AEKMEM chapter 56

Chu Heng quickly said a few words to Yin Que and Shen You. Then, he went outside to find An Qiao, who was waiting for him to go back together.

But…

When he went outside, he was dumbfounded.

Where is my wife?

Where is my wife? My dear wife—where did he go?

An Qiao told him to explain to Yin Que and Shen You why he left early. He said the air inside was stuffy, so he went outside to wait for him and get some fresh air.

However, when he came out, he didn’t see An Qiao at all!

“Sir, the gentleman who was just here said he had to leave. You don’t need to look for him,” a young man dressed as a waiter said gently.

Chu Heng: “…

So it was premeditated after all.

Could An Qiao have had plans that he didn’t want him to know about?

He guessed that An Qiao didn’t want him to interfere, but the thought of An Qiao still being drunk made him frown.

Unable to rest easy, he asked the waiter to point out the direction in which An Qiao had left and went to look for him.

**

An Qiao felt a little guilty for sneaking away alone.

But he didn’t care.

If he didn’t slip away soon, he might lose control and revert to his spirit form, exposing his true identity.

A slender young man draped in a hooded cloak walked through a quiet alleyway bathed in bright moonlight.

“Who would have thought that the mighty Elf King would be so sneaky, afraid to reveal his true face?”

Hearing this, the cloaked youth—An Qiao—coldly glanced at the illusory figure that had appeared before him.

“Can’t compare to you, the grand Demon King, who’s so useless that you can’t even preserve your own body and have to live in this pathetic form.”

The figure’s face contorted with grotesque fury for a moment, then it quickly regained its composure and smiled. “I now find that the absence of a physical body grants me greater freedom. I can multiply myself as I please, possessing whichever body I desire.”

“Oh,” An Qiao replied indifferently. The pale face beneath the wide cloak appeared cold and indifferent. Though there was no mockery, it conveyed a sense of condescension and disdain greater than any verbal taunt.

“Did you like the gift I gave you the other day? Too bad; it only managed to self-destruct once.” The illusory figure attempted to provoke An Qiao.

“How about I give you another gift? I never imagined the mighty Elf King would take a liking to a human. I’ll take that Chu Heng…”

“You talk too much!”

Enraged, An Qiao hurled a ball of light, shattering the ground where the illusory figure had stood. The illusory figure vanished completely.

However, the instant the figure was annihilated, An Qiao succumbed to the backlash and coughed up blood.

This illusory figure was a fragment of the Demon King’s soul. It was far more complete and powerful than the extremely faint remnant of his soul that An Qiao had encountered at Emerald Lake Park.

Therefore, after destroying this fragment, An Qiao, still bearing the Demon King’s curse, suffered a backlash from it.

Wiping the blood from his lips, the Elf King almost cursed aloud.

If destroying a powerful fragment of the Demon King’s soul resulted in a backlash and coughing up blood, although it weakened the Demon King’s soul, how many more backlashes would he endure and how much more blood would he cough up?

This Demon King’s remnant soul is truly persistent! Previously, he had controlled beastmen to self-destruct, making them frantically shout, “It’s all the elf’s fault!” before exploding. Although An Qiao had stopped it once at Emerald Lake Park and had warned Chu Heng to alert the relevant departments in Blue Star City, one beastman was still successfully influenced by the Demon King’s remnant soul and self-destructed, causing some casualties.

An Qiao couldn’t quite grasp the thought process of the Demon King’s remnant soul.

Why had he appeared as a split soul this time? Destroying this split soul would be a significant loss for the incomplete Demon King’s remnant soul.

Was it all just to provoke him?

As for the backlash from the Demon King’s curse, for An Qiao, who had already recovered seventy to eighty percent of his magical power, it was merely momentary pain without any real damage.

However, for the pampered Elf King, the pain was enough to make him frown.

Recalling the last mention of Chu Heng by the Demon King’s remnant soul…

An Qiao’s eyes turned cold.

**

He walked out of the alley.

Instantly, a bustling crowd and dazzling lights rushed into view.

An Qiao pulled up the wide hood of his long cloak.

He had bought this hooded cloak just in case.

Just now, in the deserted alley, he had briefly lost control and reverted to his elf form.

However, he quickly switched back to human form.

Luckily, he hadn’t encountered anyone.

Although he still vaguely felt like the energy inside his body was “swelling” against him, since he could already control his shift back to human form, it should be fine… right?

An Qiao thought somewhat uncertainly.

The effects of the alcohol hadn’t worn off yet, so a faint, hazy light flickered in his icy blue eyes.

“An Qiao?!”

At that moment, a shocked and incredulous shout came from ahead.

Jiang Qi looked at him in disbelief. “Why are you here alone?”

Wasn’t he supposed to be at the dinner party hosted by Yin Que and Shen You’s group with Chu Heng?

The adjutant was out on business and hadn’t expected to run into An Qiao here. An Qiao was alone on the streets late at night without Chu Heng by his side.

