AEKMEM chapter 83

After hearing Chu Heng say, “It’s alright,” An Qiao pushed the door open and went in.

In the darkness, one flame lit up, then two, and so on. Each flame seemed to ignite without heat, twinkling like stars and exuding an exquisite beauty.

The entire room lit up.

It wasn’t the brightness of lamplight, but the enchanting glow of flames and candlelight.

They illuminated the roses on the table, the cake with candles, and Chu Heng as he walked toward An Qiao.

“Qiaoqiao…”

Chu Heng felt slightly guilty.

Today wasn’t a special day. He just wanted to make An Qiao happy first and then confess in a couple of days that he had used his heart’s blood to break the Demon King’s curse.

It was better to confess proactively than to let An Qiao find out later.

Moreover, the dragon’s heart’s blood treatment was only the first step. Two more steps were needed to completely remove the curse from An Qiao. Both of these steps required An Qiao’s cooperation.

He had used his heart’s blood to treat An Qiao first and then informed him because he knew that An Qiao would absolutely not agree if he told him directly; An Qiao wouldn’t allow him to be harmed. Thinking about how angry An Qiao would be after finding out…

“Why do you seem a little…guilty?” An Qiao narrowed his eyes sharply.

Chu Heng: “… ”

He was just about to say that he wasn’t guilty when he suddenly fainted!

**

The surprise turned into shock.

An Qiao was still dazed when Chu Heng suddenly transformed into a black dragon and scooped him up by the tail, carrying him on his back.

The black dragon soared into the air, roaring excitedly to the sky.

An Qiao rubbed his temples; a headache was throbbing.

Because the dragon bloodline within Chu Heng had awakened further, he could only maintain his beast form during the past few days, and he temporarily lost his memory. His bestial instincts overwhelmed his humanity and affected his mind, leading him to act on instinct.

—Whether to be relieved or speechless, although Chu Heng didn’t recognize or remember him, the moment he awoke from his unconscious state, he seemed to have found a glittering treasure. He excitedly wrapped his tail around An Qiao’s waist and forcibly abducted him.

When Chu Heng first fell unconscious, An Qiao caught him as he collapsed, checked his condition, and his face darkened considerably.

He discovered that Chu Heng’s heart’s blood had been extracted!

Fortunately, although Chu Heng was unconscious, he was unharmed. His unconsciousness was due to the further awakening of the dragon bloodline within him.

It was unclear whether the awakening of the dragon bloodline required a process of destruction followed by reconstruction. The extraction of his heart’s blood, coupled with his recent injuries, had inexplicably accelerated the awakening process.

His heart’s blood had been extracted some time ago, but he hadn’t noticed because Chu Heng had intentionally concealed it, making it undetectable.

Who was it?

A terrifying killing intent and ferocity flashed in his icy blue eyes.

The next second, however, he realized that, with his strength, only he could extract his own heart’s blood—unless it was voluntary.

During this time, the effects of the Demon King’s curse had lessened considerably. He attributed this to his gradually recovering strength. Although he had occasionally questioned this change, the impending war left him no time to dwell on it.

Now, he realized that Chu Heng had used dragon heart blood to remove the Demon King’s curse on the night he was drunk.

An Qiao’s feelings were complex.

The ancient texts he had consulted said that one way to remove the Demon King’s curse was to have a dragon of high bloodline willingly pay a price.

The specific price wasn’t recorded, and he didn’t care much.

If he were still in the elven world, he could easily capture a dragon.

But in this world, there’s only one dragon: Chu Heng.

If Chu Heng had to pay a price to break the curse, then he would forget about it. He’ll wait until his strength returns to its peak and break the curse himself. Although completely breaking the curse is difficult and time-consuming, it’s still a viable method.

Unexpectedly, Chu Heng learned of this method somehow.

—No, he must have learned it from the inherited memories of the dragon race.

When Chu Heng was injured and discovered previously, he explained, “After being injured, the speed at which I receive the dragon race’s inherited memories increases. I wanted to test if this was true and try to obtain more memories.”

At the time, they thought he was insane! He injured himself just to test an “experiment” whose validity was uncertain.

But, in reality, Chu Heng’s “madness” stemmed from him. Seeing him tormented by the Demon King’s curse, Chu Heng desperately wanted to help him. After obtaining the method to break the curse from the memories, he didn’t hesitate to harm himself and use the dragon’s blood to help him.

[What’s going on? Why did His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly transform into a giant dragon and crash into a small section of the military camp?

His personal terminal suddenly beeped urgently. It was a message adjutant Jiang Qi.

[Has something happened to His Highness the Crown Prince?]

Under normal circumstances, Chu Heng would not transform into a giant dragon without considering the time and place because the beast form is enormous and extremely destructive.

