AEKMEM chapter 3

Chu Heng was initially stunned, then sneered inwardly.

There was no doubt that the young man in front of him was extremely handsome.

Wearing a snow-white robe, the young man had delicate eyebrows and eyes. His long, silver hair flowed behind him like a cascade of light. His icy blue eyes shone brighter than the most precious, sparkling sapphire.

At that moment, the handsome and arrogant youth had a cold, untouchable gaze, yet his eyebrows and eyes showed an unconscious hint of fatigue. The corners of his pale lips were slightly stained with blood.

Beneath his pride and indifference, there was a trace of fragility and weakness—contradictory, yet somehow captivating.

No one had ever been his equal.

He liked to collect glittering gold and silver jewelry, but the treasures he usually favored seemed ordinary compared to this youth.

Even though the youth was extremely handsome and enchanting, was Chu Heng really so shallow as to not control his expressions? How could someone be deceived so easily?

Instead of asking, “How did I scare you?” he narrowed his eyes and asked very politely,

“What compensation do you want?”

He wanted to know An Qiao’s goal in tricking him.

Was he trying to use this to hold him hostage and prevent him from canceling the main brain system match?

An Qiao was slightly startled when he saw who had arrived.

His black robe was swept by the wind as a handsome young man looked up, surrounded by wind, snow, and a killing aura.

The man in front of him had beautiful, dark pink eyes. They were bright and warm like fire and midsummer but gave off a fierce and dangerous impression.

This familiar face had appeared in the video he had just watched.

It was the black dragon!

An Qiao, obsessed with dragons, had sparkling eyes.

However, he remembered that Song Leran had publicized Prince Chu Heng’s actions.

The name “Chu Heng” conveyed the elders’ hope that he would be “noble as jade.” Unfortunately, as an adult, he only demonstrated the homophonic “heng,” showing dominance and arrogance¹“Chu Heng (楚珩)”, “珩 (héng)” refers to a type of noble ceremonial jade, symbolizing purity, elegance, and dignity. The character “珩 (héng)” sounds the same as “横 (héng)”, which means: overbearing, domineering. Arrogant, acting without restraint..

He had reason to boast, though. At a young age, he became the strongest beastman in the empire. He inherited the black dragon form from his ancestor and was also the commander of the second army. He had outstanding military achievements.

—This meant he was not easily shaken.

However, his military strength was insufficient at present. Although his mental strength had not decreased significantly, he had to be cautious when using it given his poor health. Dealing with others was no problem. If he fought Chu Heng, he could hardly match him and might even injure himself, but he couldn’t defeat him.

Ck.

An Qiao slowly took out a snow-white silk handkerchief embroidered with red roses and elegantly wiped the bloodstain from the corner of his lips. “Just replace it… with a flame bird transformed by your fire ability.”

The black dragon was impossible to see at the moment. As a second option, the flame bird was also quite cute.

Chu Heng: “… ”

“Are you sure you want this?”

A flame bird transformed from supernatural energy has no power without its master’s support, and it disappears after a while.

Moreover, the Flame Bird was famous for its cruelty and ferocity, and many people were deeply impressed by it.

“Can’t you?”

Chu Heng and An Qiao’s eyes met.

The youth looked at him with bright, curious eyes. Besides curiosity, there was no other emotion.

Most people respected and feared him. Enemies feared and hated him. His subordinates praised him.

This was the first time someone had looked at him with pure curiosity.

Almost no one dared to look him in the eye. According to many rumors, he was a natural evil god with a pair of blood-red eyes.

His blood-red eyes symbolized blood, killing, hostility, and cruelty. They gave off an aura that made people avoid him like snakes and scorpions.

The fairy in front of him appeared so weak and fragile that he seemed like he could be touched. Yet, he dared to look at him intently—not out of fear, but out of pure curiosity.

With his almost transparent, pale face, he seemed indifferent and solitary.

Chu Heng suddenly couldn’t understand him.

Was this his true self, or a disguise to attract his attention?

Thinking this, he waved his hand, and a firebird the size of an eagle appeared from thin air and flew to An Qiao’s side.

A glint flashed in the beautiful, icy blue eyes of the young man, who curiously reached out to touch the blazing flame bird. The feared flame bird was merely a harmless pet to him.

Of course, the firebird transformed by energy was transparent and untouchable, but it could attack under the owner’s control.

The young man gently touched the bird with his fingers. His expression was cold and indifferent, yet Chu Heng felt his eyes brighten as he gazed at the bird.

Throughout this process, the young man’s attention was entirely on the flame bird. He didn’t glance at Chu Heng even once.

Chu Heng: “… ”

He didn’t know why he felt uneasy.

He waved his hand, and the Flame Bird flew around the young man in a circle, breaking into brilliant red fragments that scattered like red snow.

Chu Heng saw genuine regret on An Qiao’s face as he recalled information he had read about him before. Not only had An Qiao lost his memory, but he might also have paranoia and cognitive disorders.

