Lu Jiu froze, only realizing what he meant a few seconds later. "You mean the permanent mark you left on Chi Li before?"
Si Jinyan's deep voice came through the phone. "Yes."
Before he could consider why Si Jinyan was asking, Lu Jiu stated with certainty, "It can't disappear."
A permanent mark was irreversible. Unlike a temporary mark, it meant an Alpha's sexually targeted genes had completely fused with an Omega's gland. Unless the Omega had the mark removed, there was no possibility of a permanent mark disappearing.
What was more, Si Jinyan was an Enigma, with genes superior even to an Alpha's. The possibility of his mark disappearing was practically nonexistent.
Lu Jiu briefly explained this to Si Jinyan.
Si Jinyan fell silent. Lu Jiu asked again, uncertainly, "Are you sure the mark is really disappearing?"
Si Jinyan answered firmly, "It's fading, just like a temporary mark."
After a mark was made, the Omega retained the other person's scent. Yet when Si Jinyan had been intimate with Chi Li two days ago and nuzzled the back of Chi Li's neck, he discovered that the portion of Chi Li's scent belonging to him was actually growing fainter. Yesterday, Si Jinyan had confirmed it further. It was true.
Lu Jiu frowned deeply. What Si Jinyan described practically overturned decades of his physiological knowledge and some of his research achievements.
Lu Jiu said, "Bring him here. I'll examine him and see exactly what's causing it."
Si Jinyan answered, "All right."
That day, Chi Li was on his way to Bai Qi Manor.
Two days earlier, he had suddenly received an invitation from Bai Qi, who had invited him to visit the manor.
Chi Li had been puzzled for a moment, then remembered that Bai Qi had helped him last time. He should have gone to thank him but had not found the time, so he asked Si Jinyan for permission. Si Jinyan agreed and arranged guards to escort Chi Li both there and back.
Carrying a gift of thanks, Chi Li arrived at the manor gates. A servant had already been waiting there and led him into the estate, finally stopping before a pavilion.
Bai Qi said, "It's been a long time."
Chi Li apologized. "I owe you my thanks for helping me last time, Mr. Bai. I should have come to visit you first."
Bai Qi gestured for Chi Li to sit. "I told you, it was nothing. Don't take it to heart."
Chi Li had sprayed pheromone blocker on himself. Others might only be able to smell the faint yet more domineering pheromones of another "Alpha" on him.
But from the moment Chi Li entered the garden, Bai Qi had sensed another scent on him—a mark that only a Mermaid could leave behind.
Bai Qi raised a brow slightly. He had not expected things between Chi Li and Si Jinyan to progress so quickly.
Bai Qi said, "Your injuries have mostly healed."
Chi Li nodded. "Thanks to you."
After chatting idly for a few moments, Chi Li finally asked, "Did you invite me here today for something, Mr. Bai?"
Bai Qi set down his teacup and looked straight at Chi Li. "There is indeed something I want to ask you."
Chi Li's heart skipped, and unease suddenly spread through him. "Please, go ahead."
Bai Qi said slowly, "There was another reason I was able to find you that night. I didn't tell you at the time."
That had indeed been one of Chi Li's doubts. He followed up, "Then how did you find me?"
"This is..." Bai Qi paused before saying, "a secret known only to our people. When one of our people encounters danger, nearby members of the clan receive a summons."
Bai Qi's identity had always been exceptionally mysterious. His strongly exotic features were unlike the faces of people from the Empire. Now that he personally claimed to come from a mysterious tribe, it did not seem out of place.
But Chi Li was not superstitious. Such a fantastical explanation could hardly be explained by science, and his brows drew together in confusion.
Noticing the doubt on Chi Li's face, Bai Qi smiled. "I knew you might not accept it, which was why I didn't tell you then. I was afraid you'd think I was joking."
Bai Qi added with certainty, "But it's true. The exact method may be difficult to explain, but this ancient art truly exists."
Hearing Bai Qi say it himself, Chi Li was still somewhat shaken. Suppressing the suspicion in his heart, he said, "So you were searching for one of your people then, but only found me?"
Bai Qi nodded.
Chi Li said, "I might not be the person you're looking for."
Bai Qi nodded. "So I wanted to ask whether you have any connection to my people."
Chi Li shook his head. "I've never come into contact with anyone from... a group like the one you described."
He had never encountered anyone with such distinctive exotic features as Bai Qi, much less heard of a people possessing the "illusion arts" Bai Qi spoke of.
At the end, Chi Li added, "At least, not that I remember."
Bai Qi's expression visibly fell.
