In the original plot, the cascade of events all began with the Crown Prince being deposed, and the Eldest Prince being punished with lifetime duty guarding the imperial tombs.
Yun Shu had gone to great lengths to stop the Crown Prince from falling off that cliff. If something else went wrong now... wouldn't all her efforts be for nothing?
He had to be saved.
Her hands, which had been hanging at her sides, curled into tight fists.
Yun Shu's voice dropped low and steady.
"Leave one man here. Send another down the mountain to call for reinforcements. The rest of you, assist the Crown Prince."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Wait, what—!"
The guards moved far too quickly. The moment they answered her, they took to their Qinggong techniques and swept off toward the Crown Prince's direction like a gust of wind.
Yun Chuhuan's hand froze midair, still half-raised as if trying to stop them. After a long pause, he flung his sleeve in frustration.
"It's fine if we win, but what if we don't? What if someone tracks our position afterward? It's not like we're close with the Crown Prince—why should we risk ourselves for him?"
"If anything were to happen to the Crown Prince, it wouldn't be a trivial matter."
Yun Shu exhaled slowly, her eyes still watching the treeline.
"We're not risking ourselves for the Crown Prince. We're risking ourselves for the entire Tian Sheng dynasty."
She had lived in Tian Sheng long enough now, but this was still the first time she found herself facing a real, life-or-death battle.
Even if she was ninety-nine percent sure the Eldest Prince's men wouldn't dare harm her or Yun Chuhuan—especially if they had guessed the pair was hiding nearby—it was still impossible to be completely at ease.
Her only hope now was that the guard sent for help could move quickly. Because even after her and Yun Chuhuan's men had joined the fray, the Crown Prince's side had only slightly eased its pressure.
The advantage still lay entirely with the Eldest Prince's forces.
Even Yun Chuhuan could see it.
He stared gloomily out into the forest.
"Fifth Sister, what do you think? If we rode off now, would the assassins chase us?"
"I doubt they wo—"
Before she could finish the last word, a new change unfolded outside.
A third group of black-clad figures suddenly joined the battle.
Yun Shu tensed, heart clenched. Had yet another force come for the Crown Prince's life?
But in the next moment, she saw those newly arrived men strike down the Eldest Prince's agents in a single stroke, swift and ruthless.
Blood splattered across the forest floor.
Yun Shu instinctively turned her head away, not wanting to see the carnage. The sight alone left a chill in her bones.
Yun Chuhuan, who had just moments ago been mumbling about escaping on horseback, stared wide-eyed in delight.
"By the heavens! Second Brother's men are that terrifying? That was one slice per person—it's like they're chopping vegetables!
If those were truly the Crown Prince's men, they wouldn't have waited until now to act."
Yun Shu shook her head, her thoughts in turmoil.
Where had these people come from?
Were they part of the original story?
If they were… why had the Crown Prince still fallen off the cliff?
If they weren't… why did they suddenly appear now?
Too many questions. No answers.
While Yun Shu's mind swirled with doubt, the black-clad warriors—those who had descended like divine soldiers from the heavens—vanished as abruptly as they had arrived.
As if they had never been there at all.
What should have been a harrowing, deadly clash had ended so suddenly that none of them were prepared for it.
The whole thing felt absurdly like a story from Yun Shu's original world—one where the so-called "Child of Destiny" had only twenty thousand troops, while their enemies had a massive army of four hundred thousand.
By all logic, they should've been crushed.
And yet… a meteor came crashing down from the heavens and wiped out the enemy in one fell swoop.
"That's ridiculous."
Yun Chuhuan was still starry-eyed, practically mesmerized.
"The first wave of assassins looked so strong. They had the Crown Prince and our men completely on the ropes. But those last few? They came in swinging and cut them down like nothing! Fifth Sister, do you think I could find those people one day and ask them to teach me martial arts?"
"Probably."
Yun Shu came back to her senses and nodded calmly.
"But I heard proper training starts with the basics. Can you commit to squatting in horse stance for at least two hours every single day?"
Yun Chuhuan: "?"
The dreamy look vanished from his face at once.
He clasped his hands behind his back and turned to walk away.
"This prince suddenly remembered—Father Emperor and Noble Consort expect great things from my academic progress. I simply don't have time for martial arts."
"…"
Yun Shu's lips curled, but this time, she showed mercy and didn't laugh aloud.
—
The assassination attempt on the Crown Prince, witnessed firsthand by the Fifth Princess and Sixth Prince, could not be concealed from Emperor Xuanwu.
The three of them quickly returned to the encampment—along with the white "divine deer" and two captured assassins.
By the time they arrived, Emperor Xuanwu had already heard the entire account from the Dragon Shadow Guard, who had returned a step ahead.
But because he could not reveal the Simulation Life Selection System, he had to act as though he knew nothing beforehand.
The proper questions still had to be asked.
Emperor Xuanwu's gaze swept coldly across the group before him. His voice was sharp, his presence thunderous.
"We heard that you erected a sign on the path where the Crown Prince was attacked. It read, 'Trap Ahead.' Is that true?"
"Yes, Father Emperor. I did have our men post signs like that. But not just there—many paths in the hunting grounds were marked."
Yun Shu's wide eyes looked clear and innocent—almost dim-witted, in that familiar university student kind of way.
"We only meant to go hunting, but we were afraid someone might accidentally step into a trap. That's why we prepared the warning signs."
"That's right!"
Yun Chuhuan hurried to add his part, fearful that his own contribution might be forgotten.
"We caught this 'divine deer' with one of those traps!"
"…"
Of all the things to bring up right now…
Emperor Xuanwu felt a headache pounding between his temples. He waved them away, clearly impatient.
"Enough. This matter no longer concerns the two of you. Leave."
"But—"
"We take our leave."
Yun Shu quickly grabbed Yun Chuhuan's sleeve and pulled him out of the imperial tent.
She had truly had enough of him today.
"What were you thinking just now? The Crown Prince was nearly assassinated. Father Emperor is furious. Who has time to care about divine deer?"
"But even if we don't talk about the deer, we still risked ourselves to help the Crown Prince, didn't we?"
Yun Chuhuan sounded sulky.
"Doesn't that earn us some reward?"
"Of course it does. How could it not?"
No matter what else was said, Yun Chuhuan had done his part today. Without his help, things might not have gone so smoothly.