‘Chi Zhou?’
What a joke.
That guy should be writhing in torment, crushed by his own pheromones going haywire.
The young man just assumed Ji Chenxi was trying to throw him off and was about to sneer at the “little cat” for running out of tricks—when a sudden rush of air behind him made his heart lurch.
His instincts kicked in. He twisted to the side, dodging fast. And standing right behind him was exactly who Ji Chenxi had mentioned—‘Chi Zhou’.
Under the moonlight, a black mamba coiled around Chi Zhou’s shoulders. Its dark, glossy scales shimmered with a deadly kind of beauty, a light that was both mesmerizing and terrifying.
The next second, that beautiful creature lunged, fangs bared, straight for the young man’s throat.
That shift of air he’d felt before? It was from the snake’s strike.
Chi Zhou’s black eyes were cold, unreadable. He appeared out of nowhere—silent, ghostlike—and just as quietly, he moved. The instant the young man tried to back away, Chi Zhou’s hand shot out like lightning, his fingers clamping tight around the man’s throat.
He was fast. So fast it made the young man’s scalp tingle. In barely a blink, his throat tightened, and pain shot through him, sharp and suffocating.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t see the attack. He saw it. He even knew how to dodge. But under the crushing weight of a high-level alpha’s pheromones, his body wouldn’t respond. Just being close to Chi Zhou felt like standing under a mountain—he couldn’t even breathe.
The power of an ‘SSS-rank alpha’ was back.
Shock flickered across the young man’s face. His throat strained as he forced out a few broken words, “How… how is that possible?”
With that much suppressant and poison mixed together, Chi Zhou should’ve been done for. How could he possibly have recovered?
Chi Zhou tilted his head slightly, his voice low and even.
“You’re strange. You’re only an S-rank alpha. How are you still thinking straight under a pheromone strike?”
The young man’s expression twisted, but he said nothing.
Chi Zhou didn’t bother pressing him. He simply let go, tossing the man aside like he weighed nothing.
Before the young man could hit the ground, the black mamba—now grown massive, thick as a man’s thigh—whipped through the air and wrapped around him like a bolt of black lightning.
Its coils tightened, inch by inch, until he couldn’t even twitch. The snake bit deep into his neck, then squeezed harder, crushing the breath out of him, forcing him to feel every second of the pain.
Chi Zhou’s eyes shifted, landing back on Ji Chenxi. The first thing he noticed was the fresh blood smeared across Ji Chenxi’s skin.
A beauty stained with blood — now that was a sight to behold. The crimson streaks added something wild and dangerous to that already pale, handsome face, turning elegance into something almost wicked. But Chi Zhou didn’t seem to appreciate the view. His brows furrowed slightly at the smear of red, and he asked quietly, “You okay?”
Ji Chenxi chuckled. “Worried about me?”
“Yeah.”
Chi Zhou’s tone was so flat it was impossible to tell if he actually meant it.
Ji Chenxi was busy wiping the blood off his face, silently regretting his earlier move. Of all places to stab, ‘why’ did he have to go for the guy’s carotid artery? The blood had shot out like a fountain—sure, it looked cool for a second, but the cleanup was a nightmare.
Luckily, he’d let go fast enough, so only a few drops had splattered on him. Still, those few drops were more than enough to ruin his mood.
“I’m fine,” he said at last, scrubbing away the last of the sticky, metallic stains.
Only then did he finally answer Chi Zhou’s earlier question.
The black mamba had grown huge—more than seven meters long now—and had entered full-on hunting mode. With the enemy so close, Chi Zhou barely needed to lift a finger. Just releasing a touch of his top-tier Alpha pheromones was enough to suppress everyone nearby.
After that, the rest of the fight might as well have been the black mamba’s solo show.
Ji Chenxi didn’t bother interfering much. Seeing that Chi Zhou had literally closed his eyes to rest mid-battle, he figured he might as well relax too. The only time he stepped in was when someone tried firing a photon cannon at the giant snake—he casually deflected it right back.
To him, the whole fight was mostly dull. The only opponent worth watching had been that young man he’d fought earlier. Without their heavy weapons, the Red Scorpion pirates were nothing but a scattered mess.
When Ji Chenxi finished wiping his face, he even took the time to clean his hands. Behind him, his long tail swayed lazily—a sure sign he was in a good mood.
Chi Zhou’s gaze lifted, following the motion of that tail before settling back on Ji Chenxi. His voice dropped low. “Your Highness, are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“I said I’m fine, didn’t I? But you—” Ji Chenxi’s smile deepened, eyes gleaming as his gaze drifted toward the back of Chi Zhou’s neck. “—are ‘you’ really okay?”
His eyes landed squarely where Chi Zhou’s gland was.
Back then, Chi Zhou’s condition wasn’t something as simple as a fever. His pheromones had been a complete mess—on the verge of collapse. And when pheromones break down like that, the spiritual realm tied to them usually shatters too. No one could’ve imagined he’d actually walk out of it alive.
“Your Highness,” Chi Zhou said, his tone calm but pointed, “didn’t you already guess I’d make it out okay?”
After all, when Ji Chenxi had said ‘You’re late’, it hadn’t just been a complaint. Hidden underneath was the assumption that Chi Zhou would come.
“I just saw your fever had gone down,” Ji Chenxi said lightly. “And besides, didn’t big brother Chi Zhou say he’d protect me?”
He smiled lazily, eyes half-lidded, brushing the topic away as if it were nothing. Even when facing those probing black eyes, his expression didn’t waver in the slightest.
Waiting for pickup didn’t take long—just as Ji Chenxi had expected. Barely half an hour later, someone finally arrived to retrieve them.
