The morning after the three of them finally shared the bed, Li Yan knew something was very wrong the moment he opened his eyes.
His head felt incredibly heavy, like it was filled with sand. When he tried to lift his arm, his muscles refused to move, shaking violently before dropping back onto the mattress.
His modern soul had simply taken too much. A regular human mind from the business world was not built to handle a rapid, constant influx of high-rank fantasy pheromones.
The heavy combination of the prince’s cold ozone and the general’s hot cedar had overloaded his nervous system, causing his new SS-Rank body to completely crash.
A sharp, low alarm chimed inside his mind. The blue glass screen flickered into view, but the light was weak and blinking an angry shade of dark crimson.
[WARNING: Host body is experiencing severe Spiritual Alignment Fever.]
[Health Bar: 15% and dropping. Internal core temperature is dangerously high.]
[System Recommendation: Immediate rest and physical cooling required to avoid permanent soul damage.]
"Great," Li Yan whispered, but the word barely left his throat. It came out as a soft, dry rasp. He was shivering uncontrollably, his teeth clicking together even though his skin felt like it was on fire.
A hand touched his forehead. It was large and cool, instantly making him let out a small, weak groan of relief.
"He is burning up," Prince Jing Yuchen said. His voice did not have its usual snobby, royal calm. It sounded sharp, tight, and full of genuine worry.
Li Yan blinked his blurred eyes open. The prince was sitting on the edge of the mattress, his silver hair falling loose around his shoulders. On the other side of the bed, General Zhen Sheng was already standing up, his heavy military trousers pulled on quickly, his golden eyes wide with a look that Li Yan had never seen on him before. It was pure panic.
"What do you mean he’s burning?" Zhen Sheng demanded, stepping closer and reaching down to touch Li Yan’s shivering shoulder. "An SS-Rank partner doesn’t just get sick like a common peasant. Did your royal magic press him too hard last night?"
"Shut up, General," Jing Yuchen snapped, not even looking back at him. He placed both of his long hands against Li Yan’s bare chest. "Look at his energy lines. His core is spinning out of control because our pheromones didn’t mix smoothly in his system. He is rejecting the alignment."
"Can you fix it?" Zhen Sheng asked, his voice dropping into a low, rough growl of frustration. "You’re the one with the rare spiritual training."
"I can cool his core, but it will take all my focus," the prince replied, his hands beginning to glow with a soft, pale blue light. He looked down at Li Yan, his violet eyes softening with deep concern. "Mingxuan, listen to my voice. Do not fight the energy. Just let it flow."
As the prince began to pour his cool, soothing spiritual energy into Li Yan’s chest, the burning pain inside his veins started to dull. But the shivers did not stop.
"I’m going to the kitchen," Zhen Sheng said, slamming his fist against his palm. "The old doctors in the army use a specific root broth for energy fevers. I will make it myself."
"You?" Jing Yuchen let out a weak, tired chuckle, his forehead sweating from the effort of using his magic. "You know how to swing a sword, General. You will probably burn the house down."
"Watch me," Zhen Sheng growled, turning on his heel and rushing out of the master suite, his heavy footsteps fading down the hallway.
For the rest of the day and through the entire night, the grand estate became completely quiet. The constant arguments and petty bickering between the two powerful men stopped instantly. The only thing that mattered to them was the weak man lying in the center of the giant bed.
Jing Yuchen did not leave the bedside for a single hour. He sat in the same position, his hands constantly moving over Li Yan’s face and chest, using his rare energy to keep the fever from cooking Li Yan’s brain. His royal robes became wrinkled, and dark circles began to form under his eyes, but he refused to close them.
Every few hours, Zhen Sheng would walk back into the room, carrying a steaming bowl of dark brown medicinal broth. His face was covered in black soot from the kitchen fire, and his hands were wrapped in clean rags where he had burned himself on the hot pots.
"Drink this," Zhen Sheng whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently lifting Li Yan’s head up with one large, careful arm. He held the silver spoon to Li Yan’s lips, his hand shaking slightly. "It tastes like dirt, but it will stop the shaking. Come on, Mingxuan. Just a little bit."
Li Yan swallowed the bitter liquid, wincing at the awful taste. But as the warm broth hit his stomach, a wave of real comfort spread through his body.
He lay back down, watching the two men through his tired eyes. The prince was wiping sweat from his brow with a damp cloth, while the general was sitting on the floor by the bed, blowing on the hot bowl to cool the next portion.
Watching them genuinely panic over his life touched something very deep within Li Yan. He was a modern businessman who had spent his entire real life surrounded by fake friends, greedy partners, and people who only wanted his money. No one had ever stayed up all night just to watch him breathe. No one had ever burned their hands on a stove just to make him a bowl of soup.
For the first time since he woke up in this novel, his emotional defenses began to break. He realized that even if the System had forced them together, the care these two men were showing him right now was entirely real.
By the third morning, the red light on the System screen finally vanished, replaced by a bright, healthy green bar. The fever was completely gone.
Li Yan sat up in bed, feeling his strength returning to his limbs. He walked down towards the living room and no one was there. He wondered where the General and the Prince went off to, till he heard the clanking of swords outside.
He forced his half weakened body and rushed outside to the yard and saw the General and the Prince at each other’s throats, fighting with swords and it looked like they aimed to kill themselves.
"Seriously, is that how you wake me up from my half dead state?" Li Yan yelled out, causing them to halt their movements.
"Be quiet pretty boy." Zhen Sheng growled out, moving away from Jing Yuchen.
"I see you are alright, thought we would lose you a minute there, then have to find a replacement, you know how stressful that can be." Jing Yuchen said nonchalantly.
Li Yan looked at them, his mouth hanging low. How did the men who had treated him turn to this? What the fuck is wrong with these men, all they care about is sex.
"I’m done here, I’d rather stab myself in the face than watch you two act this way." Li Yan walked away from them angrily, but the smug look on the General and the Prince’s faces did not waver one bit.