After placing the Star Empress on the bed and ordering a servant to attend to her, Ming Zhi Tian reluctantly left the chamber. Bai Qian Zhi had observed his every move.
“Aren’t you two together yet?” Bai Qian Zhi asked.
Ming Zhi Tian stopped and blinked, turning back. “What are you talking about? She is my Master’s wife. It’s impossible for us.”
“Doesn’t your heart hold her?” Bai Qian Zhi probed.
Ming Zhi Tian fell silent. Yes, did his heart not hold her? That would be a lie. He was conflicted.
Seeing his silence and lack of opposition, Bai Qian Zhi confirmed her inner thoughts.
Some time later…
“Yi Zhou… Yi Zhou… Zhi Tian… Zhi Tian…” the Star Empress murmured in her sleep.
The servant informed Ming Zhi Tian that the Star Empress was unwell. By the time Ming Zhi Tian rushed to her room, she had already calmed down.
He looked at her long, beautiful hair and the sweat beads on her forehead, carrying her personal scent after the nightmare. She looked so serene and captivating.
Ming Zhi Tian gently wiped away the sweat with his sleeve. The attraction between them was undeniable, making his throat dry and his breath catch.
“No!” Ming Zhi Tian’s mind raged in internal conflict. “She is my Master’s wife. How can I have improper thoughts about her? Ming Zhi Tian, are you even human? Are you going to be a beast?”
The sun shone brightly. It wasn’t until noon that the Star Empress slowly woke up, perhaps due to lack of sleep or some other reason, she had slept until now.
“You’re awake,” Ming Zhi Tian said.
The Star Empress nodded. “Mmm… Zhi Tian, why am I here?”
“!”
Ming Zhi Tian was surprised. “You don’t remember what happened last night?”
The Star Empress shook her head. “I seem to have… lost some memories. There are things I can’t recall.”
“I’ll take you somewhere,” Ming Zhi Tian said.
Tian Shui Tower—
The same scene, the same lush trees, the same picturesque landscape.
He remembered the first time he saw it, Ming Zhi Tian standing so close to the tower, yet it felt so out of reach.
Ming Zhi Tian brought her back to revisit Tian Shui Tower. “Xing Chen, you said this is where you met Master Sheng. Did you know it was also where I first met you?”
“What?” The Star Empress was lost in thought. She heard the first half of his sentence but didn’t quite catch the second.
Ming Zhi Tian didn’t know why he had suddenly said that. He shook his head. “N-nothing.”
Internal monologue: *Did you know the moment I first saw you? I thought, how could the world contain such a beautiful woman?*
Ming Zhi Tian’s feelings poured out, but he dared only speak them to himself, bearing his own sorrow.
The Star Empress did not linger at Tian Shui Tower as Ming Zhi Tian might have expected. She stayed for a short while before turning to him. “Where do we go next?”
Ming Zhi Tian blinked slightly. “You haven’t remembered anything?”
The Star Empress shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Didn’t we come here together last time?”
“Oh,” Ming Zhi Tian recalled himself, but she couldn’t remember Wu Sheng Ran Yi Zhou or her former husband.
Unsure whether to be happy or worried, Ming Zhi Tian decided to take her to the market, hoping something might jog her memory.
Xuan Yang City…
After the Undead were driven away, business here was likely back to normal, with bustling crowds and heavy traffic.
On the street, the Star Empress showed no interest in anything around her. Ming Zhi Tian observed everything.
After a while, the Star Empress seemed drawn to something and entered a branch of Ling Long Pavilion.
Ming Zhi Tian saw a placard at the entrance advertising the “Ling Long Pavilion Rare Treasure Auction” and followed her inside.
The Star Empress was stopped by a guard. “Hello, Miss. Do you have a membership card?”
The Star Empress looked at Ming Zhi Tian. “If we don’t have one, can’t we go in?”