ITF Chapter74

The hooves thundered across the ground, yet Bai Heting could tell they were not heading toward the harbor but instead turning back the way they had come. The return journey was nearly twice as fast as the trip out; in just fifteen minutes, he could see his residence in the distance.

Luo Congye pulled the horse to a stop in front of the door, leapt down with ease, then looked up at Bai Heting and spat out two words as if each syllable cost him dearly, “Get down.”

“I have no luggage to pack.” Bai Heting did not move an inch on the horse.

Luo Congye directly grabbed his arm and yanked him downward.

Bai Heting nearly fell from the horse and only managed to steady himself by catching the horse’s back with one hand. Even so, he still stumbled forward as he landed, falling directly into Luo Congye’s embrace.

“You don’t like others smelling your pheromones, yet you bring my mark to have a private tryst with someone else by the sea.” Before he could stand firm, Luo Congye dragged him forward recklessly, “Fortunately he’s a Beta and can’t smell the scent on you.”

He pushed the door open with a bang, shoved Bai Heting inside, slammed the door shut behind him, and tore off the suppressor patch from the back of his own neck.

Aggressive Alpha pheromones surged toward him head-on, and Bai Heting instinctively stepped back two paces in alert defense.

Luo Congye stared directly into his eyes, finishing his words deliberately, “My. Scent.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Bai Heting lowered his voice, a faint warning threading through it. “I said, he’s just a physician.”

Luo Congye took a step forward, pursuing him.

“And I am just a guard.” After saying that, he smiled and shook his head again, leisurely changing his tune, “No, I am nothing. What am I anyway?”

Bai Heting’s breath hitched.

He opened his mouth, but only managed to say, “Move aside.”

He bypassed Luo Congye and walked toward the door. After taking just one step, Luo Congye suddenly lunged with his right hand—

Bai Heting turned sideways to dodge the grab, but the other party had already stepped out with his left leg, his left hand simultaneously passing under Bai Heting’s right arm, and then turning right, pinning Bai Heting’s right arm behind his back.

“This is the first time I’ve ever known that General Bai Heting would also serve others by bandaging and massaging them.” The thin wooden board let out a heavy thud as Luo Congye pushed and dragged him, pinning him face-first against the door, “Fretting over his hand, are you?”

He didn’t restrain his strength, forcing Bai Heting’s right arm into a painful twist at the very limit of the joint. Bai Heting drew in a breath and explained, “Those hands of his are meant for performing surgery.”

“En.” Luo Congye stepped forward, his chest pressing against Bai Heting’s back, and leaned close to his ear as he asked, “His hands are precious, and my life is cheap, is that it?”

Bai Heting shut his mouth and did not reply further.

“When you slashed me cut by cut…”

A right hand squeezed in front of his torso, jabbing fiercely twice against his heaving chest.

“Here, did it ever hurt?”

Bai Heting raised his left hand to block him, but the hand had already been withdrawn. He turned his head to look at Luo Congye, only for a flash of cold blade to pass before his eyes.

A dagger stabbed straight through the wooden door panel.

The flame on the wooden handle seemed to come alive, and the last trace of a smile in Luo Congye’s eyes burned to ashes within that fire. He asked calmly, “When you drove this blade into me, when you cut through my intestines; did your heart ever hurt at all?”

Bai Heting’s body trembled violently. His elbow joint let out a soft pop within the restraint, sending a piercing, bone-deep pain through him, and he couldn’t help but gasp.

“I should thank you for leaving the dagger inside my stomach, letting me cling to life until Bei Yang and the others came to save me.” Luo Congye loosened his grip on Bai Heting’s arm, lifted a hand to caress his deathly pale face, and wiped away a bead of cold sweat that was just about to slide down.

“Bai Heting, I almost died. But I was actually prepared to face death too. Yet heaven played a joke on me, I didn’t die. The day I woke up, they told me—” He closed his eyes and fell silent for a moment, his voice tinged with hoarseness when he spoke again, “You were dead.”

He pinched Bai Heting’s chin while lifting his lowered head.

“But I didn’t believe it. You wouldn’t die. How could you die? Before hearing these words, I do not permit you to die.” He turned Bai Heting’s face, forcing him to meet his gaze, and spoke solemnly, word by word, “I never once thought of betraying you. I never colluded with anyone to frame you. My life was saved by you; you can kill me; take it as repayment. But you…”

He paused, clenching his teeth tightly as he took a deep, heavy breath.

“But you cannot insult my loyalty to you.”

Bai Heting no longer dodged his gaze, but he didn’t speak either, merely looking at him with exhaustion. Luo Congye rubbed the small mole beneath his eye, his attitude softening amid the prolonged silence.

“That look in your eyes…” he asked softly, “Are you disappointed in who I am now?”

Bai Heting struggled and moved a little, only to be pressed tightly against the door panel again by the person behind him. Luo Congye lowered his head and nuzzled the back of his neck with the tip of his nose, then let out a sigh, “The scent of the mark has faded.”

Bai Heting was suddenly jolted alert, but the Alpha’s canines had already bitten through the tender skin a step ahead of him.

The scent of silver fir was once again infused with a rich aroma of wine.

Luo Congye licked away the few drops of blood welling up from the bite mark, his tone turning gentle once more, “The previous mark… did those precious hands wash it off for you?”

“You…” Bai Heting said in a hoarse voice, “Don’t make things difficult for him.”

Luo Congye frowned in dissatisfaction, “Who said anything about making things difficult for him?”

He used his arm to hoop Bai Heting’s slipping, strengthless body and pulled him upward to kiss his flushed earlobe, “You want me to arrange a boat for you to leave this island? Do you think I am still that Luo Congye who comes at your beck and calls, obeying your every command?”

He told him with profound regret while burying his face into the crook of Bai Heting’s neck, “That Luo Congye was already killed by you.”

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