As time went by, the two of them became increasingly irritable. Although they were king and queen in this world, everyone knew that this was not the real world.
"Azu, what's going on?" Pei Mianman finally couldn't help but run over to ask Zu'an, pulling him out of Xiao Tuo's gentle embrace.
Xiao Tuo was intimidated by her reputation and dared not say anything.
Zuan was a little embarrassed. As he put on his clothes, he said, "I'm still completely confused. No wonder none of those couples could pass this trial. I thought they were too stupid. Now it seems I underestimated the heroes of the world."
He recalled how he had previously analyzed that Xiao Tuo was a spy, found the mastermind, the High Priest Lian, and established absolute trust with Pei Mianman despite their separation. All of this had made him complacent. Now, he realized that since so many talented people had come to take the test, with their intelligence, they might be able to accomplish the same things.
"What do we do next?" Pei Mianman asked anxiously.
Zuan said in a deep voice, "I've been thinking about this these past few days. There must be something we've overlooked. Let's carefully observe and consider every detail around us to see if we can find a way to break this deadlock."
This open-world gameplay is really frustrating. They don't even give you any mission objectives; you have to guess and explore everything on your own. The worst part is that they don't give you any feedback on whether you're right or wrong.
Pei Mianman bit her lip, her voice filled with worry: "But won't our physical bodies be in danger? You know, several months have passed since we started this trial, who knows..."
An ordinary person would die long ago if they didn't eat or drink for a few months. Even if a cultivator's body has improved a lot, this is still the limit.
Zuan said in a deep voice, "There shouldn't be any need to worry about that. If I'm not mistaken, the flow of time in this trial is different from the flow of time outside. What happens to us over several months is mostly just a moment outside. Otherwise, this trial would be a death sentence, and it would be meaningless."
In ancient mythology, a day in heaven is equivalent to a year on earth, so it is normal for time to flow differently in different worlds.
Pei Mianman felt a little relieved: "But we can't stay trapped like this forever."
Zuan frowned and said, "But I've reviewed everything that happened recently, and I haven't found anything I missed..."
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he hurriedly looked at Pei Mianman: "Tell me again about your previous war with the Qiang people, don't leave out any small details."
Since this is a trial for both men and women, it's unlikely to be so simple for her.
“Didn’t I tell you the details before?” Pei Mianman muttered, but still said, “Those Qiang people are extremely fierce, each one a hero and skilled in battle, but they are obviously not as advanced as us. We have chariots and can form formations to fight together, while they mostly fight one-on-one... But even so, their bravery is still quite impressive. In one battle, we were surrounded, but fortunately, nearby tribes came to help us and we defeated the Qiang.”
"A tribe?" Zuan's heart skipped a beat. "Do you know what kind of tribe they are?"
Pei Mianman frowned slightly: "It seems they call themselves Zhou people, and have always lived in the west. They have often been oppressed by the Qiang people, so they came out to help this time."
"The Zhou people?" Zu'an suddenly stood up. "That's it, that's it. Historically, the Shang dynasty was destroyed by the Zhou. This trial must be related to the Zhou."
Pei Mianman said, "But those Zhou tribes are still very backward, far inferior to the Shang."
"It may not be as good now, but what about in a few hundred years?" Zu An's mind raced. "Could it be that the purpose of this secret realm is to prepare for the future and nip Zhou's threat in the bud?"
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. He hurriedly summoned Fu Yue to the palace and then expressed his thoughts.
"What? Your Majesty wants to destroy the Zhou tribes?" Fu Shuo was shocked and hurriedly said, "This is absolutely unacceptable. Not to mention that the Zhou territory is meaningless to us, they have even helped us fight against the Qiang. If we turn against them, it would be a betrayal of our promise. What would the other states in the world think of us? If everyone is in danger, it will be too late to regret it."
Pei Mianman, who was standing to the side, shared the same sentiment, after all, they had fought side by side with the Zhou tribe not long ago.
Zuan knew that his analysis made a lot of sense, but unfortunately he couldn't explain the reasons to him, so he could only say with a straight face, "My mind is made up. There's no need to discuss this matter any further. Prepare for the deployment of troops immediately."
Just as Fu Yue was about to offer further advice, an urgent report arrived: "Your Majesty, the King of Zhi has sent an envoy to request assistance. The Tu Fang are invading and their momentum is unstoppable. We request Your Majesty to send troops to support them."
“Zhi Kingdom and Tu Fang?” Zu An was taken aback. How did two more forces suddenly appear?
Fu Yue hurriedly explained, “Zhi State is a small state that borders us to the north. It has always been friendly with the Shang Dynasty and has become our vassal state. It is our northern shield. Tu Fang is a powerful barbarian tribe in the north. They must have learned that we are fighting with Qiang Fang and want to take advantage of our weakened state to move south and gain an advantage.”
Zu'an then remembered that he had seen information about Tu Fang in the official documents he had been reviewing recently. Tu Fang was roughly located in what is now Shanxi and Hebei, and was a powerful enemy of the Shang Dynasty to the north.
I hadn't paid much attention to it before because I thought it had nothing to do with my trial.
Even now, he didn't think it mattered much, so he decided to send a small detachment to provide support and deal with the situation, while focusing his main efforts on the Zhou people in the west.
Fu Yue and other ministers all objected, saying, "Absolutely not! The Zhou people are remote and weak, and they don't even border our Shang Dynasty. Attacking them would be pointless and would only alienate the people. On the contrary, the Tu Fang are incredibly powerful, no less than the Qiang Fang. If they break through the northern defenses and move south, our Shang Dynasty might face annihilation."
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