"What do you mean, an emergency?" Li Yan demanded, trying to pull his arms away from his two husbands. He was still trembling from the rough alley encounter, his mind a complete mess.
His clothes were messy, his neck was stinging from the general’s deep bite, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a corner.
"Stop moving, Mingxuan," Prince Jing Yuchen ordered, his voice cold and sharp. He didn’t look at Li Yan as he tied a thick cloak around his own broad shoulders.
"An emergency messenger just arrived from the High Imperial Court. The Emperor has summoned us immediately."
"The imperial what?" Li Yan blinked, his jaw dropping. "Listen to me, you silver-haired freak! I don’t care about your courts or your emperors! I am a citizen of a free country. You can’t just drag me around because some old man wants to see us!"
The two men completely ignored his words.
General Zhen Sheng stepped up from behind, a mocking smile on his face as he grabbed Li Yan by the waist. "Save your breath, Duke.
What you just did out there on the streets affected thousands of commoners. Your wild SS-Rank scent made half the city guards choke and faint.
The High Mages are tracking the spiritual damage right now, and they are furious. We have to head down there before the Emperor sends an entire army to drag us."
"I told you, it wasn’t me! It was a glitch!" Li Yan shouted, but his protests did not matter.
Zhen Sheng lifted him up effortlessly, carrying him out of the room and down a wide stone staircase that led to the palace courtyard.
"Keep your mouth shut before the Emperor, Duke. If you act this insane in front of the court, not even your high rank will save you."
Li Yan and his two husbands arrived at the palace twenty minutes later. At the far end of the long hall, sitting on a high gold seat, was the Emperor.
Around him stood twelve elderly men dressed in long gray robes—the High Imperial Mages. Their eyes were cold as they looked down at the three younger men.
"You have shamed the royal family, Crown Prince," the Emperor’s voice boomed through the quiet room. "And you, General, have let your personal greed disrupt the capital city.
The sky itself turned red because you two could not keep your hands off the Duke in a common alley."
"Father, the Duke attempted to escape the palace," Prince Jing Yuchen said, stepping forward with his head held high. His voice was calm, but his jaw was tight.
"We only did what was necessary to stabilize his wild SS-Rank energy before it killed the citizens."
"He speaks the truth, Your Majesty," General Zhen Sheng added, a mocking smile on his lips as he glanced at the prince. "Though the prince was certainly taking his time enjoying the process."
"Silence!" the Emperor roared, slamming his fist on the arm of his seat. "The capital cannot survive your constant bickering.
If your unbonded pheromones clash like this again, the entire empire will burn. You all are married, the least you can do is bond your souls, to control your pheromones from harming civilians."
"If you all can’t willingly bond yourselves, I will do it for you. Mages, prepare the emergency ritual."
Li Yan’s heart stopped. He looked left and right, his modern businessman brain frantically trying to find an exit.
"Wait a minute. You can’t just do things to my body without my permission. I want a lawyer. I want to see the contract."
The old mages didn’t even look at him. They began to chant in a strange, low language that made the air in the room vibrate.
Suddenly, the bright blue glass screen of the System flashed right in front of Li Yan’s face. This time, the words were glowing in a terrifying, bright red color.
[CRITICAL EMERGENCY: Triple-Soul Bond Protocol Initiated by Imperial Order.]
[Warning to Host: If you reject this bond, the Imperial Mages will immediately perform a total physical castration to neutralize your SS-Rank pheromones forever.]
[Do you accept the Triple-Soul Bond? YES / NO]
Li Yan stared at the word castration in absolute horror. His face went entirely pale.
He was a straight man, a proud billionaire, and even though he hated this body’s crazy reactions, he was absolutely not going to let a group of old men cut off his manhood.
"Are you insane?" Li Yan yelled at the floating screen, his voice cracking with pure panic. "That is a human rights violation!"
"Who are you shouting at, Mingxuan?" Zhen Sheng muttered, looking at him with a confused frown.
The mages chanted louder, and a bright light began to glow beneath Li Yan’s feet.
[Time remaining to choose: 5 seconds. 4... 3...]
"Fine! Yes! I accept! Hit yes!" Li Yan screamed in his mind, frantically poking his finger through the air toward the floating blue YES button.
The moment his finger passed through the light, a loud chiming sound echoed inside his head.
A bright golden light exploded from the center of the hall floor. Massive, thick chains made of pure golden magic erupted from the ground with a heavy metallic sound.
Before any of the three men could move, the chains whipped through the air, wrapping tightly around Li Yan’s wrists first, then shooting outward to bind Jing Yuchen and Zhen Sheng by their arms.
"What is this?" Jing Yuchen shouted, trying to pull away, but his massive Enigma strength was completely useless against the magic.
"The Triple-Soul Bond," Zhen Sheng growled, his golden eyes widening as the golden links began to burn through his sleeves.
The heavy chains wrapped around their wrists three times, glowing brighter and brighter until the metal began to melt into their skin.
Li Yan gasped as a burning, hot sensation spread across his wrists. He watched in awe and horror as the golden chains dissolved completely, leaving behind a permanent, intricate golden tattoo that looked like a chain link wrapped around his skin.
The prince and the general looked down at their own wrists, where identical golden tattoos were now glowing faintly.
The moment the bond settled, a deep, heavy pull tugged at Li Yan’s chest. He could suddenly feel a strange connection in his mind—he could feel the prince’s cold, arrogant anger and the general’s dark, possessive thoughts. It was overwhelming.
The Emperor stood up from his high seat, his eyes looking at the three bonded men with an expression of relief and stern authority. "The bond is complete. Your souls are now locked together.
If one of you dies, or if you separate for too long, your spiritual cores will shatter."
"Father, this is too much," Jing Yuchen said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous tone as he glared at the general next to him. "You expect me to share my household permanently with a military brute?"
"And I am supposed to take orders from a snobby prince in my own bedroom?" Zhen Sheng spat back, his Alpha scent flaring in anger.
The two men glared at each other with years of ancient political hatred, their eyes practically shooting sparks across the room.
But then, as if guided by the new golden bond, both of their gazes slowly turned to look down at Li Yan.
The hatred in their eyes instantly vanished, replaced by an identical, heavy, predatory hunger that made Li Yan’s stomach drop. They looked like two wolves looking at a single piece of meat.
"You will both learn to behave," the Emperor commanded. "Until your energies are completely stable and the bond is mature, the three of you are hereby sentenced to house arrest. You will be taken immediately to the Obsidian Sanctuary.
You are forbidden from leaving its walls until I say otherwise."
"The Sanctuary?" Li Yan asked, his voice weak as the guards stepped forward to surround them. "What is that? Is it a prison?"
"It is a castle prison designed just for monsters like us, my sweet Duke," Zhen Sheng whispered, leaning close enough that his warm breath brushed Li Yan’s ear.
"No one can get in, and you certainly cannot get out."
"We will have all the time in the world to teach you how to be a proper spouse now, Mingxuan," Jing Yuchen said, his large hand coming down to grip Li Yan’s shoulder with painful force.
Li Yan immediately knew he was totally fucked in this world.