Although Chu Heng controlled the dragon form and didn’t grow to its maximum size this time, he still crashed into a small section of the makeshift military camp. Fortunately, no soldiers were injured or killed. These were tough, resilient beastman warriors. Those with a strong premonition ran out in time, while the slower ones were only slightly stunned by the impact.

However, this was clearly not Chu Heng’s usual behavior; it was not the sensible, rational Chu Heng he was known for.

Jiang Qi, who was nearly buried under a collapsing nearby building, initially thought it was an enemy attack. Seeing Chu Heng transform into a black dragon and soar into the sky left him momentarily bewildered and shocked.

What on earth is Chu Heng doing?!

After the initial shock and anger subsided, Jiang Qi realized that something was wrong.

Chu Heng was clearly not thinking clearly. Could something have happened to him?

While handling the aftermath, Jiang Qi hurriedly contacted Chu Heng.

Receiving no response, he contacted An Qiao.

“It seems something has happened,” An Qiao replied. He explained the further awakening of Chu Heng’s bloodline to Jiang Qi and advised him to pay close attention to the Second Army’s affairs in the days leading up to Chu Heng’s recovery.

“Fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince isn’t in serious trouble,” Jiang Qi said, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

He didn’t doubt what An Qiao said. Since Chu Heng trusted An Qiao, Jiang Qi, as his adjutant, naturally trusted him as well. Besides, Jiang Qi had witnessed An Qiao’s actions during this period.

“However—”

Jiang Qi frowned slightly. “Your Highness, it sounds like you’ve become a Fallen Beast. I’m afraid the Second Prince and the Mo family will take this opportunity to cause trouble.”

After a Beastman’s Spiritual Sea is completely shattered, there is a small chance they will slowly become a Fallen Beast. A Fallen Beast is someone who has “fallen into beastshood,” who can only maintain their beast form and has lost their “humanity,” possessing only “beastly nature.” Ultimately, they become like a wild beast.

One sign of becoming a Fallen Beast is that their eyes turn blood red.

Because of his blood-red eyes and the enormous size of his black dragon beast form, as well as his high combat power and the bloodshed he accumulated on the battlefield, he was considered too malevolent. Some malicious people spread rumors that he would one day “lose control.”

Chu Heng suddenly transformed into a gigantic black dragon, collapsing part of a military camp before soaring into the sky. His ostentatious, sky-obscuring appearance was undoubtedly witnessed by many.

Apart from the soldiers of the Second Army Corps, the local residents of Red and Blue Star had returned home due to the war’s end and the lifting of restrictions. In addition, many outsiders had flooded into Red and Blue Star. With so many people on Red and Blue Star, this news couldn’t be kept secret.

If those with ulterior motives learned of this matter, coupled with Chu Heng’s inability to appear in the following days, it would certainly arouse suspicion.

An Qiao sneered. “Dare to cause trouble? Perfect, we’ll deal with them all at once.”

This is brutal. Jiang Qi secretly broke out in a cold sweat, silently praying for those people.

**

An Qiao had been utterly exhausted these past two days.

Chu Heng had “abducted” him to a cave in a remote mountain forest and “imprisoned” him there.

The spacious, dry, and bright cave had been modified by the giant dragon Chu Heng, and it was barely presentable. The cave entrance was sealed with energy, preventing anyone from leaving.

—Of course, An Qiao was no ordinary person, so this energy seal couldn’t stop him.

However, the giant dragon Chu Heng seemed confident that he could.

The next afternoon, when his adjutant, Jiang Qi, arrived, An Qiao was sitting in a recliner at the cave entrance. He propped up his cheek with one hand and lazily basked in the sun with his eyes half-closed.

Jiang Qi couldn’t bring himself to say, “You’ve suffered.”

On the way, he had thought Chu Heng, having lost his mind and memory, would make things difficult for An Qiao. Now, however, it seemed he had overthought it.

Even in his amnesia, His Highness the Crown Prince hadn’t forgotten to kidnap and hide the Crown Princess, which showed how deeply he loved his wife.

After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, Jiang Qi asked curiously, “Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?”

His Highness is usually so clingy with the Crown Princess. Even with amnesia, he shouldn’t be any different, right?

An Qiao’s lips twitched slightly. His expression on his snow-white face was inscrutable. “He went ‘treasure hunting.'”

“Treasure hunting?” Jiang Qi asked, puzzled.

Just then, a fierce, long roar echoed, and the sky suddenly darkened.

A colossal black dragon, shimmering with dark light and awe-inspiring in its immense size and powerful presence, swept toward them, its terrifying pressure freezing the air momentarily.

The dragon had sensed its territory being invaded and had returned.

Mistaking Jiang Qi for an intruder trying to steal its “treasure,” the dragon’s large, blood-red, vertical eyes stared at him menacingly. It seemed as if the dragon would tear him in two at any moment.

