Inside Outpost Base No. 7, in Luote Family territory
Luote*Woske sat on a bench, studying Chen Beixun.
The two of them sat across a table, which was cluttered with various instruments and sketches.
Luote*Woske swept the things on the table aside and said solemnly, "I can't guarantee that you'll be able to get into that tower safely."
The Luote Family was a long way from Slanted Axe Tower. To get there, they would have to rely on the goodwill of other organizations.
"That's all right. Just get me to the area controlled by Win Pavilion," Chen Beixun said softly. His tone was perfectly calm, as if success were certain.
Luote*Woske thought to himself, This kid's pretty confident.
He said, "Your Demon Island Vine alone won't be enough. I'll tell someone to provide you with some weapons. We can discuss this again when the time comes!"
Then he stood up and personally escorted Chen Beixun out, hoping to brush the matter aside.
Chen Beixun was An Changyan's man now. Luote*Woske had heard about it, and didn't want to offend An Changyan, directly or indirectly.
"Mr. Woske, please think it over again," Chen Beixun said anxiously.
Luote*Woske said nothing. He simply stepped forward, opened the door, and gestured for him to leave.
"Mr. Chen Beixun!"
"Please!"
Luote*Woske's expression stiffened. With a rigid face, he insisted on watching Chen Beixun leave.
Chen Beixun stood at the door, eyes lowered. After a brief pause, he stepped outside.
He walked in fits and starts the whole way, unable to think of any way to get into Slanted Axe Tower.
"This is hard to deal with." Chen Beixun took a deep breath. "Maybe this is a good thing."
"No need to risk my life."
"I'll go back and see what they say." Chen Beixun rested his hands behind his head, his gaze calm as still water.
The idea of entering Slanted Axe Tower had first come from Pavadode, and An Changyan had supported it. Chen Beixun had wanted to refuse, but things were different now. He was working for someone else, and at most, he could protect himself when danger came.
******
Inside the Machine Race Spaceship's rest cabin.
"He refused?" An Changyan furrowed his brows. A blush crept across his fair face.
Chen Beixun shook his head, looking dejected and helpless. Of course, he was only pretending. He felt nothing inside.
An Changyan pressed his lips together, his bright eyes glistening as he glanced at Chen Beixun.
"You don't have... some kind of problem, do you?" An Changyan asked, disbelief in his voice.
After all, he and Chen Beixun hadn't built complete trust yet.
Chen Beixun said nothing. He understood that this seemingly harmless, even a little dim-witted fellow... had devoted half his talent points to language, while the rest had been assigned at random.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" An Changyan's face lit up, as if he'd caught Chen Beixun in something.
"Not this again." Chen Beixun stood up and turned to leave.
An Changyan had launched his attack in no time at all, his sweet words flowing like honey.
Chen Beixun let out a sigh and stopped. Slowly, he turned his head toward An Changyan. Then, without warning, he grabbed An Changyan by the chin and tilted it up.
An Changyan let out a short whimper, instantly reminded of the Demon Island Vine.
"No! You..."
Chen Beixun made a crane's claw with his left hand, pinched An Changyan's lips, and pulled them back.
"Mm-mm." An Changyan let out a strange sound. He clenched his little hands and punched Chen Beixun. The blow was so powerful that the whole room shook.
Without the Demon Island Vine's protection, Chen Beixun might not have made it out of the room.
An Changyan's face was now as tender and pink as a ripe peach. His chest rose and fell slightly.
Chen Beixun broke out in a cold sweat, but still managed to speak calmly. "Your Highness, Your Highness. Just listen to me, okay!"
Panting, Chen Beixun released the hand gripping An Changyan's chin.
The atmosphere grew ever more tense, and the heat in their bodies made it feel like they were caught between ice and fire...
"Mm-mm..." An Changyan struggled with all his might. His eyes were icy as he glared at Chen Beixun, as if to say, I can make you regret ever being born.
"Your Highness!" Chen Beixun leaned his face closer.
The two of them stared at each other.
An Changyan's gaze darted away. He drew his head back timidly and touched Chen Beixun's hand, signaling for him to let go.
Chen Beixun quickly released him and stepped back, his face wreathed in smiles.
"Uh... I'm sorry, Your Highness!"
An Changyan straightened himself a little, then said in a low voice, "I've always thought of you as a companion..." Tears welled at the corners of his eyes. He looked so pitiful, delicate, and helpless that anyone would have felt sorry for him.
Chen Beixun wore a concerned, regretful expression, but thought to himself, Do I look like someone who can be bought with a few tears?
"A companion?"
"That might have been true two hundred years ago."
An Changyan cried so hard that his nose ran, his face streaked with tears.
"Boo-hoo..."
When Chen Beixun had first met An Changyan, he'd thought he was a cold, pure beauty, like an iceberg.
But this...
An award-winning actor?
"Your Highness, I really did my best with this matter!" Chen Beixun looked completely at a loss.
An Changyan raised his red-rimmed eyes a little and sobbed, "I... I'm not blaming you." As he spoke, he gently touched Chen Beixun's hand with his slender fingers.
Then, as if shocked by an electric current, he snatched his hand back. His tearful eyes carefully studied Chen Beixun.
An award-winning actor... no, a god of acting. Chen Beixun gave him the highest praise in his mind. There was nothing he could do, though, so he played along and kept the act going.
"Your Highness, I'll try again." Chen Beixun's eyes were full of tenderness as he slowly shifted closer, as if he truly regretted what had happened.
