The simulation ended there, and a notification sounded in Mu Xuehuang's mind.
[Ding! Simulation complete. Simulation points earned: 3,000!]
Each simulation offered more than scenes of the future. There were rewards, too.
Different simulation results yielded different amounts of points.
The more twists and turns in the process, the more simulation points she received.
Simulation points could be exchanged for items.
No one knew that, using the supreme treasures she had obtained through these exchanges, Mu Xuehuang had secretly built an invincible imperial guard that answered only to her-the Heaven-Reliant Sword!
This was her greatest trump card, one she had revealed only during the struggle for the throne.
The moment they appeared, their slaughter chilled every faction to the bone!
In one stroke, they turned the tide of battle!
And helped her ascend the throne as Empress!
In theory, as long as she kept running simulations, she could keep earning simulation points and exchange them for more supreme treasures.
Yet after this simulation, Mu Xuehuang could not feel happy at all.
Instead, she was dumbstruck, unable to recover her senses for a long time.
It felt as though an enormous mountain weighed on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Had she seen that right?
She was actually the ruler who would lose her country?
It was fake...
It had to be fake!
Mu Xuehuang refused to believe it!
"To govern Great Li well, I have forgone sleep and meals, poured my heart into strengthening the country, and handled matters personally, never daring to slack off for a moment! Yet in the end, I become the ruler who loses it all?"
"What kind of damned future is this?!"
Unable to accept it, Mu Xuehuang actually began cursing.
Her voice echoed through the inner palace, laden with endless fury and resentment.
Outside, the palace maids and eunuchs trembled into silence, not daring even to breathe loudly.
"Strange. Her Majesty always comes out of seclusion deeply satisfied. Why is she flying into such a rage this time?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Xiao Huan's eyes, but serving a sovereign was like keeping company with a tiger. She did not dare approach.
The rain grew heavier and heavier.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared amid the downpour.
After venting her anger, Mu Xuehuang forced herself to calm down, yet she still paced back and forth through the palace, utterly at a loss.
She was going mad!
It was not as though her previous simulations had never ended badly. The clearest examples were her struggles against her imperial brothers for the throne, when she had hovered on the brink of death several times.
But those situations had all offered a way out.
This time, the country had fallen outright!
Her entire realm had changed hands!
The implications were too enormous!
She did not even know what to do.
Where exactly had things gone wrong?
The scene had changed far too quickly...
One moment, Great Li was growing stronger by the day, the surrounding minor dynasties were bowing in submission, and its national strength had reached its peak.
The next, rebels had stormed into the Li Royal Palace, and the country had fallen, its mountains and rivers lost.
Mu Xuehuang could not believe it. Great Li had not been brought down by an enemy nation outside its borders, but by a band of "internal threats"?!
Anyone who heard it would laugh themselves to death!
Anger, resentment, humiliation... all manner of emotions tangled in Mu Xuehuang's heart, like an overturned bottle of the five flavors.
She could not help wondering aloud, "Where did these rebels come from? How did they overcome danger after danger, seize city after city, and fight their way into the heart of the Capital City? Even my Heaven-Reliant Sword was no match for them?"
It defied all reason!
Even the Mara Dynasty could not accomplish that!
Could these rebels possess military might comparable to an entire dynasty?
With the delicate care of someone smelling a rose, Mu Xuehuang immediately discerned what was strange about these rebels.
She closed her eyes again, replaying those fragments in her mind over and over.
Running another simulation was impossible. Every simulation had a cooldown, sometimes a few days, sometimes as long as a month. The interval was never fixed.
Before her next simulation, she hoped to uncover as many details in those scenes as possible. Ideally, she could identify the rebels and strike first!
At that moment, a sharp light returned to Mu Xuehuang's eyes, as though someone consigned to certain death had found a sliver of hope again.
"Yes, these are only projections of the future. The future can be changed!"
"As long as I identify those treacherous ministers and rebels ahead of time and strangle them in their cradles before they rise, they will never threaten my Great Li!"
"That's right... a paltry band of rebels like you dares to topple my Great Li? Dream on!"
As she thought this, Mu Xuehuang's gaze gradually turned feverish, and a faint trace of savagery crept onto her exquisitely beautiful face.
Yet those scenes were too fragmented to piece together into a complete picture.
Much less establish the rebels' identities.
She could only vaguely make out the figure leading their charge: lean and tall, yet possessing a presence that seemed to swallow mountains and rivers.
"So young?"
Recalling the scene, Mu Xuehuang froze again.
She had assumed that anyone qualified to lead those rebels must be someone steeped in a bandit's ferocity, someone who could command the crowd.
She had never expected such a young man.
The next moment, Mu Xuehuang opened her eyes.
Gazing into the pitch-black curtain of rain beyond the inner palace, she felt an inexplicable premonition-as though the gears of fate had already begun to turn!
While Mu Xuehuang kept recalling the scenes of her country's future downfall, unable to banish them from her mind-
Ning Que and Yin Jiuyou had already galloped out of the province.
They were now at the border between Li Province in the heartland and Qingzhou.
Yin Jiuyou had already told Ning Que their next plan-they were heading to Flowing Sand's headquarters to reunite with the main force!
Before that, however, they would stop at the Qingzhou Branch for a day, then set out together with its members.
"Juzi, the Qingzhou Branch is still two days away. Let's find somewhere to rest first..."
Yin Jiuyou addressed Ning Que.
His voice was terribly hoarse, as though his vocal cords had been burned.
"All right."
Ning Que nodded, studying Yin Jiuyou curiously from behind.
He noticed that, beyond the murderous aura enveloping the man, there was also an air of loneliness and bleak desolation.
This was a man with a story...
That was Ning Que's assessment.
Then again, among those who had joined Flowing Sand to oppose Great Li, who did not have a story?
"They're all people who have suffered in these troubled times..."
Ning Que shook his head.
Without meaning to, he thought again of how the original owner of his body had lost his wife to a marriage alliance.
"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it."
"The people of this world are the foundation of a dynasty's prosperity... yet you act in direct opposition to that. Your downfall is only a matter of time."
"Search! Hurry up and search..."
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded nearby, mingled with shouted orders.
A squad of soldiers in iron armor held their torches high, searching from door to door.
Yin Jiuyou watched coldly and said in his hoarse voice, "They're looking for us..."
He had raided the execution ground that day. Wang Yong, the Minister of Personnel, would never let the matter rest.
He was certain to order a citywide search!
But Yin Jiuyou did not attack again. Instead, he hid with Ning Que.
Flowing Sand operated in the shadows, after all. Unless absolutely necessary, it was better not to clash head-on with the authorities...
Yin Jiuyou wanted to find an inn where they could spend the night.
But at this hour, what inn would still be open?
He also tried knocking on the doors of several ordinary households.
Yet before he could even speak, his terrifying gaze and murderous aura frightened them into shutting their doors again.
Just as the soldiers were about to catch up, a door beside them creaked open.
"Over here..."
It revealed a delicate, pretty face!
The girl was sixteen or seventeen, with fine features and large eyes that regarded them fearfully.
It was clear that she had struggled with herself before opening the door for them.
"Thank you!"
Ning Que did not hesitate. He thanked her, glanced back at the soldiers, and led Yin Jiuyou inside.
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