Suffocation

But he had barely backed away half a step when a pressure far beyond what an alpha could withstand, mixed with volatile pheromones, slammed into him.

Chi Li's breathing hitched, and he almost instantly collapsed to his knees.

As an alpha, Chi Li knew better than anyone how suppressive an alpha's pressure could be. Yet Si Jinyan had not moved at all; the pressure released onto Chi Li's back alone was already unbearable.

Even outside his volatile period, Chi Li could hardly guarantee that he could confront Si Jinyan alone. Only then did he truly realize how terrifying the power Si Jinyan had kept hidden was.

Such a vast disparity in strength, such an inescapable situation—would first bring about panic in the mind.

Chi Li braced a hand against the floor, resisting the pressure Si Jinyan had brought down on him. Yet the pheromones gradually changed, the sandalwood scent carrying a catalytic quality as it slipped into his lungs with every breath and seeped into his pores.

For Chi Li, already tormented by his volatile period, this was no different from pouring oil on a fire.

The bathroom was so quiet that only Chi Li's heavy, rapid breathing remained.

Chi Li did not notice that the overlapping black scales on Si Jinyan's body were also fanning and tightening with his breaths, while that hidden scale opened and closed as well.

Chi Li's eyes reddened with pain. When he looked up at Si Jinyan, he finally noticed that terrifying fish tail had silently extended before him.

His eyes widened abruptly, but before he could retreat, the jet-black tail glinting with silver had already coiled around his vulnerable neck.

Cold, slick, hard scales rubbed against his skin, and the chilling sensation made every hair on Chi Li's body stand on end.

Leaning against the edge of the bathtub, Si Jinyan watched him expressionlessly, like an asura holding the power of life and death in his hands. The tail beneath him restrained Chi Li's neck and slowly tightened.

Hard as an iron chain yet incomparably flexible, the tail contrasted sharply with Chi Li's burning skin. Under that scorching heat, the dark scales lifted a little more.

Kneeling on the floor, Chi Li gripped it with both hands, trying to yank it from his neck.

The next second, the pressure on Chi Li's shoulders increased again, nearly forcing him to collapse back onto the ground.

Si Jinyan continued tightening the restraint around Chi Li's neck with irresistible force. Less and less air flowed through his lungs, and hoarse gasps gradually escaped Chi Li's throat.

Chi Li's blurred vision was completely occupied by the hellish creature before him. As suffocation set in, his mind began to go blank, and the fear of death spread through his heart...

The gasping from Chi Li's throat weakened with it.

A few minutes later, Chi Li had completely lost the strength to struggle. His eyelids drooped, and his hands weakly clutched the slick scales.

His struggling meant nothing to the monster before him. Perhaps it only made the dark scales open and close more excitedly.

Chi Li's body went limp. The long, powerful fish tail curled around his shoulders, then around his lean waist, dragging his entire body toward Si Jinyan.

Chi Li moved his fingers. The tail around his neck finally loosened slightly, allowing air back into his lungs. He reflexively gulped in breaths like someone who had been pulled from the water just before drowning.

Dragged across the wet bathroom floor, Chi Li's clothes had long since been soaked through.

By the time he came back to himself, he was already sitting on that fish tail. The muscles beneath him were hard, solid, powerful, brimming with the coiled strength of a beast ready to strike.

Chi Li looked at Si Jinyan's face close at hand. Si Jinyan's expression was cold as he looked at him as though he were a corpse.

The icy tip of the tail swept over Chi Li's nape. Si Jinyan asked, "Were you satisfied with the recording I gave you?"

Chi Li's eyes trembled. "I didn't..."

Two golden vertical pupils gradually emerged within those black eyes.

Chi Li's heart pounded wildly. The sensation of being watched by a ferocious beast, of his heart contracting violently with terror, grew stronger and stronger.

Those golden pupils fixed on Chi Li as Si Jinyan said in a low voice, "Liar."

The translucent fin at the tail's tip swept threateningly over Chi Li's bloodless ear, immediately leaving a streak of blood.

The difference in both strength and size was too great. Si Jinyan had already seized both of Chi Li's wrists before he could react.

Chi Li tried to break free. Si Jinyan's golden pupils dilated, veins bulging on his forehead. "Don't move!"

His low voice carried impatience, like the roar of a wild beast.

At those words, Chi Li's chest abruptly tightened.

Si Jinyan's other hand gripped Chi Li's chin, using enough force to seem as if he intended to crush his jawbone. His voice was low and dangerous. "Why did you run? Did you think you could still leave?"

He should have suspected it long ago, yet Chi Li had blurred his instincts time and again. Or rather, Si Jinyan had ultimately chosen to believe him.

His dangerous eyes locked onto Chi Li as Si Jinyan's low, interrogative voice sounded beside his ear. "Did you never consider the consequences of failure?"

From the corner of his eye, Chi Li glimpsed what lay beneath the dark scales. It was utterly different from Si Jinyan's human form...

Si Jinyan seemed to notice his gaze. He tightened his grip on Chi Li's chin and forced his gaze away. "Shouldn't you have anticipated all this long ago?"

Chi Li felt as though his jaw was about to shatter. Shocked and terrified, he could not imagine what Si Jinyan intended to do to him.

Si Jinyan said, "That's right. You've never failed before."

Chi Li's heart raced even faster at Si Jinyan's words. He did not dare think about how much Si Jinyan already knew.

The tail tip lurking behind him coiled around Chi Li's neck again. The instant its icy touch met his skin, Chi Li shuddered reflexively.

Si Jinyan slowly tightened the fish tail around Chi Li's neck. Chi Li struggled to breathe and gripped Si Jinyan's arm hard, trying to stop whatever Si Jinyan would do next.

He had become prey at Si Jinyan's mercy.

Chi Li's clothes had long been torn by the sharp scales of the tail. Now, with a light hook and tug, they were stripped away completely.

Si Jinyan released Chi Li's wrists, allowing him to struggle to his feet.

Yet desire churned darkly in Si Jinyan's eyes, like a hunting beast toying with prey on the verge of death.

The sandalwood pheromones of his volatile period were even stronger than before. The entire bedroom was filled with the scent, rushing to seep into Chi Li's skin.

Chi Li sensed the changes in his body. The side effects of the volatile period that had previously been suppressed surged back with greater force. His skin prickled with pain, and his gaze gradually lost its clarity.

Yet Chi Li's hand still instinctively clung tightly to the edge of the bathtub.

Si Jinyan's gaze darkened.

The fish tail coiled around Chi Li's shoulders and waist forcefully pressed down on his shoulder, instantly forcing the half-kneeling Chi Li back down.

He let out a startled gasp. His pupils shook, and he lost awareness, staring blankly ahead.

Chi Li groaned in pain. Even the knuckles gripping the bathtub's edge turned white from the ache.

Si Jinyan grasped the hand Chi Li had clutched around the bathtub's edge. With barely any strength left, Chi Li was easily forced to pull it back.

Staring at Chi Li's pale face, Si Jinyan lowered his head and bit down on his bloodless knuckle. His sharp teeth immediately drew a bead of blood from the knuckle of Chi Li's index finger.

Chi Li's fingertips trembled faintly.

Under the effects of his volatile period and the mark, his nerves—tormented to the brink of collapse—still instinctively made his broken body choose to draw close to the only hope, and also the source of his nightmare.

Si Jinyan noticed Chi Li's adaptation even faster than Chi Li himself did. His fingertip brushed over the reddened corner of Chi Li's eye, and he revealed his only smile of the day. "You should learn to be as honest as your body."