Who would’ve thought that the companion I’ve been longing for all this time is actually the real young master of the Cheng family, Cheng An. I can’t tell if the world is just that small or if we’re just destined to meet everywhere.
Cheng Min pursed his lips, unsure of what to say.
“It seems like you’re doing well,” Cheng An’s gaze lingered on him, followed by a faint smile. “I was worried about you, especially after Young Master Ji’s death. I even lined up a few more marriage candidates for you, but it seems like they’re not needed now.” As he spoke, his eyes fell on Cheng Min’s neck. “After all, you’ve already been tainted by humans.”
The unpleasant words drilled into Cheng Min’s ears, but he seemed not to hear them, standing still and letting Cheng An continue to humiliate him.
After a long while, Cheng An, looking puzzled, asked, “How long has it been, and you’ve already been driven mad by humans?”
Looking at Cheng An in front of him, anger surged in Cheng Min’s heart, and the desire for revenge was about to break free. However, having lived alongside Lu Bingxun for so long, he had learned to endure.
“Young Master Cheng,” Cheng Min slowly spoke, “Do you want to leave here?”
Cheng An was taken aback, looking at Cheng Min as if he were a fool. “What, you’re going to help me?”
“Yes,” Cheng Min nodded. “Is that not possible?”
“Who would believe that?” Cheng An sneered. “You’d be so kind to help me?”
Seeing him like this, Cheng Min sighed, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt to reveal the dense marks on his neck. “I don’t want to be at anyone’s mercy anymore.” After saying this, Cheng Min continued, “I’ll help you leave here, and you help me find a way to restore my power? If you’re not assured, I can make a magic vow with you.”
A magic vow is the most effective way among elves to prevent others from breaking their promises. Once both parties make the vow, a mark appears on their arms, disappearing only when the vow is completely fulfilled.
Cheng An didn’t answer, nor was he in a hurry. He buttoned up and said, “Three days from now is when the base’s defenses are the weakest. I’ll give you three days to think about it. Remember to give me an answer by then.” After taking a few steps, he stopped, turned around, and smiled, “This is your only chance. Think it over, Young Master Cheng.”
The base’s power supply was barely enough to last until tomorrow, and a nearby mine was occupied by a dragon. As the leader, Lu Bingxun took some people to eliminate it.
Lu Bingxun never avoided talking about these things with Cheng Min, which is why he had the opportunity for revenge.
After saying this, he left satisfied.
In the following three days, Cheng Min didn’t seek out Cheng An even once, staying in his room to continue currying favor with Lu Bingxun, waiting for him to take the bait.
What if they made a magic vow? He had lost all his abilities, and strictly speaking, one of them wasn’t even an elf, so their vow wouldn’t be valid.
Three days passed in a flash. After seeing Lu Bingxun off, Cheng Min changed his clothes and went to the agreed meeting place.
Cheng An was standing by the window, waiting for him.
Hearing footsteps, he turned around, his usual arrogance gone, and said to Cheng Min, “I agree to your terms, but…” He paused, then continued, “You must also prepare a spaceship for me.”
Cheng Min was stunned, not expecting him to be so shameless, but he nodded and agreed, “Okay, getting you a spaceship isn’t difficult.”
Hearing this, Cheng An looked relieved. “Then let’s make the magic vow.”
Cheng Min nodded, extended his arm, and interlocked fingers with him. As Cheng An chanted a spell, a white light flashed where they were connected, quickly disappearing.
A faint mark slowly appeared on their arms.
Cheng Min looked at the mark on his arm, not too worried. After all, it wouldn’t be long before the magic contract couldn’t detect any energy from him, and it would slowly disappear.
By then, the magic contract would be invalid.
This little piece of knowledge was something he stumbled upon while preparing for a magic tutor, and now, it was helping Cheng Min.
“I’ll come back for you tomorrow night,” Cheng Min withdrew his gaze and said to the obviously excited Cheng An, “Don’t sleep too deeply.”
“Got it.” He glanced at Cheng Min disdainfully. “Now that everything’s settled, you should leave quickly, so no one finds out.”
“Mm.”
The next night, after Lu Bingxun left, Cheng Min opened his eyes, suppressed his inner excitement, and waited a while before getting up.
He went to the meeting on time.
“Why are you only coming now?” Cheng An was pacing back and forth in the room. Hearing the commotion, he came over and grabbed Cheng Min’s wrist. “What’s the situation outside?”
Cheng Min pulled back his arm and answered truthfully, “Follow me.”
Leading Cheng An, they avoided the patrolling guards. Glancing at the elf following closely behind, he couldn’t help but smile faintly.
They smoothly reached the outside and entered the area where the base’s spaceships were parked. Watching Cheng An board a spaceship, he then left.
Without any delay, Cheng Min forced out a few tears and ran forward, bumping right into a tall man, one of Lu Bingxun’s subordinates.
“Young Master Cheng?” The man was surprised to see Cheng An. “What are you doing here?”
Cheng Min cried, “That elf kidnapped me and made me bring him here.”
“Are you hurt?” The man looked troubled.
Cheng Min slowly rolled up his sleeve, revealing a slightly red area. “Does this count?”
