"You realize it, don’t you?"

He Juan lowered his gaze to hide the emotions brewing within. Of course, as one of the people who had witnessed how that person created Xuanlong with his own blood, sweat and tears, He Juan knew very well how powerful Luo Xuan was.

At first, there were so many voices raising protest when Luo Xuan rose to position, especially from Alphas who found it ludicrous to follow the command of an Omega. Soon afterward, Luo Xuan gathered them in one place and crushed them with his pure strength. Their protests, their bodies, their spirit and their lives – all at once. It was the bloody carnage that signified the real birth of Xuanlong.

Since then, everyone has learned to fear, revere and worship him.

There was something inherently different about Luo Xuan’s pheromones. Putting aside the sweet undertone belonging to an omega, Luo Xuan smelled like utter devastation. As if he was a weapon born to kill, a monstrosity that could not be defeated by ordinary means.

And the weird thing was, the blood reeking out of his pheromones seemed to have been innate, contrasted to He Juan whose scent subtly changed as more and more blood was spilled by his hands.

He Juan was eighty percent certain that he would be able to win against Luo Xuan in a one-on-one fight, but he could not be so sure anymore once his pheromones came into picture. Omegas were created to influence Alphas – to soften them, to complement them or worse, to cause them to lose all restraints. And Luo Xuan seemed like an expert when it came to making an Alpha go crazy.

It was abnormal, indeed.

"Yeah, I do," He Juan said with a bitter smile on his face. "What a coincidence, M. The first person that came into my mind at that time was also him. What you’re thinking is right, I suspect – no, I’m sure that he knows something. But I still came to you first."

Marius carefully observed his expression and stated, "You don’t trust him."

He Juan shook his head. "It’s not like that." If this conversation was exposed to the third party, he would undoubtedly be doomed. As it turned out, the trust between XIU, the left-hand man of Xuanlong, with the Boss was so flimsy? Anyone would seize the chance to use this mistrust to drive a wedge between them and after that, Xuanlong would be finished! But fortunately, the one in front of him was Marius and He Juan did not fear any news leaking out when it came to him. "I trust him, but..." he carefully considered his words. "I’m not sure if he trusts me the same."

Understanding finally dawned on Marius. "You’re afraid that he will withhold some information from you."

"Yes," He Juan admitted with a heavy sigh. "Recently, Boss Xuan seemed to have been occupied by something. He is always out of reach and record shows that he has been traveling from country to country. I have no idea what he’s doing and I doubt the Manipulator will care about it either. From an outsider’s point of view, do you think it’s a sign that he has started to lose faith in me?"

"I’m not sure..." Unfortunately, Marius could not give him a definite answer.

Well, not that He Juan needed one either. This was an internal problem of Xuanlong, and he was just being childish by venting it to an unrelated person. "God... I must be quite exhausted." He rubbed his face with his left hand, chuckling dryly. "I’m sorry to dump my emotional baggage to you, M."

Marius shook his head, an ever gentle smile on his face. "Don’t be. I’m glad that you can trust me enough to confide in me. Compared to the time when we first met..." he chuckled. "I almost thought that you’re not a human from how perfect you are. It’s reassuring to know that the seemingly invincible XIU is not so invincible after all."

"Invincible?" He Juan chortled and pointed at his right arm. "Do you still think I’m invincible after seeing me like this?"

Smooth and deep laughter rumbled out of Marius’ throat, melding perfectly with the serenity of the night. "I’m serious though," he said after his laughter subsided, still with traces of mirth in his brilliant blue eyes. "You’re strong. At least, you’re much stronger than me."

He Juan could only shake his head, slightly speechless. He had a hunch that Marius was not talking about physical strength because both of them had not fought with each other before to come to a certain conclusion, but if he was talking about mentality... then he was sorely wrong.

He Juan was not strong at all. He was only putting on a solid front for the sake of people who trusted him.

Compared to Marius who could decisively dispose of his half-siblings at the young age of eighteen for the sake of his clan’s stability, He Juan had not done anything notable. He was not even sure if he could attempt the same thing if he were in Marius’ shoes.

"Alright, enough talking about serious business." Marius clasped his arms on the table and leaned forward, his blue eyes twinkling in curiosity and laughter. "Tell me about this boy who dares to kick you. I’m dying to meet him already..."

***

When He Juan arrived at the hotel Marius booked for him, he felt like half of his body had turned into lead, heavy and sluggish. His throat was so parched as if it had caught on fire and his stomach was cramping. He was reminded of how he had not eaten anything since morning.

’Ah, this must be the fever Doctor Jia had warned me about,’ he thought bitterly.

Was this karma for not listening to his doctor’s advice? Well, at least he would be able to rest in his hotel room for a few days until he got better.

He went to ask for his key at the receptionist, then ordered room service for food and medicine along the way.

He stumbled to the presidential suite purely with instinct alone. As soon as the door closed behind him, he toed off his shoes, staggered forward and collapsed bonelessly on the sofa. He groaned in pain when the position placed pressure on his broken ribs instead, then slowly changed into a more comfortable position like a crawling worm.

Oh, this was much better. He heaved out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes for a while. Usually, the first thing He Juan would do upon entering a hotel room was to check for any wiretaps or pinhole cameras. Alas, he was too exhausted to perform this routine right now.

The logical part of his mind spent half a second regretting that he had refused Marius’ offer to stay at his house – it would definitely be the safest place in the whole country where he did not have to worry about anyone breaking in to ambush him. But He Juan decisively stomped down on that wisp of regret.

He had troubled Marius too much today. If he were to occupy the man’s house on top of asking him for a favor, he would be embarrassed to death. After all, he still had pride and dignity to maintain!

"Why is the medicine taking so long..." he mumbled, his exhale was scorching hot.

He was seconds away from dozing off when the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.