Luo Congye could no longer clearly remember what autumn was like in his hometown.
He could only vaguely recall a bit of fiery red maple, azure lakes, snow-white clouds, herds of horses galloping wildly, and that golden grassland stretching for thousands of miles, its edge nowhere in sight.
Upon that vast land, Damasen’s most brave and fierce knights were bred.
But Bai Heting was somewhat different from the bold and uninhibited Urdan knights.
Amidst his valiant spirit, there was an extra touch of nobility and calm composure.
His movement when dismounting from his horse was also exceptionally graceful and light.
So beautiful.
Luo Congye sat on a thick branch of an old tree, leaning his back against the trunk, and tossed a half-ripe jujube into his mouth.
General Bai was indeed perfect.
He had outstanding looks, extraordinary skills, and was also extremely scholarly…
This last point was actually just imagined by Luo Congye.
He was not clear on how scholarly Bai Heting actually was; he had merely heard some rumors about General Bai while in the mansion. It was said that when Bai Heting was first brought back by Bai Yi, he did not know a single word, yet on the border battlefield, he learned how to write using just a few military strategy books. Upon hearing of this, Bai Yi immediately hired teachers for him to teach him literature, military strategy, and history.
Luo Congye had secretly been to Bai Heting’s library; there were tens of thousands of books inside.
The number “tens of thousands” was also imagined by Luo Congye.
That room was simply too large with wooden bookshelves covering the entire wall and packed with all kinds of volumes, some of which even used languages he had never seen before.
A whole room of books was naturally impossible for a child to count.
Luo Congye tossed another jujube into his mouth, secretly mocking himself for being so useless.
He actually saw that perfect General Bai standing under the tree, looking up with a handsome face to lecture him, “You’re not training and slacking off here.”
This was no different from losing one’s mind.
Even the person he imagined could speak now.
“Is it good?” Bai Heting asked again.
The volatile scent of fir made Luo Congye’s chewing motion freeze.
A few seconds later, his Adam’s apple rolled, and he swallowed the jujube in his mouth; which was flesh and pit together, whole into his stomach.
It was actually the real person.
He had actually let the general look up at him.
Luo Congye did not dare waste even a moment. He immediately jumped down from the tree, while Bai Heting sprang upward as lightly as a swallow, landing on a thick branch on the opposite side.
This time, it was his turn to look up at the general.
Bai Heting picked and chose among the branches and leaves, found the reddest jujube to pluck, rubbed it in his palm, and popped it into his mouth to take a bite.
The perfect General Bai wrinkled his face.
So sour.
“You…” Luo Congye was still completely out of it. He blinked in disbelief and stammered, “Why are you here?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt it was a stupid question. This was Bai Heting’s guard regiment; it was only natural for him to come inspect.
Only then, a step too late, did he remember to answer the general’s earlier question, “Today is a rest day, no training.”
Only then was his chest completely overwhelmed by a belated wave of frustration.
This person looked so calm. So, calm that those few absurd days during the autumn hunt seemed as though they had been nothing more than a figment of his imagination.
Bai Heting did not know there were so many twists and turns in his head. Making himself eat the remaining half of the jujube, he lowered his gaze to him and asked, “How did you do it?”
“Do what?” Luo Congye replied half-heartedly.
Bai Heting frowned as he swallowed the fruit pulp and said, “Controlling your pheromones.”
He had gone to the infantry training grounds first this afternoon, then took a detour to the guard regiment to find the commander, instructing him to screen and select a batch of reliable Beta guards as soon as possible. Once everything was properly arranged and he was just about to leave, he suddenly caught a faint scent of tequila.
He had followed the pheromones to find his way here, but it was very obvious that the moment Luo Congye saw him, he hid his pheromones away.
Like a thief with a guilty conscience.
“You just learn how to after a long time.” Luo Congye answered quite perfunctorily.
He was indeed feeling guilty.
There was no need to train today, so he had slackened off a bit and let his pheromones release naturally. The regiment was entirely made up of Betas, so it shouldn’t have been easily detected, but he hadn’t expected to be caught red-handed by Bai Heting.
Yet Bai Heting also seemed to have no intention of pressing further either. He stomped his foot to test the stability of the branch, then sat down right there on the thick, old branch of the jujube tree. The foliage overhead rustled in the evening breeze, and the setting sun plated the clouds in the west with a layer of gentle pink.
Luo Congye looked up at him for a moment and finally asked tentatively, “Are you not feeling well?”
He could feel the fir pheromones fluctuating.
Bai Heting still did not answer; he merely took a deep breath, and then, in the gradually darkening twilight, softly closed his eyes.
What a clever kid, able to read what he wanted from the silence.
Accompanying the slightly cool breeze, the Alpha pheromones, which were just as gentle as those clouds, drifted over as well.
Neither of them uttered another word, and the blood-red glow of the sunset vanished bit by bit into the western horizon amid the silence. Only when nightfall had completely descended did Bai Heting open his eyes, jump down from the tree, and call back Zhenzhu, who was nibbling on the sod in the distance.
Luo Congye followed his gaze.
The white horse trotting over carried itself with a tall and straight posture, its muscles full and sleek, its glossy coat still striking and dazzling even in the dim light. It was precisely the snow-white steed that Bai Heting had ridden during the autumn hunt.
He kept looking at the horse as if hesitating to speak. Bai Heting looked at the horse, then at him, and asked, “What is it?”
Luo Congye shook his head. He took a suppressant patch from his pocket and held it out to Bai Heting. This time, his tone carried unmistakable certainty as he said, “You’re not feeling well.”
