Reincarnated as the Death Spider Queen, sacrificing Bibi Dong at the start

The female diver said softly, "I want him to know that the 'unknown' doesn't always mean danger and scheming. Sometimes, the 'unknown' that is out of control can be beautiful, and it can be full of kindness and warmth."

"He is too used to gain that pitiful sense of security through absolute control, but this extreme control will also make him miss out on many unexpected surprises in life. He can't live in the shadow of the past forever, like a hedgehog guarding against everyone."

"He is no longer the old spider that used to cower in the dark corners of Death Canyon, living in fear for his life."

"He should learn to let go of those heavy cobwebs and try... to look forward."

Xiaobai frowned, her expression becoming increasingly troubled. She scratched her head of white hair and muttered, "But, changing this ingrained habit of his is so difficult, isn't it?"

"Of course it's very difficult, you could even say it's so difficult that it's almost impossible."

The Sea Maiden Douluo sighed, "Those airtight 'spider webs' and schemes were the foundation upon which he survived in that cruel environment, the only thing that allowed him to live to this day. Now, to ask him to lower his guard and change his past obsessions is like asking a peerless warrior, clad in heavy armor and battle-hardened, to voluntarily remove his life-saving armor in the wilderness."

"Unless you can give him an absolute sense of security, making him believe from the bottom of his heart that he will not encounter any danger at this moment, then..."

The female diver shook her head. "Any sudden stimulus or 'unknown' is seen as devoid of kindness or surprise by his taut nerves. In fact, he will instinctively perceive it as a malicious offense and attack!"

"Why do you think Nan Feng suddenly ran away when he was on Seagod Island?"

"It's because the high priest at the time couldn't make him feel safe in the slightest! On the contrary, the so-called 'goodwill' that the high priest showed him was an extremely dangerous death warrant for someone like Nan Feng who was extremely insecure!"

"If he truly trusted the High Priest without reservation back then, it would be tantamount to handing over his life and fortune entirely to him. If one day the High Priest was in a bad mood, or if the bigger picture required it, he could easily wipe him out with a single slap, leaving him no room to resist. Wouldn't he have to run away?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaobai's expression turned strange.

She swallowed hard, looking at the sea goddess with lingering fear: "No... if even the high priest couldn't give him a sense of security, how dare we launch such a surprise attack to provoke him? He... he won't really be angry with us and turn around and hold a grudge against us too, will he?"

Chapter 239 Sea Maiden: As long as I'm weak enough, Nan Feng won't dare to do anything to me.

……

"Don't worry, it won't happen." The Sea Maiden Douluo chuckled, her tone confident.

"Why?" Xiaobai asked, her face full of confusion.

The female diver turned to look at Xiaobai, and shrugged matter-of-factly: "Because we're weaker than him!"

"Huh?" Xiaobai was stunned.

"Is that so hard to understand?" The sea woman raised an eyebrow, a sly smile playing on her lips. "For someone like Nan Feng, 'weakness' itself is an effective sense of security. Because our strength is far inferior to his, even if we secretly harbor some kind of malice towards him, we simply cannot cause him any real harm."

"So even though we unexpectedly leaned in and kissed him, this action, while out of his control, will not trigger his life-or-death panic. At most, it will just make him feel surprised, a little uncomfortable, or even think we are being unreasonable. It won't make him angry at all."

The sea woman couldn't help but chuckle as she said this, "It's exactly the same reason why Nan Feng indulged that purple pearl."

"Look at that girl, Purple Pearl. Her head is full of lewd nonsense. She stares at him with a lecherous look all day long, and who knows what kind of filthy and disgusting things she's thinking behind his back. If it were someone of equal strength, Nan Feng would have gouged out their eyes long ago for such an offense."

"But what happened? Nan Feng wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, he treated Zi Zhenzhu very well and was even willing to spend a year teaching her how to manage the island."

The Sea Maiden Douluo concluded, "Because Purple Pearl is too weak, so weak that in his eyes she's like a little cat with its teeth bared. Even if a little cat has many 'unreasonable thoughts' about you, would you feel threatened and get angry with it? That's called tolerance brought about by an absolute difference in strength."

Xiao Bai's expression grew increasingly strange. "You wouldn't be thinking of taking advantage of your weakness to push your luck, would you?"

"How can this be called pushing my luck? I'm doing all this for the High Priest's lifelong happiness!" The Sea Maiden Douluo stood tall and proud, looking righteous and awe-inspiring.

"Huh?" Little White was completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at the sea woman. "What...what does this have to do with the High Priest?"

The Sea Maiden Douluo began to analyze for this naive sea spirit beast who had never been in love: "Of course there is a connection! Think about it carefully, what is the reason why Nan Feng is most resistant to the High Priest? It's because the High Priest is too strong, so strong that he feels extremely dangerous and has absolutely no sense of security!"

