“Well,” Zhen Jiu’er knew it was impolite of her to say so, but Ninth Master wasn’t being all that polite either.

Saying half of something and leaving the rest hanging — was that polite?

“Well, Ninth Master, it’s really quite uncomfortable… having your curiosity hooked and then left hanging like this.”

She hoped he’d understand.

Lu Beicheng glanced at her again.

Whether to tell her or not — honestly, it hardly mattered to him either way.

He only felt that he was behaving strangely tonight.

Why was he going out of his way to find ways to keep her here?

Something he had never once tried to do before.

“In the dream, I hear a voice calling out to me, again and again, but I can never quite make out what she’s calling me.”

“The only thing I can make out clearly is that she says she’s waiting for me in Bei Mu City.”

Coming from anyone else, Zhen Jiu’er wouldn’t have believed a word of it.

But coming from Ninth Master, she couldn’t help but believe it.

Could it be that he was really here because of nothing more than a dream…

Something about it felt strange; a stirring feeling in her chest grew stronger and stronger.

But that feeling was as though wrapped in a thin membrane.

You’d think you were just one breath away from breaking through that membrane, as easy as poking through a sheet of paper.

But no matter how hard you tried, you never quite had the strength to breathe that one breath out.

Even she couldn’t say exactly what the feeling was.

“Are you really certain… you don’t know what she was calling you?” She desperately wanted to know what that voice in his dream had actually been calling him.

Lu Beicheng shook his head.

“Ninth Master, why are you telling me this all of a sudden?” She felt a small pang of disappointment.

Lu Beicheng found himself wanting a cigarette again.

That very question, he himself very much wanted answered.

Zhen Jiu’er didn’t press further.

Ninth Master was acting strangely tonight.

A good while passed with neither of them speaking, the mood growing steadily stranger.

After some time, Zhen Jiu’er quietly let out a breath and looked at him. “Ninth Master, I…”

“I’m not the person you’re looking for.” Lu Beicheng suddenly spoke.

Jiu’er froze; for some reason, her heart gave a sharp, inexplicable ache.

Lu Beicheng’s gaze couldn’t be called gentle — there was an inborn coolness to him — but at least, in this moment, before her, there was a trace of warmth in it.

“Why do you call him Ninth Imperial Uncle? Did you two agree to meet in Bei Mu City?”

A wave of bitterness rose in Jiu’er’s heart.

In truth, she didn’t even know whether her Ninth Imperial Uncle had traveled through time into this era at all.

Time travel — such a thing was simply too fantastical to be certain of.

Perhaps she alone had crossed over. Perhaps her Ninth Imperial Uncle had traveled into some other era entirely. Perhaps… there were too many unknowns.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if he’s still—”

Her nose stung, and the words wouldn’t come.

She picked up her medicine case and stood. “Ninth Master, it’s getting late, you should rest early.”

She turned to leave.

Behind her, a low voice followed: “As long as you believe it, he’s out there.”

Zhen Jiu’er’s whole body tensed.

She wanted to turn and look at him, but just then, for some reason, she couldn’t find the courage.

After a moment, she let out a breath and said with a smile, “Yes, I believe it. He’s out there, and he’ll come find me too. Thank you, Ninth Master. I’m sorry for how childish I’ve been. I won’t be like that again.”

She left.

Lu Beicheng gazed at the empty tent entrance, feeling strangely bereft.

A girl he’d only known a few days… what exactly was he thinking?

For one moment, he had actually hoped he himself were the Ninth Imperial Uncle she was searching for.

“A’ke,” he called.

A’ke arrived quickly, bent down, and pulled back the tent flap, finally meeting his gaze after some effort. “Ninth Master…”

“Get me a cigarette.”

“Ninth Master, we don’t have the materials for it.” A’ke looked deeply troubled.

Lu Beicheng’s expression darkened. “You want to turn into a woman?”

A’ke went pale with fright. “Right — right away, very soon, Ninth Master, just wait a moment!”