An Qiao could go out alone. They were supposed to be a couple going out to dinner together, so they should have gone home together or strolled around afterwards.

But why was An Qiao alone?

“Did you and His Highness the Crown Prince have a fight?”

An Qiao: “… ”

He said speechlessly, “You’re overthinking it. We didn’t fight.”

“Oh.” Jiang Qi clearly didn’t believe him.

He was also secretly fiddling with something on his wrist-mounted personal terminal, clearly trying to notify Chu Heng.

[Your Highness, did you and the Crown Princess have a fight? Otherwise, why is he wandering around outside alone?]

[No fight!] Chu Heng replied quickly.

Jiang Qi thought that the eager denial, complete with two exclamation marks, seemed to confirm that Your Highness and the Crown Princess had indeed argued.

“Notifying Chu Heng?” An Qiao’s cold voice suddenly rang out.

“Um…ah?” Jiang Qi didn’t know whether to say “yes” or “no.”

It seemed a bit inappropriate for him, the middleman, to report the Crown Princess’s whereabouts and situation to the Crown Prince while they were arguing and bickering.

Just then, Chu Heng asked again: [Have you seen Qiao Qiao?!]

[Where is he? Is he all right?]

[Yes, on XX Street,] Jiang Qi replied.

Then, he looked at An Qiao.

He noticed that An Qiao’s attire was different from usual. He was wearing a white, long cloak with a wide hood that obscured most of his face.

His complexion also seemed paler than usual.

[The Crown Princess seems to be in some trouble. It looks similar to when the old injury flared up before.]

While replying to Chu Heng, Jiang Qi looked at An Qiao with concern. “You don’t look well. Should I take you home first?”

“No need,” An Qiao refused. “You go about your business. I’ll go home by myself.”

He had previously lost control and reverted to his elf form. Now, however, he could switch back to human form. It seemed he was fine, so going back was convenient.

The garden castle where he and Chu Heng lived wasn’t far, so the walk wouldn’t take long. He could use the time to check if his condition was truly resolved.

After all, he still felt the sensation of energy pushing outward from his body.

However, perhaps still slightly drunk, his intuition wasn’t as sharp as usual, and he didn’t sense anything amiss.

So, he definitely wouldn’t unexpectedly and uncontrollably revert to an elf again… right?

**

Some time after An Qiao walked out of the alley, another illusory figure appeared where the Demon King’s fragmented soul had been destroyed.

It was almost identical to the previous one. Only this one was more solidified.

The newly appeared figure made a gesture, and the remaining drop of bright red blood on the ground was enveloped by an invisible force and flew into his hand.

The figure gazed at the drop of blood, a sinister smile spreading across its face. “I’m really looking forward to the day you’re dragged down from your pedestal!”

“Let me see who hates you the most…”

“Hmm? A piece of trash? But at least his background is decent. I can use him.”

**

An Qiao returned to the Garden Castle without incident.

Stepping into his familiar bedroom, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it was just a false alarm, and his elf identity hadn’t been exposed.

Slightly drunk and exhausted from the backlash of the Demon King’s curse, he fell into a deep sleep. After washing up, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Because he was asleep, he was unaware of the astonishing changes that had occurred within him.

When Chu Heng received the news from Jiang Qi and rushed back, An Qiao had already gone to his bedroom and fallen asleep.

Thinking that An Qiao was slightly drunk and remembering what Jiang Qi had told him—that An Qiao’s complexion looked unhealthy, similar to when he coughed up blood from a flare-up of his old injury—Chu Heng frowned deeply.

In the past, when An Qiao’s old injury flared up severely, he developed a high fever and fainted. Even when it wasn’t severe, he felt unwell and listless.

If Jiang Qi was right, then this was another flare-up of his old injury, and Chu Heng didn’t know how serious An Qiao’s condition was.

He wondered how serious it was this time and how much pain An Qiao was in.

Stepping up to the second floor, Chu Heng arrived at An Qiao’s bedroom door. He knocked three times: knock, knock, knock.

He heard no sound from inside.

Could he already be asleep? After all, it was quite late—past nine o’clock. It was normal for a drunk person to fall asleep early and sleep soundly.

However, he was also worried that An Qiao might not actually be asleep but unconscious due to a relapse of an old injury—something that had happened before.

An Qiao was extremely strong, and his senses were sharp. Even if he was asleep, he would wake up immediately upon hearing a knock.

“An Qiao?” he called out, louder this time.

There was still no response or sound from inside.

Chu Heng’s heart sank. He was certain that something was wrong with An Qiao.

Without hesitation, he used his homeowner privileges to forcefully unlock the smart lock on An Qiao’s bedroom door.

His hands trembled slightly as he pushed open the door. Chu Heng felt a surge of fear—

—of finding An Qiao unconscious due to a relapse of an old injury.

However, the next second, when he saw An Qiao lying on the bed, Chu Heng’s eyes widened in shock.

This… Qiao Qiao had turned back into an elf?!

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