“The Tomb of the Northern Emperor?”

Zhen Jiu’er’s heart churned with mixed feelings. This “Northern Emperor” — who exactly did that refer?

Back in the day, the Kingdom of Bei Mu had gone through several emperors, but none of them had ever been called the Northern Emperor.

So who could it be…

“It’s just that on the tombstone, we could faintly make out the two characters for ‘Northern Emperor,’ but this part of history isn’t widely known — it’s not even in the historical records. It’ll probably take Professor Xiao going in to survey the site before more of the truth can be uncovered.”

Yan Qiu glanced at her; in truth, he still had plenty of questions in his mind.

But this Zhen Jiu’er really did look harmless, almost defenseless — so even though he knew perfectly well that her “night raid on the Prince’s residence” was no simple matter, Yan Qiu didn’t press her further.

Jiu’er didn’t keep asking either. After all, this was something even Yan Qiu didn’t know, so there was no point pursuing it further.

The Northern Emperor… could it be some later emperor?

When they had left the Kingdom of Bei Mu, it was Mu Mu — that is, Di Feimu — who had been sitting on the throne.

The Ninth Imperial Uncle had ceded the throne to him, and gone with her to the Feng Clan.

Who would take the throne after Mu Mu, she didn’t know.

Perhaps one of Mu Mu’s descendants.

Meeting him, coming to know him — it still felt as vivid as if it were only yesterday.

Who would have guessed that in the blink of an eye, a thousand years would have already slipped by?

In her heart, there had always been a certain heaviness.

Ji Mingyu was still reporting the day’s developments to Ninth Master and Yan Qiu: “The security team should be arriving soon. But since tomb robbers have already shown up, I’m afraid we’ll need to get to the Tomb of the Northern Emperor first and guard it.”

Otherwise, if the tomb robbers got there first and dug it open, by the time the excavation team and the security team arrived, it would already be too late.

“I’ll head back to the archaeological team shortly. We’re less than an hour’s walk from here. Old Ji, I’ll draw you a simple map — tomorrow we’ll meet up first, then head to the Tomb of the Northern Emperor together.”

“Good.”

…Once they’d finished talking, Yan Qiu left.

Ji Mingyu handed him a walkie-talkie.

The signal was routed through A’Ke, with a maximum range of over ten kilometers.

But this city was strange — beyond ten kilometers, the signal wasn’t guaranteed to stay clear.

Still, it was usable for communication, which was far more convenient than having nothing at all.

After Yan Qiu left, Jiu’er didn’t head back to the tent to rest. Instead, she walked over to a small river not far off, to let the breeze clear her head.

To her surprise, she wasn’t the only one who had come to the riverside for the wind.

The moment she spotted that familiar silhouette, Zhen Jiu’er didn’t hesitate at all — she walked quickly toward him. “Ninth Master, next time you go out, bring a walkie-talkie. Otherwise, if they need to find you…”

“Why didn’t you bring one tonight?” Lu Beicheng didn’t turn around; his voice carried a certain low huskiness in the wind.

Jiu’er froze for a moment, her face heating slightly. “I… left in too much of a hurry, and forgot.”

She’d expected Lu Beicheng to press her about why she’d gone to the Northern Prince’s residence, but instead, he simply stayed quiet, gazing at the river’s surface.

Jiu’er walked up beside him and turned her head to look at his face.

That face was so refined, so flawless, that there simply weren’t words to describe it anymore.

No wonder he always disliked women getting close to him — it was probably because any woman who saw him would lose all self-control.

If she hadn’t already given her heart to her Ninth Imperial Uncle long ago, Zhen Jiu’er honestly wondered whether she too might have fallen for his looks the very first time she saw him.

Lu Beicheng suddenly lifted his gaze, his eyes — carrying no warmth at all — landing on her face.

Jiu’er startled, and hurriedly explained: “Don’t misunderstand — I’m not coveting your looks!”