There really were a lot of wild greens in this area.

Probably because it was so untouched by people, all sorts of wild vegetables and mushrooms grew in abundance.

“Don’t pick just anything — a lot of these mushrooms are poisonous, you can’t eat them.”

“But this one looks just like the ones you picked earlier.”

Qin Fei brought the mushroom he’d just picked over to Zhen Jiu’er. “Look, isn’t it the same?”

“Look at the color at the base — see that hint of red? It’s different from the ones I picked before.”

Hearing this, Qin Fei bent down and looked closely, and finally noticed the difference.

He tossed the mushroom aside right away.

“Let me look for more…”

“No need. Go find this kind of wild vegetable instead — it’s easier to tell apart.”

Zhen Jiu’er handed him a shepherd’s purse plant. “This makes great soup. Go look for it over there. I’ll gather a few more mushrooms, and then we should head back.”

They only had an hour and a half of rest time; once they got back, they’d need to make the most of it to recover.

“Okay.” Qin Fei took the shepherd’s purse and headed off in another direction.

As he walked, he still couldn’t help calling back, “Don’t wander off, stay around this area, okay? Oh, and keep your radio on, don’t lose it.”

“Okay.”

Qin Fei finally walked out of sight.

Zhen Jiu’er began searching around the bases of the surrounding trees.

She knew mushrooms well — she could tell the poisonous ones from the safe ones without any trouble.

If this task were left to someone inexperienced, and the whole group ate what they picked, they could all end up in serious trouble within minutes.

So without real expertise in identification, one should never casually forage mushrooms in the wild!

Jiu’er gathered as she went, and soon had enough for four people. Just as she was about to collect everything up, she heard faint footsteps behind her.

“Since when did you learn to walk so quietly?”

She assumed it was Qin Fei coming back, but when she turned around, she found Lu Beicheng sitting in his wheelchair, watching her with a faintly cold gaze.

“Ninth Master?” That look — something felt off. “Are you suspicious of me?”

“Old Ji showed me your file before we set out. Your family may not be well-off, but not so poor that you’d need to forage wild vegetables to survive.”

“What’s more, your hometown is in Jiangbei — there are only rivers there, no primeval forest, and barely even any hills.”

So where would she have gotten the experience to forage wild greens?

This girl had been lying just now.

“Ninth Master, I don’t want to lie to you, but I don’t know how to explain it. Can I just… not explain?”

Even as she said it, Zhen Jiu’er knew it was an unreasonable thing to ask — most people wouldn’t accept that.

Let alone someone as distinguished and powerful as Ninth Master of the Lu family, worth hundreds of billions.

She looked at Lu Beicheng.

Lu Beicheng looked back at her.

After a long moment, Zhen Jiu’er finally spoke softly. “Ninth Master…”

“Aside from knowing it was within the hour, what else did you notice?” Lu Beicheng suddenly asked.

Zhen Jiu’er froze for a moment, and then felt a stir deep in her heart.

Followed by a faint, lingering ache.

He and her Ninth Imperial Uncle were, in some ways, truly, truly alike.

Even when it was clearly she who was being unreasonable, in the end, it was always he who gave in.

Just like now, with Ninth Master giving in in just the same way.

“They’re all skilled fighters.” This was something she’d already noticed the moment she saw the footprints, but at the time, the reason she’d know such a thing had felt far too flimsy to explain.

To avoid raising even more suspicion, she hadn’t said it aloud.

Lu Beicheng lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

Jiu’er ventured, “Ninth Master, are you really not suspicious of me anymore?”