AEKMEM chapter 35

“…Let’s talk about it when you find it.” An Qiao was speechless yet amused.

Throw them around to play with? Did he think magic crystals were cabbages, easy to find?

Besides, in this world, it was hard to say whether Chu Heng could find any.

However, it was undeniable that it was quite…thoughtful?

“It was found in the back mountains of the Elf Palace. The environment there is unique. Even we people of the Burial Snowfield have only found this kind of crystal there. However, this crystal is rare; we haven’t found many over the years.” The local native leader didn’t hide anything when An Qiao asked.

An Qiao raised an eyebrow in surprise. “The back mountains of the Elf Palace?”

He had thought magic crystals were difficult to find in this world and required considerable effort. He hadn’t expected to receive news so quickly.

But now that he had received the news, he no longer felt the uncontrollable eagerness and excitement he had felt when he first saw the magic crystal.

“Honored one, would you like to take a look at the back mountains of the Elf Palace?”

An Qiao: “… ”

Hearing the title “honored one” again made An Qiao’s eyelids twitch.

Taking a deep breath, he asked, “Why do you all think I’m an elf?”

“Honored One, your appearance, temperament, and attire all scream elf.”

An Qiao: “… ”

That’s it?

Just because he looks like an elf?

Are they so unreliable that they believe he’s an elf just because he looks like one? Aren’t they afraid of encountering a fake elf who’s deliberately disguised and only looks the part?

Initially, he thought these people might have a special method to confirm whether someone was an elf. But it turns out they’re just relying on their eyesight.

“Just because he looks like an elf?” Chu Heng breathed a sigh of relief but was also speechless. “Aren’t you all being a bit too hasty and casual?”

He had been worried that the Spirit Burial Snowfield people would cause trouble, but now it seemed he had been overthinking.

Seeing Chu Heng’s doubt, the native became dissatisfied. “We’ve all seen the portrait of that elf. Elves look very different from other people. We wouldn’t make a mistake!”

Chu Heng: “… ”

It did look different. But everyone in the Empire knew that elves had distinctive pointed ears. Could the elf that appeared in the Burial Snowfield have once appeared in human form?

An Qiao was also somewhat surprised.

As Chu Heng suspected, he wondered if the elf had transformed from elven to human form in the Burial Snowfield.

In this world, the people of the Empire believed that elves always had pointed ears. They had never considered that elves might not always maintain their elven form and could potentially transform into human form.

The few elves in the Empire’s history who reverted to human form were probably not high-level enough to appear in elven form or transform into human form at will.

Other elves who crossed over from outside the Empire likely never transformed into human form. Therefore, the people of the Empire were unaware that elves could transform into human form. Identifying them based on their distinctive ears was actually quite inaccurate.

Elves generally prefer their elven form. In fact, almost all elves consider themselves the most perfect race; therefore, they dislike transforming into other forms and would never choose a mate of another species.

An Qiao’s views and aesthetics are somewhat peculiar. He likes bizarre, beautiful, novel, and interesting things and appreciates the violent beauty of large beast battles, especially those involving dragons at the top of the food chain. He is highly curious and enjoys exploring; thus, he is adept at disguising himself as other creatures to immerse himself easily in the world.

Of course, even though An Qiao doesn’t mind switching to human form, he prefers his original elven form.

Back in the Imperial Capital, he was furious when he learned of the Elf Detector’s advanced technology, which could detect his approximate location in his elven form and prevent him from switching back to it at will.

An Qiao asked curiously, “Have you seen a portrait of that elf?”

“That elf came to our Burial Snow Plains hundreds of years ago. He was incredibly kind to us, and we will forever remember him.”

“It’s just a pity that the elf left after only a short time. The Elf Palace we built for him was less than half completed.”

At this point, the native almost choked up, looking deeply regretful and saddened. He paused, then looked at An Qiao. His expression was a mixture of trepidation and anticipation. “Honored one,
Are you really not going to visit the Elf Palace? It is quite beautiful, resplendent, and majestic. It houses crystals that the Elf Lord liked, as well as many jade stones, precious gems, and other rare treasures.”

“The Elf Palace isn’t far from here. Honored One,
Are you really not going to take a look?”

The sincerity, earnestness, and piety in his expression were enough to move anyone.

However, An Qiao still declined.

