No one knew how much time had passed.
Perhaps an instant, perhaps a century, before Bo Saixi finally managed to recover a sliver of consciousness from that terrifying shock, enough to upend everything she knew.
Her throat felt painfully dry. She swallowed instinctively before managing to speak in a faint, trembling voice. "Th-then, Lord Sea God... Ye Qing... he... he didn't agree, did he?"
Clinging to her last, faint hope, she tried to find a reasonable explanation. "Or... could it be that he... doesn't understand the affairs between men and women at all? That he doesn't know what love is? After all... he's still so young..."
She really couldn't hold it together anymore.
Though she had lived for nearly a century and weathered countless storms, priding herself on her calm disposition, at that moment she felt as if her entire worldview had shattered and her soul had left her body.
What did he mean, Angel God was willing to give herself to Ye Qing as his wife just to get him?
She finally understood why Lord Sea God was so furious, and why his expression had become so twisted.
Who wouldn't go mad at that?
What kind of normal god would do something like that?
If she'd heard such an outrageous claim sooner, she would've dared to gnaw on the pillars of Sea God Hall right there and then!
Poseidon seemed to have shouted himself hoarse, too.
Or perhaps the sheer absurdity and anger had eased a little after he vented.
He drew a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound less gritted with rage, but his frustration and agitation still rang clear.
"Whether Ye Qing understands the affairs between men and women is completely irrelevant right now!"
He waved a hand irritably, as if trying to dispel some foul thought that wasn't even there.
"What matters is that old woman, Angel, has already planted this utterly absurd idea in that boy Ye Qing's head! Like a seed! Just give her time, and let her keep using those shameless tricks to bewitch and tempt him, and sooner or later that seed will take root, sprout, and blossom! By then, even if Ye Qing didn't understand it before, she'll teach him!"
The Sea God's gaze pierced Bo Saixi as he reminded her gravely, "Bo Saixi, as my Grand Pontiff and representative, you should understand what I mean. Once certain thoughts take hold, they're hard to erase completely. Especially when the other party is a god, relentlessly watering and nurturing them by any means necessary!"
Bo Saixi nodded slightly. Her stunning face held nothing but deep helplessness and a trace of bewilderment.
Of course she understood.
The way someone's heart leaned could sometimes be so subtle and beyond one's control.
Especially when one side was a rule-abiding Sea God.
And the other was an Angel God willing to risk everything, even give herself away,
the force of that impact and temptation would be immense for any young man whose heart had yet to settle.
"Then... Lord Sea God, what should we do now?"
Her voice was tinged with helplessness as she asked, "Can we still... take him back from Angel God? If so, what do you need me to do?"
She truly couldn't think of what Sea God Island could offer to match a nuclear-level move like Angel God's attempt to snatch him.
Yet just as Bo Saixi had asked her question in near despair, she was astonished to notice something.
The Sea God's face, which had been furious for so long in the water screen, suddenly changed.
His tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and the corners of his tightly pressed lips actually curled upward.
Seeing this sudden change in the Sea God's mood, Bo Saixi didn't feel relieved at all. Instead, her delicate body trembled despite herself.
Alarm bells rang in her heart, and a deeply ominous premonition swept over her like icy seawater.
She asked cautiously, in a breath so faint it was almost inaudible, "L-Lord Sea God? What... what is that expression?"
The smile on the Sea God's face grew wider and wider, until he even let out two low, chuckling laughs.
The sound echoed through the empty hall, sending a chill through the air.
"Since that shameless Angel God could stoop to such a low trick as offering herself up as a wife..."
The Sea God's voice held a strange excitement, as if he'd suddenly seen the light.
"Then... why can't we do the same?!"
Bo Saixi froze at first, unable to understand.
But barely two seconds later, she got it.
"Lord Sea God, you mean... we should also... find a... woman to give to Ye Qing?"
She struggled to get the words out, feeling the absurdity wash over her all over again.
But then she realized the more practical problem. Her brows furrowed as she analyzed the situation helplessly.