Indeed, there seemed to be a problem with his cognition.

Seeing the blood stain on the corner of the youth’s lips, Chu Heng felt slightly annoyed.

“I’ll have a military doctor come check you out.”

**

“The situation isn’t good, but it’s not bad either. You need to rest for a while,” said Jun Yiran, the Second Army’s military doctor, after diagnosing An Qiao and using his elf healing ability to treat him.

Unseen by An Qiao, Jun Yiran slightly shook his head toward Chu Heng, signaling that An Qiao was in very poor health and extremely weak, and that there was little he could do.

Chu Heng frowned.

If Jun Yiran was right, then it was quite possible that An Qiao was scared when he coughed up blood and that he hadn’t intentionally tried to cause trouble.

“Thank you.”

An Qiao seemed indifferent, as if he weren’t surprised by the result.

As a Second Army military doctor, Jun Yiran’s healing ability was S-rank, which was rare in the Empire. However, this level was relatively low for him, affecting the internal injuries and reducing the pain only slightly.

But that wasn’t bad, right?

Any pain relief was something.

Although it was still painful.

I need to restore my magical power as soon as possible so I can heal myself and…defeat Chu Heng!

To recover, I need energy crystals—lots of them.

As he thought about the crystals, he remembered his initial plan to hunt star beasts in the star beast forest after learning the way there from Song Leran.

Jun Yiran left the ward. However, An Qiao was lost in thought and seemed unaware.

Chu Heng couldn’t help but ask, “What are you thinking about?”

“Well… I’m thinking about how to get to the Star Beast Forest.”

Chu Heng asked, “Do you want to die?”

He felt as if a fire had flared in his chest.

He didn’t know why he suddenly felt so angry.

What did the life or death of a stranger he had just met have to do with him? After experiencing so much and seeing so many deaths on the battlefield, he was used to staying calm, or even being indifferent.

Yet An Qiao’s idea of “wanting to die” worried him. For some reason, he couldn’t contain his anger and annoyance.

Did this sickly person even understand what he was talking about?

Going to the Star Beast Forest? Was he going to die again?

Chu Heng had read An Qiao’s information.

Born into the Xing An family in the imperial capital, An Qiao was extremely talented. The An family raised him as a skilled marriage pawn to help the family advance further. He had a gentle temperament. However, he later failed to advance and was abandoned by the An family. Unable to think clearly, he went to the star beast forest alone.

The An Qiao he met was very different from how he was described in the information—very… unique.

Forgetting the past and becoming a different person was a good thing. There was no need to be trapped in the An family’s mire.

However, Chu Heng didn’t expect An Qiao to be so arrogant and indifferent, as if he didn’t care about anything. Whether he was forced by the An family again or not, he had suicidal thoughts again!

His deep pink eyes darkened with anger, as if a red flame were burning within him, breathing fresh, passionate, wild, and uncontrollable life.

An Qiao was stunned.

He liked strange, beautiful, new, and interesting things. For example, he liked a dragon at the top of the food chain, a beautiful flame bird, a beautiful red rose, and, for example, a pair of dark pink eyes in front of him that looked better when angry.

Such excessively strong emotions were foreign to An Qiao.

Elves were naturally favored by the gods, with various superior qualities and few desires. Born from the elven progenitor tree, they had few emotional attachments. Therefore, most elves were gentle, cold, and distant, rarely showing overly passionate or extreme emotions.

Was Chu Heng so angry because he feared for my death? But what was there to scold?

Most importantly—

An Qiao lazily glanced at him. “…How do you know I want to die?”

He didn’t want to die at all!

“It’s best not to die.” Chu Heng wasn’t sure whether to believe it.

An Qiao didn’t care what he thought. With slight disgust and confusion, he asked, “Anything else?”

If not, then leave quickly!

Unfortunately, he clearly wanted to capture the dragon as a pet. Yet, he lingered in front of Chu Heng, making him restless. For various reasons, Chu Heng could only watch and not act.

It was as if he were extremely hungry and there were delicious dishes in front of him, tempting him with their aroma. He wanted to eat it, but someone told him it was poisonous and couldn’t be eaten.

Wasn’t that annoying? Wasn’t that malicious?

Chu Heng: “… ”

Was he pretending to be stupid, or was he actually stupid? The main brain system sent a match notification—what else would his match come here for? Of course it was about the match!

If an ordinary person had pretended to be this foolish, he would have grown impatient and left long ago.

However, the confusion on the young man’s face didn’t seem fake. His icy blue eyes stared indifferently and harmlessly, as pure and clear as a mountain snow lake.

“Didn’t you see the match notification sent by the main brain system?”

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• 1
  “Chu Heng (楚珩)”, “珩 (héng)” refers to a type of noble ceremonial jade, symbolizing purity, elegance, and dignity. The character “珩 (héng)” sounds the same as “横 (héng)”, which means: overbearing, domineering. Arrogant, acting without restraint.