In the distant starry sky, an old man in black robes slowly placed a chess piece, a smug smile in his eyes, "You're about to lose!"
"That's not necessarily true!" The old man in white robes shook his head and placed a piece on the chessboard, instantly turning the tide.
The old man in black sighed and resorted to childish tactics, "I'm not playing anymore, not playing! You win every single time!"
The old man in white smiled, hinting, "Didn't you win this round?"
"Win?" The old man in black scoffed, "Do you really think I don't know what you've done?"
"Not as much as you! You altered the fate that was written for them. Have you considered the consequences?" As the old man in white spoke, an invisible force surged towards the old man in black.
The old man in black easily blocked it, "What, do we have to wait for another eon? This is their responsibility! I merely moved the timeline forward!"
"Besides..." The old man in black changed the subject, looking at the sanctimonious old man in white robes opposite him, "Didn't you know from the beginning? Otherwise, how could I have had the ability to send that soul to countless planes by myself?"
After a sharp exchange, the two suddenly looked at each other and smiled, a silent understanding passing between them.
"As long as the final outcome meets expectations, the process is not important!" the old man in white said slowly.
"Then, a pleasant cooperation!"
"Careful!"
Just as Xing Yuan arrived in the new world, she was pulled to the ground by the person beside her. Xing Yuan looked around in confusion; soldiers in strange attire were everywhere, and they seemed to be holding firearms that Xing Yuan had only seen in books.
While Xing Yuan was contemplating her situation, several more bombs landed nearby, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Officer, are you alright?" The young man who had pulled Xing Yuan down looked at her with great concern.
The young man was not old, barely an adult, with a lingering trace of youthful innocence. He had joined the army driven by passion.
"I'm fine!" Xing Yuan shook her head. This was not the time to ponder. Judging by the scene, it was clearly a battle between two armies.
From the young man's reaction, Xing Yuan deduced that she was likely the leader of one of the factions.
Feigning urgency, Xing Yuan asked the young man, "What's the situation?"
"Officer, we have the advantage, and our chances of winning are high." The young man replied with excitement, not suspecting anything.
"Mm." Xing Yuan nodded and turned to observe the situation from behind their makeshift defensive line.
The two sides were fighting fiercely, but because of their different uniforms, Xing Yuan could clearly distinguish friend from foe.
Lives were being lost every moment. She wondered why people were so fond of war.
After observing for a while and understanding the situation, Xing Yuan briefly learned how to use the soldiers' weapons and immediately joined the fray.
Having read relevant books and with some instinctive reactions from her body, Xing Yuan was practically invincible on the battlefield. Her past experience as an assassin gave her an extraordinary perception of danger. With the combined efforts of everyone, the opposing side began to retreat.
"Officer, you're truly amazing!" The young man's face was filled with admiration. He had not been in this unit for long and had only heard rumors before, never expecting the legend to be so formidable in person.
Xing Yuan felt a bit awkward under such reverent gazes. She had always been feared more than admired.
"A Yuan, are you alright?" Wan Yu walked over, his face full of worry.
He was Xing Yuan's副官 (fùguān - adjutant), and he was more surprised than concerned by her sudden change. After all, people often unlocked their potential in times of crisis, and the stronger she was, the stronger the team would be.
Xing Yuan had no memory and could only maintain a blank expression, appearing very tired.
"Officer, they shouldn't be coming for now. You haven't slept for a day, you should go rest!" The young man, Yuan Yi, cleverly provided an excuse.
Xing Yuan looked at Yuan Yi with admiration. This kid was very perceptive! If there was an opportunity, she would definitely replace the oblivious guy in front of her with Yuan Yi.
Returning to the team's hastily assembled, rudimentary shelter, Xing Yuan intended to have a good "talk" with Tian Ling. Hadn't she just praised it, and now it wanted to fly away?
Tian Ling knew what it had done and, with a strong survival instinct, said, "Master, I was wrong! It's all my fault for being incapable and unable to adjust the landing time of the plane, causing Master to suffer."
Xing Yuan: "……?"
When did Tian Ling learn to admit fault? Shouldn't it have struggled a bit?
Seeing that her master had stopped her intended punishment, Tian Ling was overjoyed. It mused, it wasn't in vain that it took so many notes. Walking the master's path, leaving the master with no path to tread. (﹡ˆoˆ﹡)
"Forget it! Transmit the memories!" Xing Yuan was still immersed in the previous world and hadn't fully reacted. She felt that what Tian Ling said seemed to make sense. Given Tian Ling's good attitude in admitting fault, she decided to forgive it again and not hold it against it.
Strictly speaking, they were of the same lineage. Although Tian Ling was usually unreliable, she truly couldn't travel through worlds smoothly without it. Moreover, it could also alleviate boredom during her travels.
"Alright!" Tian Ling said gleefully. Ah! Another beautiful day!
The story takes place during a period of warlord conflict in a country called Yu. This world wasn't a true small world but an offshoot from a novel.
The original host's family was powerful, having started as merchants and becoming the wealthiest family in Yu. When the war first broke out, the then-head of the Xing family sold off his assets to train a private army for the family.
At the time, he didn't anticipate how fierce the war would become; he merely intended to use this private army to protect the family's business.
Through various coincidences, the original private army gradually developed into a regional warlord. This began with Xing Yuan's grandfather's generation.
When people become famous, things naturally become complicated! This saying holds true everywhere. Others coveted the Xing family's wealth, leading to constant infighting.
By Xing Yuan's generation, trouble had brewed.
To prevent internal strife, the Xing family's ancestor left a will. All descendants of the Xing family were forbidden from being fickle. Therefore, each generation's Xing family head had only one wife and did not take concubines.
The original host's biological father followed this rule. He and the original host's mother were betrothed early and got together as soon as they came of age, fulfilling their promise. They lived in harmony, and soon had a child.
However, it was also at that time that a neighboring warlord came to provoke them, and he had no choice but to pack his belongings and go to battle.