AEKMEM chapter 27

When Chu Heng saw Zhou Xiaoran walking toward An Qiao, he was initially worried that An Qiao would be bothered by this treacherous person. He disregarded the old Marshal He beside him and strode toward An Qiao.

As he approached, however, he unexpectedly heard An Qiao mocking Zhou Xiaoran and comparing him to Zhou Xiaoran.

An Qiao was said to be far more handsome, far more talented in martial arts, and far superior in character and demeanor. Compared to him, Zhou Xiaoran was utterly inferior.

Qiaoqiao was actually praising me!

Realizing this, Chu Heng couldn’t help but smile.

Did he actually have this many good points in Qiaoqiao’s heart?

To be praised like this by the usually proud, reserved, and discerning Qiaoqiao! If he were in his dragon form right now, Chu Heng thought, he’d probably be smugly holding his tail up.

He quickened his pace toward An Qiao.

An Qiao caught sight of him walking through the crowd and suddenly realized that he must have overheard everything he had just said.

An Qiao: “… ”

His whole body stiffened, and his expression became slightly unnatural—though it wasn’t noticeable unless you looked closely. On the surface, he still appeared arrogant and indifferent.

Why did Chu Heng have to come back at this time?

An Qiao couldn’t help but feel annoyed. Even though Chu Heng had heard him praise him, he still felt embarrassed, like when he was caught secretly drawing figurines of the elf elders in class back in the day.

Chu Heng noticed the awkwardness on An Qiao’s face. He suppressed his inner smugness and tactfully refrained from teasing An Qiao about his earlier praise. Instead, he placed the food on the plate on the coffee table in front of An Qiao and said, “These are all your favorites. How do you like them?”

Zhou Xiaoran, standing nearby, was speechless.

An Qiao’s mockery of his inferiority to Chu Heng had already darkened Zhou Xiaoran’s face considerably.

Now, he was completely ignored by both An Qiao and Chu Heng. They were affectionately displaying their relationship, seemingly oblivious to his existence. One was a man he had once pursued; the other was someone he considered an enemy. Yet, they didn’t even glance at him. They treated him like an insignificant stranger.

It wasn’t harmful, but it was insulting.

Zhou Xiaoran’s expression turned ferocious.

“Why is Major General Zhou still here?” Chu Heng looked at Zhou Xiaoran with disdain, as if annoyed by his interruption, urging him to leave.

He raised an eyebrow with a half-smile: “Does Major General Zhou feel he didn’t get enough of a match with me this morning and want to challenge me to another one?”

“Your Highness is joking. Everyone knows that you are a 3S-class beastman.” Zhou Xiaoran forced a smile.

He turned to look at An Qiao, wanting to say something to him.

However, just as their gazes were about to meet, Chu Heng frowned and stepped aside without a word, blocking An Qiao from Zhou Xiaoran’s view. He completely obscured An Qiao, not letting Zhou Xiaoran see even a glimpse of his clothing.

Chu Heng’s possessive gesture almost made Zhou Xiaoran’s carefully constructed façade of feigned innocence crumble. “…”

Zhou Xiaoran was forced to speak to An Qiao across Chu Heng and said, “I actually came to catch up with An Qiao. After all, we knew each other before and were fairly close.”

Zhou Xiaoran deliberately spoke ambiguously, as if they had been very close. In reality, he had only pursued the original eldest son of the An family, who had barely spoken to him and never reciprocated.

Originally, An Qiao had been in a much better mood because of the delicious food Chu Heng brought back. Hearing Zhou Xiaoran’s sticky, fake-sweet words, his eyes narrowed in displeasure:

“How come I remember you came here to sow discord between me and Chu Heng?”

Although he already knew Zhou Xiaoran planned to cause trouble between him and An Qiao at the banquet, hearing An Qiao mention Zhou Xiaoran’s despicable behavior made Chu Heng so angry that he wanted to smash Zhou Xiaoran’s head in.

He gave a cold laugh, his deep rose-red eyes filled with undisguised ferocity. “Major General Zhou is trying to cause trouble between me and my crown princess. Is he trying to provoke me? Besides, I don’t recall Major General Zhou having any connection with the eldest son of the An family. Does he think he can easily fool my Qiaoqiao just because he has amnesia?”

Zhou Xiaoran broke out in a cold sweat under Chu Heng’s fierce, sinister gaze, which fixed him like a beast. He almost collapsed.

“What is this? Young people often act impulsively, but we can talk things out,” said the marshal of the First Army Corps, controlled by the royal family, with a smile, trying to smooth things over.

Standing beside him was Marshal He, who had followed him.

Marshal He frowned, his brow furrowed, his grievances unclear.

Chu Heng sneered, showing little courtesy. “It seems Major General Zhou wasn’t quite satisfied with our sparring this morning, so he wants to provoke me into another match. I’ll grant Major General Zhou’s wish, and we’ll ‘spar’ again tomorrow.”

He emphasized the word “spar,” making it clear to anyone that this would be anything but friendly; it would likely turn into a brutal beating.

