AEKMEM chapter 25

Is An Qiao actually “that elf”?

Chu Heng was startled by his own bold deduction at first, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

An Qiao suddenly appeared in the Star Beast Forest. With his undeniable features, he would surely attract attention. However, there seemed to be no trace of him before.

He always insisted on his elf-like attire of a snow-white robe and silver-white hair, ignoring the gossip and doing as he pleased.

An Qiao’s personality, his special abilities with plants, and his unfamiliarity with technology…

Of course, what Chu Heng found most suspicious was the silhouette of “that elf” he had seen in the Star Beast Forest assessment area.

When he saw the figure from a distance, he instinctively knew it was An Qiao and chased after him. After closing the distance slightly and getting a clearer view, he noticed that, although this person wore the same snow-white robe as An Qiao and had long silver hair, their figure seemed identical. However, the silver hair reached their ankles, and a pair of pointed ears—a hallmark of elves—were faintly visible.

At the time, he assumed this was the elf that had suddenly appeared and been detected by the “elf detector.”

But now, thinking back, what if An Qiao and “that elf” were the same person?

The only differences between An Qiao and “that elf” were the length of their hair and their ears.

If an elf’s hair can change length and their ears can transform into human ears, although no elf has ever been known to do so, it’s not impossible, given the wondrous nature of elves.

Furthermore, elves may possess the ability to disguise themselves as humans. Three days after the “Elf Detector” detected an elf’s presence near the Star Beast Forest, the detector suddenly went silent and lost track of the elf.

An Qiao’s sudden disappearance in the Star Beast Forest assessment area coincided with the time “that elf” appeared.

The time and location match up.

Now, An Qiao asked him, “Do you know about that damned ‘elf detector’ thing?”

For most people, learning about an “elf detector” would likely be met with surprise or even welcome. After all, it helps find elves.

However, An Qiao’s tone when mentioning the “elf detector” was one of frustration and dissatisfaction. He even used the phrase “this damned thing” to describe it.

If An Qiao were “that elf,” his attitude toward the “elf detector” would be understandable.

It only took a moment for Chu Heng to process all this. He looked at An Qiao, his heart pounding rapidly.

An Qiao is an elf?!

Shock, astonishment, disbelief…

But without a doubt, it was almost certainly true.

The young man before him was as beautiful as an elf indeed.

—No, the young man was an elf, the most beautiful of all elves.

Wearing a snow-white robe and possessing a pale complexion, the proud and handsome young elf had a breathtaking beauty that eclipsed all else in the world. His long, silvery-white hair cascaded down his back like silver light. His icy blue eyes shone brighter than the most precious sapphires and were more dazzling than the brightest stars.

He had brought the young man back simply to have another beautiful ornament in his home. After all, he was even more breathtaking than the most dazzling jewels in his collection. He was truly a feast for the eyes.

Chu Heng barely suppressed the immense turmoil within him. He kept his expression normal, revealing nothing amiss. “Why did you suddenly ask about the ‘elf detector’?”

“I’m just suddenly curious.” An Qiao’s expression appeared purely curious, but his eyes betrayed barely suppressed frustration and depression. “Is this thing really that strange? Can it detect the presence of elves anytime, anywhere, and pinpoint their approximate location?”

An Qiao was unaware that his elf disguise had been exposed—

He hadn’t seriously tried to hide it and hadn’t expected to be seen through so quickly as not being the original Young Master An. Even more unexpectedly, after his disguise as “Young Master An” was exposed, Chu Heng immediately guessed that he was an elf.

He hadn’t imagined such advanced technology as an “elf detector” existed or that genetic technology could distinguish between genuine and fake identities. He hadn’t expected Chu Heng to recognize him from a blurry image of his back. He certainly hadn’t expected mentioning the “elf detector” would remind Chu Heng of him.

Compared to the relatively simple-minded elves of the future interstellar world, it was astonishing how many strange and advanced technologies existed and how complex human minds could be.

Chu Heng: “… ”

Initially, he had only thought that An Qiao was almost certainly an elf since he hadn’t personally confirmed it. However, judging from An Qiao’s expression, tone, and the content of his words, Chu Heng was now certain that An Qiao was 100% an elf.

Chu Heng’s feelings were somewhat complicated.

He really wanted to say: Little elf, can you please be more careful? You’re exposed, and you don’t even know it. You also don’t watch what you say.

Of course, he couldn’t actually tell An Qiao that.

If he revealed An Qiao’s elf disguise, An Qiao might run away immediately!

Chu Heng hadn’t forgotten that when he chased An Qiao—in his elf form—in the Star Beast Forest assessment area, An Qiao ran so fast because he didn’t want Chu Heng to see his true face.

An Qiao’s dissatisfaction with the “elf detector” likely stemmed from his desire to conceal his identity as an elf.

