Bo Saixi's Anger

"Where is Jiang Lan?"

"Lord Little Guga..." The shadow hesitated. "He was playing with his Martial Soul on the beach this afternoon. He hasn't been seen since."

"The beach?" Bo Saixi's brow furrowed tighter. "What happened before he went to the beach?"

The shadow fell silent for two seconds, seemingly choosing his words carefully. "I heard that at noon, you punished Lord Little Guga by making him fill in the holes on the beach. You also said that if he didn't finish, he would lose a dish from dinner."

Bo Saixi's expression froze for an instant.

Fill the holes. Lose a dish.

She had indeed said that.

But she had only meant to scare the little brat. When had she ever actually cut a dish from his meal? Every time she spoke harshly, she would turn around and have the kitchen make him two extra dishes.

"He ran away because of that?" Bo Saixi's voice rose involuntarily.

"I wouldn't dare speculate, but..." The shadow lowered his head. "After Lord Little Guga filled the holes, he lay on the beach for a long time. He looked very dejected. His Martial Soul kept comforting him beside him, but it didn't seem to help."

Bo Saixi's heart suddenly clenched.

She remembered how she had looked on the beach at noon.

A teacup in one hand and the other behind her back, she had stared expressionlessly at that bedraggled little ball of flesh and coldly said, "You'll lose one dish from dinner today."

Then she had left without looking back.

What expression had Jiang Lan worn at the time?

She hadn't noticed.

She had thought the boy was carefree. He would forget being scolded the moment he turned around, then appear before her all lively and bouncing again the next day, his hat stuffed with all sorts of random things as he lifted his head and called out, "Mama Bo Saixi."

But thinking back on it now, no matter how carefree he was, he was still only a six-year-old child.

A six-year-old child who had awakened his Martial Souls less than a day ago, triggered the Sea God's Nine Trials only to be disliked by her, caused a whole mess by eating Ju Zi on the beach and been punished to fill holes, then finally been threatened with losing a dish from dinner.

Would he think that his mother... didn't want him anymore?

Bo Saixi's fingers unconsciously clenched around her sleeve.

"Give me..."

Before Bo Saixi could finish speaking, a line of words appeared before her.

Jiang Lan has gone to the Heaven Dou Empire to undergo a Divine Examination.

Bo Saixi watched the golden words slowly fade from the air. Her expression remained frozen for three seconds.

Then the fire in her heart flared up with a whoosh.

Slowly raising her head, she looked toward the portrait of the Sea God on the dome of the Sea God Palace, her gaze full of disbelief.

Six years.

She had raised that child for six years, bringing him up with her own hands from a tiny little lump into the ball of flesh who could now carry a Great White Shark around the whole island.

Yet the Sea God had taken advantage of her inattention to sneakily whisk her child away?

Without even saying hello?

Without giving her even a moment to prepare?

That boy was only six!

He had just awakened his Martial Souls today!

He was only level eleven!

He had never even left Sea God Island!

He was going to the Heaven Dou Empire alone?

Bo Saixi took a deep breath and tried hard to stay calm.

She was the High Priestess of Sea God Island, a Peerless Douluo-level powerhouse, and the Sea God's most faithful believer. She could not disrespect the Sea God.

"...Sea God." Bo Saixi's voice was terrifyingly calm. There was even a faint smile on her lips, but the light in her eyes was enough to make any Titled Douluo turn and run. "You had me raise him for six years. I taught him how to walk, how to speak, how to recognize sea soul beasts. I sewed him penguin overalls and made him different meals every day."

"Yet you took advantage of me not paying attention and directly started the examination, making him cross the ocean alone to the Heaven Dou Empire?"

Bo Saixi paused, then smiled as she voiced the words she had held in for six years. "Do you think raising a child is like raising a seahorse? You toss it out and never have to care about it again?"

The temperature in the surrounding air abruptly plummeted. The shadow still kneeling on the ground shook like a sieve, wishing he could shrink into the cracks between the floor tiles.

After serving Bo Saixi for so many years, this was the first time he had seen the High Priestess speak to the Sea God in such a tone.

Bo Saixi took a deep breath, then another, and after repeating it three times, finally forced down the anger that had risen to her throat.

Calm down.

The Sea God's decision was not something she could question.

The examination had already been issued. It could not be changed or withdrawn. This was the will of a deity and could not be defied.

Bo Saixi clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked.

When that brat came back, the first thing she would do would not be to welcome him or fuss over him. She would strip off his penguin overalls, pin him over her knee, and give his round little butt a fierce beating.

She would spank him until he cried, until he admitted his mistake, until he never again dared to run off without even saying hello.

What Sea God's Nine Trials inheritor? What future Sea God? In her eyes, he was just a six-year-old brat. If he deserved a beating, then he would get one.

After mentally going through the entire child-spanking process, Bo Saixi's fury subsided a little.

Then worry silently surged up like the rising tide.

The Heaven Dou Empire.

From Sea God Island to the Heaven Dou Empire, he would have to cross the entire ocean. The sea journey alone would take at least several months.

The sea was not a calm swimming pool. There were storms, reefs, and countless powerful sea soul beasts.

Evil Spirit Orca pods, Deep Sea Demon Whales, all kinds of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts—any one of them was beyond what Jiang Lan could handle at his current level.

Nor would it be safe once he reached land.

The Heaven Dou Empire was not Sea God Island. No one there knew him, no one would indulge him, and no one would help pat his penguin overalls clean when they got dirty.

Did he have any money on him?

Did he know how to deal with people?

Would he go hungry?

Would he be tricked?

That boy might not even know that buying things required payment. On Sea God Island, he always just took whatever he wanted.

"...Can he really do it?" Bo Saixi murmured, so softly that she was nearly inaudible.

Then she shook her head hard, throwing that weak thought out of her mind.

He could do it.

Jiang Lan was the most special child she had ever seen. At five, he could carry a Great White Shark. At six, he awakened Twin Martial Souls and triggered the Sea God's Nine Trials.

Though he normally looked carefree and only seemed to know how to eat and play, that boy understood more than anyone.

Besides, since the Sea God dared to give him the first trial, it meant the Sea God believed he could complete it.

Though the Sea God's credibility in her heart had already fallen to a historic low.

"But your examination is your examination, Sea God. Running away without a word is another matter, and I'll settle that score when he comes back." Bo Saixi gave the Sea God's portrait on the dome one last look, then turned and walked toward the entrance of the palace.

She stood on the steps outside the Sea God Palace as the sea breeze, heavy with salty moisture, rushed toward her.

Bo Saixi's gaze crossed the vast ocean and turned north.

That was the direction of the Heaven Dou Empire, and the direction where Jiang Lan was now.

The sea was pitch-black, with only moonlight shattered into countless silver scales across the waves.

A fish leaped from the water before falling back in with a lonely splash.