Chapter 2415: The True Meaning of Undecided Fate

"Stop shouting, what's going on?" a lazy voice drifted from beside him.

Zu An looked back and saw Mi Li, dressed in a red gown, lying on her side on the bed. Her fair, jade-like hand rested naturally against her head, and her beautiful eyes were half-open, half-closed.

A smile spread across Zu An's face when he saw her. "Empress Master, you've been out of touch for so long, I was worried something might have happened to you."

"I was only sleeping; what could possibly happen?" Mi Li yawned. "Alright, tell me, what do you need?"

"Can't I just miss you after such a long time?" Zu An offered a quick compliment.

"When you're trying to sweet-talk me, you call me 'Master Sister' or 'Beautiful Master,' but when you need a favor, you properly call me 'Empress Master.' Don't I know you by now?" Mi Li rolled her eyes. "If you don't speak up, I'm going back to sleep."

Zu An was momentarily stunned; he hadn't realized how his form of address changed depending on the situation. However, he quickly set that aside and hastily recounted the events that had transpired recently.

Ever since Mi Li had revealed some information to him earlier, he understood that this Empress Master was highly mysterious and likely knew all of these "common knowledge" facts.

"Oh?" Mi Li's expression finally showed a hint of interest. "So you've ended up in a forgotten historical fragment from ancient times."

Zu An gave a wry smile. "At first, I thought it was novel, but recently I discovered a major problem: if I participate in history and influence the world's timeline, could it cause important figures in later generations to disappear?"

He had been acting cautiously all this time precisely because of this concern.

Mi Li chuckled. "Ultimately, you're just asking if having some kind of relationship with this ancient mermaid queen will affect the mermaid twin sisters in later generations, aren't you?"

Zu An was speechless.

"You've really misunderstood. Am I such a shallow person? This concerns not just them, but a whole series of individuals."

"Alright, alright, don't be so defensive; I was just joking," Mi Li said, watching his hurried explanation with amusement. "How should I put it? Your worries are indeed valid, but destiny can be described as both predetermined and undetermined."

Zu An stared blankly.

"Empress Master, could you please stop speaking in riddles?"

"Who's speaking in riddles? That's just how destiny is; who dares claim to fully comprehend it?" Mi Li finally sat up, her playful expression fading. "In short, predetermined destiny refers to major world events. What happens in later generations will happen, regardless of your actions in history; you cannot influence these things."

Zu An's heart stirred, and a flicker of understanding dawned on him. "Then destiny is undetermined."

"The outcome is fixed, but the process is not," Mi Li replied.

"If the outcome is already determined, what's the point of a different process?" Zu An asked, completely bewildered.

"How could it be meaningless?" Mi Li smiled. "Let's use an example you can understand from this period: in your previous life, you enjoyed reading harem novels..."

Zu An's face darkened. That was hardly a compliment.

Mi Li smiled and continued, "There's a novel you remember very clearly called *A Step into the Past*. It provides a perfect example: historically, there is destined to be a Qin Shi Huang, and this outcome won't change. However, is this Qin Shi Huang the original one? Or was he replaced by someone else, simply inheriting the identity and title? That is the significance of an undetermined process."

For a moment, Zu An's breath hitched. Countless thoughts flooded his mind, as if he had grasped something fundamental, but the next second, much of what he had seized slipped through his fingers.

Still, he largely understood the meaning of predetermined and undetermined destiny.

He suddenly looked at Mi Li with a complex expression. "Weren't you Qin Shi Huang's empress? Don't you find it strange to use that as an example?"

Mi Li rolled her eyes. "Stop prying into my affairs. You'll know when you're meant to know."

Zu An thought to himself that her identity was indeed questionable; it wasn't even certain if she was truly the First Empress...

But if not, why was she in Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum in the first place?

Could she have usurped the position?

"Stop thinking about my affairs; focus on your own current predicament," Mi Li said, seemingly reading his thoughts.

Zu An gave an embarrassed laugh, then asked curiously, "According to this theory, if I have some kind of relationship with the historical Mermaid Queen—uh, not the kind you're thinking of, but simply changing her destiny—it wouldn't affect Shang Liuyu and the others in later generations?"

Mi Li, however, said seriously, "You should be grateful that the Mermaid Queen in this world doesn't have the surname Shang. Otherwise, if bloodline ties were involved, you'd be in even greater danger."

"Of course, the current situation isn't as dangerous as you initially feared, where even a slight fated connection with her would cause people in later generations to disappear."

"However, you must also be careful. Destiny can easily backfire. If you interfere too much and allow the Gong royal family, which was supposed to vanish and decline in the history of the mermaid tribe, to continue existing, then Shang Liuyu and her family might truly cease to exist in later generations. Even if they do, they certainly won't be royalty."

At this point, her expression grew solemn. "With your current strength, if you make too many changes to the timeline, you will attract the attention of many unknown entities, and that will lead only to your demise."

Zu An's heart stirred. "Are you saying that if one is strong enough, even a predetermined outcome of destiny can be changed?"

"Don't overthink things too much. Those matters are still far beyond your reach. For now, just remember the principle I just told you." Mi Li did not answer his question directly.

Being a clever person, Zu An did not press further.

For now, he still needed to align himself with history as much as possible. Therefore, if he could find a reasonable explanation for the decline of the Gong royal family, the Shang family would naturally take their place later. With the ultimate destiny unchanged, there would naturally be no other risks.

But what exactly happened to cause the decline of the Gong royal family?

He was even starting to worry about the Mermaid Queen, wondering what her original fate in history truly was.

He quickly pulled himself out of these complex emotions and continued to question Mi Li. "Empress Master, I find your explanation about undetermined destiny a bit strange. Doesn't that imply that as long as someone is clever enough, they can freely tamper with history? Wouldn't that lead to serious consequences?"

"What do you mean, 'tamper'?" Mi Li smiled. "If something exists, it's reasonable. Does it truly matter whether that existence is the original one? Just like the Time Scribes you encountered before—they supposedly record major events across the universe, but do you truly believe they wouldn't alter history if they had the chance?"

Zu An fell silent, recalling how he had been tricked by that Time Scribe in the demon world.

"But this is, after all, a segment of past history. This world contains too many important historical figures. I've been constantly worried that a casual action, amplified over a long period, could lead to unpredictable consequences in later generations..."

Mi Li interrupted him. "Your understanding is flawed. Who told you time is continuous?"

Zu An stared blankly.