However, it was best not to interfere. Among beastmen, sparring matches were common practice when disputes arose.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoran was reminded of the morning’s “sparring,” when Chu Heng had overpowered and mercilessly beaten him. The memory of his powerlessness and of being at Chu Heng’s mercy filled him with a chilling sense of helplessness. His face turned deathly pale.

**

The food at the banquet was delicious, with each dish possessing a unique flavor compared to the chefs’ culinary skills at the Marshal’s residence.

An Qiao was fairly satisfied.

Propping his chin with his hand, he looked in a certain direction in the crowd. “Who’s talking to Zhou Major General, who tried to stir up trouble earlier?”

“Which one?”

Chu Heng, focused solely on An Qiao’s face, followed his gaze and saw Jun Yilian.

Jun Yilian is an S-class elf with the purest elf bloodline in the Empire, second only to the original An family young master.

To most people in the empire, he is an exceptionally gifted S-class elf born into the prestigious Jun family of the capital planet. He possesses a pure and holy appearance and a humble, easygoing, gentle, and kind nature.

After awakening as an elf, he tirelessly travels to remote planets during his annual holidays and internships, gently and patiently treating the stationed soldiers and locals who seek his medical help. Most people in the Empire are deeply moved by him, praising him for his beauty and kindness and saying that he is practically an elf himself.

Among the younger generation in the Empire, besides Chu Heng, Jun Yilian was the most popular and admired.

The number of people who admire him stretches from the capital planet to remote planets and includes the Second Prince, all of whom have pursued him.

However, Jun Yilian claimed that he wanted to do more for the people of the Empire and that he didn’t want to consider marriage for the time being.

Although most people had a good impression of Jun Yilian, Chu Heng thought he was fake and had a deep, unfathomable mind.

Seeing An Qiao suddenly show interest in someone else, especially the seemingly cunning Jun Yilian, made Chu Heng assume that An Qiao had also been deceived by Jun Yilian’s elfin facade.

Chu Heng frowned deeply, his tone tinged with a sourness he himself didn’t realize: “Why is Qiaoqiao suddenly interested in other people?”

An Qiao was somewhat displeased that Chu Heng had casually called him “Qiaoqiao” again, but he was probably used to it. He simply glared at Chu Heng and said,

“He seems to have a good relationship with that Major General Zhou who was stirring up trouble earlier. Besides, he looks a lot like your regiment’s medic, Jun Yiran.”

It seemed that he wasn’t interested in Jun Yilian as a person, but rather was just curious about the resemblance between him and Jun Yiran.

Chu Heng breathed a sigh of relief.

That’s true. An Qiao, being an elf himself, was naturally indifferent to Jun Yilian’s disguise—a façade that made him appear to be an elf to outsiders.

“He and Jun Yiran are cousins. However, Jun Yiran severed ties with the Jun family long ago,” said Chu Heng.

The Jun family’s production of two S-class elves, Jun Yilian and Jun Yiran, in this generation of younger members was originally a source of great pride and envy from other families.

But something inexplicable happened. One day, Jun Yiran suddenly announced that he was severing ties with the Jun family, and surprisingly, the Jun family agreed.

Everyone was puzzled. Jun Yiran was one of the empire’s few extremely rare S-class elves! The Jun family allowed Jun Yiran, an S-rank elf of immeasurable value, to leave!

However, a few people speculated that there might be hidden reasons for Jun Yiran’s actions, and perhaps the severing of ties was merely on the surface. Otherwise, how could the Jun family have allowed him to leave without paying any price?

After all, the Jun family is notoriously profit-driven in Capital Star. They wouldn’t soften their hearts because of blood ties.

Chu Heng once asked Jun Yiran, out of curiosity, what had happened back then. However, Jun Yiran only shook his head and remained silent about it.

“As for your statement that Jun Yilian has a good relationship with Zhou—” Chu Heng paused, his expression subtle, “He has good relationships with anyone valuable, including the Second Prince, Chu Feiyu.”

Chu Heng truly couldn’t understand. That Zhou guy was one thing, but how could the extremely arrogant and proud Chu Feiyu willingly become just another fish in Jun Yilian’s vast fishpond? Shouldn’t matters of the heart be mutual, a one-on-one relationship?

Chu Heng himself was exceptionally talented—a 3S-level beastman at a young age—so he naturally didn’t understand the intense desire others had for high-level elves, who might facilitate their advancement. Jun Yilian’s elven bloodline is highly pure; he is currently at the pinnacle of S-rank elven beings, with a high chance of becoming the second 2S-rank elven being in the empire.

Many people genuinely admire Jun Yilian, but those driven by self-interest, like the Second Prince, are mostly after his elven abilities. Of course, Jun Yilian himself is also outstanding in terms of family background, appearance, and so on.

“That shouldn’t include you, right?” An Qiao suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Chu Heng, who was wondering why the Second Prince Chu Feiyu was pursuing Jun Yilian, didn’t react for a moment.

“He has great relationships with anyone of value—that doesn’t include you, right?”

“Of course not.”

For some reason, hearing An Qiao’s words suddenly put Chu Heng in a good mood, soaring to the point where he wanted to go out and have a good, exhilarating battle.

He raised his brows, sounding both proud and loyal. “He’s far inferior to you. With my excellent taste, only you, Qiaoqiao, can catch my eye.”

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