ITF Chapter52

Although they couldn’t be called strikingly similar, the young man before him reminded Bai Yi of Pei Ming at twenty. When they plotted their grand ambition together, Pei Ming was roughly this age.

The year Bai Yi’s life trajectory underwent a massive change, the twenty-one-year-old Pei Ming had just completed his investiture and become a knight.

When a boy from a noble family turned seven, his parents would often send him to the castle of a local lord. There, starting from introductory training, they would learn bit by bit how to become a qualified knight.

Pei Ming was one of those boys.

Bai Yi met Pei Ming when he was eleven, after Pei Ming was sent to his house. Although there was a four-year age gap between them, Pei Ming was upright and candid, which made Bai Yi quite fond of him. Aside from Pei Ming, Bai Yi had another very close friend—a boy who had been sent for knight training in the exact same year as Pei Ming.

Bai Yi’s father was a duke, and his grandfather was the younger brother of the previous king of Ximo. Royal blood ran through his veins, yet he often felt that Luo Wanyin was the one who resembled true royalty.

Every gesture carried a noble elegance, and every smile or glance radiated brilliance.

No, even within the royal palace, Bai Yi had never seen anyone like him; someone so beautiful that he didn’t seem to belong to the mortal world.

Luo Wanyin loved reciting poetry and playing the lute, and he was also a master of chess, but he wasn’t particularly good at skills like horsemanship and racing. Bai Yi was almost certain that, like this, he would never successfully become a knight.

Luo Wanyin’s knight training ultimately ended at eighteen. It wasn’t because of his weak horsemanship and archery, but because that was the year he differentiated into an Omega.

An Omega could not be knighted.

After Luo Wanyin returned home, Bai Yi maintained regular correspondence with him. Then, one night two years later, Luo Wanyin unexpectedly appeared at his door.

It was a clear summer night, but in Bai Yi’s memory, that night was filled with lightning, thunder, and a torrential downpour.

Luo Wanyin brought him a piece of news.

During a court banquet hosting foreign guests, a prince from Alita had been deeply captivated by Luo Wanyin’s beauty and lute music. After returning to his country, the prince thought of him day and night, unable to forget this noble and elegant Omega.

Soon, Alita’s envoys carrying a letter from their king formally proposed marriage to the King of Ximo.

In recent years, the domestic situation in Ximo has grown increasingly chaotic with the great nobles gradually slipping from the royal family’s control. The king was desperate to maintain precarious diplomatic ties to secure the backing of a powerful ally, and this marriage alliance was the perfect solution in a time of dire need. Luo Wanyin’s father was a loyal follower of the king, so naturally, he had no objections.

The betrothal was quickly finalized.

Luo Wanyin pulled down his black hood, looked up at Bai Yi, and asked a single question, “Do you want me to go?”

The summer weather was scorching, and since he wasn’t skilled at riding, his hair had been drenched with sweat during the arduous journey.

Perhaps it was for this very reason that Bai Yi mistakenly remembered that night as a rainy one.

Suppressing the impulse to reach out and brush aside the damp strands of hair, he lowered his gaze to meet Luo Wanyin’s eyes and asked, “What is it that you want me to say?”

Luo Wanyin fell silent. Mustering his courage, he looked at him and said, “I want you to tell me, ‘I don’t want you to go’.”

Bai Yi sighed softly, “Your engagement was bestowed by the King. Do you know what you are saying?”

The two of them had known each other since they were young and had spent more than ten years together, sharing a secret that both were well aware of but had never spoken aloud.

But tonight, Luo Wanyin laid that secret bare.

“From now on, I have nothing to do with my family.” Fixing his gaze on the Alpha before him, Luo Wanyin’s jewel-bright eyes shimmered as he asked, “Bai Yi, I’ll ask you one last time; do you want me to leave?”

Bai Yi gave him a clear answer.

