[TIMELINE STABILITY CHECK]
Current Path: Diverging
Historical Accuracy: 89.7%
Warning: Minor anachronisms detected
Recommendation: Maintain period-appropriate behavior
Liu Jingyi's aura flickered like bad quantum reception as he glanced over his shoulder. Even drunk, he had enough sense to lower his voice. "They're... different histories. Stories that didn't make it into the official records."
"Different how?" Wei-Ling kept her tone carefully neutral, though her Soul Reading ability was lighting up like a black market scanner at a fake jade auction.
[SOUL READING ACTIVATED]
Target: Liu Jingyi
Current State: Internal Conflict
- Desire to share truth
- Fear of consequences
- Deep connection to hidden knowledge
"They tell different versions of things. Like the early Ming court, the first emperor's rise. Stories about women generals and scholar queens that the official histories..." He trailed off, his aura pulsing with something between excitement and terror.
"That the official histories erased," Wei-Ling finished. Her Authentication Expert skill tingled – she'd seen enough revised artifacts to know how history got sanitized. Hell, she'd helped sanitize some of it herself, selling off evidence of inconvenient truths to private collectors.
"My father says alternative histories are dangerous. That they undermine the natural order." Liu Jingyi's hands shook as he finally managed to pour some wine. "But these aren't just stories. There are maps, records of old buildings, astronomical observations that don't match the official chronicles..."
Wei-Ling's Timeline Viewing ability suddenly spiked:
[FRAGMENT ACCESSED]
Location: Shaanxi Province
Time: 89 days from now
Vision: Underground chambers, ancient texts, structural weakness
Warning: Critical connection detected
Her heart stopped. Underground chambers. Ancient texts. Structural weakness.
"These buildings in the records," she said carefully, "where were they?"
"All over, but especially here in Shaanxi. There's this whole network of—" He broke off, swaying slightly. "I shouldn't be telling you this. If anyone found out..."
[QUEST UPDATE]
New Information Acquired:
- Hidden architectural records
- Possible connection to seismic activity
- Historical cover-up detected
Warning: Timeline implications critical
Wei-Ling's mind raced. In her previous life, she'd learned how Ming Dynasty nobles had built elaborate underground complexes – libraries, treasuries, escape tunnels. Most tomb raiders knew about them, but the official histories kept quiet. Because admitting they existed meant admitting that a lot of "heavenly ordained" noble families had planned for the possibility of losing heaven's mandate.
And if Liu Jingyi had found records of these structures, right here in Shaanxi...
"Those books," she said, "they're not just politically dangerous, are they? They're actually dangerous. Like, structurally dangerous."
His aura flared with recognition. "There's a passage about the 'dragon lines' under the city. How they need maintenance every generation or—"
"Or they collapse." Wei-Ling felt sick. Not just sick – professionally offended. In her time, every tomb raider knew to check for structural integrity. Basic safety protocol. But here in the Ming Dynasty, that knowledge was considered subversive. Because heaven's chosen rulers weren't supposed to need emergency escape routes, and heaven's blessed land wasn't supposed to need maintenance.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Critical Quest Information:
- Underground network maintenance overdue
- Historical suppression of architectural knowledge
- Potential prevention point identified
"Your father," she said slowly, "he's the city's infrastructure minister, isn't he?"
Liu Jingyi nodded miserably. "He says focusing on the past is unfilial. That I should study for the imperial examinations instead of wasting time with old records." His aura crackled with bitter humor. "Guess the natural order doesn't include making sure the ground doesn't swallow us."
Wei-Ling's fingers itched for her old scanning equipment. In her time, she could've mapped those tunnels in a day. Here, she had... what? Soul Reading? Timeline Viewing? A drunk noble boy with forbidden books and a father who'd rather maintain social order than structural integrity?
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED]
Historical Integration (Novice)
- Ability to adapt future knowledge to past context
- Warning: Use with extreme caution
"Okay," she said, "here's what we're going to do. Those books? We need copies. Not the whole library, just the structural stuff. The maintenance records, the maps, anything about the 'dragon lines.' And we need to figure out how to make your father see them without knowing where they came from."
Liu Jingyi blinked at her. "You want to... forge ancient texts?"
Wei-Ling grinned. Finally, something she was actually qualified for. "Let's just say I have a gift for making new things look old. But first?" She took the wine vessel from his unsteady hands. "We need to get you sober. Can't save the city if you can't walk straight."
[QUEST UPDATE]
New Objective: Create historically plausible warning
Required Skills:
- Forgery (Master)
- Historical Integration (Novice)
- Timeline Manipulation (Restricted)
Risk Level: Extreme
As she helped Liu Jingyi to his feet, Wei-Ling's mind was already plotting. She had three months to prevent an earthquake, save this kid's soul, and somehow make urgent infrastructure maintenance look like a heaven-mandated duty instead of a challenge to authority. All while pretending to be a proper Ming Dynasty noble daughter.
No pressure, she thought. Just another day at the cosmic office.
"By the way," she added, "we should probably find a better hiding place for those books. Preferably somewhere that won't collapse in an earthquake."
Liu Jingyi's aura flickered with the first real hope she'd seen. "I might know a place. There's this old storage room behind the ancestral shrine..."
[SYSTEM WARNING]
Timeline Alteration In Progress
Butterfly Effect Risk: Moderate to High
Recommendation: Proceed with caution
Wei-Ling smiled. Maybe those years of breaking into tombs hadn't been wasted after all. She just had to use her tomb raiding skills in reverse – instead of stealing history's secrets, she had to help history keep a few more of them.
And hopefully not bring down the entire Ming Dynasty in the process.
No big deal, she thought. Just trying to prevent a natural disaster by committing historical fraud. What's the worst that could happen?
The system, naturally, chose that moment to answer:
[TIMELINE ALERT]
Multiple Futures Detected:
- Best Case: Localized timeline alteration
- Worst Case: Dynasty-wide butterfly effect
Note: Quantum uncertainty makes specific outcomes impossible to predict
P.S. Yes, that was sarcasm. Your cosmic being has a sense of humor.
"Fantastic," Wei-Ling muttered. "At least the universe's UI designer is having fun."