Qin Fei himself would very much like to know why he’d ended up sleeping out here.

But he didn’t dare disobey Ninth Master’s orders.

Nor did he dare gossip about it behind his back.

He could only scratch his head and dodge the question. “The rock… was firm enough. Comfortable to lie on. Before I knew it, I’d dozed off.”

Zhen Jiu’er gave him an odd look.

“Your clothes are soaked through. Go change quickly, or you’ll catch cold.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll go now.” But once Qin Fei stood up, he hesitated.

It was already light out — was it safe to approach the tent now?

Sigh, he still had no idea what he’d done wrong the night before to make Ninth Master angry.

Qin Fei hesitated for a good while. Seeing Jiu’er already walking toward the tents, he could only trail cautiously behind her, peeking this way and that.

Ninth Master was drinking coffee.

Zhen Jiu’er felt her worldview was about to be shattered by A’Ke.

Coffee! Out here in the middle of nowhere, freshly hand-poured, fragrant coffee — life felt like a dream.

“Ninth Master, good morning!” Zhen Jiu’er walked over.

On Lu Beicheng’s small folding table sat his laptop as usual; it looked like he’d already been up working for a while.

Jiu’er checked the time — a little past eight in the morning, which for her still counted as early.

“Jiu’er, what would you like for breakfast today?” A’Ke asked immediately.

“Coffee…”

“Girls shouldn’t drink coffee first thing in the morning — it’s bad for the skin over time. Jiu’er has such fresh, clear skin, it would be a shame to ruin it.”

A’Ke always had a whole set of reasoning ready to go.

“Jiu’er, how about just some milk? Milk will keep your skin nice and soft and fair!”

Zhen Jiu’er reached up unconsciously and touched her own face.

Honestly, since arriving in this era, she hadn’t really taken a good look at her own face.

She knew that Zhen Jiu’er was a beauty, and a genuinely pretty one at that — but back when she’d been Feng Jiu’er, she had already been a peerless beauty.

So no matter how good Zhen Jiu’er looked, it didn’t particularly impress her.

“All right, A’Ke, you decide.”

Before long, A’Ke had a hot breakfast ready for her.

Warm milk, sandwiches with fried eggs tucked inside.

Qin Fei soon came out in fresh clothes, and once everyone had eaten, they set off immediately.

“Ninth Master, the archaeological team is now nearly at the edge of the old ruins of Ying’an City. There’s probably still a bit more than a day’s journey to go.”

The signal was getting weaker and weaker; Ji Mingyu had no idea when contact with the archaeological team would be lost entirely.

“From here to the edge of the site, according to the drone’s latest measurement, it’s roughly three more days’ travel.”

Lu Beicheng’s fingertips paused briefly on his coffee cup.

Three days — later than he’d expected.

Ji Mingyu continued, “The drone can’t get deep enough into the interior, so that three-day estimate is only preliminary. It might not be entirely accurate.”

Lu Beicheng gave a soft “Mn,” closed his laptop, and tapped his long fingers against the wheelchair’s armrest.

The group set off.

A’Ke, as always, handled the supplies — nearly all the luggage rode on him.

Qin Fei quickly walked up beside Zhen Jiu’er, unusually chatty along the way. “Jiu’er, I heard your academic record used to be pretty average — how’d you manage to save our young master in that emergency?”

“Jiu’er, after graduation, are you planning to stay at the People’s Hospital?”

“Oh right, Jiu’er, do you have a boyfriend…”

Zhen Jiu’er frowned slightly and glanced sideways at him.

Before she could answer, Lu Beicheng’s cool, even voice drifted over from behind them: “Thirty meters ahead, scout the path.”