"No need..." An Changyan moved to one side to make room. Then he lifted his feet, wrapped his arms around his knees, and curled into a ball. He even patted the space he'd cleared.
Chen Beixun was helpless inside. If you're going to act, you have to go all the way.
"Your Highness." As soon as Chen Beixun sat down, An Changyan threw himself at him. If any other hot-blooded young man had been met with such a sudden, bold advance, he might already have fallen for it.
"Your Highness?!" Chen Beixun was utterly astonished. He hurriedly said, "You can't, you can't. That would cross a line."
An Changyan buried his head in Chen Beixun's arms and spoke in a timid, barely audible voice. "Stay with me... for a while."
Chen Beixun sighed. To him, a beautiful woman was no different from a skeleton.
His heart was pure, free of distracting thoughts. He only wanted to cultivate in peace for a while, then spread his wings and soar into the unknown once he was strong enough.
"Your Highness," Chen Beixun said gently.
An Changyan's formerly cool, fair face now glowed with a blush, making his cheeks look so rosy that anyone would feel their heart soften. His tear-filled almond eyes stared at Chen Beixun in astonishment.
Chen Beixun's expression was warm, like the rising sun. An Changyan had never seen this side of him. From the moment he'd first met Chen Beixun, he'd always thought of him as a gloomy, crawling, thuggish sort of person.
An Changyan's red lips curled up slightly. "Chen Beixun, you..." He didn't know how to continue.
"I..." An Changyan's eyes wandered away, and he thought to himself, Could he have actually fallen for me? Maybe I went too far... What should I do?
That can't be.
An Changyan had lived only a little over twenty years.
To Chen Beixun, those twenty-odd years amounted to about one-fifteenth of his life. In his eyes, An Changyan was like a child.
It was worth noting that women of the Kekumeng Race placed great importance on chastity. Their people were more conservative than other races in general, so it was normal for them to have some unusual ideas.
Still, the Kekumeng Race had a higher birth rate than other human races with the same status—second-tier bloodlines—though not by much.
An Changyan's family was a good example. There were nine people in all, counting him! And his parents believed in monogamy.
"Do you look down on me because I'm your employer?" An Changyan asked softly.
"How could I? I'm just a little disappointed in you, Your Highness." Chen Beixun grew a little bolder and drew An Changyan into his arms. He even rubbed An Changyan's soft, pink cheeks.
He'd thought An Changyan would pull away, but instead, he acted extremely willing, meek as a kitten.
"Huh?" Chen Beixun was startled. "I thought your people were more conservative than other races in general?"
"This is a bit of a problem..." Chen Beixun panicked, his face turning rigid and ashen.
"Damn it!"
"Hm?" An Changyan lifted his head from Chen Beixun's arms. Seeing him, he burst out laughing and thought, I need to find an excuse to get out of this... This can't go on.
I'm done for... No, maybe he's testing me, trying to seduce me! A bolt of lightning seemed to explode in Chen Beixun's mind.
I almost fell for it! Chen Beixun couldn't help but marvel. As expected of someone from a major family. What incredible acting! What a brilliant scheme, using himself as bait!
An Changyan rose from Chen Beixun's arms and placed both hands on his shoulders. He whispered into Chen Beixun's ear, "If you can make it through the Warrior Tournament and reach the final round, I'll perform the Rite of Zhou with you."
"Fine, fine! That scheme didn't work, so now you're trying this?" Chen Beixun thought with a frown, but he boasted aloud, "The final round? I'll make it to the core rounds and show you!"
His tone was arrogant beyond measure.
An Changyan's face flushed even more deeply, and his body trembled slightly. He thought, Has he really fallen for me?
"Let's go for a walk." An Changyan's eyes were seductive, and he even gave Chen Beixun's ear a gentle bite.
"Huh??" Chen Beixun was utterly at a loss. "Normally, wouldn't you go along with the moment and let the matter drop?"
******
Chen Beixun walked through the Machine Race spaceship with a blank expression. An Changyan had his arm linked through Chen Beixun's and gazed at him with a lovestruck smile. His stare was making Chen Beixun feel a little uneasy.
Pavadode: "?"
Pavadode came toward them and saw the scene. He thought, I was gone for a while... and things have changed this much.
The atmosphere between the three of them was a little strange.
"What's going on?" Pavadode sent Chen Beixun a voice transmission.
"I don't know either. Your Highness seems a little... confused," Chen Beixun replied via voice transmission.
"Haha, I thought you were about to rise in the ranks," Pavadode said, keeping a straight face as he sent the voice transmission.
An Changyan's eyes were full of infatuation as he looked at Chen Beixun. "What's wrong? Weren't you going to take a walk?"
"Pavadode and I have some things to discuss. I'm afraid..." Chen Beixun looked troubled.
An Changyan smiled and said softly, "Then another time." He left right after that.
Once he was gone, the two of them went into Rest Cabin No. 2 aboard the spaceship.
Pavadode and Chen Beixun sat facing each other.
"How did things go with the Luote Family?" Pavadode asked.
Chen Beixun shook his head, his expression grave.
"I see." Pavadode's eyes lowered.
Chen Beixun looked up, his gaze stern. "I have a plan."
Then he explained it to Pavadode in detail.
Pavadode: "Will that work?"
Chen Beixun nodded.
Pavadode: "All right, then."
After a few brief instructions, Pavadode hurried off.
Once Pavadode had left, Chen Beixun entered the Virtual Universe, intending to look up more information about An Changyan.
He was investigating, but of course, the other party was too.