Lu Beicheng’s face showed little expression.

In truth, if Zhen Jiu’er hadn’t brought it up, he himself would have forgotten that he’d walked all the way here.

Jiu’er quickly noticed this too.

He had come on foot, without even realizing it himself.

There was a sense that, in his urgency, he hadn’t even cared whether he’d remembered to put on his trousers before rushing over.

Was that… what it felt like to be cared for?

Jiu’er bit her lip. “I want to ask you something.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you questions?” Lu Beicheng glanced once more in the direction the man in black had gone.

After walking this long, there was no catching up to him now.

He turned and began walking toward the camp.

His retreating figure looked cold and distant.

Well, well—he was upset again.

Even the way he sulked was exactly the same as the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s.

So very proud.

But Jiu’er knew exactly how to handle the Ninth Imperial Uncle… for now, she’d just go ahead and treat him as the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

“Ninth… Ninth Master, I don’t know that man.”

“Also, I don’t know whether he means you any harm. He didn’t say anything, and I’m not hiding anything from you.”

“Ninth Master…”

Sure enough, he was completely unmoved, deaf to anything she said.

Just like the Ninth Imperial Uncle, not even the slightest bit different—clearly molded from the exact same pattern.

Jiu’er decided to try her final method of confirmation.

She suddenly crouched down. “Ah!”

Hearing her cry out, Lu Beicheng immediately stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. “What tricks are you trying to pull now?”

“…” Even the line he said was identical!

A wave of bittersweet ache washed through Jiu’er’s heart.

If he wasn’t the Ninth Imperial Uncle, then Heaven must be playing an enormous joke on her.

“My stomach hurts,” she said softly.

Lu Beicheng didn’t believe her. “You were fine just a moment ago!”

Jiu’er pouted. “A moment ago was a moment ago, now is now. It hurts now, and I can’t walk.”

He surely wouldn’t believe her right away.

Sure enough, Lu Beicheng’s face turned coldly indifferent. “Don’t try to pull tricks on me!”

And then, he would come over, thoroughly impatient.

Sure enough again—seeing Jiu’er still crouched on the ground, refusing to get up, Lu Beicheng, despite the impatience written across his face, still walked over to her.

This time, though, his tone had softened somewhat. “Really unwell?”

“It hurts.” She kept her head lowered, counting silently.

One, two, three… From above her, a familiar, faint sigh sounded.

Then he crouched down, scooped her up into his arms without a word, and carried her straight back toward the camp.

He didn’t press her further about whether she knew the man in black.

Jiu’er hesitated for a moment, then finally gave in to her innermost, most instinctive wish, resting her head against his chest.

Her heart ached with a bittersweet feeling.

You are the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

You must be the Ninth Imperial Uncle who lost his memory, aren’t you?

Otherwise, how could there be another person in this world whose every gesture, whose every feeling, matched him so perfectly?

If you truly are the Ninth Imperial Uncle, then what could she do to help him regain his memory, to help him remember everything between the two of them?

When would her Ninth Imperial Uncle truly come back to her?

Jiu’er couldn’t help but reach out and grip the front of Lu Beicheng’s robe.

Lu Beicheng lowered his head, unable to make out the expression on this girl’s face, yet able to sense her unease and uncertainty.

He had no idea what she was thinking.

She didn’t say, and he didn’t ask.

Soon, the two of them arrived back at the camp.

Jiu’er said softly, “Ninth… Master, I think I feel a bit better now. You can put me down.”

More than anything, she longed to call him Ninth Imperial Uncle.

The Heart-Bound Key was his. That feeling that belonged to the Ninth Imperial Uncle—that, too, was his. Everything was his.

He was the Ninth Imperial Uncle, wasn’t he?

Lu Beicheng said nothing, and just as he was about to set her down, several figures came hurrying toward them from up ahead.

A bright, clear voice rang out: “Young Uncle, where have you been, so late at night?”