Jiang Qi: “…”

He felt a chill run down his spine and cold sweat pour down his back. He couldn’t help but curse Chu Heng for being a heartless scoundrel who had forgotten his friend for a pretty face.

“Don’t hurt anyone.” An Qiao’s clear, pleasant voice rang out just in time.

The dragon released him, shrinking its body and gliding slowly to An Qiao’s side with a flap of its wings.

Recovering from the shock, Jiang Qi watched as the dragon approached An Qiao eagerly, pulling things out of a pouch hanging around its neck.

Fruits as red as agate and as brilliant as gold—food for An Qiao.

There were also energy crystals, rubies, green jade, white pearls, gold nuggets, and other dazzling, extraordinarily beautiful items.

Wait a minute. Something seems off. There seem to be some shiny but worthless things mixed in, like glass and platinum flakes?!

Jiang Qi’s eyes widened in disbelief. His once mighty, wise, and brilliant image as the Crown Prince seemed to be crumbling — though, to be fair, it had nearly collapsed before this.

Turning to glance at An Qiao, Jiang Qi saw his previously aloof and languid expression turn helpless, subtle, and complex. Jiang Qi finally understood why An Qiao’s expression had been so indescribable when he said that Chu Heng had gone “treasure hunting.”

—he was offering garbage as treasure. His Highness the Crown Prince had truly made black history!

Jiang Qi gloated as he opened the personal terminal on his wrist to record.

Suddenly, however, he felt a dangerous, sharp gaze upon him, causing him to stop what he was doing involuntarily.

“Adjutant Jiang,” An Qiao said in a cold, indifferent voice that carried a dangerous warning.

Jiang Qi: “… ”

It’s just recording a harmless embarrassing moment in His Highness’s life, isn’t it? Crown Princess, do you have to be so protective of your husband?!

But, thinking about it, it’s not entirely incomprehensible. The crown princess’s possessiveness and protectiveness toward his highness are usually quite terrifying. He remembered how cold and stern his face was when the Crown Prince was injured.

After a short while, Jiang Qi left, inwardly grumbling.

Chu Heng, this possessive dragon, watched Jiang Qi like a hawk, as if he were a treasure-hunting robber. Jiang Qi’s scalp tingled from his gaze. He wondered if he would be killed if he stayed a moment longer.

He had come here for two reasons: to see Chu Heng and An Qiao and to ask about certain matters.

Now, having learned from An Qiao that Chu Heng would finish awakening and recover by tomorrow morning—or by tomorrow evening at the latest—Jiang Qi felt relieved. As for the mess that the Second Prince’s faction had created in their desperate struggle over the past two days, Jiang Qi would leave it for Chu Heng to handle once he regained consciousness. Only Chu Heng could resolve this matter.

Chu Heng’s bloodline awakening wouldn’t have been completed so quickly if not for An Qiao, who accelerated the process at the cost of a massive amount of light-attribute magic.

The Elf King considered himself a “dragon enthusiast,” admiring the violent aesthetics of these large, ferocious beasts at the top of the food chain. He had always longed to see Chu Heng in his black dragon form.

However, upon seeing that, due to his further awakening, Chu Heng could only maintain his black dragon form and could not revert to human form, the Elf King felt no joy in the face of the dragon he had previously admired, one that embodied violent aesthetics.

The Elf King longed to see a Chu Heng who would smile at him; a Chu Heng who had his own joys and sorrows; a Chu Heng who would care for him, worry about him, protect him, and love him. He wanted a Chu Heng who would carry him, hold his hand, hug him, steal kisses, and always find opportunities to pinch his ears.

—Compared to being a “dragon enthusiast,” he was a “Chu Heng enthusiast.”

**

The next morning, Chu Heng woke up groggily and instinctively reached out to pull An Qiao into his arms, intending to go back to sleep.

But the next second, he suddenly stiffened.

…What had he done these past few days!

He had actually abducted An Qiao in public and imprisoned him!

—Even though he had indeed fantasized about “hiding his Qiao Qiao away in a golden house,” and even now would occasionally have such crazy thoughts — hiding his Qiao Qiao where no one else could see him, only himself — even if you gave him ten times the courage, he would NEVER actually do it!

He made his picky, spoiled Qiaoqiao sleep in a cave!

He foolishly treated cheap, shiny glass items like treasures and adored Qiaoqiao with them.

Chu Heng: “…”

“Awake?” An Qiao’s voice sounded softly.

Chu Heng’s back stiffened.

“Weren’t you brave enough to forcibly abduct me and imprison me in this cave before?” An Qiao scoffed as he reached out and poked Chu Heng’s face slightly. “Why are you so cowardly now?”

Acargoreng: There are only two chapters left! Thanks for reading, and see you next week 😊

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