Mistress and Master

"How can you be such a Mistress? If I hadn't brought his life token, I wouldn't even know when my disciple died!"

"If my disciple dies, the Mandarin Sword Sect's legacy will be broken, and my parents won't be able to fulfill their dying wish. How can you be so shameless? My mother wouldn't even pass the Mandarin Duck Sword to me, yet she taught it to an outsider like you. Instead, you made me learn the Mandarin Sword, like a man. Now you've become some Lotus Sword Venerable, have you forgotten your roots? Have you forgotten your promise to my mother before she died?"

"Guan Chujun, I hope you understand. It's not that Mistress was unwilling to teach you the Mandarin Duck Sword, it's that you simply couldn't learn it, so she had to find another way. You arrogantly insisted on learning the Mandarin Sword, believing you were no less capable than men. As a result, even after Master passed away, you only grasped the superficial aspects. And yet, you dare to take on disciples and mislead them."

The Fairy responded coldly to the Immortal Sword in her hand, interrupting the other's incessant chatter.

"You're spouting nonsense! I just wasn't interested in learning it. Only a bumpkin like you would treasure such a shoddy sword technique. Do you remember when you learned swordsmanship at my house? My bare fists could take on ten of you!"

"Later, when I wielded a sword, you never won."

The Fairy's tone was calm, but her words struck the other's rage like a sharp blade, silencing her.

"I'm not wasting my breath on this with you. Do you know my precious disciple is dying?"

"I know."

"What's the use of you knowing? He's still almost dead! If you truly knew, you wouldn't have put him in such danger!" The person on the other side of the sword's voice grew increasingly loud and passionate. "When I saw his life token about to shatter, I rushed out of that deep sea, killed so many Malevolent Spirits, and only then returned to land. The first thing I did was contact you, yet you nonchalantly replied, 'I know.' Tell me, if you knew, why would you still let him face such a perilous situation?"

"He never told me he needed help. He only asked me how someone with a higher cultivation realm should be dealt with."

"And what did you say?"

"I said to learn from your Master."

The woman on the other side of the sword fell silent for a long time, a silence as eerie as the calm before a volcanic eruption.

"He Shutong, why are you so aloof? Why would you have him learn from me if it wasn't necessary? Does he have to beg you for help when he's in danger? Do you know you're his Mistress?"

"Firstly, I would save him even if he didn't ask. Secondly, I am not his Mistress. That was just your peculiar whim. He called me Mistress, but I never acknowledged it. If we're being precise, I'm at most his Martial Aunt."

"I don't care! Since I agreed to let you live here for ten years to comprehend your so-called Mortal World, you have to uphold your end of the bargain. You must guarantee my disciple's safety!"

"He is not the ten-year-old child in your eyes." The Fairy raised her fair chin, looking in the direction of Chuyun City, and said calmly.

"What do you mean?" You Su's Master asked with concern.

"An Evil Cultivator has set his sights on him..."

"What? An Evil Cultivator? You let him face an Evil Cultivator alone? I only told you not to interfere with him fighting those children. After all, I'm so powerful, having grown up beating others, but I never told you to ignore Evil Cultivators!"

"Do you want to listen?" The Mistress's tone was cold and impatient.

The person on the other side of the sword reluctantly suppressed her temper, her tone softening slightly. "Hurry up and tell me!"

"During my mortal world trials, I sealed away all my Mystic Qi and could not use any of it. By the time I discovered he was targeted by an Evil Cultivator, I had already seen the corpse of the Dream Centipede."

"Dream Centipede? You're saying a blind person like him discovered the Dream Centipede himself and killed it?"

"That's right. He even seemed to have turned the tables, playing along with the Evil Cultivator."

"Is this kid that smart?"

"Are you implying that if he were that smart, he wouldn't have failed to notice you were a woman all these years? That's why you've been playing that casual joke for so long?"

"Stop rambling and continue!"

"In my opinion, he's a stubborn person. Once he gets caught in a misconception, he easily loses his ability to think calmly."

"Just because he couldn't see that I was a woman?"

"Not only that, he never considered asking me for help not because he didn't want to, but because he genuinely believed I was a Mistress who needed his protection. This was simply because I repeatedly told him I had no cultivation, and he believed it wholeheartedly."

"The renowned Lotus Sword Venerable of the Five Continents has such a thick skin! Needing protection from a child?"

"I never lied to him. I truly have no cultivation. What he chooses to believe is his own affair."

"He Shutong, I don't even know how to scold you."

"You can't scold me. He can't hide under your protection forever. If you wanted to, you wouldn't have left him alone to search for the so-called truth beyond the Five Continents. He will eventually experience the harshness of the cultivation path. This Evil Cultivator is the best whetstone sent to his doorstep."

"I've wronged him..."

"Apologizing to me is useless. Come back alive and tell him yourself."

Another long silence followed. The Fairy was also moved. No matter how much she taunted, the speechless woman was still her best friend, the only person she could talk to.

At this very moment, the other was alone, lurking in the most dangerous corner of this world.

She pursed her cherry lips and softened her tone, breaking the silence first.

"You can rest assured, he killed that Evil Cultivator by reversing the situation across a major realm."

"Heh, of course, he did. That's because I taught him well!" The woman on the other end regained her energy, her tone quite proud. "When I caused a ruckus at the Divine Mountain back then, who would have dared to stop me if you hadn't advised me?"

The Fairy did not continue to mock her. "There's just one thing that's strange."

"What is it?"

"I couldn't use my Mystic Qi to sense the battle in detail. I only saw from afar that when he was about to lose, he unleashed a powerful force and turned the tide. Perhaps he has his own secrets and fortuitous encounters that neither you nor I know about."

"I knew what color underwear my disciple wore as a child, but now he has secrets when he's with you? Are you even capable of teaching disciples?"

"My disciple is the Heavenly Pride champion, Wangshu Fairy. Your disciple, on the other hand, is just an outsider who has barely entered the Spirit Platform Realm."

"Do you understand the saying 'don't mock a young man for being poor'? Hey, seriously, if my disciple doesn't fancy you, why not have your Heavenly Pride champion female disciple learn the Mandarin Duck Sword too, and become You Su's Dao Companion? This would also fulfill my parents' wish and let the Mandarin Sword Sect's legacy continue, instead of you, old hag, ruining my tender and lovely disciple."

"If you don't want me to continue protecting your disciple, you can say so directly. There's no need to say such nonsense to disgust me."

"No, no, no, I was just kidding, alright?"

"Besides, you should know, I'm not the only one in this world who knows the Mandarin Duck Sword."

"You're talking nonsense! My mother only taught you."

"When You Su was fifteen, he found himself a Junior Sister. His talent in swordsmanship was incredibly high; even if it was a woman learning the Mandarin Duck Sword, he could teach her."

"What did you say?! That kid found himself a wife?"

Happy New Year to all my readers! May you always have a path forward when the mountains are high and a boat to cross when the waters are deep. May harmony bring forth spring, and may the new year be better than the old! I also want to ask my dear readers to stuff my tender new book with your big collections, comments, follow-ups, and votes, or2 Please!