As he spoke, Cheng An’s cursing voice rang out. Turning around, he saw him being dragged out of the spaceship by several human men.
Seeing Cheng Min, his face turned vicious. “Cheng Min, you bastard!”
At the same time, an explosion sounded, and billowing white smoke rose into the sky.
Cheng An’s body went limp, collapsing to the ground, as a golden light slowly emanated from him, growing more and more until it completely disappeared.
Cheng Min was stunned.
An elf’s energy outburst can cause temporary loss of abilities, usually lasting a few years. Cheng An really brought this upon himself.
Cheng Min glanced at him, then shouted loudly, “Lu Bingxun!”
Everyone looked towards the sound, and taking advantage of this moment, Cheng Min quickly glanced at Cheng An, signaling him to leave.
Understanding the meaning in Cheng Min’s eyes, Cheng An scrambled to his feet and ran into the spaceship.
By the time everyone came to their senses, it was too late. Cheng An had already escaped.
Watching the spaceship disappear into the distance, Cheng Min sighed, turned around, and walked back to the villa.
He couldn’t afford to offend the Cheng family, so he could only scare Cheng An a bit, never intending to do anything. But the result was unexpected.
The Cheng family owed Cheng Min a favor, and maybe the head of the Cheng family could find a way to restore his powers.
Raising his arm, the faint mark on his skin slowly faded, leaving his skin smooth and white as if it had never been there.
After the other elf left, Cheng Min was once again the only elf in the camp, but this situation didn’t last long before it was broken.
During a rescue mission for humans, Lu Bingxun and others unexpectedly brought back a high-level elf with severely damaged energy. It seemed that, barring any surprises, this elf was done for life.
Like Cheng Min, without someone to rely on, he could only become a wandering elf.
Lu Bingxun was very busy, and after ensuring Cheng Min was fine, he returned to his previous state, only meeting Cheng Min at night. Bored, Cheng Min often went to play with that elf.
The elf was cold and always sat alone on the bed, staring out the window, mostly unwilling to interact with Cheng Min.
After being ignored again, Cheng Min slammed the door shut and left angrily.
Even though Cheng Min was now a weakling, Lu Bingxun still cherished him and wouldn’t dare treat him like that.
“What’s wrong, honey?” At night, Lu Bingxun noticed something was off with Cheng Min and quickly asked, “Who made you angry again?”
“No one.” Cheng Min didn’t want Lu Bingxun to get involved in matters between elves, so he didn’t plan to tell him. “I’m just a bit tired.”
Successfully brushing it off, Cheng Min nestled in Lu Bingxun’s arms, still sulking inside.
Everyone was busy with their own things, leaving Cheng Min with nothing to do. Once again, he opened the door to that elf’s room.
The elf still didn’t want to pay him any attention, lost in his own world.
Cheng Min sat on the sofa nearby, not intending to engage with the elf, and took out the fruit candy Lu Bingxun had given him, popping it into his mouth.
“What does it feel like?” The elf on the bed unexpectedly spoke, looking at him.
Cheng Min looked up at him. “What?”
“Being an elf who’s lost all their energy?” he asked.
Cheng Min thought for a moment, feeling the candy in his mouth wasn’t as sweet anymore. “Does it matter if it’s good or bad? Don’t live in the past.”
The elf on the bed fell silent, once again retreating into his previous state.
After this, their relationship changed. The elf became more talkative than before, sometimes willing to share some of his past with Cheng Min.
It seemed he had accepted reality.
The elf’s injuries were healing day by day, and soon he would leave the camp. To be honest, Cheng Min didn’t want his only companion to leave.
One time, when he came, he happened to run into one of Lu Bingxun’s subordinates and saw the fruit basket on the table in the room, feeling a hint of joy.
Everything went as he expected. From then on, it became routine. The man came every day, always bringing some rare food for the elf.
The elf never touched it.
“Do you want to try it?” Cheng Min asked the elf beside him, his mouth full of the honey cookies Lu Bingxun had given him. “They taste pretty good.”
The elf shook his head and told Cheng Min, “I’m planning to leave.”
“What?” Cheng Min almost choked. “Where are you going?”
“Anywhere is fine,” he replied.
Cheng Min took a deep breath, stuffed the remaining half of the cookie into his mouth, and brushed the crumbs off his hands. “As an elf who’s lost all their energy, what survival skills do you have outside? The end result is just becoming a wandering elf.”
“Mm,” the elf said. “I know.”
Cheng Min was a bit taken aback. “Isn’t it good here? That man really likes you.”
After all this time, Cheng Min had gotten used to being Lu Bingxun’s weakling, thinking there was nothing wrong with relying on him for life, and he even planned the same for the elf.
He hoped the elf would stay and become another weakling, keeping him company.
“No,” the elf told him. “I don’t want to live relying on others, without any self-defense ability.”
The words “without self-defense ability” struck Cheng Min, leaving him stunned, his mind replaying everything that happened that night.
Yes, Lu Bingxun couldn’t be by his side all the time. If he had the ability, he could avoid such things from happening, even prevent harm.
“Do you want it?” he asked.
“No,” Cheng Min shook his head.
He needed to have self-defense abilities, so Lu Bingxun wouldn’t always worry about him.
Author’s Note: