An omega in heat must never be in the same room alone with an alpha.
This was the first advice Xie Jianshen gave Xie Jianyu the moment he differentiated into an omega.
The consequences of breaking this taboo were dire and dreadful.
Zhang Fengxi’s heart pounded hard against his ribcage. The sweet scent clouded his mind and robbed him of his sanity. His eyes took on a different gleam.
An omega’s scent was an open invitation for the surrounding alphas to engage in an intimate encounter.
Zhang Fengxi’s tiger blood screamed for him to act like an alpha.
That’s right.
He was an alpha.
It was natural to be drawn to an omega, especially an omega with such a delicious scent...
Zhang Fengxi unconsciously extended his hands in Xie Jianyu’s direction, intent on lying with him.
Xie Jianyu shook from fear. He aimed a kick at Zhang Fengxi’s stomach by using his intact leg, but he did not have much power left. His leg was grasped by Zhang Fengxi before it landed the aforementioned kick. Zhang Fengxi used it to drag Xie Jianyu closer to him.
Xie Jianyu’s pained scream did not impress Zhang Fengxi at all. A slave to his primal instincts, Zhang Fengxi then put both hands on Xie Jianyu’s lapels to rip his clothes open.
"Ouch!"
Zhang Fengxi regained his sense when he felt a stabbing pain at the side of his arm. Some blood seeped out. Xie Jianyu had just grazed the side of his arm open with Winter Frost.
"..."
Zhang Fengxi gaped at his bloody wound.
Xie Jianyu held the sword in front of him with trembling hands.
"Don’t come near me," he said with an equally trembling voice. He was scared of Zhang Fengxi. This was the first time Zhang Fengxi saw him in this state.
The smell of blood reminded Zhang Fengxi of his experience on the battlefield.
He was the Supreme General, the strongest figure who defended the Heavenly Empire with a large number of troops. He fought one war after another, leaving a trail of bloody corpses in his wake.
The last person he killed with his own hands was the same person who was defending his virtue against him.
This was Xie Jianyu.
Zhang Fengxi took a deep breath and rubbed at the spot between his brows.
When he raised his eyes again, Xie Jianyu was still holding Winter Frost against him with wary eyes.
Zhang Fengxi chuckled.
"Do you think that you can kill me in your current state?" he asked jokingly.
Xie Jianyu did not take it as a joke.
He held Winter Frost against his own neck. Tears fell across his fair cheeks as he spoke, "Then I will kill myself before you lay your hands on me."
Cold shivers ran down Zhang Fengxi’s back. He held both hands up in surrender.
"Don’t. Please put the sword down. I won’t touch you."
In order to prove his sincerity, he even crawled away from Xie Jianyu.
"Look. I am this far already. Please put down the sword. You can still grab your sword when you don’t feel safe around me anymore."
Xie Jianyu stared at him.
Zhang Fengxi swallowed hard.
"Xie Jianyu, please. Just put down the sword, okay?"
After engaging in a heated staring contest, Xie Jianyu finally lowered his sword.
But then, he smeared Winter Frost with the blood from his leg and stabbed the sword into the ground between him and Zhang Fengxi.
A sparkling blue barrier was erected, separating the tunnel into two sections.
Only after the barrier was established was Xie Jianyu able to relax. He collapsed almost immediately.
"Xie Jianyu!!!"
Zhang Fengxi rushed toward the crown prince, forgetting about Winter Frost’s barrier specialty in a flash. Frostbite crept on his hands when he put both hands against the barrier.
Frightened to death, Zhang Fengxi quickly withdrew his hands. If he failed to do so in time, he would freeze to death. His corpse would be stuck to the barrier until Xie Jianyu released it.
"..."
Zhang Fengxi carefully assessed their current circumstances.
The barrier kept Xie Jianyu safe from Zhang Fengxi, but now Zhang Fengxi was trapped between the barrier and the makeshift pond behind him.
Thankfully, the water level stopped rising just half a chi beneath their tunnel.
Xie Jianyu, on the other hand, had the entire tunnel for him. If he could walk, he could just head toward the exit.
Zhang Fengxi leaned against the tunnel wall and sighed. Xie Jianyu’s smell was blocked perfectly by the barrier. What remained was the stench of his own clothes.
The centipede’s blood smelled horrible.
Xie Jianyu was passed out on the ground. No one else was there to watch him.
Zhang Fengxi thus took off his clothes without inhibition and started washing them in the water.
Afterward, he drew a fire spell on the ground and hung his clothes to dry.
With nothing else to do, he sat in the lotus position and started to meditate.
A few hours must have passed before he heard a clattering sound at his side.
Zhang Fengxi opened his eyes and saw Winter Frost lying on the ground.
"..."
Xie Jianyu was panting softly on the ground. A fragrant smell emanated from his body, mixed with the smell of blood.
Zhang Fengxi ripped the bottom part of his white inner robe and wrapped it around his nose and mouth.
And then, he slowly approached Xie Jianyu and took him in his arms.
Xie Jianyu was not doing well at all.
An omega in heat needed to be in a comfortable place, particularly if the omega was unclaimed. It was difficult enough to go through a heat period without an alpha to ease his suffering.
And here Xie Jianyu was, feverish and weak.
"Xie Jianyu...?"
Zhang Fengxi tapped at his cheek lightly.
There was no answer.
The omega was out cold.
Alright. At least the barrier had been dissolved. He could now get to work.
Zhang Fengxi laid Xie Jianyu properly on the ground and started to undress him.