“Thank you for your invitation, but I am not the elf you are looking for. We have other matters to attend to, so we won’t disturb you any longer.”

Truthfully, the people of the Burial Snowfield did not want to invite him.

Moreover, he is currently disguised as an “elf human,” not an elf. What would he be doing at the Elf Palace?

**

Imperial Capital Star, Imperial Palace.

After Emperor Chu Zhengming finished discussing matters with Marshal Jiang of the Third Army Corps and remembered that Chu Heng and An Qiao had arrived on Water Blue Star, he suddenly asked,

“Tell me, have Chu Heng and An Qiao really settled down?”

Marshal Jiang shook his head helplessly. “Doesn’t Your Majesty know this perfectly well?”

Chu Zhengming: “…”

Okay, it was a pointless question.

Given how eagerly Chu Heng was chasing after An Qiao, it was clear that Chu Heng didn’t want to be separated from An Qiao and had truly chosen him. As the biological and nominal father, he had absolutely no right to interfere.

Chu Heng had been stranded on a chaotic garbage planet since childhood. He only returned to the capital at sixteen after passing the entrance exam for the nation’s First Military Academy. There, he was coincidentally taken in by Chu Zhengming. He knew his place. He hadn’t raised Chu Heng, so he couldn’t interfere in his romantic affairs.

He didn’t have the right to say anything about Chu Heng. As for An Qiao, he was even less likely to interfere.

If Chu Heng found out that he had “bullied” An Qiao, he would definitely turn against him.

He knew Chu Heng’s personality: once he set his mind on someone, barring unforeseen circumstances, that person would be his for life.

When the Brain System initially matched Chu Heng with An Qiao, he was puzzled as to why the usually reliable, error-free system would malfunction so drastically.

Later, it turned out that the Brain System truly lived up to its name and reputation as a matchmaking system that never made mistakes about setting up relationships.

Unlike some people in the Empire who thought that Chu Heng was temporarily captivated by An Qiao’s beauty and would abandon him, Chu Zhengming understood Chu Heng’s personality. He could see that Chu Heng was deeply entangled with An Qiao and would be unable to extricate himself from An Qiao’s “trap” for the rest of his life.

He had never seen Chu Heng care about anyone so much.

Since Chu Heng brought An Qiao back to the Marshal’s residence that evening, he had abducted several chefs from his palace without a word. Chu Zhengming had a premonition.

—These chefs were clearly brought in by Chu Heng for his Crown Princess because he himself wasn’t picky and mostly used nutritional supplements.

Later, when the Zhou family’s young master plotted against An Qiao, Chu Heng not only taught the culprit a lesson, but also secretly dealt with the Zhou family. Worried that An Qiao might encounter danger again, he took back the 2S-level energy shield and gave it to An Qiao.

An Qiao lost contact in the Star Beast Forest assessment area. Worried, Chu Heng disobeyed orders and abandoned his search for the crucial elf that had suddenly appeared to go find An Qiao instead.

When someone questioned An Qiao’s true identity, Chu Heng disrupted the New Year’s Eve banquet he was organizing and nearly beat someone to death. At the banquet, he did whatever An Qiao said, acting completely obediently and displaying extreme henpecked behavior.

Now, he has even abandoned his duties with the Second Army Corps to take An Qiao to Water Blue Star.

Chu Zhengming was confused. Why did Chu Heng like An Qiao so much?

—Is it really just because of An Qiao’s unparalleled, breathtaking beauty?

—But is Chu Heng really that superficial?

The truth is, he is that superficial—a hopelessly obsessed person with looks.

Of course, looks are only the foundation of love at first sight.

If An Qiao were like everyone else—afraid of his menacing aura, unable to meet his blood-red eyes that countless people fear, and harboring impure thoughts—then no matter how beautiful his face, Chu Heng wouldn’t give it a second glance.

Moved by Chu Heng’s deep affection, Chu Zhengming brought up another matter: “I received news that the Greedy Wolf Star Pirates have also gone to Water Blue Star and entered the Spirit Burial Snowfield. Apparently, they found an ancient and mysterious treasure map by accident. The Spirit Burial Snowfield is said to hold the remains of an elf, and the map points to the treasure left behind by that elf—”

“Do you think the Spirit Burial Snowfield might truly hold the remains of an elf?”

