Suffocation

Yet he had barely retreated half a step when a pressure far beyond what an Alpha could bear, mixed with susceptible-phase pheromones, crashed over him.

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

As an Alpha, Chi Li knew better than anyone how suppressive Alpha pressure was toward him. Yet Si Jinyan did not move at all; the pressure released onto Chi Li's back alone was already unbearable.

Even outside his susceptible phase, 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, first stirred panic in the mind.

Chi Li braced one hand against the floor, resisting the pressure Si Jinyan had imposed 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 susceptible phase, this was nothing short of adding fuel to the 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 moved and tightened with his breathing, while that hidden Scale also opened and closed.

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 gleaming 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.

It was hard as an iron chain yet incredibly flexible. Chi Li's skin burned hot in stark contrast to the icy scales, and the dark scales lifted open a little further beneath the scorching heat.

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

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

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

Chi Li's blurred vision was entirely filled by the evil thing that seemed to have come from hell. As the suffocating sensation intensified, his mind began to go blank, and the fear of death spread through his heart...

The gasping sounds from Chi Li's throat weakened as well.

A few minutes later, Chi Li had completely run out of strength to struggle. His eyelids drooped, and his hand weakly clutched at the slippery scales.

His struggles were beneath notice to the monster before him; perhaps they only made the dark scales open and close more excitedly.

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

Chi Li moved his fingers. The fish tail around his neck finally loosened slightly, and air entered his lungs again. He instinctively sucked in great breaths, like someone rescued from the water after nearly drowning.

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

When he came back to himself, he was already sitting atop that fish tail. The muscles beneath him were hard, solid, and powerful, filled with the coiled strength of a beast ready to strike.

Chi Li looked at Si Jinyan's face so close before him. Si Jinyan's expression was cold as he looked at him as though he were a dead thing.

The icy tail tip 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 appeared in those black eyes.

Chi Li's heart raced. The feeling of being watched by a predator, 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 tip of his tail swept threateningly over Chi Li's pale ear, immediately leaving a streak of blood.

The disparity 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 savage beast.

At his words, Chi Li's chest tightened sharply.

Si Jinyan gripped Chi Li's chin with his other hand, exerting enough force that it seemed he meant 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 time and again Chi Li had clouded his instincts. Or rather, Si Jinyan had ultimately chosen to believe him.

Dangerous eyes stared fixedly at Chi Li as Si Jinyan's low, interrogative voice sounded by his ear. "Did you never consider the consequences of failure?"

From the corner of his eye, Chi Li caught sight of what lay beneath the dark scales. It was simply worlds apart from Si Jinyan's human form...

Si Jinyan seemed to notice his gaze. He tightened his hold on Chi Li's chin, forcing his eyes away. "Shouldn't you have expected all this long ago?"

Chi Li only felt as though his jaw were about to shatter. He was shocked and terrified, unable to imagine what Si Jinyan intended to do to him.

Si Jinyan said, "Then again, you have never failed."

Si Jinyan's words made Chi Li's heart beat even faster. He did not dare imagine how much Si Jinyan already knew.

The tail tip lurking behind him coiled around Chi Li's neck again. The moment its icy touch pressed against his skin, Chi Li shuddered on reflex.

Si Jinyan slowly tightened the fish tail around Chi Li's neck. Chi Li struggled to breathe and clutched Si Jinyan's arm with all his strength, trying to stop his next move.

He had become prey at Si Jinyan's mercy.

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

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

Yet desire surged darkly in Si Jinyan's eyes, like a hunting beast toying with dying prey.

The sandalwood susceptible-phase pheromones were even thicker than before, filling the entire bedroom with their scent and eagerly seeping into Chi Li's skin.

Chi Li sensed the changes in his body. The side effects of the susceptible phase that had previously been suppressed flared up violently again. His skin stung, and his eyes gradually lost their clarity.

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

Si Jinyan's eyes darkened.

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

He let out a startled gasp. His pupils trembled as he lost consciousness, staring blankly ahead.

Chi Li groaned muffledly in pain, and even the knuckles gripping the bathtub's edge turned white from it.

Si Jinyan grasped Chi Li's hand where it clutched the bathtub rim. With hardly any strength left, Chi Li was easily pulled back by Si Jinyan's grip.

Si Jinyan stared at Chi Li's pale face, lowered his head, and bit down on his bloodless knuckle. The sharp tip of his 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 susceptible phase and the mark, his nerves, tortured to the brink of collapse, instinctively made his body, already in a broken state, choose to draw close to the only source of hope—and also the source of his nightmare.

Si Jinyan noticed Chi Li's adaptation even faster than Chi Li himself did. His fingertips stroked 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."