My Core is the Boss

The village chief fixed Qi Yuan with a warning look. "Anyone who dares disrupt Sea God's wedding will not leave this village alive."

He couldn't afford to make open enemies of the officials just yet. Thus, the village chief led the villagers away.

Qi Yuan called after him, "Don't misunderstand, my child bride and I settled our accounts long ago. I'm not here to carry her off. The Sea God is my white moonlight!"

Of course, his words went unheard. At this point, An Qiao was inclined to agree with the village chief. Qi Yuan was probably a little unhinged.

She explained, "Brother Qi, remember the madman from yesterday? We followed him here. Our captain is lying low somewhere in the village. As for the two of us, we are scouting the situation and trying to look for leads."

Qi Yuan nodded. "Do as you like. Just don't get in the way of my bride-snatching."

An Qiao's expression turned grave. "Huh? Brother Qi, the Sea God is suspected to be a Jade Blood demon. If you steal his wife, he's definitely not going to stay silent."

Qi Yuan replied with complete indifference, "Who said I'm stealing his wife? Relax. I know what I'm doing. Let's watch the ceremony first. I want to learn how a wedding is done properly."

The first time he had gotten married, he had fallen asleep and didn't remember a moment of it. He had drifted into the bridal chamber in a daze. Hence, he was going to pay attention this time.

An Qiao fell silent. She wanted to say, “Come on, the mission comes first.” But then she thought about Qi Yuan's strength and his erratic way of doing things, and decided she'd rather not risk getting killed.

The three of them, plus the dog, wandered through the village.

With the beating of drums and clanging of gongs, the Sea God's wedding ceremony officially began. A long procession carried the bridal sedan chair through the village. There were no massive red dowries, magnificent horses, phoenix crowns, or embroidered gowns.

Still, An Qiao watched the scene with a complicated expression. "Setting aside everything else, the weddings of ancient times really are something."

Qi Yuan shook his head in disappointment. "The fanfare is smaller than my own musical procession. Even my funeral-weeping troupe had more presence."

She suspected Qi Yuan was talking nonsense again. "What? What musical procession? What funeral-weeping troupe? Where?"

His eyes grew quietly heavy. "In my heart."

The villagers from the Mortal Heart World had all become his Nascent Souls. He had no way to wake them up now. The thought brought the celeb, Wu Qi, to mind unbidden.

An Qiao gave up. She couldn't follow Qi Yuan's logic.

By now, the procession had wound its way down to the beach. Eight villagers carried the great sedan chair with broad smiles.

The village chief stood on a raised platform. He burned incense, bowed to the sea, and pressed his forehead to the ground. "Great Sea God, all-powerful Sea God, please grant Haishi Village a season of abundance and peace."

Every villager turned to face the sea and dropped to their knees, reverently pressing themselves flat against the ground. Only the ceremony witnesses and the sedan-chair bearers remained standing.

Steadily treading on the sand, the eight villagers approached the water. An Qiao watched, a pang of pity tightening her chest. Another innocent person was about to meet a terrible fate.

Qi Yuan had his ears pricked, looking vaguely put out. "Why hasn't the officiant asked whether they're willing yet? If he doesn't ask, how am I supposed to snatch the bride?"

That was how it always worked in the films. The officiant would ask, “Do you take this person?” Then, the camera cut to a close-up of the bride or groom, and that was the moment for the dramatic intervention.

From that show, Qi Yuan had concluded that this was the optimal time for a bride-snatching. Television wouldn't show it that way otherwise. Besides, there was no need to worry about whether it was illegal. Television wouldn't show it that way otherwise.

An Qiao really did not want to be having this conversation. "There doesn't seem to be an officiant here."

Qi Yuan was genuinely thrown off. "What? No officiant? Then how am I supposed to snatch the bride?"

He stood there in bewilderment, his mind racing.

Just then, An Qiao's gaze shifted to the sea. A towering wave dozens of meters had risen, roaring and crashing as though the sea itself had come alive. The sound of the waves surged and echoed.

The prostrating villagers lowered themselves even more. In the face of such a primal force, even the stray thoughts that Qi Yuan had stirred up in the village chief vanished completely.

An Qiao's expression hardened. "As expected, he is at the Jade Blood realm. I can't even handle this wave alone. Poor girl..."

The Sea God hadn’t even appeared. The fearsome wave was merely there to receive the bride, yet it was enough to unsettle everyone.

In contrast, Qi Yuan was utterly unbothered. "Fairly average display of power, honestly. The special effects could use some work."

An Qiao and the black-clad man ignored him completely.

Qi Yuan fixed his gaze on the horizon. A Qi Refinement realm spell sharpened his vision, letting him see far further than usual. But even with that, he couldn't find the Sea God's true form across the open water.

At that moment, the tracker dog sniffed the air, nose twitching sharply. "Wait, this scent! It's very familiar. Similar to the aquatic clan, but that's not quite right..."

Just then, the dog turned to look at Qi Yuan in shock. "It's exactly the same as the scent on you. You're the Sea God!"

An Qiao's heart lurched. "What?!"

The black-clad man's face went pale with astonishment. Qi Yuan is the Sea God?

Now that An Qiao thought about it, Qi Yuan never said that he was one of them. How could a newcomer possibly be this strong? Unless the Sea God had devoured Qi Yuan and was now wearing his face.