The funny part? The first to show up weren’t the ones coming for ‘him’, the imperial prince, but Chi Zhou’s own people.
Chi Zhou’s subordinates gathered fast, so efficiently that Ji Chenxi couldn’t help wondering if Chi Zhou had purposely avoided meeting up with his team earlier—just to come find ‘him’, the unlucky one stuck in this mess. Then again, even if Chi Zhou had met up with Bo Han and the others first, it probably wouldn’t have made much difference.
The team was sharp and well-trained. They worked like ghosts, scrubbing away every trace of Chi Zhou’s presence—erasing pheromone residue, cleaning up the bodies of those strangled and bitten by the black mamba, even dismantling and destroying Chi Zhou’s own starship.
By the time they were done, it was like Chi Zhou had never been there at all. Not a single trace left behind.
Truthfully, the one thing they ‘should’ve’ been dealing with was Ji Chenxi himself—the only living witness who knew everything. But with Chi Zhou staying silent, none of them dared to make a move. Most of them even wore bionic masks to hide their real faces from the prince.
Ji Chenxi found it all rather amusing. Watching them hesitate—wanting to spray him with scent neutralizer but not daring to—made him want to laugh.
And while he was watching Chi Zhou with that half-smile of his, Chi Zhou stepped forward, holding a bottle of scent eraser.
“Your Highness,” he said quietly, “forgive the offense.”
The word offense instantly made Ji Chenxi’s scalp prickle. He reached out his hand quickly. “Give it here. I’ll do it myself.”
Under Chi Zhou’s shadowed gaze, Ji Chenxi sprayed himself thoroughly—almost like he was disinfecting.
His lips curved slightly, that familiar teasing smile playing at the corners, carrying both amusement and something harder to read.
In the end, Ji Chenxi was the one who broke the silence. “Aren’t you gonna say something to me?”
Chi Zhou’s eyes flicked to him. “What does Your Highness think I should say?”
Ji Chenxi twirled the scent eraser between his fingers, the slim bottle catching the light as his long, jade-like fingertips tapped idly against it. “A threat? A request? You’ve got to say something, right? After all, no matter how clean you’ve wiped this place, one word from me and everyone will know your secret.”
Chi Zhou’s tone stayed calm. “Would Your Highness really say it?”
Ji Chenxi tilted his head, pretending to think it over. After a long pause, he shot the question back, “Do you want me to tell them… or keep quiet?”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Chi Zhou said evenly, “but if you must, I won’t stop you.”
Ji Chenxi’s tapping stopped. Depending on how you looked at it, that line almost sounded like he refused to threaten him at all.
Yeah—Chi Zhou was definitely playing the soft-touch card.
Ji Chenxi’s lips eased into a faint, barely there smile. “If you’d say something nice—maybe beg a little—I might keep my mouth shut.”
“Then I’ll thank Your Highness for the kindness.” Chi Zhou inclined his head slightly, the sharp lines of his face softening just a bit.
Perfect. The man had completely skipped the part about begging, acting like Ji Chenxi had already promised to keep quiet.
Ji Chenxi almost laughed out loud from how shameless it was, but he let it slide.
Once Chi Zhou’s team left—quiet and orderly, not a trace remaining—Ji Chenxi pulled his spiritual form back into himself. He climbed up a nearby tree, perched there against the cold wind, and waited for his pickup.
The luxury starship—fast, powerful, and annoyingly slow to arrive—finally descended near him just as dawn broke.
When it landed, a group of people disembarked. Leading them was a tall, striking young man, sword at his waist, noble attire sharp and immaculate.
Ji Chenxi’s phoenix-shaped eyes narrowed slightly as he studied him. After a few seconds, recognition flashed, and a smile curved his lips. “Big brother.”
The handsome man’s expression softened into a warm smile as he approached, but Ji Chenxi’s next words made his steps falter.
“Didn’t think you’d find the time to come pick me up yourself.”
The man paused, his tone dropping low and serious. “Chenxi, don’t say that. What could possibly be more important than your safety?”
Ji Chenxi only smiled, saying nothing. While the two of them talked, the others had already begun scanning the area. The situation was pretty obvious anyway—everyone from the Red Scorpion pirate crew was dead. Before his brother could ask him anything more, a group of medics had already surrounded him, checking his injuries and starting treatment.
He turned to one familiar-looking staff member and casually mentioned, “There are two people who came here with me. They’re still on this planet. Don’t forget to pick them up before we leave.”
The two mercenaries—code-named ‘Nether’ and ‘Shade’—had already been interrogated before Ji Chenxi saw them again. From the looks of it, they hadn’t spilled a word about Chi Zhou. Ji Chenxi didn’t bother speaking to them anyway; he just closed his eyes, resting quietly as he waited for his brother to finish his inspection and start questioning him.
Just like Chi Zhou had cleaned up all traces before leaving, his brother was doing the same thing—personally overseeing the site cleanup, probably worried that the Red Scorpion crew might’ve left some clue behind.
Ji Chenxi found the whole thing rather amusing.
When the starship finally took off, his terminal synced back to the network, and immediately, his inbox exploded.
Nearly eighty percent of the messages were from Su Yu. Having lost contact with Ji Chenxi for so long, Su Yu had apparently decided Chi Zhou must’ve killed him—sending not only message after message but also nonstop call and video requests.
Of course, none of that had reached Ji Chenxi while he’d been off-grid.
He skimmed through the messages, then simply replied: ‘Alive. Don’t bother me.’
After that, he leaned back, eyes closed, mulling over how to handle his brother’s upcoming interrogation. But just as he began to relax, his terminal chimed again.
Ji Chenxi opened his eyes with a hint of irritation and glanced at the screen.
‘Sender: Chi Zhou.’
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
I really like this novel, please keep translating.