Older People Know How to Care for You!

She tried to sound as stern as possible, hoping to make Li Qing back down. "My age! I'm more than a hundred years older than you! By worldly standards, I'm old enough to be your great-grandmother!"

On Douluo Continent, Soul Masters might enjoy long lifespans, but the age gap between marriage partners usually wasn't very large. A difference of a few years to a dozen or so was generally acceptable.

A gap of more than a hundred years, like the one between her and Li Qing, was unheard of—shocking enough to make the whole world gasp!

Bo Saixi thought that bringing up this enormous age gap would be enough to make any normal young man think twice.

But she had clearly underestimated just how abnormal Li Qing was, as well as his extremely open views on romance and marriage, which came from another world.

When Li Qing heard her, he didn't look the least bit hesitant, awkward, or shocked. Instead, his eyes suddenly lit up, shining even brighter than when he'd heard Qian Renxue's name earlier!

He even leaned closer, his face beaming with a radiant, I-get-it smile, and said in a matter-of-fact tone,

"More than a hundred years older? Isn't that even better?!"

He didn't care about age at all. After all, once he became a god, what would a little time like that matter?

One day in the Divine Realm was a year in the mortal world.

Bo Saixi was completely dumbfounded. Confusion and disbelief filled her wide eyes. "???" (Better? What's better about it?!)

Li Qing ignored her expression, as if she'd just seen a ghost, and continued on, even counting on his fingers as though he were working it out seriously. "Big Sis, have you ever heard the saying, 'A woman three years older is worth a golden brick'? You're more than a hundred years older than me, so by that math... doesn't that mean I get to hold dozens of golden bricks? That proves how amazing I am! I'm strong enough to carry that many!"

Bo Saixi: "..." (She felt like she was about to suffocate. What kind of twisted logic was this?!)

Li Qing grew more enthusiastic as he went on. Seeing Bo Saixi's cheeks grow rosier with embarrassment and indignation, and her blue eyes look adorably dazed with shock, only made his mischievous streak stronger. His tone grew sincere. "Besides, Big Sis, I've also heard that older women know how to care for you! Look at you: gentle and considerate, beautiful and generous, powerful, and the High Priestess of Sea God Island, with such a noble status. You're exactly my type!"

Bo Saixi: "!!!!!!!"

She was utterly flustered!

A complete mess!

It was as if ten thousand Demon Soul Great White Sharks were stampeding and roaring through her mind!

Her face was so red it looked ready to drip blood. Her heart pounded like a war drum, and even breathing had become difficult.

In all her hundred-plus years, she'd heard countless compliments and words of praise. Even Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu had once subtly expressed their admiration for her. But never had anyone... never had anyone confessed to her like Li Qing—so bluntly, so outrageously, so... leaving her with absolutely no idea how to respond!

Older women know how to care for you?

You like women like her?

What in the world was he talking about? What on earth was going through this child's head?!

Had cultivation damaged his brain?!

Bo Saixi felt her thoughts grind to a complete halt. She simply couldn't process the absurd situation before her.

She looked into Li Qing's clear eyes, which now seemed to her to gleam with wicked light, and listened to his string of twisted arguments. Heat surged from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head. She felt as if she were about to start smoking.

She... She was the High Priestess of Sea God Island!

A Peerless Douluo, revered by countless people!

She was over a hundred years old... Well, she'd never been in love, but she certainly wasn't some clueless little girl!

So why, in front of this twelve-year-old brat, did all her experience, authority, and composure melt away like snow beneath the sun?

Embarrassment, fluster, absurdity, helplessness... and a faint, faint feeling she hardly dared examine, stirred by such a fervent confession—her emotions churned together in her heart like the flavors in a toppled spice jar.

"You... you..." Bo Saixi pointed at Li Qing, her finger trembling slightly. She kept pointing, but couldn't get a single word out.

She wanted to scold him for talking nonsense, lecture him for showing no respect for his elders, and put on the dignified airs of the High Priestess...

But when she saw Li Qing's expression, as if to say, I'm making perfect sense, aren't I?, every word caught in her throat.

At last, all her feelings spilled out in a near-frantic, trembling gasp.

Her chest heaved, her perfect curves swaying before Li Qing's eyes, while her delicate body trembled with overwhelming embarrassment.

"You... You'd better get ready! They... they'll be here soon!"

After forcing out those words through clenched teeth, which carried no menace at all, Bo Saixi could no longer bother to maintain the dignity of the High Priestess. She spun around, gathered up her skirt, and fled the Sea God Hall at several times her usual speed, leaving behind only a flustered red silhouette and the faint, sweet fragrance that belonged to her.

Li Qing stood where he was and watched the direction Bo Saixi had disappeared in. He blinked, the sincere expression on his face gradually fading as a sly, amused smile took its place.

"That was quite a reaction. Looks like she's not completely unmoved..."

He stroked his chin and murmured to himself, "But... Qian Renxue is coming? This is getting more and more interesting."

Meanwhile, Bo Saixi, having fled the hall in disarray, leaned against a cold pillar outside. Her jade-like hand rested on her heaving chest as she tried to calm the heart that seemed ready to leap out of it.

The flush still lingered on her peerlessly beautiful face, and confusion, embarrassment, and a fluster she'd never felt before filled her blue eyes.

She... had just been teased by a twelve-year-old child?

And she'd been left speechless and run away?

For the first time in her hundred years, Bo Saixi found herself seriously questioning her own self-image.

The self-control, wisdom, and authority she'd always been proud of were utterly useless against that little fellow who refused to play by the rules.

And... most importantly, when Li Qing had spouted that twisted logic and held her hand, beneath her embarrassment and indignation, she'd actually... actually felt the faintest, indescribable flutter?

That realization left Bo Saixi even more flustered.

"What's happening to me...?" she murmured. The sea breeze brushed her burning cheeks but couldn't clear the confusion in her heart.

Qian Renxue... Li Qing... the marriage alliance...

And that little fellow's absurd yet perfectly self-assured proposal...

The road ahead seemed far more tangled than she'd imagined.