Lu Qihong’s mind, at this moment, surely hadn’t caught on yet.

Because tonight, Lu Beicheng, following Jiu’er’s suggestion, had put on a baffling little act.

Half true, half false.

Even Lu Beicheng himself didn’t understand what the girl was thinking, so Lu Qihong would understand even less.

When sparring with a clever person, sometimes acting a bit foolish makes you all the harder to read.

Precisely because she knew how deeply cunning Feng Qiongcang was, even though Jiu’er considered herself no fool, she couldn’t necessarily out-scheme him at his own games.

So it was better to act a little foolish — to the point where even she herself couldn’t guess her own next move.

That way, the other party would find it even more impossible to guess.

But unexpectedly, Lu Beicheng rejected that idea: “There’s still a secret in Ying’an City that I need to uncover. Until I’ve solved it, I can’t leave.”

“What secret, exactly?” Jiu’er knew that someone of Lu Beicheng’s standing wouldn’t have come to this ancient city of Ying’an without a purpose.

After all, he wasn’t an archaeologist, so he shouldn’t have been especially interested in these ancient relics.

And investing in the development of Ying’an City, from a business standpoint, offered him no real profit at all beyond a bit of goodwill.

It was a money-losing venture.

But if he only wanted a good reputation, charity would have sufficed — there was really no need to undertake a project like this.

Something about it was off, no matter how you looked at it.

He must have had some other purpose in coming here.

“I keep feeling that the memories I’ve lost can be recovered here, in this city of Bei Mu.”

That dream, half real and half illusion — even he couldn’t explain it clearly.

“In my dream, there really was a girl who called me Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

Zhen Jiu’er’s heart jolted, and she stared at him blankly.

Lu Beicheng’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Maybe I really am your Ninth Imperial Uncle — not just in a past life.”

Jiu’er’s palm slowly clenched tight.

Her breathing grew heavier as well.

She understood what he meant.

He didn’t want to have only been her Ninth Imperial Uncle in a past life.

What if… what if, in this life too, he actually carried the memories of the Ninth Imperial Uncle?

“Then…” Her voice trembled slightly. “Then what if… what if you’re not the Ninth Imperial Uncle?”

“There is no ‘what if.'”

If he really wasn’t, then there would never have been such a person as the Ninth Imperial Uncle in this world at all.

He pulled Jiu’er into his arms in one motion.

“The woman I, Lu Beicheng, have set my heart on — no matter who else lives in her heart — in this life, she can only be mine!”

“You’d best accept that I am your Ninth Imperial Uncle — otherwise, there will never have been a true Ninth Imperial Uncle in this world at all!”

That night, Jiu’er still found her way, once more, to the Northern Emperor’s Tomb.

Her heart, even now, remained warm.

Because of Ninth Master’s oath-like declaration.

“The woman I, Lu Beicheng, have set my heart on — in this life, she can only be mine!”

Ah, was there even any need anymore to prove whether he was the Ninth Imperial Uncle or not?

That tone, that domineering manner, that unreasonable way of speaking — if that wasn’t the Ninth Imperial Uncle, then who was it?

Still, he wanted to recover his own memories… Could it be that this city of Bei Mu truly held something capable of awakening the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s sealed memories?

Could it be the same for Mu Mu as well?

Then what was the key to awakening their memories? Was it some specific, tangible object?

Could that thing be inside the Northern Emperor’s Tomb?

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed before her eyes.

Jiu’er’s face darkened; she shifted her footing and threw a punch.

But to her surprise, the person’s speed was even faster than she’d imagined.

With a single turn, he caught her fist in his hand.