"I can now answer your question from my own understanding."

After leaving country T, Senior Brother Meng Yuzhi was in a good mood, enjoying the breeze on the deck and drinking red wine.

"For example, in the fourteenth year of Tianbao, suppose we could organize manpower to kill An Lushan—then what? Can the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty continue?" Meng Yuzhi held a tall goblet with his fair and slender fingers.

"I haven't really thought deeply about this issue. I simply consider it from the perspective of not wanting to see innocent lives suffer." I honestly replied, his words carrying a convincing power.

"The Tang Dynasty's system and economy have shown signs of collapse. Killing An Lushan won't save the Tang Dynasty. Warlords will still vie for power, and the situation of each ruling their own territories won't fundamentally change. Even without An Lushan's rebellion, there would have been someone else."

"Moreover, the upper class of the Tang Dynasty is obsessed with power games, and there are frequent political upheavals, resulting in the execution of a batch of political enemies each time. Just a few years after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Wu Zetian led another purge. Li Longji and Princess Taiping joined forces to launch the Tanglong coup, and afterwards, Li Longji turned against his own aunt, Princess Taiping. So... can an organization have the power to fundamentally change the system of the Tang Dynasty and participate in its reconstruction?"

Meng Yuzhi helplessly shrugged his shoulders. "If we get too deeply involved and become too engaged in the organization, we will end up rewriting history and making it our own. Establishing a dynasty, the organization probably doesn't have that kind of power. And even if it does, does that mean the history we write will definitely be good and correct? It's an unknown variable."

"People like Cui Beihai, with their temperaments, are only responsible for dealing with the supernatural phenomena that noble families and commoners cannot understand and are troubled by—they call them 'spiritual enchantments.' He tries his best to bring about change and attempts to do so through certain individuals. However, his personal efforts have not been able to reach the court's core and influence the emperor's will."

"It's the martyrdom of an idealist, so we hide ourselves in the shadows, dealing with supernatural events that go beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, but carefully concealing our traces." Zhao Ming, the burly man who had remained silent, suddenly spoke, his face filled with respect.

"I have another question... Why do we only have the history of the Tang Dynasty's Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods, and then it jumps to the modern era? Was the intervening period a dormant period?"

Both senior brothers suddenly laughed.

"You finally thought of asking that question... You're a bit faster than us."

"Welcome to the true Candle Dragon, junior brother."

They led me to an underground laboratory, where a device that looked like a time machine appeared before us.

"Now you have a new identity: a time traveler, not just confined to this timeline."

Meng Yuzhi extended his hand to me, and I touched his hand, feeling its warmth and strength. Then he and I entered the vast sea of stars. The blue Earth was beneath our feet, seemingly within reach.

He slid his hand as if operating an invisible touch screen phone, and the Earth began to rotate rapidly, with the camera zooming in. The history of humanity unfolded before our eyes.

"Our organization is not very large, and in terms of absolute numbers, we are extremely rare. Throughout the long history, we have cooperated with various governments in analyzing and providing feedback on various incredible supernatural phenomena, encounters of the third kind, and other events that perplexed them at the time. If certain things that they couldn't understand troubled them greatly, we would send someone to deal with them."

Meng Yuzhi explained as he operated the device, occasionally pausing to allow me to digest the information.

"In fact, our technology has opened up two stable time windows, so the information from these two eras is the most comprehensive. During the long intervening period, we did indeed disappear, not in hiding, but nearly annihilated in the flames of war. After a long period of dormancy, we rose again. Now, we can freely travel in several stable timelines."

"I'll warn you in advance: due to recklessness or getting too deeply involved, some of our people have been caught in temporal vortexes and never returned. This makes us even more cautious: time travelers should try not toalter the course of history or interfere too much in the events they encounter."

"Our mission is to observe, analyze, and occasionally intervene in extraordinary events, but always with the utmost caution. We strive to maintain the balance of history and prevent catastrophic consequences from occurring."

"So, what about the future?" I couldn't help but ask.

Meng Yuzhi smiled mysteriously. "The future is an enigma, my junior brother. It is a realm of infinite possibilities. As time travelers, we can glimpse potential futures, but they are always in flux, changing with each decision made. Our task is to carefully navigate the currents of time, ensuring that the best possible future unfolds."

"But isn't that an enormous responsibility?" I asked, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.

"Indeed, it is," Meng Yuzhi replied. "But remember, we are not alone in this endeavor. There are others like us, scattered throughout different timelines, working towards the same goal. Together, we strive to shape a future that is prosperous, harmonious, and free from the darkness that threatens to engulf it."

I nodded, absorbing the profound implications of our mission. I realized that I had joined something much bigger than myself, a hidden organization that transcended time and space, dedicated to safeguarding the threads of history and guiding humanity towards a brighter tomorrow.

And so, as a member of the Candle Dragon, I embarked on a journey through time, armed with knowledge, wisdom, and the unwavering commitment to protect the course of history.