Chapter Twenty-Two Past Events

  Looking at the proud Su Mei kneeling in front of me, this scene stunned not only me but also my mother. I regained my senses after a while and subconsciously went to help Su Mei up. Not to mention that she had just teased me a few sentences, even if she had beaten me up, I couldn't let an elderly woman of her age kneel like that.

  But Su Mei's shoulders slightly shook, and she stood still. No one in the country could beat her, and similarly, if she didn't want to be helped, no one could move her either.

  "What's going on?" I muttered to myself, still in a daze. "Shifu", could it be that someone was actually addressing me as their master? I had never been anyone's Shifu before in my life...

  Bitter plum old tears horizontally said: "Master, you don't remember Ah Mei?"

  "Ah Mei?" I asked in surprise, this old nun in front of me, what's "Ah" about her, what's "Mei" about her?

  The old mother was shocked for a long time before she barely came back to her senses, first surprised and delighted, and after a long while, she lowered her head and said: "I'll step aside for a moment." She then walked out.

  I pulled at Sumi and said: "Get up quickly."

  Kumei grasped my hand and wept: "Master, you really don't recognize your disciple at all?"

  I made a wry face and said: "Regardless of whether you remember or not, get up first and then talk. You're also someone with disciples now, let them see this and it will have a bad influence."

  Kumei's several young female apprentices stood in a row under the eaves of the house, looking at the scene before them with terror, and immediately scattered and fled.

  The plum blossom struggled to get up, still trembling all over, and said in a shaky voice: "Don't you have any impression at all?"

  I forced a smile and said: "Master, I'm only 23 years old this year. If you've ever held me in your arms, I might still have some impression."

  Kumei suddenly said: "That's right, Master passed away 23 years ago..." She muttered to herself, "So, it seems that reincarnation is real?"

  "Are you watching?"

  Ku Mei said resolutely: "The position is here, how can I be wrong? In my life, I have never seen a higher position than yours, Master."

  "Isn't Su Jing also a Sword God?"

  Ku Mei smiled and said: "It's not that I underestimated her, she is far worse than Master."

  "What's going on here?" I scratched my head and asked.

  "30 years ago, I, Ah Mei, was reckless and arrogant, calling myself a heroic woman. But one day, I was surrounded by a group of bandits and was on the verge of death when my master rescued me. For 7 years after that, I followed my master closely, learning from her teachings and improving my skills. Unfortunately, 23 years ago, I had to leave for some reason, and my master went alone to Mount Black Oscura, using her own strength to defeat the enemy at the summit. By the time I arrived, my master had already passed away due to exhaustion from the battle. I wanted to follow my master in death, but I was afraid of what people would say about us. Our relationship is pure and innocent, and if I were to die, it would tarnish my master's reputation."

  "No, no, no, it's not necessary, are you really my apprentice?"

  Ku Mei hummed a laugh: "People only know that Ku Mei is the Sword Saint of the Women's Country, but they don't know that her master is the renowned Sword God."

  I said: "Then why don't you say anything?"

  Bitter Plum said gloomily: "Master has already said it earlier, Ah Mei is just a trivial Sword Saint in his dying years, how can he humiliate Master's reputation."

  "You have high expectations for yourself, huh? I was just talking big earlier. Apparently, there are less than 20 Sword Saints in total on both continents, which is already quite impressive."

  Kumei said: "Master's words make me feel ashamed."

  I patted my waist with both hands and said, "You see, I'm already like this. In the past, no matter if it was kindness or resentment between us, it should all be written off now. You don't have to call me Master anymore."

  Kumei said firmly, "Once a teacher, always a teacher. Even if you were still in diapers, you would still be my master. I didn't originally believe in the nonsense about the reincarnation of the Sword God, but being able to see Master again makes me happier than anyone."

  Plum Blossom suddenly said in a soft voice, "Master, it's great that you're alive." The old nun who had just been stern and expressionless instantly became like a little girl. I was puzzled and asked, "Aren't you a Buddhist? Why don't you believe in reincarnation?"

  Ku Mei said, "In those years, the empress repeatedly asked me to take office, I had no other reason to decline, so I became a nun." Ku Mei smiled and said, "Master was right just now, this nun of mine is nothing but eating for free."

  I almost choked to death: the revered and respected Shu Mei Shi Tai, actually turned out to be like this...

  I found that when Su Mei spoke to me, her eyes gradually became more vibrant. A Buddhist disciple who was originally calm and peaceful actually had a heroic spirit and a refreshing air about her. It turned out that there was still this heroic rescue scene between us, and it's imaginable how proud and unruly the self-proclaimed female knight Su Mei was back then, until she met the Sword God and became slightly more subdued. What a passionate and romantic woman!

  I asked again: "Is Su Jing really your apprentice?"

  Ku Mei sighed: "Su Jing, this child has indeed followed me for a few years, and her enlightenment was also completed by me."

  "I asked in surprise: 'Then why don't you recognize her?'"

  Kumei slightly shook her head and said, "She is now the only Sword God on the mainland, I am just a Sword Saint. To say that she is my disciple would be suspected of being deceitful and arrogant."

  I laughed and said: "So you're actually jealous of your own apprentice?" But it's hard to imagine that someone as proud and arrogant as Kuang would be willing to use someone else's glory to reflect his own value.

  Kumei said: "It's not entirely true, Su Jingtian is extremely talented, even if he doesn't follow me, he will eventually reach the pinnacle of success, it's just a matter of time."