"But the question is... who? Ye Qing is your inheritor, with a noble status and limitless potential. Across the entire continent, women worthy of him are already as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. And among that handful..."
Bo Saixi paused, a wry smile on her face as her voice fell.
"Who... could surpass Angel God herself in appearance, bearing, status, strength, and especially that... um, allure?"
Though she had never seen Angel God in person, she had seen Qian Daoliu.
Qian Daoliu's looks and bearing were already peerless among mortals.
So Angel God, a god and a goddess at that, must be far more dazzling than anyone could imagine.
If not, how could she have used that advantage to so easily capture the boy Ye Qing's heart and enrage the Sea God to this extent?
At that, the smile on the Sea God's face faded somewhat, but didn't disappear.
He nodded candidly. "As things stand, we really don't have anyone who can directly rival Angel God herself."
Bo Saixi sighed softly, and the last of her hope seemed to go out.
If even Lord Sea God admitted they had no one, didn't that mean Sea God Island had already lost before the contest to win Ye Qing had even begun?
Yet just as she was losing heart, the Sea God abruptly changed tack. His voice rose again, and his eyes gleamed with an almost cunning light.
"But!"
"That doesn't mean that boy Ye Qing will definitely choose Angel God in the end!"
At those words, Bo Saixi's head snapped up, confusion filling her pale-blue eyes. "Lord Sea God, what... do you mean?"
The Sea God chuckled, leaning forward slightly as though imparting some brilliant strategy.
"Since we don't have a trump card that can beat Angel God on quality alone..."
"Then we'll take a different approach. We'll make our move based on timing and reality!"
His eyes glittered as he laid out his reasoning.
"You have to understand, Angel God is a god! She's tightly bound by the rules of the Divine Realm. She can't descend in her true form, much less interfere directly in mortal affairs for any length of time or on a large scale! So even if she has feelings for Ye Qing and made him that promise, all she can do is wait. She has to wait until Ye Qing successfully inherits a divine position and ascends to the Divine Realm before she can fulfill it!"
The Sea God's voice brimmed with the smugness of someone who'd spotted his opponent's weakness.
"And from the time Ye Qing is a six-year-old child until he finally becomes a god... there are still long, long years ahead! Ten years? Twenty? Perhaps even longer! That time belongs to us! It's the golden window for Sea God Island to go all out and exert its influence!"
At that, Bo Saixi's eyes gradually brightened.
She seemed to have grasped the key point in the Sea God's words, but it was still a little hazy.
"You mean..."
"During the years Ye Qing spends in the mortal world before becoming a god..."
The Sea God explained, "We'll use our people and our methods to bind him firmly to the mortal world, to Sea God Island! We'll make his ties to us far stronger than any fantasy about that old woman who can only make empty promises from far away in the Divine Realm!"
Bo Saixi suddenly understood. In an instant, she grasped the Sea God's strategy!
This was about exploiting the time gap and the advantage of being there in person!
During the stage of Ye Qing's growth when he would be most susceptible to mortal emotions, they would seize the most important place in his life first.
They would use genuine warmth, companionship, and even affection to counter the distant, intangible promise of marriage from a god in the Divine Realm!
"Brilliant!"
Once she understood, Bo Saixi's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help praising him.
But then she frowned and asked a crucial question. "That sounds well and good, but Lord Sea God, what exactly should we do? Who will we use to... bind him? Do you... already have someone in mind?"
A candidate?
Who could influence Ye Qing deeply over the course of his growing years, in a way that was lasting, steady, and effective?
This person had to be of sufficiently noble status to match Ye Qing.
She had to be able to stay by his side.
She had to be outstanding enough to attract him.
Most importantly, she had to be absolutely loyal to Sea God Island and to the Sea God's will.
Bo Saixi quickly ran through the candidates on Sea God Island in her mind.
But none of them seemed quite good enough.
However, when she turned her questioning gaze back to the Sea God in the water screen, she saw that his smile had become radiant again.
Even more dazzling than before.
He stared straight at her, his gaze full of meaning.