Chi Li opened his mouth and offered, "Perhaps I could help you look?"
Bai Qi forced a smile. "There's no need. They once..."
Sadness showed in Bai Qi's expression, so Chi Li stopped there and did not press further. He drank his tea and waited for Bai Qi's mood to improve.
When Chi Li opened his eyes again, his consciousness had not fully returned. He stared at the pavilion ceiling, briefly not knowing where he was. A few seconds later, he realized he had fallen asleep.
The servant beside him saw that he was awake. "You're awake."
Chi Li pressed a hand to his muddled head, frowning faintly. He only remembered talking with Bai Qi for a long time, but he could not remember at all when he had fallen asleep.
Bai Qi had already left. The servant beside him said that Mr. Bai had gone back to rest first, then presented a gift Bai Qi had specially prepared for him and led Chi Li toward the gates.
Deep within the estate, a handsome man with exquisite features sat in a pool formed from a natural hot spring. The next second, a blue fish tail sprang from the water, moving with the man's thoughts.
Yet upon closer inspection, one would discover an incredibly horrifying sight.
Below the man's waist, his legs had transformed into a blue fish tail covered in beautiful scales. But where the fan-shaped tail fin should have been, there was only a fleshy tip like a snake's, without even a single scale.
The bare, snake-like tail tip curled around a black chess piece serving as the "general" on the chessboard by the shore and moved it one square forward.
The white pieces on the board moved on their own. Just as they were about to capture the "general," Bai Qi suddenly used his tail to knock over two white pieces one by one, then curled around the black "king" and placed it directly in the king's position within the white side's territory.
The smart chessboard let out a helpless sigh. "Xiao Qi, you're messing around again. I told you that's not how you play. You've broken the rules again."
If anyone had been present, they would have realized that the male voice was exactly the same as the former Emperor of the Empire's, even mimicking his tone perfectly.
Bai Qi spoke petulantly, just as he had countless times when he acted shamelessly with Yao He in the past. "I'll play however I want."
Bai Qi's tail tip pressed down on the piece as he murmured, "This is where you should be sitting."
He did not treat it like artificial intelligence at all.
The electronic voice paused for several seconds, then let out a low laugh. "All right. Xiao Qi can play however he wants. Rules were made for you."
"Can I do whatever I want?" Bai Qi's voice suddenly became low and desolate.
"Of course, my Xiao Qi. You can do anything you want. I will always be by your side, watching over you and keeping you company. Whenever you need me, I will always be here."
"Then why have you been gone for so long? Why haven't you come back?"
Yet it could only answer the questions that had long been programmed into it.
"Xiao Qi, I have always been here."
"Yes, you are." Though Bai Qi clearly knew that Yao He was already gone, he still acted spoiled, asked questions, and chatted with "Yao He" countless times, just as he was doing now and just as he had in the past.
Over the past nearly ten years, this scene had played out tens of thousands of times.
But it could never answer every one of Bai Qi's questions or fulfill any of Bai Qi's requests like the real Yao He could.
When the servant entered, he knelt on the ground and wiped away the blood Bai Qi had coughed up. He was the same servant who had bandaged Chi Li's wounds last time. Worried, he said, "Sir, you can't use your abilities anymore."
Bai Qi had used his ability to explore Chi Li's memories, only to suffer backlash.
Bai Qi merely held his chessboard, saying nothing.
Pearls formed on his eyelashes and rolled down soundlessly, one after another.
*
The next day, after Chi Li finished breakfast, Si Jinyan suddenly said, "Come with me to Lu Jiu's today for an examination."
Chi Li assumed it was either to check on his old injuries or to accompany Si Jinyan for an examination. He did not ask further and followed Si Jinyan.
Si Jinyan gave Chi Li a dark look.
After Chi Li completed the examination, Si Jinyan had yet to come out.
In Lu Jiu's private office, Lu Jiu held Chi Li's examination report, his brows tightly furrowed in bafflement. "It's true. The level of your genetic material in Chi Li's body is decreasing."
Lu Jiu speculated about several possibilities. "There are almost no cases where an Alpha and an Omega cannot form a permanent mark, unless either party has defective glands. Neither of you has that problem, and you're an Enigma. How could you possibly be unable to mark Chi Li, an Omega?"
Lu Jiu continued, "I examined Chi Li's physical condition long ago. Every one of his bodily functions is as healthy as can be. Otherwise, he wouldn't have passed the selection in the first place."
As soon as Lu Jiu finished speaking, Si Jinyan suddenly said, "What if he isn't an Omega?"
Before you continue