The Sea Witch suddenly lowered her head.
The half-chewed fish meat that Qian Daoliu had spat out arced past her, almost grazing her hair, before splattering against a magnificent jade pillar with a wet smack.
It slowly slid downward, leaving behind a greasy trail of humiliation.
Qian Daoliu wiped his mouth, then turned toward Bo Saixi—whose expression had already reached "abyssal-sea depth darkness"—and looked at her with genuine, overflowing pity.
"Xi Xi… is this what you normally eat?"
Bo Saixi's grip on her chopsticks was so tight her knuckles had turned white. She stared coldly at him, clearly refusing to dignify him with an answer.
The Sea Witch, having recovered from her near-decapitation by flying fish mush, blinked in confusion.
"But… High Priest, we've always eaten this."
She pointed innocently at the sparkling plates of seafood—each dish emitting dense spirit power and looking like it belonged in a divine banquet.
"And the 'Deep Sea Silver Cod' you just ate is a top-tier ingredient only the High Priestess may have. It's extremely rare. Is there… a problem?"
"Problem?"
Qian Daoliu replied as though she had just declared the ocean was dry.
"A huge problem!"
His voice echoed in the temple.
He looked at Bo Saixi and the Sea Witch with eyes so sorrowful one might think they'd been starving on a deserted island.
He let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
Pitiful.
Simply pitiful.
Only people who had never tasted true cuisine would treat these things as delicacies.
"Bland. Tasteless."
Qian Daoliu shook his head, giving his first verdict.
"Fishy. Pungent."
He shook it again, delivering his second.
Finally, he threw out his concluding line like a judge passing sentence.
"It's a crime against ingredients! An absolute disgrace!"
He jabbed a finger at the dishes, voice rising a full octave.
"Xi Xi, what kind of miserable life have you been living?!"
The Sea Witch and Bo Saixi: "…"
Qian Daoliu, seeing their stunned expressions, felt even more righteous.
He spread his arms dramatically.
"I'm telling you—these dishes might be 'luxuries' to you."
"But at Feng Ran Pavilion, at that senior's restaurant—"
He raised a trembling finger, nearly poking Bo Saixi's nose.
"—this stuff wouldn't even be allowed on the table!"
"You can't begin to imagine the level of the food he makes."
"The fragrance alone makes your soul tremble!"
Bo Saixi's expression remained unmoved, but the Sea Witch's eyes were already sparkling like stars.
Gulp.
A clear swallowing sound echoed through the hall.
Her cheeks flushed. She hesitated, then timidly asked:
"High Priest… is that senior's cooking really that… that amazing?"
Qian Daoliu's eyes blazed.
"Of course!"
Then his expression suddenly changed—as though he had remembered something monumental.
Under their gaze, he cleared his throat and straightened, becoming solemn and dignified.
"Today, I'll open your eyes."
With infinite care—as though taking out a divine relic—he retrieved a jade bowl from his spirit tool.
Bo Saixi and Sea Witch immediately focused on the bowl.
Given Qian Daoliu's reverent attitude, whatever was inside had to be extraordinary.
But when he tilted it ever so slightly—
Their expressions froze.
Sea Witch blinked once.
Then twice.
Her head tilted.
Because…
Inside the bowl was…
Half a bowl of egg fried rice.
Last night's leftovers.
Packed to go.
Bo Saixi & Sea Witch:
That's it?
You made such a grand build up.
We thought you were going to pull out some divine item.
But what you actually produced…
was a bowl of cold leftovers?
And yet—the absurdity had only just begun.
Qian Daoliu did not hand them the bowl.
Instead, with a pained, miserly expression, he pulled out a gorgeous golden spoon.
Then—
Using the very tip of the spoon, he carefully scraped off a tiny amount of rice.
Truly, barely a mouthful.
Perhaps a dozen grains.
He deposited that pathetic portion into the Sea Witch's bowl.
Then he scooped a slightly larger spoonful—twenty-something grains—and poured it into Bo Saixi's bowl.
Clink, clink.
He even tapped the bowl rim, shaking loose two stubborn grains.
Like a stingy landlord feeding guard dogs and terrified of wasting even a molecule of food.
Bo Saixi: "…"
Sea Witch: "…"
Qian Daoliu folded his arms proudly.
"Try it, both of you! I guarantee—you'll forget who you are!"
Then, without sparing them a glance, he lifted his own bowl—still more than half full—and began devouring it in large mouthfuls.
His face filled with ecstasy.
Bo Saixi stared at the pitiful dozen grains in her jade bowl.
Then at Qian Daoliu, who was inhaling the food like a starving beast.
She instinctively lifted the bowl—
ready to smash this "charity meal" across his face.
But as she lifted it, something made her pause.
The egg fried rice, though cold, still looked perfect.
Each grain distinct.
Each coated in a golden sheen.
Even without aroma, it shimmered under the temple's light like a dream.
Her throat moved.
It looks… good.
No—control yourself!
She clenched her jaw.
Eat this man's leftover charity food?
Where would her pride go?
Where would the dignity of the Sea God's High Priestess go?!
But while Bo Saixi still wrestled with her pride—
The Sea Witch had no such burdens.
She had already been half-lost the moment Qian Daoliu described the fried rice.
Now that she saw it up close—
She immediately scooped the pitiful amount in her bowl and stuffed it all in her mouth.
She chewed seriously at first.
Then—
Her expression froze.
Two seconds later—
Her innocent eyes exploded with light.
Her pupils dilated.
Her entire body stiffened.
Then—
Her gaze snapped toward Qian Daoliu's bowl—
Like a starving wolf fixated on a bleeding, juicy slab of meat.
Every grain of rice disappearing into Qian Daoliu's mouth was like a piece of her soul being carved out.
And finally—
Unable to endure it anymore, she let out a shrill cry—
"Ahhhhh!! STOP EATING!!!"