“If I don’t take advantage of my weakness and start by provoking him with this kind of ‘low-level unknown’ that is not life-threatening, so that he gradually gets used to this interaction that is out of his control, and even slowly develops expectations and desires for this unknown ‘surprise’... how could he possibly dare to muster the courage to completely let down his guard against the High Priest?”

The Sea Maiden Douluo spread her hands, "If he doesn't even dare to lower his guard, how could the High Priest possibly find an opportunity to capture him?"

"???"

Xiao Bai was so shocked her jaw almost dropped. She stammered, "Take...take him down? No, didn't you notice the High Priest's attitude towards Nan Feng...? Well, the High Priest is the Sea God's representative, how could he possibly..."

"Why not?"

The Sea Maiden Douluo rolled her eyes and lowered her voice, saying, "Based on my understanding of the High Priest over the past few decades, her attitude towards Nan Feng definitely indicates that she has feelings for him! It's just that she's too proud to admit it, and she's also burdened by the heavy psychological weight she carries from the promise she made casually back then because of some heartless man who has disappeared."

Mentioning that name, the Sea Maiden Douluo couldn't help but show a deep sense of disdain and contempt on her face.

"Actually, I've wanted to say this for a long time. I don't want to see the High Priest die alone because of a vague and unrealistic promise!"

The Sea Maiden Douluo said with certainty, "Back then, the man named Tang Chen was not a truly unforgettable 'love' for the High Priest! It was merely a feeling of amazement at first sight!"

"It's just like those young Sea Soul Masters who go to the Great Soul Arena to watch the competition and see that peerless genius shining on the stage and winning the final victory. They feel that kind of admiration and amazement. Because at that time, the High Priestess had already stood too high, and there were no peers around her who could compare with her. Tang Chen's appearance just filled the gap in her curiosity and amazement at 'kindred spirits'."

"It was only because the High Priestess had been trapped on Poseidon Island for decades and had never seen any other men from the outside world that, under the influence of this long period of fermentation and self-pity, she gradually came to regard that vague impulse as a deep love."

The Sea Maiden Douluo snorted coldly, "In reality? Not at all!"

"How many times have they actually met in total? Apart from sparring and fighting, they know nothing about each other's personalities, pasts, or even their true inner worlds! A relationship built on such simple impulses and a fight is like a castle on the beach—it's bound to be extremely fragile and collapse at the slightest touch!"

"But things are different now."

The Sea Maiden Douluo's eyes brightened as she looked in the direction Nan Feng had left. "The High Priestess's attitude towards Nan Feng was completely different from the very beginning! She couldn't help but want to test him, to understand him, and even to comprehend his calculating heart!"

"The two of them are currently like two extremely clever hedgehogs. Although they are testing each other, tormenting each other, and even hurting each other sometimes, they are also very tacitly aware of each other's limits, and neither of them really touches the other's weak spot."

The Sea Maiden Douluo's tone became extremely serious: "Little Bai, believe me, if two people with extremely rational souls, yet who both yearn for warmth, can eventually understand each other, lower their guard, and get closer to one another... they will be very, very happy!"

"Moreover, compared to the impulsiveness of love at first sight, the feelings they develop through calculation and testing will be incredibly solid and unbreakable!"

Xiao Bai seemed to understand but not quite, but still asked hesitantly, "But since the High Priestess feels it's a responsibility... won't she be unhappy if we force this matchmaking?"

"She's not unhappy, she's just afraid to admit it."

The Sea Maiden Douluo sighed and shook her head, her eyes filled with heartache. "The High Priestess's moral compass is too high. She has lived her whole life under the responsibility and constraints of being the Sea God's representative. She always felt that she was waiting for Tang Chen, and even regarded that casual promise as a responsibility that she had to uphold, for fear that if she made a wrong move, she would tarnish the glory of the Sea God."

"But as an outsider, I only hope that in this matter concerning her lifelong happiness, she can be a little selfish, truly happy, and truly find a partner who can resonate with her soul."

The Sea Maiden Douluo raised her head, facing the sea breeze, her tone resolute:

"Tang Chen is full of the arrogance of the Haotian Sect and the pursuit of absolute power. He simply cannot give the High Priest the deep love and understanding that he truly desires!"

"In this world, only someone like Nan Feng, who has seen through all the darkness, can still retain a soft spot in his heart, can do that."

Hearing the Mariina's profound and righteous words, Xiaobai scratched his head, but still couldn't help asking that fatal question:

"But, you're taking advantage of your weakness to seduce Nanfeng and provoke him... what if? I mean, what if Nanfeng really develops feelings for you?"

"Then you've betrayed the High Priest, haven't you?"

"..."

The corners of the Sea Maiden Douluo's mouth and eyes twitched violently at the same time.

She seemed to have indeed overlooked this crucial variable. But having already put on such a show, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and say, "There is a risk... However! For the High Priest's lifelong happiness, if I don't go to hell, who will? Taking this risk is worthwhile!"

Xiao Bai's expression grew increasingly strange as he watched her feign righteous indignation.