Compared to the uncertain truth of the elf’s treasure, Chu Zhengming was clearly more interested in the elf itself.

An Elf had suddenly appeared in the Star Beast Forest, but unfortunately, it disappeared without a trace. In recent days, various forces in the Imperial Capital Star had sent people to search for the elf after learning of its appearance, but without success.

Marshal Jiang pondered for a moment. “It’s possible that elves appeared in the Burial Snowfield, and perhaps treasure as well. But to say that elves are buried there is unlikely. How could elves die so easily?”

Chu Zhengming nodded.

After a while, he suddenly asked, “What do you think of the Greedy Wolf Star Pirates? Chu Heng thinks that the star pirates who kidnapped him as a baby were from there.”

“The Greedy Wolf Star Pirate is greedy and cunning and may be colluding with a certain force in the Imperial Capital Star.”

“Then, Marshal Jiang, which force do you think the Greedy Wolf Star Pirates are colluding with?”

“This subject doesn’t know.” Marshal Jiang lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Whether he truly didn’t know or was harboring suspicions and remained silent remained unknown.

Chu Zhengming didn’t press further.

He lightly tapped the table with two bent fingers, seemingly lost in thought. His expression remained as gentle and calm as ever, but a chill lurked in the depths of his eyes.

**

A dozen or so local natives left with reluctant and regretful faces.

An Qiao slowly and elegantly sipped the meat soup and ate several pieces of the freshly roasted lamb that Chu Heng had prepared.

He seemed to be in a good mood, enjoying the delicious food. His eyes were slightly narrowed, looking rather lazy. “Let’s follow them from a distance and see if there are any more crystals in the back of the Elf Palace mountain.”

Chu Heng was puzzled. “Didn’t you just refuse their invitation?”

Seeing those people’s overly sincere and earnest invitations to An Qiao, which were almost like the pious prayers of believers, Chu Heng had worried that An Qiao would be moved or soften his heart. He hadn’t expected An Qiao to refuse so indifferently.

No, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. An Qiao could be quite aloof, sometimes not even bothering to glance at unimportant people.

“They weren’t trying to invite me,” An Qiao said, shaking his head.

Even though they had all denied that he wasn’t an elf, those people insisted on relying solely on their “eyesight,” calling him “Lord Elf” in front of Chu Heng. This made him tremble with fear as if his identity were about to be exposed at any moment. He also felt a strange sense of guilt.

Despite refusing their invitation, however, he still wanted to go to the back mountain of the Elf Palace, where the magic crystal was located.

He wanted to see what was so special about that place and whether it was likely inextricably linked to his original elf world. Perhaps there was even a way to return to his original elf world from there.

Those people said the elf left not long after. Had he left from there and returned to his world?

Thinking of the elf world, An Qiao’s eyes glazed over slightly.

He still needed to find a way back. Fortunately, the invading demons have been defeated and the elven territory is no longer in danger. With rest and recuperation, they will recover quickly.

—There’s no need to rush back just yet.

But a vague voice deep inside told him that he didn’t want to go back, not just because of that.

Chu Heng noticed An Qiao’s distant, blank gaze and his heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

He had confidently promised that if An Qiao liked that kind of crystal and wanted it, he would find a bunch for him to play with.

Now that An Qiao said he was going to the back mountain of the Elf Palace to find crystals, he should have been happy to help. However, he suddenly had a bad feeling and didn’t want An Qiao to go.

Was he worried that An Qiao going to the Elf Palace would expose his elven identity?

“Qiao Qiao,” Chu Heng called out.

“Hmm?” An Qiao looked up at him. His eyes were clear and bright, and his beautiful ice-blue eyes reflected Chu Heng’s image as clearly as sapphires.

Chu Heng suddenly felt much more at ease.

An Qiao met his deep, rose-colored eyes, which were fixed on him and unusually bright. He was momentarily stunned.

Seeing that Chu Heng had called him but he didn’t answer, An Qiao wondered, “What did you call me for?”

Chu Heng: “… ”

If I say it’s nothing and that I suddenly wanted to call him, would he beat me up?

“Ahem…” Chu Heng quickly came up with a clever excuse. “Actually, I wanted to say, no wonder those people think you’re an elf. Qiaoqiao, you’re so beautiful! More beautiful than anyone I’ve ever seen!”

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