AEKMEM chapter 33

Just then, a hand reached out in front of him. It was pale, hard, and had distinct knuckles. It appeared larger than his own hand.

It held a clean, gleaming dagger with several perfectly sliced, steaming pieces of roasted lamb leg on its blade.

“Want to taste it?” Chu Heng looked at him with his deep, rose-colored eyes.

An Qiao could see his own clear reflection in his pupils.

The dagger was something Chu Heng always carried with him. He developed this habit in his youth on a chaotic, garbage planet. He always carried a melee weapon for self-defense and never removed it, not even when sleeping.

**

Because of his insatiable curiosity, An Qiao loved to travel, sampling local delicacies and visiting many places and seeing countless landscapes. He had even secretly abandoned his duties as an elf to disguise himself as a human and venture into human territories on numerous occasions. He had become quite adept at the art of human disguise.

He had experienced snowy nights like this before.

But this one felt different.

It was a novel experience.

Outside, the night was as dark as ink; the wind and snow swirled. Inside the hut, however, a warm, bright fire burned.

An Qiao didn’t usually like snowy days, but perhaps because he had someone by his side and the barbecue was delicious, he found the snowy night warm and endearing.

However, as he prepared to sleep, he glanced up and noticed the single bed in the hut. The sturdy wooden frame had been meticulously cleaned inside and out, and Chu Heng’s oversized black coat was draped over it.

Suddenly, An Qiao didn’t find the snowy night endearing anymore!

He missed the soft, comfortable, spacious, custom-made king-size bed in the Marshal’s residence.

“I won’t sleep tonight.” Chu Heng slowly washed and polished his sharp, gleaming dagger by the firelight. “Qiaoqiao, you should rest for the night. We can leave for the Spirit Burial Snowfield tomorrow.”

“Leave tomorrow?” An Qiao had initially wondered why Chu Heng said he wouldn’t sleep tonight. However, upon hearing the latter part, his focus shifted to “leave tomorrow.”

An Qiao estimated that, even at his fastest speed, it would still take him at least two or three days to leave the Spirit Burial Snowfield, which covered a quarter of the planet, despite having recovered half his magic power.

But it seemed like Chu Heng was saying they could leave the Burial Snowfield by tomorrow.

Seemingly sensing An Qiao’s confusion, Chu Heng looked at him and nodded. “I’ll be able to transform into my beast form tomorrow. Then, I can take you directly out of the Spirit Burial Snowfield.”

He had previously been unable to transform due to his injuries and the awakening of the dragon race’s inherited memories.

After his second awakening and ancestral reversion, he had briefly and vaguely inherited some of the dragon race’s memories.

After being severely wounded in the war against the insect queen, perhaps through destruction and rebirth, as his injuries slowly healed, he gradually awakened more of the dragon race’s memories. Every day, new memories that he hadn’t experienced before appeared in his mind.

Moreover, after An Qiao treated him with healing abilities, his injuries recovered even faster, and the inherited memories in his mind also increased more rapidly.

An Qiao: “!!!”

The black dragon beast form he had longed for so long!

Did Chu Heng mean that he would see the black dragon beast form tomorrow?

**

Jiang Qi had already led the Marshal’s Guard to the outskirts of the Spirit Burial Snowfield.

He received a message from Xue Luo:

“The reason the Greedy Wolf Pirates entered the Spirit Burial Snowfield is supposedly because they found an ancient treasure map. They believe an elf is buried there and left behind a lot of treasure.”

“What?!” Jiang Qi was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue. “You mean an elf is buried in the Spirit Burial Snowfield?”

“That’s right,” he muttered to himself. “Spirit Burial Snowfield — doesn’t that mean a snowfield where a spirit is buried?”

“No, don’t get excited yet,” Xue Luo said, speechless. “This isn’t confirmed. It’s only speculation within the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate Group. It may not be true.”

“Also, although the Spirit-Burial Snowfield is mysterious and off-limits, it is rich in resources and contains many rare minerals needed to manufacture starships, energy shields, and other high-end technology. Over the years, many fearless mercenaries and adventurers have gone in. But none of them ever discovered that the snowfield was burying an elf.”

He knew about Jiang Qi’s fanaticism toward elves. This kind of fanaticism wasn’t uncommon in the Empire. In fact, the vast majority of people in the Empire were fanatical about elves, though certainly not as devout as the natives of the Burial Snowfield. “Maybe those who discovered the elf’s remains were all dealt with by the local natives?”

Xue Luo’s words didn’t dampen Jiang Qi’s spirits. He was still unable to contain his excitement. “I still feel that’s the case! The natives of the Spirit Burial Snowfield worship elves like gods with fanatical devotion. If elves hadn’t appeared here before and possibly helped the natives of this snowfield, the natives wouldn’t have such devout faith in them.”

