The carriage came to a sudden halt inside the iron gates of the isolated estate. The guards outside quickly opened the doors, but they did not offer a hand.
The silence from the palace ball had followed them all the way here.
General Zhen Sheng was the first to step down. The poison had left his veins, his military core completely clearing out the remaining toxins.
His recovery was instant, but his massive frame was tense, his shoulders straight and rigid. His pride had taken a massive hit tonight.
Being brought to his knees by a common spy in a ballroom full of whispering nobles had turned his mood entirely black.
Prince Jing Yuchen stepped out next, his pale face expressionless. He did not look at Li Yan as he reached inside, his strong grip locking around Li Yan’s wrist.
He pulled him out of the carriage roughly, it left no room for argument.
"Where are we going?" Li Yan asked, his voice steady as he pulled against the grip. "The main bedroom is in the other wing."
"We are not going to the bedroom, Mingxuan," Jing Yuchen said, his voice dropping into a flat, icy tone.
The soft, worried look he had shown during the fever days was completely gone.
Zhen Sheng walked ahead, pushing open the doors of the estate’s dark war room. The room was large and bare, containing nothing but iron lamps and a massive iron map table in the center, its surface carved with the borders of the empire.
The general threw the doors shut behind them, the latch clicking into place.
He turned around, his golden eyes flashing with an intense, burning anger as he crossed his massive arms over his chest.
"Let go of me," Li Yan demanded, twisting his wrist, but Jing Yuchen only tightened his grip, shoving him forward until Li Yan’s lower back hit the edge of the map table.
"You have some explaining to do," Zhen Sheng said, stepping into the dim light of the lamps. He leaned his weight against the table, his face just inches from Li Yan’s.
"Let’s talk about the ballroom. Let’s talk about how you knew exactly what was about to happen."
Li Yan kept his chin high, his instincts kicking in. In the business world, showing panic during an aggressive negotiation was the fastest way to lose.
"I told you both back at the house that a foreign threat was coming. I warned you to look at the room. You chose to bicker instead."
"Do not play games with us, Duke," Jing Yuchen interrupted, stepping up to the opposite side of the table. He leaned down, placing both palms flat on the surface, trapping Li Yan between them.
"You did not just warn us about a vague threat. The moment that servant moved, you shouted the exact name of a forbidden northern sea poison. A poison that only high-level military officers and royal investigators know about."
Li Yan remained tight-lipped. His mind raced, but he kept his face completely blank.
He could not tell them about the NovelBin. He could not tell them about the digital system floating in his vision. If he opened his mouth to explain a high-tech interface, they would think he was a lunatic or a highly trained foreign agent using mental magic.
"Nothing to say?" Zhen Sheng asked, his voice dropping low. He reached out, his large, rough hand wrapping firmly around Li Yan’s throat.
He did not squeeze hard enough to stop his breathing, but the pressure was a clear reminder of his massive physical strength.
"Your background check says you spent your entire life hiding inside a wealthy estate, reading poems and drinking tea. So tell me, sweetheart. How does a sheltered Duke recognize a military-grade toxin before it even touches my lips?"
The thick, suffocating scent of hot cedar flared from the general’s skin, filling Li Yan’s senses and making his knees feel slightly weak.
Li Yan glared back at him, wrapping his hands around the general’s wrist, trying to pull the hand away from his neck.
"I don’t owe you an answer. I saved your life tonight. If I wanted you dead, I would have let your core explode on that marble floor."
"You saved his life because if he dies, your own soul breaks," Jing Yuchen noted coldly, his violet eyes tracking the movement of Li Yan’s throat.
"You did it for your own survival. Now, speak. Who gave you the data on the northern scouts? Who is your contact in the capital?"
Li Yan turned his head away, closing his eyes. "Find out yourself. You are the great prince and the supreme general. Do your own investigative work."
Zhen Sheng let out a dark, amused smirk, his thumb rubbing against the side of Li Yan’s neck.
"You think you can just lock your jaw and wait us out? You think we are going to lock you in a cell and wait for a voluntary confession?"
The general leaned down further, his chest pressing right against Li Yan’s front, pinning him flat against the iron table.
"We don’t need you to talk, Mingxuan. Did you forget how this Triple-Soul Bond works? Our energies are linked. Our minds are open to each other when the connection is deep enough."
Jing Yuchen’s face remained completely expressionless, but his hand moved to the collar of Li Yan’s blue royal robe.
"The general is right. If you do not use your mouth to give us the names, we will gladly use your body to get them. We will fuck the truth right out of you. The energy-sharing mechanics of the bond will allow us to pull the memories straight from your core while you are weak beneath us."
Li Yan’s heart gave a heavy thud against his ribs. He looked at them, seeing the total lack of mercy in their eyes.
They were dominant, ruthless Alphas, and they were completely serious. They were treating him like a captured enemy operative.
Pure hatred washed through Li Yan’s veins. He despised their arrogance. He despised their power, and he hated how this world allowed them to use his own biology against him.
"Go to hell, both of you," Li Yan spat out, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared directly into the prince’s face.
He raised his leg, trying to kick the general away from his hips. "You are nothing but two barbaric monsters. You won’t get a single word out of me."
Jing Yuchen’s face turned pitch black at the insult. The last bit of his patience snapped.
Without saying another word, the prince reached down with both hands, gripping the collar of Li Yan’s blue silk robe. With one brutal jerk, he tore the back of the garment completely open, the cloth ripping all the way down to his waist.
The cool air hit Li Yan’s bare back, his skin pressing directly against the freezing iron of the map table.
Before he could even struggle, a loud, sharp ding exploded inside his brain. The blue glass screen flashed violently into view, the text glowing in a bright, warning red.
[CRITICAL ALERT: Interrogation Mode Activated by Targets.]
[Warning: Host’s internal core defenses are currently dropping due to low pheromone stability.]
[If the Host’s mental defense breaks during physical contact, secret world-data and system logs will leak to the targets.]
[Prepare for immediate physical impact.]
Li Yan’s breath hitched as Zhen Sheng’s hand gripped his thigh, lifting his leg up to clear the edge of the table.
The general’s golden eyes were completely dark, devoid of any warmth, filled only with a cold determination to break him.