  "By what you're saying, I don't even dare to acknowledge you as my disciple anymore. You are now the national treasure of Nüwa Country, and I'm not even worthy of being a sword youth."

  Ku Mei said: "That's different, it's not about Master teaching me martial arts back then, if it weren't for you, Ah Mei would have died in the wilderness long ago."

  I slowly said: "Shifu, what you mentioned 2734233717 are all things from the past life. Look at your age, I can't call you A Mei, right?"

  Plum Blossom twisted and turned, saying: "It's not good to call out in front of outsiders, but it's still okay to call in private."

  I coughed and said: "Now I have an empty title, not even a bit of sword energy, are you still willing to acknowledge me as your master?"

  Bitter Plum said sternly: "Master, what are you talking about? Although your martial arts skills are unmatched in the world, I respect you as a person."

  There's a saying that goes "to climb up someone's nose and onto their face", but now I don't even want to climb up the nose, yet they've already set up the ladder for me to climb. Sumei looks like a hermit who has transcended worldly affairs, but in this short time of contact, I can feel that she is actually passionate as fire and has a hidden heart. People like this are not easy to deal with. However, my mind is preoccupied with thinking of ways to hurry down the mountain and send me back home. So, I put on a humble face and said: "Ah Mei, Master needs your help today, if you want to find back your sword energy, I still need to go back. Can you please tell the Emperor to send someone to escort me for a while? You won't refuse, right?"

  Kumei was shocked: "Master is leaving again?"

  I will be back.

  Ku Mei exclaimed, "Of course, I only hope that Master can come and go quickly. Isn't Hei Jisi going to fight with me? Let's go stir up a storm for him!" As she spoke, the old nun's face was filled with heroic spirit, completely different from her demeanor just before.

  I chuckled and said, "You're willing to serve the country again?"

  Ku Mei said: "In the past, I lived in seclusion and rarely went out, wasn't it because I followed Master's teachings?"

  I exclaimed in surprise: "What did I say before?"

  "As a top strong person, you can't ignore the people of Li, nor can you pay too much attention to them. They often need our help, but we can't lower ourselves to respond to every request. Only when they are in dire straits and we step out to help will they remember our merits and cherish everything we do."

  I savored the flavor in it and couldn't help but say: "How come I feel like this is just nonsense?"

  "What's wrong?"

  "This is clearly what a hypocrite would say. Moreover, war is different from ordinary times, taking the initiative as soon as possible can save many lives, right? It's like taking some medicine to recover, and not waiting until it's critical to have surgery. You're saying this isn't a despicable act, what is it? I understand this logic now, how could I not have understood it in my past life?"

  Kumei's face turned stern: "This... I hadn't thought of that. All I know is that Master's words are never wrong."

  I waved my hand and said, "It seems that I wasn't a good bird in my previous life. You can just consider this nonsense. With the country's daughter supporting you like this, when it's time for you to make an effort, don't be so pretentious." I smiled slightly, "Of course, it's just a suggestion."

  Ku Mei said: "Master's realm is getting deeper and more profound, I'll go see the Empress now."

  The two of us quickly walked out of Mei An, and Old Mother was standing at the door in a daze. Seeing Su Mei come out, she hurriedly went up to her and said, "Shifu."

  Ku Mei said: "General, I was wrong earlier, I will now enter the palace to pay respects."

  Mom looked at us two people as if she had fallen into a cloud and mist, subconsciously saying: "Good, thank you, Master..."

  Kumei's apprentice saw his master was going out and came forward saying: "I'll prepare the sedan chair for Master right away."

  "What's the point of preparing a sedan chair?" Ku Mei snatched the reins from Ma Jing's hands and said, "I'll borrow your horse for a ride." With that, she tapped her toes on the ground, jumped onto the horse, and shouted loudly, "I'm off!"

  Everyone saw the usually dignified and composed Master Ku Mei being so fiery, they were all stunned, Ma Jing couldn't even say a word. I saw Ku Mei wanting to leave, grabbed her reins, smiled and whispered: "A Mei."

  Kumei bowed and said: "Master, is there anything else you want to instruct?"

  I suppressed a smile and whispered in her ear: "To be honest, did your decision to become a nun back then have anything to do with my death?"

  Kumei's face suddenly turned bright red, and she smiled slyly: "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I were several years older than you back then."

  "Hmm, there must be some trickery going on here. You've suddenly become a few years older, what kind of answer is this? If you're not hiding anything, why the red face? Of course, our current grade level is already obvious, and we both have nothing to hide in our hearts. I know that even if I make a joke about it, Su Mei won't get angry, so I'm just teasing her on purpose."

  Kumei's disciples saw me being so bold and shouted in unison: "Hey, get out of the way."

  Plum Blossom glared with her eyes: "How dare you, don't you hurry up and call out to your ancestors?"

  Those female disciples thought their ears had gone bad, and after confirming with each other, they saw Su Mei staring at them fiercely, so they could only say in a low voice: "Master..."

  "Haha, it's nothing, nothing. Take back all the dowry and marry her off to someone else, don't waste your time following your master around."

  Everyone: "......"

  What if... What if Xiaohua's son is named Zhang Yan? How would you feel about it? Wouldn't the useless teacher misread it as Zhang Ding and spread the nickname around? By the way, I've come up with hundreds of names for people before, but never had such a hard time.

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