She looked the sea woman up and down, her tone full of suspicion: "You...you wouldn't actually have feelings for him, so you're just using the high priest as an excuse and a shield, would you?"

"Nonsense!"

The Sea Maiden Douluo instantly jumped up, righteously and loudly retorting, "How could I possibly be interested in that wicked fellow?! Everything I did was for the High Priest! The sun and moon can bear witness, I have absolutely no selfish motives!"

Xiao Bai pursed her lips, and the look of doubt on her face not only did not fade, but became even stronger.

"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense! Let's go, he's almost gone!" The Sea Maiden Douluo felt a little guilty under Xiao Bai's gaze. To cover up her embarrassment, she grabbed Xiao Bai's arm and dragged her after Nan Feng in the direction he had left.

Chapter 240 Bibi Dong is here?

……

"Hey! Wait for us!"

Before long, the two, panting heavily, caught up with Nan Feng, who had deliberately slowed down his pace, at the corner of the garden.

The Sea Maiden Douluo stepped forward, as if nothing had happened, and nudged Nan Feng with her elbow with a grin: "Hey, after I caused that scene in the hall, your 'First Prince' disciple's jealousy and possessiveness were off the charts! I could smell it from three meters away! What are you planning to do about it?"

Nan Feng stopped and glanced at her speechlessly: "You have the nerve to ask? If you hadn't messed around, would things have turned out like this?"

"Tch, don't try to pin the blame on me."

The Sea Maiden Douluo crossed her arms and said, "In the end, this whole thing is your own fault for not handling it well! You wanted to keep a clear distance from Qian Renxue, but deep down you couldn't bear to really hurt her, so you showed her mercy in every way, which is why your relationship has become this tangled mess."

The female diver leaned closer, staring into his eyes: "If you had just a little bit of ruthlessness, you wouldn't be in this predicament today."

"It's not that I can't bear it," Nan Feng said, looking away. "It's just that I have to consider Bibi Dong's feelings."

"Excuse!"

The Sea Maiden Douluo gave her a skeptical look as if she thought she was a three-year-old, and scoffed, "With your cunning and scheming mind that involves the entire continent, you can't even handle this little thing? I think you're just 'blinded by concern'!"

"Admit it, Nanfeng. It's because you share a body with Bibi Dong and have experienced her joys and sorrows that you subconsciously already regard Qian Renxue as half a daughter, as a child who hasn't grown up!"

"Because you treat her like one of your own, even like a child, you can't bring yourself to use those ruthless and insidious schemes against her."

"Otherwise, with your heart that's blacker than ink, you have a hundred ways to quietly distance yourself from her and then perfectly shift the blame for the breakdown of the relationship onto Qian Renxue herself, making her leave in shame, right?"

Looking at the smug face so close to her, a face that seemed to say "I know everything," Nan Feng really didn't want to talk to her anymore.

He realized that this woman was now treating him like an immersive "puzzle-solving adventure game." From being extremely wary and guarded against him on Poseidon Island at the beginning, she could now shamelessly approach him without any psychological barriers and even dare to make fun of him!

If we let her dig deeper and deeper without restraint, we'll run into big trouble sooner or later.

Seeing that familiar, aloof wariness and indifference reappear in Nan Feng's eyes, the Sea Maiden Douluo's heart skipped a beat.

She knew she had been a bit too hasty.

Rushing to expose the true nature of someone who is full of pretense and extremely insecure will not only fail to make them grateful for your understanding, but will also instinctively trigger extreme resentment and defensiveness. These things cannot be rushed; you have to take it slow and gradual.

Thinking of this, the Sea Maiden Douluo changed the subject and asked curiously, "By the way, what did you do with that Third Prince who was almost scared to death in the hall?"

"Nothing was done, just a little scare." Nan Feng withdrew his gaze, his tone returning to its usual calm.

"Of course, if you're still angry, when they take the ship back to the mainland in a few days, I can stage a shipwreck for them at any time. Let that guy die a horrible death and be fed to the sharks, or I can pick him out of the shipwreck and hand him over to you. Then you can torture him however you want."

The Sea Maiden Douluo's lips twitched as she looked at him strangely: "No... in your heart, do I seem so perverted and so cruel?"

"This has nothing to do with brutality."

Nan Feng's eyes were as cold as ice. "For someone whose mind is full of sores, no method is too much. I never believe in any nonsense about 'children's words being innocent' just because the other party is a young kid. I don't have that much time to be understanding. Anyone who is stupid enough to stick their claws out in front of me and provoke me should be prepared to suffer my revenge a thousand times over."

Hearing these murderous words, the Sea Maiden Douluo was not afraid at all; instead, her eyes lit up.

She suddenly took another half step closer, smiling like a fox who had just stolen some cream: "Hey, so... you were so angry in the hall just now because that Third Prince had designs on us, so you... were jealous and angry?"

"..."

Nan Feng was speechless, his brows furrowing into a knot: "How did you do your reading comprehension? Is that what I meant?"