If an Omega is permanently marked by an Alpha, they will be physiologically bound to that Alpha forever. They will reject the pheromones of any other Alpha and will involuntarily resist their proximity.

Only their Alpha can bring them the joy and solace of the union of body and soul.

Bai Yi permanently marked him.

A few days later, Bai Yi temporarily settled Luo Wanyin in a dense forest on the edge of his fief, stocking up enough food and daily necessities for him. The two agreed to wait until the storm of the ruined wedding blew over before making further plans.

Several more days went by, and when he visited Luo Wanyin again, he arrived with two other people in tow.

Luo Wanyin looked at them and smiled softly.

When he smiled, everything else in the world seemed to lose its color. The trickling streams, the faint green hills, and the rare flowers and herbs all faded into ordinary, mundane backgrounds.

Bai Yi moved a harp down from the carriage and said, “This is what you wanted.” He glanced at the two people behind him, turned back, and smiled gently at Luo Wanyin, “This is what I owe you.”

Luo Wanyin plucked a string with his finger, then took a step forward before raising his arms to hug Bai Yi’s back, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

With a priest and their mutual friend Pei Ming serving as witnesses, they received the Lord’s blessing and were joined as a true couple in the eyes of the Lord.

Summer gave way to autumn, and after Bai Yi’s departure this time, he unexpectedly did not return for three straight months.

When he heard the clattering of the carriage approaching from afar, Luo Wanyin practically rushed out. Seeing that the only visitor was Pei Ming, he asked with some surprise, “Where is Bai Yi?”

Pei Ming said, “He has gone into hiding.”

“In hiding? What happened?”

“His father has been executed.”

The very first second he heard this news, Luo Wanyin was stunned with fear. Thinking his flight from the wedding had implicated Bai Yi’s family, his palms broke into a nervous sweat. “Why?”

“Rumors are spreading among the common people now, saying that the previous king was the illegitimate son of the Queen Mother and a retainer,” Pei Ming said in a low voice while unloading the cargo. “The King framed the Duke with a fabricated charge, but we all know that was just an excuse. He wants to wipe out all threats and kill any potential pretenders to the throne.”

Having digested these words, Luo Wanyin quickly figured out the unspoken second half of Pei Ming’s sentence—if the previous king were to be officially ruled an illegitimate son, then Bai Yi would become the only living, legitimate heir to the throne.

“Is he safe right now?” Luo Wanyin asked.

“He is very safe.” Pei Ming replied.

Several great nobles in the south had already publicly declared their support for Bai Yi and had taken him under their protection within their sphere of influence.

“Don’t worry, you are very safe staying here too.” Pei Ming comforted him. “After he escaped to the south, no one bothered to keep an eye on this place anymore. The place that was once the most dangerous has now become the safest.”

“It’s enough that he is safe.” Luo Wanyin let out a sigh of relief. As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and went back into the house.

Pei Ming unloaded all the goods and carefully sized up the secluded, hidden little courtyard. Luo Wanyin kept the place organized and spotless, making it look like a hidden paradise in the crisp autumn days.

Luo Wanyin came out of the house just then before handing the envelope in his hand to Pei Ming, and said, “Help me pass this on to him.”

“Give it to me in a little bit.” Pei Ming didn’t take the letter but went to the corner of the wall to fetch an axe instead. “The weather will turn cold soon; I’ll help you prepare some more firewood.”

Luo Wanyin smiled and agreed.

He slowly bent his knees and sat down in front of the door while holding onto the doorframe. He pulled the letter out of the envelope and re-read his own handwritten words once more.

Concealed within the letter were a name and a piece of news. His fingers traced the final lines of the page before coming to a stop on the sentence just above the signature.

“…I once read an unfamiliar word in a foreign poem. After living here for a while, I unexpectedly felt the exact mood and artistic conception described by that word.

“Bai Yi, I have chosen a name for our child.

“Let’s call him Bai Heting.”

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