“It can only detect elves within a certain distance,” said Chu Heng calmly, as if he genuinely didn’t know that An Qiao was an elf. “Outside the capital star, it can’t detect them.”

That was true. Even the most advanced technology has its limitations.

“Really?!” An Qiao’s eyes lit up unexpectedly, revealing a hint of surprise.

Chu Heng: “… ”

Chu Heng suddenly couldn’t bear to look at him. Knowing that the “elf detector” couldn’t detect anything outside the capital star, An Qiao’s surprised reaction was highly suspicious.

Chu Heng was highly suspicious. If they stayed on Imperial Capital Star any longer, An Qiao would soon reveal his elf identity, being oblivious to the complexities of human nature.

“Really?” Chu Heng nodded and subtly changed the subject. “Before you went to the Star Beast Forest for your assessment, I mentioned taking you to Water Blue Star to see the 2S-rank elf healer. Now that the assessment is over, shall we go tomorrow?”

Chu Heng had originally planned to go to Water Blue Star tomorrow.

First, to treat An Qiao’s injuries.

Second, he wanted to lure out those who wanted to assassinate him while he was injured and expose the treacherous villains hiding behind the scenes.

Now that he knew that An Qiao was an elf and that the Imperial Capital Star had an “Elf Detector” that could detect elves, he was even more determined to make the trip.

For some reason that he couldn’t quite explain, he didn’t want anyone to know that An Qiao was an elf. Even less did he want anyone to see him in elf form.

Perhaps this was the possessiveness of an evil dragon toward its treasure?

Moreover, An Qiao was reluctant to reveal his identity as an elf.

“Then let’s go tomorrow,” An Qiao nodded reservedly.

With that damned “Elf Detector” in the Imperial Capital Star, he really didn’t want to stay any longer.

**

Unexpectedly, that evening, Emperor Chu Zhengming ordered Crown Prince Chu Heng to attend the annual New Year’s Eve banquet the following night. Chu Heng was always rebellious and defiant. He had disobeyed orders and skipped important banquets more than once. This time was no exception; he had no intention of attending this boring New Year’s Eve dinner.

“Your Highness, this…” The palace steward who had delivered the invitation and conveyed the emperor’s message was still somewhat troubled, even though he had considered the high probability that the invitation would be rejected.

How could he explain this to His Majesty? The Emperor had emphasized that the Crown Prince must accept the invitation.

Just then, a slender, beautiful hand as white as jade accepted the elaborate, ornate golden invitation.

The palace steward recognized it as belonging to the Crown Prince’s consort, An Qiao.

Rumor had it that the Crown Prince was extremely fond of this consort. Seeing it now, it was true. Otherwise, how could he “overstep” right in front of the Crown Prince and accept the banquet invitation against the Crown Prince’s wishes?

“Are you interested?” Chu Heng turned his head slightly to look at An Qiao, who had just received the invitation. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“A little,” An Qiao nodded.

Driven by a strong sense of curiosity, An Qiao had witnessed many banquets of all sizes and types in his original world. But in this interstellar world, so different from his original one, he had never experienced a large-scale banquet.

Honestly, he was quite curious about how the banquets here differed from those in his original world.

“Since you want to go, then we’ll go.” Chu Heng agreed instantly, without hesitation.

The usually calm and collected palace head steward was utterly shocked, his eyes widening in disbelief at Chu Heng’s indulgence and affection for An Qiao.

Heaven knows how difficult the Crown Prince is. He refuses to attend banquets no matter what and ignores all advice. But this time, without even a word of persuasion, just a glance from the Crown Princess—knowing he was interested in the banquet—and the Crown Prince actually agreed to go!

The palace steward left the Marshal’s residence in a daze and returned to the palace to report to Emperor Chu Zhengming.

Only An Qiao and Chu Heng remained in the hall.

An Qiao examined the ornate golden invitation curiously. “What special material is this made of?” he asked.

The invitation wasn’t made of paper, but it looked and felt like it.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the window, illuminating An Qiao’s thick, curled eyelashes and giving his fair, beautiful face a soft glow. His delicate white ears were tinged with the crimson of the sunset, too.

Chu Heng suddenly remembered the figure he’d seen that day and the pair of pointed ears that peeked through the silver hair.

For some reason, he felt an overwhelming urge to touch them and see how they felt compared to human ears.

“There seems to be something on your ear.” He said casually, reaching out to touch An Qiao’s right ear lightly.

An Qiao: “… ”

Caught off guard by the unexpected touch, An Qiao froze in place as if struck by lightning!

Elves’ ears are extremely sensitive. In the elf world, only a partner can touch an elf’s ears.

Touching an elf’s ears casually like that—that’s being a pervert!

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