MTLNOVEL Chapter 24: Master's Wife and Master
Chapter 24: Master’s Wife and Master
“What kind of master’s wife are you? If it weren’t for me carrying his life talisman, I wouldn’t even know if my disciple had died! And then what?”
“If my disciple dies, the inheritance of the Mandarin Duck Sword Sect will be severed, and my parents’ last wishes would remain unfulfilled. Tell me, aren’t you ashamed? My mother didn’t even pass on the Yang Sword to me-she entrusted it to an outsider like you instead, while forcing me to learn that manly Yuan Sword . Now look at you, calling yourself something fancy like ‘Lotus Sword Venerable’. Have you forgotten your roots? Have you forgotten the promise you made to my mother before she passed away?”
“Guan Chujun, let me make one thing clear: it isn’t that Master’s wife is unwilling to teach you the Yang Sword, it’s simply that you are incapable of learning it. She had no choice but to find another way. And wasn’t it you who proudly declared that you could match any man and insisted on learning the Yuan Sword? Yet even after Master passed away, you barely scratched the surface of its techniques, and now you dare to take in disciples and mislead them”.
The immortal maiden spoke coldly to the sword in her hand, cutting off the incessant tirade from the other side.
“Don’t talk nonsense! I didn’t want to learn this useless sword technique in the first place. Only a bumpkin like you would appreciate such rubbish. Have you forgotten how I beat you senseless with my bare fists when I was learning swordplay at your house? I could take on ten of you without breaking a sweat!”
“But once I picked up a sword, you never won again.”
The maiden’s tone remained calm, yet this single sentence pierced through the ranting woman like a sharp blade, silencing her momentarily.
“I will not waste time arguing with you. Do you realize how close your precious apprentice came to dying?”
“I do.”
“What good is knowing that? Knowing doesn’t change the fact that he nearly died! If you really knew, you wouldn’t have put him in such danger!” The voice on the other end grew louder and more agitated. “When I saw his talisman of life on the verge of shattering, I rushed out of the depths of the sea, slaughtered countless malevolent entities, and fought my way back to land. I contacted you immediately, and all you said was, ‘I know.’ Tell me, how can you justify putting him in such danger when you supposedly already knew?”
“He never told me that he needed help. He only asked me how to deal with someone whose cultivation level surpassed his own”.
“And what did you tell him?”
“I told him to emulate your master.”
The woman on the other side of the sword fell silent for a moment, the eerie silence before a volcanic eruption.
“He Shutong, how can you be so aloof? Why do you bother telling him to emulate me? Does he have to beg you every time he’s in danger? Don’t you realize that you’re supposed to be his master’s wife?”
“First of all, even if he didn’t ask for my help, I would still save him. Second, I am not his master’s wife – that is merely your twisted sense of humor. I’ve never acknowledged his calling me that. At most, I’m his senior aunt.”
“I don’t care! Since I agreed to let you stay here for ten years to immerse yourself in worldly affairs and unravel that nonsense you call ‘red dust,’ you must keep your promise to me. You are responsible for the safety of my disciple!”
“He is no longer the ten-year-old child you imagine him to be.” The immortal maiden raised her head, gazing toward the direction of Chuyun City as she replied indifferently.
“What do you mean?” You Su’s master pressed quickly, concern evident in her voice.
“There’s an evil cultivator targeting him…”
“What?! An evil cultivator? You let him face an evil cultivator alone? I only told you not to interfere when he got into fights with kids because I grew up beating others and becoming strong that way. But I never said you could ignore something as serious as an evil cultivator!”
“Do you want to hear the rest or not?” The master’s wife’s tone was icy and impatient.
The person on the other side of the sword reluctantly reined in her temper, her voice softening slightly. “Come on, hurry up and tell me!”
“I’ve immersed myself in worldly affairs and sealed away all my cultivation energy – I can’t even use a fraction of it. By the time I realized that an evil cultivator was targeting him, I had already seen the corpse of the Dream Centipede.”
“Dream Centipede? Are you saying that the blind boy found the Dream Centipede himself and killed it?”
“That’s right. It seems he turned the tables on the evil cultivator and played along with their schemes.”
“This kid is that smart?”
“Aren’t you about to say that if he’s so clever, how could he possibly fail to see through your disguise as a woman all these years? Isn’t that why you’ve kept up this casual joke for so long?”
“Stop deflecting! Get back to the point!”
“In my opinion, he’s a stubborn person. Once he falls into a misconception, he easily loses the ability to think clearly.”
“Are you saying that he couldn’t see through the fact that I’m a woman?”
“Not only that, but the reason he never thought to ask for my help wasn’t because he didn’t want to – it was because he genuinely believed that I was a master’s wife who needed his protection. Simply because I repeatedly told him that I had no cultivation energy, and he trusted me completely.”
“The famous Lotus Sword Venerable of the Five Continents-do you really have the audacity to claim that you need a child to protect you?”
“I’ve never lied to him. I truly have no cultivation energy. How he chooses to perceive me is his own business.”
“He Shutong, I don’t even know how to scold you anymore.”
“You can’t scold me. He can’t stay under your protection forever. If you wanted to, you wouldn’t have left him behind to wander across the five continents in search of so-called truths. The harsh reality of the cultivation way is something he’s bound to encounter sooner or later. This evil cultivator was simply the perfect trial delivered to his doorstep”.
“It’s my fault… I let him down…”
“Apologizing to me won’t help. Come back alive and tell him yourself.”
Another long silence stretched between them. Despite her biting words, the immortal maiden couldn’t help but feel moved. No matter how much she mocked her, the silent woman on the other end remained her closest confidante – the only person she could truly speak with.
At this very moment, that person was alone, lurking in one of the most dangerous corners of the world.
The immortal maiden pursed her cherry-red lips and softened her tone, breaking the silence first:
“Rest assured, he crossed an entire realm boundary and killed that evil cultivator.”
“Hmph, isn’t it thanks to my excellent teaching?” The woman on the other side regained her vigor, her tone brimming with pride. “When I caused chaos at Divine Mountain back in the day, who would’ve dared to stop me if it weren’t for your persuasion?”
The immortal maiden refrained from further mocking her: “There’s just one strange thing.”
“What is that?”
“I couldn’t use my cultivation energy to clearly sense the battle, but from afar, I saw him on the verge of defeat when he suddenly unleashed a surge of immense power to turn the tide. Perhaps he has his own secrets and fortuitous encounters – things neither you nor I know about.”
“This boy? I know every color of underwear he wore as a child. How does he start having secrets the moment I hand him over to you? Do you even know how to teach disciples?”
“My disciple is the incomparable prodigy, Heavenly Maiden Wangshu. Your disciple, on the other hand, is just a novice who’s barely stepped into the Spirit Platform Realm.”
“Do you understand the phrase, ‘Don’t underestimate a young person’s potential’? Hey, I’m serious-if my disciple is better than yours, why not let your so-called prodigy female disciple learn the Yang Sword and become You Su’s Dao Companion? That way my parents’ wishes would be fulfilled, and the Mandarin Duck Sword Sect’s legacy would continue. It would save your old self from ruining my precious, tender disciple.”
“If you don’t want me to continue protecting your disciple, just say so. There is no need to spew nonsense to disgust me.”
“No, no, no! Can’t you take a joke?”
“Besides, you should know that I’m not the only one in this world who knows the Yang Sword.”
“Don’t spout lies! My mother only passed it to you!”
“When You Su was fifteen years old, he found himself a junior sister. His swordsmanship talent is extraordinary, he could even teach her a woman’s Yang Sword.”
“What?! Are you saying that this kid found himself a wife all on his own?”