him for the first time, trying to peer into every pore.

"Long time no see."

Mengmian Ren's murky eyes twinkled with amusement as his ring finger and pinky slowly relaxed. "If I remember correctly, for you, this is our third... well, fourth meeting?"

Xu Xiaoshou's mind snapped alert.

What's done is done.

Since he was exposed, he wouldn't dwell on his earlier worries.

And...

"Fourth?"

His thoughts raced.

The first meeting with Mengmian Ren was at Tian Sang Ling Gong's Big Goose Lake, where he killed Feng Kong and stabbed him with Zang Ku.

Just a little.

The second was in the back mountain, where he turned a corner and plunged Zang Ku into Mengmian Ren's chest.

The third...

He couldn't recall!

"Did I lose my memory?"

Xu Xiaoshou knew that since activating "Perception", his memory was top-tier.

But now...

Whether from nerves or something else, he couldn't remember the third meeting with Mengmian Ren.

Would the other mistake it?

Unlikely.

So, there must have been a third encounter he hadn't noticed.

And from Mengmian Ren's words, "for you," he had been aware of it too!

"Not just that."

Xu Xiaoshou shrugged, a bit stiffly, yet relieved. "It should be the fifth?"

Mengmian Ren raised an eyebrow. "If you say five, then five it is."

It's not the fifth!

Xu Xiaoshou realized Mengmian Ren wasn't going to argue over this triviality.

And from his subtle expression, he clearly disagreed.

So, only four times.

There really was a third meeting.

When was it?

Two scenes flashed in his mind.

One was saying goodbye to Sang Lao and seeing the carving uncle in Ling Zang Ge before leaving Tian Sang Ling Gong.

The other was the assassin Hong Gou with the three incense sticks, and the scruffy uncle.

Which one?

"Fifth!" he declared again.

"Mm."

Mengmian Ren nodded with a smile.

Xu Xiaoshou was on the verge of breakdown.

It's not the fifth!

So, out of those two, only one was really Mengmian Ren?

He had guessed the scruffy uncle was the Sheng Nu leader.

But the Sheng Nu leader's connection to Sang Lao led to the Ling Zang Ge man who looked just like the scruffy uncle, and they weren't the same person...

If only four meetings...

Then those two weren't one and the same.

So, who was the Sheng Nu leader?

No, more importantly...

Who was the Eighth Jian Xian?!

Xu Xiaoshou strongly suspected the one who gave him the "Guan Jian Dian" was the real Sheng Nu leader, the true Eighth Jian Xian.

But if he was...

Then the Ling Zang Ge man's presence there implied his tie to Sang Lao, and he looked so much like the scruffy uncle, yet wasn't the same...

How to explain?

If the scruffy uncle wasn't Mengmian Ren or the Eighth Jian Xian...

Where did his "Guan Jian Dian" come from?

And why did the Four Swords go berserk attacking a total stranger...

"I'm losing it!"

Xu Xiaoshou's temples throbbed; he was tying himself in knots.

As his gaze settled on Mengmian Ren, the pieces shattered.

What a fool!

The person was right there—why not just ask?

"Who are you?"

Xu Xiaoshou cut to the chase.

Mengmian Ren seemed unfazed by the off-track question, replying simply, "Sheng Nu leader."

"So your surname is Sheng Nu, and your given name is leader?" Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fists, a touch nervous.

Even the two beside them caught the implication, and oddly, Shuo Shuren and Cen Qiaofu both stepped back half a pace, watching Mengmian Ren with eager eyes.

The scene fell silent for several breaths.

"Ha."

Mengmian Ren chuckled softly, ignoring the intense stares from the pair, and fixed on Xu Xiaoshou. "Are you sure you want to ask my name?"

"I..."

Xu Xiaoshou almost said "I am sure."

But the words stuck.

Did it matter?

Did it really matter who the Sheng Nu leader was?

Unaware of everything, he could stay clear of the storm's eye.

Now, knowing what he did, he felt lost, helpless, and overwhelmed by forces beyond him.

If he learned even a bit more, just a little...

Would that be the straw that broke the camel's back?

In this world, some causes, some mysteries, some unspeakable things, some taboo figures—all had their reasons.

Knowing too much—would that really benefit him?

Xu Xiaoshou questioned himself.

"The name..."

He didn't know what he was expecting.

Perhaps the legendary title people idealized.

Or maybe a name he'd never heard in his life.

He didn't know.

But like a coin tossed in the air, once he had to decide, fate's gears had already turned.

Did he know or not?

Did it matter?

It did!

Yet because it mattered so much, Xu Xiaoshou felt he couldn't bear the weight.

"Hold on a second."

Xu Xiaoshou covered his forehead with one hand and raised the other to stop him. "Let me sort this out..."

"You're afraid."

Mengmian Ren still smiled warmly. "As an ancient sword cultivator, charging forward is the path people should pursue. Now, a mere name has you held back."

"No, you're wrong."

Xu Xiaoshou denied it outright.

"The ancient sword cultivators who charged forward all met their end without exception, including..."

He paused, not finishing, and continued, "What people think isn't always right."

"Besides, I'm not just an ancient sword cultivator."

Xu Xiaoshou relaxed his fists, and his tensed muscles eased.

"I have no interest in your title or what you Sheng Nu are planning."

"Even if I accidentally got involved before, it was only because Sang Lao—your Sheng Nu second-in-command—dragged me in without my knowledge."

"Now!"

Xu Xiaoshou grew more animated, but then hesitated, his momentum fading.

"I just have one small request..."

"Can't."

Mengmian Ren shook his head.

"That is, please let me go. I'm not worthy; I can't be part of your plans... Ah?"

Xu Xiaoshou, mid-bow, seemed to just register Mengmian Ren's words.

"Can't."

The firm two words pressed the young man in the pit down further.

Silence fell again.

All was still, save for the lonely sound of a breaking world, like a sacred dawn on the verge of rebirth.

Mengmian Ren looked up at the dying Bai Ku world. "The world is so vast, yet you keep coming to my side, standing beside me. Isn't that fate?"

"Fate is destined by heaven, so where else do you think you can go?"