“All right, let’s not worry about the Spirit Burial Snowfield for now. Whether or not it’s the burial ground of the elves, the most important thing now is to find out if His Highness will be in danger in the Burial Snowfield and if the Greedy Wolf Star Pirate Gang will encounter him there.”

“As for the treasure left by the elves in the Burial Snowfield, whether it’s real or fake is irrelevant. First, we must find His Highness. We’ll tell him the information and let him decide for himself.”

**

An Qiao didn’t know how things had turned out this way.

“Can’t sleep?” Chu Heng’s deep, gentle voice sounded in his ear.

It really sounded “in his ear,” only about half an arm’s length away. It felt like the voice was right next to his earlobe.

An Qiao’s body, already slightly stiff, stiffened even more as he tried to figure out where to settle down.

Having someone lie beside him made him extremely uncomfortable. Even at a distance, Chu Heng’s warm body temperature felt scorching and impossible to ignore.

This was a result of his own actions.

Chu Heng said he wouldn’t sleep tonight, but An Qiao felt guilty. He insisted that Chu Heng get some sleep, since his injuries hadn’t fully healed.

Sharing a bed shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

However, once he actually had someone lying beside him, he realized he really couldn’t adapt.

He was very unaccustomed to it, but he didn’t regret it.

Chu Heng had taken such good care of him. He couldn’t possibly go against his conscience and let Chu Heng keep watch while injured. Besides, if he wanted to “keep watch” without sleeping, Chu Heng would absolutely forbid it.

Perhaps it was because he initially gave Chu Heng the impression of being pale, sickly, and frail — he had even coughed up blood in front of him several times — that Chu Heng habitually perceived him as “sickly” and took extra care of him.

For example, when they landed in the Spirit Burial Snowfield today, Chu Heng subconsciously felt that An Qiao was afraid of the cold. He casually took off his long black coat and draped it over him.

Chu Heng’s movements were so natural and effortless that An Qiao didn’t react at first.

He didn’t agree with Chu Heng staying up all night, and if he suggested staying up all night, Chu Heng would definitely disagree.

So, the final result could only be like this.

“It’s all right,” An Qiao said lazily. “I’ve always been a slow sleeper.”

Under the cover of night, his usual coldness and aloofness disappeared. His gaze at the ceiling was absentminded.

Chu Heng was silent for a moment.

After thinking hard for a while, he spoke again: “How about I tell you a bedtime fairytale?”

“You do?” An Qiao’s first reaction was skepticism.

And—

Does Chu Heng think he’s three years old? Does he actually want to hear a bedtime fairy tale?”

“…Should I? Isn’t that just a summary of a story?” Chu Heng’s tone was somewhat uncertain.

“Then tell me one?” Out of sheer boredom, perhaps, and despite finding bedtime fairy tales childish, An Qiao surprisingly showed some interest.

“A long time ago…” Chu Heng slowly began to tell the story.

Bathed in the glow of the night, his voice, usually deep and magnetic, possessed an added, subtle allure.

However, his narration was too flat. It didn’t sound like a story with twists and turns. It sounded more like a formal report read without emotion.

When Chu Heng finally finished the story…

An Qiao couldn’t help but smile and chuckle softly. “To be honest, your fairy tales are pretty terrible.”

Chu Heng: “… ”

“Really that bad?” His tone was full of disbelief, and he seemed a little dejected.

An Qiao offered a half-hearted consolation: “I was just joking. Actually, they’re not bad.”

“Shall I tell you two more?”

An Qiao: “… ”

Perhaps Chu Heng’s bedtime stories were having an effect. Before long, An Qiao’s body relaxed, and sleepiness slowly crept in.

After An Qiao’s breathing calmed, Chu Heng let out a soft, slow breath.

As if afraid of disturbing the person beside him, he deliberately controlled his breathing, making it almost imperceptible. Even when he wanted to turn his head to look at An Qiao, he moved extremely subtly.

In the light reflecting off the snow outside the window, Chu Heng saw An Qiao sleeping soundly with his eyes closed and his long, curled eyelashes drooping. He was as quiet as the most exquisite and beautiful porcelain doll.

So beautiful.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Then, as if remembering something, he gently and quietly pinched An Qiao’s ear.

Then, feeling guilty, he quickly withdrew his hand.

**

An Qiao woke up the next day, still somewhat in disbelief.

He hadn’t expected to fall asleep so quickly last night! Could Chu Heng’s bedtime story really be that hypnotic?

The door to the hut opened.

Inside, Chu Heng was simmering meat soup by the fire.

Outside, An Qiao leaned lazily against the doorframe, his gaze sweeping over the vast snowfield and distant, snow-capped mountains.

A group of about a dozen people suddenly came into view, growing clearer by the second. Judging by their clothing, they appeared to be locals of the Burial Snowfield.

For some reason, An Qiao suddenly had a bad feeling.

Just then, upon seeing him, the people excitedly shouted from afar:

“Lord Elf, is that you? Have you returned?!”

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