"Stop yelling, what's wrong?" a lazy voice came from the side.
Zuan turned around and saw Mi Li, dressed in a red dress, lying on her side on the bed, her fair and jade-like hands naturally supporting her head, her beautiful eyes half-open and half-closed.
Upon seeing the other person, Zu'an smiled and said, "I was worried something had happened to you since I hadn't heard from you, Master Empress, for so long."
"I'm just asleep, what could possibly happen to me?" Mi Li yawned. "Speak, what do you need me for?"
"Can't I just miss you because it's been so long?" Zu'an flattered him relentlessly.
"When you're being cheeky, you call me 'Master Sister' or 'Beautiful Master,' but when you need something, you become respectful and call me 'Empress Master.' Don't I know you?" Mi Li rolled her eyes. "If you don't tell me now, I'm going back to sleep."
Zuan was taken aback, not even realizing that the way he addressed people would change depending on the situation. However, he didn't care about that and quickly gave a brief account of what had happened in the past few days.
Since Mi Li had revealed some information to him before, he knew that this queen's master was very mysterious and that she probably knew most of these "common sense" things.
"Oh?" Mi Li's expression finally showed a bit more interest. "So you've come to a long-forgotten fragment of ancient history."
Zuan smiled wryly and said, "I thought it was novel at first, but I recently discovered a big problem: if I get involved in history and affect the world timeline, will it cause some important figures in later generations to disappear?"
He's been hesitant and timid lately because he's wary of this.
Mi Li chuckled twice: "In the end, you just want to know if having any relationship with this ancient mermaid queen would affect the mermaid sisters in later generations."
Zuan: "..."
“You really misunderstand me. Do you think I’m that shallow? This isn’t just about them, it’s about a whole host of people.”
"Alright, alright, don't rush me. I was just saying it offhand," Mi Li said, watching him anxiously explain with amusement. "Well, what you're worried about is indeed reasonable, but fate can be said to be predetermined, or it can be said to be uncertain."
Zuan: "???"
"Master, please stop speaking in riddles."
“Who’s playing games with you? Fate is just like this. Who dares to say they can figure it out?” Mi Li then stood up, her playful expression disappearing. “In short, predetermined fate refers to certain major world events. What happens in the future will happen, and no matter what you do in history, it won’t affect those events.”
Zu An's heart stirred, and he vaguely understood: "Then fate is not yet decided."
“The outcome is set, but the process is uncertain,” Mi Li replied.
"The ending is already set, so what difference does the process make or what's the point?" Zuan was completely baffled.
“How could it be meaningless?” Mi Li smiled. “How about this, let’s take something you can understand at this stage as an example. In your past life, you liked reading harem novels…”
Zu An's face darkened. "You can't insult people like that."
Mi Li smiled and continued, "There's a book you remember very well called 'A Step into the Past,' which contains an example of how history is destined to have a Qin Shi Huang. This ending will not change, but is this Qin Shi Huang the real, original Qin Shi Huang? Or was he replaced by someone else, merely inheriting the identity and title of Qin Shi Huang? This is the significance of the uncertain process."
Zuan's breathing quickened for a moment, and he felt countless thoughts flood his mind. He felt as if he had grasped something essential, but in the next second, much of what he had grasped slipped through his fingers.
However, he probably also understood the meaning of predetermined fate and undetermined fate.
He suddenly looked at Mi Li with a complicated expression: "Weren't you the Empress of Qin Shi Huang? Don't you think it's strange to use this as an example?"
Mi Li rolled her eyes: "Stop prying into my affairs. When it's time for you to know, you'll know."
Zu An thought to himself that there was indeed something wrong with her identity; it wasn't even certain whether she was truly the First Empress...
But if not, why did she end up in Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum?
Could it be that the cuckoo has taken over the magpie's nest?
"Stop thinking about me, and think about your own situation." Mi Li seemed to see through his thoughts.
Zuan chuckled and then asked curiously, "According to this theory, even if I had some kind of relationship with the mermaid queen in history... uh, not the kind of relationship you're thinking of, meaning I changed her fate, it wouldn't affect Shang Liuyu and the others in later generations?"
Mi Li said seriously, "You should be glad that the mermaid queen of this world is not surnamed Shang, otherwise you would be in even greater danger due to the entanglement of bloodline power."
"Of course, the current situation is not as dangerous as you initially worried. Even a slight connection with her by fate could lead to the disappearance of people in later generations."
"But you must also be careful. Fate can easily turn against you. If you get too involved and allow the Gong family, which should have disappeared and weakened in the history of the mermaid race, to continue to exist, Shang Liuyu and the others may not exist in the future. Even if they do exist, they will definitely not be royalty."
At this point, her expression turned solemn: "With your current strength, if you do too many things that alter the course of fate, you will attract the attention of many unknown entities, and then you will only have one way out: death."
Zuan's heart skipped a beat: "You mean if you're strong enough, you can change even if fate has already decided this outcome?"
"Don't overthink things. Those things are too far removed from your current situation. For now, just remember the principle I just told you." Mi Li didn't directly answer his question.
Zuan was a smart man and didn't press the matter further.
He still needs to adhere to history as closely as possible, so as long as he finds a reasonable reason for the decline of the Gong royal family, the Shang family will naturally take its place. The fate will remain unchanged, and there will be no other risks.
But what exactly happened to the royal family surnamed Gong that led to their decline?
He was starting to worry about the Mermaid Queen, wondering what her original fate in history was.
He quickly snapped out of his complicated emotions and continued to ask Mi Li, "Master Empress, I always feel that what you just said about the uncertain fate is a bit strange. Doesn't that mean that as long as you're smart enough, you can arbitrarily rewrite history? Won't that bring some serious consequences?"
"What do you mean by tampering? As long as something exists, it's reasonable. What does it matter whether it's the original thing or not?" Mi Li smiled. "Like the historians you met before, they nominally record various major events in the universe, but if it's possible, do you think they wouldn't tamper with history?"
Zuan fell silent, and couldn't help but think of how he had been tricked by that historian of time in the demon world.
"But this is, after all, a piece of history from the past. There are too many important historical figures in this world. I've always worried that a casual action, magnified over a long period of time, could lead to some unpredictable consequences in future generations..."
Mi Li interrupted him: "Your understanding is flawed. Who told you that time is continuous?"
Zuan: "???"
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